Feral Awakening (The Feral Series-Book 2) (21 page)

 Ronan had serious
doubts about that but he was willing to try. Even if Teagan attacked and killed
him, his mate might still be able to get his medallion back on him.

 “Where is Daniel?” Ronan’s
eyes glowed briefly at the thought of Daniel’s betrayal. There would be no
place on this planet that Daniel could hide from the wrath of his pack.

 “We have him in
custody. The fool was so confident in his plan that he even stuck around to
help my men exterminate Teagan. He is in one of our cells and will be returned
to your pack to pay for his crimes.”

 Ronan growled low. “I
would love to have a discussion with him about his motives for turning on his
pack and endangering my brother.” The three men in the room smiled at the kind
of “discussion” Ronan would be having with Daniel.

 “When can I leave to
meet with Teagan?” Ronan was anxious to get to him before the vampires got
antsy and took matters into their own hands.

 “It’s daylight now so
he is more than likely grounded by Ava’s inability to travel in the light. We
double checked their location and they have stopped moving. They may be in one
of the caves that run along the river. They are about seven miles out from the
main road, not far from Highway Y-10. We can take the highway in and then we
can take a couple of ATV’s off-road from there. We think it would be best to
approach them at night once they are out in the open, so he isn’t cornered with
her. We have a couple hours to plan before nightfall.”

 Victor once again took
control of the meeting. “Why don’t we give the two of you a break so you can
see Kat settled and I will call another meeting with the rest of the men so we
can finalize the plan.”

 Kat thought that was a
great idea. Her head hurt from trying to keep up with everything and she would
like some privacy while she processed it all. Victor walked to his desk and
took something off of a shelf before walking back towards them. “Here is one of
our comm units, all of the Guardians use them to communicate. This one will be
yours for the duration of your stay here.” Ronan nodded and took the small
black radio from Victor.

 Rising to their feet,
the men shook hands again and Victor led them to the office door where the
little gray haired man waited for them. He led them down a maze of hallways
until they arrived at one of the guest rooms. In a very polite manner he turned
to speak with Ronan. “Sir, will the lady be sharing your room or will she
require a room of her own?” Before Kat could voice an opinion Ronan growled his
reply.

 “The lady stays with
me.”

 “Very well sir.” He
swung the door to their room open for them and then stepped out of the way. “Will
you be needing anything else, something to eat perhaps?”

 Ronan couldn’t think
about food right now but he wanted Kat to eat. “Food, thank you.” With a slight
nod the servant disappeared down the hall and they were once again alone.

 Kat entered the large room
and briefly noted how beautifully decorated it was. She was just too
overwhelmed to appreciate it though. Walking over to one of the large arm
chairs that flanked a small gas fireplace she sank down into it in a daze. “God
Ronan, this is such a mess.”

 Ronan deposited both
Ronan’s medallion and the comm unit on the dresser before sinking into the
other large chair across from her. Rubbing his palm wearily across he forehead
he agreed with her. “I know. What the hell did Teagan get himself into this
time?” Being disconnected from his pack, he had no idea any of this had been
going on.

 “So Teagan is your younger
brother?”

 “Yes.”

 “Were the two of you
close growing up?”

 “Yes, we were close. Of
course we still beat on each other from time to time.” Ronan snorted out a
choked laugh. “He knew, he knew how close my beast was to the surface. He used
to like to see how far he could push me before I would snap. Of course it
didn’t take much. It seemed to be one of his favorite past times. God we used
to drive my parents nuts.”

 Kat almost fell out of
her chair as she stared in amazement at the smile on Ronan’s rugged face. It
did strange things to her and jogged distant memories but nothing she could
actually put her finger on. Quickly though the smile was replaced with his
usual frown. She could see the concern he wasn’t voicing.

 “So… has anyone ever
come back from going feral?” Kat’s voice lowered with the seriousness of the
question.

 “There are stories,
but no one really knows for sure if it is possible.” Ronan’s eyes wouldn’t meet
hers and Kat felt a chill go down her spine. Something wasn’t right here, he
wasn’t telling her everything.

 “…and if you can’t
bring him back?” Ronan’s eyes met hers and she was startled at the heat that
suddenly filled his eyes.

 “No
vampire
is
going to take my brother out. He is my brother and my responsibility.”

 Kat’s eyes lit up in
anger as soon as the thought entered her mind. The look on Ronan’s face scared
her. She could see that he had already decided and she could see the determination
in the flexing of his jaw. Kat jumped to her feet to stand in front of Ronan,
her eyes glowing an angry Lykan green.

 “If he can’t be
turned, you’re going after him yourself aren’t you!” Ronan’s angry glare was
all the answer she needed. Kat’s heart fell into her stomach. “Ronan, that’s suicide,
you cannot take on another feral by yourself! It doesn’t matter if he is your
brother! He will kill you. You barely survived the last one!”

 Ronan growled low and
again wouldn’t meet her eyes.

 “Oh my god, that’s it
isn’t it.” Kat gaped at him in dawning horror. “You don’t plan on surviving it.
You hadn’t planned on surviving the last one either.” Kat sat down limply in
the chair, all of the fight suddenly going out of her. “Why Ronan?”

 “The ferals are
extremely dangerous, they are responsible for so much death and destruction. Good
men die while hunting the ferals, men with mates and families. Why shouldn’t I
be the one to hunt them when I already have nothing to lose.”

 “But Ronan, what of
your family, your brother and your parents?”
What about me?

 “I can no longer be a
part of that world. I am no longer part of the pack. I made my decision.”

 Kat ached to break
down his fortress of solitude. To tell him he didn’t have to be alone anymore. She
knew that he had isolated himself because he feared the power his beast had
over him. She ached to tell him that she didn’t fear his beast. He didn’t have
to run anymore. He didn’t have to be alone… but she had been rejected one too
many times. He had made it clear he didn’t want her.

 Ronan suddenly stood
and towered over her. Looking at her he could see the pain in her eyes and felt
himself soften. It was just the bond making her feel this way. Surely she
couldn’t have feelings for a worthless male like him. He needed to focus on the
task at hand. “Will you promise me not to run? I need to know that you are safe
or I will not be able to focus on what I have to do. I do not want to restrain
you in this place. I would not want one of them to find you defenseless. We are
allies but I do not trust these males around you.”

 Kat raised her eyes to
his in surprise. Why did he even care about her promise at a time like this? The
man was slowly and surely driving her crazy. “I promise not to run while you
are out trying to get yourself killed.” Kat smiled up at him sweetly and with
her teeth gritted together while she gave her pledge.

 Surprisingly some of
the tension in his shoulders eased with her words. “Should I be unable to
return you to the pack myself, my father will send someone to escort you the
rest of the way.”

 Kat fumed at him in
silence. It would appear he had thought of everything. How wonderful.

 The thick tension in
the room was finally broken with a knock at the door. Ronan quickly walked over
to answer it. Outside stood yet another servant with a large tray of food. Ronan
held the door as the servant carried the food in and set it on one of the side
tables. The man quickly left but Ronan stood in the open door instead of
closing it again.

 “You should eat, I
have to meet with Ethan and the others. I will check on you before I leave.”

 “Fine.” Kat answered tightly.
Her emotions were wound tight and what she really wanted to do was yell and
scream at him but she knew it would do no good. He was one of the most stubborn
men she had ever met.

 With one last glance
at her he left and closed the door firmly behind him. Kat glanced at the tray
with disgust. How the hell did he expect her to eat at a time like this? She couldn’t
just sit here while he set out to kill himself. Kat paced the room while she
planned. She had to do something. Maybe she should talk to Ethan and tell him
what Ronan was planning.

 Kat’s eyes lit on the
medallion and radio that still sat on the dresser. Walking over to them she
picked up the medallion and rubbed the strange design between her fingertips. It
was almost identical to Ronan’s. All they had to do was get the big angry feral
beast to put it back on and everyone could live happily ever after. Ava would
have her mate and Ronan would be safe.

 Kat understood that this
wasn’t something that could be forced. Ronan had explained how the medallion
worked. Each medallion was designed for only one particular Lykan. That Lykan
was the only one who could take it on and off. Somehow the feral would have to
be convinced to put it on himself. This feral was different though. This one
hadn’t chosen this he had been forced chemically into becoming a feral and this
one had her best friend Ava at his side. Maybe there was hope. Kat’s face lit
with a calculating smile. Who better to manipulate a male Lykan than a female
Lykan.

 Quickly shrugging on
her jacket, Kat swooped up the comm unit and clipped it on her pants. Then she
safely zipped the medallion into her jacket pocket. With a big deep breath for
courage she cautiously opened the bedroom door and stepped out into the empty
hallway. Her decision made, there was no turning back now.

 Kat drove down the
highway in her poor old Ford. The motor screamed at her for the abuse it had
suffered the past few days. After all the miles it had covered now she expected
it to go faster than sixty? The nerve. “Come on baby, you can do it. Help momma
out one more time.” The truck responded better to sweet talk. She had tried
cussing and kicking it a few months back and it had retaliated by throwing a
belt and leaving her stranded ten miles from home. After that she only used sweet
talk.

 Getting out of
Claymore hadn’t been as bad as she thought. The truck had been right were Ronan
had left it and big surprise, the keys were above the visor. The guard at the
gate had let her pass without a problem. She supposed it was since she was
leaving and not trying to get in.

 She was cruising at a
speedy sixty five now. She had almost made it up to seventy a few minutes ago
but that had been downhill and her poor truck had started to rattle in places
it never had before. After that she had decided sixty five was pretty good. She
had dared to waste precious minutes stopping at a gas station to check a map
and see exactly where Y-10 was.

 Two hours later and
she was getting pretty close to Teagan and Ava’s location. Suddenly the comm
unit on her waist chirped causing her to swerve for a moment. Her heart racing
she tightened her grip at ten and two and waited to see if it would chirp
again. Crap had they found her already?

 “Kat this is Ethan,
can you hear me?” A cold sweat broke out on Kat’s brow. Oh man, this was it. Fishing
at her waist, Kat fumbled the radio but somehow managed to get a grip on it and
press the proper button. “Hi Ethan, I hear you.” Kat held her breath while she
waited to hear what he would say next.

 “Kat, you turn that
truck around right now and get your ass back here!” Yep, Ronan had grabbed the
comm unit. She grit her teeth at the fury she heard in his voice.

 “Sorry Ronan, I can’t
do that. Put Ethan back on or I’m throwing this radio out onto the highway.”

 “Dam it Kat!”

 “Ah, ah, ah. Put Ethan
back on.
Now
.” Kat deliberately let the last word out in a growl. Oh ya,
she was getting the hang of this. Feeling a little giddy with power she waited
to see if he would listen to her.

 “Kat, it’s Ethan.” Mentally
Kat did a little happy dance over actually getting her way with Ronan. That
hadn’t happened once since she had met the man. Problem was she knew he would make
her pay when she saw him again… if she saw him again.

 “Okay Ethan, here’s
the new plan. I am going to take Teagan his medallion. You and I both know
Ronan would have never let me do this so I’m taking matters into my own hands. Just
hear me out. I have recently had the misfortune of having a feral try to claim
me as his mate. That same feral almost killed me and Ronan too. So let’s just
say this isn’t my first rodeo. Secondly I have just spent the last two days in
the company of a possessive, domineering and over protective male Lykan who thinks
I am his personal property so I think I have some perspective on how the male
Lykan operates.”