IceSurrender (7 page)

Their harsh breathing was the only sound in the room as they
lay there panting. Slowly Wren unwound her legs from around Ryder’s waist. He
rolled to his back and snuggled her up close against his side, her head
pillowed on his chest. She closed her eyes and listened to the thundering of
his heart that matched her own. That was the best sex she’d had in her life.

That was the best sex Ryder had ever had in his life. Having
Wren in his dream didn’t even come close to taking her outside it. And he
wanted to do it again and again until they couldn’t move, even if their lives
depended on it.

He turned his head and kissed the top of Wren’s. “That
defies description.”

She chuckled. “I have to agree. It also helped you regain
control.”

Ryder looked at her. “Don’t discount yourself. It had to do
with the fact I was making love to you.” He grew serious. “Let me finish what I
was going to say before all hell broke loose. What I feel for you isn’t a
crush. I love you too. I think I’ve known for a while, but I didn’t want to own
up to it as long as I had to remain celibate.”

She reached up and caressed his cheek. “Good, because I’d
already decided you are my mate. I don’t need any mating bond to tell me that.
Inside my heart, I know it’s true. Do you have your full powers now?”

Ryder took quick stock of himself. Yes, he had them. And
thanks to Wren, he had absolute control over them. He didn’t understand how she
was able to help him like that, but he wasn’t about to question it. He was able
to accept it at face value.

“I’m still mortal,” he said.

Wren shifted until she sat straddling his hips and looked
down at him. “Then change it. Allow one of the wolf brothers to bite you. Being
a werewolf isn’t a bad thing. That way we can always stay together.”

He gave her a sad look. “That is no longer an option. Now
that I have my full powers, I’m immune to their bite.”

“Can’t you come up with a spell to give you immortality?”

Ryder shook his head. “I try that, and I could lose my
powers. I’m a shaman. That’s what I was born to be. And I was born to live a
mortal life.”

Wren’s breath stuttered. “Then I guess we’ll have to make
the most of it.” A lone tear slipped down her cheek.

He reached up and wiped the wetness away while giving her a
half-smile. “Don’t have me already on death’s door. I’m only twenty-five. Plus,
I may be mortal, but there are some differences. With the gain in powers, I
don’t have to fear illnesses. I’ll heal quicker as well.”

Wren leaned over and brushed his lips with hers. “What about
recovery time? Is that quicker too?”

As if it had heard her, his cock came to life. He hardened
and lifted his hips to show her the evidence of his desire. “What do you
think?”

“Mmm, it’s definitely faster.”

Wren kissed him gently at first, nibbling on his bottom lip
before she deepened the kiss. She rubbed her pussy along his shaft. It didn’t
take long for his cock to become fully erect. Ryder moaned and reached between
them to find her clit. He stimulated it with the tip of his finger.

She moaned into his mouth, then lifted her head to say, “My
turn to make love to you.”

Wren placed her hands on his chest and sat up straighter.
She went on her knees, positioned herself over his straining cock, then lowered
herself onto it. Still wet from their earlier joining, she took all of him in
one stroke. Nothing felt better than Wren’s pussy closing around the length of
him, squeezing him tight.

Ryder held on to her hips as she moved up and down on him.
She stared at him with eyes that glowed mutedly. Her full breasts bounced with
her movements. Her making love to him was the most beautiful thing he’d ever
seen.

He lifted to meet each of her strokes. This time around they
weren’t so desperate, but he didn’t want slow and steady either. As if she knew
exactly what he wanted, Wren increased the pace. She arched her back. Ryder
lifted his head and watched as his cock slid in and out of her body. He grew
even harder.

He could tell she was close to release. Her movements grew
jerky and her eyes closed on a long moan. When she was there, her pussy
fluttered around his cock before it clutched and released him, milking him into
his own climax. His moans joined hers as he filled her with his cum.

Wren collapsed on top of him. He wrapped her in his embrace.
He couldn’t ask for a better night than one spent in the arms of the woman he
loved.

* * * * *

The next day, Wren and Ryder went downstairs to the kitchen
to make themselves a late breakfast. So late in fact it would be considered
brunch. Not that either of them cared. Their empty stomachs had finally driven
them out of their room. They had snagged something in the middle of the night
in between bouts of lovemaking, but they’d burned off more calories than they’d
taken in.

Edensaw, Wachei and Ketah came into the room shortly after
them. “About time you two surfaced,” Ketah said.

“And it’s not as if you and Haven haven’t had a marathon of
sex before,” Wren replied.

Ketah gave her a large grin. “You’ve got me there.”

Ryder decided to change the topic of conversation to more
important things. “Edensaw, I’m going to call Brice today. Now that I have my
full powers, I can do what he asked and pull the dark magic from Drew and
Greg.”

His alpha looked at him closely. “Are you up to it? You
spent most of yesterday unconscious.”

“I’m fine. I want to do this today. Brice has had the burden
long enough of keeping them caged. Once I remove the dark magic Tanner used to
turn them, they’ll no longer be a threat. They should go back to what they once
were.”

Edensaw nodded. “All right. Call Brice and set up a time for
today.” He looked at Wachei and Ketah in turn. “I want the two of you to go
with him. I’d go, but I don’t want Cassidy and Wyatt anywhere near dark
wolves.”

Ryder could understand that. As a mated pair, Cassidy and
Edensaw couldn’t be away from each other before suffering separation anxiety,
and they hadn’t been together long enough to last very long. Ketah’s and
Wachei’s mates would have to go with them, but they didn’t have babies to worry
about.

“And me,” Wren said. “I’m going with them as well. I’ll feel
better if I’m at Ryder’s side to help protect him. He’s still mortal.”

The three wolf brothers looked at Ryder with a little
apprehension in their expressions. Ryder shrugged. “It’s the way it has to be.
And I’ll tell you as I told Wren, you can’t bite me to turn me. I’m immune to it
now.”

“Okay, Wren, you can go with them,” Edensaw said. “Though
Ryder shouldn’t be in any danger since Greg and Drew are locked up.” His alpha
looked at him. “You don’t need to be in the cell with them, do you?”

“No. As long as I’m in close proximity, I should be fine.”

“Then it’s all decided.”

The three wolf brothers each grabbed a bottle of water out
of the fridge, then left the kitchen, more than likely heading out to the
backyard for some training.

Wren and Ryder made their food in silence. Once it was
ready, they sat at the table next to each other. Wren was the first one to
speak.

“So you really can do that, take the dark magic out of the
dark wolves?”

“Yes. I now have a lot more spells stored up in my head than
I had before. It’ll take me awhile to go through them all.”

“You’ll be careful when you do it, right?”

Ryder reached over and squeezed Wren’s arm. “Stop worrying.
I can do this. You’ll see.”

* * * * *

Ketah drove them all in Cassidy’s crossover to the location
where Brice held the two dark wolves. The place was out in the middle of
nowhere, the nearest house a few miles up the road. Ryder had put a spell over
it to keep it hidden from Tanner.

Brice met them at the door of the building, which wasn’t
much to look at, but it had two reinforced cells the dark wolves wouldn’t be
able to break out of. Brice had had the place built a year before, thinking
there could be a chance they would one day take one of the enemy into custody.

The pack leader led them into the far end of the building
where the cells had been constructed. Each one had thick, solid cement walls at
the back and both sides. Only the front was barred.

“I was happy to hear from you today, Ryder,” Brice said.
“Their capture is no longer a secret, and their families are demanding access to
them. I’ve tried to explain they aren’t the same, but they don’t want to
listen.”

“Well, after I’m finished with them their families can have
them back.”

“Is there anything you need?”

Ryder shook his head. “No. It’s a spell that doesn’t require
any ingredients other than the use of my powers.”

“Then I guess I’ll give you some room and let you do your
thing.”

Ketah, Haven, Wachei, Eryn and Brice went to stand a short
distance behind Ryder. Wren stayed by his side. “I’m not going anywhere,” she
said.

Ryder smiled and nodded. He then focused on the two dark
wolves, who stood at the front of their cells, glaring at him. If they thought
that would intimidate him, they were wasting their time. Now in possession of
his full powers, he had more at his disposal than he’d ever dreamed of.

He walked closer to the cells. The two dark wolves growled
at him. Ignoring the sound, Ryder muttered the spell he needed to use. The
power slowly built inside him until at the end of it his hands glowed. He
reached toward each man, then spoke the second part of the spell.

The dark wolves gripped the bars in front of them, their
sounds of agitation increasing in volume. Ryder continued chanting the spell
until tendrils of a dark, smokelike mass pulled out of them and flowed toward
his outstretched hands. He heard Wren suck in a sharp breath where she stood
beside him.

Once the smoky tendrils reached him, instead of being burned
to nothing, they flowed through his hands and into him. Once the spell was
started it couldn’t be stopped. The dark wolves now howled in obvious pain as
they sank to their knees and held their heads.

Ryder felt the dark magic surging through him. He
immediately used his powers to cage it inside him, not allowing it to take hold
of him. He grimaced as it fought to break free, but he held it in place, though
it was a struggle.

“Ryder, are you okay?” Wren asked.

“Yes. Only a little bit more.”

Once the last of the dark magic left the two men in the
cells, they both collapsed. Ryder released a deep breath, then turned to look
at Brice. “They should be free of the dark magic.”

Brice walked over to Drew’s cell and unlocked the door. He
went down on his haunches next to the werewolf and shook his shoulder. “Drew?
Wake up.”

Drew slowly sat up and shook his head. “What happened? I
feel as if I’ve been run over by a truck.” He looked around at his
surroundings. “And where am I?”

Brice looked at Ryder, then at Drew again. “You don’t
remember?”

“No. The last thing I remember is Tanner coming to my mom’s
place while Hal and I were there.”

Brice stood and looked at the wolf brothers. “They don’t
smell like dark wolves anymore, do they?”

Wachei nodded. “Their scents have changed back to that of
regular werewolves.”

“Dark wolves?” Drew asked.

Brice helped him to his feet. “We’ll explain later.” He then
unlocked the next cell where Greg was now standing, looking around, as
perplexed as Drew.

Ryder stood by and watched as the pack leader tried to
reassure his pack members. The dark magic swirled inside its cage, looking for
a way to escape, pushing. He needed to rid himself of it, but this wasn’t the
place.

The entrance door behind them slammed open and Tanner
stepped through, accompanied by Tanner’s brother Hal, Tad, Lara and a couple
other dark wolf males. They spread out, blocking the only exit to the building.

Tanner’s gaze landed on Ryder. “Did you really think you
could mess with what belonged to me and I wouldn’t know? As you took the dark
magic out of them, I saw through your protection spell. Now you’ll pay for what
you did.”

Wren stepped closer to Ryder. There was no way in hell she’d
allow Tanner anywhere near her mate. The two wolf brothers also came to stand
close to Ryder. Their mates stood as far out of the way as the room allowed.

“You can’t win against us,” Ketah said.

Tanner laughed. “It’s two sentinels against six of us. I
think you are the ones who won’t stand a chance. I’m going to enjoy taking the
two of you out.”

“You’re forgetting some of the good guys. There are three
sentinels. Meet our newest member, Wren. And of course Brice will put up a good
fight. But enough talk. Let’s see who is stronger, shall we?”

Wren had only a second to realize Ketah had called her a
sentinel before all the dark wolves went on the attack. Wachei, Ketah, Brice
and Wren shifted to their wolf forms and met the enemy head-on. Even Greg and
Drew joined in, now firmly on the good side.

Each time a dark wolf tried to get past them to get at
Ryder, Wren was there to block him. She noticed the dark wolf female had hung
back, staying well out of the fight.

The battle was vicious with neither side holding back. Wren
earned more than a couple wounds from sharp teeth and claws, but she hit just
as hard. More than one dark wolf learned how much sharper her teeth were than
his.

It looked as if the good guys were gaining the upper hand
until Tanner shifted to his human form and started using dark magic against
them. Ketah yelped in pain. Wren watched as a long, deep wound opened up on his
side. It wouldn’t kill him, he’d heal in a very short amount of time, but it
was enough to throw him off and have the dark wolf he fought use it to his
advantage.

The sound of Ryder chanting a spell drew Wren’s attention to
him. She ran over to stand in front of him, to protect him if any dark wolf
should draw near to stop him. She looked up to see his hands glowing. He then
held them out toward the dark wolf leader.

Tanner howled, appearing to fight against an invisible force
that held him in place. “I won’t let you take the dark magic from me,” he
shouted in Ryder’s direction.