Ryan's Treasure (10 page)

Kya shoved her against the wall with a savage snarl. “My brother would never lift a hand to harm you, would die before he hurt any woman. How dare you treat him like some servant to satisfy your needs and toss aside. How is he supposed to face other wolves?”

“It wasn’t like that.”
Was it?
She had no idea. She didn’t know a thing about pack life or the hierarchy it seemed to entail.

Ja entered the room before Kya could say more. “Down, girl.” He wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders and hugged her to his side. “I doubt Ryan allowed anything he didn’t want or at least didn’t see coming.”

“I want her gone. Within the hour, Ja, or I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

“Yes, dear.” When Kya hissed again and stormed from the room, he grinned.

Shocked and confused, Nadi sank into a nearby chair. “What did I do so wrong?”

Ja studied her for a long moment before he sat on his haunches at her feet. “Ryan’s more Alpha than he appears.”

She almost laughed. The man led everywhere he went. Others bowed before him whether he carried the title of Alpha or not. Her father might be in charge of the Sanctuary by tradition, but the younger man held the reins. “That’s not possible.”

A scowl drew Ja’s thick eyebrows together, and he rose to his feet. “Kya’s right. We should go.”

“Wait.” She caught his arm, and he stopped with a glare. She swallowed against the rising panic. “That wasn’t an insult. I don’t understand what happened.”

“Do you honestly not know what you did?”

“No, I don’t. I don’t understand why he left or why his sister wants to rip my throat open.”

He hesitated before he sat on the edge of the bed. “A marked male without a mate is considered weak in the wolf world, more so among shifters. To bear the sign of a claiming when the female doesn’t carry the same indicates submissiveness, something readily abused.

“The Alpha male and female work together to rule the pack. Lower wolves provide protection and satisfaction to their leaders. Often times an Alpha, male or female, will mount a pack member of lower standing to label them, sometimes for the sake of control, other times to gain a sexual plaything. Last night you claimed Ryan as a possession. Something other males will not let slide. Your actions guarantee Kya’s brother loses any respect he might have had among his pack. Even those at the Sanctuary will treat him differently whether they intend to or not.”

“You’re wrong. He….”
He what…acted with honor? Kept promises he’d made no matter the cost to himself?
“I’d never treat him with disrespect.”

“Hate to break it to you, Nadi, but intentional or not, that’s exactly what you did.”

***

Ryan kept to the back trails, skirting Drake’s territory and the questions he could not face. Nadi had claimed him, but her fears kept him from doing the same. His cock ached at the memory of her desperate cries, her body squeezing the last drop of semen from him, her fangs deep in his throat. Her scent had merged with his. His morning shower had not lessened that fact, nor would any amount of scrubbing. Concern for her had kept his wolf from marking her, but pride had made him walk away. She’d said she didn’t care if she carried his child. Would she keep it? He had no way of knowing and no right to ask.

He brushed his fingers over the healing puncture wounds. She owned him, as surely as if she’d bought and paid for the right. He doubted she knew how her behavior would impact him, but any hope he had of taking her to mate disappeared the moment she sank her fangs sank into his neck while denying him the right to reciprocate. No one would respect him when he couldn’t respect himself. A wolf claimed but unmated, especially one bearing the scent of a single female, had no rights. And like a weak wolf looking for protection or a handout, he had allowed it—had welcomed her mark no matter the consequences.

His arrogant declaration that she belonged to him rang hollow and worthless. He was nothing more than her stud, to be used and tossed aside at a whim. She owned him body and soul. Even if she never touched him again, her scent made him a possession. He could never be anything beyond a servant, a male unworthy of a mate.

The old hierarchal rules sounded ridiculous even as he reviewed them in his head, but others would not see beyond them. His need to protect her had subjugated him to an unexpected role. Still, he didn’t regret his choice to leave her unmarked. His size alone made him a threat, her fear understandable in light of all she had survived. He couldn’t return to his brother’s home, the pack would drive him off. Perhaps his foster family would do the same. Only Kya would hold true, her views unmarred by wolf-shifter laws. He could also continue his pro-bono work. Humans would not understand nor care about his fall.

Above all, he was lost to Nadi. Others would explain, and she might regret her choice, but her fears held her prisoner. The thought of being abused again terrified her. She had no choice except to push him away. Someday, perhaps, she would be ready to accept a mate, but even then she would not welcome him, a male without status, to protect her. One who could not defend himself from a frail female half his size could not be counted on to shelter her and keep her and her offspring safe.

He entered his home deep in thought. He had become every wolf-shifter’s nightmare.

“Where’s my sister?” Jake grabbed his arm and shoved him against the kitchen counter. “We’ve been waiting half the day.”

The rage broke free. Unwilling to bow to someone he had always looked after, he caught his brother’s throat and lifted him from the ground. “Don’t tell me what to do in my home.”

Grant grabbed Ryan’s wrist. “Let him down, boy. He’s not the one you’re mad at.”

Reality crashed back, and he lowered the smaller man, steadying him until he found his balance. “I’m sorry. I—” He had no defense. Sinking into a kitchen chair, he leaned forward and sought his bearings.

Grant sat beside him, a hand on his back. “What happened?”

“Nadi’s safe. Ja’ll bring her home later.”

“I’m more worried about you right now.”

He shook his head, unwilling to admit his failure to the man he’d respected for so long. Not that it would matter. The change in his scent would not go unnoticed.

Jake edged closer, confusion clear on his face. “Why do you smell claimed, but Stinky’s scent isn’t?”

“Because I made a promise to let it be her decision. This is her choice.” He stood and spread his arms wide as he strode around the room. “Go ahead and laugh, both of you. The great and arrogant is no more than a slave to a beautiful female. Oh, how far the fucking mighty have fallen.”

Grant growled low in his throat. “My daughter wouldn’t do something so cruel.”

Confronted by the automatic response designed to protect females, his gut churned. “How would you know, old man? It’s not like you had a part in her upbringing. You left her to the hands of humans like Diablo, men who beat her body and crushed her spirit. What hand did you have in that?”

Jake snarled. “Uncalled for, Ryan.”

His little brother’s reprimand did nothing but remind him of his status change. Weakness for Nadi had brought him to his knees, and he couldn’t rise above the level she’d tossed him to. He leaned against the counter, head bowed in submission. “Go home and wait for her to return. I have no answers to give.”

Both men hesitated to leave. Jake hovered too close for safety.

The desire to pound on someone smaller or weaker flashed through him for the first time in his life. “Please, little brother. I don’t think I can promise not to do or say something we’ll both regret. Leave it be for now.”

Grant patted his back. “We love you, son. That won’t ever change.”

“Just get out.”

The quiet click of the door offered their only response.

Chapter Ten

Nadi trembled. Ja led her into the heart of the forest, closer and closer to her fate. The scent of wolf and shifter permeated the air. Ysán soldiers surrounded them, following but not interfering while the wildcat king took her to face Ryan’s biological family. She rubbed her sweaty palms on her thighs, anything to seem less a coward when she faced the big gray.

In a clearing, a cluster of homes dotted the meadow. The largest sat dead center. Her escort moved toward it without hesitation. Drake stepped onto his porch in second form, his back stiff. “Where’s my brother, cat?”

Ja didn’t say a word, merely stared the wolf leader down.

Nadi stepped forward. “He went home.”

The man came forward then, his dark eyes so like his brother’s but without the endless acceptance ever-present in the bigger man’s. “He left you behind?” Drake lifted his head, clearly scenting the air before he growled. “Not completely though.”

“Ryan would never leave me unprotected.”

Strong fingers closed over her wrist, and Ja tugged her back to stand beside him. “I don’t believe she knows yet.”

She looked up at him. “Knows what?”

Drake laughed but the humor seemed missing. “You carry my brother’s pup.”

Spreading her fingers over her stomach, she shook her head in denial. Could he be right? Ryan had warned her, but all she had thought about was herself and dousing the fire his nearness created. Carrying his offspring bound them more firmly than any mark in her mind. “How is it even possible to guess such a thing?”

“Because his scent is mingled with yours too strongly to be anything else. Especially, since I do not smell his claiming of you. Why is that, do you suppose?”

“You made him promise not to.”

“He’s never listened to me before.”

Guilt shot through her. Ryan had known he frightened her, believed, if not for the heat, she would never have welcomed him to her bed. He was right, yet he had lain with her because she needed him. “He was trying to be kind.”

“By impregnating you without a protector?”

How could she possibly explain? “He will never leave me.”

Ja snorted, and Drake scowled.

“Explain yourself. Why won’t my brother leave?”

“Because he…because he’s good and kind and…mine.” The moment the final word left her mouth, she realized claiming him had not been an instinctual thing but a deliberate one. She hadn’t known the full implications of the action—she still didn’t, considering the anger gathering in those around her—but marking Ryan as hers had not been a mistake.

“There’s no mating scent on you. So again, why won’t my brother leave?”

Ja moved between them. “Elsewhere. Away from random ears.”

Drake nodded and spun to lead the way inside.

A curvaceous woman entered from the back of the home. Her long red hair and tanned skin created uncommon beauty. “Ja!” She hurried around the table and brushed a kiss across the man’s cheek, her sundress swirling about toned legs and bare feet.

Ryan’s brother growled. “Be less familiar with cats and traitors in my home, Mia.”

“Our home, and Ja is family.” She laughed at her mate’s scowl. “If Kya and her clan can accept your brother, we can welcome her husband. Sit and tell us what brings you here without your lovely mate at your side.”

When neither man spoke, her enthusiasm faded. “And who is this wolf with you. Should I be jealous?”

Nadi stepped forward and tried to smile. “I’m Nadi. Ryan’s friend.”

“More than a friend if I’m not mistaken.”

Drake pulled a chair out for his mate before he settled next to her and gestured for Ja and Nadi to take a seat. “I believe this female has news.”

“Actually, I don’t.” The man’s arrogance annoyed her. “I had hoped to stay with you for a few days until I decide what to do. But that appears unlikely, so we’ll be on our way.”

She started to leave, but a growl stopped her. “Answer my question, girl.”

Mia gasped. “Drake, don’t be so rude.”

“Why do you remain free if you’re confident of my brother’s loyalty?”

Ja wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “She didn’t know what she was doing.”

“Answer me!”

Panic sucked the oxygen from her lungs. The man before her had none of his brother’s softer qualities. “Because I marked him.”

Mia rose to her feet, the welcome gone from her stunning face. “You emasculated him? How could you?”

She wanted to cry at the devastation clouding the room. “I couldn’t share him.”

When the Alpha approached, Ja moved closer, arm out to shelter her. “He doesn’t want her hurt. That’s what put him in this situation.”

Drake’s wolf sharpened his features, but he held his second form. “She destroyed my brother’s life.”

“I can’t let you harm her.” Ja’s cat snarled.

“Stop.” Nadi ducked under Ja’s arm and faced the large man in front of her—the flight instinct difficult to tune out. “There has to be a way to fix this.”

“No. Once a wolf, shifter or not, is demoted, there’s no turning back.”

“Has anyone ever tried?”

“She’s right, darling.” Mia touched her husband’s arm with gentle fingers. “Perhaps if her intention was not malicious, we can undo this.”

Before Nadi’s hopes could rise, the door crashed open and seven beasts crowded the small kitchen. The graying muzzle of her father could not be mistaken, nor her brother’s lean form. Ryan’s absence stood out as clearly.

“Release my daughter, Drake.”

How had she gone from being completely alone to surrounded by males who felt the need to command her every move? Where had they been most of her life?

“Oh, for crying out loud.” Mia waved off the anger surrounding them and ushered the men into the living room like invited guests. “Grant, come in and please tell your boys to find a civilized form—wolf or man either one. A show of brute strength is ridiculous here. Ja and Drake, sit down so we can discuss this situation.”

Everyone followed in obvious awe of the woman’s courage.

Once the men were seated, or at least had found a place to stand, Mia turned her attention to Nadi. “Now, you came to us for a reason, I assume. Why?”

Jake sat forward. “We had a misunderstanding and—”

The Alpha female cut him off with a glare. “Was I speaking to you?”