Savage Desire
Chapter 29

A surprised Ryan stared at the creatures but never stopped what he was doing for even a second. The Ryan and screamed;

"Kill him!"

The Kazi demon immediately gave a command to his minions to attack even before he turned around "What?" Reynard screeched. "You owe me." He sputtered.

"Yeah, and I will pay." The demon responded in an inhuman voice. "Just call me when you're faced with "What do you mean, gods?" Reynard bellowed, feeling himself shake with anger. "He's no god. He's jus The confused look that appeared on the demon's face was almost comical. "I thought you killed all yo "Yeah, yeah, yeah listen, you have to help me. Please..." Reynard couldn't believe the slimy, ungrateful "But...I don't have a death wish, Warlock." The demon pointed his four thumbs at himself. "I'll definitel "No, no, no..." Reynard looked desperate. Time to make a deal with his son. "Hey Ryan..." He called out a beseeching look. "Imagine what we can do together if we join forces. We're both obviously delicious "No deal, old man." The wolfman said in a deep, inhuman voice. "You just have to blow yourself...strai With that, Ryan threw in more energy from his palm. Reynard felt his shield begin to disintegrating. Sh of earth. But he came crushing back down with a force that left him dazed. At that point, his protectiv Reynard felt completely drained. It was almost as if all his very life force had been sapped out. He felt thought desperately. Reynard began to move tentatively towards the wolf man.

"Please Ryan..." Reynard pleaded. He suddenly looked ten times more than the age he appeared to be could... "Please. At least allow an old man to lie in his bed and rest."

amongst the slimy creatures who was obviously Kazi himself, ambled close to Reynard and asked what he could do for him. Reynard pointed at finger at

at who he was attacking. But just one look at the wolf man with glowing eyes and the demon was ordering his minions to abort. e...killable adversary. We don't do gods."

He's my son."

was actually making him beg. He could feel himself weakening by the second for f**k's sake. "Please..."

nquished one day." He added with a careless shrug. "Just not today. Sorry pal." With that, the demon and his minions disappeared.

. Could the massive creature even hear him, Reynard wondered. "Ryan...listen to me..." When the wolf man turned his head to look at him, Reynard managed ed. Let's work together. From the look of things, you're the only person who can match me blow for blow."

oblivion."

final attempt to save himself, he conjured an earthquakes that ripped the very ground under his feet. He then began to levitate, still attached to that piece I had completely disintegrated. But the wolf man kept doing what he was doing.

pawless and useless. He was mortal. He was nothing. But there was still hope. All he had to do was get inside that house. Then he could restore his powers, he

Ryan first laid eyes on him. "Surely you won't hurt an ordinary mortal. Besides, I'm your father. Surely that should mean something to you..." If only he

ed his head to look at the fortress. 'Is anyone in there?' He asked his pack on their mind-link.

The wolf man closed both palms, instantly cutting of the energy dust. His hoodie had turned to ash. 'Lip is in there.' Stan responded. 'Ah here he is. The pack turned in unison to look at their alpha. 'Did y... 'No.' Phillip looked devastated. Everyone assumed he was devastated because he'd lost his men. Well, he had more to be distraught about.

anyone?' Stan asked. A few of the warlocks had managed to escape. The number wasn't significant though.

The wolf man stared at the first person he'd seen as a friend in Stanwood Pack. He didn't have to be a genius to know why Phillip looked so devastated. He'd seen the look in his eyes when he'd stopped the wolves from tearing apart that boy. Ryan reduced his link to only Phillip.

'You will find him.' The wolf man assured his mate's best pal. 'Don't worry. When the time is right, he'll come back to you! Phillip could only nod. 'Can we torch it now?' He asked with a deep sigh.

'Allow me.' Ryan said. To everyone, instructed; 'Stay a great inferno he back. Then with a wave of his hand, engulfed the fortress. "No, no, no..." Reynard wailed, crumbling to the ground. "Not my home, no..."

But Ryan ignored the wailing man and headed towards the prisoners. Both Reynard's confining steel and his protective shield had disappeared, leaving the people wet but relieved. Ryan wanted to take a closer look to assure himself that they were alright. Apart from about six people that had lost their lives as a result of Reynard's channeling, the rest looked okay. They all looked at him with grateful eyes, with some voicing out their gratitude.

"Ryan?" Ryan heard Deloris calling his name from behind him and turned around to see the warlock, holding in her hands a change of clothes for him. "You need to shift and dress up. Gloria gave me these for you. Come."

The wolf man stared at the clothes, then at the woman who he had a feeling had figure out his secret to an extent. After all, he had no outward deformities. With a grateful nod, Ryan took the clothes and followed the woman to a shed where no one could see him. She left him and went back to join the pack.

Ryan heard the shouts before he finished dressing up. He wondered what was happening. He took his time though because he had a feeling it wasn't anything serious. Gloria was waiting for him when he emerged from the shed.

"Reynard killed himself." She said without preamble. "Used that knife you left lying on the ground."

Ryan nodded and draped an arm around Gloria's neck. "Can we go home now?"

"Sure. Are you okay?"

"No." Ryan responded quietly. "I need Jeremy."

"I know, baby. I know."

For the next few days, the freed prisoners of the Wyatt Clan were sent to their various families. Those who had nowhere to go remained with the pack. Phillip assured them that they were part of the pack and would be looked after and provided for. The few children whose families they couldn't trace were enrolled in school.

Vincent and his team were buried in a solemn ceremony that was attended by almost every alpha in the world. It was the least they could do to show their gratitude and respect for the pack that had saved the hind of werewolves worldwide. Ryan couldn't hold back his tears at the funeral. He cried his heart out not just for Vincent who he saw as a friend, but for the other four as well, some of whom had left behind mates and children. Gloria did her best to soothe him but he couldn't be consoled. He still felt guilty for not having the good sense to do what he'd done in the end earlier when he was inside the sanctuary with Reynard. If he had, those werewolves would be alive. He felt an arm go around him from behind. Deloris. He knew her scent.

"Take a walk with me alpha." The warlock said softly. "We'll be right back Gloria."

"Sure." Gloria said with a grateful smile at Deloris. They both knew that Ryan was on a guilt trip.

"Stop blaming yourself, Ryan." The warlock said when they started walking away.

"They would have been alive if I'd acted earlier, Deloris." Ryan groaned.

"Let me ask you this. When Reynard's protective shield went up in that room, did you know how to defeat him? Did you have any idea, how to proceed?" She asked softly.

"No." Ryan sighed.

"Exactly."

“But I could have thought harder." He said grupy.

"Has it occurred to you that seeing those bodies and those innocents in danger, had rather forced you to figure out how to defeat Reynard?"

"But did we have to lose them to trigger that drive?" Ryan asked quietly. "Do I always have to get angry before I can access my powers?"

"No Ryan." Deloris said softly, remembering how Ryan had complained to her after the battle with the Wyatt Clan that his powers were always triggered by anger. "For now, that's what it seems like because anger has been your trigger so far. You just have to work on it. It's an art. In order to control and perfect it, you have to practice. For someone who's new at this, I must applaud you Ryan. You've been spectacular. All you need is a little prac..."

"Will you help me?"

"It will be my privilege." The elder grinned.

"Thanks Deloris."

"No. Thank you." She'd patted him on the back. "We can start next week. For now, you need to relax." At Ryan's nod,

Deloris turned him towards Gloria. "Now smile for you mama. I swear she's gotten an extra wrinkle or two, thanks to you."

"No she hasn't." Ryan chuckled. "I think she grows more beautiful each day."

"You need to tell her that and stop making everybody unnecessarily sad." Deloris retorted but her sweet smile took the sting out of her comment.

"Sorry. And thanks." Ryan murmured and leaned down to kiss Deloris on both cheeks. And even before the warlock turned to leave, Ryan drew Gloria into his arm for a fierce hug? "Have I told you how beautiful you look today?"

"Del told you to tell me that." It wasn't a question. Gloria looked so amused Ryan laugh.

"I told her that you are beautiful. She said to remind you." Ryan kissed her cheek.

"I love you Ryan." Gloria murmured shakily. "And I'm always here for you. Never forget that."

"I know mum. And I love you right back."

"You guys done?" Paige asked, coiling her arm through Ryan's. "Come on, let's go get smashed. It's not every day we lay to rest badass warriors. We can do that whilst we work on our lecture notes for tomorrow."

"Really?" Gloria gave a mock scowl. "Work and booze? Luna have mercy on your souls."

Paige laughed. "Have a good meeting with those alphas Mama G." She said. "Know what to say when Jer's name comes up?"

"We sure do." Gloria murmured, smiling at Joel who had just gotten to where they stood.

"Going to lie your arses o huh?" Paige smirked.

"Not a lie." Joel countered, drawing Gloria out of her chair. "Just a small untruth."

Sometimes, it was necessary to be stingy with the truth. At the end of the day, they were animals. Rebelling, though frowned upon, was an attractive trait amongst wolves. It was just like the bad-boy syndrome amongst humans. If the alphas got to know what Jeremy, their friend and colleague had done, they would be amused initially, probably admonish him lightly, and then hail him for having the balls to rebel and then accepting that punishment. In their eyes, that whole issue would make Jeremy seem even more badass. They might on the other hand resent Ryan for being the cause of Jeremy's woes and even worse, look down on him for not being able to fight back. Of course they would conveniently forget that the man had been up against an alpha who was also an Ojah. Alphas had always been chauvinistic pricks. That was reality. Werewolves were no angels.

The elders therefore had to protect Ryan by telling the alphas a little untruth about the whereabouts of Jeremy because revealing the truth meant divulging the proximate cause. For now, they all acknowledged what Ryan had done for them and respected him for it. The elders wanted to keep it that way. Ryan had been excused from attending the meeting although as the mate of the alpha and the one who had saved the day, he was supposed to be there. The elders wanted to spare him the agony of having to sit through the recounting of the battle. They also didn't want to tell an untruth about the whereabouts of his mate, in his presence.

"Ready?" Joel asked. It was going to be a long meeting because they were to give a detailed account of the battle to the alphas.

"I am." Gloria smiled.

"Let's do this."

The albino looked at the photo in his hand, his face etched with grief. The love of his life. His wife. The woman he'd been with for over a century. She was no more. Killed by the bloody wolves of Stanwood Pack during the battle that saw to the collapse of his clan. That little girl had no idea what she and her savage bunch had taken from him. If she did, she wouldn't have made a deal with him. His thirst for vengeance was definitely more intense than the need to live.

The Jackal had been given an assignment. An assignment that was supposed to be very simple and easy. An assignment that was going to give him a second chance at life. A second chance? Really? Who said he wanted to live? How could he, after everything had been taken away from him? In any case, he was not fooled for even a second. Definitely not by some arrogant little bitch. The Jackal knew that the silly girl didn't have any intention of allowing him to live. He didn't need to consult zoltar to know that she was going to kill him immediately after he was done. He knew her kind. Well, he no longer wished to live anyway. All that he had was gone with the defeat of his clan. What better way to go out than to stick it to his enemies. At least he could make up in his own small way for causing the collapse of his clan by not being diligent in his duties. He couldn't wait to see the look on the bitch's face when he made his move. The Jackal always had the last laugh.

"Oh my god, I can't believe I'm actually laughing at that." Ryan gasped, clutching at his stomach. "It hadn't been funny at the time, Paige." He laughed.

He'd changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt when they'd gotten to the suite. Then he'd gone to the adjoining room that was now his study, to work on his lecture notes. Of course Paige had joined him with a bottle of whiskey, insisting he indulged even though he'd told her he wasn't a good drinker.

"Like I said, we're getting shit-faced." She'd purred. "I've been known to do some pretty good job whilst under the influence." She'd said, making Ryan laugh.

Well they'd gotten into it. And at that very moment, Ryan was feeling no pain. In fact, from the way he was sprawled lazily on the plush couch, he sure as hell wasn't going to get any work done. Damn Paige. The last time Ryan had gotten slightly drunk was when he'd spent time with Jeremy in the Jacuzzi. And he couldn't help but miss him. If Jeremy had been around, he would have taken him into his arms and comforted him in his time of great grief. He'd lost a friend and despite all that Gloria and Deloris had drummed into his head, he still felt guilty as hell. He would give anything to feel Jeremy's strong, heavenly arms around him that very moment. Thinking about Jeremy's arms was causing a delicious tingle to pass through Ryan. He thought about how Jeremy had taken him to heights that he hadn't even known existed. He remembered the amazing feeling when Jeremy hit that sweet spot inside him and how his eyes always rolled back in his head at that exquisite feeling. It was hands down the best feeling in the world. He remembered when Jeremy had given him so much pleasure he'd begged him for mercy, whimpering, 'no more'. And he remembered Jeremy's sexy voice when in response to his pleading, he'd rather spread his legs further apart and husked, 'one more'. That response... Ryan had come so hard, he'd almost passed out.

"Oh fuck, this wasn't a good idea, Paige." Ryan groaned when he realized how hard he'd gotten. "Why did I have to listen to you?" He whimpered, turning his head to look at Paige who was lying on her back on the rug, with her legs crossed at the knee. She didn't even look drunk. "Lady, are you even drinking with me?"

"I am." She sounded very sober. "I just have to take in a hell of a lot to get to your current level."

"Oh fuck of." Ryan growled groggily, hurling a throw pillow at Paige and covering his groin with another.

Paige wasn't fooled even for a second. When Ryan heard her laughter, he threw an arm across his eyes with a groan, wishing he had the energy to flip her a well-deserved bird. He felt too lax to even manage that. When he felt his eyes drooping sleepily, he wasn't surprised at all.

"Ryan?" Paige called out softly.

"Yes Paige." Ryan sounded drunk and sleepy.

"You know I love you right?"

"I know." Ryan responded in a hoarse voice. "And I love you right back."

"Thanks." Paige said. "You can sleep now. I'll be right here."

Ryan hadn't been able to have a good sleep since the day of the battle with the Wyatt Clan. The booze had its advantages after all, he couldn't help but acknowledge. Ryan didn't fight it when he felt himself drifting enticingly toward sleep. He needed it.