12. Ryan

Chapter twelve

Ryan

“ Y ou better come back in one piece.” Mai tilted her head back just enough for me to catch the curve of her mouth—a soft yet resigned smile.

“I always do.”

Mai’s body leaned against the front door post, the frost on the ground crunching under her feet. She looked calm, but I could sense her restlessness crackling just below the surface. We’d pulled in everyone we could, then made our plans to shore up our defenses in case Lark’s Pack came visiting. Derek, Sam, and Mason were behind Mai, ready to go. She wanted to come with us, and her need to act buzzed through our mate bond like an electric current. I needed her here, though. This was the safest place for her and the baby.

“If things go sideways before we’ve set the traps, the pups are going to need you here.”

She didn’t answer, but she didn’t need to. I felt her silent agreement settle between us, a pulse of certainty through the bond.

I took a step toward her and heard her pulse speed up.

“You know, this wasn’t what I had in mind for our holidays. When I imagined tonight, I thought I’d be naked round about now.”

“No.” I let some heat slip into my voice. “My plan was to have had you naked for hours by now.”

Mai’s lips curved into a wicked smile. “I like your plan better.”

“Me too. They definitely didn’t involve Wally turning our house into Santa’s workshop.” I nipped at her neck, inhaling her scent. Goddess, she smelled incredible. “Or Maxwell Bishop showing up with a runaway pup.”

“No?” Her breath hitched as I found that spot just below her ear that always made her shiver.

“You know what drives me crazy?” I murmured against her throat. “Watching you in Pack meetings, all fierce and commanding. Makes me want to drag you away and remind you who your mate is.”

“As if I could forget.” Her fingers twisted in my shirt, pulling me closer. “You’re not exactly subtle about it.”

“Neither are you, baby.” I caught her wrist as her hand slipped lower. “Especially not when you do that thing with your leg under the table.”

Her grin was wicked. “What thing?”

“You know exactly what thing.”

“Hmm,” Mai pressed closer, tilting her head up. “You mean that thing I did last week in the meeting with Shaw Investigations when you cut Carlito off, announced we had another meeting to get to and picked me up and carried my out of there?”

“Yes. That thing. I also remember we didn’t make it to the bedroom before Derek arrived wanting to discuss the border patrol schedules?”

She sighed. “Yeah, I guess it’s not just today. This whole Alpha gig is causing chaos with our sex life.”

“About that. I’ve been thinking—“

I jerked my head up to the sound of boots crunching snow. Wally was marching toward us, looking like he’d just raided a goddamn army surplus store. His combat vest—if you could call it that—was at least two sizes too big, and he seemed to have strapped on every tactical gadget known to man. Straps dangled precariously from his gear, one of them dragging along in the snow, and to top it off, he had a bright red tennis racket slung over his shoulder like it was a katana.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose, as Derek strolled round the side of the house and headed toward us.

“I am locked and loaded, people!” Wally declared as he planted one hand on his hip. “Who’s ready to go wreak some havoc? That’s right, bitches! We are!”

He adjusted his tennis racket, sticking the handle close to his chest with all the seriousness of a seasoned warrior—except for the fact that, well, he wasn’t.

Derek stopped beside me and leaned in, his voice low. “Locked and loaded with what? Tequila and snacks?”

I couldn’t help it—a chuckle slipped out before I could stop it.

Wally shot us both a sharp look, narrowing his eyes at Derek. “Hey, don’t you knock tequila and snacks. They are vital supplies on any mission, I’ll have you know! You’re going to thank me in two hours when you are freezing your tushie off, and you get the munchies.”

Maxwell walked out of the front door, took one look at Wally, and froze. “What the actual fuck?”

I crossed my arms and turned to Maxwell, meeting his gaze with one of my own, making no effort to soften it. “He’s our secret weapon.”

Maxwell blinked, then glanced back at Wally again. Wally skipped forward, patted Maxwell’s leather jacket, and winked. “Don’t worry, I’m like a ninja. No one sees me coming.”

“With a red fucking tennis racket? Really?”

Maxwell turned to look at me. I shrugged. Wally was ours, and if he wanted to help out with a red fucking racket, so be it.

I cleared my throat. “Alright, Wally, you’re with Waylen and Mason,” I said. “Check the perimeter and set up Waylen’s box of toys. No one gets in or out without us knowing about it.”

Waylen, who had just emerged from the house with his laptop bag awkwardly slung over his shoulder, stared at the tactical nightmare that was Wally. “Okay, dude, I’ll take the tech; you handle the tennis.”

I turned as more people appeared on the porch.

“Jase, Carlito, you’re covering the northern point. Evelyn and Shya, take the west. Derek, Sam—southern entrance. And Maxwell, you’re with me.” I wanted to keep a close eye on him.

We split up, some of us on foot, others heading out in the SUV’s.

I led Maxwell out past where the compound walls used to be. It had been Mai’s idea to tear down the walls, and despite my initial reluctance, I had to admit it was a good one. We weren’t the Alphas tucked away from the rest of the Pack anymore, safe behind the walls. We led by example, with people able to drop in whenever they needed us, and weekly BBQs for the whole Pack in front of the Alpha House. It had strengthened the Pack bonds. Something we had all desperately needed after the shitshow that was Jem and Hayley’s partnership and then the disaster that was Brock.

We turned left toward the eastern perimeter, away from the twinkling Christmas lights. The moon—waxing gibbous, almost full—cast a pale, ominous light over the landscape. I could feel my wolf stir at the sight of it.

Maxwell walked beside me, silent but alert. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, studying the easy confidence in his stride, how his every movement seemed deliberate.

“You done this sort of thing before?” I asked him.

“Set traps or go up against a werewolf Pack?”

“Either.”

“I’m sure you’ve done a background check on me,” he said evenly, his eyes never leaving the path ahead. “You know I grew up in the gang. So this? This isn’t even the half of the things I’ve done before.”

That I could believe.

“Here’s the deal, Bishop. If you’re going to fight with us, I need to know we can trust you.”

“I get that.”

“But trust takes time, and time isn’t something we have much of,” I added, my voice low. “So, until we know more about this Pack—the one hunting Lark—you stay close out here. We work together. No surprises.”

“I didn’t come here to make problems,” he said, his tone sharpening slightly. “I came because I owe my brother and because I figured Lark would be safer here than anywhere else. But you should know that I’m not gonna stand down if her Pack does turn up. I promised I’d protect Lark with my life, and I meant it.”

“And you should know that we’re going out on a limb for you and the pup right now. My Pack comes first. You do anything to fuck with us, if this is some sort of trap by Ronnie, I will rip your fucking head off.”

He studied me for a moment, his face not showing any emotion. Then he nodded. “Fair enough.”

I still couldn’t get a read on him, and it pissed me off. Time to push him.

“You smell of Sylvie.”

His foot hesitated, just for a moment, before it landed on the snow.

Got him.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You hurt her, and I won’t just rip your head off; I’ll take you apart limb by limb. Make sure you’re alive for it, too.”

I caught a flair of anger in his scent, but he tampered it down quick. I was impressed, not many humans had that sort of control, especially around Shifters.

“I have no intention of hurting her. Quite the opposite.”

Oh, really?

“Sylvie is special to us. She might be a werewolf, but she’s delicate. She’s been hurt in the past, and you need to tread real careful with her. I’m not the only one who’ll go for your throat if you put a foot wrong.”

I caught a trace of a smile cross his face.

“I’m well aware of how special she is. And Sylvie will be the first to know my intentions. After that, I figure it’s her choice. Not yours.”

I stopped, letting the green sheen of my wolf flash across my eyes and a low growl enter my voice. “I’m her Alpha. You’re human; you’re not part of our Pack, never will be. You have no understanding of how a Pack works and the extent to which we’ll go to protect our own. Sylvie is ours. She wants to fuck you, that’s up to her. But you do anything to hurt her or this Pack, and we, every motherfucking one of us, will turn on you. We understand each other?”

Maxwell hesitated for a moment but didn’t back down. He nodded. “We do.”

Good. After this was over, I’d tell Mai what was going on and ask her to talk to Sylvie and make sure she was okay with Maxwell sniffing around. I hoped it was a one-time thing. Werewolf and human pairs were not unheard of, but they were discouraged. And Ronnie fucking Bishop’s brother, of all people? If this was something Sylvie wanted, it was going to get complicated fast.