34. Riley

Chapter 34

Riley

O pening your eyes to find another face only inches from yours is scary at the best of times.

When that face is attached to a shifter you're pretty sure isn't there to join your picnic?

It's fucking terrifying.

I tried to scramble away, but I was flat against the ground. There was nowhere for me to go.

Iris cackled at my efforts. "You can't run, human."

I might not have been able to run, but that didn't mean I was going down without a fight. I'd had countless lessons with many of the supes in our circle, including Danny. That didn't mean I was going to be able to hold my own against a shifter by any stretch of the imagination…but hopefully it might keep me alive until my mate arrived.

Kicking out with my foot, I landed a solid hit to her kneecap. She reared back in surprise. I took the opportunity to scramble into a sitting position, my hand closing around the gravel that lined the bank of the stream.

"Oh, you're a feisty one."

"You haven't seen anything yet." My handful of gravel flew through the air, hitting her directly in the eyes.

"Fucker," she screamed, clawing at her eyes. "You'll pay for that!"

I was already up and running. I didn't bother to answer her, saving all my breath to flee. I flew through the woodland, not a single tree root catching me off guard.

I didn't make it far.

A solid weight caught me around the back of my knees, sending me skidding along the forest floor. I hissed as blood bloomed on my palms and knees. Fuck, that hurt.

It didn't hurt as much as the blow that Iris delivered to the back of my head. My vision blurred, pain ricocheting through me.

Fighting to stay conscious, I tried to shove her off me. Her knees were on my back, pinning me to the ground. There was no moving her. She was too strong.

My swimming head was yanked harshly from the ground. "Who do you think you are, huh? You're nothing special. Even your alpha isn't special. He's the accidental leader of the clan. A title he's never been worthy of."

"He's worth more than every member of that clan put together," I ground out. "Danny is everything you'll never be. That's why you can't stand him. You can try and live up to the shifter he is, but you'll fall short of the mark every fucking time."

She pushed down on my shoulder. Hard. So hard that I heard the bone crack.

My scream had birds taking flight.

"If your Danny is so spectacular, why isn't he here?" Iris crooned in my ear, putting pressure on my broken shoulder as she did so. "Why hasn't he come running to protect you?"

Sobs of pain were choking me, but I forced my words out in between. "Because…he's…fighting. He's… fighting. "

I'd felt him shift the instant she'd knocked me to the ground, my pain forcing his wolf to take over. The fury coursing through him was more intense than anything I'd felt before.

He wasn't going to stop until he got to me. I was more certain of that than of my next breath.

"He can fight all he wants," Iris said. "But I'll end you before he can break free and save you."

I froze. If she killed me permanently, Danny would die too. There'd be no resurrection for either of us.

"Time to say goodnight, little human. I'd say you'll see Danny on the other side, but you won't."

She slid off me. I tried desperately to move. To roll over. To crawl away. Anything that might save Danny. But while Danny's healing had worked its magic on my head, my shoulder was still very much broken.

I didn't give up though. I crawled on my belly, using my good arm to drag myself forward.

It was fruitless. I didn't get more than a few inches before there was an ominous cracking sound.

I whimpered. I knew what that noise was. I'd heard it every time my mate shifted.

No, no, no.

Shifted, she could execute me permanently. Nothing would save me or bring me back. Not with her powers.

There was a snarl. A whooshing sound as something flew through the air.

I closed my eyes. I pictured my mate.

Him offering to show me his party trick, the first night we met.

Laughing on the bed together as River mocked us through the door.

Going to Harlow's Halloween party dressed as Jacob and Edward from Twilight .

Waking up with my head on his lap after gaming all night.

His face when I woke up after the accident.

Winking up at me from between my legs.

Singing along to cheesy pop music as he drove.

How we laughed after I confessed my love for him.

Then an unexpected image hit me. Something I hadn't remembered until now.

B right light beckoning me forwards.

Danny's wolf pulling me back.

I chose him.

I chose Danny.

I realised what it was. That memory was from when I'd been unconscious after my accident. Even before I'd been ready to admit it to myself, my soul had known. It had chosen Danny knowing that a life on earth with him would be better than anything Heaven could offer me.

Danny had been right. When you're staring down the barrel of death, everything becomes clear. You truly realise what matters. What it is you can't live without. For me, it was Danny.

It had always been Danny.

It always would be.

I braced myself for impact, but it never came. Instead there was a loud crack , like two boulders colliding. Vicious snarls filled the air, followed by desperate yelps. They cut off suddenly. The silence that was left behind was deafening.

I lay frozen, barely daring to breathe. Clearly, we'd been joined by another shifter, but it wasn't Danny.

Which left the question—were they friend or foe?

Cracking filled the air again just before a hand gently touched my neck. "Riley? Where are you hurt, buddy?"

Logan. Oh thank fuck. I almost wept in relief. "My shoulder."

There was a tearing noise as he shredded my top in two. He hissed as he examined the damage. "Fucking cunt."

The fabric fell loosely off my shoulder as Logan stamped angrily away. I frowned, unable to see where he'd gone with my head twisted the way it was. There was a strange schlicking noise, followed by the unmistakable sound of bones being broken.

Just what was Logan up to?

Whatever it was, it didn't take him long. I heard his footsteps retreat into the distance before returning.

"Sorry, bud," he said. "Just had to wash my hands."

I winced as he carefully rolled me over and helped me sit up. I went to glance in the direction the noises had been coming from, but Logan stopped me with a firm hold on my chin. "Nope, you don't want to be doing that."

"What did you do?"

He smiled in a way that was anything but friendly. "Just gave her what she deserved, that's all. I think it's best if you don't look though."

I shivered. Yeah, he was probably right. "Where's Danny?"

"In the clan house," he said, examining my shoulder closely. "He's with Finn and Calan. When we realised something was about to go down, he managed to get me out of there. He would've come himself, but?—"

"I know. Don't worry. Danny knew you'd save me, and you did."

Logan beamed, his good humour returning so fast it was almost alarming. "I did. I'm sorry I didn't get here faster though. The good news is your shoulder's healing nicely. Another thirty seconds and you should be right as rain."

Through the bond, I could feel Danny fighting still, his anger as steady as my heartbeat. "You should go back and help them."

Logan patted my good arm. "Trust me, they don't need my help. Besides, Danny would have my hide if I left you here, and rightly so. Don't worry, as soon as you're healed, I'll get you back there. I'm sure the others will have it all done and dusted before then though."

"What even happened?" I asked, trying to distract myself from the burning as my bones knitted back together. "Were they hoping to take Danny's power for themselves?"

"I think it's worse than that," Logan said, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he looked through the trees in the direction of the clan house. "From the impression I got, they planned on removing Finn too."

"But Finn's everything this clan needs." I'd only been here a couple of months, and even I could see what a fantastic leader he was. Danny was right when he said that the role should be his. "Why would they want him gone?"

"He can't be controlled," Logan said simply. "With him gone and Danny's power for their own, there'd be nothing stopping them extending their reach. They've had their eyes on the lands of neighbouring clans for centuries."

"Well, fuck."

"Don't worry," Logan said, patting my knee. "Danny alone would have this handled. He's got Finn and Calan backing him up, so there's nothing to worry abo?—"

His words cut off sharply, his head snapping around.

I'd spent enough time around supes to know better than to speak. Instead, I froze, barely breathing as I watched Logan.

He stared into the distance for the length of five heartbeats. Then, he burst to his feet, grabbing my arm and hauling me up with him.

I gave a small yelp as Logan shoved me against a tree, pain ricocheting through the still healing joint. He shot me an apologetic look before he said, "Stay here. Do not move from this spot no matter what happens."

"Who's coming? What's happening?"

"I don't know." He was already shifting, his jaw morphing into a snout even as he said the final word. "Many."

A chill went through me as Logan landed on four paws. He was bigger than I'd imagined he'd be, almost rivalling Danny's wolf. Fur as dark as night covered him, standing on end around his hackles. A low growl vibrated from him as he faced whatever unknown threat he could hear.

The bark was cutting into my hands from how hard I was pressing them against the tree. I was trying to control my fear. Everything is going to be fine. Logan was here. I wasn't alone. Danny would be on his way soon, and everything would be fine.

That was when I saw them.

A pair of yellow eyes between the trees.

Then another.

And another.

Then there were too many to count. Behind the tree, I could hear snarls echoing through the air.

They were surrounding us in all directions.

Logan crouched lower, his body covering mine. My heart was in my mouth. How could he defend me against all of these shifters?

It was simple. He couldn't.

That wasn't going to stop him though. As soon as they drew close enough, Logan leapt into action. Blood sprayed into the air as he batted shifters away like they were nothing more than irritating flies. I gaped in wonder, finally understanding why Danny had chosen Logan to guard me.

My shoulder chose that moment to heal, making me wince as it snapped into place.

I flinched as a wolf jumped onto Logan's unguarded back. His jaw was around a smaller wolf's neck, and he didn't let go, shaking them like a rag doll as he tried to unseat the shifter on his back.

I shouted in warning as another grabbed one of his rear legs. This was fruitless. Powerful as he might be, Logan couldn't fight off this many shifters at once.

He'd told me to stay put, but if he thought I was just going to watch him die, then Logan was a bigger idiot than me and Danny combined. The shifters weren't paying any attention to me, too focused on taking out the predator in their midst.

Scanning around, I let out a small whoop when I spotted a thick branch. That'd do.

I shoved away from the tree and picked it up. It was heavier than I'd expected, which was a good thing.

Bracing it in both my hands, I approached the snarling wolves. I focused. I'd likely only have one attempt at getting this right before they'd be on me.

I swung with all my might, the branch connecting solidly with the shifter on Logan's back. It flew off into the distance, colliding with the tree I was supposed to be cowering against.

I didn't stop to see if it got back up. No, I swung the branch up again, bringing it down hard on the brown wolf biting into Logan's leg.

It wasn't enough to hurt it, but unfortunately for me, it was enough to piss it off.

The brown wolf turned to face me, its lips pulled back over its maw as it snarled at me. Not enough to turn its attention from Logan though. After looking me over, it dismissed me as not a threat.

Rude. I mean, accurate, but rude.

Through the bond, I could feel Danny's determination. It felt like he was running. Was he on his way here?

I glanced at Logan helplessly as the other wolf tensed, ready to jump again. He'd ripped the throat out of one wolf, but now he was fighting off three more. The brown wolf had its teeth bared, ready for another attack on my friend.

Logan caught my eye, and I swore I could almost hear what he was thinking.

Don't you dare.

Welp, Logan didn't know me that well, because I was absolutely going to do it anyway. If we made it through this, I'd have to bake him many trays of brownies to make it up to him.

With the stick in my hands, I whacked the brown wolf again. "Hey!"

It bit at the branch, its jaws snapping in the empty air. Then, it turned away and lunged at Logan again.

Nope. Wasn't having that.

"Hey, dickface!" Not my best insult, but give me a break, it was a high stress situation. "I'm not gonna stop hitting you until you leave him alone."

It took three more whacks, but then the brown wolf reached its limit. It stopped trying to snap at Logan and turned that deadly snarl on me.

Time to run, Riley.

Dropping the stick, I spun on my heel and raced through the trees. The shifter was snapping at my heels, loud growls ripping through the air.

It might have seemed stupid, doing this. After all, this tactic hadn't worked with Iris earlier. But there was one key difference now. One thing that might turn the tide in our favour.

And it was coming right towards me. Fast.

Joy punched me in the chest as I glimpsed him through the trees. The sun reflected off his russet fur as he raced towards me.

A claw caught my thigh and I heard Danny's roar. Without even needing to communicate with him, I knew what to do.

I threw myself to the floor as Danny jumped. He cleared me effortlessly, colliding with my pursuer with a deadly roar.

By the time I rolled over and sat up, the other shifter was dead. Danny's wolf pressed against me, sniffing me all over, searching me for injuries.

"I'm okay," I promised him, my shaky hands doing the same over his fur. It was matted with blood, but none of it seemed to be his. "I'm okay, baby."

There was a cracking noise as he began to shift. I grabbed his scruff in alarm to stop him. "No! Logan's in danger."

His head whipped around in the direction of the clearing where Logan was hopefully still fighting. He crouched low, and I knew what he was telling me.

I climbed onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Not the way I wanted to ride you today, but okay."

Danny's amusement rippled briefly through the bond.

Then we were moving.

The trees blurred around me. It was all I could do to hold on. Thankfully, it was only a few seconds before Danny was skidding to a halt in the clearing.

I slid from his back, relieved to see Logan still fighting. He was limping, one of his eyes bleeding, but he was fighting.

Danny leapt into the fray, quickly killing two shifters who blocked his path to Logan. I was watching as his huge claws shredded through the fur of another when a sharp pain pierced my upper arm.

Right through my mate mark.

Danny's head swung around as I screamed. A grey wolf had its jaws clamped around my arm. It was dragging me away, my legs scrabbling across the floor.

My mate howled as he knocked a shifter sideways to get to me. Two more leapt atop him, trying to pin him down. Behind him, Logan was fighting just as hard to get to me.

In the end, salvation didn't come from either of them, but another quarter entirely.

A blur of fur appeared to my left. The wolf, with fur the colour of Finn's, jumped on the one attacking me. Sinking his claws into the wolf's flesh, I let out a scream as the action pulled on my arm. With the shifter's teeth deep in my arm, my saviour couldn't pull it away from me. I was trapped.

Danny finally shook off the ones who had him pinned, bounding over. There was a loud crack as he shifted mid-stride. The fury that contorted his face changed to grief as he took in the pain on my face. "Hold on, princess."

His reason for shifting back to his human form became clear as he grabbed one side of the shifter's jaws in each of his hands. Danny's muscles bunched as he ripped the wolf's head in two, a vein popping in his neck.

Honestly, if I hadn't been sobbing over the gaping wound in my arm, I would've found it quite attractive.

"Princess." Danny dropped the now very dead wolf and caught me as I swooned. "I've got you, Ry. You're going to be okay. Did you lose your glasses?"

"Contacts," I said between gritted teeth. "Fuck, this hurts."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, kissing my forehead as he lifted me from the ground. "It's healing already, but it's going to take a few minutes."

"Shit." Logan appeared beside us, blanching as he took in my wound. "Are there any more for me to kill?"

"No." Calan's raspy voice came from behind Danny. "They're all dead."

"Sad times," Logan sighed.

"Here." Finn had a strip of material in his hand that looked vaguely familiar. As he lifted my arm and tied it around the wound, I realised it was from the picnic blanket.

For some reason, the sight brought fresh tears to my ears. "At least part of the picnic came in handy. It's not as though we're going to enjoy the rest of it."

Danny pressed a trembling kiss to my forehead. "I'm so fucking sorry, Riley. About everything."

"Don't you dare apologise, Daniel. You saved me."

Danny choked on a sob as he nodded at where Finn was finishing up bandaging my wound. "But you're hurt."

"And I'll heal," I said fiercely, cupping his face with my good hand. Okay, maybe I wouldn't have the mating mark anymore thanks to that last shifter, but I tried not to think about that. Danny and I were alive, that was the main thing. "I'll heal because of you. I'm not upset or afraid. Why would I be, when I have you?"

A tear dripped off Danny's nose. I could feel the break happening in the bond. He'd held himself together so well, but now, he was beginning to fracture. I couldn't let it happen.

Fortunately, I knew just how to bring him back to me.

I glanced over at Finn, Calan, and Logan. Having shifted, they were all nude and undeniably attractive. They couldn't hold a candle to my Danny, of course, but I wasn't going to share that thought right now.

"Well, I suggest you get me home before I start appreciating the eye candy on offer."

Finlay seemed confused while Calan blushed adorably. Thank fuck for Logan, who immediately caught on and played along.

My twinky friend flexed his biceps, shooting me an outrageous wink. "Look all you want, Riley. You're not my type, but I'm game to entertain you if Danny isn't keeping you satisfied."

Danny snarled, physically turning his body so it was between me and Logan. "Fuck off. Riley's mine. Go find your own mate."

With that, Danny stormed off through the trees with me in his arms. He muttered under his breath the entire time.

"Cheeky fucker. Who does he think he is? If he hadn't just saved Riley's life repeatedly, I would've gutted him there and then. And why are we always naked all the time? Maybe we need to start leaving clothes around the clan lands so we can cover up after shifting. Actually, it might be better to just blindfold Riley. Yeah, that could work."

That final statement was the one that had me losing it. My laughter made Danny startle, his brows drawing together. "What?"

I wiped away a tear with my good hand. "Are you aware you're talking out loud?"

Danny cringed. "I was?"

"Yep." I patted his chest indulgently. "If you think you're going to persuade me to walk around with a blindfold on then you've got another think coming. Besides, I wasn't actually eyeing them up."

"You weren't?"

"Fuck no. I mean, obviously I noticed them, I have eyes. But I only said that to make you jealous."

Danny wrinkled his nose. "Why?"

"To bring you back to me," I said simply. "You were slipping away, lost in the horrors of what's just happened. I wanted to remind you of what matters. You. Me. Us. Nothing else. That's it."

He flashed me a dimple. "You know, you're way too smart for me."

"Damn straight. Don't you forget it, either."

Danny's reply died on his lips as he stepped out from the tree line and came to a halt. I twisted my head to see lines of clan members. Their expressions ranged from grief, to rage, to sorrow. At the sight of me cradled in Danny's arms, one of the clan, a young woman holding a baby, slowly lowered herself to her knees. Clutching her child to her chest, she tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck in obvious submission.

"Alpha," she said, her voice strong and true, "we knew nothing of this plan."

Another member mimicked her pose, this time a man with a ruddy brown beard. "We stand by you, alpha. By you and your betas. Please have mercy on us all."

One by one, the rest of the clan fell to their knees, their throats exposed. My heart twisted as I realised why.

Danny had lost his family once before and spared them. Now, his mate had been attacked again. They didn't expect to be spared twice.

My heart twisted as I felt Danny's crack. The thought honestly hadn't occurred to him, and why would it? These people were innocent. The blood was on the hands of the council, not them.

Through the trees, Finlay, Calan, and Logan appeared. They stood on either side of us, taking in the scene before us. Finlay and Calan's expressions mirrored the shock and horror Danny was experiencing.

Logan though…his lips thinned. Like he'd expected this. Like he alone understood why the clan was afraid, but also knew they had nothing to fear.

Not from Danny, anyway.

My mate stepped forwards, his chin lifting proudly. He spoke only one word.

"Rise."