Chapter 28

Ruby felt Scarlett rush to the surface as Tyson’s lips curved into a cruel smile. Ruby stood up straighter and met Tyson’s stare.

“Burn this place down, and leave no one alive,” Tyson commanded his men behind him.

Ruby snarled and felt the shift starting inside of her. Then she heard a howl pierce through the silence behind her. The howl held power she never felt before, and several of Tyson’s wolves dropped to their knees. She noticed Tyson struggled to keep himself standing, and Ruby gave him a pompous smile.

The howl was from Rainer. He was pissed that Tyson had just threatened their home. Tyson’s obnoxiously pompous smirk disappeared when Rainer’s howl pierced through the area. That made Ruby’s lips curve into her own cruel smile to know that Tyson realized that Ryker was dominant enough to cause other wolves to bow down to him. She could feel Rainer’s huge form approaching behind her as Tyson’s face tried to maintain the look that he had this shit on lock when it was clear he did not. Tyson’s men were kneeling and had skeptical looks on their faces by the time Rainer was at Ruby’s side. She did not have to glance down at him to know that his teeth were bared and his head lowered.

Ruby kept her eyes focused on Tyson’s, daring him to break the contact first. That would be an indication that Ryker’s dominance would easily win against Tyson’s if he could not keep the stare with her. As Ryker’s mate, they shared that level…but Tyson was not budging.

As they continued, Ruby reached out to Ryker through mindlink. How the hell did he manage to break the barrier? I thought your Witch was extremely powerful.

Before Ryker could answer, a wolf Ruby did not even know appeared from behind a thicket of trees and pushed forward a black-haired, blue-eyed woman who had her hands tied behind her back and tape across her mouth. The woman glared up at Tyson after she fell to her knees. If looks could kill, Tyson would have exploded.

That answers that question. They have Rozalind held prisoner, Ryker said with a growl.

“Took me a while, but I found your slut of a witch that has kept you hidden since you walked out on us.” Tyson looked at the witch with his lip curled up in disgust. “No idea why you would lay with a foul creature like her, but I guess when you need an itch scratched, anything will do.” Tyson looked at Ruby with an arrogant smile. “Ruby knows all about that, don’t you?”

Scarlett pushed on Ruby’s mind a little harder trying to force a shift. Ruby managed to keep her at bay without breaking the bored look she wore on her face toward Tyson. The last thing she wanted this asshole to think was that he was getting to her.

“Really? Best you got? No wonder it was so easy to get over you. You aren’t good at snarky comments or sex.”

Tyson’s face twitched, clearly not happy at Ruby’s remark. “You might want to shut your little slutty mouth. Maybe if you behave, I’ll mark you and make you the queen of this sanction when this is all over.”

“No thanks. I’m more satisfied with my life without you. Especially in the bedroom.”

The facial twitches were hilarious to Ruby, but she managed to keep her face neutral. Tyson on the other hand tried to keep them under control, but he was never really good at keeping a poker face. What made it better, and harder for Ruby to keep herself poised, was hearing Ryker’s laughter inside of her mind. Rainer remained stoically lethal, so it made Ruby give Tyson a smirk that sent his twitches into rage.

“I’ll give you one chance to disappear out of my sanction, or I’ll kill you and burn this entire excuse of a town to the ground.”

Rainer snapped his jaws as a vicious growl answered Tyson’s question.

“Pretty sure that means bite me, and get the hell off our land. This is rogue territory. Even as the Alpha of the sanction, you don’t own it.”

Ruby noticed a flash of light and then Ryker was standing next to her. In that moment, he somehow seemed to be standing taller than she remembered him. He already towered over her, but he still appeared larger than before. The tension in his muscles caused them to bulge, and his eyes remained silver. At least, at first glance, they looked silver. Ruby managed to look long enough to notice a blue ring on the outside of his silver irises.

Holy shit… Ryker is so attuned with Rainer that they are both in the driver’s seat right now.

Ruby had only heard rumors that this could happen. The human and wolf have to be aligned perfectly in tandem. This meant that Ryker and Rainer were deadlier than ever since neither side was trying to control the other.

Tyson is so fucked.

“I, Ryker Simmons, Alpha of the Wolf’s Den Pack, challenge Tyson Barons, Alpha of the Western Sanction and West Coast Pack.”

Ryker’s voice carried no emotion at all. It sent a cold shiver down Ruby’s spine from how petrifying it was to hear such a serious lack of emotion coming from the mouth of the person she loves most.

“You are a fool, Ryker. I am not the man you once faced.”

“Accept the challenge, Tyson. Or… are you afraid I will kick your ass like I did last time?”

The twitch came back. “I, Tyson Barons, accept your challenge.”

Rainer burst from Ryker just as Tyson finished his sentence and charged. Rainer was always a fast wolf, but this time Ruby’s mouth dropped at the speed in which Rainer met Tyson’s body. Tyson’s back hit the ground, and his wolf burst from his own body. The wolves rolled on the ground just as Deacon’s wolf ran up beside Ruby. His mouth gently clamped onto her hand and tried to pull her into town. Ruby pulled her hand out of his mouth and glared at him.

No. I am staying.

Seriously, Rube? Ryker would kill me if something happened to you.

Two wolves charged at Ruby and Deacon’s wolf, giving her no time to argue. Scarlett pushed for the shift, and Ruby allowed her to take over. Scarlett’s paws touched the ground just as Sombra, Tyson’s Beta in his wolf form, barreled into her. Scarlett was ready for it and allowed her body to roll with the motion. At the right time, Scarlett locked her body and threw her weight so she would be on top. Her jaws clamped down onto Sombra’s shoulder and tore through the muscle. Sombra let out a painful howl and tried to squirm out of her hold. This only fed into what Scarlett wanted. Scarlett moved the opposite direction Sombra did, causing the wound to open more. Sombra swiped his paw against her leg and cut open her skin. Scarlett let go and jumped back so Sombra would not be able to cause any more damage.

With his shoulder weakened, Sombra’s movement slowed down. When he jumped toward Scarlett again, she easily dodged the attack. Scarlett snapped her jaws several times at Sombra’s face and paws. Playing a game as if she was a cat and Sombra was the mouse. Her bold movements made Sombra hesitant as he could not predict what she would do next.

Sombra took a chance and leapt toward Scarlett. Since she wounded his shoulder, Scarlett did not expect him to do something that risky. Sombra landed on top of her, causing Scarlett to hit the ground. The only thing she could do was roll, which Sombra was prepared for. Sombra then bit down on Scarlett’s back and tried to rip it open like she did with his shoulder. Scarlett pushed for Ruby to shift back, and Sombra lost his grip when she did. Ruby managed to pull outward on Sombra’s leg then shifted back to Scarlett. When she did, Scarlett rolled again, and Sombra fell off her.

As Sombra was pulling himself back onto his feet, Scarlett rushed into him and clamped down onto his neck. She shook her head violently until she heard the snap. Sombra’s body fell limp, and Scarlett dropped him onto the ground.

Well, your plan worked. Changing your tactics every chance you could. That’s not something he could have fought.

Darnell and Sombra were too trained to expect patterns. When you only expect patterns, you’ll lose if someone doesn’t use any.

Before Ruby could answer, she heard a chilling howl. She looked up to notice Rainer’s white fur was coated in multiple areas of blood as two other wolves other than Tyson’s attacked him.

The dickwad isn’t fighting fair!

We must help him!

Scarlett let out her own howl. Deacon answered the call and ran toward Rainer at the same time. They both collided with a wolf that was not Tyson to get them off Rainer just in time as the three of them were ready to attack him at once. With the others tangled up with Scarlett and Deacon’s wolf, Ruby could hear Rainer’s snarls once more, focused and unnervingly intimidating as they were directed at Tyson and his wolf.

Scarlett and the other wolf were on their hind legs and throwing their paws and teeth around trying to connect with the other. After a few moments of this entanglement, Scarlett pushed off the ground and toppled on top of the wolf. This one thrashed his head around as Scarlett bit down onto him, so she was unable to get a good grip. The wolf attempting to get his hind legs underneath to rip her underbelly open distracted her, and the wolf swiped his paw across her face. It nearly caught her eye, and it caused her to move off the wolf. When she felt its head connect with her side and push her into a tree, Scarlett let out a yelp. The wolf backed up to take another run at her, and Scarlett swiped her own paw at his face and made sure her claws were out when she did. Blood and fur flew off his face as a yelp satisfied Scarlet’s hunger to bring this wolf down.

Scarlett took the advantage of this wolf using his paw to get the blood out of his eye and knocked him sideways. As he laid on the ground, she used her claws and teeth to rip open the underbelly. The wolf didn’t know what hit him and took too long to register what was happening. Before Scarlett knew it, the wolf was no longer moving.

Finally. How is everyone else fairing…

Scarlett looked up to see several wolves in fights with others. It appeared that some of the townspeople joined in the fight. Since Ruby had never interacted with anyone in their wolf form since she arrived, and did not participate in the Full Moon run, she had no idea who was who. She did, however, see the long fur of Deacon’s wolf on top of the one that had previously broken the rules of the challenge and was attacking Rainer.

She looked over at Rainer and Tyson’s wolf next. They were equally coated in blood and dirt. But Rainer was standing over Tyson’s wolf with saliva dripping from his fangs as he snarled down at him. It seemed as though Rainer was giving Tyson the chance to yield. Ruby had no idea why Rainer and Ryker would take that chance but trusted that his reasoning had merit. They were going to win. Tyson’s wolf was breathing heavily and moved slowly to avoid Rainer’s teeth. The look of fear on this wolf said it all. He knew the end was coming, he had no way out. Rainer was more powerful and would kill him in the next second if he did not yield.

Victory is inevitable.

At least, that is what Ruby thought. Just when she was about to do a victory howl to encourage Rainer to end it, movement caught her eye. It was Tyson’s Gamma, Barker. His mahogany hair blew in the wind as his green eyes locked onto Rainer. His thin lips curved into a smile as his arm raised from his hip… with a gun in hand… aimed at Rainer.

POP!

The gun went off, and Rainer yelped. Scarlett did not hesitate, and her feet immediately began to run towards Barker. He noticed her coming in time, and the gun went off for a second time. Scarlett felt a pinch in her shoulder, and then there was nothing but blackness.

* * *

Ruby awoketo Deacon swearing profusely. She could barely make out the words as she focused on trying to open her eyes. Her eyelids felt like cement and were too heavy to open. Then she felt hands running over her arm and a coldness wash over her. Ruby’s eyes fluttered awake, and she was in her and Ryker’s room with Nick standing next to her. Slowly, everything came into focus, and her hearing went from mumbles to actual words.

“How the fuck did all of this happen? How the hell did these assholes manage to tranquilize two Alphas?” Deacon’s voice boomed in the room.

“Baby, calm down. Let Nick work, otherwise, this Alpha won’t come to.” Tasha’s voice was calm and quiet as she tried to calm down her mate.

“How the hell can I calm down?! Tyson and his damn men tranquilized everyone and then took off with Ryker!”

“He used a combination of things, that way it would actually work with our systems. I’ve never seen anything like this before, but he used something like Ketamine as a way to distribute the other drugs so the concoction could knock us out,” Nick answered.

“Wolfsbane?” Tasha suggested.

“I don’t think so. That would have killed us.”

“Silver?” Deacon suggested.

“No, I would be able to smell that. I am not sure what they used, but it is potentially dangerous.”

Even though Ruby was under the comforter, she could not get warm. Her body involuntarily shivered, and Nick finally noticed that she was moving.

“Oh, Ruby is awake. How are you feeling, Alpha?”

Ruby groaned and shivered again. Nick put a mug in front of her and encouraged her to drink from it. It was black tea with some honey in it. It was the perfect sipping temperature, and she downed its contents. As the liquid spread through her, it warmed her from the inside out.

“I caught the conversation. Ryker was taken?”

Nick nodded. “I am afraid so. Seems Tyson did not like that he was losing. He put in a failsafe, and his Gamma tranq’d all of us so they could get away. He managed to miss me, but my wolf acted as though he was shot anyway. It caused him to overlook me, and I watched them cart off Rainer.”

Ruby tried to reach out to Ryker through their bond, but it was no use. Either they were out of range, or Ryker closed it off. The good thing was that the bond was able to tell her that he was alive. Ruby explained what she felt through the bond, and everyone sighed in relief that Ryker was at least alive.

Deacon opened his mouth to say something, but the Witch walked into the room. The Witch’s beauty caught Ruby off guard as she only ever heard that the species was ugly. Not a single witch was ever described as beautiful, yet this one was. Her long ebony hair fell down to her waist, and her blue eyes were striking. As she walked into the room, her curves called Ruby’s attention. Ruby caught Tasha smacking Deacon since he, too, was noticing the beauty of this Witch.

“I see that the Goddess chose well yet again. I’m glad to see that She chose another She-Alpha, and you do not disappoint.”

Ruby cocked her eyebrow so hard that it hurt her face. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Rozalind flicked her hand from side to side to wave off Ruby’s comment. “Not important right now. Ryker is being held captive, and that just will not do. I am here to get you back on your feet so you can go get the Alpha back.”

“What’s it to you that he gets back?” Tasha demanded.

“What you don’t know is that there are things happening in our world right now, and they must happen as the Fates command. Terrible things can happen if the timelines do not go as planned.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ruby’s confusion caused more rage than anything, and it showed in her voice.

“Again, not important. What is important is that I am here to fix this.”

This time, Nick added into the conversation. “If you are going to fix anything, why wouldn’t you be with Ryker to get him back on his feet instead of Ruby?”

“Because I cannot interfere on that level. The mates have to help each other, or things will go catastrophic. I don’t feel like dealing with that, so I can only assist in certain ways. The Fates are trusting me with this, and if I break their rules,” Rozalind paused before she said too much, “well let’s just say things will get much worse.”

Rozalind walked over to Ruby and put her palm on Ruby’s forehead. Deacon emitted a threatening growl, and Rozalind glared at him. “Calm down, Beta. I am healing her, nothing more.”

A white glow flared around Rozalind’s palm, and a warmth spread across Ruby’s entire body. Within seconds, she could feel the aftermath of the tranquilizer disappear from her body. When Rozalind stepped back, she had a small smile on her face.

“Thank you, I guess. Even though you haven’t explained shit as to what is going on here.”

Rozalind smirked at Ruby’s remark. “I like you. You’re a spitfire. This sanction is going to do well under your rule.”

“Excuse you? Who said I would be in charge of this sanction?” Ruby countered.

“That is what the Fates want, Red. Now go get the Alpha back, and make sure he kills the mongrel this time.”

Before anyone could ask anything else, Rozalind was gone. Everyone looked at each other, and Ruby blinked several times before opening her mouth.

“That just happened, right? Like whatever was put in my system didn’t cause me to hallucinate that shit?”

“Unfortunately, no. That happened. I am not entirely sure what just happened exactly, but it did happen,” Nick answered her question.

“Well. Apparently I am the one that has to go save my mate’s ass and make sure he kills the Alpha. Any suggestions?”