47. Mai

Chapter forty-seven

Mai

I watched as Ryan hefted another lifeless body onto the growing pile, his face grim and streaked with blood and sweat. He had Shifted back to his human form. He was topless, but had found some black joggers from somewhere. The stench of death hung over everything, mingling with the acrid tang of smoke from the burning pyres that dotted the battlefield.

Nearby, Thomas kneeled beside Raphael's body, his fingers pressed against the fallen werewolf's neck. After a moment, he shook his head and sat back on his heels, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

My shoulder had stopped bleeding, but it hurt like hell, and I was having difficulty moving my arm. Ryan had picked me up and ran all the way to Thomas when he saw it. I'd have to do a few Shifts to kick-start the healing process, and then we'd see if I would get full movement back. Not yet though. I was too tired to Shift. I felt numb, my mind reeling from the sheer scale of the carnage that surrounded us. So much death, so much senseless slaughter, all because of one man's twisted ambition and lust for power. Fury coiled in my gut like a serpent, hot and venomous. If I could have, I would have brought Brock back to life just to kill him all over again.

Jem had pummeled Brock for at least ten minutes. None of us wanted to stop him. Jem eventually wore himself out and collapsed next to Brock's mangled body. He passed out with a look of satisfaction on his face. After that, the battle had been all but over. The few remaining members of Brock's Pack were rounded up and sat in a huddle next to the tree line. We had won. But the cost had been high. Ava, still in wolf form, stood over Rapheal's body and howled. A haunting sound, full of grief and sadness.

At my current count, we had lost eight Renegades and fifteen werewolves. I had to keep telling myself that it could have been so much worse. Among the survivors, they were some serious injuries, but I was hopeful most would recover in time. We were a resilient species, after all.

I couldn't wait any longer. I pulled on the mate bond. Ryan turned, his eyes homing in on me immediately. I jerked my head and set off, knowing he'd follow.

I went upstream, walking along the river until I knew we'd be out of earshot. There was a large, flat rock ahead, set on an incline, and as soon as Ryan stepped onto it, I spun, kicking out at just the right moment to hit his head. He batted my foot away.

I don't think so, baby.

I snapped my leg up, going for his head once again.

He leaned back, and my foot passed an inch from his nose.

"Mai, what the—"

I drove forward, kicking out again and again.

"Mai!"

I didn't stop; hook kicks, side kicks, axe kicks, I kept going.

A green sheen slid over his eyes, and he stepped into my next kick, grabbed me round my waist and hoisted me up.

"What the actual fuck?" he growled.

I hooked my legs round the back of his neck and threw myself backwards and down. My hands hit the ground, and the momentum flipped Ryan over me. He sailed a good ten feet and, like a ninja, landed in a crouch.

"Mai!"

"What the hell were you thinking?" I shouted. I was so freaking angry with him right now I thought my head would explode. "You made a deal with the Dark Goddess!"

His face went blank and guarded.

"Did you not listen to Camille's story? Nothing good ever comes from making deals with a Goddess!"

"I knew the risks. This was more important."

"What were the terms?" I was so scared right now, I could feel my hair standing on end. What had he given up for this ability? What if we couldn't meet her terms? Would she enact her revenge on him in the same way as she had done with the Lunar Guardians? Was he going to be taken away from me? I knew without a shred of doubt in my body that I would never abandon Ryan, no matter what some Goddess decreed.

"Any children we may have will be dedicated to her. Until they are of age, we will take them to her temple twice a week and teach them about her."

I blinked, turning his words over in my mind. Goddesses never did anything lightly, and never agreed to anything that wasn't in their own interests. Why did she need our children? Was it just about rebuilding her temple and our worship of her? Having the Alpha's children regularly going there would draw other members of the Pack.

"You want children?" I held my breath as I suddenly realized just how much his answer meant to me.

His eyes pinned me in place. The whole world had just disappeared for him and I was the only thing in it.

"Mini-Mai's running around? Fuck, yeah, I want your kids."

I let out the breath as his words sunk into me. Ryan wanted children. Our children. Well, that would be a new fucking adventure.

"Then why? Why would you do this? Explain it to me." I demanded.

He took two steps toward me, but I held up a hand, keeping him back. I wasn't sure I would be able to keep from kicking him again if he got any nearer.

"Why? Why the fuck do you think? I needed a power upgrade. You have a knack for making enemies, Mai."

I recoiled. "Do you really think of me as so feeble and weak that you had to resort to this?"

He strode forward. I backed up, but he didn't touch me. He stopped a foot from me, close enough for me to reach out and smack him if I wanted to.

"It's not you, Mai! Can't you see that?" his voice was low and ragged. "You are magnificent. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. You're beautiful, strong, a warrior on the field, and you are the best fucking Alpha this Pack has ever had. But I'm an Alpha werewolf. You're mine to protect, and I will do anything to make sure you're safe. This isn't the end of it. Killing Brock didn't change the fact that we're Alphas now. We might have delayed ripple in the north but it's still here, they'll be looking at ways to pour it into our communities, and then there's the fact that there's someone on the Wolf Council who will be coming after us for fucking with their plans. The thought of losing you scares me shitless, Mai. I've never felt like this. I'm on edge all the time. I need to know that you're safe and I can protect you. With this upgrade, I can do that. Without it, eventually I would have locked you in a marshmallow room. And if I did that, I'd lose you all the same." He slid one arm around my waist, while his hand cupped the back of my head, holding me still. I was trapped. I couldn't move, but right now I didn't want to. I just wanted to understand.

"I can't lose you, Mai. I know you'll leave me if I wrap you in cotton wool, but I can't help it. My wolf and me, we need you to be safe." He stared into my eyes and looked so vulnerable at that moment. Through our bond, I could feel his raw fear, his desperation to do anything to keep from losing me.

"And you think, what? Being able to Shift into the True Werewolf form means I'm somehow safer now?"

"Did you not see the size of me? This form is built to be a killing machine. It'll be easier to protect you when I'm twice the size of anyone else."

"Ryan—"

"I'm not a fool, Mai. I know if the Goddess made this deal with me and Brock, she's just getting started. She had her own agenda and will probably gift this to others. But I have a head start. I'm going to exploit every opportunity I can find. I'll going to mold our Pack into an army that will take down any threats. We'll be able to take on the fucking Wolf Council if we have to. "

Oh, the big furry idiot.

"I love you, Ryan Shaw. I'm not going anywhere. It doesn't matter what stupid things you do—and this one is definitely up there with rejecting me in the first place—I'm always going to be here. You lock me in a marshmallow room, I'll kick the door down, and we'll have words, but I'm not ever going to leave you."

His head drew back, and his eyes searched my face. "You're not?"

I gripped his head between my hands, pulling his face closer. "No," I said fiercely. "You're mine, Ryan. All mine. Noone else can have you. Not even the fucking Goddess."

A goofy grin spread across his face. "I'm yours?"

"You really are dense sometimes, you know that? Search our bond, Ryan. I could never leave you. You're my mate, my best friend, you're mine. For now and always."

His lips crashed into mine. They were almost feverishly hot and demanding. I opened my mouth, letting him in, and his tongue igniting a blaze within me. He effortlessly picked me up, my legs wrapping around him, his long, hard length pressing in just the right spot.

"I'm going to fuck you now," he growled. "I'm going to fuck my mate until you can't walk straight, and you still feel me inside for the next week."

Er, yum! Yes, please!

Ryan unbuttoned my jeans with a deft hand, each movement swift and purposeful, as if he couldn't wait one more moment to claim me. He stripped me off without putting me down, his hands roaming my body with a fierce possessiveness that left me both breathless and unafraid. I was naked in his arms, and it was the most powerful I had ever felt. He had claimed me, and I had claimed him, and nothing in this world could ever change that.

Ryan gripped my hips, lifting me higher as he shimmied out of his trousers. Then there was nothing between us. There was no foreplay, no soft caresses. His cock was at my entrance for only a second, then he thrust into me, hard and uncompromising, and I fucking loved it. This was us; raw, desperate, and utterly bonded to each other.

I needed this. I needed him to own me completely. His eyes went dark with intensity and lust. My head fell back, my back arching as he drove deep inside me, each stroke rough and demanding, fueled by our urgent desire. My nails dug into his shoulders as he held me up, rocking into me, his thrusts precise and unrelenting. I was helpless in his arms. He held me in place as he fucked me so thoroughly that I knew his predication was right; I was going to still feel him inside for the next week.

Our bond, already so powerful, seemed to intensify with each surge of his hips. A loop of emotions and feelings bouncing from him to me and back again. This was more than sex; it was a union of two souls, bound together in a way that defied explanation.

My inner walls clenched around him. His eyes blazed with desire, and he drove into me again and again with a fierce urgency that made me cry out. I couldn't take it anymore; I writhed against him, every inch of my body alive with need. Each thrust of his hips was a claim, a promise, a declaration of love and possession. I could feel his cock throbbing inside me, and the friction was so intense and exhilarating that I knew I was going to orgasm soon.

I whimpered softly, my body so close to the edge, the heat building within me. Ryan's hot breath washed over my ear as he spoke. "You're going to scream my name, Mai."

I gasped, the words sending a fiery jolt through my core. His hands gripped my hips tighter, holding me still as he continued to thrust. I could feel him swelling, the anticipation of our release building. Every nerve ending in my body was alight with desire.

Then, just when I thought I couldn't take any more, Ryan's hips drove harder, faster, and I exploded around him.

"Ryan!" I screamed his name, the sound echoing against the rocks as my body shook with the force of my orgasm. He came a second later, his release exploding inside me like a flash flood. My inner muscles clenched around him, milking him, pulling him in deeper.

"Mine," I said, claiming him again. "For now, and always."

His eyes flared with passion, and he looked at me, his expression so fierce, so animalistic, that I couldn't believe he was all mine. Then he smirked, all self-satisfied and cocky.

"No one but you, Mai," he drawled, his voice low and rough. "There is no one but you."