Dark Instincts

by Suzanne Wright

  “Maybe the problem’s him, not me.” Marcus had held back from people his entire life. It wouldn’t be easy to snap out of something like that, no matter how much a person wanted to. It was possible that he didn’t even realize he was still doing it.

  Shaya shrugged helplessly. “If that’s the case, this is out of your hands. He needs to come to that realization on his own.” Her eyes shot to the door, wide and wary, as an animalistic yap sounded in the near distance. Another yap, this one closer. “They’re coming.”

  Moments later, paws padded along the hallway toward the basement and then down the steps. There was sniffing and panting at the door, and then claws were raking the floor as if trying to dig a hole. Shit. A loud and urgent yelp split the air, and it earned several yelps of response as what sounded like a small stampede headed toward them.

  “They’ve found us,” whispered Kathy.

  As if to confirm that, something charged at the steel door. Then there was yelping and barking as the animals repeatedly slammed their bodies against it, leaving dents and impressions. It instantly became clear that the door wouldn’t hold for long.

  “We need to use the emergency exit.” They sprinted for the door. Roni pulled up the blackout blind and jumped back in surprise at the male standing just outside the glass. Realizing it was Stone, she sagged in relief and unlocked the door.

  He pushed his way inside, Glock in hand. “Goddamn hyenas are patrolling the area.” Noticing that the steel door was being attacked, he cursed.

  “Hyenas?” Kathy shuddered.

  “I managed to take out a few of them, but when I realized the jackals had broken into the lodge, I came to get you out. We’ve got a better chance of protecting Shaya as a team.”

  In agreement, Roni nodded. Conscious that the door would cave in any second now, she placed a hand on Shaya’s back and urged her forward. “Let’s get to one of the SUVs and drive Shaya out of here.”

  Eyes on the steel door, Stone took Shaya’s hand and led her outside. Kathy quickly followed. That was when Roni slammed the door closed and locked herself inside the basement.

  “Roni, what are you doing?” Kathy demanded—the words were barely audible through the glass.

  “Protect Shaya. Get her away from here.” Roni pulled down the blackout blind, shutting out a grim-faced Stone and two very outraged females. Then she turned, claws out, and took up position in the center of the room just as the door gave way, leaving her no time to shift. She’d expected to find herself instantly swarmed by jackals. Instead, several of them slowly slinked into the room—their eyes fixed on her and glinting with malicious intent.

  Her pulse quickened, her heart raced, and her muscles tightened as they circled her, trapping her, and making her wolf fight to surface. But Roni couldn’t take a moment to shift, couldn’t leave herself vulnerable for even a second.

  Two more jackals entered then, both in human form. One was Lyle Browne. And the other . . . she had no idea who he was, but the object in his hand made her blood boil and her wolf snap her teeth.

  “Meet Dave, my cameraman.” Lyle smirked. “I bet this must bring back some memories for you.”

  It did. And with those flashbacks came feelings of helplessness, terror, humiliation, and pain. “You won’t get to her.”

  “You thought it was the Alpha female I was after, didn’t you?” Laughing quietly, Lyle shook his head. “I knew you’d protect her like the good enforcer that you are. I knew you’d hold us back while she had the chance to slip away. And now here you are . . . alone. Mine.” Smiling, he cocked his head. “Scared? I do hope so. Working out someone’s worst fear and then subjecting them to it . . . now that’s power. That’s real entertainment.”

  His pack, all now back in their human form, chuckled—including the three female jackals who had tried to kidnap her.

  “You cost me the Phoenix rug rat. You cost me one of my pack members and had a lot of fun with her before you killed her. Now it’s time for me to have some fun with you. And from what I’ve heard, you’ll be quite entertaining. It’s time for you to face your worst fear.”

  As three jackals took a single step toward her, Roni instantly understood. Lyle intended to make her relive what had happened twelve years ago. His pack members intended to hold her down while he raped her—maybe they would even take turns. Her stomach rolled and her heart slammed inside her chest. Not again. Not. Fucking. Again.

  She’d always promised herself that if she were ever placed in that situation again, she would fight until someone was dead—even if that someone was her. Death would have been preferable now too if it weren’t for a very important fact: if she died, there was a possibility that Marcus would die also.

  The fact that their bond was only partially formed could mean that he would survive the breaking of it, but she wasn’t prepared to take that for granted, because Lyle was wrong. Reliving her nightmare wasn’t her worst fear. Not anymore. Her worst fear was that something would happen to Marcus. She loved the smooth fucker. Loved his playfulness. Loved his hyperactive metabolism. Loved that he defended and protected her.

  Now it was time that she did the same in return. But that didn’t just mean surviving. No. If she let these bastards harm her, Marcus would feel what they were doing to her through their link. He would experience the violation, the fear, the powerlessness, and the pain along with her. She could no easier handle that than she could handle him dying.

  That meant she had to fight. Unfortunately, she was at a total disadvantage. She was outnumbered, without allies, and couldn’t shift. Her best chance of survival would be to run and fight another day. There was no shame in that. But there was nowhere to go. She was trapped. Surrounded by people who were apparently eager to watch her be raped—she could sense their anticipation and excitement. It was sickening, and it made her wolf growl in distaste.

  “Don’t think your mate will save you,” said Lyle. “Oh, I’ve no doubt that he’ll come for you, no matter how hurt he is. That’s why I have the place surrounded. If he does get to you, it won’t be in time to help. You’re on your own.”

  No, she wasn’t. Underestimating Marcus was a definite mistake on Lyle’s part. Her mate would do whatever it took to reach her. A muscular arm suddenly wrapped around her neck from behind and pulled her against a hard chest. Dark memories flashed through her mind, making her stomach churn and her wolf buck to be freed. Roni could practically taste her fear.

  “Who knows?” Lyle shrugged. “You might even enjoy it.”

  The cameraman chuckled, momentarily catching her attention. A memory of another cameraman, another time and place, slapped her hard. She recalled how the bastard had laughed at Nick’s rage as he was held back; how he’d taunted her brother with what they would do to her as he was forced to watch; how he’d egged on the others.

  In that moment, as those flashbacks overtook her mind, Roni’s fear faded and was replaced by raw anger. A taut knot of rage formed in her throat, making her face heat and her heart thunder inside her chest. But that wasn’t good, she knew. To fight in anger was to lose before the battle even began. The rage would cloud her thoughts, mess with her head. When Roni lost it, she always found it a trial to calm down, especially while her wolf’s anger fed her own.

  Instead of focusing on the past, Roni focused on the present—kept her attention on Lyle, reminded herself and her wolf of what was truly important. Not the past. Not the sense of powerlessness that threatened to overwhelm her mind and body. Marcus—he was what mattered. And he needed her to be clear-headed right now. So she fought to maintain her composure and keep her expression entirely neutral as Lyle—who apparently loved the sound of his own voice—began to talk smack about her brothers, her mate, and her pack.

  She ignored the words, refusing to engage with him or be baited. Instead, she watched him carefully. Searched for weaknesses. Watched how he carried himself, what side he favored. Registered how much taller he was than her. How much heavier he was. Estimated his physical
strength and agility. Sadly, there was no denying that he outmatched her. But there were ways to use his strength against him.

  As the jackal holding her let out a malicious chuckle and licked her cheek, she barely resisted shuddering in revulsion. Only once since the attack had she been in a chokehold. She and Eli had been practicing combat moves, and she’d asked him to restrain her this way until the panic abated and she could learn exactly how to get out of the hold if it ever happened again.

  Eli had learned a lot from being forced to participate in the illegal fighting arena, and he had passed on all those teachings to her. He hadn’t taught her how to better defend herself. He’d taught her how to kill without blinking. How to fight dirty and brutally without conscience. Ordered her to “go bat-shit crazy on the ass of any attacker because there is no such thing as a fair fight in the real world.”

  Lyle came to stand in front of her and skimmed his finger over her chin. She forced herself not to flinch. “Unlike those humans, I’ll make you beg for mercy.”

  Not fucking likely. Just the idea had adrenalin pumping through her veins, sending a surge of energy and enhanced awareness rushing through her. Roni looked over his shoulder and let her eyes widen slightly before quickly returning her gaze to his. She watched as his eyes narrowed suspiciously. The moment he glanced behind him in shear paranoia, she struck, delivering a hard blow to the side of his neck that made him stumble backward.

  Without pause, she let herself go limp in her restrainer’s grip; her weight made him stagger and bend over slightly, which allowed her to drop down just enough to sharply dig her elbow into the bastard’s groin. With a grunt of pain, he released her and folded over, cursing a blue streak.

  Holding Lyle’s stunned gaze, she shifted away from the restrainer and stated, “I challenge you.”

  If Lyle had been human, the strike to his neck might have been enough to make him pass out. But shifters were made of sterner stuff. “Excuse me?” he croaked.

  “I challenge you, Lyle Browne, to a duel.” Because that was the only way to ensure that they couldn’t attack her as a group. A one-to-one duel would at least make the odds more even. To turn down the challenge would make him look weak to his pack and to anyone who watched the video. Not that she intended for there to be a video, but Lyle was certainly confident that there would be.

  After a beat, Lyle threw back his head and laughed—well, gurgled, “You’re shitting me.”

  She offered him an evil grin. “You’re not scared of a girl, are you?”

  “You know what this means, don’t you, sweetheart?”

  Her wolf growled at that; she didn’t like him using Marcus’s endearment.

  “It means that by the time I’m done with you, you’ll be worn out. There’ll be no fight left in you. And you won’t even be able to attempt to defend yourself against me and my pack when we have our fun. You’ll have to lie there and take it, almost as if you accept and want it.”

  “Or it will mean that you die an excruciating death. I kind of like that idea.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Growling, the male wolf tore out the throat of a hyena and tossed it aside. He hadn’t even lifted his head before a jackal latched onto his leg while another bit into his already injured throat—giving him no reprieve, no moment to catch his breath. The wolf slammed his body against a tree, cramming the jackal between him and the tall oak, dislodging his grip. Then the wolf clamped his jaws around the jackal’s throat, tasting blood. Death. Victory.

  As teeth dug harder into his leg, the wolf reached back and bit hard into the second jackal’s ear, ripping it off. The animal made a sound of agonizing pain, bounding away. The wolf didn’t intend to let his prey flee. He crashed into the shifter, trapping him on the ground, and moved to deliver the killing bite. But then a heavy weight landed on his back. Another jackal.

  The wolf yowled as the animal’s teeth sank into his shoulder, scraping bone. More blood soaked his fur. He rolled onto his back, crushing the jackal until he yelped in pain and released him. Righting himself, the wolf then sliced open the jackal’s stomach and left him to bleed out while he tore out the throat of the other jackal.

  Sides heaving, the wolf glanced around, searching for new prey. He was tired. Bleeding. Panting. In much pain. He was covered in bites. Claws had sliced into his sides and muzzle. His badly chewed legs were unsteady. His fur was matted with blood—some his, some not. And he was weakening. But he could not rest. He had to protect his mate. He had to protect her pack.

  He charged at a hyena that had pounced on an injured submissive wolf—Kent—and tackled him to the ground. Jackals came at him from both sides. The wolf had been repeatedly attacked by many at one time. He concentrated on the main threat: the hyena. He clawed, bit, maimed, and destroyed his enemy.

  The wolf’s badly hurt hind leg buckled when sharp teeth pierced through fur and muscle, grazing bone. The Mercury Head Enforcer suddenly slammed into the animal, forcing him to release the leg and—

  Several sharp cracks split the air. The wolf froze. Bullets. More angry sharp snaps. Coming from the direction of the Alphas’ home. The wolf howled, raging that harm might reach his mate.

  He rushed through the trees, intent on reaching her. But the breath left his body as jackals barreled into him from either side and leaped on top of him, teeth latching onto painful wounds. The wolf howled again, bucking in an effort to shake off his attackers. They held tight, pulling his legs from under him. One went for his throat but then yelped as another wolf slammed into it. A Phoenix wolf—Trick. More of his pack appeared, joining the fight.

  His Alpha female skidded to a stop in front of him and shifted into her human form. “Marcus, you need to shift and let me heal you. Jackals got into the main lodge. You need to get to Roni.”

  The wolf didn’t understand the words, but he felt pressure from Marcus, knew he feared for their mate’s safety and that he wanted dominance. Reluctantly, the wolf drew back and allowed his human half to take control.

  Marcus fell onto his back, chest heaving as anxiety for Roni rushed through him. “Tell me you didn’t say the jackals got into the lodge,” he panted. There wasn’t a part of his body that didn’t hurt. The jackals had repeatedly leaped at him, crawled over him like ants, and attacked every vulnerable area he had. He knew he’d lost a lot of blood, knew he was mostly running on rage.

  Taking his eyes briefly from the scene around them, Trick grimaced. “Shit, Marcus, you’re in bad shape.”

  Squatting, Taryn placed her hand on Marcus’s forehead, causing all of his injuries to illuminate. She winced as the extent of his wounds became clear. “Shaya called me. Dumping the body here was just a distraction. The jackals wanted you far away from the main lodge. I think they’re after Shaya. We sent Dominic and Tao to help so we could join the battle.”

  “God, the fuckers are everywhere,” Trick commented, wrestling a jackal to the ground and stamping his boot against the animal’s throat, crushing his windpipe. “Looks like the Scorpio Pack called in a few favors and brought along their business associates—and maybe even the alliances of their business associates.”

  Marcus suspected that the intruders were acting as a diversion while most, if not all, of the Scorpio Pack was at the lodge. Which meant he had to get to Roni fast. “I can feel Roni through the bond. She’s pissed and scared. I have to go to her.”

  “Yes, you do, so stay still.” Taryn put her mouth to his and inhaled deeply. She then lifted her head, and blew out a heavy breath. At that, black particles whooshed out of her mouth. Again and again, she did it, but stopped before the luminous patches had completely disappeared. Although the worst of his wounds had closed, they hadn’t faded and he was still a mess—covered in bruises, lacerations, teeth marks, and jaggedly healed scratches.

  Having stabbed his claws into the throat of a jackal that came too close, Trick asked Taryn, “You okay?” Healing tended to weaken her.

  A little pale, she nodded before turning back to
Marcus. “I can’t afford to fully heal you, I’m sorry—I have to save some strength to help the others.”

  With a nod of understanding, Marcus shifted once more into his wolf form. The wolf raced through the forest, not slowing until he approached the Alphas’ home. Two of his pack members—Dominic and Tao—were wrestling hyenas while his mate’s mother—Kathy—fought two jackals.

  There was a gunshot, the sound of a hyena whimpering, and then a voice screeching, “Marcus!”

  The wolf turned his head to see the Mercury Alpha female leaning out of a car window, gun in hand. Giving his human half control again, the wolf drew back.

  “Where is she, Shaya?” demanded Marcus.

  “She’s in the basement,” cried Shaya. “I didn’t want to leave her!”

  Stone, who was leaning out of the other window with his Glock in hand, shouted, “She locked herself in to keep them from getting to Shaya!”

  Typical Roni. She was extremely protective of those she cared for, and her position of enforcer meant protecting her Alpha female was her job. That didn’t mean he didn’t want to spank her ass. “She’s alive,” he reassured Shaya, realizing the Alpha female was panicking that Roni was dead. “I’ll get her out of there.” It was a promise to his wolf as well as to Shaya.

  “You can’t win this, little wolf.”

  Roni almost snorted at his use of the word “win.” What Lyle clearly didn’t realize was that for her, this wasn’t a fight. Wasn’t a duel. This was life or death. She would kill him. She wouldn’t be anybody’s victim ever again. But instead of letting him see her resolve and determination, she shrugged. “Maybe. But I’ll be the best damn runner up you’ve ever had.”