Primal Night

by Ally Parker

  Ryker dipped his head to the crook of her neck and breathed deeply. His hands shook as he snaked them up to her neck, holding her against him. “Then let’s go home.”

  Her heart filled and overflowed with emotion. Did he realize those four small words held such an impact for her? She hadn’t been home since her family died. All that time she’d wandered lost, until Ryker.

  Seemingly, Ryker dragged himself from her. He sucked in a breath, pushed his shoulders back, and stood. His lips lifted the tiniest bit, his struggle etched into every groove on his handsome face. He held out his hand and she took it. In any other circumstance with any other male, she would have fled. Ran as fast as her legs could carrier her right out of the danger she sensed.

  Yet, as crazy as it seemed, she trusted Ryker. On some level she knew he wouldn’t place her in danger. Stepping down from the van’s running board she nearly lost her balance on the icy footpath. Ryker held fast, his other arm swinging around to clasp her waist. “Steady.”

  Kali chuckled, finally able to breathe in clean, fresh air. She could smell at least ten shifters’ scents. Her wolf bristled, always on edge around her kind. Light and warmth poured from two heavy oak door panels.

  “Holy hell, man, you should have seen the place. It’s enough to decay anyone’s soul. Not something I’m gonna forget soon. Thanks to me, there’ll be a lot less assholes prowling around the shadows.”

  A hallow thud skirted through the air.

  “Ow, that hurt!”

  From the bottom of the entrance she could see Knox rubbing his arm, still smiling.

  “Fine, everyone did a bang-up job of kicking ass.”

  Ryker helped her up the three stone steps and paused in front of the entrance. Fire from a small brazier in the corner of the porch radiated warmth. Nothing compared to the heat rolling from Ryker. Her whole body synced with his movements. She felt every miniscule touch, from the way his hands tightened to the way the rough pads of his fingers lingered on her arm.

  Half a dozen males laughed. The pack stood in small clusters, and she caught snippets of other conversations retelling the night’s events. She supposed even shifters needed to debrief after fighting tooth and claw.

  Ryker’s jaw ticked, his nostrils flaring. She sucked in a breath and could smell the peppered scent of anger? Her heart rate kicked up. Dragging her teeth over her bottom lip she looked into his eyes. Really looked. Strain framed his intense gaze. His brows drew tight, and he sucked back a deep breath, blowing it out with a choppy white plume.

  “Listen, the males aren’t used to female company so they…”

  His words were soft and at odds from all the signs of tension he wore like a neon sign. Shouldn’t his pack be concerned? She looked back into the entrance and saw the males heading deeper into the house. All but Grayson who fussed with the makeshift bandage on his stomach.

  “Are going to be males?” she offered. Should she bring up the elephant in the room?

  He nodded and squeezed her hands lightly. “Yeah.”

  Before she could make a decision, Knox jogged back out the smell of cooked meat and baked potatoes rolling off him. “You better get in here. Thorne and Roan have served up a feast. The males have dished up and are waiting for you.”

  Her eyes darted to Ryker. The pack had served themselves before their Alpha? If anyone had done such a thing in the Outlaws, Jefferson would have had them next on the menu.

  Grayson strode to the entrance, his shoulder wedged against the frame. “Ryker doesn’t invoke the Alpha eats first rule. He wanted us to feel like a traditional family that eats together.”

  Her mouth watered and stomach rumbled. When was the last time she’d had a decent meal?

  Ryker’s frowned deepened, a growl snaking out of his chest. He ran a hand through his hair and scrubbed it over his face. “You need to eat.”

  With a sweep of his arm, his lips curving in an attempt to smile. “Welcome to Dark Falls.”

  She stepped over the threshold, holding tightly onto Ryker’s hand. Various smells of many males slammed into her senses. Glancing around, the first thing she noticed was a large staircase set off to the side that led up to an open landing.

  To her left a male stoked the fire. Freezing poker midair, his head swiveled and turned to face them. He tossed the poker into an iron basket holding other hearth equipment. In two steps he vaulted over a brown leather lounge and approached. Ryker growled and took a step forward, effectively blocking her from view.

  She sensed more than saw the male stop. Grayson hovered to Ryker’s left, and Knox’s eyes widened.

  “Alpha. I’m glad to see you,” the male said.

  If she was going to be mated to Ryker he’d have to learn that she wouldn’t stand behind any male. Yet she’d be a fool to ignore the signs he was struggling. Steeling herself, she moved beside Ryker and linked her arm around his. His muscles were pulled taut, his body thrummed with aggression, and the tension thickened in the air.

  Time was up. If she wanted to save Ryker from falling into the abysses of inhumanity, there would be no delaying the mating. It was now or never.

  21

  Ryker could feel the edges of his vision hone in on Roan, staring into his green eyes. His jaw clenched and teeth ground together. His lip quivered in a silent snarl. The male had moved fast toward his mate. Too fast. Did he meant to steal her away? Like fuck someone would take what was his! Rage hummed through him at just the thought. Kali was his.

  Roan halted. His thick arms shot up, palms facing forward, neck arched, showing submission.

  A voice spoke from behind him, it could have been Knox but he wasn’t sure.

  “Alpha, you okay?”

  The male spoke again. Did he not sense the danger he was in? Fabric shifted to his left and he tore his attention from Roan and focused on Grayson. Another male. Another threat. After all he’d done for these males, and they wanted to take what was his? That wasn’t right, a distant voice whispered through the fog. These were his men, his family; they looked out for one another. He shook his head, struggling to know what was true.

  Grayson held up his hands too, keeping his gaze averted. A bloodied-up wad of fabric fell to the floor, and the scent of blood saturated the air.

  Weak.

  Prey.

  Kill.

  He growled. From beside him Kali rubbed his arm, her grip firm, and began circling his skin with her thumb. “Ryker I need you. I don’t feel so good.”

  His female needed him? Instantly, his focus redirected to his mate. “What’s wrong? What do you need?”

  “Kali, I don’t think…”

  Ryker swiveled his head towards Grayson and snarled. He didn’t give a shit what the male thought. Most of him might be lost, but the beast still wanted to protect his female. Nothing would stop him from comforting her.

  She smiled, though it seemed forced. “I don’t want to be rude. I know your pack has gone to a lot of effort for your arrival. It’s been a long few days, and I’m exhausted. Can we rest first and then eat?”

  She was wrong. His pack hadn’t done this for him. They’d done it for her. He sucked in a breath. Beneath the lingering blood and death, Kali’s night lily aroma lent him strength. “Of course.”

  His words were graveled ash, sounding more beast than not. Hesitantly, she stood on tip toes, cupping his cheek and trailing her hand around his neck, pulling him into a quick kiss. Her lips were soft as a feather. He groaned feeling steady for the first time that night. The gift she’d given him left him rooted to the ground. He drank in her taste savoring her sweet hue. Far too quickly the kiss ended, and she pulled away, keeping eye contact. “I think I just need a good rest. Will you show me to my room?”

  He licked his lips, still tasting Kali. “Roan, we won’t be making dinner. Grayson, for Pete’s sake, get yourself cleaned up.”

  His beta’s blood shouldn’t smell like food; it shouldn’t make his mouth water. Kali squeezed his arm, bringing him back to task. Even wi
thout a mating bond, she was very receptive to his energy. More so than he’d like, considering where his thoughts lay in that moment.

  Steering Kali, he directed her up the staircase and down a small hallway to his room. Grayson had been right. He needed to mate. Desperately. How would he broach the subject? Just blurting my time is almost up so please mate with me would not be considered exceptional wooing. The last thing he wanted to do was make Kali feel like a means to an end.

  For too long Kali had been shackled, her choices made for her, her every action dictated through intimidation, force, or fear. He would be damned if he added guilt to the long list of manipulations she’d been controlled with.

  “Your home is beautiful. I can’t wait to see all of it. Later,” she hastily added.

  Walking past the mirror hanging between his office and bedroom he caught a brief glance of his reflection, his steps becoming jolted. Take one step, and another. Jesus. He was a sight. His hair was standing on end, his gaze burned a blue fire, his wolf right there shining in his eyes without his permission. Worse, his lips cradled the tips of sharp teeth, and he hadn’t even known it.

  No wonder Kali wasn’t feeling well. She probably wanted to get the hell away from him. Any sane person would. His hand hovered over the doorknob. He should do the right thing. Open the door and part ways, go and seek an honorable passing. Get away from the one person that mattered before he hurt her.

  From behind him Kali stepped close and reached over, placing both their hands on the knob. “Will you stay with me? All of this… this place, your pack, everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours, is a lot to take in. I need a minute to feel safe. You make me feel safe.”

  Her nerves prickled his skin, and he swallowed down his refusal. Staring into her warm brown eyes, he could deny her nothing. Holding onto his leash by the skin of his teeth, he would give her this. One simple gift. For as long as he could.

  Blowing out a shaky breath, he nodded once and pressed down on the handle. It had been a while since he’d stepped foot into his domain. Everything still the same place as the day he left. From the bedsheets hastily pulled back to the book on the window seat. Even though he’d been gone weeks the air smelled clean and fresh, his scent faint.

  The door clicked shut, and the finality of it echoed through the room. Kali’s gaze sailed over his low-lying drawers, to the window seat, to the bed and the doorway to his bathroom, and back to his bed. Laser-focus zoning in only on Kali he saw the way her nose flared, and she swallowed hard. He looked over to his bed too. Images of them tangled in the sheets, hand tangled in her hair, his cock thrusting deep into her core.

  Fuck! His dick hardened. He took a step toward Kali and she looked up at him with wide, trusting eyes. She shouldn’t trust him. He was dangerous. She bit the corner of her lip, and his hand ached to reach out and yank her to him.

  God, she was perfect.

  Everything in him wanted to submit and beg that she save him. He would spend the rest of their lives making her fall in love with him, earning the gift only she could give him. Damn it. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. He could see the trust glimmering in her eyes, and he refused to manipulate her.

  “I should get all this blood and grime off me.”

  He blinked, his thoughts circling his own selfish needs. Mouth dry, he couldn’t respond. Nodding, he walked over to the bathroom and opened the door, flicking the light on. Padding over to a built-in closet, he pulled out a fresh towel and placed it on the stone benchtop.

  All he could think about was Kali naked, wet, and slippery. His mouth watered to run his hands over the curve of her breasts and feel her slick body pressed against his. To sink into her without restraints—the way a true mating should be. Wash the memory of what they had endured and replace it with something new.

  If he took even one look at his female, he wouldn’t have the strength to leave the room. Even if she denied him. The thought sickened him to the pit of his stomach. With quick steps he stormed out of the bathroom into the safety of the darkness.

  The light shone around him. He expected the door to snap shut any minute. The subtle rustle of fabric hit his eardrums. God, she’d left the door open and was undressing. Blood punched through his veins and filled his cock. The beast snarled, his mouth watering. Arousal whispered through the air.

  His heart rate quickened. Unable to control himself, he turned. Maybe if he just watched he could jack off and no one would get hurt. One look at Kali, and he knew all hope was lost.

  So many times she’d imagined someone coming to save her from her life, from herself. Not in her wildest dreams did she think she’d be the one doing the saving. Her heart expanded. Ryker did that to her. Made her feel too much. Too safe, too accepted, too much love. She loved him and not because he was chromosomally meant for her. But because he did what was right. Yes, he fought demons, but he didn’t let the demons win.

  Not like she had.

  It all came down to the battle he was fighting right then. He just hoped he would beat his wolf into submission for a while longer. From the time Grayson’s blood saturated the air in the van, Ryker’s wolf had been present. Had he known? If going from the look of surprise at seeing his reflection, she thought not. She could sense more beast than man, smell the fur growing stronger.

  Time was up.

  Those who played with fire got burned, she knew it. Dealing with Ryker’s wolf would be risky. But Ryker’s fire would be worth it. He wasn’t planning on asking her to mate. Armed with that knowledge kinda stung. She’d picked up on the notes of sadness mixed in his scent.

  They were destined for each other, and he’d walk away? Unless Ryker thought he was too dangerous to attempt a mating? Always protecting her even if it was from himself. Well, she would be the judge of that. She’d been around plenty of monsters in her time and Ryker wasn’t one of them. All she had to do was make it so he couldn’t pick any other option but her.

  Ryker’s growl was aggressive, animalistic, and she like it. She knew that he wouldn’t hurt her. Not while a sliver of humanity coursed through his veins. He just had to last until he marked her. Sliding her hands down her pants, she looked up and met Ryker’s burning gaze.

  He’d moved to the doorway, his arms braced on the frame, claws digging into the wood. “Tell me to go away. By the moon! Tell me now.”

  Her panties dropped to the floor pooling at her feet. Holding his gaze, she shook her head.

  “Fuck!” His chest heaved, his gaze devouring her body. “You’ve got three seconds to send me away before my control is gone and I’m in there pushing you against the wall, sinking my cock balls deep into you.”

  Heat infused her body. His words sending tingles straight to her clit. If his words enticed that kind of reaction would she survive a mating? Only one way to get an answer. He was still offering her an out. Still not committed one hundred percent. Needing someway to push him over the edge, she gathered her courage, refusing to let the darkness devour him.

  More brazen than she’d been with another soul, she lifted her hands and curved them around her breasts, giving them a squeeze. Sultry wasn’t an adjective that would normally describe her, but when you were playing for keeps, nothing was off the table.

  Wood creaked. Ryker’s muscles flexed across his chest, his arms bulged. So hot, so tempting, and all hers. On the left side of his body she could see a hell of a lot more glyph markings than when they’d rutted in the cell. Don’t focus on that now. Instead, her gaze trailed down the ravine of contoured valleys and sheaths of muscles encasing Ryker’s torso.

  In slow movements, she strummed her nipples. Shafts of pleasure shot to her center and she imagined feeling Ryker’s hands coasting over her flesh. His gaze followed the movement, and he bit his bottom lip.

  “Fuck it! Too late. Beast wants. I want.” He prowled forward, his head dipped low, gaze steady on her. Reaching down, he flicked open the button to his denims, exposing the dark hairs skating down to where his str
aining cock peeked out from the fabric.

  Anticipation arced between them. A second passed, and he was there. On her, touching her. Walking them back her back hit the glass panel. Their lips smashed together in a brutal kiss. Nothing about Ryker’s actions were soft and tender. He was all animal.

  Yanking open the door, he maneuvered them into the shower stall and turned on the faucet. Lukewarm water sprayed against her skin, quickly heating up. Ryker possessed her mouth, demanding everything she had. His fingers trailed up the side of her body and cupped her breasts the way she had moments earlier.

  “You’re mine.”

  His tone broke no argument, not that she had one. She was his just as much as he was hers. He reached over, grabbed a bottle, and squeezed some scented gel into his palm. Less than two minutes, and all the blood and filth from the Pit was gone.

  Ryker’s lips found hers in a soul-shattering kiss. He growled, and she ate up the sound, loving the way the vibrations echoed through her body. Her breathing chopped out in uneven waves. He broke the kiss, moving his lips down her throat, hovering over the junction where her neck and shoulder met. Sharp teeth scraped over the skin and he swiped at her flesh with his tongue.

  She arched her neck, giving him easier access and shivered, savoring every whispered touch, every desperate taste. Every nerve end waited with bated breath, anticipating Ryker’s next move.

  “Oh God.” Part of her wanted him to sink his teeth there and then; a greedier part of her wanted to draw out their mating in a sensual torture they’d both enjoy.

  His hot lips moved south, tasting her body every inch. He cupped her breasts and groaned before bowing his head to flick his tongue over her nipple. She sucked in a breath and moaned. Nothing had felt so good. Shafts of pleasure rained over her body. Goose bumps ran across her skin.

  Ryker drank eagerly, sipping at her nipples, building the inferno of pleasure to an insurmountable level. She shoved Ryker’s head into her breast, holding him in place. Every flick of his tongue caused pleasure to shoot straight to her clit. Her stomach clenched and moisture seeped from between her legs. She squeezed them shut, the action pulsating her clit. God, she was going to come just having him lap at her breasts.