Savage Sacrifice: A Dire Wolves Mission (The Devil's Dires Book 5)

by Ellis Leigh

  Before she could finish her thought, though, Colt came thundering down the stairs, racing into the living room and heading straight for the island where Michaela sat.

  “You know better than to leave my side,” Colt snapped, a growl rising in his throat. He wore nothing but a pair of boxers, his muscled body fully on display as he grabbed her arm and tugged her off her seat. Not exactly what she needed, considering the conversation she was trying to have with her mate.

  Speaking of mate, Phego was on his feet, head down, hackles raised. His growl rumbled through the room, his eyes locked on the other male. With two steps, he pushed his way between Colt and her, shoving the male back until he couldn’t hold on to her anymore. Whether he was simply breaking up a random disagreement or defending his mate, Michaela didn't know. She wouldn't know if he wouldn’t shift to talk to her. A fact that was seriously hindering her ability to deal with the stress of having an unconfirmed mate and an overzealous bodyguard in the same room.

  “I just came for coffee,” Michaela said, directing her words to Colt even as her eyes stayed locked on Phego’s.

  “You should have woken me. I didn’t know you’d left the bed.”

  Michaela winced, unable not to. Left the bed. Not the room or the floor, the bed. That wouldn’t go well.

  “You were still asleep…on the floor,” she stressed, hoping Phego understood her intention with that statement. “Besides, I wasn't in any danger.”

  Ariel padded into the living room from down the hall, her hair wild, her eyes sleepy. “What's this about danger? Oh, is that coffee I smell?”

  But Michaela wasn't looking at her, she was watching as Phego stalked out the door. As he left her behind. Ariel also focused on the wolf as he pushed the screen door open, looking worried. Ariel knew Phego better than Michaela did, a fact that only made his exit and her obvious concern that much more upsetting. Could nothing go right between them?

  Once Phego was back outside, his heavy breaths loud and clear from his place under the window again, Ariel turned that inquisitive gaze Michaela’s way. It only took that one look, that single expression, and Michaela understood. Ariel knew about her and Phego. She knew, and she was going to bring it up once the two women were alone.

  Michaela set her coffee cup down and headed back into the kitchen to grab a cup for her friend. Taking a moment to collect herself before coming back out with a distraction in the form of a warm cup of coffee and a smile.

  Ariel didn’t buy it. “Well, that went about as well as I would have expected.”

  “What do you mean?” Colt asked, still looking pissed off and cranky.

  “Nothing,” Ariel replied, taking a step back from the hulking wall of muscle. She gave Michaela a wink as she took a sip of her coffee. Though, her face showed far more concern when she lowered her cup. “Maybe you should go get dressed, Colt. I’ll keep Michaela company.”

  He glanced from one woman to the other, frowning. But eventually, he nodded. “Fine. But don’t go anywhere.”

  Michaela saluted him with her left hand. “Aye-aye, Captain Underpants.”

  Ariel chuckled, hiding her grin behind her mug until he disappeared up the stairs with a huff. Then she got serious.

  “We need to talk.”

  Michaela nodded, her eyes going to the screen door. Seeking her mate on instinct. “Yeah, I think we do.”

  7

  The melodic lilt of his mate's voice soothed Phego’s anxious mind, made him want to fall asleep as he lay in the dirt under the front windows of the cabin. The two women had been murmuring in the back bedroom for close to two hours, their voices hushed and words indecipherable, before they moved outside. Coffee cups in hand, smiles in place, Ariel and Michaela sat on the porch, talking more, exchanging histories and retelling old stories. Phego could sense their friendship, their bond. He could practically see the easy connection between the two.

  Colt, the useless bodyguard who seemed to take great joy in smirking Phego’s way every time he moved close to Michaela, was busy working in the kitchen. By the sounds of it, he was making himself something to eat. Phego couldn’t remember him asking the ladies if they were hungry, which would have been what a real man did. At least, that’s what Phego would have done if he had been the one making food. Especially for Ariel, who struggled climbing stairs and rising from a seated position due to the heaviness of the pup she carried. Phego did his best not to think about feeding his mate, about sliding his fingers in her mouth and letting her suck something sweet and delicious from them, about the way her thick, dark lips would look as they closed around that part of him. He refused to consider the way her brown eyes would lock on his as he cared for her, as he nourished her, as he treated her the way a woman should be treated. No, he couldn’t think about that, not if he didn’t want to have to deal with an erection in wolf form.

  Phego stretched his front legs out, claws scraping across the dirt, achy from not shifting human in so long. Achy from a lot of things, like being around Michaela’s scent so much. Like having such a beautiful woman to look at all day. Like the desire to bury himself inside her and bite down on her neck, claiming her, taking her as his.

  He needed to stop thinking about the woman as his mate.

  But as he told himself she wasn’t his, Michaela laughed, the sound sending shock waves along his spine and amplifying his desires. For the first time since he saw her, he almost shifted human. Almost changed forms just so he could take her in with his other eyes, so he could reach out to touch her with his hand. So she could see exactly what the fates had offered up as hers. In his relaxed, dreamy mind-set, he had to admit that he wanted that. Wanted it enough that he almost gave up on his promise to himself to keep his distance and not give in to her charms—but Ariel's voice stopped him. She was his priority. His mission. His focus. His job was to keep her safe. Being in wolf form and not giving two strangers any leeway was the best way to do that.

  So he stayed lupine, and he rested in the late-morning sun after another long, hard night patrolling the forest. And he fought every instinct he had, all the ones telling him to move beside Michaela, to brush against her, to rub his scent on her so the other male knew she was his. He planted himself in his dirt patch and held on, trying to grow roots strong enough to hold him back. Trying to do what was right.

  As the ladies’ talk turned to family and pack, to memories of things experienced long ago, so did Phego’s thoughts. Michaela spoke joyfully about her situation, while Ariel sounded far more reserved. Understandable, really, considering her history. But it was Phego who locked down every muscle in his body at the memories of his youth, who grew cold at the visions playing out behind his eyes. Even the warmth of the day couldn't stop the chill of those thoughts.

  Almost like a dream, flashes of the days leading up to what should have been his death flooded his mind. How his parents had been so closed off. How they'd practically refused to talk to him, his mother staring at the fireplace, his father looking out the window as he left to hunt each day. Phego had assumed they’d been fighting, the stress on the pack to hunt and survive the upcoming winter putting everyone on edge. He’d vowed to work harder, to find more prey and bring home plenty of food before winter came. He’d promised himself he would take care of them. But he'd only been a few hours into his last hunt for his pack when his brother had chased him down. He’d told Phego his parents needed him, that they had called for him to come home. Something they’d never done before. Phego had been sure something was wrong, though. He could sense it. Feel it. And even though he’d felt the danger pressing close, he’d followed his brother home…or to what he'd always thought of his home.

  Not that time.

  The slamming of the screen door yanked Phego back to the present, to the cabin in the woods. To the sense of danger once again blanketing the area. His wolf head shot up, his body tensed and ready to fight. Just as he’d been all those centuries ago when he’d walked into another little cabin he’d once called home. Fuck, h
e could still smell the fire and the damp, dank air of the valley they’d denned up in. And the blood.

  “I'm going for a run,” Colt said as he stomped across the porch. “Don't leave, don't do anything stupid, and if anything at all seems unusual, scream. I’ll stay close enough to hear you.”

  Phego’s lip curled in a silent snarl. Stupid? Both women were doctors, highly educated, and about the furthest thing from stupid he could imagine. Michaela must have nodded, as Phego didn't hear her speak her response. He did hear Colt start down the stairs and head toward the near side of the cabin for the woods, though. Interesting that he was leaving the women alone seeing as how he didn’t know where Phego was or what he was doing. Was Colt setting them up? Seeking to meet with whatever Phego had sensed lurking in the forest? Scenting out possible hiding spots for future attacks? All possible. Phego didn’t trust Colt, especially not when it came to the women on the porch.

  Woman. His focus was Ariel, not Michaela. One woman.

  Shaking off the last of his muddled, dreamy thoughts, Phego rose to his feet and slipped out of the bushes. Following Colt. Avoiding being seen by the women. When Colt made it to the tree line, Phego picked up his pace, letting the dirt and pine needles fall off his back as he padded across the grass. Ariel was laughing behind him again, reminding him of his goal on this mission. She was his priority, and he couldn’t be distracted by anything else. He wouldn't go far, though. He just wanted to follow, to see, to make sure Colt wasn't doing anything other than running. To make sure he wasn’t plotting against the women.

  Woman. Ariel. One woman.

  Colt’s clothes lay folded underneath a tree at the edge of the forest, which meant he must've shifted. Good. Phego preferred hunting prey on four legs. He followed Colt’s scent trail through the trees, along the path by the creek, and around toward the back of the property. Phego knew that route, had run it himself a million times. Colt definitely wasn't going far…yet.

  Still, Phego searched his senses for any sign of something off. Something wrong or out of place. Whether unfortunately or not, there was nothing. No trace of whatever he felt in the woods the other night. No inkling of another person watching him, waiting for him. So Phego ran, ending up about thirty yards behind Colt. He stayed hidden in the trees, slipping in and out of the brush to avoid detection, while the other wolf ran ahead.

  But as Colt’s wolf reached the far corner of the property from the cabin, he stopped. Silent and still for reasons Phego couldn’t determine. Phego crept close enough to see what was going on and tucked in behind a tree, waiting and watching. He didn’t have to do either for long.

  The bodyguard shifted from his wolf form, moving into his human skin in the blink of an eye. He turned, looking right to where Phego waited. Staring hard at the wolf who’d been following him.

  “I know there's something you and Michaela aren’t telling me,” Colt said. He stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, his arms hanging at his sides, his fists clenched. The signs of a man about to fight. A boxer ready to exchange blows.

  Phego walked out from behind the tree, staying in wolf form. Refusing to give in to the other man’s need to confront someone. There was no way he was fighting this man. He didn't need to.

  Colt growled when Phego didn’t respond, when he didn’t shift. The sound coming from the bodyguard was loud and gruff even in his human form, surprisingly so, but Phego’s returning growl was more. Harsher, more violent, more threatening. It buried Colt’s in volume, a fact that made the other man turn red in the face.

  “She's coming back to our pack no matter what,” Colt spat, still growling, infusing his words with the rumble of his wolf in what Phego had to assume was supposed to be an intimidating way.

  Phego wasn’t intimidated by much of anything, especially not some overbearing wolf.

  Colt took a step closer, then another. And another. Until he was less than ten feet away from Phego’s wolf. “My job is to protect Michaela, to return her to our pack Alpha in one piece. Don't get any ideas about trying to get in the way of me doing just that.”

  Phego snarled, unable to stop the instinct to protect what was his. To respond to the threat this nothing of a man was throwing his way. Colt had just unknowingly stepped between a wolf and his mate. Even though Phego hadn’t technically accepted Michaela as his, it was still a bad idea. No mated male would allow someone else to come between him and his female. That would be a fight to the death, and every shifter knew it. But Colt had no idea the two had mated, that they had a bond to one another. No matter how incomplete it was.

  “Not going to answer me? Fine. I’m done with words anyway.” The bodyguard shot Phego a cocky grin just before holding up his hand and bending his fingers in a come-hither motion. “Let's do this.”

  Colt shifted back to his wolf form, racing toward Phego before he was even completely on four legs. Brilliant. Phego hadn't planned on fighting, hadn’t wanted to get into the politics of killing the bodyguard of Ariel's friend and midwife, but he wasn't about to back down from a direct threat. The fucker wanted to fight? Phego would fight…and he’d win.

  The two wolves met in a crash of flesh, teeth, and claws, harsher and more brutal than even their scuffle the day before. Violent snarls broke the quiet around them, sending birds and prey animals scuttling. Neither man went for a kill move, though. Phego, because that wasn't part of his plan; Colt, probably unable to get at him. Phego was a great defender, able to ward off most one-on-one battles without difficulty. It was part of his skill set, part of his training as a Dire Wolf.

  Still, Phego couldn't just let Colt show dominance over him in any way. He battled, defending himself against Colt’s attack, until the smaller wolf made a mistake. One second, one twist in the wrong direction, and Phego pounced. He rolled Colt’s wolf to his back, opening his mouth over his throat as if going for the kill. Clamping down and holding the bodyguard in place with his teeth. Colt froze, his body going almost limp, the instinct to survive by showing submission taking over. Self-preservation ruling his mind.

  Before Phego could decide what he was going to do, how he was going to teach this fucker a lesson, a familiar sound broke through the haze of his rage. The cracking of a fallen branch under a heavy foot. Someone was close. Someone was watching. Again. Phego's head flew up, and Colt took the chance to scramble to his feet. Thankfully, the bodyguard had also heard the sound, so he didn’t try to take advantage of the moment. Instead, he tensed, looking in the same direction Phego did. Waiting for some sort of sign, some sort of indication of what was out there. It came in the sound of one rock rolling against another. A soft ting that destroyed the stillness around them.

  It might as well have been a starting gun going off.

  Both wolves took off like a shot, racing toward the sound as if on a team. They even spread out naturally; ready to encircle their prey, ready to defend the women back at the cabin together. Working as one unit against a common threat.

  But once again, the watcher was well hidden. Phego couldn't even get a solid scent trail on whatever was leading them through the trees. They were chasing shadows, racing after a deeper darkness through a forest most wouldn’t have dared to enter. But even those shadows disappeared when they hit the riverbank, as did all traces of their intruder. No scent to follow, no sounds to chase after, and no more shadows.

  Poof…gone.

  Phego paced the water’s edge, snarling. Raging inside at being tricked by the creature once more. That rage turned to dread, though, as his mind filtered through various scenarios for what the creature in the woods could have wanted. He wasn’t there for kicks, wasn’t there just to watch. Of that, Phego was certain. Was his presence on that day another ruse to be used as a distraction? To lead the men away from the women and leave them unprotected? Were they playing into his hand and putting Ariel and Michaela at risk?

  Colt must've had the same thought at the same time, for both men turned toward the cabin, racing through the trees and heading for the wo
men they were bound to protect. Their jobs were so similar, their duties so in line with one another. If he didn’t hate the bastard, Phego could see being teammates in their fight against whatever seemed to be haunting his woods.

  As expected, Phego was faster, his longer legs eating up the ground with every step. He tore through the woods in seconds, his mind oscillating between thoughts of Ariel and Michaela. Both needed protecting, both were important. Ariel because she was his mission, his pack, his friend’s mate carrying the next generation of Dire Wolf. There was also Michaela. Beautiful, sexy, incredible…mate. As much as he still fought the connection, he couldn't let anything happen to her. Not that day, not ever. She deserved better, deserved protecting, deserved so much more than he could give her. A thought he couldn’t deal with in that moment, so he tucked it away to unpack at a later date. A much later date.

  Colt's wolf raced up beside Phego’s, running alongside him for a few steps. They glanced at one another, Phego assuming Colt was thinking the same thing he was by the regret in his dark eyes. They were idiots who weren’t keeping those women safe as they were supposed to. No more. Phego would not be distracted. What was happening in the woods, the feeling that something was coming for them… That needed to be worried about. That had to be the priority. That was the threat to address first.

  As Phego passed the bodyguard once more, his thoughts flew ahead of him. No one had ever trespassed on his property, not even the local hunters who took to the woods for food. No one had ever threatened his forest home before. How did the shadow in the woods find them? Who was he? Where had he come from?

  But the biggest question, the one that ate at Phego and kept him in his wolf form more than anything else, was one he hated. One he couldn't help but think.

  Did their guests, did Michaela and Colt, have something to do with the shadow? Had the shadow followed them? Or had they brought him as a distraction, a weapon, or a backup in case whatever their plan was failed?