Last Wolf Watching. Rhyannon Byrd

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СКАЧАТЬ and he couldn’t stop the heavy surge of blood rushing to his groin, making him feel like a sick bastard, considering the circumstances. She went strangely still the second she felt his rigid erection pressing against her spine, and he bit back the guttural groan that rumbled deep in his chest.

      Flicking his gaze away from the dangerous terrain of her body, he looked up and experienced an overwhelming wave of relief when he saw that Max Doucet’s change was complete. “It’s over now,” he whispered.

      Despite the softness of his words, she flinched, her body trembling with an excess of emotion. She let out a slow, shaky exhalation of air, then turned her face back toward the clearing, her breath catching on a hoarse cry the instant she saw her brother.

      The newly formed wolf rose on his hind legs, his massive chest rising and falling as he panted through parted jaws that revealed long, sinister fangs. Glowing blue eyes that burned like the center of a flame searched the crowd of spectators, until he found the one he was looking for. Brody’s hold tightened as the wolf made a sluggish move toward Michaela, but the Lycan guards were already yanking on the thick chains that wrapped his throat, keeping him in place.

      â€œThe change has been taken and the human breed has survived,” Fuller announced, his brown hair whipping around his face as the wind surged, playing havoc with the towering flames of the fire as they licked at the darkness of the sky. “Who will take responsibility for the Novitiate’s training?”

      â€œThe honor will be mine,” a deep voice called out from behind them, and Brody turned his head to see Eric Drake step forward to stand beside Cian. A collective rumble of shock reverberated through the pack at this blatant, stunning show of support for the Runners from the Elder’s son.

      â€œEric?” Drake’s silver brows pulled together in a deep-seated scowl, his sharp cheekbones slashed with a vivid streak of ruddy color.

      Crossing his brawny arms across his chest, the youngest son of the most pure-blooded line in the Silvercrest pack repeated his intention. “For too long this pack has benefited from the courage and sacrifice of the Runners, giving nothing in return except the offer to join a community that treats them as inferiors. Enough’s enough. It’s time we make things right and give something back. The boy will pass his Novitiate’s training, and when he does, he’ll become a Runner and hold a position that demands our respect. To see that it happens, I’m taking on the training of Max Doucet as my own.”

      â€œLike hell you are,” his father hissed, baring his teeth as he jabbed one long finger in his son’s direction. “It’s bad enough that you and your sister have actually befriended them, but I will not allow my son to disgrace our family by aligning with these aberrations and taking responsibility for a human breed, the foulest creature of all!”

      â€œYou can’t stop him,” Elise Drake argued, stepping forward to stand by her brother’s side in a show of support against their father, though her nerves revealed themselves in the tremor of her husky voice and the violent trembling of her hands. Not that Brody blamed her. Elise had been through a hell of her own the week before when her father had used her in the attack on Jillian’s life, and now she had to deal with this.

      For a moment, the misogynistic Drake stood rigid with fury in the face of his daughter’s defiance, and then a soft gleam slowly began to burn in the wintry depths of his eyes. “You’re right,” he murmured, straightening his cuffs in a purposeful act of indolence. “I can’t stop Eric should he choose to malign his honor in such a fashion. But I can enjoy his failure.” He all but purred with malicious satisfaction. “Fate has a way of righting all wrongs. It’s been many years since we’ve taken the responsibility for a Novitiate in this pack, but the rules remain the same. If the human breed fails to pass judgment at the end of his training, which I’ve no doubt he will, the punishment still stands and Max Doucet will be executed.”

      â€œYou bastard!” Michaela hissed, suddenly jerking forward, but Brody was already tightening his hold on her. She strained against his arms, but couldn’t break away as she shouted at the Elder, the horror she’d just endured pouring out of her in an uncontrollable flash of fury and pain. “If you hurt my brother, I’ll see that each and every one of you dies. Your town, your way of life. I’ll bring the entire world breathing down your neck. Just see if I don’t! And I’ll be damned if he’s staying here! I’ll do whatever it takes to get him away from you! I’ll get the goddamn army up here, and we’ll see how power—”

      Cursing foully under his breath, Brody pressed his palm over her mouth, silencing the words he knew were only going to land her in deeper trouble. Muffled sounds of outrage vibrated in her throat, but it was already too late. The damage had been done. Drake hated all humans with a passion that went beyond obsessive—and because of their close association with the Runners, they’d known the Doucets would garner special attention from the unstable Elder and his followers. And now that Michaela had openly challenged him, Drake wouldn’t stop until he made her pay for the insult.

      â€œThe human is too unstable to be allowed her freedom,” Stefan Drake announced with a gloating smile, spreading his arms in a gesture of entreaty. “Surely the pack realizes what must be done. She cannot be allowed to interfere with our dealings.”

      â€œYour so-called dealings sought out her family,” Mason growled, “not the other way around. We know you’re the one behind the rogues, Drake, and it won’t be long before we’ve caught you—along with the bastard working with you—and brought the both of you down.”

      â€œDespite the slanderous accusations you and your kind have been tossing around like confetti,” the Elder argued, his hateful stare burning with maniacal triumph while whispered words traveled among the members of the pack, “my guilt remains unproven. The truth is that you have no evidence to back your claims. They’re all based on nothing more than hearsay and conjecture. And regardless of how it happened, her brother is now here and the fact remains that she is a threat to our well-being. I call for an—”

      â€œThere’s no need to call for anything,” Dylan growled, cutting Drake off. “She can be assigned a guard and the problem is solved.”

      â€œI agree,” Fuller called out before Drake could argue, the Lead Elder’s relief to have ended the disagreement without bloodshed obvious in the softened lines of his expression. “The only question is who. Who is willing to accept accountability for her actions and watch over the human while her brother completes his training?”

      Brody narrowed his eyes, his chest aching as he prepared to say the words he knew were going to change his entire life. It was insanity. Madness. The action of a fool. And yet, he didn’t have any other choice. He never had.

      â€œI am.” The two roughly spoken words echoed through the clearing with the force of a cannon blast, and Michaela instantly stilled, stiffening against him as all eyes turned toward them. “Until this is over,” he growled, “the human is mine.”

      Chapter 3

      The human is mine…

      The unbelievable words echoed through Michaela’s head, the evocative warmth of Brody’s breath against the sensitive shell of her ear enough to make her tremble with something sharper, darker, more visceral than shock or fear. She struggled for the source of her reaction to the possessive words—then realized it was hunger, urgent СКАЧАТЬ