Ryan's Predicament Read online

  He’d never felt this way. As Beta, it was his job to see if everyone was taken care of, but not like this. He’d kill anyone who would dare harm who rightfully belonged to him.

  It wasn’t just that. Nathan’s presence soothed him, calmed the storm about to break inside him. Eventually, Ryan fell asleep, content to feel the rise and fall of Nathan’s chest against him. A voice woke him hours later. He still needed several hours of sleep.

  Through the pack bonds connecting him and the other members of the Blood Ruby pack, he knew everyone was back. Melody was probably with Aaron, the lion cub the pack adopted. Mal and Russ were around too, probably doing their usual patrols outside.

  Ryan and Nathan could relieve them of their duties later. He was about to return to sleep, but something didn’t feel right. Mal and Russ’ energies in the pack bonds were agitated, and the voices grew louder. Despite not wanting to, he parted from Nathan.

  “No, come back,” Nathan murmured in his sleep.

  Ryan put his pillow in Nathan’s arms and Omega began nuzzling the pillow. Damn. That should be him. If Mal and Russ had gotten into a stupid argument, he was going to lose his temper.

  Ryan found a clean pair of jeans from the messy clothing pile on the floor and shrugged them on. He walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him so as not to wake Nathan. As usual, he found Melody in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. Aaron, in lion cub form, was chasing a ball on the kitchen counter.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Mal and Russ are arguing with two hawk shifters. Apparently, they found the two guys in the borders of our territory.”

  “Why didn’t anyone wake me?” he demanded.

  The blonde gave him a look over her shoulder, but she continued tending to the bacon on the pan. The smell made his stomach growl, making him remember Nathan and he didn’t eat anything last night.

  “You seemed busy, and it was about time you claimed Nathan.”

  Ryan didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds.

  “What? You think none of us noticed? You were way worse before Nathan started bugging you. He’s a good influence and Mal and Russ consider him a decent guy. Heck, they like Nathan more than Kian.”

  Melody put the freshly cooked bacon on a plate with wax paper. When Aaron began to steal one, Ryan grabbed the lion cub and rubbed its head.

  “Mal and Russ are getting loud. I’m going to check on them.” When Aaron attempted to swipe at him with his tiny paw, he laughed and set the lion cub far from the plate of bacon.

  “That,” Melody said softly. “I can’t remember the last time you laughed like that since Allie disappeared maybe.”

  Guilt hit him twice as hard, but Melody, despite not being blood, was also like a little sister to him. She knew him too well apparently, because she said, “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?”

  “Start feeling guilty, that’s unfair to Nathan. He truly wants to help and don’t forget. Nathan could have gone with Noel and Kian to Darkfall, but he stayed for you.”

  Ryan let out a breath. “I know. He’s important to me too, and he’s mine now.”

  The arguing outside rose a pitch higher and was followed growls.

  “I’m heading outside, stay here.”

  Melody rolled her eyes. “The two brothers seem harmless.”

  “How do you know they’re brothers?”

  “Caught a peek of them outside, they look like twins, but if they meant us harm, they would have attacked Russ and Mal by now.”

  Melody had a point, but Ryan was wary of other shifters. As a roving pack, they didn’t trust others easily. It took a lot for his brother to trust Sergio and the Darkfall pack, but that was different. Even Ryan knew allying with the Darkfall pack was among the wisest decisions they ever made. They shared a common purpose. Once they got Allie back, Ryan wanted to get rid of Alpine Industries.

  However, not all animal groups shared the same sentiments. Some were terrified of these humans and decided to turn on their own kind. The thought made him sick. Ryan padded outside, shutting the front door behind him. Mal and Russ both looked pissed, on the verge of changing form and settling the argument with claws and fangs.

  He understood what Melody meant. The two hawk shifters looked like twins, with blond hair and green eyes. Most avian shifters didn’t possess a buffed-up build, unlike most land-based predatory shifters, but these two had a lean build.

  “Ryan,” Mal said. “We can handle this. Go back to your mate.”

  Apparently, everyone did know his business last night. Damn it. Maybe his pack members planned it all, leaving Nathan and him alone in the cabin yesterday. Well, it didn’t matter. For the moment, he had to wear his Beta mask.

  He planted himself between Mal and Russ and the two hawk shifters. If the intruders hadn’t made a move, what did they want?

  “I am Ryan Sandoval, Beta of the Blood Ruby pack. What are you hawks doing in our territory?”

  The hawk shifters seemed to lose some of their edge and gave each other looks.

  The taller and more scarred of the pair spoke. “I am Kayden, and this is my younger brother, Tanner. We’ve been looking for either you or your brother Noel.”

  He narrowed his eyes. Both Mal and Russ let out snarls, but he raised a hand, and both men fell quiet. Without Noel, he was the one in charge here.

  “Why?”

  “We didn’t come here to seek a confrontation. We’ve been told you and the Alpha of your pack are looking for information on the disappearance of your sister.” Kayden let out a breath. The hawk shifter looked far too serious, too intense as their gazes crossed. “Our younger brother Kenneth disappeared on the same day as your sister did.”

  Tanner continued, “Ken just turned eighteen, we were supposed to celebrate by going to Vegas. We’ve been running blind like you were after he disappeared.”

  “How did you know about my sister?” he asked.

  “We’re allies of the Darkfall Mountain pack. They told us to lay low, to wait until they’ve gathered enough information, but we can’t wait any longer. We went against the wishes of our flock and decided to approach you after learning you were in the same boat,” Kayden answered.

  Ryan relaxed, but that didn’t mean he would put his guard down completely. However, he could relate to these two. Kayden and Tanner could probably understand the depth of his pain, knew how it felt when they failed their own blood.

  The other pack members suffered the same loss, but not on the same scale Ryan or Noel did. As Allie’s older brothers, they should have been with her, or at the very least, prevented something like this from happening.

  “Come in, we have plenty to talk about. Russ, continue patrolling the area. Mal, come with me.”

  His pack members obeyed and didn’t argue, although he could sense their disapproval. No matter. Ryan wanted to hear what Kayden and Tanner had to say.

  Their group entered the kitchen. By then, Nathan was awake and helping Melody set up the table. Noticing the two extra plates, he guessed Melody had updated Nathan about the situation. How Melody guessed these hawk shifters weren’t enemies, he didn’t know.

  Kayden and Tanner looked taken aback by Melody’s warm welcome.

  “Sit, there’s plenty of food for everyone. Don’t worry, nothing’s poisoned,” she added with a wink. “Coffee’s by the kitchen counter if anyone wants some.”

  Needing caffeine, Ryan headed to the kitchen while the rest settled around the table. He met his mate there. Nathan handed him his cup and prepared his coffee exactly the way Ryan liked it—black with sugar.

  “You’re surprisingly sweet this morning,” Ryan observed. He kept his voice quiet, so as not to let the others in the dining area overhear.

  Nathan let out a huff. “I’m angry you slipped out of bed without telling me.”

  Ryan grunted. “No arguing this early.”

  Nathan sighed. “I overheard you guys talking. You guys weren’t exactly quiet. These two have some
information, let’s hear it.”

  Ryan looked surprised. “I thought you’d be against it, like Mal and Russ.”

  Nathan shook his head. “There’s nothing wrong in hearing them out.”

  Someone cleared their throat, it was Tanner. “I heard I can get coffee here.”

  “Sure, I’ll get you a cup.” Nathan grabbed a spare cup from the cupboards. His mate seemed to know where everything was. Then again, it wasn’t much of a surprise. When Melody was busy, Nathan took over cooking. Surprisingly, Nathan could cook. Nathan admitted he made meals for Kian growing up.

  Nathan poured Tanner a cup and handed it to him. “I’m Nathan by the way.”

  “My mate.” Ryan felt like he needed to add that, although it came out more territorial than intended.

  Tanner blinked. “I see, it’s nice to meet you, Nathan. Don’t worry. I have a mate too, Beta. He’s not exactly happy with me at the moment, but he understands why I had to do this with Kayden.”

  “Mates can be damn possessive, right?” Nathan pointed out.

  Ryan glared at his mate, but that lightened up Tanner, who laughed.

  “Absolutely, but we can’t live without them,” Tanner added.

  “I think we’re going to get along,” Nathan said with a grin.

  They didn’t talk much during breakfast. Kayden and Tanner seemed to be hungry and finished up most of the bacon and waffles.

  “Sorry,” Tanner said, looking sheepish. “We’ve been flying hard for days, trying to reach Blue River.”

  “You mentioned your flock isn’t happy with you two disobeying orders,” Ryan said.

  Kayden nodded. “It was a risk we decided to take. We’ve also gotten some information about a recently opened facility run by Alpine Industries three towns from Blue River. We suspect our brother and your sister were taken there.”

  “Do you have proof?” Mal interrupted.

  “Let him talk,” Ryan said, annoyed.

  This was the first real information they’ve gotten, and Ryan was sick of Noel not sharing. He knew his brother meant well, but Noel was probably tight-lipped because Noel knew Ryan would do something impulsive once he’d gotten hold of solid information about Allie. Screw Noel.

  “Can’t you see? You’re too blinded by Allie’s disappearance to think straight,” Mal injected.

  Pissed, Ryan was out of his chair in seconds and had Mal by the throat. “Say those fucking words to me again.”

  Mal didn’t back down. “All of us can see it. Your judgment’s clouded. We can’t trust these hawk shifters, and you welcome them into our home.”

  “I make the decision here, or have you forgotten who is Beta here?” Ryan practically growled the words. Aaron started crying. Melody took the lion cub by the hand and led him outside.

  “Maybe you’re unfit to be Beta,” Mal replied.

  “Are you going to challenge me for the position, Mal? You’re going to lose,” Ryan stated.

  He knew this wasn’t right, that they shouldn’t be arguing in front of strangers but putting on a united front instead. Ryan didn’t care. He was sick of waiting around. True, Nathan’s presence helped. If his mate wasn’t there, Ryan would have snapped Mal’s neck by now.

  “I don’t care if I lose. You need to get your head back in the game,” Mal pointed out.

  “Ryan, calm down.” Nathan joined in the conversation. He glowered at his mate.

  “Are you going to tell me off too, Nathan?”

  Nathan quickly shook his head. “You know I’ll always be on your side, but there’s no reason to hurt Mal. He’s just voicing his concerns.”

  Nathan had a point. He shoved Mal back in his chair, aware of what he’d done. Some days, Ryan no longer recognized himself. He culled his temper in. Mal rose from his seat, paused by Nathan’s side, squeezed Nathan’s shoulder, and walked out. Shit. Ryan wasn’t handling this situation well.

  “Tanner and I planned on getting Ken out, along with your sister and several others. We’ve done a little recon a few days ago. A trusted source from the pack had taken some photos. They’re not clear, but they’re enough. We can show them to you,” Kayden offered.

  Photos? Did these hawk shifters have physical evidence of the captives taken by the humans? Ryan could sense sincerity in Kayden’s voice. These two simply wanted to get their brother out, and their story made sense. The Darkfall pack used their avian allies as spies, and there couldn’t be any reason why the brothers would lie.

  “I want to see these pictures first.”

  Tanner nodded. “I’ll bring them here. My brother will explain the rest of his plan.”

  Once Tanner left, Kayden continued. “Once we saw the size of the facility, we knew we couldn’t do this job alone. We reached out to other shifters whose friends or family members were taken, but they were too scared to do anything.”

  Ryan understood the frustration in Kayden’s voice because before the Darkfall pack offered help, no one wanted to volunteer any information about Alpine Industries. Folks were too scared one of their own would get taken away and never return.

  Saying nothing for a few moments, Ryan glanced out the windows. Anger welled inside him when he noticed Mal, Russ, and Melody talking. Nathan came up to him and gave him a tight hug. That was exactly what he needed. Nathan looked up at him with concerned eyes and Ryan let out a breath. He knew Nathan would stand by him no matter what and that gave him a measure of comfort.

  “My pack members might not help,” he said. Not to mention, he probably wouldn’t tell Noel about his decision. Even if Tanner was still fetching the photos, Ryan already made his choice.

  “It’s fine. A four-man crew is enough. We don’t plan on fighting the humans or causing a war. We simply intend to free the kidnapped captives.”

  Half an hour later, he heard a car pull up the driveway. Tanner entered the house, holding out a thick folder. That caught the interest of other pack members. Mal followed the hawk shifter in.

  Tanner handed him the file. “Before you open this, be prepared.”

  Ryan gave him a curt nod. Nathan let go of him but thankfully remained by his side. Without his mate, Ryan wasn’t sure he could summon the strength to go through the photos by himself.

  The first images weren’t so bad. They looked like the exterior of the abandoned facility in Blue River. Once Ryan got to the photos of the captives, he steadied himself. Misery was written on all the captives’ faces. They were all gaunt, probably starved and all wore similar rough spun rags.

  The blurry photo of a group of shifters packed in a single cell not meant to fit a dozen prisoners caught his eye. Recognition hit him when he spied the woman on the far right. He swallowed. The young woman with the vibrant smile, who craved life, was gone. Allie looked pale, bruised, and defeated. This woman might wear his sister’s features, but he had a hard time believing this was her.

  No, it was definitely Allie. Even the photo couldn’t hide the heart-shaped birthmark on the left side of her neck. He wasn’t aware of letting out a choking noise. Nathan closed his hand over his and gave it a squeeze.

  “Which is her?” Nathan asked softly.

  Ryan pointed to Allie.

  “When’s this taken?” Ryan asked.

  “Three days ago. According to our source, the humans are readying these captives for a massive experiment. That’s why we need to move soon.” Kayden gestured to a frightened brown-haired young man to Allie’s right. “That’s Ken.”

  Thinking about what these humans were doing to his little sister made him see red. Nathan began stroking his knuckles, calming him slightly, but it wasn’t enough.

  “And you trust this source?” Mal finally asked.

  “Paul’s human, but he disproves of what’s being done to the shifters,” Tanner answered. “We can trust him.”

  “We can’t rely on your word alone,” Mal said.

  “There is no ‘we,’” Ryan finally said, meeting the other man’s eye. “I’m going with them, whether you like i
t or not.”

  “We have to tell Noel about this,” Mal interrupted.

  “Go ahead. See if I fucking care,” Ryan answered.

  “I’m coming with you,” Nathan said, looking into his eyes. “Don’t tell me to stay here, please. I’ll only come after you.”

  Ryan nodded. He would rather prefer Nathan remain here, but he knew how stubborn his mate could be. It was better if Nathan was by his side because if he left Nathan here, he’d be worried about what Nathan was up to.

  “Ryan, we’ll need to discuss with the pack,” Mal said.

  Ryan had enough of Mal questioning his orders. Lately, even Russ second-guessed his decisions and without Melody or Nathan there, things would have probably escalated into an internal fight.

  The brothers gathered the photos. There was also a crudely drawn blueprint of the facility, but it would have to be enough.

  “We’ll let you discuss the situation. I’m giving you my number,” Kayden said, looking at Ryan. After inputting Ryan’s number in his phone, Kayden continued, “We’re leaving tonight, whether you guys want in or out. Come by the MapleBerry Inn in town if you’re interested.”

  Chapter Five

  Once the brothers left, thick tension entered the room. Melody went back inside, announced she was taking Aaron to town, leaving Ryan with Russ and Mal. He didn’t count Nathan because his mate was the only loyal one there. Come hell or high water, Ryan already made his decision. He was getting Allie out of there.

  No way he would wait for Noel’s orders. Noel might be Alpha, and normally the thought of disobeying orders wasn’t in his nature, but the rule book flew out the window a long time ago. This was Allie they were talking about. It should be Ryan in a cage, not Allie.

  His sister could hold on for one more day, Ryan knew that. They didn’t raise Allie to be weak, but they couldn’t expect him to sit around knowing this much information.