The Alpha's Fight: Huntsville Pack Book 3 (17 page)

The other man followed suit and both men dropped to the ground as their skin rippled and blurred until their wolves came to the forefront.

"I'll go with you." Dani walked toward the car, heading for the driver's side.

Lia hurried to catch up and get there first. "If you don't mind, I'd like to drive." Call her paranoid, but she wanted to control where the car went.

Dani shrugged. "You know where you're going?"

"Yeah." Lia slid into the driver's seat and pressed the accelerator, satisfied when the engine responded with a loud roar. Giving the wolves a few seconds' head start, she then whipped the Charger around in a half-circle and barreled down the road in the direction she'd come from.

M
urder gleamed in Mason's eyes as the alpha circled Ryder. He made a show of struggling to keep up, hiding his strength until he needed it. The silver they'd injected into his blood burned and throbbed all over his body. His wolf had vanished from his mind's eye, too weak to manifest in the face of so much poison. He knew he wasn't shifter strong anymore, but what Mason had failed to understand was that Ryder's success in the Pack League wasn't just because he was a shifter. He'd sweated and bled to make himself the best MMA fighter in the shifter nation. That kind of dedication had nothing to do with being a shifter.

Of course, the odds weren't as good as they would've been if Ryder had been at full strength, but he still had a shot at coming out on top. The trick was to keep Mason believing what he wanted to about Ryder; that he was weak and easy pickings. He would get sloppy then and make mistakes.

Ryder was counting on it.

He'd seen Mason's type in the ring. They would talk themselves up until they didn't think they had to train anymore. Ryder had delivered some painful lessons to over-inflated egos in the past. His alpha was no different.

The pack ringing them was quiet, shifting uneasily as they waited for the fight to begin in earnest. Their expressions ranged from angry to concerned. The ones who were worried were the ones counting on Ryder's new pack to give them a better home. They were afraid it was about to be taken away from them.  Or worse, blow back on them once Ryder wasn't the focus of Mason's anger anymore.

Mason darted in close, his fist connecting with Ryder's stomach. The air left his lungs in a loud 'oof' and he doubled over, taking longer than he needed to recover.

"See? He's not even as strong as I am." Mason's voice crowed in the air. "This is no alpha. Not unless you like weakness." His foot lashed out and hooked the back of Ryder's knee, forcing him to the ground.

Ryder moved with the momentum of his fall and rolled over so that, when Mason jumped, he wasn't there. He got up on all fours, deciding to give Mason the target he should hit next.

Fortunately, the alpha wasn't smart enough to realize he was being manipulated. He gave a howl of satisfaction as he kicked Ryder in the stomach. Ryder let the force of Mason's foot carry him upward and, as he went airborne, he used the alpha's own power against him.

Stretching out his body, he angled himself toward Mason and slammed into the alpha with the full force of his weight. They both went down; Ryder on top, Mason underneath him. As they landed, Ryder let gravity help him head-butt his opponent with enough force that he heard bone crack.

Darkness clouding his vision, Ryder felt his head, wondering which of them had cracked their skulls. As far as he could tell, it wasn't him, which meant Mason's brain had taken the hit. Good.

Pulling himself upright, he then let himself drop, putting all his weight behind his elbow. Aiming for Mason's head, he let himself come crashing down. Mason's arms started to come up to defend himself, but then abruptly dropped to the ground as his skull cracked and gave way under Ryder's weight. Through his elbow, he could feel brain squish under what had once been Mason's forehead.

He stayed on Mason for a long minute, not wanting to give up any ground until he was sure he'd won. Mason didn't move or make a sound. Cocking his head, Ryder listened for a heartbeat and heard nothing. That was it. The fight was done. Mason no longer breathed.

Ryder blinked at the suddenness of it. Dealing with Mason had been easier than he'd expected.

"Cheater!" Trent strode into the circle, anger making his face red.

Ryder pulled himself to his feet and glared at the second. "You would know a thing or two about cheating wouldn't you?" He nodded to the crowd. "Ask him about the syringes full of silver water they shot into my veins. I'm not even at half strength and I took Mason down. That's the kind of shit alpha that was leading this pack. You should be thanking me because he made you weak. Every single one of you." He beat his chest with a fist. "Come on, Trent. Keep accusing me of cheating and I'll send you to join your alpha."

Trent roared and leaped into the air, choosing the advantage of height. Ryder calmly tracked the man's trajectory and side stepped him at the last second. The silver definitely slowed him down, but he could still muster decent speed. Of course, it hurt like a son-of-a-bitch. His muscles cramped up, knotting so tightly in his thighs, he thought they might snap.

Ignoring the pain, he thrust out his arm so that Trent ran into it with his throat. With a strangled gargle, Trent dropped to the ground, his hands going to his neck. He couldn't even scream when Ryder carefully and methodically smashed his foot into Trent's knees, crushing the joints.

"I should kill you," he said. "But I'm not Mason. Once you heal, you're to leave this pack. This isn't your home anymore. Understood?"

Trent glared at him, defiance an angry fire in his eyes, but he nodded. Struggling to sit up, he used his hands to drag his body toward the woods.

"Ryder." Tillie ran to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank the moon, you're okay."

Ryder wrapped a protective arm around his grandmother. "Let me look at you. Are you okay?"

"I'm a tough old wolf, don't worry about me. What about Lia?"

"I'm getting to that. Just give me a minute." He turned his attention to the rest of the pack. "There's no room for this here. If you want to beat people up, threaten them and give power to the one asshole who least deserves it, you're going to have to find a new pack. This isn't your home anymore, either. Go now if you want to live." He sought out Erik and pointed to him. "That goes for you, too."

Erik's face went pale and he swallowed hard, but he didn't argue with Ryder. He took a step back, preparing to follow Trent. The men next to him did the same.

A horn honked, the noise jarring in the tension surrounding the pack. A Dodge Charger whipped into the parking lot and brakes squealed as it came to a stop.

Ryder gaped as he saw that Lia was the driver. She'd escaped somehow and come back. He almost couldn't believe it was true.

But wait. She had company, and it wasn't anyone he knew. A woman with a gun holster around her waist stepped out of the passenger side and said, "Everyone stay right where you are."

"On who's authority?" Ryder asked, wondering if this had something to do with Lia.

The woman fished a small wallet out of her back pocket and flashed a silver moon badge at him just as two large wolves bounded up to stand next to her. "I'm Dani Moon from the Pack Council. We're here to investigate Mason Claw."

"Investigate all you want. He's not going anywhere," said Tillie, jerking her head toward where Mason's body lay.

***

L
ia jumped out of the Charger and ran to Ryder, moving so fast her hair streamed behind her. She threw herself at him so he had no choice but to wrap his big arms around her as his grandmother gracefully stepped to the side, a knowing look on her face.

"Ryder." She breathed his name. "You look like hell."

"I've been better," he said.

"Are you okay?" She ran her hands over his shoulders and up to cup his face—gently because of all the bruises. Staring deep into his eyes, she said, "I found out something important."

Curiosity lit his eyes. "Oh?"

"I don't have a mate. There's no claim on me." Standing on tiptoe she kissed him. Electricity shivered through her as their mouths collided.

He spoke, mumbling into her lips, but she shushed him. "I've been fighting not to kiss you again this whole time. I don't want to let another second go by without following my heart."

She bit his bottom lip, laughing low in her throat when he growled at her. His arms tightened around her and he lifted her up so she didn't have to stand on tip-toe anymore. She moaned as his tongue slipped between her lips, stroking her until she thought she might catch on fire. Their kiss made her heart sing and her damaged brain told her this was a good thing. A very good thing that went way beyond mere physical attraction.

"Are you gonna take off your clothes and just have at it here, or what?" someone asked.

"Shut your traps." Tillie wagged a finger at the pack.

The ribald laughter from the rest of Ryder's pack finally cut through the haze of passion that had overtaken them. Ryder broke contact first while Lia blinked at the crowd around them, slow to realize the show they'd put on for everyone. The world had narrowed until only she and Ryder existed. Nothing else mattered.

"Sorry. I just thought I was going to lose you
and
my sister. When I saw you standing there still alive," she glanced at his many wounds and bruises, gingerly pressing a finger over a cut on his temple, "although a bit worse for the wear, I lost my mind a little, I guess."

Ryder hugged her close, burying his nose in the nape of her neck and inhaling deeply. "Don't be sorry. I couldn't believe it was you until you kissed me. I thought my head had taken one hit too many and I was seeing what I wanted, not what was real."

"I'm real, and I'm glad you wanted to see me." She snuggled into him to prove her point, giving a slow smile when she felt his response to her. Ryder was hard as a rock. If only they were alone, she'd take him into the woods and...her brain stuttered as desire short-circuited her system.

"The first chance I get, I'm going to take you somewhere quiet and make you scream," Ryder whispered in her ear, his voice low and growly.

"That sounds heavenly." She arched into him, trying to get even closer. Her nipples had pebbled inside her bra as his voice worked its way through her body. She loved the smooth tenor of his voice and the lower raspy note that raked over her skin until goose bumps rose up.

"Sorry to interrupt, but you're Ryder Chase, correct?" The woman stepped forward.

Ryder kept Lia close, but turned to nod at the woman. "Yes."

"And that's your alpha Mason Claw?" She pointed to the alpha's body.

"Yeah. Sorry. I...ah...seem to have killed him."

"Not a problem. The Pack Council wasn't going to let him live. Not with what he was doing." She nodded to the wolves flanking her on either side. "We'll be taking his seconds into custody as well. They'll be put on trial and I don't expect them to fare any better than Mason would have. Your alpha was into some dirty shit and they helped him with it."

As she spoke, the wolves with her shifted back into their human forms and grabbed Mason's crew, forcing them to line up. If they protested, they got clobbered in the face with a fist. The Pack Council was not known for their light touch.

"What was he doing? I had no idea he was anything other than an asshole," Ryder said.

Dani gestured to Lia. "He's the reason her sister went missing. While you were out on the fight circuit, Mason built up a nice little shifter trafficking ring. He targeted addicts, people no one would miss, and sold them to—"

"Vampires," Lia finished for her.

"Right. Vampires."

"Well, damn." Ryder's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I didn't see that coming." He looked at what remained of his home pack. "Did you know?" Some appeared just as shocked by him at the news while others refused to meet his gaze.

"He sold me for a hundred thousand." Lia swallowed, feeling sick at the idea of being sold like so much meat. Catching sight of Mason's blood on the ground, she let her satisfaction with his death burn away the nausea.

Ryder's nostrils flared and pepper filled his scent. "I'd kill him again for that if I could."

Lia smiled at him, and then turned to Dani. "Why did he want addicts? And why vampires?"

"Addicts are easy to control and vampires are addictive. If you want a blood slave, there's nothing better than someone who can't function without you and doesn't even want to try."

Lia cast a pleading glance at Dani. "My sister. Mason sold her, too. You have to help me find her."

"We haven't found any of the shifters, not yet. We'd just identified the vamp that bought you. We knew Mason was trafficking, but we hadn't uncovered the full network, not even close."

"What does that mean? That you won't help me? That my sister doesn't matter?" Her voice caught on the last question.

"It means she could be anywhere," said Dani. "We don't know how to find her."

"No." Lia shook her head. "She's here somewhere."

"Baby, " Ryder said, rubbing her upper arm.

"She texted me, remember? She told me to come here to find her. So that means she's in this area. We just have to figure out where." Lia left Ryder's warm embrace and went over to the men who'd been taken into custody. "Tell me. You have to know something."

When they didn't respond, she stepped in close to one of the men, crowding into his personal space. He growled and snapped his teeth at her, but she didn't care. She snapped her teeth right back at him, fully capable in that moment of ripping his throat out. "Tell me or  I'll—"

"Kill me?" The man spat the question at her. "I don't know nothing. I didn't see nothing. Fuck off, bitch."

Lia pulled back her fist, intent on smashing into the man's nose, but Ryder got there first. His fist came in from the side, connecting with the man's jaw and slamming his head sideways. The punch knocked the man out and he dropped to the ground like a stone.

Ryder stood over him. "No one talks to her like that. Understood?" He stared down the rest of his pack, holding his gaze steady until they looked away. "If anyone knows where Lia's sister is speak up or you don't just have to worry about being executed by the Pack Council, you'll have to worry about me. I'll challenge each of you to a death match for dishonoring my pack, and," he pitched his voice so low it rumbled like thunder, "I'll make it very slow and very painful. You'll go out screaming like a pussy in front of the entire shifter nation."