Using his mouth, he tore at Zack, now having complete access to the other shifter’s body. Zack might have gotten a bite in, but now Michael was in control of the fight. Piece by piece, he tore Zack apart. The taste of the other man was in his mouth, his life seeping out bit by bit.
Finally, he pulled back panting. He fell to the floor, expecting the blows to come from Zack’s group. He had no energy left to handle it. He’d done what he needed to do.
Todd’s scent filled his nostrils and he looked up at the other shifter who was in his human form albeit naked, which meant he’d shifted to wolf and then shifted back.
The other shifter’s voice was gruff when he spoke. “Wow.”
He wished he could speak to Todd telepathically only they weren’t pack. That was saved for post-mating ritual spouses and pack communication. With no choice, he shifted into his human form.
Groaning, he put his hand on his stomach and saw the blood that covered it when he pulled it away. Zack had really gotten him good. Two large teeth marks marred his skin.
They bled and burned.
He looked at his wolf for one last second. Good work.
Michael’s wolf still panted. I live to please.
Finally, he spoke to Todd. “Where are the rest of Zack’s cronies?”
“We took out a few of them. The rest are in awe of you, they’re not going to risk a fight.”
Michael tried to stand up and fell back. Damn, he was really hurt. It had been a long time since he’d been this bad off. He needed food and then sleep or he was going to be in for a world of hurt.
Staring at Todd, he asked a question that had been brewing on his mind for some time. “Did you do it, Todd? When you were with Zack, did you and Barge and Seamus abuse female shifters sexually?”
Michael already knew they had participated in some of the beatings.
Todd’s eyes got wide. “Never. Zack is powerful. We wanted to be aligned with the most powerful shifter. If he said hit, we hit, but most of us didn’t participate in the ‘have sex with me to live’ mentality.” Todd looked down at the ground. “Personally, I’ve been waiting for my mate.”
“Alright.” Michael grabbed his head to stop the world from spinning. “Here is the deal, take everyone who wants to come back to the house back to the house, assuming they’ve never raped anyone. Anyone who did that may not come.”
“Where should they go?”
Michael shrugged even though it pulled on his stomach and hurt like hell. “I couldn’t care less.”
Extending his hand, he glanced up at Todd. “Help me up?”
Todd nodded and helped Michael get unsteadily to his feet.
“Thanks for coming to my rescue.”
Todd raised an eyebrow before grinning. “You’re welcome.”
Michael limped forward. “How did you know where I was?”
“When you didn’t come back in a reasonable amount of time, we came searching for you. The whole group wanted to come, but we convinced the others to stay with the women.”
Stopping his slow progress forward, he regarded Todd. When he’d first gotten here, he’d thought they were stupid. Truth was, they’d been acting that way. Now, however, they reminded him more of the young wolves he used to train when Westervelt actually had teenagers. More like what his nephews would become when they aged a little bit more.
Sometimes the young pups struck out at him, bit down, didn’t listen to their wolf-halves. They had to be trained out of this behavior. His job had been to teach them, to work with them alongside their parents until they matured. If need be, it was his job to turn them over to Cullen Murphy for a different kind of lesson.
Then when they’d done their years with him it had been his joy to watch them walk away the wolf-shifters they were supposed to be. This whole pack—who had somehow managed even through their dysfunction to shield his sister from Kendrick Kane for thirty-five years—were stuck in time emotionally in their teenage years.
“Can I help you walk back?”
Michael laughed. “You can, but I need to do something first.”
“What?”
“I want to get some wine and maybe some flowers.”
Todd rolled his eyes. “We’re all naked. We can’t go traipsing into the grocery store.”
“I suppose you’re right.” He closed his eyes as he swayed on his feet. “But that really fucking sucks.”
* * * *
Michael opened his eyes and blinked twice trying to figure out where he was. The room was dark, not a problem since his other senses were on alert. Scarlett’s scent filled his nostrils and he breathed deeply. Wherever it was, it was fine if she was there.
“Scarlett?”
“Michael.” Her voice came from the other side of the room and he heard fast, soft footsteps approach him. “You’re awake.”
“Kind of.” Sitting up hurt like hell, but he’d never been one to stay flat on his back.
Groaning, he ran his hand over his stomach, relieved to see the wounds had closed.
“Where are we?”
“Cole’s room.” She sat down on the bed next to him, placing her hand on his forehead. Her skin felt cool and smooth. He closed his eyes against the sensation.
“I forgot for a second. I know Zack knocked around my insides, I didn’t realize he’d rattled my brains.”
She sighed and the sound made his heartbeat pick up. “You lost a lot of blood.”
He opened his eyes. “Forget about me, I’m hard to kill. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.” She leaned over and turned on the light. For a second, he couldn’t see at all, blinded by the sudden onslaught to his vision. Seconds later, it cleared and he was treated to his mate’s lovely form.
“Are you telling me the truth or has the withdrawal been really hard?”
She shrugged and when she spoke concern laced her voice. “I have a little headache, I’m a little itchy, and kind of tired but other than that, I’m fine. I’m not the one who almost died.”
He waved his hand to dismiss the accusation. Truth was, he was kind of uncomfortable that she fretted about him. “Don’t exaggerate.”
“I’m not. When Todd brought you in, I thought you were dead.”
“Nah … I told you, I’m hard to kill.” If growing up with his father taught him anything, it taught him that.
“Michael, please don’t make light of this.”
“What do you want me to say? It’s not as if I set out to get jumped by Zack and his cronies.”
“No.” She shook her head, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. “You went out to get me wine. No one ever buys me anything.”
“I did. I wanted to.”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she held on to him. He could hear her heartbeat and the blood rushing through her veins. Being this close to her was bliss. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, I never got the wine.”
She pulled her head back to look at him. “Thank you for trying.”
“You’re welcome.” He held her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Someday I will surprise you with it.”
She blushed even as she changed the subject. “You must be starving.”
“I think I passed starving a little while ago. Now I’m at the point where I can’t feel it anymore.”
“Wait here.”
Letting go of him, she jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. He leaned back and tried to make sense of all the small things that had just happened. She’d been worried about him, which made him feel weird and then she’d hugged him, which had made his night. Even better was the fact that she hadn’t looked away once when they’d spoken.
Their relationship moved forward, which was a really good thing.