Amber Flame

  Fergus thought for a moment. “Let’s ask Mary what’s going on out front. We can start there. Keep Alessandro on the com.”

  Warren held up his phone. “He’s right here.”

  “Good.” He pivoted away from Warren slightly, turning in the direction of the stairs. “Mary, you there?”

  Her voice entered Fergus’s mind. I’m here.

  Can you bring Warren in on this conversation? He had no idea if Mary had that kind of capacity, but they were both experiencing new abilities. Maybe it was possible.

  Let me try. He felt her telepathy expand to include Warren as she drew him into the conversation. Warren, are you reading me?

  Warren met Fergus’s gaze, his unscarred right brow high on his forehead. Yes, I am, Mary. He looked startled. Fergus didn’t blame him. He’d had the same reaction several times during events of the past few hours. And I appreciate what you’ve done for us.

  My pleasure, Mary said. Now, how can I help?

  Can you get to the front entrance? Warren asked. My men are headed in, and I want to relay the positions of the enemy before they arrive.

  I’ll get right on it, Mary said. But I’ll need to head back to the foyer. Two beats later, her telepathic voice sounded agitated. Fergus, Warren, something’s happening outside the compound.

  What do you mean? Fergus asked. His whole body tensed up and he drew his Glock. He started to head to the stairs, then decided to wait. He needed to know everything that was going on before he left the third level.

  Mary continued, I’m watching dozens of rogue wolves launch into the air, while some are shifting to wolf form and running hard. All are heading due south. They’re wearing gray logo patches and they keep streaming out of the complex. I can see Warren’s men in the distance off to the west, but by the time they arrive, Sydon’s force will be gone.

  Fergus finally holstered his Glock. He turned in the direction of Sydon’s cell. The part of him that was sharing Mary’s fae abilities sensed a powerful energy emanating from Sydon.

  Fergus got it. Sydon heard Warren’s orders to Alessandro and he contacted his men. He’s sent them away.

  Mary said, That’s what it looks like from here.

  Fergus looked around. Mary, would you reenter the compound and check out our location again? I need to know if there are any more of Sydon’s wolves on the lower two levels.

  Will do.

  He turned to Warren. “Did you get all that?”

  Even Warren smiled. “I sure as hell did. I would have been happy to battle Sydon’s wolves, but that would have meant a lot of bloodshed all over your compound. This is much better.”

  Fergus had to agree. But it also meant a future reckoning with Sydon’s force. For now, he focused on securing the safety of his pack.

  Mary’s voice sounded once more. There’s no one on the third or second levels that look like rogues. I see a lot of shifters hunkered down in odd rooms here and there. Some are hiding. Others I can tell have been hurt.

  Okay. Thanks. But stay put. In real-time, I mean, over at Warren’s house. I’ll come and get you in a few minutes.

  I’m not going anywhere. And right now I’m hovering above you. The halls on the third level are clear as well as the stairs.

  Fergus addressed Warren. “I want to do a room-by-room search of the compound. Why don’t you and your men hunt through the grounds and the surrounding forest for any of Sydon’s wolves and I’ll round up my team and do the same for the compound.”

  “You got it and by the way, we couldn’t have done this without Mary.”

  Fergus nodded slowly. “I know.”

  Warren called to his team in the dungeon cell and soon had them flying up the stairs, with Warren in the lead. Fergus headed back down the hall and went into the cell that held his men.

  Harley came up to him immediately. He was limping with a severe gash on his leg. He had long thick auburn hair and his blue eyes were pinched from pain. His face was bruised as well. “We thought you were dead. But Warren filled us in. Did Sydon really use a skewer during the battle?”

  “He did. We can go over the details later, but right now, I want to know what happened in here.”

  Harley gave a quick report, which confirmed what Warren had told him.

  Fergus planted his hand on Harley’s shoulder. “You’re all alive and that’s what matters.”

  Harley’s eyes filled with tears. “Fergus, we lost men tonight and our youngest female wolf. Sydon and his men … vicious … without souls. We didn’t have any weapons. We couldn’t do anything.” He shaded his eyes with his hand.

  “I know you, Harley. You did what you could. This is on Sydon, no one else. But I need you to focus right now. We’ve got to secure the compound.”

  Harley nodded and worked to compose himself. He stared at the stone floor for a long moment and took several deep breaths, releasing each one with a hoarse wolf sound. When he’d come back to himself, he said, “Tell me what you need me to do.”

  Fergus took a moment to adjust as well. He wasn’t used to feeling so separated from the pack. Because Sydon had begun the bonding process, Fergus felt the distance between himself and the men in the cell like a chasm difficult to cross. But it was just one more reason to make sure the dominance battle happened as soon as possible.

  As he glanced around at the wolves, he knew one thing for certain. They might not be bonded right now, but these men would follow his lead. He updated them on the departure of Sydon’s wolves and that he’d wounded Sydon to make sure the bastard didn’t do any more harm tonight.

  A cheer went up that made Fergus smile. This was a beginning.

  But there was work to be done to make sure all the Gordion wolves were safe. He instructed his team to make a room-by-room search of each level. “And let our people know that Sydon has been contained and that I’m calling for another dominance battle for tomorrow night.”

  With his men hunting through the halls, Fergus waited in the central broad hallway of the third level, which housed a long oval running track. Any of the wolves could use it when they needed to take off on all fours.

  At least forty Gordion wolves, male and female, were found on the third level, all in hiding. Fergus told them to be very quiet, though most of the women had tears running down their cheeks and at least half reached out and physically touched him.

  He examined every person. He found bruises on many of them and healing cuts on quite a few. It was clear Sydon and his men had brutalized the entire pack.

  Those who had previously served in guard capacity for Fergus were given weapons that came from Sydon’s men. With his team’s number now at nearly thirty, he instructed them to do a dedicated search of the second and ground levels.

  He knew Warren’s team would scour the exterior of the compound and the nearby pine trees.

  Fergus stayed on the second level while his men did the search. More wolves emerged from hiding places. At least a hundred of his pack of six hundred were now gathered on the second level.

  He did the same as before. Despite the fact he could feel Sydon’s bond on his pack, more wolves wept and touched him. He searched the faces of everyone present and comforted those he could.

  What surprised Fergus was that there was no sign of any of the rogue wolves. Somehow each had been given the order to retreat and they’d taken off. Which meant Sydon had power, not a good sign. No matter what happened in the coming dominance battle, Sydon wasn’t going away anytime soon.

  Warren contacted him soon after. We found no sign of Sydon’s men on the outside of the compound. We’re combing the forest now.

  Make sure you go cottage-by-cottage carefully.

  You know we will. Warren’s deep voice had never sounded more serious.

  Many of the pack homes had intricate dens belowground, but Warren knew that. His pack was similar, wolves being wolves.

  Fergus contacted Mary and updated her. My team will be heading to the ground level in a few minutes. How are you doing? r />
  I’m fine. I’m still in the dreamglide. I’m searching your private rooms right now.

  He heard her gasp suddenly, an odd telepathic sound.

  Oh, dear God. Fergus, you need to get to your master bedroom immediately, but bring medical personnel with you. Several female wolves have been hurt. Bad.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  MARY REMAINED HOVERING in her dreamglide above Fergus’s bed. She felt sick at heart at the sight before her, yet not surprised. Sydon was the monster who had skewered Fergus’s heart and sent wolf females to work in the cartel-run Naked Wolf club.

  Why wouldn’t he have three women chained to Fergus’s bed?

  They’d been beaten and the sight of amber flame markings on their cheeks, necks and wrists told its own tale. In addition, each wolf had an unusual amount of fur showing on her breasts and all down the insides of her thighs. Amber flame had a terrible quality of forcing a partial shift and creating a pseudo-animal experience.

  During sex, the women would exhibit a wolf-like need to be on all fours and to be dominated. They would howl and thrash. The men who liked rough sex enjoyed taking advantage of the women further altered, if temporarily, by the drug.

  She heard the door open and watched from above as Fergus entered the room. He’d done as she’d suggested and brought a medical team with him, including two women who offered soft wolf-grunts as they approached the bed. Even Mary could feel how comforting these sounds were to the injured women.

  The wolves cowered at first as each was released from her shackles.

  Fergus wisely remained near the door, though she felt his fury rising.

  Fergus?

  I’m here.

  Can you dial it down? She asked.

  What do you mean?

  Your rage, Sweetheart. The women can feel it. Earlier he’d called her ‘Sweetheart’, but until she’d entered the dreamglide she hadn’t realized she’d used the endearment as well.

  She hadn’t said anything earlier, not when the only critical issue was saving Fergus’s men from slaughter. But the moment she’d entered the dreamglide, as before, all the memories of her time with him had returned, the way he’d made love to her, the wolfness of him that turned her on, his strength yet endless capacity for tenderness.

  Her heart was full just looking at him through the dreamglide.

  She felt his rage fall away at her words, reminding him that how he felt wasn’t the priority right now. He spoke to one of the nurses and excused himself, adding quietly, “When the women have been taken away and tended, I want this bed burned.”

  She watched Fergus leave the room. Knowing the abused women were being cared for, she followed after him in the dreamglide.

  He didn’t return to his men, but walked farther down the same hall and went into his library. He closed the pocket doors behind him, then sat down in a chair angled next to the fireplace. You’re remembering more, he said.

  Because I’m in the dreamglide, she said, I remember everything.

  Fergus leaned forward in the chair and put his head in his hands. She knew he was upset and she valued his compassion for his people more than anything else about him.

  You okay?

  He leaned back in his chair and huffed a heavy sigh that ended in a typical wolf grunt. I will be.

  From the moment she’d entered the dreamglide, and the memories of their times together had come back to her, she’d felt confused. Not about what she could recall, but about what she ought to do with their relationship. She’d been making love with Fergus for the past several weeks. They were intense lovers and he’d satisfied her as no man ever had.

  But it was more than just sex, that much she knew. She felt a profound affection for Fergus, something she couldn’t easily dismiss.

  Where do we go from here, Fergus, you and me?

  He shook his head. I don’t know. More than anything, I’m feeling the need for an alpha-mate, for a woman in the pack, but you’re fae.

  I know. And though I’ve come to appreciate who you are in this world, and wolves like Warren as well, the constant level of violence hurts me. It’s like a pain in my heart that I can’t shake. At least you have Sydon locked up. Are you planning to turn him over to the Tribunal? Five Bridges had a court system run by the Tribunal, though more often than not the cartels’ reach extended well into its halls of justice.

  I’ll leave his fate up to the Savage Pack Council, but only after I engage him in a dominance battle, without wrist guards. My primary goal is to re-bond with my pack. Nothing else matters.

  Mary grew very still. She knew this was the necessary order of events, but her fae senses were screaming at her that it would be a mistake to let Sydon go free. He was an abusive, ambitious monster. He should be put down, Fergus. Right now.

  It’s not the way we do things. And if I killed him straight out, the Council would be within its rights to prevent me from ever taking the reins again.

  But Sydon doesn’t play by the rules.

  He rose from his chair. I’m not going to argue with you, Mary. It’s important to me that I battle him according to rules I believe in.

  She thought for a moment. Okay. Then just make sure it’s a final battle. If you don’t believe in the necessity of eliminating Sydon as a future threat, then I suggest you check your newly acquired fae senses. You’ll see what I mean. He’s more dangerous than you or any of your fellow alphas know.

  He spoke aloud. “Mary, I’ve heard you. I want you to know that. But I will do what I believe is right and best for my pack as well as for the future of Savage. I’m heading your direction right now. You can leave the dreamglide if you want. I won’t be long.”

  I’ll be waiting for you.

  With that, Mary left the dreamglide and with it her blocks fell into place once more. She was back in Warren’s map room and realized to her surprise that she was in a partially conscious state and had been the whole time. Always in previous instances, she was asleep or unconscious in order to be in the dreamglide. But not right now.

  She rubbed her arms, feeling a wolfish kind of power invading her, strengthening her. She’d been part of a rescue operation that had saved the lives of decent wolves and she’d loved every second of it. Yup, very wolf.

  Rising to her feet, she thought back to being in the dreamglide. She could recall everything about the experience, of breaking into the compound, of getting Fergus all the way through the hidden passage, and even helping to capture Sydon.

  She remembered the women in Fergus’s master bedroom as well.

  But she couldn’t recall the blocked portion, the several weeks with Fergus as his lover in the dreamglide. Her blocks held. Yet she knew that anytime she headed back into the dreamglide, she’d be able to remember everything about their time together. It was a bizarre disconnection.

  For a moment she wondered if she should disable the blocks, but that would mean accepting more about her relationship with Fergus than she wanted to right now. There was a part of her that kept hoping what she was going through was only temporary, that maybe she was on a mission that would soon end and she could return to Revel and resume her life.

  So, the blocks stayed.

  She stretched a few times, angling her arm over her head and bending sideways one direction, then the other. She ached in a few places. The stone floor had a carpet, but it was fairly thin and she’d remained in one position way too long.

  She didn’t disturb the guards outside the door but waited for Fergus.

  He arrived barely a minute later. When he came into the room, he closed the doors behind him. She could feel the connection to him, even though she couldn’t recall the details of their time together.

  “You’re back.”

  “I am.” His deep voice, full of male resonance, swamped her senses.

  He held her gaze for a moment and his strong wolf energy quickly permeated the room. She wasn’t surprised when he crossed to her and pulled her into his arms.

  The kiss that follo
wed was full, warm and moist. His wolf musk scent rose as well and took away her remaining restraint. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, her whole body moving against his. She might not remember all that they’d done, but the part of her becoming wolf was into him.

  She’d never had this kind of experience with a man before, needing him the way she craved Fergus. In fact, if she was honest with herself, she’d never even been in love before.

  She drew back from Fergus and couldn’t repress a sharp intake of breath.

  In love.

  She was in love with Fergus.

  He held her loosely, his arms still wrapped around her. “What’s wrong?”

  She didn’t know what to say to him. She could hardly proclaim her love, not when the concept had just marched into her head.

  She settled her hands on his chest, then chuckled softly. “You’re a big man.” She spread her hands over his pecs. A memory returned to her, of doing this with him, of touching and fondling him.

  “Do you want me to take you home? Back to Revel?”

  She lifted her gaze to his gorgeous dark eyes. She could see the amber rings emerging, the ones that always formed when he was aroused. His brows were drawn together in concern.

  “No. I don’t want to leave.”

  He released a sigh of relief. “Good. I’ve thought about where we should go. I have a place.”

  “What do you mean?” She glanced around. “In Warren’s compound?”

  He shook his head. “No, but I also don’t mean the Gordion Compound either. I have a home, not far from here, my first with a belowground private den. Will you be with me tonight and afterward through the day?”

  Her head was nodding before she’d even formed the thought. Everything about her situation with Fergus felt as though it had an internal drive she couldn’t resist or even slow down. She couldn’t not be with him.

  “Is that a yes?”

  She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him. That’s an I-can’t-say-no.

  He drew back and smiled at her. “I know exactly what you mean. And I swear to you that I won’t make demands. I just want and need to be with you right now. Once my mate-hunting cycle ends, we can go back to, I don’t know, where we were before. I just don’t know what the future holds or what commitments I can make.”