Savage Desire
Chapter 24

Ryan stretched and turned his head to look at the clock on his bedside table. It was already half past wolves from the bedside table like he did every morning, and stared at it. It was a beautiful picture. R

He usually slept in on Saturdays but he had scripts to mark so he had to get out of bed. He reached out to pick up the framed photo of his and Jeremy's iled, remembering the day his and Jeremy's wolves had spent the night in the suite. Though he'd been out most of the time thanks to their naughty wolves, that day had been special. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Ebookex.com.visit Ebookex.com to read the complete chapters for free. Philip had brought him that framed photo the morning after Jeremy's departure. He told Ryan that their wolves had looked so sweet cuddled up together when he entered Jeremy's suite that morning after the arena combats, he hadn't been able to resist taking the shot. Philip had captured it like a pro. It could easily win the national geographic picture of the year award. Ryan ran his fingers over the image of the red wolf in the shot...his mate. God, he'd missed

Jeremy had been gone for three months. And although Ryan felt no pain as he should have, he missed him terribly. Most times he either woke up with his pillow wet with tears or with Jeremy's name on his lips. Ryan didn't get why he seemed to cry in his sleep almost all the time but always woke up okay. Gloria had tired explaining that much as his pain had been cloaked, subconsciously he was miserable. It was therefore no surprise that he actually cried in his sleep. Ryan didn't really get it but hey... he was no expert in the werewolf shenanigans. All he wanted was to see his Jeremy again.

Ryan remembered that time, a week after Jeremy left for the Fort, when he'd gone to the council and requested an audience with Luna. He'd met only four of the council members including the High Priestess. Somehow he'd been glad that Gloria, Joel and Deloris... Camilla's warlock mother who he'd come to respect after she'd apologized to him for her daughter's actions against him, were not around at the time. His plan was to be rude and adamant if he had to. The council members he'd met had given each other incredulous looks, wondering what he wanted to discuss with Luna.

"Is there a problem Ryan?" The high priestess had asked, looking worried. Ryan understood why she looked worried. After all, if he was in any kind of pain over his mate after she'd used an indestructible cloaking spell on him, then there was a big problem. "Yes, there is." Ryan had replied quietly. "I want my mate back."

"Are you in pain Ry..."

"I don't need to be in pain to want my mate." Ryan's voice had raised. "He's admitted he's erred. He willingly accepted his punishment. I'm the one he wronged and I've forgiven him. Shouldn't that count for something?" Ryan had finished, panting harshly. "But Ryan, you're not the only one he wronged." The high priestess said quietly. "The fact that you've for him does not mean the other parties..."

"You mean Luna." He'd growled. "I just want to talk to her please. Pick up your wands and do the circle thingy and summon her so I can talk to her. This has gone far enough." "It doesn't work like that Ry..."

"Then how the fuck does it work?" He'd bellowed, watching the council members tense up. "Help me understand because I'm tired of this crap. Where do you get o fucking up someone's life..." Ryan saw relief on the faces of the council members when he heard the door of a car slam shut outside. He smelt her before she entered. "Please." He pleaded, unable to kee esolation of his face. "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it. I'll do anything."

"Ryan?" Gloria hugged him from behind and rested the side of her face on his back. "Easy honey." She crooned softly.

Ryan knew that she could feel him shaking. He'd covered his face in his hands and taken deep breaths. Then he'd heard Paige shout his name just before bursting naked into the council quarters. She'd obviously shifted to track him. Paige came to stand in front of him, removed his hands from his face and wiped at his moist eyes. Then she'd hugged him.

"I hear you hate nudity." She'd murmured into his ears. "Take it as your punishment for waiting till I left the room, before putting your plan into motion. Do you think you're the only one who wants to murder these old farts?" She'd hissed, and then added insincerely, "sorry Mama G", drawing soft laughter from both him and Gloria. "Anyway,

you shouldn't even see this as punishment. After all, this is a hot Triple B body." She'd purred.

"What's a triple B?" He'd asked before he could stop himself.

"Brunette, boobs, and buns." Paige had purred and then burst into laughter when he blushed. "You look so damn adorable when you blush." She'd teased.

In the end, he'd apologized to the council members and followed Gloria and a still proudly naked Paige, out.

"Next time you feel like confronting the council, talk to me first." Gloria had said as she sped towards the mansion. "Please?"

"But I only wanted to make a request." He'd groaned. "I want him back." He'd added in an anguished whisper.

"All in good time, handsome." Paige had murmured in a weird voice. "All in good time. Let's just get this Alpha threat out of the way first..."

"Paige, don't you dare growled. She'd later told woman since she was headstrong she could be.

do anything stupid." Gloria had him that she'd known the feisty a baby. And she knew how

When Paige said nothing after Gloria's warning, the elder had actually stopped the car and turned to look at the naked beauty sitting in the back seat with stern eyes.

"Paige?" The warning in Gloria's voice couldn't be masked or ignored. "What are you planning on doing?" But Paige wouldn't respond. "If you don't answer me now, Paige Harrington so help me God, I'll..."

"Alright, alright I won't do anything stupid. Jeez." Paige had murmured but he could see from her eyes that she hadn't meant it at all.

She'd later admitted to him that her plan was to kidnap the council members who had been part of the circle during Jeremy's sentence and scare them into somehow getting Luna to bring Jeremy back. Ryan couldn't see how that plan could be successful but at least it was a plan. He'd tried talking to the council and it hadn't worked, right? Maybe Paige's way would yield a better result.

Ryan had never gone back to the council again, however. He felt helpless. He sometimes wondered whether they'd really cloaked his pain because there was nothing painless about missing Jeremy. But deep down, he knew they had because he remembered how he'd felt when Jeremy stayed away from him that time. He'd almost gone insane. He'd been literally sick. Maybe he needed that feeling now, Ryan couldn't help but think. Maybe that kind of pain would push him to unleash hell on the council and the ruthless Luna, to push them to bring his Jeremy back.

"Fuck." Ryan almost jumped out of his skin when the phone on his bedside table began to ring. He'd been so lost in thought the sound of the phone had sounded abnormally loud. He placed the framed photo on his chest and picked up the phone. It was Clara. "How's my favourite alpha doing this morning?" Clara purred, making Ryan smile. Some of the pack members referred to him as alpha because they said being the alpha's mate made him an alpha too.

"I'm good Clara. How about you?"

"Couldn't be better." Came her cheery voice. "Paige said to tell you she's on her way up."

"Okay. I'm up." Ryan said, wondering where Paige was coming from. "Thanks."

Since Jeremy left, everyone who came to the suite to see Ryan made it a point to announce themselves first. Even after Clara alerted him, they would still announce themselves by pressing the bell at the entrance of the suite before they actually entered. When a surprised Ryan had asked them why the change, Philip had told him how Jeremy had left a strong warning the day he'd left, that no one was to barge into that suite without alerting him first. And that was the exact moment Ryan knew without a doubt that he'd lost his heart to his mate. That night he'd cried himself to sleep. He wished he'd been able to tell Jeremy that he loved him too when he'd told him the day he left. Maybe knowing that he loved him too would have made Jeremy's pain more endurable. But he'd been so shocked at the words, he'd literally gone speechless. To know he was madly in love with his mate and his mate didn't even know... How f****d up was that?

With a sigh, Ryan left the bed and went to open the door. By the time the elevator opened on his floor, he was leaning against the door, waiting for Paige. She stepped out with her arms full with breakfast. Ryan couldn't help the grin that brightened his face when he saw the name on the paper bags. His favourite breakfast joint.

"Somebody likes what he sees." Paige drawled, landing a loud smack on Ryan's cheek. "Just woke up huh?"

"Uh-huh. Why didn't you call me to go with you?" Ryan asked, closing the door behind them.

"Because I knew you would be sleeping and didn't want to disturb you." Paige answered, depositing her goodies on the dining table. "Tell you what, why don't you go take a shower whilst I set this up?"

"Alright, let me just fix the bed..."

"I'll do it." Paige cut Ryan o.

"Paige..."

"Go on, go on." She waved him away with her hands. "Get out of here before I drag you in there myself and give you that bath."

That got Ryan rushing towards the bathroom. But before he got to the bathroom door, he turned back and went to give Paige a fierce hug. Then he ran to the bathroom to do as he'd been told. He and Paige had gotten very close since Jeremy's departure. He'd woken up the morning after Jeremy incarceration to replace Paige, busily arranging his stu in Jeremy's suite. By noon, she'd converted his room into a state-of-the-art study. Ryan had been pleasantly shocked. When he'd expressed his gratitude, she'd only shrugged and told him she'd needed something to occupy her so she wouldn't drown herself in the misery that was threatening to swallow her up. They'd become fast friends. Maybe it was because she'd started lecturing in his school but they virtually did everything together and he'd grown to love her so much. Though she was like his best friend, she acted like a mother hen around him. She would sometimes call him in the middle of the night just to check up on him. And if he told her that he couldn't sleep, she would come over and sit with him till he slept.

Paige had become even fussier over him since Ryan told her, about two weeks after Jeremy left that he had a niggling feeling he was being watched. Paige never left his side for more than an hour after that. The only times she felt comfortable enough to leave him for longer hours was when they were within the safety of the pack house. Ryan hadn't been surprised when she'd actually moved onto his floor, claiming she just wanted to keep him company till Jeremy got back. He knew better. He didn't have to be a genius to know that the feisty beauty was only watching out for him. Ryan didn't mind at all since he loved being in her company. He adored Paige Harrington.

When Ryan went back into the room, the bed looked temptingly immaculate and Paige was sitting at the dining table with a glass of juice in her hand. He quickly went to the closet, got dressed in jeans and t-shirt and then went back to the bathroom to hang his towel.

"Couldn't wait, could you?" Ryan gave a mock growl as he took a seat beside Paige.

"Damn, this croissant is just sinful, Ryan." Paige moaned as she bit into the buttery, flaky, pastry.

"I can see that." Ryan chuckled, reaching for a custard-filled doughnut with maple glazing...his favourite. "I almost don't want to bite into this." He moaned. "It's so beautiful it should be hanging on a wall."

Paige laughed as she poured some hot chocolate for Ryan. "Blow on it before you drink it." She warned. "It's hot."

"Oh this is so good." Ryan closed his eyed as he savored the yummy sweetened dough in his hand."

"I know right." Paige chuckled. "Ate one whilst you were in the shower. It's better than s*x."

"No it's not." Ryan countered, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. "Two totally dierent feelings. Both pleasurable I admit. But whilst one gives tasty pleasure, the other gives a mind-boggling, explosive pleasure."

"I see he redeemed himself." Paige smirked, looking at Ryan teasingly from beneath her lashes.

"He sure did." Ryan murmured, feeling a delicious shiver run through him at the thought of how Jeremy had felt inside him. His blush gave away what he was thinking.

"Ohh someone's mind is in the gutter this very instant." Paige purred teasingly. "That good huh?"

"You have no idea." Ryan breathed, completely lost in some erotic trip down memory lane. "When I think of the way he takes me... The way he would suddenly slow down, right in the middle of a hard f**k, look deeply into my eyes with those beautiful blue eyes, and then slowly close the distance between our mouths and then start kissing me passionately. It literally makes my toes curl." He whispered.

"Oh shit!" Paige gasped, making Ryan's head shoot up. He'd obviously forgotten he wasn't alone.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry." He blushed even harder, making Paige laugh.

"Hey, don't be." She leaned back in her seat and looked at Ryan with a wide grin. "I must admit you're making me crave cock, though." She rasped.

"Oh, so you've..."

"Been there, done that." She said dryly. "Good to know you got it good."

"He's amazing," Ryan murmured. "God, I miss him."

"I can see that." Paige grinned. "I don't know about you but thinking along those lines would be way better than...you know..."

"I know." Ryan said softly. It sure did feel nicer thinking about his steamy sessions with Jeremy than dwelling on the pain he knew his mate was going through.

Surprisingly, he hadn't had his usual sexual urges since Jeremy's departure. Yes, he did grow hard whenever he thought about their final day, but it never pushed him to seek relief as he normally would. That was rather strange, taking into consideration the fact that he was naturally highly s***d and needed frequent release.

"Do you love him?" Paige asked quietly. She lowered her cup of tea and watched as beautiful green eyes rose to meet hers. The unguarded look in those eyes literally stole her breath.

"I'm madly in love with him Paige." Ryan whispered. "And I fall harder and deeper with each passing day."

"You should have told him that day." Paige said, lowering her eyes to stare into her cup. "It would have been good for him to hear that."

"I didn't know then, Paige." Ryan's voice was quiet and filled with regret. "Even if I had, I don't think I could have uttered a word after that bombshell he dropped. You see, no one has ever told me they loved me before. Not even my mother, though I knew she did. You have no idea how it felt like to hear those words from him." He sighed and took a sip of his hot chocolate.

"He's crazy about you." She grinned. "But then, you already know that so..."

"The feeling is mutual." Ryan responded shyly. For some reason he was feeling tingly all over just talking about his mate.

"Do you ever dream of him?"

"Wish I could say yes but since he left, never." Ryan took a sip of his hot chocolate. "I'm sure that whatever they did to me has taken that possibility of dreaming about him

away." He muttered. "If only I could see him in my dreams...touch him...talk to him..." He gave a deep sigh. "On the other hand, it might be too painful to bear. I don't think I can handle seeing him and then waking up to nothing. Maybe it's for the best." He sighed. "But you want to."

"God, yes." Ryan groaned. "But..."

"Are you..." Paige started to speak but trailed of when her cell phone began to ring. "Lip?" She reached for another croissant. "Yes, I'm with him." She listened for a moment, frowning at a point. "We'll be there." She hung up and got to her feet.

"Is there a problem?" Ryan asked, taking in Paige's demeanor.

"I think so." Paige started packing what was left of their breakfast, their conversation forgotten. "We're all to converge in meeting room two in ten minutes."

"Who and who?"

"You, me, Lip, Stan, Mama G, Dad, Deloris, George, Pete...you know George and Pete don't you?"

"George is the head hunter right?" At Paige's nod, Ryan smiled smugly and added... "And Pete is the head assassin."

"Good job." Paige moved towards the cute kitchen in the suite. "It's an emergency meeting of sorts. All the other Betas will be there too."

"Whatever it following Paige part?"

is must be serious." Ryan into the kitchen. "Why do I

murmured, have to be

"You're the alpha's mate, Ryan. You need to know what's going on." Paige explained as she washed her hands.

"Philip is the alpha Paige."

"Lip is only acting." Paige sighed. "When will you get it into that head of yours that being an alpha's mate makes you an alpha too? Come on, let's go." Paige grabbed her cell phone of the dining table.

"Philip is doing a brilliant job." Ryan shut the door behind them.

"I haven't said he's not. In fact, I've been told he's actually evolved into a real alpha and that's great." Paige said, steering Ryan towards the stairs since the meeting room was on the eleventh floor which was right beneath their floor. "It happens sometimes. Jeremy can either keep him on or assign him to another territory when he gets back."

"I'm happy for him." Ryan looked thrilled. "But I don't think those two would want to live apart." He chuckled.

"I know right." Paige laughed. "Stan would hit the roof 'cause that would mean he'd have to divide himself into two."

"Did somebody mention my name?" Stan shouted with a mock scowl just as they got onto the eleventh floor.

"You mean Stanislav?" Paige asked innocently and promptly burst into laughter when Stan slowly extended his middle finger.

"Will the lady kindly sit on this, please?" Stan asked, making Ryan laugh too. "You good, Ryan?" He asked, drawing a laughing Ryan into his arms.

"Yeah, Stan. You?"

"Been running around like a dog chasing its tail, thanks to those alpha killers." He growled, pushing open the door

to the meeting room. "When we finally catch up with those bastards, I'm going to suocate them in their own shit."

"Ryan?" Ryan heard Gloria call his name just as he was about to enter the meeting room. She and Joel had just stepped out of the elevator. "I didn't see you the whole of yesterday. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too mum." Ryan moved towards Gloria, laughing at the contented look that appeared on Gloria's face at his words.

The joy that always appeared on the face of Jeremy's mum whenever Ryan addressed her as mum, never ceased to bring an answering joy into Ryan's heart. Gloria had told him before he'd mated with Jeremy that she didn't want him to address her as Gloria after fully mating with her son. Though he'd been devastated after Jeremy's departure, Ryan had remembered Gloria's words and started referring to her as mum. And he would never forget the look on Gloria's face that first time.

"Paige and I got back very late last night." Ryan said, giving Gloria a bear hug. "Didn't want to come and disturb you." He held Gloria at arm's length to admire her gorgeous outfit. The woman had style. "Damn woman, you look fine." He murmured, making Gloria laugh.

"Aw stop turned him hard."

it." Gloria took Ryan's hand into towards the meeting room. "You

hers and work too

Ryan sighed. "I need to, to get my mind of... Hello Uncle Joel."

"How are you doing Ryan?" The elder asked, giving Ryan a sympathetic look.

"Can't complain, Uncle." He murmured. "I literally can't."

"Hey, hang in there son." The elderly man patted Ryan on the back. "So...have any idea why we're here?" Joel asked as they entered the meeting room.

"Nope. No idea." Ryan responded, smiling at an already seated grim-faced Deloris, Camilla's warlock mother and a member of the council.

Ryan, Joel and Gloria went round, greeting and hugging those who were already seated. The room was supposed to be the smallest meeting room in Jeremy's mansion. Basically, it was a boardroom which had exquisite modernist furnishings and was equipped with a projector and polycom, perfect for delivering messages during meetings. The meeting room seated a maximum of twenty people. Thirteen people currently sat around the huge mahogany table, with Philip at the head. When Gloria got to Paige, she leaned down and asked with concern;

"How is he doing?"

Paige smiled. "He's okay Mama G. Did you know he's actually never dreamt about Jer since he left though?" Paige asked curiously.

"He can't." Gloria responded firmly. "That will mess with his head. Cause him too much pain. We have to prevent that from happening."

"Yeah but...shouldn't he at least be able to feel some...pain?" Paige muttered. "I mean, is all this shielding really necessary? I can't help but feel he's being robbed of some of the important emotions in life that connects us to our human soul." "You have a point there, honey." Gloria sighed. "But Jeremy didn't want him to feel pain. Besides, he does feel, doesn't he? He misses him."

"It's not the same thing." Paige groaned.

"It is." Gloria countered. "It's only that the intensity has been reduced, thereby eliminating the pain. Remember, we don't know the level of powers that he wields. One can't really tell what he'll do if he's in pain. Remember the portal? For all you know, he might be worse than the Ojah we already have on our hands. Think about it." Gloria kissed Paige on the cheek and moved on.

But from the skeptical look on Paige's face, she didn't look convinced by the elder's explanation. Had it even occurred to any of those uptight elders that Ryan feeling pain, might rather lead to something positive, Paige thought. With a sigh, she turned to look at her brother who was loudly clearing his throat to get everyone's attention. She would talk to Gloria again after the meeting.