Savage Desire
Chapter 25

"Thank you all for coming." Philip began. "We have a big problem. What we all thought was a war against the werewolf community just became a personal pack problem." He paused to look at all the faces around the table. "You all know how we've all been trying to trace who is behind the attacks. Anytime we think we have a solid lead, we get thrown o]. The best trackers in all the various packs in the world came together and tracked our attackers to where we were sure they were. But what did we replace? A stretch of bare land. It was obvious we were up against a great force. Well, now we know who it is. I'm sure the old folks amongst us have heard of the Wyatt Clan."

Gloria gasped. "Shit!" She muttered just as Joel swore darkly.

"Yes. They are the ones after the strong alphas. I say the issue just got personal because they've kidnapped one of our own. Camilla. She was kidnapped about three days after Alpha Jeremy travelled."

Not everyone around the table knew the exact whereabouts of Jeremy. He sometimes took unannounced trips since as second in command to the head of all alphas

in the world, he had other duties. So no one questioned his absence. Besides, Philip always managed the apairs of the pack just fine so there was no problem at all. At Philip's words, all eyes turned on Deloris. "Why haven't you said anything till now, Del?" Gloria gasped, but the warlock didn't even raise her head to acknowledge the question.

"I'll explain everything Mama G." Philip said. "The Wyatt Clan kidnapped Camilla to blackmail Deloris. They wanted Jeremy but couldn't replace him anywhere. So they decided they needed an insider to help them. And what better person than a fellow warlock who knew all about how nasty they could be? She's not supposed to tell anyone about the kidnap otherwise Camilla dies."

"Oh my god." Gloria's hand flew to her throat.

"They've sorta tapped into her brain to ensure they know immediately Deloris tells. Camilla was made to apply for leave from the hospital so no one thinks there's foul play. Deloris has been trying to come up with a spell that would shield her brain. She's..." "Hold it, hold it..." Stan rasped, cutting Phillip of. "You mean it's taken you three months to come up with a sucking spell?" His question was directed at Deloris, who winced at the disbelief in Stan's voice. "I mean since we were kids we knew that spells are Deloris' specialty."

"If you could just allow me to finish, Stan." Phillip said calmly. "I did say they'd tapped into her brain. To work on a spell, she had to use her brain, right? So she had to be extra careful in order not to be detected. She's managed to shield her brain long enough to write down what we need to know down. She hopes we can rescue Camilla before the

Wyatt Clan catches on. We have to move fast. She can write down answers to whatever questions we have for her."

"Fuck." Pete, the head assassin growled. "What are we waiting for if she's already written down where those fuckers can be found?" He sounded pissed. "Just point us in the right direction. We have to hit those bastards hard."

"We have to plan before we move Pete." Joel rasped. "This is the Wyatt Clan we're talking about son. If we don't proceed cautiously, we will be wiped out before we say Jack. Now what I want to know is..." He turned to look at Deloris. "How sure are you that this spell of yours works? Wouldn't want that bloodthirsty bunch to do anything to Camilla. God knows Reynard Wyatt never blus."

"And that's the scary part, Dad." Philip said with a deep sigh. "She doesn't. She needed more time to make sure it works but it looks like she doesn't have any choice but to act now. You see, the clan has decided that if they take Ryan, Jeremy will come back from wherever he's gone. So they're coming for Ryan." He turned to look at Ryan. "Now I understand why you've felt like you're being watched. It must be them." He said quietly. "What scares me even more is the fact that they seem to think that since Ryan is mated to Jeremy, Jeremy's blood runs through him and therefore they can use Ryan for their silly ritual even if they don't get Jeremy. And that is what pushed Deloris to risk her daughter's life by spilling the beans. She's not a hundred percent sure her spell will work." "We have to move now before anything happens to Camilla." Stan breathed.

"We sure do." Phillip nodded. "At least thanks to Deloris, we know exactly where to replace them. They can no longer fool us with all that cloaking they've been using to throw us

of their location. In the meantime, Ryan will have to be sent to a safe..."

"They want me, right?" Ryan spoke up. "So why don't we take me to them?"

"No, Ryan." Gloria said sternly. "If anything happens to you..."

"Hold it, Mama G." Phillip quickly cut in. "Guys, we need to get ready to move. Dad, Mama G, Paige, Stan and Deloris can you kindly wait behind so we can quickly decide on what to do with Ryan, whilst the rest go and get ready?" "Good." Pete growled as he got to his feet. "Those stupid warlocks are going down."

"That's what I'm talking about." Stan chuckled, slapping his raised palm against Pete's. Warriors and Assassins had a lot in common. They both got o on violence.

When the others left the meeting room, Philip got to his feet and addressed Ryan.

"Now listen to me Ryan." He began. "The last place we can take you is where there is bound to be violence. If touchwood, you die, that's the end of Jeremy. That will be the fastest assurance to us that he's not going to return to us." "And if you get physically hurt in anyway, he's going to feel it." Gloria added. "We can't add that to his pain."

"What?" Ryan gasped, staring at Gloria. "What do you mean he's going to feel it?"

"It was his wish, Ryan." Gloria said quietly. "His wish was to give you his mark. But my son did have his own conditions. By giving you that mark, he was to

automatically bare any physical pain that you're meant to feel."

"What the fuck!" Ryan whispered.

"Your emotional and mental pain was cloaked but not your physical pain. Everybody feels physical pain at a point, right? Not a big deal. But Jeremy wouldn't even accept that. He insisted that he wanted to bare any physical pain of yours."

Ryan suddenly understood why he hadn't felt any physical pain in months. He clearly remembered that time he'd stretched and felt that familiar spasm in his thigh that was usually meant to be accompanied by pain. After all, muscle pulls were meant to be painful. He'd watched as his thigh had tightened rhythmically and wondered why he couldn't feel the usual pain. He'd been both fascinated and shocked at the strange development, thinking it probably had something to do with his new found power. And that wasn't the only time he hadn't felt pain when he knew he should. Damn Jeremy.

"Why didn't you tell me?" The wretchedness in his voice couldn't be masked.

"If we had told you, you wouldn't have accepted his mark." Gloria said simply, watching Ryan's eyes fill with anger. "Hey, calm down. For as long as you stay away from harm's way, Jeremy is okay."

Jeremy is okay? Really? Ryan couldn't feel pain but he sure as hell could feel anger. And at that very moment, he was so furious he felt himself shake.

"When you get to know that someone you love is going through so much unnecessary pain..." Ryan's voice sounded dead, "...pain that you could have prevented or reduced if you'd known about it, anger hits you hard. Anger floods. I'm flooded." "Ryan please..." Gloria groaned.

"From the way you talk about this Wyatt Clan, I believe you need all the help you can get." Ryan went on as if Gloria hadn't spoken. "What's the use of power if you have it but can't use it when it's most needed?" Ryan asked with a careless shrug. "I guess we just have to make sure I don't get hurt or die, wont we?"

"He has a point." Stan said.

"Shut up Stanislav." Paige growled.

"What? I think Ryan is exactly who we need for this battle." Stan insisted. "You didn't see what he did to Katie, Slip." An admiring twinkle appeared in his eyes. "Having him on our side will be a big advantage if those people are as ruthless as Deloris says they are. What's all this about anyway?" His eyes turned onto the warlock. "What does that clan need the blood and bone marrow of the top alphas for? Do you know why, Deloris?"

Deloris looked at Stan helplessly and gestured for a pen. But even as she was being handed a pen and a writing pad, Ryan felt something push him. He suddenly felt su used with so much energy. Was it because he was angry, Ryan wondered. He couldn't help but observe that every time his power had manifested itself, it had been triggered by anger. Was that it? Did anger trigger whatever powers that he had? That wasn't a good thing, he frowned. But at that very moment, he had an urge to do something... "Wait, Deloris." Ryan said, getting to his feet. "I feel like trying something." He moved to sit beside Deloris. "Please. I just want to try..."

"Go ahead." The warlock said with a smile. She felt the power emanating from her alpha's mate and was curious to know what Ryan wanted to try. "Thanks." Ryan murmured.

And with everyone looking on with bated breath, Ryan reached up with both hands and held the sides of Deloris' head. Then he closed his eyes and willed whatever the Wyatt Clan had done to connect Deloris' mind to their radar, o.

"Oh my god!" Deloris gasped. "I can't feel it anymore. It's gone." She breathed. "There's been this painful tightness in my head for the past three months. It started immediately after they told me that if I tell anyone, Camilla dies. Oh god!" She began to cry, obviously overwhelmed by her feeling of relief. "Oh god..."

Ryan kissed her on the cheek and moved away from the seat to make way for Gloria, who gathered Deloris into her arms. The warlock sobbed out her joy and relief, continuously saying how grateful she was to Ryan. Gloria rocked her as she sobbed. As a mother, she knew how relieved the woman felt to know that her actions were not going to result in the death of her only child.

"Thank you Ryan." Deloris finally sat back and said with a breathless laugh. "You have no idea how grateful I am." She stood and went to give Ryan a hug. "I don't know how you did that but thanks. Now, what do y'all want to know?" She laughed, making everyone laugh too.

"Why is the clan going to all this trouble?" Stan asked.

"Before I answer that, I want all of you to know that I didn't tell them where Jeremy was. Fortunately, everyone knows that the council doesn't really keep tabs on an alpha's whereabouts so they believed me." She drawled, wiping at her eyes with a tissue Gloria gave her. "Now to your question; The Wyatt Clan is the deadliest clan of warlocks that has ever been in existence. Know the usual myth where good always triumphs over bad?" She waited till the younger people in the room nodded before going on. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Ebookex.com. Visit Ebookex.com to read the complete chapters for free. "Well, that's usually not the case when good comes up against Reynard Wyatt and his clan. Hope you get the picture. There's no word to describe them. Over a century ago, there was a prophecy that Reynard Wyatt, the head of the clan, would be defeated by one of his o spring, which would lead to the end of his clan. Reynard killed all his six children after that prophecy and made sure he never fathered another child." At the collective gasps around the table, Deloris nodded. "Yes, that's how ruthless Reynard is."

"And their mother allowed it?" Ryan sputtered.

"What mother would?" Deloris gave a humourless laughter. "She raised hell when Reynard made his intentions clear to her. But she was no match for him. He killed her. But according to the prophecy, this is the year that his o spring is to defeat him. I knew about the prophecy but I didn't know it was this year. But his chatty, cocky, albino, hit man told me. I did cast a small truth spell on the idiot." She chuckled. "According to him, although Reynard has made sure that there's no o spring to defeat him, he wants to fortify himself with a very potent potion made out of the blood and bone marrow of powerful alphas."

"F**k." Phillip cursed.

"That potion is to give him an unlimited source of strength should any battle come his way. Werewolves are noted for their strength, ferocity and agility when it comes to battles. Reynard's plan is therefore to tap into that strength by using that potion as a link to all werewolves.

He's not taking any chances. You guys are basically to become roadkill."

"Fuck me." Stan breathed.

"They were the ones who tried to attack the alphas at that conference all those years ago." Deloris went on. "But thanks to Jeremy, they were not successful."

"What did he do?" Ryan asked.

"He went Ojah on their arses." Paige said with so much pride.

"Which was very stupid because he didn't leave even one person alive for questioning." Gloria added angrily.

"He sorta didn't have the time Mama G." Phillip automatically came to his friend's defense. "This is how it went down Ryan. As the conference went on, the alphas began to collapse one after the other for no reason at all. Jeremy got very weak. Knew he was going to pass out too but his Ojah took over. Every alpha in the conference room was out cold. Jer said he felt so much power surrounding them. He said it was bad energy. When he stepped out of the conference room, all the werewolves outside were dead. Then he saw about thirty men and women chanting. He turned all of them into ashes instantly. Fortunately, the alphas were okay."

"Wow!" Ryan breathed.

"According to the albino, Reynard usually has an eye through which he sees everything whenever he sends people on missions." Deloris informed them. "So he saw what Jeremy did and he knows just how powerful he is. He has studied him and his Ojah powers and thinks he knows how to render those powers ine@ective when he eventually gets Jeremy. Knowing Reynard, I won't be surprised if he actually does know how. In a way I'm glad that Jeremy is not around. He would have gotten angry, attacked without thought, and probably ended up..." She didn't complete the sentence but everyone in the room knew what she'd been about to say. "Reynard has had years of practice. He's over four centuries old. He's powered himself with countless number of souls of both the innocent and the wicked. He is very powerful. I mean I pride myself on being a pretty powerful warlock. But compared to Reynard, I'm a toddler. The type of magic he uses can actually take good people and turn them dark. That's how powerful he is. If he says he can render Alpha Jeremy powerless, he can. But if for whatever reason Jeremy doesn't show, Ryan will be used because when a werewolf is powerful or unique in a way, it rubs of on their mates due to the mating process."

"But we didn't even go through the ceremony." Ryan pointed out.

"But you had sex, right?" The warlock shot back.

"Oh they so did." Stan drawled, making Paige and Phillip burst into laughter despite their worry over Deloris' news. "Everybody felt it too." He added teasingly, making Ryan and Joel blush whilst Gloria squirmed in her seat.

"That's all that's needed." Deloris said. "They're going to use your blood to scry for Jeremy. And of course we all know they won't be able to locate him since he's nowhere on earth. They will probably give him some days to come after you. And if Jeremy doesn't show up, they're going to use you. Those people don't play Ryan. Human sacrifice to them is like taking coee in the morning. It's not a big deal at all. And immediately they're able to complete the potion, they can channel the life force of all werewolves whenever there's battle, in order to ensure their victory. Succeeding in completing that potion therefore means you guys

become their bitches. As you grow weak, they will grow stronger and stronger. Reynard needs that to win whatever battle that's coming. At least that's what he thinks. What becomes of your species doesn't really matter. Call it the annihilation of the werewolf species. Sorry but that man is a ruthless killer who'll stop at nothing to get what he wants."

"Well, neither will we." Ryan growled. "Phillip, you have to take me." He rasped, feeling so angry. "The mere fact that he wants to kill Jeremy...and can kill him if he wants to, gives me the right to face this Reynard guy."

"I can cast a general weakening spell when we get there." Deloris said. "They can still use their powers but it will be weak so we can fight them. We won't stand a chance if we take that clan on whilst they're on their full magic." "That's good to know." Phillip liked what he was hearing.

"But the spell will not work on Reynard." The warlock sighed. "He's too powerful to be affected by my weakening spell. And if he survives our attack, he can restore everything. The clan's fortress....that's the seat of all their powers. For as long as that fortress stands, Reynard can always restore everything. That fortress is the seat of power for the Wyatt Clan. We need to destroy that fortress. And to do that, we need a really high level of power." She said quietly. "Dad?" Philip addressed his father. "What do you think?"

The elder gave a deep sigh and reached for the hand of a worried Gloria. "I have to agree with Ryan and Stanley, son." Joel said gravely. "Ryan is our best bet. If we don't go after them, they will come after us. And we don't have the juice to face them as wolves. With Ryan and Deloris, we stand a better chance."

"Joel..." Gloria gasped with a haunted look in her eyes. If anything happened to Ryan, she was definitely not going to see her son again. But more importantly, she didn't want to risk Ryan's life because she'd come to see and love him as her son too. And no mother would be okay with risking their son's life. "Please don't allow this." She whispered shakily.

Joel turned and wrapped his arms around the trembling woman. "Remember the prophecy about Jeremy's mate?" Joel murmured into Gloria's hair. "It said he would be important to not only our pack, but to werewolves everywhere. We already know how powerful he is. What if he's meant to save all of us, honey? You have to believe. What we have to do is guard him. Be his protective shield and allow him to do what he can." By then, Gloria was crying softly.

"I'm so scared." She snied. "He's so innocent. He's been thrust into all this supernatural stu which is still so new to him. I may not get my son back, Joel. Ryan's all I have for now."

"Don't say that." Joel admonished. "Jeremy will be back. You heard Deloris. This is the worst time for Jeremy to be anywhere on the face of earth. We both know how headstrong he is. He would have gone to face Reynard or been captured just as Sasha and co were had he been around. I shudder to think what Reynard would have done to him. Luna might not be so cruel after all."

"You think?" Gloria muttered.

"Think about it, darling." Joel insisted. "His incarceration might just be a blessing in disguise. Now let's go with them and make sure no harm comes to Ryan. That's the best thing you can do for both Ryan and Jeremy right now. Alright?" Gloria nodded. "Alright."

"That's my girl." With a finger, Joel tilted Gloria's chin up. And right there in front of everyone, he gave her a light but sweet kiss that drew wolfish whistles from Stan and Paige, and chuckles from Philip and Deloris.

Ryan didn't react at all. He still looked so angry, upset and depressed. He obviously hadn't gotten over the realization that his mate was going through so much because of him. When Ryan felt Paige's hand on him he almost jumped out of his skin. He was so lost in thought he hadn't even seen Paige move towards him.

"Come here, baby." Paige murmured as she hugged Ryan to her, tightly. "I know you're upset. But know that you would have done same had you been in Jer's shoes. When you love someone, you want to do everything in your power to keep them safe and comfortable."

"Yeah?" Ryan asked quietly. "Then I'm sure you know how I feel right now. Not only am I unable to keep the one I love safe and comfortable, I'm actually the cause of his pain and discomfort. Just great." He muttered.

"Aw Ryan." Paige sighed as she rubbed Ryan on the back. She knew that Ryan was hurting but couldn't come up with anything better to say to soothe him. "This whole thing is f****d up. Come on, let's go get ready. Time to kick arse." They both stood up and turned towards the door.

"Ryan?" Gloria called out shakily and started towards Ryan and Paige. "I'm so sorry, baby." She said when she got to them. "Come here." She drew Ryan into her arms.

"He's your son." Ryan muttered. "Why did you let him do it?" Ryan's voice was filled with so much anguish. "I feel terrible."

"You know Jeremy, honey." Gloria said softly. "When he makes up his mind, nothing sways him. And when it's about you, no one has the right to attempt to sway him. I would have done same if my mate's comfort was on the line. Don't be angry. It's what it is." "I'm not happy with it but I get it." Ryan sighed. "Let's go get those sons of bitches before that crazy mate of mine walks out into a world without werewolves. That would definitely kill him if nothing else does." He squeezed Gloria lightly and then stood back. "Still angry?" Gloria smiled up at her gorgeous son-in-law.

"Hell yeah." Ryan growled. "But still love you to bits." He grinned. "Going up to get ready."