Page 71 of The Renegade Mate

He grimaced as Ryan jumped, as carefully as possible, over a fallen log.

By the time we got back to the car, Jase’s face was a mask of fatigue. Two Shifts in such a short amount of time, plus all the healing his body was trying to do, was really taking it out of him.

Together, Ryan and I gently laid Jase on the back seat of the car.

“Damn it,” Jase hissed as he lowered himself down, the muscles in his face taut with pain.

I shot Ryan a worried look. He placed a hand on Jase’s shoulder, and a ripple of energy seemed to pass between them. Jase’s face softened as the pain visibly drained away.

“You’re easing his pain.”

The Alpha power cascading off of Ryan left me almost lightheaded.

“How did you do that?” I looked up at Ryan.

Ryan shrugged, his eyes meeting mine. “I don’t know, to be honest. My wolf knew; it was instinctual to him. He saw a member of his Pack in pain and wanted to take some of it away for him.”

“It sounds similar to something I did in the cabin before. I think I forced him to Shift.”

Ryan looked at me thoughtfully. “I don’t think that would have worked if Jase hadn’t acknowledged us as his Alphas.”

“I thought the same thing.” I nodded. “Proper Alphas, huh? Aren’t we full of surprises?”

Ryan’s lips curled into a quick, flirtatious smirk before he got back into the driver’s seat. “You have no idea what surprises I have in store for you.”

"Oh really?" I raised an eyebrow. "Care to give me a hint?"

"Hell no! I'm going to have a fuckload of fun showing you all the surprises I've got planned."

"I'm not exactly known for my patience, Ryan."

Ryan grinned wickedly at me. "And that just makes it more fun for me."

“Can you two not flirt while I’m bleeding out here?” Jase said from the back seat.

Ryan winked at me. Jase was going to be okay.

“Hang tight, Jase,” Ryan declared, and we sped off into the night.

As Ryan navigated the winding roads, I filled him in on what Carl had told me about Brock's plans. “He said Brock and Hayley were taking Sofia to the Meet. They’re going to execute her in front of everyone as a warning to the rest of the Pack.”

“We know. Derek and Mason have got this. If anyone can get Sofia free, it’s those two. We need to get ready. As soon as the Meet is over at midnight, we can’t challenge Brock or Hayley for a year. Derek said he’ll stall as much as he can, but it’s gonna be tight.”

Ryan maneuvered the car around a bend at full speed.

“I hate this. I hate being stuck here when our family is out there fighting. We should be there, fighting with them.”

“I know.” Ryan reached over and twined his fingers in mine. “We’ll make it. We’ll stop Brock and Hayley, and we’ll spend the next fifty years making the Three Rivers Pack a place where everyone is supported and protected.”

“You promise?”

“Absolutely.”

Jase snorted from the back seat. “Fifty years of marital bliss leading a Pack? You two planning on the white picket fence and two point five pups too?”

“The half pup is a bit concerning,” I said, glancing at Ryan with a teasing smile.

Ryan shot me a playful look, his eyes twinkling. “Well, the point five is just there to keep us on our toes, you know? Never a dull moment in an Alpha household.”

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