Giving his head a shake, Ryne pushed the helping hands away and surged to his feet. His mouth tasted of copper and he spat the bloody liquid onto the floor. Using his arm, he wiped the blood from his face, then searched the crowd for his attacker. He’d only seen the man for a few moments, but it was enough; the image and scent were imbedded in his mind. In moments, Ryne located his target.
A rage such as he hadn’t experienced in years came over him. With a roar, he swung at his attacker, sending the fellow spiralling across the room. Without even thinking of his audience, Ryne rushed after the man. Who did this person think he was, to not only strike an Alpha, but touch his female as well? The punishment must be swift and heavy. His wolf growled menacingly. I will be satisfied with nothing less.
Yet even as he grabbed the man’s throat, he was attacked from behind. Turning to face his latest adversary, he met a set of glowing eyes. Strong hands held his shoulders while another, equally powerful pair grabbed at his arms, trying to drag him away. His rage grew, his muscles bunched. Who were these that sought to keep him from his rightful revenge?
He snarled a warning and prepared to strike, then a noise caught his attention. A cry...his female! A glance in the direction reassured him that she was being helped up, not hurt. There was blood on her arm; her face was pale...
“Ryne! Come on, man. Snap out of it.”
An urgent voice penetrated the wildness that consumed his brain and he jerked his eyes towards the speaker... Bryan?
“That’s it. Look at me. Get control of yourself.”
Ryne blinked and shook his head. He felt the rage subsiding. A quick glance showed him that the man who had attacked him was unconscious. Across the room, Lucy appeared from somewhere and was guiding Melody to safety, cradling her arm in a towel while expertly weaving a path through the various brawls that seemed to have erupted around the room.
“We need to go. If anyone sees you up close right now, your eyes will give you away. And if they don’t, your teeth will. Your fangs are showing.” Bryan began tugging at Ryne’s arm. “I’ll stay here and take care of things. Daniel, take our wildman home before he does any more damage.”
Daniel answered in the affirmative and Ryne suddenly found himself outside the bar, heading towards the pickup. He dug in his heels and stood still.
“No. I need to go back and make sure Melody is all right.”
Daniel, in his usual calm manner, gently tugged at Ryne’s arm. “She’s fine, Ryne. Lucy is taking care of her. You can talk to her in the morning. It’s more important that we get you home.”
Shrugging off the boy’s hand, Ryne rubbed his hands through his hair in frustration, not wanting to listen to the logic of Daniel’s argument, but knowing he must. Daniel was right. He’d been in fights before, but he’d never lost control like that in public. The sooner he was out of sight, the sooner people would begin to forget. Bryan would stay behind fulfilling his Beta role by helping Armand break up the brawl. Knowing Bryan, he’d probably use a liberal application of free liquor and some carefully worded suggestions, to lead the bar patrons into doubting what they had seen. With any luck, by morning the story would just be that of a usual fight over a woman. No one would recall the ultra human speed at which he’d crossed the room, nor the distance he’d thrown the man. And his broken nose...well, it would heal by morning and everyone would assume it had just been a bleed.
Finally nodding agreement, he followed his pack mate to the truck and headed home.
Chapter 26
Melody winced as she dressed the next morning, her injured arm stiffly responding to her commands. Her back wasn’t happy either, telling her in no uncertain terms that it didn’t appreciate how she’d landed on the floor last night with a large man on top of her. Neither was her rear end overly pleased with its part in acting as the initial point of impact. She had a headache from too much beer, her eyes were gritty and her mouth tasted like...well, she didn’t even want to think about that.
A hot shower, several cups of coffee, and the liberal use of both mouthwash and toothpaste helped alleviate some of her woes, but the gash on her arm wasn’t being as cooperative as the rest of her anatomy. Her arm throbbed from the cut she’d received the previous night. When Ryne had crashed into her, they’d both fallen to the floor and the bar stool she’d been sitting on had shattered. Somehow, a sharp piece of wood must have cut her arm, though she didn’t recall exactly how it had happened. At first, she’d thought the blood had all been Ryne’s. Her elbow had ended up in his face and she was sure she’d broken his nose, given the amount of blood that had been present.