“You can’t win this,” Selene hissed. “I’m a Head Enforcer.”

“Who’s hot for a pedophile—go judge me for not ranking you highly.” Makenna grabbed a tray from one of the tables and whipped it at Selene. It caught her head, making it snap to the side.

“He never touched those boys.” With a growl, Selene copied her by snatching another tray and hurling it.

Makenna raised her hand to block the tray. It smacked the tip of her little finger, making the nail snap back for a single second. Motherfucker. “Sure he did. He’s a twisted fuck, just like his mother.” The latter word made Selene’s lip curl back. So she didn’t like Deanne either. “Let me guess . . . she tries to keep you away from Remy.”

“Because she knows he’s my mate.”

“Your mate?” echoed Makenna, shocked.

“My true mate. When he finally accepts that, when he’s ready, we’ll claim each other.”

No wonder Selene was in complete denial about Remy. If Makenna weren’t half feral, she might have felt sorry for her, might have pitied her for discovering that her mate’s childhood had so warped his mind that he could never be the perfect match he otherwise would have been. But right then, Makenna only saw a bitch who’d killed her friend.

Selene once again tried to reach Remy. Makenna blocked her path and slashed at Selene’s face, catching her bottom lip. That had to fucking sting. And now she’d be able to taste her own blood. Makenna’s wolf liked knowing that. “I’m surprised you haven’t gotten rid of Deanne.” Makenna would have destroyed anyone who harmed Ryan that way.

“It would hurt Remy.” Selene ran a finger over her bleeding lip. “He loves her. He says she never hurt him.”

“Because he can’t accept he’s a victim.”

Selene shook her head. “If he says she didn’t hurt him, I believe him. Now let’s get this over with so I can end you, just like Remy will end your mate.” She leaped at Makenna.

Ryan used his arm to swipe away the blood obscuring his vision. The slashes on his forehead were deep and throbbed. It was no surprise that Remy, as an Alpha, was a worthy opponent. He was strong. Confident. Well versed in various forms of combat. Careful not to telegraph his movements. And his punch was like a jackhammer.

All of which was very inconvenient.

He was also a guy who liked to go for the face and chest. Ryan’s jaw throbbed from the hard blows it had taken. His ear burned from when Remy had tried to bite it off. And his T-shirt was wet with blood and sweat.

Still, Ryan had been training since he was a child. He knew how to block pain, knew every weak spot on a human body, and knew how to defend just as well as attack. Remy, however, wasn’t so good at defense—Ryan had pounced on that weakness. Which was why Remy was in no better shape than him.

“I don’t know many enforcers who’d take on an Alpha.” Remy licked his split lip. “I guess you’re a little pissed that I sold Makenna’s identity to the extremists.”

Ryan really wasn’t sure why the guy kept talking. He actually didn’t mind that Remy was doing his best to taunt him. Talking meant he found it hard to keep his breathing steady. Besides, Ryan knew better than to let emotions, worries, or pain distract him. So he’d kept his anger in check. Didn’t let himself dwell on how this bastard had stolen the innocence of children, or on how he was made from the same cloth of the males who had hurt Zac.

The only thing concerning Ryan, the only thing capable of distracting him, was that he could feel his mate was half feral. Sure, it would give her an edge. It could also make her ignore her smarts. Lead her to make mistakes. Mistakes meant losing. Losing meant death. That wasn’t acceptable to Ryan.

“She should have stayed out of this,” Remy went on. “That was all she had to do. You should have stayed out of it too. Did you know that while you’re here fighting me, young Zac’s old Alpha is leading an army of wolves to your territory?” His smirk fell when Ryan lashed out, carving deep grooves in his chest. “You do know. How?”

Ryan’s only response was to aim a punch at his opponent’s nose. Remy jerked back, avoiding the blow. Then he came at Ryan with claws and fists again. His wolf was raring to surface and tear Remy apart. He wanted to destroy this male who had put his mate in danger and led Zac’s old pack right to him. The scent of blood mixed with the corruption and cruelty that wafted from Remy only increased his wolf’s thirst for vengeance.

A hard kick from Remy caught Ryan’s thigh. He grunted as Remy’s heel raked over what was sure to be a fucking colorful bruise. Makenna would be pissed. Pumped up on adrenalin, Ryan only felt a quarter of the pain. He retaliated by snapping out his leg, booting Remy’s side. Something cracked and the breath whooshed out of Remy.

The Alpha’s eyes flashed wolf. “Son of a bitch.” Remy tore off his jeans and shifted forms. He was fast.

So was Ryan.

The wolves crashed into each other in a fury of teeth and claws. The dark wolf had hungered for this. Longed to confront and battle this male who would have seen his mate dead. He was merciless. Vicious. Stabbed his claws deep into his opponent’s sides.

The gray wolf snarled and tore a strip out of the dark wolf’s flank. Blood soaked his fur, filled his nose. But the dark wolf didn’t back off. He fought harder.

He sank his teeth down into the gray wolf’s shoulder and shook him. His fangs tore through skin and muscle. Scraped bone. Made satisfaction flood the dark wolf. He didn’t want to defeat his opponent. Didn’t want him to submit. He wanted him dead. Wanted more of the gray’s wolf blood on his tongue.