Savage Silence: A Dire Wolves Mission (The Devil's Dires Book 4) by Ellis Leigh Read Free Book Online Page A

eight. My guess is, a lot more. Get your pack out of here because they’ll all be coming for you, and I can’t be your savior.” Thaus met Ariel’s worried gaze, making sure he infused his words with as much strength and honesty as he could. “She is my priority.”
    His mate didn’t flinch, didn’t look away either. The tension between them grew, the private bond forming in that very public space. Thaus had to stop it, had to turn away. Had to break the pull before he did something she wouldn’t welcome.
    “Go east,” he told Lathan. “All of you—don’t run, either. Drive. Head for Chicago and Merriweather Fields. When you get there, tell them Thaus sent you for protection. I’ll be in touch when Glaxious is taken out.”
    The Alpha still didn’t get it, though. “We can fight.”
    Thaus growled and stepped right into Lathan’s space, his voice harsh. “His pack is larger by at least double—and five times as ruthless as yours. They’ll fight hard and dirty in ways you’d never even imagine. They are feral, their wolves wild from the lack of true leadership, too sick of being under a weak Alpha’s thumb. The second Chilton lets them get their wolf on to come after you, they’ll be out for more than just blood. You won’t win, and I don’t trust Chilton not to slaughter all of you just to get back at Ariel.”
    Lathan took a good look around the room, eyeing each shifter. Everyone…except Ariel. “Can the NALB help us? This pack is important to the area.”
    Thaus tucked his irritation away. His Dire brothers would welcome Ariel into their pack, more than this guy ever could. “They will. But they’re not close enough to reach you in time. Go to them. I’ll call ahead and have the president send the Feral Breed out to escort you as much of the way as they can.”
    “And you think you can take on Glaxious?” Ariel asked. She doubted him, doubted his strength and strategy. A fact that didn’t sit well with him.
    But he’d prove himself to her. “I know I can, if we can get to a safe house before them.”
    “We don’t want to leave forever,” one of the other pack members said, eyeing Thaus and Lathan both.
    “You won’t have to,” Thaus replied, taking the lead away from the Alpha. “The Glaxious have broken one of the very covenants of Blasius Zenne’s presidency and a cornerstone of NALB regulations. Chilton won’t be allowed to live.”
    The Alpha’s brow furrowed. “What covenant did they break?”
    “He’s threatened an Omega.” Thaus paused for a moment, giving himself time to take a breath. To meet his mate’s eyes. To prepare for the words he needed to say. “He and his pack have assaulted a mated Omega.”
    “But Ariel’s not mate…” Lathan trailed off, looking from Ariel to Thaus and back. Figuring out the connection without assistance. The room went silent, the rest of his pack watching and waiting. Anticipating. And looking to their leader to tell them what the situation was.
    “Shit,” Lathan hissed.
    Yeah, that about summed it up.

8
    A riel felt trapped between two hells inside her own mind. Her mate, Thaus, stood strong and ready to protect her, ready to claim her as his. He’d vocalized their bond, made it something real and weighted. And she…well, she sort of wanted to accept that. Sure, he was big and scary and she hadn’t been intimate in any way with another person since she’d escaped her kidnappers, but the mating bond between them had suddenly become a physical, burning thing. Something deep and right and wrapped around her so damn tight, she didn’t know if she could breathe through it. If she could even find her voice to tell him, yes, she was his, that she felt it, too. That she wanted it.
    But that damaged, broken part of her resisted all her efforts to scrape out a place for herself, and that cage of hurt and fear left her mute.
    “Shit,” Lathan hissed, looking at her with eyes filled with concern. Her answering growl didn’t seem