Page 58 of Their Marked Mate

The third day dawned dark and stormy, the atmosphere perfectly matching Alex’s mood. He wanted to accept Natalie’s offer, but he wasn’t willing to move forward without the backing of the pack alphas. The Rydarian Project was too similar to what they’d endured at Nuevo Biotech. Alex refused to make anyone a ‘test subject’ unless they volunteered.

Luna couldn’t believe the pack alphas were still resisting Natalie’s offer. They were desperate for females, and the first responder’s kit would be invaluable. Who cared if spybots followed them around? It was a small price to pay for the advantages they would gain.

“Are you allowed to make a counter proposal?” Luna asked as Alex and Nate joined her for dinner.

Nate smiled, but Alex still scowled. “What would you ask for?” Nate asked as they passed around the serving dishes.

“Privacy,” she said simply. She wasn’t sure when it had happened, but sharing meals with these two males felt comforting, even natural. “If they want to surveil the public areas, so be it. But there is no reason for their crickets to crawl around inside the cabins.”

“I already suggested that,” Alex grumped. “The alphas agreed but didn’t feel like it was enough of a compromise.”

“You need to establish a minimum number of females and reserve the right to send troublemakers back to Earth,” Luna continued.

“We debated that yesterday. A guarantee of at least one hundred females was the only thing the alphas could agree on. The second part wasn’t suggested, but it’s a really good idea.” Alex started to emerge from his dark mood. “What else should we ask for?”

“I’m not sure, but you could let the packs decide individually if they want to participate,” Luna said. “Anyone who doesn’t want⁠—”

Someone pounded on the door and a frantic voice shouted, “Come quickly, alpha! They’re going to kill each other!”

Alex bolted across the room and threw open the door.

One of the village guards stood there, red-faced, eyes wild. Luna had seen him before, but she didn’t know his name.

“Hurry,” the guard urged. “They’ve all lost their minds.”

The guard took off across the village, Alex close behind. Nate and Luna followed on their heels.

Angry shouts and the unmistakable sound of fists hitting flesh reached Luna’s ears half a second before the melee came into view. Within a circle of cheering males, three hybrids brutalized each other. A wolf growled and snapped at the combatants, but stayed slightly back from the other males. Shannon knelt in the dirt while a fifth male fucked her. She was naked, on her hands and knees, head thrown back. The look of ecstasy on her face assured Luna that she was not being forced, but she was clearly out of control. They all were. Even the onlookers appeared to be reacting with unusual aggression.

What in God’s name triggered this reaction?

Guilt and dread pelted Luna as she heard her own question. She knew damn well what triggered the reaction. The changes she’d made to the formula must have thrown Shannon into heat. Clearly the males were reacting to her pheromones or some metaphysical signal unique to lupine shifters.

Alex and several others rushed forward to break up the fight, so Luna hurried over to the nearest cabin and asked for a blanket. The couple had finished fucking by the time Luna reached Shannon. Luna wrapped the blanket around her friend and helped her to her feet.

“Are you okay?” Luna cringed. “Stupid question. What can I do to help you?”

“More,” Shannon whispered. “I need more.”

“Catch your breath for a moment and try to think. When did this start?” With her arm wrapped around Shannon’s shoulders, Luna led her away from the males. There had to be a way to dampen the signal or tone down the pheromones. She needed to run some tests.

“Wait!” Shannon cried as she realized where they were going. She turned toward the males and let out a plaintive cry. “I need my mates.”

Two of the males broke free and surrounded Shannon. They growled at Luna, lupine energy making their eyes gleam. “Mine,” one of them growled. His fangs were so long he couldn’t close his mouth.

“Please, Luna,” Shannon pleaded. “I need them now!”

“Take her to your cabin,” Alex ordered.

Luna looked back toward the small clearing where the fight had taken place. The village guards were struggling to restrain two of Shannon’s mates and the wolf had no interest in shifting back. “What should we do with them?”

“They have to calm down before I’ll allow them near any female,” Alex insisted.

“Giving them access to Shannon might be the only way to settle them down.” Luna mused. She couldn’t help feeling responsible for the entire fiasco, but she wasn’t sure what to do about any of it. “How do we give them what they need while protecting her from their aggression?”

“It’s unlikely that they’ll hurt her,” Nate insisted. “The other males are obviously a different matter.”

“She’ll have to visit them separately,” Alex decided, a sigh of frustration releasing from his chest. “Those two are part of Aspen pack. I’ll let Drake deal with them until Shannon is ready for more. The wolf is from Timberline pack. I’ve summoned Kai Walden.”