Chapter 8; Jeremy Stanton vs. Ryan Hicks Feral attraction in the midst of hatred… Mistrust!

***

“What have you done to me?” Ryan finally asked. “Whatever you did to turn me into a wolf, you better undo it before I leave here, do you hear me?”

Ryan somehow had a strong feeling that that wasn’t the last time he was going to turn into an animal because even as he stood there as a human being, he could feel a powerful presence inside him. He could feel the restless movement of another being within him and that scared the shit out of him.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. If I trespassed on your land, I’m sorry but I didn’t mean any harm. I’m a professor of zoology at UCLA. My name is Ryan Hicks. Please g****e it or something. I don’t know what kind of cult you people are running here but I’m sure that just as you were able to turn me into a wolf, you can take away whatever…curse this is.” He definitely couldn’t afford to turn into an animal in front of his students or any other person for that matter. “And if you have any intention of keeping me here as your prisoner or killing me, I think you should know that I wasn’t alone when I was taken by your people. I need to go back or people will come looking for me.” Ryan said, desperately hoping the last part would get the red-eyed cannibal to release him.

Of course, no one would look for him. Who would bother looking for a loner with no loved ones? The school would probably send him mails, reminding him that he was missing lectures but that was about it. No one cared. When Ryan saw the man turn abruptly on his heels and head towards the stairs, he shouted with desperation and anger;

“I’ve got rights, you asshole. Let me out of this fucking cage.”

But Jeremy neither responded nor turned back to face Ryan. When he got to the top of the stairs, he saw Philip leaning against the door, intently looking at his phone. Jeremy made to brush past him but Philip stopped him with his words.

“Alpha, he’s telling the truth. He’s a professor at UCLA. I just googled him.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s not a hunter and you know it.” Jeremy rasped, opening the door and stepping out.

Philip followed him but Jeremy didn’t stop him. Most people would stay away from him in his current state but not Philip, Jeremy thought with irritation and some satisfaction despite himself. Knowing his friend, he was trying to find a way to get him to snap out of his kill mode. Well, good luck to him Jeremy thought, resisting the urge to snap his friend’s neck.

“He’s a wolf now, Jer,” Philip said quietly. “You know what to do if you want the truth. Just open your mind-link to him and read him.”

“No,” Jeremy growled punching the button for the elevator. Opening his mind-link to that murdering hunter was not going to happen. It was too intimate.

“Jer…”

“I’m not ready to do that.” Jeremy’s voice held a subtle warning note but his friend was too upset to heed the warning.

“Really? Just as you’re not ready to admit that he’s your mate?” Phillip rasped and saw Jeremy freeze. The air around them crackled with the raw power emanating from the bloodthirsty alpha. Philip watched with a pounding heart as Jeremy slowly turned around to face him. Oh boy! Philip swallowed audibly. “Easy Jer…” Philip couldn’t hide the tremor in his voice. It took a brave man not to take to his heels when stared down by a red-eyed Jeremy. “I’m just trying to help. If you don’t put an end to this and treat him well, you’re going to suffer just as much as he is and you know it.”

Jeremy stared at his friend. He wasn’t surprised his friend had guessed. Philip knew him too well. He tilted his head to the side as he stared at Philip, almost as if he were contemplating the quickest way to end his life.

“Jeremy please listen to what I’m saying.” Philip pleaded. “I can foresee what you’re doing to him backfiring big time. Did you really have to make him pee himself? He’s your fucking mate, man. Not cool.” With that, Philip started to back off, obviously not wanting to make the mistake of turning his back on his alpha and angering him even further.

“Philip?” Jeremy’s cold voice sent a chill down Philip’s spine but he stopped his backward movement and waited for his alpha to speak. “See to it that he’s cleaned and put him in the room next to mine.” Jeremy rasped, then abruptly turned around and entered the waiting elevator.

“Consider it done, Alpha.” Philip actually beamed.

Maybe feeling his mate close to him would help snap Jeremy back to sanity, Philip thought as he started towards the dungeon. He was thrilled he’d been able to somehow get to his friend.

Little did he know…

***

Ryan watched warily as three men approached his cage. He remembered seeing one of them with Red Eyes the night before. He was almost as tall as the asshole and just as big. But he had slightly long blond hair and striking green eyes. The man was really handsome. When Ryan saw one of the men holding a bunch of keys, he got to his feet and started towards the iron door but the man growled and glared at him, effectively stopping him in his tracks.

“Settle down Paul.” The handsome man growled right back at the man holding the keys. When the door swung open, the man who had opened it pulled out cuffs from his back pocket but the nice man once again stepped in. “That won’t be necessary, Paul.” He said, ignoring the incredulous look Paul threw his way. It was obvious he wanted to protest but Ryan could also see respect and acceptance in his eyes. The nice man was obviously superior to him and he, therefore, didn’t want to question his decision. To Ryan, the nice man said calmly, “Sorry about that Prof. Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up.” He actually smiled at a surprised Ryan.

“Thanks,” Ryan muttered and unconsciously looked beyond the men to see whether the red-eyed monster was anywhere around. The nice man didn’t miss it.

“Don’t worry about him.” Nice, handsome man said as he preceded an exhausted-looking Ryan up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, the man held the door open for Ryan who nodded his thanks. Ryan’s first glance brought an uncontrollable gasp from his lips. The layout of the floor that they were on was simply beautiful.

“Is this place a hotel or something?” He couldn’t help but ask, still surprised he could actually see perfectly without his glasses.

“No.” Philip chuckled. “It’s just a house. Jeremy’s house.”

“It’s magnificent,” Ryan muttered as they entered an elevator. “Who’s this Jeremy by the way? Is he a…”

“He’s the mean guy who bit you last night,” Philip answered dryly, cutting Ryan off.

“Oh.” Ryan went quiet for a moment. “May I know your name please?” He asked.

“Philip.” He answered simply.

“Hello, Philip.” Ryan automatically stretched forth his hand for a handshake but just as quickly, let his hand fall back to his side when he saw just how dirty and smelly his whole body was. “Sorry.” He said quietly and dropped his eyes to his feet. “I’m Ryan…” He said quietly.

“I know who you are Prof.” Philip laughed softly as he reached forward to grasp Ryan’s hand and firmly shook it. The professor was not only beautiful, but he was also a really nice guy.

“Please call me Ryan. I feel older than my thirty-one when people call me prof.”

“Don’t your students call you prof?” Philip asked with a raised brow.

“They do but they are my students. You are not.”

“Right. Here we are.” Philip said when the lift stopped on the twelfth floor and watched as Ryan’s jaw dropped at the sheer luxury and elegance of the deco. Philip opened a door and turned to face Ryan. “This is your room.”