Ryker was filled with blinding white hot fury, and the only thing keeping him from ripping the Duncan pack werewolf into unrecognizable shreds was Jo. She was latched onto his neck, holding him in place with her weight, but the scent of her blood so close to him was driving him into a deeper rage even as her presence kept him where he was. He was too furious to curse, too mindlessly full of wrath to even direct anything into a coherent thought.
"Ryker, no," Jo said, curtly, calmly, her hold around him tightening. He recognized that she followed it up with something to Lexi, but he stopped listening after she wasn't focused on him.
He knew the other wolf's name, but he was too far gone to think of him as anything except an enemy. The werewolf was still unconscious, sprawled on the ground while Lincoln and AJ stalked closer, coming at him from either side.
A snarl ripped out of Ryker, and he pushed against Jo's grip, his own claws digging into the dirt.
"Don't," Jo said, right into his ear. "Please."
He wanted to ignore her. A continuous growl rolled through him, and her grip around his neck tightened. She twisted around so that she was pressed against his front, completely in his way if he wanted to get to the other werewolf. But Charlie, Lincoln, and AJ were free.
"Ryker?" Charlie asked through their link, worried and unsure, "What do you want us to do?"
"I think it's pretty obvious," Lincoln said, an audible smirk in his voice. He never had been a fan of the Duncan pack, not since Jake had tried hitting on his girlfriend and mate.
As Lincoln stepped forward, Jo caught his movement. "Stop that, I see you!" she snapped, every inch of her radiating Alpha even though she wasn't one--but that's why she was the perfect mate for him, Ryker thought, a flash of pride cutting through his anger for a moment as he watched Lincoln stop cold. But as she turned to eye Lincoln, the smell of blood hit him again.
"Ryker, please shift so we can talk about it," Jo said, burying her face against his fur again, fingers running lightly down his neck. "Him hurting me was an accident."
So it was him. Ryker pushed against Jo, the urge to tear the wolf apart so, so strong, but Jo pushed right back.
"Ryker!" She half-growled.
Lexi interrupted, speaking through their mental link instead of out loud. "C'mon Ryker, you can always tear him apart later when Jo's not around, right?"
Everything in him wanted to resist being told what to do, wanted to take his anger out on this reckless wolf, but he knew being an Alpha wasn't about being the most reactive or temperamental. It was about always thinking on behalf of the pack, and killing someone in Duncan's pack could ignite some terrible consequences.
And there was always later.
"Fine, but tell Jo to come with me."
Lexi conveyed his message, and a second later the two of them moved behind the truck; he was surprised Jo hadn't fussed about being perfectly safe 10 feet away from him, but he guessed she knew he was still very much on edge right now and needed her nearby. Jo turned around while he shifted, and as soon as he had a spare set of pants on, he stepped closer, hand tentative as he touched her arm, trying to turn her so he could see her shoulder.
"It'll be fine," Jo said, twisting her head to look up at him.
"Hmm," Ryker said in a low voice. "Still needs cleaning and bandaging." He straightened up, eyes drifting back to the injury until Jo caught his cheek gently and forced him to look at her.
"Okay, let me clarify. It will be fine with proper wound treatment. Which I definitely promise to let you do since I can't properly deal with my own shoulder." She arched an eyebrow, continuing before he could interrupt. "And we can kill two birds with one stone by taking this guy in to get treated as well. How's that?"
Ryker wiped his hand down his face, trying to hide his expression-he knew it was common decency to give medical care to the guy--it'd been obvious he was also injured--but he really didn't care about him right now.
"Ryker," Jo said quietly, her eyes darting toward the truck, or more specifically, to what was on the other side, before darting back to him. "I burned him. Please let me make sure he's ok."
Ryker stilled, realizing quickly that Jo herself was tense and worried. "Did anyone see? Did he see you?"
"Lexi might have," Jo said, "He and Lexi were fighting, and I didn't want him to hurt her. Or me. I kept it small, but..." She took in a quick breath, her dark brown eyes wide. "I don't think he saw me, but he's definitely burned."
He didn't want Jo anywhere near the other wolf, but he understood now that they needed to take care of him, if only for Jo's sake. If anything terrible happened to him, he doubted she would forgive herself; she would feel guilty no matter what. Finally, he nodded, his jaw tight and unyielding.
Jo reached out and touched his arm. "Thank you."
"Are you okay?" Ryker asked, not meaning her wound. He wanted to hug her, but he also wanted to look her in the eyes. Plus there was her shoulder to consider.
"I don't know," she said, wrapping her arms around her waist.
"You were trying to defend yourself and Lexi," Ryker said.
"I know, it's just...difficult."
Footsteps alerted him to Lexi's presence before she appeared at the end of the truck. "Brett's going to meet us at the clinic to 'handle the situation,' as he put it."
"That's definitely one way to describe it," Jo said, letting out a long breath.
Ryker rested a hand on Jo's lower back in comfort, figuring that would at least safely avoid her injury. As much as he wanted to hold her tightly, her health and safety would always come before his needs.
"AJ and Lincoln," he called, raising his voice a little for them to hear--not much else was necessary with werewolf hearing. "Take him in your truck. I don't want him near the girls."
Lexi gave him a flat look that he ignored. "You did a great job taking him down," Ryker told her honestly, "but injured werewolves can be volatile, ok? You know that. Give me this peace of mind." It was true--when injured, it was like the wolf side of them seemed to come more to the forefront, maybe as a protective measure. Better to be safe than sorry.
"Fine," Lexi said with a sigh. "But I've earned my place on patrol now." Ryker frowned at her--it was an argument they'd been having since he returned to town and their dad had put him in charge of the patrols as a way to start preparing him for his Alpha role.
"We'll talk about it later," he finally said. As Lexi started to open her mouth, he interrupted. "I promise, ok? Just now's not the time."
Finally, she nodded, then headed toward her car. "I'll meet you guys at Brett's place." Jo moved away from him a few places--he realized to watch Lincoln & AJ, now shifted back into human form, throwing the injured guy in the truck. They must've taken their time since they were wearing jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers. No rush.
"You ready?" Ryker asked, trying to distract her from her thoughts about burning the man, but also wanting to get her to Brett as soon as possible. The smell of her blood and the sight of her torn shirt were keeping him on edge.
"Mhmmm." Jo quietly went around to the passenger side of the truck and Ryker quickly got in, reaching for her hand after he'd started the truck. She held his hand more tightly than usual, and he rubbed his thumb in circles against her skin, trying to reassure her.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here," he said as they started out of the woods.
"Don't!" Jo snapped, causing Ryker to look at her in surprise. Her tone softened. "Sorry, I just...this is why I trained, Ryker. You can't always be worried about protecting me when you're running a pack. Now we know that I'll be ok if something happens. That's good, right?"
For once in his life--no, maybe the second time--Ryker wished he wasn't due to be an Alpha. He cared about the pack, but he hated the more vulnerable position it put his immediate family in. Then again, the whole pack was his family, and he would hate if stepping down ever put them in a vulnerable position as well.
It was a heavy responsibility, and he could only be grateful to his dad for being willing to carry it a little longer.
"It is," Ryker admitted, "But I can't help but not like it."
Jo let out a tired chuckle, and then suddenly she was unbuckling her seatbelt and moving toward him across the truck bench.
Ryker glanced at her in concern, not liking her being without a seatbelt. "Jo, what are you--"
"Relax," Jo snorted, buckling herself into the middle seat before leaning in to him--luckily her injured shoulder was on the other side. "I just want to be near you right now, ok?"
And Ryker actually found himself relaxing, also comforted by the close contact with her. "I'm not going to argue with that," he said, just as they were pulling up to a stop sign. He took the brief moment to turn and kiss her temple before resting his hand on her thigh.
They weren't far from Brett's clinic, so it was only a few minutes later that they were pulling into the driveway. Brett had turned on the outside lights, and Ryker could see Lexi already heading up the front steps, while AJ and Lincoln pulled in right behind him.
Luckily the clinic was surrounded by trees and landscaping, making it hard to see what was happening from the road. It would definitely raise some eyebrows if people saw them hauling the bloody unconscious guy out of the truck and lugging him inside.
The door opened and Brett stepped out, hair messy and blue eyes annoyed and concerned. "I thought you were at a party, not a fight." He looked over Lexi, searching for injuries, and she made a face at him as she pushed past.
"I'm fine," she announced as she headed inside. "Jo's not."
"It's not that bad," Jo said as she rounded the hood of the truck, "You should take care of Blake--"
"You first," Ryker said, shaking his head.
"He's unconscious."
"Look--"
"Hey!" Brett said, interrupting their potential argument. "How about everyone go inside, and I'll figure it out from there. Or do you have to fight about who goes in first?"
"I'd like this guy to go in first, he's heavy," Lincoln said as he and AJ hauled Blake out of the truck without being very gentle. "But we can put him back..." Ryker would bet they'd drop him right back into the truck bed.
"You can say goodbye to free steak dinners if you guys don't at least bring him inside without hitting his head on the doorframe," Jo said, resting her hip against the bumper of the truck. He could tell by the way she was holding her body that her shoulder hurt more than she was letting on. It made him want to pick her up and take her inside himself, but he knew she would be frustrated with him.
"Harsh, Jo," Lincoln said, grinning at her. "Threatening me and we haven't even officially met." While he and AJ were identical, people rarely had trouble telling them apart, and Ryker doubted Jo would have any problems. AJ was polite and friendly while Lincoln was always ready to taunt and joke around. However, they were both fiercely loyal and capable.
"I'll follow through with it."
"We'll be careful," AJ said, rolling his eyes at Lincoln.
"Inside, now," Brett said, giving Jo a pointed look, his own amiable nature taking a backseat to what Lexi called doctor mode.
"Okay, I'm coming," Jo said, pushing away from the truck with a wince. She slipped her hand into Ryker's, probably more for his benefit than hers, and they headed inside.