Rebirth of His Omega

2. Ryan

2

RYAN

The artreans were dead. Burnt to crisps by the black dragon that had swept through with all the fury of hell. After all we'd done to capture Wamp and his pet phoenix, they were gone.

I couldn't look at the bodies. Even though I'd never seen the aftermath of my family's mass suicide, I'd overheard enough about it from my parents' hushed talks that it had filled my nightmares for years. This was too much like those nightmares come to life.

With nothing better to do, I shifted and circled the perimeter, taking refuge in my lion's simpler view of life. There was little gray when I submitted to my animal instincts. There was good and evil. Pride and enemies. I snorted the musky acrid scent of dragon fire from my nose. It was completely different than the fires we'd been investigating over the last couple of years, the fires set by Wamp and, later, his phoenix; fires that had killed family after family.

I shook my head and snorted again, moving further away from the scorch zone. I couldn't leave my pack to deal with it alone... but I couldn't be in the middle of it, either. I circled the area, feeling completely useless. In the midst of my self-berating, I suddenly realized that the musty acrid scent I had been growing used to had changed. I still scented fire and ash, but something tingled my nose, not like pepper but like… mint. I looked down. I stood in a small patch of ash, separate from the main scorch, and there was the light hint of dragon fire, but the main scent was more familiar than that. It smelled like when Kurt had been blasted by a fireball. When we had pulled Ben's former mate from their burning house.

The phoenix.

The scent led away from the main scene and kept moving. If anyone could have survived that inferno, it would definitely be another fire creature.

Fire creature. Phoenix. Dragons. Seers. Since when had this become my life? To some people, it wasn’t much crazier than men who shifted into animals. But that had been my entire life. This craziness had only come into it recently.

The scent led directly away from the others. I knew I should call Dallas or Asher, let them know what I'd found, but this was something I could do. I couldn't give our friends' bodies the respect they deserved, but I could track down and capture one of the reasons we were in this position in the first place.

I heard a yelp ahead of me and knew I wasn’t far behind the bastard. I pushed myself harder.

When I found him, we literally ran into each other. He came barreling around a pine tree, slamming into my snout before falling backward onto his a*s. I roared and pounced forward instinctively, my giant paws landing on his shoulders. Instead of black centers, his eyes were burning embers, a hot red-orange that matched his hair. When I had seen him previously, I'd thought he was a kid, just like the rest of them that we had saved. Up close, it was clear he was a young man. His body was too developed, his anger too deep for him to be a child.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything to unburden myself of the deaths that this man had been part of, deaths that I had failed to prevent. All that came out was a roar.

Frustrated, I pressed my large body against the man so that he couldn't move while I shifted. Now it was my hands holding him down, not paws, and I had an actual voice.

But what could I say? What could I possibly say to cause this man half the hurt he deserved? He'd killed entire families with his fire. He'd nearly murdered my friend and pack mate.

Why should I be the one to speak? He should be the one defending himself. What reason could he give for his actions? Nothing would satisfy me.

The fire in his eyes swirled slowly, almost pulling me in with their flickers. His anger was fading, though his fire was not. What was going on in his mind?

"Say something," I growled.

His body relaxed beneath me, and I tensed, ready for whatever trick he was thinking of pulling.

"I remember you."

"I should hope so. You nearly killed my friend Kurt. I was in the midst of the melee your friend Wamp ignited, trying desperately to avoid hurting those kids he brainwashed."

"No... I remember you from... before..." His voice was soft and dream-like, as though he weren't fully awake.

His skin began to burn underneath mine, and I suddenly realized how utterly n***d we both were. I didn't know what his powers were other than throwing fireballs. Was he trying to burn me with his skin? Could he do that? The smart thing to do would have been to jump away, to avoid burns and live to capture him another time, but I was determined that at least one of our enemies would face justice. He couldn't control the burn if he was unconscious.

I lifted one hand and pulled it back to punch, but I stopped in surprise. Something soft and light tickled down my side. I followed the phoenix's gaze as his hand traced my muscles, an unexpected response igniting in my groin.

"What are you doing?" My voice was harsh, almost unrecognizable.

"I know you." The phoenix's eyes flashed up to mine, and this time they enraptured me completely. In them I could see the beauty of flame flowing freely in the dark depths of the universe. The faint mint scent of his deepened, brightened. What was that hint? There was another strain of something… lime. It was... glorious.

I came back to earth as the phoenix cupped my face with his hands. When had I lost my grip on him? He pulled my face down and kissed me, his tongue sparking on mine, like the fizzle of rock candy that popped in your mouth.

"I know you. Why do I know you?" the phoenix muttered as he pulled back, but my mind had lost all interest in questions. It had forgotten the fear and anger I felt toward this man. Suddenly, all I felt was need. I needed to be in this man, to claim him, because he was already mine. I knew this with a bone deep certainty. Like I knew the sky was blue and grass was green, I knew this man was mine. I kissed him with primal ferocity and he met me with equal power. I should have been marching him back to the others. I shouldn't be touching him in this way, needing him like this. But any thoughts of hesitation burned away in the fire that consumed us.