Lyric's Accidental Mate (Iron Wolves MC 1 ~ Bite of the Moon) by Elle Boon Page B

blocked, which means they have to come at us from the front. Or we will know when they breach the inner sanctum.”
    The tables were bolted down for the occasional—or frequent—brawl. While they waited, the guys gathered the chairs and stacked them against the walls, clearing the space for the upcoming battle. Several men had already shifted, using their heightened senses.
    Lyric shifted from one foot to the other. Hesitation and concern increasing her worry for all their safety. Most of the men who’d been called in were unmated and had vowed to always put pack first. What had happened in the first place that could cause an all-out war?
    “Should I shift?” she asked gravely.
    Bodhi frowned at her; his need to take action burned through his gaze. “It doesn’t matter what form you take, you will be no match for a dominate wolf, chérie.”
    The usual pain knifed through her, but she wouldn’t allow it to defeat her purpose. They had never seen her in action. She and Syn were always treated as cosseted princesses, so his words didn’t surprise her. She lifted her chin. “Tell me what you want me to do and then go do your thing. I can and will fight, Bodhi. Surely they will be beating down the doors any minute.”
    A muscle twitched in his jaw, a sure sign he didn’t like her words or her actions. “Go behind the bar. If they make it through the front line, you get into the safest position you can, and you do your damndest to stay alive. You hear me?”
    “I hear you.” she snapped.
    His voice dropped to a low timbre. “I lost my baby sister years ago. I won’t let that happen to Xan’s if I can help it.”
    Though her heart ached for his loved one, Lyric wouldn’t stand back and allow the men to die while she hid in fear. His eyes held the misery of years, and she silently vowed to stand her ground.
    Thunder rumbled outside, almost drowning out the noise of incoming feet. Flashes of lightening lit up the windows, allowing the shadows of their enemies to be seen for seconds at a time.
    Everyone inside the club took up position, watching the silent figures slither closer. Not a soul dared breath. They had enemies coming from two sides. If her nose was correct, over fifteen shifters approached, ten from the front, five in the tunnels. They were outnumbered.
    She saw what Turo, one of the bartenders, called the equalizer, strapped under the counter. He’d probably want to beat her ass when he learned she used his precious AR-15, what the hell ever it was, but Lyric could give two shits. All she cared about in that moment, was that he always kept a full magazine in it, and Turo said that it was thirty percent more accurate than his AK-47. The lightness of the weapon almost caused her to drop it. She’d been shooting rifles for years and felt secure that her aim was good enough.
    When the first door collapsed under the barrage of wolves, chaos reigned like the storm outside. Like the hounds of Hell they were, spittle falling from their jaws, they attacked en masse.
    Lyric sat with her back to the wall. Her one glance around the corner had sent her scuttling back with her borrowed gun in her lap, and she felt like a coward. The sound of growls and battle was louder than the booming thunder outside, drowning out the sound of her beating heart.
    A crash alerted her to the front door breaking down; the scent of moisture blowing in with the wind combined with the stench of their enemies. Her body jerked with each of her pack members’ howls. Alerted by murmurs of approaching wolves coming around the bar, she tucked herself into a tight ball, inwardly cursing her cowardice.
    One hand clasped the gun while she peered out of the small space. Not two feet from her was a mangy wolf that looked diseased. His yellow eyes rotated this way and that, before he lifted his lips in a snarl, distracted by the smell of liquor. Behind him, another wolf looking just the same nudged him, swiping at his side with claws not quite as