Full Moon Feral by Jackie Nacht

giving Ripley hope for his mating with Brendan.
    Scooting closer to Brendan, he wanted to feel the heat of the man’s leg while they sat there. Yeah, it was nothing much, but just the slightest touch seemed to calm Ripley and gave him hope that there could be more.
    Guards stood around, relaxed and talking to one another, clearly viewing Ripley as a non-threat at the moment. The tension seemed to ease from the group as they ate and enjoyed the beautiful day.
    Ripley was about to bite into his sandwich when something felt…off. Instinct took over, and Ripley sniffed the air, sensing something.
    When he shot to his feet, guards became on alert. Not to their surrounding but to Ripley.
    He was about to tell them what he felt when a pack of massive black dogs came out of the nearby woods and slowly surrounded them. There had to be twenty or more.
    “Hellhounds,” Peyton whispered before clambering to his feet and carefully walking over to Rayce who jerked the young man behind him.
    Ripley's breathing quickened, and he reached for Brendan.
    Brendan stood next to him, gripping him at his arm until Brendan’s nails pierced the flesh.
    The hellhounds continued to circle them, and Ripley felt the threat pumping the blood faster through his veins. His vision became hazy as he waited.
    One shifted and stood in his demon form before them. Fuck! Ripley knew that guy, had seen him many times before.
    The guy gave a sick smile that never reached his soulless eyes. Apparently, he was also the leader since the hellhounds stood waiting for his order while studying the group.
    Ripley could sense them working on tactics of who to take down first, who to get to, who to kill.
    There was no noise, no signal, the hellhounds just attacked.
    Malach electrocuted the first one that charged them with a cattle prod, but the group was fast. It wasn't long before the whole pack of hellhounds was on them.
    All Ripley could think of was to protect Brendan, keep him safe. Dear gods, please let us get out of here with our lives. A hellhound crashed into him, biting deep into his flesh. With a roar, Ripley saw red, and a savage instinct took over. His blood pounded, and he went after the nearest hellhound, complete destruction on his mind.
     
    * * * *
     
    Oren tried to duck out of the way, knowing he was no match against the hellhounds. He stood in the middle of the guards with Dalton and Peyton as the others fought, feeling weak for not being able to help in any way.
    A roar filled the air, and Oren turned to see Ripley go fucking crazy on a hellhound. His arm was bleeding heavily, but that was nothing compared to the way he decapitated the hellhound with his bare hands.
    Brendan growled and went after a hellhound. His Omega friend’s eyes were wild as he fought blow for blow against the large dogs. No way should he have been able to do that.
    The two were completely feral, reminding Oren of a berserker rage as they tore the hellhounds to pieces, literally, relishing in the blood spilled on them.
    Hellhounds were breaking through the center, and Dalton yelled to one of the guards, “Shift and give us the guns and prods!”
    Several hellhounds whipped their large, beastly heads at Dalton’s command. One threw his head back and released a bone-jarring growl into the air.
    The guard immediately threw his weapon at Dalton before shifting to fight in his wolf form. Two other guards followed suit, and Oren scrambled to pick up the cattle prod. The ground was getting saturated with blood, and the growls and fighting were deafening to his ears.
    Oren ducked as a hellhound sprung at him in midair, and he juiced him up with the prod as the hellhound landed on him. The guy was stunned although not out, but it gave Oren enough time to shoot the tranq and dammit, miss!
    The hellhound turned around and stared at Oren, causing Oren to freeze on the spot. The hellhound's intense stare continued as the beast took a step forward.
    Oren took off running, and the hellhound