Free Dirk's Love by Marisa Chenery Page B

said, “Tyler’s fine. I came to warn your prick of a boyfriend off.”
    “ What? You have no right. We’re divorced. I can see whomever I want.”
    “ Not this guy, you won’t,” Mack said in a hard voice. “I’ve had to listen to Tyler go on and on about this asshole for the last two days. I don’t want any man trying to take my place in my son’s life.”
    “ Well, you should’ve thought of that before you left me.”
    “ Shut up, Ryann,” Mack snapped.
    Not liking how her ex spoke to her, Dirk growled low in his throat, not holding anything back. He felt all eyes on him. “I suggest you watch how you speak to Ryann. She’s mine now. Not yours. Keep it up and I’ll make sure you regret it.”
    Mack laughed with no humor in it. “Really? I doubt it. You see, I brought my two friends along to make you rethink going anywhere near Ryann and Tyler.”
    With that, the two large men dove for Dirk. He had just enough time to push Ryann out of the way before they were on him. Not giving a shit if they saw what he truly was, Dirk growled and ducked as one man took a swing at his head. He snarled his upper lip and snapped his teeth and turned his gaze on them, knowing full well his eyes had to be mutedly glowing with the anger that surged through him. They were taken aback a bit, but not for long. Though they were strong for mortals, they were no match against a werewolf. Dirk clipped one on the jaw and the man went down like a ton of bricks.
    Just as the other one moved in to take another swing at him, Dirk heard Ryann yell, “Tyler’s in the car! You brought him along while you did something like this?”
    Dirk took a quick look over at the vehicle the men had come out of and saw Tyler’s little face pressed against the side window in the backseat. He then focused his attention back on his attacker, and with a one-two combination to the gut, along with a hook to the jaw, the second man was out for the count.
    That left only Mack. Dirk turned to find him going after Ryann as she headed for the car. Her ex grabbed her by the arm and roughly pulled her to a stop. Ryann let out a cry of pain as Mack gave her a good shake.
    Something snapped inside Dirk at the sight of another man touching his mate in such a way. He growled loud enough to capture Mack and Ryann’s attention. Then drawing on the spark of magic inside him, Dirk shifted to his wolf form. He thrilled at the way Mack’s eyes widened, how the man’s scent became laden with fear. Dirk knew what Mack saw. As a wolf, Dirk was much bigger than the ones found in the wild.
    He padded over to Mack and growled at him, his hackles rising as he came to stand between the other man and Ryann. Babbling nonsense, Mack backed off. Dirk turned to look at Ryann. She was as white as a ghost, her wide-eyed gaze riveted on him. He’d have to deal with her fear after this was all over. Right now, he needed to get Tyler out of the other car.
    Knowing he was more of a threat in his wolf form, Dirk remained in it as he loped over to the vehicle. He looked up at Tyler and let his tongue hang out, giving the boy a wolf-like grin. He hoped Tyler would come out without Dirk having to shift to convince him to. He counted on the fact that kids seemed to accept out of the ordinary things better than the adults usually did.
    He didn’t have long to wait before Tyler opened the back door and slid out. Showing no fear whatsoever, he threw his arms around Dirk’s furry neck and hugged him. “You’re a wolf, Dirk,” he shouted. “That’s cool.”
    As Dirk turned to head over to Ryann, he felt a small hand grip the fur at his neck as Tyler pulled himself up on his back. The boy kicked his small heels into Dirk’s sides as if he were a horse. Laughing inside, Dirk walked back to his mate.
    Ryann was still staring at him wide-eyed. Mack, on the other hand, was busy rousing his friends. Once he managed to get them on their feet, all three men hightailed it to the car, and in a