Bad Wolf (5 page)

Chapter Ten

“Focus!”

Nikki
spun and blocked the blow before it landed across the side of her head. Pain
flared through her arm. Sweat ran in rivulets down her skin as Adam continued
to come at her.

“An
enemy won’t stop. She won’t hesitate. She’ll just keep coming.”

Nikki
wondered if Adam used the word “she” knowing that a confrontation between her
and Sara was inevitable or if his subconscious did it for him. She cleared her
mind of all conscious thought and let instinct take over. As she let her wolf
climb closer to the surface, her movements became more fluid, and she blocked
the blows before they even came near landing.

Without
even thinking about it, she spun and planted her elbow in his solar plexus.
Adam grunted and stumbled backward. Before he could regain his footing, Nikki
advanced, sweeping out her leg and taking Adam’s out from underneath him. He
hit the floor with a thud.

Nikki
stood over him and grinned. For the first time ever, she had managed to knock Zane’s
second in command on his ass. Adam laughed and held up his hands in mock
surrender.

“I
don’t know what Zane was worried about. You’re good. Almost better than me.”

“Almost?
Who’s on the floor, wolfboy?”

“Lucky
shot.”

“Yeah,
whatever.” Nikki knew she’d taken him fair and square.

“You
have amazing control. I don’t know if even Zane can call his wolf that close to
the surface without changing.”

Truth
be told, Nikki had been practicing. She knew her wolf was her secret weapon,
and unlike Sara, it was one she embraced whole-heartedly. No matter what
happened, she swore Sara would not get the drop on her like she had Rachel. In
the three weeks since her death, Nikki practiced every day and sparred with
Adam three times a week.

Zane
kept a close watch on her and attempted to ensure she was never alone. He
feared Sara would try to ambush Nikki when no one else was around so she could
play dirty with no witnesses. Nikki knew better though. She knew this was one
fight Sara would want everyone to see. Her arrogance led her to believe she would
beat Nikki, and her defeat would make the other women in the pack hesitate
before casting aspirations on Zane.

Wanting
to fight public actually worked in Nikki’s favor as far as she was concerned.
It would keep the fighting dirty to a minimum. If Sara acted outside the
boundaries of pack law, she’d face the ultimate consequence…death. Nikki
intended to make sure Sara faced it anyway. This was one fight where she would
not offer the chance for her opponent to live. The fight between her and Sara
would be to the death.

Nikki
held her hand out to Adam and helped him off the floor. “After Rachel’s death
and then finding Misha, I thought it best to practice my control. We all know
the closer the wolf is to the surface, the better instincts we have.”

“Yes,
and that’s one advantage you have.”

Nikki
raised her eyebrow. Guess that answered the question about whether or not his
use of “she” was intentional.

“I
made peace with my wolf a long time. If not, men in white suits would’ve carted
me off to some insane asylum. Trying to handle being a wolf while also dealing
with the changing body and hormones of a teenager is just too much.”

Adam
nodded. “That’s why turning a minor is prohibited in most packs and greatly
frowned upon in others.”

“It
should be an outright law.”

“You’d
need a governing body for that.”

Nikki
frowned. “Yes, I know. Never going to happen. As a whole, our species are just
too rowdy and hotheaded.”

“Unfortunately.
It’s the nature of the beast within us.”

Nikki
grabbed her water bottle and towel, giving her forehead a swipe to dab away the
sweat. “I’m going to head up and hit the showers.”

“Be
careful on your way up.”

“Always.”

Nikki
had spent the past three weeks avoiding Sara as much as possible. She tried to
walk through the apartment complex with another person, and if she couldn’t,
she tended to take the stairs. Sara hated climbing them in the high heels she
always wore, so she was well known to take the elevator.

Nikki
bounded up the steps. Deep in thought, she almost missed the sounds coming from
above her. She stopped and listened. Voices drifted down towards her. She
silently padded halfway up the next flight, straining her ears to hear the
conversation.

“It’s
too soon after the last one! We almost got caught!” the unfamiliar male voice
shouted.

“Keep
your voice down!” the female hissed.

Sara!

“Almost
getting caught was a fluke. Otherwise, I would’ve finished what you started. Of
course, that bitch Nikki had to show up and ruin everything. It won’t happen
again, I promise. Now, do you have a new girl lined up for me?”

“Yes.
She thinks she’s meeting me for a romantic night out. I’ve told her nothing
that would lead anyone to me or to you.”

“Good.
Take her out a few times. Make her comfortable with you, but be sure to keep to
out of the way places so no one identifies you after she disappears. We’ll do
it right after the full moon. I’ll have the bitch out of the way by then.”

Nikki
drew in a full breath through her nose, and a familiar scent filled her
nostrils. Her heart tripped in her chest. Slowly, she padded back down towards
the basement, hoping Sara and her accomplice would be so focused on their
conversation that neither of them would hear nor smell her. By the time she
reached the basement elevator, her heart beat so quickly, it threated to burst
from her ribcage. The scent of the man with Sara lingered in her nose. The same
scent had drenched the bite on Misha.

Chapter Eleven

“It’s
not enough, Nikki. You know that. Besides, you didn’t see the man, so we still
don’t know what he looks like.”

Nikki
paced across the floor of her living room. “We already knew Sara was involved
somehow!”

Zane
looked gravely at Nikki. “Yes, but we still need more proof. What exactly did
you hear?”

“They
plan to attack another girl after the full moon. It sounded like the intention
with Misha was for him to wound her and Sara to finish her off, but my
appearance interrupted them.”

“Sounds
like something Sara would do. She always goes after the weak.”

“She’s
a coward.”

Zane
nodded and sighed. “Yes, she is. I wish I had seen her for what she is before I
got entangled with her.”

Nikki
couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across her face. “You don’t always think
with your big head first.”

Zane
playfully swatted her behind.

She
grew serious again and perched on the edge of the couch. “She said I would be
out of the way by then.”

“Which
means she intends to go after you next weekend at the cabin.”

Nikki
nodded in agreement. “Except, I plan to beat her to the punch.”

Zane
shot an incredulous look at Nikki. “What?”

“It
will throw her off guard. She will never expect it.”

Zane
tapped his finger on his cheek in thought. “You might be right. And putting her
off her game can bring nothing but good. She’s too impulsive. Instead of
thinking and planning her moves or letting instinct kick in, she will just jump
right in.”

“That’s
what I’m planning on.”

Zane
walked over and pulled Nikki to her feet, drawing her into his strong embrace.
“You have to win. I can’t bear to lose you.”

“I
will win. I know I can beat her.”

“When
do you plan on calling her out?”

“Right
after everyone arrives. It’s best that way, don’t you think?”

Zane
rested his chin on the top of Nikki’s head. “Yes. It won’t give her a chance to
throw down the gauntlet first.”

“What
will we do about the rogue?”

“If
we are lucky, he will move on once Sara is gone. Otherwise, Adam and I will
track him down. We’ll find him if he stays.” Zane glanced at his watch and
grimaced. “I have to go. Since I’m still keeping up appearances, I promised
Sara I would take her out tonight.”

Nikki
frowned up at him. “Couldn’t you have told her no?”

“Nik,
we’ve been over this already. I’m trying to keep you out of her crosshairs for
now. The best way to do that is spend time with her.”

Nikki
pulled away from Zane and turned her back to him. “And fuck her.”

“No.
That I have not done. Not that she hasn’t tried to tempt me. The truth is,
nothing about her tempts me. I don’t find her attractive anymore. Not knowing
what she truly is.”

Nikki
sighed and turned around. “I know as Alpha, you have the right to fuck whoever
you want.”

“Nik,
I know I’ve used my privilege in the past with gusto. But it’s different now.”

“How?”

Zane
grasped Nikki’s hand and held it over his heart. “Because this belongs to you,
and once a wolf falls in love, it ends our wild ways of bedding every female in
sight. You know we mate for life.”

“But
we aren’t mated yet.” The mating ritual involved a blood exchange. It forever
tied two wolves together.

“We
will be.” Zane reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. “It’s not much,
but think of it as a promise.” He opened the box to reveal a gold ring with a
small ruby. “A ruby for my fiery redhead.”

Nikki
felt tears gathering in her eyes. “It’s beautiful.”

“I
couldn’t get something that would call attention to itself, but I wanted you to
have something. It’ll do until I can get you a diamond.”

He
slipped the ring onto Nikki’s finger. “This is my promise to you. We may not
yet be mates by blood, but we are mates of the heart. The rest is just a
technicality.”

“It’s
beautiful.” Nikki wrapped her arms around Zane and laid her face upon his
chest. She could feel his heart beating against her cheek. The heart that beat
for her. She knew now the mating ritual would just be a formality. She’d
already won; Sara just didn’t know it yet.

Chapter Twelve

Nikki
drove her Jeep up the winding dirt road that snaked its way to the remote cabin
the pack used for the full moon retreats. Despite the fact she intended to
challenge Sara fairly soon after arriving, peace filled her. Instead of being
nervous and apprehensive, she felt calm and certain. It was time. The pack
deserved a better Alpha than Sara, and Nikki believed the spot belonged to her.
Rachel’s death would not be in vain.

She
pulled up to the cabin and parked behind Sara’s dirty BMW. Shaking her head,
she climbed out of the Jeep. The mud spattered car just reinforced the fact
that it was time for Sara’s reign to end. She didn’t have the common sense or
maturity needed to help lead a pack. She was selfish and juvenile and only
looked out for herself. The only reason she clung to Zane was for the status of
belonging to the male Alpha.

Most
of the pack had already arrived. Nikki timed it that way on purpose. She didn’t
want to give Sara any time to waylay her before the gathering. As she slammed
the Jeep’s door shut, members of the pack began to spill out of the cabin’s
front door and onto the grassy front lawn. Adam had stayed behind with Misha at
the apartment complex. New cubs spent of the three days of the cycle of the
first couple of moons in the containment room in the basement. A spurt of anger
speared through Nikki. That poor little innocent girl’s life had been changed
forever because of Sara and her lust for power. At least Nikki’s sudden
appearance had stopped Sara and her rogue from killing Misha as they’d planned.

Nikki
strode toward the group as Zane and Sara followed the members of the pack out
the front door. It was time. She stepped into the middle of the crowd and held
up her hands.

“Pack!
Hear my challenge!”

The
pack responded in concert. “We hear!”

Nikki
spun to face Sara who stood still with shock. “I challenge you, Sara, for the
place of Alpha female of the pack! I call you! My wolf calls your wolf!”

Nikki
stood tall and proud, her fiery curls flowing in the wind as she waited for
Sara to respond with the customary reply. She could’ve sworn she saw a
momentary flash of fear before Sara straightened and took a step forward.

“I
hear the challenge! May the best wolf win!”

Not
wanting to waste a moment and give Sara any time to formulate a defense, Nikki
didn’t bother stripping out of her clothes. Instead, she immediately initiated
the change. Fabric ripped and shredded and red fur replaced skin. As her body
completed the transition from human to wolf, she leaped forward and swiped a
large front paw at Sara, catching her still in mid-change.

The
woman grunted and flew backward. Nikki pounced, and as she landed, the yellow
wolf beneath her finished the change. Nikki knew the only chance she had of
winning the challenge was to let her wolf control the fight. Making a conscious
effort to rein in her human thinking, she relinquished control to the wolf
inside her.

The
yellow wolf yelped as if sensing the change in the red wolf on top of her.
Nikki’s wolf roared and bit down, closing her massive jaws around the neck of
Sara’s wolf. Jerking her head, she tore a huge gash in Sara’s throat before the
yellow wolf managed to throw her off. Nikki gained her feet before Sara managed
to stumble to full standing and once again, she leapt.

The
two wolves tumbled and Sara landed a glancing blow to Nikki’s side. The
stinging pain incensed the red wolf, and she gained her feet and charged. Sara
attempted to block the claws and teeth of Nikki’s wolf, but she was just too
slow. Her hesitance to fully embrace her wolf led to her defeat. Nikki once
again closed her jaw around Sara’s throat, but this time, she hit the jugular.
The damage was too severe for Sara to heal.

Nikki
lifted her head and howled as the darkness settled around them and the full moon
bathed them in its loving embrace. She backed away from the yellow wolf as its
breathing slowed and then stilled. Unlike the myths about werewolves, her wolf
did not change back to human. If a werewolf died in wolf form, they stayed that
way.

One
by one new howls rent the air as the members of the pack transformed. Each one
affirmed their new female alpha. Zane’s howl was the last to bellow through the
air.
The challenge is won! All hail Nikki, your new alpha!

All
hail!

The
pack yipped and howled and ran. The night’s run would be a celebration, not
only of their wolf nature, but of their new alpha. Sara would be taken care of
after their return. Though she had fallen, they would still honor her as pack
law dictated. Even the losers of a challenge deserved a proper burial.