Love Bites (Bitten Book 4) (26 page)

I finally had to crack a smile. “True. He just seems worse than the human men I’ve known.”

“That’s because he is. Wolf males are notoriously hard-headed when it comes to the safety of their mates.”

We walked along the road toward the center of the settlement.

“Wanna tell me why we’re taking a walk through the middle of the compound? Calder usually avoids this area.”

Chloe’s eyes cut to me. “You’re a lot more perceptive than you let on.”

Sneering, I quipped, “Oh, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

“I just mean that you read between the lines quite well,” she said with a chuckle.

Then she fell silent without answering my question.

“So, why are we doing this?” I asked on a sigh, getting a little impatient with her evasions.

A new voice cut through the fall air. “Well, well, look what we have here. The beta’s little mate. What was your name again, hon? Mickey? Nicky?”

I recognized that breathy voice immediately. It was Brittany Hayes. The fact that the timbre of her voice made my skin crawl was enough to tell me her identity without visual confirmation, but I turned anyway.

Brittany stood behind us, her arms crossed over her chest, two younger women flanking her wearing bored expressions.

Chloe spoke first. “Hi, Brittany.”

The girl flicked Chloe a dismissive glance before focusing back on me. “Well?” she asked belligerently.

“Well what?”

“What’s your name?” she sneered.

I let my arms fall to my sides, loose and relaxed. “Ask me nicely and I’ll be happy to answer you.”

Her eyes flashed with anger. “What did you just say to me?”

I took a measured step closer to her. “If you want to know my name, you should ask me politely,” I answered calmly.

The stupid she-wolf growled at me. The back of my neck tingled, not because I was going to shift uncontrollably, but in fury. I didn’t know what had this bitch bent all out of shape, but I decided I would be the one to straighten her out.

I took another step forward, my muscles tight with the need to pounce. “You know exactly who I am and what my name is. What you’re doing now is a very bad idea, Brittany, because you don’t want me to lose my temper.”

She scoffed. “Oh really?”

“Yes.”

Brittany leaned in closer so our faces were only inches apart. I had to stop myself from tearing into her face with my teeth. “What are you gonna do about it? You’re nothing but a scared little bitch who changes form and runs away when she gets frightened.”

I reigned myself in with a reminder that I didn’t want to strike first. I was in control and I was going to teach her a lesson about acting like an asshole.

“Do I look like I’m scared now?” I growled low in my throat.

She was quivering with anger, but she wasn’t so enraged that she was past reason. I needed to push her a little harder.

“You know my name, Brittany. Say it.”

I could swear I heard her teeth grinding together as she stared at me. We were eye to eye and I wasn’t going to back down. Still, she didn’t answer.

“What’s the matter? Too afraid?” I taunted.

That was all it took. I saw Brittany’s shoulders tense a split second before her right arm swung. In her anger, she struck without strategy or skill, her fingers curving into claws to scratch at my face.

I blocked her wild swing and punched her in the gut with enough force to have her stumbling back a few steps, gasping for breath.

The wolf within me scented Brittany and snarled. She smelled fear and she wanted it. I reigned in my instincts, and forced my body to relax. When Brittany regained her balance, she circled me warily for a few moments, her eyes hard and cold.

I couldn’t underestimate her. She might look like a harmless airhead, but she had the same animal inside her I did, urging her on, pushing her to take me down and tear out my throat.

We edged around one another, watching carefully. Brittany lunged again, moving fast and low. I barely managed to side step her charge. Her fist caught me in the kidney as she went by. It stung but didn’t hurt nearly as bad as the blows that Chloe rained down on me when we sparred every day. Now I understood her methods.

I whirled, grabbing Brittany by her long ponytail and jerking her head back. She yelped but had no choice but to arch backwards, exposing her throat. Because I was behind her, she couldn’t reach me and her arms pin wheeled wildly. I clamped my left hand around her trachea, tightening my grip until she stopped trying to reach back for me and began clawing at my hand.

Ruthlessly, I squeezed and shook her by her neck. “Stop fighting me and I’ll let you breathe,” I growled into her ear.

She only struggled harder.

“Stop, Brittany, or I’ll rip your throat out.” She made a muffled noise of distress, no longer clawing at my hand and arm, but tugging insistently. “Chloe’s been explaining pack law to me over the last week. It’s very interesting. Your show of disrespect to someone considered dominant to you means I can punish you. And I can choose whatever punishment I deem fit, which means I could kill you here and no one would do anything to me.”

Her face was turning purple as she fought to get air. The human part of me was ashamed of what I was doing to another living creature, but the wolf….well, she wanted blood and she wanted it now.

Finally, Brittany’s hands fell to her side and I relaxed my grip enough for her to suck in a small stream of air.

I leaned a little closer. “Good girl.” I heard rather than saw movement behind me and turned my head in time to see one of Brittany’s friends get enough courage to charge me. I lifted my leg and planted my foot in her belly with enough force to throw her back three feet, where she crumbled to the ground.

My fingers tightened around Brittany’s throat to keep her from getting ideas as I stared down her other friend. “Stay,” I snapped.

She nodded and lifted her hands in surrender.

My attention returned to Brittany. I needed to release her wind pipe, but I also needed to keep the upper hand. Quickly, I kicked her in the back of the leg so she went down to her knees, but kept her ponytail wrapped around my fist, wrenching her head back so she was looking straight up into my face. I released the pressure on her trachea, but kept my palm against her skin.

“Now, we’re gonna have a little chat,” I murmured. “I know what you’re up to and you should seriously reconsider your plan.”

She blinked up at me, her eyes wide in false innocence and full of tears. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m just upset because I wanted Calder for myself and he chose you.”

I tilted my head to one side. “Maybe that’s how it started, but that’s not why you’re doing this now. Try again.”

The sheen of tears disappeared with a blink and the real Brittany peeked out, for just a moment. Her eyes turned ugly and icy. For a moment, I thought I was getting somewhere with her, but she blinked again, and when her lids lifted, her eyes were still angry and cold but the monster beneath was locked up tight. “I told you the truth,” she insisted.

The only way I could get her to admit that she betrayed her pack was to outright ask her if she was helping the Faction and I knew Calder would be pissed if I gave away the fact that he and Lach were aware of the treachery.

Instead, I glared down at her, seriously contemplating snapping her neck. The instinct was so strong, my hand moved from her throat to her chin without my permission. My intention must have shown on my face because, for the first time, fear was plain in her features. She was finally beginning to realize that what she’d seen of me thus far wasn’t the real me. The real me was wondering if it wouldn’t be safer for my mate and my pack if I didn’t just get rid of her here and now.

Later, I would be horrified at the violence I was considering, but in the moment it appeared almost practical. It seemed that the changes in me weren’t just physical. With the wolf’s strength and speed came a cold practicality that felt nothing at the idea of taking a life if it ensured my own survival. And right now, my wolf thought Brittany was definitely a threat. The only thing that saved her was the touch of Chloe’s hand on my shoulder.

“Now’s not the time, Ricki,” she murmured.

Never taking my eyes off Brittany’s, I nodded. I leaned down, placing my mouth near her ear. “If you follow through on your plan, nothing on this earth can save you from me. I will kill you. Do you understand me?”

“Y-y-yes.”

I released her and took a huge step back. Her friends rushed forward to help her to her feet and she began coughing uncontrollably.

I glanced at Chloe. “Let’s go.”

Her eyes gleamed as she nodded and fell in step beside me. As we walked back to the house, I listened for any approach or attack from the side or rear, my nerves screaming from adrenaline overload. Several pack members were standing on their porches, watching us as we passed by. Surprisingly, none of them looked hostile. It made me wonder how much the pack actually respected the Hayes family.

When we reached the end of the road and were out of earshot from everyone watching, Chloe turned toward me. “Holy shit, you’re a badass!”

I looked up at her, saw the grin on her face, and felt sick. “I almost killed that girl,” I whispered.

She grabbed my shoulders and shook me. “No, you didn’t. And you and I both know that if you had, it would have been justified. I’m certain she and her dickhead father are working with the Faction. I could practically smell them on her. Unfortunately, we have plans to make and an attack to prepare for, so we don’t have time to deal with that potential fall-out.”

I gaped at Chloe. “In other words you would have stood back and let me kill Brittany if we didn’t have more important things to do?” I asked incredulously.

She shrugged. “I’m not usually gung ho about killing my own pack members, but she’s no longer pack. She’s betrayed us and that betrayal has already led to more than one death and could lead to many more.”

I suddenly realized something. “You set this up. You wanted me to confront her!” I exclaimed.

“Yes. I knew you would win that particular fight and, as much as it pains me to say it, the pack needed to see you assert your dominance. Calder, Lach, and I all know you’re strong, but the rest of them needed to see it. It will go a long damn way into gaining their respect and acceptance.”

“I can’t believe you did that!” I yelled.

Chloe grabbed my arms, turning me to face her. “Ricki, the pack is splitting apart over this agreement with the vampire council and the witches. Add you to the mix, a turned mate, and resentment is building fast. Now they see you as an asset to the pack, not a weakness. You’re strong and you can be harsh, but you also exerted control. Those who saw it will respect you, and when the word gets around, everyone else will respect you too.”

“So the pack would have
admired
me for killing someone?” I gasped.

Chloe didn’t answer, only looked at me with honest eyes.

I felt dizzy. My stomach turned at the idea of killing anyone, but that animal pragmatism asserted itself, reminding me that survival was the first order and anything that threatened our survival must be destroyed.

It was finally dawning on me that more than my life had changed. My entire way of thinking was being twisted and molded into something harsher and frightening. In order to survive my near death experience, I’d sacrificed more than a human existence, I’d given up a portion of my humanity in return for something that measured the world in black and white, life or death, and death was the last option.

Calder

I
wanted to
punch something. Better yet, someone.

I looked across Finn’s living room at my mate and frowned. While I didn’t necessarily want to punch her, I wouldn’t have minded spanking her ass red. I’d told her she wasn’t coming to this meeting, but she hadn’t listened. She’d also told me about what happened with Brittany earlier in the day, which was contributing to my desire to maim someone.

The living room was full of vampires, witches and shifters. Lachlan and Chloe were standing in front of the fireplace. Ricki, who refused to look at me, was sitting in a chair across the room. Kerry was in the chair next to hers, with Finn standing behind her. Conner was sitting next to me, Donna on the arm of the sofa, and Lex and Ivie were on the other sofa.

My wolf was snapping and snarling at the emotions roiling within me. I had to calm down or I would lose control. I closed my eyes and took a slow deep breath, then another.

“Calder?”

I opened my eyes and turned toward Conner.

“What’s troubling you?” he asked softly.

My eyes flicked over to Ricki and he followed my gaze.

“Ah, I see.”

“She should have stayed at the compound,” I murmured. “It’s not safe for all of them to be together like this.”

Conner let loose a bark of laughter.

I glowered at him. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m just imagining what Donna would have said if I told her she had to stay at home.”

The look Donna shot me was fierce and she shook her head.