Once Upon a Shifter (78 page)

"Is that your girlfriend?" the girl said quietly as she glanced up at Brad. Oh, so she knew Lea was back there, plotting out her death. Interesting.

"Nope," Brad said as he glanced nervously over at Lea. Her narrowed eyes hadn't moved from the girl. "Has she said anything to you?"

"Nope," the girl mimicked his answer. "But I figured if I screamed, she would come at me with that big-ass knife."

Brad snickered as he leaned against the counter, since it didn't appear as though Lea was going to do that; she still hadn't moved. "She lives here. This is her kitchen you're cooking in. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The girl's eyes popped wide. "Ace said this was the club owner's house. I came in with him just after dawn. He told me to make breakfast. I'm sorry if I'm intruding."

"Mmm-mmm-mmm," Ace said as he jogged up the hallway in nothing but a towel wrapped around his hips, slapping Lea on the butt as he passed by, and then he embraced the girl from behind and swung her around. "Something smells good," he said as he stood her back on her feet and nuzzled her neck.

The girl laughed, but Brad's wide eyes were on Lea, watching closely as her face turned various shades of red.

Swiftly walking to Lea, Brad made sure to block her view of the laughing couple as he bent down to look her in the eyes. "It's only for a day or two. We need him to help Mena then he's gone. I swear it. The girl didn't know any better. You can't kill them, Lea." He held out his hand for the hilt of the machete. "Can I have it? Please?"

She slapped it in his palm. "I wasn't going to kill her," she growled. "I was protecting her dumb ass."

Brad breathed a sigh of relief as the weight of the knife fell into his hand. "Ace," he said, without turning around, and then waited for the giggles to cease. "Phoenix told you not to bring anybody home. He's gonna shit a brick when he finds out—"

The door of the basement opened and Roel stepped into the kitchen, giving Lea a sweet peck on the cheek before going to the cabinet and selecting a black coffee mug. After he poured a cup of coffee, took a sip and sighed, he said, "Phoenix already knows." He shoved a few pieces of bacon on a piece of bread and took a big bite as he sat down at the breakfast nook. "Everybody in the house knows. She's got a great set of lungs."

"Get her out of here, Ace," Brad said.

Ace threw up his hands in defense. "Hey, no blood, no foul. It was after daybreak. Everything is cool."

"Everything is not cool. He asked you not to—"

"All right, all right! Damn! Stop your bitching. I'll send her home." Ace turned toward the confused girl, with a grin a mile wide on his mug. "Baby, it's time for you to go. Thanks for… well, thanks for everything."

She blinked. "We're leaving? Now? But we haven't even—"

"No, no—you're going; I'm staying here," Ace said, then pulled a chair out and sat down at the nook, patting Chaos on the head and slipping him a piece of bacon when the dog moved up beside him.

Any confusion that had been on her face was all swept away and replaced with anger. "Are you serious? My car is at Hellhound. Do you expect me to walk home? I rode here with you!"

Ace chuckled as he helped himself to the breakfast the girl had cooked. "And what a great ride it was."

"You're an asshole!" she screamed as she stormed by Brad and Lea then ran down the hall to the room Ace was staying in.

"Dude, you really are. That was cruel."

Ace shrugged. "So take her home."

Brad slapped his chest. "Me? Heather would kill me if she saw another girl getting out of my ride in a nightclub parking lot."

"Didn't you just leave home?" Ace said. "Surely you haven't had time to bang another chick in that amount of time. If so, you'd better get that checked out. There's no way your girl is satisfied."

"She's satisfied," Brad snapped, fists clenching at his sides.

"Christ, will you two shut the hell up?" Roel said, eager to end the bickering before it escalated. "You aren't making my hangover better with all that arguing. I'll take the girl to her car."

"I'll go with you," Lea said. "We can take the Escalade."

"Sounds good to me," Roel said as he stood. There was mascara streaked down the girl's face as she speed-walked from the hall and went straight for the garage, without a goodbye or even a middle finger in the air. Roel lifted his eyebrows. "Phoenix is waiting for you downstairs after you get dressed. Your welcome is wearing thin. I can only take up for you so much, before I'm the one who has to take the heat for your fuck-ups. That was crossing a line. We don't treat women like whores down here, even if they are whores. Bond with Mena and then take your ass home."

Ace gritted his teeth. "You do realize you're speaking to an Alpha, right? You'd better act—"

"You're not my Alpha."

"I will be after the bond."

"Your say will never trump Mena's, Ace, no matter what you become to her after this. Eat your breakfast and find Phoenix. You are doing the bond today and you are leaving today."

Roel followed Lea out of the kitchen and slammed the door to the garage behind him.

Ace stared at the door in silence.

"That was a dick thing to do—" Brad started.

"Shut up," Ace growled, and then shot to his feet and stomped to the bedroom.

v''''v

Phoenix

The room was too small. Even with twenty feet of distance between him and Ace, it was still not far enough away from the guy to suit him.

Brad was present, but that didn't comfort him in the slightest if, for some reason, the conversation took a left turn toward Weareallscrewedville. Ace's lion shifters stood dutifully at his back, ready for anything.

The Alpha still hadn't said he would do it. He'd only told them he would meet her. And by the look on his face, someone had pissed him off before he came downstairs. Phoenix would bet a lot of money it had been Roel, even after he'd told him to keep his trap shut about the human Ace brought home. Phoenix just needed things to go smoothly until they got Mena back, and then the guy would leave. That was the plan, anyway.

"Tell me a little about my new sweetie," Ace said, the cocky grin from the night before erasing the scowl.

"Mena doesn't belong to—"

Ace chuckled. "I know you're banging her, vampire. I'm not here to take your girl."

"Mena is not only Phoenix's girl," Rhodes said as he walked into the room, followed by Roel, Jaxon, Lea, Heather, Tracy and Heath.

Phoenix damn near gave a sigh of relief as the odds were evened.

"This the guy?" Rhodes said, irritation thick in his voice.

Ace grinned up at Alex from his seat. "She's into threesomes? I may change my mind about keeping her then." Rhodes' face contorted into a mask of disgust before he schooled himself.

Phoenix gestured to the empty couch, sofa and chairs between him and Ace before the cop bit off more than he could chew. "Please, let's have a seat and discuss this like mature adults. Shall we?"

Phoenix's group sat. Ace's pride remained standing.

Rhodes was leaning forward, his elbows propped on his knees and his head in his hands. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for him to be here; he looked like he was about ready to snap. Phoenix supposed he still had it in his head that he could do this without the help of anyone else outside their circle.

Ace let his eyes roam the new faces, his expression free of anxiety. When he got to Rhodes, his eyes narrowed as he studied the man. "Who are you? I thought I'd heard all the rumors, but you've managed to slip through the gossip train. Are you lycanthrope?"

Rhodes lifted his head. "I was bitten two weeks ago."

"The moonrising wolf was in an intimate relationship with Alex while Mena and I were together," Phoenix said.

Ace's eyebrows shot into his hairline as he did a little back and forth action with his head. "Wait," he said, "you were okay with that?"

"The wolf was in control. I wasn't letting her go," Phoenix said.

"And neither was I," Alex said.

"What was your name again? Adam?" Ace said.

"Alex Rhodes."

Ace scrunched up his face. "You named your wolf that?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "No. I named my wolf Peanut. Alex is my name."

The room fell silent for a moment, and then Ace gave a short chuckle as he stared at him, waiting. "You're joking, right?"

"What's wrong with my name?" Alex said, defensively.

"Rhodes," Roel said. "Please tell me you're fucking playing about your wolf's name being Peanut."

"I only had one dog when I was a kid. I loved that dog. What's wrong with Peanut?"

Roel groaned. "Oh, God, he's serious."

"Dude," Brad said, "Peanut is okay for a beagle, not a wolf!"

The burst of laughter coming from Ace startled everyone. "This is the best day ever!"

Alex's face began to turn red in embarrassment and anger. "Why does it even matter?"

Tears were rolling down Ace's face as he threw himself back against the chair, laughter taking over his body. "It—it's your—" He laughed even harder.

"I'm really sorry, Rhodes. I should have told you, but I figured you would pick a manly name. I wasn't thinking."

"What?" Alex said in disbelief.

Phoenix removed the hand covering his eyes and looked at Rhodes. "They all go by their wolves' names, Rhodes. You will be known as Peanut to the pack now."

Alex reached at the small of his back with two hands, and then swiftly pointed two of Phoenix's handguns at Ace and Roel.

Each one of Ace's pride members pulled a gun out and pointed it directly at Alex.

Fuck!
Phoenix thought.

Roel's hands flew up. "Whoa, Rhodes! All this because I didn't tell you—"

"Shut up!" Alex shouted.

The room fell silent again, and Ace lost his smile as he stood from his chair.

"What the hell are you doing, Rhodes?" Phoenix said.

"You invited me here to kill me?" Ace bellowed. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Cop," Heath said, "do you have a death wish?"

Brad took a step toward Alex, and Alex quickly aimed the gun he had pointed at Roel at Brad. "Don't move! If anyone bonds with Mena, it will be me."

Phoenix huffed as his eyes closed. "You can't challenge Ace, Rhodes. He's a lion. Only another lion can challenge him and become Alpha if they win, not a shifter of another species. You can only challenge Alpha werewolves."

"What?" Alex said.

Roel shook his head. "Put the guns down, Cop. Phoenix is right."

Alex hesitated a moment, and then his hands fell to his sides as he shook his head. "I can't let her go."

"You have to," Brad said. "It's the only way to save everyone. The girl you love doesn't exist anymore, dude."

"You got some balls, man," Ace snapped. "You're lucky I don't kill you for pulling some shit like that on me."

"I thought—" Alex started.

Ace glared at him. "I know damn well what you thought." He turned to look at the red-haired woman beside him, then nodded for his pride to lower their weapons. "Let's get this bonding over with so we can get the hell out of here," he said, and then started for the door, bumping Alex's shoulder roughly with his as he went by him.

Chapter 55

Ace

Stopping outside the door of Phoenix's chamber, he tried to calm down, but the longer he thought about what had almost happened, the more he wanted to kill that fucking wolf.

Deciding that bonding with his Alpha and taking her away from him for good would be a worse punishment than killing the poor bastard, Ace met the master vampire's eyes when he walked out into the corridor. "Lead the way. I'll be gone before nightfall."

"I apologize—" Phoenix started, but Ace held up his hand to stop him.

"Where is she?"

Phoenix nodded once, and then led the way down the long hallway. Ace's pride fell into step behind him, and the others in Mena's pack and the other vampire followed after them.

Phoenix stopped before a door then turned to look at Ace before opening it. "How are you going to do this?"

Ace shrugged. "I've never bonded with anyone. The Alpha in me will know what to do once I get near her."

"Can we watch?" Heath said.

Ace shrugged again, and then reached out for the door handle. "Do what you want, just don't try to stop anything from happening once I get in there with her. It may get rough. I'll have to mind-rape her in order for my soul to connect with hers. I'm guessing she won't consent to this on her own. If Mena has any control over her at all, maybe she can hold her back until I get in."

Ace pushed his way into the holding room, and instantly felt the power wash over him from the other Alpha. He immediately felt drawn to her, nothing he had ever experienced before with any other Alphas.

He walked slowly toward the cell holding her, his amber eyes locking on a pair of silver wolf eyes. She bared her teeth and let out a low growl. He could still refuse to do this; nobody was forcing him to save her. He could kill her instead. Of course, he wouldn't be able to take over her pack. The remaining survivors would have to fight over the position of Alpha, since two vampires and three of her pack would take their last breath the same time she did. That was something he'd found out all on his own before coming here, but after that stunt Peanut had just tried to pull, he was almost determined to make sure they all died.

He contemplated his options as he ripped off his sneakers and pulled the t-shirt over his head. Taking in a deep breath and letting it out in a rush, he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans then pushed them to his ankles.

Stepping out of the denim, he turned and gave a nod toward the cage door. "Let's do this."

Phoenix pushed the silver key in the lock and turned it. He met the wolf's eyes, and whispered, "Come back to me, Mena." He pulled the door open, and the wolf lunged for the opening, but Ace was quick to shift, and his lion form knocked her back inside, rolling over the cement flooring with her until they reached the other side and the door was secure again.