Rowena's Revenge (Broadus Supernatural Society) (17 page)

“And you know nothing of what I need,” I scream, standing
from the windowsill and getting in her perfect face, poking my finger into her
pale chest. “You don’t know the hurt that runs through me every second of every
day. A piece of me is gone! Don’t you get that? I’m not a whole person, and I
never will be again.” Her face shows no emotion and it angers me.

I turn away from her and issue a frustrated hiss, the
vibration hurting my throat, and I reach for Blaine’s navy blue, work
Carhartt
jacket hanging on the back of the door. I slip on
a pair of my imposter
Ugg
boots and swing open the
back door, not caring about my bare legs as I stomp out onto the back porch.

The cold nips at my skin as I stand there and fume,
wallowing in my pity and sadness. I’m drowning, and no one knows how I feel. I
need Penton back, but he’s gone.
Dead.
Stabbed through the heart by my very own Blaine right in front of
me.

I wish I could go back the month and a half that I’ve spent
in hell to that day and break through the haze of hurt to see
Cearbhall
meet his fate. Siofra told me that as soon as
Blaine drove the blade through Penton’s chest that
Cearbhall
burst into flames and continued to burn, while screaming and rolling around,
until he was nothing but a pile of a few bones and ash. She assures me that our
father, Shamus, destroyed the remaining evidence appropriately, but I still
want to go back and spit on his writhing body.

“Don’t be so selfish,” Siobhan calls to me as she glides
through the open back door. I really wish she’d leave me be. She laughs
lightly, tucking her arm through mine and leaning her head on my shoulder.
“Tsk, tsk, dear. I’m not going anywhere. You are my blood and, therefore, I
will be here ‘till the end of time for you.”

“Where were you when
Cearbhall
and
his Ghouls were fighting us out on the road?” I grind out, plopping my butt
down onto the top step as she follows suit, her head never leaving my shoulder.

“I couldn’t interfere, you know that,” she sighs, running
her hand over the arm of my jacket. I’m not going to try and deny it, her
presence is lifting my spirits and her touch makes me want to smile, but I just
can’t. The lingering sadness that makes my heart ache remains.

“Yeah, yeah,” I sigh, looking out to the moonlit frosty pond
that stretches behind our cozy cabin and my sister’s home. A flash of that day
and the way the sword stuck out of Penton’s chest runs through my mind, and I
have to flinch and close my eyes to try and make it go away as my flames try
and lick out onto my skin in anger.

“Some things, my dear, are meant to happen. They are meant
to tear us down and build us up again, making us stronger than we once were.”
Her hand wraps into mine and she squeezes, the flow of energy making my flames
die and a slight smile grace my lips. Her words make me scoff and I shake my
head. I can never be stronger after this.

“You sell yourself short, my child.” She laughs, leaning her
head on mine as she pats my hand. “My dear, you have more potential in this
world than I think you realize, but in time, you will see. They will all see.
Things that are meant to be will be, and they will always find a way.”

“You are bat-shit crazy.” I start to laugh as I look back
out at the pond, but stop when I think I see something in the tree line. I must
be seeing things, because it’s gone now. I’m the one going crazy, because even
on the wind there is nothing, not even the faint scent of a wolf in the
distance.
Nothing.

Siobhan’s light musical laugh and her fingers squeezing mine
bring me back from concentrating on the trees and I find her standing, leaving
me on the top step. “What do you mean,
‘they will find a way’
? What are
you talking about?” I ask her as she walks back toward the still open door, a
sweet smile on her face.

“Fate works in mysterious ways, my dear. When you think it
hates you, it gives you something great. When you think it’s in your favor, it
takes things from you. But what is meant to be, will always find a way and even
the darkest of magic, the darkest of souls, can never,
ever
, keep it
apart.” With that, she turns and gives me a wide, bright smile, blowing a kiss
to me on the chilly wind before disappearing in a flash of warm sunlight that
breaks through the dark night.

“What the fuck?” I say to myself as the wind swirls around
my face, pushing my hair in all directions and into my eyes. When will they
ever learn to use a door?

Shaking my head, I put it down between my knees as the
darkness creeps in around me again. What the hell does she mean by things will
always find their way? God damn riddles; I’m not in the mood for riddles. I’m
not in the mood for anything, except maybe to kill something.

A wave of pain and anger rolls through me, radiating from my
chest, and I scream out into the sleeves of my jacket as I bring my arms up,
covering my face to try and keep in the tears I know will follow. The scream
turns into sobbing and I turn my face up to the moon, wiping the moisture from
my face as a breeze starts to lick at my skin.

My skin tingles immediately as the scent of apricots meets
my nose, wrapping around every single inch and cell of my being and kicking my
heart to rapid beat. My leopard comes to life, surging ahead and changing my
eyes as I search the area around me.

I smell him. It’s him; I know it is. Please don’t let this
be a trick my sleep deprived mind is playing on me.

I see something down by the pond move and I freeze, zooming
in on it. It was only a shadow, a split second, but the breeze still carries
Penton’s scent. Movement again, and I’m up on my feet at the bottom step, my
heart at a frantic pace, threatening to beat right out of my chest.

A bright flash of lightning strikes right at the pond and I
shield my eyes from the light, wincing as my vision goes white with spots. No
thunder, no follow up
flashes,
and the wind is still
carrying that heart lifting scent my way. I blindly start trudging through the
snow in the direction that I think is the pond as my vision is still blurred
and trying to recover from the lightning.

“Penton?”
I yell hesitantly,
feeling like a crazy woman screaming her deceased lover’s name. Am I crazy? Is
this all a hallucination? Fuck, I’m going all in. “Penton!?” I scream again,
rubbing at my eyes and stumbling into a bare bush almost falling on my face.

“Calm down,” I tell myself, stopping and just closing my
eyes as my heartbeat thunders on in my chest. I stand there for what seems like
hours as a million thoughts run through my head, opening my eyes to clearer
vision and turning my face back down to the pond. Yup, I’m crazy.

I can’t help my breath catching in my throat at the heavenly
sight before me. My shaky hand covers my trembling lips as his white-blue eyes
seem to meet mine over the distance, holding me to my spot in that second as he
stands on the frozen dock. My whole body is shaking, trembling, with tears
streaming down my cheeks. I slap myself, crying out loud as I realize I’m not
dreaming.

My legs start to move on their own as my snow leopard spurs
me forward, purring and mewing at the scent and sight of her once lost mate.
The snow is knee deep as I try to race toward his moonlit form and my hysteric
sobbing picks up when I see him racing toward me as well. My chest feels as if
it is splitting open from my heart racing and I give into my leopards will,
shifting in mid stride to my animal form and gliding over the snow towards him.

My Penton,
I can’t help but scream in my head as I
get closer. I hear his heartbeat and breathing on the wind, mingling with his
scent, and when I’m a stone’s throw away, I leap into the air, shifting back to
human and colliding with his chest, sending us both to the snow as his strong
arms wrap around me.

I’m on top of him, my hands roaming his bare body as I look
at him. He’s not saying anything, just laughing lightly as my cold fingers roll
over his skin, making his muscles bunch and I dig my nails into his sides,
making his breath catch in his throat. “Are you real?” I ask, out of breath.

His white-blue eyes lock onto mine and his hands travel up
my legs, under my night shirt to my hips and stomach for only a second, then
back out and over my shirt and up to my neck, cupping both of my cheeks while
his thumb rolls over my bottom lip. His touch sets me on fire and I don’t keep
my flames at bay; letting them out and over my entire body and I feel Penton
tense below me.

“Of course I’m real, Kitten. Why wouldn’t I be?” He laughs,
sitting up with me still straddling his lap and coming within a whisper of my
face, his dark hair soaked from the snow. His thumb rubs over my bottom lips
again and I let the sensation travel down to my core, not holding in the wanton
moan that drives me to grind down into his lap. His hands tighten around my
face, forcing me to open my eyes and look at him.

“You left me,” I whisper, spotting the scar just over his
left peck muscle and rubbing the tips of my fingers over it, feeling him
shiver. He nods, grabbing my fingers and bringing them to his lips, kissing
each one slowly before kissing my palm and placing it over his heart.

“I did, and you left me once. But as I said before, we are meant
to be together and, well, I just couldn’t stay away.” He laughs, pulling me
into him and covering my lips as I sink into his arms.

I think my heart might burst from all of the sensations
warring within me right now, and when Penton’s tongue sweeps out and over my
bottom lip, I moan and lean into him more, grinding down onto his lap and
feeling his already hard cock brush demandingly against my panties. His lips
move to my neck and down to my chest as he rolls his hips up into me, hitting
my clit and sending tremors throughout my legs making me moan loudly into the
quiet night air.

“Come on, Kitten, let’s get out of this cold,” he murmurs in
my ear, and before I can reply, or even form the words in my head, I’m up in
his arms and being carried over the snow toward the cabin. He smiles down at
me, capturing my lips only for a second before tucking my face into his
shoulder.

“What about Blaine? I need to call him and have him come
home!” I gasp, reaching for the cell phone that is always in Blaine’s jacket
pocket and Penton’s laugh fills the air, swirling in the wind with the snow and
I look up to him; joy, confusion, and lust mixing in my head for my mate.
Blaine will be out in the woods with the Pack hunting by now, and he needs to
know that Penton is home.

“Trust me,
Kitten,
he will be home
in only a minute or two.” He winks, kissing my forehead as he jogs up the steps
of the back porch, pulling the door shut and setting me on the hardwood floor.
His naked body is even paler in the meek firelight from the living room and the
lone lamp on in the kitchen, but as he turns to me after locking the door, his
smile lights up the room and my heart, washing away every ounce of sadness and
despair that had called my soul home over the last weeks. He cups my cheek as a
serious look creases his brow and he pulls me up and into him, pressing his
naked front against my thin nightshirt as I shrug the jacket off.

“I know what you had planned to do to yourself tonight,” he
says, his voice harsh and filled with disgust, and shame fills my being
instantly. I try to drop my gaze from his, but he holds my chin, making me look
him in the eye as tears start to fill mine. “You will need to tell Blaine when
he arrives before we can move forward.” He nods toward the door just as an earth
shattering howl comes from across the road.

“But…
?!
” I try to protest, but he
throws his hand up and I know he’s right. My plan to end my life and leave
Blaine to live without me was a stupid one and he deserves to know. It just
ruins the happy mood of having Penton back, and I have to kick myself for ever
thinking it. My heart was filled with such despair that I didn’t see another
way.

“There is always something better than death by your own
hand,” he whispers against my cheek before turning me around to face the door
just as a large black Berserker wolf leaps onto the porch, his hazel eyes
glowing in through the window.

Watching the magic pulse around Blaine as he changes back to
human form while crossing the threshold is amazing and as his eyes meet mine
then move over my head to Penton, the smile that crosses his handsome face
makes my heart leap. He makes it to us in less than three strides, wrapping his
arms around the both of us and sandwiching me in the middle as he laughs.

“Fuck, Brother, I am so fucking glad you’re here. When I
caught your scent on the wind, I thought I had finally lost my fucking mind
with the depression and guilt, but God damn is it good to see you for real.” He
smiles and slaps Penton on the shoulders as Penton reciprocates, telling him
he’s happy to see him too and that he is crazy, just not about this, making
both men laugh.

Blaine pulls Penton into another hug, squishing me in
between before leaning down and capturing my lips as I’m pressed up against
Penton’s front. I can feel that his wolf is still raging through him as his
lips and tongue dance hungrily with mine, stealing my breath, and I lean into
him, giving into the weeks of ignored desire I’ve denied us both of. The only
thing that stops me from ripping his clothes off are Penton’s hands running up
my sides and to my neck, pulling my face from Blaine’s to stare at his as he
looks down.

“Brother, our Kitten has something she’d like to tell you,”
he adds, leaning down and placing his lips lightly on mine, darting his tongue
out and licking them before licking his own in a satisfied manner that is hot
as hell. I feel the heat build between my legs and my panties are beyond
soaked, wanting my mates now, but Penton redirects my attention to the waiting
Blaine and I clear my throat, dreading his reaction to my plan that I had for
earlier tonight.