Sassy Ever After: Sassy and a little Bad-Assy (Kindle Worlds Novella) (4 page)

Papa Ái pulled himself up into a sitting position, swaying a little before he could get up.

Putting her hand out to stop him, Nikki cautioned, “Just wait a minute. Don’t stand up yet. Is your head okay? Did you hit it?”

Her grandfather ran his hands over his head as if he were inspecting it. “I don’t feel anything, so I don’t think I did.”

“That’s good if you didn’t hit your head, Papa, but just wait there for a minute until you’re not dizzy anymore, okay?”

Her grandfather opened his mouth to say something, but a deep, gravelly voice spoke from behind her, scaring the hell out of her.

“Is he okay?”

Whirling around the best she could on her crutches, Nikki glared at the man who had hurled her little, old grandfather as if he were nothing more than a potato sack.

“You’re a monster!” she screamed at the bouncer. Pointing back to her grandfather, who was still sitting on the cement, trying to get his bearing, Nikki continued, “He’s a seventy-year-old man. Why in the world would you literally throw him out of a bar?”

The bouncer seemed genuinely taken aback by her outburst. “Did you miss the part where he came at me with a sword? Because I remember that rather vividly, lady.”

Nikki took him in from head to toe, wishing she had some sort of superpowers, such as laser beams that shot out from her eyeballs. She would incinerate the jackass where he stood.

The man held up his hands in surrender and took a small step toward her. “I didn’t come out here to cause any problems. I just wanted to make sure he was okay.”

If it were possible for someone’s head to explode in rage, hers totally would have in that moment.

“Okay? Okay! Are you serious? No, he’s not okay! You just threw an old man through a door and into the parking lot. Why in the world would you possibly think he would be okay after that?”

The bouncer glanced around Nikki to look at her grandfather. She wanted to be petty and block his view, but she didn’t want to take the chance of falling on her ass.

After looking him over, the werewolf in front of her turned his attention back to her. “Look, I know this isn’t the best situation, but can I just apologize and we start over? I can help you two to wherever it is you need to go.”

Did those words just come out of his mouth? Seriously? Nikki couldn’t believe the gall of this guy! Suddenly, she understood why Papa Ái was always screaming at the top of his lungs when he slipped into Viking mode. Never before in her life had Nikki wanted to slap the sense into someone so badly.

Since she couldn’t knock him the hell out, she went with the weapon she could use: her mouth.

“If brains were gasoline, you wouldn’t be able to power a pissant’s go-cart two laps around a cheerio, asshole!”

The bouncer’s jaw dropped in shock, and the teeny, tiny part of Nikki’s brain that was still firing all cylinders on logic told her she really shouldn’t talk to a guy who could turn into a big, dangerous wolf that way.

Well, Mom always did say my mouth was going to get me killed one day.

~~~

Cruz didn’t know if he should be mad or impressed.

Apparently, his mate was feisty as hell and full of all sorts of sass. The wolf inside him thought it was hot. She could be fiery like that in the bedroom with them. Then he could play-wrestle her until she was pinned down beneath him, tease and torture her until she begged her for more, and then give her his mark as he filled her with his hard cock. His human half knew this was a totally inappropriate time to be thinking things like that. But did the wolf care about that?

Hell, no.

Of course, after the way their true mate had just insulted him by insinuating he had the brain the size of a pea, he wasn’t quite sure what he should say or think, anyway. What in the hell did one say to something like that?

You’re wrong. I could turbo charge that pissant’s go-cart and shoot it off like a rocket to the moon. That’s just my brain. Want to see what my body can do to you?

Cruz didn’t have a chance to reply with anything at all, appropriate or not, because his mate wasn’t done letting him witness her wrath.

She stumbled forward with awkward steps and suddenly slapped him several times on his arms and chest in a fury. The taps didn’t hurt him, and all he had to do was block the blows, but he couldn’t believe she was actually hitting him.

“You could have killed him!”

When it didn’t seem as if she was going to stop hitting him, Cruz grabbed both of her hands in a firm yet gentle hold. He made sure she wouldn’t lose her balance or drop her crutches. She didn’t know it yet, but he would never do anything to purposely hurt her.

Bringing his face close to hers, he growled, letting his wolf show a little in his expression to get her attention. Once he had it, Cruz gave her the facts.

“He came into the bar and attacked me with a sword.” She started to protest, but he cut her off. “Quiet! Keep that pretty mouth shut and listen to what I’m saying. He came in and attacked
me
. That point aside, I could smell he was human. I would have never killed him. My job was to take out the threat, and I did. I also did it in a way that I knew would incapacitate him without permanent injury. You should be thanking me for disarming your grandfather before he accidentally hurt someone.”

His mate’s eyes were brimming with angry tears, but not one fell down her face. Cruz watched as she snatched her hands out of his grip and then pulled herself back out of his range with her crutches so he couldn’t grab her as easily again. She glanced back once to check on her grandfather then returned her now cool and collected stare to him.

“You’re absolutely right. He did attack you with a weapon. I also know that sword could have killed you. The thing is, call it intuition, but something tells me that you could have disabled him without throwing him out like last week’s trash. Call me crazy, but somehow, I think that would have been more of a gentleman’s response to dealing with someone much older and feebler than you obviously are.”

With those damning words, Cruz felt about an inch tall.

She was absolutely right. He should have thought the situation through a bit more clearly, not let his wolf get out of control. Then he would have thought of a way to disable her grandfather without doing what he had done.

What a way to realize you were a total jackass. It was obvious there was no way he could defend himself.

You hurt our mate
, the wolf whined inside of him.

Awesome. Now even his animal half thought he was an asshole.

With wooden steps, Cruz stepped around his mate, ignoring her squawk of protest. Squatting down, he looked the Viking straight in the eye. “I’m very sorry for what happened, sir. Are you okay?”

The old man seemed out of it and rather confused. “Not sure what you’re sorry for. Nikki says I tripped and fell.”

His mate hissed at the sound of her name. It seemed as though she didn’t like her grandfather revealing that tidbit. Too bad. Even though he had fucked everything up, he still wanted whatever he could get of her right now.

Her name was like music to his ears. Just as beautiful as she was. With it, he could track her down. For now, though, he needed to let her go and cool down. As enraged as she was, it was obvious she would never listen to him right now.

Without taking his attention off the Viking, he tried to figure out why the man was so confused about this situation. Was it a head injury? Or was something else at play here? He guessed it was time to ask a few questions to clear things up.

“Do you know where you are, sir?”

The Viking looked around. “I don’t think I do.” Looking up at Cruz’s mate, he asked her, “Where are we, Nikki, my girl?”

His mate glared down at him over her nose. It was a look that told him she was thinking about bashing him over the head with one of her crutches. “Just down the street from Mom and Dad’s house, Papa Ái. If you’re okay, we can walk home. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

Pursing his lips, the old Viking nodded.

Looking back at Cruz, he held his hand out. “Help an old man up?” he asked kindly.

The sincere tone of his voice made Cruz’s gut twist. He was starting to get the feeling he had screwed up more than he could have initially realized.

“Before we stand you up, do you hurt anywhere? Your head, legs, or back?”

The Viking moved his shoulders around a little, as if testing them. Then he patted his legs down with his hands. “I think I’m A-okay. I was lucky I didn’t hurt myself, huh?”

No, he was lucky Cruz hadn’t accidentally hurt him.

Hating himself for being such a dipshit, Cruz held out his hand to the man. Once the old Viking placed a wrinkled hand in his, he gripped it gently so his fingertips were touching the veins of the grandfather’s wrist and covertly checked for his pulse.

“One last question to make sure you’re all right, okay?”

The old Viking nodded again.

“Do you know your name and today’s date?”

“Name is Arthur Wolf. Don’t let that Saxon first name fool you, though, son. I’m a Viking through and through!”

Cruz’s mouth tipped up on one side in a reluctant grin. He sort of believed the old man when he said that.

His pulse seemed nice and steady, so Cruz didn’t think he had really caused trauma to his mate’s grandfather. Now he just wanted to finish checking for mental clarity.

“And the date, Arthur?”

The Viking’s eyes became distant, and he looked at his granddaughter. “I can’t remember the date, Nikki. You know what it is, honey?”

Cruz’s mate’s face softened, and a small, sad look crossed her face. “It’s October twenty-eighth, Papa, remember?”

This was no raving lunatic. No, he knew now that this was an old man with some sort of mental deterioration. Dementia, perhaps? Whatever it was, it let Cruz know that there was absolutely no salvaging this situation right now. He needed to get his mate and her grandfather on their way home. He would have to figure out how to do damage control later.

After pulling Arthur up slowly, he waited until the man was steady before letting go of his hand. Then he looked over to see the cab pulled up next to them that he’d had the bartender call for before he had come out here.

Motioning to the yellow vehicle, he told Arthur, “He’s here to take you and Nikki home. If you’ll get in the car and tell him the address, you’ll get there faster than your granddaughter trying to walk on that cast.”

“That was mighty nice of you, son! Thank you.” Arthur walked over to the back door of the yellow cab, ignoring his granddaughter’s protests. “Quiet now, Nikki girl. It’s late, and I want to get home. All of a sudden, it’s really chilly.”

Cruz had to stop himself from laughing out loud. The man was probably cold because he wasn’t wearing a shirt, only a fur cape that he hadn’t bothered to pull around and cover the exposed skin of his chest.

Walking over to the driver’s side door of the cab, Cruz gave the man a twenty-dollar bill with a gruff order. “This should get them home plus tip. Be careful with them both.”

He stepped back from the car then looked back over at Nikki who still stood in the same spot. He could tell she wanted to refuse the cab and anything else that had to do with him. Luckily for Cruz, Arthur didn’t give a shit. He was yelling for his granddaughter to hurry up before he died of old age.

He stood there, watching silently as his mate hobbled to the taxi, gingerly climbed in, and then let the driver take her away. Cruz was forced to stand there and watch as his true mate left him with the knowledge of only two things:

One, her name was Nikki Wolfe, which meant she was related to his boss.

Two, her middle finger was in perfect working order. She flicked him off through the back window before the car turned out of sight.

Chapter Four

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Cruz roared at his boss.

Nathan looked at him in a confused manner. “Tell you what?”

“That she is a Wolfe!”

Still confused, Nathan asked, “She is a wolf?”

Frustrated beyond belief, Cruz pulled at his own hair. “No! She is a human … but she is also a Wolfe. How is a human a Wolfe?”

It was clear as day that Nathan was losing his patience. Running his hands down his face, he then held them up in the air between them as if he could somehow calm Cruz down that way. “Let’s get this straight. Is she a human or a wolf?”

At this point, Cruz was about to lose control of his animal. He felt the bones in his body urging him to shift. The wolf wanted out so he could track down their mate. He couldn’t do that yet. No matter what, he needed to figure out why his boss hadn’t told him that the old man he had thrown out of the bar was related to a woman who apparently was related to Nathan. At least, that was what he assumed since his boss had told him that any “Wolfe” around there was a relative of his.

Dropping his hands from his head, he gripped his thighs to give himself something to hold on to. It was taking everything Cruz had to focus his body into not shifting. “She is a human with the last name Wolfe. Why didn’t you tell me that she and the old man are related to you somehow?” By the time the last word had come out of his mouth, he was roaring, and his nails had cut through his jeans and broken skin.

Taking deep breaths, Cruz pushed his wolf back as he saw Nathan’s face go from confused to thoughtful.

“She told you her last name is Wolfe?”

Cruz nodded, unwilling to take the chance of actually speaking and losing his internal focus.

“Did she say she was related to me directly?”

This time, it was Cruz who paused in shock. His mind raced over the short, terse conversation with his mate.

Nathan cocked his head to the side and considered him. “Did you ever think that perhaps she just happens to be a human with the last name Wolfe? Because, I can assure you, she’s no relative of mine.”

How many fucking people had the last name Wolfe in this town?

“Do we have a problem here, Cruz? Because, either you want to tear that woman limb from limb for some odd reason, or she’s your—”

“True mate!” he snarled at his boss.

Just the thought of anyone touching one of Nikki’s limbs was almost enough for the tentative hold he had on his wolf to snap.

“Yeah … We can’t have you losing control here, man. I get that you’re probably freaked out about finding your true mate after losing your family, but you need to pull your shit together. You can’t go all crazy wolf in the bar.”

“I know that!” Cruz roared. “I’m trying to control myself!”

His boss scratched the side of his cheek absentmindedly, giving Cruz a doubtful look. “Not trying to be an asshole here, man. Seriously. But I don’t think you’re doing such a good job on the control thing right now.”

Cruz felt his bones start the shift again, causing him to snarl in rage. Nathan, on the other hand, just stood calmly across the desk from him.

“How about I help you with that?”

Confused, Cruz stared at the other man, trying to understand what that statement meant, and then he felt a prick in the side of his neck, followed by the feeling of something being injected into him. He didn’t have time to shout for help or even push his attacker off. Whatever they had injected him with had Cruz dropping to his knees immediately, his entire body becoming lethargic and unresponsive. The only thing he was able to do was cast an accusing stare at Nathan while he tried with all his might to stay upright on his knees instead of falling on his face. Unfortunately for him, he was losing the battle rapidly.

Nathan waved away whoever was behind him. Cruz could hear their retreating footsteps, but he never got the chance to catch a glimpse of their face or scent.

Looking back at him, his boss said rather sincerely, “Sorry about that. I’m sure you’ll thank me later after you wake up calmer.”

Cruz wanted to tell the man where he could take his thanks and shove it. Too bad he couldn’t make his mouth work.

Black spots started showing up in his vision, which seemed to narrow down by the second, right as Cruz started to sway. He was going to fall flat on his face in probably five seconds.

Nathan spoke again, but Cruz couldn’t focus on the man’s face anymore. “Don’t worry; I’ll take you home so you can sleep it off at your place.”

Four seconds …

Footsteps came toward him as Cruz’s eyelids became too heavy to hold up. Sleeping this off sounded like a damn good idea.

Three seconds …

He heard Nathan grunt as his strong hands caught Cruz, keeping him from hitting the floor. “Damn, you’re a big guy. I might need to have someone help me carry you.”

Two seconds
…

He might not be able to move right now, but Cruz’s mind was full-steam ahead with frantic thoughts. Right now, all he could think about was kicking his boss’s ass after he woke up from whatever they had given him.

One second …

“Sleep tight, man. It’s been a hard first day for you. Not to get all mushy and shit, but maybe you’ll have sweet dreams about your girl.”

Nikki …

~~~

Nikki kept one hand on her grandfather and the other holding the crutches in her lap. She was still trembling from the incident at the bar, partly from anger at the bouncer and partly from fear.

Papa Ái had truly attacked the man. The bouncer hadn’t been exaggerating about that. She had seen it with her own two eyes. It was one of her family’s worst fears come to life.

How was she going to tell her parents what had happened? She also couldn’t help feeling as if part of this were her fault for going into that damn bar and being stubborn.

It wasn’t long before the cab pulled up in front of her parents’ house. Papa helped her out of the vehicle and stayed by her side as she made her way to the front door.

Hand hovering over the doorknob, Nikki couldn’t bring herself to open it. Instead, she turned around and asked her grandfather to sit with her on the porch swing.

The old man lumbered over and held the swing still so she could sit down without hurting herself. Then he sat down and said, “What is it, sweetheart?”

Trying to figure out the best way to approach the questions she needed to ask, Nikki took a deep breath, grabbing Papa’s hand. “How did you find out I was in the bar, Papa?”

The devious patriarch tapped the side of his head with two fingers and a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Used my best weapon, my girl. When the boy came home without you, I asked him where you were. When he told me you had forced him to drop you off at the pharmacy, I knew I couldn’t leave you out there hurt and alone, especially after Harald explained you had wooden sticks to help you walk on your green rock foot there. So I prepared myself for a short journey, slipped out of the house while your parents were talking in the kitchen, and then walked myself down the street to the pharmacy.”

Nikki listened to her grandfather, a bit surprised that Papa had slipped back so easily into the present day again. But that was the mystery of Alzheimer’s it seemed. Always slipping back and forth in time.

“Once I arrived there, I didn’t see you, so I asked the woman running the store if she had seen a young shield-maiden walking on wooden sticks with a green rock on her foot. She pointed me in the direction of that bar where the descendants of Fenrir commune. Have you lost your mind, girl, walking into a place like that?”

Her grandfather had walked into a bar known to be full of wolf shifters, attacked one, and now he was asking her if she had lost her mind? Nikki didn’t get a chance to point this out to him, though, because Papa Ái suddenly shouted, “My sword! Loki’s hairy balls, we left my sword back at that wolves’ den. We have to go back and get it, Nikki girl. I can’t let those furry bastards keep my weapon!”

Patting his hand, she did her best to soothe him. “We’ll get it back tomorrow, promise. Those hairy old wolves wouldn’t know what to do with such a mighty weapon such as yours, anyway, Papa. Now how about we go inside and let everyone know we’re home?”

Her grandfather’s eyes glazed over a bit, and he nodded, in a sort of daze. Nikki had a feeling he was about to go through one of his particularly bad spells, so she needed to get him inside and to his room as fast as she could.

They helped each other to the front door then through it. Once the front door slammed shut behind them, the rest of the human Wolf family came racing out to meet them from their various directions. The sight sort of made her think of a plague of locusts attacking some poor, unsuspecting town. Except, it wasn’t a town these angry locusts were buzzing at; it was her.

Pointing an accusing finger at her, Harald was the first to speak. “Tell Mom and Dad that you made me drop you off! They don’t believe me.”

Nikki’s mother smacked Harald upside the head. “Your sister is in a cast and on crutches! How in the world could she
make you
pull the car over?”

Her brother shot her a nasty look. He couldn’t answer that question without admitting that Nikki had blackmailed him with his porn collection, which was exactly why knowing every one of her little siblings’ dirty secrets came in handy sometimes. Not that she got to enjoy her internal glee for long. Little Ivar took that away from her when he was the next to pipe up.

“Nikki has a Hulk leg now! Get mad, Nikki, so your Hulk leg can smash!” The little boy’s glee as he stomped his foot in a mock leg smash was as obvious as her contempt of the comparison. And she knew this because all of her siblings started laughing at the frown on her face like a pack of hyenas as they each shouted, “Hulk, smash!”

Damn heathens!