Wolf Moon (25 page)

Over
dinner, everyone seemed intrigued by my confrontation with Karl.
Everyone, except Roxanne.
She actually seemed a little angry
about having to be subjected to the news. I wasn’t exactly gloating, because I
really didn’t want attention for this sort of brutality, but I answered any questions
thrown my way.

“I
can’t believe you’re all enjoying this,” Roxanne huffed, shooting an angry
glare at me. “Your Pack brother is locked in a cage—
drugged
—and you’re singing this bitch’s praises.”

“Excuse
me?” I demanded, feeling the wolf’s anger starting to swell in my chest. My
heartbeat picked up, and my hands squeezed my cutlery.

“You
heard me. Everything was fine before you followed Nick home like a lost little
puppy,” she spat.

“You
are aware of what Karl tried to do to me, right?”

This
didn’t faze Roxanne in the least. “Oh, I’m aware. And maybe if you weren’t
walking around like a bitch in heat all the time, throwing yourself at Nick and
flaunting your sexuality in everyone’s faces, he wouldn’t have seen you as
easy
.”

“Roxanne,”
Miranda scolded. “That’s enough.”

My
jaw dropped, and my fork bent in my hand. Her accusations enraged me, and they
only served to remind me of how victims of assault felt when they were told
they “asked for it” based on how they acted or dressed. As if the man couldn’t
be held accountable for his own actions if a pretty girl walked by in a
miniskirt and barely-there top. No, it was all on the woman to make sure she
didn’t instigate these impure thoughts and impulses. It was complete and utter
bullshit.

“You’re
not serious?” She looked at me, her expression flat. “You are serious.”

Beside
me, Nick placed a hand on my back. “Brooke, it’s not worth it.”

“She
thinks I
asked
for this,” I told him
through gritted teeth, annunciating each syllable like he maybe didn’t understand
the obvious implication behind her words.

“Didn’t
you?” Roxanne challenged.

“This
from the girl who was lying naked and desperate on Nick’s bed when we arrived
at the manor,” I shot back angrily and without thinking it through. The wolf
was lashing out now.

“Enough!”
Marcus shouted, banging his fists on the tabletop and standing up. The level of
his voice forced both of us to look away. Submitting like this was still a
little unnerving, and I could feel myself fighting it while the wolf gave in out
of habit. “What Karl did was in violation of Pack Law. Roxanne, you know that.
He tried to claim another’s mate, regardless of the law and against her
warnings. She was within her rights to confront him today, and she had every
right to execute him for what he did. But she chose not to, and I think
that
is a testament to her character and
her place amongst this Pack.”

There
was a low rumble from across the table, and when I raised my eyes, I saw
Roxanne glaring directly at me. It wasn’t just anger about the Karl situation
that I saw behind her steely glare, but jealousy. She wanted what I had, and
she hated that she had worked so hard for all these months and years while I
eased my way into this position effortlessly. It was why she tripped me up
during the hunt the other night, and it was why she was challenging me now. I
had no doubts that she’d try to assert her dominance over me and prove to Nick
that she was a more worthy choice. Little did she know, what Nick and I shared
went beyond some primal, animalistic connection. We connected on both a human
and supernatural level. We had a history together, and those feelings had begun
to reemerge since he’d returned to Arizona, and even more so now that we were
here and spending so much time together.

“Now,
I get that there’s a lot of unresolved shit between the two of you, but I
suggest you straighten it out. This is a family, and we’ll behave as such,”
Marcus commanded. “Disputes within the Pack aren’t uncommon, so do whatever you
have to do, but don’t
ever
bring it
to this table again.”

That
was the end of the discussion, and while I could tell Roxanne still harbored
serious resentment toward me, there was nothing the two of us could do about it
now. I had no doubt she’d confront me on our own time, and I would be ready for
it.

After
dinner, I helped Miranda, Colby, and
Layla
clean up
and do dishes while Roxanne stormed up to her room like an indignant teenager.
Nick and the guys grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and headed to the
main living room, and when we were done, we joined them.

The
men sat back and talked hunting strategy so they could try to lock down a
location on the nest while Miranda started organizing the Christmas decorations.
For the next couple hours, I helped decorate the over-sized tree. Even though
I’d only just met them, I found myself feeling truly at home here. I still
missed my parents, and I wondered what they were up to tonight. Were they
decorating for the holidays, too?

I
was reaching up to place an oversized green ornament on a high branch when
another thought occurred to me, forcing me to freeze: would they not feel the
need since I’d left?

A
pair of hands around my waist startled me briefly until I realized it was only
Nick. He hoisted me up onto his left shoulder, and I laughed as I placed the
ornament closer to the top of the eight-foot tree. His hand rested on my outer
thigh to anchor me as he handed me a few more ornaments to even out the top
third of the tree.

He
turned me in his arms as I slid down his body, his hands running up my sides
until I stood on my tiptoes in front of him. “Thanks for the help,” I said, my
fingers curling into the fabric of his T-shirt. My earlier hesitations toward
intimacy seemed to flit away.

“You
looked like you could use the distraction,” he replied, gripping my chin between
his thumb and index finger. “You want to go for a walk? Clear your head?”

“Not
really,” I said softly. “I was actually thinking about heading upstairs and
calling my parents. Is that all right?”

Nick’s
smile stretched all the way across his face. “Of course. You know you don’t
need to ask.”

The
front door slammed, and I caught Roxanne’s scent in the air. I kissed Nick
lightly before excusing myself. It was my utmost intention to go to my room,
but something urged me to go talk to Roxanne. I may not have been her biggest
fan, but after hearing what Marcus said at dinner, I felt the need to try and
reconcile our differences, or at least find a way to co-exist in this house.
For the sake of the Pack.

It
was warmer than the night before as I stepped onto the dark front stoop. In the
distance, I saw Roxanne heading for the trees. I could smell the beginning
stages of her change as she walked, and I knew I wouldn’t have much time, so I
should make it quick.

“Roxanne!”
I shouted, jogging across the driveway and toward her.

She
froze, her rigid posture radiating her irritation. “What do
you
want?”

“To
talk.” I stopped about two feet away and waited for her to face me.

She
did, but the look in her eyes was fiery. It frightened me. “I have nothing to
say to you.”

“Then
listen,” I said, pushing my fear aside out of respect for the Pack. “I get that
you’re pissed about how things wound up, but that doesn’t give you the
right—”

“It
gives me
every
right!” she yelled,
her shrill voice scaring off a few birds from their branches. “You think you
can just waltz in here, wagging your tail and entrancing every male in this
damn pack?”

“I
never—”

“Oh,
but you did,” she interrupted, lips curled back and teeth bared. “You had Nick
wrapped around your little finger while Karl drooled at your feet. Then you had
Karl caged and practically castrated.”

My
eyes widened, still unable to believe she was trying to
justify
what that monster had done. “He tried to
rape
me, Roxanne. I can’t believe you’re
trying to downplay that or suggest that it was somehow my fault.”

Roxanne
rolled her eyes. “Jesus, Brooke. He’s a wolf. An animal. Can we really be held
accountable for what the wolf does? Besides, how do we know you didn’t consent
in some way?”

“Consent?”
I demanded. “What part of me trying to run from him or trying to fight him off
screamed consensual to you? Because I’m drawing a blank.”

“Whatever,
I still think it’s wrong that he’s down there because you weren’t clear on how
things worked around here. Yes, once mated, another can’t lay claim to
anyone’s”—she looked me up and down and then scoffed—“bitch, but
that doesn’t mean that said
bitch
can
just walk around, flaunting her tits and ass to any male willing to take a
peek.”

I
couldn’t believe I’d willingly gone after her in an effort to try and smooth
things over; she was being completely unreasonable. I wanted to walk away, but
I found myself rooted to the ground, my limbs not listening as my brain told
them to turn around and head back inside.

The
wolf had reemerged, and it liked what Roxanne was implying even less. Roxanne
must have sensed this shift in my attitude, because she took a step back and
her fear trickled toward me. “What’s really the issue here, Roxanne?” I asked,
my voice taking on that same unfamiliar tone as before. “Are you jealous that
Nick came back for me, or is it that Karl took an interest in me too?”

Silence.

“That’s
it, isn’t it? Not only are you sore that Nick’s attention shifted away from
you, but that no one else is giving you the time of day either.” The wolf
laughed, and I laughed. Suddenly we were one; the confusion was absent for a
moment, and I felt my vindictiveness rise. She wasn’t taking my feelings into
account, and the wolf refused to play by my original rules in light of her ignorance.

Roxanne
screamed, a fierce and feral sound, as she rushed toward me. Her body slammed
into mine, but the wolf was ready for her. My body softened, curving my back
and lowering us to the ground as I brought a leg up between us and pushed her
off of me with my foot. She rolled expertly in the snow above my head before hopping
to her feet and growling at me. I could smell her change happening, and even my
own temperature spiked. My muscles tensed and surged with that same power I’d
experienced that afternoon in the pit.

At
the exact same moment, we ran for each other and started throwing punches. This
was no ordinary chick fight. There was no
hair-pulling
,
scratching, or face-slapping. This was an all-out brawl. Roxanne punched the
side of my face that Karl had
back-handed
earlier, and
the pressure was blinding. I was momentarily dazed and disoriented, but when
Roxanne tried to use this to her advantage, my other senses came to my rescue.

She
reached for me, and I folded my arm over her outstretched limb and held her
close to my body while I punched her in the nose. She stumbled back a few
steps, but recovered quickly and kicked the back of my knees, knocking me to
the ground.

The
snow around us was stained with our blood, the air thick with our rage as we
worked out our aggression. At some point during our, struggle for dominance,
Roxanne got me to the ground and was sitting on my chest with her knees on my
shoulders. She had me pinned, but I continued to wriggle and struggle beneath
her.

Her
body was substantially warmer, heating by the second, and it didn’t take long
before I noticed her muscles shifting and heard her bones realigning. She was
getting ready to change, and the look in her now-amber eyes told me it was
entirely deliberate.

Channeling
all of my power into my legs, I pushed her off of me and rolled over, but
before I could run at her again, someone grabbed me around my waist and pushed
me back.
 
She stared at me,
breathing heavily, claws engaged. I felt my own body start to go through the
process of changing, wanting nothing more than to end this fight indefinitely.
It was what the wolf wanted, and for the first time, I didn’t care; I was tired
of playing the victim. I wanted to give into its animal nature, and while it
should have frightened me, it didn’t.

“Calm
down,” a deep voice commanded.
Nick.
My
eyes slowly focused on the figure between us until I recognized him. “Both of
you,
just walk away.”

Roxanne
gave one more snarl before darting off into the darkness. Once she was gone,
Nick turned to face me. “What the hell was going on out here?”

I
took a deep breath, trying to force the wolf into submission. When I finally
stopped shaking, I looked up at him. “I only came out here to talk.”

“With
your fists?”

“Originally,
no,” I snapped, irritated. “But she wasn’t willing to listen.”

“So
you thought the best way to accomplish that was to beat the hell out of each
other?”

“She
started it!” I shouted, defending myself.

Nick
looked at me, his eyebrows rising into his disheveled hair. “Pretty sure that
defense only works in the world of six-year-olds,” he retorted, unimpressed.