Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
S era
I’m spitting mad right now. I can barely see straight.
I don’t even know if I’m going in the right direction. Given what happened two days ago, I should be more cognizant of my whereabouts.
But I can’t care about that right now. All I know is I need to be away from them.
All three of those bastards.
Just thinking about the way they tried to showcase me like I’m a damn show pony pisses me off all over again.
Without thinking, I raise my hand to my lips. I brush my fingers across my bottom lip. The tingling hasn’t ceased.
He kissed me.
Ronan, of all people, grabbed me like I was … like I was … his. And he kissed me!
It wasn’t just any old kiss either. I know what it’s like to be kissed by someone who doesn’t really give a shit about you. Hell, I’ve given that type of kiss before.
So why didn’t I kiss Ronan like that?
Better yet, why didn’t I push him away the second I realized what he was going to do?
I punch the cool, night air, as another dose of anger pushes through all four of my limbs. My entire body starts to heat up. The tips of my fingers tingle and I stop short, realizing my anger is starting to get the best of me.
“No.” I shake my head.
“You have no self-control!” a shrill voice sounds at the back of my head. “You’re a curse!”
My eyes start to water as the memories try to take over. Squeezing my eyes shut doesn’t make the ugly words go away. I don’t remember when or where exactly those words were shouted at me, but I do recall their impact.
“Tighten up,” I remind myself to rein in my temper.
Only destructive things happen when I get too angry or upset. Though I don’t want anything to do with the three Blackclaw alphas, I will not let them push me to the point of uncontrollable anger.
“Only bad things happen when you’re around.”
Instead of letting myself spiral, I start again down the wooded path that should lead toward the house.
Once there, I can lock myself in my bedroom once again.
“Serafina!”
My fists automatically tighten at the sound of Noah calling my name. I quicken my pace but force myself not to run. I won’t run away from them like a frightened kitten, but I damn sure refuse to acknowledge any of them.
“Serafina,” Noah says, coming up much quicker than I expected.
Damn wolf speed.
“Where the hell are you going?” He stops in front of me, planting his feet. The man is so damn wide and built like a brick wall. I have to stop or else I’ll walk right into him.
Montgomery and Ronan flank my sides, though Montgomery, per usual, stands the farthest away.
Three pairs of alpha wolf eyes stare me down. Heat flashes through my body. It has to be a result of my anger. I refuse to allow myself to notice how much this feeling mimics the feeling I had the moment Ronan pulled me into his arms and crushed his lips against mine.
“I’m returning to the house,” I say as calmly as possible.
It’s dark outside, approaching something like ten o’clock at night. The darkness doesn’t obscure my ability to see Noah’s lips tighten in anger.
“Liar,” he growls.
“F—” I stop myself, again, refusing to let my anger get the best of me. “Think what you will. Now get out of my way.”
My fingers twitch for my bow and arrow.
Suppression comes naturally as I force my fingers flat against my legs and give Noah the widest smile I can manage.
“Excuse me.” I try to step around him, but Montgomery blocks my way.
“Who gave you permission to leave the café?” The question comes from Ronan. The control in his voice pisses me off just as much as the question itself.
I rear back so fiercely, I’m surprised I don’t break my damn neck.
“Excuse me?” I turn my head this way and that, trying to make sure there isn’t something stuck in my ears, obstructing my hearing.
There isn’t.
“Did you just say gave me permission ?”
“Yes, he did,” Noah comes up with the assist.
A slew of the true crime documentaries I’ve watched over the years come to mind. I try to recall which of them was the most brutal case I’ve heard, because I want to gain an idea of the most vicious way to end these brothers.
Calm yourself.
The reminder to myself, forces me to step back and then around the two brick walls and proceed on my journey.
I almost expect Noah to be the one to come up from behind me and hoist me over his shoulder once again. He’s done it twice in the span of two days. Which is exactly why I keep an eye on him over my shoulder.
And that’s precisely how I miss Ronan coming up from behind me, on the other side, and lift me like I weigh nothing. Once again, my vision is flipped upside down as I’m carted off to places unknown.
“What in the hell is wrong with the three of you?” I yell, stumbling once Ronan sets me on my feet inside of their living room. “You don’t just get to pick me up and carry me wherever you want, when you want. I’m not a toddler!”
“Then stop acting like one,” Noah roars.
Not for the first time, he gets in my face, a glow of anger in his eyes. “You weren’t granted permission to leave the café, as Ronan said. Did you learn nothing from almost getting yourself killed two days ago in the woods?”
I shake my head and move away from Noah. He’s too close.
“So damn dramatic. When was I almost killed?”
“Do you not remember coming across Peter while in the woods?” he asks through clenched teeth.
“Your packmate was about to kill me?” I ask with sarcasm dripping from my tone. “If so, doesn’t that say a lot more about your pack’s unreasonableness than mine?”
I stare him down.
He doesn’t look away. “Are you challenging an alpha?”
His question comes out slow, measured. So unlike him.
Its effect is felt around the room immediately. The atmosphere tenses, pulsing with a darkness that has the hair on the back of my neck standing on end.
My clothes suddenly feel heavy against my skin. I want out of them.
My gaze meets all three of the brothers and I see that their full attention is trained on me. Ronan’s normally placid expression has taken on a challenging look. Montgomery has moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with his brothers. An unusual intensity clouds his gaze.
Though their eyes aren’t glowing, it’s as if I can sense their wolves coming to the surface.
I step back and shake my head, feeling too overwhelmed by whatever the hell it is that’s happening between them.
“I would never challenge any of you,” I finally say. “A challenge would mean I want your role as alpha, and trust me …” I laugh, even though there’s no humor in it. “That’s the absolute last thing I would ever want. No, strike that,” I correct, pointing at them. “The last thing I want is to be mated with the three of you.”
“Yet, you will.” Ronan steps forward. “Just as Mother Moon willed it. Before the next supermoon.”
“Not a chance in?—”
“Before the next supermoon,” Noah adds, cutting me off.
I bite down so hard, my jaw starts to ache.
“If you say so,” I tell them in a fake voice that all four of us recognize. Well, if the way all three of them narrow their eyes is any indication.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m feeling a little spent. I’m going up to my room.”
“You haven’t eaten dinner,” Ronan tells me, stopping me at the bottom of the stairs.
“I’m not hungry,” I say without looking back.
“You need to eat, Serafina. Stop being so damn stubborn,” Noah adds.
“I’m not being stubborn,” I reply, glaring at him. “Something about being trotted out in front of your entire pack like a show pony caused me to lose my appetite. Now if you’ll …” I trail off as I think better of something.
“You know what …” I turn to face all three of them once again. A part of me is surprised Montgomery has remained for the duration of this conversation, though he hasn’t said anything. Not that I want him to. It’s bad enough that I have to constantly argue with Noah, followed up by Ronan.
Speaking of him …
“There is one other thing.”
“What is it—” Ronan’s question cuts off into a grunt from the right hook I land across his left cheek.
His head jolts to the side.
Pain lances through my hand, but the satisfaction is worth the pain.
“Don’t ever put your damn lips on me again,” I tell him with a smile on my face. “Now, I’m going to my room.”
I spin and start up the stairs, refusing to let my legs break out into a run although my body quivers with the desire to do so.
Only once I slam the door behind me, locking it, do I feel safe. Well, safer , but not truly out of harm’s way.
I still my breathing and make as little noise as possible as I press my ear against the door. Although I’d likely hear them charging up the stairs, they can be eerily quiet for how damn big they all are.
There was absolute silence inside of my home when all three of them laid in wait for me.
My heart squeezes as I think about my home with the Nightwolf pack. It’s only been two days, but I miss them.
I wonder if anyone is looking for me. On one hand, I hope not. I don’t want to endanger anyone in my pack.
Yet, on the other hand, my heart longs to know that someone, somewhere at least misses me, truly wants me around.
Again, a shake of my head forces me to rid myself of those thoughts. I’ve known for a long, long time that I don’t belong among the Nightwolves, and quite likely among any pack. It took me long enough to gather the courage to leave the first time.
Despite my first search for the truth of my past being a bust, it was my first step toward cutting the cord between me and the pack I know I don’t belong to.
Pushing out a heavy breath, I kick off my tennis shoes. I pace back and forth in the bedroom, somehow finding the white, fluffy carpet comforting. Unfortunately, though, my hand continues to throb.
It’ll be a cold day in shifter hell before I go downstairs to get any ice to soothe the ache.
How dare Ronan put his lips on me.
My non-aching hand goes to my mouth, trailing across my bottom lip. The tingling hasn’t ceased.
Not since that damn kiss.
“Son of a bitch,” I declare, ripping my fingers away from my lips. I restart my pacing.
Instead of getting worked up about a stupid kiss, I need to work on figuring out a way to get away from these three miscreants. I don’t give a damn what they claim Mother Moon has in store for our destinies.
Ronan and Noah forfeited their ability to call me their mate when they first rejected me.
Screw them.
“Tomorrow,” I say in a whisper. Tomorrow’s the day one of them will take me into town to buy some necessities, as per our arrangement.
Remembering our agreement, I yank the door open to go downstairs and remind them to uphold their end of the deal. I’m in the middle of formulating an idea about how to use tomorrow’s trip into town to make my escape when I come to an abrupt halt.
Directly in front of my door is a beautiful porcelain tray full of what appears to be homemade biscuits, chicken and dumpling soup, a small bowl of honey for the biscuits, crackers that look rebaked and seasoned with red pepper, parsley, and garlic, and a glass of iced lemonade.
My stomach instantly rumbles, dutifully reminding me that I haven’t eaten since breakfast, right before I rushed up the stairs, locking myself in my bedroom for the entire day.
I stoop lower, inspecting the tray. What I reach for first, though, isn’t the food. There’s a second, smaller tray beside it with an ice pack.
A sheet of paper slips out as I unfold the ice pack.
‘ For your hand ’ someone scribbled onto the paper, followed by. ‘ Eat.’
I bring the ice pack to my nose and inhale.
“Montgomery,” I murmur after scenting him on the note.