Chapter 35
C ierra’s eyes slowly shut, and she stopped fighting. Still, I didn’t let go, gritting my teeth from the force I exerted. Her face slackened, head falling to the side. Irrefutable pleasure made my grip harder. She’d had my father killed. She’d touched my mate. Twice, she’d tried to kill me.
If I kept squeezing, she’d be done. No longer a problem. I wanted it, but it seemed too peaceful for my liking. She’d destroyed my life. All because she wanted someone who didn’t belong to her.
Finger by finger, I released her throat.
Her head flopped to the side, and she remained still.
I felt the side of her throat for a pulse.
As sluggish as it was, her heart was still beating.
I stood and blew a few strands that had escaped from the now-loose bun.
I didn’t take my eyes off her as I gathered my hair and tied it into a high ponytail.
Standing, I grabbed her ankles and dragged her toward the back of the van. The doors were still open. The bitch was heavier than she looked. I grunted and heaved to sit her upright. She flopped on the concrete.
The next time I propped her up, I kept her there by keeping my knee against her side.
I grabbed her wrist and, with a pull, got half her body inside, and then I grabbed her leg to shove her the rest of the way in.
She landed with a loud thud. Once I made sure there was no way for her to get out, I shut the doors and slumped against them.
The throb in my arm was becoming more pronounced.
An elongated, mocking whistle had me whirling. The imposing silhouette of a man stood multiple feet away, hands in his pockets. I could only see half his face from the light coming from the building.
Gideon Drake.
“That was quite impressive.”
I growled, narrowing my eyes at him. He was dressed in a suit, and it was clear he was one of the people attending the event.
“I should beat you bloody,” I hissed. He looked at me, the corners of his lips twitching.
“You’re welcome to try.” His grin showed too many teeth. I should have grabbed the gun that had skidded under the van.
The asshole knew I couldn’t attack him without cause. If I tried, he could easily use that against me. It was his word against mine, and he would be believed more than me, even if I was Luna.
He must have seen the resignation on my face. Hate boiled through my veins. I loathed this man with every fiber of my being.
“One day, you’ll care about something?—”
“Just like Lucian?” His smirk made me grit my teeth.
“When that day comes, you’ll regret all the damage you’ve done.” It might not be me, but I hoped to Moon I was there to witness that smirk being slapped off his face.
He threw his head back, chortling. Just as suddenly as he started laughing, he cut off.
“I will never have a weakness. Pathetic girl.”
My lips tightened, and I narrowed my eyes at him. Like a sign from the Moon, a group of a few men in suits strode toward the smoking area in front of the building. Their booming, deep laughs echoed across the lot.
“Help!” I screamed, backing into the van.
“Shut up,” he snapped, eyes sweeping the surroundings. I audibly dragged in a breath for a louder scream. “You little fucking cunt. Fine.” He put his hands in the air and backed up between the vehicles to make his way back to the venue.
I only relaxed when he disappeared.
A sharp howl rent the air. Movement caught my eye, and the moonlight caught the reflection of a wolf’s eyes. And then another. A dark wolf, large and quick, darted behind a car. Lucian walked out from behind it a few moments later, naked.
“Took you long enough.” I cocked a hip and placed my fisted hand on my waist.
Lucian kept coming at me, the cold, stiff lines of his face unflinching. His chest pumped with ragged bursts.
His arms went around me, and he squeezed me tight. My body softened against him, recognizing my haven, but my brain had other plans, though. He hadn’t told me they had a lead on Cierra.
He squeezed me harder, his trembling finally settling.
I gasped a breath out.
“Ouch.” I pushed at his chest until he let me go. Crimson stained his arm.
“You’re hurt?” His eyes widened, and he scanned my body, hands extended toward me. “Where?”
“No need to sound so pissed off, this is your fault,” I shot back at him.
He shut up, his expression becoming a cold mask.
“I hate to get in the middle of a lover’s spat, but we don’t want to call attention to ourselves.” Alex tossed a robe at Lucian, and he deftly caught it. I took a deep breath to ground myself. He was right.
“Where the fuck is Toby?” Lucian snapped. “I left him here to watch you.”
“Well, that would have been helpful,” I drawled. Of course he’d had someone watching me.
“Stuart found his body. Someone shot him.” Alex spoke so softly I almost missed it. “That woman is shameless.”
Killed him? Not only was she shameless, she was evil.
I hadn’t interacted with Toby at all, other than when he’d fought Cierra for her place as a dominant.
Now, he was another pointless death in Cierra’s game.
I gritted my teeth and turned my glare to Lucian as he finished tying the robe sash at his waist.
“Well, she won’t be hurting anyone else.” I lifted my chin.
“You have her?” Alex gawked.
I grinned and patted the back of the van. Bad move. It caused the wound on my arm to pulse. I grunted, clasping my elbow to cradle my arm close.
Lucian frowned at me, but I ignored him. I rolled my shoulder and peered at my bicep. The black fabric of the long-sleeved shirt allowed the blood to blend in. I slid a finger into the sliced fabric. A gash was opened across my skin. Blood no longer dripped, but it was red and angry.
“Fuck,” Lucian snarled, suddenly so close, and his hand hovered over the wound. I swatted him away before he could touch. “Contact Melodie.” The order was abrupt, loud, and angry.
For a moment, I thought he was talking to me, but Alex answered from behind him. “She’s already on her way, Verity called to tell me Joey had been shot.”
The fall of footsteps approached. Lucian stiffened and looked over my head, but relaxed once he saw who it was.
“I got her inside,” Verity gasped. “But she’s refusing to listen and keeps following me out.” She bent over with her palms on her knees. “She’s on her way,” she wheezed.
“Baby,” Alex exhaled, eyes on his mate as he stepped out of the shadow of a truck.
“Alex?” She smiled and straightened.
“I’m here,” Melodie shouted, running down the concrete toward us with a bag in hand. Her shoe caught on a jutting piece of concrete.
Alex grabbed her arm, stopping her from falling face down. Verity yelped, dragging my attention over to her to see her clasping her chest.
“Ouch,” she muttered, her eyes wide and hand on her chest. Her focus remained on Alex, who stared, seeming confused for a moment. Then he yanked his hand off Melodie’s arm.
Verity’s eyes flicked from me to Alex, to the ground. She was making the connection. I’d told her about the pain from feeling Lucian touching others in these last years. Melodie reached me and studied my arm. She ripped the sleeve open, inspecting it.
“Lucian,” Elain shouted from a distance, bringing my eyes up to watch her wobble towards us in her too-high heels. She stopped a healthy distance away from me, sneering. “You should have seen this monster; she beat her until she bled,” his mom cried. “She’s a violent criminal, Lucian.”
“Bloody?” Lucian raised an eyebrow. He’d been hovering close, watching Melodie work. “I’m proud of you.” He kissed my forehead. The edge of his robe brushed my arm.
“And please tell me that criminal was lying and the tattooed woman isn’t your mate, Alexander Wilder?”
Melodie lifted my elbow and started dabbing at it. I winced at the sting, but kept my focus away from my arm.
Lucian stepped in front of me, blocking his mom from my view.
“Respect your Luna,” he barked.
A couple on their way to their car slowed, studying our group. Lucian seemed ready to spring at her. To an outside observer, it looked like a man in a robe sneering at an older woman.
“Stop, people are watching,” I whispered. We likely made quite the vision. Me in my server outfit, my sleeve torn, Lucian in a robe.
Elain’s comment had no effect on me. Her judgment meant nothing. And now that I wasn’t on edge, trying to debate what to do next, all I could feel was relief.
Finally, Cierra had been caught. As Alex approached his mom, asking her to stop being a bitch, I focused on Melodie. She’d dabbed the area, and the bleeding started up again, but she placed gauze over it and began wrapping it.
“Thankfully, it's only a bit deeper than a graze. All the blood was from the bullet scratching across your arm.”
“Thanks, Melodie,” I said. She smiled and nodded. She let go of my arm and started picking up her things. Elain was quiet under her son’s disapproving gaze.
“You should make sure your mom gets home.” Lucian turned to me at my words, eyebrows furrowed. “Melodie, did you drive here?”
“I came with Stuart.”
Perfect.
“Will you drive me home in the van?”
“Yes, Luna,” she replied. “I’m almost done.”
“I’ll be waiting for you then.” Still ignoring Lucian, I rounded the van to go to the passenger side and hopped in. Just as I guessed, the keys were still in the ignition. I turned it, and the van roared to life.
The driver’s side door opened a few moments later, and Lucian jumped in.
“Alex and Verity will handle her.”
I didn’t envy their drive.
Instead of arguing, because I knew it was pointless, I buckled my seat belt.
The drive home was uneventful. Thankfully, Lucian stayed quiet, but it didn’t escape me that he made sure to take every sharp turn as quickly as he could. I reveled in the thuds coming from the back.
Lucian kept glancing at me from the corner of his eyes, eyebrows raised. He knew exactly what he was doing.
With his careless driving, it didn’t take us long to get back to the house. The van’s engine went silent, and I hopped out.
When I opened the back of the van, Cierra lay with her arm flopped over her stomach, blood covered her split lip.
Bruno and another man, tall, slim, and with a serious uni-brow came running up. I stopped in the middle of climbing into the back of the van.
“We’ll take her, Luna,” Bruno offered, leaping in.
I stiffened, eyeing him as he quickly lifted Cierra.
“It’s okay, Josephine,” Lucian murmured against my ear, his hand snaking around my waist.
After one more glance at Bruno, I yanked away from Lucian and trudged to the house, the crunch of the pebbles sounding extra loud.
A few moments later, heavier steps followed me. He definitely knew I was pissed off because he didn’t tell me Cierra was still around. The man wasn’t a complete idiot.
I reached the top of the stairs and entered our bedroom, stopping at the threshold and turning on my heel.
“Sleep somewhere else.” I stopped him with a palm on his chest. He stilled, studying me with obvious confusion and pursed lips. I shut the door, locking it so he didn’t try sneaking in in the middle of the night.
I scowled and dropped onto the bed, face down. The sounds of footsteps finally retreated. He made me so damn mad.
The steps returned and stopped at the door. For a moment, I worried he had a key, but the doorknob didn’t jiggle.
He knocked on the surface.
“I’ll be right here,” he said, voice muffled. After shuffling and then the creak of the door, it quieted as if he was leaning against it. I sat up, listening closely. Was he about to sleep there?
The silence told me yes. I shook my head at the door, even though he couldn’t see me.
If he thought it would make me pity him, he was dead wrong.