Chapter 28 #2
His jaw ticks and the rest of his unit must be talking to him through their bond. He’s even more pissed now and Nia’s playing a dangerous game, refusing to give him a single inch of ground as she risks his wrath.
“I’m not negotiating with you.”
“Why not?” she asks.
“Because we only talk to Alphas,” he says, smirking as he tries to put her in her place.
I drop my head and Lawson runs wild, ecstatic that Lyall and Nia are about to unleash themselves. I can feel their ire in our bond and I pity the man who’s about to realize that only fools insult my Luna.
“Well, I’ll just have to kill you then.”
“I beg your…”
“I don’t think so,” Nia says, stepping forward and making the Elite step back.
“You turn up, uninvited and unwanted. You encroach upon my fucking territory without even asking my permission. And you march down here and have the sheer damn nerve to insult me? I don’t think you’ll be leaving, sunshine.
Not unless you’re prepared to scamper back to your playmates with your fucking tail between your legs. ”
He swallows.
The werewolf glances at me and I send him a look of unbridled irritation. It’s cold, condescending, and it communicates to him that there’s not a chance I’m doing anything but watching my Luna take him down.
“Fine,” he sighs.
“Try to sound less pathetic,” Nia says. “You do realize you’re supposed to negotiate from a position of strength… At least try to make some sort of effort.”
He turns his head and nods to the Elites standing on the ridge.
Lawson readies himself and we sense the pack behind us gathering themselves up, preparing to charge on our command. Goddess only knows who’ll be giving the order, given the way the entire pack’s instantly accepted Nia, without so much as a goddamn nod from me.
“Your father invoked The Council.”
“My father is a cunt who’s been trying to kill my wolf.”
The werewolf doesn’t react but his silence says more than his words ever could. The Elites weren’t expecting this and they’re whispering among themselves, wondering where the hell this is going.
“He almost succeeded, but I don’t suppose The Council knew about that little wrinkle before they authorized you to come down here and do his filthy work for him.”
The Elite’s eyebrow rises and his teeth elongate, half-changing as his temper flares and his control breaks.
“He swore on the Moon Goddess that you were in danger.”
“He was obviously lying. I mean, why would a man who’s trying to kill me bother with something as inconvenient as the truth?” Nia crosses her arms and taps her finger on her forearm. “I’d be dead if my mate hadn’t rescued me. Thank heavens one male around here has some goddamn common sense.”
“We’ve got orders…”
“That’s not a terribly good excuse, is it?”
Cole chokes again and Lawson laughs, delighted that our mate is holding the fucker to account. She’s got him up against a wall and the werewolf’s eyes dart to mine as if he’s looking for a way out of his predicament.
And I’m not about to offer him any.
“Look, we’re under orders and that’s the end of it. I’m sorry it has to come down to this and I doubt I’d have acted differently if you were my mate. But you’re coming with us, Nia.”
She shakes her head so slowly that even time bows to her will.
“I don’t fucking think so.”
“I’m afraid you don’t have much choice, Luna,” he says, his tone darkening as he draws closer. “We’ve got a reputation to protect and we can’t just let you and your Alpha off. Not when The Council has invoked the law without the right of appeal.”
I swallow and Lawson moves, clawing at the barriers that hold us apart.
His aggression is spilling over and I struggle to contain him, trying to keep him under control and buy Nia time.
I’ll let Lawson loose if that asshole even thinks about trying anything with her but she might be able to turn this around, and I find myself willing to let her try.
“Either you come with us willingly, or we’ll kill the entire pack, Luna,” the Elite says, his features continuing to elongate. “Starting with the runt we found playing when he should have been tucked up in bed.”
Our eyes snap to the horizon and one of the Elites hauls a small child into the air.
He wails and screams, thrashing as he cries for his mother and I know exactly whose child that is.
I’ve spent more hours playing with that five-year-old than I ought to and his parents howl through the bond, devastated that the child they so desperately wanted is about to be slaughtered.
“Or, we go with option number three,” Nia says, tilting her head.
“Which is?” the Elite asks.
Nia moves her hands so that she’s holding them behind her back, and I freeze as I watch her fingers elongate. Her nails turn into claws and they’re lethal. Sharp, strong and designed to kill.
My girl’s shifting and Lyall’s anger washes into me as my vision clouds and crimson tints the world. Her wolf is incandescent with rage and the threat of harming a child has provoked a savage, primal instinct that is so brutal that even I draw breath.
“I kill each and every one of you for daring to be so fucking rude.”