14. Vivianna #2
No, we are not cats. We murr. It’s a wolf’s version of purring, but only done on very special occasions. Not that rumbly crap those felines give out to get attention.
I giggled at her comments and looked up to see the guys looking at me questioningly. “Sorry, my wolf said something funny. I wasn’t laughing at you guys.”
They all hesitated, exchanging a look. Darius leaned forward a little, looking at me intently. “Your wolf talks to you?”
I sobered at the question. Should I have not told them that?
I don’t know, ask them if their wolves talk to them. They said they would answer anything.
“Do your wolves talk to you?” I asked.
“In a manner of speaking. It’s more like we can feel what our wolves would be saying. They don’t communicate with words, though,” Rik said, and I could tell he was picking his words carefully.
Does he think that I don’t know what I’m experiencing? Trust me, I know she’s talking, loud and clear.
“I can feel her feelings, but she definitely talks to me. She is very opinionated,” I said, feeling her displeasure at my comment.
“That’s fucking cool,” Koit said, breaking the silence of the room. “What’s it like having someone talking to you in your head all the time?”
Like listening to you talking all the time. Now shut up and let the alphas do the talking.
Be nice. Good lord, he hasn’t done anything to you to deserve this attitude. She huffed, turning her back on me, letting me handle the situation.
“Right now, it’s like having a moody teenager commenting on everything going on all the time. She’s feisty, that’s for sure,” I said, smiling to myself, feeling affection for my wolf companion.
“When did you first notice her?” Darius asked, his eyes full of interest.
“Immediately when I had my first coherent moment after my first shift. Can I just say that I never want to go through pain like that again? I thought I was going to die,” I said, shivering.
The men fidgeted in their seats, not looking at me for the first time through this whole conversation.
“What, did I say something wrong?” I asked, feeling caught off guard with their response.
“You didn’t say anything wrong,” a voice behind me said.
Whipping around in my chair with my heart racing, I saw Tavas standing in the doorway. I clutched my chest, trying to calm myself. I was going to have a stroke with all this stress.
“None of them want to be the one to tell you that you absolutely could’ve died going through the transformation.”
A little warning would have been nice; I nearly had a heart attack.
Sorry, I knew he wasn’t a threat, so I didn’t think you’d care.
I could see a gauze patch on the side of his neck where I’d chomped on him.
I flinched, feeling guilty but happy that he’d gotten it looked at and that he was doing so well.
Seeing my distress, he walked over and placed a hand gently on my shoulder.
“I’m fine, Vivianna. It will be gone by tomorrow. Like it never happened.”
“She likes to be called Viv,” Koit interjected, puffing out his chest and giving me a wink.
Tavas nodded, not taking his gaze off me. “Looking at you, sitting here completely fine, is a wonder. The fact that you lived through the transition and bonded with your wolf so easily is a one out of fifty chance.”
The shock of that made my stomach churn.
I could have died, and my father just stood by and let this happen?
What kind of human could do that to another, let alone a father to a daughter?
Didn’t the crazy doctor say that I had the worst transition they’d seen?
Does that mean other women have gone through what I did?
My wolf snarled, banging against the mental barrier that separated us. I could feel her demanding I change so she could hunt my father and the doctor down. The force of her need caused me to hunch over, like I’d gotten punched in the stomach.
“Breathe, Viv,” Tavas’s soothing voice said, wafting into my ear. “You are in control of your wolf. I know it feels like she’s stronger, but she’s not. Take deep breaths to calm your emotions. Those are what they use to trigger the shift. You are the ruler of your emotions, not your wolf.”
I took a shaky breath, trying to get a handle on my volatile emotions.
I understood the anger my wolf had for the situation and why she wanted justice, but I need to do this logically.
I had no idea where they were, let alone how to get to them.
I was a fugitive from my own father and that crazy fiancé he picked out.
My wolf calmed down with logic and stopped fighting for power.
I promise you that we will get revenge for what happened to us, but we need to be smart about this. We know the man my father is and that it will take both of us working together to do this. Fighting against each other is doing no good.
Fine, but if you go back on your promise, I will make your life a living hell.
You have a deal, I said, taking one last deep breath before I opened my eyes and found a pair of concerned chocolate eyes looking right at me.
“You okay?” Tavas asked, his hands on my thighs. “That seemed like quite the struggle.”
I smirked, thinking that was an understatement. “She is very headstrong in her opinions, but we came to an agreement for the moment.” Tavas cocked his head to the side, brows furrowed, searching my face. “My wolf and I can talk to each other.”
“See what happens when you’re late to the party, Tav? You miss all the good stuff,” Koit said, grinning at Tavas. “Our Viv is a badass.”
I frowned at him, not liking the ownership in that statement. I wasn’t theirs. I wouldn’t belong to anyone ever again.
Tavas didn’t say anything to that as he rose from where he was squatting and took the seat next to me.
This caused him to give up his touch on me, and I wasn’t sure I liked that.
Feeling an impulsive push from my wolf, I reached out and took Tavas’s hand from where it was resting on his leg.
The other men tensed at this, but Tavas’s eyes softened, and he squeezed my hand.
Then he hooked his foot under my chair, dragging it closer to his so I could keep my hold on him easier.
The others watched the whole interaction with alert interest but didn’t say anything.
I had a feeling that learning all the rules to being a werewolf was going to take a lifetime.
It seemed everything I did had some meaning that I had no manual to.
“Want to share with us what your disagreement was about?” Tavas asked.
I nodded and picked up my coffee with my free hand just as my stomach growled. I blushed, looking down sheepishly. Of all the times my stomach decided to speak up, it had to be around four attractive men during an important discussion.
“Seems like we forgot to feed the lady,” Koit said, getting to his feet and looking over at me. “Any requests?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I was never allowed to be a picky eater. Whatever you make, I’ll eat gladly.”
Koit flashed me a grin as he passed on his way to the fridge. “That I can work with. One mind-blowing meal coming right up.”
See, he seems perfectly lovely. I don’t understand your issue with him.
He’s a beta serving an alpha. It’s his job. Don’t get so excited.
Geez, elitist much?
“Viv,” Tavas said, drawing my attention back to the table.
“Sorry, this wolf in my head is going to take some getting used to,” I said, biting my lip in embarrassment. “My wolf got pissed that my father let me get attacked when I could have died so easily.”
“Just to clarify, your father is Ambassador Beck?” Darius asked.
I tensed. “How do you know that?”
“We’ve actually worked with your father before,” Rik explained.
“We’re part of The Collective, a government for werewolves.
When The Collective was founded, the British government and the UN were instrumental in its development, Now they are pulling their support from us.
Your father and I were supposed to have a meeting to come to some agreement, but the night before the meeting, Koit was attacked by Russian wolves, and we discovered your father had betrayed us. ”