20. Vivianna
VIVIANNA
None of my mates would talk until we were back in our private rooms. I took a seat in the armchair so that I wouldn’t be distracted by them sitting too close to me.
Why do I feel like I’m not gonna like this chat we are about to have?
Oh, I’m sure we’re going to want to smack them upside the head for being idiots.
I heaved a sigh and leaned back in the chair, closing my eyes. “Alright, let’s just get this over with.”
“Sweetheart—”
“No, Rik, it needs to come from me,” Tav said, cutting Rik off.
At this, I opened my eyes and looked at him, surprised he would be the one to keep something from me. Rik would, without a doubt, if he felt like it could keep me safe, and Koit followed Rik’s lead in those kinds of matters. Tav, though… I thought we had a more open and honest relationship.
“My brother Thomas is here as a prospect,” Tav said bluntly.
My wolf leapt to the forefront, sending me standing, my lips pulling back, accenting the snarl that was coming from my mouth. “Why the fuck is he here?”
If he touches our mate, I will tear his throat out in the blink of an eye.
No argument from me, the twins made his life hell.
Tav stood and walked over to me, cupping my face in his hands and pressing a kiss to my lips, silencing me. “Have I ever told you how much I love that you always have my back?”
I paused, hearing the vulnerability in his voice as he whispered those words to me. “No one gets to harm you anymore, Tav. Not while I have breath in my body. Now, explain to me how he is here when you are already my mate.”
He stepped to the side so I could see the other two. “Thomas is like me in that he is not who my father picked to be the Alpha of the pack. Sebastian, it seems, has taken that right, forcing Thomas to find a new pack.”
“That makes sense, but what doesn’t is why The Collective would choose to allow him to be here when I have ties to your family’s pack through you. I don’t need another for an alliance, right?” I asked, my mind racing a million miles a minute.
I say we cut the bullshit and just ask him. He knew coming onto our land would put him at a disadvantage.
In complete agreement, I blended with my wolf and was out the door in a flash.
I followed Tristan’s scent, knowing he would lead me to the wing the prospects were using.
I could hear my mates behind me, but I was on the hunt, and I would get my prey.
As I stalked down the halls, Sarma exited a room and almost ran into me.
“Dama, I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking…” Sarma said but stopped talking when she looked me in the eye. “What’s happened?”
“There is a rat in my house, and I plan to put a stop to it,” I growled.
Sarma’s eyes went wide with shock and unease. “Do I need to call the guards?”
“No, I will handle this personally, but it might be wise to bring you along in case there is some rule I need to know against killing a spy in my own home,” I said, watching Sarma nod as she followed behind me.
“Viv, you can’t attack him. Thomas hasn’t done anything wrong,” Rik said, trying to grab my arm.
I rounded on him and snapped at him as if I were in my wolf form. “I am Dama, and I will decide who lives and who dies on my pack lands. You wanted me to be more of a werewolf and stop seeing things as a human, well, here you go,” I said, spreading my arms out wide.
When none of them said anything, I let out a growl and headed off. No one stopped me this time.
I reached a door at the end of the wide hall and threw it open.
It revealed a large living room where a few men sat watching TV while others read or worked on laptops.
At my entrance, they all jumped to their feet, surprise written all over their faces.
Two more came out of their bedrooms, one wearing just his boxers and another in gray sweatpants.
“Thomas,” I barked, scanning the room until my eyes landed on the man who was working on his laptop… the only one who hadn’t stood.
He met my gaze head-on, his hazel eyes flashing with anger before he hid it away behind a blank expression. Thomas was shorter than Tav, and if I didn’t know they were related, I never would have guessed.
I stalked over to him as he set aside his laptop. Tav dashed in front of me, holding out his hands, his eyes pleading with me. “Viv, please don’t. He’s still my little brother.”
My jaw fell in shock. “You would defend him even though you admitted to me once he would have killed you for the chance to become the Alpha of your father’s pack?”
“Yes,” Tav whispered.
Momentarily stunned by Tav’s request, I didn’t see Thomas grab Tav from behind and hold a knife to his throat.
“Tavas, the softest of us all. You should have listened to your mate and let her deal with me. Now you’ve put yourself in danger for someone who is more than willing to kill for what he wants. ”
My wolf howled in anger, pushing for me to shift so we could defend our mate.
Wait. I promise you that he will not leave this room with this life, but I need to know why. This could just be the beginning of what is going on.
Fuck being reasonable. This motherfucker is gonna show everyone what happens when they attack our own.
Hold on a little longer. I will give us the blood we both crave for this.
“What do you want?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow to show bravado I didn’t feel. “It can’t be to just kill Tavas—you could’ve done that many times since you arrived at the castle. What are you really after?”
“You. You are what I’m after,” Thomas said. “All I want is a pack of my own, and you can give that to me.”
Venturing a step closer, I smiled. “How would I be able to do that?”
Thomas flashed me a wicked grin that showed just how good he was at hiding his crazy. “Two ways, actually. If I kept you for myself, locked you away until your heat, then I would be able to breed you. With our offspring, I could make a deal with any pack in exchange for pure daughters.”
My stomach rolled at the thought of being used in such a way. The horror that my children would go through at his hands. My wolf pushed against me, fighting my control until all I could focus on was keeping her at bay. We needed more answers.
“The second way?” I ground out between clenched teeth.
“Vadik, of course. He’s still looking for you, but it won’t be long until—”
Out of nowhere, Sarma was standing behind Thomas, snapping his neck and tossing him away from Tav.
“What have you done.” I bellowed, allowing my shift to tear through me as I pounced on Sarma.
You stupid fucking whore. How dare you take our prey from us. We are Dama here.
My rage was so in line with my wolf’s I couldn’t tell who was screaming at Sarma.
Someone grunted behind me, followed by the sound of someone hitting the floor. I glanced over my shoulder to see Rik kneeling, holding his head in his hands, staring at me with amazement and fear in his eyes.
“Viv, I can hear you…” Rik said in awe.
Sarma shifted under my paws, bringing my focus back to her. I stood tall, ears pricked, tail raised high in the loudest show of dominance a wolf could make. I pulled back my lips, letting my teeth show as I dug my nails into her shoulders.
Submit, we said, putting our alpha energy behind it.
Sarma squirmed, fighting my hold on her until she let out a whine, baring her neck to me.
Taking what she offered, I snapped my teeth around her collarbone until her blood burst into my mouth.
Now she had to bear the mark of my displeasure so everyone would know she had been put in her place.
I stepped off her, allowing her to stand, but sat and watched her leave the room with a hand covering her bleeding neck.
Do you believe she’s sincere?
If she’s not, then I have no problem putting her in her place again. This bitch keeps fucking up when she’s old enough to know better.
“Viv, can you hear me too?” Rik’s voice said, filtering through my head.
I whipped my head around to look at him, a wide grin splashed across his face.
“What is happening?” I asked, this time purposefully sending my thoughts to him.
“Magic, you’re bringing back something that’s been lost for centuries,” Rik said, his voice filled with wonder.
I turned to Tav and Koit, but neither of them seemed to be aware of what was being said.
I noticed Tristan was hovering near our group but still hanging back, as if he was ready to step in if needed.
Now that I was a wolf, his scent was even stronger and more intoxicating.
I couldn’t help myself as I walked over to him and brushed up against his leg.
He gently brushed a hand over my golden coat, and my eyes shut as he scratched behind my ear, causing me to lean into him.
God, we need to shift more often just so we can get pet. This is addictive as all fuck.
Why does he smell so different from the others? His scent is stronger, more wild in a way.
He made a point to say he was from the moors, maybe that has something to do with it?
“Sweetheart, I can see how much you are enjoying yourself, but this is not something that is done so publicly. Think of it like he is giving you oral here in front of everyone,” Rik chimed in.
Okay, this new trick was really king of cool and helpful for moments like this.
Reluctantly, I pulled away and licked his hand in thanks before I headed over to Tav, who was being looked over by Bentley.
I brushed up on Tav, nuzzling his hip, trying to comfort him after seeing the sadness in his eyes.
This would be a matter for us to talk about later in private, but I knew losing a brother, no matter the circumstances, had hurt him.
“Dama,” Bentley said as he crouched before me, drawing my attention. “I need to speak with you where we can talk freely.”
I nodded my head and looked over at Rik. “Bring him with us to our rooms so we can talk and I can get some clothes on.”
Deciding that I was done being stared at like a circus attraction, I trotted out of the room and back into the hall. I was heading up the stairs to our floor when Darius and a group of men in tactical gear burst into the hallway, causing me to stop and watch with my head cocked at all the activity.
What the hell is he doing?
Hell if I know.
How long do you think it will take for him to notice we are here?
“Beta team, spread out and cover your posts. Radio back if you find anything that I need to be alerted to. Tech team, your job is to head to the security room and get started on the upgrade. I want this place to be Fort Knox before people step foot near the castle tomorrow,” Darius barked out.
Moments later, the rest of my mates and Bentley showed up in the main hall, watching the group of new wolves scurrying around the castle.
“What the hell, Darius?” Koit said. “Is there a coup we don’t know about? Or is World War Three happening?”
I decided to lay down on the landing and watch the fight that was about to go down. I meant it when I said Koit could take his pound of flesh as long as Darius could function tomorrow.
“Where is Viv? We have to tell her about Thomas and that her father showed up at the airport in Riga headed for Collective headquarters,” Darius said, ignoring Koit’s antagonism.
Hearing my fake father mentioned made me growl, causing all of them to stare up at me on the landing.
“Viv, why are you a wolf right now?” Darius asked, then turned to the guys, knowing I couldn’t answer.
“Let’s just say that one of those situations has been dealt with,” Tav said as he headed up the stairs towards me, the rest of them following.
“Seems I’ve missed out on a few things since I’ve been gone,” Darius muttered.
Koit sniffed at him. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
Buuurn. Oh, I see the game Koit’s gonna play, and it’s gonna be dirty and brutal. We need popcorn.