Chapter 3 #3
I felt a wave of power sweep through my condo, the air literally sucking out of my lungs, making it hard for me to breathe.
A trickle of blood seeped out of my nose as I watched Kellen face off against Damien, while Lucas tried to stand, but an unseen force kept him seated.
I held onto Rowan and Lyric, my lungs feeling as if they were about to burst. Through the link Kellen had told me to call him on, I considered reaching out, but worried it would make him lose the battle of wills.
More blood flowed from my nose, falling onto the flannel shirt.
Kellen’s head jerked toward me, his blue eyes a bright electric blue. With one big fist, he shoved Damien across the room. Instantly, I could get air into my starved body.
“Damn it, woman. Why didn’t you reach out to me?” Kellen murmured, coming to my side and cradling me to him.
Shaking, I looked around for something to wipe the mess off my face before answering. “I didn’t want to distract you.”
He carried me to the back of my apartment, knowing exactly where the primary bedroom was, and shut us inside without looking back at the people in my living area.
“Next time, you don’t suffer. If you are hurting, you tell me, or—” he stopped and sat me on the large counter in the bathroom. “There better not be a next time.”
“Yes, Sir, Alpha Sir.” I looked at the pale woman staring back at me, and the man frantically running water, and barely kept from laughing at the picture we made.
“You are a bad subbie. It’s going to take some training, but I think I’m up for the job.” Gently, he wiped my face, then neck, making sure he cleansed all the evidence of my blood.
I stared at the closed bedroom door and felt a small pang of regret. Not a lot, but a smidgen. “Well, that was interesting,” I said, dusting my hands off.
“You are a strange one. You know that, right?” Rowan asked.
I tilted my head to the side. “I have been told that a time or two in my very long life.”
The tiny, dark-haired woman stood up. My brother and I both inhaled, but our wolves didn’t do anything except yawn. “How old are you exactly?” Syn asked.
Lucas uncrossed his legs, the bullet wounds completely healed. “If we told you, we’d have to kill you.” He laughed as the little woman with the one named Rowan raised her weapon. I was sure her aim was true.
“Lucas, I truly do love you and would hate to have to explain to Mother what happened to her second favorite son. Imagine the heartache it would cause.” I injected just enough boredom to piss off my brother.
“Mother only has two sons, asswipe.” Lucas stood, ignoring the guns aimed at his head and chest.
My brother really was a loon. “Exactly. Hence, why you are her second favorite. I do not doubt that if we had another brother, you’d probably be her third.”
Lucas flashed across the room, making the two women gasp.
I was pretty sure the only one in the apartment with the ability to defeat him, and I was the Alpha, but I wasn’t willing to test my theory.
Besides, I found, much to my surprise, I actually liked the Iron Wolves.
They needed to learn about others to stay safe. Damn, I didn’t want the responsibility.
“Mother loves me more, brother.” Lucas flicked me in the ear.
Moving with the speed of our vampire lineage, I was behind Lucas and had my brother in a headlock. “Dream on, baby bro, dream on. Besides, we both come second best to Alecia, the princess, or as dad likes to call her, babygirl.”
“Lord save me from stupid men,” Syn said.
“So, what’s the plan?” Stepping away from my brother, I faced the remaining wolves in the room.
“We have rounds at the hospital. I suggest you get Laikyn and her stuff out of here before nightfall. We will handle her paperwork at the clinic and make sure it’s smoothed over with the hospital as well. ”
“Must be nice having the freaky mind control,” the little spitfire I wished had sparked our interest said with a grin.
“I will admit, it comes in handy.”
“Sorry about shooting you and shit,” Rowan said, his southern drawl slightly evident.
I shrugged. “This is nothing. Try being staked. Once in the early eighteen hundreds, I was...never mind. That is not a story for polite company.” I winked at the two women, then strolled to the door.
As Lucas and I reached the entryway, I looked over my shoulder.
“Ignorance because you are unaware is one thing, but now that you know there is more out there, you need to school yourselves. Yes, you have all been lucky. However, luck is a fickle bitch sometimes.”
With those parting words, Lucas and I left Laikyn’s apartment.
Through our twin bond, I could tell my brother also wished she were our one, and that, had we been allowed to sample her, he knew she wouldn’t have been it.
Not that we wouldn’t have enjoyed the sampling.
But the disappointment after would have been worse than what we were experiencing now.
At the door to the vampire’s condo, we paused and inhaled.
There was no indication he had come back, nor one of his minions.
I hoped like hell that when the being returned, he would enjoy the calling card Lucas had left for him.
Fucker should have known better than to come into our town without letting us know.
There were rules for a reason. It kept the pissing contests down to a minimum.
Lucas and I had to show whoever the upstart was that we were the only ones allowed to piss on this side of the Missouri-Kansas border.