Rhodes
I know. I’ve been that person. I’ve tried to put as much distance between myself and a bad fuck before I even got myself fully dressed again.
Besides, all I truly required was someone whose happiness wouldn’t waver and who could give me a few mediocre orgasms at best. I was not expecting the blinding ray of sunshine that is Bennett, nor the earth-shifting sex that came with him.
Honestly, I’m fucking surprised if I’m being honest. He’s cute. Okay, he’s hot. He is as bright as the sun when he smiles. His sunny personality appears genuine, too. It’s not an act. He truly sees good everywhere he looks. He’s happy.
I’m on the verge of being disgusted by his constant happiness. Or I would be if there weren’t so many fucking things ridiculously endearing about him. Like his ability to sing songs to his own tune. He holds the tune just fine, but I wouldn’t bet my life on whether he could get the lyrics right.
Maybe more than anything is the way he looks at, talks to, and treats my pack. There’s no more successful way to weasel your way into my good graces than to love my babies like I do.
Not that I’m falling for this man. I don’t know him. At all. He’s just a guy who’s here for a weekend as my fake boyfriend to… impress… these people I went to school with.
Huh. Is that what I’m doing? Am I trying to impress them? I didn’t care about them then, but I suddenly care about what they think now?
No, that doesn’t make sense. It’s that I needed someone to counteract my annoyance, irritation, misery, and the dark memories of being here. I need someone else’s strength to siphon into myself as I came face-to-face with the four bullies who shaped my high school experience.
By the time I climb out of the shower, I’m feeling lighter than I have in a long time. I’ve sent Sugar and Lovey Cakes out to prowl the grounds. See what they see. See who they can find. If they can kill the fuckers without a paw print or a bite, then good. Let’s do that.
My father’s warning is loud in my head. It’s a pain in the ass getting my pups clearance into Canada on a good day. I don’t want them to become seen as a threat to the public. Or be taken from me. I’d have to make myself an enemy of the country to break my babies out and run with them.
Which reminds me. I should convince my uncle to buy some islands outside of US territory. Who am I kidding? I’m sure he already has a dozen all over the world.
I step out of the bathroom naked. Maybe my shower was long enough that I can suck Bennett’s dick this time. Is he ready again? I wonder if he’ll be able to sing while I suck him.
Immediately, four of my pups surround me. Anxious. Velvet yips, ears back, and looks pointedly at the door.
“Are Sugar and Lovey Cakes in trouble?” I ask.
There’s no mistaking that Floofy Pants finds me stupid right now. He lays his ears back, and I’m confident that he glares. Schnookums huffs.
I look toward the bedroom. It’s dark. Did Bennett fall asleep?
My heart is already racing as I step closer to the door. The room is empty. His clothes from earlier are no longer strewn about the floor. His sneakers are missing. So is Lee.
“Fuck.” I rush to get dressed in bed pants, a tee, and my own sneakers as I combat my fear. I can’t remember the last time I was afraid for someone.
Maybe when three of my cousins had to go off-grid to take down a remote megachurch cult island.
That fear was different. It was fear because I care about them.
Not because I truly believed in my heart of hearts that they were in danger.
My family is made up of elite killers. Under all the glitz and glam, under all the successful businesses that they run or help run, they take out the trash with knives and axes.
This is entirely different. While I know three of my pups are outside with him, Bennett is likely unarmed. He’s helpless. He’s so soft and sweet and happy.
I pull the drawer in my kitchenette open roughly enough that all the utensils clang.
Several forks and a spoon topple to the ground.
I dig around until I find a dull steak knife.
Ugh. This is going to have to do. I didn’t come here to kill someone.
That decision was made after the fact. I’m unprepared.
When was the last time I had to kill someone myself?
“Come here. Collars off,” I tell my remaining pups. They line up, and I unbuckle their collars and let them drop to the floor. Sugar and Lovey Cakes’ collars are already tucked back into their bags. There’s no time to be neat right now, though. Bennett is in trouble. I can feel it in my gut.
Even though I sent two of my best hunters out tonight, I hadn’t truly anticipated anything happening.
They were supposed to learn the lay of the land.
Make any notes. Observe if the Fucked-Up Four wander around after dark.
Yes, if they could be drowned in the river and make it look like an accident, then cool.
While I know I need to be careful, there’s no slowing down on my way outside. Later, I’ll be thankful that we don’t run into anyone. But right now, it’s not high on my list of priorities to care about being seen.
“Find Bennett,” I whisper. “Don’t be seen if you can help it.”
It’s dark out. The woods are even darker as we slip inside. Ideal conditions for a hunt when we’re surrounded by people. Let them second-guess what they think they see. There’s always reasonable doubt.
We all freeze when a scream travels among the trees, bouncing off branches and trunks to skip by us. My heart jumps and races wildly.
“Take me there,” I order.
My babies are silent. The only sound I hear is my own footsteps. I try to keep them as quiet as I can, but I’m not an animal, so that particular kind of stealth is beyond me. Especially right now, when I’m terrified of what I’ll find.
Nothing. I’ll find nothing. This is what I try to convince myself of. My gut says differently. The Fucked-Up Four might not have physically hung the noose that Chris dangled from, but they sure as fuck tied it.
Movement ahead in the trees has me crashing through them without care. Terror makes me pant as I rush forward. Visions of worst-case scenarios play out in front of my eyes, so I’m barely seeing the trees I’m trying to avoid.
As soon as we break through, the pups and I stop dead. Sugar is toying with Don, snapping and chasing. Allowing him to get a short distance before shoulder-checking him and forcing him to drop. Sugar drags him around, careful not to break skin or rip fabric. That’s how my babies are trained.
“Good babies,” I whisper.
That is, until I find Lee with Kennedy’s neck in his mouth as he death shakes him. He’s already dead. I can see that.
“Fuck’s sake, Lethal Baby Doll!” I hiss, and Lee pauses to look at me.
I wish I could give my babies voices. I truly do. Because as he meets my eyes, it’s clear that he’s telling me something. Chills break out over my body as I spin around. Bennett isn’t here. Neither are Frump and Fox.
“Find Bennett,” I urge. “Go. Now. Find him.”
My four remaining puppies race by the scene in front of us. I follow, but look at Lee standing over a dead Kennedy with his neck torn out by a wolf. “How do you plan to fix this, Lee?”
Lee looks at the body, and I can see he’s not in the least bit apologetic.
“Leave him. We need to find Bennett.”
Lee turns on his heel and races into the trees after his packmates. I watch Sugar and Lovey Cakes for a minute. Is that urine I smell? Ohh… I think I see the glimmer of blood. The air is also saturated with alcohol.
Drunk. That’s going to work in our favor, though I still need to think about what to do with Kennedy’s body.
Honestly, I’d like to leave it there. But Lee is all over him.
I sigh heavily. Okay, first, I need to make sure Bennett is okay.
If he’s not, then we have a reasonable argument for defense.
There’s no mistaking the fact that my pack is absolutely trained for the defense of their people.
The less likely outcome is that Bennett is fine, and we’ll have to think about this a little more thoroughly. Right now, it doesn’t matter until I find Bennett. Wherever he is. Whatever he’s doing.
“Come on, Bennett. Make a sound. Be loud. Shout. Do something so I can find you.”
They’re deep in the woods. That much is clear. Did Bennett run? Did they chase him? Why did Sugar, Lovey Cakes, and Lee leave him with the other two? At least one of them should be with Bennett. We’ll have to talk about it tomorrow.
If I had to take a guess, Lee’s vicious killing is in direct response to Kennedy’s behavior toward Bennett. My babies are a lot like people. It’s easy to see a routine hunt and a murder of passion. This was something that Lee took great offense to.
And while Lee was dealing with Kennedy, Sugar and Lovey Cakes were doing exactly as I instructed. Neither of them was tasked with protecting Bennett. That hadn’t been their assignment.
“Fuck,” I mutter and race through the trees as best I can. It’s so damn dark. I’m confident I’m running in relatively the right direction. I can see Lee ahead of me, weaving through the trees. Head down. Following a scent.
“Be alive,” I murmur. “Please, be alive, Bennett.” The words that nearly leave my mouth are I’m not ready to lose you, but I swallow them before I can say them out loud. I don’t know the man. He’s not mine for real.
We’ll unpack that later. Right now, I need to find him. I need to make sure he’s okay.
“Don’t bite them,” I remind my pack, talking at my usual volume and sure they’ll hear me where they are. “Keep your fur to yourself.”
I need to protect my pack, too. Dad’s right.
My hand tightens around the dull steak knife in my hand as my only weapon.
I really need to avoid using it too. At the very least, it’s one of a thousand.
Every dorm room has at least one of the exact same one.
I know how to get my fingerprints off it easily enough.
Still. I need to avoid that, too. This was a tomorrow night hunt. A Sunday murderfest. I hadn’t come up with a plan quite yet. I needed another day.
Ahead, I hear Schnookums’ snarl, and I know he just found what we’re looking for. We found Bennett.
“Please be alive,” I send up into the sky and race forward.