Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Tempest
As we headed up the stairs and out of the den, my belly was all light and fluttery.
Going over those books, searching for the missing weapons with Fender, had been highly enjoyable.
Watching the movie with him before that, with everyone else, had been so much fun.
Tonight was one of the best nights I’d had since I’d made the decision to venture from the cottage, which was probably why I said more than I should have.
Things that should be Matilda business only.
But for the first time since Matilda W died, I didn’t feel alone, and that was an intoxicating feeling. Next time, I just had to be more cautious about the things I said.
We neared the top of the stairs and I glanced at Fender.
He’d been kind to me tonight when I’d basically fallen apart in front of him.
And later, when we were back in his quarters, he’d listened and made me feel as if I was an important part of our little team.
Is that what we were now? The thought made me giddy.
I’d agreed to help him with his hunt, and I was so excited to keep going.
My gaze slid over his profile, and he glanced my way. His lips curled up when he caught my eye. My belly went all flippy again. He really was a handsome male. Fender pushed the door open and I froze.
The room was full of people. He said they were having a gathering, but I’d forgotten.
“War thought it was time for the witches, wolves, and vamps to come together,” Fender said. “Uriel and his angels may have gone quiet for now, but he’ll be back, and we need to be ready.”
He meant war…with the angels, or at least the ones Uriel had on his side. I tried not to think about it, but there was no denying it, especially now that I was helping Fender find weapons that would be used in the fight.
Keeping my head down, I hurried through the crowd.
It was a tight squeeze and someone bumped into me, then someone else.
Fender grumbled, and his hand went to my lower back, guiding me across the floor.
We were almost at the door when someone stepped back, right in to my path, and this time, neither me nor Fender were fast enough to avoid the collision.
I stumbled back, and Fender caught me before I fell on my butt.
The person spun around.
Oh no. I winced, shrinking on instinct as Raiden glowered down at me.
The wolf shifter’s mouth twisted in disgust. “You again? Fuck, you’re desperate,” he said in his gritty voice. “Stop following me, bitch,” he all but yelled.
I shrank back further, shocked.
“Get it through your head, I’m not into fat female—”
Fender’s fist plowed into Raiden’s jaw with such force it crunched and twisted to one side unnaturally.
The wolf’s eyes rolled back, and he dropped, hitting the floor hard.
Fender advanced then, dropping to his good knee, grabbed the front of Raiden’s shirt, and hit him again, and again.
Blood sprayed, and Raiden flopped around on the floor like a dying fish. The sight was utterly horrifying.
Fender was going to kill him, but no one intervened. When a couple wolves did finally step forward, Jagger and Rome got in their way, stopping them. Fender got lower and growled something in Raiden’s face that I couldn’t hear. Raiden gurgled and nodded.
Fender shoved the male away, grabbed the table beside him and hauled himself back to his feet, then he turned to me.
Fury burned in his eyes so brightly that I took another step back.
Raiden had yelled at me, and I didn’t do well with that.
Even after all these years, it caused the terrified little girl I’d once been to come to the surface.
The fury in Fender’s eyes fell away instantly, and he lifted his hands, palms out.
Raiden’s blood was smeared on them and his shirt.
Oh gods, people were watching, whispering.
Fender took a step toward me. I took another one back.
I hadn’t meant to.
“Temp? It’s okay.” He kept his hands up. “I’m sorry if I freaked you out. You don’t need to be afraid.”
This was Fender, I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.
I knew it. Part of being a Matilda was having the ability to see inside and recognize anyone who posed a threat, at least physically.
Raiden was unkind, but he would never have physically injured me, which was why I’d made such a mistake where he was concerned.
“Tempest? Are you okay?” Fender asked as he took another step.
I forced myself to stay put this time. “Yes, sorry. I…I’m fine,” I said, desperate to leave, to get away from all the eyes on me. “Can we leave, please?”
His hand returned to the small of my back, and I was pleased I resisted jerking away as he guided me to the door. The voices that had silenced started again.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said roughly. “I heard him say that shit to you, and I lost it.”
He’d gotten angry, had been furious, but it had been a choice.
Fender wasn’t hotheaded. I knew that about him.
I felt it when I was with him. Males as old as him had far better control than most. He hadn’t lost it.
He had chosen to hit Raiden because he’d wanted to.
“You didn’t need to do that. Why did you? ”
His brows slid higher. “Why? Because he doesn’t get to talk to you that way, Tempest, not fucking ever.
He needed to know that. Now he does.” He crossed his arms over his massive chest. “I’m sorry if I scared you, but males like Raiden don’t understand anything else. I wanted him to stop, and now he will.”
I started walking again, feeling confused and off-balance. I shouldn’t like that. I should hate it, and I did, but…I also didn’t, not like I should. “I’m not scared of you,” I said, because my actions had made him think otherwise, I could see the concern still in his gaze.
He stopped me. “I saw the look on your face, Temp. You stepped back to get away from me, twice.”
“I was just… I don’t like being yelled at,” I said, giving him the truth.
“Raiden startled me. Then the way you hit him…” I bit my lip, still confused but also kind of elated, which was so incredibly wrong.
Matilda W would be horrified. “I didn’t mean to step back, it was instinctive, nothing more. ”
His eyes narrowed. “Instinctive? You saying someone else has treated you badly?” His voice was soft yet growly.
Uh-oh, we were veering into dangerous territory. I needed to move this conversation along. “Anyone would be alarmed by a large male yelling at them.”
His gaze searched my face as if he were looking for something, like the truth, but then he nodded. I’d either managed to hide it, or he’d decided to take pity on me. “Well, he won’t be saying shit to you ever again, I promise you that.”
I took him in, looking a little wild still, splatters of Raiden’s blood on his throat, his forearm, and fist. No, I wasn’t scared, not anymore.
If anything, seeing him like this, after defending my honor, was kind of thrilling.
Would Matilda W really be horrified? Like her, I believed in justice in its most brutal form.
I defended, maybe not with my fists but I protected those I deemed at risk.
I guess the difference was this had been for me.
No one had ever done that for me. My mother had tried, and in the end she’d found the strength to call for help.
But I’d also saved myself. I’d had no choice. I knew with everything in me that when I saw Raiden again, he’d say nothing. Not one thing.
“Thank you for defending me. No one has ever… I appreciate it.” I chewed the corner of my mouth and looked away, then back at him.
“Will you…can you please tell me if I’m doing anything that’s inappropriate or steps over a line?
I told you I’m not good with picking up on those kinds of cues and I meant it.
” I didn’t want to do something that could cause me to lose Fender as a friend.
“There’s nothing you could do or say to me, Temp, that steps over a line. I promise you that as well.” He studied me, the amber of his eyes going all shimmery and gold again. I liked it when he looked at me like that. “Can I ask you something?” he said.
“Of course.”
“Why Raiden?”
“Pardon?”
“Why did you want Raiden?”
I didn’t really know how to phrase what had led to my decision. He waited for my answer, searching my face, his expression intent. “Well, there were several factors.” We said we’d be honest. If he wanted to know, it was only fair I told him.
“Okay,” he said. “What factors?”
“First, I wanted a male who knows what he’s doing, since I don’t,” I said and ignored the way his brows shot up. “Someone reasonably attractive, and someone who wouldn’t expect more from me than what I required.”
“What you required?”
“Yes.” Why was it suddenly hard to stand still?
“What do you require?”
“An experienced lover,” I said.
The bulge in his strong throat slid up and down, and the muscles along his jaw flexed. “A lover?”
Why did he keep repeating everything I said? “Yes, I decided it was time I took a lover. I’ve lived a…a sheltered life as I’ve said, and I want to experience everything now that I’m no longer…sheltered. He seemed an adequate candidate when we first spoke, but I obviously got it wrong.”
“You can do better than Raiden,” he said, so rough it was like he was growling at the same time.
I sighed. “He’s definitely not the one. I had planned to resume my search, but the whole situation with him put me off for a while, and I’ve also been rather busy.”
“Are you saying you’re still looking for candidates?”
“I am. Do you have any suggestions? You must know a lot of people in the city.” I spotted his bike across the lot, and my belly swooped with excitement. “Are you taking me home on your bike?”
He was silent.
I turned back. “I’d so love a ride on your bike.”
He muttered something, grabbed my hand and pulled me across the parking lot. “Sure.”