Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Fender
I’d had no idea who lived at this house.
She called herself Dina when I’d met her at the bar.
She sure as fuck hadn’t bothered giving me her surname, and I hadn’t asked for it.
She’d walked in that night looking to get fucked.
I’d obliged. She was right, though, not many females could take us like she had.
We were big, and fucking wasn’t always an option.
Aradina had managed just fine, and she’d come back to us time and again.
I wasn’t the only hound she’d been with.
No shade, we didn’t shame a female for wanting to get off.
Far from it. We’d had some fun at the time, but I didn’t like the shit she’d just said about Tempest. In fact, I was seriously un-fucking-happy about it.
I’d taken her hands off my chest twice in the last minute, and she still wasn’t getting the hint.
Back when we’d spent time together, I made sure she knew I wasn’t looking for anything more than sex, and she’d been more than fine with that.
She didn’t want more, either, which meant I didn’t need to be careful of her feelings, because where I was concerned, she didn’t have any.
“Not interested,” I said, removing her hands from me for the third time.
“And just a warning, you don’t ever talk about Tempest like that, understand?
She did you a favor. She brought your family home, and you talk shit about her like that?
You’re lucky I’m in a generous mood,” I said, lying.
I wasn’t, but I didn’t want to make a scene and risk Tempest hearing the shit she was saying.
Brushing past her, I headed for the door. I’d been with the female before the Vysan took my leg, and before I met Tempest. There was nothing I wanted from her now. Not one fucking thing.
“If you turn your back on me, I’ll go to one of your brothers instead. One of them will take me up on my offer,” she snapped.
“You do that,” I said.
“We were good together. You’re the best I ever had, and I know that no one else has made you feel the way I did. I want more of that; I want more of you,” she rushed out, almost fucking pleading.
I kept walking.
“If you walk away, I’ll tell her… I’ll tell your little friend that you used to be mine, that I crawled all over that big body and claimed every part of you.”
My heart slammed in my chest. She’d lost her motherfucking mind.
“Yours?” My voice vibrated from my throat, my beast taking hold.
“I was never yours.” I turned back. “I’m the best you ever had?
Female, I forgot you existed until we landed on your doorstep twenty minutes ago.
You say one fucking thing about me to Tempest, and you’ll regret it. ”
She sucked in an outraged breath. “Are you threatening me?”
“Yes.”
“If you try anything, if you attempt to hurt me—”
“Hounds don’t hurt females, and you know it or you wouldn’t have set foot in our bar. I will make sure you’re barred, though, that all my brothers—the wolves, the vamps, and all the other places you frequent—know not to touch you.”
Rage filled her eyes. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me,” I said and strode out.
I didn’t see Tempest right away. Then I spotted her, all the way over by the door to the house. I strode over and reached for her hand. She folded her arms, blocking me.
“Temp—”
“I’d like to leave now.”
I frowned and dropped my hand. Aradina had been a bitch to her, she was obviously still upset. “You and me both,” I said and placed my hand to the small of her back, but instead of going through that viper’s nest, I led her around the side of the house to get to the front.
I’d carried Tempest to the edge of the forest, just beyond the property when we got here, then dressed and walked up to the house. I’d need to carry her back along the edge of the forest to get her deeper into the city. “You ready to head home?” I said and tugged off my shirt.
Her arms were crossed again. “I already have a ride coming.”
My head jerked up. “You called someone? Why?”
Her mouth twisted to the side. “I wasn’t sure you’d be available.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Her gaze slid from me and to the approaching car. “My ride’s here.”
It was a little shit box of a car, and there was a male behind the wheel. “Who’s the male?”
“Just a guy from work.” She looked up at me, and all the weird energy, the attitude, slipped away and she smiled. Just like that, like nothing had been bothering her, when something most definitely had.
I didn’t like how she did that, like she’d buried whatever she was feeling and hid it behind that smile.
“No need for you to rush off now. You can stay as long as you like,” she said.
“What are you talking about—”
“If you need any more help, just let me know,” she said, then pulled open the passenger door.
“Tempest,” I growled. The male in the car startled, his eyes widening. I stared him down. Yeah, fuckhead, touch her and I’ll tear your fucking arms off.
The car door closed and my gaze sliced back up. Temp was already in the car. I rounded it, about to yank the door open and pull her back out. No fucking way was she driving off with some little piece of shit. No fucking way.
The guy threw the car in reverse, flying backwards, then spun the wheel and peeled out.
I had no control over what happened next.
The beast took over, my clothes shredding and falling around me as I shifted.
I burst into action, making chase. Somehow I managed to call on what little sanity I had left in that moment and used the forest for cover rather than just sprinting down the middle of the road where anyone could see me, but it was a close thing.
The more I ran—chased—the more feral I became.
That was my female. Mine. Another male was with her, and he wanted her.
Of course he did. She was the most perfect female to ever exist. He wanted to take her from me.
I’d kill him first. If he touched her, I was going to tear him to fucking shreds and eat his heart.
A snarl rolled from me, followed by a roar, and the sound of startled wildlife filled the forest around me.
In my hound form, I could run faster, my balance was much better, and the strength in my remaining back leg was enough to propel me forward, but the car was pulling away.
I wasn’t as fast as I used to be. Panic filled me, actual fear, and mind-numbing rage.
I had to get to her. I had to protect her.
What if he hurt her? I was too far away. I couldn’t catch up.
Pain shot down what remained of my right back leg.
I ignored it and pushed on. I could still see the car, but only just. It turned, and I ran out of cover, bursting out onto the street.
A horn blared, the car swerving and barely missing me.
Fuck. I ran back for cover and shifted. Breathing hard, I looked down at myself.
I was naked, balancing on one leg, and fucking useless.
I’d left my shredded clothes, my phone, my prosthesis, all of it outside Aradina’s driveway.
Throwing my head back, I roared so loud I shook.
By the time I’d run back, found my phone, called for a ride, got picked up, put on fresh clothes, and got to Tempest’s house, it was late. At least the little shit box car wasn’t outside her place.
I swung off my bike, pulled out my phone and hit Tempest’s number.
“Hello?” she said after several rings.
“It’s Fender.”
“I didn’t expect to hear from you tonight.”
“Why’s that?” I was panting again and barely holding myself back from banging on her door and demanding she let me in.
There was a beat of silence. “Um…I just thought there might be something else you’d rather be doing.”
“There isn’t. Is that why you called some other guy to pick you up?” I drew in a calming breath. It didn’t work. “Who’s the male, Tempest?”
“Male?”
“The guy with the car,” I said, barely holding on to my patience.
“Oh, that’s Luka. He’s a healer at the clinic.”
“I’m outside your place, can you let me in? We need to talk.”
She was silent.
“Temp—”
“I’m not there. I’m at the clinic. I told you I had a shift tonight.”
She had, hadn’t she? Shit, I’d completely forgotten. “So, what’s the deal between you and Luka?”
“The deal?”
My eyes were glowing red and there was no stopping it. “Are you and him more than friends?”
She laughed, a sweet sound that sent tingles dancing over my skin. “No, we’re not even really friends.”
“Do you want to be?”
“Friends?”
“More than friends?”
She was silent again for several seconds. “Well…I guess he could be a good candidate.”
I froze. “What?”
“For a lover.”
“Tempest,” I snarled.
“He might actually be perfect in fact. Thanks, Fender. I wouldn’t have thought about Luka like that until you mentioned it.”
My head was going to explode, just self-combust and splatter bone and brain all over the fucking ground. “That’s not what I mea—”
“I need to go.” There was a commotion in that background.
“Tempest, hang on a minute.”
“A patient just came in. Talk later.”
She disconnected, and I stood there staring at my phone like it’d turned into a venomous snake in my hand.
What the fuck just happened? There was no fucking way that I’d just convinced her to ask another male to be her lover?
If it was any other female, after the time we’d spent together, the obvious vibes I’d been sending her way, I might think she was pissed off with me or trying to make me jealous.
Not Tempest. She didn’t play games. I didn’t think she knew how. She’d been serious.
I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. How did you win over a female without telling her she was yours or staking a claim on her? How did you make a female want you? I had no clue. Mine currently saw me as a friend. The word was like ash on my tongue.