Chapter 5 Khaos
Khaos
The door slams open, banging so hard that Hazard snaps his teeth, growling before he realises it’s just her.
She comes in, bringing the scent of menthol and a tension that has me ready to leap up and take her down before she can even think of attacking us.
Instead of doing anything, she just stands there with her eyes closed.
I’ve seen that look; it’s the look of a person pushed too close to the edge.
Her cheeks are pink, her body tight like a live wire.
She is stunning in her fury, and that is something that makes her even more dangerous.
Attraction and lust got us into this; I refuse to make things worse.
I stand up and take a step, ready to leap between her and my pack and diffuse the situation by force if necessary.
I know I didn’t make a noise, but she senses it anyway and looks at us. Hazard moves towards her, and our brand new master turns tail and runs. Now, I’m left standing, staring at the spot where she disappeared, trying to work out why her scent was filled with so much anguish.
Riot! Is he? I rush to the door but stumble back as Riot walks in with all the bags in his hands. His temper is soaring. The rage pouring off him is unlike anything I’ve felt from my normal calm and even-tempered pack mate.
“Riot?”
His eyes snap to mine. “Khaos,” he growls. He puts the bags down and comes to me, leaning into me. I stroke his back. Touch is the key foundation of keeping our pack calm and the bonds happy.
“What did she do?” I snarl out, already plotting her murder. I’ll give it my best shot, magic bracelet or no.
Riot laughs, bitter, disappointed, furious. He sweeps his fingers through his black hair and inhales deeply, puffing it out as the fury returns.
“She didn’t do anything. She didn’t do anything when they overcharged her. And she didn’t do anything when they openly treated her with mockery. Or disdain. She didn’t do anything when they didn’t have what she needed. She didn’t do anything when they…” He stops, letting out a vicious growl.
My eyes find the doorway she disappeared down.
“The whole town takes its cue from the wolf pack; it reeks of them. Everywhere I went, I could smell them. And the shifters have her at the bottom of the pack and the bottom of the humans. Why, I don’t know. But they have it out for her.” The words rasp out of him in a violent hiss.
I wince. “But she’s just a human.”
“Is she?” Riot asks. “Explain it to me, then.”
Hazard makes a noise, but we both ignore him.
The door at the other end of the house opens, and we all stare as she comes out, sees the shopping, crosses to pick it up, and takes it into the kitchen. She starts violently putting it away.
She doesn’t even acknowledge us, and I find that grates. I’m not used to being ignored. No one ignores me. Where we come from, my word is valued, and no owner has been able to ignore the deep threat I project at them.
I advance into the kitchen, unable to leave the problem that is our new owner alone. “Riot said-”
“Riot should shut his mouth,” she growls and thrusts a bundle of clothes at me. I blink and look behind me to see how my pack brother reacts. Riot glares at her. Strangely, it doesn’t bother her at all.
“You should do something about-”
“You should mind your business, too. You’ve been here, what, two minutes?” Her voice is sharp and bitter as she folds the bundles and puts them on the island.
“You shouldn’t let them treat you like that-” Riot hisses.
She rounds the bench, and Angel skitters away into the shadows. She steps right into Riot’s space.
“I’m right where I want to be,” she growls up at him.
He growls right on back.
“Keep your nose out of my business, please.” The please softens the command, turning it into a request.
Riot smiles widely. “Your life is my life.”
I look sharply at him. That’s a pack saying; that’s a saying we reserve for our bonded, not for our owner.
“Just remember, boys. Two can play at that game.” And then she swirls away from him and out of the cabin with her deep brown hair swishing angrily, leaving the scent of menthol behind her.
“Hmm. That was interesting,” Hazard purrs. He licks the back of his hand, which has me doing a double take. He picks up a bottle of chocolate sauce, pours another line onto his hand and licks it off again.
“Put that down!” I snap at him.
Riot growls and lunges for Hazard, who dances away laughing.
Wrath is still watching the door, considering. His silver eyes take everything in. He hasn’t said a word, but when we have a moment alone, I want his opinion. He’s the most independent of the five of us and the most perceptive.
My attention is stolen when Angel slinks back into the room, walking up to Riot and pressing into his arms. The alpha’s rage disappears, and he pulls Angel in close, kissing the top of his head.
“You all right, Angel?”
He shudders. “I…I don’t know. How long do you think it will take before she starts to demand-” He cuts himself off.
My humour dies away. “I’ll find a way to free us first.”
He moves towards me, but when the door opens again, he disappears into the shadows, slipping out of sight.
She looks around, and I bristle, realising she’s searching for him. Not happening. Not a chance.
“Looking for something?” My tone is icy as I move to block her path to him.
She glares at the bags in her hands and then hands them to me. “These are for Angel.”
Riot spots her and goes after her, bailing her up in a corner of the kitchen.
I almost laugh at their arguing, but the situation is tenuous.
She lets out an exasperated noise and flicks him in the forehead.
He lunges, seizes her around the middle, and twirls her around.
He dips her, and my breath stutters in my lungs. His nose grazes down her chest.
What. The. Fuck.
We all freeze. Wrath stands up, alert. Hazard lets out an excited whine, while I stand there helplessly watching. He pulls her up a bit, his mouth near her throat. I let out a growl of warning, but he’s not paying any attention to us. He whirls her up and yanks on a lock of her hair.
“You should have seen your face,” Riot teases.
Has he lost his mind?
Angel snarls a deep, feral sound.
She snarls back, but then her snarl turns to a laugh. Riot…joins her.
Are they…playing? I exchange a wide-eyed look with Wrath. Angel is normally the most hostile and violent of the five of us, but Riot gives him a run for his money. He is deadly and serious most of the time. I haven’t seen him smile in years, but he’s smiling now. He’s laughing now.
I open the bag so I don’t have to watch anymore and find a snow-white jacket. Men's boots, thick socks, and a scarf that is red and white. My throat tightens.
“There’s one for each of us,” Riot whispers and points to the door where, sure enough, there are four more bags lined up. She’s wandered outside, taking that cloying menthol scent with her.
“We can’t trust her,” I say under my breath.
“No,” he agrees. “But maybe she won’t be as bad as some of the others. Perhaps this could be a place to rest and regroup.”
I don’t want to get my hopes up.
It’s almost dusk when she finishes in the kitchen. I’m almost feeling guilty about what we did to her last night. Almost.
When I see the meal she’s prepared, that pang comes back to life real quick.
She looks at the plates and blushes. “I don’t have a table big enough. I normally just sit on the couch. If you’d all care to join me?”
Riot grabs a plate and glares at us as if daring us to say something. I want to smack him in the head and ask who he even is right now.
“Sure.” I pick up my plate and follow them in. I glance at Angel and see him pick up his plate. I know he won’t eat it.
She gets settled in the corner furthest away from him, and Riot sits right next to her. I’m going to have to have words with him. This behaviour is bizarre. Perhaps he’s doing it to distract her.
I need five minutes alone.
She picks up a remote, clicks it, and the huge watercolour painting turns into a TV.
“No way.” Hazard edges closer, staring up at it.
She throws him the remote; he snags it out of mid-air, looking like he’s won the lottery.
“Whatever you want to watch. Go to town.”
Hazard picks some stupid comedy and sets about eating with single-minded intensity. At the end, Casey gets up, picking up our plates. She returns a half an hour later balancing six bowls in her arms and starts handing them out, then sits down with hers and a smile that makes me hate her.
I stare at the ice-cream and pudding. “What’s this going to cost?” If I could take back any words, it would be these.
She stiffens. “Excuse me?”
“Who do you want in your bed tonight?” I ask bitterly.
She shifts on the couch until her feet are planted on the floor, and she can see me. “Say that to me again, real slowly, Khaos. So I understand.”
Riot makes a hand gesture, but I ignore him.
“Who do you want in your bed tonight? That’s why you did this, isn’t it?” I look around me. My pack is resigned; we know the drill.
“I see. I get it now. Yeah. Okay.” She stands up and walks out of the room, only to return a minute later and throw her bowl at my head. “Asshole.”
I roar and charge after her. She turns in mid-stride and slams a hand against my chest. Pudding and ice-cream drips off me, but neither of us cares.
“Let me clarify,” I growl down at her. “None of us want you. You are just our owner, and we aren’t here willingly. If you try to force us kindly or otherwise to service you, I will rip your cunt apart.”
She belts me across the face. “And let me be clear. You are just unwanted guests in my home. I want you gone. If you even think about touching me, I’ll rip your cock off and give it to the birds.”
We stare at each other, both of us breathing hard, and then she backs off and disappears into her bedroom. I stare after her, wondering what the ever-loving fuck just happened.
My mother would kick my ass. She would be so ashamed of my talking to a woman like that. But she hasn’t seen what I’ve seen or done what I’ve done. She’s been dead far too long, and the world isn’t the wonderland she said it was.
“Well, that went well. She’s definitely not going to want any of us now.” Riot snorts and gives me a disgusted look. “You could have waited until after we’d eaten.”
I turn around and catch a glimpse of Angel disappearing out the front door. Hazard stands up, scoops a few more spoonfuls into his mouth, and follows.
“You know, I kind of think she was just being nice. I don’t think she actually is interested in us at all,” Wrath says in quiet contemplation. “Perhaps she is a good person.”
“Can we afford to wait to find out?” I ask back coldly.
He shrugs and puts his feet down off the coffee table.
I growl at him.
He hands me his bowl and walks down the dark hallway before entering the bedroom we claimed and closing the door.
I’ve cleaned the lounge and the kitchen and put everything away, and I’m just wiping my hands on a tea towel when she comes out again. She freezes for a moment before walking over to the cupboard and getting a glass.
“I think perhaps we got off on the wrong foot,” I say quietly.
She glowers at me. “And whose fault is that?”
I growl and bite it back. “Look, you don’t know what it’s like; you’re our thirteenth owner.”
She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out, but I feel her horror to my soul. Disgust pulls at me, and I turn away from her.
I’d never been truly ashamed of myself until I was cursed into this bracelet, now there is much about myself I hate.
“They wanted it. Some of them,” I say so softly she has to lean in closer to hear. “There were no choices. You’re going to find out sooner or later, but we have to do what you want us to do. But if you start using those commands, I will rip out your tongue.”
She sets the glass down with a click. I groan, frustrated that I can’t explain myself eloquently like Riot or Wrath.
“They wanted people to work for free. Some of them didn’t know we were shifters, and so we had to stay in wolf form.
Some made us sleep outside in the snow.” I slam shut the lid on the memories that want to surface.
“Some figured we were magic, so we didn’t need to eat.
Some of those owners…they liked to see us hurting. ”
Her hand trembles as she fills up the glass before absently putting it back down. “How do we end it?”
“Pass it on-”
“That’s not an option. I’m not leaving you five stuck like this.”
“You don’t know us.”
“No one deserves to be treated like that. I can help.”
She sounds sincere. Dare I trust her? Do I have a choice?
The first real flicker of hope I’ve had in years ignites in my chest. “We need to get you what you need.” I try to keep the hope out of my voice. “The terms the curse sets are that we must meet your needs.”
“Need? I don’t need anything.”
“You must need something. If we can figure it out and give it to you, then we can be free.”
She takes a sip of the water. “Is Angel okay?”
I hesitate, not wanting to tell her anything but feeling like I owe her something. “He suffered more than any of us.”
She winces. “I’m sorry I threw pudding at you. And slapped you. Twice.”
“I’m sorry I said what I said the way I said it.”
She sighs. “The storm will be here soon, and we’re going to be stuck together in the house for days. Just…let’s try to get along. You can stay in either form; I don’t mind.” She walks away, pausing near the door. “Goodnight, Khaos.”
I stare at the spot for a long time. Have any of our previous owners said goodnight to me before?
I can’t recall a single time. But there’s something different about this one.
She’s as flighty as Angel, as aggressive as Wrath.
Her mysteriousness rivals Riot’s, and yet, she plays so much like Hazard.
She’s treating us as people, not objects.
People…not slaves.
Angel slinks into the house and inhales deeply. He barely glances at me as he disappears down to our makeshift room.
She’s still the enemy. She might be a kinder enemy, but I must not forget what she is. The woman who holds our freedom in her hands.