27. Harper
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
harper
After a quick bite—for both me and the asshole who challenged Maverick—we were all back out there for fight number two.
Rhone sat down on the dirt next to Bloom's camping chair, and when I tried to sit next to her again, dragged me onto his lap. His arms wrapped around my waist and stabilized me.
Maverick stood off to the side of the pair and announced the start of the challenge.
"Focus on me," Rhone said into my mind.
I looked down at the inked-up arms holding me, instead of at the fight in front of us.
The men collided with loud snarls, and the scent of blood grew thicker in the air.
Their blood didn't appeal to me as much as Rhone's did, but I would always respond to it. It was wired into me too heavily not to.
It was just… instinct.
"Do you ever get used to being a predator?" I asked, glancing back up at the fight long enough to realize that the Wilder wolf was just toying with the challenger.
The Wilder guys were going to drag his death out. Make a statement. Make him suffer.
The large group of Maverick's other challengers already looked grim.
"You say predator like it's a bad thing. It's not. It's just a word to describe your nature. What you do with it is what matters."
"I guess I hadn't really thought about it like that."
He squeezed me lightly.
The fight ended.
Another hour-long break began.
Maverick was once again escorting the bloody, wrecked challenger to get a snack. Probably some chunky protein drinks.
I looked at Bloom. "You good?"
"Now that Mav's done fighting, I could do this all day." She leaned back in her camping chair, significantly more relaxed than she had been earlier. "What about you? How's the bloodlust?"
"Bloodlusty. I'm okay, though."
Bloom made a face. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Rhone's snuggling with me in front of the pack, so I'm getting some PDA out of it."
Rhone grunted, but slipped a hand under my shirt. The extra contact wouldn't be visible, but it felt nice.
Bloom tried to bite back a smile, but failed. "You guys are so cute."
"Cute is the wrong word for us."
"Adorable?"
"No."
"Hot?"
"Slightly better."
"She wants you to tell her we look interesting," Rhone said.
It was true, and I liked that he'd realized it about me.
"You definitely look interesting. He's all gigantic and tatted up, and you're tiny with faded pink hair."
I grabbed a few strands of my hair, realizing just how faded it was. It had been hot pink at first, and was now almost a pastel color. Some of the strands were significantly pinker than others, too. I liked it. "We need to color it again."
Bloom made a face. "Because that went so well last time?"
"It did. It's cool. And I want to use lighter dye this time. I think this color looks better."
"It does," she said.
I looked at Rhone for confirmation. He gave nothing away, so I elbowed him lightly in the side.
"You're sexy, Harper. I don't care what color your hair is. The pink is interesting."
I looked back at Bloom. "He's trying to be nice to me now."
"That's a big change from trying to make you hate him for the sake of your stability."
I blinked.
Rhone's fingers dug into my skin lightly. "I wasn't trying to make her hate me."
"You said she needed something to hate, and you'd be the something," Bloom pointed out.
"That's not the same as trying to make her hate me."
"It's—" Bloom started.
I interrupted. "I was in a dark place. I still am sometimes. If you guys disagreed about how to help me, that's okay. You don't need to explain yourselves to me or to each other."
One of the enforcers came up and asked Bloom something. They were on the phone with someone else. I figured it had to do with the investment company, because I vaguely recognized them as someone who had been involved when I was devolving.
Rhone said into my mind, "I know we butted heads before we hooked up, but I wasn't trying to piss you off. I was just..."
"Being yourself?" I asked, when he didn't finish his thought. "You were never purposefully cruel to me. That's what matters. I don't expect you to be someone you're not. You're always going to be rough and growly and a pain in my ass. I need all of those things. I want them, too."
Rhone lowered his lips to my forehead, and kissed my temple lightly.
It was a small gesture, but a sweet one. New for him. Right in front of the pack, too.
My chest warmed.
He was trying, and I loved it.
One of the challengers that hadn't fought Maverick yet suddenly strode toward us.
Rhone was on his feet and dropping me on Bloom's lap in a heartbeat, stepping in front of us to function as a living shield.
As much as I hated that, I knew logically that Rhone could fight, so I tried not to feel any way about it.
The enforcer Bloom had been talking to stepped up to the other side of our chair, adding to the werewolf shield.
Another one appeared on the left side.
Their movements were casual, but the ease with which they fell into position told me that this wasn't new for them.
Almost all of them had been soldiers in the war. I'd known that, even if I hadn't seen evidence of it before.
Here was my evidence.
"The Wilder Pack is siding with you in the vampire situation," the challenger growled at Rhone.
It wasn't a question.
Rhone answered it anyway. "Yup."
"Are they going to kill everyone who challenges him?"
"You know Zane as well as I do, Josh. What do you think?"
Josh cursed.
"Either withdraw or get away from my mate and Mav's," Rhone said flatly, ignoring the question altogether. "You're lucky we haven't already killed you for your stupid fucking prejudice."
"Fine. I withdraw my challenge, and wish both of you and your mates well," he gritted out.
"Your withdrawal is accepted."
A few of the enforcers who had been around us followed Josh out of the clearing and toward the parking lot.
The remaining enforcers disappeared. The one Bloom had been talking to returned to their conversation like nothing was wrong.
Rhone lifted me off of Bloom and sat back down like nothing had happened at all. The hand he slid beneath the hem of my shirt was more visible when he held me that time, though.
The third fight was even bloodier than the second.
The Wilder wolves were making the challenger suffer. My fangs throbbed through the entire long, drawn-out torture session.
I was both starving and queasy when it finally ended, and the final Wilder wolf challenged the guy.
We all knew how that fight was going to end.
"Why doesn't he withdraw?" Bloom whispered to Rhone, as a grimacing Maverick talked with the challenger.
"He knows they'll kill him anyway. His pride won't let him go out without a fight, either."
"But this is awful." Bloom looked significantly more nauseous than I felt.
"He knew there was a chance Mav would end him when he made the challenge. This is what he asked for," Rhone pointed out.
"Maverick wouldn't have done it like this."
"No. But he could, if he wanted to." Rhone glanced over at a group of five of the other challengers who were walking toward us together.
He set me back down on Bloom's chair with her.
The enforcers closed around us, blocking us from the men again as they approached.
One by one, they all withdrew too. They didn't question Rhone. Just backed out, and walked away.
Over the next hour, there was a constant flow of challengers doing the same. Some came over to argue with Rhone for a few minutes first. He was an extremely unreceptive person to argue with. I had to bite back a laugh on multiple occasions.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but he's kind of funny," Bloom whispered, when he was staring at a guy who had been going off about the unfairness of it all for a solid two minutes.
"I know. It's hot," I whispered back, and Rhone looked over at his shoulders at me.
"Who's hot?"
"You."
He looked satisfied when he turned back to the conversation.
"Did he just proposition you through your mate bond?" she checked.
"Totally."
She studied me, trying to decide if I was being sarcastic or not.
I'd never tell.
I liked teasing him, and had no problem with PDA myself, but that was different.
There were two challengers remaining on the other side of the field. I wasn't sure whether they were waiting to see if the Wilder Pack would back out, or if they really hated vampires enough to throw their lives away just to make a point.
No one was surviving a challenge against Maverick followed by all three vicious Wilder assholes. They just weren't.
The third fight began, and went on.
And on.
And on.
When the Wilder wolf finally shifted back and snapped the other guy's neck, the sound made me still.
Completely and utterly still.
That crack echoed through my ears. Through my skull. Into my bones.
I could still hear it long after the guy's body was on the ground.
Could still feel it, in the rapid beat of my heart and the sudden rush of blood in my ears.
My fangs throbbed.
My head ached.
My heart pounded.
My eyes stung.
Rhone's fingers pressed into my hip, hard. Hard enough to distract me from the panic now coursing through my veins.
"You're safe," he said into my mind, quietly.
He lifted my hand to the fangs dangling from the necklace around my throat. I squeezed them between my fingers tightly.
Velour was dead.
I was alive.
And Rhone was right—I was safe.
I breathed slowly, and managed to calm my heartbeat a little over the next twenty minutes. I told Rhone he should go help Maverick, but he just grunted at me.
The remaining challengers withdrew, and left.
Someone took the body away. I didn't watch.
The Wilder wolves nodded at Maverick after exchanging a few words. They smacked him on the back, then disappeared into the forest carrying the bags they'd come with.
Rhone didn't get up.
Honestly, they were fine without him.
Maverick finally strode over to us, and Bloom stood up when he did. She laughed as he swept her off her feet and kissed her deeply. Cheers went up from the crowd of bloodthirsty werewolves around us.
Everyone left was part of the pack, and they had been making bets about the upcoming fight between Rhone and Maverick all day.
It wasn't going to be a challenge, so apparently, it didn't matter who won.
Rhone had definitely heard some of the enforcers talking about the bets. Given that he and Maverick were just as close as Bloom and I were, I knew he had told Mav what we were planning.
Given Maverick's personality, I was pretty sure he was going to make a big thing out of it just to get the pack excited.
Maverick suddenly pulled his mouth away from Bloom's.
Rhone sighed heavily.
I was totally right.
"Sugar," Maverick said, raising his voice dramatically. "Why do you smell like my Beta?"
"No reason," Bloom said innocently.
"If I'm wounded, I expect you to lick it better," Rhone grumbled into my mind.
I bit back a grin.
Maverick turned an over-the-top glare toward Rhone, who set me down on the camping chair yet again.
"Get over here, Longfang." Mav swatted Bloom's ass lightly, earning a laugh as she walked back to me.
"My female smells just as much like you, Darkwood."
"Don't break him, Rhone," Bloom called over her shoulder.
"I think she just insulted you," Rhone tossed at Maverick.
"She definitely just insulted me. So fucking cute." Maverick unbuttoned his jeans, wearing a vicious grin. Pretty much every part of him was flecked with blood, and there were large bruises all over his torso. "This is the part where they want us fight over our mates."
"It's not a challenge. No pack link, and no claws," Rhone warned.
"Agreed."
"They're horrible at playing along," Bloom whispered to me, earning a wink from Maverick that made her blush.
He'd probably propositioned her through their mate bond again. She wasn't shy about admitting when he did.
"At least they're nice to look at," I said.
"I should be covering your eyes again."
Rhone pushed his shorts down his thighs, and lunged at Maverick when he shifted.
My eyes widened.
Bloom made a sound of surprise when Mav shifted just in time to dodge with a laugh.
Rhone rolled, easily adapting to the sudden change in plan, and leapt over Maverick when Mav tried to go for his throat.
The pack around us hooted and hollered, but Bloom and I watched in silent shock (and maybe a little horniness?) while our mates fought.
Neither of them drew blood, but a few of the collisions were painful enough to make us both wince.
The guys went from man to wolf and back again over and over, and I had no idea who was winning... until Rhone finally pinned Maverick on the dirt.
The pack exploded with loud, energetic cheers. Some people were groaning in defeat, passing money to whoever they'd made bets with.
Both men wore wild grins. They were covered in dirt, and still completely naked.
"I could've taken your throat five minutes ago," Maverick tossed out.
"I could've taken your spleen eight minutes ago," Rhone pointed out.
"Oh my god," Bloom breathed. "That was..."
"Yeah." I let out a puff of air. "Hot damn."
"Emphasis on the hot."
I snorted, and she laughed.
Both men looked over at us, still grinning.
The pack's cheering had died down, and people were already heading out. Some with large wads of cash. Others, with their heads hanging low.
Rhone finally stood up and offered Maverick a hand. The Alpha took it, and they both grabbed the clothes they'd abandoned without brushing dirt off their skin.
They jogged over together, and when Maverick scooped Bloom up out of the chair, Rhone crushed me to his chest. "No more trading clothes, Trouble. We're not a circus act."
"We're the best circus act," Maverick corrected.
"You owe me ten grand," someone called to Maverick.
"You owe yourself better money management skills," he called back.
Bloom smiled. "You're such a pain."
"You love it." Mav kissed her before tossing a, "Good fight," to Rhone, and hauling my best friend toward the open doors of the estate.
Rhone slipped his hand in mine, and led me that way too.