“Just trying to make a point here,” Johann yelled, daring to glance over his shoulder at Nik but then turning his full attention back to his attacker.
The punch to the gut didn’t faze Gaston. “I’ll take you both on,” he sneered, looking at Nik for the first time with puffy, beady eyes that were almost completely silver. “Rousseau thinks he can handle two bitches, but he sure as hell can’t handle one male.”
“Never been my style,” Johann offered gallantly and then aimed a shot at Gaston’s face.
Armand Gaston was a much stronger lunewulf than Johann. But Johann’s wiry build made him faster, which was a damned good thing. Gaston’s next punch would have been deadly if it had made contact. Johann leapt out of the way.
“Maybe if you fill me in on the conversation.” Nik heard bits and pieces of what he guessed might be the problem.
Standing there watching these two, he also pinned some of his attention on a growing argument over by the pool tables. Obviously some of the males felt they already had certain rights over some of the bitches. And they were settling the score with the males who’d just found out they would be these bitches’ mates.
Nik thought about turning and walking back out the door. No one would challenge him for Sophie—not and live through the words uttered to announce the challenge.
“You get Elsa Rousseau as a mate and think you can keep on fucking Simone,” Armand hissed through his teeth that had grown long enough to prevent his thin lips from covering them. “Simone is my mate now and you’re going to keep your fucking paws off her.”
Johann ducked and managed to miss another swing from Armand. His efforts had him stumbling to the side and almost knocking over a chair at a nearby empty table.
“That about sums up the conversation,” he told Nik, grinning while he pushed the chair back under the table. He shook his head at Armand. “And Simone isn’t your bitch until you mate with her. Read the rules, if you can read.”
“I’m not the one who isn’t following the rules.” Armand lunged at him again, sending the table sliding across the barroom floor. “I just saw you out back with your pants around your ankles, you fucking mutt!”
“Now you’re getting personal.” Johann’s lack of concern about keeping his affairs private had gotten him into more than one fight in his life.
Sometimes Nik thought the lunewulf loved the fight as much as he loved pussy. He shook his head and turned toward the bar.
“Looks to me like you have things under control,” he told Johann, just as Armand yanked the chair away from Johann and flung it across the room.
“Hey!” Shackley bellowed from behind the bar. He tossed his bar rag down on the damp countertop. “Don’t throw my fucking furniture around!”
“Sorry,” Armand yelled and then a crashing sound came from behind Nik.
He ignored it and leaned against the bar, sniffing in the direction of the pool tables and getting a nose full of the smell of beer, cigarette smoke and spicy outrage.
“Coffee, Shackley. Black.” He intentionally ignored the howling going on behind him as Johann continued fighting off Armand. Sooner or later the two lunewulfs would get tired of beating the shit out of each other. In the meantime, he needed caffeine. “Nice morning?”
Shackley growled at him and turned to grab a pot of coffee. The hot brew sloshed into an off-white coffee mug that he placed in front of Nik.
“I want to know what the hell I did to piss off the pack so bad that they would post that fucking list here,” he mumbled and picked up his bar rag.
Nik snorted. “Who the hell knows,” he said, and sipped at the coffee.
At that moment, someone howled over in the corner and a fight broke out by the pool table.
“Shit,” Shackley growled.
Nik nursed his coffee, letting the adrenaline go nuts around him while the caffeine slowly kicked in inside him. It didn’t surprise him a bit that all this violence resulted from that fucking list. He downed more of the coffee, set his cup down and stared blankly as Shackley refilled it to the rim. Cursing and the sound of flesh pounding flesh filled the room behind him. Nik worked hard to ignore all of it.
The door to the bar crashed open and more anger filled the air. George Ricard stormed through the door, his blond hair looking windblown. His fists were clenched at his side and he snarled when the door slammed closed behind him.
“Where the hell is that list?” he asked, and then turned his attention toward Armand and Johann.
The two males were on the floor, and when Nik turned, Armand had Johann in a tight pin, looking like he’d break his neck, if he could get Johann to hold still long enough to get his stubby fingers around it. It amazed him the two lunewulfs could fight so long and not wear each other out.
Nik took a quick gulp of his second cup of coffee, swallowed the bitter brew, and then reached Armand in two long strides. Picking the stout male up by his shoulders, he shoved him toward George. Johann jumped to his feet, rubbing his neck while taking heavy, deep breaths.
“I want to see that list.” George grabbed Armand, giving him a hard shake.
“Let him go,” Nik told George. The lunewulf, who was about Nik’s age, didn’t have bit of sense and was about as intelligent as a dog. “Go ask Shackley about the list.”
George pushed Armand into Nik and stalked over to the bar. The fight in the corner escalated and yells turned into loud growls. Shackley ignored George and roared at the males to keep it in their skin or to get the fuck out of his bar. Armand tried freeing himself from Nik’s grasp but Nik pushed him toward the door.
“Why don’t you get to know your bitch so that she won’t go running after stray males,” he encouraged, shoving Armand outside the bar.
Armand turned to say something but Nik pushed the door closed in his face. He turned toward Johann, not waiting to see if Armand would come bursting back inside again. He really hoped the asshole wouldn’t. Another cup of coffee before he had to kick ass would be nice.
“I almost had him,” Johann said easily, rubbing his neck, which was red from handprints, and gave him a lazy grin.
“Yup.” Nik surveyed the action going on in the corner of the bar. “I could tell.”
George still stared at the list when Nik and Johann joined him at the bar. Shackley pushed a cup of coffee toward Johann and refilled Nik’s cup, then glanced back at his pool tables.
“Shit gets broken in here and that old bitch is paying for it.”
“I’ll see that she does,” Johann assured him.
One of the males in the corner went flying over the pool table and rolled across the floor. He took his time standing up and Shackley, who’d apparently had enough, decided to come around the bar.
“Playtime’s over, cubs,” he yelled, grabbing a pool ball as it rolled across the floor. “Go find a meadow and get the fuck out of my bar.”
Shackley stood over six feet tall and had a fair amount of weight on him. His shaved head and tattooed body helped add to his menacing look. He followed his command up with a low growl that stilled the fighting males.
The lunewulf on the floor struggled to his feet and created a wide path around Shackley, growling under his breath before hurrying out the door. Another lunewulf raced around the pool table, attacking another male. Nik shifted his weight, nursing his third cup, thankful that he finally felt awake. Nothing like a good barroom brawl to get the cobwebs out of his brain.
“How long do you think this will go on?” Johann asked with his cup resting against his lower lip.
Nik looked at the good-looking male, knowing that in spite of his nonchalant tone, it mattered to him that they didn’t kill themselves off.
“Hell if I know.”
“How come you aren’t fighting for your bitch?”
“Got matters under control.” Elaborating wasn’t necessary. It wasn’t like Johann would follow Nik’s lead.
“Oh really?” Johann waited out the silence between them.
It didn�
��t matter at this point what he shared with the male or kept to himself. But for Sophie’s sake, he wouldn’t go into details about their personal life.
“Sophie and I are cool with the law.” He kept his tone and his scent unwavering.
“Oh really.” Johann studied him a minute longer. Resigned to the fact that Nik wouldn’t let loose with details, he returned to his coffee, drinking it down. “Maybe you should give lessons.”
“Not my job.” He finished his cup, needing to take a piss before doing anything else.
More males and a few bitches were in the bar when he came out of the dirty bathroom. Laughter mixed with threatening conversations. The mixture of lust-filled energy and hostile emotions made for an interesting combination of smells in the dimly lit bar.
Shackley was around the pool tables again, yelling at more males who were throwing potshots at each other. He tossed the ball onto the pool table and scowled at the lunewulfs who stubbornly stood on the other side of the table. Anger still flooded the air but no one moved and finally Shackley made his way back around the bar.
Nik followed him, returning to his empty cup, which Shackley dutifully filled.
“Tempers are going to soar for a while,” Johann said, leaning into the bar and nursing his cup of coffee.
George held the list in his hands and dragged an index finger down the second page.
“I’ll be damned.” He looked at Nik, showing off several dark holes where teeth once were. “Maybe this ain’t such a bad law after all. Who would have thought a lunewulf like me would ever get a mate like Elsa Rousseau?”
Nik swore Johann gripped his cup a bit harder, but he didn’t say anything. Not that he had any room to talk. He’d just fought over the fact that he howled for one bitch and fucked another—something that wasn’t a pack secret. Everyone knew as soon as Elsa refused his advances that he’d go sniffing after Simone.
“Some of us got luckier than others.” Nik downed his coffee, enjoying the caffeine high that now worked hard on his system, and slid the cup to the end of the bar where Shackley snatched it up. Nik stepped back and looked at Johann. “Oh by the way, you’re having a party tonight.”
“Oh really?” Johann didn’t move but turned his head and gave Nik an unimpressed look. “When did I decide to do this?”
“When I got called on the way over here and informed that a celebration was in order,” Nik said dryly.
“You’re having a party?” George asked, putting the list down and nodding to Shackley to give him a beer. His blue eyes opened wide when he looked at Nik, but then he gave his attention to Johann, pulling his jeans up. The lunewulf was way too skinny. “Will Elsa be there?”
“If she is, you’ll show some fucking respect toward her,” Johann growled, his lips barely moving. His anger hadn’t completely subsided after fighting. But his words stirred the spicy smell of the emotion in the air around them.
“All I want is a piece of tail every now and then and I’ll be good.” George shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a wad of crumpled bills when Shackley put a draw in front of him. “What time is the party?”
The male was too damned stupid to see how his indifference toward Elsa affected Johann. Nik let out a silent sigh, dreading the damned party before they even had it planned. He fought to keep his emotions at bay. The last thing he wanted was to add to the stench already surrounding them from too many negative emotions.
“Let’s start it at midnight,” Nik suggested, staring past George at Johann.
His friend’s look turned to one of resignation. “I’m sure you’ll fill me in on why we’re having this party when you’re ready.”
Shackley decided the bar counter in front of them needed to be wiped clean. He made a show of doing so while listening in. When Johann spoke, he looked at Nik, waiting for his response.
“Just what I told you—I got a phone call.” Nik shook his head, but when George gave him his attention as well, he kept his expression neutral. “We’re celebrating all the upcoming matings.”
Shackley raised an eyebrow and Johann shook his head, running his hand through his hair. But George grinned, gulping down his beer and leaving a foamy mustache on his upper lip.
“I’ll help spread the word.” George shoved the empty cup toward Shackley, nodding for another. “You’ll make sure Elsa is there?”
“Can’t promise a thing.” Nik looked at Shackley as well. “Post an announcement and let everyone know. I’m heading out since obviously you have everything under control in here.”
“Always do,” Shackley said with a grunt and put some elbow grease into wiping the counter.
Nik wanted to call Sophie, see her now that it was a decent hour to call on her den. Maybe he should take advantage of this party tonight and officially mate with her. His little bitch was primed and ready, and he’d be damned if he wouldn’t fuck her first.
Johann pushed away from the bar and followed him.
“See you tonight,” George yelled after them.
If he said something else, Nik didn’t hear it. The door shut behind Johann. Nik gulped in the fresh air, freeing his lungs from the stench of negative emotions that had clogged the bar. The sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky, no longer at an angle where it burned his eyes. It would be a crisp, star-filled sky tonight. Perfect for enjoying his sweet little bitch.
“What the fuck is up with this party thing tonight?” Johann demanded.
Nik turned when he reached his car. “Talk to Grandmother for the details.”
“Have it at your den. They called you.”
“They want it at your den. It wasn’t my idea.”
Johann opened his mouth to protest, but Nik wasn’t in the mood. He opened his car door and slid into the driver’s seat.
“Howl your complaints to our pack leader. I’ll see you tonight.” He shut his door and didn’t look at Johann, who stood there when he drove off.
Johann had issues to iron out with his own mating. Many of the males, if not all of them, needed to figure out how the hell to deal with this new law. Nik wouldn’t waste energy trying to figure out how they would lie in their dens. None of it was his damned business or his concern. All that mattered was assuring Sophie’s happiness, and his. And that included keeping a close eye on her other mates. He grabbed his cell phone and called Lukas and Jonathan, letting them both know about the party this evening. Both males wanted to know if Sophie would be there. He assured them she would be, and they would have the opportunity to spend time getting to know her better.
Lunewulfs like Johann could growl over males sniffing around their bitches. But not Nik. Sophie’s other mates would be allowed to talk to her, spend time with her and fuck her. But every move they made around her would be with his consent and his knowledge. They wouldn’t do anything with her that he didn’t authorize and approve.
When he placed his third phone call, it rang several times before it was answered.
“Hello?” Sophie’s quiet, relaxed tone assured Nik he had handled matters properly.
His bitch didn’t know about the anger and fights that erupted throughout the pack over the new law. She sat at her den with her littermates in a sheltered and well-protected environment. He’d see to it that she remained in such a surrounding. Although soon, very soon, she would be in his den.
“I’m coming to see you,” he announced, turning out of the parking lot and heading toward her den.
“Nik!” Her excitement was answer enough. “When?”
“Now. Meet me out at the barn.”
“Hurry.” She sounded breathless.
His entire body hardened, reacting instantly to her excitement and eagerness to see him.
“Get your cute ass outside now.” He couldn’t stop his smile when she giggled and assured him she would be waiting.
Accelerating, he hurried through traffic out to the large country home where Sophie’s den was. He parked out front, not concerned with who knew he was there. The sun warmed his
back while he inhaled the fresh country air. There was no animosity here. Although there should be, he thought ironically. The hatred and anger filling the pack stemmed from the queen bitch living here in this grandiose den.
He strolled around the house, his boots moving silently over the thick, recently mowed lawn. He heard the rumble of the rider mower somewhere around back and guessed that Old Ben might be busy and the barn empty.
His cock pressed against his jeans when he thought that he might actually be alone with Sophie. More than likely Derek would be inside, sniffing around after his grandmother and making sure he stayed on her good side. Sophie’s littermates would be here too. They wouldn’t disturb them but Derek might. Nik would enjoy whatever time alone he had with Sophie. He reached the barn, sniffing the air at the entrance and smelling no other lunewulfs in the area. Sophie wasn’t here yet.
The cool barn was ripe from smells of machinery. Today the other end of the barn stood open. The large doors had been rolled back so that Old Ben could drive the rider mower outside. It made it easier to see inside and Nik walked over the hard dirt floor, idly glancing at the different items stored here.
There were stalls where animals would go if the pack owned farm animals. Nik heard the back door to the den open and close and stood silently at the entrance of one of the empty stalls as he listened. Soft footsteps, creating a quiet, steady repetition, sounded as someone walked across the yard. It was a bitch. Nik guessed that much easily enough. He sniffed the air, waiting for her scent to reach him while stepping into the stall.
It was Sophie. He saw her enter the barn at the same time her scent wrapped around him. She stood in the open doorway, hesitating, and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder.
He watched her sniff the air. “Nik?” she asked, keeping her voice quiet as she searched the barn with her eyes.
She wore a sleeveless sweater with no bra. The material stretched over her breasts, accentuating their roundness and making his mouth water. There was no way she wouldn’t smell his lust. Just staring at her as she stood with the sun on her back sent heat rushing over him. Every muscle inside him hardened, his sight grew more acute and his dick filled with blood, hardening painfully.
Lunewulf Law Page 11
