The word that slipped from her lips caused his heart to sing and that of his Wolf who let out a soft rumble in his head. His fingers squeezed hers in answer but although meant for only him, Morton heard her and her words tore another bout of fury free.
“What did you just say? Don’t you fucking dare call him that! Fucking ass has been in your life for what? A day, two, three? Yet you’re calling him dad and telling him to be careful. You’ll pay for that, you little fucking runt!”
“Shows how much you know her.” Cody stomped forward releasing Cordy’s hand. “She’s as bright as the sun with brains to boot and all you’ve done is try to dim that light and stop her from shining. You’re a fucking disgrace and should never hold the title of father. So . . . again I’ll say it . . . I challenge you or are you too scared to take me on?”
Morton turned to the man holding Viola. “Knock her out and throw her in the trunk.”
“No!” Cordy rushed to her mom’s defense but Cody snatched her back just in time as the man carried out Morton’s orders, violently and with no thought for Viola whatsoever.
“Stay back, baby, that’s just what he wants. He wants you to go over there so he can get his hands on you.” Cody pushed her behind him, his heart almost breaking in two at the sight of Viola being knocked out and manhandled. His Wolf going crazy and he could scent her blood, lots of it. She was hurt bad and he couldn’t wait to wreak vengeance on that bastard . . . but he had to hold off and that’s when another voice joined in.
“Hey there, didn’t know there was a party going on. Mind if I join in?”
Cody’s eyes slid to the side, relief flooding his system when he saw the hulking figure approaching: Rocky.
The Lion sauntered over as if he’d been out for an evening stroll, his eyes betraying he had not. They locked on Cody’s for a moment before flicking to Morton and his men. “So, who’re you and what are you doing annoying my friend here? ‘Cause I’m not too overjoyed at the thought of anyone coming in the dead of night to stir up trouble.”
“Walk away,” Morton warned. “Now, and maybe you’ll see the sun come up.”
Rocky’s face hardened, changing him completely from the gentle giant to the deadly beast that Cody needed. “You’re the one that needs to leave.”
Cody joined Rocky. “Give me Viola and I’ll allow you to live.” Rocky looked down at him, raising an eyebrow. “Cordy’s mother. They’ve just knocked her out and shoved her in the vehicle.”
Rocky’s lips turned up, his teeth bared. “Oh hell no.”
Cody knew the moment was here . . . he could see it in Morton as he motioned to his men, one of whom looked to be mean as fuck and itching to shift. The other two were just as bad, stepping forward as Morton sneered at the odds stacked in his favor. Only he didn’t know one major fact . . . that Rocky wasn’t a Wolf and he was in for a big fucking surprise once his friend transformed and showed him his beast. The wind was blowing in their favor, Rocky’s scent hadn’t reached them yet, so they had that ace up their sleeves.
But he had one thing left to do before he took this lowlife on and he had seconds to do it. “Cordy, don’t argue. I don’t have time. Do not get involved in this. I can’t worry about you right now. I have to deal with this so stay back and out of the way. Understand?”
He knew he’d barked at her and hated that but he had no choice. She had to understand the importance of what was going to happen. It was going to get ugly and fast. She had no idea how dirty or bloody things were going to go and he couldn’t waste a second worrying about her safety. It could literally mean life or death . . . his.
Cordy’s eyes met his, her face white and her body tight with barely managing to control her Wolf, but she gave him a nod. “Fine. Go. Just get Mom, please.”
“I will, baby, I will. Trust me to do this.”
“I do, Dad,” she whimpered, the sound cutting right down to his very soul, her fist shooting up to her mouth to contain the sound as he turned back to face the man that had wrought such hell on the two people he loved with his entire being.
~ Chapter Thirteen ~
“Let’s do this.” He looked over at Rocky who was already kicking his boots off.
“I can’t wait to show them,” Rocky hissed back, continuing to undress, also aware that his scent hadn’t yet reached them. Probably why he’d came in the way he had . . . smart move on his part.
Cody followed suit, his clothes landing quickly onto the ground while Morton’s men mirrored them. He noticed one wasn’t nearly as brawny as he’d thought, it was more beer belly than muscle, but the other two were solidly built, especially the brute who’d manhandled Viola. He was going to pay for that, in spades, if he got the chance, but first he wanted to rip Clyde Fucking Morton’s heart out of his chest. Well, that’s if he had one. That was still open for debate in Cody’s opinion.
“Just be careful,” Cody shot over to Rocky, “Connie will kill me if anything happens to you.”
Rocky threw his shirt on the ground and turned to look down at Cody . . . he was one of the few men that made him feel small, the look on his face was indignant as he snorted. “You think those pissants are gonna hurt me? Really? Cody, you’ve hurt my feelings.”
“Don’t care about your feelings, Rocky, I just care about you not getting anything else hurt.” Cody was about to say more but the sound of bones cracking told him he was out of time. Morton and his men were already transforming. Fuck.
Rocky started his shift and it was fast, Cody watching as he went through his own, his body morphing quickly into his large grey beast next to the Lion that made him feel so much smaller than he was within his own Pack. He was one of the largest Wolves in the Silver Streak Pack. Chad, his Alpha slightly bigger and the Enforcer of the Pack the only other that beat him in size, and possibly in strength. Not even the Pack Beta could match him, in either size or strength and everyone knew it.
Right now though, he felt like a young pup as Rocky lifted his mighty head and let out a roar that almost deafened him. Shaking his mane that gave him the illusion of even greater bulk, baring a mouth that was full of razor sharp teeth that could rip a throat clean out of an enemy with no trouble whatsoever. Cody knew that for certain . . . he’d seen what Rocky could do when riled and it wasn’t pretty.
Cody saw Morton and his men falter, all four of their beasts stopped dead as they saw what they faced: a Lion that was at least double the size of any of them . . . and Cody who was huge and filled with fury.
It didn’t matter if they backed off now. The time for that was over. Cody was attacking and he wasn’t stopping until Morton paid for his sins and Viola was safely in his arms and back with her daughter.
Energy thrummed through his body, his Wolf eager to release itself in battle and Cody wasn’t going to hold it back. He was going to allow it free rein to wreak bloody vengeance on the wolves that were now making their way toward him slowly, warily, but he wasn’t playing that game. Cody let out a long howl, his head lifting to the moonlit sky and calling to his Pack . . . because he knew without a doubt they’d be coming.
Rocky had received his text and he would’ve put out the plea for help.
A moment later his cry was answered, left and right, shit, all around them was a cacophony of barks and baying from wolves on their way to aid them. But how quickly would they arrive?
It didn’t matter because Cody was taking down Morton right now. His blood would drip down his throat soon and his claws would tear open his belly before he reached inside to rip his heart clean out of his chest. His paws stampeding across the tarmac as he raced toward his target. Morton’s mangy brown Wolf hiding behind two of the beasts he’d brought with him as the third, larger one broke off and tried to intercept him.
Fuck it, if he had to go through his brawn to get to him then so be it. The end result would be the same, but just as they were about to clash, Rocky’s Lion intervened, swooping in from Cody’s right. The Wolf was no match for Rocky’s beast which was more
than twice its size, if not more, the Lion barreling into it, paws wrapping around it in a death grip and the two of them rolled over and over with Rocky’s mouth opening wide and grasping onto the back of the Wolf’s neck.
Cody carried on, hearing horrendous howls of pain behind him, but only briefly before his enhanced ears picked up the unmistakable sound of bones crunching and then a dull thud. Cordy’s voice echoing in the darkness. “Oh my god!”
Cody had no illusions of the devastation that Rocky had wrought. One down, three to go and that’s when he heard the unmistakable roar of a motorbike engine. One he knew well because he helped build the dang thing. It belonged to Ricky. That upped their odds to un-fucking-beatable.
If there had been any doubt in his head before there was none now. Cody was getting Viola back this night and ending Morton once and for all and it appeared his men knew it too as they scattered away from him, transforming quickly before Rocky could tear them apart.
Morton was slower, Cody charging forward, leaping high into the air, snarling and landing in a clash of fangs and claws. They fell locked together, rolling over and over, pain shot through his shoulder where Morton’s beast fastened his teeth deep into his muscle, ripping and tearing a chunk free. He didn’t pause, pushing away the agony as he retaliated by digging his claws deep into his belly and raking a deep gash along his underside, blood and guts spilling free.
Morton’s Wolf howled in agony, dropping down to twist and snapping his jaws again and again to inflict bite wounds wherever he could as Cody’s fought to end him. He used his greater size and strength until finally he pinned the bastard beneath him, his throat between massive teeth, sinking them deeper and ripped it out entirely. The Wolf lay still under him, its blood dripping from his fur and flooding out to pool around them in a dark circle on the tarmac . . . but he and his beast weren’t satisfied. His front paw raked down Morton’s chest, tearing the fur wide open, going deeper and deeper still until he found his prize . . . the heart no longer beating but he tore it free anyway, ripping it to shreds while his beast roared into the night.
“Dad, Dad, it’s over, come back now, please, come back.” Cordy’s strangled voice reached him in his bloodlust state. His beast still full of rage and wanting to rip Morton’s Wolf to shreds so that nothing was left of it whatsoever . . . but her soft worried tone made it through, followed by a soft touch of her hand on his head.
Cody had never before felt such fury and never lost himself to such a bloodlust whilst in Wolf form. His Wolf shook itself, whining as he moved into Cordy’s hand, rubbing itself against her. “Dad, please, Momma is hurt and we need to see to her. We need you.”
Her final plea was all it took and his transformation was immediate, quick, and the most painful he’d ever experienced. Standing naked and bloody, his injuries forgotten, Cordy handed him his clothing which he quickly pulled on. “Where is she?”
“Rocky’s taken her inside, but she’s still unconscious and she doesn’t look good.” Cordy nibbled her lip. “And there’s lots of people here now and more arriving every second. I don’t know how to handle them.”
At that Patty rushed up, her eyes taking in the scene and his state. “Oh fuck. Is that her asshole of a father? Or shit, you know what I mean? Did he come for her?”
Cody nodded. “Yeah, and her mom, Viola, she’s inside but she’s hurt. We need a Healer.”
“Caitrìona’s on her way, she’ll be here soon.” Patty took his elbow, leading him away. “Chad is too, shit, half the Pack is here already. Rocky got the call out that you and Cordy were in trouble and we all came. Sorry I’m late.”
“Late?” Cordy shook her head. “It’s only been . . . shit, not long. I’m amazed at all these people here. I don’t know them and don’t know what to do.”
“That’s all right, sweetie, I’ll do it. You go inside with your . . . Cody.”
“My dad, he’s my dad, Patty. He saved me tonight, and my mom, I . . . I . . .” Cordy stopped as tears filled her eyes, words sticking in her throat and Cody did what any father would in the circumstances. He pulled her in and hugged her tight, telling her everything was going to be okay and he’d take care of it all and by the look in her eyes he knew she believed him because she was his daughter . . . and he was her father.
~ Epilogue ~
Four Months Later
Viola’s skin was silky smooth beneath his hands, her hips matching his as his cock thrust inside her, her legs around him and her heels digging into his ass urging him on. “Don’t stop!” Her head fell back, that look he remembered from such a long time ago telling him she was near to her release.
He’d been gentle with her to begin with . . . scared to touch her if he were being truthful, but she’d instigated their first lovemaking and soon they were fitting together as if they’d never been apart. Cody couldn’t take his eyes off her . . . the sheen on her skin, the feel of her beneath him, his cock inside her . . . he was in heaven! Utter heaven . . . and he couldn’t quite believe it.
“Viola, talk to me . . . tell me you’re really here, my darling. Tell me I’m not dreaming this.” Cody’s heart thudded wildly in his chest, his cock hardening and thickening inside her as he neared that precipice of bliss.
“I’m here, my love . . . my mate. I’m here.” She looked up at him with eyes glazed with desire, nails digging into his skin, her core clenching around him, her mouth opening to cover his with a scorching kiss as her orgasm hit full force. Her body went into spasms from head to toe, her breaths falling down his throat as his own followed . . . their bodies locked together.
Pure bliss overtook him, mind, body and soul for long moments . . . so long he wasn’t sure whether he’d passed out from the sheer magnitude. His body and mind taking minutes to come back to earth and sliding off his one true love, pulling her to his side and kissing her once again.
“Are you all right? I didn’t hurt you did I?” he asked her, still worried about her health.
She’d taken more than a month to recover from the injuries incurred from Morton’s thug and he and Cordy had been working since then to build her body back up from the skin and bones it had been. Viola had been so thin and undernourished that Cody had wished, often, that Morton was still alive . . . so he could kill him over and over again.
The Pack Healer, Caitrìona, had given her a clean bill of health a while ago, but Cody had not laid a hand on her, even though they’d shared a bed for weeks. He’d moved her into his room straight away . . . on the premise he wanted to ensure her safety. Truth was, he needed her near to prove she wasn’t a figment of his imagination.
Cody had slept on the chair in the corner of the room until Viola had forced him to sleep in the bed, but he refused to do anything but hold her in his arms . . . and an occasional kiss. He was terrified of hurting her because she was so thin and looked so brittle, he was certain she’d break beneath him.
This morning was their first time making love and it had been the most glorious and wonderful thing in his entire life. But he needed to know she was all right.
Viola let out a laugh, her fingers playing on his chest. “I’m fine, Cody, honestly. I’ve never felt better in my life.”
“Really?” he probed again, still worried.
“Really.”
“Good.” He took hold of her hand, tenderly linking their fingers. “Because if you truly are okay then I’d like for us to officially mate as soon as possible. My Wolf is driving me crazy having you so near, but I’ve been scared in case I hurt you.”
He watched her closely, hopeful and scared in equal measures, and when her eyes filled with tears his heart almost broke in two . . . until her head nodded frantically. “Yes! Oh, yes, Cody. It’s what I want too. We’ve been apart for too many years. I think it’s about time we did what we should’ve done so long ago. Don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.” He leaned down, kissing the side of her mouth.
He was about to do more than that when they were interrupted by frantic sh
outing.
“Mom! Dad!” Cordy’s voice was shrill and loud, followed by running footsteps and then her banging on their door.
Cody grabbed the bedsheet, quickly covering them up just as she ran in the room. Still running and shouting. “I got in! I got in! Can you believe it?”
She jumped up and down, twirling around, and shook a letter in her hand. Cody looked at Viola and then back at his daughter. “Got in?”
Viola sat up, pulling the sheet with her, a huge smile on her face. “I’m so proud of you, baby girl. I knew you’d do it.”
Cordy stopped, looking at them and their dishevelled state. “Ewww, I’m sorry, I seem to have interrupted you. I’ll come back later.”
“Don’t you dare go anywhere.” Viola stopped her as she turned away.
Cody looked between them. “Care to enlighten me?”
Cordy turned back, her cheeks pink as she looked at them but she carried on, “Aww, Dad, don’t you get it?” Cordy shook the letter again. “I got in. To the college I wanted and to study anthropology!”
Cody grinned, for all of two seconds then frowned. “Hey, that’s great, but tell me, you don’t need to go away for it? Do you? I’ve just gotten you, Cordy, I don’t want to lose you again.”
Cordy stopped jumping and gave him the biggest smile ever, her eyes twinkling as she shook her head. “It’s okay, Dad, I can travel to it. It’s only an hour away . . . but it means you’ll need to get me a car.”
She gave him a wink and he burst out laughing before giving her one back. “I can do that, just don’t think you’re getting anything fancy. It’ll be something suitable for the roads up here and we’ll go shopping for one together. How does tomorrow suit you? Not today as your mother and I have plans . . . and can you let Patty know I won’t be down today. She’s in charge.”
Cordy nodded vigorously. “Tomorrow’s great! Thanks, Dad . . . oh wait, you’re not going downstairs? Oh, I get it, I think, no, I probably don’t and I’m not gonna think about it either. I’m outta here but I’ll let Patty know she’s in charge for the day. Bye!”
Cody's Second Chance: Bad Alpha Dads (Silver Streak Pack Book 3) Page 8
