Maybe it sounds weird, but we were all wolves, raised in the pack, accustomed to nudity. Trust me, I could see all the guys in full detail and not a single one of them was aroused after what we'd been through.
Afterwards, I'd shifted into wolf form and taken turns digging with the guys before heading inside to change into the pajamas. Then I'd gone back out and sat by the grave for … god, at least an hour.
“He remembers,” Anubis assured me, sitting down on my right and opening the box of doughnuts to grab a round chocolate one from the edge. “He's just being a dick.”
“I'm just teasing,” Tidus said as Nic sat down on my left and looked like he was about ten seconds away from falling asleep. I didn't blame him. Right now, all I really wanted to do was sleep. Unfortunately, my choices were either fight my challengers in the Coyote Creek amphitheater or explain why I was breaking a centuries old tradition to take a nap.
So fight it was.
“Anubis and I used to play together as pups,” Tidus said, offering me a maple-bacon doughnut and then popping the top on the milk. He looked at me for a second as if asking permission.
“Go for it,” I said and watched as he tipped the glass bottle back to take a long drink, the sun-kissed skin of his throat moving as he swallowed several gulps and then passed it to me, smiling briefly through a milk mustache before he licked it off with a wolf's tongue. Of course, that move reminded me of Anubis, licking the blood off my lip during the Bonding, and I shivered.
I took the milk and sipped the cool, creamy liquid before handing it over to Nic. Surprisingly enough, he took it. Our eyes met and the corner of his mouth lifted in a brief, almost sad sort of smile.
'Last night was fucking awful,' he told me as I took a bite of my food and studied his face, that proud straight nose of his, those high sculpted cheeks. 'But I'm just glad I was able to be there with you. I can't even … if this hadn't happened, if I hadn't been allowed into the Pairing, I think I might've died of a broken heart.'
Nic took a long, long drink and finished off the first bottle of milk before reaching for a doughnut. We smiled at each other and I poked his foot with my toes.
'I love you, Nic,' I told him and his smile turned into one of his rare, private grins—just for me.
“So, I hear you guys broke all the rules and mated the night before the Pairing?” Tidus said, almost like it was a question. For whatever reason, I ended up kicking Anubis under the table and he cringed before flashing a seductive smile.
“It wasn't me; I'm a gentleman,” Anubis said, blinking red eyes at me, his navy colored hair twisted up into wild spikes that I think were natural. Every time he ran his hand through it, it just sort of readjusted itself into crazy new shapes.
“A gentleman who goes through his alpha's underwear drawer.”
Tidus' gray eyes widened in shock and Nic ended up lifting his lip in a small snarl.
“I told you: I was looking for a matching set. I have a whole litter of fifteen year old sisters who told me that girls feel prettiest in matching bras and panties. I was just trying to be helpful.”
“So chivalrous,” I said, taking another bite of my doughnut and wishing this moment could go on forever, that I could invite Faith over here to eat and gossip with us, that I could've saved her dogs and her mother … I closed my eyes and took another bite of doughnut.
“So you did do it then, mated and all that?” Tidus asked.
“Tell me who told you and I'll answer your question,” I supplied, cracking my lids and noticing Lana making her way across the grass of the clearing. I pulled my cell from my pocket, the wolf and moon charms on it dancing as I stared at the screen. Lana was right on time to gather me for the Coyote Creek Challenge.
“I did,” Jax said simply, appearing in the living room archway, his blue eyes cool and calculating, watching me as I sat eating my breakfast. “I told Che, too.”
“Pretty ballsy move, Ebon Red,” Che said, just after I heard his footsteps on the stairs. He swung around the corner and draped himself against the doorway, staring at Nic with those violet eyes of his. “Mating the Alpha-Daughter as a way to steal a spot in the Pairing.”
“If you think that's what I was doing, then you and I are going to have a really hard time getting along,” Nic said, his voice low and dangerous.
“That means it's true, right?” Tidus asked, piping up, trying to break the tension in the room with a smile.
“It's true,” I admitted and then, “heads up.” I gestured at the window with my chin, bringing the controversial discussion to a halt. Lana had already figured it out, obviously, but I didn't want to casually discuss this sort of thing today in case one of my little sisters was lurking around. I didn't trust Avita as far as I could throw her.
Maybe once the White Wolf had pinned her throat to the floor and forced her to expose her belly, she'd stop acting like such a cruel little shit all the time?
“I can't wait to have sex,” Tidus said, and once again, Nic growled. He was going to have to stop letting every little comment bother him or he was going to get tired of living here and fast. I squeezed his knee under the table.
“Neither can I,” Che drawled in a voice dripping with shadows. He cracked a wolfish leer and slouched so that his already low-slung pants inched even farther down his muscular hips. I could see a slight dusting of dark hair leading from his belly button and into his sweats.
I shifted uncomfortably in my chair as I remembered my mother's words from Thursday night.
You will mate with one of the others after the bonding ritual is complete and ensure that his identity becomes common knowledge through the packs. If you're a smart girl, you'll make it Crimson Dusk or Violet Shadow.
I glanced at Anubis and found him watching me with half-lidded eyes.
“Zara isn't here for you to experiment on,” Nic spat, and Che just laughed.
“Obviously not. Look, if you don't want to mate with me, Zara—don't. We'll just lie to the alphas and tell them we did.” Che paused and stood up fully from the wall. “But if you are interested, just know that I am, too.”
Nic rose from his chair and I followed him up, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“I've got this,” I said, making eye contact with him. “I'm the Alpha Female, remember?”
“I never forget,” Nic said and I smiled.
“Knock, knock,” Lana said, breaking about a hundred different traditional rules all at once as she sauntered in, saw the doughnuts, and promptly picked one out for herself. God, Nic's mom was awesome. “Hi, honey,” she said, looking over at Nic. “You doing okay?”
“Just fine,” he said, his voice carefully reserved. Didn't matter. He always sounded like that anyway. Well, to everyone but me. I got to see the hidden, secret parts of him that nobody else did.
“Good,” Lana said, nodding her head and finishing her bite of doughnut. “You should all think about getting dressed. We're due in Coyote Creek in about a half an hour.” She looked me straight in the face then and sobered up a little. “Are you ready, Zara?”
“The White Wolf is always ready,” I said, and I told myself that no matter what happened, I wouldn't forget that.
The Coyote Creek Amphitheater had three levels of balcony seating that surrounded a circular stage. During the hotel's heyday, it had earned local prestige for its views of the water through curved glass windows along the upper levels and a domed glass roof that gave it the appearance of being outdoors with all the comforts of being in. Well, once upon a time.
Now, blankets of vines covered the walls, draped over intricate white and gold molding that was slowly crumbling to pieces in Mother Nature's fingers. A good two dozen trees had sprouted from the central part of the arena over the years, jutting up through the wooden boards and exposing the cement subfloor underneath. Most of the loose floorboards had been cleaned up—most of them. But tripping was still a hazard during a Coyote Creek battle.
My dress today was bloodred—an almost perfect mat
ch for my hair—with black bear fur trimming the hem and the edges of the plunging neckline. It made a deep 'V', dipping all the way down to my navel and leaving a good portion of my breasts exposed. I'd just barely managed to arrange it so that my nipples were covered ('stupid human puritanical nonsense,' Majka had said although it was really just an aesthetics thing for me).
My badass tool kit hung around my waist, the deadly arsenal inside replaced with stainless steel knives that would be almost impossible to inflict an actual mortal wound on a werewolf with. I'd have to actually try to kill my opponent with them and even then, it'd be questionable.
Dipping my hands into the large fur trimmed pockets on the sides of my dress, I waited for the Challenge to begin, surreptitiously sneaking my phone out to peek for any texts from Faith. I didn't see any, but I wasn't worried—if Faith liked to sleep in, then Owen lived for it. They probably wouldn't get together until late.
“Watch this for me,” I told Nic, slipping the phone into his hand.
He eased it into one of his coat pockets just before Majka glanced in our direction and narrowed her eyes at him. Thankfully, with all the other cell phones in use around the room, I doubted she would be able to sniff mine out specifically. Avita had already had hers taken away and received three lashes from a stripped willow branch.
“If it buzzes, check it; it's probably Faith.”
“I can't believe you promised to drive her to meet the douchebag,” he said, glancing over at me from kohl rimmed eyes. Mine had the same treatment—and so did all six of the alpha-sons. In fact, they were all wearing matching outfits today: black leather pants under heavy hooded fur cloaks with red silk lining and silver chains that latched across their chests, a crescent moon in the center. Blood rivulets dripped down their chests, making me glad that at least for today, nobody was required to wear alpha silver. Shifting between human and wolf form happened too often during the battles for it to make any sense.
I studied Nic's exposed midsection and felt my mouth twitching in a slight smile.
The outfits we were wearing today had been my choice, made special for the occasion. I knew Majka wanted to throttle me for the leather pants and silver buckled boots, but the only requirements I'd been given were that I had to include silver, and I had to include Ebon Red's colors. That was it.
I was enjoying the view at least.
“I like your pants,” I teased and he narrowed his purple eyes on me. Still, he couldn't stop his own smile from surfacing.
“Don't change the subject—do you really think Owen has something to do with … the Contribution?”
“I have no idea,” I said, my mind flickering with images of pink tinged water and yellow sponges turning red, the smell of bleach, and a faerie girl with no head. “But I'm not risking Faith to find out.” I paused and sucked in a sharp breath, trying to push the bad memories aside. I wasn't actually worried about any of these battles—not even the one against my mother (I didn't have to win that one)—but that didn't mean this was a risk-free venture. If I lost to one of my sisters, either of the betas, or any other eligible female challenger, I'd be forfeiting everything—my alpha status, my mates, Nic, the chance to complete the Contribution and get to the bottom of this bullshit.
“Who's the douche under discussion?” Tidus said as he scooted up next to us and peered out from beneath the stone awning we were standing under, right at about the spot where an employee would've stood and collected tickets from patrons. The crowd above and around us was already wild with the heat of battle, their howls raising the fine hair along my spine. If I'd been in wolf form, I'd have a full fur mohawk going on.
“Faith's boyfriend,” I said, glancing over at the sandy haired boy with the black furred hood pulled up over his head. The darkness of it made his gray eyes just that much more striking. Or maybe it was the genuine hint of curiosity dancing in them. Of all the guys, I felt like I knew him the least and yet, he seemed to be going out of his way to try and get to know me. “He disappeared around the same time as her mother. I don't know how he's involved, but he's back in town now and she's got a date planned.”
“I hate him,” Nic inserted, and I could tell from even that small amount of conversation that he might actually like Tidus. “He's a dick.”
“If she texts while I'm in the middle of a battle, I'll need at least two of you to go and check him out, make sure she's safe. Nic has to go since she's comfortable with him, but maybe you could tag along, too?”
“Oh yeah,” Tidus said, furrowing his brow a little and giving me a serious thumbs-up. “I specialize in terrorizing douchebag boyfriends. My seventeen year old brother seems to have a penchant for picking them out. Plus, he likes to date humans so … I know how bad those kinds of relationships can get. Human are the absolute worst.”
“Right? God, I hate humans,” Nic mumbled, and I rolled my eyes.
“You hate everything,” I said, pausing as my mother entered the room—dressed in actual clothing today. Her curvy figure was draped in a crimson silk dress that fell in panels from her waist, making her look like a flower in bloom. For once, she wasn't wearing her silver. Somehow, that made her look more naked to me than she had when she was completely nude yesterday.
Our eyes met through the small crowd, and I shivered when she smiled wickedly in my direction.
I knew there was a good chance I was going to get my ass kicked today.
“Be careful out there,” Silas said, drawing my attention over to his gold eyes and the ragged scar on his face. Seeing his tattooed form wrapped in that cloak and those pants … did all sorts of strange things to my insides. The expression on his face was trying for cocky confidence and ending up somewhere in the area of desperately concerned instead. I knew he was thinking of his dad and all the cruel things that man could do during a Challenge match. But Nikolina, while fiercely strict and wildly powerful, wasn't quite a sadist.
“I'll be fine,” I said, noticing that the room had gone quiet all around us, tiny drops of water falling from the sky and catching on the ragged edges of glass that were all that was left of the domed roof.
I threw up the hood of my own cloak—one that had a stainless steel chain instead of a silver one—and took a deep breath.
“Wish me luck, boys,” I said, letting my ebon eyes sweep across seven distinct gazes—seven distinct gazes that belonged to me. I'd have been lying if I said there was nothing about that that thrilled me. Seven alpha males, all Bonded to me, all mine.
All I had to do to keep them was kick some serious ass.
I stepped out from under the awning to stand on my mother's left, Majka on her right. I felt sad for them both that they no longer had mates. Do they ever get lonely? I wondered as all seven boys took up their assigned positions behind me. Knowing Nikolina and Majka, I highly doubted it. Their names were probably written in the dictionary under the word independent.
“Zara Wolf, Alpha-Daughter of Pack Ebon Red,” my mother said, her voice booming through the open space, defying the rain for control of the amphitheater. Even as big, thick drops started to pour from the gray sky, she was easy to hear. No matter what I thought of Nikolina, she was born to be an Alpha. “Are you ready for the Challenge?”
“Yes, Alpha,” I said, lifting my chin and trying to get my voice to project as far as hers had. I came close. Maybe I still had some years to go before I could command that kind of presence?
“Do you accept responsibility for the challengers that we will present to you?”
The sky cracked and the rain briefly turned to hail, tiny white balls bouncing off the stone floor and pinging off the branches of the trees. Good thing werewolves rarely—if ever—felt the cold.
“Yes, Alpha.”
“And are you willing to give up your mates and your position within the pack should you fail today?”
“Yes, Alpha. We're here to prove my worth as a warrior.”
I started down the stone steps and strode across the moss covered subfloor, betwe
en trees that varied in height from five foot stick-thin saplings to decades old towering giants.
“Who challenges this wolf for control of Ebon Red?” Nikolina asked.
And you might think this next part was scripted, too. It wasn't, but it may as well have been.
“I do.”
My sister, Avita, rose from her seat on the first floor balcony.
“Avita of Ebon Red,” she said, and I was surprised to hear that she, too, was able to project her voice—almost as well as I had. Maybe it ran in the family? I was still going to make her show her belly; this was a showdown that was long overdue.
My mother's lip twitched and Majka scowled; they both thought my little sister was an idiot.
“Avita Wolf,” I responded as the hail slowed and the rain took back up, “challenge accepted.”
I tried hard not to smile as I said it.
Avita Castille leapt down from the balcony in a flutter of black skirts and bloodred hair, moving to the center of the now soaking wet amphitheater to stare me down. This time, she met my gaze and held it—and she didn't lick her lips to show submission. This was a true challenge of dominance.
“Begin,” Nikolina said, succinct and simple in her commands. Like I said, werewolves aren't big on long speeches.
They did, however, enjoy a little bloodshed every now and again.
“Fuck you, Zara,” Avita whispered and I felt my brows raise up.
“That was uncalled for,” I replied as she lunged at me, pulling a knife from her own belt and swinging it in my direction. I stepped nimbly out of the way and reached up to unhook the clasp of my cloak at the same time. The heavy black fur pooled on the wet ground at my feet as I drew my own knife and lifted it up to parry Avita's next attack.
After fighting vampires last night, this was cake.
Still, I tried to be respectful and give my sister a fair chance.
She slashed her knife back and forth in these wild, rapid swipes that looked more like she was fighting for her life than simply challenging me. I let her wear herself out for a bit, backing up in loose strides until we were between a pair of large trees.
Pack Ebon Red (The Seven Mates of Zara Wolf Book 1) Page 21
