Ryker growled and Damon pushed Ava behind him. Protective instinct swirled through every inch of his body as the wolf inside roared to life, ready to tear the male to pieces.
Ryker advanced on Damon.
“What the hell’s going on here?” Barrett’s voice boomed through the building as he strode in, owning the room.
“I will not let you have her, Barrett. Let’s be clear about that.” Damon angled himself so he was facing both Ryker and Barrett.
“Yeah, well, I’m still Pack Master here, so I’m in charge.” Barrett thundered. “I have a Tribunal to preside over and you two are holding me up.” Barrett shot a withering glare to both men.
“Barrett…” Damon addressed his leader, but Ava stepped in front of him.
“I refuse to mate anyone but Damon.” Ava tilted her chin up looking him in the eye. “Just thought I’d let you know since you’re the head cheese around here.”
“Head cheese?” Barrett arched his brow as he gave Ava a disbelieving look.
Damon didn’t know whether to laugh or yell at Ava’s lack of respect for Barrett. Instead, he reached for her and cradled her into his side.
Barrett narrowed his eyes, first on Damon and then on Ava. “It seems your female has a lot to learn about respect to her leader.”
“Look, I…” Damon clamped a hand across Ava’s mouth.
Ryker stepped forward. “Wait, did you call her Damon’s female?”
Damon’s heart skipped a couple of beats. He’d thought he’d misunderstood, but if Ryker heard it too, then…
“I’m still Pack Master and I decree who mates who,” Barrett bellowed, his voice low and deadly.
“You said Ava is a pureblood and she is to only to be mated to another whose blood is pure.” Ryker looked at Damon and sneered. “Damon is an orphan.”
Barrett turned his attention to Damon. “You may have grown up an orphan, but after doing some research, I found out who your parents were.”
Damon’s mouth went dry. There was a small part of him that was too afraid to unlock that door of truth. But he knew there was no turning back now. Not if he was going to claim Ava for his own.
“And?” Damon held his breath waiting for Barrett to answer.
“Damon, your parents were Jean Claude Trahan and Marie Le Blanc.”
Damon frowned. “They were French?”
Barrett chuckled. “Not just French, they were descendants of the Duke and Duchess of Villeneuve.”
“What?”
“Damon, you’re royalty.” Ava tightened her arms around his waist.
“I don’t understand.” The air left his lungs as he stared back at Barrett as he tried to comprehend what his Pack Master had just said.
“It means your bloodline is just as pure as mine and Ava’s.” Barrett grinned.
“How did I end up an orphan?”
“Your uncle, who was your only surviving relative, died suddenly. There seemed to be no other relative, so the nuns took you in at the orphanage.”
A million thoughts flooded his mind. “I’m of royal bloodline.”
“Yes, you are.”
Only one thought swept into his mind. He met Barrett’s gaze. “As of royal lineage, I impose my right to claim Ava as my mate from this moment on, never to be parted from her except through death.”
“You sure that’s what Ava wants?” Barrett slid an amused look at Ava. “Women can be quite fickle.”
“I chose Damon to be my mate. I don’t want anyone else.” Ava buried further into his chest and he couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face and across his heart.
“So, it is said, so be it.” Barrett put his hand on Damon and Ava’s heads. A warm sensation shot through his body. He glanced at Ava and realized she’d felt it too.
She gazed up at him with love and awe. “Is that it? Are we now mated?”
Damon grinned. “That’s it. You are now my mate.”
“As far as Ava being a queen, we’ll have to see what the Council says. It may take some time to figure out if this will change the Pack and how it rules. This hasn’t happened in a long time. Until then, I suggest you take advantage of the time and go on a honeymoon. Once you’re in charge, your life is no longer your own.” Barrett glanced at Jayden lying on the floor before turning toward the door. “Someone drag Jayden to the Tribunal so we can get this over with. The Hogs are playing LSU tonight.”
Chapter Fifteen
The Tribunal was not at all what Ava had expected. The werewolf Guardians, about fifty in total, formed a circle around the accused, David Jenkins. At first, Jenkins refused to talk, but the second he saw Damon coming for him he started spilling his guts.
Jenkins told them how he was paid money to seek out the purest females and kidnap them. Luckily for them he’d only manage to find Ava and Haley. Their intent had been clear all along, to repopulate their dwindling numbers so they could once again go to war with the gray wolves that now controlled all the territories in North America. Jenkins claimed he had no knowledge of where the serum came from that forced females into heat.
Ava caught a glimpse of Haley as she was ushered in. She was as beautiful as her picture, blond hair and blue eyes that were red from crying. She trembled as she faced Jenkins, visibly upset to be in the same room with her kidnapper. Ava’s heart ached for the girl.
“David Jenkins, you’ve been found guilty for the egregious offense of kidnapping two females. As you are well aware, the penalty for this crime is death.”
“Fuck you, gray,” Jenkins snarled.
Barrett growled and picked Jenkins up by the throat and hurled him against the wall. Jenkins landed on the floor in a heap.
“As Pack Master for the state of Arkansas, I shall allow your death to be carried out by one of my own Pack members. As much as I would like to end your life myself, I will allow him to carry out the execution. Damon Trahan is mated to Ava Renfroe, one of the females you kidnapped, and he has the honor of killing your sorry ass.” Barrett faced the crowd. “Everyone is to commanded to leave while the execution is carried out.”
***
Damon waited until the steel door slammed shut before facing the red wolf. His body hummed with blood lust, his veins surging with the need to shred Jenkins’s body into tiny pieces.
Jenkins snarled, his lip curling over his yellow teeth. “I would have raised an army of red wolves with that bitch and now you ruined everything.”
Damon growled. “Ava is my Queen and my mate. You are going to pay with your blood for what you did.” He removed his shirt and toed off his boots.
Jenkins’s eye twitched and he took a step back.
“You can shift or stay in your human form. Either way, I will kill you.” Damon shoved off his jeans and stood naked before the red wolf. He wasn’t waiting any longer to take his revenge.
The wolf took over, shifting from his human form into the beast inside. His bones lengthened, muscles stretched, as hair lengthened over his body. He opened his eyes and stared at his prey.
Jenkins shifted into wolf and leapt. But Damon was faster and much bigger and pinned him on the ground with his massive paw. Damon stared down in the wolf’s eyes filled with horror at knowing his life was about to be ended. Tilting his head back, Damon growled in rage and then clamped down on the wolf’s throat.
***
Damon dressed and tried to wipe the blood off his as best as possible before he left the room. Ava wouldn’t understand what he had to do and he didn’t want to frighten her.
Ava stood waiting for him in the next room.
Crossing the floor, he headed straight to her. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him into a kiss, ignoring the hoots of the other males.
He pulled back and looked down into Ava’s glowing face. “I guess we need to start looking for a place to live.” He cupped her cheek. “I’m sorry about your house.”
Ava shook her head. “Don’t be. I don’t care where I live as long as you�
��re with me.”
“I promise to always love you and protect you with my life.” Damon pressed his forehead to hers.
“I promise to love you and honor you as your mate.” Ava tightened her arms around his neck.
“This means you’re mine, Ava.” He’d never loved someone so much as he loved his Ava.
“I’ve always been yours, Damon.”
He kissed her long and deep. When he broke the kiss, she met his gaze.
“It also means I get to be on top.” She arched her brow and rubbed up against him.
“Is that so?” His lips curved into a slow grin.
“Yes.” She nuzzled his neck.
“How about we find a room and settle it that way?”
“I think that sounds like a perfect idea.” She kissed her way back to his mouth. “You do realize that you belong to me now.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He grabbed her butt and pulled her close.
“Good. Cause Damon Trahan, you are stuck with me for life.”
“I couldn’t be happier, sweetheart.” His heart swelled as he began to think of a future with his Ava. He would take her any way he could, angry or happy, irritable or moody. Hell, he’d even let her be on top if that’s what she really wanted.
“You’re my life, Ava. I won’t ever wander this earth without a purpose.” He nipped her neck. “Now, why don’t we take Barrett’s advice and start on that honeymoon?
The End
ALSO BY JODI VAUGHN
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
RISE OF THE ARKANSAS WEREWOLVES Series
BENEATH A BLOOD LUST MOON
DESIRES OF A FULL MOON
DARKSIDE OF A HARVEST MOON-coming winter 2015
SHADOWS OF A WOLF MOON-coming winter 2015
VEILED SECRETS
VEILED ENCHANTMENT-coming 2015
UNVEILED-coming 2015
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
SADDLE UP(Part of the Somewhere, Texas box set)
LOST WITHOUT YOU-coming 2015
LOST ALL CONTROL-coming 2015
LOST AND FOUND LOVE-coming 2015
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
There have been so many people that have helped me along this journey to get my Arkansas Werewolves to the readers and out into the world. Tracey Steele, without your undying love of my characters, unending encouragement, and brilliant ideas for my career, this book wouldn’t be possible. Thank you Amanda Sumner, my critique partner and sister of my heart, for your professional eye, your attention to detail and for having coffee with me (via FaceBook) every morning. Jaye Garland, thank you for your wonderful critique, your loving words of wisdom and your excitement for this series. Thank you to the LaLas and your unwavering support and being a shoulder to cry on when I needed it the most. I want to thank my Chick Tale ladies, (KC Klein, RL Syme, Krystal Shannon and Lavender Daye), who’ve talked me off the ledge, picked me up when I was discouraged and have truly been a family to me. Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank the amazing and talented, Jennifer Ashley. Jennifer, your words of wisdom and encouragement for my werewolves, and your generosity have meant the world to me. I hope one day I can repay the favor.
AUTHOR BIO
Photograph by Adi V Photographee
Jodi Vaughn is a Southern Paranormal Romance author. When she’s not busy playing with her characters and typing away at her laptop, she can be found enjoying a cup of tea (or a very large glass of wine) in her home in Northeast Arkansas. She resides in Jonesboro with her handsome husband and brilliant son, as well as a temperamental swan and a yellow lab that is fond of retrieving turtles when duck season is over.
Copyright © 2014 Jodi Vaughn
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