Happenstance Cover coming soon (The Order of Ravens and Wolves Book 3)

by T. L Hodel

  My parents walked into the room. My mother had her ‘woman of the house’ look on her face, while my dad curled his lip at the smoke wafting out of my brother’s mouth.

  “Preston, put that shit out.”

  “Blow me.”

  “There is no smoking in this house.” Our mother placed her hand on her hip and glared at my brother. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  Preston’s response was to look her dead in the eyes, while flicking his ash on the floor.

  Lillianna Whitley wasn’t one to back down. She stood there, daring Preston to push her with her eyes. Other children might’ve backed down from that look, but they didn’t have the matricidal fantasies my brother did. Not only did he return her glare, but the fucker went so far as to pull a letter opener out of his pocket and twirl it in his hand.

  At that point, she turned her attention to me. “Where is this girl?”

  I couldn’t help but snicker at her subtle change in subject. No one could accuse Lillianna Whitley of being stupid. One of the many reasons I’d tried to avoid this whole situation in the first place. Lana was fearless and smart. Not once did she back down from Mason, but my mother wasn’t Mase. She was cunning, and coldly cruel.

  “Are you sure you want to do this, sweetheart?”

  “Yes,” I answered flatly.

  “Parker, she can’t even show up on time,” my mother sighed. “How are you supposed to have a child with her?”

  “She’ll be here.”

  “Let’s hope so, son.” My father glanced down at his watch, “If she’s not here in fifteen minutes, I’m sending Mr. Weinstein out to get her.”

  Mr. Weinstein was one of our lawyers, a former private eye, and a member of the Order. One of the few who wasn’t blood bound. The Order of Ravens and Wolves wasn’t a huge society. We didn’t recruit on college campuses like the movies would have one believe, but if someone was exceptional, or useful in some way, such as a politician, we offered them the chance at induction. Only one person had turned us down. He currently resided in the forest next to Manning Keep. More specifically, six feet under the forest floor.

  “You sure you want this cunt involved in your kid’s life?”

  “Preston,” my dad snarled, “That’s your mother.”

  “So?”

  As much as I’d like to argue with my brother–sometimes I disagreed with Preston, just to disagree with him–in this case, he had a point. When our mother found out her baby boy knocked someone up, she came rushing back. When she found out who was having my baby, she insisted on fixing the situation. Even had the gall to tell me it was okay to slum it with a lesser race, but not breed with them. She called my baby an abomination. My baby! If my father hadn’t stepped in, I might’ve helped Preston live out his matricide fantasy.

  Completely ignoring my brother’s comment, my mother placed her hand on my cheek and gave me the same fake smile she gave her white nationalist groupies. “Parker, honey, this girl is just trying to trap you.”

  My hands fisted at her sparkling blue eyes. Red started to bleed into my vision. I could almost feel her warm blood trickling through my fingers.

  She’s your mother, Parker. You can’t kill her.

  “Lillianna, we had this conversation.” My father’s brow rose, “I expect you to be nice to this girl. She’s carrying our grandchild.”

  Last night, my father explained how things were. Their marriage was more of a business arrangement. Her family was going broke, and he bailed them out. A lifeline he threatened to take away. But if there was one thing Lillianna Whitely was used to getting, it was her own way.

  “Your grandchild,” she hissed back at him, “Not mine.”

  Preston brought the argument to a grinding halt. “I used to hold a knife to your throat.”

  “Preston!” My dad barked, while my mother’s hand flew to her chest in a mock hint of surprise.

  I snorted. Please bitch, you’re not that good of an actress.

  “When I was a kid, I used to sneak into your room and hold a knife to your throat.” He stared down at the letter opener held tightly in his grip. “The night I decided to slit your throat, the damn dog bit me.”

  My gaze zeroed in on the light glinting off the clean metal edge. Where the fuck did he get that? It looked oddly familiar.

  “Is that why you killed Max?”

  Preston shrugged. “It got in my way.”

  It, not he. I’d loved that fucking dog. Max was just doing his job and protecting the family. My eyes once again fell to the sharp point of the letter opener. It wouldn’t take much to shove that thing in his throat. Stain that nice shiny metal red with his blood.

  “Go ahead, brother, do it,” Preston dared with a smirk. “You know you want to.”

  I did. I really fucking did. Wanted it so bad my skin was crawling.

  “Leave your brother alone.” My mother smiled at me. I could slap her around instead. “He’s a good boy.”

  Preston snorted. “I doubt Mark Stevens would agree.”

  How the hell did he know about that? No one knew about that. I’d made sure of it. He had to be bluffing.

  I straightened up and stretched my neck. “I’m gonna go wait for Lana.”

  I had to get out of there before the urge to hurt someone became too strong. Last time that happened, I didn’t come to until I was elbow deep in a gutted corpse. That took a long fucking time to clean up. Almost called my brother for back up. Funny thing is, I can’t remember what the prick did to piss me off.

  I spun around and headed for the entryway. Besides blood, there was only one thing that could dull the itch for violence rushing through my veins. I smiled at the old blue Ford Taurus pulling up in front of the house. And here she is now.

  My perfect, sweet little angel. The first person in this world to call me on my shit.

  “What are you so afraid of, Parker? That you’ll disappoint them, or yourself?”

  I could still feel her perky nipples pressing against my chest. Her breath cooling my heated skin. How could I not touch her? She was right there, looking at me with need in those beautiful hazel eyes. My Angel. The girl I thought about when I jerked myself.

  “It’s not always that simple, Angel.”

  Her breathy words flowed through my ears and straight down to my dick. “Yes, it is.”

  “Is it?”

  I’d tasted the forbidden fruit, and now I couldn’t let her go. Or the memory of that night…

  My dick was already hard as fuck, but when her whole body shuddered against mine, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to push her away before it was too late. “Prove it.” I leaned in and inhaled the only part of her I could touch, the sweet vanilla scent of her perfume. “Take your shirt off.”

  I hoped my demand would make her back off, maybe even slap me. Instead, a flush of heat flooded her cheeks. Before I knew it, my hand was under her chin, thumb running over her plump bottom lip, as I tipped her gaze back up to mine. “Well, what’s it going to be, Angel? You going to take your shirt off? Or am I going to leave?”

  It took everything I had to hold back when her lust filled gaze met mine. I should’ve stepped away then. Should’ve turned around and left her alone. But I was trapped by the softness of her skin warming my hand. And then, she opened her mouth.

  “Shouldn’t you kiss me first?”

  I snapped. Speared my fingers through her hair and slammed my lips down on hers. One taste. That was all it took to dissolve my years of control. The second her tongue touched mine and her sweet taste exploded in my mouth, I was done. Fuck the consequences, tonight Lana Crawford was mine.

  With a growl, I picked her up and slammed us up against the wall. A second later, her shirt was gone, ripped apart like tissue paper.

  “Parker.”

  Her breathy objection didn’t penetrate my lust addled brain. All I heard were the soft moans that escaped her parted lips when my mouth latched on to her rosebud nipple. I’m not sure who took off who
se clothes, or how we got on the bed, but I didn’t care. The only thing I needed more than to taste every inch of this woman’s body, was to be inside her. Buried so deep, she’d never forget the way I felt.

  I ran my fingers through her folds, groaning at her wetness. I wanted to lick her there. Bury my head between her thighs and lap up all that sweet honey, but my dick couldn’t take any more. Lana gasped against my mouth when I lined up with her opening.

  “Parker, wait. I’ve never…”

  I pushed in, growling at the way her walls gripped my shaft. She was so fucking tight. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was a… I stopped and stared down at the grimace on her face. My mouth curled as I snapped my hips forward and felt myself tear through a resistance. She was a virgin. I might not be able to keep her, but Lana’s innocence would always be mine.

  “Shh,” I hushed, while gently kissing away her tears. “Just relax.”

  Her fingers dug into my shoulders. “It hurts.”

  “I know, baby. It’ll get better.”

  I took my time, soothing her with my mouth. If I’d have known she was a virgin, I’d have done this slower. Ah fuck, who was I kidding? There was no slow when it came to my Angel, but I could ease her into it. I fluttered kisses over her eyelids and down to her neck, pausing long enough to enjoy her thundering pulse. Once I felt her muscles relax, I began to move.

  Slowly at first, which was torture. I was balls deep in the most perfect pussy on the planet and all I wanted to do was pound into her. The instant her hips snapped up to meet my thrust, that’s exactly what I did. Pounded into her so hard, she had to bite down on my shoulder to muffle her screams…

  Her teeth had dug so hard into my flesh that I’d had a mark on my shoulder for weeks. A mark I wore proudly. No one knew who gave it to me, but I showed it off every chance I got. Especially when she was around. That really pissed her off.

  I watched her get out of the car and smooth down her shirt. She was wearing blue today. The same light blue she’d had on when I first saw her. Did she go home to change, or was that one of the many outfits she had stashed at school? It didn’t matter; I liked that color on her. It highlighted the natural tan of her complexion, and made her hazel eyes shine brighter. I liked it so much, I briefly thought about taking it from her, like I took the panties from her locker last week.

  She let out a huff of air and ran her hand through her dark hair. My gaze honed in on her fingers moving through her silky black locks. I could feel them wrapped around my fingers, softly flowing over my skin as I tugged on her scalp. She liked it when I did that. When I was rough and took what I wanted, her cunt squeezed tightly around me. I went easy on her the first time. Next time, I’d give her what she really wanted. Long, deep, hard strokes, while I controlled her with my hands and body.

  “Fuck,” I grunted, and adjusted myself.

  Lana was coming. I had to get my game face on. I could play later.

  Chapter 10

  Lana

  I stared at the Whitley house, big and grand compared to the place Nan and I called home. There wasn’t a fountain or grand garden of opulence, like at Logan’s, but it was just as intimidating. Mainly because of the people inside. Death on his pale horse, and the woman Nan called the Dragon Lady, were the least of my worries. Parker was the one who had my stomach flipping.

  Gramps used to take me for walks. We’d wander through the forest studying the various plants. One time, we came upon a clutch of daisies. All of them stood tall and perfect, except one. One was crooked, bent a little to the left, with two oversized petals. I remember how it stood, beautiful, flawed and proud, despite the perfect flowers around it stealing all the sun’s attention.

  That’s how Parker Whitley made me feel. One night, thirteen weeks ago, I was special and unique. Until he plucked me out of the ground and tossed me in the dirt. Another discarded flower that used to be loved. Standing there under the hot afternoon sun, I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to all those bouquets when people went back for them?

  Knowing Sean was still the guy I thought he was should’ve made me feel better. Given me some sort of peace. And it did, for a bit. Until Parker kindly reminded me of our appointment. After that, all I could see was Preston’s cold, dead stare. I kept going through possible scenarios, hoping I’d come across one where I came out on top. Should’ve been easy for someone who managed to stay in the top five percent of her class. Guess how many plans I came up with? None.

  Zip.

  Zilch.

  Zero.

  Which was the extent of my loved ones’ survival if I didn’t make Preston’s brother ‘happy,’ as he put it. So I decided to do the one thing I could. Self-sacrifice. I mean, it wasn’t all bad, right? Parker had a sweet side. At least he did that night. And my child would have both parents. Who knows, maybe we’d turn out to be a real family after all.

  I raised my hand to knock, but the door flew open before I could.

  “Glad you could make it, Angel.”

  I looked up at the gleam in Parker’s eyes.

  Happy family indeed. Keep kidding yourself, Lana.

  I sighed and said, “Can we talk?” May as well get this over with.

  His brows rose. “What do you want to talk about?”

  Here goes nothing.

  I sucked in a deep breath and spit the words out before I lost my nerve. “Is the easy way still on the table?”

  The asshole actually smiled. “Could be. I have stipulations though.”

  Of course he did.

  “Whatever,” I muttered. “Can you give me your stipulations inside, or is there some kind of passcode to enter?”

  Parker stepped to the side and waved me in. I sauntered past, trying to ignore the way his cocky smirk made my stomach flip. After everything he did, Parker Whitley still had the power to make my knees weak. One look at his sandy-blond locks and shimmering grey eyes and my body was ready to submit. Even worse was the fact that I knew what was under his shirt and jeans. I’d seen his chiselled form. Felt the power in his broad shoulders, smelled the intoxicating blend of our sweat mingling in the air. Sometimes, when I closed my eyes, I could still hear his voice purring in my ear.

  “We should talk about this privately.” Parker led me around a corner.

  “What do you mean privately?”

  Did he have a crowd waiting to weigh in their judgment or something? I could see Parker having his own personal jury. Who wouldn’t back the towns the golden boy?

  “This way.” He waved his hand at a small flight of stairs. “Unless you want my parents and lawyer involved in this conversation?”

  I snorted. Yeah, not likely. I didn’t want to be involved in this conversation, but what choice did I have?

  He placed his hand on my back and urged me forward. “Does your sudden willingness to discuss an arrangement have anything to do with my brother?”

  Arrangement? Nice choice of words.

  “No,” I lied, as we entered a room that I could only describe as a living room/library.

  There was comfortable looking beige furniture, and bookshelves lining the walls. What was it with rich people and books? Logan had rooms like this too, and I’d bet my left arm, he hadn’t read a single book on those overpriced shelves.

  “Parker…” I spun around, prepared to give Parker a piece of my mind, but was cut off by the solid chest inches from my nose.

  “You’re not a very good liar, Angel.”

  I happened to think I was pretty good at the art of deception. Not that I lied a lot, but there’d be a lot more wooden spoons buried in my backyard if I hadn’t at least mastered it somewhat. I wasn’t under the strict house that Harper was. Nan didn’t have many rules. The ones she did set out though, she was firm on. One of which was no spending the night with boys in the house. I pretty much obliterated that one. The baby in my belly was proof of that.

  “Can we just get this over with?”

  “Are you that anxious to hear my stipul
ations?”

  Goddamn him and his deep voice. The way it thrummed through my body made me forget, for just a second, how badly I didn’t want to be here. Giving myself some space, I nodded and took a step back. Space was a good thing. I couldn’t breathe when his stupid clean smell was overwhelming my senses.

  “I only have one.” The corner of Parker’s mouth lifted as strode forward, closing the gap I’d made.

  I used to get jealous of the girls he’d give that seductive smirk to. Now, it just reminded me of that discarded flower. I swallowed, forcing my nerves down and continued my retreat. By the time I managed to cough out the words, “What’s that?” my back bounced off a bar I hadn’t noticed until that moment.

  I could hear Riley’s voice in the back of my head, ‘Get your head out of your ass, Lana. Grab a fork and stab him in the nuts.’ I don’t know what her obsession with forks was, but right now, I was tempted to get her a nice, shiny, well sharpened set. Better for her to stab Parker with, and probably Micha. No, definitely Micha. I wondered if he’d be mad at me for arming his girlfriend, or pissed at her for actually carrying through with her threat?

  My daydream was cut off when Parker moved in and gracefully placed his hands on the bar behind me. Forgetting the bar was behind me, I tried to back up more. When that didn’t work, I darted my gaze around for somewhere else to go, but I was trapped between his solid forearms. I really needed to start listening to my inner Riley.

  Parker bent forward and sucked in a deep breath. “You smell fucking great.”

  I gulped back my gasp and said, “Just tell me what you want, Parker.”

  “You, Lana.” His grey eyes locked on mine, blue flecks twinkling with dark desire. “I want you.”

  The air grew heavy. My mouth couldn’t spit out the words I wanted to say, and my chest shook, struggling to suck in a full breath. When my lips finally parted, all that came out was a shuddered hiss. Where the hell was my inner Riley now?