by Lily Graison
"My friends, again, I welcome you. Our delay was most unpleasant but the day we've all been waiting on is here. Please join me in a toast to Ms. Ford and Mr. Pierson." Everyone raised their glasses. "To our future," he said. "May it be as bright as we've all dreamed."
Rayna stared as they all lifted their glasses in her direction and she barely contained the urge the toss her wine glass at them. It would have been childish and regardless of what Malcolm had planned, she wouldn't loose her cool in front of these people no matter how much she wanted to. She'd had just about enough of being scared. With what they had planned, what was the worse they could do to her? Kill her? If Malcolm wanted her to shift in front of the media, that would happen anyway. Why prolong the inevitable?
When everyone settled and Malcolm took his seat, the murmur of voices slowly filled the room. The food was carried in and she raised an eyebrow at the fact Malcolm had "servants." Roast beef and steamed vegetables, thick sauces and fresh rolls that still looked warm caused her stomach to growl embarrassingly loud. She hoped no one noticed.
When the food was served and Malcolm took the first bite, the others followed. Her and Mitch just sat staring at their plates.
"Do you not find your meal acceptable?" Malcolm said. "I can have the cook prepare you something else if you'd like."
"It's not the food," she said. "It's what may be in it that concerns me."
He stared at her with a blank look on his face before he laughed. "I can assure you, Ms. Ford, poisoning you isn't my intention. You're very important to us."
"Drugs then?" she asked.
"No. No drugs. It's perfectly safe."
She glanced up at Mitch. He was watching her. Would they really drug her? Did she really care? If she were half out of her mind, wouldn't that be better than being fully aware? Especially if some big, hairy werewolf was going to take a little bite out of her. Picking up her fork, she started to eat.
After the first bite, the man seated next to her, one of the werelions if she remembered correctly, leaned toward her and said, "You'll be lauded as a hero among our people, Ms. Ford. We're very grateful for what you're doing."
Laying her fork down, she chewed the food in her mouth before turning to look at him. "What I'm doing is being forced into accepting something I don't want. Or is that how all of you are made? Some werewolf or werelion gets hungry and takes a small bite out of the guy sitting next to him on the bus and `Ops!' another member of the furry club?" His cheeks reddened slightly before he glanced up at Malcolm.
"Most of the time it is accidental," Malcolm said, "But there are some that do choose to join us. Bryce is one of those. He came to us and requested the infection."
"And why is that?" she asked. "I can't see one benefit of becoming a werewolf."
"Well, the guarantee of a long life is one, not to mention the sense of power one gains."
She shrugged her shoulders. "Living forever can't be all it's cracked up to be and you know what power does to people, don't you? It distorts the mind and creates monsters. In your case, bigger monsters."
"Is that how you see us?" the woman sitting next to Mitch asked. She was brunette, her hair pulled into a complicated twist at the back of her head. She was pretty, looked to be in her forties, and still had the body of someone in their early twenties. Rayna couldn't remember what breed she was. "You think we're monsters?"
"Aren't you?" Rayna asked. "You force this infection on people and then expect them to thank you after it's all said and done. You might look harmless in your fancy dress and expensive hair-do but you're still a monster."
"Ms. Ford," Malcolm said. "Does Garrett know you look at us as monsters?"
She turned her head and shot him a glare that did nothing but cause him to smile. "What I feel for Garrett has nothing to do with you."
"Ah, I see," he said, smiling. "Since Garrett was attacked instead of asking for this gift, he is excluded from your disdain."
"Garrett isn't using his strength to hurt people. He isn't forcing this affliction on innocent humans. He lives his life in the real world and to my knowledge hasn't had any of the problems you seem to think will exist if you yourself venture off this mountain. So to answer your question, yes. I do exclude him from the monsters. He might go all furry but he doesn't hurt people just because he can."
The murmur of voices increased in volume and the smile on Malcolm's face looked damn near serene. He stared at her for long moments before looking down the table. "What did I tell you," he said. "Is she perfect or is she not?"
A chorus of cheers and clanking glasses followed. Rayna stared at them all as if they'd just grown another head. What the hell were they so damned happy about? She was trying to tell them off, not congratulating them. Malcolm turned his attention back to her, his smile still present as he gestured to her plate. "Eat, Ms. Ford. The night will be long and holds many surprises. You'll need your strength for what's to come."
Chapter 13
Garrett was dreaming. He was warm and soft hands caressed his skin until he felt drugged from every small touch. A flutter of kisses brushed his face, the wet slide of a tongue was felt against his lips and he didn't fight the probing kiss that followed. A barely there sweep of long fingers tickled his stomach before his jeans were unfastened and the warmth of a hand enveloped his cock. He moaned into the kiss, lifting his hips as he was stroked and he tried to lift his hands. His arms felt like weights held them down and he tried to get closer to no avail. The kiss intensified, the warm body leaning against him was soft and lush and the fingers in his hair held his head still while he was kissed near breathless. He gasped, breaking the kiss and those soft lips closed over his nipple, biting gently and he nearly came. "Christ, Rayna, don't stop."
A feminine chuckle was heard and he realized then, he wasn't dreaming. The hand pumping his cock tightened as that wicked tongue on his nipple flicked the small puckered bud until he was panting and squirming. She licked a trail down his chest, kissing his stomach before licking the head of his cock. He forced his eyes open to watch her and froze.
"Hello lover," Carmen said, grinning before sucking him into her mouth.
Garrett jumped, trying to throw her off only to realize why his arms felt so heavy. They were chained to the wall above his head. A metal collar of some kind was around his neck and it too was held to the wall by a chain. Carmen laughed around his dick as he struggled and the sound vibrated straight to his balls. His vision bled to red as he bucked to try and get her off of him. When she released him and licked the length of him before sitting up, he grabbed the chains and used them as leverage as he leaned to one side and raised his knee, smashing it into the side of her head. Her shocked scream echoed off the walls as she flew across the room, landing with a hard smack against the opposite wall.
She lay motionless for long moments before she finally raised her head. Her lips curved into a smile before she climbed to her feet and pulled her skirt down. Nothing about her had changed in the twelve years since he'd left. She still wrapped her body in skin-tight material, which exaggerated her curves. The dress she wore was low cut, her breasts nearly spilling from the top and the skirt was short enough you didn't need to use your imagination to wonder if she was wearing panties. One glance and he knew. She wasn't.
The click of her heels echoed off the walls as she walked back across the room and he glanced at the chains that held him. He was sitting down and, using the links of metal for support, climbed wearily to his feet. He staggered when his head began to spin and sagged against the wall. When Carmen's feet came into his line of sight, he looked up.
"You still taste good, Garrett."
"Fuck you, Carmen."
Her eyes widened and glistened in the low light. "Oh, it would be my pleasure, lover."
"I'm not your lover." He tested the strength of the chains as she stood there grinning at him. They were barely a foot in length and didn't give him much room to move. He also couldn't budge them from the wall. They were welded into met
al hooks and looked solid. "And you come near me again," he said, "and you won't ever have another."
She laughed and stepped closer. "Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it, Garrett," she said, glancing down at his cock jutting from the front of his pants. "That beautiful little hard-on you have proves you did."
"I'm a man, Carmen. Your eighty-year-old grandmother could suck my dick and get the same reaction. Don't flatter yourself."
Her face reddened, her lips closing into a tight, white line before she closed the distance between them, standing just far enough away he couldn't reach her. "Don't lie to yourself, Garrett, and don't lie to me. I know you, remember? I've tasted every square inch of you and I know how to make you scream." She smiled again and raised her hands, pulling down the top of her dress. Her breasts spilled out and he kept his gaze locked on her face. "I still bear the marks of your love for me." She fingered the scars over her left breast. Five long slash marks that he himself had put there the first time he was stupid enough to crawl into her bed. Little did he know by letting the beast out and marking her would make her think he wanted her forever. "I know how much you want me, Garrett. How can you deny what we have?"
"Had," he said, straightening. "Past tense. And what we had was sex. Nothing more. I left Wolf's Creek, and you, for a reason, Carmen, and believe me when I say I haven't regretted it a day since."
She stared at him for long minutes before righting her clothes and smoothing her skirt down over her hips. "You prefer her over me?"
He wanted to laugh but figured it would only make her crazier. Did she honestly want him to answer that? He stared at her instead and wondered where they were keeping Rayna. The fact he hadn't thought of her before now weighed heavily on his mind. She should have been the first thing he thought of when waking. She was, he thought, his mind going back to the feelings that woke him. You thought Rayna was sucking you off, not this bitch. Pushing the sudden guilt away he focused his attention back on Carmen. She was watching him, her gaze locked firmly with his.
"You didn't answer my question," she said.
"You're not going to like the answer."
Her face reddened again. "She's nothing, Garrett. She's fragile and weak and can't possibly please you the way I can."
"That's where you're wrong," he said. "She pleases me more than you ever did."
She growled and stalked toward him and he used her stupid mistake to his advantage. The moment she was within touching distance, he reached out, grabbing two hands full of her hair and jerked her to him. Her startled gasp sounded like music to his ears and he pulled the strands of long black hair fisted between his fingers harder. "I could snap your conniving neck with one quick jerk," he said. "Give me one good reason not to." The fear he saw in her eyes caused a smile to lift the corner of his mouth. She stared up at him and swallowed audibly before shifting her weight on her feet.
"You kill me now, Garrett, and your girl is as good as dead."
"The first person who touches her will be dead before she finishes screaming whether you're alive to see it or not."
Carmen grinned at him before chuckling. "I hate to break it to you, lover, but you won't be able to do anything but watch." She raised her hand and touched his neck, fingering his skin above the metal collar. "You'll have no choice wearing this," she said. "It isn't too tight is it?" A lone finger slid between the metal and his skin and he realized then how tight it actually was. The ring felt thick and lay against his collarbone and ran halfway up his neck. He turned his head and felt the first pinch of something sharp. Carmen's smile told him whatever it was, wasn't put there by accident.
"This pretty little collar you have on won't exactly go with your fur coat," she said, "So I wouldn't suggest bringing that wolf to our party. The minute you try to shift, the collar will expand, exposing the metal studs imbedded inside the ring. By the time your wolf is out, your head will be ready to fall off those gorgeous wide shoulders of yours. What good will you do her then?"
He grabbed her chin, tilting her head up, and the thoughts running through his head caused his fingers to tighten, the one still in her hair twisting the strands until he felt them start to break from her scalp. The hand cupping her chin tightened, squeezing until his fingers were digging into the side of her face. Her pained gasp only fueled his rage and the wolf slid under his skin, trying to free himself. The bones in his face shifted, his claws extended and the first drop of blood that rolled down Carmen's cheek caused his bloodlust to rise, his fingers digging deeper. The wolf was coming, he felt it roll beneath his skin and just as Carmen said, the collar expanded as his neck grew thicker, the small metal spikes piercing his skin.
Clamping his teeth together, he closed his eyes and held the wolf back. He heard the roar inside his head and felt the tug of war as bone and skin started to shift then recede. When the noise inside his head finally calmed, he opened his eyes.
Malcolm was standing behind Carmen. "Let her go, Garrett," he said.
He stared at him, his fingers tightening on Carmen's head. "Why should I?"
"Because I asked you to."
Garrett snorted a laugh. "Wrong answer."
"I need her," he said. "And so do you whether you choose to believe it or not."
"I don't need anything from any of you and the minute I get this contraption off, I'm going to prove it."
Malcolm smiled and nodded his head. "Point taken," he said. "Although, I would like to talk to you, alone, so if you wouldn't mind releasing her for now, I promise you'll get another chance to kill her. We both know she won't stay away from you. It's only a matter of time before she'll be back."
Garrett looked down at her, watching her blood seep between his fingers. Her eyes were glassy, her lips void of all color. He wanted to kill her. Wanted to hear the crack of grating bones as he twisted her head and felt her neck break.
"Please, Garrett. Just postpone your vengeance for a little while longer."
He slung her away, watching her slide across the floor. She coughed and doubled over, trying to catch her breath. When she slowly climbed to her feet and pulled her skirt down over her hips, he wiped his bloody hand on his shirt and fastened his pants.
"Carmen," Malcolm said, "Go upstairs and find Caleb. We'll be ready to start soon."
She started across the room, her gaze locked on Garrett. "You'll be sorry for that, Garrett," she said. Her eyes were bright amber and her soft growls filled the basement. When she climbed the steps and was gone, Garrett leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "All right, old man. You have my attention. What do you want?"
* * * *
When Carmen entered the sitting room, Rayna gasped. Carmen's normally pristine appearance was disheveled. Her hair looked as if she hadn't brushed it all day, her dress revealed more than she ever wanted to see but it was the condition of her face that shocked her. Blood ran in rivulets down the left side of her face, over her jaw and into the top of her dress. Holes were seen in her cheek and judging the distance between them, they looked suspiciously like someone had dug their fingers into her face.
The noise in the room died as she continued to cross the floor. Her steps were shaky but the look in her eyes caused Rayna to sit up straight in her chair. It only took seconds for her to realize those hate filled eyes were looking at her. When Carmen continued to advance, Rayna stood, backing up until the back of her legs hit the chair.
Carmen raised her arm and as she neared her, swung her fist. Rayna's eyes widened seconds before it connected with her jaw. The bright, blinding light she saw only lasted a second as she flew backwards over the chair and landed in a heap on the floor.
The chaos that ensued was barely heard as she blinked and tried to focus her vision. Spots flew past her line of sight and the world darkened momentarily. Mitch's concerned voice snapped her back to reality and Carmen's wild, screeching voice was heard over the shouting in the room.
"Rayna? Can you hear me?"
Her ears were ringing and try
as she might, she couldn't seem to focus her eyes on anything. Her vision blurred again and her eyes grew heavy. Something cold touched her cheek, the cool sensation washing through her body like ice water poured into her veins. She gasped and looked up. Sabriel was kneeling at her side.
"Are you all right?" he asked, concern etched into the set of his jaw and the look in his eyes.
She stared at him, noticing then his hand was on her face. The cooling sensation was still there. When he smiled at her and removed his hand, the feeling vanished. She blinked up at him and tried to smile. She wasn't sure she succeeded. Her jaw felt like someone had hit her with a two-by-four.
"Can you talk?" Mitch said. "Your jaw isn't broke is it?" He opened her mouth and she moaned. The pain brought tears to her eyes. "You still have all your teeth. Well, unless they fall out when you stand up." He grinned at her and she saw the old Mitch in the look he gave her. She rolled her eyes at him.
"It's not broke," she mumbled. "I don't guess it is."
"You're talking so that's a good sign. Can you sit up?" He grabbed her arm, Sabriel grabbing the other, and they helped her sit up. She saw Carmen immediately. The woman was on the other side of the room, pinned against the wall. Her hot gaze was focused on her and like the old saying goes, "If looks could kill," Rayna knew she'd be dead right about now. Why, she didn't know.
She saw Bryce walk across the room. He glanced down at her, a sympathetic look on his face before he looked at Sabriel. "Malcolm isn't back yet. What should we do with Carmen?"
"What would I do personally?" Sabriel said, "I would kill her but she isn't one of mine. Secure her until Malcolm returns."
When Bryce turned and motioned for the men holding Carmen to follow him, Carmen dug her heels into the carpet. "I bear his mark," she yelled, glaring at her from across the room. "It may be you who shares his bed but I'm the one his wolf has chosen. I'm his chosen mate!" She screamed as they yanked her out of the room and Rayna stared after her, letting her words rattle through her head. She was his mate? Was she talking about Garrett? Had Garrett claimed Carmen when he lived among these wolves? If so, then why did he say the wolf wanted her?
