Dimitri took a step forward and he was surprised when Rutley suddenly moved in between him and the whore. He growled in his throat, nostrils flaring.
“Move, Rut.”
“I can’t do that,” Rutley replied as he stared at him with gentleness in his eyes. “I know you’re mad, but you need to calm down. She brought us water, see?” He glanced at Kia, who seemed to be quite confused over Dimitri’s sudden anger, and then he gazed back at his alpha once more. “Take a second and calm down, okay?”
“I will not calm down,” Dimitri stated in a hoarse voice. “I want to know what the little bitch did to our drinks. What did you do, huh?”
Kia blinked, staring back and forth between them as she lowered the flashlight. The bright beam of light was hitting the floor alone, but Dimitri could still make out the outline of her face.
“I…didn’t do anything?” Kia replied in a smaller voice. “I thought we had fun. Didn’t you have fun, Dimitri? You seemed to be enjoying it earlier…”
All he could see was red as his mind became fuzzy with rage. He took another step towards her and Rutley’s hands were pressing against his chest.
“Stop.” Rutley said softly, but firm enough for Dimitri to realize he wasn’t just making a request. He was demanding it. How dare him.
“Don’t you see what’s happened?” Dimitri asked as he forced his eyes to meet Rutley’s. “She came in here acting like some damsel in distress when all she wanted was a good fuck with one of us,” he narrowed his eyes. “Well you got both of us, you little mutt slut. Are you happy now?”
He couldn’t take it back even if he wanted to. The damage was already done as the bottles of water hit and bounced off the floor. A sporadic beam of light zig-zagged down the hallway as Kia ran towards the living room. He could hear her sobs and his wolf was very disappointed.
“What the hell did you do that for?” Rutley asked angrily. “Mutt slut? Was that necessary?”
“She did something, Rut. I know-”
“No, you don’t know!” Rutley shouted. “She was just trying to be nice to us, Dim. So what if she’s a wolf in Kadenburg, huh? You’re so fucking paranoid about Breslin that you think every lycanthrope is involved with him. She’s actually really freaking nice and you just busted her chops for nothing.”
“She was only using us to get us into bed, Rutley!” Dimitri growled. “Don’t you see that? We were just a couple of cocks for her to enjoy. She got exactly what she wanted from us. Female wolves are highly fertile, you know? She’s probably already pregnant and guess what? One of us is the father.”
He turned away from him, raking his fingers through his hair as he shut his eyes. This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t allowed to happen. He’d always ignored his wolf because of this very reason. He liked men and only men. Liam had been his mate and damn it, he didn’t want to be a father anyway. Shit, shit, shit!
“So you regret it, huh?” Rutley asked softly after a few seconds.
Dimitri’s jawline was painfully tight as he swallowed at the lump in his throat. He didn’t answer him.
“So that means you regret being with me too.”
As much as Dimitri wanted to answer him, he couldn’t. His skin still tingled from every kiss Rutley had given him. His body was still on fire from the other male’s touch. He could still feel the delicious pleasure from Rutley’s lips wrapped tightly around his cock…..but it shouldn’t have happened. None of it should have happened.
“I see,” Rutley whispered in a broken voice. He was struggling to keep his emotions in check-Dimitri could feel that, and he hated himself for it. “Okay then.”
“Rutley, wait.” Dimitri whirled around to face him, trying to find the words he wanted to say as frantic knocking against the door caught them both of guard.
Was it Kia returning? Surely not.
Dimitri made his way down the dark hallway, carefully avoiding the furniture in the living room as he reached the front door. He pulled it open and was surprised to see Beau Xiong standing there.
“Where the hell have you two been?” Beau asked in an irritated manner.
“Right here,” Dimitri lied. Well, it was partially true but he didn’t want to get into the details. “What’s up?”
Beau scoffed, rolling his eyes as he stared at him, “Seriously?”
Rutley was standing at his side in an instant, leaning against the doorframe as he quirked a brow.
“Hey, Bozo. What’s going on?”
“We’ve been trying to call you for hours,” Beau shook his head. “Did you misplace your phone or something?”
“Actually, I can’t find my phone,” Rutley mumbled as he scratched the back of his head. “It’s so weird. I always keep my phone nearby.”
“Never mind,” Beau huffed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat. “You need to come with me. Quickly.”
“Why?” Dimitri’s brows furrowed as he stared at the ursithrope, feeling the anxiety that surrounded him. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Arnold Goult,” Beau sighed. “And it’s not good.”
Fifteen
He had no idea what was going on now. Everything was pure madness. A blizzard had struck Kadenburg and the world had apparently gone to Hell in a hand basket as soon as he clocked out.
Sammy was gone. He couldn’t get Louisa to answer her cellphone. The power was still out, and he’d just spent the last several hours trying to stabilize Arnold Goult.
It was harder to keep Presley calm than anything else. She was pregnant, and Beau knew this stress wasn’t good for her. He eventually had to ask Lorcan to take her back home for the sake of everyone’s wellbeing.
The attack was sudden and brutal. There was so much blood…so much. Arnold had put up a damn good fight against his attacker, but the ending result was still heartbreaking and tragic.
“Just tell me how bad it is.” Arnold mumbled from the couch.
Beau was trying to wash his hands in the sink, carefully avoiding the debris and shattered glass scattered across the kitchen floor. He exhaled sharply, turning his head to gaze at the older ursithrope. He didn’t understand how Arnold could be so calm.
“You already know the answer to that, Mr. Goult,” Beau responded as he dried his hands off on his jeans. “You don’t need me to tell you.”
“Humor me, boy,” Arnold smirked. “Ain’t much else I can do right now anyway.”
Beau returned to the living room, crouching down near Arnold’s head as his brows slowly furrowed.
“Are you sure it was him?” Beau asked softly.
“I ain’t blind!” Arnold growled, but that growl soon turned into a bitter laugh as he shook his head. “Well that was ironic, wasn’t it?”
As Arnold turned his head to look at him, Beau knew his frown could not be seen. Arnold Goult’s bright green eyes-so similar to Presley’s-were forever marred and milky white thanks to a vicious attack. If Beau could only find the one responsible.
“I’m blind, Bozo,” Arnold whispered in a voice that cracked with emotion. He was trying to be strong about it, but Beau could feel the pain infused within. “I’m blind but I ain’t broken.”
“I know that, Mr. Goult,” Beau nodded in understanding, chewing at his lower lip. “I just cannot fathom why they have done this to you. You didn’t deserve it.”
“Didn’t I?” Arnold asked with a quirked brow.
“No,” Beau shook his head furiously. “No one deserves what has happened to you, Arnold,” He was surprised by how angry the words sounded as they left his lips. His body was trembling as he lowered his gaze to the floor. “No one deserves to be killed because of what they are, or beaten and blinded. It is wrong.”
“What do you expect?” Arnold asked in a colder tone. “They’re lycans, Beau. They don’t care. They feel no remorse. Breslin is only getting started here. Can’t you see that? Killing Pierce and Liam was only the beginning. Having his goons do this to me? It’s the calm before the storm, kiddo. Something much
worse is coming. I can feel it. I need you to promise me something.”
Beau lifted his head to gaze at the ursithrope again, taking note of the tears glistening in his marred eyes.
“When that bastard shows his face in this town again, I want you to make sure he’s buried beneath our feet. I want to trample his grave every day. Do you hear me?”
Beau’s jawline clenched as he nodded, “Yes, Sir.”
“Good,” Arnold relaxed against the couch, resting an arm over his stomach as he released a low breath. “’Cause I don’t want Presley’s cub entering this world and dealing with this bullshit. Kadenburg used to be a peaceful place and I want that back.”
Beau opened his mouth to respond when a knock sounded at the door. Perhaps Davey Berdine had finally received the voicemails he’d left for him, but no, it was another ursithrope’s scent.
“If that’s Presley again, tell her I’m sleeping.” Arnold frowned.
Beau was fully prepared to send the female away again, but he was very surprised to see Natalie Carroll standing on the porch with worry in her eyes.
“Where is he?” She asked, pushing her way past Beau and stepping inside. “Arnold? Oh my Urseth….” She was at his side in an instant, leaning over the couch to examine him as a sob escaped her lips. “Oh, what did they do to you?”
Arnold grumbled and swatted her hand away when she tried to touch his cheek, “I’m fine, Natalie. I don’t need you fawning over me like some little baby.”
“You are not fine!” She replied as tears streamed down her cheeks. Beau wasn’t sure why he was surprised at her reaction. She’d loved Arnold once upon a time, hadn’t she? This was a natural response.
“I’m staying to take care of you,” Natalie continued as she knuckled her tears away and sniffled. “Like it or not, Goult you’re stuck with me.”
“Oh hell,” Arnold sat up quickly, gripping the edge of the couch as he glared in her general direction. “I’d rather be shot than go through that. Beau, don’t leave me here with her.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Goult,” Beau frowned. “I do have other things I need to be tending to at the moment. You’ll be fine with Natalie. She’ll call me if anything else comes up, won’t you, Natalie?”
“Yes,” She nodded, sniffling again as she gazed at Arnold. “I’ll take good care of him.”
“They blinded him?” Dimitri’s question pulled Beau out of the memory as his grip tightened on the steering wheel.
“Yes,” Beau nodded, carefully pressing his foot against the gas pedal as they rounded the bend that led to the Goult residence. “I’m afraid they did.”
“And there’s no chance of healing?” Rutley asked as he leaned forward, resting his forearms against the driver and passenger seats. “Ursithropes heal really fast, don’t they?”
“Yes,” Beau murmured. “But they used an excessive amount of pepper spray, Rutley. We don’t really recover from that.”
“I can’t believe mace can have that sort of effect on such a powerful beast. I mean, yeah, pepper spray hurts like hell but Jesus…”
“It was actual pepper,” Beau corrected as he pulled into the driveway and shut the truck off. He sighed, tapping his fingertips against the dashboard. “It wasn’t what the police use at all. They mixed pepper with water and poured it into his eyes. It’s like acid to us. We’re deathly allergic.”
“Shit,” Rutley muttered. “That’s….shit.”
“Yeah,” Beau glanced at him through the rearview mirror. “Yeah, it’s shit and we’re going to do something about it.”
“What, exactly?” Dimitri asked as he stared at the contemplative ursithrope.
Beau’s eyes darkened as he reached for the door handle and a small smirk played at the edge of his lips, “We’re going hunting.”
————————————-
“Calm down, Pretz. Please,” Lorcan pleaded as he stood by, helplessly, watching her pace back and forth in the nursery. She was a sobbing mess and it was causing him to feel panicked. He rarely felt panicked, but right now was different. Presley was upset and the tears wouldn’t stop flowing. Seeing her uncle in such bad shape had really done her in this time…..
“He can’t see,” she choked on the words, hugging her arms around herself as she whirled around and paced towards the window again. “Oh my god, he can’t see, ‘Orc. He’ll be blind for the rest of his life and it’s my fault.”
“How is it your fault?” Lorcan asked as his brows lifted high on his forehead. “Presley, you had nothing to do with that. You were here…we were here. You were sleeping and yeah, maybe you dreamed about something bad happening, but this wasn’t your fault.”
“It is!” She cried angrily as she threw her hands up in the air. “It is my fault! I never should’ve come back here! I should’ve stayed away, Lorcan. I should’ve stayed in Florida and kept everyone safe,” the tears fell freely from her sad green eyes as she lowered her head in shame. “He’s only here because of me….and he’s hurting everyone I love….because of me.”
“No, that’s not-” He took a step towards her, but stopped when she turned away from him. He could feel the contempt rolling off her body and it made him feel so sick. He fought the urge to vomit as her rejection gripped at his lungs. Why was she saying these things?
“Everyone is getting hurt. Greg was nearly killed…and now Arnold is….” she was gasping for air as she reached for the wall, steadying herself. “He’ll never get to see the baby,” she whimpered. Her shoulders were trembling as she continued speaking in a weaker voice. “And Liam-”
“Liam was not your fault,” Lorcan snapped. His voice was angrier than he anticipated, but he couldn’t stop it from happening. She was belittling herself and he wouldn’t have it. She was the most wonderful, beautiful part of his life and he wouldn’t allow her to speak so lowly of herself. “Breslin Connor is a narrow-minded, arrogant, self-centered prick, Pretz. He’s the reason Liam is dead. He couldn’t just let them be happy together and you know that. You see it in Dimitri’s eyes all the time, don’t you?”
Presley remained quiet, keeping her gaze on the floor.
“Breslin is at fault for my brother’s death. Not you, baby,” he stepped behind her, his hands ever so gently resting against her shoulders. She was trembling like a leaf and he wanted nothing more than to take away her pain. What he wouldn’t give to help her relax; to ease her mind. “You can’t blame yourself for any of this, Presley Goult. I won’t let you do this to yourself.”
He wrapped his arms around her carefully, resting his chin atop her shoulder as he listened to her quick intake of breath. He knew she was trying to hold it together. She was trying to hide it, but he wouldn’t let her. Her pain was his pain. Her grief was his grief. He would take it into himself if he could…he would at least try.
“I love you,” Lorcan whispered as he turned his head to kiss the side of her neck. “I love you so much, Presley. When you came back here…it was the best day of my life. You have to believe that. You have to believe that your return was never meant to cause bad things….even Urseth himself said good would follow you, didn’t he?”
She slowly nodded.
“And a brother,” he added after another moment. “Your father didn’t die just for you to take all the blame for the sucky things happening right now. He died because he believed in you. He believed in what Urseth told him. Everything is going to get better, Pretz. It has to. It will.”
His lips ghosted over her earlobe as his arms tightened around her body. He pulled her back against his chest, caressing the outer shell of her ear with his teeth.
“I’m so scared,” Presley admitted in a smaller voice. She sounded like a child as she gripped his arm with her trembling hands. “They could’ve killed my uncle, Lorcan. He could be dead right now and…..I don’t know what I would do without him.”
“He’s not dead, Presley. He’s going to be just fine,” Lorcan promised as his eyes closed and he buried his nose into her curls
. He breathed her in, tracing a large palm over her stomach. “We’ll take care of him, okay? He’ll never be alone. In fact, Natalie is already making plans to stay there for a while.”
“What?!” She whirled around in his arms, staring at him with wide, teary eyes. “Natalie is going to stay with him?”
“Yeah,” He nodded, frowning as he cocked his head to the side. “Is that bad?”
“It’s only bad if you take into consideration the fact that they hate each other!”
“Oh, come on. I’m sure they can be civil with one another given the circumstances. Your uncle is in no position to be stubborn about who helps him at this point,” Lorcan offered as he tightened his arms around her a little more.
“He’s always stubborn, Lorcan.” Presley wrinkled her nose in that cute little way he loved so much. He couldn’t help but to laugh as he dipped his head to press a kiss against the tip of it.
“Well I can see where you get it from.” He teased.
“And what is that supposed to mean?” Presley asked as she pressed her palms flat against his chest. She made no effort to push him away, and for that, Lorcan was grateful. Every couple had their spats from time to time, but Lorcan didn’t like the way it made him feel when Presley wouldn’t let him touch her. He would always respect whatever she wanted, but even the slightest thought of being distanced from her was maddening. He’d never be able to do it.
“It means I love you very much and I would appreciate if you wouldn’t hit me right now,” he chuckled, sliding his hands down her back and resting them against her bottom. His fingers gently dug into the softness of her curves as he growled. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?”
“Oh, Lorcan,” she gasped softly, burying her heated face against his chest. He loved the fact he could make her blush so easily. “What are you trying to do to me right now?” She asked, lifting her head to eye him suspiciously. “I’m supposed to be upset, you know.”
“You have every right to be upset, darlin’,” he nodded firmly. “But I have every right to comfort you and distract you from the chaos of our town. It’s not good for our cub,” He murmured as his lips traced over her jawline.
The Siege of Kadenburg Page 13
