Surrender (Fated Souls Book 1)

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Surrender (Fated Souls Book 1) Page 9

by Elle Lincoln


  Anger tinges my vision red, I get the last word. “No one should have an ass that firm, Christian! No one!”

  “Why you so mad, Doll?” Liam stands in my line of sight, and I swear I can feel the others standing behind me.

  I poke his chest, still hanging onto my anger. “Don’t you ‘Doll’ me you... you tramp!” He smiles, and I swear my insides flicker with the flames of hell. Then he captures said finger. “I met your girlfriend today! I won’t compete with a she-wolf, Liam!”

  I’m far too gentle for that bullshit.

  I am a delicate flower.

  His smile fades just a fraction, and his eyes dart over to the others who I know are behind me. “Doll, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

  “You met one of Liam’s conquests.” Athos steps into view, his hair pulled back in a man bun that does things to my insides. I didn’t realize I had a thing for guys with buns. But I do, oh I do.

  “No she-wolf to fight to the death?” Why does that dowse me with icy water?

  Nix pops into view beside Athos, his chocolate brown locks drifting in waves to his shoulders, and he’s wearing a frown on his pouty lips. His long dark eyelashes fan his face, and jealousy tightens my gut. Why do men always have long lashes? “Sabina, there are no she-wolves.”

  “Wait. What?”

  For the first time, Nix reaches out, his touch creating a calm serenity that instantly eases my anger. “Sabina, they all died out.”

  “Wait. You mean I’m in a town of all men. Just men. No women?” How is that possible? What about their mothers? Shit, I have questions.

  “Not only that, but women can’t just wander in here,” he continues.

  I look to Athos for confirmation, feeling an odd sense of ‘what the fuck’ drifting over me.

  “We should talk, Sabina.”

  No women?

  “I’m going to need tequila.”

  Chapter 8

  The pack—yep, the pack of freaking lycans—stayed behind to search the area. Which I’m still not sure how they missed the huge freaking lake in the first place. I thought they had noses like a damn bloodhound, but I guess they failed that test.

  It didn’t matter though. Now they knew it was there and they could move on. I wanted to stay behind and kayak for a few hours and gather my thoughts, but they weren’t really allowing me the choice to do what I wanted. It was never a real choice to stay back either, since they didn’t want the pack around me. The only reason I agreed is because I’m more curious than the five-year-olds I teach.

  Now, I’m sandwiched in the back of the truck between Liam and Nix, while Athos drives and Christian scowls in the side mirror. They all marched me back to the truck and piled in behind me. I’m going to have to keep little bottles of tequila and bags of snacks stashed in all of their vehicles if this is how things will go from here on out.

  A girl’s got to eat.

  “So...” I breach the silence that weighs heavily on all of us. After the bomb of there’s no she-wolves, I didn’t really know how to drive that conversation forward. Especially after my anger faded out. Anger pushes nonsense from my mouth. Half the time, I have no idea what’s falling out of it. The other half, I know exactly what I’m saying, and I’m not at all impressed with it. “Is this a conversation that happens over dinner and drinks?” Please say dinner.

  Athos gazes at me in the rearview, his blue eyes flickering with mirth. “Do you need to be fed again?”

  “She doesn’t need food until after we talk.” Christian glares back at us. “Last time she puked up a cupcake.”

  Yeah, my box of treats now thumps along in the back of the truck. Also, Liam wasn’t too angry about his tail pipe. In fact, he strapped it up with a bungee cord. I’m getting a sense for the type of guy he is. He loves to smile, every time I look at him he’s smiling. He also has a playful nature, and he just wants everyone around him to be happy. Yet there is a power that lurks just beneath the surface, one he keeps tucked away. It could be his wolf, and I’m only now aware of it, or it could be something so much more. I’m leaning toward the latter. He’s also one that I could easily fall into a friendship with, and that is something I’m honestly looking forward to.

  “What a waste of a tasty cake,” I grumble, lamenting my habit of puking when I’m stressed. My eyes flicker over my shoulder to my box of treats in the back. I will have to go to the store again, because Nessa’s moms only sent the vital things. Like chocolate and pastries. I really can’t live on that alone, though I’ve tried it in the past. It never ends well for me.

  Liam snickers beside me, his thigh grazing mine, or more accurately, he keeps bumping it. “Doll face, you need more than just sweets to live on.”

  Yes, I literally just said that in my head. Still… “They have essential nutrients.” I wrinkle my nose. “Do you eat bunnies and Bambi?”

  Christian groans. “Not in the truck,” he mutters under his breath. I’m also getting a read on him. His words from the grocery store haunt me, that he won’t take away the burn, and he calls me Damsel. But his eyes see far more than most give him credit for, and I bet that’s why he is the sheriff. There’s a mystery that lurks beneath the surface of Christian that, for some twisted masochistic reason, I can’t wait to pry open and dive into.

  Athos pulls onto my lane, the truck bumping and grinding over the potholes I swore I’d fix… eventually. A curse falls from his mouth as he pulls up next to my truck and another little car. “Stay here.” He climbs out, slamming the door far too hard and rattling the metal frame.

  “Who’s that?” I point to the fancy black car beside my truck. I lean forward to get a better look. “Why would they drive a car out here? Even I know better than that.” I slump back in my seat, surprised we are still sitting in the truck. Although it’s running and the air is blasting, that doesn’t mean I’m just going to sit here.

  That’s when I realize the guys are all sitting still, too still. Their bodies are vibrating with tension. I turn to Liam, poking him in the chest. His head shifts slowly so he can look down at me. His eyes are smoldering with that hint of ‘other’ I missed.

  How did I not see this before?

  “What’s going on?” I whisper, because I feel like this is a moment in which I need to whisper.

  “That’s a Shadow Pack car,” Christian growls from the front seat.

  Picking up on their hostility, I scramble over the center console and plop into the driver’s seat. Leaning forward, I track Athos as he moves over to the car. He quickly dismisses it and his head jerks around the clearing until it stops, then he takes off. His strides are long and quick. Just beside my old swing set, a man in a suit leans against the aged wood. I squint, but I can’t make out too many details.

  “Why is he here?” He shouldn’t be here, and from what I’m picking up from the guys, he sure isn’t welcome.

  “Trouble,” Liam growls.

  “He’s risking a war by coming here,” Nix adds.

  “Hmm. Isn’t there a magical barrier that prevents him from coming in here?” I cock my head as Athos hovers over the man, his arms crossed. If this guy is also an alpha, which is not a freaking nickname, then he pales in comparison to Athos.

  “Not for him there isn’t.” Christian leans forward, cracking the window a bit, his head canting to the side.

  “Can you hear them?” I whisper, my eyes wide with envy.

  His mismatched eyes dart to me with a glare before he shakes his head.

  I spin around to look at Liam and Nix. “The lake had a barrier,” I point out, “and you missed that.”

  “And we still don’t know how your dad, a human, managed that,” Nix counters, though I can see he’s straining to hear the other guys talking.

  I should keep my mouth shut so they can eavesdrop, but if they can hear them, then it doesn’t take a genius to know Athos and the stranger can hear us. “How long have you been here?” I tap my chin in thought, a theory brewing. Dad bought the land and started building here ov
er fourteen years ago.

  “A decade.” Nix eyes me with more appreciation than the rest. He’s quiet but observant, and I can see the wheels turning in his head. He’s harder to read, and yet at the same time strong and silent. Content to watch and absorb, react when it’s necessary. He’s also the kind of guy that looks at me with longing and fierce passion.

  “Like fucking hell he will,” Christian roars, flinging open the door and stalking out.

  “What do you want to bet that he hits Shadow’s beta?” Liam smirks as he opens the door to get out. That lazy smile never once dissolves as he eyes me, lifting his arms above his head to stretch, giving me a glimpse of tanned, toned skin.

  He did that on purpose, the tease.

  “Who’s Shadow?” I mentally pat myself on the back for raising my eyes and keeping them up. Self-control for the win.

  “Just an asshole without morals.” Nix nods to me, his jaw clenching tight after he says the words. His eyes widen for a mere moment as though he just surprised himself by speaking.

  “Tell me how you feel, brother,” Liam teases.

  “Are you all brothers?” I tilt my head, glancing between the two who are now out of the truck. I push open the door and slide down to the ground. “You keep calling each other brother, but you look nothing alike.”

  “That’s because we aren’t blood brothers.” Liam walks around to the side of the truck.

  Frowning, I put that on the back burner for a discussion when tall, dark, and creepy isn’t walking toward us. Christian stalks off into the woods, however Athos follows behind the man. No bloodshed either, so I’m guessing Liam lost his mental wager.

  “Sabina, it is an honor to meet you.” I cock my head at the guy. He’s shorter than Athos with dark, slicked back hair that makes him look like a businessman in the deep woods. He’s out of place and sure as hell doesn’t belong here. Especially with the way he scowls at his shoes which are now covered in mud. He’s lean and clean-shaven, yet something about his presence has the little hairs on my neck standing on end. He doesn’t appear threatening, but the whole vibe he’s giving off screams danger.

  “What did you think would happen wearing loafers here?” Ah, word vomit, you glorious voice trumpet.

  His cynical eyes shoot up and a sneer crosses his thin lips. Instantly, Liam and Nix block me in. Behind the suit, Athos’s lips twitch in slight amusement. “Parker, you’ve gotten what you came here for, I suggest you leave.” Athos steps around this Parker guy to stand beside Nix and slightly in front.

  “It was immediate?” Parker growls—yes, growls. I’m learning wolf.

  “As soon as she saw us.” Christian appears out of nowhere, his chest still bare and provoking me to look at his exposed tanned flesh.

  I don’t. I keep my head up and stare at this Parker fellow, because something in my gut tells me he’s important.

  “Have you introduced her to the pack yet?” Not giving up, Parker flicks invisible lint off his suit—unless it’s an ant, which I then hope is a fire ant that crawls under his suit jacket to terrorize his skin.

  Come on, give me a penguin dance.

  I smirk at myself. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go unnoticed by the big bad wolf. “What are you smiling at, little girl?”

  I scrunch my nose, ready to unleash a tirade of insults, however, Nix’s warm hand grips my elbow in warning, and I say nothing.

  For now.

  “We will introduce her once we’ve told her everything. We haven’t exactly had the chance yet, Parker.” Liam crosses his arms, his biceps flexing. His pretty boy hair, however, completely ruins the moment by fluttering in his face.

  My fingers itch to brush it away, so I lace them behind my back, ignoring that compulsion.

  “Very well. Shadow will introduce her to the Shadow Pack after you’ve finished.”

  “Like hell he will.” I roll my eyes at the hothead that is Christian.

  “You know very well that we must introduce a fertile female who bears a blessing to all local packs within her residing state.” Parker smiles cruelly. “It’s lycan law. Do you dare go against that law, Christian? The elders would love to hear of it,” he states dryly, though there’s anticipation in his tone.

  “I fucking dare.”

  “Christian, enough.” Athos’s tone is full of command, shutting Christian up. I make a mental note to practice my commanding voice at a time when I’m alone. “Parker, your wolves and you violated the treaty by entering our territory without permission. That also violates lycan law, so do not spit the laws to me.” He remains calm, somehow surprising me. Then again, that’s how a leader works.

  Alpha, my mind corrects.

  “And tell me this, Athos,” Parker sneers. “Would you have followed the law and told the council of your precious mate? Of a fertile female?”

  See, now usually I have to be on a certain adrenaline high to lash out and allow bullshit to fall from my lips. Total lie. But that’s the second time he called me a fertile female, and it’s grating on my nerves. “I am not a broodmare.” I also ignore the mate thing. I’ve read enough romance novels to catch on to that, and we will have a long talk about what that means.

  I’m also not a pup vessel, so he can shove that idea right up his tight ass.

  Parker laughs, the sound grating like nails on a chalkboard. “Oh, child, you have no idea, do you?”

  “Parker,” Christian growls.

  Yet the suit steps closer, ignoring the growls coming from the guys. His dark eyes that border on black stay locked on me. “That is exactly what you are. You are marked for wolves. Didn’t Daddy tell you that?”

  “Enough!” Athos roars, his calm control slipping. “Leave now, or I’ll send you back to Shadow in pieces.”

  Parker smiles as though that is exactly what he was waiting for—Athos to lose control. “Ah, and start a pack war? No, I don’t think you will.” He steps back, and I harden myself to his words. I’ll check them out later when I can look at them apathetically.

  For now? “It doesn’t matter how you view me, and it doesn’t matter what your laws are. The fact remains, I am no wolf. I am not subject to your laws, mate or no.” I smile cruelly back at him, wondering where this brave woman emerged from. I like her, I might keep her. Except for the nausea creeping in telling me I’m a liar and a fake. No matter, I push on. “Don’t come back here, Parker, they may not kill you, but I will.”

  He nods once, that nasty smile never leaving his face as he backs away to his fancy car. I step to the side as he peels away and down my driveway. Once out of sight, all hell breaks loose around me as the guys laugh.

  I bend over at the waist, trying not to dry heave. “Oh hell, I just threatened to murder someone.” Bile, yep, that’s bile creeping up my throat.

  “She’s going to yack again.” Christian’s dry voice does nothing to ease the vomit threatening to surge up my throat.

  “I need a gun,” I grumble.

  “Sabina.” Athos kneels before me.

  “Dude, you’re in the splash zone.”

  “Her back is doing this clenching thing.”

  That’s because my stomach is convulsing and threatening to expel the nothing in my stomach.

  “Sabina, look at me.”

  My head creeps up, and with it, the world swims. “Touch me,” I demand.

  “Now is not the time.”

  “Touch me,” I insist. They each have their own brand of calm, and I’m slowly sliding into very much not calm.

  “Oh yeah, we calm her,” Christian chimes in.

  Athos reaches out hesitantly, his hands engulfing my face, and eases away the nausea. Even kneeling, his head comes up to my chest. Tall, they are all so damn tall. “Are you well?”

  “I just threatened a man.” My eyes widen, but the panic ebbs to the background. Enough to allow me to think. “Inside, now, and keep touching me dammit.”

  His lips twitch, but he listens as he stands. His hands slide to my collarbone then to my shoulders, l
eaving little electric shocks in his wake. I suppress a shudder because these boys have a lot to explain.

  I blow out a breath, wrapping my hand in his with a fierce grip. Ahead, the guys stomp up the stairs, their heavy footfalls echoing all around the clearing. The woods stay eerily quiet, wrong somehow.

  “It’s so quiet.”

  “Because the creatures know a predator was near.” Athos’s peppermint scent washes over me. “After you.” He gestures to the stairs where I step ahead of him and head up to the door.

  I punch in my code and walk into the cabin. Finally, I detach my hand from Athos and march to Dad’s recliner. The end table, now put to rights, holds a clean ashtray with a pipe. Below sits Dad’s tin of cigars. Needing the smell, I pull it out as the guys settle around me. Their expressions equal parts nervous and excited.

  Popping the tin, my fingers brush along the pouch of tobacco, cigars, and the zippo. Slowly, I pull a cigar out, swallowing past the lump in my throat as I grip a lighter. It’s nothing too special, one of those teen gifts a girl gives her dad for Father’s Day. My thumb brushes over the raised bass on the side. The color flaked away long ago, and the metal is rusted from him taking it on his fishing trips.

  I flick the top and then the flint wheel, my eyes caught on the flame as it lights. My lips touch the cherry vanilla cigar, and I puff to light it, the cherry blazing on the end. Flipping the zippo closed, I place it back in the tin then slide that under the end table.

  I recline somewhat, feeling like the godfather as I meet each of their eyes. “Speak,” I command, my gaze landing on Athos.

  He clears his throat, scrubbing a hand over his jaw, but I don’t miss the mirth in his gaze. He finds me amusing. “Where do you want me to start?”

  I mull that over carefully while taking a puff of the cigar.

  “Don’t you inhale those?” Liam inquires, his curiosity evident on his face.

  “One does not simply inhale a cigar.” I roll it between my lips before pointing it at Athos. “Begin with my heart attack.”

 

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