Page 73 of Vicious Wolf Mate

“You got that part right. Unlike you, I’m not easy. And I never made it easy for Rovas. Death will find me when it finds me. My concern is Mom.”

“Your Mom’s cushioned by being across the country,” Natalie snaps.

“You are way off on that one,” I tell her. “If I go missing, Mom will notice first and miss me the most. But more importantly, and I know this sounds selfish, Mom and Rovas are about to renew their vows, and I don’t want to miss that.” I really enjoy watching Natalie’s pupils dilate as I say this last part, her eyes bulge slightly with the sudden rise in her blood pressure.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she tells me. “Your mom’s across the country. She’s been across the country for years. Your bratty ass ran her off when you were a kid. What are they going to do, renew vows over Zoom?”

“No,” I tell her. “The knowledge that you have, just like you, is as pure and clean as a shit-house door off of a tuna boat.”

“Why don’t you enlighten me,” she tells me sarcastically. Her face is getting red. She’s going to blow her stack. She can’t stand the idea that somebody has been digging her potatoes. The idea that Rovas has her in the plaything category is pushing all sorts of magma to the surface.

“Oh, no, girl. Mom’s been around,” I add. “She’s been close, too. Close and consistent. Mom’s been in the background.” Every word is pushing Natalie into a defcon level meltdown.

Natalie stands and starts pacing. I am doing my level best to hide my pleasure in watching her melt. She’ll start venting next. But not the cathartic venting. The kind that winds up the spring. She gets wound-up enough, I’ll have my distraction.

Natalie pauses in her pacing, points a finger at me, and lets the first salvo of venom for Rovas pour out. “Your dad’s a goddamn hound,” she tells me, jabbing her finger in the air for emphasis.

Then she starts pacing again.

“I would be mad, too,” I tell her. “He played you right out of the gate.” I am trying to fuel the fire by saying this, not showing any compassion. “You’re probably exhausted from the lies you saw a mile away.”

“What the fuck do you know?” Natalie asks me. Her pacing is speeding up.

“You want to say it,” I tell her. “Go ahead and say it.” Krakatoa is about to blow. When it blows, I’lll make my move.

“Rovas is a lying sonofabitch!”

“Yeah?” I say, stoking flames. “Where does that put you?”

“It doesn’t put me anywhere. I have been at the top. I put myself to the top. I have been ahead of his sorry ass plenty! I don’t wait for others to put me somewhere, I put myself where I see fit!”

“That’s right, tootsie. You saw the ending a mile away. You both have the same agenda. He just beat you to the punch. You were seeking resources, and he used resources to anesthetize you enough so you would not see his end game.” All I need is one more emotional burst from her, the kind that turns her face red again, and fills her mind with more hate, and I will make my move.

Her pace quickens at this point. She’s making laps back and forth across the room as wide as the room will allow. She’s still talking and jabbing her pointing finger in the air as she vents, but she’s not venting at me. She’s not looking at me at all.

“What he thinks is that he’s got me,” Natalie blasts. “I could give a crap about him. This is all about me and who I am going to tell about my various Rovas adventures. I will monetize many, many intimate moments I have had with that lying sonofabitch.”

This is when I grab the gun off the desk.

She doesn’t notice.

I hold the piece and make sure the safety is not on. The safety was never on.

Then I point it at her skinny-ass blonde head.

“I will make this really simple,” I tell her. “Take me to his personal safe, then take me down to the labs. Now.”

51

MACE

“NOW!” I yell to Gnash and Drario from behind my cover. All three of us shift into our wolf forms and charge. The battle has begun.

In my experience, when three shifters charge at regular folks, those regular folks tend to drop their weapons and run the other way. But these Insignys guards are well trained, or maybe just well paid. They hold their ground and open fire.

The next few moments are chaos. Plain and simple, it’s chaos. A blur of bullets, claws, and fangs.

I bob and weave as a volley of bullets ricochet off the ground near me as I run. As we get closer to the guards, all three of us shifter pounce at guards. I land on one and go right for the neck with a bite.

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