Page 37 of Defiant
I hear Elena’s tight gasp behind me and my fury at Pluto doubles. As does my anger at myself. I keep doing everything associated with my little wolf wrong. I wanted to show her that she’s an omega who will drive alphas wild—I wanted to teach her once and for all that she’s irrevocably mine. But I didn’t expect my best friend to lose control this badly. I thought he’d tackle her, I’d yank him off, have him scare her a little, underscore the point that she can’t fucking defend herself in our world. Instead, Pluto’s swinging a clawed hand at my face, revealing the beasts we don’t usually even let shifters see until they’re a year in.
I block Pluto’s swipe and growl when he smashes a fist into my torso and knocks half the wind out of me.
Shit.
This was a fucking horrible idea.
His eyes don’t hold an ounce of humanity in them when he comes at me and the full weight of what I’ve just unleashed becomes apparent as he bowls me over and body slams me into the carpet. My head cracks and pain lashes me with a whip.
I tuck up my legs and wrap them, flipping us so that I’m on top, but before I can get him in a chokehold, he’s got a foot underneath me and flips me over his head. We both scramble to our feet at the same moment. My adrenaline whispers,Kill him.
We circle for a moment and I catch a glimpse of Elena by the far wall, as far from us and as close to the stairs as she can get. Another two steps and Pluto lunges for me, giving me an opening. My arm shoots forward to grip him by the neck. I shove him hard against the wall, cracking his skull and possibly the wallboard—the television rattles on its mount—but right now I don’t give a damn about the house. Even about him. All I care about is getting him to submit. My wolf senses have taken over, and the need to dominate Pluto, to see him yield, drop those yellow eyes that are locked tight on mine, overwhelms any other thought. Fury runs through my veins and they swell like river rapids, turgid and wild as I lift Pluto an inch off the ground and watch him gasp under my monstrous hand.
I show my teeth.
Come on, Paul. Back the fuck down,my human brain urges somewhere in the recesses of my mind, even using Pluto’s real name, a name I haven’t even thought in more than a decade.
But an omega’s scent proves too much.
Pluto kicks me hard in the stomach and the pain bursts all the way to my spine.
I drop his neck and he immediately lunges for Elena. I turn to see she’s already halfway up the stairs.Fuck. I didn’t lock the door.
I shove Pluto hard to the ground before leaping across the room and up the bottom steps, stretching and grabbing her ankle as she’s halfway up the stairs. If she goes up … and any of my other elites have arrived … they might rip her apart in their lust.
I yank on her until her ass falls to the stairs. She twists and tries to kick me but I pull harder on her leg, only releasing when she goes limp. I point a warning claw at her. My choice to save her backfires when Pluto’s claw rips into my side and agony slices me to ribbons. I duck low and reach back, grabbing Pluto’s leg, yanking it forward between my own. He falls backward, but his claws are stuck in my flesh like a fork—so I end up falling right on top of him. Quickly, before he can get an arm around my neck, I roll away, even though that means his claws get a longer stretch of skin to stain red.
My chest heaves and my vision fritzes for a second. But when Pluto gets up and lunges for the stairs I force myself up. I lumber forward and grab him by the shoulders. I slide one claw down to his hip and then I pick him up and twist, heaving him into the air until he falls onto the ping pong table. It collapses underneath his weight, the legs on one side buckling, the tabletop smashing into the ground underneath him in a tumult of thunder and howling.
Now I’m angry at him for another reason. I was going to save that fucking table forever. Suddenly, the burning in my side fades to nothing as my nostrils flare and I stomp over to Pluto, who holds up an arm to block me. I can scent exhaustion on him … this kind of shift wears us out quickly … and neither of us is in our twenties anymore.
Pluto stretches his head upward toward the green net that’s now nothing more than a shredded bit of dangling plastic. He drops his eyes with a sigh. He shows me his neck and drops his gaze.
My wolf gives a growl of approval, but he’s still not completely satisfied. I lift Pluto up, yanking his arm gruffly before I drag his limping ass over to the very storage room I locked Elena in. He goes in without a protest. He knows the deal. There’ll be an extra layer to his punishment tonight because the storage room still smells like her—it’ll give himself a chance to desensitize himself, to reprogram, to clarify to his fucking wolf that Elena ismine.
I shut the door and realize that my hands can’t handle the fucking keys when they’re like this. But my wolf won’t give up control enough to let me shift back, his grip on my body is as tight as Elena’s pussy will b… I don’t finish that depraved thought. It won’t end well when my wolf is already half-hard and ready to celebrate after winning submission from Pluto.
I tell myself to take deep breaths and walk slowly toward Elena, but the sight of her splayed and scared on the stairs, my clothes on her body, our scents commingling; it’s all too much and I end up sprinting to her and startling her. She tries to scoot backward, up a step, her fear as crystal clear as glass, but I lean down and let my hips rest on hers for just a second, mulling over how well our bodies fit together even when I’m pure monster.Some day,my wolf licks his chops.Some day.
My wolf wants to do more, but I finally get control when I remind him that she’s human right now, not in a heat, and he’ll hurt her.
That makes him retreat enough not to automatically just grind into her, not to take what he wants. Instead, he lets me gently use our clawed hand to grab Elena’s softer, smaller, oh-so-delicate fingers.
I push her hand toward my pocket so she can grab my keys. Her fingers accidentally swipe over my cock through the fabric and it swells even more in response to her soft touch. Her eyes widen and she tries to pull back but I close my claws around her wrist and gently glide her hand in my pocket toward the keyring settled deep at the bottom. When her fingers close on it, I turn my head in clear expectation toward the storage room, and then back to her.
Her breathing gets short, and her teeth dig into her lower lip. “Are you sure it’s safe?” Her tone is softer and more compliant than it’s been since I met her—I succeeded in scaring her. More than I intended, that’s true, but hopefully enough for the message to sink in. I lean forward and reassure her the only way I can until my adrenaline dies off and my wolf feels certain she’s safe—until I’m able to shift back and talk. I drag my muzzle up and down along her cheek, mussing the soft fur of my nose, delighting in the feel of her skin. And then I give a quick playful lick to the bottom of her chin that makes her gasp—first in fear, then in outrage, before I pull back with my chest shaking in amusement.
“Gross,” she swipes at her chin and glares at me. “Well. Get off me so I can go lock up someone who deserves it more than I did because your crazy ass apparently can’t—”
I flip her over on the stairs and smack her ass, careful not to let my claws scratch her. Then I flip her around and point at the door to the storage room, which Pluto hasn’t touched. He knows better. Challenge me once and I’ll defeat you. Twice and I’ll kill you.
My mate narrows her eyes but keeps that plush mouth of hers shut as she stomps down the stairs and over to the door. I follow half a step behind, just in case. When the lock is secured, I also make a fist and pound on a panel in the wall, which opens to showcase a hidden green button. I use the side of my fist to press it and a thin sheet of silver slides out of the ceiling and covers the door, making it essentially shifter resistant.
Elena’s lips drop open at that and her nose scrunches. “Dammit. Nancy Drew was right.”
She doesn’t explain and I don’t ask—because I can’t—but also because now that she’s safe, the adrenaline drains away quickly and the pain in my side becomes twice as prominent. I tell my wolf that we need to shift to take care of the wound. He’s reluctant, and I’m worried he’ll start a struggle for control over my shape. But when I shove the image of a scared Elena at him, he allows me to take the reins. I shove through the shift quickly, even though the transformation makes the pain stretch and grow and gape into a more hideous wound.
I don’t check it as I make eye contact with my little omega, carefully tracing her features with my gaze. I need to make sure she understands the rules before I can deal with anything else. It’s too damned important to ensure she’s aware of her situation. “Do you see now? You try to walk away from me and dozens of wolves will pile on top of you. They’ll fucking rip you apart trying to get to you, driven mad just by your scent.”
