Page 14 of Defiant
I’ve showered,wrapped myself in a towel, and am leaning over the steamed-up mirror shaving my neck and cleaning up the edges of my beard when my cell rings on the counter and I nick myself. “Fuck.” I stomp over to the toilet paper and grab a square, ripping off a tiny corner and stuffing it roughly onto the cut as I simultaneously swipe to answer my phone and then press the button to put it on speaker. “Yeah?” I ask gruffly, raising my razor so I can finish the last swipe and clean off this shaving cream, which has a shit chemical undertone to its scent—I have yet to find one that doesn’t.
I’m expecting Pluto’s voice, so when I hear a southern twang, I’m surprised.
“Mr. Maddox, so good to speak with ya’,” Stone’s tone is deceptively pleasant, which is how I know he’s furious. He always gets a creepy grin on his face and his southern sensibilities double when he’s mad, which tends to happen a lot when we speak. Maybe if he weren’t such an underhanded shit…
I blow out a breath through my nostrils and glance down at the phone, wishing I’d looked before I’d answered. I’m still a little too angry to want to deal with Stone right now—I’m more of a let-the-dust-settle and then serve my revenge cold with a side of icy logic kind of guy. But if he’s called me, there’s no way I’m hanging up like a pussy. I take a deep breath and force myself to relax and lean back over the mirror, finishing off my shave as though Pluto was on the phone, reporting in about the newest pups to shift and telling me about their god awful progress.
I let the silence draw out as I drag a razor blade across my throat. The reality that Stone would love to do that to me hits me and I nearly chuckle and nick myself again. I focus and finish the last line up before swiping the faucet on and rinsing off the blade under the cold rush of water.
“What are you doin’?” Stone can’t help himself.
“Taking a shit,” I respond, knowing it will rile him up. I grab a towel and wet one end and begin wiping down my neck, once again waiting for Stone to get to the point.
I killed his wolf. He knows it. I know it.
He just needs to pull his balls out of the drawer he keeps them in, attach them to his dick, and come right out and say what he wants to say because I’ve got other shit to do, like look up Elena DeMarkus. Her gray eyes flash through my mind.
“You think a fire would put me off the scent?Thatscent?” Stone finally asks.
There he goes again, batting around the topic. Yes, I did ask Pluto to set a fire to get rid of Elena’s scent, mostly because I don’t want Stone to know how turned on she was, smell that arousal that wafted off her like perfume … I didn’t want him to know how close to success he’d been when he’d sent her to seduce me.
But it sounds like he smelled it anyway and is calling to gloat.
My wolf growls and paces inside my head, riled up by our rival, the pack leader that’s in his fifties but still top of his game, so long as the game is murder and mayhem. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself down.
If Stone’s calling to brag then I need to check in on my second and make sure he’s okay.
I grab my phone and send a text to Pluto while Stone waits for my reply. Well, the fucker can wait a minute longer.
Everything go smoothly?I hit send and second guess myself. What if Pluto set a fire to get rid of that Dark Night’s body? I didn’t necessarily mean for that to happen, but fire was an efficient way to clean up. Two birds, one match, and all of that. Get rid of Elena’s scent and the evidence all at once. Maybe that’s the scent Stone’s referring to. Maybe he’s really pissed about that little alpha wolf I ripped apart.
I lick my lips as I debate what Stone means. But I can’t delay answering any longer. “You caught a scent? Didn’t know you could still smell old man.”
I grab a q-tip and start cleaning out my ears, scrubbing a little harder than usual with the cotton tips as I check my screen to see if Pluto’s responded to my text, feigning a calmness I don’t quite feel. My wolf is restless, pacing like he senses a threat.
Well, there’s always a threat where Stone’s concerned. If he was sure he could beat me in a one-on-one battle, I’ve got no doubt he’d challenge me. But—as much as I hate to admit it—that fucker and I are pretty evenly matched. Any fight between the two of us is going to be brutal, dark, and dirty because two huge fucking territories would be at stake.
“You think you’re so clever.” I can practically see the smile on Stone’s face based on the smug tone.
“Don’t think it. I know it,” I taunt as I toss my q-tips in the trashcan and debate whether or not I should brush my teeth with Stone on the phone.
“You know, I could attack based on that wolf of mine you killed out in the forest. I’d be justified, already checked with the other pack leaders and they all agree.”
The hairs on the back of my neck rise up and I set the toothbrush I just grabbed back down. “He attacked first.”
“Mmm. Gotta couple witnesses on my side. Seems you’ve lost your edge. You left three survivors,” Stone retorts smugly.
I grind my teeth together and tell myself that letting them live wasn’t weakness. I hadn’t wanted to start a war. Not over something that stupid. Stone operates differently than I do though. He’s probably killed more shifters than he can count.You don’t want to be him,I remind myself, though right now, my blood’s pumping hot and I wish I’d sunk my teeth into their necks.
“Could put you in a bit of a tight spot, boy.”
It’s the use of “boy” that nearly sets me off. Based on Stone’s chuckle, he knows it and said it deliberately. I force my eyes closed and make myself take a few more breaths. Stone could shove me into a corner if he wanted to … the Lobos aren’t on the best terms with Timber or the Dead Rabbits. They might turn a blind eye if Stone decided to turn this fight into something more. The Lobos are bigger than either of them but combined… My heart grows tighter and my wolf presses hard against my skin. But I swallow my growl because that’s what Stone wants to hear.
“What is it you want?” I run my tongue across the front of my pearly whites, tense, while Stone lets the silence draw out painfully. Then I hear a clink from Stone’s end of the line. “Driving you to drink am I?” I ask, forcing a grin as I hear a second ice cube hit a glass. I’ll be damned if I let him hear anything other than smug amusement from me.
“Nah, this is a victory drink. I’m celebrating.”
“Special occasion?”
