The last thing I wanted to do was eat or drink anything that I hadn’t killed myself or came from the stream behind the estate. I didn’t trust Ronin as far as I could throw his ass. I didn’t put it pass him to poison us. But Diana and Jean Rene sat sipping their offered glasses of wine so I guess it was safe. Wallace had offered to take the first drink. I was glad I wasn’t the only one paranoid.
“The property has been packed with game for tonight’s hunt. I’ve had several bull moose brought in.”
“A feast,” Wallace said.
Ronin all but thumped his chest. “Indeed.”
“I hope you’ve made the same arrangements for tomorrow’s challenge. Mrs. Bishop has contacted no fewer than fifty people who have agreed to come show their support,” Diana said.
“I have,” Ronin said and stood up, “If you would follow me.”
He took us through the estate and out to the back lawn, where people were busy erecting aluminum bleachers and tents. There was a raised platform with two chairs, one for each of the mates of the dueling wolves.
“I’ll have another chair brought in for you Julian,” he said.
“You mentioned you were getting married but we’ve yet to meet your bride to be. Will she be joining us soon?” Jean Rene asked.
“She’ll be present for the challenge.”
We weren’t the only one with surprise. I wanted to slap the grin off Ronin’s face. We walked around the back lawn while the crew set up.
“I know the European wolves are familiar with the old laws of challenge. Have they explained them to you Ulrich,” Ronin said. He was walking in front of the group, hand’s clasps behind his back. We followed behind him like we had Mrs. B last night. For some reason I didn’t think I was going to enjoy the history about to be shared half as much as last night.
“The only law I need to know is that the one left alive is the winner,” Josette said.
He stopped and looked at her. We formed a semi-circle around our host. The heat in his gaze as he looked up and down her lovely body had me growling.
“It’d do you good to stop looking at my wife that way Ronin or there won’t be a challenge tomorrow. I’ll make her queen by ripping out your damn throat right here and now.”
Over the phone he’d laughed at us. Now, while he still expected to come out the winner, he gave us a little respect. “Apologies Ulric,” he said.
He looked back at Josette and while his face was blank I had a feeling he was still picturing her naked and beneath him. He was lucky we were honor bound and the house was a safe haven until tomorrow. It took everything in me not to gut him.
“Old law says that anyone on the property or the surrounding area can choose to switch sides. Your people can become part of my pack or mine yours, with no repercussions. The fight is until the death but it is a challenge of dominance first. It is not my intentions to kill you Ulrich,” he said and stopped when I growled at him.
“Josette has challenged the Freki. We all here know who will be the victor but it is still good to know the laws and rules of the challenge,” Diana said.
Yeah...she was talking to me.
“Thank you White Queen,” Ronin said and looked at me. When I didn’t make a move to kill him and stopped with the growling he continued.
“Once I’ve won my submission I am challenging the Ulric and then your father.”
Over confident much? Ronin had just announced a triple header for tomorrow.
“I simply cannot allow them to live. They are much too strong and I dare not exile them because they could just as easily take over any territory they land in and come back to challenge me again. I might as well get it over with.
“Are you certain Ulrich that you won’t stand with me at the end of tomorrow?”
Josette crossed her arms and shifted weight, cocked her hip out. “Let’s say you win. I submit to you. I’ll play along and say you even kill my king and father. What makes you think I will turn my back on the fact that you’ve just killed the two men I love most in the world, not to mention mother. How could you trust me not to kill you the first time you came to my bed.”
The words were enough to bring forth pictures in my head. I could actually see the man mounting my wife. I bit back a growl and resisted pulling Josette into my side.
“I won’t say now the arrangements of our mating. I’ve been warned,” he said looking at me. “But I’m no fool and I understand...precautions would have to be taken.”
Son of a bitch.
He was talking about tying her up. I closed my eyes and balled my hands into fist. Sweet Jesus it was too much.
Ronin didn’t know that there were four werewolves that could change form standing in the group surrounding him whenever they wanted. We were not slaves to the moon, or we were better slaves. The moon is always full. That big white ball of matter that circled the earth never changes, just the shadow. Day or night the moon is always there and whatever magic, curse or virus that married the werewolf to the moon was stronger in me, Josette, Jean Rene and Diana.
I focused on my body to keep form. I concentrated like a son of a bitch. I begged my beast not to move a motherfucking inch, because if so much as a single hair on my body grew a fraction of a centimeter, so help me God, I was going to kill Thomas Ronin. I was going to rip his throat out and bath in his blood and then I was going to feast on his warm dead flesh. I was going to tear the flesh from his body, bury my muzzle in that great big stomach of his, and gut him. I wasn’t going to be happy until his heart was between my teeth and on its way to my stomach. The thoughts weren’t helping with the control a damn bit.
Josette laid her hand on my arm. Every muscle was bow tight. She didn’t try to speak to my mind she, opened her mouth. I was so glad, if I stopped for a nanosecond at reining in my rage it was going to be all over. Honor didn’t mean shit to me in that moment. Nothing did, except for eliminated all threat where my mate was concerned.
“Honi,” her sweet voice called to me. My eyes stayed closed. I could feel the brush of her power as she helped me regain some semblance of control. “I am now and will forever be only yours. Yours in all and every way.”
Her words and power held me tight. She put her arms around me and hugged me. She gave me the strength to not turn into a raging, blood thirsty beast. Which was good; except for now I felt the need to mark her, which was bad.
There was no denying this need. What I wanted to do was scent mark her and there was only one way that was accomplished and throwing her to the ground and ripping her shorts from her body and having sex in front of a group of people was just so not happening. But the need was great, greater than the beast that lay right beneath my skin and I was going to lose. So I did the only thing I could, because even with the two of us holding my human form we couldn’t rein that part of my beast in. We were a true mated pair of wolves, custom made for each other.
I opened my eyes and looked into the face of my love. She dropped her arms from caging mine and I leaned down and bit her. I opened the wound on her neck that now was always a fresh bite. I wasn’t a vampire, but damn if I didn’t think there may be some Dracula DNA lurking in the family tree. I wrapped my arms around her, caging her arms now within mine, curved my body to fit her bent form, growled into her skin. I raised my eyes and looked straight at Thomas Ronin. No words were needed the look said it all and it said; I wish a motherfucker would.
There was no more talk about mating or precautions. Hell, there wasn’t even talk about the rest of the rules. Good. Like Josette said, the only one that mattered we already knew.
We were in our room. I’d stopped myself from mounting Josette like a damn animal in front of everyone but as soon as we broke I took her to the room we were assigned and marked her good and proper. We were still lying in bed when someone knocked on the door.
“Who is it,” I growled still in a foul mood. I don’t think anything was going to make it better until Thomas Ronin was dead.
“Julian.
”
I stopped mid-stroke. I was licking Josette’s many bite marks. I had never heard of such a thing between a couple, but Jean Rene and Diana told me it was the same for them.
“Just a minute,” Josette called out to her father and scrambled from the bed. “Stop it,” she hissed at me when I tried to pull her back to me. “Get dressed.”
I pulled on a pair of jeans from the bag I’d brought, thankful that Josette had packed for us. The tattered remains of our clothes were by the door. Josette threw on a sundress and we were presentable when she told her father to enter.
He came into the room and tripped on Josette’s shirt...or maybe it was her shorts. I could feel the heat of her blush.
“I...um...wanted to come and apologize,” Julian said shaking the shirt or shorts from his foot with as much dignity as he could. I wanted to laugh. Josette elbowed me in the ribs right before her father’s head came up.
“Why are you apologizing,” I asked.
“For earlier,” he said crossing the room. “I should have known that you would never let any harm come to my daughter.”
“No apology needed, you didn’t have all the information.”
“True, but I still wanted to offer it Maxwell.”
“We take care of each other Lycaon she makes me strong in ways no one could believe.”
“I don’t think anyone doubts that Maxwell. Not after this afternoon.”
I ducked my head a little and ran my hand along my head. “Yeah....well...um sorry about that,” I said remembering how I’d all but dragged Josette from the group in my rush to get her alone. My teeth locked in her neck before we were even all the way up the grand staircase, her legs wrapped around my waist and her holding on to me. “I don’t seem to be able to control myself,” I added.
Josette’s father laughed at me. “I understand,” he said. His voice lowered and I knew he was thinking of Ms. Freeland. My words were caught in my throat because if he loved her half as much as I loved Josette there were no words to be offered to ease his pain.
“I understand,” he repeated.
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