by Amanda Perry
13
Reid
A low whistle caught Reid by surprise and he spun around, ready to chew out whoever it was. Elijah raised a brow at him. “Good job, dickhead. Shall I find some puppies for you to kick next? A helpless kitten or two to torture, perhaps? If you’re feeling feisty, I saw a nest of baby birds you could destroy.”
“Screw off, Elijah,” Reid growled at the Fae. “She burned down a fucking building.”
“Sort of,” Chrissy interjected, her eyes narrowed at her uncle.
Reid’s focus darted between Noah and his niece. “What does she mean by that, Noah?”
“I didn’t fucking do anything! She slapped me.” Noah held his hands up defensively.
Elijah frowned at him. “What did she smack you for? What’d you do?”
“He called her fat,” Chrissy explained, still shooting daggers at Noah. “He called her fat and then she smacked him and he knocked over some candles.”
“Holy shit,” Reid gasped.
Elijah’s eyes popped wide. “Dick move, man.”
"I didn't call her fat, for fuck's sake." Noah groaned, pushing his soot-covered hands through his hair. "She's not a kid. I thought she was a kid and she isn't. The word fat never left my mouth."
“You said, and I quote, you’re not a ‘little’ girl.” Chrissy used her fingers to put quote marks around the word little, then propped her hands on her hips. “What part of that is okay?”
Reid hissed through his teeth. “Yeah, you can’t say that to any female, ever.”
Noah glowered at his bond mate. “Fuck you, man. At least I didn’t shout at her and make her run away crying. Technically, she wasn’t the one that caused the fire. That was all on me. The slap took me by surprise.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you say anything while I was yelling at her? You stood there letting her take the blame,” Reid demanded, his eyes starting to glow.
“No asshole, I didn’t. I walked up at the end only to see her running off, upset by what you said to her.”
“Fuck. This is a mess.” Running a hand down his face in frustration, Reid knew what he had to do. He needed to make nice with the human. He’d been in a sour mood already thanks to Lorelei. She’d managed to put him in a foul mood earlier that morning by sneaking into his bedroom and lying naked on his bed while he slept. Of course, her overwhelming perfume woke him quickly and he lost his shit on her, threatening to ban her from the compound if she tried anything so idiotic and desperate again. She left quickly but didn’t appear the least bit repentant and it only served to piss Reid off even more. He knew she was going to try again and again until he made good on his promise to kick her ass out of the territory. It wasn’t ten minutes after Lorelei left his room that he got the call about the fire.
He knew Remy hadn’t deserved his anger and wrath. He didn’t mean to take his temper out on her. Watching her tear up and then run away made him feel like a complete and utter douchebag. Normally, he’d feel guilty for being a jerk and reluctantly apologize but this time, it was different. His chest physically ached with the need to make amends with the girl. He knew he had to speak to her and beg for forgiveness, though he wasn’t sure where the need stemmed from.
“Todd? Remy?” Clive’s panicked voice broke through Reid’s internal guilt trip and caused Reid to cringe. He knew someone was going to tell the human what he’d said to his daughter and he wasn’t looking forward to the backlash.
“Dad, I’m over here,” Todd called out, rushing to his father’s side. Reid watched as Clive embraced his son, inspecting him from head to toe for any sign of injury. “I’m fine. I wasn’t in the building that burned.”
“Thank goodness for that,” Clive sighed, pulling the boy into another hug as his eyes scanned the remaining crowd. “Where’s your sister?”
The boy jabbed his finger in Reid’s direction and sneered at him. “He yelled at her and made her cry. She took off a few minutes ago.”
Clive’s gaze followed his son’s finger and landed on the Alpha. The hate-filled stare Clive shot Reid would have made most grown men cry. He swallowed hard and made his way over to the two humans. “Look, it’s not like that, okay?”
"Do tell," Clive growled, not the least bit concerned by the Alpha's status. Reid gained a little bit more respect for the man at that moment. He didn't seem to give two shits that Reid was an Alpha. His only concern was for his daughter and Reid appreciated his loyalty to his children.
Reid pointed to the rubble where the old building sat just moments before. “There was an incident and some of the young Shifters blamed Remy for it. I may have been a bit harsh on her, though. I plan to go find her and apologize now.”
Clive sighed deeply, hanging his head. “You can’t yet.”
“Why?” Reid frowned, unsure what he meant.
“If she’s upset, she needs time to calm down. Let her cool off before you approach her, or this could turn into a bigger issue than it already has.” Clive knew his daughter better than anyone on the compound. If he believed waiting was for the best, Reid would reluctantly wait.
Reid nodded his understanding, though he didn’t like waiting. “Dinner then,” he demanded, thinking up the perfect solution. “The three of you come to the pack house for dinner this evening. I’ll apologize to her there. We can sort the whole mess out.”
Clive didn’t look so sure about Reid’s idea, but he agreed anyway. “I’ll tell her you want us to come over.”
Reid left the hellacious scene behind him, knowing his team would see to the cleanup.
The doorbell to the pack house rang precisely at six that evening, signaling his guests had arrived for dinner, Nervous at seeing the human female again, Reid braced himself as he waited for them to join him.
He watched as Clive and Todd strolled into the dining room. Todd had a cat ate the canary grin on his boyish face and Clive looked defeated. Remy was nowhere to be found. He watched the entryway for a full minute, waiting for her to come in but she never did.
“Where’s Remy?” Elijah asked the question before Reid could.
Clive’s gaze turned to the ceiling and he huffed. “She wouldn’t come. I told her you wanted to apologize, but she wasn’t having it. She flat out refused.” He held his arms out and shrugged. “I couldn’t exactly pick her up and carry her here.”
Reid saw red. No one defied him like that, ever. He demanded her presence at his home for dinner and he’d be damned if he was going to let her refuse him. If he’d stopped to think rationally for three seconds, he might have realized he was overreacting, but his only focus was on finding Remy so he could ease this aching guilt in his chest, one he had all afternoon since his encounter with her. Not speaking a word, he stormed past the humans, ignoring Noah and Eli as they called out to him.
He hopped into his ATV, turning over the engine with more force than necessary. The compound didn’t have specific speed laws, but if it did Reid would have broken them a few times over. His foot slammed angrily on the gas as he sped down the gravel path to the human’s small home. Normally, he would’ve just shifted but he didn’t trust his control at the moment.
Skidding to a halt outside the cabin, Reid readied himself for a confrontation. As he stormed up to the front door, a familiar and all too alluring scent caught his attention, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. He was too pissed off to think sensibly right then. Reid pounded hard on the door, impatiently waiting for the damned human to open up. He knocked three more times in quick succession before the door swung open and the faint scent from moments ago hit him like a ton of bricks.
He inhaled deeply, pulling the lavender and vanilla aroma into his lungs. His body shook, ready to shift and pounce on the source. He knew then why he’d been driven crazy by the slight undertone of lavender from so many different people lately.
Reid didn’t want to scare the girl, so he fought his wolf, desperately trying to keep him at bay. His control slipped and he rushed forward, unable to stop himself. The hu
man girl screeched in shock, running away from him. All logical thought fled, replaced with blood pulsing excitement. All Shifters loved a good chase. He followed Remy into the kitchen, his deep growls reverberating off the walls as he tracked her down. He made a move toward her, but he wasn't ready for her assault. Something metal and hard bounced off Reid's head, causing black spots to appear in his line of sight and his ears to ring. It didn't stop him fully and Remy must have realized that quickly because whatever she hit him with the first time came back again, harder the second time and everything went black for Reid.
The pounding in his skull had him moaning as consciousness returned. Unable to open his eyes fully, his body froze as he felt her come near, her small hands on his wrists and ankles, encircling them tightly with some type of heavy material. Realizing the little she-devil had him trussed up like a turkey at Christmas dinner, he started cursing the fates loudly that a tiny human woman could take down an Alpha Shifter with a quick whack on the head.
Squinting against the pain, his curses grew louder as he took in the frightened look on her face. Anger quickly replaced her fear and before he could get a single reassuring word out, she stuffed something soft and round in his mouth, sealing it with tape. Exasperated at being treated like a common criminal, he glared up at her. He barely had time to brace as she reached for the same metal pan she’d used before. Just before impact, he found himself wondering why the infuriating woman continued to attack him.
14
Remy
“Holy fuck. Holy fuck. Holy fuck.” Remy paused in her tirade, trying to catch her breath. “What the actual fuck just happened?” she yelled, her voice echoing around the empty cabin.
She stared at the man knocked unconscious. His body was so still, if Remy hadn’t known better, she’d assume the man had gone on a bender and was peacefully sleeping it off. Knowing Shifters healed at an alarming rate, Remy contemplated her options. He was the Alpha. No one, besides her dad, would be willing to help her. If the Alpha woke up, Remy was positive a kitchen wok would not be able to stop him a third time. One reason was because said wok now laid broken on the ground. The force she’d used to knock the man unconscious had been so great the handle broke off. Second, no way would she be able to take him by surprise again. She wasn’t stupid. Shifters were fast and if she didn’t do something soon, she was dead.
Remembering the utility bag her dad always insisted on having in the house, Remy ran for the hall closet. Swinging the door open, she breathed a sigh of relief when she found the army duffle tucked away behind some fold up chairs. Remy tried to lift it, but it proved too heavy, forcing her to drag it along the hardwood floors. Once the bag cleared the doorframe, she dropped to her knees, tugging the zipper open.
Digging around, Remy found everything she would need. Zip ties laced with silver, wolfsbane coated twine and a large army knife. She zipped the bag closed and left it sitting there, plucking up her found treasures, and made her way back to the kitchen.
It took ten minutes to maneuver the big man onto a kitchen chair, securing him in place. Sweat ran down Remy’s back. She thought she would never get him up in the chair but luckily, the man wore a leather belt around his waist. Remy used that as leverage, after positioning him in a sitting position and lifting his butt off the floor. Unfortunately, for the Alpha, he’d likely wake with a major wedgie.
Satisfied the crazy Shifter wouldn’t get loose, Remy took a deep breath and looked around for her phone. She spotted it on the side table in the living room and practically dove for it. Pressing her dad’s name, she didn’t have to wait long for the phone to connect.
“Remy, honey. Have you chang—”
Remy cut him off mid-sentence. “Get here quick. I opened the door and he just attacked me! I was able to knock him out, but I’m afraid he might wake up soon. I don’t know if the ropes and zip ties will hold.”
“Who, baby?”
"The Alpha! He went batshit crazy!"
“What? Fucking hell! I’m on my way. You just stay on the phone with me until I reach the cabin. Don’t hang up for any reason.”
“Okay, I won’t.” The scare had her reverting back to her prepubescent self, desperately needing her dad to hold her and make her feel safe.
Remy heard her dad shouting orders, then his voice became muffled as engines roared to life. By the sound of it, her dad was bringing a small cavalry, which worried her. What would they do when they arrived to find their Alpha tied to a chair?
Putting the thought aside for the moment, Remy concentrated on her dad’s voice. Every so often, he would murmur reassurances to her that he was almost there. Finally, Remy heard the engines as they came closer. The echo had her moving the earpiece away from her ear.
Seconds later the front door burst open and her dad rushed in with his gun drawn, ready to defend her. He had a half-crazed look in his eyes as he searched the immediate vicinity for a threat. He stared hard at the man still knocked out in the kitchen chair before he moved towards Remy and grabbed her in a fierce hug.
“You okay, baby? Did he hurt you?” Her father’s gaze swept her up and down, looking for any signs of injury.
“He didn’t hurt me. Scared me mostly. I don’t know what happened.” Remy shook her head.
“What the fuck? Why is the Alpha hogtied to a chair?” Bruce’s large body blocked the doorway. Remy could see several pairs of legs behind him, but nothing else.
“Move, you overgrown rug!” a familiar voice shouted from behind the bear.
The bear growled, not moving. “My Alpha has charged me with your security, Tinkerbell. I ain’t letting you anywhere near this room until I’m sure it’s safe. I like my balls where they’re at.”
Multiple groans sounded, but otherwise, those left outside remained silent. The angry bear continued. "Now, human, are you gonna answer my question? Or am I going to have to force it outta you.”
“I’d like to see you try, Goldie! If you don’t—”
“Enough!” her dad interjected. “Now, I want to know what happened. I have holstered my gun but if that asshole touched you, I’m gonna put a bullet through his balls!” More growling at her dad’s assertions and something that sounded like a thump came from outside.
“Remy.” Her dad captured her attention once again. “Tell me.”
“I had just gotten out of the shower when I heard knocking at the door. I got dressed and answered and he just sniffed me and went crazy. His eyes changed and he lunged at me, chasing me into the kitchen. I thought he was going to kill me. So, I grabbed the nearest pot, which happened to be your favorite wok, Dad. Sorry about that, but I used it to hit him over the head. It eventually broke but knocked him out good.”
“It’s okay, baby. Pots can be replaced. You can’t. What happened next? You called me?”
“Well, sorta. I mean, he started stirring before I could find my phone to call you. I duct taped his hands and feet before he fully woke. He growled at me and I freaked out and hit him again, but it didn’t knock him out. The asshole started cursing at me, so I stuffed a sock in his mouth and taped it shut with more duct tape. He’s lucky I used a clean sock. I was tempted to grab one of Todd’s out of the laundry hamper. Anyway, he kept yelling and growling at me, even with the sock, so I hit him a third time. That’s when the handle to your wok broke. He’s been unconscious ever since. I was afraid he would wake up again, so I tied him to the chair with zip ties. Then called you.”
While Remy had been speaking, Bruce must have moved away from the doorway, allowing the others to enter. Elijah and Noah stood side by side, throwing amused glances toward the kitchen. Her brother leaned against the doorway casually, his expression indiscernible.
“Did he say anything?” Her dad demanded, his voice still edged with unspoken violence.
Remy shook her head negatively. “Nothing besides random cursing. He just went nuts. Scared me more than anything.”
“Bullshit! My Alpha would not attack a human for no reason. You must have
done something unforgivable to piss him off again.” Bruce crossed his arms over his chest, growling low in his throat,
Remy wrenched herself out of her dad’s arms, facing off with the bear. Taking a step forward, she threatened, “You calling me a liar, Goldie? Because I’ll take offense to that.”
Something in her expression must have alerted the Shifter of her seriousness because he took a step back, reaching down and cupping his balls protectively. “Of course not,” he said defensively, “I don’t know what set him off, but you shouldn’t be here when he wakes up.”
The bear gave her dad a hard look. “You need to leave. Take your family and just go. The Alpha was worried about an outside influence around the community the other day. Ordered a full security sweep. It’s possible we missed something and he’s under some type of magical influence.”
“Fuck! I knew it! I haven’t felt much rage from him, more like intense lust. Today it was off the charts. Maybe a witch got to him when he was on his way over here. Or he ran into some kind of magical trap. Whatever it was, it was strong. I felt it take control of him and I was almost incapacitated myself. I couldn’t move or utter a single word in warning. It must have been Remy knocking him unconscious that released the spell’s hold over me also. I was already gathering my guards to come to investigate when Remy called and her dad shouted out the emergency." Elijah walked closer to Remy, but his gaze remained on her dad. “You need to get your family to safety until we can figure out what is going on. I don’t know if it’s a threat, but something is definitely wrong. Take what you can grab and go now. I can already feel Reid resurfacing. He’ll be awake anytime now.”
“If he’s waking, they won’t have enough time to get away. What are we going to do?” Noah approached on Remy’s other side. With Elijah beside her, Remy’s heart began to pick up speed. She was sure it was from adrenaline and fear, but when Noah came to stand beside her as well, her heartbeat went into overdrive. It beat almost painfully in her chest. She didn’t understand why and didn’t have time to think about it.