Wild Heart

by C. R. Jane

  As I watched her try to put on her usual show, I began to wonder how easy it would be to get away with her death. My gaze bored into her as I thought about how I would do it. I’d have to be especially cruel, the bitch would probably get off on my usual tactics just because she was actually getting attention from me.

  “You’re my true mate,” Arcadia pleaded.

  Hmm. That was a new one.

  I snorted, then couldn’t hold the rest of my laugh in. It rolled out of me until I was having to wipe a tear from my eye. The girl could probably have a career as a comedian.

  When I finally opened my eyes and was able to stop laughing, the tearful act Arcadia had been going for had been changed to rage. That was what I’d been waiting for.

  “I know you felt it—the bond as it formed. I was there for you when no one else was. That alone should show you I was your true mate. You have to remember. I know you remember!” she seethed.

  I snapped and suddenly pulled my favorite knife from the back of my pants and held it against her neck, a small drop of blood dripping down her throat as I cut into the skin.

  Arcadia’s eyes sparked, and not with fear, like somehow, she’d just convinced me to engage in some deadly sex game or something.

  The only sex games I was interested in playing were with Rune, thank you very much. And there would be nothing deadly involved because if that girl ever died, I’d be following her quickly into the great beyond. My fate had somehow become forever entwined with hers.

  “Let me tell you something, you little bitch. What I remember is you taking advantage of me when I didn’t have anyone else. I remember you drawing me in with that cesspool between your legs. I remember you playing me and pretending to be someone you weren’t. And then I remember you pretending to be pregnant, knowing children would mean everything to me, all while screwing Wilder.” I grinned evilly, and for the first time, I let my inner demons show on my face.

  Arcadia’s skin paled, and the scent of her fear grew thick and heady around me. “You’re alive because I allow you to live, never forget that. There will be a day when I decide your life is over,” I told her silkily. “Remember that before you ever come here again.”

  She pissed herself and began to tremble against me, and I shook my head in disgust at her weakness. Without warning, I pulled my knife away from her and pushed her away. She fell to the ground and began to crawl towards her car, sniveling and moaning as she scrambled to get away from me.

  The sight was extremely…satisfying. And also another huge reminder of what an idiot I’d been as a pup. I shook my head and turned back to go and clean up my mess, confident that Arcadia would never dare to come here again.

  And if she did, well I guessed she was just asking for me to kill her, wasn’t she?

  With that delightful thought, I pushed Arcadia out of my head and replaced her with the goddess I’d be seeing in just a bit.

  Time to get to work. I had a date to get ready for.

  10

  Rune

  “Rune, I can’t believe you’ve never been to a carnival,” said Rae as we approached the fair.

  “Babe,” Miyu hissed under her breath as she jabbed him in the ribs. “Geez, is your sensitivity radar on the brink tonight?” She eyed him, then me with an apologetic frown, and I laughed.

  “It’s not a big deal,” I said. “I mean, I’ve seen them on television and have the general gist of them.”

  “If it makes you feel any better,” Daxon interrupted after not saying much for the walk across the bridge and the open land to where the carnival was set up, “this is the first time I’ve attended one in the past ten years.”

  Miyu’s mouth dropped open in a shocked expression. “Carnival Utopia has come to our town every year, and nearly everyone attends.”

  “Not everyone.” He glanced over to me, his arm brushing against mine. “Once every decade sounds like plenty to me.”

  “You’re missing out,” Miyu continued. “Rides, games, deep fried food, and cotton candy.”

  “That stuff is going to rot your teeth,” Daxon replied.

  I enjoyed this playful side of Daxon. As much as the new dark side of him turned me on, this version of him was much better when around other people. Though, I had noticed Rae had grown quieter the moment Daxon joined us. The alpha even made a joke that we were going on a double date, and when I reminded him this was more about Miyu wanting to see the fortune teller, he insisted a date was a date.

  His hand slipped into mine, and well, there was no denying we were here as a couple. When I tripped over a tuft of grass, Daxon squeezed my arm and stopped me from falling face first into the grass. Blinking, I cursed myself for not watching out and becoming so clumsy lately. Though in all fairness, I had been caught up in how hot Daxon looked tonight…how tempting his full lips looked. So much so, that I had stopped paying attention to where I stepped.

  “Would you prefer it if I carried you?” he teased, drawing me closer to his side. I rolled my eyes at him, and he threw his head back and laughed. The sound was like catnip to my vagina, or whatever the equivalent would be for a wolf.

  I wondered which side was the real him? This laughing, smiling version, or the one that was a bit scary? I suspected it was more the broody half, which made me appreciate him even more for putting in such a huge effort on our double date.

  “Normally, I can walk straight.” I pinched my lips to the side in a lopsided grin, and he laughed at me again, his hand squeezing my side as he tried to pull me even closer.

  Leaning in close to me, he whispered, “You look beautiful tonight, sexiest girl I’ve ever seen.”

  I blushed all the way to the tips of my ears, even though the comment was relatively tame. I knew what that mouth was capable of. Miyu walked ahead of us, her and Rae hand in hand, chatting, and I was tempted to pull him into a dark corner for a moment and have my way with him.

  “Though, you should have worn a skirt,” Daxon told me.

  I lifted my gaze to him, well aware of where he was going with his suggestion. “You don’t like my skin-tight black jeans?”

  His grin did things to me. Even on our way to the carnival, the way he studied me, his thumb circling the back of my hand with purpose, stirred an itch deep between my thighs. It was clear that the smallest thing set me off when it came to Daxon, and I gnawed on my lower lip to remind myself to hold on to some semblance of control.

  When he leaned into me once more, a moan slipped past my lips, my nipples reacting, pushing against the fabric of my bra and the blue fitted top. “You have no fucking idea what they’re doing to me.” A long breath rushed from him and warmed my cheek. “I don’t just want you, Rune. I need you.”

  I couldn’t pull away from his side, and I once again found myself scanning the open land filled with shadows, wondering how easy it might be for us to sneak away for a quick kiss…or something so much more. Desire and logic waged a silent war within me, but with a single thought to the killer lingering in town, that fantasy was quickly resolved.

  “Come on, we’re falling behind,” I said, dragging him by the arm, so we could catch up to Miyu and Rae, who were already at the entrance.

  “Is that such a bad thing?”

  I wanted to admit he had a point, but I refused to encourage him.

  The closer we got to the carnival, the brighter the lights blinked and the quicker they chased away the night. Daxon bought us tickets, and once we walked in past the gate, I paused for a moment to take it all in.

  Colored lights of every hue sparkled against the dark sky, laughter and music boomed in the air, and a strange excitement built up in my chest. I’d watched carnivals on TV shows, seen all the hidden kisses, the escapades, and the fun people always experienced at these places. With so much happening around me, I wanted to cry with joy that I had the chance to finally experience something normal. Sure, it might be lame to some, but to me, the tears pricking my eyes were real.

  “Oh, where do we go first?” I as
ked, scanning the place with so many people and things to do. A Ferris wheel in the distance, the food trucks to the right, while straight ahead was a row of booths to win prizes.

  “Your pick,” Daxon muttered.

  “The fortune teller perhaps,” Miyu suggested hopefully.

  That was when I spotted a nearby stand, overflowing with plush animal toys, and well, I naturally gravitated toward them. Not that I wanted one… Who was I kidding? I had to have one.

  “Can we just try out one game at least first, please?”

  “Of course,” Daxon replied. “What Rune wants, she gets.”

  “I’m all for games over going to a psychic,” Rae added, already guiding Miyu toward the stand I hurried toward.

  “Yay!” Practically bouncing on my feet, I stood in front of a stand painted electric blue with an array of stuffed animals pinned around the edges of the booth.

  “Are you good at throwing?’’ Miyu asked.

  I shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”

  “What’s the grand prize?” Rae asked, already eyeing the stacked up wooden bottles positioned along the back stand.

  The man inside the booth pointed to an enormous striped llama attached to the inside upper corner, easily half the size of me.

  “It’s adorable,” I said.

  “All right, then it’s a challenge.” Daxon was suddenly next to me and paying the man. “A round of balls for each of us.”

  The man happily obliged and quickly set us up. All four of us were lined up with our own target, and I had no doubt that Daxon had a stronger throw than me. But he’d also told me the carnival was run by humans and that meant we had to be careful about showing off our strength. I picked up a leather ball that reminded me of a baseball, and a surge of confidence hit me. Miyu went first, managing to just skim the top bottle. I went second, hurling mine at the bottle. It hit it dead center, but bounced right off.

  “What, no! Did you see that?” I protested. “Why didn’t they fall?”

  “You need more strength behind your throw, sweetheart,” Daxon told me and tossed his ball with barely a look, completely missing the target…clearly doing it on purpose.

  Daxon shifted to stand behind me, his body flush against my back, his groin pressed up against my ass, and he grabbed my hand with the new ball I’d picked up.

  “Let’s try this together,” he whispered in my ear, which left me covered in goosebumps. How was I supposed to concentrate on anything when he rubbed himself against me like that, when his hot breath danced across my ear?

  I glanced back at him. “If you keep doing that, neither of us will be throwing a ball for much longer.”

  “Is that a promise?” He brushed his lips across my earlobe. The next thing I knew, he hurled my hand and his forward, the ball slipping from my grip. It hit the top bottle, completely knocking it off.

  “Yes!” I jumped up and down, thinking how amazing it was to find joy in the simple things.

  Suddenly, Miyu squealed as she struck two bottles and they fell over. The guy congratulated her and handed her a small teddy bear from the wall as her prize.

  “I’ll do you one better,” Daxon promised, and he grabbed a ball, then hurled it at his target with such strength that not only did he smash all the wooden bottles apart, but he’d managed to tear a hole through the back of the booth.

  “Oh crap,” I murmured.

  As the guy turned to see what made the explosive sound, I quickly hurled my ball to distract him from the gaping hole, but my throw swung diagonally across the booth, bouncing off Rae’s bottles and pitched right toward the guy’s face. He cried out in terror, ducking, as Daxon thrust out his arm and caught the ball with ease.

  “Holy shit, that was incredible!” I claimed.

  Rae was hooting, while Miyu clapped. The guy handed us the huge llama, a disgruntled look all over his face. But technically, we had knocked over the bottles, so I grabbed my prize and hugged it against my chest before he noticed the gaping hole.

  “Now that was fun,” I said as we walked away. “Thanks for my prize.”

  Daxon flashed me a warm smile, offering a laugh. “You have a wicked curveball.”

  “She almost decapitated the guy with it,” Miyu joked, giggling. “Okay, now let’s go see the fortune teller.”

  “Maybe some rides first?” Rae asked.

  “Babe,” Miyu moaned in protest.

  “I could do rides or the psychic,” I whispered. “As long as we eventually get a corndog. I’ve always wanted to try one.”

  Daxon’s lips pulled into an amused grin.

  “Hope this isn’t too boring for you?” I asked, genuinely worried he’d be bored to tears. Daxon was the opposite kind of guy who’d attend a carnival, as he admitted himself.

  “Are you kidding?” he murmured softly. “To see you smile and watch your tight ass gives me plenty of time to work out the most creative way to rip your pants off of you later.”

  “You still owe me a new pair of leggings by the way,” I teased, remembering how easily he tore them up with a single slice of his clawed hand. His destructive tendencies would probably destroy a lot more of my outfits if I let him.

  I didn’t really mind.

  That time, Miyu must have heard our conversation, as she glanced over her shoulder at me with wriggling brows. I smirked back and lowered my head, loving that I had someone to talk to about guys and things in general. Miyu was incredible, and she was one of many reasons why I was beginning to want to remain in Amarok.

  “Okay, we’re going to the fortune teller first,” she instructed.

  We maneuvered through the crowds, and I couldn’t remember the last time I smiled so much or enjoyed myself. When I noticed Daxon kept gazing my way, I said, “You’re looking at me strangely.”

  “You don’t want to know what I’m thinking,” he delivered, his voice carrying hesitation.

  “But I really do.”

  His gaze tracked my every step and movement, and that only left me blazing in heat. “I want you to have an incredible time. To keep wearing that sexy smile, to be by my side.”

  I eyed him. “Liar. That’s not what you were thinking.”

  He arched one eyebrow casually, without any expression. “Correct.” Not saying another word, he took my hand and dragged me past a line of people waiting to get onto the bumper cars.

  Just then, we’d walked into a wave of people in our path, going in the opposite direction. Shoving and pushing me aside, Daxon’s hand ripped free from mine.

  I stumbled around, searching for a way out of the chaos, while someone trod on my foot, and another person whacked their hair in my face. I might have just found one downside to a carnival, and I pushed my way to the left when someone stepped into my path, and I literally walked into them.

  Teetering backward, still gripping my llama plushy animal, I just wanted to get free. “Sorry.” But when I looked up, I’d come face to face with Daniel. I hated how my first reaction was one of fear. I’d told myself I wouldn’t let anyone push me around, but instinct had a mind of its own.

  He gave me a dark look, and anger replaced the fear. Of course he would show up when I’d been having so much fun.

  I should have turned away and merged into the crowd, but I didn’t move.

  “What do you want, Daniel?” I asked impatiently while rubbing my arms nervously down my sides.

  “I know it was you who killed Eve,” he hissed. “And I don’t give a fuck what anyone else says. You don’t have me fooled.”

  Stunned, I looked at him incredulously. “There was another murder, the poor man was killed the same way. And I have an alibi, so it couldn’t have been me. I know you desperately want someone to blame for Eve, but it’s not me.”

  He ignored me by the way his upper lip peeled over his row of white teeth.

  “You never should have come to this town. No one wants you,” he yelled at me, gaining the attention of several bystanders.

  I swallowed hard, unsure h
ow to make him see sense when he had made up his mind, when part of his mourning was tangled with hatred and revenge.

  He closed the distance between us in one long step, and I threw my hands up against his chest to keep him away, but he leaned forward against my push. “I can’t wait until everyone finds out the truth of the fucking monster you are.”

  A shadow fell over him, and he flinched back at the sight of Daxon.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he growled out at Daniel. A deadly expression slashed over the alpha’s face, one of twisted rage, of hostility, one that had me second-guessing the extent of how far he’d push his anger.

  Daniel was backing away, his eyes flicking to Daxon, and his face had turned ghastly white. He was shaking his head, terror causing him to almost curl in on himself. “Nothing, I was just leaving.”

  Daxon’s arm lashed out as fast as a viper’s strike and grabbed the boy by the throat, hauling him back to him. “You think you have permission to talk to her? To so much as look at her?”

  “I-I…” His eyes widened, and his mouth opened, but no words came out. With anyone else, I might have enjoyed the intimidation show, except Daniel had lost himself to Eve’s death. The poor guy trembled, and Eve would have never wanted to see him hurt. The way Daxon held him close, stared practically into his soul, I had no doubt he’d just scared the hell out of him.

  “You and I have a problem,” Daxon stated.

  I shuffled closer, my pulse racing, and I placed a firm hand on his arm. “Please, just let him go. He’s scared and grieving. He’s going to leave me alone from now on, aren’t you, Daniel?”

  He nodded frantically.

  Daxon didn’t release him at first, but held him tighter, giving him the stare of death that would terrify anyone. “I rarely give second chances, but for Rune, you’ve earned yourself one favor. You owe her, but if I ever see you near her again, you won’t even see me coming. Understand?”

  Daniel half snorted a muffled, defeated cry.