Her eyes widened.
Did she love him? How was that even possible? She didn’t know him.
“Hey Kelly, how are things going?”
Kelly whirled around and glared at Cooper. “It’s about time you got here”
“Whoa! What’s wrong with you? You should be all happy and smiley since you found your mate.”
“Don’t start with me.”
“What happened?” asked Cooper.
“Nothing. I need a break.” She threw the white towel at him.
“I think so. I hope you haven’t been talking to the customers this way.” Cooper tossed the towel onto the bar.
Kelly took a deep breath and counted to ten as she tried convincing herself that killing her brother really wasn’t a good idea. She opened her eyes and glared at him. “I’m going to go get stuff we need to finish out the night. While you’re restocking and taking care of the customers, I’m taking a break.”
“I think you need to eat too. I’ll tell Liam to make you a bacon cheeseburger.” Cooper just stared at her.
Kelly nodded and walked away. She had no idea where the anger suddenly came from. Normally, she had better control. It’s gotta be stress. Over the past couple of months, she had dealt with a lot of stress and the situation with Draven seemed to be the last straw that finally caused her anger to break free.
Her stomach growled.
Yelp, she was hungry. A bacon cheeseburger did sound good. Once she took the supplies to Cooper, she would find a quiet corner in the storage room and eat.
Turning on the light in the storage room, she gathered the supplies needed to finish the evening. Since most of the stuff was paper products, she neatly stacked the boxes so she could easily pick them all up at once. After several minutes. She came out of the storage room carrying a large stack of boxes. About halfway up the hall leading back to the front, she walked into someone blocking her path. Several of the boxes tumbled to the floor.
“You really need to watch where you’re going.” Marla’s red lips turned up as she snarled. Slowly she brushed her hands over the front of her clothes, brushing off dirt only she could see. “I could have been seriously injured.”
“And if you weren’t in an area that’s designated off limits to everyone but employees, I wouldn’t have bumped into you.”
“So now you’re blaming me for your negligent behavior?” Marla’s eyes narrowed.
Kelly snorted. “I wasn’t negligent. You’re the person standing in an area where you do not belong. I thought you at least learned how to read.”
Marla rolled her eyes. “Like I care about what you think.” Her nose wrinkled as she stared at Kelly. “I honestly don’t see anything special about you.” She pushed her bottom lip out in a pout. “You’re nothing but a pathetically weak human. You shouldn’t have moved back to Starr. Everything was so much better without you here.”
Kelly rolled her eyes. “Wow! I’m so impressed. You didn’t even need a cheat sheet for your little speech. But as impressed as I am, you need to turn around and go back to the bar. I have work to do.”
Marla flung one of arms out, knocking the rest of the boxes out of Kelly’s hands. “Oops. You shouldn’t have been standing so close.”
Kelly crossed her arms. “What do you want?”
Marla smiled. “I came here to talk to you, or rather to give you some advice so you don’t embarrass yourself more than you already have.”
“I’ve done nothing to embarrass myself. I’m surprised after last night that you have the nerve to even show your face in this bar.”
“I’m just trying to help you.”
“Right. We’ve never been friends, so I know you’re not here to help me. Maybe stick a knife into my back, but to not to help me. Let’s get this little game over and done. What exactly do you want.”
Marla crossed her arms. “Leave Draven alone.”
Kelly stared at her. “And why would I want to do that?”
“The only reason he told everyone you were his mate so the other she-wolves will finally leave him alone.”
“I believe you fall into that category too.”
“Think about it. Why would Draven want to tie himself to a weak human like you?”
“Gee, like I haven’t heard that before. Go find someone else to bother. I’ve got work to do.” Kelly started to push her way around the woman, but Marla grabbed her arm and stopped her. Kelly looked at the hand wrapped around her wrist. She slowly looked up at Marla. “Get you hand off of me before you end up with a nub, and you know I will do it. You’re going to look really silly running around on three paws.”
Marla frowned slightly, but she let go of Kelly. “Everything Draven said to you last night was just a ploy to get all the she-wolves to believe you’re his mate, but you and I know you’re not his mate. He only did that so he and I won’t be bothered by the silly pack females who think they are good enough for Draven. You are the perfect decoy, and for that I thank you, but your usefulness is over. It’s time you leave.”
“Really?” Kelly wasn’t sure how she did it, but she managed to keep her emotions out of her voice. “And exactly when did he tell you this?”
“He told me last night when he came to see me. Without all the other she-wolves, he can finally focus his attention on me. He knows I’m his perfect mate. We actually had a really good laugh about you and the love-struck look you had on your face when he announced you and he were mates. It was priceless.”
Kelly stared at Marla.
“You’re just as pathetic and dense as you were in high school. I don’t know why you even bothered to come back. There’s nothing here for you. Do yourself a huge favor. Leave and don’t come back. Draven will never be yours. He belongs to me. And if you’re still here when I become the alpha’s mate, I will force you to leave, one way or another.”
Kelly’s hands curled into fists. A red way of anger swept over her. “Draven is not yours,” she muttered through clenched teeth.
“And you think he is yours?” Marla rolled her eyes. “It’s absolutely priceless you even think an alpha wolf like Draven would want to mate a lowly human.” She leaned a little closer. “You’re too weak…too human. He needs a strong she-wolf to help him lead this pack, which means you don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of becoming the new alpha female. I’ve already got that position. All you’ll ever be is a pathetic human who’s only good enough to be the pack’s toy, and even that’s debatable.”
Kelly took a deep breath and counted to ten. She forced her body to relax and unclenched her fists. Slowly, she let out he breath she was holding.
“What’s wrong? Can’t speak because the truth hurts?” Marla sneered.
“If you want to talk about the truth, so be it.” Kelly’s voice sounded a lot calmer than how she actually felt. “Yes, I’m just a human, and in your eyes I’m pathetic, but at least I don’t sleep with anything that happens to have a penis.”
“What are you implying?”
Kelly almost laughed at the clueless look on Marla’s face. “You slept with Justin because he was the alpha’s son, and when you weren’t with him, you were with his buddies. Everyone knew what you were doing.”
Marla’s face went from pink to red.
“You even tried to get Mason to sleep with you, but when he turned you down, you made up a bunch of lies about how he and Cooper were harassing you which caused Justin, your brother, and their friends to attack Mason and Cooper. That’s not power and it’s not being a leader either. You’re not alpha she-wolf material. You’re too self-centered and manipulative.”
Marla straightened her shoulders and smiled at Kelly. “I’m the one who has been taking care of Draven’s needs. Soon, I’ll be the one wearing his claiming marks.”
“I doubt that.”
“Really? As soon as I called last night, he came running to me, and you went home all alone.” Marla looked down her nose. “You have a mess to clean up, and I have an alpha to get down and di
rty with.” Marla turned and walked away.
Kelly just stared. Her heart screamed it wasn’t true, but her brain said otherwise. For a long time after Marla was gone, she just stood there and stared at the boxes scattered on the floor.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She looked up to find Cooper watching her. “I’m fine.”
He frowned. “Do you need help with those?”
Kelly shook her head. “Just being clumsy.” She started restacking the boxes.
“You sure?”
“I’ve got it. Did Liam fix my burger?”
“He’s keeping it warm for you. I was surprised to see Marla leaving. What did she want?”
“Not much. Just Marla being Marla.”
Cooper picked up the stack of boxes. “You have a delivery.”
Kelly looked at him. “A delivery? I didn’t order anything.”
“You wouldn’t have order this.” He carried the boxes to the front.
“What now?” muttered Kelly. She followed Cooper. As soon as she got to the bar, she stopped. Her bottom jaw dropped. A large bouquet of red roses set on the counter. Draven sent her flowers. A genuine smile lit up her face.
“Look, there she is,” said a female in the crowd.
One of the girls she had gone to high school with came up to her. “Those are beautiful. You’re so lucky to have a man like Draven send you flowers. By the way, congratulations.”
“Thank you.” Kelly plastered a smile on her face. She watched the woman walk away. She tried remembering her name, but couldn’t. Turning her attention back to the flowers, she walked over to them and pulled a small white envelop out of the bouquet. Breaking the seal, she pulled the card out of the envelope and opened it. A cold chill ran through her body. she knew people were still watching her, so she kept the smile plastered on her face.
The card wasn’t signed, but she knew who sent the roses, and it wasn’t Draven.
She reread the verse written inside the card.
ROSES ARE RED.
VIOLETS ARE BLUE.
COME BACK TO ME BEFORE SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS TO YOU.
Kelly closed the card and shoved it back into the envelope. She wanted to rip it to shreds and throw the flowers into the trash, but she would have to answer too many questions. She slipped the envelope into her back pocket.
“Is everything okay?” asked Cooper.
Kelly turned and looked at him. “Everything’s fine,” she said. The fake smile was still plastered on her face. “I just need to make sure everything is restocked. I have a feeling it’s going to be busy tonight.” She turned her back on him and started opening the boxes he had set on the bar.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
“I will later. I’m not really hungry right now.” Her stomach was in knots. There was no way any food was going to stay in it.
Cooper frowned. He turned and disappeared into the growing crowd.
Lost in her thoughts, Kelly didn’t notice Cooper leave.
CHAPTER SIX
Draven growled.
He picked up his coffee mug and took a sip. Frowning, he looked in the mug. It was empty and looked to have been empty for some time. He turned and glanced at the coffee pot on the desk behind him. It was empty too.
“Did you even hear a word I said,” demanded Archibald.
Draven glared at the phone. “I heard what you said.” He put the phone back up to his ear, even though with his wolf hearing he didn’t need to.
“What are you going to do about Kelly Hayes. Not only did she attack my daughter, but she attacked me without any provocation. I demand she be punished.”
“Your demands are groundless. In both incidents, Kelly was defending herself.” Draven rubbed his eyes. All day people had been in and out of his office with complaints, concerns, and even advice about who he should take as a mate. and then there were the phone calls.
“But—”
“You seem to have forgotten I was there. I saw what you and your daughter did to Kelly. You shouldn’t have touched her. You’re lucky it wasn’t me ripping off your arm,” growled Draven.
“How can you defend that human?”
Draven felt his wolf rise up. “That human is my mate. you are crossing a line you don’t want to cross.”
“As the alpha, it’s your duty to mate and have pups with the strongest female and that is my daughter,” argued Archibald. “Your duty to the pack trumps the idea of a fated mate, especially since she is a human.”
“My duty is to ensure the pack is strong and safe. Having the one person who is meant to be my mate only helps me to do my job. My mate is Kelly Hayes. Nothing is going to change that. If you do not like my rules, you are welcome to leave. If you stay and keep attacking my mate to promote your agenda and push your daughter on me, I will banish you.” Draven didn’t wait for Archibald to say anything else. He ended the call and put his phone on silence.
Mate. Go to mate.
Draven agreed with his wolf. He wanted to see Kelly as much as his wolf did. They needed to see her. Last night he screwed up big time when he walked out on her to deal with the phone call which had turned out to be a ploy to get him away from her. It pissed him off that the call had worked. Now, he needed to see Kelly…touch her and hold her.
When she texted earlier, he was in the middle of a conference call with the alphas of two other packs. He planned to go to the bar for an early lunch so he could see her, but by the time he finished with the conference call, he had several pack members waiting to find out why their daughters weren’t good enough for him.
“Hey boss.”
Draven looked up to see his shop manager standing in the doorway. “What is it, Noah?”
“I finished the repairs on Dawson’s chopper. I was closing the shop when two more males showed up with a couple of she-wolves. I told them you weren’t seeing anyone else tonight, but they’re refusing to take no for an answer.”
Draven sighed. “Tell them to come in. Go ahead and close the garage. If any of the others are still here, tell them to call it a day. Go home. I’ll finish locking up before I leave.”
“You sure you don’t want me to stick around?”
“I’m good. Go home.”
The large man glanced over his shoulder. He looked back at Draven. “Don’t let them keep you from your mate. You won’t be happy with anyone but her.”
Draven nodded. “See you tomorrow.”
Noah disappeared as quietly as he had appeared.
A few seconds later Tim Williams and Vander Morrison entered the office followed by their daughters.
“It’s late. What do you want?” Draven growled. He had a bad feeling he wasn’t going to like what they had to say.
Vander raised an eyebrow. “We are here to help you.”
“Really?” Draven stood up and crossed his arms.
“We heard about the unfortunate incident with the Hayes human. Since you’re ready to take a mate and as the alpha, it would look right for you to have a weak human for a mate. What would the other packs think? So, in order to solve the problem, we’ve brought our daughters to you.”
Draven growled. “I didn’t ask you or anyone else to bring she-wolves to me. I’ve found my mate.”
“Ay, yes.” Tim Williams cleared his throat. “About that—”
Draven glared at the men.
Tim cleared his throat again. “Since you’re ready to take a mate, we brought you two eligible she-wolves. Both of our daughters are young, strong, and full-blooded she-wolves. They will bear you strong pups.”
“I’m not interested in picking one of them,” said Draven.
“And we have a simple solution,” said Vander. “You can mate with both of them.”
Draven stared at the men. They were ready to give away their daughters, but what did they want in exchange. “I’m not interested in either of the she-wolves. Kelly Hayes is my mate. It’s late. I suggest you leave and take your daughters with you.”
�
�But you can’t mate with a human. Keep her on the side and fuck her if you must, but at least take one of our daughters for your mate.” Vander paled slightly as he spoke. “The pack must have a strong alpha pair leading it. That means you cannot mate with a human. Lars was right about humans. They’re too weak.”
Draven stared at the men. He was beginning to realize Lars was just part of the problems with this pack. Lars hadn’t just created the sickness. He had cultivated what was already there. “Get out of here now!” Draven pushed an alpha command into his words. The weaker she-wolves ran out as fast as they could. Vander and Tim were a little slower, but in a few minutes Draven had his office to himself.
He ran his and through his hair.
“What the fuck is the matter with these wolves?” he muttered.
“Take me as your mate, and not only will I relieve your stress, but I will chase away all the other she-wolves.” Marla slowly sauntered into the office.
Draven glared at her. “I’ve already told you that I’m not interested in you. You’re wasting your time.”
“But it’s my time to waste, and I’m going to show you exactly how I can make you feel better.” She smiled at him. With each step she took, clothes fell to the floor.
“Put you clothes back on and leave.”
“You don’t really mean it. I know you like what you see, because I definitely like what I see. I’m yours.” She bared her neck to him.
“Get dressed and leave!”
Marla stopped and shook her head. “You don’t have to worry about Kelly. She knows about us. She won’t bother you anymore. I’ve made sure of that.”
Two low menacing growls filled the room.
“What did you do to my mate?” Draven felt his claws cut into his palms.
Marla ignored his question as she licked her lips. “I like it when you growl. It makes me hot.”
A deep low growl reverberated through the room.
Marla slowly turned. Her eyes grew wide.
Cooper stood in the doorway staring at her. His eyes were completely black. His human features were distorted with those of his wolf. “Get out of here.” His voice was barely human.
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