Jordan looked like absolute shit; I’d only met him once, years ago, but I wouldn’t have recognized him if it wasn’t for the pungent stench that clung to the roof of my mouth.
Thick, bulging muscles wrapped around his bones, and he carried himself in an invisible ball of hatred and rage that was white-hot in its intensity. The hairs on my body grew thicker as my jaw and gums ached from the pure threat that washed off him in waves. His sparkling, angry gaze met mine for the briefest moment as he took in the room, and I held back a growl at the vengeance I found there.
But Alpha Jackson seemed to be the one that really brought out the animal in Jordan, and the two stared at each other with growing animosity for the longest three seconds of my fucking life.
‘That is unnatural wild magic, Derek the Lion.’ Muss’ ominous curiosity flittered softly, quietly, into my ears, and my eyelid twitched in agitation.
“It’s called doping, you damn bird. He’s pumped full of drugs. Like what Linne took to sleep without nightmares, but for building muscle and being an absolute fucking douchebag.”
“I’m sorry I’m late. Traffic.” Jordan’s deep voice blocked out Muss’ surprise that performance enhancing drugs were a thing, and he smirked broadly as he spread his arms. Every move he made was strong, sure, but his eyes gave him away; they sparkled too brightly – almost feverish.
“It’s good that everyone is here. That gives us time to talk about the fact that Jackson didn’t even destroy my sister and the pack, but tamed some sort of angel to do it for him because he’s too much of a pussy to sacrifice his own clan in a battle he knew he wouldn’t win.”
“Oh my fucking God – ” Groaning loudly in the ensuing silence, I went to stand up only for Jackson to physically shove me back into my seat as he beat me to the punch.
Biting back a growl, I sneered at his glare but made no move to disobey, and he stepped out from between his chair and the table to puff out his chest in threat. Two wolves going at it, even such powerful ones, was almost always amusing; they usually only fought in their wolf forms, so anything in their human forms was a display.
The keyword being almost.
“Do you have proof?” Karina’s annoying voice gyrated against my ear drums, and I tore my eyes off the two males to watch her prop her chin in her palm. She was just as unimpressed by this show as everyone else at the table, but she was obligated to investigate. Jackson had no rights to negotiate if he wasn’t the cause of ending the conflict, and the contract we’d just signed would be voided.
“Everyone knows angels don’t exist, Jordan. This better not be another one of your grandiose ‘visions’ about wiping out the humans by getting rid of the clan protecting them…”
“I saw it! I don’t need to prove that I know what I saw.” The most childish fucking answer I’d ever heard burst from Jordan’s mouth, and I stiffened as Muss tossed his head back and forth in silent laughter.
“There was an angel, and she did something to the pack – killed them all at the same time after she gauged Liza’s eyes out. They all just dropped like flies, and then Jackson came to mop up the mess.”
“So, you let your sister and your pack take the fall for your decisions and then ran away – that’s what I’m hearing.” Disgust laced Karina’s voice, and she shot Jordan the nastiest glare possible as a tiny tether of tension dissipated from my shoulders. No one would believe Jordan even if he wasn’t hopped up on drugs, and I glanced at him to find him turning a purplish-red color in the face. “Well, maybe if you’d bothered to get cooperation from us for that stupid stunt of yours, you’d have proof. But you don’t, and the treaty is signed.”
“You won’t even make an effort to believe me even after all I did for this clan!” Jordan’s attention shifted from Jackson, and the hairs on my body thinned and hung back down as the threat jumped from one person to another. The deranged wolf couldn’t hang on to his dwindling attention span, and I took the moment to breath as he practically roared in fury at Karina.
The reptilian shifter’s eyes flashed a bright green, and she stood up in a flurry to slam her palms down hard onto the table. Muss jumped in front of me, flapping his wings wildly, while I only watched the scene from under furrowed brows.
This wasn’t how I’d expected this to go; no one had heard hide or hair of Jordan until now. We’d all expected to never see him again as he ran away in disgrace, pack-less and family-less.
“Don’t you dare act like you did us a favor! We’re intolerant of humans, and the world would be a better place without them – but you can’t just murder them because you don’t like our neighbors, Jordan! Now, we have to mop up your fucking mess, and you made a big mistake waltzing in here like you still have a right. You put everyone else in danger by egging Liza on. Our entire clan was in danger of collapsing because you decided to kidnap and bait a dozen human kids and women.”
Karina wasn’t angry because Jordan kidnapped and baited humans. She wasn’t even angry at the hyper-radicalism of his decision. She was pissed he did it in a way that endangered the clan, and she wasn’t wrong. Jackson had forced them to give up businesses and just under half of their side of the city because he’d come out the victor of the battle.
“What are you gunna do about it, punk?” Grabbing Jordan’s attention, Jackson took a threatening step forward, and my knee bounced at the sudden spike of tension in the atmosphere. “You disrespected the wrong fucking person here.”
“Fight me, you weak, parading piece of shit – when I win, they’ll know I’m telling the truth. That’ll be proof enough.” Stunned silence met Jordan’s declaration, and a harsh bark of laughter burst from my throat. He growled at me, the deep, carnal noise causing reverberations to rattle the table as I slammed my palm down on it. The threat washed off him in waves, and sent me flying from my seat.
“What the fuck are you laughing at, you retarded invalid?” Jordan stuck out his chest.
The baffled amusement building inside my rib cage turned into white-hot rage faster than the time it took me to blink, and I lunged for Jordan without thinking. Chairs rattled as they hit the wall, but Jackson stuck out his arm to stop me.
Glaring at Jordan with venom dribbling from my sharpened teeth, the long white points enveloped in thick ropes of saliva, I watched as his expression turned into wide-eyed surprise. Inside, I felt a sick kind of satisfaction burn through my veins.
Clearly, he didn’t think that I could partially shift – because lion shifters were inferior to wolves, after all.
“He’s not worth it, Derek. He’s not worth anything, now.” Jackson’s strong, unwavering announcement did nothing to ease the lightning tension thrumming through me.
Jordan snarled openly, and my lips peeled back as my Alpha’s grip on my left arm seared my already discolored flesh. “Let’s go. We have no more business here.”
A Little Bit About Rylee
Rylee Winters is a lover of fantasy and magic. She loves to write romance stories about strong, kick-ass heroines and hot, bad-ass but sweet guys.
Oftentimes, she can be found walking dazedly about, distracted by her imagination and daydreams of faeries, elves, shape-shifters and all sorts of magical possibilities.
She loves to read, and one of her favorite pastimes is sitting down to a good book with a steaming, hot cup of tea.
Send her a message to say ‘Hi’ or let her know what you think of her books – she loves to connect with her readers! =)
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