‘You okay?’ I croak out.
He frowns and his head shakes a little bit.
‘Am I okay? Baby, you’re not okay! What can I do?’ he asks. And I don’t know what to say to him. What can he do? What can anyone do? Nothing. There is nothing to do.
‘I can’t even bury him, Jared.’
He drops his head to my shoulder.
‘I’m so fucking sorry, baby,’ he tells me, and that’s all anyone can say. Even though they have nothing to be sorry about. It isn’t their fault my mother is a sick, twisted bitch.
‘If I had known—’
I place my fingers to Jared’s lips to stop whatever he was going to say. It is pointless.
‘Nothing you could have done, Jared,’ I tell him. I feel guilty. I should have known my mother better, but my memories of her were so few and very poor. I have to be thankful of that in some way too. He holds me against his chest, and I know without him, I would be completely empty.
‘I just can’t believe it, Jared. I can’t believe he’s gone.’ He holds me tighter, and I have to choke down a sob.
***
It’s been three days since I found out about my dad. At least that’s what Jared says. I’ve barely left the bedroom. I’ve eaten bits but not a great deal. But as Harrison knocks at the door, my heart flutters a little. I hope he has news from the basement.
‘The kitsune is ready. Any healthier and I’ll be fucking annoyed, so he needs to go as soon as possible.’ His voice is devoid of emotion, but I see a glint in his eye. He’s excited for this. And what do you know—my mood lifts at the prospect too.
‘Who is going?’ I ask, looking at them both. Harrison rolls his eyes Jared’s way, and he shrugs his shoulders.
‘I was going to ask you the same question, baby.’ He half smiles. And I smile back.
‘Well, I guess it depends on who wants the hunt?’ I ask, making Jared choke a little, and Harrison grins so wide it almost reaches his ears.
‘I’ll ask the question, but I doubt there will be many men left to guard you and the house. I think everyone will want in.’ I frown at his words.
‘I’m going, Jared.’
He shakes his head no.
‘I AM.’
‘Devon, this isn’t up for discussion. You’ve barely eaten and barely slept in days.’ I look at Harrison, and he turns his head away. Fuckity fuck. I thought I could count on his vote.
‘Fine! But only because I want to be at my best for Kristen, and I don’t give a flying fuck what you have to say about that, Jared. SHE is MINE!’
To my amazement, he doesn’t argue. So I take that as a win. Ha! I hear Brad through the open door and turn to find him standing in the frame. He smiles a little at me before looking Jared square in the eye.
‘I want in on that bastard. I’m not staying in on this one, Jared. I want in.’
‘Fair enough,’ Jared concedes, and Brad nearly falls backwards from the ease of his agreement.
‘Is my father back?’ Jared asks and is told that he’s still not back from his business. Meaning the helm was still his. Not that I think he would object to our plan. I think he’d appreciate it and take part.
***
The asshole is set free, and it takes less than an hour for Jared to come back and find me in the kitchen. He’s still naked from his change, and he’s covered in blood. I jump up from the bench and frantically check him over. No one else comes in with him, but we still have plenty of men on guard. Harrison, Howard, Brad, and Jared chased the kitsune and he clearly never made it off the grounds. I take in Jared’s face, and the blood covering the lower half and his chin. I smudge my thumb through it, and I smile a little.
‘He’s gone?’ I ask, already knowing the answer. Jared nods and still has that look in his eye—the one he gets when his wolf is still lingering at the surface. It’s beautiful and powerful and all alpha male. I knew what comes next. What always follows that look. And the happy feeling that one less kitsune walks the earth has me in the same mindset. I feel, more than hear, the rumble of his chest as he pulls me into him. Before I know it, I’m hauled over his shoulder, and he is taking the stairs two at a time. He doesn’t slow, only stopping to look at me for a moment when he tosses me on the bed. He starts with my jeans and begins dragging them down my legs. When he is done with those, he tears my tee over my head, and I catch a glimpse of his wolf again, in his beautiful green orbs. He flips me over then and pushes inside me. Although he’s taken no time to prepare me, my body always seems ready to encompass his cock. He slides inside with little effort and the moment he sinks balls deep, he groans out like an addict who’s just plunged on the needle. He’s greedy though and doesn’t stay still long. He pounds out his need as he clutches my hips and bites into my shoulder. He cums on a roar, and I join him seconds later.
The day had come. Kristen was up on her feet, and I was ready to take her out. Jared had grizzled about letting her heal all the way, and so we had compromised on a few days. I wanted her able to fight back, so I’d wanted to wait until she was fully healed.
‘Devon, this isn’t a fight. It’s an execution. I already don’t like that you are doing this—don’t make me change my mind,’ he told me. Oh hell no. He wasn’t taking this from me.
‘Jared, if it was you fighting another male, would you want them injured?’
He growls his impatience.
‘Completely fucking different, Devon. Like I said. NOT.A.FUCKING.FIGHT.’
‘An execution. Yeah yeah, I know! But I want to win fair and square.’
‘Baby, listen to what I am saying. Okay?’ I nod. And smile in amusement. ‘You are not going out there to have a fight. You are going out there to execute a traitor—nothing more nothing less.’
‘So when she fights back you’re still gonna call it an execution? Still not a fight?’
He stamps his foot, and I laugh at his frustration until I see the seriousness in his face, then I stop.
‘If you think I’m going to stand back and let her hurt you, you are waaaay the fuck wrong.’
‘Jared, have you forgotten. I almost took her out last time? If you hadn’t stopped it—’
‘Don’t fucking remind me,’ he grumbles.
‘Jared, I’m not afraid of getting hurt. I want to fight her, and I want to win. I will win.’
He shakes his head, sighing and sits on the bed. He runs his fingers through his hair as I pull on my jeans.
‘She’ll be desperate—she’s got nothing to lose, and she’s going to die anyway. She will go all fucking out to take you with her!’
I shrug my shoulders, and turn my lips down in a ‘so what?’ gesture.
‘Fuck, Devon. I can’t stand the thought of her hurting you anymore. I wish you would just let me deal with this shit,’
‘Sorry, buddy, not a chance,’ I tell him, trying to lighten the mood.
‘I’m serious.’ He purses his lips which makes me smile. I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his neck, putting his head at boob level. I only have my bra on, and he is suddenly preoccupied and stops with his pep talk.
***
I walk out of the kitchen and into the waiting crowd outside. Jared’s father is there. He grins as I walk to Jared’s side. And I see Harrison, dragging along Kristen, looking much better than the last time I saw her. My lip curls immediately when our eyes meet. I can smell her fear—not so clever now she knows it’s the end for her. I take comfort in that. I can feel how tense Jared is. He’s made it clear how he feels about this, on too many occasions today. I really should make this swift if I’m going to keep him happy. But I also want her to suffer. If I remember rightly, I was quicker on my feet than she was, more nimble, agile. I will use that to my advantage and prolong her death. Drag it out and injure her as much as possible before I deliver the fatal blow.
I shake myself back into the here and now and look at Jared. He’s so tense. I hate seeing him like this, but I have to do this my way. I have to, or I will regret it m
y whole life. I’m doing this for me, for my dad, and for Maiya. The crowd is eager for blood. I can feel it buzzing. Jared’s father steps up and quiets the crowd with a simple raised hand.
‘An execution would normally be carried out in human form, swiftly, but this execution is somewhat different. I believe that my son’s mate deserves to carry out this execution in any way she sees fit.’ The crowd cheers and lots of eyes meet mine. ‘Devon has lost a lot because of this traitor, and so I am handing over the gavel, so to speak, so that she can exact her punishment.’ With that, he gestures that the floor is mine. Kristen is on her knees in front of me, with Harrison at her back.
‘I want her in wolf form,’ I tell him, and he gives me a nod before dragging her to one side of the crowd and cutting a hole through. Jared and I walk through, and he takes me to the kitchen. I watch through the window as Harrison puts a chain around Kristen’s neck. Jared closes the blind, and I start to strip down. There is no time to be skittish about changing form in front of him, so I just get on with it. As I kneel down, he comes with me. I realise then he had undressed too. He holds my face in his palm and looks me in the eye. We don’t speak—he just kisses my lips before dropping his head to start his own change. The pain is less than usual, and it seems to come much quicker. I don’t wait around. As soon as it’s over, I make my way to the open door. Jared is at my heel, and as we leave the kitchen, the crowd parts for us. Jared walks around the edge of the circle, backing the crowd up.
I see lots of friendly faces now, Brad, Zoe, Howard, Logan, and Imogen and so many more as they all take a step back. Then I hear Harrison cussing and see the crowd part as he drags a struggling Kristen by the chain around her neck into the centre of the circle. Jared stands by my side, and his father stands to his right. He nods his head minutely, giving his father the okay. And then he steps in front of me, once again quieting the crowd with a small rising of his hand. There is a moment of silence as Kristen stops her struggle, but it passes in a second as the alpha drops his arm, his hand slicing through the air between us. Then the crowd jeers and shouts as Harrison releases the chain from around her neck. I watch her stumble, trying to track my movements as her head lifts. She whimpers and lies on her belly, but I’m not falling for that. I curl my lips and snarl. She skitters back, pathetically. I growl out my frustration. I want her to fight me. To challenge me. I want the Kristen who laughed while telling me they’d taken my father. The one who attacked me on more than one occasion. Someone throws a boot out and hits her in the ribs, sending her sprawling in my direction. I strike at her left side yanking on the flesh between her flank and forepaw. I taste blood, and it sends me into a frenzy. I forget the crowd. I want blood. Kristen’s. I strike again, this time at her hind leg. I tear through the muscle there—she bites back and takes a chunk from my side. It stings, but it doesn’t slow me down. I tear at her ear and yank it away in my teeth, and she squeals, making me hungrier for more. I have a shot at her throat. I don’t take it. I wait until she limps up onto her feet again. Tilting my head, I take her in—watch how she holds herself. I’m sure she’s playing a game, feigning weakness. But that’s fine. I won’t fall for it. The fear radiating from her is diluted by the excitement in the air. Then I see her. Maiya. As Brad holds her in his arms, she looks right at me and seems to nod her approval. That’s all I need to end this. During the split second it takes to look over at Maiya, I miss Kristen leap into the air. She takes hold of my scruff, trying with all she has to grip on, but I side step and spin around on her, making her lose her grip. I leap onto her back and bite into the soft flesh—my teeth taking hold beneath her jaw and behind her ear. I bite down and am almost choked as her blood spurts into my mouth, hot and metallic. Kristen crumbles like a house of cards beneath me, taking me down on top of her because I refuse to let go. I plant my paws on either side of my mouth, and I rip the flesh and muscle away—and Kristen is dead. It’s over.
***
‘Baby, come and lie down. Zoe said you should rest while the stitches take.’
I’d had to have several in my side where Kristen had taken out a chunk, but I wanted to see Maiya. I couldn’t stop pacing.
‘Jared, Maiya watched. She was there—she looked right at me.’
‘Baby, I know. I saw her. But God help me, if you don’t get your ass on this bed right fucking now, you’ll need re-stitching ‘cause I’m gonna fuck you till you’re still.’
I grin. It always comes down to that with Jared. We both knew he dominated the bedroom and if he wanted me still while he fucked me, I would be still. But we both know he will do no such thing while I’m injured because he worries too damn much. Catching my grin, he snaps his arm out and drags me onto his lap.
‘Don’t believe me?’ he asks feigning seriousness. I roll my hips, pressing my already wet vagina into his growing erection. He groans, closing his eyes. Then pushes me up while he stands behind me. His hands taking a breast each as his arms circle me. He tweaks both nipples and then pulls away from me.
‘What are you doing?’ I ask incredulously as I watch him walk to the bathroom.
‘Absolutely nothing. Now sit your ass down and stop fucking pushing your luck!’ I sit and huff out in frustration. I lie myself back on his bed as I hear the faucet running. I’m so tired. I ache, and I realise just how much when I try and push the comforter from the bed. Jeez, I hurt almost everywhere. Jared had been right by my side the minute I’d ended Kristen’s life. He’d lapped at my muzzle and cleaned me, and the minute we changed forms, he had Zoe check me over. Kristen wasn’t buried—there wasn’t a ceremony of any sort like I knew there had been for her uncle. Instead, she was thrown in a shallow hole and burnt. Fitting really, I guess, for a traitor.
Christmas day (two months later)
I’m sitting out on the deck. It’s freezing, but it’s fresh out. The snow lay last night, and it’s fucking perfect. Just what Devon wanted. It’s been hard on her after the loss of her father. Hard in every way, but Christmas is special and about family. We’ve chosen to stay behind as the others went back to their families, only Howard and Harrison stayed, but they don’t really have family other than me and the pack. Brad surprised me because he took Devon’s not-so-friendly friend back with him too. My father had allowed it, given the circumstances. And that meant that we practically had the place to ourselves.
I’m desperate to wake Devon this morning when the sun starts to rise. I’ve been like an excited kid. I just want everything to be perfect, but I’ve left her to sleep. She’s not slept well in such a long time, and she hasn’t been herself these last few weeks either. Hardly eating. And just generally being off. I want to change all that today. I want to bring her happy back. I head back into the kitchen, and up the stairs, and I find her sprawled like a starfish on the bed—the covers barely covering her at all—instead, wrapped around her legs acting like a pillow under her knees. It isn’t cold in here—the heating makes sure of that, but the way she’s sprawled you would think it’s the middle of summer. She makes a little mewling noise, and I move closer, getting worked up thinking this is it—she’s waking finally. But she doesn’t, she just turns onto her side, throwing her arm out to where I would have been. When she doesn’t find me, her eyes crack just a little. And she stretches. I groan as her nipples pop through the tight vest she’s wearing and that gets me a fully awake and wide-eyed Devon. She crawls up onto my lap, and I kiss her lips. She’s reluctant, but I force the issue. I couldn’t give a shit about her morning breath that she grumbles about. I want her when I want her and brushing her teeth makes no damn difference to how I feel. I’ve argued this so many times I’ve lost count. But she still says it every fucking morning.
‘I’ll just brush my teeth,’ she mumbles against my lips. I fucking knew it.
‘No.’ I pull her close as she tries to climb off me. ‘Merry Christmas, baby,’ I whisper in her ear. ‘You ready for your present?’ She squeals on my lap. ‘Hell yes!’ she replies. I reach over to my side table draw
and pull out the gift. It’s a large black box with a fucking big ass bow that Zoe made me buy. Fucking pointless if you ask me. But she is a female and insisted Devon would love it.
‘Wow!’ And she was right obviously. Her face splits into a huge grin as she pulls at the ends. She opens the box and pulls out the underwear I’ve chosen. When she’s finished oohing and aaahing she realises there is another box. She looks at me for confirmation that there is more. I smile, nodding my head. I hope to fuck she likes the rest. I chew on my lip, the apprehension getting to me now as she pulls open the box and pulls out the envelope.
‘Open it, baby.’
Tearing at the envelope she pulls out the tickets.
‘OH MY GOD, JARED! PARIS!!’ She almost falls off the bed, she’s so excited. ‘Oh my god. I can’t believe it, Jared. This is too much! Jared, how much have you spent?’ Typical. For fuck’s sake.
‘Devon just open the damn presents. It’s not about money,’ I tell her straight. I have a lot of money. Not everyone knows, and I don’t flaunt it like some pricks do, but I’ve invested well, and it’s paid off. Devon obviously knows this and being the stubborn fucking female that she is, still insists on finding a job when we’re off lockdown and this whole situation is put to bed. I don’t like the idea and will argue that point to my last dying breath but being the pussy that I am when it comes to her, she will no doubt end up with her own fucking way. As always.
Forbidden Love (Stone Pack Book 1) Page 33