End Game (Bad Boy Football Romance) (Cocky Bastards & Motorcycles Book 6)

by Faye, Amy

  Rumor has it that she developed her abilities as a child, which really upset her mother. Can you imagine, your toddler telling you that if you go to the store you'll get a dent in your car? And then it comes true?

  Well, as infuriating as that might be, I probably wouldn't try to kill my daughter over it like Elette's mother attempted to do.

  I don't make the mistake of asking Elette about her past, though. That seems like the sort of thing one would be sensitive about.

  So, here's the plan:

  Step one, ask Elette about the wolf that attacked me.

  Step two, give her the tuft of silver hair that I found outside of my cave to help find him.

  Step three, wait for her to come out of her trance.

  Step four, kill the fucker.

  Hopefully the fur will be enough, since I didn't find any blood. She's good at finding people with small trinkets or nails, so if she can't do it no one else can.

  Hunting was a good distraction from what's been swirling in my mind all morning: Grant. And his banging body. I wish I could touch his skin again, kiss him just once before I stay away from him forever, but I'm pretty sure if I get close to him again I won't be able to forget him.

  Werewolf hunters are serious business. They almost killed every werewolf in Michigan under the instruction of Geraldo North. If not for him, we might be ruling this whole town right now. Instead, we're still trapped in Koirankoppi forest, hiding and scared of humans to this day.

  I wish I could stop thinking about Grant. I would like to stop thinking about Alice and how worried I am about her, too. It's not uncommon to die from a werewolf bite, and hers was particularly nasty.

  She won't turn into a werewolf, of course, because the moon wasn't yet full. But if you don't get turned, the viruses in our saliva can kill you.

  I step into the tea shop, shaking my head to clear it. Elette watches me, an eyebrow cocked. Once I'm in her shop, I feel so much safer.

  Although Elette is younger than me, she's a bit of a mother hen and would seriously harm anyone that tried to attack me. Believe me, she's done it before to Aimar. He's the only werewolf banned from her shop.

  The smell of patchouli wafting through her air-conditioning vents sets the tone for her new age shop, filled with crystals and tarot cards, herbs and statues.

  “Susi! It's good to see you, girl, though you look like you've been run through the ringer.” Elette comes out from behind the counter and pulls me into her warm embrace. Her many necklaces jangle around her neck, hitting me in the chest and letting off slight sparks of magic when they touch me. Protective amulets, freshly made.

  Elette is a tall beauty, her arms and legs slender and her face thin. She's naturally lovely, though she enhances her looks with glamours. The magical makeup leaves her smelling sweet like strawberries and makes the air around her sizzle.

  I sigh into her, returning her hug. "You don't know the half of it," I say. I tell Elette almost everything, sparing only a few details about the sex. She was the first to know when I decided to divorce Aimar, she was the first to know that I had found my own land, and she was the first to tell me that Aimar wants to kill me and take my land.

  If Elette was younger, she would no doubt be helping me fight Aimar off. As an 80 year old woman, though, what can really be expected of her? Even with magic on her side, she's getting frail, and witches don't get the boost in strength that werewolves get. She does what she can without getting entangled in our drama.

  Werewolf bonds are strong, but when they're broken the feud is deep and poisonous. Anyone interfering will be made to suffer. Elette is too smart to let that happen to her. So she makes herself useful for everyone, favoring those that favor her whenever possible.

  "Can you use this hair to help me find a wolf? I was attacked last night and –"

  Elette holds up her hand to stop me, her eyes flicking behind me.

  The bell above the door tinkles, signaling that another customer has come in. That's not unusual, Elette is usually busy with customers all day. The towns surrounding Traverse City, like our Koiran, is home to many a hippie. Natural medicine and paganism is popular here.

  When I turn around though, I catch a familiar scent and then see a familiar face. A face that makes my heart pump and my temperature rise. Fight or flight? Face him or run away?

  Grant walks in, and when he sees me I don't have a choice anymore. He waves to Elette, and then raises his eyebrows at me. It's a look of, “I never expected to see you again,” mixed with, “Damn, I'm glad to see you again.”

  I give Elette the fur in its plastic bag, glancing at her long enough to see a knowing smile. She tells me she'll help me while I talk to Grant. “Because it is obvious that you two need to talk,” she says, winking to him.

  I hate it when she teases me like this, but she always knows when to bow out of a situation.

  That's probably part of what has kept her alive for so long. Grant shuffles his feet, looking at the floor. His face is red, probably about as red as mine is.

  "I was hoping you would still be there in the morning," Grant says, picking up a box of tea. He fidgets with it before putting it back down and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

  "I, uh…" I stutter. I never know what to say when it comes to stuff like this. I'm not even usually in situations like this, I don't do one night stands. I want to beat my forehead with my palm, ask myself why I let my emotions get the better of me! Instead, I stare like a dumb child at some teapot on the wall. Grant coughs.

  "It's okay, though. I know that modern women don't really feel like they owe a one night stand anything. I don't hold it against you, and I'd still like to go out on a date with you." He looks at me, like a puppy expecting a treat. It would be endearing if it wasn't so maddening.

  If it wasn't so enticing.

  Of course I want to go out on a date with him. Something about him just feels so right, so safe and yet wild at the same time. But his family is dangerous, and he's dangerous. The urge to fuck or kill grows in me again. I wish I could control it, but it's just part of who I am. That horrible werewolf virus makes my moods and my temper uncontrollable.

  I have to deal with this somehow. Grant's own blood is moving quicker, his own thoughts moving to less platonic territory. I can tell from the way his eyes dilate that he's imagining the night we had, and fantasizing about nights to come. He's as screwed as I am, I realize. He wants me, bad.

  Fuck. Do I tell him to leave me alone, or deal with my own emotional needs at the risk of getting even more entangled in his life?

  I remember, suddenly, the one time that I came here with Aimar when we were younger and more frivolous. We came in to buy a tea that might make me fertile (which of course, didn't work), but ended up at a specific table instead, our hands down each other's pants. I glance at the private table in the corner, one where we won't be seen by any other customers.

  "Let's go sit down," I say, taking Grant's hand and dragging him towards the table.

  "Sure," he says, his voice quiet and boy-like. He follows me, holding my hand tightly. His warmth runs through me, making my desires even worse. God, I can't believe I'm doing this.

  He sits down in the booth and I sit down next to him, my hip brushing against his. I grab him between the legs and begin to stroke his meat. He grows in his pants from my touch, his breath slowing down and then becoming much faster and more ragged. I move my hand up and down, side to side, feeling him and enjoying his hardness as it's wrapped up in fabric.

  "Are we really going to do this here?"

  "Of course we are," I say, grinning. Feeling like a teen again, I grab the zipper between my two fingers, pulling it down slowly and then unbuttoning his pants. He looks around the tea shop, but there's no one there. Elette is blissfully absent. She probably knows exactly what's going on though.

  I feel like a teenager again! How fun!

  With his pants undone, he leans back and lets me do what I'm going to do. I pushed down his boxers and le
t his meat springs free. He's probably harder than he was last night. Grabbing his cock, I notice how soft the skin is to the touch. He smells of soap and that quintessentially manly scent.

  With his cock in my hand, I move my hand up and down his shaft stopping just before I touch his tip. Up and down, slowly and softly. His cock grows in my palm, swelling with blood and arousal.

  Grant lets his head loll back, his eyes closing in his face becoming peaceful. "Oh, yeah, that feels really good."

  I move my hand faster, pumping his cock harder until he starts to moan and buck his hips. He smells like chamomile, perhaps from tea? I fight back the urge to sniff him hard. God, what is it with this human? I feel like I want to curl up around his feet and be his pet doggy.

  With his eyes shut tight, he lets out a long breath and milky cum streams out of his penis and onto my hand. I take it, as he watches, and lick it up. He lets out a choked moan as I step away from the table, heading to the back to the shop to find Elette before I do anything else stupid.

  “Wait!” Grant says. “I need to talk to you about Alice!”

  I stop dead in my tracks, saying nothing.

  “Her bite… it's all black. It looks really bad, and the doctor at the emergency room told me to come back tomorrow! I'm really worried about her.”

  Oh, hell. That poor girl was cursed by that damn silver wolf. When I find that wolf…

  “Can you help her? You said –”

  “I know what I said. I can help her, but I have to find that wolf, first. That's why I'm here, and that's why you need to let me go find Elette and catch the wolf's trail. Okay?” I back away from him, wishing I didn't feel the urge to kiss him so damn hard. It takes all the power I have to finally walk away from him. Past the counter, and into the back room where Elette is waiting for me.

  She gives me a knowing look, but doesn't make any comment on what happened. "So, I know where the wolf is. I've made a map, based on what I saw when I was under entrance. You're free to take it, I have to warn you. Be safe, Susi. I can't see what will happen to you when you get to him."

  "I think I can take care of myself," I say, taking the paper with the crudely drawn map from her. According to her the gray wolf is somewhere in the forest, about a mile away from where my area is. I can't wait to get my hands around this wolf's neck.

  "I know you think you can, but I don't think you can be sure. There's something strange about this, Susi." She rings her hands, staring at me so apprehensively that I wish I could show her that things will be fine. She should know that I'm stronger than she thinks.

  "I'll be careful."

  "Good, take this with you." She hands me a pouch of herbs, already blended and ready to be used.

  "What's this for?"

  "For the man's daughter," she says, wiggling her eyebrows. "My, he's really a catch."

  I blow air out of my mouth sharply. Elette grins.

  "Don't be such as snoop," I demand. I know she won't listen to me.

  Chapter 5

  I can smell the wolf well before I see him. He smells of blood, and piss, and that aggravatingly familiar smell of memories. And regret.

  The cave itself is an awful mess. Outside, it's littered with bones and rotting squirrel carcasses. Some monkshood grows nearby, a clear sign that whoever lives here isn't too worried about his safety. Maybe this is just a temporary cave.

  The inside smells of fire, alcohol, piss and vomit. It's enough to make my stomach churn, but I grit my teeth and fake a smile to keep my gag reflex under control. With a menacing grin, I approach a shivering mass near the back, laying next to the dying embers of a fire.

  “H-h-h,” the thing laughs, breathy and pathetic. “You've… you've found me! You'll finally kill me!”

  “I barely touched you, how are you in such bad shape?” I ask, drawing closer to him. The man whips around, his black eyes watching me.

  “You!” He cries. “I didn't expect you! How did you find me?” He scrambles to press himself against the cold wall of the cave. I step past his dead fire and stoop low, sensing that he's in no shape to attack me. That's when I realize, I do know who he is. This is Erkki Laakso, the foredoomed. A pup that was taken at just barely 18, who attempted to overthrow Aimar and kill me when I was first changed.

  We left him to die, and gave him the title of foredoomed when it was prophesied that he would die at our hands.

  “I thought you had died years ago, Erkki,” I say, wiping his silver hair from his face and seeing deep claw marks around his eyes. Perhaps my words had a bit more disappointment in them than I wanted. I grimace, reminding myself to be more gentle with a dying wolf.

  Another wolf attacked him, no more than an hour ago. Those wounds might be fatal, even if I clean them.

  I'm suddenly overwhelmed by his scent, it's so strong. Why does he smell so strong?

  “No, h-h-h,” he coughs, doubling over in pain and spilling blood from his mouth. “No, I am alive. I was gone, a spy hired by Aimar for years. And he brought me back.”

  “I can't tell if you're lying,” I say, staring at him hard.

  “I am not,” He replies. “Aimar hired me. H-h-h, and do you want to know why?”

  I don't think I do. I feel a dreadful pit grow in my stomach.

  “He made me come back, so that I might kill you. Because you wouldn't expect my smell. Because a virgin wolf does not seem threatening when he steps on your land.”

  That's it. That's why his smell is so strong. This damn fool is going to die a virgin!

  Though we were once humans, we werewolves have created a subculture, with our own religious beliefs. The tale goes that the first werewolf to die a virgin, rare though virgins are among us, cursed all of the wolves within 5 miles of him. An awful curse, that rots the wolves from the inside out.

  I can't let this stupid pup die a virgin. The thrill of helping him become a man courses through me, even while I feel repulsed because of it.

  “I have to fuck you, because you will die soon.”

  “I know,” he replies, closing his eyes. He laughs again, sweat dripping down his face. If it weren't for the damn curse, I would put Erkki out of his misery. I can't stand to see a wolf look so pathetic.

  The anger, the lust, the murderous rage sweeps over me the instant that I let it. It's overwhelming, like being drugged but somehow in control of how you react. I take this stupid werewolf's face, disgusted by how innocent he looks below me, and turns it to the side. I bite his neck, savoring the sound of his pained gasp.

  He undoes his pants, and I straddle him. He enters me easily. Sitting on top of him, I kiss him, feeling the raw sexual power of a werewolf losing his virginity surging through me. Why there is so much power in this rite of passage, no one knows. I do know that I feel dizzy from it.

  Grinding against him, working my pussy muscles to milk him, every nerve in my body fires. I moan into Erkki's mouth, a bit of saliva dropping from mine to his. His hands grip my hips; he bites my neck, weaker than I took his. He moves me, his own movements and breath becoming wild and erratic.

  “I'm going to – Agh!”

  His cum hits my cervix, sending me into a dreamlike state. The world around me goes hazy, and all I can experience is my own powerful orgasm ripping through me. My teeth chatter, my fingers grip Erkki's tattered shirt, my breathing comes fast and hard.

  I open my eyes just in time to see that Erkki is reaching for a knife. It takes only a small movement of my hands to snap his neck, and then I unmount him. Disgusting liar. A wolf with no honor. Whoever attacked him should have finished the job sooner, even if it meant I got the curse.

  Taking a second to spit on Erkki's corpse, I look about his cave. His belongings all seem to be in a pile, and so I rummage through it. Mostly old clothes that smell to high heaven, until I find a solitary piece of paper with words written in familiar, looping handwriting. Aimar.

  Erkki,

  Yes, you've heard right. The bounty is still on her head, and it does include a spot among m
y pack. Should you bring her heart to me, you are free to do as you wish with the rest of her body. The heart may not be soiled, however, so do take care of it.

  -A

  Even if I didn't recognize the handwriting, I would have known it was written by Aimar from the smell of the wine dripped on it. Wine brewed by his great-grandfather, unique to this area.

  He wants my heart? He could have kept it, and my body! But if he seeks to kill me, I'll just have to kill him first, and take his place as alpha bitch.

  Chapter 6

  Sun drifts over my eyelids slowly, warming my skin. What was it that woke me? And where am I?

  The trees around me look somewhat familiar, but they don't smell like me. Actually, they smell like Aimar. My skin prickles and horror tears at my stomach. I fell asleep outside of my territory, and now I feel as though I'm being watched.

  My cell phone chirps. Grabbing it, for it was laying on the ground near where my head was laying moments before, I swipe my thumb against the screen. Three missed calls. My phone must have woken me up.

  They're all from Grant.

  I groan, rubbing my face and setting the phone back down. When I'm not near him, I am fully capable of fearing him. But when I'm close to him, I want to be on him. I want to have him between my legs. I want to taste him, feel him, smell him.

  God damn it.

  An embarrassing heat grows in my groin. “Damn it,” I mutter, standing up and dusting off some leaves. The paranoid feeling that I'm being watched is only growing worse.

  My phone goes off again, another call from Grant. I pick it up and am about to answer it when I hear a growl behind me, followed by paws hitting the ground. I whip around just in time to slap a large silver wolf away from me.

  I recognize the wolf as one of the females from Aimar's pack. She falls to the ground and scrambles back up to collect herself, snarling with drool dripping from her mouth.

  “Look, I don't have any issue with you. I don't know why I fell asleep on your land, but if you'll let me go you'll never see me again.” I put out both hands, instinctively crouching lower to the ground.