“When are you coming home?”
Beth screamed internally, keeping her face impassive. “I’m not sure.”
Quinn seemed to give up. She shrugged. “Well, we miss you!” The ‘we’ was referring to had to be herself and the stupid lizard.
“Okay, then. Have a good night!” she said, mustering as much chirpiness as she could. With a broad, fake smile, she turned back on her stool catching Kaleb's eye. A second later she caught a glimpse of Quinn out of the corner of her eyes, retreating to a corner with Vic.
Oh my God! she mouthed, her eyes wide.
She probably shouldn't hate her roommate as much as she did. Quinn had never done anything to her. Sure, she was weird - very weird - but she'd never done anything to Beth and paid her portion of the rent on time.
Still, there was the lingering feeling that goaded her nerves. Every chipper smile, every random costume change, every time she spoke to the lizard and then responded to herself in a high-pitched, screeching voice...
Ugh.
Kaleb grinned and her heart stopped.
White teeth shined, his stubble just slightly darkening his strong jawline. He wore a pair of green khaki shorts that fell below his knees and a short-sleeved black t-shirt that clung to those impressive pectorals like a second skin. Well-defined biceps and triceps stretched his sleeves until she felt the fabric should bust open from the bulk.
Does he not own any shirts that fit him?
They all seemed two sizes too small. Not that she minded in the least.
Shifting in her seat, Beth nursed her drink and waited for Natalie’s response which was a long time coming. The bar around her was filling up but the seats next to her were still vacant. They probably wouldn’t be that way for long.
Alex was a few feet away from her at the cash register while Kaleb made his way around the bar, dropping off fresh beers. The bell above the door chimed and a big bald man came inside, the same one who’d bumped into her the other night, followed by a red-haired woman. Her nose was in the air as she glanced around the bar, her eyes settling on Kaleb.
Beth didn’t like the way the woman looked at him, as if he were a possession, but there was nothing she could do about it. Hell, she’d just been telling Natalie about how he’d pissed her off years ago and he’d been single then. Was he single now? She’d never asked him.
The redhead pushed out her chest when she saw him and sauntered forward. A bad taste developed in the back of Beth’s throat as she watched. She wasn’t much older than Beth was and was gorgeous. The problem was that she knew it as did all the men in the bar. Kaleb would have to be blind not to see it. The woman touched his arm and smiled, showing her perfectly straight, white teeth.
Beth looked down when her phone vibrated in her hand, thankful for the distraction. She couldn’t watch them anymore.
Let me get this straight. He fixed your car, paid for your tires, gave you a ride home, and then didn’t take advantage of you when you’d been drinking? Why aren’t you stalking him?
She realized her mouth was open when she closed it. Damn, Natalie. Send.
It’s been what? Two years? And you’re still mad because he’s a good guy? I’m sorry but get over yourself.
Beth set the offending phone down at the bar top and stared at her friend’s response. Taking a long drink, she glanced back up to see Kaleb and the woman talking. He smiled at her, a devastating smile that, if it had been directed at her, would’ve made her melt. But it wasn’t directed at her. She felt sick.
Her glass was empty so she lifted it up and showed Alex. “Can I get another?”
He nodded and brought her a fresh drink a moment later. “Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“Because you look like someone just pissed in your cornflakes.”
She frowned. “I’m fine, Alex. Don’t worry about me.”
He left her there without another word, glancing back at her over his shoulder. Alex worried for no reason. She was fine, she told herself.
It doesn’t matter now, she typed. Like you said, that was two years ago.
You’re still interested otherwise you wouldn’t have said anything.
If Natalie was going to continue to lecture her, she didn’t want to continue to conversation. She wanted to feel better about things, not feel as if she’d messed up. And she’d messed up big time.
The redhead touched Kaleb’s arm again, laughing. Beth hated the woman. Hated the way she stood, the way she smiled. She hated it when she reached for him, trying to seem innocent, but she wasn’t. Oh no, this woman was a pro.
Her drink was empty again.
“Alex!”
“Already?” he asked, referring to the empty glass. “Want to slow down a little before you pass out on the bar?”
“This is my last one,” she promised, popping a piece of ice in her mouth and crunching it between her teeth. He took the empty glass from her and put a fresh one in front of her.
“Take a break after this one,” he warned before walking away.
When he went to the other side of the bar, she took a sip. The burning in her stomach didn’t fade, it only intensified as she watched the woman lean up closer to Kaleb, brushing her tits against his arm, and whisper something in his ear.
He didn’t belong to Beth. Kaleb had a life of his own that didn’t involve her, but she didn’t want to see this. She couldn’t stand it. If she looked in the mirror, she just knew she’d be completely green.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. What she wanted to do was get up and drag the redhead out of the bar by her hair but she wasn’t going to do that. If Kaleb wanted the redhead, he could have her. He hadn’t promised Beth anything, there was no commitment. There was nothing between them.
She refused to run out of the bar and hide upstairs, even though the desire to flee was strong. Instead, she focused on her cell phone.
I love you, she typed to Natalie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.
Ditto.
The small smile Natalie brought to her face helped her feel marginally better.
“You good?” Kaleb’s voice brought her back and reminded her of why she was upset in the first place.
“Oh, I’m good.” Her voice was too harsh for him to believe her but she didn’t care.
She felt stupid. Stupid for liking him, for allowing herself to be drawn in. Again. Natalie had lectured her about what a stand-up guy he was, and it made her feel even worse for being upset. How naïve was she? She kept falling for it, again and again.
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head, her mouth a tight line. “Not a damn thing.”
“You’re lying,” he growled, his voice low. “You’re slinging back drinks like there’s no tomorrow and you’re pissed. Why?”
She didn’t want to face him, didn’t want to admit what was going through her head. Beth just wanted him to go away. Maybe then she could get a grip on herself instead of feeling like no one wanted her around. “I’m fine. Now please, leave me alone.”
“We’re going back upstairs,” he told her. “We got to talk.”
“What’s going on here?” Beth cut her eyes to the big bald man who’d come into the bar with the redhead. He looked from Kaleb to Beth and then back to Kaleb.
“Nothing, Freddie.” Kaleb didn’t bother taking his eyes off Beth to respond to the man.
Freddie may not bother Kaleb but his nosiness pissed her off. Where did he get off, inserting himself in a conversation between Kaleb and herself? “How about you mind your own damn business?”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” he spat. Kaleb stood up straight and glared at him. “Azarov, what’s the deal? You just leading my sister on?”
“There’s nothing between Lacey and myself.”
Freddie hit his fists against the solid bar top, rattling Beth’s empty glass. “What’s going on between you and this bitch then? You bottom feeding?”
> “Watch your mouth, Novak,” Kaleb bit out as Beth jumped up from her stool. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to.”
The room spun slightly and she hung onto the bar top as she processed Kaleb’s warning. He was standing up for her.
“What’s going on?” Lacey asked, her face as red as her hair and she came up to her brother. Beth didn’t know if she was more angry or embarrassed. Perhaps she’d overreacted when she’d seen Kaleb speaking with her. Now she didn’t know what to believe.
“Kaleb, what’s going on?” she asked, not taking her narrowed brown eyes off Beth. “What are you doing with her?”
The question hadn’t been directed at Beth but she answered it anyway. “He can do whatever he wants with me. It’s none of your business.”
“Beth, don’t,” Kaleb ground out in an attempt to stop her before she went off on this woman. It went against her nature to stand there and take it but she tried to keep her mouth shut. She didn’t know the werewolves and she’d done enough to escalate the situation already.
“Filthy fucking witch,” Lacey sneered, stepping closer to Beth until there was only inches between them.
Her heart was pounding in her chest, rage flooding her body. She wanted nothing more than to rip the hair from Lacey’s head. “A filthy fucking witch? That’s the best you got?”
“Lacey, enough!” Kaleb roared, coming around the bar but was blocked by Freddie. “Control yourself or get out.”
“You think you’re going to get him?” Lacey asked, nodding toward Kaleb, her face contorted with rage. Her pupils narrowed to points and the skin around her eyes darkened. “Why would he want a dirty witch who is more pathetic than any human could ever be? I’m sure he’ll bleach that chair just as soon as I drag your nasty ass out of here.”
“Fuck you.”
8
The slap connected with her face before she ever saw Lacey's hand in the air. Nails gouged her skin, pain seared her cheek.
Beth saw red. She’d be damned if she let the woman scream at her, humiliate her, and then hit her in front of a full bar. The liquor and adrenaline pumping through her veins gave her more courage and strength than it should have.
Lacey hadn’t even pulled her hand back before Beth rocketed forward. Her fist closed around a chunk of the woman’s red hair, ripping strands out of her scalp. She hit her then, her fist pummeling Lacey's shocked face until she heard the distinct crack of her nose.
Lacey roared a deep guttural sound that made Beth jump back. Taking advantage of her momentarily relaxed grip, Lacey pulled herself out of Beth's grasp, blood spewing from her nose.
Hitting Lacey was no longer an option. Beth defended herself, arms covering her face as long, razor-sharp claws came toward her, cutting through the skin of her forearms. A scream broke through her lips as what seemed like a dozen knives sliced her flesh away.
Her body was thrown back and she hugged the wall, gasping. Blood ran down her arms, pooling on the floor. Alex was in front of her, struggling to hold Lacey back and trying to keep the partially transformed werewolf from launching herself at Beth to finish the job. Kaleb was a few feet away, facing off with Lacey’s brother who looked ready to rip Kaleb’s head from his shoulders.
“You’re nothing but a fucking blood traitor!” The big bald man yelled at Kaleb, fury on his face.
“Get out of here,” Kaleb snarled, fists balled and ready in case the brother attacked, “and take your sister with you.”
Alex forced Lacey toward the front door, her brother following behind, screaming obscenities at Kaleb as he went.
“You’ll be hearing about this,” he barked, spitting on the floor.
Her body was shaking as she leaned against the wall, borrowing its support. Hot, sticky trails ran down her face and she wasn’t sure if it was blood or tears. Her arms and hands burned in agony. Kaleb was there a second later, pulling her body against his chest and wrapping a steadying arm around her shoulders.
“It's okay," he whispered, looking down at her as she stared at her shredded arms, tears mixing with the blood streaming down her face.
There was so much blood she couldn’t tell how severe the damage was. It was spurting from her left arm and she felt faint from the sight and the coppery scent that filled her nose. He snatched a dirty towel off the bar and gripped her left wrist with it.
“The bar is closed!” Kaleb bellowed next to her ear. “Everyone out!”
Rage clouded his vision, only clearing when he saw Beth, blood running in rivulets down her face. Her arms and chest were soaked with it. He gripped the now saturated towel, trying to staunch the bleeding.
Kaleb cursed himself. He should’ve been faster. The women fighting never should’ve happened to begin with. He should’ve had Beth stay upstairs or removed her from the room as soon as Lacey and Freddie came in.
What had he been thinking?
“Kaleb…” she started, her face pale.
The patrons were leaving but there were so many curious eyes that he worried about some human calling an ambulance or the police. “You’re going to be okay.”
He felt her shaking and knew she wouldn’t make it two steps without collapsing. Even now, she leaned against him and he held most of her weight. Careful to keep the pressure on her wrist, he swept her up and carried her from the bar and up the stairs to his apartment.
The light was better in the kitchen so that’s where he stopped.
“Can you sit?” he asked her as he set her on the table.
She nodded but he didn’t miss the way she bobbed back and forth. He kept one hand on her shoulder to steady her and ripped one of the drawers out to find another towel. Blood squirted again as soon as he changed out the towel. He shouldn’t have done that. He should’ve just reinforced it.
“I’m not used to treating human wounds,” he commented.
“Are they different?”
“Werewolves heal a hell of a lot faster than humans. If you were a werewolf, you’d be mostly closed up by now, definitely not still bleeding everywhere.”
“How is she?” Alex yelled, slamming the door closed as he hurried into the apartment.
“Bleeding.”
“She looks like she’s going to pass out,” he said when he got to the kitchen.
“She may.”
Beth frowned. “I can hear you, you know.”
“I’m aware,” he said before turning to Alex. “There’s a first aid kit under the sink in the bathroom. Would you grab that and a few more towels?”
He nodded and disappeared for less than a minute before returning with the red box and all the towels in the linen closet. Alex kicked a chair out with his foot and set everything down.
“Now what?”
“Wash your hands and grab a towel.” When Alex came back from the sink, a fresh bath towel in his hand, Kaleb said, “Here, hold it over the wound and hold pressure.”
Alex did as he asked, his knuckles white from the force he put behind the hold. Kaleb stepped back and washed Beth’s blood and the dirt from the bar from his hands before going back to her. He grabbed a towel, wet it in the sink and started cleaning the blood from the wounds on her right arm.
“These aren’t too bad,” he said, surveying the long gashes. They weren’t very deep, more superficial cuts. She watched everything he did, her face pale and her eyes wide.
“Are they bleeding?” Alex asked.
He shook his head. “Not anymore.”
Blood had coagulated on her skin, forming the beginnings of scabs on her arm. He cleaned with he could without opening the areas again and left them. Her face was next. He wiped the blood from her skin but it was the same thing.
“You’re healing quickly. Quicker than I would’ve thought.”
“Ruby,” Beth said, nodding toward her chest.
The strings were hanging around her neck, and he plucked them from her skin. The satchel popped out the top of her blood-stained shirt.
“What’s that?” Alex asked.
Kaleb stroked his thumb over the smooth linen of the bag. “A gift from Ruby Tremblay.”
Alex frowned. “That woman scares the shit out of me.”
“Me too.”
“Why does hurt so bad?” Beth asked, trembling. “It burns.”
“She got you with her claws,” Alex told her. “It's going to hurt more.”
“Let me see her left arm,” Kaleb said, taking her arm from Alex’s grasp. Alex stepped back.
Kaleb slowly removed the towels so he could wash the deeper wounds. Almost immediately, blood began to well. The area on her wrist was the most concerning. It had stopped gushing for now but Lacey had nicked an artery. It wouldn't take much for it to open again.
“That needs stitches,” Beth commented, taking the words right out of Kaleb’s mouth.
“Yeah.”
“Use tape.”
“Tape?” Alex asked.
She nodded. “Stitches are out of the question since I doubt you have a sewing kit and quite frankly, it hurts bad enough without someone shoving a dull needle through my skin repeatedly. Tape will do if I’m careful. Besides, you said I’m healing fast.”
Kaleb washed the area the best he could without opening the wounds again. He used the paper tape in the first aid kit, held the flayed pieces of her wrist together and taped it closed. He covered the deeper wounds with gauze and then wrapped her arm.
“Do you need me?” Alex asked him.
Kaleb shook his head. “I think we’re okay. Do you mind closing up for me?”
“Not at all,” he said before lightly squeezing Beth’s shoulder. “Feel better.”
“Thanks.”
When Alex left them, Beth stared at Kaleb. The dizziness she’d felt earlier was easing and her arms were starting to tingle. It was an odd sensation.
“I’m sorry about tonight,” she said.
“Makes you wish you’d stayed locked in the apartment, doesn’t it?”
“You got me.” She gave him half a smile and slid from the table to her feet. He held her shoulder, steadying her, and it took a second for the room to stop spinning with the movement.
Wild and Untamed (Netherworld Series Book 4) Page 14