Bite, My Love (19 page)

Daniel studies me before focusing on the gloomy tree
line.
‘His touch means nothing as long as
he does not hurt you.’

We’re
going to bicker and pick at each other’s nerves unless I get on
with this. Ugh. I want this nasty business over with.

Daniel
may not be looking at me, but I know he’s aware. I shoot him a
contemptuous look, one that says we will be discussing this in
depth back at Castle.

Bare toes
curling in the grass, I rub my sweaty palm on the knee length
shorts I cut from a pair of jeans. The shorts are baggy in the hip
and butt area since Lee packs some serious curves. The baggy shirt
swamping my frame is one of Daniel’s. I tug restlessly on the
hem.

Shaking
my hair back, I square my shoulders and strut over the boundary
line.

Sy shifts
into his Human form.

Stocky
limbs smoothly transition into firm muscled flesh, dark fur into
tanned skin.

Unashamed
of his nakedness he looks like Michelangelo’s statue of David.
Brown shaggy hair is ruffled by the wind and blown into amber eyes
that always look animal.

A week
ago I viewed the graceful masculinity of Daniel and Ben as
effeminate. Now I see Sy’s features as fat and clumsy compared to
the striking refinement of my Vampire mate’s.

This
sudden change in how I perceive the male of my species is
disconcerting.

Sy’s
isn’t unattractive. He’s one of the better-looking people in this
world – gorgeous to most women. But now I’ve seen a different kind
of beauty, a magnificence that comes from inside to manifest
physically. Perhaps the veil of preference has been removed from my
eyes about this Beta. Deep in his possessive stare glints a hunger
for power. His smile is a celebration of his conquest rather than
genuine joy of seeing me safe and returned home.

The
wolves behind him ease back.

One turns
Human alongside Aaron who scans the area. His nostrils flare as he
searches for foreign scents signalling plans for
betrayal.

The
delicate sweetness of the boundary line revealing the presence of
Vampires becomes a peppery musk.

My steps
falter.

Clenching
my hands into fists, I leave Vampire territory and enter the
hunting grounds. I stop. Rock back on my heels and
tremble.

Every
cell in my body screams I’ve made a mistake.

Sy bounds
forward and wraps me in his arms. He twirls me around. “Welcome
back.” He sets me down with a triumphant smirk. “Are you
alright?”

I smile
crookedly. “I’m confused why Daddy agreed to this meeting and
didn’t come himself. This is a joyous occasion I’d hoped to share
with him. Otherwise, I’ve never been better.” I gather my hair,
twist the end and pull it over a shoulder so the nape and side of
my neck are bare. I show them my mating mark in such a way that
does not declare submission, but the authority of a mated female.
“I found my true mate.”

The
wolves lock onto the half-healed fang marks on my neck.

“
Mate?” Sy’s nose twitches. “The bloodsucker said you were his
Bride or some shit.” He swipes a finger over the marks.

The
wolves behind him gasp and shift restlessly.

I slap a hand over my neck. “You’d
dare disrespect me.”

“
We don’t recognise their mating rituals.”

“
It’s not about
them
.” I shake with rage. “It’s
about me. You violated
me
. Your touch is an
insult.”

Sy eyes
me like prey. “I can’t violate what’s mine.”

“
We may not accept the word of a Vampire he’s found his Bride
in our Pack, but a wolf claiming their true mate is sacred,” Aaron
reminds. “As is the mark the she-wolf allows as warning to others
of submission to her stronger mate. Lycans have mated to creatures
outside the Pack before. Rare, but it happens.”

This is
the first I’ve heard of Lycans mating outside our own
kind.

I face
the men who were once my brothers and allies. “My wolf has chosen
him. We’re mated.” I hook a thumb over my shoulder to point at
Daniel. “He carries my mark too.”

Aaron
can’t hide his surprise. “He let you mark him?”

I beam
proudly.

Lycan
males rarely submit long enough for a female to mark them. It’s
proof of a strong bond.

Respect
flickers over Aaron’s expression before he wipes it clean with
indifference.

Sy’s
pissed. I know him well enough to see he’s deeply offended by the
proof of the physical relationship between Daniel and I. The
thought of Vampires used to cause the same shudder of disgust I can
see moving down his body.

The same
as other Lycans, I carried knowledge ingrained in me from birth;
Vampire equals enemy. Since my wolf decided Daniel is my mate, what
I’ve been taught means nothing. I’ve seen with my own eyes how kind
they can be. They’re not perfect but are hardly soulless monsters.
What I’ve learnt about the Vampire bloodline gives me the strength
to shake off years of nurture, and to trust that nature hasn’t made
a mistake in creating an attraction between Daniel and
I.

Confident
as I am in my mating, my Lycan brothers looking down on me for
admitting an attraction to my true mate is distressing.

How could
I make them see that this was not a betrayal of everything I was,
but rather an embrace of the wolf spirit inside me?

“
I understand the last few days have been difficult.” Sy’s
enormous hands land on my shoulders. His thumbs rub my collarbones.
“Hell, your father’s been riding your ass hard these last few
months. I get why you’ve had a small breakdown, but honey, listen
to yourself.” He dips to look me in the eyes, and his speech is
measured, as if I’m slow, or a simpleton who needs help
understanding English. “You’re saying you’ve bonded yourself to
a
Vampire.
”

“
Take your hands off me.” It was not rude, and I can be
so
rude at times. It was
authoritative and tinged with the power of my wolf.

He
brushes off the command.

Stunned,
I blink and splutter stupidly. I used to be able to control the
Enforcers. It’s my right as daughter to the Alpha, a princess of my
kind.

Sy batted
my power away as if it’s nothing more than a pesky fly.

I’m an
outcast? He’s claiming authority over me as a mate? Or maybe it’s
because I mated Daniel I’m no longer considered part of the Pack,
giving me no inherit power here. Or is it a mixture of all these
things?

Sy’s
touch remains as gentle as he can manage, which is rough in
comparison to how Daniel holds me. The Beta’s skin feels like
sandpaper. “This is wrong on so many levels. You’re two natured.
Wolf. He’s an abomination of nature.”

I wriggle
in his hold, but don’t manage to shake him off. Mentally I reach to
Daniel to tell him how uncomfortable I am.

My
thoughts rebound off a barrier he’s built around his
consciousness.

What the
hell?

Sy leans
down until our noses touch. Anger simmers in his yellow eyes.
“Sweetheart, Vampires and Lycans don’t mix.”

Struggling to stay calm, I pull myself from his grip. “I’m
not your sweetheart, or your honey, or anything else. I never was,
and I never planned to be. Speak for yourself, not me. I’m mixing
with them fine.”

Teeth
showing, he growls.

My wolf
trembles and I hide this reaction by blanking him. I’ll prove to
everyone I won’t submit to any dominant display from anyone but my
true mate. As a pup, I pined for Sy. He chose to roll around with
my sister until she dropped him. He sniffed around me next, but I
rejected him. My girlhood crush was fleeting, and died when he
turned his sights on my sister. Nothing I felt for him can compare
to what I feel for Daniel.

“
You’re mine,” Sy says. “Our Alpha has given his
blessing.”

I hold up
a hand, disgusted. “No. Just no.”

“
Because of the Vampire? You’re kidding, right? You can’t
seriously believe he feels anything real. Biologically–”

“
Daniel and I have no problems when it comes to
compatibility.” My heart races as I remember his hands on me.
“Trust me. Vampires and Lycans are more compatible than you
know.”

His
nostrils flare and he growls again, deeper, and more than
threatening, a promise of violence.

Claws
sting as they scrape along my upper arms.

Sy’s eyes
shift to become wolf, and his mouth lengthens into a snout. “I’ll
kill him.” Coarse hair sprouts across the tense planes of his face
and neck. “I’ll mount you while he watches then I’ll kill
him.”

“
Hold to the Alpha’s agreement,” grumbles the
Enforcer.

The
others rumble their agreement as wolves.

Aaron
steps forward. “Do what we came to. We want to go home.”

Sy
growls. “Not here.”

They
start to back away, and Sy keeps his hold on me as he walks
backwards.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Completely freaking, I dig in my heels. “Wait. You can’t
take
me
.”

Sy thrusts his face forward. “
You’re
mine
.”

“
Are you deaf?
I found my true
mate.”

“
You won’t accept this? Fine. We’ll do the test right here to
prove you’re mine.”

“
I didn’t come here to nod, smile, and let you invoke that
right. It’s barbaric.” I shove at his chest. “I came to explain
what happened and give proof that Daniel’s claim on me as his Bride
isn’t a lie.”

“
The test is a valid law. I hoped you’d come easy, not make a
big deal about meeting your responsibilities to your Pack. As
always we have to suffer your drama. Why are you never happy to do
your part? Always got to go against the grain. It’s so selfish.” He
glares at me. “This was agreed beforehand with your father. I was
given permission to invoke the test if you proved
difficult.”

“
So you’re not allowed to take me if I don’t
submit?”

“
We both know that’s not going to happen,
sweetheart.”

I narrow
my eyes. “Humour me.”

He
grinned broadly. “It doesn’t matter. Win or lose you’re coming with
me.”

“
We’re here to bring you home,” Aaron says quietly. “Sy was
allowed to use the test if you were reluctant to come with us.
That’s what was agreed between both parties.”

My heart
sinks, but anger has me shooting daggers over my shoulder. I do a
double take. Daniel has turned away from me, and stares at the
ground. Clenched fists are held rigidly at his sides.

My heart
pounds as I again try to communicate mind to mind.

He shuts
me out and the message is clear; I’m on my own.

I twist back around to face Sy.
“You
need to let go of me. Now.”

“
You’ve figured it out, haven’t you?” He grins cruelly. “Your
Vampire sold you back to us, princess.”

Fear has
my strength increasing. My wolf bristles at her true mate’s
betrayal.

Sensing
my anger, Sy lifts me from the grass.

I thrash in mid-air. “
Let
go.
” My yell echoes with power. Infuriated
by the injustice of it all, I draw deeper on the strength of my
wolf spirit. “
Let me go
.”

Compelled, Sy jerkily puts me down. His grip loosens, and he
stumbles when I yank back.

His
expression turns furious when he realises another command to
release me will break his wolf. “Hold her. She can’t influence all
of us at once.”

Two
Enforcers in wolf form surge forward. They catch my legs in their
jaws to drag me back. The others hover close by; ready to swap if
needed. I cry out when a maw chomps too hard on my calf.

Daniel
flinches, but shakes his head. Without looking at me, he takes
halting steps towards the road. “This is for the best.” Louder over
his shoulder he says, “You should be with your own
kind.”

“
Lee,” I sob, twisting as best I can to see her. “Please. I
helped you.”

Ben’s
face is ashen, his eyes pitying me across the distance.

Lee opens
her mouth, but Ben whispers in her ear. They have a silent argument
until Lee slumps and nods glumly. When she looks at me her face is
devastated. Her wide eyes plead for forgiveness.

I stare
her down until she looks away.

“
They’ve abandoned you.” Sy’s body heat is oppressive.
Suffocating. “Get over it and come home.”

I wriggle
my arms and shift my legs. The wolves adjust their holds, the
friction of skin on skin giving them a solid grip.

“
It’s okay Lee.” I blink back tears. Crying in front of male
wolves is a big mistake. “I understand you can’t do anything. I
know you have to protect your family.” I meet Sy’s eyes, something
few wolves can so. “Daniel’s doing what he thinks is best. That one
has a serious superiority complex. I’m going to take a large,
painful bite out of his ass for scaring me like this.
Do you hear me, Vampire
?”