New Title 1 (30 page)

Chapter Seventeen

“Let go of me,” Yara shouted as the massive man dragged her out of the small office.

“Not in a million years,” he replied with an edge. It was clear he was enjoying this too much.

“George? What’s going on?” the woman she’d seen in the kitchen came into view, followed by others.

His show had called the attention of the workers in the milk factory. How perfect.

“I caught this woman stealing from us,” George said.

Yara tried to stand up, but George’s grip on her hair was too tight. “I wasn’t stealing anything.”

“Because I caught you before you ran,” he bellowed triumphantly.

“I needed a phone, that’s all.”

George let out a loud, sarcastic laugh. “That’s the worse excuse I’ve ever heard.” He pulled Yara up and snarled in her ear, “this was the last mistake of your life, you little thief, no one steals from my pack.”

“Let her go.”

The dark command made everyone stop. Yara turned around and saw Rafe standing by the entrance of the factory. Murder in his eyes.

“You know this bitch?” George sneered.

“I said, let her go, George,” Rafe repeated slowly. A short blond woman with huge grey eyes rushed in behind him.

“Why am I not surprised that this is one of your whores?”

“I’m not his and I’m not a whore.” It was Yara’s turn to snarl. “I told you, I …”

“Shut the fuck up, bitch!” George shouted and shook Yara’s head like a potato sack.

Fuck, that hurt! She usually kept her hair super short but he’d managed to have found the only place to get a good hold on.

Yara growled at him. George growled back, Rafe growled in reply.

This was not going well.

“Uncle, please let her explain herself,” blondie said.

“Stay out of this, Sandy,” George commanded, then redirected his anger at Rafe. “You know strangers are not allowed in my pack. The rule is clear – all visitors must be reported in.”

Rafe let out a bitter chuckle. “That’s a stupid rule set by a deranged alpha.”

“Are you calling me deranged?” George replied.

Ai, Merciful Soartas, Yara’s situation wasn’t getting any better. Rafe had just pissed off his alpha because of her.

“I don’t give a fuck about your rules, George, I don’t live here, remember. Now let her go.”

“You are in
my
territory, and while here, you will abide by my laws!” George bellowed and started walking toward the other end of the factory, with Yara in tow.

Rafe rushed past them and blocked his alpha’s way. “Don’t make me ask again,” he snarled low. His stance and body language showed he was ready to call his uncle’s bluff.

The problem was, George also seemed to be itching for a fight. He lowered his chin and bent his knees in attack mode. “Don’t make me remind you who the alpha is here, Rafe.”

“You are the alpha because I let you,” Rafe replied darkly.

“I’ve had enough of your insubordination, you fucking cub. I found this bitch in my territory so she’s mine. I was going to hand her over to the authorities but now, I’ll have some fun with her instead.”

Oh, great.

A few surprised gasps echoed in the room.

Rafe lowered his stance. Pure rage oozed out of him. His jeans ripped apart as his legs grew thicker and paws replaced his hands and feet. In seconds, his white wolf was snarling at his uncle.

But the damned alpha didn’t back down. Yara felt her body slide on the tiled floor, as George thrust her to the side and got ready to show some fur, too. He was a big guy and the push wasn’t light. She lost her balance and stumbled to the ground, landing face first a few feet away. She shook her head awake trying to ignore the pain on her left temple. The smell of burnt hair reached her nostrils. She turned her head around already knowing who the source was. In place of George, a huge brown wolf stood his ground, squaring off with Rafe.

This was bad, this was really bad. Wolves fought to death when a challenge was issued. Yara didn’t want Rafe to fight his alpha. Not because she didn’t trust him to win, no, the problem was that she was
sure
he would win, and end up killing his leader, because of her.

Rafe snarled low and circled around the brown wolf, who mirrored his actions. The two seemed to be measuring each other before choosing to attack.

And this was her chance to make things right.

Without putting too much thought into it, Yara called upon her own feral inmã and let the beast loose.

Chapter Eighteen

Rafe was ready to rip his uncle’s jugular open and finish him off once and for all. The prick had seen it coming. He hunkered down, building momentum, ready to take the leap, but the sound of flesh ripping and the smell of burnt hair made him stop. Was someone else in the room shifting? He turned his head toward the unexpected sound.

His jaw dropped when he saw Yara. She was just a few feet away, her features contorted; her usual imposing stance was hunched down. Sun-kissed skin stretched, limbs elongated to unnatural lengths. Thick strings of black fur emerged and her fingernails grew into claws.
What the fuck?
Then, her brown eyes turned into a sparkling shade of green, the same color of the lake where she was from. In seconds, Yara was no more, and in her place stood a stunning, powerful black panther. Her silky coat shone against the white lights in the factory.

Rafe was frozen in place, jaw dropped, his spat with his uncle was completely forgotten. Fucking Soartas, Yara was a shifter. And not any shifter – a cat, nonetheless.
That
had been the scent he hadn’t managed to put his finger on.

The panther stared at him, all imperial. He took a few tentative steps toward her, slowly, testing the waters. Shifters tended to be more unpredictable when in animal form, and Rafe could sense she was on edge. He inched in closer. She stood her ground, staring him in the eye. Then, out of nowhere, Yara decided to attack him.

Fuck?

She lunged up in the air, right
at
him. Rafe ducked low – he didn’t want to fight her – but instead of crashing against him, she flew
over
him. His mind went numb in shock. In utter confusion, he saw the panther travel up in the air, and crash against George, who had managed to sneak up behind him and had been just inches from striking Rafe.

Son of a bitch! If it wasn’t for Yara, his uncle would have surprised him.

Brown and black fur intertwined as Yara stumbled to the ground and rolled to the side, dragging George with her. It didn’t take her long to be back on all fours, snarling at his alpha.

Rafe’s heart skipped a beat like a teenage boy’s. Yara was tough, wild, raw – everything he loved in a woman.

He rushed forward and took up position next to Yara. His uncle pushed off the floor and growled back at both of them, but his chances of winning that fight were minimal. Rafe knew it, and his uncle knew it. And he needed to make sure George learnt his lesson. Yes, he may be the alpha of this pack, but not Rafe’s alpha. He was his own boss, and George had to get that into his head.

Rafe lunged at the brown wolf with all his might. George fought back but he was far from being a real contender. In less than a minute, he had his teeth tight around his uncle’s jugular. He heard Sandy cry something out and followed by the others but Rafe was far gone. His beast wanted blood, he wanted that pitiful excuse of a wolf to learn a final lesson. He tensed his jaw and prepared to strike. A mass of black fur crashed against him, forcing him to lose his grip.

What the fuck was Yara doing? Was she fighting
him
now? Rafe pushed off the floor and snarled at her.

She snarled back, facing him off. If she could talk, he was sure she’d be yelling at him.
OK, fine.
Rafe ignored her, turned around and prepared for another attack. His uncle’s desperate eyes darted from Rafe to Yara. His path was blocked. There was no way to escape.

Yara lifted her head and moved aside.

What in Hiad was she doing?

George took the opportunity and dashed out the door. His alpha was a fool at many things, but when time came to run for his life or stay and save face, he didn’t flinch.

Rafe started after the coward, but Yara blocked his way.

By Apa Dobrý, she was pushing it! This was a family matter. Yara had no place coming between him and his uncle.

He pulled back and circled around. Blood boiling in his veins. Yara narrowed her green eyes and mirrored his movements. The others around them just stood there, paralyzed, as if hypnotized by a train crash about to happen.

It didn’t.

When Rafe’s ears couldn’t pick his uncles’ throttles on concrete anymore, Yara straightened up, shifted back into her human form and started yelling at him. In front of everyone.

Great.

“Are you out of your mind?” she bellowed with her fists on her delicious hips.

Rafe took a deep breath and shifted back as well. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“You were about to kill your alpha, Rafe,
kill!
Are you insane?”

“No, I was in a perfect state of mind. He’s a fucked-up leader who took a step too far by threatening my woman.”

Yara’s face went completely red and her eyes, which had gone back to brown, flashed emerald green. “If you want to take on your alpha, fine, I don’t care, but don’t you dare use me as excuse,” she growled, then turned on her heels and stomped away, her bare ass reflecting the sunlight for anyone to see.

Rafe ran his tongue over his teeth and bit the insides of his cheek. She might be a hot Brazilian Goddess, but by Apa Dobrý, Yara knew how to push his buttons.

“What are you looking at?” he shouted at the little audience that had gathered around. “Don’t you have a sculpture to finish?”

They shrugged, some lifted an eyebrow at him, but complied. Sandy was the last one. The “my money is on her” smirk was still stamped on her face when she left.

**********

Rafe cursed low and went after Yara. That woman was going to be his demise, for sure. He caught up with her at the edge of the meadow. “Yara, wait.”

“For what?” she shouted back but didn’t stop. “For you to find another way of using me to piss off your alpha?”

“I wasn’t using you, George had it coming.”

“And you decided to settle your bill today; out of all days, you chose
this
one, not yesterday, not tomorrow,
today
.”

She kept on walking; Rafe followed a few feet behind. They were halfway to his house now. Her nakedness didn’t seem to bother her. It didn’t bother him either – in the wolf community, bare flesh was hardly a novelty – but it was damn hard to think of good comebacks with her swinging her delicious ass in front of him like that.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a shifter?” he asked after a short silence.

“Because I’m not.”

“You shifted into a panther, Yara, that’s being a shifter from where I come from.”

She finally stopped and turned around. “I’m not a shifter by birth.”

He frowned. “You weren’t born a shifter?”

“No.”

“How in Hiad are you able to turn into a black panther then?”

She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes, as if deciding what to do next. It was clear that whatever she was about to say wasn’t an easy skeleton to clean out of the closet.

Rafe waited, not just because he wanted to give her the space she needed, but because very few Sons of Apa Dobrý were powerful enough to use other creatures’ powers. If Yara could shift, without having been born a shifter, by the Gods, he was in for a wild ride with that woman.

“I was cursed,” she finally said.

“Excuse me?”

“I could shift before that, but only for short periods of time.”

His mind was racing and he blurted out the first question that came up. “Who cursed you?”

She exhaled a long breath and looked him in the eye. “My mother.”

“What?”
Rafe’s brain crashed.

“It’s a long story and I don’t want to go there right now,” she added and started walking toward his house again.

No way.

Rafe pulled her by the elbow, forcing her to face him. “I think we’re past that point, Yara, and I think you know it.”

She stared back at him, clearly not liking him very much right now, but she didn’t pull away.

“Why did your mother curse you?” he asked.

“Why did you tell George he’s only alpha because you let him?” she retorted back.

Rafe paused.
His demise, for sure.
“Fine, I’ll show you mine if you show me yours, deal?”

She nodded. “Deal.”

He looked around and spotted a small clearing that looked cozy enough. He motioned for Yara to follow him. He walked to the edge in silence then sat down on the soft grass. She mirrored his movements and stretched down in front of him – like a muse, on her side, with her tanned skin glistening against the moonlight. Rafe couldn’t stop his eyes from roaming over her deliciously toned body, memorizing every inch. His dirty mind went crazy, offering him several suggestions on the best ways to claim her.

Yara lifted an eyebrow at him, as she propped herself up by her elbow. “You wanna talk or not?” she asked, no, she drawled.

Damned girl. She knew how much she affected him. Well, that constant boner of his might have been a dead giveaway too. “Ladies first.”

“In your dreams, wolf.” She shook her head slowly. “Why isn’t George worthy of his title? What happened?”

He gave her a knowing look but complied, because he knew he’d lose the battle. “When my father died, I found myself in a pickle. I didn’t want to be alpha.”

Her brows lifted in surprise. “Your dad was the alpha?”

He nodded. “Yep, and a good one too, and when he passed away I was too young, too carefree to want the future of my pack on my shoulders, but tradition dictates that the son of the alpha should take his place. My uncle on the other hand, never hid his desire to be alpha. He used to claim that he would be a much better leader, and that the only reason he wouldn’t challenge my father was because he pitied him for losing my mother early.”

“You lost your mother?”

Old grief crept out before he could tamp it down. He ran his hand through his head and looked away. “She was killed by hunters when I was only a cub.” The painful memories came flooding out but now was not the time for that. He took a deep breath and carried on. “The truth is, my uncle has always been a coward and a lousy fighter. He knew he didn’t stand a chance against my father, and
that’s
why he never challenged him. But when my father died, the tables were turned.”

Yara frowned. “He challenged you?”

“Not exactly,” Rafe replied. “I waited for weeks for him to do it, but the chicken shit never did. So one night I went to his house and offered him a deal.”

“If he challenged you, you’d let him win the fight,” Yara said, nailing it.

Rafe nodded again. “And everything went according to plan. He became the alpha and I got my freedom. I just didn’t expect my own pack to turn their backs on me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I suddenly became leprous to them. They gossiped against me, they laughed at me behind my back.”

“That’s horrible!” Yara exclaimed horrified. “They are your family, for Hiad’s sake, why did they do that?”

“We are family and have each other’s backs, but wolves are driven by prowess, Yara, and the weak are left behind. By losing to my uncle, I inadvertently labeled myself not worthy of being member of this pack.”

Yara paused and her eyes drifted around. “But you’re not weak to them anymore,” Yara said. “I saw the way those people looked at you at the milk factory. They respect you now.”

“It took me a while but I turned things around.”

She rolled on her belly and rested her chin on the top of her hands, dangling her feet up, as if waiting for a good story. Rafe couldn’t stop a small chuckle from escaping. She looked adorable like that, and yet utterly edible.

“So, what happened?” she prompted him.

“Well, in addition to being a coward and a lousy fighter, George is a terrible businessman. He convinced the pack to expand the milk factory and modernize it right in the beginning of the global financial crisis. He managed to get the entire pack into a seven-figure debt.”

“Ouch.”

“Yep, not very clever.”

“Where were you then?”

“Doing what I love, fighting,” Rafe replied. The memories of his first years, struggling to survive brought a sad smile to his face. “It wasn’t easy, but I managed to gather enough cash to buy a rundown basement and set up my own gym.”

Yara smiled as if she, too, was proud of him.

Rafe looked down and played with the grass between his fingers. “Then, Archie, my cousin, reached out and told me about the mess George had gotten everyone into.” He clenched his jaw tight to swallow the foul curse in his tongue. “I was so furious. At first I thought ‘fuck them, they turned their backs on me, so I’ll do the same, give them the same medicine’. But Archie wouldn’t take no for an answer. He convinced me to train him to fight too, so that he could win the Dungeon’s tournament and save the pack.” Rafe shook his head. “Silly cub.”

Of course there had been no way to turn a farmer into a champion in less than a week before the main championship started. Rafe remembered how fast Archie had slumped down, knocked out on his first fight. It was all over; his pack would lose everything, their land and factory. Rafe just couldn’t let that happen. He managed to convince the bookies to let him join into the competition after the first round. He had been full of courage but shaking inside at the same time. He was already an experienced fighter, but had never gone into a full cage fight before. Yes, he’d won a few, and lost a few too, but a championship at the famous Dungeon was not to be taken lightly. In the end, he had broken ribs, his face was unrecognizable and his fists were raw.