Roxanne Desired (12 page)

The air in the room swelled, almost creating its own texture by the way it was blanketed with a thick tension. An orchestra of growls and gnashing teeth serenaded me with the dreaded promise of violence and blood. The death ballad was erupting from the muzzles of several newly shifted wolves. They stood at the ready behind their Alpha who was poised for attack.

Like a guardian angel, Ember stepped into the room. Beside her, Collin stood calm but ready for any unforeseen trouble. I hated to admit it, but I was really glad to see them. I was a newly turned, untrained wolf, and I was pretty sure if it came down to a fight between mine and Paige’s wolf, her wolf would wipe the floor with me.

“What is the meaning of this?” Collin’s voice boomed over the growls that filled the room.

Ember shifted her gaze to me and then to the she-wolf standing center stage on the table. Their eyes locked in a silent battle of supremacy of their own, before Paige finally looked away, breaking eye contact first.

“It seems we have stumbled upon a lover’s quarrel gone very badly.” Ember said, quickly deducing what had transpired between us in her absence. “Have you issued challenge to the she-wolf I sired?” Ember asked Paige.

The room went deathly quiet, and with the silence, the wolves shifted back into their human form, including Paige. Some of them were dressed in the same clothes they had on before they shifted, and some were bare ass naked. Nathan had explained to me that it took a very strong werewolf to be able to shift their clothes back on, so three of the seven wolves that had shifted were now standing before us with their dangly bits swaying in the breeze. I had to force myself not to look away from them. I was still a little uncomfortable with all this free love nudity.

Paige hopped off the table, fully clothed, and was now standing a few feet in front of me. My body rocked back as Nathan tried to pull me away from her, but something inside of me wouldn’t let him do it. I drew my arm from his loose grip and remained where I stood, against her opposing presence.

Paige faced me, and as she did, she scraped her eyes up and down my body with an unconcealed look of disgust on her face.

“A challenge has been issued. Are you going to interfere? Go against our most sacred traditions and protect your little whelp from me?” She asked Ember, not switching her gaze.

I wasn’t very well versed on werewolf traditions, but I was learning about this particular one pretty quickly. It seemed that I was pretty fortunate that Ember showed up when she did. I had no yearning to fight. Tingles began to radiate through my body like before and I had to choke down another errant growl. My wolf obviously didn’t agree with my cowardice thoughts.

Ember’s laugh took me off guard. And so did the arm she wrapped around my neck. A sly smile spread across her beautiful face. The gesture made her freckled nose twitch. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was up to.

“I plan on doing no such thing,” she said, bringing her hand to her heart with a drawn out sigh in mock defense to Paige’s accusation. “What I do plan on doing however is this.” Ember pulled a crisp hundred dollar bill from her pocket and slammed it on the table before us all. “I have a bill that says Roxanne will annihilate you.”

She looked around the room at all the shocked faces in the crowd, mine included. “Do I have any takers?”

Ember’s
words had me in a complete mind freeze. I had mistakenly thought that she was here to save my ass from the psychotic she-wolf who wanted my head. I didn’t expect for her to throw me to the lions, so to speak, instead.  

The entire atmosphere in the room switched gears. The ramped up adrenaline pulse that had been assaulting my nerves like a battering ram instantaneously morphed into a more anxious feel of what could only be described as gambling frenzy; the likes of which you would find in an off track betting establishment. Harper was in the middle of the melee, taking bets and shouting out odds over the heads of anxious-to-see-me-torn-apart werewolves.

Nathan took my hand and guided me away from the irritatingly jovial wolves who were all but celebrating my impending doom. Before I knew what was happening, I found myself in the wreck room, pushed up against a pool table and wrapped in the bulging arms of my mate. My mouth was agape from a failed attempt to form words. My nosed crumpled against a stone chest, muffling all protests. I blinked, blinked again, the heavy weight of my eyelids slowing the process down. I was in shock. Everything was moving so fast.

“I will find a way to fix this,” he said, trying in vain to calm me. He palmed the back of my head and pressed me closer. “I had no clue she would take it this far.”

“There really isn’t anything you can do to stop the challenge,” said a voice in the distance.

I turned my head and peaked around Nathan’s arm. Parked on the floor in the corner of the room, Sadie and Dane were sitting companionably in the middle of a sea of Legos. They were building a castle and doing a rather fine job of it. I was impressed with the three foot structure.

“And judging by the bets I’ve been overhearing, Paige is a 3 to 1 favorite,” she added.

“You’re not being very helpful,” Nathan hissed.

“I’m not trying to be helpful, per say. Rather more like informative.” She said with a shrug. “If it’s any consolation, I agree with our Alpha. My money would be on Roxanne to win.”

I stretched my neck even farther around Nathan’s arm in an attempt to steal a better look at Sadie. I almost tipped over and fell in the process, being as that his girth was so massive compared to mine. I gave up, righted myself, and simply walked around him and over to her before I fell and made an even bigger fool of myself. I wanted to tell her how absolutely crazy I thought she was, wanted to explain to her how I had no flippin’ clue how to fight a werewolf let alone an alpha wolf. Instead, I found myself staring at her mutely. A few seconds ticked by before I was able to form a coherent thought. When I did, I didn’t like the reality my conclusions had so harshly laid out before me. I was going to have to fight Paige. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Challenges were common place in this new world I found myself in, and if I was going to survive in a pack setting I was going to have to embrace the pack mentality.

“You do realize that I have never fought another werewolf before, right?” I explained to Sadie.

Her large mocha eyes that were only a shade or two darker than her perfect complexion, were full of compassion when they fell on me. She reached over and ruffled Dane’s mop of hair before pushing herself off the toy peppered ground.

“I will be right back, little man. Stay in here and play. Don’t go traipsing underfoot in the kitchen. Your parents are in the middle of pack business.”

Dane looked up from his task of building a very realistic bridge. The red walkway ran from the castle gates and over a half built mote. The young boy’s eyebrows were tight with concentration and without a word, he nodded at Sadie. He dismissed us all with a turn of his head and with nimble fingers, once again became consumed by his project.

“Let’s talk over here.” Sadie suggested as she walked by me.

I turned and followed her as she made her way across the room. When we stopped, we were in front of a huge fireplace. It was built out of large lake stones that gave off a familiar smell, so I knew that they were foraged from the Adelphi pack’s land. The hearth was spacious and the area inside, tall. All three of us could fit inside of it comfortably with plenty of room to spare. I sat in one of the sturdy wooden chairs that filled the space in front of the fireplace. Its armrest and back brace flowed together in one piece with dark green cushions lending a soft texture to the harder base structure. The legs bowed and curved elegantly into clawed feet. The seat was comfortable when I lowered myself into it and I instantly relaxed against the much needed comfort of the thick cushions. Nathan sat down in the matching chair next to mine.

“So here’s the thing,” Sadie began.

She was seated several feet in front of us, her legs tucked up underneath her on top of the coffee table. The table’s frame looked just as sturdy and oversized as the rest of the wood furnishings in the room, almost swallowing up her petite form.

“You’re no doubt wondering why no one is overly concerned about your impending fight against Paige.” She commented.

“The thought has crossed my mind a time or two, or ten since it happened, yes. It’s like you guys think I can fight as well as Ember, Harper, or even you for that matter,” I said, exasperated.

The smile that slowly spread across her face had an irritating effect on me and I wished that she would get to the damn point already. She shook her head, her long dark ponytail swishing back and forth, lightly slapping the sides of her face. Her nose was also small, tipped up slightly at the end. Her overly large eyes took up most of her face, a face that was flawless. She reminded me of a Hispanic Barbie.

“It is Paige who should be worried about you. Regrettably for her, she doesn’t have a clue who, or more accurately, what you are.” Sadie looked at me as a confused expression washed away her smile. “It seems as though you don’t fully understand either.”

“You’re right. I don’t understand,” I whispered.

Nathan settled a hand over mine, halting their nervous fidget. I hadn’t noticed I was doing it, but my fingers were busy knotting up the hem of my blouse, fraying the ends and wearing a hole in the thin material.

“It all boils down to this. You are a white wolf. The white wolves are very rare and also happen to be the strongest among us. Only Prime wolves can compare in strength and speed. So you see? You should have no problem winning this challenge.”

Nathan squeezed my hand. “Well fuck if she isn’t right, Rox. I forgot all about that,” He said with unveiled excitement.

I thought about what she was implying for a second. I even let myself be comforted by the possibility that I might actually live through my impending battle with Paige. But just like always, my mind went into overdrive, conjuring a million thoughts to the contrary.

“Have any of these white wolves ever started their lives out as human?” I asked Sadie.

That question had caught her off-guard. Her mouth scrunched up as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. I could tell she was deep in thought. Sadie clamped both her hands together, then unclamped, rubbing them against her bare legs.

“Nope. Not that I can recall,” she said stumped. “However, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any.”

“There has never been a sired white. Not documented anyway,” Nathan said. He didn’t look at all pleased with the fact.

“How can you be so sure?” Sadie asked.

He stared out over the lounge area. We lost him for a second. After a slight shake of his head, he glanced Sadie’s way.

“When you are in constant competition with a brother, or say cousin, throughout your entire childhood, you try and learn all you can about why the asshole can best you at everything.”

Sadie nodded in understanding. “And this sibling or cousin you refer to is Collin, I take it? The highly regarded Adelphi leader and also extremely powerful white wolf?”

“One in the same,” He answered with a shake of his head. “I love the fucker, but it would have been nice to whoop his ass just once.” Nathan chuckled.

I cleared my throat and sat up a little straighter. “Do you happen to know how much time I have before the challenge?” I asked them both.

“You have until tonight. It is customary to fight under the light of the moon,” Sadie informed me.

I stood with a nod. “Well then, I haven’t much time.” I said.

“You haven’t much time for what?” Nathan asked, standing up as well.

“The way I see it, my only chance to survive this is to learn how to use my only weapon to its best and full advantage. And who better to teach me to handle my white wolf than your cousin, Collin?”

Nathan’s sudden intake of breath was the first indicator that I had upset him. The scowl that rushed across his face like a turbulent river was the second. Even upset, my new mate was absolutely magnificent. His nostrils flared the dance of an inflamed beast. His fists clenched at his sides against his swollen thigh muscles. I watched his chest rise and fall under his t-shirt, the surface bulging with bumps and ridges from the breadth of his muscular build. I couldn’t believe that I was getting hot, considering the life and death situation I was in. But with Nathan standing before me like this, bulging in all the right places, I couldn’t control myself. I took a peek lower, and yup, he was bulging there too; how was I supposed to concentrate on anything else? This man fascinated and infuriated me at times, but one thing was for certain: There wasn’t a moment since the first day I laid my eyes on him that I didn’t want to jump his bones.

When I heard Sadie’s voice clearing, I remembered where I was. My cheeks flushed. I tore my eyes from the bulge in his jeans and brought them to his face. I was pleased to see that my momentary lapse of propriety had settled his jealous beast some. He was still heated, but for different reasons now. The intense protective streak that a bonded male had for his mate was just another thing I was going to have to adjust to. And so was this penetrating need we had for each other; a need that never went away, just rode us hard underneath the surface of everything else.

“I can teach you how to fight in wolf form,” Nathan huffed. His arms were crossed against his broad chest, a chest he was currently puffing out like a proud peacock.

I could tell this meant a lot to him. To be honest, I probably should have asked him first. Shit, it was pretty damn insensitive of me to infer that I had more faith in his cousin than I did in him to protect me. Especially after he had just admitted feeling bested at every turn by him.

“Would you please?” I countered. “I would feel much better if I was somewhat prepared for this fight.”

His face immediately softened. Gone was the hurt I unwittingly placed on his face with my tactlessness. Before I knew it, I found myself wrapped protectively in his arms.

“I will turn you into a weapon of mass destruction.” He whispered in my ear.