Chapter Twelve

~ Remy ~

I didn"t know what to think of Vanya. He wasn"t behaving as I expected. Granted, I had only met him a few times before now, but still. He was supposed to be a military man. They were known for their control and Vanya seemed a little out of control.

The whole dominance thing made sense, because, like I had said, he was a military man and that took a bravery that went soul deep. I wasn"t sure what to think about the aggression he was showing.

Or the possessiveness.

Yes, we"d had sex and it had been great sex.

It didn"t explain the rest of this.

I grabbed the platter Vanya shoved in my direction and walked toward the front door without a word. My confusion at Vanya"s behavior was exploding faster than that damn meteor. I needed a few minutes to think about all of this.

I wasn"t sure why we were having a barbecue in the middle of the day, but we had to eat I guess. Besides, I wasn"t sure what all was in the cupboards beyond what I had seen with a quick glance.

Steaks did sound nice, though.

I was starving.

The barbecue set-up was fancier than I had expected. There was a building off to one side of all the cabins that was considered the common area. I guess it was kind of like living in the dorms. Anyone could use them. The barbecue was built on a covered patio right off that building. There were a few picnic tables set around the area.

I noticed that Charlie, Cindy, Levi, and Olivia had joined the others as I carried the platter of corn and potatoes to the counter next to the barbecue and set it down. Brad and Margot seemed to be the only ones missing.

Maybe we"d luck out and they would stay in their cabin.

I know Vanya said we all needed to talk, and he was right, but I so didn"t want to deal with Brad and his shit. That homophobic asshole was going to make my life miserable the moment he saw me and Vanya together. I could just imagine the things he would say.

None of them would be nice.

My biggest hope was that Brad and Margot hadn"t been affected by the meteor and they could be sent on their way. It would be nice if Levi and Olivia could go with them, but if I had to choose between the couples, they would win every time.

I walked over to sit down next to Yeri and Hudson at one of the picnic tables. Luckily, Carmine and Akio sat on the other side. There would be no room for anyone else at our table.

I heard Margot"s bitching the second their door opened. When I glanced at Yeri, his eyes rolled. I snickered and glanced toward Brad and Margot. I didn"t know what she was bitching about and I didn"t care. I just wish she would shut the hell up. That woman"s voice was like a cat screeching.

Maybe Vanya would bring out some duct tape.

Margot was still bitching when the couple reached us. I so badly wanted to stuff a sock in her mouth and tell her to shut up. I didn"t simply because I didn"t want to cause any more problems than we already had.

That scent of burnt cinnamon was getting stronger.

Something dark flashed in Brad"s eyes as he stared at me. I refused to look away no matter how uncomfortable it made me feel. My skin crawled as if a hundred little ants were scampering along my flesh. It was almost hard to breathe.

When he finally looked away from me, I blew out a breath.

"Move," he ordered Yeri.

Yeri snorted. "In your dreams."

I ducked my head and silently snickered. It wouldn"t do any of us any good for Brad to hear me, but that shit was funny. Yeri wasn"t the least bit intimidated by Brad.

I wish I could say the same.

I had always been a little wary of Brad simply because people that were homophobic could easily turn violent. That, at least, had been my experience. After Brad attacked me yesterday, I was positive of it.

"You"re in my seat," Brad said. "Move."

"Dude, I know for a fact that your name is not on this picnic bench." Yeri stood and pointed to some scribbling on the wood. "Mine is, so I"m not moving."

Brad"s eyes narrowed before coming back to me. "Move."

I rolled my eyes this time.

Brad reached down and grabbed me by the arm, trying to yank me to my feet. "Move!"

"Get your hands off me," I snapped as I dug at the fingers wrapped impossibly tight around my upper arm.

What was with this guy?

"Braaad," Margot whined. "Come sit with me."

Yeah, Brad. Go sit with your girlfriend.

"Let me go!" I jerked hard, trying to free myself.

Brad tightened his grip to the point that I knew I"d have bruises later. He leaned in close until we were nearly nose to nose. "If you don"t get up and move, I will make you."

"Who the fuck do you think you are to tell me what to do?" I started to shout. "You don"t own me."

Brad grinned evilly. "Oh, but I do."

My mouth dropped open as shock rolled through me like a tsunami.

This guy was insane.

"You see, a very interesting thing happened to me a couple of nights ago."

Oh no.

"It made me stronger, faster, and..." Brad turned his head, running his nose along the side of my face. "And it made you smell absolutely delicious."

I was going to puke.

"You belong to me now," Brad continued. "I"m going to fuck you and I"m going to breed you and there is nothing you can do about it. You"re mine now, Remy."

"Fuck you!" I snapped before spitting in his face. "I"ll never belong to you."

When Brad raised his hand and backhanded me, the force of the blow threw me to the ground. The pain that exploded in my face brought stars to my eyes.

"Hey!" someone shouted.

There was a lot of shouting after that. I didn"t pay attention to who was saying what. I was too busy cradling my aching cheek in my hand and trying to keep my head from spinning.

When someone grabbed me, I jumped and whimpered, scooting back.

"Hey, hey, it"s just me," Yeri said.

"Vanya," I whispered. "I want Vanya."

I knew he could keep me safe from Brad.

"I"ll go get him." Yeri glanced up to someone behind me. "Akio, stay with him."

A moment later, Akio knelt down next to me. "Are you okay?"

I wasn"t, but I nodded my head anyway.

"Where"s Brad?" I asked nervously.

Did I need to run?

"Charlie, Carmine, and Hudson have him." Akio heaved a sigh. "Brad is an ass."

Brad was one step away from an assault charge. I don"t know what was up with that dude, but he needed to stay away from me.

"He threatened to sexually assault me." I swallowed tightly as something acidic welled up in my throat. "He said he wanted to breed me."

Akio"s eyebrows shot up. "He said what?"

I nodded. "He said he was going to fuck me and breed me because I belonged to him."

"He actually said he was going to breed you?"

I nodded again.

"He does know it doesn"t work like that, right?"

I had no idea.

I looked directly at Akio. "He said he was stronger and faster than me, and that I smelled really good to him." I shuddered in disgust. "He said there was nothing I could do to stop him. That I know belonged to him."

Akio"s eyes rolled much like Yeri"s had. "That man is scum."

"I think he"s been changed, too." I hated the very idea that Brad might be like the rest of us. "He said something very interesting thing happened to him a couple of nights ago."

Only two things that could be considered interesting had happened since we came up here. The green meteor exploding over the top of us and Vanya and Hudson showing up.

Well, there had been a couple of other very interesting things, but I felt as if me and Vanya having sex was specific to us and had nothing to do with anyone else.

My head snapped up when I heard a loud roar and then the front door of my cabin slammed open as Vanya came running out. He didn"t even bother to go down the stairs, just jumped right over the railing. He hit the ground and then ran toward me. Within seconds, he was squatting down next to me and I was being pulled into his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he looked me over. His eyes narrowed when they landed on my face. "What happened? Who did this?"

I clung onto the man, finally feeling safe from Brad. As possessive as Vanya had been since we"d had sex, I doubted he would let that maniac get to me.

I could hope anyway.

I heard a low threatening growl rumble through Vanya"s chest when Akio pointed behind me. I grabbed his arm, keeping him with me. "You can"t kill him."

Vanya glanced at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay." I huffed. "You probably could kill him, and I can"t say I would mind that very much, but it"s really not a good idea. One, there are witnesses. Two, someone would squeal." I"d put my money on Margot. "And three, people would come looking for him if he disappeared and we really don"t need that right now."

Vanya"s upper lip curled back as if he understood what I was saying, but didn"t like it. He looked like playing nice was the last thing he wanted to do.

"You know I"m right."

Vanya huffed. "Fine, I won"t kill him."

I wasn"t going to tell him not to rough Brad up a little because the bastard deserved it. I was getting sick and tired of his high and mighty attitude. He was not king, despite what he might think. I was not duty bound to do whatever he said. I wasn"t even going to do what Vanya said unless I wanted to, and I liked him.

Akio helped me up and then over to the picnic table after Vanya stood and started toward where Carmine, Charlie, and Hudson were holding Brad down.

I kept a close eye on him, worried Brad would spout off and Vanya would forget his agreement with me.

"Does it hurt?"

I glanced at Akio with wide eyes. "Of course it hurts."

"I"d get you some ice, but..." Akio shrugged.

"Can you get me a cold wet washrag?" It wouldn"t be the same, but it would be close. Anything was better than the throbbing in my cheek.