CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Looking down at the bush dog playfully attacking the living room rug a few days later, Luke exhaled heavily. She could be as destructive as a bored pup at times. In her view, everything was a potential chew toy. She’d lunge at whatever she could sink her teeth into. Chew it. Claw it. Even eat it.

He didn’t know what bothered him more—that she was wrecking yet another object in their home, or that his cat wanted to join in the “fun.”

Luke scratched his cheek. “How about we go outside?” he proposed, knowing Blair would communicate his words to the animal. “You can play in the backyard.”

The little female didn’t even look at him.

“So that’s a no, then.” Luke would have tried to take the rug from her if he didn’t know she’d misinterpret the move as a let’s play a game of tug of war. That was how it always went if he tried taking away a new “toy” she’d claimed. And he never won such games, or walked away uninjured.

There would be no distracting her with another toy either. Once she’d settled on one, she wouldn’t abandon it until she was ready. And by ready, he meant bored.

The phone on the coffee table rang. Blair’s phone.

Luke grabbed it, checked the screen, and then held up the cell. “Your brother’s calling.”

Eerily dark eyes slid his way, but she didn’t release the rug. Just kept on growling and snarling and tearing into it.

“You gonna answer the phone or not?”

She attacked the rug with renewed vigor. Which basically meant that Blair wasn’t pushing for supremacy, likely enjoying his frustration with her female. Little witch.

“Don’t think you won’t pay for this later, Blair.” He swiped his thumb over the phone’s screen and answered, “Hey, it’s Luke. Your sister can’t come to the phone right now. Her female is currently in charge, and she’s busy tussling with inanimate objects.”

Mitch snickered. “If the bush dog’s in one of those moods, you’d be wise not to take your eyes off her for long—she’ll get into all kinds of shit.”

“I know that from prior experience. Want me to pass on a message to Blair?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind. Quick warning, I don’t think you’re going to like this much. The odds are that her female won’t like it much either, so you might want to move away from sensitive canine ears. A pissy bush dog is not fun to deal with.”

His scalp prickling, Luke stalked into the kitchen but didn’t close the door, enabling him to keep an eye on the little female. “I’m out of earshot. Tell me.”

“My parents want to meet with Blair.”

Luke froze, and his cat let out a long hiss. “Why?”

“They don’t like the growing distance between her and them. It’s eating them up. They want to fix it.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re certain that that’s truly what they want? That they aren’t simply hoping to have the chance to toss more dogshit on her doorstep or to talk her into returning to your territory?”

“My mother swears that she has no intention of making an ugly scene. She says that, like my dad, she wants to make peace.”

“Just like that?” asked Luke, his voice oozing disbelief.

“I can see why you’d be skeptical—”

“Of course I’m skeptical.” Luke paused as the bush dog darted out of sight. Well at least she’d gotten bored savaging the rug. “As much as I figured that Noelle would back down eventually, I didn’t think she’d do it this soon.”

“I don’t believe she would have if it wasn’t for one thing—she’s scared for Blair right now. Truly afraid. There’s no missing that the stalking is escalating, especially after the hit and run, and my mother is terrified that she’ll lose another daughter. Noelle wouldn’t survive the loss, Luke. I know she wouldn’t.”

Luke let out a long breath, rubbing at his nape. Could Noelle’s fear for Blair have lit a fire under her ass and led her to back down? Maybe. That kind of terror could certainly shift a person’s priorities and remind them of what was truly important. It could make them determined to fix any rifts even if only so that they’d then be around to protect their loved ones. But that didn’t mean this was the case with Noelle, did it?

“I’ll pass the message onto Blair and see how she feels about it,” said Luke.

“I appreciate it.”

Luke frowned as the again-growling bush dog dragged a sneaker past the doorway by its laces like she was heaving dead prey to a den, quickly disappearing out of his line of sight. He shook his head at her antics.

“How is Blair?” asked Mitch.

“Fine.” Albeit frustrated that her stalker remained unidentified and uncaught.

“She hasn’t called in a few days.”

“There hasn’t been anything new to report.” Nothing more had happened since the hit and run.

“Embry mentioned that you spoke to Gabriel again to try to rattle his cage.”

Luke wouldn’t have told the Alpha at all if Embry hadn’t contacted him to ask about it. It seemed that Embry had assigned people to watch Gabriel’s complex, and they’d reported that Luke paid Gabriel a second visit.

Initially, Luke had considered telling the Alpha what he’d learned of Gabriel from River. But Luke worried that Embry—so desperate to believe his own pack mates weren’t at fault—would then insist on believing that the guilt lay with Gabriel. After all, he’d thrown accusations at Gabriel’s door without full proof of guilt once before, hadn’t he? As such, Luke had merely claimed that he’d had another chat with Gabriel in the hope of somehow tripping him up.

“He also thinks that maybe there was a little more to it than that you wanted to simply rattle Gabriel’s cage,” said Mitch. “Embry suspects that you have info you’re not passing on.”

The Alpha hadn’t said as much to Luke. “If that were the case, he wouldn’t be in a position to judge.”

“What does that mean?”

Luke couldn’t exactly share what he’d discovered about Donal and Antoine. Not that he believed Mitch would break his confidence. It simply wouldn’t be fair to expect Mitch to keep secrets from his own Alpha. So, Luke simply replied, “Surely you haven’t forgotten that when Blair was part of your pack he kept from me everything that recently happened to and around her.”

A heavy exhale. “He shouldn’t have done that, I know. But if he’d thought she was in true danger back then, he would have contacted you.”

Frowning at the sight of Blair’s female balancing on her front paws as she once more moved past the doorway, Luke said, “I’m not so sure of that. It was made obvious by Macy’s death that the person who’s obsessed with Blair is dangerous. Nonetheless, Embry asked her not to tell me anything.”

“You think Embry’s covering up for someone?”

“Not necessarily.” Luke doubted that, being her uncle, the Alpha would do such a thing. “I’m just not convinced that he’s keeping me fully in the loop. I find it incredibly difficult to believe that he doesn’t have at least one suspect. He questioned every member of your pack. He investigated the matter thoroughly—or so he claims, just as he claims he’s making impartial judgements. If the latter were true, there’d be at least one or two people he’d be keeping his eye on. And if that is the case, it’s not something he’s bothered to share with me or Blair.”

“On the one hand, I agree that he should suspect someone. But to be fair, I don’t have a single suspect. There’s no one who’s ever come across as obsessed with Blair.”

“But they wouldn’t, would they? You’re expecting this person to stand out somehow as ‘creepy.’ People like that rarely do, Mitch. On the contrary, they often seem personable, helpful, and even charming. They often also exhibit obsessive tendencies, so watch out for that.”

Luke paused as his bush dog once more came into view—this time wrestling frantically with a plastic shopping bag, unable to get away from it since she’d somehow managed to hook one of its handles around her neck. He swore. “I have to go if I’m to save Blair’s female from herself.”

Mitch snorted. “Well good luck with that. Tell Blair I said hi and to call me when she can.”

“Will do.” Luke rang off and crossed to the bush dog. “You’re worse than any pup, you know that?” Ignoring her little growl, he freed her from the shopping bag. “Blair, I need you to shift back before she starts trying to—”

There was a brisk knock on the front door.

The bush dog yipped and then pounced on the rug yet again.

Great. Really.

Leaving the nutcase to her own devices, Luke crossed to the front door and pulled it open. He raised his brows in greeting at the male cat standing on the other side of it. “Evander. How’re you doing?”

“Fine,” replied the male who worked in the pride’s barbershop with his father and also Luke’s cousin, Mila. “My dad wanted me to stop by and give you a brief message. You know how much he hates using a phone.”

Luke snickered. “I do.”

Partway through delivering said message, Evander paused as a loud feminine laugh floated along the hall.

Luke’s eyes darted toward the sound. Two female pallas cats stood near the stairwell, their backs to him.

“I have to go, I’m meeting with Finley,” said Posy, who happened to be the female enforcer’s younger sister.

“How’s she holding up?” asked Posy’s friend, Kalia. “It has to be hard for her that she can’t be Beta female—it was always her dream. I feel bad for her.”

Posy frowned. “Just because she hasn’t been appointed Beta female doesn’t mean she doesn’t hold the position. She’s acted as Beta for years, really. It was simply never official.”

“Yeah, but Luke’s mate is now part of the pride—”

A snort. “Him claiming and bringing her here grants her the position, but it doesn’t make her a true Beta female. She doesn’t have what it takes to fulfil the role or shoulder all the responsibilities. She’s just a little kid playing at being an adult.”

Luke felt his jaw tighten, his cat swiping at his insides, wanting out to deal with the mouthy female.

“I don’t know, Posy,” said Kalia. “Blair’s done okay so far. And she handled Lucille and Rhonda well.”

“But she’d never handle my sister if Finley challenged her,” Posy insisted. “Hell, I could kick the bush dog’s ass—and I could do it in my sleep.”

His jaw clenching, Luke turned back to Evander. “Can you give me a minute? I need to go deal with—”

His little bush dog sprinted out from between his legs and galloped down the hall.

Shit. Luke swiftly pursued her but, Jesus, she was fast. Too fast for him to catch up quickly enough. And then she was biting into Posy’s heel like a possessed gremlin.

Posy screeched in both pain and shock. “The fuck—Get off me, you bitch!” She shook her leg, but it only made the bush dog sink her teeth deeper and chomp harder. Posy screamed again. “Someone grab her!”

But no one did. Kalia gaped, frozen. Evander watched, his lips twitching. Luke … well, as Beta male, he usually ended such fights. But Posy had claimed she could take on Blair, had effectively challenged her dominance, and the little bush dog had every right to point out the wrongness of that. She was being rather savage about it, yes, but this was how bush dogs rolled—they blindsided, attacked, mauled, humiliated.

No one could say the vicious little shits weren’t consistent.

Luke folded his arms. “If you don’t want to experience the pain of having your foot completely mutilated, you should submit,” he said, matter-of-fact.

Posy’s pain-filled eyes widened. “Submit? She attacked me! She’s feral or something, she—”

“Overheard you mouthing off about her,” Luke finished. “And now she’s making a statement. But you should be able to handle her. You can kick her ass in your sleep, right? Isn’t that what you said?”

Posy snapped her mouth shut, shaking her leg again. “Someone get her—”

Snarling, the bush dog began chomping hard.

Posy stumbled with a loud cry, crashing into Kalia. He wondered if the animal had bitten into her Achilles heel. Probably.

Her eyes watery, Posy looked at him. “Oh God, you have to get her off me!”

“Submit, and she will let you go,” said Luke.

Nowhere near as stubborn as her older sister, Posy immediately yielded.

The bush dog released her foot and licked her bloody muzzle. She then turned, braced herself on her front paws … and peed on Posy, who promptly squealed in horror. His cat bared his teeth in approval.

Evander chuckled as the bush dog casually trotted off.

Hiding his own amusement, Luke aimed a severe glare at Posy. “You don’t have to like Blair. You don’t have to like that she’s Beta female. But you will respect her. Talking shit about her in a public hallway is nothing close to respectful.”

Posy licked her lips. “I didn’t call her any names.”

“No, you did worse. You said she doesn’t have what it takes to be Beta; that you could easily kick her ass; that she’s only a kid playing at being an adult. And you said it where anyone could overhear you. If she hadn’t punished you for that show of disrespect, I would have.” He slid his gaze to Kalia. “Help her get to her apartment and call a healer if she needs one.”

Her eyes wide, Kalia gave a firm nod.

Luke turned and began strolling back to his apartment with Evander at his side.

“She peed on me, Kalia,” said Posy behind them, sounding traumatized. “She peed on me.”

Evander cast him a sideways glance. “Your mate takes bitchy to a whole new level.”

Luke smiled. “Doesn’t she, though?”

Outside his front door, Luke waited while Evander finished relaying his father’s message. The two males then parted, and Luke headed into his living room, where his little bush dog was sprawled on the floor, her tongue lolling out.

Squatting in front of her, Luke tilted his head. “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

She let out a happy yip.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Sitting on the floor, his legs bracketing her, he indulged her with strokes and scratches, whispering sweet nothings to her as she all but melted into the half-ruined rug. Bones soon began to pop and snap as she withdrew, and then Blair lay in her place.

Luke pulled his naked mate onto his lap and slid his hand up her sleek back. “Your female is a magnificently vicious little creature.”

Blair’s mouth curled. “Ooh, she likes that compliment.”

“She definitely made her point with Posy.”

“God, that woman. How dumb can you be to talk smack about your Beta female mere feet away from said Beta’s apartment? Didn’t she notice you standing at the door?”

He shook his head. “Posy’s not the brightest lamp in the street. Or the most aware. But she received your message loud and clear. And gave your female something other than our rug to chew on, which was nice. Did she really have to ruin it?”

Blair snickered. “You’re such a whiner. She was only playing with the damn thing.”

“She tore into it like it had fucked her mother.”

“And you, what, have some deep attachment to this rug?” Blair teased, looping her arms around his neck.

“No. But it would be nice if she didn’t chew on everything. I ask her not to, and I’m even polite about it. But she doesn’t listen to a word I say.”

“Be honest, the latter bothers you most of all. You’re used to instant obedience. She doesn’t give you that. It galls you.” Blair rubbed his nose with hers. “My opinion? Both you and your cat need someone to keep you on your toes. She’s good at that.”

His mouth kicked up. “She is, I can’t lie.” He hummed, nuzzling her neck. “I like this fresh bite right here.” He licked the mark and then swirled his tongue around it. “Nice and deep and visible.”

Feeling his hand glide up her thigh, Blair bit her lip. “Before you start getting me all wet and tingly, tell me what Mitch wanted.”

Luke hesitated, his hand pausing its journey. “He asked how you were doing. He wants you to call him when you can. Also … he wanted to pass on a request from your parents.”

Blair felt tension begin to creep into her muscles. “And what request would that be?”

“They wish to meet with you.” Luke tucked her hair behind her ear. “It seems they hope to mend the breach.”

“‘Seems?’ You don’t think it’s true?”

He blew out a breath. “I want it to be true for your sake, but I don’t know. Mitch believes that you got through to Noelle at the cabin. He also claims that she’s afraid for you right now; afraid of losing you to whoever is stalking you. It could be that, now seeing what’s truly important, she’s decided to throw in the towel.”

“Stranger things have happened, I suppose. But backing down so abruptly isn’t her style.”

“No, it’s not. But her intention has never been to push you away. She only ever wanted to push me out of the picture. Faced with the prospect of losing you altogether while also terrified something might happen to you, she could have chosen to let things lie just as Les seemingly has. People can often surprise you.”

It amazed Blair that he’d think to give them the benefit of the doubt, all things considered. She let her fingers drift through his hair. “You’re kinder to them than they deserve.”

“Not for their sake. For yours. Look, I’ll never be their champion. Not after how emotionally difficult they made it for you to have me in your life. They could have shoved aside their reservations all these years even if only to make it easier for you. They didn’t. I can’t forgive it. I don’t feel an inclination to try. Their wants and feelings don’t matter to me. But yours do. And I know that the present situation hurts you. I don’t want you hurting.”

God, he was the best. Seriously the best. She wasn’t sure if, in his shoes, she would have been as selfless.

Blair would have found it horrible if his family not only hadn’t welcomed her but had tried convincing him to forsake her. More, she would have been devastated on his behalf, because he would have found it just as horrible. She definitely wouldn’t have forgiven them for such a thing, so she completely understood why he didn’t feel open to forgiving her parents.

“You don’t have to make up your mind right now. There’s no rush.” He smoothed his hand up the length of her spine. “I’ll back you whatever you decide.”

“I know you will. You’re awesome that way.”

His lips hitched up. “I’m glad that hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

“Nothing about you goes unnoticed by me. Including that you’re currently rock hard.”

“You’re naked. Of course I’m hard.” He drew her closer and bit her lip. “I’m also going to fuck you.”

He did. Right there on the floor. Slammed into her so fast and deep it almost hurt. In a word, it was glorious. And she came seriously hard—always a plus.

Once she’d cleaned up and redressed, they made dinner together. Wanting to watch something while they ate, they settled in front of the TV with their plates and chose a docuseries on a streaming service. It was hours later, when they were midway through the third episode, that a knock once more came at the door.

Blair pushed to her feet. “I’ll get it this time.” She wasn’t all that surprised to find Finley on the other side of the door. In fact, Blair had been expecting the visit. “Well hello there.”

Her face diamond hard, Finley balled up her hands. “Your female savaged my sister’s foot.”

Savaged? Pfft. “She chomped on it some, but that was pretty much it.”

“She also urinated on Posy!”

“Her bladder often plays up when she’s annoyed.” Blair wandered into the apartment, counting on the enforcer to follow her. They needed to have this out once and for all, and they didn’t need an audience while doing it.

Seeing Luke uncurl from his seat, his eyes cold, Blair gave him a look, warning him not to interfere. This was between her and Finley … who marched right up to her, all superiority. Ooh, what a mistake.

The enforcer jabbed a finger at Blair. “You’re going to apologize to Posy. Publicly.”

Blair almost snorted. “Oh, you’re funny.”

“Do you think that being Luke’s mate gives you a free pass to do whatever the hell you like without facing any consequences?”

Blair arched a brow. “You think there should be consequences to my animal handling how she was so horribly disrespected? Really?”

Finley jutted out her chin. “You just don’t like that Posy doesn’t believe you’re Beta material.”

“On the contrary, I don’t give a rat’s first fuck what she believes. She’s fully entitled to her opinion. But she isn’t entitled to diss me in public—I won’t tolerate that. Nobody would, ranked or unranked.”

“Sharing her opinion with her friend hardly counts as dissing you in public.”

“Oh, so the hall isn’t a public place where many people wander and could easily overhear her?” Blair slammed up a hand when Finley went to speak again. “She messed up. My animal dealt with it. End of. There’s no need to have a Come to Jesus over it.”

“She’s just a kid!”

“She’s twenty-one. Older than me.”

“And you’re just a kid whether you like it or not.” Finley threw her a condescending look. “I’ve been an enforcer for as long as you’ve been alive. I have more life experience than you. I have more experience as an enforcer than you. I am far more suited to the position of Beta than you. Everyone knows that. You can’t expect them not to comment on it. Personally, I don’t know how you can be so happy to have the status of Beta. It’s not something you earned like I did and … and you … um …”

Luke wasn’t surprised that Finley fumbled and trailed off. Not when she was on the receiving end of one of his mate’s death stares. They were genuinely unnerving.

The enforcer looked away for a brief moment, and Luke then watched as Blair’s eyes went soft and she gave Finley a pitying smile—the same smile she’d given to Myra while verbally shredding her. Uh-oh.

“Look, I get that this is hard for you, I do,” said Blair, her words coming out slowly, her tone gentle and compassionate. “You’ve spent years trying to fight your way up the ranks, trying to prove you have something unique to offer. And here you are, thirty-six years old, still an enforcer.”

Finley’s lips flattened and her ears turned red.

“Over and over you applied to be promoted, but it just didn’t happen, did it?” Blair shook her head sadly. “Not only were you never appointed Beta or even Head Enforcer, you didn’t manage to become part of the inner circle of enforcers who are called on regularly, trusted with risky assignments, and who act as bodyguards. No, despite your best efforts, you’ve simply never succeeded in standing out from the crowd.”

Luke inwardly winced, unsurprised by the flush that bloomed up Finley’s neck and face.

Blair placed her hand over her chest. “I can understand how that would bite. Some people are happy to blend. They don’t need the spotlight. They don’t crave acknowledgment or admiration. Usually because they’re at ease with who they are—faults and all. And that’s their biggest strength, I think. They see they’re not perfect.

“Others, well, they’ve convinced themselves that they have little to no weaknesses. And because of that, they never seek to improve themselves. They never evolve on any level. They remain static, never learning new lessons or growing in personal strength. In essence, they hold themselves back but don’t even see it. It’s heart-wrenchingly sad.”

Finley’s eyes flickered as she swallowed hard.

“You say you earned the position of Beta,” said Blair, her voice still soft. “But what did you really ever do to earn it? Spending years in the role of enforcer doesn’t count. Being a highly dominant female doesn’t entitle you to hold the position either. Nor does the fact that you’ve tried taking on Beta female duties for years, particularly when you were specifically told not to. You knew all that time that someone else had a claim to the position, but you ignored and disrespected that—which is totally un-Beta-like behavior, by the way.”

His mate wasn’t wrong there. Finley must have had the same thought, because her shoulders curled forward ever so slightly in embarrassment.

“I always knew the position would one day be mine,” Blair went on. “But I didn’t therefore think I was entitled to have it. I didn’t feel that I could simply learn on the job. Over the years, I soaked up as much knowledge and training as I could from a whole number of people—Luke, Tate, Vinnie, Valentina, my old pack mates.

“I might not have the same life experience as you, Finley, but that doesn’t make me unsuited to my role. Because I was determined to ensure that I was never unsuited to it. This pride deserved that much from me. But you … you don’t think about the pride. Not really. If you did, you wouldn’t make this situation hard for them. You wouldn’t be so content that they’re not all on the same page right now. But that actually suits you just fine. Again, not Beta-like behavior.”

Finley opened her mouth as if she might object, but Blair spoke again before she had the chance.

“The truth is you’ve earned shit. You set your sights on the role, decided it should be yours, and that’s really it. Hey, I’m all for believing in the power of envisioning success and thereby attaining it, but not to the extent that I don’t also work for that success. And Finley, you didn’t.

“Believe it or not, I really do regret that we had to have this conversation. I would have been happy to let you live with your illusions. If someone wants to believe that they’re perfect, well, who am I to interfere with that? But you left me no choice. And I get that you probably want to launch yourself at me right now. Understandable. To have to face that you’re not quite the big deal that you thought you were … it would cut anyone deep.”

Luke squeezed one eye shut because, yeah, ouch.

“But you can learn from this, Finley. You can buck up, shape up, better yourself so you can hopefully be trusted with more enforcer responsibilities and perhaps even one day become Head Enforcer. Or you can refuse to see your faults and never progress from where you are now. I’ll leave that up to you.” Blair flapped a hand toward the front door. “Now go, I’m all talked out.” She retook her seat on the sofa and grabbed her glass of soda from the coffee table.

Seconds ticked by as Finley stood still, looking lost and disoriented—all superiority gone. Finally, she shook herself out of her daze and stiffly walked out.

Returning to the couch, Luke took the glass from his mate’s hand, set it on the table, and then hauled her onto his lap. “Woman, you are brutal at times. I probably shouldn’t like it, but I do.” He squeezed her hip. “I’m proud of you.”

Blair cocked her head. “You are?”

“You didn’t just play with Finley’s self-esteem for your own entertainment, you also gave her some home truths and very Beta-like advice.”

“She wouldn’t have listened to any advice from me if I hadn’t first broken down all that bravado. Now, whether she’ll take anything I said on board is another thing altogether. No one likes having a mirror held up to them like that. What she does next will depend on if she’s strong enough to handle her true reflection.”

He slid his hand under the curtain of her hair to splay it on her nape. “I know she’s come across as a bitch lately, but she’s not one. She just feels threatened by you, loathes that you make her feel threatened, hates that her opportunity to be made Beta is officially gone, and is handling it all the wrong way. There’s a chance that she’ll get her shit together. I guess we’ll soon see if she will.”

Blair sniffed, not really giving much of a damn right then. She just wanted to get back to relaxing with her mate. “Now can we continue watching this episode? Because it was starting to get really good.”

Using his hold on the back of her neck, he pulled her closer. “I want a kiss first.”

Blair fit her mouth to his, sliding her hands up his chest. The kiss was slow and lazy and hungry.

He smoothly thrust his hand up her top and closed it over her breast. He didn’t squeeze or stroke, though. No, the move wasn’t meant to be foreplay—she knew that. It was a statement. An act of entitled possessiveness. One she and her female kind of liked. A lot. Hence why Blair’s hormones got all flustered and her blood began to heat.

“My other boob is feeling neglected.”

One corner of his mouth hitched up. “It is?”

“Uh-huh. You should really do something about that.”

He hummed. “I suppose I could. But I’ll want you naked. And then I’ll want your pussy wrapped around my cock again.”

“I see no problems with this arrangement.”

“Good. Then strip. And be quick about it.”