< Chapter 14-2
Chapter 14-2
Coming right up.
“Have you been up here all this time?”
+25 Points
“Hmmm. I rather like it here. It’s quiet. I’ve made a few friends.” He winked at me. “I’ll wager you’ll like it here, too. It should remind you of home.”
“She has a home now.” The tension in Troy was evident, and I worried that if he didn’t keep it together, he’d stop masking his alpha status.
If Thornston noticed, he didn’t say anything, Instead, he kicked off his boots and sat on the couch. When he patted the spot next to him, Troy sat in the chair and plopped me down on his lap.
Thornston was right. It did feel just like Ragor’s home. I swallowed down my unease and tried to settle against Troy. Despite having set our roles up, I knew I didn’t look comfortable. I wasn’t used to any man’s touch, let alone Troy’s hard body beneath me. His hands immediately caged my waist, and I tried to remain as still as possible. My heart hammered in my chest at the feel of his muscles
beneath me.
For fuck’s sake, Kiana, pull it together! We’d never been in more danger, and now I wanted to obsess about Troy’s body?
“I’ve got a few bottles of that Snake River’s Ale that’s so popular.”
“Snake River distributes through Wisteria Woods?” Troy asked skeptically.
It was all I could do not to look back at him dirtily. This was one time where the pampered alpha needed to keep his mouth shut. He was supposed to be a rogue. He was supposed to know how
the life worked.
Thornston didn’t miss a beat. “Where did you say you’re living now?”
What Troy didn’t know was how easy it was to get things into rogue territories. It might take a little longer, but wolves knew how to move things, and we bartered with more than money. Plenty of the cargo was stolen, but there was also money here. Plenty of it was legitimately bought.
When the right wolf came along, a rogue could get just about anything they wanted. Clothes. Phones. Alcohol. My father sometimes had a house with the most beautiful furniture, and sometimes we lived in a cave. It had nothing to do with what money he had or what he could get his hands on and everything to do with the mood he was in.
I needed Thornston to think Troy was in charge, at least, the way Thornston and my father thought a man should be in charge, so I couldn’t explain his behavior. Not without Thornston realizing Troy
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<Chapter 14-2
was nothing like Ragor. Luckily, Troy stepped in.
“Females shouldn’t drink,” he said stiffly. “It’s best not to put temptation near them.”
+25 Points
“Oh, you’re one of those,” Thornston snorted. “I get it. Darling little Kiana was quite the drinker. Thirteen, fourteen years old, knocking those whiskies back. Oh, the things she would do when she was a little buzzed.”
Troy’s arms tightened around me, and I stiffened and prayed Thornston wouldn’t give any more details. I did drink whenever my father’s friends visited. Luckily, they found it entertaining. I found it helped dull the sense and blacked out memories I really, really didn’t want to live with.
“We don’t do that anymore, right, Kiana?” Troy said softly.
“Right.”
“Right, what?”
Startled, I looked back at him. There was disgust in his eyes. Was it because of Thornston’s stories
or the role he was seamlessly slipping into?
“Right, Saul.”
“Good. Names are important,” he said to Thornston. “It’s a sign of respect.”
“Uh-huh.” Thornston watched me closely. “So you met Ragor, mated with our little Kiana here, and just whisked her away? I’m having a hard time believing Ragor was okay with that.”
Troy met his gaze. “She’s mine,” he said simply. “And I do not need permission from anyone to do
what I want with her.”
A wide grin split Thornston’s face. “I like you, man. I really do.”
There was a knock at the door, and I jumped. Thornston just smirked my way and crossed the room to answer it. Another male werewolf entered, this one far younger than Thornston. Who had he signaled? How many more wolves would be joining us tonight?’
“Finn. Just the boy I wanted to see. Come in. Come in. This pretty little peach is Kiana. She was Ragor’s daughter. We go way back. And this is her mate, Saul.”
Troy had gone rock hard under me as Finn stared at him. “Saul,” Finn repeated.
Shit. What were the chances that Finn knew Troy? One word, and our charade would be over. Thornston would know that Troy was not only an alpha but the one who killed Ragor.
“Finn,” Troy said quietly and held out his hand. After a tense moment, the young man shook it.
Thornston looked vaguely disappointed, although I couldn’t figure out why. “Finn is a well-traveled
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<Chapter 14-2
young man. The best messenger wolf I’ve ever had.”
+25 Points
“And what do you need a messenger for in Wisteria Woods? I was under the impression that the wolves here liked their solitude,” Troy said with mild interest.
“Oh, this and that. You never know. Finn, I assume you’re here about the report?”
Thornston had wolves reporting to him? Was he organizing the wolves here?
I thought back to what he said about a group of wolves entering his territory. A pack here in
Wisteria Woods would be dangerously unstable. Were the witches allowing this? What the hell was
going on?
“There were a half a dozen wolves who entered. The perimeter guards took care of it, but their radios were damaged in the process, so they couldn’t check in. They believe there were two groups, so they’ll be on patrol for the next thirty-six to forty-eight hours. Green says he’ll send a message if they find anything.”
Thornston nodded. “So Troy is sending someone to the witches. I suspected he would. What happened to the first group?”
Saul. Bridget. The others.
Finn stared at us. And after a tense breath he muttered, “They never made it pass the borders.
There were no survivors.”
…
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