Sharkbait

I barely remember the walk back to our trailer; Luna Adrienne opened the door, and Leo took me back to their bedroom. I couldn’t make out any words as my heart broke, and I wasn’t up for linking either. Amy would be filling her Alphas in on what happened, so I didn’t need to.

Leo set me on the edge of the bed and took my heels off while Adrienne grabbed a long sleep shirt. “I’ll take care of her, love. You take care of the problem.”

Leo looked furious. “The Council is involved now. I’ll keep you up to speed.”

He closed the door behind him as Adrienne knelt in front of me. “Let’s get you out of this dress, dear,” she said. I sobbed as Adrienne unzipped my dress, then she helped me stand so I could let it drop. She put the shirt over my arms and head, then helped remove my expensive lingerie. My Luna tucked me in, then changed and slid in with me. She gathered me in her arms, my head resting on her bosom, as I railed against the unfairness of the world. Adrienne didn’t tell me it was going to be all right, she didn’t say she was sorry, and she didn’t vow to punish the male who hurt me. Her wolf figuratively curled around mine as she howled in pain, sharing my pain.

It took a while for me to calm down and breathe normally. It hurt SO much, and we hadn’t formed a full mate bond yet. I had a new respect for my Alphas, both of whom had lost mates they were with for decades. I couldn’t imagine the pain they had overcome. “Your Mom wants to talk to you,” Adrienne said as I relaxed. “Can I call for you?”

I nodded, and she grabbed her phone and placed the video call. Mom and Dad were both in the frame; Mom’s hand went to her mouth when she saw me, and Dad looked like he was about to explode. “Baby?”

“It HURTS so bad, Mommy,” I managed to say. “Why couldn’t he wait for me? Am I not good enough?”

She was crying too; her heart was breaking for her daughter. “He doesn’t know you, Vicki. It can’t be you. This one is ALL him.”

“A real man would have waited for you, and he would have listened to his wolf,” Dad said. “Amy said you gave him a choice.”

“He picked HER over me,” I said. “They’ve been planning to mate for years, and his Alpha was going to let him after tonight. I gave him a choice, and he cut my heart out,” I said before I started crying again.

“I love you, Vicki. I can be there late tomorrow morning; it’s too late to get there tonight,” Mom said.

“No, don’t come down here,” I said. “Nothing will change because you are here, and a last-minute ticket will be crazy expensive. The Alphas and Amy will help me, and I’ll be back Sunday night.”

I could see her shoulders sag. “I just want to hold my baby and tell her it will be all right,” Mom said.

“Adrienne is doing a fine job of that,” I said. “I’ll be all right, Mom. I’ve got my Alphas and my best friend, and the Gulf of Mexico is just a few miles away.”

“You aren’t going diving, are you?” She looked at Dad, then back to me. “Are you going to be all right?”

“Diving helps me work through things,” I said. “It’s so peaceful under the water, especially when I’m free diving. No tanks, no engines, just me and the sharks. It gets my mind right.”

“If you need some chum, I know where you can find it,” Dad said.

I just shook my head; Dad was very protective of me, and always had been. If I told him I wanted Timothy Lords dead, he’d make it happen. “I think it would be better if I just got some sleep,” I said.

“Good idea. Things will be different in the morning,” Mom said. “Call me when you wake up? No matter the time?”

“I will, Mom. I love you.”

“We love you too, baby.”

I ended the call and flopped back onto the pillow. I looked over at Adrienne and saw the side of her shirt soaked in tears. I reached out to it. “Sorry,” I said.

“Please. I went through beach towels after my mate died.” She looked at me and must have thought the worst was over. “Why don’t you take a shower and wash that makeup off, then get some rest.”

“All right,” I said. The shower felt good, and after getting my jammies, I crawled into the queen-sized bed over the fifth-wheel hitch. Adrienne helped me settle in the cramped space, with only a few feet of space above the mattress, then closed the curtain separating it from the living and dining area. Sleep didn’t come for me; instead, the events of the night kept running through my head, like a video on loop. Mom was right, I finally concluded. The rejection was all on him.

He never even gave me a chance.

I heard Leo come back in, and I could tell he was upset by his scent. “What’s happening, Unky Leo,” I said softly. They both would be able to tell I wasn’t asleep by my breathing, so there was no point in hiding it.

“Can I come up and talk,” he asked.

“I’d like that.” Leo kicked off his shoes and removed his jacket, shirt, and tie before crawling up on the other side of the bed. I tossed the covers off and rolled into him, his strong arms holding me tight, just like he’d done a thousand times since claiming me as a young girl. “I have to say, bringing you to an Alpha Summit has never been boring.”

I laughed and smacked his chest; this was my second, and it wasn’t MY fault they arrested him and put him on trial for being a rogue. “It’s not like it’s my fault,” I said. “I thought I did well not to beat her ass bloody.”

He snorted. “It’s a good thing, Sharkbait. You carried yourself well, handled the situation, and kept it together until you were outside. I’m proud of you.”

“I said some mean things,” I said.

He shook his head. “Please. Nobody with a nose could miss that skank’s smell, which is why no one but you would stand next to her. What tramp would have sex right before the scratch ’n sniff? I feel sorry for her true mate.” He looked at me. “You don’t know.”

“No, I’ve been up here for a while, and Amy is blocking our link.” I could tell he was hesitant. “Tell me, Leo. I have to face the others in the morning, and I need to know what happened after I left.”

He let out a breath. “You’d think after getting a smackdown like that a smart person would step back and evaluate their decisions. Instead, Traci doubled down on stupid.”

“What did she do? She didn’t get into it with Amy, did she?” Amy could defend herself, but she also had a temper. Traci would be in the hospital if those two clashed.

“I wish. No, as soon as you left the room, she jumped Timothy and claimed him.” My jaw dropped; to not just initiate the mating bite as a female but as the lower-ranked wolf? “And he claimed her back.”

Wow. Yeah, those two were mated to each other now, and there was no chance of him coming back to me. Traci Lords would have to die before he’d be able to think about me again.

Not that I’d take him back. “It’s over, then.”

“Yes. Rejecting a mantled Alpha female for a Beta? It’s unheard of. Alpha Theodore can yell and demand all he wants, but our laws are clear on this. Timothy and Traci chose each other, and that is the end of that.”

I shook my head. “The Alpha challenged our rejection and his mating? Can you even DO that?” Mating should not be the business of the Werewolf Council!

“He tried, but it didn’t go anywhere. I told him to pack sand; the two of you completed the rejection, and his son now had his Choice Mate.”

I could see he didn’t say everything. “What ELSE did you tell him?”

“I told him if his son or daughter-in-law didn’t stay out of your sight, they’d never find the bodies. I strongly urged him to send the pair back home immediately.”

“It’s not worth getting in trouble, Unky. I only wanted to beat the shit out of them for a few minutes.”

He laughed. “You and I aren’t the only ones who would like a piece of them. There’s a line forming, and your Mom is pushing her way to the front,” he said. “None of the other Alphas are happy with the situation. W agreed we would reinforce the importance of waiting for your true mate with our young. Seven years is NOTHING in the big picture. Now their selfishness has cost their Pack prestige, and their next Alphas will be weaker than Luna intended.”

I took a few moments to think about this. “What is going on with Amy?”

“I asked her to try and have a fun evening, as there was nothing more she could do for you.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “You should try and get some sleep, especially if you are diving tomorrow.”

“Can I?”

“Same deal, I don’t want you two going alone. I wish I could go, but I have to do Alpha stuff.”

I giggled. “Stupid Alpha stuff,” I said in my child-like voice. It’s what I used to call his work when I wanted to play with him, and he was busy. “I love you, Unka Leo.”

“I love you too, Sharkbait.” He tucked me in, and I fell asleep in moments.