Destiny's Choice (13 page)

“Good.” He then let out a deep sigh. “What is it with these young pups nowadays? Seems like the younger they are, the more ignorant and disrespectful.”

Roan grimaced at that, knowing exactly what he was saying. “With the world changing around us, we’re all trying to adapt as best we can. But the younger generation, well, most don’t understand what it’s truly like to fight for what they want. To make a place for themselves within the Pack. They want everything handed to them
.
And if they don’t get it, they’ll take it
,
damn the consequences. That pos
es
a very real threat to the Pack
.”

“Yeah, I’ve been hearing the same from others.” Quinn let out a low, rumbling growl. “So what’s your plan?”

“It’s time the young ones, and the rest of the Pack, learned what true power is. And the repercussions of ignoring their place.”

A low whistle sounded across the line. “You sure, boy?”

“It’s time, uncle. Time for the Pack to learn a lot of things.”

Silence reigned for a bit, then, “Well, if I’m to have a ring side seat, I guess I need to let Caroline know and get myself on the road.”

“I’ll meet you in the clearing, uncle.”

“I look forward to it, boy.” He then clicked off.

Making sure his phone was disconnected; Roan  laid his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. The coming confrontation would no doubt be the hardest he
’d
  have to face. But for the safety and continuation of the Pack, and his family, Roan would do whatever it took.
If
it meant putting the fear of the Alpha in them all, then so be it. That would just be the price he would have to pay.

Chapter Seven

The feeling of a warm hand gently shaking her shoulder brought Rivera slowly to wakefulness. The sounds and smells upon reaching a semi-conscience state were momentarily confusing as the vague impression of a dream whispered through her mind. It was disorienting as the misty images of wolves, running, and tall pines faded along with a sense of joy, peace, and belonging. When she finally opened her eyes, Roan’s handsome face came in to
focus, bringing the event
s of the last twenty-four hours
slamming into her brain. Any thoughts of dreams vanished as her True
Mate
smiled down at her, his teeth white and even, his expression one of pure happiness.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” She smiled back at him, feeling unaccountably shy for some unknown reason.

He leaned down, softly rubbing his lips against hers before thoroughly kissing her breathless.

Oh, God. The taste of him, the heat, the want and need swamp
ed
her senses. It was as if she had no idea what
true
passion,
true
desire felt like until she met this man. A part of her must have been frozen before he came along, only to be melted with a searing kiss.

“Mmm. You taste good, sweetheart.” Roan pulled back enough to nibble on her bottom lip, his tongue soothing the tiny bites. “Rich…decadent…sinful.” He took her mouth again, stealing what was left of her wits.

“Roan!”

They broke apart with a jerk, a rumbling growl sounding from Roan as Rivera panted. Both looked toward the fool who dared to interrupt them.

“Whoa, man.”
Steven
raised both hands in the air. “Didn’t mean to stop the love fest, but Connor says we’ll be landing in thirty-five minutes.”

That seemed to mollify Roan, the growls stopping as he took a deep breath. Rivera, on the other hand, was mortified. She could feel the heat creeping up her neck and onto her face. Pulling the blanket over her head, she groaned.

“We’ll be ready,
Steven
.” The mirth in Roan’s voice was clear.

“Jeez.”

“No need for that, sweetheart.” The blanket was pulled away to reveal Roan’s wide grin, those light eyes dancing with humor. “We’ve just found each other. Not keeping our hands to ourselves is expected.”

She glared at him. “I have no problem with public displays of affection. But I’d rather not have an audience when a simple kiss can get out of hand.”

“There’s nothing simple about kissing you, sweetheart.” His eyes began to glow with white heat as he reached out, his index finger softly touching her lips.

She drew in a shuddering breath at both the look and the touch. “You know what I mean.”

“Yes, I do. But I find I have become quite addicted to the taste of you, Rivera and have no desire to be
cured of it.” He leaned down again and gave her a quick, but no less thorough, kiss. “Makes me wonder what tasting the rest of you will do to me.”

Rivera nearly bit her tongue off to keep from making a sound
.
T
he warmth from his lips linger
ed
after he pulled away.

“Why don’t you go freshen up? We’ll be landing soon.”

Bringing her chair back to its upright position, she stood, glad her legs were steady
as she
handed him the blanket. “You do realize that addiction can go both ways, don’t you?” She wasn’t about to let him get by with that comment without saying something.

A sharp indrawn breath was her answer as Roan clearly remembered just what she had tasted the night before. She gave him a sultry smile, trailing a lone finger down his chest as she passed by him. His low groan followed her down the short aisle on the way to the small lavatory. She totally ignored the man and woman in the back seats. Her mind was completely on getting the upper hand on her True
Mate
. And having won that round, she couldn’t contain a little giggle as she opened the narrow door.

Once in the tiny restroom, Rivera did her business. After washing her hands, she splashed a little water on her face then used some to cut down on the static in her hair, finger combing the long locks. Straightening her clothes and making sure all was presentable, she took one last look in the
room’s
mirror
. Satisfied, she
then stepped out. Before she could get back to her seat, a hand shot out and wrapped tightly around her right wrist. She jerked with startlement, trying to pull away as she looked over to see Peridot eyes glowing with anger at her.

“You would really let him murder your mother and I? After all we’ve done for you?” Ian spat at her.

“Release me,” she
demanded.
H
is grip only got
tighter;
the bones in her wrist beg
an
to grind together. She couldn’t hold back the gasp of pain.

“Unless you want to prove undeniably that Lupus can’t fly, I would greatly suggest you let my True
Mate
go. Now, Ian.” Roan’s voice was low and deadly, his gaze burn
ed
with lethal intent.

Looking at the man she had once called dad, Rivera felt somewhat saddened that there was a complete stranger staring back at her. A man who only resembled the one who
’d
raised her. But now that she thought about it, her “dad” didn’t really exist, did he? He was a carefully constructed persona to keep up appearances. The same could be said for the woman at his side
. Swiftly sifting through her memories was proof these two individuals were never her parents. They were two adults she had lived with that kept her fed, clothed, and sheltered.

A
calculated and thoughtful expression came onto Ian’s face
.
It
glowed from his shrewd light green eyes as he gazed at
Roan,
then at her
.
Further
proof that any rights he claimed to have as a parent were gone. He and his
Mate
had hurt her, had tried to kill her time and again when she was young. They were still hurting her to save themselves. She owed neither of them her loyalty
,
or even her pity. It was time Ian and his
Mate
realized that.

When Ian once again turned his gaze toward Roan, Rivera struck.

Balling up her fist, she punched him square in the nose. The sound of cartilage crunching and screaming was loud in the plane’s small confines. But it got her wrist released as Ian needed both hands to staunch the flow of blood from his now broke nose.

“Fucking bitch!” Tears streamed down his cheeks, mingling with the blood as Lillah tried to help him.

Rivera cradled her wrist, glad it wasn’t broken, but it was definitely badly bruised. “I may not be able to shift, but that in no way means I’m weak. Nor does the fact you being responsible for my birth give you the right to lay hands on me. I owe you nothing.
My a
ffection, trust, or loyalty. God knows I never received any while growing up.”

It was true. She couldn’t remember a time in her entire existence where these two people showed they cared or were even happy to have her around. Indifference, and at times, guilt due to her inadequacies, was the most she could expect from them.

Strong arms wrapped around her. “Let me see, sweetheart.”

She turned in his embrace, showing the rapidly swelling wrist already beginning to turn purple with dark bruising. Roan snarled at the sight. Before he could move toward his intended prey however, Rivera put her good hand on his chest.

“Don’t, Roan. I’m sure it’s what his goal was.”

Being highly intelligent, Ian had done many things to help the Pack over the decades. But keeping a secret of this magnitude for so long also showed just how cunning and devious he really was. And even if he didn’t know Roan’s plans
, Ian was considerably smart enough to at least figure a bit out on his own. That being the case, he really had nothing to lose by trying to force Roan’s hand into killing him and Lillah sooner rather than later. Roan, of course, had plenty to lose.

Roan visibly tried to calm down. After he took a couple of deep breaths, he glared daggers at Ian. “Have you no honor, Ian? No decency?”

Steven
threw a couple of towels to Lillah. She used both to staunch the blood still trickling from Ian’s nose and tr
ied
to clean the rest. Her
countenance
was murderous as she shot daggers of hate filled glances at Rivera and Roan but remained oddly silent.

“Honor? Decency?” Ian’s voice was muffled somewhat by the towel held to his nose. But his Peridot gaze was still glowing with anger as he gave Roan, then her, a scathing stare. “You’re going to murder me and my
Mate
in cold blood. Is that honorable and decent?”

Rivera blinked with confusion, seeing the same expression on Roan’s face.
He thinks his execution is murder?

“You really don’t understand the seriousness of your situation, do you, Ian?”

“I understand plenty.”

“No.” Roan shook his head. “I don’t think you do.”

Mikeal came to Rivera with a cold pack and an Ace bandage. “We’ll put this on your wrist and wrap it up with the bandage to keep the swelling down. Once we’re back at the main house, Flynn can take a look at it.”

She could only nod, still thrown by what was happening around her as Mikeal wrapped her wrist.

“You and Lillah committed a crime, Ian
.
A
terribly
heinous crime. It was pre-meditated, methodical, clinical, and cold blooded. The only remorse you and Lillah have shown is for yourselves.
About how you can save your own hides. And now, to make matters worse, you want to force my hand?”

“Spare me the analysis, Roan. We both know why you’re doing this,” he scoffed.

“I-“

Laying her good hand on his arm, Rivera stopped him. “Don’t bother, Roan. After all this time of living the lie, they’ve firmly convinced themselves what they
’ve
done isn’t wrong. Regardless of the crime against the Pack and me, in their own minds, they’re the aggrieved party here. Nothing you say will stop them from believing otherwise.”

Giving her a wan smile, Roan nodded his head. “It was worth a try.” He leaned down and kissed her brow then gave
Steven
and Mikeal a steady look. “Do it.”

They jumped into action, going to an overhead compartment and bringing down a large black duffle bag
that looked quite heavy and sounded as if was full of chains
.

“I had hoped this situation wouldn’t escalate, you being the mild mannered professor
and all. S
eems that was also another carefully drawn persona.
Unfortunately, trying to force my hand and hurting my True
Mate
leaves me with no other option.”