Fanged Fury (The Adventures of Sydney Sedrick Book 3) (17 page)

“If you don’t tell her, Blake, I will. She may want to hear how you’ve been keeping secrets about the blood of her family from her all this time. Heck, if I were her, I’d be downright pissed at you. I may even consider taking someone else as my life-mate just to get even.” Tipping his head in my direction, Matt winked.

“I wouldn’t have you for my life-mate if you were the last wolf on the planet. Blake and I are not—”

“Fine,” Blake said coldly. “I will tell you, but don’t get pissed off at me. I’m not the one who made the prophecy, nor did I plan on seeing it through.”

“I’m listening.”

Matt let out a laugh. “This ought to be fun. Remember, Selected, I’m available in case you come to your senses. You may find that Blake isn’t wolf enough to be your mate.”

Blake took a step toward Matt, raising his fist to inflict more damage to Matt’s gorgeous, but injured, face. His cheek was still swollen from the last pounding Blake had inflicted a few moments ago. If Matt were human, his face would have been caved in.

“Blake, ignore him. You know he’s trying to get a rise out of you. You’re falling right into his games. He’s just playing on your temper.”

“Sydney, the prophecy says what I’ve already told you. If you mate with an alpha wolf, leader of our pack, the resulting child is foretold to own the ability to control their change into a wolf.”

“Blake, you’ve already told me that, what’s Matt talking about? He said something about the blood of my family?” Walking to the couch, I took the seat closest to the fire.

Matt brought his arms up, giving me an unobstructed view of what was beneath. In fact, it was quite the show he put on. The green T-shirt he wore stretched across those glorious abdominal muscles. My fingers itched, aching to feel him under my touch. The arms of his shirt stretched tight around his biceps. My eyes traveled upward, meeting his. He smiled. The bastard had caught me sneaking an appreciative peek.

Blake stared at his boots. The black leather tips were dusted with white from the salt on the ground. He shook his head. When he lifted his eyes, I thought I saw sorrow, anger, and vengeance as he glared at Matt.

“Sydney, it is said the Moon Goddess demands the blood of the Selected to be spilled for the prophecy to be fulfilled.”

“Blake, my blood would be spilled. Have you not seen a woman give birth? I mean, there’s plenty of movies out there that show the woman’s blood is spilled while having a baby.” Simple enough, Matt was trying to cause trouble. So far, he had done a fine job since his arrival.

Raking his hands through his hair, Blake snarled. The sound thundered through the store. “I know what happens when women give birth. The prophecy requires the blood of your family member to be spilled during the birth of our child.”

I stood in a huff. “Our child, Blake? There will be no ‘our child’.”

At that moment, I was struck with the truth of the matter. Since moving to Kenosha, finding out that vampires and werewolves existed, meeting my sister’s boyfriend who was a werewolf, I knew the Others kept things from me, but I hadn’t realized every aspect of my life with the wolves had been a set up.

“Sydney, I told you the prophecy doesn’t matter to me. I love you.”

I went up to Blake. Raising my hand in the air, I swung my open palm with all the fury that coiled within my body.

Blake caught my wrist before the intended strike connected with his cheek.

I jerked on my arm, but he held fast. “You said you loved me, that we were life-mates. Blake, you’ve blinded me with my emotions, good job. You won’t be given the opportunity again.”

He tugged my arm, yanking me hard against him while using his other arm like a vise to keep me close.

Blake leaned forward so his breath was hot as it blew against my face. “I said I loved you because I do. I also said the prophecy matters nothing to me.”

He didn’t look away when Matt chimed in, “Oh, Blakey boy, you’re gonna have to do better than that. Your woman doesn’t look too pleased with you right now.”

Matt’s playful laughter triggered a strong urge to go over to where he stood and slap the arrogant grin off his face.

Betrayal by the man I thought loved me, the man I’d begun to fall in love with, stung. Bad. I ground my teeth to keep from crying in front of them. I’d save my tears for later, when I was alone. I’d scream or cry, maybe even kick my feet, but I wouldn’t let them have the pleasure of watching me suffer.

“Blake, it’s true, isn’t it? Just like I thought. Your pack planted Michael down in Chicago. You sent him there to make sure you had the closest blood relative to me, my sister. Admit it, you son of a bitch.” The words spewed from my mouth like lava.

Blake’s hurt expression, the lifting of his upper lip, and the furrow of his brow tugged at my heart. Betrayal from someone I loved wasn’t easy to stomach. It didn’t make me stop loving him, but my self-preservation instincts were on high alert. I didn’t want to let him have the chance to persuade me into believing it was all just coincidence.

I stepped to the side but Blake kept his hand on my arm. “Matt, thanks for making Blake clarify what was really going on with the wolf pack.” Frowning at Blake, I said, “Because I don’t know if Blake would have ever come clean on his own.”

My head began to throb.

Letting go of my arm, Blake went to stand chest-to-chest against Matt. The Mobile wolf stood an inch taller than Blake, but Blake’s shoulders were far wider than Matt’s.

“You have done enough damage for one day. Leave now.”

Matt didn’t puff out his chest, nor did his eyes change color. “I only did what I had to, wolf. The Selected needed to know what will be done to fulfill the prophecy.” Bowing in my direction, Matt said, “Selected, the Moon Goddess is our deity. She has proclaimed you are indeed the one to fulfill the prophecy that will change the future of all wolves. You will ensure the survival of the werewolf species. With the ability to control the change at will, the wolves will be invincible against all enemies, from this world and of the Underworld.”

The intensity of Matt’s words made me step back. He had the eyes of an obsessed lunatic.

Grandma had warned me in her journal that there were both vampires and wolves who felt the Selected should be kept under lock and key until it was time for them to use her for their own twisted purposes.

Worried that Matt would take me as his prisoner, I stepped back, clearing the door for their exit. “Blake, Matt, you’ve both given me quite a bit to consider. Right now I need some alone time. I’ll see you both later.”

Blake gripped my shoulders in his hands. It was painful to look him in the eye because he had hurt me more than I thought possible. He knew the prophecy required bloodshed from my family member. His cousin had conveniently been dating my innocent sister from the day I’d moved to the city and been bitten by the rogue wolf. It was all too much to be just coincidence.

“Blake, one more question for you. How long has Michael been living down in Chicago?”

He knew why I was asking; he’d also know I’d find out if he lied.

“Sydney.” He caressed the sore muscles in my neck. If I weren’t so angry with him, the massage would have been exquisite. “My love, Michael has been down in Chicago for a few years, not months. I know what you’re thinking, but my cousin was not sent down there to ensure Brianna’s cooperation with her part in the prophecy.”

“So why exactly did he go down there?” I needed to hear him tell me the truth, once and for all.

Blake took a deep breath, as if knowing what he was about to say would make me more upset with him. “My father sent Michael down there a few years ago to keep an eye on you. It took a while to track you down. Believe me, we were quite surprised with Michael’s reports that you were not aware of who you really were.”

“So you knew who I was before I moved to Kenosha? You knew I was a target but you didn’t warn me?” I couldn’t believe my entire life had been a lie. It was surreal that people I hadn’t even met knew more about me than I did.

Glaring at Matt, Blake nodded his head toward the door.

Matt held a hand in front of him. “My lady, until next time we meet.”

Waiting for Matt to leave, I ignored him. The temperature of the room went down but remained higher than the seventy-two degrees set on the thermostat.

Blake sat on the couch. I followed, but it wasn’t because I wanted to be near him. I needed to sit down since it felt like all the energy in my body had been drained out of me. I found myself feeling a bit disoriented, once again not sure of anyone or anything in my life.

Blake rested the ankle of one leg on his other knee. “My father is the leader of our wolf pack. He is responsible for taking action to ensure the safety and survival of our pack. Matt was right when he said I have my head up my ass when it comes to you. I don’t know, maybe he has a point.”

I didn’t know what he meant when he said Matt was right. At that moment, I didn’t much care. “Blake, were you down in Chicago, too, with Michael, before I came here?”

A disgusting sensation prickled across the hair on my arms. Had they been watching me since finding where I was?

Blake shook his head. “No, Michael was charged with keeping your family safe until it was time for you to come here. We knew you’d eventually make the move since your aunt kept the previous Selected’s store open. Now here you are.”

The forlorn tone of his words made me almost sad for him. I did care for him and his family, but I wasn’t going to be stupid about it. I wouldn’t let myself fall for his charms so he could use me to achieve the goals of his pack.

“So, what now, Blake? Why did you keep the truth from me?” Anger burned deep within me. I wasn’t going to be anyone’s tool.

He grabbed my hand but wouldn’t let go when I tried to pull away. Anger pulsed through my body. I didn’t want his soothing touch to divert my determination to find out what was going on.

“Now, we move forward with telling your sister the truth as planned. We work together to find the rogues. We will continue working on us.” He said the last part more as a statement than a question. Must be nice for him to be so sure of where we stood, because I was not sure about anything.

“That doesn’t explain why you lied to me.”

Blake rubbed his thumb along the top of my hand, sending heat up my arm. The anger coursing through me began to wane.

“I didn’t lie to you on purpose, Sydney. The prophecy has many parts to it. Even I don’t know them all. The part about spilling the blood of your family didn’t seem important when we spoke of it. I was wrong. I should have told you.”

“Yeah, you’re not kidding you should have told me. Blake, being the Selected isn’t something I can just decide to walk away from. I can’t go back home expecting to be left alone. The Others will always find me, no matter where I run to. You can’t withhold information like that from me again. It makes me think I can’t trust you. Besides, my ignorance makes me a vulnerable target.” He let my hand go and stood. I watched while he shuffled over the wooden floor while I remained on the couch.

“I know that now. I said I was sorry, why can’t you just accept that?”

“Are you joking? I can’t move on because I just found out the man I thought I was falling in love with has been lying to me the entire time I’ve known him. You have some nerve, Blake.”

Blake’s eyes turned amber-bronze. His movement was only a blur. His lips crashed down against mine while his hands entangled in my long, black hair. The heat of his body melted my resistance. I kissed him back. Warm hands wandered down my back, inching me closer to him.

When he broke the kiss, he said, “Sydney, I knew it.”

I didn’t appreciate the smile plastered across his face.

Blake had hurt me, bad, yet he stood holding me, happy as could be.

“Don’t be so pleased with yourself, wolf. You’re still in a world of trouble as far as we”—I pointed to him and then myself—“are concerned. I don’t know if telling Brianna is the best decision right now. So much is going on. I don’t know how much help I’ll be able to give since I’m having trouble with this curse thing.”

He leaned his forehead against mine, still smiling. “Sydney, my life-mate, you make me the happiest man alive. Hearing you say those words, after all this time, makes me want you. Right now. Right here.”

“No, not right now, not here. Blake, I’m still mad at you. We’ve got serious issues. I’m not the kind of girl that solves her problems with sex.” I chastised him with all the harshness I could muster while being in his arms. I did want him to carry me to the storeroom, to feel those glorious hands all over my body.

He loosened his hold, giving me the opportunity to shimmy out of his grasp.

Changing the subject, Blake said, “Are you planning on rogue hunting with us?”

“I don’t think so. I think I need a break from you right now. Everything is just too much to deal with. I need time to think things over.”

Blake’s face reddened in frustration. He stomped to the door, whipped it open, and left without another word.

A single tear descended down my cheek.

I may have just ruined the one chance at true love I’d ever have.