Saving Grace (9 page)

Grace’s door opened before she could do it herself. Roman stood there seething, eyes glowing golden.

“Move,” she ordered. Her anger wasn’t a measured response. She was angrier than she should be.

“You want to tell me what that was about?”

“You want to get the fuck out of my way so I can get out of the car?” She stood, forcing him to step back.

“What the hell did I do wrong?”

Colin grabbed Xander’s arm and pulled him toward the house.

“Come on, man. I want to see this,” he whined.

“Inside. Now.” Colin ordered.

The cool night breeze blew her curls forward. “I can think and talk for myself. You kept answering for me, talking for Gustav and interrupting. That’s just down right fucking rude.”

He growled.

“Do
not
growl at me!” She turned her back to him and started off toward the house. “You’re the one acting like a jackass.”

“Grace. Stop.” His tone wasn’t commanding. It was pleading.

She spun on her heel and crossed her arms over her chest. “What?”

“Don’t be mad at me. It’s not my fault that all I want to do is protect you. It’s nature.” He took a few tentative steps toward her. “We try very hard not to offend the Vampires. They’re old and powerful. Our kinds were at war for centuries before we finally found peace. You’re not accustomed to the etiquette and…”

“Roman, Jesus-Fucking-Christ, don’t you think they know? They know I’m not accustomed to the pomp and circumstance. They know I’m not going to kiss their ass. Most of all, they’re showing me more respect than
you
are.” She waved her arms in frustration.

Roman rubbed his forehead. “Grace, it’s not just that. What you did tonight to those men, was just
wrong
.”

“No. It was the opposite of wrong. They were bullying Xander. He’s our pack mate. Right? Isn’t it our duty to protect him. Speaking of that why didn’t you do something. You’re the Beta, for fuck sake.” She poked him in the chest. He stepped back with a look of surprise in his eyes.

Grace’s temper was at its peak. She wanted to rip something to shreds. She was angry with Roman and she hated it.

*

Grace’s words ripped through him. Why didn’t he protect Xander? The answer was almost hard to swallow. He’d been too obsessed with his intended mate, he let his duties slide. No Alpha would do such a thing.

Maybe I’m not Alpha material.

“Make her ours. Seal the deal. She’ll know how you’re feeling.”

He ignored his wolf’s suggestion. It was too early for bonding. She wasn’t ready, she’d already said as much.

“I was too worried about you acting crazy.”
Shit. You just called her crazy.

“Excuse me?” She threw her purse on the ground and stomped toward him. “What did you say?”

“Grace, you were all over the place. You were disrespectful to our hosts. You acted weird with an Alpha from a rival pack, and all of that, after disappearing with Katarina only to come back wreaking of sex.”

“I thought that didn’t bother you!”

“Bother me? No. But damn, it was distracting.” He raised his voice. “Then you go off halfcocked and did what? Put a spell on three Lycans. Their Alpha will be out for blood. You put the pack in danger.”

She grabbed him by the shirt, picked him up and slammed him to the ground. “You’re in danger!” Her eyes glowed, illuminating their surroundings in a soft violet light.

He could not understand why she was so angry with him. It made him livid in return. He rolled them over so he could pin her down.

“You’re acting insane. What has gotten into you?” He held her by the wrists. “I’m trying to protect you and that pisses you off?”

Dammit if this woman isn’t infuriating and sexy. She’s trying to overpower me.

“Get off!” she yelled.

“I’d love to.” He bent down, crushing her with a kiss. She stopped fighting him as she kissed him back and moaned into his mouth.

Their lips separated as he was catapulted through the air. “What the hell?” He landed on his feet. She jumped on him, knocking him to the ground. Her eyes were ablaze, her violent eyes casting a glow on his face.

“Grace?”

Her claws were extended and she tore his pants to shreds before mounting him.

Her tiny frame seemed to carry a lot of weight and strength all of the sudden. He couldn’t throw her off of him if he wanted to, and he was one of the strongest Lycans in the pack.

“Grace?” Was she lost? Her beast was taking over. She wasn’t talking to him. Even as disconcerting as it was to him, his cock seemed to enjoy her dominating him. It swelled and throbbed when the cool night breeze blew around it.

She reached down, moving her panties to the side and enveloped his cock as she slid down on his throbbing shaft. Then, she growled.

Growling?
Roman gulped. This was unusual.

He’d had sex with his fair share of Lycan women and none of them had growled before.

“Submit to me.”
Grace’s voice came through his mind, but how was that even possible? She hadn’t telepathically communicated with her pack yet. That took training. And he hadn’t bonded with her.

But he was Beta. He could submit to no one but his Alpha.

She moved up and down on his cock. His wolf wasn’t talking to him. His woman was demanding he submit, but doing so telepathically.

“What the fuck is going on?” he panted. Even possessed by whatever was going on with Grace, she felt like heaven. He closed his eyes and tried to control his breathing. Then he felt it…canines piercing his skin. His eyelids shot open.

“Grace! No!” She’d wanted to discuss it first, she’d made it very clear to him. She wasn’t ready for bonding.

His cries must have startled her. Her eyes immediately stopped glowing. She jumped off of him and ran into the house.

He remained on the ground, holding his neck. She’d bonded to him, but he didn’t bond to her.

“Fuck.”

Fifteen

Grace locked her door, then pushed the giant dresser in front of it. She paced around the room hyperventilating. She could not wrap her mind around what had just happened. First, she was angry with Roman for going Alpha male on her. Then she was hot and bothered and could think of nothing but fucking his brains out. Then, her wolf took over. There were flashes of memories about demanding submission. It was too much.

Then, she bit him. She bit him!
What on earth possessed me to bite him? I still taste his blood in my mouth.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. She’d hurt him, maybe mortally. She was too afraid to go check on him. She was afraid of herself. She was afraid of her wolf, which now seemed satisfied but quiet.

She imagined Katarina before her mind cried out;
Someone help me!

Katarina suddenly appeared in her room, causing her jump.

“Grace? What happened. Why have you summoned me?”

Grace scrunched up her brows. “What are you talking about? I didn’t summon you.”

Her room lit up with violet light. “Damn these eyes. What the fuck is going on?” She sat on the bed and put her hands over her eyes. She had to be imagining all of this.

“You’re emotional, Grace.” Katarina knelt in front of her, her gaze pleading to know what was wrong. “Again, why did you summon me?”

This was an illusion, it had to be. She was positive she’d done no such thing. “Get out. Please, just go.”

Her heart ached. She’d been horrible to Roman. She just pleaded for help and when Katarina showed up she was cold and forced her away. Something was going on inside of her she didn’t understand. Her blood boiled with rage for seemingly no reason.

Finally alone, she removed her hands from her eyes and felt little solace knowing her room wasn’t glowing from her very own eyes.

There had been so much anger building in her tonight and she didn’t know why. Where was it coming from? Did she kill Roman?

The thought sickened her.

A strong pounding shook her door. “Grace!” It was Colin.

“Is he dead?” she cried.

“What?”

“Did I kill Roman?”

She heard Colin chuckle. “It’s not fucking funny. Is he dead?”

“No. Not dead. A little confused, but not dead. Open the door.”

She didn’t want to see anyone, let alone Colin. “Go away.”

“As your Alpha, I command you to open this door.”

Her room was aglow again. Why were people pushing her buttons today? “As your princess, kindly fuck off in the direction from which you came!”

Her emotions were all over the place. She had to get a grip. Katarina claimed she’d been summoned, Roman had been acting like a mother hen all night, Colin was barking orders and all Grace wanted to do was scream.

She stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She turned on the shower and stepped into the water—still in her dress, which was now probably ruined.

She’d managed to keep a grip while discovering there were supernaturals, that she was one of them and even then, she was different from them. She didn’t lose her shit while considering Roman might be her fated mate, something she’d never have even thought possible. She absolutely didn’t wig out when Vampires appeared and disappeared before her very eyes and even then, she didn’t go bonkers when she started having visions. She accepted it all and had kept her sanity. But at this moment, with her eyes glowing out of control, biting Roman, being ordered around…she was about to lose her shit.

Though her body trembled from the cold water, she didn’t make a move to turn up the hot water. She stood shivering and sopping wet hoping the cold would snap her out of whatever was happening…the uncontrollable anger, the unreasonable way she’d been acting.

The loud crack of her door splintering into pieces made her jump. Her arms slammed against the shower walls as her feet slid out from under her. On the way down, she saw Roman and splinters of wood blast through the bathroom door as she scrambled to get her footing.

A loud
thump
echoed through the tiny room as a bolt of pain shot up her spine when her ass hit the hard tile shower floor and her head collided with the wall.

“Ugh,” she groaned as her vision blurred before everything finally went black.

Sixteen

Jagger paced around the den, fuming. “The fucking Lycan princess I’ve been tracking for two years was in my grasp and I didn’t even know it! Fucking idiot.” He shook his head in disgust. He’d heard there was a royal hiding somewhere. He’d had his men out searching the country, sniffing about to find a unique Lycan who could be the princess.

“You’d be smart to steer clear.”

He kicked the cage, knocking the Lycan woman inside to her ass. She laughed in response.

“She’ll be your undoing,” the woman taunted. “She’ll rip out your throat and watch your blood stain the ground.”

“Thomas!” he screamed, glaring at the caged woman.

A small Lycan male limped into the room. “Yes, sir?”

“Take the bitch out of here. I can’t think with her insane ramblings.”

Thomas ducked his head, though his respectful nod seemed reluctantly given, he went over to the cage, unlocking the door and grabbed the Lycan woman by the wrist, looking absolutely pitiful. He huffed in disgust seeing the little gimp show sympathy toward the woman. She was lucky to spend time with the Alpha, not someone to be pitied. He’d have to teach Thomas another lesson.

She didn’t fight him as he pulled her out of the cage, then out of his room.

He had enough to worry about. Three more of his females had disappeared. He couldn’t tolerate such insubordination. He worked too hard at breeding the perfect pack just to let them wander off. He had his two best men out tracking them.

Now three of his men were women and he didn’t know for how long. They were hiding in their own homes, humiliated for being women.
I’ll make that bitch pay for using witchcraft on my pack. She’ll fix them and beg for forgiveness when I’m done with her. Then she’ll give me strong, royal pups.

He continued pacing around his den. He had to devise a plan. Having Grace’s genes to mix with his would make his pack stronger. No one could defeat him if he had royal blood in his ranks.

But the Beta wouldn’t leave her side. He’d have to find a way to get the princess away from the pack in order to capture her. He’d have to catch her by surprise and get the shackles on her fast. He’d have to act fast before someone else got their hands on her. Certainly, other packs would want to get their hands on the bloodline too. He’d have to put his best men on it. They’d have to stalk her when she left the pack property, track her moves and follow a carefully devised plan.

But it was worth the resources.

“Royal blood.” His thin lips curved up. “I’ll bury my cock so deep inside her she’ll have a whole litter of my pups.”

He laughed at the thought. He knew she’d put up a fight, but she’d submit eventually. They all did. He was an Alpha. Lycans always submitted to the Alpha. That was the best part of his title. And all he had to do was kill off an old weak Lycan to gain his power…and endless pussy.

He laughed again and poured a glass of strong Lycan whiskey, knocking it back in one gulp.

His cock stirred at the thought of impaling the princess over and over again. He grabbed himself and closed his eyes.
Oh she’d be a nice piece of tail all right.

“Thomas!”

The young Lycan entered the room once more. “Sir?”

“Bring me a female.”

“We don’t have one in heat at the moment, sir.” Thomas croaked as Jagger stepped closer.

“I don’t need one in heat to give me head. Just bring me one of the pretty ones. Unless you want to swallow my cock yourself.” He laughed and grabbed the young Lycan by the back of the head pushing Thomas’s face down toward his crotch.

Thomas jerked back, swallowing hard as if to keep the contents of his stomach in place. “I’ll be right back.”

*

Nala heard the door open and saw Thomas walk through. He walked out to the cages that lined the walls of the large pole barn. The women all sat quietly, defeated. Looking up at him, they all looked as if they were wondering if they had to denigrate themselves again.

He stopped at a blonde.

She cried. “No, please.”

Nala stood up. “I’ll go.”

Thomas looked at her. “Nala, I’m sorry, but he, uh…” He choked on his words.

“Thomas, it’s okay. I’ll go. I’ll be eager and he’ll enjoy himself.” She smiled at him as he walked toward her cage. “I just want to clean up first.”

He opened the cell door and let her out. If the others stormed the door, he wouldn’t be able to fight them off. But they didn’t. Jagger had taken away their will.

She stepped out giving Thomas a
stand strong
kind of pat on the back. “One day, you won’t have to do this anymore. One day, we’ll get that collar off and your leg will be allowed to heal properly so you can mature. None of us blame you, Thomas.”

He wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “This makes me want to throw up.” He hated his Alpha. He hated him and if he was strong enough, he’d kill his Alpha himself. But he wasn’t stronger. He was smaller and weaker. He’d told Nala all of this before. She couldn’t blame him for what he was forced to do.

She nodded. “Come on. Get me into the shower so I can get this over with.”

He led her to the bathroom, where she quickly cleaned up before wrapping a towel around herself. The silver collar around her throat was uncomfortable. It burned as bad as the ones around her ankles. It kept her from shifting. It kept her weak and kept her from healing at the fast Lycan speed she was used to. If she could only get them off for a few hours.

Like a man headed toward execution, Thomas walked her into Jagger’s den of horrors.

“I thought I said a young one.”

She forced a smile at the Alpha, a Lycan she used to admire. A Lycan she’d had sex with numerous times willingly before he killed their previous Alpha and abused the power of his position. Tonight, she’d close her eyes and pretend he was still that Lycan. Still the Lycan that brought her to her apex countless times before.

“How about an eager Lycan female who’d like a little special attention from her Alpha?” She asked bowing her head to placate him. It made her want to vomit.

Tonight she could pretend. Tonight, she could try to enjoy herself and remember the man he once was, before he was power hungry and abusive. Tonight, she could try to set her plan in motion.

He eyed her, then waved Thomas on. “Shut the door behind you.”

She made her way over to Jagger who sat naked on the couch. She fought back the queasiness in her stomach and swallowed hard. He had forced a one way bond on her. She knew he could read her thoughts, sense her emotions, but the information was weak and one-way. He’d never allowed a female to bond with him.

Power.

She forced previous memories of their intimate times to the front. A time when she’d come for him over and over again.

He gave her a lascivious grin. “I see you’re remembering my skills.”

She slowly moved to her knees in front of him. “I remember a lover who took his time, who’d rocked me to my core. Yes. I remember a lover who wanted me when I wasn’t in heat.”

Butterflies filled her stomach. She used to be in love with him and she allowed those old feelings to surface, even if it was subterfuge.

He nodded. He leaned forward and put his hand on the back of her head, pulling her mouth down on his cock. He closed his eyes and leaned back.

“I do miss that mouth.”