Van, Becca - Alpha Panthers [Terra-form 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (8 page)

The loud, piercing female scream echoing through the forest made Gage, his brother, and Ben sprint toward the vicinity from which the noise had come. He stopped in surprise as he spied his mate hanging upside down in a trap, staring in horror at the huge lion crouching on a large tree limb, watching her as if she was going to be a delectable meal.

* * * *

April’s body began to shake uncontrollably when she saw the large lion staring at her as if she was its dinner. She wasn’t sure if it was a shifter or the real thing, but had no real desire to find out. She kept her gaze on the animal and screamed as loud as she could, hoping someone would find her before she became its meal. She watched the lion leap away to another tree then disappear from sight. She let her body release the tension that had gripped it, relief making her close her eyes. She knew she had just had a lucky escape and prayed to God someone would come and help her down from her trap.

April opened her eyes when she heard movement below her, then snapped them shut again as she saw the furious frowns on the faces of her mates. She knew she was in deep shit and really only had herself to blame for the predicament she currently found herself in. Then she thought back to the morning and how Vanessa, then Gage, had treated her. She let the hurt she had felt consume her and turned the emotion into anger. There was no way in hell she was going to let them berate her when she had been driven to run away.

April watched as Ben climbed the tree until he had reached the rope trapping her. She watched as he held the rope in one hand, then saw claws protrude from the tips of his fingers on his other hand. He swiped his claws through the rope, cutting it, which sent April swinging through the air. She was heading straight for the tree and knew she was going to end up bruised and battered when she impacted with it. She closed her eyes and held her hands out in front of her, hoping to lessen the impact. She opened her eyes in surprise when she was caught in a firm, steady grip.

Saxon had grabbed her by her waist when she swung toward him. He held her still to steady her then swung her up and over his shoulder. He began to climb down the tree without taking the time to release the ropes binding her ankles together. Once he was on the ground, he swung her off his shoulder and held her cradled firmly against his chest. April was too scared to look up at him or Gage, so she kept her eyes lowered as she watched them from beneath the cover of her eyelashes. Gage frowned down at her as he removed the ropes binding her ankles, and then he pulled her boots from her feet. He held her feet still as he studied the grazed, red skin around her ankles.

April tried to push his hands away, but he just gave them a slight admonishing tap and kept up his perusal. She was about to push him away again but was stopped as Ben came up to her and Saxon’s side. He took her hands into his own larger ones and studied her raw palms. She flinched when Gage and Saxon growled loudly and Ben let out a large roar of his own. She tried to cover her fear by struggling to be free again. She turned her head away from them, and that was when she noticed the group of men scowling at her from a few feet away. God, was she never able to do anything right? It didn’t matter what she did or didn’t do, she was the one everyone seemed to blame. Well, maybe she should just let them. Why the hell should she care what anyone else thought of her, or believed her to be guilty of? She had done nothing wrong. They were the ones who had betrayed her, and Gage was the worse culprit of them all.

April was at the end of her tether, and to find the group of men scowling at her, as well, was the last straw. She had never even met them, so why should they be so pissed at her? They had no justification as far as she was concerned. She pulled her hands away from Ben, kicked her legs, and wiggled until she began to slide down Saxon’s body to the ground. He released her when her bare feet hit the ground and took a step back from her when she scowled at him and then Gage and Ben.

“I am not going back with you. You are going to help me get back to my own home,” April yelled at the men standing in front of her. She had to tilt her head back quite a ways so she could see their eyes. She was getting a pain in her neck but was not about to show any sign of weakness. She was going to let them have it with both barrels until they knew how displeased she was with them, especially Gage.

“No, we are not. You are our mate. You will live in our home and do as you are told,” Gage rapped out.

“Why the fucking hell should I? You don’t trust me at all, do you? Why should I take orders or listen to you, when you don’t want to hear anything I have to say? You are such a fucking hypocrite. I don’t even like you. None of you have done anything to gain my trust or given me your trust in return. All you want is someone you can fuck then discard when you’ve finished. Well, I am not going to be used that way. I will not be a convenient receptacle for your seed. I am not a broodmare. You can go back to your precious Vanessa and fuck her all you want. I think if you ever touch me again I would be physically sick.” April was gasping for breath when she finally finished her tirade. She had been so full of anger at their treatment of her, which had made her ire consume her and take over. She couldn’t actually remember what she had just said, but knowing herself, it hadn’t been pleasant.

“How did you know we had been with Vanessa before we found you?” Saxon asked quietly.

“Oh, so now you’re interested in what happened with that bitch. I don’t know whether I should give you the satisfaction of answering you, but maybe if I do you will understand how I work. I would never, ever hurt anyone without provocation. That bitch had great delight in telling me that you belonged to her. She said I was nothing, because I wasn’t even from your plane. When I didn’t retaliate or even answer her back, she grabbed a handful of my hair and spat in my face. Of course, now I know she deliberately provoked me into retaliating, and that is what you caught me doing when you found me standing over that vicious bitch with her hair in my hand. You didn’t even ask me what was wrong,” April yelled when Gage nodded his head, contradicting her. “You asked me what in God’s name I thought I was doing, then you crushed my wrist under your hand, using your brute strength to get me to let go of that bitch. You comforted her, and while she was crying those crocodile tears to get your sympathy, she was smirking at me with disdain. Well, as far as I’m concerned, you can just go and fuck yourself.” April spun on her heels and began to walk away. She didn’t want the men to see the tears in her eyes. She didn’t want to stay here and be treated like a second-class citizen. She wanted to go back to her boring little apartment, with her boring nine-to-five job and her lonely existence. At least she knew she wouldn’t have to deal with stupid men who were so arrogant their heads were buried up their own asses.

* * * *

“I told you Vanessa was a bitch, Gage. I knew April didn’t have it in her to be mean for no reason. And as far I am concerned, she wasn’t being mean, she was defending herself. If that bitch had spat in my face, I would have killed her, and so would have you,” Saxon said.

“Shit. I’ve really fucked up, haven’t I? What the hell are we going to do now?” Gage asked with frustration. He was really angry at himself for jumping to conclusions where Vanessa and April were concerned. Gage had always known what a conniving bitch Vanessa was. He hadn’t stopped to think at all. He had taken one look at his mate standing over Vanessa, with the bitch’s hair wrapped around her wrist, taken a look at Vanessa’s fearful face, and acted. He had let his previous bedding of the bitch, as well as her contrived innocent expression, rule him.

Gage indicated for his seasoned warriors to go after their mate and lead her back to the palace. If she kept walking the way she was, she would end up in the middle of the lion clan’s pride. That was the last thing he wanted to happen, after Leo had been eying their mate as if she belonged to him. He watched as his warriors led April past them and she didn’t even glance his way. His warriors had surrounded her with their bodies, making sure she was protected from any danger as they led her back home.

* * * *

April couldn’t believe the change in the disposition of Gage and Saxon’s warriors. One moment they had been scowling at her as if she were an inconvenience, the next they were introducing themselves, being so courteous and solicitous, it was laughable. She had no idea what had made their demeanor change toward her, but she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. She knew she wasn’t going to remember all their names, but she actually felt she was being accepted for who she was for the first time in her life. Maybe they had liked the way she stood up to her mates, and instead of frowning at her as they had been, now they were smiling and surrounding her to protect her.

April vowed she was going to befriend these kind warriors and totally ignore her own mates. They were going to have to do some big-time groveling before she would let them back into her good graces. She had been really hurt when Gage had immediately thought the scuffle between her and Vanessa was all her fault. She had been defending herself and not instigating the fight as Gage had believed, and it hurt her to be on the end of his anger without him asking her side of the story. She pushed those thoughts aside when one of Gage and Saxon’s seasoned warriors called her name, bringing her out of her speculation.

April was kept occupied by the warriors as they made their way back to the palace. It was dark by the time they arrived, and she was surprised to find herself in a great banquet hall. There were people everywhere, and she was feeling hurt and angry. She wondered why her mates hadn’t brought her to the dining hall before, instead of leaving it to their warriors to do so for the first time. Two of the warriors escorted April to a long table on a raised dais at the front of the room. She thanked the warriors she thought were named Tam and Stephan and asked them to join her at the large table. She didn’t want to be the only person sitting under the gaze of the curious people here. The two men sat down at the table, leaving gaps between them. She assumed the empty chairs were intended for her so-called mates. She felt very uncomfortable being under the scrutiny of so many people and couldn’t help but wish her mates would hurry up and arrive. No sooner had that thought entered her head than her three mates entered the dining banquet room. All noise ceased as Gage, Saxon, and Ben took their places, standing behind the empty chairs on the raised dais.

April kept her head bent down, her eyes firmly fixed on the pristine white tablecloth in front of her. She hoped the people’s eyes were now diverted to her mates rather than herself. The crowd of people below began to fidget as the silence stretched on. April raised her head and looked from Gage to Saxon then Ben. They were standing still, staring out over the crowd, watching the doors on the far side of the room. A commotion could be heard from behind the closed doors, which drew all eyes toward them. The doors were pushed open so hard they slammed against the wall behind them. There were three tall, strong warriors entering the room. The first one had his hands free, and April realized he must have been the one to open the double doors with such force. The other two tall, brawny warriors were pulling a beautiful, screaming shrew along with them as they entered.

April couldn’t believe the filth coming out of Vanessa’s mouth. She would have put a sailor to shame. She screamed at the warriors, but they seemed to be totally oblivious to her fury. They dragged her kicking and screaming until they were mere feet away from the raised table. Then to Vanessa’s humiliation and April’s shock, they stripped the woman until she was naked in front of the entire congregation and pushed her down onto her knees. Vanessa must have realized the futility of her struggles and finally gave up trying to escape. Vanessa raised her head to look at April, giving her a look so full of hate and maliciousness it shocked her. April tried to keep her expression blank, hoping she looked far more serene than she actually felt.

April watched Gage walk along the dais to the end, step down, and move around to stand a foot away from the furious woman. He totally ignored her as he stared into the crowded room.

“This woman has disrespected our mate by coming into our bedchamber, maligning her position in our household, and then spitting in her face. She has just been stripped of all her possessions and will be stripped of her position in this clan. She is to be banished as soon as I have finished speaking. It is also my shame that I castigated my mate when she defended herself against this bitch,” Gage stated to the crowd.

April couldn’t believe what she had just heard. She had to bite her tongue to keep her gasp of surprise contained as Gage turned his back on the woman at his feet and then proceeded to kneel in supplication to her.

“April, I give you my humblest apologies at the way you have been treated in this house. I hope you will find it within your heart to forgive a fool of a man blind to the sly, vicious wiles of the insignificant woman behind me,” Gage stated, then bowed his head to her.

April was too surprised, then humbled, as her proud warrior subjugated himself to her. She felt a lump of emotion clogging her chest, making it impossible to reply, so she bowed her head to Gage with acceptance. April watched as Gage released a sigh then rose to his feet and headed back to the steps at the end of the dais.

April watched as Saxon walked down the steps and stood in front of the humiliated Vanessa. He stood side-on to the table, and she saw him look out over the crowd, ignoring the woman at his feet. Then he slowly looked down at her upturned face, and even April blanched at the fury on his face.