The Second Covenant

LONG ASS CHAPTER. SORRY.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Sometime while we’d been sleeping, I hope, Donovan had left us some dinner. He actually was a cook, and pretty damn good one. He’d made steak, fluffy mashed potatoes and a little salad for me. With extra ranch dressing. The sweetheart. I kept catching Druex, flicking looks at my lap. He had his fork, upside down in his mouth, and with a little effort, I caught the scent of his desire. We’d just had an amazing bout of very hot sex and he still wanted more. It made me jittery, in a good way. But how much of our attraction was because of our wolves, or because of us and people? Or was it all tied together? And why couldn’t someone tack a sign to every human on earth, ‘I am Cherish Danvers perfect mate.’
Wait.
According to my wolf DNA, Druex was my perfect mate. She wouldn’t have accepted him if he wasn’t. So what the hell was I fretting about?
That it was going to go all wrong.

He swallowed thickly and licked another bite of the potatoes off his fork. “You know, I’ve never had someone stare so hard at my lap before.” I said dryly and he looked up at me, his eyes just a little unfocused. “Did that hurt?” Druex asked hoarsely. “Getting waxed?” He nodded. “Of course. I’ve had just a normal bikini wax done, for swim team before. But the whole tamale, that was new.” Watching him so obviously affected by my hairless state was a fun experience. I’d be suffering the pain again, just to see him like this all the time. Hungry and wanting me so bad he wasn’t really concentrating on anything but me. “Why’d you do it if it hurt?”

I crossed my legs and watched him zero in on the movement, how my silk robe slipped down, baring the curve of my thigh all the way up to my hip. “To see what you’d do.” I said and he looked up at me slowly, wicked flames flaring in his eyes. “You got a Brazilian, just to see my reaction?” I nodded and he took a long drink from his soda, licking the moisture from the lush curves of his lips. I used my finger to swipe up a bite of my own potatoes. “I have to say, it was much better than I’d hoped.” I licked the food from my finger and a growl rose up out of his throat.

He looked like he would have jumped across the counter top to ravish me, but someone knocked on the door of the apartment. “Come in.” I called cheerfully and Druex cast me a look full of retaliation. It was Dax, and he was pi-issed. “They’re back.” He growled darkly and Druex’s expression went from wicked and sensual, to furious and sensual. His scent flowered with rage and he stood up slowly, the power of his beast making the air thicker, hotter and harder to breathe.

“Go get dressed honey.” He said to me, still looking at Dax. I didn’t even ask why. I put my jeans on, a bra, and an old shirt I’d stolen from Peyton when he’d still lived at home. A red and black flannel, soft with thousands of washings. I slid my feet into some sneakers and came back out, pulling my hair up. “What’s wrong?”

Both men looked at me and Druex’s lip twitched at the corner ferally. “Some of the pack from home showed up to make trouble. My uncle,”
“My father.” Dax spat.
“His father, made us, all six of us, deserters, which is just insane. He banished us because we weren’t interested in rape. But there you go. Mob with tails.” I looked at Dax and saw how agitated and pissed off he was. “They ganged up on you?” I said and he scowled. “Pussy assholes jumped me on my way back to the bar, when you did your woo woo thing and put a spell on the place.”

I lifted my brows as my wolf stirred, Dax was our pack, hurt the pack, hurt us. “How many are we talking here?” Dax shrugged and started pacing. “Eight maybe ten. I’ve picked up a few different scents. Damien, Dorian and Drake are with them for sure.” Druex snarled and the power in the room rose to a fever pitch. I could feel his anger beating, pulsing like a heart beat. I had to swallow my own pulse and breathe slowly in and out to keep my wolf from reacting to the power surge. “So you left the family and they’re here to what? Kill you or bring you back?” Dax nodded. “Or both.”

Oh they thought so did they? “If I thought you’d do it, I’d tell you to stay up here.” Druex said with a glare at me. “Good thing you know I wouldn’t do it. So is this some kind of dominance challenge? Your uncle is afraid of what he can’t keep a close eye on?” Dax nodded and sighed. “Dad is…grasping to keep the Pack. If someone stronger, like Druex, even me, called challenge, he’d loose. I don’t think they know about you yet either, otherwise you’d have a whole nother bag of worms to be dealing with.” Oh great, more drama. I need that. “So it’s a big deal then, that you have a Lupa and your uncle doesn’t?”

Druex scoffed. “Yeah it’s a big deal. It means that Darren isn’t a true Ulfric.” I looked at Dax struggling to get this. “So your mother wasn’t a potential Lupa?” Dax shook his head, “Just one of his many flavors of the month.” I felt a crushing sort of panic and looked at Druex, my heart stuttering with pain. “So if you defeated your uncle in whatever challenge, would you go back?” He thought about it and with every heart beat I felt more and more desolate. “I don’t know.” He said finally, and I swallowed down the burning in the back of my throat.

At least he was being honest. I wonder, if he had more time to think about it, would he choose to go back, make sure that innocent and unknowing women weren’t being bitten and turned into monsters. But inside, I already knew he would. How could he not, he was a man with a true heart, he would go back to keep innocent women from being hurt. And how could I but upset with that? I wouldn‘t care about him if he wasn‘t that kind of man. But still, my irrational human heart was hurt. “So what’s the immediate problem?” I said, glad I was able to shove that hurt aside for now. Dax continued to pace furiously. “Do we let them in the bar and listen to what they have to say, let them discover that there is a true leader of the pack, and put you in danger by letting them know there is a true lupa as well? Or do we just tell them to kiss ass and see what happens?”

I could see this foe, I could look it in the face and kick it’s ass. Besides, they were playing on my ground now. I let a mean smile curve my lips and I searched outside myself for the core power of the wards. I changed it a little, Keep the Evil out, let in the wolves. “Go ahead and let them in.” I purred and both men blinked at me. “Cherish, think of these guys as mob enforcers, straight up muscle, killers.” Druex said seriously but I wasn’t afraid. “I’m sure you’ve heard the term Might is Right?”

Dax cocked an eyebrow. “I heard it was the other way around. Right is might.” I lifted my brows up and nibbled on my lip. “Well, we‘re right and we‘ve got more might. So same difference. Go let them in, I’ll be right down.” I blew Druex a kiss and went back into the bedroom to put on a little make up.
“That girl is damn scary sometimes.” I heard Dax tell Druex. “Hell yeah she is.” Druex answered, with a husky note to his voice. He liked his girl bad.

I waited a good ten minutes, hearing the insults and sneering growls before I even hit the second floor. “You’ve been ignoring us cousin, you don’t write, don’t call. You know how Darren hates to be ignored.” I heard a voice say, and my Ulfric’s response made my lips lift. “When he has something sane to say, we’ll listen.”
“Still against us finding mates among the humans?” Another voice spat. “No, I’m all for you finding mates. I’m against taking the choice from some random woman, just so you can have a good fuck without killing your partner.”
“Speaking of a good fuck Druex,” There was a pause and I bet the speaker was scenting the air. “You smell like you’ve had more than one. Got some pretty piece of ass stashed away in here?”
“Ooh, can we play with her when we’re done with you?”

I felt the power between the two packs rising, felt Druex and the fury rising off him at the threat of harm to me. “Suck off. And on your way, you can tell Darren I won’t be coming to his little crucifixion party. Sorry.” I was rounding the stairs when the reply came. “We’re not here to bring you in. Alive.” Something made me run the last few steps to the top of the stairs, I heard the first shot and reacted without thinking, purely instinctual reaction at the second. I flared my magic out ahead of me, but the scene below me made me see red. Druex was holding Dax, like they were hugging, Druex was looking at him in shock and I didn’t know who’d been shot, but one of them had.
No!

The anger whipped through me like a warm wind, touched the edge of my beast and brought her snarling to the surface. Her power, my power, it flared through my body, rose over my skin like an invisible sheen of sweat. The three guns held aloft, in hands of men who should have been beloved family, exploded into tiny bits, made them leap back in shock. I leapt off the stairs, landing soundlessly on the wood floors below. The strangers backed away from the power rolling off me with wide eyes. I rushed to Druex, who was stating to ease Dax down to the ground. Dax. Oh no. “You asshole.” Druex told him and Dax gave a weak grin. “Bitch.”

Dax had a growing stain on his back and I knelt at his head, brushing his dark hair back from his brow. “I’m sorry.” I told him softly and he frowned, tried to, up at me. “Why?” I sniffled back my tears and put my hand over the wound, jerking the bullet out of his body with my power, Dax dug his fingernails into the wood floor, the breath exploding out of him.

My hand closed around the twisted bit of metal and it burned, but I kept a tight hold on the bullet. “Shift, heal.” I told Dax and light swirled, wrapped around him and his body shortened, fur flowing over skin, until he was a big, pony sized brown wolf with a white belly. He licked my wrist and I turned my attention from him to the eight big men in front of me. “That your little bitch Druex? She’s cute, little short, but cute.” the dragon tat on his throat suggested he was Drake.

I stood up slowly and uncurled my fingers slowly, letting the silver bullet drop to the floor. “You’ve just gone and done the most fool thing in your life.” I said harshly, feeling the power of my wolf rise, along with the power of my bloodline. They were unsure, I could smell it, but they were dumb enough to do the false bravado only men can do. “What’s your name sweetheart?” Another wolf cooed and tried to move closer, but I gave a low growl of warning and he paused. Before, I’d not shown them my full black eyes, but now I did. They all looked at me like I’d sprouted horns. And they smelled afraid.


I had to start pacing off my nervous energy, back and forth in front of Druex, the smell of their fear raising the wolf even higher inside me. “This is the big scary mob squad?” I said, absolutely ready to rend flesh from bones “Pitiful.” Dorian, must be Dorian, sneered impressively, seeing as how he was the most afraid of my prowling movements. “Come over here and say that to my face sugar. What a’ya gonna do, growl at me?”

I did growl, and lifted him off his feet using my magic, an invisible hand around his throat that drew him to me, a breath away from my face, close enough that I could have kissed him. “Fucking pitiful. Your fear is turning me on.” I whispered and did a bit of my Kempo, visualized my fist, inside his face, hauled off and hit him so hard, blood sprayed from his ruined nose and sent him flying back into his cousins.

Drake was the first to attack, but I thrust both hands out, pointed my fingers at him and with a punch of my magic, threw him high over my head. He hit the floor hard and I gave a stomp of my foot, a shock wave of power that knocked him back down when he tried to rise. Daire was the one to put his boot in the back of Drake’s back to keep him down. I turned to the remaining wolves, to Damien, who seemed to be the leader of their little band and raised a cold brow. “What the fuck are you?” He breathed and I gave him a nasty smile and let my beast loose, pictured her invisible form leaping from my body to slam into Dorian’s, who was whimpering, holding his nose.

And to my surprise, he burst from human to wolf in a fiery flash of light. I smirked even though I hadn’t known I could do that. All the men reacted to the power, all eyes suddenly intent on me, no more threats or bravado. Nostrils flared, a few of the wolves in front of me licked their lips like they could taste my wolf on their tongues.

Druex came to me, slid his hand over the back of my neck, soothing me. “Meet my Lupa cousin.” Their jaws hit the dirt and Dorian stopped writhing on the ground to look up at me, his coat was a grey and black, more gray than black, with a silver saddle over his ears. Dax appeared, on four paws, at my side, I touched his head with gentle fingers and felt the solid pulse of his energy, no interruptions to signal pain.

The part of me that was wolf did a stand down. Our hackles eased, knowing Dax was alright, that he wasn‘t damaged beyond repair from the toxic silver bullets. Dorian tried to do that belly crawl over to me and I curled my lip at him and hissed. “You stay right there or I’ll break something that won’t grow back.”

Dorian froze and Dax bared his teeth with a warning snarl. I let my body curve back against Druex, feeling our power flare and mold together in a seamless flow of energy. Power that raised the tension of the other wolves through the roof. “I tried to tell you he was lying. But you were suckers for it.” Druex said, his voice vibrating through his chest, against my back, making me shiver. Damien gave me a black look. “So quick to defend your lover.” he said softly, jealousy curled around every word. I could play dirty to. My eyes were still solid black and I looked at the five men behind Damien. “You shot at my mate and hit my friend instead. You‘re as good as a rug on my floor.” I slammed magic into the other five and they went flying out the doors.

Damien whirled and then turned back to me. “The Lupa doesn’t have the power to do that.” I smirked and Druex wrapped his arms around me. “No. But I do.” Druex rubbed his nose along my cheek. “My girl’s a bit touchy when it comes to people she cares for. So you think long and hard before you come back here.”

I hoped to god Damien listened, because the only thing keeping Dax by my side, and the others behind us, were my fingers in the fur on his nape. Damien smiled, ruefully and shook his head. “I’ve only ever heard stories about what a Lupa was like. But so far, the rumors are true. You’re one cold hard bitch.” I laughed, a low pitched, dangerously sexy laugh. “Sticks and stones Damien, get your shit and go.” I motioned to Drake, still on the floor.

Daire backed off, with an extra kick to the downed man. Drake jerked on his jacket and glared at Daire and then at me. “You gonna hide behind your woman forever Druex?” I let go of Dax and he sprang at Drake. “No Dax, he wants to challenge me, let him. I kicked his ass once and I’ll do it again.” He rubbed his chin over my hair and I heard the distant wail of police sirens. “Mr. Thomas called the cops. I’d scoot on outta here.” I cooed and Drake snarled at me on the way out. I zapped him on the ass with a hefty bolt of power. He squealed like a girl.

The police did show up, in time to see Dom and Daire climbing a ladder to fix a sparking, popping speaker. I was sitting on a bar stool, with Dax, still in wolf form, stroking his ears. Druex and the twins were shouting useless advice up at Dom and Daire. Druex turned when they came in the door. “Sorry officers, bar’s closed until next week.” They looked around suspiciously.

I knew one of the officers, Brent something. He was in my Kempo class. “We got a report of shots fired at this address. Miss Danvers.” Brent said and I waved. “Hello, sorry about that. The speaker, as you can see is on the fritz.” It gave a very convincing pop, due to the fact that a bullet had in fact been shot through it. “Right, okay, we’re just checking up on…Cherish, that better not be what I think it is.” Brent said and Druex’s eyes narrowed at the familiar tone.

I continued to smile easily, stroking Dax, the rhythmic movement helping me to keep my focus on the right now. Druex was alive, Dax was alive…“That depends on what you think it is Officer Brent.” He pointed his finger at Dax. “I think that’s a wolf.” I tucked my hair behind my ear and continued to smile. “And I think my dad would have an aneurism if I brought home a wolf.” Brent gave Dax a penetrating look and Dax wagged his tail slowly. “You’re daddy would buy you the moon if it made you happy.” I grinned. “This is true. But we’re fine here, you can tell Mr. Thomas no one died. Except a very expensive speaker.”

As soon as the police left and I waved my hand to repair the speaker. And then I got away from everyone else. Waving away Druex’s concerned call after me. My wolf was gone, and all that was left was emotional female. I made it to the apartment before the tears started, in my mind I saw the shock on Druex’s face and felt my heart convulse painfully. That unknown instant where I hadn’t known if he was shot or Dax, a moment where I’d thought he was dead.

An instant where my world had collapsed.

I was so utterly in love with him, and my hot dogging, letting the rival pack into the club, had almost killed him. I made it to the shower, turned the water on not caring at what temperature and stripped my clothes off to hide the tracks of my tears under the spray. I was so busy trying not to let out the sobs choking me, that when Druex said my name outside the stall, I freaked out, gave a little scream and blew the glass of the stall doors to glittering bits. “Shit!” he said and flung his arm up to protect his face, knocking himself on his butt. I reacted fast enough that the glass just hovered in the air. “Oh god, sorry! I’m sorry.” I grabbed my towel as the glass re-solidified, and rushed out to check and make sure none of the little slivers had struck his skin. “I’m sorry, you startled me,”

Dom came barreling in the bathroom, ready to kill. But stopped at the sight of me, dripping wet, kneeling next to Druex who’d pushed up onto his elbows. “Uh-mm, everything okay?” He said slowly and Druex waved him out. “Yeah, I scared her and she blew up the shower. It’s fine, we’re fine.” Dom left and shut the door behind him. Now that I wasn’t in the shower, the tears I was crying were obvious. “Druex, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…”
“Hey, easy.” He sat up further and cupped my cheek, brushing the tears from my skin with his thumb. His eyes tracked back and forth between mine. “What’s wrong?” I blinked at him and out of no where, my genetically programmed irrational outrage surfaced. “What’s wrong? Are you serious? You nearly got shot! I came around the corner and I couldn’t tell if it was you or Dax, why you were looking so hurt and shocked.” I shoved at his shoulder and shouted. I never shout. Almost never. “And you want to know what’s wrong? You‘re such an as-…mph!” He grabbed my wrist and used my own momentum to pull me across his chest and roll me down under him.

He cupped the back of my head and sealed his lips firmly over mine. Pressed gentle kisses on me until I melted under him. “I’m fine.” Kiss. “And Dax is fine.” Kiss. “And you did so good down there, scared the shit out of those pussy bad guys.” My laugh was choked and he bent to lick the salty tears from my skin. Melting other things. “It’s alright, don’t cry. You’ll have red, puffy eyes that I’ll have to explain to your father. And he’ll hurt me.” I turned my face and caught his lips. “He’d hurt you worse if he found out about this.” My hand slid down his side, shaping over the growing bulge in his jeans. He pressed against my hand, “Oh yeah? And who’d tell him?”
Nothing like sex on a hardwood floor.