Tasha had always been good at defusing situations and calming tempers, which was ironic considering her own temper was pretty bad. However, defusing any arguments that occurred between Tala and Sansa took a great deal of effort—something Tasha had quickly come to learn over the last four weeks. As such, she was tapping her foot impatiently while she stood between the two females in the living area who ranted at each other, pointing fingers and scowling. Meeting her mate’s gaze, who was sitting on the sofa looking both amused and exasperated, Tasha a struggled not to laugh at the insults being exchanged. Sansa had done exactly as Trevon had said she would—she’d tried extremely hard to become close friends with Tasha. But when that hadn’t worked, she had instead taken to trying to provoke Tasha with sugar-coated insults and backhanded compliments that had been so cleverly delivered they sounded totally innoce
A few hours later, Tasha was sitting on her sofa drinking coffee and watching with a smile as Kass lay protectively where Ara was playing with his toys on the carpet with Royd and Tala. Although Ara wouldn’t be able to use his gift of healing psychological scars until he was much older, he still oozed a feeling of safety that attracted anyone with such scars. It was safe to say that Kass had some. As was often the case, the living area was pretty crowded. Tasy, Trevon and Ethan were on the sofa. Lreta and Kate had each taken an armchair. And Tao and Sansa had each dragged in one of the dining chairs. Sansa had also brought in a spare chair, and Tasha was pretty sure it was supposed to be for Onyx—who was currently in the kitchen speaking with Eli on his cell phone. Tasha had to give it to her, the bitch was certainly persistent. She supposed that in Sansa's eyes, it was Tasha who was the one interfering. Sansa had most likely view
Tasha didn’t enjoy seeing anyone in pain, she really, really didn’t. But as she watched with Tala and Ethan as Onyx and Trevon circled the human tied to a chair in her spare bedroom, she didn’t feel in the least bit disturbed to know he would soon be in bad shape. For one thing, the guy—Ray was his name, according to his driver’s license—was pure evil. He’d spent the past half hour boasting about how many shifters he’d beaten up in his time and about how easy it was breaking into the salon and how much fun he’d had smashing it up. Then there was the little detail that he kept calling her a slut and condemning to hell any “spawn of the devil” she was impregnated with. And why would he be so bold? He was convinced that Onyx wouldn’t hurt him for fear of repercussions. Also, he was too crazy to be smart enough to be scared. “It’s a shame my beta's not here,” said Tala. The Beta’s skills as an interrogator were well known. “He could have this guy si
Watching from his spot on the patio step as the wolf with the salt-and-pepper fur—Royd—earned himself a swipe from a dark wolf with creamy markings——Onyx could only laugh. Despite Royd’s wolf’s efforts to tempt the other wolf to play, he wasn’t successful. The wolf was much too serious for that, just like his large gray Alpha who was currently watching two jet-black wolves—Trevon and Teo wrestle playfully. Similarly, the red she-wolf and the dark-gray she-wolf—Tasha and Kass, were leaping at one another playfully. Many of the wolves had decided to go on a short pack run on the land behind Tasha's home, sticking close to the house, but Onyx was much too wary to shift while it was quite possible that one, if not all, of the rebels were in fact a threat. Over the past three weeks, he had watched them closely without giving any indication that he suspected them of anything. He’d come to learn that Jesse was surly an
With Onyx out of earshot, Tala turned to Trevon. “Am I right in thinking that part of his problem is that he doesn’t want to share Tasha?” “Yup. Plus, Onyx prefers being alone.” Trevon sighed. “If he had his way, the two of them would be holed up somewhere together and no one would ever bother them. But that’s never going to happen. Onyx’s strength draws people to him, always has and always will. If you had seen the way he organized all the groups in juvie…Even the older ones followed him. There was only one guy, who wouldn’t—Nick had to challenge him, and though he never meant it to go that far, he killed him. Onyx never elected himself as leader, never tried to be one, but everyone made him one. And I’m going to do the same now. If he won’t take on the position, I’ll make him do it in my own subtle way.”He’s not going to like it,” said Tala, but she was smiling. “How can I help?” As her mom did her woe-is-me routine complete with de
Wondering why Tasha was taking so long, Onyx intended to go upstairs in search of her—followed closely by Sansa, who was jabbering on about something or other. When he reached the hallway and heard footsteps on the stairs, he was expecting to see Tasha. His mouth dropped open at the sight he found. “Kass?” Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she smiled a little awkwardly, as if unsure what reception she’d receive. He pulled her into a huge hug. “Hey.” When her arms went around him, he swallowed hard. Seeing Tasha smiling at him, he mouthed, “Thank you.” He didn’t have to ask to know that she had something to do with it. Tasha was enjoying watching Onyx and Kass chattering away and doing that sibling teasing thing…until Sansa came to her side, making her automatically tense slightly. Her wolf bared her teeth. *It’s so amazing,” said Sansa, gesturing to Kass. “We don’t see her in her human form often. Even when she changes, she often ke
The latter word sounded so final and absolute—a balm to her lingering insecurities and her worry that he would leave her alone again. “It would also be great if you could give the dozens of marks on my inner thighs time to fade before leaving any more. I can hardly wear a bikini when I look like I’ve been assaulted.” “You won’t be wearing a bikini unless we’re alone. No, baby, I’ve seen how skimpy your bikinis are. As much as I approve, I’m not going to deal well with other guys drooling over you worse than they already do.” “There has been no drooling. That’s just you being paranoid and possessive.” She really didn’t see how beautiful she was, and Onyx didn’t understand it. “Believe me, they look, and they drool. Not that I can blame them.” He skimmed his hands up and down her back, clutching her close. “I’m too thin and pale,” she contradicted, echoing Danna’s claims. They weren’t insults she hadn’t heard before—her mother informed her of th
As guilt and shame slithered over him, Onyx’s eyes fell closed. “I don’t know who I’m angrier with—me.” He kissed her neck. “As much as you avoid deep connections, it’s what you really want, isn’t it?” Yes, it was. She had been her own worst enemy, really—craving a soul-deep connection but at the same time avoiding forming one because she didn’t want to risk feeling the pain of losing it. “I want to feel indispensable to someone.” His hands framed her face, seizing her gaze. “You’re indispensable to me—essential to me on every level. I wouldn’t be here, suffering the company of your old pack and listening to some pervert constantly hit on you with cheesy pickup lines if you weren’t.”She would have chuckled if his mouth hadn’t mashed with hers. “You know, I once shook hands with My friend on a plan to get a gun and assassinate you.” Without moving his mouth from hers, he laughed. “And I planned on getting ‘Onyx Is a Fuck-Ass’
few years later. Opening your eyes to find that you’re upside down can’t be good, can it? Through the cobwebs clouding her mind, Kass realized that it wasn’t just she who was upside down. The car had toppled over.Well, that sucked. Clearly the fuck-up fairy had made an appearance.Strangely, Kass felt no rush of panic, no fear. And despite that she was pretty sure her head was bleeding, there was no pain. There was only a feeling of weightlessness. Even the fact that her wolf was frantic didn’t disturb Roni in this dreamlike moment. Her brain distantly registered that the car kept leaning sideways, as if something was repeatedly pulling at it. But it was the various sounds that penetrated her mental fog: low moans, a phone ringing, a child crying, and strange voices arguing.Sensing that the ringtone and the moans were coming from her left, kass turned her head to find a male wolf shifter in the driver’s seat, e
When she finally untangled herself from him, he explained, “It’s not just the only lodge here now. The owners built and rented out several other lodges on the land, which would be perfect for the ‘pack’ to live in. It means you and I will have our own space.” Touched to the point that she was tearful, she said, “I really, really can’t believe you’ve done this. I never would have guessed. I suppose I should have—you always try to spoil me.” “It’s my right, and it’ll happen a lot, so you need to get better at accepting gifts.” She waved away that comment. “You know what else I can’t believe? That the prejudiced humans sold the place to a shifter.” When he opened his mouth to speak, she raised a hand. “Don’t tell me…Your contacts got involved, right?” “Right,” he confirmed. “Want to go inside?” “Do Dalmatians have black spots?” “One thing first: I made a few…changes.”
As Bree yapped beside him at the dining table about something or other, Onyx forced a smile for her. Oh, she was a nice enough girl and stuff, but he just didn’t do the friend thing, and apparently a person didn’t have a choice in the matter when it was Bree He noticed that his mate, who was sitting on his other side, was stifling a smile of amusement at his discomfort—as usual. Just a little longer, he reminded himself. Just a little longer, and then he and Tasha would be finished with their evening meal and leaving Sliver Pack territory, and they would only be returning as visitors. Since the night of the battle, he and Tasha had been living on pack territory temporarily. Although they had slept in the motor home outside the caves, they were still constantly harassed and, as such, had had very little time alone. Onyx and Tasha weren’t the only ones who had remained on pack territory. Trevon,
Abruptly, she snatched the knife her father had long ago given her that was tucked into her boot and speared it into his chest.When a stunned-looking Chubby came charging at her, she rolled to the side and sliced both his Achilles tendons as he stumbled past. Like a sack of spuds, he fell to the ground, crying out. Rolling once again, she seized the rifle and twisted to see that Chubby was trying to crawl away. He froze when she cocked it and gave her a pitiful look. She shrugged. “I told you I’d kill you.” The bullet hit him dead-center in his forehead. It was then that Merk swung the door open. But she had already cocked the gun again, ready to shoot, and was aiming it as his head. “You should have run, Monkey Boy.” But the awkward bastard dove to the side, making the bullet skim his ear. “Fuck.” Then a wall of flames suddenly formed around the hut, and Merk slammed the door closed. “Double fuck.” Before she could even think of acting, a
There was gunfire, there was growling, there was screaming, there was yelling as the wolves came at the group from all directions. It was also the go-ahead for Tasha to act. Aiming for those who she judged the biggest threats and of whom she had a clear view, Tasha fired one bullet after another, gratified down to her gut as she disabled the bastards. One of those bullets hit her target’s arm rather than his heart, and he dropped his gun as he flinched with the pain. When Onyx wolf turned his attention to him, the human turned and ran in what could only be described as a blind panic. He suddenly screeched in pain and fell to the ground, having stepped on one of the barbed-spike plates that were planted around. Onyx dived on him, closing his jaw around the asshole’s throat. The wolves were all merciless in their assault. Ethan wolf had gone feral by this point and was tearing into whatever human was near him. Although he’d taken a bull
Entering the living area a little while later, they found Jaime, Ace, Kass, Marcus,Royd Grace, Lydia, and Sansa. The smell of Onyx and Tasha’s combined scents seemed to hit everyone at once, because they were all smiling—even Sansa, despite that it was fake. “Well, well, well,” said Bree, delighted, as Onyx and Tasha perched themselves on the gigantic sofa where everyone other than Kass and Royd, who had each claimed an armchair, was sitting. “It would appear things are moving along nicely.” Bree swapped places with Ace so that she was then sitting by Onyx, winking at Tasha when he stiffened at her proximity. “How’s my BFF doing?” When Onyx gawked at her, Bree said indulgently, “Not you, sweetie, I was talking to your mate.” Tasha would have been pissed by people continually poking at him if she didn’t know this meant they accepted him. “Fine, thanks.” Tasha patted Onyx’s thigh soothingly. “I’m glad things are working out for you gu
As it was important that Onyx knew every inch of pack territory in preparation for the attack, Tasha took him on a thorough tour of the land while they were in their wolf forms after breakfast. She showed him every lake, every clearing, every hidden entrance to the caves. She even showed him the “hut”—the small building where trespassers were taken to be interrogated by Dante.When they stopped at a particular lake, she shifted back to her human form. “This is my favorite spot on Sliver land. Come on, I want to swim.” Back in his human form, Onyx glanced around, taking in his surroundings. Instantly, he understood. “You used to come here to be alone, didn’t you?” he asked, smiling. It was almost funny, considering she was so sociable. “Yes,” she admitted, slowly going deeper and deeper into the lake. “Sometimes a girl likes a little alone time.” He gasped in mock outrage. “All this t
knock at the door the next morning was quickly followed by Trick’s voice. “Tasha you’ve got visitors. If Tala right, you might not be too happy about it.” As those words penetrated her sleep-dazed brain, Tasha groaned. She didn’t have to ask who the visitors were. Her mother had been trying to contact her nonstop over the past two days, but Tasha had ignored her calls. Caleb would have told her that Tasha had returned to Sliver Pack territory. It had only been a matter of time before the woman showed up. Sleepily, she called out, “I’ll be down in a minute.” “They’re waiting for you in the kitchen.” The sound of Zeeb's footsteps faded down the tunnels. Any other time, she would have been stumbling around the room on just waking. But knowing her parents were here was enough to galvanize her into action. Hopping out of the bed, she told Onyx's “It’s got to be my parents. You might want to sit this one out.” F
“I have a feeling the shifter behind all this will come with them,” said Ryan. Nick was surprised to hear him speak. “Me too,” said Zeeb. “He hates shifters anyway, and now that he’s no longer making money from charging humans to kill our kind, I’d say he’ll be pissed enough to join Jace in the attack.” “Let’s hope so,” growled Tala. She rose from her armchair and approached Onyx. “It’s time. We need you at top strength. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to heal you, but I can certainly do my best.” She then turned to her pack. “Grace, you know what I need. Ryan, the window.” While the short brunette nodded and left the room, the grumpy-looking enforcer opened the window wide. Determined to only think positive thoughts, Tasha rose from his lap. “Lie down on the floor, flat on your back.” “That’s usually my order,” rumbled Onyx, smiling at her blush. Hoping against hope that the Alpha female would