Six.

Jaxon

I stare into her odd eyes. The other women that we had been paired with would have immediately averted their gaze, bowing to us. But Blue stares right back at me. Her arms folded across her breasts. Her chest rises and falls as she waits for me to say something.

“I prefer the way that suits look and it’s unlikely that I will need to shift.”

“You didn’t say they were comfortable?” She cocks an eyebrow at me. I was almost mad by how easily she was pushing my buttons.

“High quality ones are comfortable.” I mutter

“So you just want to remind everyone that you have money?”

Xander stifles another laugh. I was going to have to speak to him later, especially if he carries on like this.

“No. There is nothing wrong with wanting to take care of myself.” I mutter and she shrugs her shoulders, walking away. Her attitude had me annoyed and a little turned on. If she wasn’t so afraid of my touch, it would be a completely different scene right now and she would be screaming my name.

“I need a drink, do you want anything?” She shouts from the kitchen

“Do you have any coffee?” I mutter, already preparing myself for the long night ahead. I wanted to get as much information out of her as possible.

She comes back in with a tray of mugs and settles them down on the table. As she bends over, I could just make out the top of her cleavage. Oh how I couldn’t wait to explore every inch of her and learn the curves of her body. I didn't care if she was scarred, she was mine.

I don’t take my drink straight away, because as she drinks from her mug, her odd eyes peer at me over the top of it, like she was daring me to drink it.

“What did you put in it?” I ask, glancing back at the mug. It was too obvious by the way she was watching me.

“Coffee, like you asked.”

“What else?”

My brother rolls his eyes and picks up the mug. He sniffs it and smiles at me, taking a mouthful. Blue smiles, her eyes bright as Xander puts the mug back down.

“Wolfsbane.” He mutters, coughing a little and clearing his throat

“You tried to poison us?” I should not have been surprised. She already asked to be rejected and I had said no. Killing us would be her next option for getting out of our bond.

“That should have worked.” She mutters, getting to her feet, frowning.

“We are not wolves, Blue. But I have to give you credit for trying to kill us.” I muse

She seemed more surprised than shocked. “Wolfsbane doesn’t affect you? The stories always said it did.”

“Not all stories are true. It burns a little, that's about it.”

“What’s the phrase humans use?” Xander mutters, “Something about it going down the wrong hole. That’s pretty much what it's like for us.” He mutters, but I could see how bright and shining his eyes were. Just like me, he was impressed that Blue had tried something so brave as trying to poison us. Not a single person had tried to kill us like this.

“You don’t seem mad?” She watches us.

“I would have done the same thing if I were you.” I tell her. “Now where did you get the wolfsbane?”

“She grows it.” Xander mutters

“And you didn’t think to tell me?!” I turn on him. He had kept going on about Blue being a Rogue. But he didn’t think to mention to me that she was growing wolfsbane. Wolves don't grow wolfsbane.

“It doesn’t bother us so I didn’t think I needed to tell you.” He shrugs his shoulders at me.

“You are a wolf that grows wolfsbane?” I turn back to Blue. I had never heard of such a thing.

Blue nods her head at me.

“Why?”

She presses her pink lips into a thin line and just stares at me.

“Answer me!” I snap a little too forcefully.

She sits on the large ugly green chair opposite me. She folds one of her legs up in front of her and continues to watch me.

“Why aren’t you speaking?”

I watch as her eyes shift from me to Xander, but Xander looks at me and shrugs his shoulders. I wasn't going to let this drop until she told me the truth.

“I grow it for myself.” She finally admits.

“For yourself?” Wolfsbane was deadly to wolves like Blue. Why would she do something as stupid as that?

Her head bobs up and down

“What do you mean?” Xander looks at Blue too. I watch as he searches her face, hoping to find an answer.

“You asked me why I don’t shift. You never asked me what I do on the full moon, when our shift is forced on me.” She lets out a long sigh, “Every day I consume a little wolfsbane. Not enough to do any real damage, but enough to stop me shifting each month.”

She takes my coffee and drinks the remainder of it. She doesn’t even flinch.

“Blue….”

“It works for me.” She mutters back, “And you can’t change that. It is what I want.”

“Does the human know?” Xander asks and Blue nods her head.

“She lets you do that to yourself?” I ask.

“She was the one who suggested it. Until I could touch the wolfsbane flower, she would pick it and grind it for me. Now I can do it myself.”

“You’re not like other wolves.” I hear my brother mutter. When I look up, I see him smiling at her. The girl he wanted nothing to do with was suddenly becoming interesting to him. What was worse is that she was smiling back at him.

Blue sits there waiting for me to say something. But there was nothing. I couldn’t find the right words to express how I felt. All I could think about was what else she could be doing to herself.

“I think my brother is a little bit shocked by the information you have just declared.” I hear my brother mutter. “Does your Alpha know?”

“Only Bree and now you two.” 

“What about pack runs?”

“I live here, I don’t need to take part. Plus I see Vita daily.” I watch as she shrugs her shoulders, unbothered

“You are trying to make us reject you.” I’m on my feet as I figure it all out.

“Did it work?” She stares at me again

“No.” I lean down next to her and she pushes herself back into the chair, trying to create distance between us. “You are only making me want you more.”