37. Deals

I've been threatened a lot over the years, by opponents that wanted a more 'fair fight' in a dark alley after suffering a loss, or ones that'd gone down very pathetically and decided they wanted to settle the score with a weapon that wasn't their fists. In fact, some of them were so wounded from losing to a lesser wolf- wearing the mask helped conceal my face but werewolves can sense a person's position in the pack from a mile away- that they even tried picking a dominant fight.
After a few encounters, Teddy had a whole set of bodyguards waiting for them where they went waiting for me so that phase of retribution didn't last long.
But then again, there were the premium courses I received from Kane whenever I did something he found irritating. Dominant wolves were A-grade intimidators but alphas were in a whole other league of their own. In other words, I think I've seen enough of genuine threats up close and personal to be able to give a go at making them myself.
Plus, I was at an advantage, Kane was still recovering and I was feeling as good as new after all that food.
And yet, I still couldn't fathom how I'd ended up in this position before even opening my mouth.
"Get off, I'm angry!"
The jerk was heavy, and not even bothering to keep some of his weight off me. But he was also warm and cozy, which were two things I shouldn't be feeling while being furious- especially when he remained indifferent.
He cocked a single brow. "You've been prancing around in my head behind my back, invading my privacy and you think you're the angry one?"
"You're wolf invited me in!"
"Blaming others?"
I gritted my teeth. "Get off."
He pressed his forehead against mine, shifting impossibly closer. "Don't want to."
What the hell, I thought, grabbing him by the ears. His eyebrows shot upwards. "What are you-"
I twisted hard enough to push his head back and away from mine. "Shut up and listen."
He winced. "I'm injured, don't abuse me."
"You said you didn't want my pity," I pointed out. "So I won't give it, now listen up. I don't want you protecting me anymore and you better hope I don't see you doing it again."
His lips pulled downwards. "You've been in my head, you know how I feel about that."
"I do. Now tell me," I squeezed for emphasis, "how would you feel if I was the one who gave myself over willingly to a psychopath without telling you anything- all just so I could keep you safe?"
If it wasn't for the way his body tensed over mine, his cool expression could've been unreadable. Note to self: Don't trust any of this man's facial expressions.
Satisfied, I continued on. "As you've said, I've been in your head so I guess I already know the answer to that as well. Then I'll lay down the laws for you, Kane Wilder. If there's ever danger or a problem and your petulant alpha brain tells you to keep me in the dark to protect me, you tell it to shut up and let us handle it- together. And if you decide to go ahead listen to it, then not even a thousand heartfelt apologies could make me come within a mile of you. Do we have a deal?"
A twitch of the brow. "Can we negotiate a bit further on that?"
"Nope. From now on its total and complete transparency, nothing short of that."
He pursed his lips. "What you're asking of me isn't fair."
I managed a snort, fighting to keep my eyes off his lips and focus on the task of intimidation. "You think leading me to believe you hated me because of my omega position, letting loose Helen and her pack of harpies to snip at me every chance they got, not to mention further alienating me from the pack for two years is fair?"
"You know why I did it," he said quietly.
"Then you must know why I'm doing this," I retorted.
"You didn't say it back."
At first I was confused, then I remembered his words in the woods before he gave me back my memories. I flushed, but didn't let go of his ears, nor his gaze. "Deal or no deal?"
"Deal," he replied heavily.
I let go of his ears. "Thank you."
He stared at me for a moment, the dropped his head in the crook of my shoulder with a sigh, breath brushing the skin of my collar bone. "I'm sorry for what it did to you, but I don't regret keeping you safe."
"I don't want your pity either," I said. "You're free to go prisoner, the interrogation is over."
"Prisoner? Who's the one who can't move?"
"I think I liked you better when you growled more and talked less."
"Hmm."
"Hmm?"
He turned his head abruptly, kissing my throat with a hunger that all but turned all my thoughts to mush. I opened my mouth- and his hand shot up and covered my mouth.
"No noises, that might just drive me insane."
The room was suddenly too hot, all my senses utterly and completely absorbed by the progression of the mouth that was licking, nibbling and devouring a path to my ear. Every brush of skin, every nip of teeth seemed to crank up the heat, sending sizzling shocks through me.
Then he reached my ear, rubbing his head against mine fondly. "Sorry." His voice was strained, breathless.
Not sure what he was apologizing for, I wiggled beneath him, and for a second he froze entirely- then groaned, pressing down against me in a way that made me gasp against his palm.
But then his weight was gone and hands were hauling me to my feet. Alertness and irritation were evident on his face as he pulled me closer, folding me securely within his arms.
"We've got company," he explained at my confused expression.
Sure enough, the front door opened and Ian walked in with Arius close behind.
Ian took one look at us- Kane was composed but I was still trying to get my breathing under control- and threw his hands up. "We leave her alone for an hour and you attack her the first chance you get, you animal?"
"Shameless," Arius added.
"Says the fae who took advantage of her vulnerability," Kane retorted. His voice was neutral, but his amber eyes told another story.
"A simple trade," Arius said easily. "Humans trade money to get healed at the hospital, how different is it from what I did?"
Kane didn't reply.
I poked him in the ribs, moving- with great effort- out of his arms so I could fully face Arius. "This service I'm supposed to provide, when are you going to tell me what it actually is? And how long will it last?"
"When it is time for it to end," Arius replied.
"I could make that time come real fast," Kane offered.
"Hey, hey, hey," Ian said with a raised palm. "None of that malice please."
I nodded. "No one's hurting anyone. He's Aster's brother and he helped me, it's only fair I keep my end of the bargain."
Arius raised a hand to his chest, bowed slightly. "A noble."
Kane crossed his arms but made no sudden moves so I walked over to Ian, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Hey, you."
He scrunched his face in mock disgust. "Don't 'hey you' me after joining the dark side."
"What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
I batted my eyelashes at him. "We have cookies if you want to join too."
"Poisonous cookies," he snorted, slinging his arm over my shoulders.
Kane cleared his throat.
I looked, saw the narrowed look he was directing at the arm that was around Ian.
Perhaps too hands on? His voice was crisp and clear in my head but I've gotten so used to hearing voices in my head that I wasn't the least bit startled to hear it, although his comment was unexpected.
And unjustified.
I leveled him with a cool look. Helen was very hands on.
He shifted his blistering look on Arius.
Arius' jade eyes were on me. "You should go outside," he said. "Your friends are here."
***
Jett surprised me with a hug.
"I thought you didn't like hugs," I laughed into the cotton of his shirt.
He pulled back, smiling. "First and last time."
"I'm glad you're okay," I said, studying him.
This close up, he smelled of soap and gummy bears, not a hint of blood or disinfectant. He also moved with the ease of a healthy man, not what I'd expect after I'd last seen him. Although it wasn't just his hybrid healing that had saved him, apparently Ian's mom had attended to him. Still, I don't think I would've patched up that fast if I was the one who'd taken that kind of beating
"How did you get your tattoos?" I blurted out. "If you can heal so fast, I mean."
"A witch did it, probably the same one that stole his heart and left an icy replica of it in its place," Darius said, bounding over to us, grinning from ear to ear. He ignored Jett's glare and swept me into his arms.
"My long lost love, how I've been yearning to lay these weary eyes on your exquisite beauty!" He exclaimed, smooching me very loudly on the cheek.
Jett tensed but before he could move, my fist was making its own sound against Darius' cheek. He promptly let me go, rubbing his already bruising cheek with a wounded look.
"The life of an amorous man is not an easy one," Darius said to Kane.
"She beat me to it," Kane replied.
"The next time she won't," Jett added.
"You shouldn't be threatening your pilot," Darius grumbled, walking back to the small airplane they'd arrived in.
I frowned as he disappeared through the open door. "Since when did he know how to fly a plane?"
"We're both studying to be pilots, didn't you know that?"
Oh great.
Helen emerged from the doorway of the plane, hips moving sensuously as she descended the stairs. Once her stylish boots were in contact with the snow, she flipped her golden hair over her shoulder with all the grace of a winter Barbie. She smiled at Kane. "Good to see you alive, alpha."
Kane frowned. "You should be resting."
"I'm fine." Helen turned to look at me. There weren't any bruises on her face, but I noticed her makeup was heavier than usual. No hybrid was she. "I wanted to talk to Ember during the flight back to Seattle."
I folded my arms. "Ember doesn't want to talk to you."
"Is she scared?" She asked softly.
"Of your pink nails?" I snorted, stalking past her to the stairs.
She gripped my elbow, the scent of her perfume soft a contrast to her strong grip. "I'll be brief."
She still had that haughty look about her and I wondered if she was going to tell me to stay away from Kane. That he was hers. The ghost of revenge grinned evilly in my head, I wanted her to say it. Apparently punching Darius hadn't quenched my thirst for vengeance.
"Make it quick," I smiled sweetly.
Jett (looking immensely bored) joined Darius in the cockpit and Ian could barely keep his eyes open. The long-distance teleportation and then the huge fire he started to burn Alpha's body had cost him too much energy. He was bone tired.
"That won't stop me from melting your face off if you try anything," he warned Helen. He didn't wait for a response, lumbering to the back of the high classed jet and falling into one of the cushiony seats. He was snoring within a minute.
That left Kane.
"Don't worry, I won't harm the love of your life," Helen said.
"If there's anyone to blame, it should be me," Kane said, glancing between us. "I'll take full responsibility."
I nearly rolled my eyes. "We're clearing the air, we can't do that if you're here. Go make sure Darius doesn't annoy Jett enough that he has to kill him."
I planted both hands on his back, pushing. He didn't look happy, but eventually went away.
I waited until the door closed, plopped down in the seat across Helen. "Well?"
She crossed a jean clad leg over the other, folding her hands in her lap. "Two years ago Kane told me he wanted to put you off and asked me to stick around him a few weeks."
"A few weeks," I echoed.
She shrugged. "I thought if we pretended longer he would come to his senses and choose me. I won't apologize for trying to seduce him into thinking I was a better match for him."
I snorted, leaned back in my seat. "How admirable of you."
Her smile was closer to a sneer. "Cheer up, he never slept with me and he still chose you in the end. I think I'm entitled to be nasty," she quipped, paused, and took a deep breath. "You're going to be the alpha female. I won't be treated as a washed up has-been who's still hovering around for leftovers that won't be thrown her way. I won't approach Kane romantically ever again."
I gave her a smile that was less tilting of the lips and more showing of teeth. "For your sake, you better not."
Her glare wavered, but she quickly collected herself. "Looks like someone's learned how to bite. What caused the change? Getting an alpha or fighting that monster?"
I watched her coldly, about to tell her it wasn't any of her freaking business, but then I reconsidered. "All that time you guys were being jerks- no, even before that, when my mom was being...nasty, I thought if I was quiet and bore with it all the bad things would stop. I know now that was just me being afraid to take action, to make the change myself. If I'd confronted Kane about his behavior, got to the bottom of it instead of running from him all the time then maybe I wouldn't have been so useless during this entire fiasco."
She raised her eyebrows. "Well its good you cleared up one misunderstanding."
"One misunderstanding?"
"The rest of the pack think your mom is a saint and you’re the ungrateful daughter who's too much of a snob to associate yourself with them. Your mother hasn't been very helpful with clearing that up either." She considered my shocked expression. "Oh, but feel free to continue avoiding them. I wouldn't mind seeing you miserable."
She got up and sauntered away.