Betrayal Bites (Tales of Sydney Sedrick Book 2) (5 page)

The wolves had collective thoughts, like a multi-line phone conversation going at all times. The betrayal of Morris and his people would be difficult to hide from the rest of the pack. What would make one wolf want to hurt other members of their own pack, their family? The rogue wolf had grown up with the other wolves; he knew their people intimately, their goals, dreams, and struggles. He also knew that Morris had nothing but the best in mind for the pack. Why would anyone want to harm that sort of loving, encouraging, and supportive social structure?

None of it made sense. What key information was I missing from the bigger picture? Was there anyone I knew who would be willing to share it with me? I was certain both Kieran and Morris were withholding information about their people, but I didn’t know why. Liam shared what he could, I assumed. My guess was that Kieran had told him what he could and couldn’t tell me, and I could practically see it in his blood-red eyes he wasn’t giving me full admission when we talked.

Then there was Blake. If anyone knew what was really going on with the werewolf pack and what Morris wanted to keep from me, it would be him. Blake was the heir to the Mid Western Werewolf Pack, and he would die before allowing any harm to come to any member of his pack.

He said he and I were destined to be mated for life, and I was the only one who couldn’t see it. Was he right? I wasn’t sure if I asked Blake for straightforward answers to my questions that he would be honest. Because of his position and obligation with the pack, I wasn’t sure he could ever be completely honest with me, even if he wanted to be, and what if we were true mates? What then?

I couldn’t be with someone that would intentionally keep secrets from me. As the Selected, I needed to know what he knew. I needed to know everything about everyone. There were so many questions swimming in my brain, it was difficult to focus on any given one at a time.

There were a few things I knew for absolute certain. I was powerfully attracted to Blake, both emotionally and physically. I cared for him and his people, and I would never do anything to put their safety in jeopardy. That included dating Blake, the heir to their pack. The vampires were a little more mysterious and distant with me than the werewolves were.

Kieran had openly welcomed me into his coven. Announcing that he was my protector, and as such, he expected his coven to do the same. He would not tolerate if any harm came to me from his coven. None of them would dare think of harassing me, let alone using me as their late-night snack. But of Kieran’s coven, I could sense more animosity coming from them. The vampires cared less about hiding their disdain for me. They just didn’t do it openly for their leader to see. There was no doubt they feared Kieran’s wrath, but they did seem a bit more rebellious, almost childlike, in comparison to the wolves.

The truth was, they were both hiding information. I needed that information, whatever it was. As the Selected, I had a purpose, and I was starting to come to the conclusion I was heading in the right direction to achieving that purpose. Unfortunately, I had a deep-seeded gut feeling that the Elders were going to stand in my way.

I stood in the bathroom in front of the mirror, studying my reflection. I wondered how long it would be before my Selected abilities started to grow stronger. When would I start to experience new abilities? Grandma wrote in her journal that sometimes it took stressful situations, like when she was in danger, for some of her abilities to activate. I didn’t know what it was going to take for mine to develop. Seriously, being kidnapped by a pissed off wolf/demon hybrid with a serious grudge and tortured by a rogue vampire wasn’t enough? If that wasn’t considered a stressful, power-triggering event, then I didn’t have any idea what would.

I’d rather mine just show up when they weren’t needed, like at that moment.

I jumped at the sound of a knock at the bathroom door.

“Sydney! Are you almost ready? We’re dying to go, and we have dancing to do.” Brianna laughed from the hallway on the other side of the door.

Max’s was Brianna’s, and now my, favorite nightclub in Kenosha.

“Yeah, just give me a minute.”

Her footsteps sounded as she practically skipped down the staircase. It was clear from the bounce in her step that my sister was in a very good mood.

My hair wasn’t straightening as smoothly as it should. I reached for the bottle of Smooth-Eez hair serum when a softer knock sounded from the bathroom door.

“Sydney, it’s Blake.”

Blake? He wasn’t supposed to be here. I opened the door and eyed him up suspiciously. My sister must have told him we were going out. I’d have to talk to her and tell her to stop trying to play matchmaker. Blake didn’t need any encouragement from my family members. He’d take Brianna’s hopes that we could be together the wrong way, and he would continue his relentless pursuit. He was already hard enough to resist without knowing my sister was trying to help his cause.

Narrowing my eyes at Blake to let him know he shouldn’t be anywhere near my private bathroom, I said, “What brings you here?”

He pushed past me and closed the bathroom door behind him.

“We need to talk.”

Blake strode further into the bathroom and leaned against the sink counter. When I stayed close to the door, he leaned over and grabbed my arm to pull me close to him. Damn his warmth. It was so difficult for my body not to melt into him. We were so close our midsections touched. The heat from his body instantly warmed me.

Blake grabbed the belt loops on my jeans and pulled me closer so that as I stood in front of him, my legs were surrounded by his. When he yanked me all the way to him, pressing my body against his, my feminine core moistened. Even though my brain told me it would be a bad idea getting involved with him, my body betrayed my better judgment and was cheerfully applauding for team Blake.

He leaned over and put his warm lips on the skin of my neck and inhaled as he placed a gentle kiss on my skin. Exciting tingles ran up and down my arm as he slid his hands upward. “Sydney, your scent drives me wild.”

I knew he could smell how he turned me on, and his long, hard erection pressing against my center told me he wanted me, too.

When I tried to step away from him, avoiding any further contact, Blake raised his hands and grabbed my head in his hands.

Before I could argue, Blake’s mouth covered mine. He forced my mouth open with his. When his tongue met mine, he claimed possession of me, body and soul.

His soft lips explored and caressed mine as he traced his tongue languidly along mine. Mini shocks of excitement and desire shot through my entire body.

I wanted him.

My groan of pleasure spurred him on. His left hand lowered to my behind and he pulled me tightly against his midsection. The friction of our bodies when he bucked against me with need was exquisite, almost to the point of pain for knowing no release. Releasing my mouth, he gently licked the scar on my neck where the werewolf had bitten me, triggering my Selected gene.

A shiver of pleasure ran through me.

His warm breath enhanced the sensitivity of the moist spot on my skin where he made contact with his tongue.

I wanted him.

Right there in the bathroom.

At that very moment, I was ready to give up my rational thought processes, to experience all that his kiss and body promised. My body’s desire for him was taking over, leaving my brain in a thick cloud of senselessness.

Leaning my head back, I gasped for air.

Blake let me pull away enough to separate our bodies from touching, but not far enough for me to completely be able to clear my head.

I put my hands on his chest as he kept his on my hips.

“Blake, we can’t do this.” I couldn’t believe reason won out. My body was sorely disappointed, and for that, the ache between my thighs grew more intense, as did the heaviness in my lower abdomen.

The strong pull between us was impossible to ignore. He used it well against my resolve. Every chance he got.

A smile formed on his lips.

When he spoke, desire made his voice more heady and deep.

“Sydney, you know I don’t agree with that. The reasons you think we can’t be together can be dealt with. You are my life-mate. You shouldn’t worry about how it will affect the pack relationship with the vampires. We’re big boys. We can take care of ourselves.”

Before I could respond, Brianna knocked on the door again and said with a whine in her voice, “Sydney, it’s already getting late. Are you guys coming with us or not?”

My sister did not like to miss out on having a good time.

Blake and I gazed at each other and laughed.

I gave Blake a questioning look, wondering if he had come over intending on going with us to the club.

“I’ll come with you and your sister, if that’s okay.” He put his hands up and finished with, “I promise to behave myself for as long as you want me to.”

The smile on his face almost undid me. It was torture fighting the desire he fueled. I wanted more than anything to go back into his arms and finish what we started. Knowing he was right there and more than willing to be with me, mind, body, and soul, was almost impossible to resist.

But it came with a price.

A big one.

A vision flashed before my eyes of him taking me from behind while watching us together in the bathroom mirror. My body broke out into a hot sweat. I needed to put some distance between us, because if I didn’t, we wouldn’t be going anywhere. For everyone’s sake, Blake and I needed to stay away from each other. How was it I was the only one who could see the reasoning in that?

“Okay, but we need to go downstairs. Now.”

I whipped the door open and was planning on storming out of the bathroom before he could grab me.

Brianna stood in the doorway with her hand raised to knock again. She glanced from me to Blake and then back to me. Her grin deepened and her cheeks reddened.

“Yes, let’s go.”

I pushed past her to go down the steps into the kitchen. I didn’t need to see the knowing look on her face, or the big smile, and I didn’t want to watch while Brianna and Blake shared a conspiratorial, possibly victorious, glance between them.

Brianna could just go ahead thinking what she was thinking. It wasn’t going to happen; it couldn’t. I almost hated to wait until the day arrived that I would be able to tell her what was really going on, then I wouldn’t have to deal with her trying to help Blake play mind games with my heart.

Aunt Judith was in the kitchen reading one of the many old books from the library Grandma Maria left to us. My aunt was a practicing Wiccan, even though she wouldn’t admit it outright, not even to me.

Michael followed Brianna into the kitchen with Blake not far behind.

Brianna smiled awkwardly. We all said our goodbyes to Aunt Judith and left.

Blake insisted on driving us in his Audi. It amazed me that a werewolf would have such good taste in cars. I would have pegged him for a guy who would drive a big pickup truck with a lifted suspension and oversized tires.

Chapter 6

We all got out of the car where Blake had parked down the street from the club. The snow falling all around us was beautiful, but it wouldn’t last. Spring was quickly approaching. I loved summer in Wisconsin. The grass and trees had a rich color of green, and the smell of freshly cut lawns was unbeatable. Well, that, and the smell of newly blooming lilac bushes.

I let Blake help me up onto the curb in fear that I would slip on the clear ice in my high-heeled black suede boots. I know, who wears suede when the ground was covered in snow and salt? Me, that’s who. I had seriously invested in protecting my favorite footwear with water-resistant spray.

Blake took a step back once he righted me on the sidewalk. Why was he playing all distant from me? Ugh, I could never figure men out. And they say women are complicated creatures. I thought it was just the opposite, personally. Maybe he was giving me space, knowing I was warring with myself when it came to him. But that didn’t make any sense, not when he was so insistent on us being together. With his knowing that I was on the verge of losing control and giving in to my primal instincts, now would be the perfect time for him to pounce.

Strobe lights filled the air, making the people on the dance floor appear as if they were moving in segmented motions. The bass of the music beat so deeply throughout the building that it went through my entire body. The music was exhilarating.

Blake touched my elbow and motioned toward the bar, signaling for drinks. Nodding for him to get me one, I watched as he slowly made his way over to the far side of the club. No matter how much I tried, there was no way I could ignore the fact that Blake was the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met.

As he walked toward the bar, before being swallowed up from view by the club-goers, I watched the women’s heads turn to appreciate the view he was giving despite it being obvious he wasn’t trying to gain anyone’s attention. He seemed focused on going straight to the bar. But he did gain attention. A lot of attention.

I didn’t like the way those women were looking at him, openly ogling his body and giggling with their friends as they shared lustful thoughts about Blake. My neck spasmed from the tension of having to watch them watch him. The jealousy raging inside of me surprised me. I didn’t want to think about why that was. I didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what was going on in their heads. They were thinking about what it would be like to have sex with him.

To my dismay, their disgusting leers burned me, and my temper was rising. Blake wasn’t my boyfriend. I didn’t have a right to get jealous, but that was exactly what was happening. Normally, I wasn’t the jealous type. Because of Blake, I was experiencing a primitive instinct to go and rip the hair out of those women’s heads for daring to think about him in such ways.

I had no right.

I seriously needed that drink, and I could use a cold shower, too. What was wrong with me? I’d never before in my whole life thought of inflicting harm on another human, or non-human being, especially not over a man. I needed to get a grip.

Blake would so use my jealousy against me. He’d say something like, ‘See, I told you we were meant to be together. No one gets that uptight over a woman flirting with a man unless they were mated.’

Yeah, I’d rather go through a tortuous, headache-inducing day without coffee before I’d let him know how I really felt. Blake said he didn’t need me to verbally express my feelings for him; he already knew. His werewolf super-senses let him know a lot of things. Things I didn’t want him to know.

Max’s was packed as usual for a Friday night. People everywhere bounced off one another, moving to the music, and I tried to stay out of their way in fear of being knocked to the ground.

I turned toward the dance floor so I didn’t have to watch any more reactions Blake instilled in the women hoping for a good night. The less I saw, the better.

When I thought about it as I watched all the happy-go-lucky bar patrons dancing their cares away, I realized it didn’t matter if I saw it or not. Blake would have that reaction anywhere he went, no matter who was with him. Would those sex-crazed, lustful women care if he had a wedding ring on his finger? Probably not.

Brianna grabbed Michael’s arm and dragged him to the dance floor, leaving me alone in the crowd.

I soaked in the club. I was taking in the high energy of the club revelers when a bright light flashed in my line of sight, bringing forth the sensation of an ice pick stabbing me in the skull. I put my arms up over my face to avoid further damage to my retinas. Whatever it was, the flash was going to leave a blurry glare in my vision for a while.

My eyes burned so much my teeth ached. Once the pain began to fade and my eyes stopped watering enough to allow me to see what was going on, I let my arms down and took a glimpse of my surroundings.

All the people in the club had vanished.

Brianna, Michael, and Blake were gone.

No more thumping music. No strobe lights.

No drunken women rudely drooling over Blake.

I was alone.