Bonded (30 page)

He made a noise in
his throat and played with one curling strand of her hair. “Sarcasm
is a sign of intelligence. Another factor in your favour.”

Brandi’s senses
went on full alert as his cool fingers began to slowly slide across
her shoulders towards her throat.

He spoke in that
deceptively soothing tone of voice again. “I believe I might add
one codicil to our agreement; just a minor point. Hardly worth
mentioning.”

She swallowed hard
as his one hand slid under her chin forcing her head back while he
manoeuvred the other through her hair. “What’s that?”

Her neck was being
bent back now and she could see him looming over her, a
self-satisfied smirk on his face. “To ensure you don’t stray from
the pack after resigning from Lycan Link, you’ll be mated. To
me.”

With that he
leaned down and kissed her.

As his cool thin
lips pressed to hers, Brandi felt bile rising in her throat.
Another male’s touch was so wrong! She struggled and he tightened
his hand in her hair, pulling the curls painfully. A whimper
escaped her and he momentarily raised his mouth to laugh.

She growled in
protest and swung at him wildly, but since he was behind her, she
really had no idea where to aim. Luckily her fist connected with
flesh, a satisfying smack filling the air.

With an oath
Victor released her and she scrambled to her feet, wiping her mouth
to try and remove the disgusting sensation of his lips on hers.

“What did you just
say?”

“You heard me
perfectly well.” He rubbed his reddened cheek bone and she noted
that he kept his eye partially shut as well. She didn’t bother to
try and keep the smile off her face, though it didn’t last long
when he continued speaking.

“We will be mated,
Brandi, despite your protests. It’s an Alpha’s right, as outlined
in the Book of the Law, to mate with a female of his choosing.” He
cocked his head and slowly studied every inch of her as he spoke.
“There are very few females of suitable age in this pack, let alone
ones with the inherent qualities I require. I’ve checked your
lineage; you come from good Lycan stock. And by mating with you—a
born pack member—I’ll further cement the legitimacy of my
leadership as well as ensuring your loyalty since I’ll know your
every thought.”

“I can’t blood
bond with you! I’m—” She bit off the rest of her comment, not sure
if it was wise to reveal her secret at this moment or not.

“You’re what?”

“I’m...er...not in
love with you.” Brandi finished the comment lamely.

“Whoever said that
was a requirement?” He quirked an eyebrow at her. “You may spend
the next hour or so thinking up a story that will convince Mr.
Smith to leave town without a fuss, or...” Victor smiled and exited
the room.

She clamped her
mouth shut. It had been a stupid comment, but all she could come up
with on the spur of the moment. And Victor was right. Love didn’t
have to come into it. Just look at her and Reno.

“
You’re
lying
,” her wolf pointed out. “
That’s not how it is with
Reno
.”

“You might be in
love with his wolf—” she began.

“
And you
are
in love with the man,”
the beast smirked
. “I know you
better than you know yourself. When you sleep, I’m privy to your
dreams.”

Brandi huffed and
folded her arms. Arguing with your wolf was pointless. The darned
creatures were uncannily in tune with their humans. While a Lycan
might not always understand its wolf, the reverse was almost never
true. It could be extremely aggravating at times, having your wolf
shove the truth in your face, especially when you didn’t want to
admit it.

“Fine then! So,
I’m in love with Reno.” Brandi winced as she made the statement. It
wasn’t just lust or a chemical attachment caused by the accidental
blood bond. She actually
loved
Reno. His integrity, his
dedication, the way he championed those in need... And, of course,
there were his good looks and his commanding presence. When he
looked at her and spoke, she felt all warm inside and it was all
she could do not to go belly up. There weren’t many males who could
make her feel that way. Yeah, she loved Reno Smith.

The more she said
it, the easier it became, and a certain tension seemed to drain
from inside her as if holding in the truth had been physically
taxing her all these years.

Yet—she rubbed her
hand over her heart—admitting the truth didn’t solve the problem.
If anything, it made stark reality even starker. She loved Reno but
he didn’t reciprocate the feeling nor were their personalities
compatible. And the man had no interest in settling down. Enforcers
were notorious for being loners, seeking physical encounters that
led nowhere, dedicated to their jobs, unwilling or unable to live
in a real pack. A bleak and lonely future stretched ahead of her,
even if she did manage to evade Victor.

Her throat
tightened with unshed tears and she breathed deeply, forcing her
feelings back under control. Bemoaning her fate wouldn’t get her
out of her present predicament.

There was no way
she’d mate Victor. Yet by refusing she would endanger Reno. Despite
the fact that he was probably one of the toughest Enforcers in the
history of Lycan Link, it didn’t mean he could withstand an attack
by a whole pack. And even though Peter Channing reasoned only part
of the pack was firmly in Victor’s camp, the odds were still
poor.

No, she’d have to
act as if she were complying with Victor’s demands and convince
Reno to leave. Then, once Reno was safely out of the territory,
she’d find a way out of the situation.

As she started to
spin a convincing tale to tell Reno, her wolf paced agitatedly back
and forth.

“
You can’t send
him away. I won’t allow it. And even pretending to accept that
Alpha’s demand—to consider mating another—is unacceptable.”

“It isn’t real.”
She tried to soothe the beast, losing her train of thought as the
wolf pushed to the forefront of her mind.

“
It’s too
dangerous. Victor can’t be trusted. He’ll force the
mating.”

“Would you rather
we endanger Reno?”

“
He wouldn’t be
in danger. Our true mate is strong and a skilled fighter.”

“Against three or
four wolves, yes. Not a dozen.”

“
I’ll help him.
We’ll survive together or die together.”
Her wolf stopped
pacing and in her mind Brandi faced the creature eye to eye. Its
chin was lifted. Its resolve was firm.

“You aren’t in
charge here, remember?” She glared at the animal and only after a
long moment did it look away.

The wolf flopped
to the ground but it growled at her and kept flicking annoyed
glances her way.

“I understand how
you feel.” Brandi tried to make amends. “But you have to accept
that this is a one way relationship. Even if, by some miracle, we
managed to escape unscathed with Reno, he still doesn’t see us as
his mate. He has no idea we’re bonded.”

“
But if you
told him—”

“No.” She cut off
the argument before it could start. “I’m not trapping him that way.
We’ll follow my original idea. Get Reno out of here and then deal
with Victor’s plans. Mr. Channing said ‘There’s more.’” He must
have something up his sleeve. Once everyone leaves for the night,
I’ll try to talk to him again.”

“
We will
not
agree to mate Victor
.” Her wolf pedantically stated its
position again before lapsing into silence.

Brandi sighed
heavily and rolled her eyes, then concentrated on formulating a
story to tell Reno.

Chapter
19

Reno entered the
town hall and quickly sized up the interior. The office in which he
found himself was a relatively small sized room with several chairs
lining the wall and a service counter in the middle. Beyond the
counter there were two desks and a set of double doors, which
logically led to the larger back area of the building.

“Hey there.” Reno
walked up to the counter and casually leaned against it, giving the
clerk a slow smile. Cynically, he noted how she flushed and smiled
back.

“Hello. How may I
help you?” The clerk—a female were of about thirty—looked him up
and down with obvious appreciation before focussing back on his
face.

“I’m here to see
Brandi.”

“Brandi...?
Well...” The woman clenched her fingers around the pen in her hand
and cast a glance behind her towards the doors at the back.

“Brandi Johansson
is
in the building.” He gently prodded the clerk when she
seemed loathe to answer. “Her scent is strong.”

“Yes. You’re quite
correct. She is here, but...” The clerk bit her lip nervously.

“She’s my fiancée
and
she’s expecting me.” Reno spoke with a smile, but his
tone and level look conveyed his annoyance.

“Fiancée?”
Surprise flickered over the woman’s face. “Oh! Oh my! I... I didn’t
know that, but...um... I don’t think—”

“What Martha’s
trying to say is that Brandi is in a meeting right now and not
available.” The door behind the woman swung open and a male voice
interrupted. It was Walt, the supposed sheriff he’d encountered
earlier. The man took off his hat and placed it on his desk before
turning to the clerk. “Martha, make a note that Frank relieved me
down at the barricade and make sure he gets paid for extra
duty.”

As the woman
nodded and pulled out a ledger, Walt shifted his gaze back to Reno.
“I believe you were already told that you needed to wait for Brandi
at the Star Gazer. We don’t appreciate ‘visitors’ who disregard our
requests.” His eyes narrowed and a trace of a growl accompanied his
words.

“I can wait here.”
Reno gave an easy smile and glanced towards the chairs lining the
wall. He knew the sheriff was getting pissed off but decided to see
exactly how far he could push the man.

“I don’t think you
understood me, boy.” Walt stepped forward, the threat in his voice
increasing. “Brandi is busy. You need to leave. Now.”

Reno glared at the
man, every muscle in his body tight and ready to react. He took a
deep breath and exhaled slowly, forcing himself to relax before
nodding and stepping back from the counter. As much as it galled
him to do so, he pretended to acquiesce.

“My mistake. If I
come back in an hour, will she be done with her ‘meeting’ by
then?”

Walt shrugged.
“Perhaps. She and Victor seemed rather...involved...when I walked
by a few minutes ago.” The man snickered and the innuendo in his
voice was almost Reno’s undoing.

His wolf surged to
its feet, snarling.
She is ours. The Alpha has no rights over
her!

Reno could barely
stop himself from lunging forward. A rumble rose from his throat
and filled the room. Rage filled both him and his wolf at the man’s
words and for a moment it was debatable whether he’d be able to
contain himself. Only the knowledge that an impulsive move might
negatively affect rescuing Brandi kept him from acting.

The woman at the
counter looked at him with wide eyes and even Walt seemed to be
regretting his taunt, shifting his weight nervously.

“Fine. I’ll be
back in an hour to see
my
fiancée.” With a final glance at
the room’s occupants, Reno turned and walked out of the town
hall.

A few yards from
the building he paused under a large tree and slammed his fist into
the trunk. Pain radiated up his wrist and arm but he welcomed the
distraction.

It had been years
since he’d been so close to losing complete control. And his wolf
was becoming increasingly possessive; definitely
not
a good
sign. Was this an indication he was going rogue? A grinding sound
made him realize he was gnashing his teeth and he forced his tense
jaws to relax.

No. He was
over-reacting. His wolf knew he was the boss. It was just being in
a strange territory that was causing his wolf to act up. Well, that
and Walt’s implication that Brandi was sexually involved with the
Alpha. The very idea was eating away at him; his stomach was
churning, his chest was tight. Brandi was his, no one else’s.

In her three years
at Lycan Link, he was the only male she’d ever been involved with.
And, he cringed to admit it, he’d kept close tabs on her so if
there had been someone else, he’d have known about it. She was
friendly to everyone but never once had he sensed a spark between
her and another. No, that was exclusive to him. True, most of the
time they ended up fighting but an edge of excitement, of
awareness, always seemed to crackle between them. Right or wrong,
he viewed Brandi as his and sharing wasn’t part of his vocabulary
where she was concerned.

Massaging his
scraped knuckles, he took a deep breath and glanced about. He
couldn’t just stand here for an hour beating up the local trees and
ruminating about his relationship with Brandi. But how to spend an
hour without coming across too many pack members and possibly
aggravating one of them? In the mood he was in right now, the
chances of a fight occurring were high so it was best if he found
some solitude.

Go back to the
motel? No. Brandi’s things were there and would likely only stir
his wolf’s ire even more, not to mention his own. He needed to be
in the wild, where the soothing rhythms of nature could calm him.
Thankfully the town was in the middle of the mountains with forest
on all sides so...

He set off at an
easy gait, glancing at the windows of the few stores that lined the
street. The polished glass worked as mirrors, reflecting what was
happening all around him. Without turning around, Reno was aware of
Walt standing on the steps of the town hall watching him as well as
several other men that appeared seemingly out of nowhere along his
route. Yep, there was something definitely wrong in this town. He
had no doubt they were Purists with something to hide and dammit,
they had Brandi!