Sex Symbol (30 page)

“We should go,” he said.

My heart felt as if it dropped to my stomach and the room started to spin. My mouth was suddenly dry. Come to think of it, I couldn’t remember drinking anything all day.

“Okay, just let me get a drink of water.”

When I reached for one of the disposable cups on the bathroom counter I accidentally knocked over my planner. It was mostly used for business, but I kept some personal appointments written down. If I thought my heart was in my stomach before, I was positive it was when I noticed there were no little dots on this month’s page. The “little dots” are what I use to mark my period. And according to this, I was about two weeks late. I’d been too caught up in everything else to notice.

I picked up the calendar and closed it with shaky hands. I wanted a family, but not under these circumstances. Eramus and I hadn’t even had time to discuss anything like that yet. Forcing myself to drink some water, I decided to keep it to myself. Eramus didn’t need anything else on his mind. It would be selfish of me to say anything now. He was the one about to fight to the death, not me. Until I was certain, I would keep my mouth shut.

Relief flooded through me when I remembered that I was on the Pill. This had to be a mistake then. Maybe it was my nerves. I pulled out my little pill box and counted very carefully. Twice. I was on my third count when Eramus opened the door. I jumped and dropped the pill box.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I called and you didn’t answer. I thought something might be wrong.”

He watched as I picked the box back up and turned around. I was facing the mirror now and could see the concern in his reflection.

“Is everything all right?”

“Fine,” I lied. “I’m just scared about tonight. I’ve never been around a pack of werewolves before or had to watch a fight to the death…” My words trailed off. Whatever I was going to say was forgotten when Eramus put his hand on my shoulder.

“Isn’t that your pill box?”

“Yes. I knocked it over when I reached for the water.”

His voice was soft as he leaned down close to my ear. “I could have sworn you were counting them when I walked in.”

Shit. “I’m sorry, Eramus. I wasn’t going to say anything. You’ve got enough on your mind with everything tonight and—”

“It’s okay,” he said, cutting me off. I could hear him taking a deep breath before he asked, “Do you think you might be pregnant?”

“Possibly. The first night we were together, I missed my Pill.”

“Understandable with everything that happened that night.” He paused. “How do you feel about that?”

His question surprised me. When I turned and looked up into his eyes, I found them full of compassion and instantly felt better.

“How do you feel about it?”

“I don’t want to rush you into anything. I know you said you didn’t want to have a werewolf’s children—”

“Whoa. Stop right there. I said I didn’t want to have Maxwell’s children. Maybe I worded that wrong, but I didn’t mean that… Did you think I put you in the same category?”

“Yes.”

His honesty was painful to hear. I didn’t realize when I made the statement about not wanting to have some “strange werewolf’s children” that he thought that included him too. I felt like an asshole.

“Well, I didn’t,” I said softly.

Eramus put his arm around me.

“Come on. We have to go. We’ll deal with this later.”

Right, later. He was going on the assumption that we would both survive. That made me feel better. I gave him Crazy Wolf’s directions before deciding to take my car. We rode in silence. I think Eramus had his mind on the fight. I simply couldn’t think of anything to say.

There was no comfort for this, no easy way out. What if Eramus died and I was pregnant with his baby? No. Eramus was not going to die. I reminded myself of the way he’d handled Nick. He’d flung a full-grown werewolf as if he was a rag doll. Eramus was a badass if I’d ever seen one. We’d be fine.

As for the possibility of being pregnant, that hadn’t sunk in yet. I was torn between fear and something else I never expected—excitement.

When we finally arrived at a field meeting Crazy Wolf’s description, Eramus pulled the car over. Hundreds of cars were parked there, but no sign of people…or werewolves. I jumped when Eramus opened my door. I had been staring in disbelief at all the cars. Hundreds of werewolves this close to home and I never had a clue. Did they hide that well or did I live with my head up my ass?

“There are so many,” I said, taking his hand.

I glanced around as we walked and saw a few cars I recognized. One of them belonged to Ozzy. I paused beside it and Eramus answered my question before I could voice it.

“He’s here at my request. Crazy Wolf seems genuinely repentant, but I still don’t trust him with your well-being if something happens to me.” He winked. “Not that I plan on anything happening.”

I was pretty sure his bravado was for my benefit and forced myself to smile.

“But, he isn’t a werewolf.”

“A challenger has the right to bring with him whomever he wants.”

And he wanted Ozzy to be there. For some reason that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It was almost enough to bring out a real smile. Justina had volunteered to come with me tonight, but I wouldn’t have endangered her life for the world. She was at home with Chase, waiting for me to call and say that everything was all right. I didn’t plan to disappoint them.

Eramus headed straight for the woods across the field. Not knowing what else to do, I followed. We walked for what felt like a mile before finally coming to a clearing. We hadn’t encountered a soul along the way. Apparently, they were all waiting on us.

The first thing I noticed was Oz, standing beside Crazy Wolf on one side of the clearing. There were about fifty others with him. On the other side of the clearing was Maxwell along with the rest of the pack. Some of them were already transformed, others were in the process of turning. I would say that those who remained in human form looked normal. But they didn’t, not quite. There was something different in their eyes. Even if I had seen them on the street somewhere well away from here I would have known what they were in an instant. The sight was staggering.

I looked back at Maxwell’s side once more and saw a familiar face. Mrs. Morrison was standing to his right. She was a werewolf?!

For some reason that really pissed me off. She’d probably been in on this all along. Hatred fueled my courage as I crossed the clearing, ignoring whatever sort of protocol we were supposed to adhere to.

“Mrs. Morrison.” It wasn’t exactly a greeting, but it would do.

It was so odd to see her like this, and I don’t just mean the circumstances. She was in her early fifties, petite and thin with her dark hair usually worn in a bun. She also dressed up for work, black slacks and things like that. It looked strange to see her with her hair down and wearing jeans. I wondered for a moment if her nephew Charlie was anywhere around. Was the deputy a werewolf too?

I stopped so close in front of her that I left no room for retreat. Why was I making this into a confrontation?

“I see you chose not to wear the red dress,” Maxwell said from beside me.

“Piss on your dress,” I spat.

Mrs. Morrison’s face registered the shock of my words, but Maxwell laughed.

“I really hope you didn’t, it’s a great dress.”

I ignored him and directed my anger toward the woman in front of me. “You knew about this all along, didn’t you? You knew what he was planning and you let me be used!” I pushed her and she took a step back, her sweet smile never wavering.

“There’s no need for that, dear. And yes, I knew. I was one of the ones who recommended you for the position. After the way things turned out with James you needed a strong man in your life. I thought that if I could make you think James wanted children with someone else then maybe the thought of—”

“You lied about him wanting to have kids with Rachel? Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how much that hurt?”

“Well, I was only trying to—”

Whatever else she was going to say would have to be spoken with a mouthful of dirt. I hit her so fast and hard that I didn’t immediately realize my hand had moved. The throbbing in my knuckles and Mrs. Morrison coughing up blood onto the grass revealed the truth.

“Be careful,” she said, wiping blood across the back of her hand.

“You fucking bitch, is that a threat?”

Though I’d tried to hide it, I had hated Mrs. Morrison for years. Her nose had been poked into my business one too many times. As I flung myself at her I had every intention of ripping it off. I don’t know if it was the changes in my blood that made me so violent or just my long pent-up hatred for the gossip queen. Either way I was straddling her waist and beating her into the ground when Maxwell’s arms around my waist pulled me back.

“Most impressive for a half-blood,” he said.

“Get your hands off me.”

He released me. I dropped back to the ground and straightened my coat before looking up at him. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that Eramus, Crazy Wolf and Ozzy were still standing on the other side of the clearing.

“Why didn’t one of them pull me off her?”

“I’m sure they would have been content to watch you beat her to a pulp even if you were right next to them. However, the rules state that a challenger and those who take his side may not cross the clearing.”

I looked back at him sharply.

“That does not include you,” he said. His grin was nothing like the charming smile I’d seen that first night in the club. It was evil and it chilled me to the bone. “You can do whatever you like. Except, of course, interfering with our fight.”

I looked at my hands and when I realized I was visibly shaking, stuffed them in my pockets. “What happens now?”

He smiled. “You’ll see. Stay put for a minute.”

Maxwell walked to the middle of the clearing and stretched his arms out as he addressed the crowd. “As you all know, some time ago the mark was bestowed upon three women. The only one whose body accepted the blood is here tonight.” He gestured toward me. “Allow me to introduce you to Lucy Harper.” Maxwell curled his finger, indicating that I should step forward. I didn’t know what else to do.

When I moved forward he took my hand. Eramus’ growl could be heard above the murmurs of the crowd and Maxwell turned sharply toward him.

“After tonight, Ms. Harper will be mated to the leader of this pack.”

Howls, laughter and catcalls echoed through the gathered werewolves. After a minute Maxwell held up his hands for silence.

“Fate will decide who that leader will be,” he continued. “Apparently, Ms. Harper finds the thought of being my mate quite offensive.”

At this point I was sick of his bullshit and snatched my hand away eliciting more howls from the crowd.

“She’s brought a challenger. Eramus Creed, step forward.”

Eramus did so without hesitation and his eyes turned to amber as he moved. I had never seen anyone or anything looks so powerful, and all he was doing was standing still.

“She has also managed to turn my beta wolf against me.”

The howls coming from the crowd had definitely taken on a nasty sound now.

“In the very likely event that this challenger is cut down, Crazy Wolf will be relieved of his position as second in command. Those wishing to challenge him for the right, can do so after the fight for pack leader is finished.”

Confidence has always been sexy to me. Overconfidence was just the opposite.

“Everyone! This is your last chance to choose sides. Those wishing to change should do so now.”

I ran to Eramus without looking back. Crazy Wolf pulled me toward him as Eramus moved to the center of what was quickly becoming a large circle.

When Eramus spoke you could hear the change in his voice. It was a powerful, frightening rumble. “I, Eramus Creed, challenge you for leadership of the pack and for the right to be Lucy Harper’s mate.”

Maxwell snarled and his hair started to grow longer, spilling over his shoulders in a matter of seconds as he growled, “I accept.”

“To the death then.”

“To the death.”

I didn’t want to watch Eramus turn again, but couldn’t really look away. If I was going to be his mate, it would look stupid for me to be squeamish now. Besides, his beast didn’t frighten me—he was my only hope. Who would have thought that my knight in shining armor would be covered instead with black fur?

His hands began to lengthen first. I could hear the bones breaking and reforming as his skin became covered with fur. Eramus turned so easily that it was almost like watching a magic trick. He threw back his head and howled. As he did this, his shirt began to tear underneath the strain of his chest. The bones of his lower legs lengthened, and his feet became gigantic paws. In a matter of moments he once again had the face of a wolf and Eramus’ transformation was complete. It wasn’t like something out of a movie or a nightmare, it just was. His power seemed to radiate through the air, making the hairs on my arms stand on end.

I found Mrs. Morrison through the crowd again and saw the challenge in her amber eyes. If this went badly, or maybe even if it went well, I might have to kick her ass again tonight.

My attention was quickly brought back to Maxwell as with a howl he ripped out of both his clothes and his skin. In an instant his transformation was complete as well. His fur was only one shade darker than Eramus’, however he was almost a foot shorter than Eramus’ now over-seven-foot frame. They circled each other, growling and snarling and I felt as if I might throw up or faint. Or both. Crazy Wolf reached over and took my hand. I was surprised to find his covered with fur. He had transformed right beside me, and I hadn’t even noticed.

They continued to circle each other, growling threats. My heart was beating so hard it hurt.

“What are they waiting for?”

“The right moment, I guess.”

I looked up at him, and Crazy Wolf smiled. A smiling werewolf is one of the most frightening and yet strangely entertaining things I’ve ever seen.

“It’s really scary when you do that,” I said.