“I did catch the sarcasm,” Aislinn responded. Keith just stood there watching and waiting with a goofy grin on his face as if something great were about to happen.
“Ailinn, that was Sarah. She’s one of my best friends and for all intents and purposes, she’s in charge of the women. There are too many in this pack for me to deal with all of it myself. At some point you’ll have to spend some time with her and get your position around here straightened out. But with the rest of the complications at this point I think it best if that waited.”
Aislinn nodded. “Alpha female,” she said earning an impressed look from Cullen. She looked at Keith quizzically as he just stood there looking amused. “Is there something growing out of my forehead?” She asked Cullen.
He shook his head and glared at Keith, who only returned an unimpressed look. “Have you actually met Keith?”
“That first night we met. At the bar.”
“Yeah,” Cullen breathed out. It was all like a bad dream now. “Well, this is Keith. His a pain in my ass and my right arm. He’s mostly harmless. Though his mate is not. Where is Jaylyn anyway? I’m surprised you’re still wandering the halls.”
“You know one of these days you’re going to hurt my feelings,” Keith replied good-naturedly. Then he looked at Aislinn again. “In case you don’t know it yet, he’s none too subtle when he wants to get rid of someone. Jay doesn’t care where I am as long as I end up in bed with her eventually. He’s just afraid that I’m going to say something to embarrass him and so he wants me to disappear. That is an impressive bite mark Cull,” he said rather loudly, not wanting anyone to miss the fact that Cullen had finally chosen a woman to mate with. “You were behind her when you did it. I can tell from the angle. Nice! When’s the actual ceremony?”
Aislinn blushed furiously. “Well it seems as though Cullen was right about the embarrassment factor,” she said in an authoritative voice that raised Keith’s eyebrows.
“Oh yeah, this one is much better than Jenna,” he chuckled. “She even has your annoyed tone. This is going to be fun. Things were getting rather dull with all the attacking and raiding and mystery. Give me a nice simple way to pick on the boss and my day brightens immensely.”
Cullen reached out and took hold of Keith’s shoulder. He pushed the man out of the way and with a hand at Aislinn’s back he guided her passed his friend and headed toward the elevator. By morning everyone in the pack would know that he had bitten Aislinn. He couldn’t decide whether he should try to talk to her about it again or not.
When they got into the elevator Cullen reached for his key only to realize that Aislinn had it. She was holding it up to him with a smile on her face. He nodded to the panel and she put the key in and hit the button for the top floor. Cullen was torn between being tired and being playful. “By all the Gods you’re beautiful,” he said in a soft serious way that sent chills up Aislinn’s back. His arm went around her and he started kissing her.
He couldn’t help it. All he wanted was to be inside her. When the elevator doors opened they virtually fell into the room, almost forgetting to grab the key. By the time they were in the bedroom they were naked and by the time they were in the bed Aislinns legs were wrapped around his waist. They never did get a chance to have a conversation that night.
***
Rafe backhanded the man who had come to report in. The large lycan only barely moved from the force of the blow. He was unimpressed with Rafe’s physical abilities. Rafe had never been impressed with lycans. He didn’t understand why his ancestors had been so enamored with them. Of all the weres they could have created they chose wolves, Rafe thought with disgust. Wait until they see what I do. “How did Arnauk get his mongrel hands on her?”
“I don’t have that information. Just that she’s there. He’s keeping her in his rooms.”
Rafe paced allowing anger to bleed out and mar his generally placid appearance. If she was in his rooms that implied more than Rafe was willing to concede. “I need her out of there. You’ll arrange it.”
“The way he’s treating her there are fairly solid rumors that he intends to mate with her.”
Rafe roared and threw a nearby chair across the room. “I want her back untouched!”
“It’s too late for that.”
“Then I want her back as unmarred as possible. Before he mates with her. She’s mine. I don’t care how you do it. Just bring her here.” Rafe moved in so close to the lycan that the lycan snarled at the proximity. An odor that made him sick permeated the air around them. He wanted to rip Rafe’s throat out but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Rafe smiled at the lycan as if he knew what was going through the man’s mind and it amused him. “You’ll do as you’re told. You know what will happen to her if you don’t.”
Rafe swept out of the room, leaving the lycan standing there. A tear formed in the large man’s eye. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could feel fear and pain. He let his head fall back on his shoulders and a howl bleeding with misery echoed through the building. Rafe smiled when he heard the sound. He looked over at the tiger who was walking beside him. “Bring me some more of their women.”
***
Jenna was pacing back and forth in her room. She was getting increasingly antsy. The large lioness just stared at her with distaste. She mostly slept, but always seemed to be awake when Jenna wanted to try and get out. Jenna wasn’t stupid enough to think that she wasn’t a prisoner. It had only been a day that she had been stuck in here and she wanted out already. Her brain was warring between knowing that Rafe wasn’t going to share his power with her and not caring.
Her logic told her that it wasn’t like her to not care. But every time she thought about it in detail Rafe would float into her mind and she’d give in and go take a nap.
Kara was watching her uncertainly. Usually they didn’t fight it this much. She was starting to think that Jenna had more of brain than Rafe was giving her credit for. The girl was playing him at least a little bit and Rafe was far too full of himself to notice. She was going to be trouble. Kara watched Jenna pace and hoped that Rafe would be back soon to reassert himself. She didn’t want to have him summoned. He hated that. But she also didn’t want to get into a fight with the girl. She hated the smell of lycans.