“Mimicry of that degree around alphas would make her slightly empathic,” Damien states as though he’s lost in thought.
“Empathic gypsies are a dime a dozen,” Emit adds with a careless shrug of his shoulder, though now I have the distinct feeling he’s holding out.
He’s too dismissive of something like this. Damien seems lost inside his own head, clearly scheming something.
What are they hiding from me?
Or is the lack of rest, the looming nightmarish curse, and the unfound unregistered wolves making me slightly paranoid?
Emit walks toward Violet, and she grins when he bends to kiss her. She’s happy to let him manhandle her, so he lifts her up his body until her legs wrap around his waist.
“He’s bold enough to do that in front of us, and she follows his lead. That’s not her,” I add in annoyance.
When Damien doesn’t chime in, I look over to see him smirking like he’s decided on a diabolical plan.
“Unless you hurt her and she puts her guard up higher. But that could mean there’s still a work around,” he drawls.
“You’re going to drive her insane,” I tell him very seriously.
He doesn’t even spare me a glance. “She doesn’t stalk me,” he says more to himself.
“Because she doesn’t like your stalking.”
“She does like it. She rewards me for it.”
“Damien, when I said she treats us like we treat her, I didn’t mean for you to over analyze it to this point,” I tell him. “I was making an observation.”
He stands and claps me on the shoulder, meeting my eyes. “Knowledge is power. Good observation. The wolf just needs to get knocked down a peg to level the playing field.”
“That’s…not at all what I was saying,” I say to no one, because he’s already gone.
No one ever listens to me.
This is not normal. None of this is normal. Sure, life in general isn’t normal, but this is infuriatingly less normal than usual.
Emit’s phone vibrates next to his vacated seat, and I see Lemon’s name on the screen.
Without hesitation, I answer. “Calling to give Emit some more inside information?” I drawl.
Fucking wolf and his cheerleading section.
“Emit doesn’t need insider trading in that area,” she deadpans. “I’m calling because Violet’s father has shown up unexpectedly, since she missed her Tuesday call.”
“Maybe if he called his daughter more, she’d call him when he expected it,” I say, and then roll my eyes. “Now I’m overthinking it.”
“What?” she asks, confused.
“We can’t leave right now,” I tell her as Violet and Emit disappear.
“We don’t want her to leave,” she informs me. “I told him she took a quick trip to clear her mind, and she left her phone behind, but then he called her.”
I regret not eavesdropping on that conversation now.
“They were arguing, but I heard Emit’s voice, and then she hung up on her dad. I was going to let Emit know we’ve got this. One thing we do know…is how to keep a man happy.”
“I really don’t think it wise to fuck Violet’s father in her house,” I tell her, simply because Violet seems to have taken up with the omegas and I’d hate to see her lose even more friends.
“Oh. Not okay?”
“She’s young,” I remind her.
“So, not okay. Too bad. He’s cute in a regular guy, sweet man sort of way.”
I hang up, because I don’t know why the damn wolf thinks she can ramble in my ear to begin with.
My phone rings this time, and I sigh harshly when I see Arion’s name. I start not to answer, but I finally do.
“What?” I ask with all the impatience and dread one can muster.
“Violet’s father doesn’t look nearly good enough to be getting all the attention he’s getting from four lovely wolves,” he says in a quiet voice.
My free fist clenches. “You wouldn’t touch her father. Not if you’re really—”
“Touch him? Of course not. I’m not a complete psychopath, Vance,” he says with a hint of a mocking tone. “But introduce myself and invite him over while he’s in town? I don’t see what harm that could do.”
“Do it. She’ll hate you for that,” I assure him.
“I’ll charm the hell out of daddy dearest, Vance. You know it. Tell me where she is, and I’ll just walk away. He doesn’t have to meet me. Yet.”
I can feel his damn smile.
“I’m calling your bluff,” I say as I hang up on him.
I can hear Emit’s bed banging the fucking wall down here, and I scrub a hand over my face. Damn it. That could have been me with her instead of that reckless mutt.
Damien walks back in, arching an eyebrow at the door.
“Idun always chased,” he says a little sourly. “After she’d given us no choice but to walk away, she’d fuck with our heads until we came chasing back.”
“Why do you keep comparing her to Idun?” I ask him, giving him a wary look.
“She didn’t die, and I made the unfortunate mistake of being cold toward her because I presumed…things. That bitch Idun has made me that paranoid around women I fancy,” he tells me, his stare turning into an angry glare toward the door.
“Maybe it’s because you spent too long being clogged up,” I suggest.
“You’re on this side of that door as well,” he fires back, gesturing to where I’m standing like it’s his case and point.
It’s not my night.
I’m not even sure what exactly it is he’s arguing right now.
“I’m starting to feel violent,” I warn him.
“Maybe if you’d felt violent sooner, we wouldn’t be sitting out here listening to Emit with Violet. You know he has to fight or fuck.”
I stand, and he smirks before he disappears.
My breaths slow, my heartbeat steadily drumming down as every fiber on my body becomes attuned to every molecule in the air, and I move too fast for him to react.
His pained grunt has my lips tugging up with my own smirk, as I open my eyes and find him beside me, my knife sticking out of his leg.
“I just had true pleasure for the first time in a while. This fight might go differently this time. Then I’ll also be able to kick your ass,” he grinds out as he tosses my knife to the table.
“I warned you,” I say with a careless shrug.
“He comes from behind and swoops in like some sort of bloody saint with just a slight bit of a personality disorder on a full moon, somehow, all while you just watch it all happen, and yet I get stabbed?” he asks very seriously.
“That’s for still not dealing with Dorian, and for giving me a migraine, because he’s in your territory. You have to make contact first.”
“Those are silly laws on an outdated system. Everyone knows you’re the one in charge of this territory in the grand scheme of things,” he tells me dismissively. “Dorian’s not my problem. Violet, however, is. And now so is Arion. Hence the reason I think we should play along.”
“Handle Dorian,” I bite out.
“Dorian is not my problem,” he says again, lazily gesturing his middle finger at me.
“He’s going to—”
The noise stops in the bedroom, and there’s a small sound of content, almost infectious laughter from Violet, as something loud and heavy crashes to the ground.
“I’m not getting my deposit back on this place,” I say as I drink the next glass of whiskey.
The door opens, and Emit walks out in his robe, that is tied for once, and a fuck-you-cunts look on his face.
“You can stop listening. Fun’s over,” he tells us, moving into the kitchen to grab some of the beef jerky and drinks. “She’s tired. I’m feeding her and letting her get some sleep.”
“I doubt beef jerky is something to take pride in feeding her,” I state with a wry tone, as I stand. “I can go out and get something. It’s not like I plan to sleep.”
“She’s too relaxed and thoroughly sated to stay awake that long, so the jerky will have to do,” he says as he starts walking away.
“Why is she going to sleep in your bed?” Damien asks incredulously.
Emit barely resists the urge to smile at how miserable Damien looks.
“I know it’s probably a novel concept to the two of you, but when you fuck a woman and you enjoy yourself, it’s not uncommon to ask her to share a bed for the night,” the stupid mutt says, enjoying his moment far too much.
With that, he turns and heads back into the room.
“Enjoy it while it lasts, fucker,” Damien says under his breath, glaring at Emit’s back. “You’re bound to screw up eventually.”
Emit flips us off over his shoulder, and he shuts the door behind him.
I decide to change and head out. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find something to kill.
Chapter 10
VIOLET
A big arm clamps around my middle and drags me back against a firm, long, incredible body.
I’m not sure why I smile. Maybe because this is way better than feeling like my vagina is cursed.
Emit leans down and kisses my neck twice, before he slowly rustles and abandons me in the bed. “I smell really good food, and I’m fucking starving,” he says as he puts on his robe and walks out.
I mentally prepare myself to sit in a room with three men I’ve slept with for breakfast…before the werewolf hunt resumes.
I don’t really know how this became my life so fast.
After fixing my robe and running a comb through my hair, I head out.
I spot Vance first, a cup of coffee in front of him and a paper in his hands. I’m not surprised he reads a newspaper.
My eyes move over to find Damien propped in a corner and watching me. He gives me a little devilish smirk, before I turn toward the table and ignore him.
“Emit and Vance will be hunting,” Damien tells me as I look over all the selection of food.
A small smile curves up on my lips. “I think these are all my favorite breakfast foods in one spread,” I decide aloud.
“Is that so?” Vance asks dryly, a page rattling like he’s turning it.
I glance over to find his attention solely trained to the paper, as Emit sits down at the table with a plate overfilled.
“I can’t really picture you as a cook,” I tell Vance, seeing him restrain a smile from his profile.
“This hunt is going to leave you and me alone, Violet. You can’t ignore me all day when it’s just the two of us,” Damien continues.
“There wasn’t much in the way of food here and we’re going to be gone a while. It’s not like I’m in any sort of hurry to fall asleep,” Vance says conversationally.