vanity, your pride made you blind. Or, more likely, you looked the other way. Sure, you were gonna get what you wanted for nothing. But it didn’t go down that way this time, did it? Holloway’s got enough to bury you and your long, illustrious legacy forever.”
Poking the old alpha in the chest, he went on snarling, “And the only way out, the only way to save your good for nothing, mangy hide was to sell out your daughter.”
“You have no proof of that, Sampson.”
“No, but I will.”
“None of this means I approve of you mating my daughter. Not even if you can save her. I’ll never give consent.”
“And you think that’ll stop us? Do you even know Lucy?”
“She’ll never be welcome here. You are making her give up her pack. Lucy will have to renounce all she’s ever known. I will make it formal. She will follow all the rules. Do you think that’s what she wants?”
“Yeah, well, here’s the difference between you and me. I’ll leave the decision up to her.”
“Ha. Spoken like a true pussy-whipped teddy bear.” Taking a step backward and turning to the side, Cleland slashed his hand across the desk, sending all his fancy shit flying as he spat, “You two deserve each other. Useless, spineless, gutless, may you both rot in hell.”
Having what he came for and not willing to kill the alpha before talking to Lucy, Beau spun on his heels and called over his shoulder, “Nope, that’s all you, asshole.” Then stopping at the door, he looked back. “And I’ll be sure to tell your wolves that you’re old and tired and scared of this teddy bear.” He barked out a laugh. “That you gave up without a fight. Think you can win a round in the fight for dominance trials?”
Chapter Seventeen
“What is this, same song, second verse?” Lucy grumbled as she woke, tied to yet another bed. Unfortunately, this time it felt like she had eaten a box of nails and swallowed a gallon of gasoline. Other than that, things were peachy. Unless she dwelled on the fact that she was stuck in a bad remake of the movie Groundhog Day.
What’s a girl got to do to get the hell away from all the assholes? Is there a vaccine? Can I buy a vowel? Get my own vial of wolfsbane? Arsenic? Rat poison? A gun?
Eyes finally focusing, the Luna wolf wished she hadn’t worked so hard to be able to see. The flowery wallpaper had gone out of style with the Truman administration and the furniture was even older. Add to it, the stale scent of some perfume her granny wouldn’t even have worn and the sinking feeling in her tummy turned to a rock.
“Please, no, sweet goddess. Don’t let this be… This really can’t be…”
But it was. Not that she’d been there very many times. In all honesty, Lucy had made a fuss or thrown a fit or pretended to be ill every time Cleland said they had to go. Of course, nothing ever worked. Her father had always been a dick. She’d never had a say in anything, ever.
And none of that matters now… Can this day get any worse? In a word…yes!
Lucy knew she was at the hunting and fishing retreat of the man who had been the oldest alpha in their region, Alpha Bergerman. It made her sad to think that Terrance killed the wolf with kind eyes who always had butterscotch candies in his pocket. He was one of the good ones. A wolf with a heart, who cared about his wolves. Heck, he cared about everybody.
She remembered a time when Bergerman had supported a pack of wolves from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The old wolf gave them some of his land, helped them build houses, and fed them until every member had a job.
“Dad damned sure didn’t help. First of all, he tried to make them join Pack Benton, and when that didn’t work, he tried to brand them rogues and have them hunted down.”
Her blood boiled thinking about all the children and elderly wolves her father almost sentenced to death. “One day, Karma is gonna jump up and bite him in the ass.” Eyes rolling upward, she sneered, “Please, dear goddess, let me be there to watch.”
Taking a deep breath, sure it was time to get busy and figure out a way to escape her captors, Lucy counted to ten as she exhaled. Lifting her hand, she chuckled, “Oh, wow, they upgraded