Havana sensed more than saw her neighbors step out of their houses. She didn’t bother to look their way, not worried that any would attempt to intervene on Ashlynn’s behalf. “You came here to win Tate back. Your plan was to become his mate and Alpha female. That plan failed, and I now have what you want. I had hoped that you’d have more respect for Tate than to pull this crap, though.” Havana sighed. “It says real bad things about you that you’d try to shit all over his happiness.”
Ashlynn’s frown deepened. “I’m not doing that. Like I already told him, I’m glad that he’s happy.”
Tutting, Havana wagged her finger. “Come now, don’t tell lies. You’re not pleased that he found his happily ever after. In fact, I’d say you’re pretty ticked off at him.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Nope. This here and now isn’t only about you wanting to hurt me. You want to weaken me in the eyes of the pride. You want them to watch their new Alpha female be overpowered right here in her own front yard. And weakening my standing with the pride would also weaken Tate’s. You like that idea, because you want to punish him for rejecting you, don’t you?”
Ashlynn’s eyelids flickered.
“And that makes you a pretty hypocritical bitch. I mean, you hated that a woman came between you and your true mate. You were angry at Koby for choosing another female over you. You felt that you should be his world. Yet, you resent that Tate would find happiness with his true mate. You see what I’m getting at?”
Ashlynn sneered. “I hope you’re not feeling too smug that he didn’t leave you for me. There was a time when he was more than happy to forsake you.”
“And that’s why you figured there was a chance he’d walk away from me, huh? Maybe if you’d known that it wasn’t so much me that he was willing to forsake but the true-mate bond, you’d have given up trying to win him back.” Rolling back her shoulders, Havana tilted her head. “You sure you want to do this?”
“Oh, I’m sure.” A smirk flirted with the edges of Ashlynn’s mouth. “It’ll be an utter joy to kick your ass.”
She thought she had a prayer of winning this duel? Oh, that was just precious.
Aspen snickered at the feline. “A regular Pollyanna, aren’t you? So blindly optimistic it’s honestly disturbing. It stops you from seeing the facts. And the fact in this case? You’re not going to come out on top. Nope. You’re about to go through a world of pain.”
“It’s kind of exciting,” said Havana. And then she started to undress.
Ashlynn’s brows snapped together. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, well you see, my devil really wanted to get a few licks in last time you and I went head-to-head. I promised her that if you ever challenged me again, I’d let her take care of the matter. So, I’ll let you two get acquainted.” Naked, Havana smiled. “I’ll be honest, this is really going to hurt.” Then she gave her animal supremacy.
Tate wasn’t surprised to see that her devil’s ears were flushed red—it was a sure sign that she was pissed. Focused on Ashlynn, she let her mouth gape open almost impossibly wide, displaying those bone-crushing teeth. She released an ear-splitting, otherworldly screech that could chill a man’s blood. Her jaws snapped shut with unbelievable force, like that of a crocodile … only faster.
Ashlynn stared down at the angry creature like she wasn’t sure what to make of it, so Tate could only assume that she hadn’t before seen a devil shifter in their animal form up close.
“Hey Ash,” Bailey called out. “Did you know that devils will eat anything? I mean, seriously, nothing is off the menu for those little critters. Not even teeth or tongues or anything. What I find more disturbing—yet also morbidly fascinating—is that they often eat the digestive system of their kills first and then make themselves comfortable inside the cavity of the carcass while they eat everything else.”
Aspen nodded. “You gotta respect the downright savagery of it. Oh, I’d watch your fingers, if I were you,” she advised Ashlynn. “One bite will sever them.”
The devil let out another harsh, high-pitched screech, her black glare still locked on Ashlynn.
“Uh-oh, she’s getting antsy,” said Bailey. “You really should probably hurry this along,” she told Ashlynn.
The feline notched up her chin and huffed at the devil. “Think you’re tough, do you? Let’s see how you hold up against my cat. We’ll let our animals settle this.” She shed her clothes and shifted.
Arching her back, the cat hissed and whipped up her tail.
A spine-chilling scream came out of the devil, who then exploded into action. She charged fast, her jaws wide open. Both animals reared up on their hind legs as they clashed. And the devil clamped those sheering teeth on the cat’s face. Fucking ow. The feline yowled in pain and tried tugging herself free of those powerful jaws.
“Rip her fucking head off!” yelled Aspen.
“Make that bitch bleed!” shouted Bailey.
The devil ferociously tore into the cat like a rabid animal, biting and clawing and sending tiny tufts of gray fur fluttering through the air. Scratches and puncture wounds soon marred the cat’s body—particularly her face.
The feline fought back, and she fought hard. She did some damage to the devil, swiping out her claws and carving deep gouges into the animal’s fur and flesh. Through the mating bond, Tate felt the echo of every scratch, every bite, every blow. The pain only seemed to spur the devil on. Or maybe the critter simply didn’t care about the pain.
Their neighbors gathered around the lawn to get a better view, mindful to give the two animals plenty of space. Tate didn’t move from his spot on the top step of the porch. He didn’t trust himself to get any closer; didn’t trust that he wouldn’t wade in. Whether he liked it or not, this wasn’t his fight.
Bone cracked, and the cat flinched backwards with a yowl. The devil gave her no reprieve. She pitched forward and savagely bit into the cat’s face yet again with another of those high-pitched shrieks.
The animals were matched in size and attitude. But the devil was lightning fast. A growling, shrieking, screaming tornado of sheer viciousness. Those teeth of hers were lethal, ripping through flesh and snapping bones like they were twigs. One of a pallas cat’s biggest defenses was that their hides were very thick, but the devil’s sheering teeth effortlessly chomped through her opponent’s hide.
For the devil, this wasn’t a battle for dominance, Tate realized. It wasn’t even a fight, really. No, it was a beating.
“Your mate’s animal is hardcore,” said Luke, his respect clear in his voice.
Pride welled up inside Tate. He felt his mouth curve, despite the knot in his stomach. Havana had been right that Ashlynn wanted to make his mate look weak before the pride. It wasn’t working, though. All Ashlynn was doing was proving that Havana made a worthy Alpha female.
Everyone gathered around could see that his mate was powerful, fearless, and vicious enough to protect them and help keep the pride strong. Word of the beating would soon travel among the other members. If any of his cats had been debating challenging Havana for leadership, they’d rethink that after this.