When she reached Eric and the others, several Lawless Ravagers littered the ground. Malcolm bled from several wounds but seemed none the worse for wear. Eric looked seriously pissed, more so when he spied her.
“Dom?” he barked over her shoulder.
She turned to see Dom grinning like a loon. “Sorry, Prime. She took off. I couldn’t catch her.”
Eric and the others stared at her in shock.
“What?” She heard herself growl and said fuck it. Hell, if they could growl, she could too. “Now what the hell is going on?
“Just what I’d like to know,” Eric yelled and rammed a fist into a young tree, breaking it in half. “Attack my clan in my own home?” he roared. “Dom, take her back. The rest of you, clean up this shit. Malcolm, you come with me.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kate stared at Eric, astounded. She’d never seen him so angry. He glanced at his human again, and his lips tightened.
She forced herself not to scowl. Only sheer perversity could account for helping Vicki when by rights, Kate should have left her to rot at the hands of the Lawless clan. But her guer refused to let Vicki remain unprotected. Probably had something to do with the fact Eric, that great jackass, had claimed her. Hell, she could smell it all over the female. Might as well have stamped a label on her forehead.
If that didn’t start a clan riot, she didn’t know what would. Had the world suddenly turned crazy? Diana, a precious female, wanted a human as a mate. Her sister would claim a few more Ravagers, but the human would be a problem, especially since he didn’t seem amenable to committing to Diana.
After her brief battle with Logan and Jesse a few days ago, Kate had nearly given up her idea to claim them as mates. They still had the nerve to talk about Vicki, as if the woman’s shit didn’t stink. The fact she’d outraced Dom and had helped Malcolm against their enemy would no doubt only further her standing as the perfect woman.
Kate seethed. “Should have let her alone when I had the chance.”
“Kate?”
She turned to see Logan and Jesse approaching. Neither looked happy to see her.
“What?”
Logan grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. “You could have been hurt. What were you thinking?”
“What?” Her teeth rattled from the force of his hold.
Jesse seethed. “You little idiot. Didn’t you see the other Lawless curs waiting in the woods? They were a heartbeat from taking you. Damn it, Kate. Enough.”
“Huh?” She couldn’t seem to find her wits.
“I’m talking to Eric about this,” Logan muttered but wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“Good idea.”
Jesse dragged her with him through the woods. When she tried to get free, Logan pushed her from behind.
Baffled and overpowered, she had no choice but to go with them. When they arrived home, they took her to Eric’s room, shoved her inside, slammed and locked the door.
Leaving her face-to-face with her arch nemesis. Victoria Fox.
“Well, hi.” Vicki shoved a hand through her thick black hair, tangled with leaves. “Thanks for getting me out of there.”
“Ah, sure.” What did one say to the woman she wanted to hate, especially when said woman was being nice?
“So what did you do? They stuck me in here and ditched me. I thought they couldn’t do that to females. From what Malcolm said, you guys rule the roost.”
“I’m sorry?” Why could she not think today?
“Been a while since I’ve seen Jesse and Logan. I hope they were okay?” Vicki ended in a question.
“Fine.” She hadn’t seen them? “I thought you were friends with the guys.”
Vicki flushed, and Kate wanted to bite her. “Ah, we met briefly, when Eric kidnapped me.” She frowned. “So what’s the deal with you and your sister? You marked Sean? Did either of you ask him what he wanted?”
Now the dumb woman went on the attack? Did she not realize Kate had not only saved her but could rip her throat out before she could blink?
“I didn’t mark Sean.” I want the two Ravagers you’ve sunk your unworthy hooks into!
“You didn’t?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“But I thought you had sex with him.” She colored when she said it.
“I did. Sex isn’t always about marking or mating. Sometimes it fulfills a need.” Stupid human.
“Ah, but… Okay. So why did your sister mark him?”
“Who can say? Sometimes our guer guides us to where we need to be.” Which is the only thing preventing me from killing you right now.
Vicki blinked at her. “Right. So you want to tell me why you hate my guts?”
Had she been so obvious? Maybe the growling had given her away.
“Look, Kate, I can see your guer, your energy, whatever you want to call it. It always goes dark when you’re around me. So what the hell crawled up your ass and died?”
Unfortunately, Kate could see what Eric liked about the woman. She had a lot of fight in her, and nothing appealed more to a Ravager, especially one as strong as the prime, than confrontation. Vicki should have been scared. She should have been cowering when Kate spread her fingers wide and transformed her fingernails into claws.
Instead she feigned a yawn. “Yeah, long nails. I’m so not impressed.”
“Are you stupid?”
“Are you?” Vicki snapped. “I didn’t ask to be here. I’ve been trying to leave for days, but your prime won’t let me. I have a life you know. A job I was pretty good at. Family, friends,” she grumbled, but she didn’t sound so sure.
Still, Kate wondered. Perhaps Dom had the right of it. Vicki didn’t act like a woman gloating over her triumphs. She seemed confused, unhappy, and a trifle…uneasy?
“You don’t like my pack?” Kate couldn’t help the emphasis she placed on “my.”
“You can keep them. Hell, that didn’t sound right. I like the guys. Really, it’s just… I’m from a world where women do what they want when they want. All this marking talk is just weird. I don’t belong to anyone. Like I’m really a possession.” She snorted.
“So you’re not looking forward to another romp with Logan and Jesse?” At the woman’s raised brow, Kate hurriedly added, “And Dom and Eric?”
Vicki looked away. “I like Eric and Dom just fine. But I’m not a Ravager. Humans, even Conduits, don’t have marathon sex orgies.”
Vicki’s face was bright red, and Kate felt a moment’s compassion—that quickly died when she recalled with whom Vicki had first shared her “marathon sex orgy”.
“So what? You want out of here?” Kate asked cautiously.
“Yes, I do.”
Kate thought about it. If Eric found out she’d helped his mate escape, he’d kill her. Literally. A mated Ravager would do anything to protect the future mother of his pups. Then again, Vicki was human, not Ravager. There wouldn’t be any pups.
“Look, give me a few days, and I’ll help you leave.”
“Really?” The hope in Vicki’s eyes disturbed Kate on some level.
“Yeah, but you can’t say anything to the others. I’ll get in a lot of trouble if you do.”