Chapter Nine
“Race you back? Loser makes dinner.”
The mischievous smile on his mate’s face instantly made him respond in kind. He’d forgotten how cold it was outside until they were standing buck-ass naked out in front of the cabin.
“You’re on.” Almost before the words were finished she’d shifted and taken off like a shot into the woods. Laird laughed and then followed her, relieved when the warmth of his cougar’s thick fur covered his skin. He followed her scent, full on, trying to catch up with her, catching glances of the beautiful red pelt through the trees before she was once again out of his sight.
One day, I’ll know these woods as well as my mate, and I’ll make sure to make a wager I’ll enjoy collecting much more than a home cooked meal.
He was still smiling when he finally ran into the shed that held his clothes. He quickly dressed and rushed out to find where his mate had gone off to. When he arrived back at the main office building, there was a crowd of people gathered in front, and he could feel the tenseness coming from his mate. Sybella stood beside Gage and Jackson, but there was a male standing opposite them with a smug look on his face that Laird didn’t care for at all—especially since it was directed at his mate.
“It’s good to see you again, Bells. I hear congratulations are in order?” the smarmy male said.
Bella threw a scathing glance towards one of the younger wolf males who’d tussled with Laird earlier that day, and the boy bared his neck and looked away.
“Brody. It’s been a while, though I can’t say that I’ve missed having you around these parts. Are you here to see your brother? Your mother didn’t mention you’d be paying us a visit, and given how you’ve treated her in the past I’m certain she would have warned me if she’d known.” Bella’s tone clearly indicated that she wasn’t pleased with this male showing up unannounced, so he wasn’t a part of this pack—which Laird thought was odd considering two members of his immediate family were. He also wasn’t keen on the way this male was looking at his mate. He had a feeling they had a history together.
“Still as bitchy as ever I see, that’s why you and I never worked out, you know, Bells,” his eyes moved to Laird as if to gauge his reaction, “but since I’ve been told you’ve mated up, and to the Ruling Alpha no less, I’ve come to claim my rightful place as Alpha of this mangy pack.”
Ah, so this was one of the exes that had left his mate so distrustful of men. Laird was beginning to see why that was.
Her growl was loud and immediate. “Sorry to disappoint you, Brody, but I’m still Alpha here, and I have no intention of going anywhere, mated or not.”
“Less than twenty-four hours and she’s taken your balls already, Connors?” Brody sneered over at Laird, no doubt trying to bait him into undermining Sybella’s authority in front of witnesses.
“My mate doesn’t need my help running her own pard, but you should watch your tone nonetheless, boy,” Laird growled back. “Once she’s put you in your place, there’s no reason why I can’t teach you some respect for your Ruling Alpha.”
His answer seemed to enrage Brody, his eyes growing wild. Laird could see this male wasn’t all there mentally. He was aggressive with an easy trigger and from the sounds of it, hadn’t been a part of a proper pack in some time. He was prime rogue material.
“If you aren’t stepping down, then I challenge you, Sybella Gandry.” His words were furious, and gasps came from the crowd in their surprise at his actions. “I challenge you for the right to lead this pack.”
“There are more than just wolves here, Brody. This is a mixed community.” Her words came through clenched teeth, but Laird could hear her rage.
“Not for long it isn’t.”
****
How fucking dare this bastard come back to her pard and say such a thing? How dare he undermine the security her people felt? There were more startled gasps, and she watched as those of her pard who were not wolves look around with fear and confusion, wondering if they were about to be pushed out of their homes. Brody’s poor mother looked terrified as she clung to her youngest son. After Sybella had finally gotten rid of him and he’d left town, she’d been sickened to find out that he’d been emotionally and physically abusive to his own mother ever since their father had passed years before. She supposed it wasn’t a huge surprise that Brody had lost what little he’d had left of his fool mind. She felt like an idiot for even finding him remotely attractive in the past. Bella was astonished that Laird hadn’t immediately rushed in to confront Brody—but then again, her mate was smarter than most, and she’d never appreciated it more than right now. No doubt he’d have questions once they were alone. But what’s done was done, so all that she could do now was take care of the threat standing in front of her.
“I accept. You know where to meet me. Fifteen minutes,” she spat back at her ex-boyfriend. “Gage, gather the pack to witness the challenge.”
Minutes later they were standing in a clearing in the woods, waiting for the bastard to arrive.
“So, are you sorry you chased after me yet?” she half-heartedly joked to her mate. “Quite a bit of drama for our first day as bonded mates, right?”
The look on Laird’s face told her that he saw through her attempt to try to hide her emotions using humor. How did he read her so well already? Laird stepped up to her and slowly undid the buttons on her shirt, leaving only one remaining in the middle. Clearly, he was quite familiar with challenges. The seconds it could take to do something as simple as unbutton a shirt could mean life or death. She’d heard that many males simply showed up naked to take the advantage away from their opponent. Bella wasn’t about to let something as silly as modesty get in her way. She boldly undid the button and then slid off the shirt before doing the same to her pants. She was impressed how his eyes never wavered from hers as he brought his warm hands up to cup her cheeks.
“Are you ready for this, little cat?”
“Yes,” she answered simply. Did he even know what a gift it was that he gave her, trusting that she knew what she was doing in accepting Brody’s challenge? Believing in her strength? It humbled her that he had such faith.
A low whistle interrupted their moment.
“Now I remember why I put up with all that attitude from you, Bells. That ass doesn’t look a day over seventeen.”
Now that particular comment had the bile rising in Sybella’s throat, not to mention the growls coming from many of the other pack members, especially her mate. But rather than let him know he’d gotten to her, she simply began to stalk his way, looking for an opening to attack.
“Too bad your bits don’t look as appealing as I remember.” She smiled when his face twitched in anger. “Hibernating for the winter, are they?”
“Why don’t you just give up and I won’t have to hurt you, Bells? You know who came out on top before when we used to wrestle.” His waggling eyebrows on the last word made her stomach turn once again.
“That’s the entire point, Brody.” She knew all she had to do was make him lose that famous temper of his, and she would have the opening she needed to take him down. “When we dated you were always too stupid to realize that I let you overpower me on purpose. I mean, who wants their night ruined because their boyfriend is pouting about being on the bottom and can’t perform like a real male?”
Bingo.