Angel Blackwood (15 page)

He gently
touches the cut on my bottom lip then I feel his soft lips on mine.
A few more tear drops
land on
the apples of my cheeks and I immediately feel the loss when he
removes his lips from mine. This is too real to be a dream, but I
fear that if I wake up it’ll scare him and he’ll spit words of
regret and mistake; so I keep my eyes closed and take everything
he’s willing to give me. He rests his cheek against mine, rubbing
it a few times again. I hear him as he takes a deep breath, taking
in my scent.

“I’m
so sorry,” Talon whispers, and then
he’s gone.

****

I wake up midday as Nixon
jumps onto my bed. I pull the blanket over my head and
groan.

“Go
away
!”

“Get
up
, sleepyhead,” he says,
pulling the blanket off me.

I
groan again as I glare at him, but
something catches my eye behind him. Sitting on my dressing table
is a bouquet of black roses. They weren’t there when I went to bed
last night.

I look at Nixon
and he shrugs.
“Those aren’t
from me.” I pull the blankets aside and walk up to them. I pick up
the little purple card that sticks out from the rest of the
beautiful flowers and turn it over to read.

I always win…

“What the hell
does that mean?” Nixon rests his chin on
the top of my head as he snatches the card out of my
hand.

I turn and look
up at him. “It’s from Caspian. He told me last night that,
“
he doesn’t play games, he
gets what he wants and he always wins…always”
.” I say it in a deep tone, mimicking the Alpha’s
rough voice.

Nixon looks down at me
then ruffles the top of my hair with his heavy hand and chuckles.
“You’re a tool.” His shoulders shake with laughter as he makes his
way to my bedroom door.

“Get dressed, pack a bag,
we’re going out,” he says, before leaving and closing the door
behind him.

****

We drive in the direction
of the Crystal Bay Pack and I look to Nixon confused. “We’re
meeting up with Axel,” is all he says.

I message Daisy
and let he
r know I’m coming
into town in the hope that maybe we can meet up, but I don’t get a
response.

Nixon stops the
car in a beach parking lot. Looking down the bank we see a group of
people sitting around on the
sand. I immediately spot Axel, since he’s not wearing a
shirt and he’s the only one in the crowd covered in
tattoos.

As if he can
feel my eyes on him, he turns to look up at me and smiles.
He
jogs up to the base of the
stairs to meet me. I laugh when he lifts me up and spins me around
dramatically. The bruises that Talon left on my side last night are
still there, but at least they’re not unbearable.

Axel introduces us to a
couple of his friends, but we don’t stay at the beach for very
long. People continue to stare at me shamelessly in this town; I
think they’re trying to figure me out. Some still have a look of
fear in their eyes.

The three of us end up at
a drive-thru, parking our car in the parking lot where we stuff our
faces. I must say, my appetite has spiked since I’ve
turned.

I excuse myself
and quickly head into the restaurant to use the
ir bathroom. As I’m walking out of the restroom
and back out through the crowded diner, I hear a soft voice in my
head saying my name.

“Angel,”
t
he voice whispers.

I look around
the room and m
y eyes
immediately find her. Daisy sits amongst a rowdy group of people
whom all seem a lot older than her. They speak over her, laughing
with each other as if she doesn’t exist. She sits quietly in the
corner trying to blend in, but her bright blond hair and the beauty
that radiates from her makes it very hard not to notice
her.

I smile at her and she
instantly returns it.

I watch the
transformation in her face as she realises I’m
heading in her direction. She looks at the people
that surround her at the table then back at me; she’s visibly
anxious.

As
her friends begin to sense me, some
of them turn and look my way. The stares are followed by whispers
that fade as I get closer. I look up at Daisy and smile. This time
she gets up turning to hug me.

I can hear the blatant
remarks at the table as we hug, but I refuse to pay them any
notice.

“Hi Angel.
How
are you doing?” She says
softly, as she looks up at me.

I smile widely. “I’m
doing okay. How are you?” She quickly looks down at the people that
are seated at the table.

Her demeanor instantly
changes, so I try to lighten the mood as I say happily, “Daisy, the
dress was amazing! Thank you so much.”

I hear
snigg
ers from the girls at the
table followed by a couple of childish giggles. This seems to make
Daisy cower away into her shell even more and in turn only makes me
angrier. I turn my gaze to the people around her table as I speak
and look them over. “Are these your friends, Daisy?”

“Friends?” A boy scoffs.
I pin him with my livid gaze and he’s quick to shut up before
looking down at the table.

“They’re
my
friends, not
hers
,” a deep voice to
my right says. I didn’t miss the way he spat out the last two words
and I’m not fond of it either. I look to find what you would call
the typical male juice-head. He’s average looking and stocky. Can’t
tell if he has a neck hidden under all that muscle.

“And who might you be?” I
ask.

“Tony,”
h
e smirks, looking me up and
down. While he does this I can feel the sadness flowing from Daisy.
I’m not sure if she’s allowing others to feel this or just me so I
look at her.

“He’s my
mat
e,”
I hear her quiet growl in my head. I smile and
rub her arm gently. This seems to reassure her that I’m not about
to steal her mate. I look over to Tony again. I would never have
pictured Daisy’s mate to be him, he’s the total opposite of her. He
looks back to the few that are still sitting at the table and
dismisses them.

“Nice to
finally meet you
, Tony.” I
smile. The cocky smirk falls from his face and he glares at Daisy
who stands close to me.

“You tell her
about me?
” He
spits.

“That you’re her mate?” I
don’t give Daisy enough time to answer him. This man sounds hostile
and I just want to protect her. I stand a little more in front of
her recoiling frame.

“She knows to
keep that shit to herself.” He lets out a deep
breath
, then downs his soda
before speaking again.

“What’s a girl
like you hanging out with a girl like
her
?” He scoffs,
as he throws a couple of fries into his mouth.

I’m pretty sure Daisy can
feel my irritation pulsating because she gently plays with the
braid down my back, as if that could calm me.

I
praise her for the effort
though.

I spit out,
“What you actually meant to say was,
how did we meet
,
right? Well, we
met
when I was looking for an outfit for
my pack ceremony and your incredible
mate
designed a
gorgeous dress that fit perfectly.”

I smile then
turn to look down at
Daisy as
I say, “Even Alpha Caspian thought it looked beautiful, I received
a lot of compliments because of that dress Daisy. I’m sure you’ll
be getting a lot of eager customers coming your way.” I look back
to Tony whose mouth hangs open.

“You
should
be really proud of her.
She did good.” If I’m not mistaken, a look of pure adoration
crosses his face and he smiles.

“Really?”
H
e asks in a softer tone,
looking from her then back to me. I nod.

He looks
to
Daisy and smiles at her;
her face reveals pure longing as she looks at her mate in return.
He opens his arms and she steps into them immediately cuddling into
his side. Tony rubs his hands down the back of her hair as if he’s
stroking a kitten, and Daisy clasps him tighter as if he’s the air
she breathes.

Chapter 9

“Hasn’t
Caspian found his mate yet?” Nixon
asks Axel later that night. We’re sitting on the balcony of Axel’s
apartment, looking down at the people in the street below us. Axel,
being the little devil on my shoulder, convinced me to take a shot
of tequila; much to Nixon’s dismay. After five shots, the alcohol
was already working its way through my body and my throat was
feeling raw. I was currently in the feel-good state of drunkenness,
where nothing in the world could bother me, and the twins not even
a blip on my radar.

I
was in total bliss.

“N
o wonder Georgina
drank so much,” I mumble. The boys look to me and Nixon gives me a
worried look. I wave them away then plant my ass down on the little
plastic chair and stare at the star filled sky.

“Axel, answer Nixon’s
question,” I say.

“Oh yeah,
he
already found his
mate…second chance mate too,” Axel says, before downing the rest of
his whisky filled glass.

Both Nixon and my heads’
turn in his direction.

“What happened to them? Where
are they?” Nixon asks.

“The first one was killed
during a rogue attack and the second one he got rid of because she
was leaking information to a rival pack,” he says
casually.

My eyes widen as I sit up
straight in my chair. “Got rid of?” I gulp.

“Yeah, bitch was keeping
in touch with her old pack, giving away pack plans. So Alpha got
rid of her as well as all the people from the pack she told,” he
replies nonchalantly.

“What the f-” I
mumble just as Nixon says, “You stay away from
him
, Angel. After that little
note he left, I’m not sure what his next move might be.”

“What note?” Axel tone
turns serious.

“He sent me a
vase of black roses with a note in it saying, “I always win”, like
what the hell is that supposed to mean? He can’t just snap his
fingers and expect me to come running. I’ve learnt my lesson with
douches like him. I know
exactly
the kind of
monster that lurks beneath the surface, I’m staying away from the
arrogant bastard,” I ramble, leaning back in my chair.

Axel bends down and takes
my hand in his as he looks me dead in the eye, “Alpha Caspian would
never cause harm to you if you didn’t deserve it. He treats his
woman with respect and gives them everything they need. But like
any wolf, he has a dark side. That said, his may be darker than
usual, and if you’re not on his “good side” he can be a very
dangerous man. Be careful, Angel. I think Nixon is right about
keeping your distance from him. I just don’t know how easy that
will be. Alpha always gets what he wants, no matter the
consequences.” This makes me tremble and reach out for Nixon’s beer
before he gets a chance to sip it. I down the ice cold beer, then
do a little squeamish dance not liking the taste of it…at
all.

Axel chuckles
and Nixon snatches
the empty
bottle from my hands with a scowl.

“I really need
a pee.” I stand abruptly and rest my hand on
Axel’s shoulders when I lose my balance. I let
out a giggle and cover my hand with my mouth as I continue to put
one foot in front of the other.

“This
really is harder than it looks,” I
mumble, as I focus on my steps toward the bathroom. I can hear
Nixon lecturing Axel about giving me alcohol, but Axel just tells
him to relax a little and enjoy life.

After nearly
falling asleep sitting on the toilet, I learn a valuable lesson.
Never close your eyes while peeing,
especially
if you’re
really tired. I giggle to myself looking at the little shiner I
have above my left eyebrow where my head hit the wall near the
toilet. Luckily enough my ass was planted on that toilet seat and
never left. I woke up as soon as my head hit the wall and the
surprise was nearly enough to sober me up.

Nearly.

Now I have a
split lip and a shiner on my forehead
, as well as a hand printed bruise on my hip…
Great
.

After washing
my hands
, I wobble my way
through the little hallway back towards the balcony where the boys
were sitting moments before. But this time there’s another deep
voice added to the mix.

I stand frozen in place.

Caspian
.

The three of
them don’t notice me standing in
the living room, watching as they chuckle to themselves.
Nixon, the traitor, hands him a beer and laughs at something he
says; totally under Caspian’s charming spell.