Kadenburg Revealed (The Kadenburg Shifters Series, Book 4) (26 page)

“Nothing is going to happen to us,” she promised quietly.  “I just need answers, Lorcan.  I’ve been waiting for them for too long to walk away right now.  If Dimitri’s my brother....”

‘Then we know what Urseth said is true.  You are both special and our son will bring an end to all of this.’
  Lorcan said sorrowfully.

“It’s going to be okay,” she kissed the side of his neck and breathed him in.  Urseth she loved his smell.  It was dizzying and intoxicating.  It was addictive just like him.  “Will you trust me on that?”

“I always trust you.” Lorcan mumbled as he pulled back enough for their lips to touch.  He kissed her tenderly and she could feel the emotions he poured into it; fear, sadness, and pure love.  He pulled back and cupped her face in his hands.

“I love you, Lorcan.”

“I love you, Presley.  And that’s the only reason I’m not taking you home right now.  If Dimitri’s really your brother then I won’t stand in the way of that.  Whatever’s happening with Sammy....I’ll be behind you one hundred percent.  Forever and for always.”

“Forever and for always.” She smiled and slipped past him.  She was headed straight for Dimitri, who was standing near Liam’s old car, when she sensed his distress.  Uh oh.  What was happening now?

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Dimitri said as he hung up his phone and turned to face her.  “Presley, I am so sorry but I need to go.  We can talk about everything later, I promise.”

“What’s wrong?” Presley asked as confusion clouded her brain.  The worry rolling off Dimitri was nauseating. He was already opening the driver’s side door when she finally caught up to him.  “Dimitri?”

“I’m so sorry,” he repeated as his eyes met hers.  “Something’s happened at the apartment and I need to get to Rutley and Kia.  I’ll call you, okay?”

Rutley and Kia?  Presley was certain that girl’s name was Amber....

As Dimitri backed up and turned the car around in the driveway before speeding off like a bat of hell, Presley was left to ponder over his last words.

Who the heck was Kia?

———————————

“Y
ou need to get here and fast.  Amber has gone fucking insane on me.”

Those were Rutley’s last words before the sound of a scuffle breaking out and the dial tone attacked Dimitri’s ears.  He knew something was very wrong.  Why had Kia come over in the first place?  She knew it was dangerous to come around a new wolf without acquainting herself first!  Damn it!

He pressed his foot down against the pedal and prayed that he wouldn’t slide off the road as he drove back towards the apartment he shared with Rutley and the new wolf in his pack.  So many thoughts raced through his mind but only two seemed to worry him the most.

What if Amber hurt Rutley or Kia?  And why was he even worried about Kia?  He didn’t care about her, right?  She was just the mutt slut that took advantage of them one night a while back.  She was just a she-wolf and she had obviously provoked Amber’s attack.  Son of a bitch.

He barely made it into the parking lot before he put the car into park and jumped out.  He didn’t even bother shutting the engine off as he raced up the steps in a blur and flung the front door open.  The scent of blood attacked his nostrils and made bile rise in his stomach as his eyes searched the living room.  Everything was destroyed.

It looked like a tornado had blown through.  Glass was everywhere, the TV was busted against the floor, and the couch was torn to shreds.  Only one thing could do damage like that; claws.

“Rutley!” He cried out.  Dimitri leapt over various objects and what was left of the coffee table as he bounded down the hallway.  “RUTLEY!”

‘Answer me, damn it!’
He pleaded in his mind as his heart hammered against his ribs. 
“Rutley, please.’

This couldn’t be happening.  Had he made a mistake?  Maybe he should’ve let Amber die.  God, he couldn’t lose Rutley.

“Rutley!” He shoved open the bedroom door and peered inside.  Nothing had been touched that he could see, but where the hell was his beta?  Where was the new she-wolf?  Where was Kia? The sound of glass breaking from the apartment next door caught his attention and Dimitri released a low growl.  He was positive he heard a whimper of pain and that only agitated him further.  If that little bitch was hurting Rutley.....

Dimitri was out the front door within the blink of an eye and his body crashed through Kia’s door like an unrelenting tropical storm.  He fell against the floor and quickly picked himself up as his eyes scanned the apartment that looked exactly like his own.  It was a mess too.

“Rutley!” He shouted.  Dimitri stalked down the hallway and felt his blood pressure rising to dangerous levels.  His wolf begged to be released as two bodies toppled into the hallway and fell to the floor.  Amber’s elongated teeth snapped ferociously at Rutley’s face and the beta was doing his best to fight her off.

“Get off me!” Rutley roared as an animalistic growl ripped its way past his lips.  His eyes were glowing that resilient teal color and the sharp claws protruding from his fingertips told Dimitri that this fight was serious.  He quickly rushed forward and grabbed Amber by the shoulders.

“What are you doing?!” Dimitri asked through clenched teeth as he pulled her away and slammed her against the wall.  He pinned her there with one arm and glared at her.  “AMBER.”

The she-wolf snapped at him.  Her eyes were glowing too.

“Let me go!” She shrieked.  “LET ME GO!”

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Dimitri demanded as he glanced towards Rutley.  The beta was picking himself up off the floor, but he winced and went back down again.  The way he gripped his left side indicated he was injured.  Did Kia do that to him, or was it Amber?

“I don’t want to be here!” Amber wailed as she dug her claws into Dimitri’s arm.  “Let me go! You’ve turned me into a monster.”

“You’re doing that to yourself,” Dimitri growled as he lifted his free hand to pry her fingers away from his arm.  “And if you don’t stop clawing me I’m going to rip your throat out, do you understand that?  You can’t attack your pack, Amber!”

“You’re not my pack.  I’m not like you,” she hissed.  “I want to go home.  You’re keeping me against my will, asshole!”

Was that what this was all about? Dimitri wasn’t sure what urge was stronger at the moment; wanting to smack her for being stupid or wanting to kill her for hurting Rutley.  His eyes wandered to his beta again and something inside of him snapped.  It was like an invisible rubber band that had been wound too tightly and Amber gave it the final tug it needed to break. 

His eyes slowly moved back to the girl once more and his nostrils flared.  “I saved your life.  You would have died without me and this is how you repay my kindness?  You attacked my beta.  He is in charge of you when I am gone, Amber.  I fully understand you’re the type of person who is used to getting her way with Mommy and Daddy, but guess what?  I’m not your parents and I won’t tolerate your bullshit.  What you’ve done would easily get you killed in another pack.  I should kill you for what you’ve done.  Rut-ley,” he barked out his beta’s name.  “Are you okay?”

“Not the first time I’ve been beat up by a girl,” Rutley replied breathlessly from his spot upon the floor.  He shook his head slowly and shrugged.  “I think it’s healing already, but it sure as hell doesn’t feel good.  I think it’s Kia you need to be worried about.”

Aw, hell.  Kia.
  Dimitri needed to accept the fact that the she-wolf was in their lives for good now.  He knew exactly what ties bound them together and he wasn’t stupid enough to deny why he needed to know she was okay too.  They were mated after all.

“Where is she?” Dimitri asked in a lower voice as Amber squirmed beneath his grip.  “Why did you attack her?”

“She smelled weird,” Amber replied with a frown.  “I didn’t like her smell.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“She didn’t smell like a full wolf and it made my wolf unhappy.  She is a threat to your precious little pack.  I honestly don’t give a damn either way, but my wolf is a fucking bully.  I hate this.  Why won’t you let me go?”

“Let’s get one thing straight here, Amber,” Dimitri’s eyes darkened as he stared at her.  “You’re not going anyfuckingwhere until you learn to control your wolf, okay?  And I’m sure as hell not letting you out of my sight until you learn to decipher scents.  Kia is a werewolf and nothing more.  You had no right to attack her.  If she’s hurt.....”

“I’m fine.” Kia said softly as the bathroom door slowly opened and she stepped out.  Dimitri was horrified as he took in the sight of her appearance.  Her brown and purple hair was a mess and her clothes were ripped, but what angered him the most was seeing the gash on her cheek.  He already knew who was responsible for that.

She has hurt our mate!
His wolf howled. 
She must be punished for this.

“She deserved it!” Amber cried as she tried to escape Dimitri’s grasp.  “She is not a wolf!  My wolf told me so!  She is a danger to us!”

“You don’t even know what the hell you’re talking about,” Dimitri’s fingers curled around her throat. “You’ve been a werewolf for less than forty eight hours and you have no damn idea what you’re saying, Amber.  She
is
a wolf and the wrong fucking wolf to mess with at that.  You have no idea the situation you’ve put me in now.  I should kill you....”

“You can’t kill her.”

Kia’s statement surprised Dimitri and it caused him to relax his grip on the wolf’s throat.  He turned his head to stare at her, confused and unsure of what she was trying to say.  Wasn’t she angry at the woman who’d tried to kill her?  He sure as hell was.

“She’s new, Dimitri.  You have to give her a chance.  She’ll make her share of mistakes as I’m sure Rutley has, or will.  They weren’t born into it like you and me.” She stepped closer and the look in her eyes made Dimitri’s anger fade almost instantly.  What the hell?

“She needs to be punished,” Dimitri insisted in a lower voice.  He trembled as his wolf pushed forward.  This needed to happen or what right did he have to call himself an alpha?  “She needs to know she has done wrong.”

“And I’m sure she knows that now.” Kia’s hand touched his shoulder and the emotions that ran through him were indescribable.  Damn it to hell.  “Dimitri, please don’t.”

“But she hurt you,” he glanced at Kia and frowned.  “She could’ve killed both of you and I’m not fucking okay with that.  We’re not murderers.”

“No, we’re not,” Kia tilted her head to the side and gazed at him pleadingly.  “You’re not like Breslin Connor, Dimitri.  I know that in my heart of hearts.  You’re different.  Show me that you’re different.”

He knew it.  All along he’d had his suspicions that Kia was involved with Breslin somehow, but figuring out the ‘how’ was what stumped him.  What part did she play in all of this?  How could he have been so stupid and careless in allowing himself to mate to someone who could destroy him?  He knew that his distrust shined through his gaze as he quickly dropped his eyes to the floor.  A part of him didn’t want to know.

“Please don’t kill her,” Kia repeated quietly.  “I will tell you everything you want to know, Dimitri....but you have to promise me you aren’t going to hurt her.  She just needs time.  Are you going to deny her the patience you’ve shown Rutley?”

Damn it.  That was a good point.  Dimitri swallowed hard and glanced in his beta’s direction.  Rutley’s eyes had returned to their normal color, but the blood smeared across his cheek still stirred something feral within Dimitri’s chest.  He didn’t like the thought of his beta getting hurt.  Rutley was his mate too.  Jesus H. Christ, how did he get himself into these situations?

“Fine.” Dimitri took a step back and released Amber.  She slid to the floor and gasped for air as she lifted her eyes to stare at him.  Something told him she wouldn’t be so reckless next time.

Not if she knows what’s good for her.
  He let out a low breath and raked his trembling fingers through his hair.

Now what?

H
ow did he always manage to get hurt?  Rutley glanced down at his side through the reflection of the mirror and immediately made a face of disgust. 

“She got me good.” He commented as his eyes raked over the three deep claw marks that started just below his armpit and ran all the way down to his hip. 

“It will heal,” Kia promised as she pressed a small white cloth against the first cut.  Rutley hissed.  “Sorry,” she whispered apologetically.  “The peroxide will help lessen the irritation and that means you’ll heal even faster.  I don’t mean to hurt you.”

“I don’t know why you’re so worried about me,” Rutley mumbled as he glanced at her.  “You’re the one with a huge ass gash on your cheek.  Shouldn’t we take care of that first?”

Kia smiled gently and shook her head.  “No.”

“Why not?”

She didn’t meet his gaze as she continued applying small dabs of peroxide to his cuts.  Her tongue darted from between her lips to moisten them as she shrugged her shoulders.  “It will heal as the rest have in the past.  It doesn’t need any extra care.”

What did that mean?  Rutley’s eyebrows furrowed as he turned to face her and gently gripped her wrist.

“Has someone hurt you before?”

When Kia didn’t respond, Rutley already had his answer.  It made him feel sick and a little angry.  He wasn’t sure why.  Why was he upset over that? 

“Who?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Kia shook her head quickly and lifted her free hand to push her messy brown hair away from her eyes. “That’s in the past now and I’d rather not revisit it, get what I’m saying?”

“Yeah,” he frowned.  He didn’t like the thought of Kia being hurt.  Had her parents abused her or something?  He was slowly discovering that werewolf families weren’t very different from human families-neither were ursithropes.  Humanity made it come back full circle and they all shared certain attributes.  “But if you ever want to talk about it....”

“Thanks, Rutley.” Kia released a soft breath and tossed the soiled cloth into the hamper nearby.  She turned away from him to grab a clean one when the bathroom door inched open.