Mountain Moonlight (19 page)

His jaw dropped. “You just quoted the man verbatim.”

“Yes.” Disgusted, she turned  and faced the window again.

“How did you know?”

She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to remain calm.
 
Don’t even answer him,  Katya. He is not worth your anger.

“Katya. What’s wrong?”

She bit her lip until it bled. She would not answer him.

When he reached for her, wrapping his fingers around her upper arms, she tensed, partially shifted, growling and clawing at him.

Conner jumped back, his eyes wide.  “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

She shifted  back to fully human,  refusing  to feel guilty for the blood seeping from

the wound on the back of his hand.

He was lucky he still had two balls.

“Katya, why did you attack?”

“Get out, Conner. Before I do  something I won’t regret.”

He went silent for a moment, and she’d actually thought he might leave. But he didn’t.

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“Oh, I get it. You’re pissed because I went to  the ministry  without you.”

“And they said you were stupid.”

“Huh? Who said I was stupid?”

She rolled her eyes and turned to face him  “Y.  ou  promised  me  last  night  that  you

would consult me.”

He looked past her, out the window, then met her gaze. “I did what I needed to do.  I won’t apologize for it again.”

“So you decided that maybe last night’s  apology was premature.  That maybe youshowed weakness by allowing the female alpha to bend you to her will. You suffered some kind of testosterone meltdown and decided to teach me a lesson. Let me know

when I’m getting close  to the truth.”

Close? Fuck, she’d hit the nail right on  the head. Her insight was uncanny. And the

woman was one vicious lupine when she was pissed off.

“So how did it work for you, Conner? Oh, that’s right, it didn’t.”

“You need to understand the way it’s  supposed to work, Katya. I’m the alpha. I’m  supposed to make all the decisions, and you’re supposed to follow along.”

“Supposed to? I don’t think so. The Braslieu pack has had a female alpha leading  them  since  my  father  died.  So  much  for  tradition.  They  may  hold  onto  some  of  the  old ways, but they can bend in others. Perhaps you should consider the same.”

“I won’t bend in this.”

“Then you’ll be truly alone, because I won’t yield to you and become some  simpering, empty-headed mate that you only  keep around to fuck. If that’s what you want, go find someone else, because  our association will end right now.”

“There can’t be two alphas.”

She laughed. “There already are. And with  you and me  at odds,  how long do you  think it will  take before my people realize that they gain nothing by having you as their leader, and everything by having me?”

His eyes narrowed, his body stance taut with tension. “Don’t threaten  me, Katya.”

“Then don’t insult me by expecting  me to be something I’m not, Conner.”

She heard the growl, low and menacing, but  refused to budge. Yes, he could  harm her physically, but she didn’t fear him. He’d never hurt her, no matter how angry she  made him.

Though she wasn’t the type to lash  out physically, either, and she had.

Conner obviously brought out the worst in her.

“I’d say we’ve reached an impasse,” she offered. “Please leave my room and don’t come back.”

“Gladly.” He turned on his heel  and in two long strides was gone.

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Katya exhaled and sat on the bed,  her limbs trembling.

Whether from fear, misery or outright anger, she couldn’t tell.

But one thing was certain.

Neither of them had won that skirmish.

And she feared a war was coming.

* * * * *

“You did it again? Holy Christ, Conner, are you a glutton for punishment?”

Conner did  his best to  ignore Noah. Instead,  he kept his  focus on the paperwork on  Katya’s desk, determined to figure out an  angle that would work on the ministry.

“Elena told me what happened yesterday.”

“Remind me to have Elena sent to the far border of Braslieu land. She talks too

much.”

“She’s Katya’s cousin, for God’s sake. Don’t you think the two of them speak? She’s  also Katya’s beta and you know that gives her certain rights.”

Conner looked up at his brother.  “Just whose side are you on here, bro? Mine, or  Katya’s?”

“Yours, of course, except you’re doing it all wrong.”

“I took advice from you once. Unsolicited. Notice how I’m not soliciting it now?”

“I really think you should—”

“Look,” Conner said, rising from the chair  and sliding the file folder shut. “I’ve  taken all the “you shoulds” that I  can handle. I’m not going to play  meek puppy dog to placate the  princess. She’s going to have  to  learn to adapt to change, just like everyone  else around here.”

“You’re going to lose her, Con.”

Conner refused to be swayed by his brother’s statement. “If I  do, I do. There’s  plenty of pussy around here.”  But even that statement left him feeling hollow and  empty.

Noah shook his head. “Now  you sound like me. And that’s not a good thing. Because you aren’t anything like me.”

“Thank God.”

“Keep it up, Con,” Noah said, heading for the door. “In record time, just about

everyone here will be wishing you’d never  set foot on Braslieu land. Including me.”

Conner winced at the slam of the heavy door.

The silence  wasn’t as comforting as he’d  hoped. The sun had long since departed,

leaving the  nearly full moon tormenting him through the window.

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The pull grew stronger, as did his need.

For Katya.

He dropped his head into his heads and wished he was anywhere but here. It sure as hell seemed like he couldn’t win, no matter what he did.

“What the fuck is wrong with  wanting to be an alpha?”

The moon offered no response.

A silvery cloud sailed across the three quarter moon, obliterating its light.  Hell,

even the moon had turned its back on him.

He’d never felt more alone in his life.  Or more like a failure. He’d always been taught to handle those around him who wanted  to dominate him.  There was only room for one alpha in a pack, and he was alpha of  this one. Not a very  good one, though.

And for the life of him, he didn’t know what  to do now. Nor did he have anyone totalk to about it. Not even Noah. Noah and  he didn’t think the same way about things. They’d always been sun and moon, night and day. Opposites in so many ways, especially their philosophies. Funny, though,  he’d expected Noah to stand behind himin this.

“I guess I’m just goddamned wrong about everything.”

“About goddamned time you figured that out, brother dear.”

He lifted his head, shocked at the voice he  hadn’t expected to hear, especially in

person.

Chantal.

“What are you doing here?”

She waltzed in looking fresh and beautiful as usual, her hair pulled back in a

ponytail  and looking like she just walked  off the pages of a glossy fashion magazine.

“Thanks so much for the welcome.” She set  her briefcase down and came over to

the desk to kiss his cheek.  “You’re in deep trouble.”

“Who says?”

“Noah, for one. And he’s not one  to call  for help. And he sure as hell would never

think to call me in unless it was a dire emergency.”

“There’s no  emergency.”

Chantal crossed her arms. “Really? And how’s Katya? How much progress haveyou made with her and your current situation?”

He groaned. “Shit.”

“Going that well, huh?”

“The last thing I need is another pain  in the ass alpha female in the mix.”

“Oh, but there’s a difference. I’m not the pain  in the ass alpha female you’re in lovewith.”

He glared at her. “Who said I  was in love with Katya?”

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“I did.”

“You don’t even know her.”

“I don’t have to. I know you. The fact you’ve completely alienated her can mean only one thing. She’s gotten under your skin and  you have no idea how to  handle her.  Because she isn’t your usual  piece of fluff  that you fuck, and she isn’t a part of the  business that you can just deal with as you see fit.”

Sometimes he really hated Chantal’s insights. “So?”

Her grin brightened up the  gloom in the office. “So I’m  here to rescue you. Aren’t you just the luckiest sonofabitch on the face of the Earth?”

* * * * *

Katya may loathe Conner Devlin right now, but  she was absolutely crazy in love

with his sister, Chantal.

What complete opposites. Yes, Chantal was definitely an alpha female, but she had emotions. And she understood Katya’s plight.

What was even better, she agreed  with her complaints  about Conner.

“Yes, my brother is a huge pain in the ass. You’re very wise to discover that so quickly in the game. That says a lot about your intellect, Katya. Most people don’t figure that out until after he’s been around a while.”

They sat at the kitchen table drinking  coffee and trading stories about Conner.

Thought Katya’s experience with him had  been limited, she’d learned a lot abouthim in a short period of time. Though she  hadn’t shared quite everything with Chantal. Namely, the passion that she’d experienced with Conner.

She doubted Chantal would want to hear those details.

“I can’t believe you’ve  run  this huge pack all these years,” Chantal said. “That must

have been quite a burden for you.”

“I could have continued to handle things myself.”

“Having help isn’t admitting failure, Katya.”

She shrugged.

“Anyway, let’s get down to  business.  Tell me exactly what’s going on with

Conner.”

“He’s a pain in my ass.”

Chantal laughed. “Understandable. I  remember when Noah and Conner were  teens. Lord did they drive my mother crazy. I  just sat there with the halo over my head  while they got in trouble.”

Katya could well envision the family dynamics of the Devlins. She wished she  could have seen Conner grow up. “I’ll bet Conner was a troublemaker even then.”

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Rolling her  eyes dramatically, Chantal said, “Honey, you have no idea.”

She’d never felt this comfortable so quickly with another person. Chantal had breezed in unapologetically and informed her she was here to help. Having experience with international law  would also  assist them  with the ministry. At least that was the

reason Chantal gave for showing up here.

But she got the idea that Conner’s sister  had come for another reason entirely,

despite her claims to be here to help the Carpathian cause.

“Your brother is stubborn.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Chantal answered, sipping her coffee.

“And unreasonable.”

“Yes.”

“He refuses to acknowledge my rights.”

“Typical.”

“He treats me like a woman.”

“The bastard.”

Katya laughed, realizing how ridiculous that sounded. With a resigned sigh, she

added, “And I’m in love with him.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that, honey,” Chantal said, then grinned.

“How do I handle him? I feel like if I bow  to his dominance, I lose a part of myself.”

“You  don’t  have  to  give  up  any  of  yourself  to  love  someone

.  If  that  person  loves

you, then there’s always a compromise.”

She shook her head. “I can see no way to  compromise. He simply wishes to take

over and do  things his  way without including me.”

“Then you have to keep reminding him to include you.”

She lifted her chin. “I shouldn’t have to remind him. He  should know what to do.”

Chantal arched a brow. “Now who’s being the stubborn alpha?”

It hadn’t occurred to  her until Chantal said the words. “You know, you’reabsolutely right. I’m as bad as he is.”

Laughing, Chantal clasped her hand and  squeezed. “The great thing about womenis that we can admit our flaws. Men, on the other hand…”

“Very true. We do need to walk more than halfway to meet them in the middle,