Werewolf Rage Book #2 in the Taming The Wolf Series (3 page)

Cyrus stepped forward and smiled as he came face to face with Cole.
“No Cole, you’re wrong. I’m very happy to see you again because there’s something I’ve been dying to say to you. You ever decide to watch my mate undress again I’ll dig your eyes out of their sockets.”

Cole surprised her by leaning his head back and laughing.
“Now Cyrus, Harry told us that you’re on the board of Judges. I was told it was
your
idea to give women the freedom to choose whoever they want to be with. Something about no woman should ever have to be with a man she doesn’t want. Am I right?”

Cyrus’s hand flew out so fast, Ava barely saw him move. Cyrus
’s hand was now wrapped tightly around Cole’s throat, slamming him against the wall so hard a picture crashed down, the glass shattering loudly. Cole’s face tightened, but he didn’t lose his smile.

“Freedom to choose doesn’t mean you get to make an ass out of yourself.
Ava?
Do you want this man’s attentions? Did you want him to stare at you as you stripped down to your bathing suit?”

Ava felt her breath shudder out as she stared at Cyrus’s straining arm and his fingers tight around Cole’s throat.

“No Cyrus. I didn’t. And now that Cole knows I’m sure there won’t be any mistakes in the future. Honey, Cole is a guest in your home. I’m sure you don’t want to crush his wind pipe right now. It’ll be hard for him to eat that way,” she said trying to lighten the mood.

Cyrus growled low in his throat as Cole stared darkly back at him, no fear showing whatsoever in his face.
“You’ve been warned Cole. Stay away from my mate,” he said and slowly loosened his grip on Cole’s throat, moving back and letting his arm fall.

Cole stepped forward away from the wall and massaged his throat lightly.
“You’ve given your warning. Now here’s one for you. Don’t be a hypocrite. It’s one thing to preach to your people about choice and then turn around and take it away when the mood strikes. Wasn’t that how your last leader ruled? Ava might want to change her mind someday. You’ll have to let her,” Cole said and turned and walked through the doorway, shutting the door silently.

Patricia, Ava and Cyrus stood in the hallway staring at each other.
Patricia let out a shaky breath and lifted her hands to smooth her hair. “That was hideous. But thank you for not killing our guest in the hallway,” she said and walked toward the stairs. “Just wait until he leaves the house,” she said under her breath, making Ava burst out in a surprised laugh.

She stepped forward and grabbed Cyrus’s hands in hers, feeling wave after wave of rage r
ushing through him.

“Baby, let it go.
He took one look at you and me and just wanted to cause some trouble. It’s almost as if he’s doing it on purpose to cause a distraction or something,” she said frowning as she glanced at Perry’s closed door.

Cyrus shook his head.
“I took one look at you and that’s all it took for me. Dang if I’m not going to have to kill him soon,” he muttered and led her down stairs and into the kitchen.

Ava let the subject drop, but she felt like she was on to something.
Cole might be attracted to her, but she had the strong impression that he was being very calculated about this. He wanted to stir up trouble. But why?

Ava moved to the counter and began chopping tomatoes from Patricia’s garden for the salad.
Behind her, Cyrus, Patricia and Tobias cornered her father and were quickly and bluntly filling Harry in on Cole’s antics. She felt her father come to stand beside her but didn’t stop chopping.

“Is it true Ava?”
Harry asked, sounding surprised and upset.

Ava paused, remembering her father’s interest in Perry.
She needed to be careful. “I think Perry is lovely. She’s sweet and kind and polite. Cole seems determined to get under Cyrus’s skin. I’m positive I’m just the tool he’s using to cause trouble.”

Harry rubbed his hand over his chin and nodded.
“Interesting take on things. Tanner’s Landing has had a few upheavals lately in leadership. Kind of like us. But where we’re making progress and changing things for the better, Tanner’s Landing is dissolving into violence and constant challenges. We’ll have to watch Cole carefully. But to do that, we’ll need to keep him nearby.”

Tobias came to stand next to Harry and shook his head.
“Cyrus just about killed the man just two minutes ago. Do you really think it’s a good idea for him to stay here?”

Harry shook his head immediately, looking up at his best friend.
“Of course not. I’ll take them to my father’s house tonight.”

Cyrus clenched his fists and his eyes glowed.
“Ava’s not staying in that house with Cole,” he spit out.

Harry held up his hand.
“Calm down Cyrus. I’m not an idiot. She’ll stay here. I’m sure Patricia and Tobias are adequate chaperones.”

Cyrus closed his eyes and s
lumped back against the counter, “Sorry.”

Harry walked over to grip Cyrus’s shoulders.
“No apology needed son. If you ask me, you’ve shown remarkable restraint,” he said with a laugh.

Cyrus grinned and shook his head.
“Cole was right about one thing. I am a hypocrite. I want a choice for all women. With one exception,” he said looking at her with troubled eyes.

Harry chuckled.
“If there’s one thing I can tell you about Ava it’s that no one can tell her what she wants. She’s the most independent woman you could have ever chosen. If she’s chosen you then it’s because she wanted to. And I promise, no trouble maker will be able to change her mind,” he said and walked over to kiss his daughter on the cheek before moving to the fridge to grab a water bottle.

Ava grinned after her father and moved to stand in front of Cyrus.
He looked away from her, not wanting to meet her eyes, but she moved his chin with her finger to bring them face to face.

“I’m sorry Ava. I shouldn’t have lost my temper,” he said quietly.

Ava smiled and reached up with her hands to cup his face. “You’re forgiven. But please behave during dinner. No matter what he says, just smile and keep eating. He’s baiting you. He’s doing everything he can to get you to attack him. I’m not sure what his motive is, but it’s not me,” she said, adamantly.

Cyrus’s eyes lightened and he smiled in amusement down at her.
“Sweetheart, you have a lot to learn about werewolves. Trust me,
it’s you
,” he said and kissed her hard before pulling her into the dining room.

They sat at the table, chatting until Cole and Perry walked in, freshly showered and wearing their borrowed clothes. Perry looked beautiful in a long mint green cotton skirt with a white wrap around shirt that made her look elegant and stylish.
Cole was wearing a pair of her father’s jeans and an old WSU t-shirt. He looked pretty good too, she admitted guiltily. She looked at everyone around the table instead of Cole. Her father looked stunned and was moving quickly around the table to hold a chair out for Perry.

Tobias and Patricia looked worried but were smiling determinedly.
Cyrus was staring coolly at Cole. She reached out and took his stiff hand in hers and squeezed his hand gently. She felt some of the tension leave and she relaxed. She glanced back and saw Perry smiling shyly at her father and Cole was now sitting across from her, grinning.

“Let’s get started shall we?” Patricia said suddenly.
“Ava honey, will you help me bring a few dishes out?”

Ava immediately moved to help Patricia and soon everyone was busy passing pla
tters of pork chops, the salad bowl and mashed potatoes and gravy around the table. She walked back in the dining room with a bowl of rolls and moved to set them down. The only clear spot was one right in front of Cole. She swallowed nervously and prayed he wouldn’t do anything that would have Cyrus leaping out of his chair. She put her hand on her father’s shoulder as she leaned forward to put the bowl right in front of Cole.

“There you go.
That’s everything,” she said in relief and moved back from the table just as a large, hard hand snaked out and grabbed her hand.

“So when do I get to taste
your
cooking Beautiful?” Cole asked, his voice warm and soft.

The entire table went still and she felt her father looking up at her warningly as Cyrus lowered his fork.
She cleared her throat and moved backwards. “Maybe tomorrow Cole. What are your favorite dishes?” she asked pleasantly as she reared back her foot and let it fly into Cole’s calf. Since the table was high and the table cloth long, no one knew what she had done. The only reaction was Cole’s body jerking slightly before he let her hand go. She grinned as she saw that she’d made his eyes water.

Cole blinked a few times as he watched Ava, his eyes bright with interest as she moved quickly around the table to her seat next to Cyrus.

“Well, my favorite thing to eat is Mexican food.
You wouldn’t know how to make enchiladas would you?” Cole asked giving her a half smile as he reached down and rubbed his calf nonchalantly.

Ava smiled, showing her dimples.
“It’s one of my specialties. But be careful. You take a bigger bite than you can handle and you’ll regret it. My enchiladas are kind of spicy,” she said raising her eyebrow.

Cole nodded his head and picked up his fork.
“Thanks for the warning. But I’m pretty confident I can handle anything you want to dish out.”

Ava’s eyes narrowed as Cole looked across the table at her with a slight grin.
She rolled her eyes and began eating. The rest of the table relaxed into general conversation and the mood lightened. Tobias and Harry kept Cole and Perry talking so much about themselves and their future plans that Cole didn’t have a chance to cause any more problems.

Cyrus reached over and put his arm around her shoulders, leaning in close before whispering in her ear. “What exactly did you do to put that look of surprise and pain on his face? I’m dying to know,” he whispered sounding happy.

Ava looked at him and grinned, her eyes twinkling. “Now would I purposefully hurt a guest in your home? You might think I’m rude,” she said, looking away demurely.

Cyrus leaned in closer, touching her ear with his mouth.
“I love you,” he whispered so fervently that she felt her whole body tingle. She looked up and would have leaned in to kiss him, but held herself back. She didn’t want their guests, especially Cole to see an intimate moment between her and her mate.

Cyrus went back to his dinner, but kept a hold of her hand. He even went so far as to ask Cole what his hobbies were. After dinner, Harry took Cole and Perry back to the house he’d grown up in.
Ava waved goodbye from the front porch with Cyrus and didn’t envy Perry and Cole. She knew her father would much rather be here with her at the Carlston’s home. Titus, Harry’s father and the last ruler over the town had been an evil tyrant of a man. Needless to say, Harry didn’t have fond memories of growing up in that house.

“He’ll be fine.
Harry’s strong. He won’t let Titus’s memories affect him,” Cyrus said reassuringly.

Ava nodded, but she wasn’t so sure.
Her father was human and at one time in his life, he’d been a vulnerable little boy. And part of that little boy would have to walk back into that house.

“Will you walk through the gardens with me?” she asked, holding her hand out to Cyrus.

Cyrus nodded silently and they walked around the side of the house and through the gate into the back yard. Ava loved Patricia’s gardens. Patricia was an artist in her spare time and her love of color and movement spilled over into the design of her garden. Sudden splashes of red or purple would draw her eye and weave into different colors and patterns.

Cyrus put his arm around her shoulders as they walked through the meandering pathways.
As the moon appeared above the mountain peaks, Cyrus pulled her into his arms and sighed heavily as he held her close.

“I’m afraid that I’m going to horrify you with how possessive and jealous I am,” he said quietly.

Ava ran her hands up his back as she looked up into his face. “Jealousy and possessiveness aren’t just werewolf traits. Regular people can turn into crazed animals when they feel that a relationship is threatened. Good thing you trust me with your heart, isn’t it?” she asked softly.

Cyrus bowed his head.
“Point taken. If I trust you, there’s no need for jealousy or possessiveness. Knowing that and feeling it are different though. So how would you have handled it, if it was Perry and she was making her desire to be with me known in outrageous and offensive ways?” he asked with a smile in his voice.

Ava frowned and looked away.
She trusted Cyrus but if Perry flagrantly pursued Cyrus in front of her, she’d want to rip her hair out.
At the very least.

“Point taken,” she said softly, grinning as the soft night enveloped her, touching her skin and making her feel fluid and free.

Cyrus smiled lazily down at her before leaning down kissing her jaw and then her lips and then softly her temple. Ava smiled and relaxed in Cyrus’s arms, feeling so at home and at ease that she couldn’t even imagine wanting to be with another man, regardless of how good looking he was.