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Zane shook his head. “Your shoebox wasn’t there, Cherub. You didn’t leave anything behind.”
That lifeline of hope snapped, leaving a chasm in my chest a mile wide. My money. All of it. All the hard work I had put in. Everything I’d worked for over the past three years - gone.
“Then…then where is it?” I asked, but before I had a chance to ponder that more the rustling of leaves amongst the shadows drew my attention, just as arms tightened around my waist, yanking me back away from Zane.
???
Marik
“What did I tell you about leaving the keep while on lockdown?” I whispered to my Thief. Her body melded into mine, her fingers grabbing my wrists despite her pliancy. We’d have to continue to explore these instinctual responses of hers later.
But first, I’d have to solve this little dog problem.
The mongrel before me shifted instantly, his lips peeling back into a snarl as I pulled her further away. Felix appeared with a burst of power next to me, sending two of the mongrels rolling back away from us. My Thief stiffened at her friends’ treatment and pushed forward, trying to escape my hold.
“I wouldn’t suggest it, especially as you reek of these mongrels and I find I want to do nothing more than strip the scent from you.”
She snorted.
“And prevent it from ever penetrating you again.” She audibly rolled her eyes, a motion my demon adored. “Be a good girl now, because Felix’s little display of power is only the beginning.” I wasn’t above the use of threats, especially as I had no problem with seeing them through.
She nodded. Despite the fear leaking from her every pore, she maintained a haughty bravado of contempt and defiance that made my cock twitch against her backside.
Content for now she would remain in check, I nodded to Felix to begin.
“So, have any of you dogs learned any tricks yet? Speak perhaps?” Felix’s cocky grin and assured presence made the largest one snarl.
Neither of the dogs gave an outward response. The smaller of the two males kept his snout raised as he searched the yard for any additional threats. The larger, however, only had eyes for me, his brown irises following every movement of my hands across my Thief’s skin. I smirked, and he snarled again, crouching down as if to leap at me.
And he would have had another of the mutts not beat him to it. A third wolf, the smallest of the three, leapt from an embankment, her jaws trained for my head. I merely arched a brow and flicked a finger, a wave of wrath causing her to crumple to the ground. That had mostly been for show - she would have a few singed furs but would remain otherwise unharmed.
“Down girl.” Felix said, his lighthearted tone unwavering. The woman in my arms hissed, and squirmed, but stilled with another purposefully gentle squeeze.
“Let's try another approach - what about fetch? Come on now, go fetch some clothes, I have no real interest in looking at a dog cock, even when you are human.”
“In the car.” my Thief whispered beside me, referencing a backpack on the front seat of the nearby blue and white truck. I nodded telling her without words I understood, and gently moved her toward the vehicle. As we walked, I allowed my fingertips to graze down the line of her tank top. She shivered but said nothing more as I tossed the bag to Felix who pulled out a pair of jeans and proceeded to throw them to the largest mutt.
He sniffed them experimentally before snatching them up into his massive jaws and moving back to the side of the hut. I knew he wouldn’t leave with his two packmates as good as in our hands. When the cracking of bones ceased and the rustle of clothing could be heard, I relaxed my hold a bit on my Thief. He was the only one of the three that could pose a problem, having been unmoved by Felix’s blast except for the claws he had pressed into the earth beneath him.
The mongrel emerged shortly thereafter, his proud stance in place despite his dangerous position. He had a confident swagger, his shoulders flexed back in a natural display of dominance. But it was not this that drew my attention, but the three perfectly straight lines running from his sternum to his left kidney. I studied the tan lines bordered by the slightest hint of gold, and knew immediately he should have been dead. Only one creature left marks like that - and it wasn’t one under my domain. How a dracari had attacked the wolf I didn’t know. He was not old enough to have been alive the last time the Angels had been allowed to set the dracari free. Another riddle to be unraveled, all surrounding my imperious Little Thief.
I raised my gaze from his scars and he met my eyes, understanding dawning there, and he gave me a curt nod which I returned. He had just proven he was a shifter of worth, and in turn I acknowledged his strength. We were both alphas in our own rights, and a tentative respect formed between us in the space of a second.
“Now that’s better.” Felix chimed in, pulling me from my thoughts.
The alpha before me looked down at my Thief, his way of asking if she was okay. She nodded, bumping against my chest as she did. I tightened my hold again possessively and rumbled my chest, and she responded perfectly - instinctively leaning back into my embrace, garnering a low growl from the alpha.
“So, I take it you’re trying to clean up the little mess our Ryn seems to have been involved herself with.” The use of her nickname wasn’t missed by the alpha, who folded his arms over his chest and squared his shoulders in response. “As you can see, there’s no need, just call us... Bounty.” Felix grinned and relaxed his hands into the pockets of his black pressed trousers.
I raised an eyebrow in bemusement and Felix chuckled.
“As in the...paper towels?” the alpha asked. His voice had a slight American twang, which didn’t match the area at all.
“That’s the one! The quicker picker-uppers!”
The alpha rolled his eyes and ignored Felix’s inane comment, returning to the main topic. “How?”
“By ensuring she doesn’t go to one of those nasty little guilds she’s so afraid of,” he said with a shrug.
