The red wolf suddenly lifted its head and snarled at Vivienne, who took in the gleaming white teeth and powerful build of thing, and thanked God her mother had taught her those spells.
Eli moved in front of her once more, and this time, he crouched low and waited. A warning growl emerged and then he was advancing. The red wolf stepped back, snapped its teeth together, and shook its massive head. Moments later, there was a bright flash, and Vivienne blinked. When the light cleared, Samia stood there, gloriously naked.
“You,” Vivienne whispered, hastily lifting her gaze from the woman’s body to her angry face.
“It speaks,” Samia muttered in disgust, glaring down at Eli. “Step aside, whelp!” When Eli only growled, she turned her gaze to Vivienne, and raked her with a thorough glare. Vivienne returned it steadily. Samia had been trying to intimidate her from the moment she’d entered Cedar Creek. From the bumps when they met outside, to the long stares, to the flashing of razor-sharp, elongated teeth, Samia was like a child sulking because she hadn’t gotten the toy she wanted.
“You have a pretty mouth.” She circled Vivienne slowly, and Eli followed her, keeping his eyes on the redhead. Vivienne waited for Samia to make the first move. “Your body is boyish and unappealing, your face barely pleasant to look upon, but your mouth might come in handy.” She laughed softly and turned back to the three lurking wolves. “What do you think? Shall I make her my new bitch?”
Heads wagged in agreement and Samia smiled, tossing her hair.
“I agree. I think I’ll make you my new bitch.” When Vivienne lifted a brow, Samia raised auburn-colored brows and said flippantly, “Just because you’re supposed to mate the alpha, doesn’t mean you automatically become alpha bitch.” She leaned in, until her breath fanned Vivienne’s face. Even the woman’s breath smelled good, like peppermints. It only made Vivienne angrier, but she managed to hold her temper.
Eli, on the other hand, seemed ready to take a chunk out of Samia’s pretty leg, so she reached down and stroked his head, willing him to be calm.
“You can be my pet, serving my every whim, my every fantasy.” Her eyes lowered to Vivienne’s lips, and she licked hers. “Oh yes, I fully intend to make you my bitch.”
With a bored sigh, Vivienne shook her head. “Considering our anatomies, I would have to say, in all fairness, that you would better suit the position of bitch than I.”
A snicker sounded from somewhere behind Samia and the redhead turned with a furious glare. Whichever of her cheer squad had emitted it was silenced.
Eli’s tongue popped from his mouth and lagged, a sure sign that he was laughing. In another instant, a bright flash exploded and he stood beside her as naked as Samia.
“You weak bitch,” Samia raged, moving forward with a speed that Vivienne hadn’t anticipated, but Eli had. Her arm was already raised, her claws unsheathed, when he grabbed her arm.
“Touch her and you’ll answer to Conall.”
Samia’s eyes widened briefly before she shoved a smiling Eli away. He bumped into Vivienne, and she held them both upright.
“I will have my blood rite and when I do—”
Vivienne laughed, stopping Samia midsentence.
“First, someone will have to explain to me exactly what a blood rite is. Sounds outlandish to me, but then again, that was what you were going for, wasn’t it, Samia?”
Samia took another step forward, but stopped. She smiled wolfishly. “I’ll tell you what it is. It’s me on top of you, ripping your skinny throat out.”
“Why, Samia,” Vivienne began, shaking her head as if chastising a child. “I am going to mate your alpha. So please, any thoughts that you have about my lips, or being on top of me, you really should try to forget. You’re a pretty girl, but I don’t play for that team. Sorry.”
Vivienne was having such a good time goading her with sarcastic and snide remarks, she didn’t notice they’d picked up more of an audience.
After Sloan had received an angry phone call from Conall, he’d stripped, jumped through a back window, and allowed his nose to take him to Vivienne. The pack members he passed, sensing his urgency, had followed. And there they all stood, watching from the shadows as Vivienne bantered with Samia. She looked poised, an aloof smile on her face, even as Samia raged against her.
“You—”
“Weak, pathetic bitch? Weak, skinny bitch? Weak bitch? Or just bitch?” Vivienne shook her head and clucked her tongue. “You’ll have to do much better than that. You’re becoming boringly predictable.”