The headlights of an approaching car blinded her. She dashed into the din of the club.
Alfred and his buddies danced with human girls at the edge of the dance floor, too preoccupied to see her. Where the hell was Devlyn?
But then the song ended and Alfred and Ross headed for their table; the only sound now was the noisy conversation all around her. Her skin prickled for an instant, but she could barely glimpse them, so she figured she was pretty well shielded unless the ceiling fans in the place circulated her scent to them.
Nicol hurried to join Alfred and Ross. Alfred started speaking to them, his voice raised as he slammed an empty glass on the table. She moved closer to hear what the red leader was saying, but so many people congregated around her that she was still obscured from the reds’ view.
“Which legend?” Ross asked, his eyes wide.
Nicol pressed closer to the table. “You mean the one about the gray?”
“Yeah, just what I mean. The gray ousted our leader, what, close to three hundred years ago?” Alfred said, his voice heated.
Ross tossed down the rest of his drink. “Oh, yeah. Your great-grandfather.”
“Hell, yeah. So what if this is a case of deja vu? What if this bastard is going to try and take me down and ‘cleanse’ the pack?”
Nicol shook his head. “He probably doesn’t even know about the legend.”
“He doesn’t need to know about the damned legend to do what happened before, damn it!” Alfred cast him an annoyed look and then leaned closer to his pack members. “Grays are not to be trusted, period. Particularly when one is after the pack leader’s chosen bitch.”
Nicol’s lips turned up slightly.
“What?” Alfred bit out.
“She hasn’t agreed to be your mate.”
“She doesn’t have to. Ancient pack law states that a lone rufus female in a red’s territory is game if the pack leader doesn’t have a mate.” He tilted his chin up, waiting for anyone to challenge him.
Ross nodded. “Yeah, he’s right about that. But if the rest of the pack begins to think of the legend... it could go bad for you. You know, they could worry that the scenario might have the same outcome. Gray wolf kills red pack leader and removes the bad seed from the pack because the reds couldn’t do it.” He gave a slight sneer.
Alfred moved so quickly that no one had time to react. He seized Ross’s throat and growled, “Better hope not, because if he kills me, you’ll still want the little red wolf, and the big gray will eat you alive.”
Bella’s skin chilled, and although she wanted to leave, she felt frozen to the floor. She hadn’t heard of the legend they spoke of — probably because the tale was relevant to the ones who lived here and the story hadn’t carried farther east. But it showed that the gray’s arrival concerned them in a deeper way than she had suspected.
What else might she overhear between the reds? Who murdered the girl?
Alfred released Ross and sat back down. “Get us some more beers. I’ve got to figure out a way to eliminate this sorry gray before it comes to a real fight.”
He wouldn’t fight fair — that’s what raced through Bella’s mind. And she began to think that leaving the area might be the best thing after all. Then she smelled a trace of Devlyn’s scent and turned. From the direction of the restrooms, Devlyn stalked, his eyes full of fury, his face hard.
Until he saw her.
Surprise registered and then anger again. Legs shaking, she strode toward him, still fighting with her conscience which course of action to take. Get rid of Volan’s body or just leave him dead in the parking area and sneak out the back way with Devlyn. She wasn’t the sneaky type normally. But this was one of those times when she felt her life could depend on it.
Devlyn seized her wrist and pulled her toward the entrance. “What the hell are you doing here, Bella?”
“I came to... to tell you I’d be your mate, but... “ She balked at going out the front way for an instant, still trying to decide what to do.
He stopped. “You agree to be my mate? Despite Volan?”
She nodded, tears threatening to spill.
“All right. You don’t have to worry about Volan, Bella. He’s a dead man. Just remember that.” He pulled her tight against his chest, warm and loving, which made her feel even worse about what she’d done.
“I... we have to talk... outside,” she managed to get out.
“What’s wrong, Bella?” Devlyn grunted. “As if I didn’t know. You’re still worried Volan will beat me.”
How could life be so damned complicated? She walked him outside but noticed a man and a woman standing where she’d left Volan’s body between the two cars in the lot. From where she and Devlyn stood, they couldn’t see Volan, but by the way the people were bending over, she figured they were checking him for vital signs.
She yanked Devlyn back inside the club. Too late to hide Volan now. “Too dark outside. Maybe too dangerous.”
“I didn’t see any sign of him, Bella. Volan, I mean. Listen,” Devlyn said, pulling her toward a table, “after I had a chance to cool down, I thought about my actions. Killing him as a human is a foolhardy proposition. Wolf to wolf is the only way to resolve this. Since we’re both here, why don’t we stir the reds up a bit? See if we can make any more headway with them.”
“I... I think we should leave.”
He pulled her onto the dance floor and held her close. “I’ll protect you, Bella. He can’t hurt you here. Just play along with me on this and then we’ll go home.”
Volan would never return to hurt anyone again. Devlyn would take over the pack. End of worry. But she couldn’t shake the fear of getting caught. Not by the police, but by the one she cared for more than anyone else in the world, her true love who would hate her for what she’d done. But he’d be alive, she reminded herself. He’d be alive even if he couldn’t love her anymore.
The crowd shimmied to the heavy rock beat. Red, blue, yellow, and green lights swirled overhead and across the waxed dance floor. Women’s flowery perfumes and men’s spicy colognes couldn’t disguise the perspiration covering the humans’ skin while they worked their bodies to the music. But then the faint sound of a siren wailed in the distance. Bella’s heartbeat kicked up a notch.
She caught sight of Alfred again, dancing with a blond. Ross danced nearby with a brunette. Nicol, however, was nowhere in sight. The rear exit was clear. An easy escape.
With the music winding down to a slower paced dance, Devlyn pulled Bella close. “What’s wrong, Bella?” He moved slowly, drawing her into the mating madness. “You’re shivering.”
“I... “ She swallowed hard and moved Devlyn toward the rear exit.
He smiled and kissed her cheek. “I’m supposed to be the one leading, Bella.”
Heart thundering out of control, she stared at the entrance, watching for the police. “I wish,” she said against his ear over the sound of the loud music, “that you and I had no cares in the world.”
“We won’t, Bella, soon.” He kissed her cheek and moved his hands casually up her back and then to her bottom. Wedging his leg between hers, he pressed her against his hard thigh.
She rubbed against him, shamelessly, wantonly. The silk of her dress slid over her thighs when his leg stroked her most erotic spot. “I said I’d be your mate. Let’s go home.”
He cupped her buttocks with his large hands and lifted her slightly against his firm arousal.
“We’ve garnered the reds’ attention. We have to see how far we can take this.”
With her head pressed against his chest, she couldn’t see who watched them, but when she tried to separate from him to look, he held her tight. His hands roamed down to the small of her back. “We don’t want anyone to know we’re putting on this show for them, Bella. Just stay nice and close.”
Annoyed, she bit his shoulder.
He laughed. “Of course it’s not really a show. You know how I feel about you. I’d make these dance moves with you anywhere. In a subtle way, I’m trying to monitor the reactions of the reds.” “We should go, Devlyn.”
“I’ve never seen a pack of lupus garous observe anyone so intensely. You sure have them worked up.” “You have me worked up, Devlyn, but I really want to... “
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You can feel what you’ve done to me.”
“That’s why I’m ready to go to the SUV. To... to relieve some of your tension and mine.” She moved her hands from his waist to his backside. “Are the reds angry?”
“Rabidly entranced. As if you were doing a striptease in front of them. If any one of them is the killer, I imagine you’re unraveling his resolve to keep his murderous intentions under control.”
“Devlyn, I’m really ready to take this to a more private location.” She rubbed against his steel-hard arousal, trying to induce him to agree.
“A little while longer.” His voice sounded husky and strained. He shook his head. “Damn, one’s coming in for the kill.” “Devlyn?” Bella said.
Nicol joined them and, in a ragged voice, said, “I know you’ve claimed her for your own, although you told me you already had a mate.”
Devlyn moved his hands to Bella’s hips and parted slightly from her. “I had made my intentions toward Bella clear years ago. Except I had to convince her to agree with me first. But, she is my chosen mate... no other.”
“You both have agreed to this?” Nicol asked.
“Yes,” Bella said, and Devlyn leaned over and kissed her mouth. Responding with equal enthusiasm, she wanted there to be no doubt in the reds’ minds that she wanted Devlyn and no other lupus garou.
“May I ask her to dance?”
Devlyn hesitated and then asked, “Bella?”
“I think we should leave, Devlyn.”