Chapter 55
Warning: Language
Marnie wasn’t particularly happy with what Ash told her about this new female. She decided if push came to shove, she was going to do whatever it took for this chick to get the message.
She didn’t have time for this drama queen crap. Adira was close to her time, and she wanted to do all the things aunties do. She couldn’t wait for the little pup to be born.
She was spending time with Adira and Ash. That was all. If this trashy girl wanted to have a go, she could wait in line. She was on her way to Adira’s room when she heard the loudest, high-pitched, annoying voice. She stopped on the landing of the stairs and waited to see where it was coming from.
This time, the voice was accompanied by a loud bang. If it got any louder, it might upset Adira. If it upset Adira, it was really going to upset Mr. Expecting Dad, the Alpha. Sighing to herself, she went down to take care of the problem.
When she got into the kitchen, she was surprised to notice that it was trashed. The poor cook was in the corner, crying her eyes out.
Marnie was instantly pissed. No one messes with the cook or the kitchen.
“WHO THE HELL DID THIS?” she asked in a loud, commanding voice.
That was when Marnie noticed there was another woman in the kitchen. She was holding a rolling pin like a weapon. She looked nuts.
“Who the hell are you, and what the hell are you doing in here?”
The woman had a smirk on her face, putting her nose to the air, sniffing it like she smelled something rotten. She then threw the rolling pin at the cook's head.
Unfortunately for this unknown bitch, she didn’t manage to dodge Marnie’s fist as well as the cook dodged the rolling pin. Marnie landed her right on her ass. A look of total rage came over the woman’s face. She was kinda pretty before, but now she was positively ugly.
The change stunned Marnie for a second. She couldn’t resist giving insult, though.
“Wow, not only are you a bitch, you also fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on your way down. Damn girl, you are ugly!”
Felicia was pissed. This lowlife not only touched her but hit her in the face. Now she was insulting her. How dare she call her ugly. She was going to die for this. How dare she come in here and demand to know who she is? She was about to find out.
Marnie went over to check on the cook. “Are you okay? Did she hit you with this rolling pin before I came in?”
The cook was so upset that all she could do was nod her head yes. Before Marnie could stand up again, she was attacked from the back by the lioness. Marnie felt blood running down her back and a burning pain.
Marnie was pissed, and so was her wolf, Myan. They shifted instantly into their Lycan form. They turned on the big cat and tossed her against the wall with a very loud roar. The lion landed with a thud, then slid down the wall.
Ashton was in the Alpha’s office, discussing housing options for him and Marnie after they were married, when he felt a burning pain going down his back. He stood up, but couldn’t see anything. That was when he realized it was Marnie.
Ashton and Duncan were hitting the stairs at a run when they heard a very loud, angry roar. Duncan was trying to mind-link his sister, but all he got back for a response was, “red.”
Duncan grabbed Ash to slow him down.
“Listen, Ash. Marnie has changed into her Lycan form. It makes her unpredictable. Marnie and Myan are really good together, and the Lycan form is their specialty. When you go in, don’t make any aggressive moves.”
“Because you are Marnie's mate, you will be in charge of calming her down and getting her out of there. Take her to your room and wait there.”
They went into the kitchen slowly. What they saw was not what they were expecting. The place looked like a war zone.
There was flour and food everywhere, mixed with blood. The cook was sitting in the corner. She pointed a shaking hand at the back door, which was standing wide open.
They ran outside. There in the front yard were two figures fighting. Duncan recognized Marnie in her Lycan form right away. The lioness, he had no idea who she was.
Archer was out there standing between Marnie and the pretty beaten-up lioness. The snow was covered in blood spatters. It was a macabre sight to behold.
Marnie crouched down into an attack position. Duncan yelled to Archer not to make a single move. He turned to his sister, taking off his clothes, he changed into his Lycan form and stood in front of Archer.
What they didn’t understand as shifters of a different kind was that Marnie, in her own right, was also a Luna. If there was something done to her or her pack members, if she saw it as a threat, she had the right for blood.
Duncan, in his Lycan form, had to mind-link Marnie and Myan with his commanding Alpha voice to get her to back down.
Marnie shifted into her complete wolf form and bolted for the woods. Ash ran after her.
Duncan, also changing back, put on a pair of jogging pants that Marco gave him and asked Archer what the hell was going on.
“I have no idea. I got here just in time to stop your sister from landing the killing blow.”
Archer kneeled down next to the lioness. She was unconscious, but other than a broken wrist and bruises, she was going to be fine in a day or two.
Archer ordered her to change back. She did and awoke screaming. He picked her up.
“Want to tell me what was going on?”
“I didn’t do anything. She came out of nowhere and started to attack me. I was just defending myself.”
Archer smirked.
“Are you sure that is how things went down? You do know they have security cameras everywhere, right?”
She became shrill. “WHY DON’T YOU EVER BELIEVE ME?!”
“I don’t ever believe you, Felicia, because you have never given me a reason to.”
With that, Archer carried her to the pack hospital so they could help this stupid bitch heal faster. Thinking to himself, maybe he should just find a really big snow bank and toss her in.
Archer shifted into his lion so he could keep up with Marnie’s wolf, Myan. She was really fast. She ran until she came across a river, jumped in, and swam to the little island that the river went around.
He swam across too, shifting upon coming out of the water. He could see that she was back in her human form. She was wearing a robe; she must have stashed it here at one time or another.
When he got closer, he noticed that there was blood soaking the back of the robe. He ran the rest of the way to her. He grabbed her by her shoulders and stood her up, so he could take off the robe to see what damage was done.
What he saw pissed him off. That whore was going to get a piece of his mind, and he was going to see that the punishment stuck this time. No daddy buying her way out, or friends doing the punishment for her.
There were four deep lacerations. They went from Marnie's shoulder all the way down to just above her hips. He could see where her wolf was trying to heal her. The thing about werelion claws is that they have not only a type of poison to subdue their prey, they also have a type of nasty fast-acting bacteria.
He went to the river and soaked the robe in the cold water and put it back on her, then he picked her up gently. He was tall enough to wade back. He carried her all the way to the pack hospital.
When he walked in, he heard Felicia screaming her fool head off. He was met by a nurse who took one look and showed them to a private room. The nurse threw Ash a pair of jogging pants.
When he explained why the wound was not healing, they went into action. Duncan came running into the room, wanting to know what was going on. That got both Ash and Duncan pushed to the hall to wait.
Ash was pissed. He knew that in order for that poison to be present, it meant that it was a deliberate act. Felicia could not claim self-defense. Not only was it a sucker-punch move, claws in the back, the poison had to be consciously delivered. Ash told Duncan everything. He also suggested that Felicia be punished according to pack rules, since they were on pack grounds.
Duncan agreed, but he still had to take it up with Asher, since he was the head and had the final say on what should be done with one of his pride members.
Ashton smiled a wicked smile. He already knew what his brother was going to say.