Shadow rose and stretched, then meowed a few times.
I belong to myself, actually.
Riley blinked down at him. “Did you just talk to me?”
I did. You seem adequate for the task at hand. And that dumb nachzehrer will follow you, so I might as well get a head start before he arrives. Do you think I could watch a few mating rituals between your kind?
“I—what?No.” Riley blushed. “But if you promise not to eat anyone, you can come.” She lifted the kitten, bringing him eye-level. “Hurt any of my pack and I’ll devour you, demon. That’s a promise.” She let him see the berserker in her eyes, making sure he knew what to expect.
Oh, lovely. Very well. I’ll be on my best behavior.
Hecate frowned. “Is he talking to you?”
“Yeah. He’s kind of mouthy. He talks to Kraft too, but not Orion.”
Mormo snorted. “Because Kraft doesn’t want to deal with the furball while Orion is desperate to love and snuggle with Paz—I mean, Shadow—and the kitten’s obnoxious enough to make everyone miserable.”
Of course. But that’s more due to being a cat than a demon. Felines are particularly contrary. I’m actually quite amenable as Pazuzu.
Riley would need to look that name up, but having a demon on her side couldn’t hurt, could it? “Okay, I need to go. I don’t suppose I can borrow a car?”
“I’ll do you one better.” Mormo handed over her duffel that appeared from out of nowhere. He said something under his breath and waved his hand. A portal appeared, just a few inches bigger and wider than Riley.
She stared, having never traveled through a magical gateway before. Very few mages who worked with their pack could manage such magic. “Wow. This leads to home?”
Mormo nodded. “To the outskirts of your territory. Best of luck. Please remind Max that he promised me something. And not to forget.”
“What?”
“He knows. Now go.”
Riley rose, planting Shadow on one shoulder and her duffel bag over the other. Then she walked through the portal home.
And stepped into her worst nightmare.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
“Riley, there you are,”said a voice she’d been doing her best to avoid forever. “You look prettier every time I see you. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
Unfortunately, Fredrick Julian Wildridge, alpha-in-waiting of the hated Wildridge pack, stood with several of his dires outside Noblewood.
What the hell?
His smug smile widened. “Just the berserker I wanted to talk to.”
She’d managed to avoid being in the same place as Freddy “I Am a Huge Asshole Call Me Fredrick” for the past three months. Before that, she’d done her best to be anywhere but where he might turn up. But as her hundredth birthday neared, he’d grown more persistent, doing his best to track her down and spend time with her at any opportunity.
His attempts at flattery always fell flat, as did his weak gift-giving, which consisted of dead animals and jewelry.
First, ew, she wasn’t her direwolf all the time, and she preferred her meat skinned and cooked since most of her existence was spent in human form. And two, the guy didn’t know her at all. She had a bag of ridiculous jewelry in her cabin in an old lunchbox under her bed. What the hell would Riley do with diamonds and gold?
Now a knife or weapon of some kind and she’d be impressed. But Freddy had issues when it came to dominance, and no mate ofhiswould carry a weapon with him around. He expected her to bow to him when, not if, they mated. His goal to bring a berserker to his pack was tantamount. And of course, getting her on her hands and knees, submissive to him, ranked a close second in importance.
She ignored the lust that sparked in his conniving eyes, conceding that he had an impressive build at least. As a human, he had darkly-tanned skin, dark hair, and amber eyes, always a little wolf-like even in a man’s form. He was smart enough and charming when he wanted to be, but his attitude about a female’s place in the pack wore thin.
Freddy didn’t like Riley being a berserker despite wanting the prestige her presence would afford the Wildridge pack. Life as his mate would be hell. But an alliance between the Wildridge and Crimson Claw packs would be ideal. She’d heard her uncle and aunt mention that very fact plenty of times within earshot.
Talk about pressure.
