“I’m on it.”
Focusing on herhosts, Vanessa knew it was time to devise a foolproof escape plan. Sipping her tea, she saw Big Lady had left the door open and therefore broke whatever containment Spell the bad sister, Angelique, had cast. It was her first break, and there was no way she was going to waste it.
Slowly and carefully, Vanessa pushed her Magic out into the hall and found six guards, all female, who were most definitely Red Wolves.
“They’re all female,”Celeste confirmed.“I guess I’m not surprised.”
“Why is that? I damned sure am.”
“Think about it,”the Polar Bear Princess said.“Aamon has a chip on his shoulder the size of Mt Rushmore and a disdain for women that had to come from somewhere.”
“I figured he was a momma’s boy.”
“Oh, I am sure he was, until…”
“Until daddy died, momma got sick, and Angelique took over. You can bet your ass, the moddie coddling stopped right then and there.”
“And Aamon has been pissed off ever since.”
“You know it, Girl.”
“Well, shit.”
A knock on the open door stopped Vanessa’s mental conversation with Celeste. It was hard to believe, but the proof was right before her eyes. There stood another massively muscled female Wolf, this one with blond hair and carrying a black garment bag that could have doubled as a body bag.
Hanging the garment bag on the front of the wardrobe across from the foot of the bed, Big Lady II laid a box Vanessa hadn’t seen on the end of the bed and turned to Angeline. The air filledwith the buzz of a telepathic conversation right before Big Lady II bowed and mumbled, “Yes, Ms. Angeline.”
Then, to Vanessa, the matriarch-to-be explained, “I hope you don’t mind me taking the liberty of picking out your outfit for this evening’s festivities.”
Trying not to take a bite out of the delicate China teacup in her hand, Vanessa forced the word from her lips. “Festivities?”
“Well, of course, my dear, I want to introduce my future daughter to our Pack and what better way to do that than with a party?”
“Now, wait a minute. I appreciate you taking care of me after… well, after… After whatever Aamon did to me, but there’s no need for a party. Your brother is not my Fated Mate. He is not the father of my baby. Hell, I can’t stand him. There is no way in Hell that I am Mating that worthless sack of shit.”
Leaning forward, Vanessa got as close as she could to Angeline’s shocked face. She had to be sure that there was no misunderstanding. The bitch would hear what she had to say. There would be no more Miss Nice Bear. It was time to let the shit hit the fan and hope for the best.
Leveling her glare, Vanessa let the Magic of the Original Polar Bear empower her words as she continued, “There isnochoice. I was not made for Aamon. He damned sure wasn’t made for me. If he were, I would spendforeverby myself because there isno wayin heavenor Hell,I’d ever have anything to do with the likes of your brother, Aamon Blackwood, or your fucked up Pack. I have a Mate. I am carrying his child. You’re too late, Lady. Sorry ‘bout your luck.”
Without batting an eye, Angelien smiled and chuckled. “Every girl is nervous about her Mating Day, and you have to think of your unborn child, too. But never fear. Once you’ve gotten to know us all better, you will see that we are the Family, the Pack for you.”
“Is the bitch deaf? Ya’ need me to go give her facts with my claws?”
But Vanessa wasn’t listening. She had officially been pushed too far, and she was going to take care of the Blackwood family once and for all.
Throwing back the covers, she ignored Celeste yelling in her mind and got to her feet. Standing as tall as she could, making her five-foot-nothing frame look bigger than it was, she rolled back her shoulders and stared Angeline right in the eye.
Swaying just a bit but blaming it on being pregnant and getting up too quickly, she planted her fists on her hips and took two steps forward. Looking down at Angeline, she spat, “I told your crazy ass brother that I wanted nothing to do with him. I told him so many times that even I can’t remember them all. After he forced me off the road and held me against my will out in the middle of nowhere, I had Chief Cheveyo Thorntree put up a Magical barrier all around my ranch to keep his mangy ass out.”
Poking the She-Wolf in the shoulder to make her point, Vanessa leaned down a bit closer and seethed, “What more does a girl have to do to get her point across? Kick you in the ass?”
The Voodoo Wolf, Angelique’s image blurred. Vanessa shook her head, then widened her stance to stay on her feet as the floor moved under her. Wrapping both hands around her stomach, she tried to step back as the muscular mountain of a She-Wolf with blond hair and sad eyes stepped forward.
Doing everything in her power to stay upright, Vanessa just barely steadied herself as tiny bursts of light flashed in her vision. Rapidly blinking with the hopes of removing the lights, huge black dots joined the party.
“You have to stand your ground,”Celeste slurred, her voice sounding hollow and really far away.
“What the h-hell do you-you th-think I’m doin’?”
