“I have eyes, Little One,” Angeline snapped. “I told you it must be done, and you will do it.”
The atmosphere turned tense. The silence was deafening. The scent of burnt wood and dead flowers filled the room. The soon-to-be Luna of the Blackwood Pack was pissed.
For a second, Vanessa worried that the bitch might strike the younger, but way bigger, She-Wolf. Then she wondered why she cared.
Of course, Celeste was right there to say,“Because you can tell that the poor dear is caught between her family and what she knows is right. However…”
“However,”Vanessa jumped in.“She’s big enough to take care of herself.”
“Damn straight,”the Polar Bear Princess huffed.“Now, play possum until we get an opening.”
Ready to give Celeste some sass, the words were stolen from her mind when Angeline sniped, “She must be awake and dressed when the hairdresser and makeup artist arrive. We have thirty minutes.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Angelica’s clipped answer spoke volumes. Sure, she was very tall and extremely muscular, but she was scared shitless of her older sisters. It was sad, but there was nothing Vanessa could do to help. She had to protect herself and her unborn baby.
Following the movements of two of the Blackwood sisters as they shuffled around the room, she was surprised when the thud of heavy footsteps came closer, stopping just outside the door. “You called for me, Miss Angeline?”
“Oh, yes, DeeDee,” the bitch happily chirped. “WE are going to need your help getting Miss Bryant dressed.”
“Yes, Miss.”
There was instantly more rustling and bustling, and with every passing second, Vanessa's heart beat faster, and more droplets of sweat covered her top lip. It was infuriating. What the hell was taking them so long? Why were they…?
“Okay, I will leave you two to it.” Angeline’s snippy tone had such a haughty tone of arrogance that Nessy thought about jumping out of bed and smacking her across the face.
Thankfully, Angelica quietly said, “Yes, Sister.”
The sound of stilettos leaving the room eased Vanessa’s rattled nerves. Slowly exhaling the breath she’d been holding, careful not to move the sheet, she waited for the two large She-Wolves to speak.
Inhaling slowly, she instinctively felt Angelica Blackwood walk across the room and stop at the side of her bed. Pulling down the covers, the tall, muscled She-Wolf stood there silently. Vanessa knew she hadn’t moved. She was also well aware that the other She-Wolf, Big Lady II, or DeeDee, as Angeline had called her, wasn’t moving a muscle.
The buzzing static of them speaking telepathically tickled Vanessa’s arms and legs. Then Angelica whispered aloud, “I just can’t do this.”
“But you have to, Sis.”
“Sis? Is the blond part of the family, too?”Celeste hissed.
Before Nessy could respond, DeeDee continued. “You know Angeline will send you out to Malick just like she did Aamon, and he’s still…”’
“Yes, I know, my brother is still bleeding and can barely walk.” Angelica’s tone turned rough and angry. “But it was no more than he deserved. They all deserve it. Look at this. This woman is pregnant with another man’s baby, her Fated Mate’s baby, and those nasty bitches don’t care. They just want to give mom a grandchild before they kill her.”
“Holy shit!”Vanessa gasped.“She’s not with them.”
“Oh, hell, no!”Celeste snapped.“You are not…”
But Vanessa wasn’t listening. She saw a way out and took it.
Opening her eyes, she looked directly into Angelica’s sad, dark eyes. Ignoring the She-Wolf’s gasp and shock, she whispered, “If you help us, I will help you.”
“How can you help us?” DeeDee lowly spat. “You’re the prisoner here. We have to…”
Eyes still wide but her fists clenched at her side, Angelica turned to her blind counterpart and shook her head. “We have to help, Sis. Enough is enough. We have to…”
“We have to do as we’re told.” Pushing Angelica out of the way, DeeDee leaned over Vanessa as she matter-of-factly stated, “It’s your ass or mine, lady, and I will not be…”
Before her brain or the Polar Bear Princess with whom she shared her soul had the chance to thwart her plan, Vanessa pulled her knees as close to her pregnant stomach as she could, and in one fluid motion, rolled onto her side. Slamming the heels of her hands into DeeDee’s chest at the same time that she kicked the massive She-Wolf in the stomach, she tried not to smile when the crack of the woman’s ribs reverberated off the walls of the cavernous room.
Stumbling backward, her arms cartwheeled in an attempt to catch her balance, DeeDee's eyes were wide as she begged Angelica, “Please! Please help…”
