Vince looked away as Derek chuckled. He winced, and I saw his fist clench around his shirt. “I don’t need to.” I saw Vince relax, felt Brandon release a pent up breath. “I’m a Beta. Bitches like you lie flat on your backs and spread your legs nice and wide.” Vince cuffed his head again, and Derek growled.
Vince raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, I laughed. “Bitches like me?” I stepped away from Brandon and moved closer to Derek. “You haven’t met a bitch like me.” I snarled as I got close. “Do you, or do you not know, what a Cath Báis is?”
Derek looked at Brandon, who was obviously gesturing behind my back. “What?” He chuckled again. “Every bitch is the same.” He looked at Vince. “What the fuck does she keep harping about? A Cath Báis? What is it, some kind of mating?” He turned back to me and humped the air.
Vince groaned, and I smirked. “Aren’t you fucking delightful? But no, a Cath Báis is no mating term. It’s from the old laws. And even though the old laws have been retired, they can still be invoked, can’t they, Alpha Vince?” The anger in my voice spiked again as I thought of the one he used against my mother.
He swallowed and then nodded. “Yes, yes, they can be invoked.”
“What the fuck is a Cath Báis?” Derek yelled, oblivious to the tension in the room.
I stepped forward and smiled. The air in the room dropped, and without realizing it, Derek took a step back. He knew without even realizing it; I was the biggest dog in this fight. “A Cath Báis is a fight to the death.” My grin turned predatory.
Brandon reached for me and pulled me back a step, and Vince stepped between Derek and I. “Now.” He started. “I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Before he got any further, Derek, the dumbass, started laughing. He threw back his head with full-belly laughs as my words registered. Vince closed his eyes in a defeated look, he dropped his head and released a sigh. Brandon’s hand tightened around my hand, like he thought that Derek laughing at me was going to be the thing that pushed me over the edge.
“You want to fight me to the death?” Derek laughed harder. Tears streamed down his face. “I’m a Beta. A trained warrior. The right-hand man of the next Alpha. And you think a little woman who is the flavour of the week is going to come into this office and demand my head?” His face fell into angry lines. “You are fucking stupider than I thought.”
I smiled, fangs descending, and I looked at Vince. “You don’t train your dogs well, Vince.”
“Did you just call me a fucking dog, whore?” Derek cut in, but I was done with this.
“Do you know why no one has stepped up for you yet, Derek?” I dragged my hand out of Brandon’s grip. I stepped closer. “Because everyone else knows who the biggest, baddest wolf is in this room.” I snapped my fangs. “And it’s not you.” Then I released my aura.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Everyone in the room hit their knees, and I had barely released half of my power. Disappointing. I let my eyes shift to the golden hue of my wolf and I stepped up to Derek, lifting his face with my claw. “How does it feel to be the bitch in the room, Derek?”
He trembled at my feet. “You…”
“Yes. Me.” I tilted his face back farther, forcing my claw into his skin. Blood trailed down his throat, and it gave me a small sense of satisfaction. “Not Vince, and not Brandon. This is all me.” I slammed my hand against his throat and I tightened my grip. His choking for his breath was another small satisfaction. I pulled him from the ground. “Do you know why I am here, pup?”
Derek was turning purple as I dropped him. He fell to the floor in a heap of wheezing. Brandon came to my side and triedto grab my hand. But I flashed him a look. Nix pushed forward, sending her voice through my lips. “My human might like you, pup, but I will not allow you to interfere with this.”
Brandon swallowed and nodded. “I won’t interfere. I just want to give Amy a little support.” He held out his hand and Nix started laughing in my mind.This pup is laying it on thick.
Megan chuckled as she laid down next to Nix.Let him think he can calm you. It will give Vince a sense of control.
I gave him a tiny nod, and Brandon slid his hand in mine. But I crouched down, and he followed me. I leaned over Derek as he coughed. “I’ll ask you one last time. Do you know why I am here?”
Derek had the sense to look scared now. He gripped his throat and shook his head. “No.” His voice was rough and I could scent his fear.
“I want your head.” I smiled. “I want to rip your head from your body and carry it through the streets.” I leaned closer. “And you best believe I would do it and I could. You might be thinking that you’re still a Beta, and you might be stronger than I am. But I am here to tell you I would put you in the ground within a few minutes.” His face grew a little red as the anger surged. “You might think that I am boasting, but I’m not. You might last longer if I decided to play with you. And I might. Give you a little hope and then, little by little, I would pick at you.”
Derek shook his head. “You couldn’t.”
“Oh, but I could. I would.” I smiled. “I’d start with a hand, or an ankle. And I would whittle you down until you are a pile of broken bones and a crying heap, and then I would take your head. Do you know why?”
Derek looked at Vince, but he was just staring at Brandon’s hands in mine, watching the anger drain out of me, little by little. “Alpha Vince.” Vince jolted and then looked at Derek.
“What?”
Derek choked on his words. “Are you going to allow her to do this to me?” His words, hoarse with pain.
Vince furrowed his brow. “I don’t allow Amy to do anything. She is an Alpha in her own right and knows the old laws. She has the right to invoke the Cath Báis.” His eyes flashed to me. “I will apologize for my involvement and I will rectify my stance immediately once you are done here.” I nodded and then slowly turned back to Derek, who paled.
“You’re an Alpha?” I smiled, fangs descending again.
