Her Mortal Mate

Chapter Sixteen: Bad Intentions

Ryland

"Get him out of my sight," I seethed to the others as I wiped off Jericho's blood from my bruised and bloodied knuckles. The wolf was still alive, but barely. And truthfully, I wasn't going to be heartbroken if he didn't make it.

Jericho had made a grave mistake in this rather meticulous, calculated plan.

One that could very well prove detrimental to everyone involved.

Shit!

I slammed my fist against the concrete wall in my rage, trying to dispel some of the overbearing emotion ripping through me. It did nothing to dispel the pent up fury, and for one moment I regretted not ripping out Jericho's heart while I had the chance.

If we weren't successful in bringing Jadea to heel...

"Father will understand," Harley stated in an almost bored tone as he casually walked to the railing where I had been standing moments before and leaned against it, making sure to keep his back away from me. Somehow, he just knew if he gave me the opportunity to kill him, I would in a heartbeat. Especially right now.

His lack of urgency and projected annoyance by this highly advantageous excursion made me want to beat him to a bloody pulp too. However, I knew better than to get into a fight with him. He was the first born. He was the favorite. And, as annoying as it might be, he had the skillset to back everything up, despite his terrible attitude, impassivity and slothful ways.

"You need to lay down the law, Harley!" I snarled knowing, even if Harley’s pack were the ones to botch this job, father wouldn’t take out his anger on his eldest son. Father had always doted on Harley. He treated him the best and put him on a damn pedestal, expecting everyone else to cater to him and his every need. It was annoying and frustrating all the same. No, if anyone were to get reprimanded, it would be me. "You need to take responsibility for your pack! You need to lead them!" I was fairly shouting at the end.

His cold, icy blue eyes met mine and I knew I'd hit a chord. And not the good kind.

Harley absolutely hated it when I criticized him for how he chose to lead his pack. Perhaps that was due to his lack of being held accountable for his actions.

"I do lead them," he hissed back, taking a step away from the railing to stare down his long nose at me with those frostbitten eyes. "And, perhaps if you would have listened to him when he said wait--instead of haphazardly skipping ahead and calling Jadea when we weren't ready," his voice rising as he steadily walked towards me, "maybe we wouldn't be in this situation right now." He made sure to straighten his back so he could tower over me and glare down that pointed nose of his.

"If my pack would have gone--

"Jadea would have already figured out who was hunting her. Because you and your pack rush everything and leave a damn mess behind!"

I winced as his alpha voice tore through my mind and I fought the urge to cower.

"If you would have listened to me, and done everything I'd laid out instead of rushing into all of this, we would have already acquired her. But, now, you get to admit your fault to our father," he smirked.. "And he won't appreciate the incompetence."

"But it was Jericho who left the SIM card behind! It was Jericho who should have ensured that damn mortal had no electronic devices!"

"That may be. And if he lives, he will suffer severe consequences for his mistakes. However, it wasn’t just him who made them.” Those icy eyes stared impassively at me.

I bared my teeth, hating what he was implying. “I didn’t—

I snapped my mouth shut, a surge of pain lancing through my skull. I doubled over and puked from the assault on my mind. “This isn’t up for debate,” he snarled. “You better hope this all works out. Or pray to the gods that father will have mercy on you.”

And just like that, the pain was gone. It left me weak. My nose and ears were bleeding from the amount of power that had ripped through my system. I was surprised I wasn’t convulsing on the floor.

As much as I wanted to argue with Harley, I knew he would win. He always did.

“Maybe next time, you’ll listen to me.”

I ground my teeth in order to keep from snapping a response that was sure to see me flogged. If Harley was more assertive, perhaps we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place. It was his fault for letting me get so far out of line without repercussions.

His orders always sounded more like suggestions than anything. Not to mention, it was always so annoying how he never repeated his orders. If someone didn’t listen the first time, it was his or her responsibility to receive whatever punishment was doled out. It was always the pack mate’s fault and not Harley’s. He always threw those who didn’t comply with him under the bus.

Harley’s phone rang and when he answered his cold eyes turned frost bitten. Whatever had been said wasn’t good.

He heaved a heavy sigh and pressed the bridge of his nose as he tried keeping his temper in check. There had only been a handful of times I’d seen him lose it, and every time someone had died. I glanced around for an immediate escape.

“We need to go,” he stated, extremely annoyed. “They found the human.”

“Are they all there?” I asked, regaining my feet.

“No. There’s only a handful. Which means the others could be converging here.”

“We are done with the trap,” I said quickly. “Maybe, there’s enough time to replace the demon’s blood with hell hound venom?”

“And risk killing her?” He snapped his strike swift and unexpected. He was infuriated by my suggestion. “We need her alive you incompetent fool!”

“Why is it so imperative to keep her alive?” I screamed back. Yes, our family was down on funds, but if she was killed in an accident, Chance wouldn’t have any competition. Our family would gain a significant income through him.

Harley’s backhand caught me off guard. Bones in my cheek cracked and I staggered away. “We need her alive.” His snarl and glare were as cold as ever. In his tone, I heard that minute shift in tone. The kind that sent a shiver of fear down your spine and promised a slow and painful death if his order was disobeyed.

Fine. I dropped the subject, relenting.

“If we draw her attention away, somehow, and lead the others into the trap…?” I started out strong even after being struck, but as Harley stepped closer with those intense cold eyes, I felt my voice fading. I hated how I cowered in his very presence, like a petulant child.

“Hmm…” he hummed thoughtfully after a moment. “That could work,” he mumbled under his breath as he turned to peer into the warehouse. “Yes. Do that quickly. I want to send a clear message to Jadea: that no matter who she seeks out for help, no matter who her friends are, they will not be able to stop us from claiming her.”