The Bite of Revenge

Chapter 11

The following morning, Peter and I were woken up by a huge commotion downstairs. "It seems like my nephew didn't take too kindly to being left behind," Peter muttered as we got out of bed. "I have a feeling that this is going to get messy."

"Where the hell is she?" Derek roared as Peter and I headed downstairs to find Alison, Taylor, and Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery in the entranceway trying to block Derek from going up the stairs, "you have no right to keep me from my mate!"

"Anastasia is not your mate," said Mr. Montgomery calmly, "and even when you asked me for my blessing on the matter, I specifically told you that I would not give you my blessing and to get the hell out of my office."

"You're not her father, so you have no right to tell me otherwise." By now, Peter and I had reached the bottom of the stairs and when Derek saw me, he tried to push past Alison and Taylor, but both of them shoved him back.

"You stay the hell away from her," Alison said angrily, "Anna told you she wasn't interested, so back the f**k off."

"I want to hear it from her," Derek said, and then he looked towards me pleadingly, "Please Anna, give me a chance."

"Why?" I asked, crossing my arms and glaring at him, "give me one damn good reason why I should."

"We're both good fighters, and together we can make the community stronger."

"So you just want to use me to make yourself look good like you tried to do with Amber?" The shocked look on Derek's face was all the answer I needed and I just shook my head in disgust, "Derek, when are you ever going to learn that I'm not the kind of girl that you can use and take advantage of?"

"So you're going to choose my uncle over me?" he asked with a glare of his own, "what does he have that I don't?"

"He didn't threaten to force me to become his mate," I said, getting right up in his face, "and he has no intention of using me simply because I'm stronger than most werewolves."

"Peter is weak," Derek growled, "he won't be able to protect you like I can."

"I don't need protection," I growled back, my eyes flashing, "I can protect myself, I don't need a man to do that for me."

"I suggest you listen to her Derek," Peter said, coming up to stand next to me, "unless you want to get thrown out on your ass again?"

"Nobody asked you Peter," Derek growled, turning his glare on his uncle, "Anna's just a lowly beta, and all betas need to be protected and know their place." Before anyone could stop him, Peter lunged at Derek, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and started dragging him toward the door.

"If you ever talk about my mate like that again, I'll kill you myself," Peter growled as he opened the front door and with that, he threw Derek unceremoniously out the door, "and if you come near her again, I won't hold Anna back from killing you either."

"You have no claim to her," Derek said as he got to his feet, "Anna is mine, whether she likes it or not and nobody's going to stop me from claiming what's mine."

"f**k you Derek," I said, joining Peter on the porch, "Peter's more than a man than you'll ever be, so stay the hell away from me and my friends." With that, Peter and I went back inside, me slamming the door just before Derek tried to lunge at me, causing the door to rattle in its frame.

"I think we can all agree that we should probably get on the road before Derek decides to break down the door," Alison said and then turned to her dad, "dad, you might want to call security to have him removed, because I don't think Derek's leaving any time soon."

"I'm way ahead of you," Mr. Montgomery said, "Mr. Grayson and a few of his men are already on their way and should be here in a couple minutes. Now, I suggest that you all start packing, and hopefully we can be out of here by this afternoon." With that, Alison and Taylor head back upstairs while Peter and I are left in the foyer.

"I hate to leave you while Derek's still out there," Peter said, pulling me close and kissing me gently on the forehead, "but I know that you can handle yourself."

"Damn straight," I growl, "but I appreciate your concern though."

"If you were my mate, I would treat you with the respect that you deserve," Peter mutters as he trails kisses from my ear down to my collarbone, "and I would make sure everyone sees your potential and not the power and strength that you can give them." My breath hitches as his hand cups my face and the other wraps around my waist and just as his lips are about to brush mine, someone clears their throat from behind us.

"As much as I enjoy seeing you two getting to know each other, Anna still needs to pack," Alison said. I could hear the smile in her voice. I try to pull away, but Peter pulls me closer and kisses me deeply before he lets me go. After he leaves, I follow Alison upstairs. "Damn girl, that man has it bad for you," she says once we enter my room. "I didn't think Peter Hale would ever be interested in a woman, let alone finding a mate."

"What's with this whole finding a mate thing anyway?" I asked as I started to pack my bag. "It seems that both Derek and Peter are looking for a mate, particularly me."

"Derek sees only your strength and he wants to use that to his advantage," Alison answers as she helps me pack my toiletries, "and Peter sees your potential and he wants to encourage that potential to shine through."

"But why are they so determined to make me their mate?"

"Werewolves mate for life," Alison answered, "same as hellhounds and Derek knows this and as you saw this mooring, he'll do whatever it takes to make you his mate."

"But he can't force me to become his mate can he?"

"Absolutely not, both parties have to give consent in order for the bond to be binding, every werecreature knows this."

"Then why does Derek think he can force me to become his mate?"

"Derek's just a power hungry asshole that doesn't care about other people's feelings." By now we had finished packing my things and were heading back downstairs where Peter, Taylor, and Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery were waiting with the rest of the bags.

"Derek has been escorted off the premises," Mr. Montgomery said, "but he put up quite a fight though."

"Do you think he'll try to follow us to the camp sight?" I asked, "Derek seemed pretty heated when Peter threw him out this morning."

"If he does, he'll have to deal with all of us," Peter answers, pulling me to his side, "but right now, lets get going and enjoy ourselves." We all nod in agreement as we head out front to find a couple of golf carts and as we load up our bags, I notice a shadow out of the corner of my eye, I turn my head and sniff the air and I almost gag.

"What the hell is that god-awful smell?" I ask, wrinkling my nose, "it smells like something died."

"I don't smell anything," Peter answered, "are you sure you smelled something?"

"Anna's right," Alison, also wrinkling her nose, piped up, "smells like rotten eggs and death."

"Jesus f*****g Christ," Taylor said, covering her mouth, "somebody seriously needs to go to the bathroom." We quickly pile into the golf cart and when we're finally several feet away from the house, the bad smell dissipates and I breath a sigh of relief.

"What the hell was that?" I asked as we reached the main compound.

"No idea," Alison answered, "but whatever it was, it seems that you, me, and Taylor are the only ones that could smell it." That got me thinking, if the three us were the only ones that could smell it, was this stench something that only hellhounds could smell? Because clearly Peter didn't smell anything. My thoughts then drifted to the dream that I had a few nights ago and the conversation with Lupa, could this bad smell be connected with the rabid hellhounds that Pricilla released? Or could I just be overreacting?

"Trust your instincts, Anastasia," said a voice, and I realized it was Lupa, "trust your instincts to protect your pack and your mate." Lupa's words set a fire in my belly that I didn't know I had and at that moment, I knew that whatever that bad smell was, it wasn't good and I had a very bad feeling about it, but I kept my concerns to myself, not wanting to alarm everyone.

"You okay babe?" Peter asked, draping his arm over my shoulders, "you're very quiet."

"I'm fine," I answered, giving him a measuring smile, "I'm just excited for the camping trip and got lost in my thoughts." By now, we had reached the main compound and we loaded our bags in the waiting SUV and as we headed out into the city, I got a whiff of the same bad smell and I could tell Alison and Taylor could smell it too, but this time we kept it to ourselves. I let out a low, warning growl and the bad smell dissipated almost immediately.

"Are you sure you're okay baby? you seem a little tense."

"I'm getting the feeling that we're being followed."

"By who?"

"I don't know, I can't get a good read on anything right now."

"Should we tell someone?"

"Not yet, I don't want to cause a panic." Peter nodded with understanding as we merged onto the highway and for the rest of the drive, both Peter and I were on high alert, me even more so because the bad feeling that I had kept growing as Los Angeles grew smaller and smaller in the distance.