Mistress of Blood and Fur

Chapter 10 - Fair Warning

Onyx

“I want Grace,” I declare, resting my hands on the wooden table in the middle of the hut where my friends used to hang out even when we were younger. “I want you both to stay the hell away from her.”

This time, though, we are there as rivals. I know Fox loves his human life more than I do, and that’s saying something, but he also wants to please his Alpha father by being the first choice of a female scent wolf like Grace. There’s that added prestige in getting involved with a woman whose family toppled down an evil regime.

“Excuse me, Onyx? We know you’re full of yourself, but you can’t possibly be dumb, too,” Dash says, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Onyx, you saying that you want her, that’s a fact we can live with it,” Fox chimes in. “But telling us is another thing. Have you asked her what she wants?”

I’m briefly shamed. Fox is right. I even reminded Grace – and myself - that she got to choose. What happened to that?

This morning happened.

Upon waking up, I see Fox already prepared her breakfast. He cooked her bacon and eggs, which I probably could also do if I tried. I’d cooked for myself during my college years. Why couldn’t I do it for Grace here? It’s probably because she expects Fox to do it. If I do it, I’m just the copycat. Still, if she had already chosen me, I can do whatever to take care of her.

Not long after seeing Fox with Grace, I saw Dash holding her hand as they walked up to the edge of the forest. If he had gone any further, taking her through the dense woods, I would have done something drastic, like run after them and bite him.

They’re still wolves I grew up with. We had great times together. I just wished we didn’t have to be pushed against each other. That time with Carlotta was enough. She tried to pit the two of us together. Dash enjoyed it a little, but he was also aware that she was not worth fighting for.

This time, though, we both know that Grace is.

My pride doesn’t let me admit that I know I should stand down. I should let the female wolf choose.

“She’s still -.”

Fuck. I stop myself. I can’t let them in her secret, that her wolf is just emerging and she has little power over it. I want to tell them that she’s basically more human than anything. She was like her father, who could shift into a wolf form like a movie werewolf but the animal is mindless and wild. No wonder she’s afraid to turn. It’s a complete loss of self-control on her part. Such wolves black out afterward, and have no way of knowing what they did during the time they shifted unless someone was with them. That someone should be a fellow wolf, and not someone who can report them to the likes of Dennington and Smith.

“Still a virgin?” asks Dash, c*****g a brow. I want to wipe that smirk off his face. “I think most of us can tell. Most of us know from her scent.”

I don’t want him talking about how she smells, but I know I’m already out of line. So, I quietly gather my breath, calling on to my calm wolf.

“You need me badly, Onyx. What are you without me?”

“Shut up!” I snarl in my head.

“Shut up, Dash,” I grumble.

“She’s making you unhappy,” the jerk says, trying to push me over the edge. He knows me and my temper. A growl escapes my throat, and I find myself advancing toward him. He doesn’t back down, tilting his chin up, daring me to take that first punch. My hands are in tight fists, ready to burn on his face. We’ll both survive whatever brawl there is. It can be very satisfying. Just as Fox is quick enough to come between the two of us, Blaze growls in my head, “Don’t be a fool!”

“Fighting can get both of you evicted from the hills,” Fox warns.

“Where in the hell did you find out about that rule?” Dash spits out, flinging away Fox’s hand from his shirt.

“I heard no such f*****g thing,” I agree, squeezing Fox’s hand on my chest. He doesn’t flinch. Instead, he looks at me with calm eyes and nods. I know what he’s trying to say. I don’t have to link with his mind. He’s saying, “You’re smarter than this.”

Maybe I am. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell my father. I tried to convince him that this pack thing is ridiculous and outdated, that I’m too modern and human for this. My cheeks turn red from shame and anger. I remember the sadness in my father’s voice. He thought he had lost me. Then, I came back, and I heard the awe that I used to hear from him whenever I reached a milestone. As a child. As a teen. As a man. As a wolf.

Maybe I’m not – not smarter than this, I mean.

Fox lowers his hand and backs away with his palms facing us. He’s not fighting. He’s the smartest among the three of us, in more ways than one.

“If you were both listening with your ears and not your egos, you would have heard everything. Alpha Kele said that fights are not allowed. So, you see Justine is mated with Logan, although they had been seeing each other for some time…”

Dash and I chuckle. Trust Fox to say “seeing” instead of “fucking.”

“Well, you may know that other wolves like Justine, too. One of them is no longer here. Pay attention.”

Axel.

I haven’t seen that asshole in a while. I’ve been too focused on Grace, and well these two idiots with me.

“Well, why did you stop us? If we are out, then she’s left with one last choice,” I tease Fox.

“Don’t be like that,” he says, shaking his head. “You know that I like Grace, but not enough to die for her. But if nobody else can treat her right, I’m willing to be there for her.”

“You’re actually too noble for the human world,” I say. “You’re needed here, in the world of ancient traditions and promises.”

“And animalistic f*****g,” Dash chokes out, laughing, but I’m not amused – not when the first girl in his mind is Grace.

I just hope that she makes a choice before I get thrown out of the hills.

**

“Where were you?” she asks, as I joined her for archery in the afternoon. I like these little activities my father arranged for the wolves. It can get boring up here, especially if you haven’t met your match. We also haven’t trained together in a long time.

The Opium Hills wolves are trained to fight. Yes, we are stronger than humans, but we also know that we can be defeated if we also don’t have stealth and strategy. It’s been a long time, though. The closest to training I have in the city is going to the gym and playing sports. The discipline at least keeps my stamina up. It’s easy to give in to life of convenience, pizza, and burgers. Our metabolisms may be higher, but we are, in no way, completely invincible.

Silver bullets. Piercing us with metal through the chest. Deadly witch spells. Silver bullet to the head. Bleeding during a time of weakened healing. If someone knows our weaknesses, they can easily put them all together to bleed and kill us before we can even summon our quick healing.

We can f*****g die in the hands of humans if we’re not careful. I’m not going to take a risk, especially with a shapeshifting witch on the run.

“I was with the boys,” I reply, glancing at her but quickly refocusing on my target. I’ve already pulled the bow, the string close to my nose. I tighten, hold, and let go.

Grace jumps up and down and claps.

“That’s great!”

“Do you want me to teach you?” I ask, giving her a lopsided grin. I like talking to her. I’m so ready to just take off with her and forget Opium Hills. When I go back, I will introduce our children to my father so that he doesn’t have to hate me forever.

“Dream on, Onyx,” Blaze grumbles. “Stay put. You have responsibilities.”

I’m still floating on the idea of just leaving with a girl that I don’t notice that said girl has the perfect stance. I don’t even see how she easily holds the bow as if there’s no tension at all, but the whizzing arrow that she releases would beg to differ. That was a lot of pull, strength, and concentration.

“Well, fuck.”

I gape at how her arrow split into mine.

“You didn’t ask if I could do it, Onyx,” she chides playfully. “My mother also taught me a lot of things. Do you know she was a member of a group of assassin witches?”