The Wild Moon by Riley Storm

Chapter Seventeen

“Is everything okay?” Mr. Unknown asked, leaning slightly closer.

I basked in his presence, savoring that sweet yet tantalizingly faint hint of cologne that he wore. This was a real man.

Looking into his almost unnaturally blue eyes—how were they so bright, even in a dingy place like this?—I forced myself to try and smile. For him.

“Yes,” I said quietly. “Everything is fine.”

Mr. Unknown stared at me without speaking for a dozen or so seconds. Judging me with his eyes. I could feel him taking my measure, and for once, I wasn’t sure how someone was going to react. I hated not being in control. I hated being the one to react instead of leading. I was no Alpha, but I didn’t like being forced to dance to someone else’s tune. I liked choice.

“Bullshit,” he said, somehow making the curse sexy.

It shouldn’t be legal, but there he was, doing it anyway.

“Pardon?” I said, trying to compose myself as his sultry, come-hither business worked its hooks into my body, pulling me closer. I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to ruin this by dealing with Johnathan. I just wanted him to reach out and touch me. To take me with him.

Wait. Johnathan?

I tested the air again, relying heavily on my wolf since my human side was all sorts of useless with Mr. Unknown this close. We sniffed at the air, filtering out dozens of different scents, instantly cataloging them in a way no human ever could.

Our eyes narrowed as we picked out the scent we wanted and analyzed it. Yes, it was him. We knew his scent and would recognize it anywhere. I tried to hide a sigh of relief. At least it wasn’t his father. If the Alpha were here, I’d be in trouble.

I blinked at a noise in my ears. It was Mr. Unknown. He was speaking.

“Pardon?” I repeated. “Sorry.”

Mr. Unknown cocked his head at me. “I said, it’s bullshit. You’re not okay.”

I liked that. Jo would call me out on my shit, too, when I was blatantly lying. She would force me to talk about it. She’d said that it was good for me to share. To not bottle it up. I’m sure she hadn’t had Mr. Unknown in mind when she’d said that, of course. Oh, well.

“Someone is here that I don’t particularly wish to see,” I said with a sigh, deciding for some reason to trust this man. A man whose name I didn’t even know.

Mr. Unknown’s response caught me completely by surprise. I’d expected him to grimace, to nod in understanding. The moment of blinding fury, however, caught me completely by surprise. It was gone almost as quickly as it appeared, but I knew I’d seen what I’d seen. He couldn’t hide that, not with eyes like his, that practically glowed blue even in the dim bar light.

“Do you wish for me to see to it?” he asked in a quiet voice.

I shivered. For the first time, he spoke in a way that didn’t ooze sex. Instead, it threatened violence. Death even. I wasn’t prepared for that either.

Who was this man? A moment of clarity spiked through my sex-deprived brain, telling me I needed to find out more before I did something wild, like spread my legs for him. He was clearly powerful. That much was obvious. Nobody spoke like that without being able to follow through with it.

Still, he wasn’t dealing with a human. Johnathan was a full-blooded wolf shifter. He would tear this man apart without even trying.

No, this one is up to me to handle.

“No, thanks, Mr. Hotshot,” I said, forcing a laugh to try and ease the tension. “I can handle it just fine myself. It’s the interruption that I don’t like.”

Especially when it’s interrupting something so intriguing. I don’t know who you are, Mr. Unknown, but I’ll be back.

Now that I was leaning more into my wolf, I could more easily ignore his charms. Despite our nightly talks, my wolf was still obsessed with the Soulbond and returning to Johnathan. Now that she’d scented him in the bar, she wanted nothing more than to run over to him and submit. To mate.

If she had her way, I’d be putting on a second show for the bar patrons tonight. I might enjoy watching some good porn from time to time like any woman with a libido strong enough to warrant a battery subscription from Amazon, but hell if I was interested in making some.

Even I had my lines.

So, we weren’t going to do that, I told my wolf, using no uncertain terms to get my point across. I reminded her we hated him. That we were not going to set female rights back a century or three by letting ourselves be bound to the man who had hurt us so badly. We deserved better than that. I reminded her that Johnathan had also ruined our moment with Mr. Unknown.

Ruining things was all he seemed to be good for. My evening. Our relationship, back when naïve little me had thought dating him would be a good idea. And most recently, my entire life, when in a fit of anger as a vindictive ex, he’d decided to expose the fact that my parents weren’t my real parents.

Yeah, this man was not worthy of my love. Not at all. Fuck the Soulbond. I wasn’t having any of it.

“I’ll be back,” I told Mr. Unknown, rising from my seat. “But I understand if you have to go.”

Mr. Unknown reclined deeper into the bar, resting his elbows on it as he regarded me. His eyes trailed down my tall, willowy body, pausing at my feet before making their way back up. I shivered. I’d never been the subject of such intense, blatant scrutiny before, and I suddenly felt completely, and totally, unworthy of it.

He was a walking billboard for sexual pleasure and satisfaction. Everything about him was perfect to the point of overwhelming. And here I was, a tall skinny chick with tiny tits, tiny ass, and no sexual experience. He wasn’t in my universe, let alone my league. This man would look at supermodels and have his pick.

Why on earth would I ever be of interest to him? All I had going for me was that I was a wolf shifter. I was far stronger and faster than I looked. But none of that mattered when he had no idea what I was.

“This should be interesting,” Mr. Unknown said as his eyes reached mine again. “Another for me, will you, Jakoby?”

The bartender nodded and immediately went to fetch him a second drink.

Apparently, Mr. Unknown didn’t plan on leaving. What’s more, I was getting the vibe that he knew what I was about to do. As if he was aware of everything going on and wanted to stay to see it through.

Which was impossible because even I didn’t know what I was going to do besides get rid of Johnathan. Somehow. It was a lot harder than it sounded. Not that anything could stop me from trying.

Casting one last look at Mr. Unknown, who was smiling broadly in anticipation of whatever he thought was about to happen, I set out into the crowd, trying to track my quarry down. The place was still rather full after the fights, but it had emptied enough that I was able to spot Johnathan without much effort.

He was on the far side of the bar, heading the opposite way as me, weaving his way through tables and the crowd as his head scanned the occupants. Searching for me. His height let him do it as he towered over most humans. It wouldn’t be long before he found me.

“Dani,” a voice said from my side, distracting me.

I turned to see Carl approaching, a giant, slimy grin on his face.

“What is it?” I said, keeping an eye on Johnathan.

“Here,” he said, pulling out a wad of cash. “Your take from tonight. Eight hundred. It was a better night than we thought!”

I eyed the money. If Carl had voluntarily upped my amount after I’d basically threatened him to pay me more already, than he must have taken in substantially more. It didn’t matter. The money in his hand gave me an idea.

I knew how to get rid of Johnathan.

“I want you to take all the money and put it on me for the next fight,” I said. “Use your front or whoever, but put it all on me. Got it?”

Carl frowned. “What are you talking about, Dani? What fight? There are no more fights scheduled.”

“There’s about to be one,” I said, my plan coalescing in my mind.

“Tonight?” Carl sounded surprised. “But you already fought.”

“Start spreading the word, Carl,” I growled, practically wolfing out right there as I tapped into my other half, preparing her for what was to come. “Do it, or I’m done working for you.”

I knew that threat would work. I made Carl a lot of money. A lot, both in my frequency of fighting, but also because I would win or lose against anyone that he told me to. I don’t know how others hadn’t caught on to the fact that I was throwing the fights, but it didn’t’ matter. Carl didn’t want to lose out on his cash cow.

“Okay,” he said, shaking his head. “Okay, fine. Who’s your opponent?”

I pointed through the crowd to where Johnathan had paused, staring straight at me. He stood out quite easily, not just with his height, but the blood-red shirt he wore was enough to catch the eye as well. Even I had to admit he looked good in it.

Stop it, I snarled at myself, feeling the insidious touch of the Soulbond trying to work its magic on me. Make me want to go over to him. Take his hand and leave this place. Together.

Enough.

“Him?” Carl croaked in shock. “Dani, come on. I’ve set you up with other women or very low-tier men. But this guy, this guy is huge. He’s going to hurt you, Dani. I can’t do that.”

Still staring at Johnathan, I reached out and snagged Carl by the collar, yanking him in close.

“Make the damn fight, Carl,” I snarled in his face, my wolf right on the surface.

I’d never treated Carl like this. Never spoke up against him or threatened him. My actions stunned him, and he stood shaking, almost trembling in my grip. He was useless like that.

“Bet on me,” I told him. “And you’ll win a lot of money.”

That did the trick. The talk of money brought him around. All I had to do was appeal to his greed. “How can you be so sure?” Carl asked, still flustered at being so easily yanked around.

“Because this guy has it coming,” I growled, staring at Johnathan, hatred burning in my gut.

I could add one more thing to my list of things Johnathan had destroyed. My new life here in the city. By showing up here tonight, he’d proven he could find me anywhere. I knew he could, but this showed he was willing to. That he would never stop following me. Never giving me any peace.

Oh, yes, I was going to win tonight. He just didn’t know it yet.

“Okay, if you say so,” Carl said, still not believing me. I didn’t care. He was probably going to bet against me. His loss.

“Eight hundred on me,” I snarled. “Remember that, Carl.”

“Uh, yeah,” he said, licking his lips nervously before heading over to the sound system and speaking to the DJ lounging nearby. The DJ looked at me and then at Johnathan. I could see Carl waving his hands, growing insistent.

Finally, the DJ threw up his hands and caved.

I grinned at Johnathan, who hadn’t moved, still staring at me across the bar. He was waiting for me to make the first move.

Okay, I said and headed for the cage. I casually pulled open the door and stepped inside. I was wearing street clothes, a pair of black pants, a white t-shirt, and a normal bra. My hair was unbraided now, falling down my back in wet, wavy curls, courtesy of the lack of hair dryer.

People in the crowd were staring at me now, likely wondering what was going on, when the background music cut out and the DJ began to speak. I didn’t hear his words. I just watched Johnathan’s face, waiting for him to realize what was going on.

The crowd cheered at the prospect of another fight. They cheered harder when I indicated I would be one of the fighters. Johnathan was frowning at this point. I wondered if he had any inkling of what was about to happen.

“Her opponent tonight,” the DJ said. “A newcomer to our crowd. Give it up for the Bloodman!”

Apparently, Carl had come up with a nickname for Johnathan. A spotlight clicked on, and the DJ pointed directly at my ex. I grinned as he blinked in momentary confusion, then waved his hands in a negative.

The crowd booed, egging him on with chants of “Fight!” It wasn’t working, though. Johnathan wanted nothing to do with it. The crowd continued to get worked up. People were on their phones, texting and making phone calls. Probably calling people back for another fight.

“No!” Johnathan said, his voice carrying over the crowd. “I will not fight her.”

I grinned from inside the ring and gave him the finger. “What’s the matter?” I shot back, breaking out my big gun, the one I knew would force him into the ring. “Are you afraid? Are you a coward?”

Gauntlet. Thrown.

The crowd went nuts, and I waited. Both Johnathan and I knew he couldn’t refuse now. Not without accepting that label.

We were going to fight.