The Wild Moon by Riley Storm

Chapter Nine

Lars Aldridge entered the house like a storm surge crashing over a ship lost at sea. The overwhelming Alpha power washed over Jo and me, pinning our wolves down with ease and driving Jo to one knee.

Anger at the intrusion into my parents' house gave me a burst of defiant strength which I used to keep myself upright, though I was forced to prop myself up on the desk to do so. Resisting Johnathan’s order had been a challenge but doable. Anything more than what I was doing now would be impossible with Lars’ power beating me down.

“You,” he said, addressing Jo, though he didn’t even bother to look at her. “Get out, and don’t think about coming back.”

Jo cast an apologetic glance up at me, but I shook her off. This wasn’t her fight. She didn’t need to get in the middle of anything. Most of all, I didn’t want her to get hurt.

“It’s fine,” I said quietly, urging Jo to leave.

She got to her feet, head bowed, and started to walk toward the front door.

Meanwhile, Lars stood in the middle of my family’s living room like he owned the place. His eyes glared at me, golden fire blazing in their amber depths. Lars was bald by choice, and that, combined with the fierce white goatee that he rocked, made him look like some sort of outlaw biker.

I was fairly positive he’d chosen the look for that very purpose, intimidation, and right now, it was working. I was fucking terrified. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to cower before him, even if Lars was clearly expecting it.

“Stupid meth-head spawn,” Lars spat as Jo went past.

He snapped at her, his teeth going for her neck in a display of arrogance I found despicable. Jo whimpered and bared her neck to him, submitting on the spot as he blasted her with another wave of Alpha command.

This is the man you want to be our Alpha? I shot the words at my wolf, adding some contempt to it, showing her how little I respected her opinion when she chose to try and ignore displays like this. This was a prime example of why we couldn’t stay here.

To my surprise, my wolf shook off the Alpha-induced lethargy. She, too, was angered by Lars’ intimidation game against Jo. That wasn’t how an Alpha should act in her mind, and she growled, the sound echoing in the back of my throat.

Lars’ attention snapped to me at the sound. I’d hoped it would. If one thing were to force him to focus on me instead of Jo, it would be defiance, even the tiniest bit. He didn’t brook any of that in his pack and had even attacked pack members for little more than what I had just done.

“Leave,” he snarled at Jo, who scampered out the front door so fast she didn’t stop to grab her shoes.

Meanwhile, I strode out of my father’s study and down the hallway, approaching the pack Alpha. I didn’t want him in the room. It was my father’s study, his private area, except when he invited me in, and I intended to do my best to keep it that way until he returned.

I didn’t let myself consider the idea that he was dead instead of just missing.

Lars let me approach, watching me come closer with something akin to amusement replacing the anger in his eyes.

“A defiant one,” he mused quietly, lifting one arm to take my chin as I stepped right up to him.

I tried to resist, but he cranked my head left and then right.

“Useless pup,” he spat. “Good for nothing.”

I bared my teeth.

“Sit,” he snarled.

I sat abruptly, squatting down on my haunches as I took the full brunt of his Alpha, the single barked word slapping my wolf and me down. It took everything in me to twist my head up to look at him.

Lars stepped closer, practically thrusting his crotch into my face, making me instantly wish I hadn’t twisted my head. He stood there for several long seconds, forcing me to all but inhale his crotch-tang. I wanted to vomit. It was so gross and derogatory. I should tear his fucking nuts off. That’s what I should do. Shift and just rip them from his body. See just how well he did as a nutless eunuch.

I didn’t, though.

“Good bitch,” he said, rocking forward on his toes just a bit, bringing his dick even closer to my face.

I’mma do it. I swear by Vir, I’m going to fucking do it if he doesn’t stop.

He did it again.

We growled, my wolf pissed off at his dominance show. We wanted Lars to know that if he weren’t using his Alpha power on us, we’d go right for his throat and leave him a bloodied mess.

Turns out that a pack Alpha doesn’t appreciate being told that. Lars’ wolf burst from his face, and he clamped his jaws around our neck, pinning us to the floor in a heartbeat. He shifted back almost as fast, a truly impressive display of control. I could never have attempted anything like that.

Maybe growling back wasn’t such a good idea. Remember, we want to survive this!

“Behave,” Lars growled as he collected himself, tugging the tight black t-shirt he wore back into place. “Otherwise, I’ll rip your throat out and give this piece of shit hovel a new paint job. Understood?”

Jaw clenched so tight I thought I was going to shatter a tooth, I nodded. I’d never heard Lars speak so angrily. He was already on edge, and if I kept pushing him, he would follow through with his threat. Still, I stared daggers at him as I did, letting him know I wasn’t doing so willingly.

“Good,” he said. “I’m glad we got that sorted out. I do hate making a mess.”

I slowly rose to my feet, facing Lars, waiting for him to get to the damned point. The shithole liked to hear himself talk.

“I understand you rejected my son,” he said at last. It wasn’t a question.

“He ran home to Daddy and told on me, did he?” I said.

Why can’t I keep my thoughts to myself sometimes?

Lars glared at me.

“I said I’ll submit,” I told him. “I never said I’d be polite.”

“Insolent little shit,” the Alpha rumbled, but he didn’t pin me again.

I let the words roll over me. They were just words, after all. Once he said his piece and left, I was gone. This town was getting put in the rearview, and I was never coming back. Lars could come looking for me, but I’d keep on the move. Anything was better than staying.

Anything.

“You will accept the Soulbond,” Lars ordered, putting some command into his voice.

I braced myself against it, fighting the order.

“You will mate with my son,” he continued. “And you will formalize the bond. Am I making myself clear?”

“Crystal,” I said. “But you can go lick your own asshole because nobody else is going to eat the shit you’re trying to feed me right now.”

A vise-like hand grabbed my throat and threw me against the wall. I rebounded, but before I could act, Lars was there again, crushing my windpipe and pushing me into the wall.

“You can do this all day,” I croaked out.

Lars relaxed his grip slightly. It was a mistake all around because now my mouth had an excuse to run itself before my brain could use the additional oxygen to think through what I was saying.

“Your son is a tiny-dicked bastard that I’ve already suffered through once. I’m not about to do that for the rest of my life. I can only deal with one of those. Tiny dick or an asshole personality. Your son got hit with the terrible twosome, however, so that’s going to be a no-go for me. Got it? So, either kill me or let me go.”

Lars listened passively as I busted out my monolog. When I finished, instead of flying into a rage and snuffing out my life, he did something unexpected. He leered at me, a strange glint in his eye.

“There are worse punishments than death, you know,” he warned. “You should be careful.”

What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Of course there were worse punishments. Like being forced to mate with his son. But that’s not what he meant, I didn’t think. So, what had he been referring to?

“You have one cycle,” Lars said, casually turning and launching me into the couch.

The furniture’s frame cracked as I slammed into it. I grimaced, hating how easily he could toss me around. It was a real powerless feeling when someone did that to you and you didn’t want them to.

“One cycle,” he repeated. “The next Wild Moon, you will take my son, or I’ll end the Soulbond the only way we can. I’ll kill you.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I got that part. Thanks. But I’d rather do it myself.”

Lars strode toward me, fury in his eyes.

Oops.

“You are just like your parents,” he spat, shaking with anger. “Let’s see if you can learn faster.”

I opened my mouth to ask what he meant by that, but before I could, he slammed a fist into my face, and I only knew darkness.