Chapter One-Hundred-And-Twenty-Nine

Chapter One-Hundred-And-Twenty-Nine
Ryder

We didn’t fear this man, and he knew it. His sneer did nothing; his flexing muscles didn’t illicit a reaction either. Did he honestly expect to intimidate us? We were well-accustomed to acts of duty, and the ability to shirk it was beyond us now.

Just tag him? Kev asked. Did he doubt me?

But he did, thinking I would let the Council pull my punches this time—fat chance.

Track him. Make the first hit count, I confirmed. Marcus bared his fangs in a sarcastic smirk. Strike him.

Inside, Cat shook with terror, silently screaming. She had once thought she’d loved him, but he had become twisted and obsessed with what she could do to and for someone, like so many before him.

She was worse than any drug imaginable, and this wasn’t the first time for me to think of that. She was more addictive than any substance on earth.

It was then I knew beyond any doubt that my addiction to her had already begun; hell, it had to be close to its final stages already. I could feel it, and I knew it was irreversible. I just hoped I was strong enough to battle it.

I growled a vicious sound that rolled off of my tongue with my fangs curling over my lip. All the while, he edged closer. Triumph filled me as my Curse surged to the surface of my mind, more than willing to take over and do what needed to be done.

Catalym’s face hardened when his hand came up to summon her to his side like a dog. My throat rumbled again when Milindya stepped from behind the dumpster to stand beside Judo.

“See, Judo. I told you they’ve been filling her head with lies. You can read it all right there.” Milindya stepped to his side. “They have her thinking she owes us nothing. She doesn’t need our protection anymore; they are using her. I saw it all yesterday, just like I told you.”

Judo’s eyes glittered red in their black and pitiless depths. He stared directly at me with malice and hatred. He knew exactly whom she’d been with and what we’d been doing.

“Give me my woman, and we won’t have any problems; this will be done. No one has to get hurt.” Judo’s voice turned slightly demonic, the growing darkness tainting his judgment. We could all see it happening behind his eyes.

“I have a problem with that. Catalym is my woman now. I don’t ever give up what is mine by blood, right?” I snarled back.

I challenged him with little fear despite his apparent power. Fear was a useless emotion where I came from, and it would only get someone killed. I didn’t care who Judo was; he would not return Catalym.

Not this time.

“You have no grounds to keep her. She is ours, by our laws. I’m calling rank and demanding her return. Now.” Milindya sneered, tapping her foot impatiently.

Did she honestly expect me to bow to her if I hadn’t to Judo?

“Matthew!” Catalym cried happily and bounced in my arms.

A strikingly young blonde man appeared at Milindya’s side and quickly stepped away from them as Catalym ran into his waiting arms.

“Hey, girl. Missed you,” Matthew answered. His expression was innocent when they clung to each other, looking eerily alike. So much more than her sister, who shared the same father with her.

“I missed you too!” Tears glittered in her eyes again, dragging the boy closer to us and away from her sister and ex-boyfriend.

“This is my brother. Matthew, these are my new friends: Ryder, Holly, Gene, and Sara. Those two are Marcus and Kelly. Oh, and that’s Kevlar.” She presented us each in turn, pointing us out as she went.

I shook his hand, giving him the closest approximation to a welcoming smile. If my woman loved this man, an incongruity in her past, I would respectfully receive him.

I could see her memories of him, though they were few. Matthew was only twenty-one or so in human years. He was not even at the peak of power yet, nor was he considered an adult by our laws. What a young, impressionable age. I barely remember that stage of my life. What will he be like when he reaches my age?

“Matthew, get over here, now. How dare you do this.”

Milindya’s belittling snipe set him off, and he turned on her in a flurry of agitated motion.

“Why don’t you go play with your toys? She is your sister, for fuck's sake, Milindya! Will you call in your rank and demand her return, even against her will? Again?” Matthew snapped. His face was filled with malicious fury. “When will all of you learn just to leave her alone?”

There was little, if no, love lost between the two. They stared each other down with the utmost disrespect.

“Child, lose the tone or something else important to you, Daddy’s favorite.” She whirled to implore Judo. It seemed to be what she had been counting on. “She is yours, do something.”

“What are the two of you even doing here?” I ran lightly down her chin, and she looked at me with a childlike smile. My heart slammed hard in my chest. “She isn’t going anywhere, so you’re wasting our valuable time. Suppose it’s a fight you want, fine. Start it. I have a bar ready for a constructive cause while this remains tedious.”

A low growl erupted behind us, and I knew one of my men was getting impatient. Not that I could blame him. Something sinister had taken them over, a necessity for us in such situations. Sara shifted like an overexcited animal scenting easy prey.

“How is it that you’re older than this skank, yet she can call rank on you?” Sara rumbled.

“Age doesn’t matter much in our Coven, unlike in most. She isn’t worth a place of significance, as she’s too troublesome to be given such honors. Not as I have earned my place,” Milindya said quietly. There was a flash of emotion in her eyes, one I hadn’t seen yet, but it was gone before I could adequately assess and figure out what it meant.

Something wasn’t right with her; this much was definite. And I didn’t mean in the everyday way the rest of us were; it was more substantial than that.

Milindya continued, “Regardless, this is too much drama. And it’s all for you. I find you’re not worth the resources we expend on you. Catalym, you are honored and bound to come with us. Aunty Cory had no right to take you in, and I want to go home now. I hate it here; how can you stand it?”

“Very well.”