“I wouldn’t say I was beaten,” he huffed and Brother Wolf was equally offended and wanted the challenge reissued, wolf to wolf.
But hell, that could prove to be equally embarrassing.
“You were so schooled!” she called over her shoulder, fell to the ground, tickled over this fact.
He walked over to her. “Okay, fine, you might have the speed. Maybe. But the strength . . . never.”
She rolled onto her stomach and looked up at him innocently. “Wanna arm wrestle?”
“You’re serious?”
“Totally.”
“You can’t arm wrestle on the ground,” he pointed out.
“Then we’ll wrestle wrestle.”
“Forget it. I don’t wrestle chicks.”
“You’re really worried you’re going to lose.”
Before he could say anything, she’d goddamned flipped him. And that was no mean feat, because he’d flipped hundreds of wolves, including Dires who were bigger than he was without breaking a sweat.
“How the hell did you do that?”
She shrugged, like it had been the easiest thing in the world for her. It
But she never had, because she could practically outrun wind.
“Why didn’t you mention this?”
“When we first met, it didn’t seem relevant. And after you told me about the wolf thing, I assumed that all Dires were fast and strong—everything fell into place for me. I never thought my boyfriend would be a slowpoke.”
He was offended and stuttering at slowpoke, but he was more worried about the boyfriend part. This was the perfect time for the
“Can we run some more?” she asked.
“No,” he said, a little too loudly, then added, “Too dangerous to go much farther.”
She nibbled her bottom lip a little and nodded. “Wrestle more, then. Maybe I can show you some moves.”
“Maybe you can show me . . .” He couldn’t finish his sentence and she smirked at him.
“Your indignation kind of turns me on.”
“You might actually be worse than Vice.”
“I take that as a compliment.”
“You would.” He got to his feet just as she did. He circled her, leaving enough space between them that she couldn’t just reach out and go all ninja wolf on his ass, but he’d once again forgotten about the sick speed she could use even within short distances. His head spun as she was suddenly grabbing him from behind and pulling him to the ground and he couldn’t even make a damned dent in her hold.
This was going to kill his rep. He could only pray that Jez—or Vice—holy hell Vice—never, ever saw this shit. . . .
“Did you just get taken down by a girl?” Vice’s voice rang over him as Gillian effectively trapped his arms behind his back so he was eating dirt. “Holy shit—Jinx just got spanked by a girl.”
“I’m a wolf, thank you very much,” Gillian said as coolly as she could. And then she giggled. Yeah, she was having way too much fun with this.
“Perhaps you could let me up?” he asked and she relented, but slowly. He rolled over and she was towering above him holding out her hand to help him up. And Vice was literally on the ground laughing so hard tears were coming out of his eyes.
“Dude, I am so putting this in the next newsletter.”
“We don’t have a newsletter,” Jinx said through gritted teeth.
“I’m making one, because this shit is that good,” Vice declared. And then he suddenly got completely serious and said, “Wait a minute—Gillian’s got an ability? An honest to Odin ability?”
“Looks like it,” Jinx said.
“That means she’s—”
“Fast and strong, yes,” Jinx finished for him with a hard look for Vice to shut up and ix-nay the immortality thing. Too much, too soon and Jinx had barely finished explaining the Dire and Were thing.
To let someone know they were never, ever going to die wasn’t something you spilled out. And Vice understood that better than anyone, nodded sincerely and said, “I’m still doing a newsletter. Or at least a long Christmas card. ‘This year, we learned that Jinx can be felled by a girl and ridden like a pony.’ Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
Jinx jumped him before the wolf could say another word and soon the two of them were slamming into trees and tussling like old times, like they didn’t have a care in the world.
Chapter 24
“She’s got an ability. That’s why she was given away,” Stray said from his spot in the trees. They hadn’t meant to spy but hell, wolf hearing made it nearly impossible to keep secrets. It didn’t help that Vice was gleeful about the whole Jinx-getting-beaten-by-a-female thing.
Stray had to admit that made him laugh, the first real one in days.
“Maybe the Elders didn’t see that coming,” Killian offered.
“Oh, come the hell on, they know everything, remember?” Stray slammed the lid of his laptop down. “It’s the only reason that pack was allowed to live and breed. We’re the enforcers, so clearly they have to spawn Dires with abilities every once in a while for the amusement of the Elders.”
“Does Rifter know?”
“You really think Vice can keep a secret?” Stray asked.
“Gillian could make a lot of money on the underground ultimate fighting circuit,” Killian said thoughtfully. “I could even manage her.”
“This entire place has lost its mind,” Stray moaned, his head in his hands.
“Relax, brother. I don’t think she’d go for it anyway. Doesn’t mean I won’t ask though.”
Jinx watched Gillian cavort in the lake, splashing happily. Free. And what had been just a nagging feeling in his gut was sure.
She was a warrior. And not only in the way that Dires were. No, she was stronger. Faster. It wasn’t Dire strength and speed, it was beyond.
It would take a strong man to submit to a warrior Dire like she was. And he would. He might say he was doing it for her but really, he was doing it for himself.
Finally, she seemed content enough to climb out of the water, shake off and shift. His wolf growled at her nakedness and he fought going over to her and taking her right then and there.
It helped that Rogue and Jez were waiting for him. They dressed and got back into the truck where Rogue and Jez waited.
“You ready? We need to go check on our charges,” Rogue told him. “Just you and me. Leave Jez to watch over Gillian.”
It was the right thing to do, but Jinx would rather walk barefoot over hot coals. “Maybe tomorrow night.”
“I don’t want to do this any more than you do. But I can’t wait anymore. I’m connected to this. Those hounds didn’t kill me because they recognized me as part of you,” Rogue explained. “These markings make things call to me. I don’t know if they’re beacons . . . or if I’m being controlled by them.”
