Turning to Genie, Deelah batted her eyelashes, giving her best friend a supposedly innocent look that was not very reassuring at all as she said to her, “No worries, Genie, I’ll be a good girl. But I think it’s beyond time we got some answers, and I’m growing tired of all this pussy footing around the two of them keep doing. We deserve to know what’s really going on. And I plan on being all the bitch I can be until I find out.”
Deelah’s not so inner wolf stretched full out within the confines of the chair, extending her long neck, legs, and arms, taking over to the point where she looked like a whole new woman. The red in her black hair became even more defined. She sat straight and rotated her head on her shoulders in a way that personified she thought she was the top bitch, then proceeded to crouch down slightly, putting her arm across the back of Genie’s chair. In a condescending tone, she directed the next statement to Tialanna. “Well, we’re all patiently waiting. After all, time is of the essence, isn’t it?”
“Watch yourself, little pup,” Grimm warned in a tone that was more snarl than words.
“Or what?” Deelah stood long and tall, all lean six feet seeming to take up even more space than it actually did. “What’s the big bad wolf going to do to me if I don’t behave? Spank me?” Deelah ignored his answering growl, too caught up in her own emotions to give a damn about anyone else’s. Taking a long inhale, her nose seemed to elongate into a snout. Then right back down to normal-sized, humanoid nostrils, she continued, “Wanna spank me since you never got a chance to spank your own daughter? She is yours, right? Always thought we smelled a lil’ wolf on her, but now we see and smell all these other options—”
Annnnd that was it. Grimm launched himself at Deelah and had them both across the room with her back against the wall, his hand in a punishing grip around her throat before anyone could so much as blink. He growled in her face so violently his breath had her hair flying back as though she were in the wind. Spittle sprayed as his fangs became almost too large for his normal sized mouth to hold, giving Deelah a much unwanted shower. In a menacing tone, he said to her, “No, I won’t spank you, but I will knock your ass down to size.”
Deelah whimpered like the scared pup she truly was. All bravado left her tone as Grimm’s wolf stared down to her own wolf’s very soul. Tilting her head back as much as the wall and Grimm’s excruciatingly painful grip would allow, in submission to the clearly dominant wolf, she whined and said in a weary tone, “I just want my sister back.” A single tear fell from her left eye. “And we’re damned tired of being lied to.”
Grim slowly relaxed his grip, allowing her to slide down to her feet. Plaster rained down to the floor as Deelah’s body was released from the imprint it had made in the wall. Coming back down from his rage, Grim replied so quietly it was as if he were doing so more to himself than to her, “So am I, little pup. So am I.”
7
Conflicts of Interest
“Okay, let’s try this again.” Elyssia sighed and sat back on the couch. She had convinced Tialanna to go for a walk with her husbands in an attempt to relieve some of the tension, explaining to her she and Anya would have a much easier time speaking with the girls—well, more like young women—without all of them around. The wall now decorated with the imprint of Deelah’s body was evidence of how well they all did in the same room together.
“You look so much like her,” Genie said in awe.
“Naw, I’m the better looking one,” Anya replied in a playful tone, “White hair is so much better than red, goes with any outfit. Better than blue too.”
“Hey!” Elyssia shoved Anya for the barb. The two might not have grown up together, but Elyssia had loved her other big sister from the moment she’d learned of her existence. Being stuck together for the past twenty-five years had helped to seal that bond.
Deelah and Genie looked at each other in disbelief.
“Are you two fucking serious right now?” Deelah said in outrage, evidence her wolf was still very close to the surface. “You’re acting like we’re having some sort of little get-together. Not at all like your only niece is missing. She is your only niece, right? With so many lies flying around, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out half of the orphanage was related to y’all.”
“Deeleah.” Genie gasped. She stared at her friend with eyes so wide Elyssa was afraid they would pop out of their sockets.
“Oh, come on, Genie, you know damn well you were thinking the same thing. I’m the one currently without a filter, so I said it for the both of us.”
“Deelah, listen up, and listen good.” Anya was clearly fed up with her charge at this point. When Deelah looked as though she was getting ready to stand, Anya wrapped her winds around the girl’s body, not too forcibly but just enough to get her point across as well as force Deelah to remain in the chair.
“I understand better than you will ever know how you feel right now. You want answers, and yes, you damn well deserve them, but your flying off at the mouth isn’t going to help you get them any faster. You think we’re calm? Baby, we’re far from it. But you know the saying it’s better to laugh than to cry? Well, it’s better for us to maintain our composure than to blow the fucking orphanage off its hinges. Because if we unleashed the rage we feel right now, that is exactly what would happen.
