Wicked Cravings (The Phoenix Pack #2)(95)
Author: Suzanne Wright

The woman was insane. “What is your damage?”

“I still can’t work out what it is about you that made him move on,” she said, looking at Jaime like she was a bug. “You’re nothing like me.”

“What, you mean someone who would betray a guy they’re partially mated to and then relish the idea that this guy is hung up on her?”

Ire flashed across her face. “There was no way I could’ve resisted that pull to go to Blane.”

“Bullshit. Being partly mated to Dante meant there was no way you could have felt that pull.

You cheated on him because you wanted to, because you’re selfish and wouldn’t know the meaning of loyalty if it bit you on your conceited ass.”

“You never would have kept him anyway, you know. Dante needs someone like me. Someone who won’t fight his need for control despite being a dominant female.”

“You and Blane aren’t together anymore, are you? That’s the real reason you’ve showed up.

You thought you could get Dante to take you back.”

Bitch Face growled. “He was mine before he was ever yours.”

“Now, see, that’s where you’re wrong. He’s been mine since the second I was born. It just took a while for us to figure it out.”

Her smile was ugly. “Just think how easily he’ll recover from your death when he finds out about Leif. Dante would fight to stay alive for his son.”

Jaime gave her an “Oh please” look. “He’s not Dante’s, and we both know it. He would have scented the pregnancy before you skipped off with Blane.”

The dumb bitch blushed. “Dante will still raise him as his own.”

“Sure, sure. I almost feel sorry for you. I say almost.”

“All right, all right,” interrupted Glory. “As much as this is fun, Laurie’s right—the others will soon get here. Let’s get this over with, Jaime.”

Jaime really didn’t like that Glory was so confident that she’d win. “You didn’t say pretty please.”

She smirked. “Since you’re already badly injured, I’ll go easy on you.”

“Your kindness overwhelms me.”

She shot at Jaime like a bullet out of a gun. If her senses hadn’t been so attuned to Glory, Jaime might not have been able to sidestep her in time. Just that one simple dodge left Glory skidding along the ground in an effort to halt her forward momentum. Jaime smiled sweetly at her.

Glory came at her again, this time with a series of backflips. Heaven knew what she intended to do once she’d reached her. Jaime didn’t wait to find out—though she was curious. Her timing just right, she darted at her so that in that small millisecond when Glory’s body was upside down—

midflip—Jaime wrapped an arm around her waist and slammed her down, face-first, onto the ground.

To Glory’s credit, she recovered quickly, jumping upright, flexing her facial muscles, and wiping away the blood that trickled from her nose.

“You’re fast,” Glory admitted through her teeth.

“Please don’t follow that up with some sort of cheesy line like, ‘But are you fast enough?’”

“I don’t need to ask you that. I already know the answer.”

“Does that mean you surrender?”

She curled her upper lip at Jaime. “I’d sooner fight to the death than surrender.”

“Do your brothers know about this suicidal streak of yours?” Glory flew at her with such speed that she almost clipped Jaime with that big fancy kick, but her movement was fueled by anger, and Dante had taught Jaime that acting on anger always resulted in mistakes. Dodging the kick, Jaime slammed her balled-up fist into Glory’s jaw and followed it up with a kick to the knee.

Looking dazed, Glory staggered and easily lost her balance when Jaime then swept out her foot and took both of Glory’s legs out from under her. She hit the ground with a loud thud, cradling her knee. Seconds later, however, she sprang upright and lunged at Jaime with a flurry of punches, kicks, strikes, and overhands.

As much as Jaime hated to admit it, Glory was good. Just as Dante had predicted, the female had moves of her own and liked to fight dirty. Jaime managed to block or dodge most of the blows aimed at her while landing plenty of blows of her own, but it was fair to say that they were evenly matched. Although Glory was tiring, so was Jaime. If it hadn’t been for Dante’s training, the female would have easily overpowered her.

After a particularly hard palm-heel strike from Jaime, Glory stumbled backward and blood gushed from her nose. The sight pleased Jaime’s wolf, who was lunging at her confines, wanting the freedom to defend and attack. Growling, Glory rocketed at Jaime and again delivered punch after punch, kick after kick, and dirty move after dirty move.

A fast, hard uppercut sent Glory staggering backward and into a tree, but quickly she righted herself and dealt a hard blow to Jaime’s solar plexus, right where her broken ribs were. Jaime sucked in a breath and fell to her knees, gritting her teeth against the pain. Almost failing to notice the kick aimed at her face, Jaime quickly captured the foot and unsheathed her claws, slashing at Glory’s Achilles tendon. With a loud, stunned cry, Glory swayed on one leg and quickly ended up flat on the ground. With effort, Jaime got to her feet, taking a moment to regulate her breathing.

“Glory, they’re coming!” declared Bitch Face. “Fine, I’ll take care of it myself.” Jaime turned in time to grip the hand that had been aiming for her throat. Bending it backward and ignoring Bitch Face’s squeal of pain, she demanded, “Retract your claws.” But that distraction cost her big time. The breath whooshed out of her as a hard, painful impact smacked into her body, making her back hit the ground hard. Then Glory was on top of her, shimmering as bones cracked and her body reshaped. Milliseconds later a russet wolf was growling down at her, eyes fixed on her throat. Knowing what was coming, Jaime did the only thing she could do. She shifted.

Dante sensed the exact moment that Jaime changed into her wolf form; he sensed her wolf’s rage, pain, anxiety, and determination, and knew she was battling someone and battling hard. He looked at Trick, who was helping him hold up Tao—although back in human form, the Head Enforcer was passed out and had a broken leg. “Can you hold him up without help?”

“Sure. Whatever it is, go.”

Dante wasn’t sure what it could be. The intruders had all been defeated, and most of them were dead, except for the three who had surrendered. So who was she—?