Claws (8 page)

His short goatee tickled her neck, his
lips giving her random hickies everywhere he touched her. His eyes
were lit up and met hers with satisfaction in them, knowing he had
brought her to the height of sensual awareness. She felt safe and
nurtured and wholly sated when the elder moved away with
reluctance, looking at her with glowing eyes.

“Come to me again, Vivvie. I’m here for
you as long as you need me.”

Vivvie felt ridiculous for starting to
cry at that moment.

“I should be ashamed of this,” she
mumbled and squeezed her eyes shut, hot tears forcing their way
through. “Even if he doesn’t care anymore; I still do! I’m no
better than him now.”

He smiled and reached out to caress the
hair away from her face. “There is no shame in embracing your
nature, Vivvie. This is what you are. We’re animals, my friend. We
hunt, we fight, we fuck, and we love.”

“We also have to get up early,” she
joked as she sat up and wiped at her tears, embarrassed for losing
it again. She reclaimed her pajamas on the floor, unsteady from
more than just smoking the catnip with Jericho. Jericho watched her
leave with glowing eyes. There was no need to say anything more.
They both knew she would be back; seek him again in her dreams or
his.

Vivvie awoke in her bed and bit her lip
hours later. The delicious aches in her body aside; she felt no
remorse anymore. Her husband wasted no time moving Tania in and her
out. The pain and disillusionment aside; she needed someone right
now.

Jericho offered that and nothing more.
She was certain he gave what they did little thought. Besides, it
wasn’t like it was real, even if it felt that way. She grimaced as
she felt sore as she got out of bed.

She watched the multiple bites and
hickies on her neck and chest fade before her eyes in the vanity
mirror, choked with emotion suddenly. Her life with Eli was
over.

She brushed her teeth and got in the
shower, wanting to wash away her misery. The reality of her life
tore her heart out while the dream changed nothing. Jericho was
still her friend the next day. Her husband very much forgot about
her.

She stared moodily out the window of
the plane, saying goodbye to Denver silently. In her heart, she
knew this is what had to happen. Jericho was right. Her problems
with Eli stemmed from her inability to embrace her new nature,
causing her to reject all that she knew.

Thinking of her future made her tense.
News of her exile could spread to the corners of the compound in
Florida. Ty couldn’t risk letting her stay there. The unknown made
her unhappy during the flight.

Ty was there waiting at the baggage
terminal. He looked as handsome as she remembered. His dark hair
was cut shorter and he dressed less casually now that he was a
Chief. He was very tan and the look of peace in his golden eyes was
reassuring.

Their being immortal relieved Ty of the
enormous threat of death that hung over him when he had only one
soul left. He was free to engage in whatever he wished. She felt a
thrill to know his thoughts of relationships were different
too.

He left her to run the Florida compound
to avoid taking her as his mate once because he had only one soul
left. How she wished he had seen something for them then for her
present sorrows. She was angry for letting herself think of that.
What happened with her and Ty was over.

“How was the flight?” he asked
cordially as he picked up her suitcases, a sad look in his golden
eyes at what brought her here.

“Long and boring,” she admitted as they
walked out of the airport to his SUV parked at the curb. “Where do
I go from here now, Ty? We both know I can’t go home and I can’t go
to the compound here.”

He put her suitcases in the hatch and
opened her door with his clicker, grinning at her secretively.
“Just let me worry about it. I have a safe place for you to stay. I
have no intention of letting you live on the streets. Eli might not
care, but I do. It’s my fault you’re in this mess.”

She got in and felt her nervousness
evaporate under his sure handling of matters. Ty was rather good at
making her feel safe and protected. He had done it from the time
they met, when he snatched her away before Ryken claimed her after
she was bitten. He still protected her from one of their kind; his
former Chief and friend now.

“If Eli finds out your helping me there
will be problems for you. He wants me to suffer now. You taking me
in will anger him.”

Ty put the truck in drive and said
nothing until they were on the interstate. His hand reached out and
covered her clenched one in her lap.

“Eli gave up the right to say anything
when he let you go, Vivvie. I don’t answer to him anymore,
remember? I’m a Chief too now. I have some say in
things.”

“But the council- ,” she began and he
cut her off with a laugh.

“The council went along with him,
Vivvie. They have no choice in it. I’m Chief here now. It’s up to
me to accept you into the tribe. I looked into it. Eli can say
nothing. He might be angry but my word is law in
Florida.”

“What about the others?” she asked
worriedly, thinking of Gideon who still terrified her to this
day.

“You mean Gideon and Derek?”

Vivvie nodded. “Derek and Gideon still
have a say in this.”

“Derek is too busy tracking down
Halflings. Gideon is too busy blowing things up after my sister
dumped him again,” Ty assured her. “You stay at the compound with
me. I won’t hear of putting you out. You’re still the mate to a
Chief, no matter what Eli says to the contrary. Only death ends
that between you.”

“He’s renounced me! Isn’t that like
divorce?” Vivvie asked and frowned, trying to remember all the
rules.

“More like a separation, Vivvie. I told
you before we have no divorce.”

“Jericho said he filed for divorce!”
Vivvie exclaimed, hating the hysteria at the edge of her
voice.

“Probably just to satisfy his need to
punish you, nothing more,” Ty mused and shrugged. “You two are very
much stuck with one another under our laws. He can’t marry again
and neither can you. Given the fact we’re now immortal that could
be a long time.”

Vivvie digested this with an angry
look. “So were stuck together forever? Great! No death do us part
for us.”

“Pretty much,” Ty informed her. “My
guess is that he comes to his senses and takes you back. He isn’t
free to take another mate. Just wait and see. I give him a
month.”

“Well he can just forget it! He’s back
with Tania! I don’t want him back!” Vivvie snapped and her eyes
glowed with fury. “He didn’t even wait until my side of the bed was
cold before he moved her in.”

Ty digested this without a trace of
surprise. “Vivvie, my sister and Eli share a very long history. I’m
sorry if you’re hurt by it. Your exile from Denver doesn’t include
Florida though. You still have rights. You just don’t have them
there.”

“What does that mean?” Vivvie asked and
felt scorned to think of how easily Eli tossed her out of his
life.

“You’re entitled to all the benefits
and privileges of a Chief’s wife. That means I’m within the law to
offer you amnesty. He can’t cut you off. His money is your money,”
Ty explained and eyed her sideways with a dark look. “Did you
listen to any of Jericho’s teachings at all?”

She fumed to know she hadn’t paid the
greatest attention to those details. She didn’t expect her marriage
to end four months into it. This was all news to her. Knowing she
still had rights made her ask the most obvious.

“What about my children? Can he keep
them from me?”

Ty’s hands tightened on the wheel.
“He’s got you there, Vivian. He has exclusive rights to the
children. You can’t see them unless he allows it.”

“We both know he won’t,” she said in a
small voice and looked out the window.

Ty looked like he wanted to say
something more. He remained quiet throughout the drive to
Okeechobee. She looked out the window, wistful to see the exit for
Sebastian come and go.

She thought of her Father and Marsha;
of her friends at G’s diner. It seemed a lifetime ago not just six
months. So much happened since then it didn’t seem real. It was
unbelievable she was back here now.

“Where do I go from here, Ty?” she
asked hoarsely as he turned off and headed to the
compound.

Ty reached over and covered her hand,
squeezing it reassuringly. “You don’t look back, Vivian. Just go
forward. The rest is out of your control.”

She nodded, reassured by his words.
When they arrived at the compound; she was in awe. It was a huge
hacienda-type structure surrounded with barbed wire fencing and
armed guards at the gates. Cameras were everywhere. The security
here was heavier than in Denver.

“How is it the authorities don’t
question us being here?” she wanted to know.

Ty shrugged and grinned slyly. “Money
helps. We bribe the local cops. The feds don’t even know were here,
Vivian. They think it’s a reserve for wild panthers, endangered
species and what not. We maintain the security is necessary for
thieves and poachers.”

Vivvie got out of the SUV and looked up
at the mammoth house Ryken built with trepidation. This would be
her home now. She waited for the dam holding up her misery to break
as Ty took her suitcases in. He saw her pale features and looked
concerned.

“When was the last time you hunted,
Vivian?”

“Too long,” she admitted with a hunger
pang, ravenous and salivating at the mention of chasing down her
supper for a change.

He grinned as he walked her to the
front double-doors leading inside. “We’ll get you settled in and
you can go out on a run with me.”

She was suddenly excited to explore
this new domain. Ty’s acceptance warmed her heart. They passed
several members of the tribe and they gazed at her without
animosity. They sniffed without issue. They didn’t know her. She
felt relieved her treatment here would be different than in
Denver.

Ty showed her up to a suite of rooms
that took her breath away. She felt unworthy of such luxury. He
assured her she was welcome to it. He set down her suitcases and
left her alone to explore her new digs.

She was delighted with her new
accommodations. Ryken spared little expense for his compound when
he plotted his takeover. The room was decorated in tasteful hues of
green and purple. The heavy mahogany furniture was a bit dark for
her taste, but overall, she was satisfied with her room.

The bathroom was a huge tiled
monstrosity, reminding her of the one back home. She gazed at the
walk-in shower with unmistakable longing for her mate, recalling
how they never seemed to use it just to bathe.

She knew she had no right to dwell on
her crumbled marriage. Eli was with Tania now and it was obvious he
used this misunderstanding between them to be with her. She
couldn’t conceive he would do this to her for any other reason. The
idea he loved the other female made her bristle with rage and cry
in devastation.

Her behavior with Jericho was only a
reminder her life with Eli was over; even if it wasn’t real. Her
gaze hardened. No, she would deny herself nothing. Eli made his
choice. Instead of having faith in her and listening to her; he
chose to believe she aborted their children and jumped off a cliff.
Now he shut her out of his life and picked up with the Mother of
the tribe once more.

The recollection of who shared his bed
made her furious. Two could play that game. Eli might have
renounced her, but she was very much still his mate according to
Ty. A devious light entered her gaze. It was time she started
acting like a Chief’s wife.

She opened her purse and took out her
wallet, eyes gleaming to see all the credit cards he’d insisted she
have in happier times. That was a start. Knowing how frugal he was
made her eyes glow brightly. He would go into fits when he got the
bills. It satisfied her need to strike back at him now.

~ ~ ~

Vivvie called the dealership the next
day and ordered her new car. The bright red Dodge Charger she once
coveted of Dina’s was to be delivered on Saturday. Recalling how
she once envied her former roommate such luxuries gave her a pang
of homesickness. The car was fully loaded. She added every extra
option they had available just to irritate Eli.

Her need to punish Eli extended to the
nearby shopping mall. Once there, she divested Macy’s of every
junior size three in their department. Ty gave her use of his SUV
that day. When she ran out of stores at the mall; she went to the
outlets.

She bought anything and everything her
heart desired. Scorn nipped at her heals as she splurged on a state
of the art laptop, stereo system, and a huge flat screen for her
bedroom. Ty refrained from saying a word as the guards helped her
carry her many bags inside. She saw his look of amusement and went
up to her room to put her new belongings away.

The next day she went to a fancy spa
and got the works. Her newly highlighted, expertly- styled hair
made Ty grin in delight as she returned. After being pampered,
waxed, and buffed; she felt like a brand new person with an old axe
to grind.