Triple Dog Dare

Chapter Seventeen

They showed up at the Council meeting hall at a quarter till noon. Elain spotted the three jaguar brothers seated in the shadows in the far corner of the meeting hall.

Ain leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Remember, stay calm. If this goes against us, just follow Daniel’s lead.”

She nervously nodded.

Ain looked around. “I don’t see any sign of fuckwad.”

Mai nodded from inside the comfort of Micah’s arm around her shoulder. “I don’t see Paul anywhere, either.”

Daniel was already on the dais with Jock and the Council members. He walked down to meet them and shook Ain’s and Micah’s hands. “You guys ready?”

“Yeah,” Ain said. He tipped his head toward the jaguars. “Are they?”

Daniel grinned and lowered his voice. “Oh, they’re chomping at the bit and no sign of Abernathy yet.” He glanced at his watch. “They have exactly eleven minutes to get here before I declare both challenges invalid and we’re all off the hook.”

“Can we get that lucky?” Ain asked.

“Fuck,” Micah grumbled, tapping him on the shoulder. “I don’t think so.” He pointed at the window where a large, black limo had just pulled into the parking lot.

“Shit,” Ain said.

“Yeah. We need to get this dog and pony show on the road,” Daniel said.

Rodolfo and his entourage entered the Council hall to a low chorus of grumbling growls. It was obvious to Elain that the men had no friends in that room unless he brought them with him.

Daniel took his place on the dais at noon and banged his gavel. “Quiet, please. As you all know, I’ve been appointed the new head of our Clan Council by unanimous vote of the other Council members. As such, we’re here today to hear the challenge of Rodolfo Abernathy.”

Rodolfo didn’t even get out of his wheelchair. “Thank you for allowing me to speak. This business won’t take long. I’m simply looking for a return of what rightfully belongs to me.”

Voices around the chamber booed and hissed and growled, drowning him out. Abernathy tried to speak over the voices, but they soon shouted him down until the meeting chamber was in an uproar.

Daniel grabbed the gavel and banged it on the dais until the voices lowered to a disconcerted rumble. “Enough!” he yelled. “Quiet!”

When he finally had everyone’s attention, he pointed at Rodolfo Abernathy. “You wanted to speak, so speak.”

As Abernathy looked out over the gathered assembly, his wizened visage didn’t fool Elain in the slightest. He might be an old wolf, but she suspected he had more than a few tricks up his sleeve.

Mai leaned in close. “I don’t like him,” she nervously whispered.

“Neither do I,” Elain muttered back, draping an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. It’ll be okay.”

I hope.

“I’ve come here today,” Abernathy said, “to stake two claims and declare two challenges. The first is that we have a blood oath which must be honored. Elain Pardie, as the first female born to an Alpha male from Ysimel’s line, was supposed to be turned over to our Clan when she came of age. This is according to the terms of the blood oath.”

Then the old wolf looked their way. Elain felt Mai shiver next to her. Micah and Jim put their hands on Mai’s shoulders to reassure her, while Elain grabbed her hand and squeezed.

“The second challenge,” Abernathy said, “is to Mai Gallatin. She is the mate of my great-grandson and pregnant with his pup. By your very own Code of the Ancients, she must be returned.”

“Bullshit!” Micah shouted. “She wasn’t mated or marked!” The room erupted in supportive growls.

“She carries his pup!” Rodolfo shot back.

“Silence!” Daniel roared. The room settled.

“As for your second claim,” Daniel said, “I declare it invalid because Mai already has not one, but two mates. She was unmarked when they mated and marked her. You have no proof she’s carrying your grandson’s pup. Under the Code of the Ancients, it only states a wolf cannot take the mate of another. Your grandson was trying to kill her. She’d left him and severed their relationship. She wasn’t marked as his mate. Therefore, she was fairly and justly claimed by Micah Donovan, making the pup, by default, her mates’ pup. I declare her, and her unborn child, a full-fledged member of their pack and this Clan.”

Rodolfo Abernathy hauled himself out of his wheelchair. “That pup is mine!”

Micah and Jim both jumped to their feet. “This child is ours!” Micah growled back. “And I’ll rip out the throat of anyone, man or wolf, who dares try to come near our mate or our pup without our permission!”

“Settle down!” Daniel yelled once again. “The matter is closed, Abernathy. Your second challenge is categorically denied.”

“I want that pup!” Abernathy screamed.

Mai stood, her hands protectively over her belly. “You’ll rot in hell before I let you get a single hand on my baby!” An answering chorus of supportive growls backed her up.

“My grandson deserves the right to have his pup!” Abernathy screamed. He pointed at a young man sitting off to one side and surrounded by several of Abernathy’s flunkies. From the look on his face, he didn’t want anything to do with any of the proceedings and was there only to satisfy his grandfather.

“Your grandson told me,” Mai shouted, “that you didn’t want your line ‘muddied’ by a coyote!”

Abernathy’s eyes gleamed. “So, you do admit it’s his pup, you damn slut?”

Daniel pointed his gavel at Abernathy. “Shut your fucking pie hole right now, old man,” he ordered. “I already told you, the matter is closed. Mai is the mate of Micah Donovan and Jim Dixon. The baby is theirs by default. Mai is an orphan, and she and her baby are declared members of and under the protection of this Clan through her mating bond. End of subject.”

Elain caught a glimpse of Jocko out of the corner of the eye. He was attempting to mask what suspiciously sounded like laughter through the sound of coughing.

“So what about my first claim, eh?” Abernathy asked, facing Daniel. “You know of the blood oath. Your Clan swore to uphold blood oaths between our Clans.”

Liam stepped forward. “I am Elain’s father. My mate, Elain’s mother, never agreed to the blood oath.”

Elain didn’t like the look of reluctant acceptance on Daniel’s face. “But you,” Daniel said, “did know of it and failed to inform her?”

“She was not informed of it when we mated, no. She claimed me as her mate. She was an Alpha. It wasn’t until after the fact that I told her. She died not long after Elain was born.”

Elain wanted to nip this shit in the bud. She spoke up. “Daniel, if you were to rule against us, what would happen?”

“If?” Abernathy cackled.

“Shut up, you,” Daniel growled at Abernathy. He looked at Elain apologetically. She sensed he wished she’d stick to the plan, but she wasn’t about to roll over and tap out. “They do have a right to ask for a challenge if you won’t go willingly.”

“Challenge?”

“To fight for you.”

“Who would fight for me?” Elain asked.

Daniel shrugged. “They have a right to pick their champion to fight one of your mates.”

“Why does it have to be my mates?” Elain asked.

Ain grumbled in a low, warning tone behind her. “Elain.”

She ignored him. “I’m serious,” she said to Daniel.

Abernathy smiled a predatory gleam. His ego was obviously his weak spot. “My grandson, Paul, is our champion. He will fight for the right to take you as his mate.”

Elain glanced at the guy. Then she grinned. “I accept your challenge.”

Daniel, her men, Liam, Carla, Micah, Mai, and Jim all yelled, “What?”

She stepped forward to address Daniel and the Council. “If I’m the prize, don’t I have the right to demand whether or not I get to fight for myself?” She turned on Ain. “Please don’t edict me out of this,” she begged in a soft voice. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Elain, you don’t know what this means! You—”

Cail and Brodey grabbed his arms. “Let her,” Brodey whispered. “She’s right.”

“Are you out of your fucking gourd?” Ain asked Brodey.

“Ain,” she begged. “Please!”

He looked at his two brothers. Finally, he shook his head in resignation. He grabbed Elain and kissed her before stepping back.

She turned back to Daniel. “Let’s settle this bullshit once and for all. Right here, and right now. I call him out.”

Abernathy’s self-assured smile faltered. “What?”

She stalked over to him and got in his face. “Right here, old man,” she growled. “And right now. When I win, this bullshit is over for good. You leave me alone, and you leave Mai alone.” She looked at Daniel and the rest of the Council. “If they refuse to accept the terms, I declare they be ruled in forfeit and the blood oath is cancelled.”

Daniel was finally following her train of thought. His eyes narrowed as he stared at her and slowly nodded his head. “Agreed.”

Abernathy’s eyes widened. “No! Fine, we’ll do it right here and now.” He waved Paul over to him.

Elain fought the urge to laugh in the guy’s face. He was only a couple of inches taller than her, and he didn’t look at all happy to be there.

Daniel consulted with the Council, then turned back to them. “Okay, but let’s do it outside.”

They reconvened in the large field next door. Everyone who’d been inside gathered along the edge of the field to watch. Abernathy huddled with his grandson and flunkies near the sidewalk leading from the parking lot to the building. Daniel and the rest of the Council were grouped in the middle of the field. Daniel pulled Elain off to the side.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” he softly asked her. “I can’t throw this fight for you. If you lose, there’s going to be a serious shit storm.” He glanced at the jaguars, who stood in the shade of a tree at the side of the building and watched. “We’re running out of options.”

She grinned. “Oooh, yeah. I know what I’m doing.”

He shook his head. “I sure hope you do. I don’t want to have to rule against you, but if you lose, I won’t have a choice. The Council won’t let me break the Code even if I could find a loophole.” He lowered his voice so only she could hear. “Ortega is ready to put our plan into gear if you lose, you know.”

She kicked off her shoes and handed them to him. “Don’t worry,” she said lightly. “I won’t lose.”

He and the rest of the Council left the center of the field. Elain took a moment to warm up, stretching her body, remembering her days running track and field and cross-country.

Remembering how she easily earned her black belt in karate far sooner than any of her instructor’s other students.

No, I will not lose.

Once Abernathy had briefed his grandson, Daniel called Elain, Ain, Abernathy, and Paul over to where the Council members stood at the edge of the field.

“Here are the rules,” Daniel said. “Fight to submission.” He looked at Elain. “Winner take all. Got it?”

She grinned, which apparently unsettled the elder Abernathy even more from the way his eyebrows raised. “Got it,” she said.

“Take your chosen position in the field. When my hand drops, that’s when you start. The only rule is you do not leave the field. Anyone who leaves the field loses by default.”

Elain glanced behind her with a goofy grin as she skipped further out into the field. The tactic worked. Now Paul was also frowning, not looking nearly as cocky as he had a few minutes earlier as he followed her into the field.

She turned to face him with a beaming smile, watching as Paul stopped a few feet away from her. In the distance, she saw Daniel standing with his hand raised.

When Paul turned to watch Daniel, Elain immediately dropped into a ready crouch. As soon as Daniel’s hand started to descend, she bolted.

Paul let out a startled cry when she took off. He stumbled, then gave chase. Elain felt the grin crease her face as she circled the perimeter of the field, easily staying out of Paul’s reach. After a few minutes, she realized was seriously fighting the urge to shift. She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t lose control and shift. Her strategy depended on it.

Fortunately for her, Paul’s self-control wasn’t as good. With an enraged snarl he stopped, ripped off his clothes, and shifted.

“Ha!” She turned and dropped into a low stoop. “Here, puppy puppy puppy,” she said with a growl.

With a fearsome snarl, he charged. She dipped her shoulder, easily scooping him up and using his own momentum against him to throw him ten yards through the air. He hit the ground on his side with a startled yip and a thud that knocked the wind out of him.

She had already turned and was waiting for him by the time he regained his footing. He shook himself, his sides heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

She turned her hand palm up and motioned for him to come hither with her index finger. “Come and get me, asshole.”

He snarled and charged again with the same result. He was a little slower to regain his footing that time. His eyes narrowed as he studied her, considering his next attack.

Slow-learning fucker, aren’t you?

Ain needed all of the others to hold him back. But it was Carla’s soft whisper in his ear that comforted him the most and finally relaxed him.

“Ain, remember. She’s a cross-country champion and has a black belt.”

Mai nodded in agreement. “She will kick Paul’s ass. He’s a pussy and he hates pain. I outran Paul and I’m pregnant. Elain won’t have any problems wearing him down.”

Liam put his hands on Carla’s shoulders. She grabbed his hands for comfort. “Elain is the spitting image of her mother,” Liam said. “Maureen was a fierce Alpha. I wouldn’t have tried fighting her even if I hadn’t wanted to be her mate. I damn sure wouldn’t try fighting Maureen Alexander’s highly brassed-off daughter. Only a fool would dare challenge her.”

Ain let that sink in and tried to relax. Still, he didn’t shake off Cail’s and Brodey’s hands from his arms.

He watched as Paul circled Elain, who never let the insane grin slip from her face. He didn’t dare risk a look at the elder Abernathy, who had to be nearly crazed with anger by that point.

Then he and everyone else watching gasped as it looked like Elain tripped and rolled onto her back. Brodey and Cail clutched Ain’s arms more tightly to prevent him from running into the field to help her. With a triumphant howl, Paul launched himself onto Elain.

That’s when his howl turned into an inhuman scream of pain. Elain rolled on top of him, her hand buried between his hind legs.

“Submit!” she roared at him, her face a mask of rage. Her arm jerked as another scream of pain rolled from Paul.

Paul shifted back into human form. Everyone except for the Abernathy contingent broke out into hysterical peals of laughter. Elain had a death grip on his dick and balls, her nails dug in to the point she was already drawing blood.

He let out another wail of pain and outrage when she twisted her arm again.

“Submit!” she roared.

Ain couldn’t hold back his laughter as he followed Daniel and the other Council members out onto the field.

“All right!” Paul screeched. “I submit!”

She gave his package another hard yank. “What was that? I don’t think your fucking old fart dickweed grandfather could hear you, you lousy prick.”

“I submit! Jesus, please let me go! I submit!”

She looked over at Daniel, who was also laughing. “Well?” she asked him. “Is that good enough?”

He glanced at the other Council members. They all nodded despite laughing, too. “He submits to you. You win. The oath is hereby declared null and void. He’s yours to do with as you choose.”

She grinned, but it wasn’t a look of amusement. Truth be told, it sent a shiver through Ain’s soul. Before he could stop her, she gave one final, wrenching twist of her hand. They all heard Paul’s shriek of pain, accompanied by a faint, sickening pop.

She let go and stood, her right hand now covered with Paul’s blood. “There you go, you little bitch. Next time you cross my path, I’ll feed them to you. If they can even reattach them.” She spit on him. “Go back to your asshat Clan. I sure as fuck don’t want you. And stay the hell away from Mai and the rest of my pack, or I will kill you next time.”

There was a wild look in her eye Ain wasn’t sure how to deal with. She pushed past him and stalked over to Rodolfo Abernathy, who rose from his wheelchair to face her.

She held up her blood-covered hand, grabbed his neckline with her other, then proceeded to wipe his grandson’s blood on his shirt. Her voice took on a deadly growling tone. “If you or your Clan ever bother us again, that will be your blood on my hand, asshole.” She shoved him, hard, back into his chair. One of his men had to grab it to keep it from tipping backward with him in it.

Then she headed for an outdoor spigot on the side of the building to wash the blood off her hands.

Brodey and Cail flanked Ain. “Um, dude?” Brodey softly said to his brother. “I say you just let her chill for a few minutes. I like my ’nads right where they are.”

Cail agreed. “I’ve never seen anyone go that far down into deep Alpha and not shift. Not even you, Ain.”

Despite wanting to go over and hug her, he nodded. “I agree. Let’s let her be until she settles down.”

Elain knelt beside the spigot and grabbed a handful of grass to help scrub the nasty feeling of Paul’s blood off her hands. She wanted to rage, to scream, to cry. Truth be told, she had wanted to punch her fist into Paul’s gut and pull out handful after handful of his intestinal tract, even after he submitted.

But she had a feeling that might have been going a little too far.

She could still hear his keening wails and sobbing drifting from across the field as Abernathy’s men carried him toward the parking lot.

She grimly smiled to herself as she scrubbed. Little fucker thought he could take me on? He’s not even an Alpha. He’s a fucking beta. What the fuck was he thinking?

Elain noticed shadows looming over her from two people who’d walked up behind her. An instant whiff told her it wasn’t her men. She glanced up to see her mom and Mai standing there. Elain offered them a smile. “Hey. What’s up?” She grabbed another handful of grass and continued scrubbing, even though she couldn’t see any blood left on her hands.

Carla put one hand on Elain’s back and used the other to turn off the spigot. “Come on, sweetheart,” she gently said. “Let’s go inside and use the bathroom. There’s soap in there.”

Elain stood and let them escort her inside. It didn’t escape her notice that no one followed them into the building. In the bathroom, Mai locked the door behind them and ran the water until it was warm, then pumped a huge-ass handful of soap into her own palms. Elain put her hands under the water, and the women started scrubbing them for her.

“Thank you, sister,” Mai said, laying her head on Elain’s shoulder.

The tears caught Elain by surprise. She started bawling, not understanding why. Carla got them all rinsed off, grabbed paper towels, dried their hands, then wrapped her arms around both of them. Together, they sank to the floor, Carla rocking Elain and Mai back and forth until the women cried themselves out.

The Lyall men, as well as Micah and Jim, stood nervously waiting outside the bathroom door when the women emerged thirty minutes later. Elain and Mai had washed and dried their faces, blown their noses, and made themselves look reasonably presentable.

“We have an announcement,” Elain told them. “We want to go back to Florida. Home. Right now.”

Carla put her arms around both of the women. “I have a feeling I’m not going back to Spokane anytime soon.”

Liam smiled at that announcement.

Mai nodded. “And I really want to stay in Arcadia, near Elain and her guys,” she said to Micah and Jim. “I want to have a family again. Please?”

Ain smiled. “We’ve already been talking. Micah and Jim are going to build a house near ours, on our property. You can stay with us until it’s ready.”

Mai and Elain both squealed with delight and hugged each other and Carla before hugging their respective men.

“Thank you!” Elain whispered as she engulfed Ain in a hug. “Thank you so, so much for trusting me!”

He held her at arm’s length. “Baby, what do I have to do to convince you that I do trust you?”

“It’s just I know how hard that had to be for you, watching me do that.”

Brodey snorted. “No, it was actually harder on us watching that poor fucker lose his nuts. I wasn’t worried about you. I knew you’d rip him a new one.”

“We just didn’t expect you to do it literally,” Cail added.

She laughed. “I got a little carried away.” She didn’t want to think about how much she’d longed to shift and bathe in Paul’s entrails and blood, just roll around in them until her fur was coated and matted with gore.

She cut off that thought.

“Don’t worry,” Ain said as he draped his arm around her shoulder and steered her toward the exit. “We’re going to buy stainless steel cups to protect us.”

Daniel stopped them. “Not quite so fast,” he said.

“What?” Ain asked.

He smiled at Mai and her men. “We still need to officially recognize the three lovebirds.”

“You’re not going to question the validity of their mating, are you?” Elain challenged.

Daniel snorted. “After that display? Are you out of your freaking mind? If you told me they were three aliens from Venus, I’d agree wholeheartedly with you. I like my nuts right where they are, thank you very much. I’m just glad Callie wasn’t here watching. You might have given her some bad ideas. Oh, and I believe you all need an official recognition ceremony, too.”

Ain slipped up behind her. “Darling, I think you just earned yourself a reputation.”

“Reputation?” Daniel asked, incredulous. “Crap, she just put herself squarely into the legend category. As far as I know, she’s the first wolf to ever hand an Abernathy his nuts. Literally!”

The Clan Council reconvened inside the building. Some of the audience returned. Others, knowing the best part of the show was over, left.

Daniel called Ain, Cail, Brodey, and Elain up to the dais. He smiled at them. “Who claims this woman as their mate?”

Ain nodded. “We do, my brothers and myself.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “Aindreas, Brodey, and Cailean Lyall hereby claim Elain Pardie as our mate and seek Clan recognition.”

Daniel looked out at the gathering. “Does anyone object to this mating?”

Elain couldn’t help but snicker. She couldn’t imagine anyone in their right mind objecting at this point.

Daniel grinned. “The Clan hereby recognizes Elain Pardie as the mate of these men.”

Ain grinned, grabbed her, and kissed her deeply, leaving her breathless.

She barely had time to utter, “Wow!” when he let her loose before Brodey grabbed her and kissed her, too. By the time Cail had finished his lip-lock, she was ready to fuck all of them right there.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the time nor the place. As she stood there, swaying slightly on her feet, Ain guided her out of the way as Daniel called Micah, Jim, and Mai up to the dais.

“Micaiah Donovan,” he said, “I hear you did things a little differently than most.”

Micah nodded. “Yeah, as was pointed out to me, the Goddess apparently has a sense of humor.”

Daniel laughed. “True dat. Well, since we’ve never had this happen before, I’m going to make it up as I go along.” He looked back at the rest of the Council. “Any objections?”

They all shook their heads.

“Good.” He looked at Micah again. “Name your mates, Alpha.”

Micah smiled. “I declare Jim Dixon as my first claimed mate. I also declare Mai Gallatin as our claimed mate. I seek recognition for them both from the Clan.”

Daniel nodded. “You have witnesses to your first claiming?”

Ain stepped forward. “Yes. He claimed him in front of our pack.”

“And your second?”

Daniel whispered something to Mai. She turned around and let him pull the back of her shirt down just enough to expose her mating mark.

Daniel nodded. “Does anyone object to these two matings to this Alpha?” He barely waited a breath before adding, “The Clan hereby recognizes these mates of Micaiah Donovan.”

Micah kissed Jim, then Mai, then Jim kissed Mai, too.

Daniel and the rest of the Council congratulated them all. Then Daniel grinned. “Party at my house. Right now. Unless we have to go help the rest of the Scooby gang with the cockatrice, of course.”

Rodolfo Abernathy angrily brushed off all assistance as he climbed out of his wheelchair and into the back of the limo. Two of his men had already loaded the caterwauling Paul inside.

“Where are we taking him? He needs a doctor,” one of the men, his driver, asked.

“Just drive,” Rodolfo growled.

Three miles from the scene of the embarrassment, they reached a heavily wooded section of road. Rodolfo hit the intercom button to speak to the driver. “Turn down that fire road.”

Without any questions, the driver did, although the three men in back with Rodolfo and tending to his screaming grandson looked at him quizzically.

Once they’d driven several hundred yards into the dense forest, Rodolfo hit the intercom button again. “Stop here.”

The limo had no sooner stopped moving before he was climbing out of the back. “Bring that,” he growled at his men, indicating Paul.

Paul tried to fight them, but between his injuries and their combined strength, his struggles proved useless. Rodolfo carefully picked his way off the fire road and into the woods until he found a slight ravine where a trickle of water had softened the ground.

He reached into his pocket and drew his knife, then pointed at the ground.

The men dropped Paul and backed away.

Rodolfo knelt over Paul and gripped him by the throat with one hand. “You have disappointed me for the last time.” With that, he slit Paul’s throat. Then he rinsed off the knife and his hands in the water. He pulled off his shirt. “Bring me his shirt from the car,” he ordered as he dropped his sodden shirt onto his grandson’s body. “And get a fucking shovel to bury this piece of trash. There should be one in the trunk.”

One of the men ran to do as he asked, meeting him halfway back with Paul’s shirt and carrying the shovel. Rodolfo snatched the shirt from him and put it on. “Get back to the car as soon as you men are done burying him.”

Alone, he stormed back to the limo and climbed inside, pulling the door shut behind him. His anger seethed. He wasn’t the invalid everyone thought he was, and he’d taken great pains cultivating that image. Regardless, after seeing the Pardie bitch quickly take Paul down, he knew even he in his prime days would have had a difficult time subduing her.

Paul hadn’t stood a chance.

Although he grudgingly admitted a little respect for the bitch and her fighting skills, they should have rightfully been put to use improving his Clan’s lines. When she came of age, she should have been turned over. She easily could have given them several pups by now. Pups with good, strong genes.

With his own genes. He could still get it up when he wanted to. He could have had a whole new crop of sons, Alphas who wouldn’t be disappointments.

He stared out the window, waiting for his men to return from their grisly task. No, by all rights, she belonged to his Clan. He didn’t give a shit what that damn Blackestone wolf and his damn Council decreed. In the old days, she would have been immediately awarded to his Clan without question, and her so-called mates told to buck up about it or be killed.

I’ll be damned if I’ll let my line die out. No matter what he had to do, hell, if he had to kidnap, drug, and rape her himself to get her pregnant, he would get satisfaction, and the blood oath would be settled.

If it’s the last fucking thing I do.