They left the office and Mercury came up beside her, his hand riding low on her back, fingers sliding beneath the short hem of her shirt as they headed to Callan’s office on the other side of the mansion.
As they turned down the main hall once again, she was there. Avaricious eyes watched Mercury, sliding over his body as he and Ria moved toward her. Greed and lust flickered in the other woman’s eyes as Ria clenched her fingers to fists to restrain the need to claw those eyes out.
She could feel the violence rising inside her. Something she detested, feared, within herself. There had always been a part of her psyche that she kept tightly restrained, that she never allowed free, for a reason.
She had dressed down, rarely worn makeup and stayed on the perimeter of everyone else, for protection. For herself. She hated the inner violence she felt whenever she lost something important to her.
She remembered the rage that had consumed her as a child when she realized, when it finally hit her, that her mother had left her forever. No matter the reasons, her mother had left her alone.
The foster family that she had been staying with had been forced to contact Dane. She had destroyed the pretty bedroom Dane had had decorated for her. She had smashed toys, ripped stuffed animals, and when that hadn’t eased the hard knot of fury, she had tried to escape by running.
From that moment, once sanity had returned, Ria had fought to make certain it never happened again. And now she could feel that core-older, more mature, but knotted in rage at the thought of losing what she had claimed with her soul.
Mercury had made his choice. If he asked her for release, she would open her hands and let him go, though it would kill her inside. But this woman didn’t have a chance of taking anything from her.
She let her gaze meet Alaiya’s as Mercury moved beside her and Jonas moved up on the other side. As though protecting her. She didn’t need their protection and she let Alaiya know it.
She held the Breed female’s eyes, poured all that anger, frustration and determination into the look she gave her, and had the satisfaction of watching the other woman’s eyes flicker.
Oh no, this battle wasn’t going to be that easy. Ria knew it, and now Alaiya would know it as well.
“Jonas.” Alaiya’s lips suddenly curled. “I just received the results from the blood workup.”
“Later, Alaiya,” Jonas ordered as they moved to pass her.
“No, Jonas. Not later.” Her voice stopped them all.
Jonas snarled back at her in anger. “You overstep your bounds, enforcer.”
Alaiya smiled. “According to Breed Law, I’m establishing them. The mating hormone is in my blood workup, Jonas. And it matches Mercury’s.” She straightened from the walk, slid forward and stared back at Mercury with feral possessiveness. “He’s my mate.”
Ria felt herself shatter inside. But rather than the storm of last night, she felt a furious, burning core rage inside her instead.
“Breeds have only one mate,” she stated through numbed lips as Mercury gripped her arm, pulling her forward.
“Exactly,” Alaiya drawled. “And we matched.”
“And we mated,” she retorted coldly, watching as Alaiya’s gaze suddenly narrowed. “You can smell it. You can sense it, can’t you, Alaiya?”
The other woman’s lips thinned as Mercury’s rumbling growl became louder.
“Touch him, and you’ll deal with me.”
To that, Alaiya’s lips curled in satisfaction. “Oh, I think I can take you, little mouse.” Her laughter slid from her throat. “No contest.”
“And I think, dear, if you attempted it, I might have to kill you myself.” Dane stepped into the doorway at the same moment Mercury jerked Ria back and snarled in Alaiya’s face.
“Remember my warning, Alaiya?” he snapped, his voice cold.
“Breed Law…”
“Don’t you throw Breed Law at me.” His voice was a powerful, dangerous rumble of violence. “Remember the warning. Heed it. Or you’ll suffer the consequences.”
“And I don’t need either one of you to stand before me.” Ria pushed by Mercury, coming back to his side, anger riding the arousal, like lava spewing its wrath from a volcano. “Let her find out for herself what she’s dealing with. On her own terms.”
“So confident,” Alaiya sneered.
“So malicious,” Ria retorted coldly. “There’s nothing for you here. No matter your belief.”
She let Mercury draw her away then. Not that she could have prevented him; he was all but dragging her through the hallway, passing Dane, heading for Callan’s office, as anger washed off him in waves.
“This is fucking insane,” he bit out as they pushed into Callan’s office. “Get this taken care of before I lose patience entirely.”
“Oh yes, let’s not tempt your patience.” She jerked her arm from his grip and cast him a furious look. “Especially considering the fact I’ve gone and lost mine period.”
The door jerked open and slammed behind Dane as he stalked in. Within seconds he was in Mercury’s face.
“Take care of that rabid little cat,” Dane bit out furiously in Mercury’s face. “What the hell does she mean-her mating tests match yours? That’s bullshit, I can smell you all over Ria, and her scent on you.”
Mercury snarled back at him, pushing Ria behind him as male Breed genetics met hybrid fury and threatened to explode. Damned men. She turned and stared at Jonas as he leaned against the wall, shook his head and watched the scene with patient mockery.
“Let them get it out of their systems.” He shrugged at her look. “Tell me, Ms. Rodriquez, is Dane your brother or your father?”
She sighed wearily. “I think he’s my nemesis, but we won’t go there.”
“You could stop that woman from cutting her every chance she has,” Dane was shouting in Mercury’s face as Callan leaned back in his chair behind the desk and watched. Kane sat down, evidently more than amused at the confrontation.
Mercury remained silent. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared back at Dane broodingly. It was a look that made Ria intensely nervous.
“Amburg will run the tests on Mercury and Ria as soon we can get blood,” Jonas inserted.
“Amburg!” Dane turned on him, disbelief tightening his features. “Jeffery Amburg? The butcher of the Breed labs? Have you lost your fucking mind, man?”
Jonas’s browed arched. “We can’t trust Ely’s opinion at this point. Do you have a better alternative?”
Silence filled the room, but Ria saw Dane’s expression.
“Don’t do it, Dane,” she whispered nervously. “It’s not worth it.”
Mercury’s head swung around and pinned her with furious eyes.
“Do I have a better alternative?” Dane smiled. She hated it when a Breed smiled like that. All teeth and no amusement. “Oh, Jonas, you have no clue.”
“Dane. I’m telling you. Don’t do it. I mean it.”
His gaze swung back to her, and what she saw had her hands trembling. “Please.”
“I’ll ask you one last time.” Jonas tilted his head and watched them both. “Brother or father? The scent is there; it just took me a while to pick it up. Why didn’t you tell us your perfect little paper pusher was a hybrid Breed?”
“Your Amburg will not touch her,” Dane snarled then. “You’ll await the arrival of her grandmother. Elizabeth can see to her tests, and no one else.” He turned back to Ria then, his gaze heavy. “The information you give them is up to you. But these tests will not be conducted by unsecured sources. I’m sorry, Ria. I won’t allow such a risk to you again.”
With that, he jerked the door open and stormed from the office, leaving her with dead silence, three Breeds and one very curious human, Kane Tyler, watched her intently.
“Well.” She breathed in roughly. “I guess that’s that. Does anyone have a cup of coffee?”