“Move out of my way.”
The crowd behind them grew quiet as the men stopped laughing. The men in front of her visibly cringed and got out of her way, their heads bowing down, their shoulders hunching against Emma’s anger. Using her power like the prow of a ship, Emma forged her way through the rest of the crowd, her head held high as she stepped into the garden.
With a deep breath, Emma sucked that power back into her body. It settled in, warm and cozy, purring but ready to pounce. The Puma, she sensed, was pleased with her display of dominance.
The garden was well lit, except in strategically placed spots where pools of darkness prevailed. Emma was pretty sure what went on in those spots, and hoped her nose would help her keep out of other people’s business. Sniffing cautiously, she tried to scent Becky.
The sharp tang of coppery blood filled her senses, mixed with Becky’s earthy scent. Emma stepped into the garden and made a beeline for the smell. Halfway there, she heard Becky scream.
Emma began to run.
Max finally pried Belinda off Simon by ordering her off. With a coy shrug, the woman finally let go, but not before giving both men a peek at what they were walking away from.
“Ugh.” Simon shuddered. “You’d think she’d get the hint. ‘Get off me, get off me, what the hell are you doing, get off me’ just didn’t seem to get through to her.”
Max snickered. Simon was brushing at his shirt as if he could brush Belinda’s scent off of him. “Becky seems to have headed into the garden. Emma went to find her.”
“In this crowd?” Simon stopped brushing himself and straightened his hat. “I heard a couple of the young bloods claim they were going to ‘test’ Emma.”
Max growled. “How?”
“The usual. Forcing her to use her powers. She’s small enough that simply not getting out of her way will do it.”
Max’s smile was feral. “In that case, they’re in for a surprise.”
“Never doubted it.”
The two men waited until they felt the burst of power flowing from a point not far from the garden doors.
It was strong enough to nearly have Max bowing down before it. Simon actually grimaced before pulling himself upright by force of will alone. Emma had finally gotten fed up and was forcing her way through the crowd, her strength clearly a match for, if not slightly greater than, Max’s. Max and Simon managed to find spots where they could watch her regal exit from the ballroom. Her head moved neither left nor right; her eyes were pure molten gold. She flowed towards the garden doors, her stride sleek and sultry, commanding the attention of all around her. There was more than one shocked face in the crowd as Emma, her power swirling around her like a cape, stepped out of the double doors and into the Friedelinde’s garden, every inch the Curana Max had claimed her to be.
“My God, she is so fucking hot.” Max grinned as he watched his pissed-off mate saunter out into the night, the sexy sway of her hips riveting to more than one pair of male eyes. He was unsurprised at how the Pumas around her practically scraped the floor in her wake.
“Yeah. Good for you. Go home soon, fuck like bunnies, make little Alphas for Uncle Simon and Aunt Becky to play with. Speaking of which, can we go get my woman now?” Simon grumbled, already beginning to push through the crowd.
Max merely grinned, too pleased with and proud of Emma to call Simon to task. He moved through the crowd on Simon’s heels, almost barreling into him when the man stopped. “Simon?”
Simon looked over his shoulder at Max, confusion and fear mingling in his expression. “I smell blood.”
Max sniffed. There, on the evening breeze, was the tang of blood mixed with Becky, Emma…and Livia?
Simon’s eyes went gold as his claws ripped through the leather swordsman’s gloves. “Becky’s bleeding.” He took off into the night, following the blood trail of his mate.
“Fuck.” Max chased after his friend, knowing that if Livia had hurt Becky it would take a miracle to keep Simon from killing her.
Emma took in the scene before her, trying not to shudder. Livia had Becky pinned beneath her, her claws going for Becky’s soft stomach, her teeth at Becky’s throat. Becky stared at Emma, obviously terrified, bleeding from numerous small cuts inflicted by Livia’s claws, and one bad-looking bite wound on her left shoulder. Her unsheathed sword was just beyond her reach, probably knocked out of her hand when Livia pounced. Her hat had fallen off during the scuffle as well, landing brim up next to a
rosebush. Livia had cuts on her arms and a slash in her right cheek, showing Becky had fought back.
Livia snarled, the warning of one cat to another over prey, and Becky froze.
Emma cocked her hip, hands going to her waist as she tried to still the frantic beating of her heart. She had to hit Livia where she lived, get her to turn on her and get the hell off of Becky before someone died.
“Okay, some of the peroxide must have leaked into your brains to make this seem like a good idea.
What will killing Becky accomplish, other than to piss off Simon and Max and ruin your manicure?” Livia snarled again, but she didn’t tighten her hold on Becky’s throat. Her claws remained poised above Becky’s stomach. Emma racked her brains, trying to think of ways to get Livia’s undivided attention.
“Did you run out of Liversnaps or something? Oh wait, that’s dogs.”
Livia dug her claws into Becky’s stomach, making her gasp. Red beads of blood, black in the night, dribbled down Becky’s sides as Livia released her throat and sat up slowly. Her hand flexed, driving her claws in deeper. “I want the Curana’s ring.”
Emma stared at her, stunned. “A ring does not make you Curana, Livia.”
Livia sneered. “It does to them!” She tossed her head towards the house, indicating all the other Pumas inside. “If they see I took the ring from you, they’ll never acknowledge you as Curana.” She smiled, her fangs glistening in the moonlight. “They’ll see you for the weak, pathetic wallflower you’ve always been.
Max will be mine, like he always should have been; he won’t have a choice. He and I will run the Pride the way it was meant to be run, and you’ll be seen as nothing but the Alpha’s whore.”
Emma nodded thoughtfully. It took everything she had to stay focused on Livia and not her friend.
“Yeah, all of that is true. Except for one thing. Well, two, really.”
“What’s that?”
“One, Max doesn’t want your double-processed skanky ass.”
“Hey! I’m a natural blonde!”
The woman is obviously a few tacos short of a fiesta platter. Emma mentally rolled her eyes. She was so done dealing with Livia. “Two, even without the ring, I am the Curana.” Emma’s power punched out, reaching for the woman in front of her. “Let Becky go. Now.”
Livia whimpered as Emma forced her to do her bidding. Her hand trembled with the force of Emma’s command, her claws slowly, reluctantly withdrawing from Becky’s stomach. She crawled on all fours off of Becky, her shoulders hunched. Emma’s will compelled her away from the bleeding woman.
“Kneel.”
Emma’s command punched out, forcing Livia to her knees. She shook with the need to break free, her breath panting in and out of laboring lungs, but Emma kept her tied to her will.
Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw Max helping Becky, which left her free to deal with Livia. Or so she thought.
The sound she heard behind her caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. She now knew why pumas had earned the nickname mountain screamer as Simon’s Puma let loose a high-pitched