Page 44 of Pack and Forth
As she stepped out of the car, Kira felt a warm hand on the small of her back. She glanced up to see Nash, his eyes soft with concern. “We’ve got you, sweetheart. No matter what happens, we’ll be right there with you.”
Kira managed a small smile, grateful for his steady presence. She took a deep breath and stepped into the restaurant, ready to face whatever the night might bring.
The maîtred’ showed her to a table near the back, a single rose in a delicate vase serving as the centerpiece. Kira sat, smoothing her dress and trying to calm her racing heart.
She scanned the room, spotting Rex and Nash at a table across the way. They were deep in conversation, playing their roles to perfection. But Kira could feel their eyes on her, could sense their coiled readiness.
Minutes ticked by with agonizing slowness. Kira sipped at her water, trying to keep her hands from shaking. Where was Dupont? Had they miscalculated somehow?
Just as she was about to signal to the guys that something was off, a server approached her table. “Excuse me, miss. There’s a message for you at the front.”
Kira frowned, glancing over at Rex and Nash. This wasn’t part of the plan. But she couldn’t break character, not now. She nodded to the server and rose gracefully from her chair, feeling the weight of her mates’ gazes on her as she made her way to the front of the restaurant.
But as she rounded the corner, Kira’s world spun on its axis. Two burly men, their scents unmistakably lion, grabbed her roughly by the arms. She opened her mouth to scream, but a heavy hand clamped over her mouth, muffling the sound.
Panic surged through her as they dragged her out the back door, her heels scraping uselessly against the concrete. They shoved her into the back of a waiting van, the door slamming shut behind her with a sickening finality.
Kira’s mind raced as the van lurched into motion. She had to stay calm, had to remember her training. She focused on her breathing, on the steady thrum of her lioness’ power beneath her skin.
They hadn’t blindfolded her, which meant they didn’t care if she saw where they were going. There were too many lions in that van with her. Not a good sign. Kira strained to make out any distinguishing landmarks as they sped through the city streets, but it was no use. The windows were tinted black, blocking out any hope of orientation.
After what felt like an eternity, the van shuddered to a stop. The door flew open and rough hands hauled Kira out, her feet barely touching the ground as they dragged her into a dark, cavernous warehouse.
The scents of oil, rust, and stale fear assaulted her nose, making her stomach turn. This was Dupont’s lair, she realized with a sinking dread. The place he’d been plotting his revenge, biding his time until he could strike.
Lights flickered to life overhead, casting an eerie glow over the scene. Kira blinked against the sudden brightness, her eyes adjusting to take in the half dozen lions surrounding her, their stances menacing.
And there, stepping out from the shadows with a cruel smile on his face, was the man himself. Franklin Dupont.
Fuck
TWENTY-FIVE
Kira growled.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the famous Kira Moonbeam or should I say Cress,” he drawled, his voice dripping with disdain. “The half-breed abomination, thinking she could play with the big cats.”
Kira lifted her chin, refusing to be cowed by his taunts. “What’s the matter, Dupont? Too much of a coward to face me yourself? Had to send your goons to do your dirty work?”
Anger flashed in Dupont’s cold gray eyes, but he quickly masked it with a humorless chuckle. “Oh, I’ll deal with you myself, don’t you worry your pretty little head about that. But first, I thought you might like to know a little secret.”
He stalked closer, circling her like a shark scenting blood in the water. “You don’t recognize me because you were a child, but I know you.”
She frowned, not recognizing his features. “What-”
“My father is a pride leader. And I am part of the pride that rejected you all those years ago. The one that saw you for the mongrel you are and tossed you aside like the trash you are.”
Kira stiffened, old wounds tearing open at his words. She’d been a toddler when her father’s pride had turned their backs on her, disgusted by her human mother’s blood running through her veins.
She’d tried so hard to forget, to move on and build a life for herself. But the pain of that rejection had never fully healed.
Dupont’s smile widened, sensing her inner turmoil. “That’s right, little girl. You never belonged with us, and you never will. You’re nothing but a pathetic half-breed, not fit to be a part of our pride.”
Kira’s hands curled into fists at her sides, her nails digging into her palms. She welcomed the pain, used it to center herself. She wouldn’t let him get under her skin, wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“You’re one to talk about being pathetic,” she spat, her eyes flashing with challenge. “A grown man so threatened by a woman’s success that he has to resort to underhanded tricks and lies to bring her down. Gerri is twice the shifter you’ll ever be.”
Dupont’s face contorted with rage, his polished veneer cracking. “Gerri is a sanctimonious bitch who doesn’t know her place! She dared to reject me, to deny me what I wanted. Me! No one tells me no, especially not some meddling old crone.”