So much anger

A tremor of unease moved through me, sending every instinct I had on high-alert. Eryx's nostrils flared as he lowered his lips to my throat, placing a soft kiss against my thundering pulse. His hand moved, skimming his fingers over the curve of my hipbone. Deep, wicked laughter escaped him before he lift- ed his mouth to press it against mine. I turned away, keeping my lips at a distance from his.

"Come on, give me some sugar, Brae. You and I could have ended up to- gether if you'd stopped running away from me ten years ago," he urged, but there was a catch in his voice.

"You and I have nothing in common, let alone a connection."

"You have a pussy, and I have a cock. What other connection do we need?" he mused, stepping back to drag his heady stare down my body. "If you think that is all that is needed to breed with a mate, you're fucked,

Eryx."

"No one said shit about breeding. Sometimes it isn't about connecting, Princess. It's about unleashing anger on your partner. You'd enjoy being man- handled and fucked so hard that you'd forget your name by the time I released you. Do you want that? That leg-shaking, bone-breaking, soul-crushing sex that destroys you until you're nothing but a single orgasm that doesn't stop until I'm finished fucking you?" Eryx leaned back against the counter, smiling with sex- ual carnage, leaving me curious as to what he meant.

Eryx was trying to fuck with me, and I'd had enough shit happen in the last twenty-four hours. I slowly stepped forward, mirroring his pose by placing my hands on either side of the counter behind him. Lowering my lips to his pulse, I nipped at it before letting a sultry growl escape my chest. I lifted my hands, turning his mouth toward mine until we shared breath.

"Fuck, the fucking hell off. Eryx. If I'd wanted to fuck you, you'd have been fucked. I fell in love with Saint. It went beyond a basic we have matching parts connection. You're trying to scare me or get me to react, and the thing is, fuck you." I grabbed my clothes, exiting the room to find Saint leaning against the wall, glaring at me. "And fuck you, too," I snorted, going into my closet to change.

I shimmied into panties, pants, and a white tank top. Grabbing a flannel, I took it with me into the bathroom. Once inside, I tried to close the door, but Saint pushed his way into my space. He immediately started stripping, giving me a view of where his name, Kingsley, was tattooed over his shoulders, with skulls and black ink dominating his skin. Ignoring him, I grabbed the brush and started two braids on either side of my head, then a larger one on the top. It was a Viking style worn by the Fenrir wolves and one I'd just begun using. It was an easy style to maintain since we spent most of our time doing chores, preparing to be stuck on top of the mountain until spring came, and the roads were passable.

Steam billowed from the shower, and I smirked wickedly. Eryx was leaning against the doorframe as I reached over, turning on the water in the sink. Open- ing the drawer, I withdrew my toothbrush and paste and began slowly brushing my teeth as Saint screamed from the shower, stepping out of it a shade redder than when he'd entered.

His eyes held mine before moving to my mouth, where the frothy paste was covering my lips. I cleaned my tongue, turning to look at him with a lifted eye- brow.

"Problem?" I asked, muffled by the paste and brush between my lips. "You're pushing me," he warned.

"What are you going to do to me? Fuck me crudely and treat me like a whore? Oh, wait, you just did that. Spank me? You might not get the result you want. I might be into that shit, Saint." Grinning, I pointed to his head with my toothbrush, "You have soap in your hair. You will need to get your own. Unless, of course, you don't mind smelling like me all day long." I deadpanned him so hard he felt it. "The shampoo is enhanced with my scent and nullifying herbs that make my heat-cycle remain hidden and muted to the males. I'm uncertain if it works for someone with a cock instead of a vagina. Let me know if it does so I can market it for unisex production."

Turning around, I spit out the paste before grabbing the mouthwash and swishing it while I held his angry glare in the mirror. "Oh, do you mind that I am brushing my teeth without permission? I forgot to ask if that was allowed. Should I ask permission before I piss, too? You're going to need to write down the rules, as I have always been shit at following them. It tends to make my pussy wet when I disobey the rules and indulge in being a rebel. You remember, don't you? When you told me I couldn't touch myself, and I did it anyway, making you listen as I came for you? Oh, that's right. You didn't mind it at all."

His eyes sparkled at my words as if he was enjoying my mouth running. He didn't get back into the shower where the scalding water still ran. He just stood there, letting the bathroom filled with steam, which did nothing to hide the fact that he was stark ass naked.

"I'm leaving to do chores," I announced, exiting the room before he could cage me in against the counter or make my brain turn to a sediment one stage less than mush.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"I'm going to do princess duties," I snorted, sliding on my flannel as his attention lowered to my hard nipples straining against the tank top that exposed my midriff.

"You're not to leave this room."

I began tapping my foot while I glared at him. "I'm sorry, what? Because it sounded like you just tried to ground me to this room. I have shit to get done today. Just because you come in swinging that big dick energy with your crew doesn't change the season. If things don't get done around here, we will freeze and starve to death when the mountain becomes unpassable."

"I'll handle it. It's not like the pack needs some bossy little alpha bitch telling them what to do," Saint snapped, forcing my anger to rise.

"Is that so? And tell me, Saint, what do you think needs to be done to pre- pare this pack for winter?" I challenged as the tic in his jaw hammered at the taunt. "You wouldn't know what is needed because you haven't been back here in ten years. This is my pack, even if you're the alpha now. So, I'm going to make sure shit is handled properly, and you can swing your dick around all you fucking want. It still doesn't change facts, and facts don't lie. Have a good day doing whatever it is you plan to do. After the meal. I'll be back here to play a good little bitch and do what you need of me inside the bedroom. Outside of this room, though, keep the fuck away from me."

I spun on my heel, escaping the bedroom before Saint could get a word in or stop me. My home and territory were crawling with unfamiliar faces. It only catapulted my anger once I reached the main hall, finding strangers lounging everywhere, with trash scattered. I didn't pause, not even when Xariana and her father thought to approach me. My eyes slid over Leif's powerful physique as his gaze glided over my braids. Exiting the lodge, I flagged down Lucas, a mem ber of my pack, nodding toward the side of the building.

"Get the pack over here. We have shit to get done before winter comes," I mused, watching his eyes slid over my body. "Are you okay?" he asked, then grinned at the wicked smile that played over my lips.

"No, but there's a woodpile screaming my name, and I have an ax to grind on it. That should relieve the anger and stress that Saint's sudden appearance has caused me." Lucas chuckled, pushing his fingers between his lips before an ear-piercing whistle cut through the air. I didn't wait to see if my pack responded because I fully intended to do what I'd said by taking my anger out on the woodpile.