Deadly Crush (Deadly Trilogy, Book 1) by Ashley Stoyanoff Page A

again, savagely.
    I held her eyes and stalked toward her, a
low growl rumbling from my throat.   I
gathered my scent, letting it trickle through my imprint, and into the
air.   It was as if she just realized who
I was because a flash of panic suddenly flitted across her eyes.   For a second, she looked as if she was going
to bolt, but then she dropped to her stomach, shimmied across the ground until
she was at my feet, and began to lick my chin.
    I snapped at her to stop, and she
whimpered, rolling onto her back, exposing her vulnerable neck and belly to
me.   I looked down at her for a moment,
disgusted, and then I turned from her, and let my body reform to human.
    As soon as I stood up, Dominic handed me my
jeans, and I tugged them on.   The crowd
was silent, still as marble, watching to see what I would do.   I dug my keys out of my pocket and tossed
them to Dominic.   He snatched them out of
the air.   “Get Becca out of here.”
    “What about her?” he asked, nodding toward
Erika who was still on her back, whimpering softly.
    I looked back at Erika and gritted my
teeth.   I could have her locked up, but
it wouldn’t hold.   Technically, she
hadn’t done anything wrong, yet.   Becca
was hurt, but she was breathing.   The
enforcers would let her walk no matter what I said.   If I hadn’t stepped in … I gave my head a
shake, banishing the thought.   If I
hadn’t stepped in, I would have lost both of them.
    “Let her go,” I said, more than a little
reluctantly.   I heard Jared chuckle, and
I didn’t doubt for a second that he’d been hoping I’d slip up and make a stupid
call.   The enforcers were the only ones
who had the authority to deal with reckless or unfair alphas, and they were the
only ones who wouldn’t be punished for standing up to me.   “She hasn’t broken any laws.”
    I glared at Jared for a moment, and his
dark, laughing eyes held mine.   He
smirked at me, and then gave me a nod that looked something like approval.   I knew what he was doing.   Testing me.   He was trying to decide if I would abuse my
rank, and whether I needed to be under constant watch.   I figured I passed the test, though, because
he turned his back on me and walked away.
    I scooped up my shirt, and as I tugged it
over my head, I heard someone say, “Shit, Jade. We need to go.”

CHAPTER 13

 
 
    ~ JADE ~

 
    Marcy was worked
up.   So worked up, that as she spoke, I
had absolutely no clue what she was saying.   She was speaking in half sentences, starting the thought in her head and
only giving me bits and pieces, and then jumping from one topic to the next so
quickly that I was completely lost.   The
gist was that I had pissed off the pack … again, which really wasn’t a new
thing.   I tended to piss them off a
lot.   Not that I meant to, it just kind
of happened.   I’ve always liked to
believe that it was because Erika couldn’t deal with the fact that Dominic and
I had a past, although I couldn’t swear on that, because really, it wasn’t just
Erika that I seemed to piss off.
    Marcy was dragging me through the park,
hell bent on getting freakin’ ice cream.   The wind was cold.   The sky was
black.   And all I wanted to do was lie in
bed and pretend as if nothing was wrong.   I wanted to forget about the black wolf that wasn’t Dominic.   I wanted to pretend I had never met Aidan,
and I seriously didn’t want to think about Ray’s death and why no one was
talking about it.   But no, of course I
couldn’t do that.   Marcy needed ice
cream.
    Baskin
Robbins was just on the other side of the soccer
field.   We stuck to the path, rounding
the field, and from this distance, it looked as if the shop lights were dancing
through the night, as the silhouettes of customers moved passed the window.
    “Shit,” Marcy said.   Her arm weaved through mine and she jerked me
to a stop.   “Jade, we need to go.”   She started tugging on my arm, pulling me
back the way we