The Breed: Nora's Choice (9 page)

“Nope.
I have had enough of that man to last me a
long
while,” she took another
deep sip.

“He’s
growing on you huh?” Tessa laughed and flagged down Lilly, one of the Breed
teenagers who worked in the café.

“What
can I get you?” the young girl asked, her voice shaking.

“Are
you ok honey?” Remy stared the girl down, her grey eyes piercing through her.

Now
that Nora took a good look at her, her eyes were red and puffy from recent
crying and she looked more than a little upset.

“Fine,”
she mumbled, “what can I get you?”

“Cottage
cheese and fruit plate,” Nora replied, brushing off Tessa and Remy’s sharp
stares. If the girl didn’t want to talk about it, she wasn’t going to push her.

“Double
bacon cheeseburger with extra cheese and a mountain dew please,” Tessa finally
ordered after a short awkward silence.

“I’ll
just have a glass of wine. Honey are you sure you’re ok? You can tell us,
really,” Remy looked sympathetically at the little waitress.

“David…
we still haven’t bonded, and he turns 21 on Monday. If we don’t bond by then he
thinks it’s a good idea to break up,” Lilly replied, her bottom lip quivering.

“Man
that sucks,” Tessa replied wide eyed, as usual having no idea what to say in
social situations.

Lilly
gave a tearful moan and hurried away.

“She’ll
be fine,” Nora waved her hand, “it’s just the bond, she’ll get over it and find
somebody new.”

“What’s
the big deal with him turning 21 anyway?” Tessa asked, zipping her grey hoodie
farther up her chest.

 “The
bond only occurs when both people are at an age of maturity,” Remy began
explaining, “like in your case Tessa, Cass is three hundred years older than
you. If he had met you when you were a toddler he wouldn’t have run off with
you screaming that you were his wife. The bond wouldn’t have happened at all.”

“So
21 is the age of maturity for the bond?” Nora humphed.

“It
depends on the person,” Remy replied, “usually in females it’s between 18 and
20, and males usually between 20 and 22. Lilly’s 19 and David is almost 21,
he’s trying to save her the heart ache of breaking up later when one of them
bonds to someone else.”

“That
makes sense,” Tessa nodded, “still sucks though.”

“It’s
only a guy,” Nora did not understand at all, “there are dozens of them in this
embassy alone. She’ll find a new one.”

“I’m
gonna go talk to her,” Remy decided, giving both women a flat stare, “clearly
I’m the most capable of comforting her.”

The
girls stared at each other for a moment, then in unison shrugged their
shoulders.

“So
what’s this secret mission the boys are on?” Nora rubbed her hands together,
thinking they could use a little adventure.

“No
one will tell me,” Tessa gave a frustrated sigh, “I even tried Jax, but he shut
me down.”

“Damn,”
she grumbled, “it’s gotta be really good if they’re keeping it this locked up.”

When
the girls came to terms with their adventure being hopeless they began chatting
about all the things going on in their lives. Nora was happy that her friend
had found her mate, but she had missed her. Of course it hadn’t helped that she
had been avoiding her, but that was beside the point.

Catching
up with her friend felt so good she didn’t even mind having to listen to how
Casstiel had made her breakfast in bed, again. Or how badly she was freaking
out that her parents were coming to meet him, no matter how obvious it was that
they were going to love him.

She
filled Tessa in about her nursing classes, and it felt good to finally feel
like she was doing something with her life. She felt like she actually had
something important and meaningful to discuss, instead of her usual fashion
banter or celebrity gossip.

Within
a few minutes their food was brought out to them by David, and it was clear
Lilly wasn’t the only one who was suffering.

Nora
looked down at her plate, which held an un peeled orange, banana, and container
of cottage cheese, and sighed aloud.

“Well
I’m not complaining,” Tessa hefted up a burger dripping with cheese and what
looked like an entire pound of bacon.

“All
this over the bond?” she was disgusted by the waste of emotion, “I’ll never
understand it.”

“Some
people actually want to be bonded. They’d like to be loved, and have someone to
trust and depend on,” Tessa gave her a very pointed stare.

“I
don’t understand your brother at all, he’s so new to the Breed, what does he
care about the bond for?” she snapped.

If
he would just give up on it then she could go back to having a normal life. She
could go back to only ever having to worry about herself and Memphis. No more
annoying thoughts on whether Quinn was happy or healthy.

He
would be properly swept under the rug.

“Look,
I know this is probably hard for you to understand,” she spoke through a mouth
full of burger, “but my brother is lonelier than even I was. I think the idea
of having a mate, someone who was made for you, makes him finally feel… whole.”

“Lonely?”
she eyed her shrewdly, “I thought he was some kind of college golden boy? A
little local celebrity?”

He
didn’t know a damn thing about loneliness.

“Maybe
you should re imagine what it’s like to be a golden boy. Besides our family he
never had a friend that gave a crap about him, he was instantly labeled as
‘only good for sports’ at our high school, and no matter how many tests he aced
he couldn’t shake how people saw him. He never liked any of the girls who
fawned all over him, so what did they assume? That he was a total man slut who
just didn’t want to commit to one individual girl; it couldn’t possibly mean
that he just wasn’t interested in the princesses.”

“Oh
poor misunderstood Quinn, loved by everybody just for the wrong reasons,” she
couldn’t believe they were actually having this conversation.

“Nobody
loved him, that’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Tessa fumed back, “he was just
a little toy to everybody, it made me sick. You know he tried to quit swimming
in the 11
^th
grade? His coach called our house every day, his team
mates followed him home, he couldn’t walk ten feet down the hallway without a
mob of people stopping him to give him shit. He finally decided it was less annoying
to just keep on playing.”

“Well
good thing he went off to university to do the same thing,” Nora shook her
head, she didn’t have any sympathy for the trophy boy.

“Yeah
because turning down free college tuition at a great university is always a
smart idea,” Tessa rolled her eyes, “you’re just being like this because he’s
your mate and you’re pissy about it.”

“Being
bonded to Cass has made you so sassy,” Nora widened her eyes, she could get
used to her friends new attitude.

“Can
you just imagine for a minute how badly it sucked for him?” She sighed
impatiently, “people constantly judged and dismissed him, he was in love with
Jenny Parker for YEARS and she wouldn’t even talk to him because everyone
knew
he just wanted to hump and dump a smart chick.”

“Who
the hell is Jenny Parker?” Nora sat straight up in her chair eyes flashing.

“Valedictorian
of his grade, they had a lot of classes together and she was the only one who
could answer as many questions as he could. Of course he never actually raised
his hand and answered out loud, but he knew them. I never liked her though, she
was a total snob, always thinking she was smarter than everyone else,” her lip
curled back, “but he never listened to me. Always going on about how much she
knew about mythology, and how shiny her hair was. She always wore these ugly
butterfly hair clips on the side of her head, gross.”

Butterfly
hair clips
? Nora wanted to gag.

“How
come he never answered the questions?” She asked, wondering why he would want
to keep quiet.

“I
told you everyone thought he was stupid,” Tessa took another gigantic bite of
burger, her massive pile of dark red curls falling out of her hair tie with the
effort.

“So
why wouldn’t he prove them wrong? I would answer every question they ever asked
and shove it in their face,” she said ruefully, she couldn’t stand when people
underestimated her.

“He
was the opposite, he said he didn’t have to prove anything to them and he
didn’t care what they thought about him. Which of course was a total crock of
shit, but I didn’t want to call him out on it,” she shrugged, readjusting her
hair, “it sort of became his little secret. I had my gift, and he had his big
brain, and we both kept it from the world.”

“How
smart are we talking here?” she eyed her skeptically, she had to be over
exaggerating.

“Ask
him any random question and I can almost guarantee he knows the answer. He’s
read just as much as I have, except his books were on religions, cultures,
history, philosophy, and science. When we were little and shared the living
room TV all we watched was the discovery channel and documentaries, if I tried
to turn on the Power Rangers he would freak out that we were going to ‘rot our
brains’ on junk,” Tessa laughed at the memory.

“So
I’m bonded to a nerd…. Great,” Nora sighed.

She
had never read a book that didn’t have a sex scene in it and had never really
given a thought to religion, culture, philosophy,
or
science.

Growing
up as a maid in the Victorian time period meant that the only thing she needed
to learn was how to work and keep the owners of the house happy. Back then a
highly educated female wasn’t exactly a good thing, and once she ‘joined’ the
Breed she had practically become a shut-in until Tessa came along.

Furrowing
her brow she wondered if her lack of education would turn Quinn off? She wasn’t
nearly as smart as perfect little Jenny Parker.

Pride
and jealousy burned deep inside her, and she was disgusted with herself.

“What
the hell is wrong with you?” Tessa asked, taken aback by her sudden change in
demeanor.

“What
are we doing tomorrow in the training session?” Nora demanded, already plotting
her next move in the game between her and Quinn.

“Me
and Remy are still on the bow staffs, but I think you two are working with
cross bows and aiming,” Tessa eyed her friend like she was a mad woman.

Good.
Tomorrow’s class would be all about aim and skill, nothing at all to do to with
speed or brute strength. She was going to beat him and keep him from enticing
her again. She needed to show him how opposite they were; she wasn’t book smart
in the slightest, she wasn’t anywhere near the all American girl he was looking
for, and maybe if she could convince him of that he would finally give up on
her.

Tomorrow
she would finally convince him to move on and leave her alone.

               
As
Nora walked the length of the grounds towards the archery range, she felt
confident in her plan. She had come up with a list of questions to see just how
intelligent he really was and she hoped that by the end of their conversation
he would lose all interest in her.

            She had
prepared herself to have a serious talk with him today; she would make him
understand that no matter how good the sex was, things couldn’t go any farther.

            Never had
she wanted to belong to a man, and that wasn’t going to stop just because the
PTSD attacks might have.

            It was
unfortunate that they would be linked together for life, but if other couples
had found ways to work around it, so would they.

            Sunlight
washed over him in the distance and she took a moment to admire his form.

            He was
assembling the two crossbows they would be using, his muscles bunching and
flexing fluidly as he worked. The white tank he had on was tight around his
abs, and with a flash of heat she couldn’t control, she remembered how solid
they had felt against her soft body.

            Instantly
he looked up at her, the emotional link they shared allowing him to savor what
she was feeling.

            Quickly she
stifled her thoughts, but what was done was done. He gave her a lazy wave as a
smile tugged at his lips.

            Throwing
her shoulders back she marched the rest of the way towards him all business,
the braid plaited down her back bouncing with every brisk stride.

            “So what’s
your bet this time?” she demanded, ignoring his hello.

            Raising his
eye brows he shrugged his shoulders, clearly caught off guard.

            “What?
Haven’t thought of one?” she taunted, “Lemme guess, you just want another kiss
right?”

            “You don’t
need a bet to kiss me Nora,” he prowled towards her.

            She planted
her arm stiffly in the middle of his chest to keep him from coming any closer.

            “I don’t
want a kiss, I want a bet, so think of something,” she forced her heart beat
not to spike, even though the feel of his body under her hands had her heated.

           
Keep it
together girl…
she warned herself. She had a lot riding on this encounter
and she needed it to go her way.

            “Why don’t
you tell me what you’re betting and I’ll let you know if I’m going to play
along,” he covered her hands with his own and squeezed tenderly.

            She
swallowed hard and refused to let him think he was getting to her.

            “I want
some questions answered honestly,” she lifted her chin a little higher and
spoke firmly.

            Cocking his
head to the side his eyes swept over her face, trying to read through her
defenses.

            “I won’t
answer anything about what the team is doing for the embassy. You and my sister
get into way too much shit together,” he answered seriously while rubbing his
thumb along the back of her hand.

            “Is what
you’re doing that serious?” she didn’t know if she was more furious that he had
figured her plan out so easily, or that her heart had skipped a beat at the
thought of him in danger.

            He nodded
his head solemnly.

            “Things are
just getting worse, it seems like every day we learn something more horrible
than the last. I hate going out there because it just drags up all the old
memories of when I was a prisoner, but I have to go to keep you guys safe and
to find my pack,” he caught her off guard with his open honesty.

            He was
being real with her in a way that she didn’t know how to handle, and her hands
slightly trembled beneath his.

            “I… I’m
sorry, I wish none of us had to deal with the hunters,” she searched for
something deeper to say and hated that she could be so emotionally barren at
times.

            “Anyway,”
he ruffled the back of his hair, breaking the moment, “if I lose I’ll answer
your questions but we’re going tit for tat, every question you ask I get to ask
one in return.”

            “That’s not
how this is gonna roll,” she scowled at him.

            “Then no
deal,” he shrugged nonchalantly and went back to assembling his cross bow.

            She was
livid. How the hell did he seem to keep getting the upper hand on her?

            “I reserve
the right to pass on at least two questions,” she bargained, annoyed.

            “Deal,” he
smiled brightly at her, “and I figured out what I want if I win.”

            “Let’s hear
it,” she was ready for it.

            Through the
emotional link she could feel that he was desperate for her body again. He
wanted her badly, and she was going to revel in the fact that he was going to
come crawling to her.

            “If I win,
I want you to clean my apartment and do my laundry for the next two weeks,” he
replied coolly.

            “Oh hell
no!” she was steaming. This meeting was getting worse by the second.

            “For the
next week or two I’m going to be so busy with embassy stuff, I’m not gonna have
time to do any cleaning. So that’s the bet, take it or leave it princess,” he
winked at her.

            Flipping
him the double bird was the only way she could properly express her rage.  She
was going to bury him. He might be stronger and faster than everyone else in
the Breed, but she was a damn good marksman, and he was already underestimating
her.

            “Deal. Best
3 out of 5 shots?” she asked through tightly pursed lips.

            “Anything
for you,” he smiled down at her, his brown hair falling into his eyes.

            If she had
a blow torch she would have set him on fire.

            She
snatched her crossbow off the ground and took a minute to relax her breathing,
with how badly she was shaking in irritation she would miss by a mile.

            He stretched
and rolled his shoulders next to her, then took aim. The shining black metal of
the bow glistened in the sun as a sharp twang ripped through the air with the
shot.

            Looking up
Nora frowned. He was better than she had anticipated, his arrow sitting less
than six inches from dead center, from 100 yards away.

            It wasn’t
going to be enough to beat her though.

            She raised
her bow, squinted an eye and remembered everything Memphis had ever taught her.

            Holding her
breath, she squeezed the trigger.

            “Shit,” he
grunted beside her.

            “Not
feeling so cocky now are you?” she smirked, admiring her perfectly dead center
shot.

            “I’m
telling you, you’d look great in a maids outfit,” he laughed, holding up his
bow again. 

            Quickly he
took aim and again fired another shot, this one three inches left of dead
center.

            Suspicion
grew in her belly. He wasn’t taking any time to properly aim and he didn’t seem
competitive in the slightest today.

            She brushed
it off, of course he wanted to win. She had to get her head back in the game,
if she took this shot she won.

            Again she
took a painstakingly long time to aim before firing and again she hit perfectly
dead center.

            “Hah!” she
jumped in the air then threw her bow down like a quarter back who’d just scored
a touchdown, “eat that!”

            “I’ll see
you tomorrow night then,” he laughed at her victory dance, “I’ve gotta get back
to work, we’re going to be running so many surveillance shifts I’m surprised
Casstiel even let me have enough time off to come out here this morning. You
pick the restaurant, and I’ll meet you there.”

            “Wait a
minute,” she narrowed her eyes, not liking how easily he had accepted his loss,
“did you throw the game?”

            “Of course
I did. The chance to ask you any questions I want? Like I’d miss that opportunity,”
he laughed and turned to walk away, “tonight is gonna be a good night, I hope
you’re ready for it.”

            And with
that she was left for the second time dumbly staring after him.

~

            After two
hours of tossing and turning while trying to dream of her again, Sebastian
angrily gave up. 

            His
consciousness was dying to see her face again, but his subconscious was clearly
set on cock blocking.

            The sun was
setting low in the sky and he needed to shower and get back to work. He would
try to dream of his mate again at sun up. 

            Pulling his
hair out of the pony tail at the nape of his neck, he went over the list of
embassy employees he still needed to interview.

            Now that
there was actually some action going on between the Breed and the hunters he
longed to be back at the embassy. He hated being stuck here lurking in the
shadows while his brother was out there setting a stage for war.

            Things were
going to erupt between the two sides and when they did the last thing Sebastian
wanted was to be miles away from the fallout.

            Stepping
into the shower he turned the water straight to cold and prepared for the shock
of it. His blood was still boiling with thoughts of
her
, and he needed
to cool down and focus on work.

            A shrill
beeping sound erupted from the living room. The hidden alarm for the hunters
underground bunker. 

            He slung a
towel low across his hips and walked out, water still sliding across his
alabaster skin.

            “Too easy,”
he sighed in disappointment, looking down at the monitoring screen.

            Ayla walked
across his vision, her blonde hair bouncing around her face as she checked to
make sure she wasn’t followed.

            He dressed
quickly, then phoned Casstiel to update him.

            “So what
are you planning on doing with her?” stress seeped into Casstiel’s voice.

            “She has
two options,” he answered calmly as he floored the rental car through traffic,
“she gives us every piece of information she has and works with us to set a
trap, or I’m going to put her in the trunk of my car, drive her to you, and
we’ll keep her jailed until she sees things our way.”

            “And if it
comes to violence?” Casstiel’s voice was low as he asked.

            Ayla may
have appeared to be all sultry female, but on the inside she was a Rottweiler.
It would surprise no one if she came at him guns blazing.

            “It won’t.
She’s smart and conniving, with loyalty only to herself. We’ve just got to have
the deepest pockets on the playing field and we can buy her off,” Sebastian
spoke, already forming a game plan as he blew through another red light.

            He needed to
get there before she ran off with the computer files from the lab, if she was
too deeply involved with the hunters or the nine she could take the information
and disappear so far underground they would never find her. Silently he prayed
whatever business she had there would keep her occupied for a while.

            “It’s
probably a trap,” Kain called out from somewhere in the background, disrupting
his thoughts.

            “Don’t
interrupt a conversation with an opinion that no one asked you for,” Sebastian
snapped, hating having to deal with the younger members of the Breed. They were
like children scampering around, always trying to help, but not having the
experience or wisdom to accomplish anything more than irritating him.

            “Call me
when you have her brother,” Casstiel grunted, hanging up the phone.

            After
making the three hour drive in only one, Sebastian parked his car and
stealthily made his way to the trap door.

            He found
the spot with no problem, even if the pathway wasn’t now burned into his
memory, there was a running car with the trunk popped open less than ten feet
from the trap door.

            Silently he
dropped down into the hole, then drew his matching pearl handled pistols from
his hip.

            Thankfully
he could scent that she was still in the lab, and with both guns aimed in front
of him he followed the one way path straight to her.

            She stood
bent over the computer system unplugging the tower

            “Ayla,” his
voice was deadly smooth.

            “Sebastian,
what a surprise,” she laughed, turning around to show a glock pointed between
his eyes.