Page 93 of Ondine: Vol. 2

I revel in his fear. But I think I can increase it.

I turn around and walk away casually to the front door. Then I lock it and turn back to face Boone.

“Boone Anderson. Handsome Boone Anderson.” I wretch my arm back and smash a framed picture of some damned meadow. The glass shatters everywhere.

Wide eyes and hands out, he yells, “Stop it! Goddamn are you insane?!”

Sweet glory.

“Oh, were you not aware? Did my history not make it clear? Do you even know what I do for Jake at Meier Protections Group? Oh, I see! Based on the dumb look on your face I can tell you have no idea.

“You think I’m useless don’t you? Wow, I never took you for stupid and yet here we are.”

I hold the handle of the machete with both hands and go to swing, aiming at a bookcase with trophies and accolades.

“Stop! Fucksake! What is going on? Are you this upset because you found out Sebastian and I kissed?”

“Oh we will get to that,” I say darkly. I point at him with the tip of the blade. “I’m here on pack business. Ondine doesn’t want you anywhere near her or Sebastian. She made it very clear to my pack lead. Jake told you to leave us alone. And Sebastian has responded to your relentless texting, telling you to stop. And yet you persist.”

Boone’s face falls. He is gearing up to present himself as a hometown hero. All American. Good guy cowboy.

Gag.

“Ondine wants me to spend some time away from the Meier Pack? That’s fair. Why are you here trashing my place, Shadow? I would call the police, but maybe I’ll just call Jake.”

I laugh. Cause it’s so funny!

“You still don’t know what I do for Jake? I’m an operator, Boone. Do you know what that means?” His eye twitches slightly.

“I’m sure you do. We all attended the same military academy. Didn’t you think it was odd I graduated but was still there for a whole other year? What could I have been doing at a military academy all that time? Hm? Any ideas? You probably didn’t even notice. You thought Jake just wanted to get into bed with me. Did he ever tell you what initially attracted him to me?”

I’m pacing in front of Boone, and he’s growing nervous. He’s backing further and further away, and closer to the emergency exit.

“It wasn’t my charming personality. It was my ability to fuck a bitch up. Quietly. Exactly. Do you know how many people I’ve silently extracted for him throughout the years? Deleted?”

A line of sweat appears at his hairline.

“Tell me, Boone Anderson, have you been courting my omega? Letting her believe you’re providing food for her? Clothes? Her favorite tea? Did you try to seduce her and when that didn’t work, seduced my pack mate instead?”

“Shadow, this is ridiculous. Jake asked me to be in your pack. Which I was considering. I just needed to know you could be the pack for me. I did nothing wrong.”

He asked him a year ago. Which Boone declined. He’s always twisting everything up to look good in his favor.

“You weren’t trying to steal her from us? Maybe taking Sebastian too? Because the evidence is stacking against you here.”

His voice goes up an octave. “No!”

“I always wondered why you didn’t join us back then. And it hit me—you don’t want to be in a pack where you aren’t the pack lead.”

“Is there a question there?”

“And you could never challenge Jake. Even being three years older, fifty pounds of muscle larger, and how many inches taller? At least four I’d say. Despite all of that, he will always be superior.”

His hand inches closer to the door, and I let him think he might get away.

“Do you know why my mother thinks that I should have been pack lead?” I muse, sounding casual as I roll the machete over my knuckles and palm, slashing it in the air when I get a hold of it. “The Wong alphas have an especially powerful alpha bark. It’s what makes Freddie so dangerous as a feral alpha. As a kid he could even stop his own father in his tracks. My mom was scared of him. And for good reason. This alpha bark, I also possess. It’s what makes me so valuable in what I do. It’s funny though, I hardly use it. It makes me feel bad. But, between you and me? I want to see how affected you are.”

Boone reaches out and grabs a glass trophy and chucks it at me, as I’m dodging it he turns to run out of the emergency exit.