Page 11 of Unsanctioned (Devilish #2)

The day had been oddly quiet, considering yesterday’s drama.

At the end of his shift, Waylon pulled into the local market and headed inside.

There was no food at Audor’s place. As an ancient, he had lost interest in food a long time ago.

Unlike Waylon, he didn’t need food to survive.

That thought led to another as he grabbed a basket and headed down the first aisle.

In Were pairings, each life was tied to the other.

Even though Waylon was damn near impossible to kill, it could happen.

If he had a Were or human mate, they would likely join him in death so they could be reborn and find each other in the next life.

Either the years would catch up or the separation would be too much to endure.

One wouldn’t last without the other. With Audor, he didn’t know what would happen if anything happened to either of them.

It was a terrifying thought. Over the years, he had met vampires who had lost their mates.

It was ugly. The loss was unbearable, but they endured.

Waylon didn’t want that for Audor. He supposed that meant he could never die.

Waylon nodded as he passed a Were couple.

They nodded back and then coldly looked away.

It struck Waylon as odd, but everyone had those days.

It was possible the couple were fighting or something else completely unrelated to him.

By the time he passed the third person who blatantly cut him, a bad feeling overcame him.

Then he spotted Ashka with Ashlee in her arms, booking it in his direction.

His heart sank. He just wanted to go home to Audor.

Ashka grabbed his arm and pulled him aside, as if getting out of earshot, even though they were the only people in the aisle. “We have a problem. One of the new guys in town is going around telling everyone you’re mated to a vampire.”

“I am.”

Ashka made an impatient gesture. “Yeah, I know. I don’t care about that.

Listen, he’s getting people riled up, saying how unnatural it is and that you’re tainting our pure bloodline.

Obviously, that’s ridiculous. It’s not like you can have kids with another man or it would matter if you could.

Anyhow, he’s getting attention. He wants to challenge you for alpha.

” Ashka finished by chewing her lip. She was obviously upset on his behalf.

He adored her for it. Waylon was also tired.

He sighed. “All right. I’ll take care of it. Do you know where I can find this guy?”

“He was at the diner when I overheard his bullshit. I raced straight here, so I imagine he’s still there. Big guy. Red wolf.”

Waylon nodded. He knew who she meant. There was only one recent transplant that fit the description. “A pup. Fantastic.” He glanced down at his groceries and sighed again. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“Of course.” She sounded exactly like it was a given. “You’re our alpha. We don’t know this guy. He could do anything to this town. Its people. You’ve always taken care of us. Just let me know if you need anything. Randall and I will be there.”

Waylon nodded. This was not how he wanted to spend his night. “Thank you. Get home. Crazy ladder-climbing wolves are capable of anything.”

Ashka nodded and headed for the door.

Waylon followed at a slower pace. If Waylon couldn’t defuse this, he didn’t want anyone to retaliate against Ashka for warning him.

He had to pull the plug on this bullshit now before it became a full uprising.

Waylon understood by waiting so long to introduce his mate, he had opened himself up to questioning whispers.

If they had nothing to fear, why wouldn’t he share his joy?

He totally got it. This was a peaceful town and had been since day one.

He would be damned if some random wolf sauntered into town and ruined what they had going just because Waylon had experienced a few days of personal drama.

If a genuine challenger ever wanted to take his place, it would be one thing.

But this one was obviously a scheming troublemaker. That didn’t make for good leadership.

It took less than five minutes to get to the diner. The minute he walked through the door, the place fell silent. All except the dumbass who hadn’t noticed and still ran his mouth.

Waylon moved to stand over him. “Outside. Now.”

The guy went still. He turned. His whiskey-colored eyes landed on Waylon’s chest before his chin lifted and he met Waylon’s stare.

Proving he was dumb, he stood. “With pleasure.” He headed for the door.

Waylon followed, nodding at familiar faces as he passed.

Unlike the store, no one seemed cold. Showing up to take care of things was enough to prove his worth, but Waylon had to completely put an end to this bullshit.

He didn’t want to hurt anyone. If he let this go, he already knew it would come to that.

“What’s your name?” Waylon asked the moment they were outside alone. He already knew it. Waylon had to give permission to any wolf who wanted to stay in this town. Yuri’s presence was a favor for a friend a pack over. Waylon needed to start a calm and rational conversation somewhere.

“Yuri.” He sounded like an angry young one. Tiresome.

“Welcome to Wulfe. I’m sorry I haven’t had time to introduce myself yet. I’m Waylon. The alpha around these parts. People are saying it’s a position you want.”

“You disrespect our bloodline.”

People began to pour from the diner to watch.

Waylon kept his cool in the face of youthful rage.

“My mate was chosen by Celeste, the way all mates are chosen. He was visited by Odin to bless our pairing. If you wish to take issue with things, you should take it up with them. This town runs smoothly. For the most part, everyone gets along. I can’t have you disrupting the peace.

So, choose. Fall in line or pick a new pack. ”

He took a step closer. “I think I’ll stay right here. What do you plan to do about it?”

Waylon sighed. He just wanted to go home. “Don’t make me do this. I haven’t had to put a pup in his place in a long time. Let’s not break the streak.”

“Pup?” His features shifted. He obviously had little control over his wolf.

“Yeah. Pup. If you can’t hold your temper during a simple conversation, you’re not fit to lead. Choose. This isn’t a get-back-to-me-later situation. Right now, swear your fealty or I’ll show you the edge of town.”

“I kneel to no one.” He shifted. His clothes ripped to shreds around him, hanging from his furry body in places.

He paced, watching Waylon. Measuring him.

More people poured from the diner. This was bad.

They were in the middle of town. This could be exposing their people.

It was dark, but not so much humans couldn’t see if they passed.

Vampires popped in, proving the king already knew there was an issue.

While Jonathan didn’t really rule Weres, he would not tolerate exposure and had the gods on his side on that one.

Punishment would be handed down. This kid had no idea what he started.

You can kneel to me.

The fact that Waylon could hear him without trying already proved he wasn’t an alpha.

“Odin hasn’t chosen this for you. You have a lot of growing up to do if you want a role with this much responsibility.

Being alpha isn’t sitting in a diner all day running your mouth.

It’s caring about the people, especially caring enough not to expose them the way you are now.

Do you have any idea what’ll happen if this ends up on the news?

If hunters start flooding in? Do you even give a fuck or are you scared someone might have a bigger dick than you?

Grow the fuck up and think about someone other than yourself.

Then you can come see me. Until then, you’ll fucking kneel. ”

He felt the young one’s rage building. Waylon knew he would strike soon.

He was right. A half second before he lunged, Waylon stepped to the side, dodging him like he was nothing.

The move blackened the wolf’s thoughts even more, especially since Waylon refused to shift.

Waylon easily bested him in human form. He wanted Waylon’s blood.

Yuri didn’t understand Waylon could see his every move before he played it because he was the fucking alpha of this town.

Again, Yuri lunged with bared teeth, going for Waylon’s throat.

Waylon planned to wait until the last second to step away. He needed to prove a point. Yuri could either stop humiliating himself or Waylon would do this all night until the shame ran him from town. Except, a half second before Waylon stepped aside, Audor appeared between them.

An angry roar tore through the air. He held the wolf by his throat, easily snatching him from midair.

His feet were nowhere near the ground. He struggled, but it was useless.

No air reached his brain, with Audor squeezing his throat.

“You dare to attack what’s mine?” The words were growled through terrifying fangs.

Audor looked like a killer. He saw inside Yuri’s head.

Yuri watched his life flash before his eyes, and it ended here.

Audor pulled Yuri in, going nose to nose with him. “You don’t touch my mate.”

Waylon knew he had to step in before Audor actually killed the pup. He stroked a hand down Audor’s spine. “It’s okay. He’s just a kid shooting for a position way out of his league.”

He felt Audor waver, but he was enraged. Audor wanted to snap Yuri’s neck. He had the right as Waylon’s mate to take the pup’s life over this attack. Audor squeezed tighter for a second before he tossed Yuri away.

Yuri skidded across the pavement before he was back on his feet. His body heaved for air, but he didn’t try to attack again.

“Make your choice.”

At Waylon’s demand, Yuri turned his head right and left, taking in the number of witnesses to his effortless defeat.

He took a step back. A wave of sadness washed over Waylon.

Sometimes winning wasn’t really winning.

Yuri took another step back. Waylon felt the way his mind raced.

He turned and ran away, darting into the woods that surrounded the town.

Waylon’s shoulders fell. He looked Audor’s way. Audor still practically vibrated with rage. Waylon could only handle one issue at a time. He faced the crowd of onlookers. Some had already gone back inside, as if they had known exactly how things would end.

Waylon motioned toward Audor. “This is my mate, Audor. He cares every bit as much about this pack as I do. Celeste and Odin chose him for me, and me for him. If anyone else has a problem with that, speak up.”

No one said a word. One by one, they dropped to their knees, kneeling before their new alpha mate. He wanted to tell them to get up. This wasn’t necessary, but it was what Audor was owed. Waylon wouldn’t put up with disrespect. This wasn’t a bigoted town. They wouldn’t be starting tonight.

The wolf growled out his pride.

Audor looked his way at the sound. “That was hot.”

Waylon flashed him a smile. Later. I have to squash this . He focused on the wolves at his feet. “It’s okay, guys. You can stand. We’ve never been fancy like that around here, but we have always been a peaceful community. I plan to keep it that way.”

With a few grumbles of approval, people flooded back inside.

Waylon focused on the vamps, waiting to see what needed to be done. “I really hoped to be home by now, but I guess we need to make sure there weren’t any human witnesses.”

Leif made a dismissive gesture. “We’ve got it. You two have dealt with enough drama tonight.”

Audor linked fingers with him. “Come on, baby. Let’s finish getting those groceries before the store closes.”

A huge smile exploded across Waylon’s face. “You were paying attention every second, weren’t you?”

Audor’s smile was unrepentant. “I was not-so-patiently waiting for you to get home. Your pack needed to see you’re cool-headed and your mate is willing to kill for you. They needed to know you had a worthy mate.”

Waylon had to admit Audor’s timely appearance went far into solving things quickly. No one would likely challenge him again.

“I love you. The gods really knew what they were doing when they chose you for me.”

Audor let out an obnoxious fake laugh. “I think you’ll find the gods chose you for me.”

Waylon couldn’t stop smiling. He absolutely could not wait to spend the rest of his life just like this: heading to the grocery store with his other half, playfully arguing about nonsense. It sounded like the perfect life.