Page 39 of Shattered Soulmates

I’m so enraged, I don’t even have the forethought to take this conversation to the privacy of his office. “Who supplied you with the intel of my latest assignment?”I demand.

Snake looks around the room, uncertainty crossing his face briefly before he masks it.“Are you questioning me?” He asks belligerently.

“Yessss!”I snarl.“You know my abilities, Snake.It’s why I am a vital part of this organization.Picking up the latest target was so easy, I felt like I was kicking a kitten! I’ve never felt more innocence rolling off a shifter as I did from Paisley Woods.”

I watch as he glances toward the new club girl, Joyride.“What’s going on here, Snake? Joyride?” I approach her and catch my reflection in the mirror. Steam rises from my nostrils, and my usually brown eyes flicker with the red glow of my dragon’s inner ire. My jade-tinted scales ripple in and out along my neck and arms, shifting in a fluid, pulsing rhythm.

“What’s going on, Joyride?” I repeat, flames licking up my jaw as I close the distance between us.

“Her name isn’t Joyride!”Paisley croaks. “That’s Marissa. She stole my true mate from me!”

Joyride, forgetting me in her anger, yells at Paisley, “He was mine first!”

“You dumped him and stayed gone for a year, until the night before our wedding!” Paisley, regaining her voice, shrieks and begins to cry.

I take a step back, allowing the drama to unfold. As Snake starts to move toward the two females, I raise my hand, signaling him to hold off.

“Well, we all saw who ended up married to him, and it wasn’t you.” Joyride crows, gaining her confidence as she steps up to Paisley.

Paisley glares at Joyride. “You might have taken him, but he never left the pack to look for you when you disappeared again. He’s been too busy stalking me andbegging me to take him back. Gifts, flowers, little notes. He’s regretting letting me go, and he misses me, not you.”

Joyride stiffens, her eyes narrowing in rage, then hurls herself at Paisley, slamming her to the ground.

Paisley rolls over, straddling Joyride, grabs a fistful of her hair, and slams her head against the floor.

She punctuates each word with a brutal strike to drive the message home.

“I.” Smash.

“Don’t.”Crack.

“Want.”Rip.

“That cheater!” Punch.

Sitting astride Joyride’s midsection, Paisley continues to destroy her as she punctuates each word with an action. "I will never reconcile with that dirty cheater! You can have him!" Paisley shouts. Everyone stands around, stupefied, watching the two females go at it. Paisley rises and gives Joyride one last kick in the ribs.

Joyride pulls herself up, spitting blood and groaning. As Paisley begins to turn and walk away, Joyride launches herself at her back. Fed up, I snatch Joyride mid-jump by her hair and yank her back. As she spins to swing at me, I punch her square in the nose andlet go, blood spurting. She hits the floor with a very satisfying thud, similar to a mic drop.

“Annnd, she’s out!” Melitta calls out, a grin spreading across her face. “Didn’t like her anyway. Especially after that little performance,” she mutters, shaking her head.

I take in the bloody mess that is Joyride. She’s lying in a heap, with patchy bald spots where Paisley gave her a new hairstyle. And are those teeth on the floor? I look at Paisley, who only seems slightly injured—yet she’s crying. Good for her. She’s scrappy.

“Someone take Joyride to Doc, and clean up the blood and hair off the floor,” Snake orders.

After one last look at the carnage, I turn my attention to Snake. “Did Joyride provide that intel?”

“Yes,” he admits.

“Did you vet the information or just take your shiny new plaything’s word for it?” I hissed. “You do remember her deception when she first came here, and Slade was kind enough to overlook it and let her stay as a club girl?” I kick Joyride’s prone form. “That was the first mistake, allowing a dishonest female to stay.”

“I don’t like what you’re insinuating, Lynsey!” Snake snarls menacingly at me.

Que, never the one to allow anyone to disrespect me, warns, “Snake…” And that is all he has to do. Everyone knows he’s called Que for a reason: he’s quiet, quick, and will quash you without qualms.

Snake immediately pulls back.“I consulted with Byte about the photos, but I didn’t do anything further.”

“So, you involved the club in Joyride’s personal vendetta against another female–a flipping catfight,”I growl.“And from what we’ve just witnessed, she’s clearly the instigator.”

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