Page 23 of Alpha Queen
Vanessa crossed her arms over her breasts.
"Well, I have news for you bitch, if that was your plan, go for it. I can't wait to see what they do to you." River cocked her head to the side. "I wonder if they will disembowel you outright or if they'll torture you first to see what you know."
"They wouldn't do that."
River got to her feet. "You think so? Then what are you still doing here? Titan doesn't want you. So why haven't you left already?"
Vanessa swallowed hard.
"Ahhhh..." River chuckled. "You have nowhere else to go, do you? You may put on a good act, but inside, even you don't believe your bullshit. You know if you go back, they will execute you. Hell, I'd slit your throat myself if I had a knife. Or even access to my claws. It's only the suppressors Titan has me on that has kept me from doing it already."
"You think you're so special. You-"
"No." River stepped up to her. "I don't think I'm special. I know I am." River let her golden stare fall hard on Vanessa. It wasn't easy, but River managed to hold it for several seconds.
Vanessa tried not to look away from River, but she began to shake and then lowered her eyes.
The second River turned away, Vanessa lunged at her, but River sidestepped her and kicked Vanessa in the rear, sending her sprawling to the ground. River's stomach roiled at the sudden movement, and nausea flowed through her, but she refused to let it take hold. Instead, she jumped on Vanessa's back, pinning her arms to the ground with her knees. She seized Vanessa by the back of the head and smashed her face into the dirt before lifting it and baring her teeth at the side of Vanessa's throat.
Vanessa screamed and howled as she struggled to get out of River's hold.
River chuckled. "You know, when my mates and I bonded and they marked me and I marked them, I didn't have to beg. They were so ready to mark me and make me theirs that I had to hold them off."
"Get off me!" Vanessa yelled.
"No. I am the High Luna. Omega and mate to Ares and Apollo Wolvenguard. If I wanted to rip your throat out right now, I could. If I wanted to disembowel you in front of everyone here, I could. If I wanted to banish you from ever living on the North American continent for the rest of your life, I could. I can do whatever I want, and there isn't a single person besides Ares or Apollo who could stop me. So I'll give you a choice. You can either stay the hell away from me, or I kill you. Personally, killing you seems rather more pleasurable to me, but I try to give people a choice. I'm nice like that. So what will it be? Stay away or death?"
"Yes, Vanessa, which will it be?"
River looked over her shoulder at Titan, watching the scene unfold from feet away.
Vanessa tried to look over at him. "Titan I-"
"I believe my Luna asked you a question," he said.
Vanessa's mouth opened and shut several times.
River yanked her head back. "Sorry, I didn't hear that."
Tears sprang to Vanessa's eyes. "I'll stay away."
River sighed. "Damn. I was hoping you would choose death. But just so you remember your promise to stay away." River raked her human nails down the side of Vanessa's face. The marks wouldn't last more than a day, but River didn't care. She wanted to send a message. A message that everyone who came in contact with Vanessa would see over the next twenty-four hours. The message that River would not take shit from anyone. And that she didn't need Titan to enforce that message, she could do it herself.
River slid off Vanessa, being sure to dig her knees into Vanessa's arms before she rose to her feet. River's wolf chuffed. River backed away. Her head grew fuzzy, and her eyes dimmed at the mix of sudden movements. Her belly flopped, and she dug her nails into her palms to keep from passing out.
Vanessa lay on the ground for a moment before getting up and turning to face River and Titan. Her blouse and jeans were stained with mud and grass, and blood smeared her face. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she squared her shoulders and inclined her head to River and then Titan.
"May I go?" she asked Titan.
"I don't know, my Luna, what do you think? Can she go?"
"Yes," River commanded. "And stay out of my sight."
Vanessa looked like she might say something. Instead, she spun away, back straight, shoulders stiff, and strode to the guest house nearest the pool. As soon as she was out of sight, River let out a low breath. The nausea that had been a slight flutter before had turned into a tidal wave, and River sat shakily on the ground again. A moment passed as she put her head between her knees and took several slow breaths.
Titan's body heat burned River's skin as he brushed her arm with his.
"You did well," he said. "Leading comes naturally to you."
