Page 53 of The Night Wolf
“I HAVEto pee.”
Caleb groaned. “Again? We’ve been in here thirty minutes, and you’ve already gone six times. Can’t you hold it until we’re done with the ceremony?”
Sean scowled. “You try having a kid tap-dancing on your bladder, then tell me how good it feels.” He sighed. “This is your mother’s fault, you know. She had to go and mention peeing, and now I have to go, pretty much constantly.”
That earned him a frown from Caleb.
“Fine. I can hold it a few minutes, I guess.”
“Good. They’re going to start the song shortly, and then I get to walk you down the aisle and give you to Gareth. Once you both say your vows, you can run to the bathroom and pee a river.” He smiled. “You look amazing.” Caleb did a slow walk around Sean, picking off small pieces of lint from his tuxedo. “Trevor did a great job on such short notice.”
Sean stared at his reflection. Never did he dream he could look like he did. His hair wasn’t standing up like straw. His cheeks were rosy. And his eyes were filled with all the hopes and promises that Gareth had given him. He owed it to Gareth to tell him the truth. Tonight. No, now. He had to do it before the wedding, in case Gareth decided Sean wasn’t worth marrying.
“Caleb, I need Gareth.”
“No can do. Mom said not before the wedding.”
Sean had opened his mouth to say he needed Gareth desperately when he scented it. Blood. A lot of it. “Go get Gareth. Now!”
A low growl escaped Caleb as he stepped in front of Sean. Goddamn it, Sean must be leaking pheromones, and Caleb was coming to his rescue. He grabbed Caleb’s hand and started for the door, but a huge man stepped around the corner and slammed a hand against Sean’s chest, knocking him back onto the floor. He was starting to stand when a cold voice washed over him.
“You thought I wouldn’t find you? After the bastard Alpha sent someone to try to buy me out?Me? My people are loyal, and they would never help him.”
Sean looked up into the face of evil. “Ryker.”
The cold, menacing gaze, the long, choppy jet-black hair, and the perpetual sneer were all in evidence, and suddenly Sean felt like a kid again, being told he was next. But Sean wasn’t that kid anymore, and he belonged to Gareth.
“Get out of my house.”
Ryker bent over, his face inches from Sean’s. The hand flashed out so fast, Sean barely registered it before it hit him.
“You don’t talk to your Alpha like that. Where’s your respect?”
The taste of blood trickled in Sean’s mouth. He swiped a hand over his face as he glared at Ryker. “I never had any for you. I will never have any for you.”
Another slap, this one twice as hard. Caleb cried out, but his voice was cut off into a strangled gurgle. Sean’s gaze snapped to him and found Kristopher, holding Caleb.
Ryker knelt beside Sean. “Get up.”
Sean spit the mouthful of blood at Ryker, who wiped it from his cheek, then sucked the finger into his mouth.
“Still every bit as sweet as it always was.” He grabbed Sean’s hair and yanked him off the floor. Ryker was Sean’s bogeyman, the shadow that haunted Sean’s dreams. Beside him stood his enforcer, Kristopher, a wicked-looking blade pressed to Caleb’s throat.
“Let him go.”
Ryker sneered. “You don’t give me orders. You’re mine.”
Sean reached down and stroked a hand over his belly. He had to protect the baby at all costs, but what if the price was Caleb? “No, I’m not.”
When Ryker’s nose twitched, Sean realized he could tell that Sean was carrying a child.
His face twisted into a hideous mask of anger. “You ungrateful bastard. We could have had it all.”
“Yes, if I let you chain me. I’m a wolf, goddamn you, not a fucking dog. Gareth treats me with respect—he thinks I’ve got worth.”
“You have no idea what you’ve got. You’re coming with us.”
“Like hell.”
