My Personal Hell, D. Richardson [ebook reader browser txt] 📗

laughing. Both Lori and Ailith were the perfect hostesses, and by the end of it you wouldn’t have guessed that anything bad had happened.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Jaeger muttered, surveying the room.

“You didn’t think she’d take a bet she couldn’t win did you?” I asked, my glee at her triumph way too evident in my tone.

“Funny,” he answered, his displeasure at being out thought just as evident as my happiness. Not many people could quiet down a room full of disgruntled wolves. In fact, I now knew of only two, and one of them was a half breed.

“There, now give me my birthday gift,” Ailith said, popping up out of nowhere. I really needed to find out how she did that. Her hand was outstretched towards Jaeger and with a grimace he produced the knife. I don’t know where she put it, but it disappeared almost as soon as it touched her hand.

“How did you do that?” I asked, after Lori had joined us. They both shrugged.

“We used to have to serve drinks and food when the Other’s had their parties.”

“Bunch of violent bastards,” Lori muttered. It was the first time I had ever heard her say an inappropriate word. But Ailith grunted her agreement.

“Sometimes they would end up with full out brawls, and if we didn’t get the blood out we suffered the consequences. So we learned how to keep them happy and sedated.”

“Kadi was especially good at it. No one could stay angry when she got cute,” Lori added and they both laughed at something only they knew.

I saw Drake walk back into the room, and stare around in amazement. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and he had no idea how it had happened. He caught my eye and I gestured to the girls. He stared at them, blinked a couple of times, and then walked amongst the guests like he was in a trance.

Not long after that Ailith opened her gifts. She faked it well. Pretending to like a dress, or a set of jewelry. But anyone who knew her would know that most of it would end up re-gifted or collecting dust. When she was done I decided to take pity on her, and said my farewells. After I left she was free to bow out gracefully. I just had one small errand to run before I left completely, and then I went home.

 

 

 

Ailith

 

 

 

 

By the time I made it to my room my feet were killing me. I didn’t even bother to turn the light on when I tossed my shoes on the floor and went into my bathroom to take a long bath. When I came out I finally turned on a lamp. I turned to move my blankets back, and paused.

Sitting on the foot of my bed was a medium sized box. It was wrapped in black paper, with a silver ribbon wrapped around it, only to be tied in an elegant bow on top. I loved it and could barely bring myself to open it and ruin the picture it represented. But I slowly loosened the ribbon, doing my best to keep it intact, and untapped the paper without ripping it.

Underneath sat a leather case, it looked like a violin case. The outside was decorated in intricate tribal lines. It was beautiful. I unclasped the side and gently lifted the lid. It took a moment for me to be able to breath again. Inside sat a gleaming brand new violin. The front and sides were etched with black lilies, all connected with vines in the same design as on the case. If the case was beautiful the instrument itself was down right gorgeous. It was the only gift that truly took my breath away.

Though Lori’s and Kadi’s were close, with a set of jewelry made out of leather. Jake’s had been a really nice leather coat that went down to my knees. Christine’s wasn’t bad either, a dress that came down to mid thigh with long sleeves that nearly reached my finger tips, and a neckline that stretched from shoulder to shoulder. Jen had gotten me leather knee high heeled boots. Camilla had gotten me a similar pair, though they were flat boots. They said that they corroborated to make sure that I had both so I could wear them interchangeably.

Dalton and the guys had given me their presents in private. A full set of weapons, complete with straps that I could use to wear them with whatever I wanted. Bastion had given me a silver ring that looked like it had intricate black lines running all around it. Later he had told me that if I put pressure in the right spot, spikes would stick out of it.

But the rest were mundane things that I would never use or want. I cherished the gifts I got from my closest friends, loving the big chest that Drake and Becca had gotten me. As it turned out it was perfect for hiding all of the presents that they didn’t know about. But the violin brought tears to my eyes.

I searched for a card or tag that told me who it had come from. But found nothing. It didn’t matter though, I had a pretty good idea who had given it to me. And that night I fell asleep, feeling like, despite everything that had happened, it was the best birthday I had ever had.

Chapter 23

The next morning I wasn’t feeling so hot. Correction, I was feeling too hot. I woke up sweating, it felt like I was sleeping in a furnace. My hair was soaked with sweat and I had torn at my clothes in the night to the point that they were only half on. Finally I gave up, moving to the bathroom to take an ice cold shower.

I stood under the water until it stopped being cold and started feeling lukewarm. When I got dressed it was in a sports bra and the shortest shorts I owned. It wasn’t exactly appropriate, but the thought of wearing anything heavier made me start sweating all over again. After I was dressed, I went downstairs to shove my head in the freezer. I briefly wondered if they had a deep freeze I could climb into.

 

 

 

 

Drake

 

 

 

 

“No, we have to be firm. We can’t afford to give up any more ground,” I instructed Bastion.

Sadler stood leaning against the wall behind the table, and the boys were shoving food in their mouths at the other end. Bastion stood to my left, looking at the map I had spread out on the table. Asher was no where to be found. Probably nursing his pride after last night. So long as he was present during the actual meeting I didn’t care. A neighboring pack was coming in to negotiate territory lines.

I had to have all three of my commanders with me, as well as a couple of enforcers. It was protocol since they were coming here for the negotiation. The tension would run high since they were one of the packs that has withheld judgment on whether or not they would ally with us. And as custom dictated they would be allowed more enforcers to be present than us.

My train of thought was derailed when Sadler stiffened. So much so that it brought him up off the wall. I shot him a quizzical look, but he just looked back at me, confused. He raised his face, testing the air, and I did as well, though I couldn’t sense anything out of the ordinary. Then Ailith walked in, going directly to the freezer.

She moved everything to the side and stuck her head in, breathing in deeply. Her clothing or the lack thereof was almost scandalous. Her shorts barely covering everything they were supposed to, and her skin was covered in a sheen of sweat.

“Ailith, are you feeling alright?” Bastion asked, concern etched all over his face. The guys had stopped eating long enough to watch her. They had all bonded closely over the last several months. It worried me slightly, though at the same time I was glad that she was finding support within the pack.

“No, something’s wrong with me,” she answered as she slide down to her knees. She turned to put her back against the refrigerator. Her face was flushed and her breathing was heavy. When she wrapped an arm around her middle and laid her face on the floor, it occurred to me what her symptoms meant.

“Becca!” I yelled, she was the only one that could be trusted to handle her. She came running, taking in Ailith’s condition in mere moments. She rushed to her side, reaching over her for a package of frozen meat, placing it on the back of her neck.

“Drake,” Sadler mumbled his voice sounded strangled. I looked over at him and he was staring at Ailith, his eyes flashing silver, his breathing was heavy and he was starting sweat. I nearly panicked.

“Go!” I snapped and he took off for the closest door.

“Someone help me get her down to the basement,” Becca muttered, smoothing the girl’s damp hair out of her face. She started to curl into herself, moaning in pain.

“It hurts,” she breathed, and Becca leaned down to smooth her hand over her back.

“I know sweetheart, it’ll be okay, we’ll get you more comfortable.” That was all we could do until it passed.

Alex was the only other mated male in the room besides myself, so he was the one that hoisted her up into his arms. He followed Becca down the hallway and I heard her opening the padlock. The basement was set up specifically for when this happened.

We had a separate room down there that was actually a large refrigeration unit, meant for large restaurants. It wouldn’t ease the pain, but it would help keep her cool. We had strong sleeping pills for the rest.

“What’s wrong with Ailith?” Jen asked, running into the room. I gave her a long look, her worry only increasing.

“She’s in heat,” I answered, and several groans sounded around the room.

It was rare to see a female in heat. Because it only happened when she spent any significant amount of time around her mate. Several females went their entire lives without ever encountering the experience.

Females only mate with those of equal or higher rank. Since she was an alpha she can only mate with an alpha. Which meant that we had two choices. As much as I wanted to say that it was Asher, she spent an hour a day, five days a week with Sadler. It could be either one of them.

To be honest I was surprised that Sadler managed to control himself. The scent of a female in heat was a kin to the most potent drug to an unmated male. Irresistible. If I had let him go he would have lost to his wolf, and she would have welcomed him. Because the only thing to ease the pain of the heat was a male’s touch. She wouldn’t have even known what was happening until it was over. So until it passed we couldn’t trust any high ranking male in the house.

“We’re going to have to reschedule the meeting,” Bastion rumbled and I nodded in agreement. He