Lika rolled to her feet. Her lip trembled in the beginnings of a snarl.
“No fur,” Aunt B said. “Ladies, in a public place, we wear our public face.”
“Again?” I asked and looked at Aunt B.
She nodded.
Lika charged. Her hands closed over my arms. A grappling move. She was banking on her superior strength. But no amount of strength could change simple physics.
I clamped my hands on her forearms, planted my left foot in the middle of her stomach, and rolled back. She didn’t expect it and the momentum pulled her down. I rocked forward, slamming my ankle onto her throat and forcing her back, and rolled up into a sitting position with both legs across Lika’s chest and her arm clenched to me. Before she had a chance to get her bearings, I leaned back, stretching her arm across my body. With my thighs as an anchor, all I had to do was pull a little and her elbow would be toast.
“Dislocate,” Aunt B said.
I pulled the elbow. The joint popped with a dry crunch.
Lika growled through her clenched teeth.
“There will be no rematch,” Aunt B said. “She has better technique and more education. She’s also faster than you are. Are we clear, dear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lika squeezed out.
“Let her go.”
I released Lika’s arm, rose, and offered her my hand. The bouda looked at it for a second, sighed, and gripped my fingers with her uninjured hand. I pulled her up. “Good fight.”
“Whatever.” Her voice didn’t hold any real hostility. “I was tired of being a beta anyway. You can have all the hassle.”
Lika looked at her limp arm. “I’m going to the bathroom to fix this.”
“Don’t be too long,” Aunt B said. “I’m ordering your favorite red velvet cupcakes.”
“Yes, Alpha.” Lika walked away toward the bathroom.
Aunt B turned to me and smiled. I could’ve sworn there was pride in it. It couldn’t be. I was deluding myself.
“Sit down, dear,” Aunt B said. “Love the lipstick, by the way.”
“Thank you.” I took Lika’s spot and waited until the bathroom door closed behind her. “Why hurt her?”
“If you gave her half a chance, we would be here till sundown.” Aunt B shrugged. “Lika is stubborn. Nothing short of a decisive victory would stop her. Remember that. You’ll deal with her as my beta and she does prove troublesome on occasion.”
Aunt B looked at me from across the table. Her irises flashed a bright, ruby red. The weight of the alpha stare pressed on me. I held it for a moment too long and forced myself to look down at the table. “Welcome to the family,” Aunt B said.
I was in. For better or worse, I was now a member of Clan Bouda and Aunt B’s second.
A waitress came in with a tray of cupcakes, a pot of tea, and three cups.
“You haven’t lived until you’ve had their red velvet cupcakes.” Aunt B pushed a plump cupcake toward me. “Have one.”
My new alpha was offering me food. Another show of loyalty and submission. Breaking elbows wasn’t enough, apparently. I bit the cupcake and licked the creamy icing. Mmm, cream cheese. Fighting made me hungry.
The waitress departed.
“You do know what the beta job entails?” Aunt B asked.
Of course. “Enforcer, gatekeeper, errand girl, bouda nagger.”
Aunt B cut a small cupcake in half and bit off a piece. “You forgot babysitter.”
“I’m sorry. How silly of me.”
“Why the sudden change of heart?” B asked.
“Two things. First, Jim came to visit me this morning. He brought eight people with him. They occupied my apartment and when some cops showed up trying to take me in, they were met with firm resistance.”
“And?”
“And I realized that if I was in trouble, the Pack would back me up and I would back up the Pack. All my friends are in the Pack. I like to belong. I need it, need the structure.” I licked the icing. “I’m tired of starting over. I’m not likely to stop being a shapeshifter, so I might as well make the best of it. I will be the best bouda I can be.”
“Better than me?” B arched her eyebrows.
“Yep. I plan to eclipse your fame.”
Aunt B smiled. “Aiming high.”
“Always.” I sipped my tea.
“And the second thing?” Aunt B asked.
“I spoke to Martina and realized that to take the clan away from you, I need to earn their loyalty first.”
“Oh, so you plan to take over?”
I licked the icing off my lips. “In a few years. Once I am sure they will follow me.”
Aunt B leaned back and laughed.
“You’ve done such a good job for such a long time,” I said. “Don’t you feel you deserve a nice retirement?”
Aunt B kept laughing. “Very well. I will speak to Curran. In light of the investigation, I’m sure the lion will grant us an extension on having you officially admitted into the ranks. As long as it is known that you and I have an understanding and an application has been made, you won’t encounter problems.”
Lika returned from the bathroom, rubbing her arm, plopped at the seat next to me and waited until B waved her toward the food. Lika snagged a red velvet cupcake. “Yummy.”
“I need you to go to Milton County,” B said.
Uh-oh. The sheriff of Milton County and I didn’t have the best relationship. He was the one who had locked us up after the hot tub incident.
“Where to?” I asked and sipped my tea. Earl Grey. Tasty.
“To the Milton County Sheriff’s office,” Aunt B said.
I choked a little on my tea.
“Some of our people got arrested last night,” Lika said. “Including your boy.”
My boy? Oh. “What did Ascanio do this time? Last I saw him, he was with his mother.”
“Nothing,” Aunt B said. “Wrong place, wrong time. There was some sort of bar brawl. I could go to Kate with this, but you see, she is spending all her time with Curran. Something to do with the Vikings, not sure what exactly.” Aunt B waved her spoon. “Involving her right now means involving the Beast Lord and I don’t feel like setting his tail on fire. He’ll growl and fuss and I’d rather avoid all that. So I need you to go down there and make this problem go away. I understand you and Beau Clayton have a special relationship.”
Yeah, he’d thrown my bikini-clad butt into a jail cell. “I can do that,” I said and stole a second cupcake.