Inequities (2 page)

Chapter Two

Vivian’s shoulders slumped. What had she done to make her mate run away from her at every turn? Things should be easy now that they had each other. It was instinct for their kind to mate. Was it because she was a fox? Did he have the same mentality as her tribe where anything different was ostracised?

If that was the case she should just go home. The journey here was useless to her if she was unwanted.

“He’s freaked.” Peter’s voice broke through her thoughts.

“Excuse me?” Vivian turned back to the extremely tall man who had stopped her in the hallway. He was handsome enough with his long dark black hair and bright emerald green eyes. Why couldn’t this be her mate? At least he spoke to her.

“I think our fearless leader is struggling with a few things. It isn’t you.”

“How could you possibly know that? Did he tell you that?”

“No, ma’am.”
Peter frowned a little. “Just something I sensed. I don’t talk to a lot of people around here. But I would follow that man to my grave.” He looked a little uncomfortable with his words. Like he wasn’t sure why he’d said what he had. Vivian had that effect on people.

She looked back over her shoulder. Well, most people.

“Why don’t you talk to a lot of people? Sorry. That was rude of me. Forget I asked.”

Pete
r shrugged. “No, that’s okay. I wasn’t born here. Russ took me in when he didn’t have to. I do have family here. My cousin, Ever—” Peter paused and looked flustered.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry. I should go.”

“There is something about you, I don’t know, I feel I can talk to you.
Almost like I have to.”
Peter frowned.

“Like I said, that’s okay.” Vivian placed a hand on his arm.

“Well, anyway, he’ll come around.
Night.”

“Good night.”

Pete
r followed in the direction of the other wolf. Vivian sat down on the step leading upstairs. She wasn’t ready to retire for the evening and she didn’t have anyone to confide in.
Ive
had left on her journey and had told Vivian to stay here.

She thought mating was supposed to be a great thing. She’d always assumed she would meet the man she would be with and they would fall instantly in love. End of story. She’d had no clue when she began this trek across America that her mate would be here.
And a wolf.
Her family was not going to be happy. Vivian had warned
Ive
this was a bad idea, but her protector insisted they needed to be here.

So like always she followed.
Ive
was strong and brave, as was her twin, Greycen. The siblings had been her sworn protectors since birth. Not that she was much younger than the pair. Sometimes being a princess really sucked. At least she didn’t have to break
that
to Russ. Maybe that was why he wouldn’t talk to her. If he would, she could tell him it wasn’t a big deal. She didn’t want to live with her den as royalty. She wanted a mate and a home.

Vivian was going to need to have a talk with Russ soon no matter what. She had a feeling that Greycen would be arriving soon and hoped he didn’t bring half the pack with him and declare some stupid war.

She got up from her seat and went in search of the kitchen. There had to be something she could do in this house. Eat,
clean,
find someone to talk to so she didn’t feel so alone.
Anything.

It drove her parents crazy when she got into her cleaning mode. They told her she was above all that, but there was nothing wrong with manual labour. It made her feel…good.

A few wrong turns and she
was
finally in the kitchen. One of the other shifters was just leaving, but she didn’t stop him. Vivian thought his name was Cord, but she wasn’t sure and didn’t want to ask. Things were quiet and even though she thought she wanted to talk to someone, they were all strangers. The only one who might understand what she was going through was Peter and she didn’t want to bother him. He seemed on edge as it was. It was very unusual for a pack house to be so silent. She thought with all the wolves in residence it would be louder, full of energy. But then again, these wolves had been through so much at the hands of the greatest evil there was.
 
They’d almost lost members when Valerie, Max’s mate, was kidnapped and in the mercy of Dmitri and the Vessel. Vivian didn’t want to get anywhere near it and didn’t envy
Ive
who had to travel with the object so they could destroy it.
The whole reason for the Africa trip.

Her thoughts went to
Ive
. She hoped things were okay. She didn’t know what she would do if her mate had hosted the spirit of such evil. Would Djimon ever be fully cleansed of Dmitri’s soul or would some remnants remain inside?

Vivian went to the sink after the other shifter had left. Plates and silverware sat there waiting to be cleaned. She could take care of that.

In a matter of seconds Vivian found cleaning supplies and started scrubbing. Not that the kitchen
really
needed it but it made her feel better. Of course, the refrigerator was a mess.

Mumbling to herself, she didn’t hear anyone approaching until he spoke.
Her mate.
She’d know that scent anywhere. Sunshine and grass with a dance of something purely Russ.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Vivian dropped the bowl of spaghetti in her hands and whirled around to face Russ. She clutched at her throat, her pulse racing and used the counter behind her to rest her back against so her legs didn’t crumble and end up on the floor with the food. He was so hot in his jeans and T-shirt. She couldn’t let that distract her. He didn’t want her.

“I—sorry, let me just—” God she wanted to go to him.
To wrap her body around his and claim him.
The urge was so strong she had to clutch the counter. She eased her body down to the floor prepared to fix the mess she’d made.

“Stop.”
Russ bent down and forced her to stand. “There is no need for you to clean the house, Princess. You should be resting.” Russ reached around her for the rag she’d dropped and started picking noodles off the floor to throw them in the nearby trash.

“I’m not helpless. And I’m fine.” Vivian went for the paper towels and for the next few seconds the two of them cleaned up the mess. “I thought you were retiring for the night,” Vivian finally stated, unable to keep the hurt from her voice. He’d run from her. Was she that hideous?

The silence was too much for her. Especially when she wanted to tackle him to the floor and make him really look at her. She wondered what he tasted like. Would his kiss be gentle or rough? How would his
his
touch feel on her body?

“I heard a noise and came to investigate and what do I see?
The princess of another tribe cleaning the kitchen.
Care to explain? Is our home not up to snuff?”

“What? No.
Of course not.
I just—it’s what I do when I’m out of sorts. That’s all. And please, it’s Vivian. I don’t need any kind of special treatment. I know you don’t want me here. As soon as
Ive
gets back I’ll leave. You needn’t bother yourself with me, but I can’t very well stay in my room the entire time I’m here.” She stood with her hands on her hips. He exasperated her to no end.

Russ held up his hand. Was it bad that she wanted to lick and suck on his fingers? God, she’d never felt this heat before.
This all-consuming need to have sex with someone.
Of course, it wasn’t just someone. It was her mate.
A man who wanted nothing to do with her.
Not the best for a girl’s self esteem.

“I never…fuck. Let me finish this. Go sit down and we can talk. I wanted to wait, but now is as good a time as any. Go on.”

Russ shooed her away. A talk, that didn’t sound promising to her, she was so discouraged and figured he’d be telling her to pack and head home, that he’d send
Ive
her way when the group returned from Africa.

“It’s because I’m a fox, isn’t it?” Vivian blurted out as she sat down in one of the chairs surrounding the table.

She hung her head. No way did she want to see the disgust on her mate’s face. Where was the justice in this? It wasn’t fair. Her eyes filled with tears and they threatened to spill. She was quick to wipe them away. She was already pathetic enough. No reason to add this to her list of flaws. She hated to cry, it made her appear weak.

Vivian wasn’t expecting Russ to wrap his strong arms around her and pull her out of the chair she’d just sat in. It took a minute for her to relax into the soothing touch of her mate stroking her back. She was so confused.

“
Shh
, sweet one.
Hush now and don’t cry.” Strong fingers under her chin forced her to look up into Russ’ deep brown eyes. “I don’t know where you got the idea that I wanted you to leave
or
that it has anything to do with what kind of shifter you are.”

“You won’t look at me. You don’t want to be around me and this is the first time you’ve touched me voluntarily since it was announced in your office that we were mates. What am I supposed to think?” She pushed his hard muscular chest and moved away from him. She’d been conscious when
Ive
brought her to the house. She might have been in pain, but she could still hear. The tone of Russ’ voice when he announced to everyone gathered there that day in his office was enough to make her leery. He didn’t want her.

Vivian backed against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn’t weak no matter what he might think of her. She tilted her head at a defiant angle and glared.

Russ sighed and sank into the chair she’d vacated. “I don’t deserve you,” Russ muttered under his breath.

She couldn’t have heard right. No way. This strong alpha didn’t think
he
deserved
her
? She wanted to step forward, but held her ground. “Bullshit.”

Russ’ head snapped up and he looked shocked.

“That’s right. You heard me. Bullshit.” She wouldn’t let self-pity ruin this man. She’d seen lesser men run down by other shifters because they appeared weak. And that was his problem right now. She could feel it. The troubles with the pack weren’t his fault. He hadn’t made Dmitri kidnap Valerie. It was just how the cards were dealt.

“You—I—you shouldn’t—that is—”

“I’m sorry to be so crass. I’m not usually, but this situation calls for it. Now tell me the real reason you’ve been avoiding me. If you don’t want me as a mate, tell me. I’ll go back to my pack. But don’t sit here and try the whole ‘it’s not you, it’s me thing’. I’m a shifter. I know how these things work. I know we only get one mate.” Vivian glared at him. She felt better than she had in days. The release of her anger made her stand tall. This is how it was meant to be. Talking, fighting and hopefully loving with the man made just for her.

“Listen here—” Russ jumped out of the chair and pointed a finger at Vivian, but didn’t get to continue. He was interrupted by a hesitant voice by the kitchen door.

“Uh—Russ?
Sorry, but um—the gate. Outside—”

Russ turned and visibly calmed down. It was Peter and he looked unsure as his gaze jumped from her to Russ. He edged into the room to stand closer to Vivian, like he was trying to protect her from Russ
.

“Who is it?” Russ growled.

“He said he’s from Vivian’s pack and we need to let him in.”

Vivian knew who it had to be. If she was lucky, her parents had only sent him and not a group of others from the pack. If it was Greycen,
Ive’s
twin, she stood a chance. Grey wouldn’t care that she was mated to a wolf.

“Did he give you a name?” Vivian questioned.

Please be Grey, please be Grey.

“He said he was Greycen Sheppard.” Peter still looked unsure, but he stood tall and had moved between her and Russ.

“Thank goodness.” Vivian breathed a sigh of relief. “Is he alone?”

“I don’t know. He just said we needed to let him in and he needed to talk to you and
Ive
.”

“What did you tell him?” Russ demanded.

“That I needed to get my alpha.
I didn’t wait for anything else, I came straight here.” Peter looked hurt that Russ would even ask him that question.

“Thank you, Peter.” Vivian placed a hand on his arm. “Russ and I can take it from here. Thank you so much.” Vivian stretched up and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Russ growled, but she ignored him. Peter had been nothing but kind to her and no way would the man who avoided her make her feel bad for expressing her feelings. Peter had tried to protect her—against his own alpha. That said a lot about his character.

“Peter, go let him in before you go to bed. Put him in my office. And thank you,” Russ offered grudgingly.

After Peter left, Vivian turned on Russ. “What is wrong with you? That man would do anything for you.”

That deflated Russ. “This is why we need to talk. And why are you worried about others from your pack?”

Now it was her turn to be nervous. She knew it was coming. That she would have to give Russ all the details on what had happened when
Ive
had talked her into leaving and the repercussions of her actions. Not that she had a chance to before now with him dodging her at every turn. She didn’t speak for a few seconds. She opened her mouth to say something when someone else spoke.