CHAPTER 14

Danica almost laughed at the growling old woman sitting at the table. The second Danica had entered the kitchen Lindy had begun hovering around as Danica refilled her mug and then perched herself on the counter, dipping mini cookies in her coffee. Going by how nosy Lindy appeared to be, Danica had been expecting her to ply her with dozens of personal questions. Instead, she had sat in total silence as she watched Danica"s every move, scowling the entire time. Rather than irritated, Danica found herself amused. Danica gave a slight shrug. "I guess it"s a good thing that I don"t give a shit." A dramatic gasp of outrage escaped from Lindy. "How dare you speak to me like that! You will watch your language in my presence." "Yes ma"am." "This mating for a deal wouldn"t have happened in my day. I told him he didn"t need a mate to build alliances Kevin won"t go through with his challenge. But did Gio listen to me? Noooo. And now look what we"ve ended up with. All his life I warned him about power hungry females, but has he listened to me? Noooo. He"s not only gone and brought one home, but he"s mated with her. Well you just remember that you won"t be here for long. And don"t expect me to treat you as Alpha female. You"re nothing as far as I"m concerned. Just some cling on slut who wants a position she never would have had if she hadn"t made a deal with my grandson." Danica cocked her head at the old woman. "So…the dead do contact us." Lindy growled and pointed at her. "I"ve seen your sort before." "Really?" "Common. Disrespectful. A hussy " "How did you know I was a hussy?" It was a strain not to laugh as the woman became more and more irritated by Danica"s lack of reaction to her taunts. Lindy had nothing on her own grandmother and as if that"s not bad enough, you"re blonde. That"s all we need, isn"t it. A bimbo." "Hmm. I really hope I don"t sound condescending that means talking down to someone but, you know, you really shouldn"t believe everything you think." Another growl. "My grandson doesn"t need a hussy." "Well he must want one." "He"ll want you out of here as soon as he sees what you"re really like. He"ll sling you out. Yeah, and he won"t be gentle about it." "Oh I do love a rough touch," said Danica dreamily. "Think you"re funny, do you? Think you"re smart?" "You want to know what I think? Okay. I think you"ve been behaving as mistress of the place because your Gio"s grandmother. You look at me and you see a threat to your lovely little world and you don"t like it. Well I"ll tell you something, Lindy. If you think I"ll be scared away by a sour crone who"s so old she dreams in black and white then you"re in for a massive disappointment. I made a deal with Gio, and I"ll be here until I"ve lived up to my half of it. In the meantime, feel free to keep up the insults and the intimidation techniques , all I ask is that if at any point it seems like I care please tell me because I really don"t want you getting the wrong impression." Lindy, her face purple, slapped her hand down hard on the table. "That"s it. Out. I want you out. Now." When Danica just stared at her Lindy growled out, "I. Want. You. Out." Taryn held up her index finger. "Just give me a second. Attempting to give a fuck…Attempting harder to give a fuck…Sorry, there was an error. Fuck not given." Both women looked up as Gio and Duda walked in and skidded to a halt. Danica found her mouth curving at their nervous looks. Obviously they had guessed Lindy would be like this. Danica"s wolf settled a little as she picked up her mate"s scent. "Aww, Gio, you didn"t tell me your grandmother was such a kind, delightful soul." Gio was surprised by Danica"s smile. Clearly she was holding up just fine against Lindy. "You really want this trollop as a mate?" "Watch it, Lindy," Gio cautioned in a low voice. "I don"t have to be polite to her. She"s nothing but a hussy!" "You sure like to repeat yourself, don"t you, woman," said Danica with an air of boredom. "I want her gone!" He folded his arms across his chest, trying hard to prevent a grin from surfacing. If Lindy was looking so flustered and annoyed then she was obviously losing at the confrontation she had undoubtedly begun for no other reason than she didn"t like females around him. "That won"t be happening." "I refuse to accept her as part of my pack!" "Why is that exactly?" "You should hear the way she"s been talking to me. Disrespectful is an understatement! Worse, she"s a hussy! She won"t be faithful to you. She"ll be all over your enforcers, spreading herself around them like butter on toast." "It really is disconcerting just how well you"ve read me, Lindy," said Danica. With a growl that had all eyes widening, Lindy stood. "I said I want her gone!" She focused on Danica then. "I want you gone!" Danica gave her a mock frown. "Now really, Lindy, anger is such an ugly thing." Turning to Gio, she ranted, "Have you heard the way she talks to me? She has no respect! She"s rude! She"s -" "Staying exactly where she is," finished Gio firmly, hearing his wolf growl his agreement. Gio wasn"t a grandson talking to his grandmother now. He was the Alpha talking to a pack member. "But she"s not your true mate and she"s not good enough for you!" "I"m aware that she"s not my true mate, it has nothing to do with why she"s here." "She"s not good enough for you!" He had a moment when he considered pulling his hair out. "You don"t even know her so how could you know anything about her or whether or not she"s good enough for me?" "Is it true that she"s latent? You picked a latent for an Alpha female?" Gio was ready to snap at Lindy for making such a comment when alpha waves suddenly reached out and hit them all with the force of a sledgehammer. The vibes clotted the air, smothering him while at the same time invigorating him. He turned to Danica to see her glaring at Lindy, and realized she was letting his grandmother see exactly how powerful an alpha her wolf was. Obviously she"d had enough of being insulted. He couldn"t blame her. Unfortunately for him and probably for Duda too her dominant display went straight to his cock, hardening it painfully. "Danica?" he said softly. She looked at him, smiling, and suddenly the waves eased. "You okay?" Nodding, Danica slid from the counter and did a very feline stretch. "I think I should leave the room though. I can feel those hussy urges coming on me already. Probably best if I go before I leap on you or Duda". Gio looked at his gaping grandmother who had obviously not expected such a demonstration of power from little Danica. "I don"t want to have to go through this again," he said in a grave tone, knowing how tenacious Lindy could be. "She"s my mate. Accept it. And if you want her to treat you with respect then remember it works both ways." Danica sighed. "No, she"s right. My behavior has been truly unacceptable. Accept my apologies. I know I really should have more respect for the dead." With a grin and a wink, she then strutted out of the kitchen. Her grin widened as she heard an outraged gasp burst out of the old woman. "Hey you did good," praised Duda, chuckling. "Didn"t cry or anything." "Something tells me I"ll have to put up with that every, Hey!" She gaped at Gio as he snatched the mug from her hand and gave it to Duda. "What the hell are you doing?" "Baby, you got me hard as a rock after that display of dominance in there. If I"m not inside you in the next five minutes, I"ll lose it." "Oh hell no!" Locking his arms around her, Gio carried her through the tunnels, ignoring her kicks and the string of profanities she hurled at him. Once in the bedroom, he dumped her on the bed. "Now I"m going to fuck you and make you cum so hard you can"t breathe. Deal with it."