Chapter 10 DISCONTINUED

Both Natalie and her father turned to see Ray removing his leather jacket, flanked by two of his enforcers. As usual, he looked like he'd just walked out of a photo shoot. A blond god, some of the females called him. Natalie thought of him more as the Antichrist. "When you signed that contract, you signed her over to me."

In other words, the only person who had the right to slap her was him.

"Until the mating ceremony, I'm still her Alpha, Ray. Remember that."

"And as her mate, I'd feel obliged to protect her if you were to lay a hand on her." He turned to Natalie and smiled. "Nice to see you again, beautiful."

Natalie almost shuddered. He had that same look in his eyes that he'd had when he'd bitten her. As that was something which was a kind of rape to her wolf, she was going crazy now inside Natalie – growling, pacing, flexing her claws.

This was one of the things that most annoyed Natalie about being latent. When her wolf was frenzied, her anger and frustration had nowhere to go and it was like pressure gradually expanding inside Natalie's chest. People tended to think that because her wolf didn't physically show herself she must therefore be subdued and weak in spirit. Natalie wasn't sure how it was for other Kage wolves, but it certainly was not the case for her.

Her wolf was a big presence within her. She didn't understand that she couldn't surface. She didn't understand that it was pointless to tug at the reins, pointless to try to fight Natalie's will. So, in general, her wolf was bold, and difficult and pushed her instincts and desires on Natalie. Right now, her wolf desired to take a swipe at the smarmy bastard in front of her. When he leaned down to kiss her she turned her head away, but his mouth still managed to catch her ear.

Lance released a tired sigh. "Let's go. Everybody will be waiting for us."

As they made their way to the dining room, Ray attempted to hold her hand. She shot him a look that swore violence and curled her upper lip. His response was a smile. She kind of got the feeling that he liked seeing her riled. Damn if she could figure out why. He should find her rebellious behaviour insulting and exasperating. She'd rather hope he would anyway.

"You'll be sitting at the head table tonight, Natalie," Lance announced as they entered the room. She had to resist the urge to growl. Although she was the Alpha's daughter and the pack healer, ordinarily she would sit at another table with Shirley and Caleb.

Of course, Lance placed her beside Ray. She wasn't thrilled to find her dad's bodyguard sitting at her other side. Like most of the others in the pack, he had always been nice to her when she was a kid, before puberty hit and her wolf didn't surface. Maybe if Lance had still been accepting of her then things would have been different, but by dismissing her as unimportant and weak he had pinned a big fat target on her back.

What had saved her from a dozen beatings was that despite her being a Kage, she still had shifter speed and strength. Of course, it hadn't saved her from all of them. She had worked to become the best hand-to-hand combatant, and to be fitter and agiler than anyone within the pack. The bodyguard's ego was still sore after the time he had snuck into her room in the middle of the night only to end up with a broken nose and a dislocated jaw.

Well, lord knows it wasn't going to be the last time for sure.

Quickly the food was brought out and everyone was eating greedily while listening to Ray answer all Lance's questions about his pack and the times he had been challenged in the past. Natalie rolled her eyes as she saw how many of the females were staring in utter admiration at Ray, clinging to his every word. Even Shirley for Christ's sake! The males were also staring at him, all pretty pissed with him for his effect on the females.

She simply didn't understand how everyone could be so taken in by him. Yes, he was charming, had a warm smile and was very nice to look at, but there was something very wrong with his eyes. There was so much ice there. No matter how wide his smile was, it never reached his eyes. From the second she had met him he had rubbed her and her wolf the wrong way, yet no one else seemed to have sensed that...wrongness about him.

"You haven't eaten much," he whispered in her ear.

She didn't bother responding. How he could expect her to have an appetite right now she couldn't imagine.

"If you're done we could go for a walk. Alone."

Slowly she turned her head and gave him an expression that said 'You've got to be kidding me. Ignoring his chuckle, she resumed poking at her food with her fork.

"You could at least make a little effort to talk to me. I came all this way just to see you."

Well then wasn't he a fool?

"You know, if things are really bad with you and your dad, we could both talk to him and try negotiating you coming to stay with me for a few days."

At one point had she given him the impression that she was gullible?

He sighed. "Come on, Natalie, you can't tell me you wouldn't like getting away from here for a while. You could see where you're going to be living, and meet some of the wolves from my pack. You'll soon be their Alpha female. Don't you want to get to know them?"

No, not even a little bit. And she would never be their Alpha female.

"They're eager to meet you. In a few days, I'll then be going to Australia, you could come."

"Is there no way you could just go sit on a cactus or something?" He smiled at that. What was wrong with this guy? Surprising her, his hand slid around her neck; a gesture of ownership. Enraged she jumped to her feet and kicked his chair out from under him. She snarled down at him where he was splayed out on the floor. "Don't you ever touch me like that! I don't belong to you, I'll never belong to you!"

What made the whole thing even worse was that he was smiling. He had wanted her to lose control. He was enjoying being able to get her so incensed. Cursing, she stormed out of the room, ignoring the gasps, the horrified mumblings, and her dad's bellows. She didn't stop marching until she was outside.