When He's Ruthless (The Olympus Pride 4)

“But you’re only content when you’re controlling their world,” he snapped back. “Did you do anything to help find out who was sending her gifts? Were you even remotely concerned? Or were you too damn excited at the prospect that someone might intend to lure her away from me?”

Defensive, Noelle lifted her chin. “I initially saw no reason to be concerned.”

He growled again. “She was sent a bouquet of rolled up lace panties, a box of sex toys, and a jar of love coupons that had everything from ‘breakfast in bed’ to ‘anal sex.’ Tell me how that isn’t concerning.”

Noelle looked away. “I thought they were merely being bold in an effort to ensure that they had her attention. Now, well, it would seem that perhaps there is more to the situation than that. If that is the case, it will be handled.”

“It should have already been handled. It should never have gotten to this point. She’s supposed to be safe here. To feel safe here. Not have her worries brushed off like they’re nothing. More, she should never have been asked to keep this from me.” A muscle in Luke’s cheek ticking, he turned to Blair. “We’re leaving.”

Noelle stiffened. “What? No.”

He flicked up a brow. “You want Blair to stay here?”

“There’s no reason why she can’t,” insisted Noelle. “We will tighten security. Whoever has been trespassing so often won’t manage it again.”

“You believe right down to your gut that an outsider did this? That she’s one hundred percent safe here? Because I don’t. As Mitch said, there’s no trace of a trespasser. It’s reasonable to conclude that just maybe one of the pack is responsible. You might be willing to take the risk that it wasn’t, but I’m not. Blair comes with me.”

“You can’t just take her.”

“The only person who could stop me is Blair. She doesn’t want to stay here.”

Noelle’s upper lip curled. “Oh, you know what she wants, do you?”

“Yes, he does,” Blair cut in, moving to grab a large duffel from the floor near the front door. “Because I told him.”

Her mother’s eyes dropped to the bag as Blair lifted it. “What are you doing?”

“Leaving,” Blair told her, taking strength from the hand Luke rested on her back as he came up behind her. She’d packed the bag right after calling him. “I’m joining the Olympus Pride.”

Soft male curses floated around the room.

Kiesha nodded in understanding.

Noelle lurched forward, her eyes bulging. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Blair shot her a disdainful glare. “The only reason I didn’t storm off this territory when you pulled that stunt with Macy was that Luke’s pride had a lot going on at the time.” Shootings, break-ins, bombings, the lot. “The last thing they needed was to have to take the time to welcome a new member and adjust to having a Beta female. I didn’t want them having any kind of distractions, so I waited.” And going by the little growl Luke let out, he wasn’t pleased that she had.

“Beta female?” Noelle echoed, paling. She slammed her gaze on Luke. “No. No, you can’t claim her yet. You can’t.”

“Sure I can,” he said. “And I will.”

Noelle’s eyes blazed. “You swore you’d wait until she turned nineteen!”

“And you promised you wouldn’t try to come between me and Blair. But you used Macy to try to do exactly that. You went back on your word, freeing me to go back on mine.”

Noelle turned to Blair. “How do you know he didn’t arrange Macy’s death so that you’d be scared enough to leave our territory?”

Blair’s animal bared her teeth at the insane notion. “Because I know him. You’re very fond of telling me that I don’t. But the truth is that the person who doesn’t know him is you. You never tried to get to know him. You built him up to be a huge asshole in your head for your own selfish reasons, never caring how that makes him feel; never caring how it makes me feel.”

Les took a step toward her. “Blair, let’s talk about this. I realize you’re upset, but making a rash decision such as this isn’t the answer.”

“I made this decision when my mother—my own mother—brought a woman here to tell me lies in the hope that afterwards I’d turn away from my mate.” The thought of it still made Blair’s chest squeeze. She cut her gaze back to Noelle. “Luke was right in what he said. It meant nothing to you that my heart would be broken if I believed those lies. Well, my heart did fracture a little. But not because of anything Macy said; it was because of what you did.”

“I don’t want you to hurt but, dammit, Blair, you have it in your head that him being your true mate means he has to be your future,” clipped Noelle. “Your father isn’t my predestined mate. A lot of the people in our pack imprinted on others. We’re all happy.”