Posy frowned. “Just because she hasn’t been appointed Beta female doesn’t mean she doesn’t hold the position. She’s acted as Beta for years, really. It was simply never official.”
“Yeah, but Luke’s mate is now part of the pride—”
A snort. “Him claiming and bringing her here grants her the position, but it doesn’t make her a true Beta female. She doesn’t have what it takes to fulfil the role or shoulder all the responsibilities. She’s just a little kid playing at being an adult.”
Luke felt his jaw tighten, his cat swiping at his insides, wanting out to deal with the mouthy female.
“I don’t know, Posy,” said Kalia. “Blair’s done okay so far. And she handled Lucille and Rhonda well.”
“But she’d never handle my sister if Finley challenged her,” Posy insisted. “Hell, I could kick the bush dog’s ass—and I could do it in my sleep.”
His jaw clenching, Luke turned back to Evander. “Can you give me a minute? I need to go deal with—”
His little bush dog sprinted out from between his legs and galloped down the hall.
Shit. Luke swiftly pursued her but, Jesus, she was fast. Too fast for him to catch up quickly enough. And then she was biting into Posy’s heel like a possessed gremlin.
Posy screeched in both pain and shock. “The fuck—Get off me, you bitch!” She shook her leg, but it only made the bush dog sink her teeth deeper and chomp harder. Posy screamed again. “Someone grab her!”
But no one did. Kalia gaped, frozen. Evander watched, his lips twitching. Luke … well, as Beta male, he usually ended such fights. But Posy had claimed she could take on Blair, had effectively challenged her dominance, and the little bush dog had every right to point out the wrongness of that. She was being rather savage about it, yes, but this was how bush dogs rolled—they blindsided, attacked, mauled, humiliated.
No one could say the vicious little shits weren’t consistent.
Luke folded his arms. “If you don’t want to experience the pain of having your foot completely mutilated, you should submit,” he said, matter-of-fact.
Posy’s pain-filled eyes widened. “Submit? She attacked me! She’s feral or something, she—”
“Overheard you mouthing off about her,” Luke finished. “And now she’s making a statement. But you should be able to handle her. You can kick her ass in your sleep, right? Isn’t that what you said?”
Posy snapped her mouth shut, shaking her leg again. “Someone get her—”
Snarling, the bush dog began chomping hard.
Posy stumbled with a loud cry, crashing into Kalia. He wondered if the animal had bitten into her Achilles heel. Probably.
Her eyes watery, Posy looked at him. “Oh God, you have to get her off me!”
“Submit, and she will let you go,” said Luke.
Nowhere near as stubborn as her older sister, Posy immediately yielded.
The bush dog released her foot and licked her bloody muzzle. She then turned, braced herself on her front paws … and peed on Posy, who promptly squealed in horror. His cat bared his teeth in approval.
Evander chuckled as the bush dog casually trotted off.
Hiding his own amusement, Luke aimed a severe glare at Posy. “You don’t have to like Blair. You don’t have to like that she’s Beta female. But you will respect her. Talking shit about her in a public hallway is nothing close to respectful.”
Posy licked her lips. “I didn’t call her any names.”
“No, you did worse. You said she doesn’t have what it takes to be Beta; that you could easily kick her ass; that she’s only a kid playing at being an adult. And you said it where anyone could overhear you. If she hadn’t punished you for that show of disrespect, I would have.” He slid his gaze to Kalia. “Help her get to her apartment and call a healer if she needs one.”
Her eyes wide, Kalia gave a firm nod.
Luke turned and began strolling back to his apartment with Evander at his side.
“She peed on me, Kalia,” said Posy behind them, sounding traumatized. “She peed on me.”
Evander cast him a sideways glance. “Your mate takes bitchy to a whole new level.”
Luke smiled. “Doesn’t she, though?”
Outside his front door, Luke waited while Evander finished relaying his father’s message. The two males then parted, and Luke headed into his living room, where his little bush dog was sprawled on the floor, her tongue lolling out.
Squatting in front of her, Luke tilted his head. “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”
She let out a happy yip.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Sitting on the floor, his legs bracketing her, he indulged her with strokes and scratches, whispering sweet nothings to her as she all but melted into the half-ruined rug. Bones soon began to pop and snap as she withdrew, and then Blair lay in her place.
Luke pulled his naked mate onto his lap and slid his hand up her sleek back. “Your female is a magnificently vicious little creature.”