chapter 41

When payback comes, it’s both swift and merciless.

Whether it’s because I ran off and spent hours hiding in the forest, or because of what I said to the pack about Dayne having a nap, I can’t say.

It starts with me being ripped from a not entirely unpleasant dream of me sitting on a throne, with a tiara, watching a naked Dayne digging holes in the front garden in nothing but a frilly apron.

I have no idea what the holes are for, but I’m not letting him off the hook. I even have a jewel-encrusted whip in hand for when he slows down, which he does a time or two, and I have no compunction about using my pretty whip to speed him up again.

It’s immensely satisfying.

Then the piercing, shrill sound of an alarm penetrates and I’m jerking awake with the knowledge Dayne because who else is it going to be? is holding his phone against my ear, and it’s doing untold damage to my eardrums.

I peel my face from my pillow to blink at the evil thing Dayne is waving in front of me.

It’s his phone, and it’s telling me it’s four in the morning. That’s all I need to know.

I bury my face back in the pillow and squeeze my eyes shut.

“Rise and shine. We have a pack event tonight you need to prepare for,” Dayne announces cheerfully, sounding like he’s been awake for hours.

I imagine that’s going to involve a lot of cleaning, which doesn’t seem entirely fair since I gave the guy a blow-job that shattered his self-control.

Surely, at the very least, I deserve a lie-in?

“What was that about a blow-job?” he asks, sounding amused.

Shit. Did I say that out loud?

“I didn’t say anything,” I mumble into the pillow as I drift back to sleep. “You’re hearing things.”

He whips the covers off my body and it hits me I’m naked when cool air kisses my skin. Since I distinctly remember pulling on a t-shirt before crawling into bed last night, I know I shouldn’t be naked.

After lifting my head, I turn and blink at the sight of my bare tush. “What happened to my shirt?”

“I took it off you.”

“I’m sorry, but what?” I ask, sitting up. Since it doesn’t look like Dayne is going to be leaving me in peace, I might as well get up.

“I want you naked in my bed.”

It looks like my reward for giving Dayne a blowjob is a thousand-fold increase in him being an alpha dick. Fucking fantastic. Great job, Talis.

“So, you just took my shirt off when I was sleeping?” My anger is rousing me faster now than any alarm ever could. “What gives you the right?”

“You’re my mate, Talis. That’s what gives me the right,” he says, his tone brooking no argument.

“But I was sleeping.” I consider him now as he stares down at me from the side of the bed when a thought crosses my mind. “What else did you do to me while I was sleeping?”

His gaze slides down my body, and despite my intention to stay cool and untouched by his heated look, I feel my nipples bead and interest stir. “Did you have something in mind?” His gaze fixes hungrily between my legs.

“No,” I reply without hesitation, pressing my thighs together, the scent of my arousal making me into a liar. “Nothing.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” He shrugs, lifting his eyes.

Wait. Was that an offer? Was he offering to return the favor?

“Wait, what did you ”

While I’m still trying to wrench my mind from the mental image of Dayne with his face pressed between my legs, material hits me in the face, and I stop talking long enough to peel it away.

The frills tell me what it is before I take a single look.

It’s the apron.

The dreaded frilly apron is back to torment me. “You can start with the bathroom. Wearing that.”

I stare at the apron because it’s not safe for me meeting Dayne’s eyes.

Not with the slow-burning fury I feel rising.

It burns through my arousal, leaving not even a trace behind. “Don’t worry about the breakfast.”

Okay. So, at least, I’m not making breakfast. Maybe he does know how to be reasonable.

“You’ll be too busy weeding the back clearing. I’d say that’s at least a four-hour job.”

Hours later, at the pack BBQ, I’m so close to losing a grip on myself that I’m trying to stay quiet, trying to stay out of the way.

I still can’t understand why Dayne is forcing me to do a seemingly endless list of tasks like this when I haven’t done anything to deserve it. Uncle, at least, had a reason even if it was a thin one for punishing me.

Not for the first time has Dayne decided I haven’t quite done enough despite me spending more time cleaning up before and after the BBQ than sitting.

Finally, I sink into a folding chair beside him since he won’t let me sit with Jenna or Regan. I’m exhausted, and all I want all I need is just five minutes off my feet and then I can try to find some excuse to escape.

If, he’ll even let me.

Not even thirty seconds after my butt hits my chair, Dayne is telling me to go inside and get him a blanket for his knees. Apparently, his jean-clad legs are getting cold. Him, the man who radiates heat, is cold.

I thrust the blanket at him and drop back into my seat, but that’s a mistake. To let him see how much I resent him ordering me about like this is a mistake.

“I treat you the same as I do all my submissive wolves.”

Really? I don’t you him demanding Jenna do anything.

His statement makes me want to grind my teeth. But conscious he’s observing me with undisguised interest, as if waiting for me to say something, I stay quiet.

“You are a submissive wolf, aren’t you?”

More of the pack shift their attention away from each other, toward me.

Their curious eyes pin me from all directions. “Yes.”

“Then I shouldn’t need to tell you that a submissive wouldn’t be holding my stare for as long as you’ve been doing. Now, do I?” His mild tone contrasts with the reprimand he’s giving me in front of the whole pack.

Forcing my gaze away, I rise from the folded chair I’m perched on.

Today has been one of those days that keeps on giving, and although it’s not even nine yet, I’ve had more than enough of it. “I’m going inside. To bed.”

“Grab me some food on your way.”

After the amount of BBQ he’s eaten and trust me, I would know better than anyone given it was me doing all the fetching I gape at him.

Maybe he didn’t hear me, I think. So, I decide to repeat myself. A little louder this time. Just in case. “I’m going to bed.”

“You’ll be passing the kitchen on your way,” he says. “A barbecue chicken sandwich will be fine.”

I blink at him as he dismisses me to pick up the thread of his conversation with Luka. Something about investments, buyouts, and bad debt. Again. It’s all he and Luka ever discuss, and what little I understand does nothing more than bore me silly.

It’s like he’s forgotten I’m even here. And it is… so unbelievably rude, all I can do is glare at him. I’m supposed to be his mate. Luna of the Blackshaw Pack, and he’s treating me like this?

For a second, standing here, I visualize it. Me kicking the chair legs out from under him and the back of his head hitting the ground. Hard. Maybe he even loses consciousness for a few seconds.

It’s… it’s fucking beautiful, so much so I find I’ve taken a step toward him before I’m fully conscious of it. And that’s when he casually glances at me, a bottle of beer halfway to his lips.

“Oh, and another beer as well. I’m running low.”

I realize then sending him crashing on his ass is not enough. Not nearly enough. I’m going to take his bottle and grind it into that arrogantly beautiful face of his first. And only then

“You okay there? One eye is twitching. You got something in it?”

“No.” It comes out as a whisper. It’s either that or scream.

My hands form tight fists, which is a dangerous move with him watching, so I force my fingers to uncurl. And like I’m in a daze, I retreat.