One Bite

Chapter 5-2

"Home," I echoed the neutral word. Having no connections to that word, it stirred no reactions inside me. "You went... to the Central territory?"

"No." A chuckle escaped Solomon's mouth, shaking his shoulders and shifting a few blonde strands across them.

My question also earned me another snort from Caleb, who made me wonder if he was part pig with all his nasal grunts.

Explains his rude, suggestive comments.

"If anything," Solomon grabbed my attention. "I've been moving between the West and North in the group, posing as rogues."

"That's where you come in?" My eyes shifted over to Caleb. "What's in it for you?"

"The pleasure of your company," was his dry response. "Sad to say, I'm a bit disappointed."

"Feeling's mutual," I shot back and repressed the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

"Glad you two are getting along so well," Solomon's voice was as dry as the mountains shrinking in our rearview mirror. "Caleb here is going to escort you south, keep you safe until I can return from you."

'If you can keep from killing each other.' He winked.

His teasing coaxed a groan out my lips. 'What roadside ditch did you find this guy in!?'

"I can take care of myself," I replied, the words feeling lame when said out loud. Both their heads turned and their eyes inspected me, swelling my chest with equal parts oxygen and defensiveness. "I shot Tobias, didn't I?"

"Shooting one unarmed guy in the leg is one thing." Caleb's brown eyes shifted a shade darker. "Even if you did that twat Tobias a favor making it look like we attacked him."

"Glad to see you don't discriminate," I teased. "You're horrible to everyone."

A smile tugged on his lips. Instead of answering, he looked out the window and muttered, "You have no idea, Princess."

"I don't want to even think about it." My tone turned bitter once Mr. Stinky hit the end of my patience.

I poked one finger into his upper arm, on repeat, until he cocked his head in my direction. His darkening eyes flicked between my finger and my glare. The shift in his expression, shifted from amused to annoyance, threaded a sense of satisfaction through me.

My finger jabbed him with each word, until the pad of my finger bent back "What's. With. The. Princess?"

On my next jab, his hand reached out and grabbed my finger. On the surface, we looked like we played a horrible 'Pull my finger' move, but the guy infuriated me like a parasite wormed its way under my skin.

Warmth spread both into my cheeks and down my finger from his touch. Both were very much unwelcomed.

Without a blink, his eyes trained on mine. The dull, bored tone he used matched the eyeroll he gave me, "Your name."

"Zara means princess," Solomon offered with a hint of amusement in his tone of voice. The glint in his eyes as he looked between us had my finger snatched back.

"True, but I don't see anyone calling you King," I retorted.

"Fair enough." A small smile quirked his pale, thin lips. "Werewolves don't have kings though. Only Alphas, which Cassius has managed to put all under his control... Until now."

"What happened to Alpha Faelon?" I whispered. "What changed his mind?"

Solomon's eyes darkened and his fist tightened. "Nothing. Faelon knew Cassius was evil, even helped him almost twenty years ago."