Lady and the Wolf [Book One, Lady and the Wolf Series] -Published-

Chapter Eleven: Tormented

Van never even flinched. The fist sent a strong hit his way had indeed hit its target, but Van simply stood his ground, unmoving, and unflinching. It was like a Ping pong ball had just tapped him on the cheek; but still, it was an annoyance he didn't want to deal with. The owner's clenched fist was still lodged into the alpha's cheek, but that was only because Van had his wrist clenched in a bone breaking hold.

Van didn't have to look at the assailant to know who it was. "Nikolai, if you want to punch your superior and make it effective, you should throw your full weight into the punch." He turned his head to face the other male. The hues of his eyes turned to slits under the contacts he used, and the corner of his mouth twitched. "Like this..."

The younger man didn't have a chance to even defend himself as his alpha twisted his wrist, the bones making a sickly crunch, and without warning, landed a punch to his cheekbone with his free hand, crushing any sort of bone and cartilage. Van had a bored expression strewn across his face as the shifter grunted in pain. He only let go of Nikolai's wrist when he heard the gratifying pop of his shoulder dislocating. It seemed Van had forgotten to let go of his twisted wrist when he landed the punch. The force of the hit would have sent Nikolai hurtling a few feet away, at the very least if he had let go, that is.

It had taken a moment before Van realized Elina was still standing in the doorway, eyes wide and horror-struck. He wasn't quite certain if she was concerned for the mutt he had just knocked around or the fact Nikolai had actually had the gall to pop him one in the face.

"I just cleaned up the veranda this morning!" she shrieked, both rage and terror echoing through her shrill vocals. "Goodness."

Well, Elina's English had certainly improved, he noticed.

As for the shifter writhing in pain next to him, it was clear his native tongue had only become even more vulgar.

There was a great amount of contempt in the man's eyes as he stared up at Van. He was trying in vain not to writhe around in pain, but the tormented look that washed over his face like a giant tidal wave showed everything clearly. He despised Van, and Van had little like for his pack member. After all, Nikolai saw it as abandonment when Van had left.

Nikolai grunted, "Why are you back here?"

For what it was worth, Van felt something tug at his Lycan — the feeling of disappointment was slowly washing over his very soul. Van had grown up with the angry shifter writhing in pain before him. They had hunted together, been there through each other's first shift, and Nikolai had been the only one allowed near Van when his adoptive father passed away almost a century ago.

Van smiled with a disdainful edge. "Still cannot speak a lick of English, can you?"

Nikolai's scowl showed some truth. "Is it your business?" His sentence came out forced and slow as if he were thinking about the words before he spoke them.

"I suppose an idiot only needs a lick to get by," Van said after a moment of thought.

Van was vaguely aware of his nephew's presence in the distance, but he couldn't back down as an Alpha. He needed to show Aiden just what happened to wolves that broke the rules. "Nikolai..." His voice sounded tormented, but he never wavered in his stance.

Nikolai grunted as he got back up to his feet. His arm was hanging down from his shoulder, but that didn't seem to make him flinch, not even a little bit. His eye was slowly turning a blackish purple, and his cheek was swelling up. However, he never let Van know just how injured he was as he said, "My apologies, Alpha..."