Defiant: Book 2 of the Forbidden Series

Chapter Twenty-Three: Opportunity

Livy

Livy approached the table where Hailey and Bane sat with great trepidation. From the hallway, she had spied their clasped hands–the ones they ripped apart the moment Bane sensed her approaching–and she didn't know what made her more angry. Bane touching Hailey, or Hailey touching Bane. How was it she wanted them both? It wasn't normal or logical. Love didn't work that way, did it?

"How's Van?" Hailey asked as Livy slid into the booth beside her.

Livy shrugged. She had hoped Van would open up about what had happened in the car, but questioning her had only caused the girl to shut down more. Every instinct inside her had screamed to push at Van until she crumbled, but the more human side of her softened, remembering what it was like to be treated that way by her pack. If Van wanted to hold on to some of her secrets, she wouldn't press. If it wasn't important to share, she would.

"Fine. Tired."

Bane grunted. "She got more sleep than everyone else last night."

His glare made it obvious how he thought the girls had spent their night, and Livy didn't bother to correct him. Let him stew over it like she was stewing over the way he and Hailey couldn't move more than a few inches apart from one another, or how her animal senses picked up the desire raging between– her nostrils flared–between all of them.

"Enough," Hailey hissed, smacking her palms against the table loud enough to temporarily silence the diners next to them. She waited until they resumed eating before whispering, "This thing between us can't be a...a thing right now."

Leather creaked as Bane leaned back. "I wasn't making it a thing. You two are the ones who tried to screw each other on the stairs."

Livy sucked in a breath. "Like you wouldn't have tried if the opportunity presented itself."

He clicked his tongue against his teeth. "But it didn't, did it? Because both my opportunities were too busy with each other."

Hailey and Livy both flinched. There it was. They both knew the other had messed around with Bane, but to hear him admit it so casually and so openly made Livy see red.

"So, that's it, then? You're mad at us because we hooked up, but you would just as easily screw either one of us? You don't care about either of us...you just want a girl in your bed. I mean, hell, you'd probably sleep with Van if she tried."

Bane's eyes flashed, and his nails lengthened, digging into the table and leaving a deep scar. "There you go, Livy. Always putting your own spin on things. I didn't say that."

"You kind of did," Hailey growled. "You called us opportunities."

He huffed and tipped his head back to gather himself. Seeing him so undone was kind of exciting, and when she glanced at Hailey, she saw the other girl was equally invested in the display.

"What do you want me to say, huh? This is shit timing, but I like you both. For different reasons, but equally, and when I saw you two together last night, I–"

"You what?" Livy and Haily said breathlessly, leaning over the table, their fingers linking together.

"If I say this, you're going to use it as an excuse to call me a pervert and beat my ass."

They shook their heads. "No. You're safe."

He smirked and leaned into them. "I only acted mad because I was caught off guard by how much I realized I wanted to watch you together."

Hailey licked her lips. "Just watch?"

A door slammed, and the three of them jumped apart. With a little space, Livy's common sense returned, and she scanned the room for Van. "Hey, Van should be back by now."

Wordlessly, they climbed out of the booth and ran down the hallway. The women's bathroom hung slightly ajar, and Livy knew before they walked inside that Van was gone. Her scent led the opposite way, toward a back exit she had missed earlier, and beneath was the acrid stench of an animal she didn't recognize.

"Shit," Bane snarled, stooping to pick something up from the filthy floor. He twirled a red tipped dart between his fingers. "Tranq."

Livy let loose a roar that rattled the stalls and peeled down the hall, bolting through the exit as she shifted between one step and the next. Bane was right behind her, and Hailey shouted after them that she was getting into the car. Side by side, the two panthers raced across the parking lot and into the trees, uncaring about the two humans who saw them and screamed.

She followed Van's scent through the woods, over a hill and river, and finally lost it on the highway. Two deep tire tracks were imprinted into the mud, and the dirt trailed off down the road in the direction they had been heading before stopping to eat. Toward Sucre.

Rubber burned her nose as Hailey zoomed by, slammed on the brakes, and backed up the car. Bane shifted and tossed Livy a t-shirt from his suitcase as he pulled on clothes. Normally, she wasn't modest, but with Hailey's eyes locked on her nude form, she tugged it over her head as quickly as possible.

"What did you find?" Hailey asked when they were both in the car.

"I picked up another scent in the bathroom. One I had never smelled before, but it definitely made my nose itch. Did you smell it, Bane?"

Bane nodded his agreement. "Smelled like wet dog and sickness."

Hailey groaned. "Werewolves. I'd bet my life on it."

Livy pulled on her hair. "They won't bite her, will they? Or eat her? Do werewolves eat people?"

"Sometimes?" Seeing Livy's panicked expression, Hailey quickly added, "But only on the full moon, and that's days away. If they took the time to tranq her, then they want her for something."

"They're going to Sucre. That's no coincidence."

Bane leaned between the seats, the freckles on his nose bunching together. "Even if they aren't going there, it's our best bet for finding help. Someone has to know why a werewolf would take a girl, or if they're working with Gabriella."

"So, to Sucre?"

Hailey put the car into drive and floored it. "Those assholes royally screwed up. We're going to get our girl back."