She recognized them as soon as she heard Regina's voice. Behind her were the triplets, with sickly glares and tricky grins. They must've followed Damian to be this deep in her territory, it pissed her off. It was bad enough to have the Serius heir intruding her diner, but he seriously had to bring his pack of lousy clowns along, too!
Travis, the shorter, fatter, brother stepped up to her. "Have you seen our dear cousin?" He was only about 5'7", exactly eye level with Kayla.
"Why don't you just sniff him out? Your kind tends to release a distinct odor."
Regina hissed at her. "Are you trying to say that we smell?"
Kayla rolled her eyes. "You hiss like a kitten."
Travis shook his head and circled her, "Didn't your daddy ever teach you some manners?"
"Didn't your daddy ever feed you?" She paused suddenly, "Oh, that's right, he did. A little too much, if I do say so myself."
This produced some unwanted laughter from them. They all looked at each other in disbelief and continued to advance on her.
"That's right, I am a big eater, and you best watch your mouth. Cause I'll eat you up too." Travis whispered, his eyes raked over her in a sick passion that made Kayla's skin crawl uncomfortably. He hadn't done anything physically terrible to her, yet. But when he flashed a malicious smile, that very much resembled Kevin's, she knew it was already being done in his filthy imagination.
Trixie chuckled, also approaching, "Maybe we should teach our future cousin-in-law how to respect us."
"Guys", Trent warned. "We're not allowed to touch her."
Kayla lifted an eyebrow at him. He was taller and thinner than Travis, and much quieter. Something about him was almost likeable, if only he wasn't part of such a damned pack. In any other pack, she might have actually considered him as an acquaintance of some sort.
"Shut up, Trent." Regina snapped.
"Yeah, Trent." Travis parroted.
"So tell me, Kayla." Trixie spat, "How does it feel to know you're stealing Regina's guy?"
Regina began approaching now, with steam coming out of her ears. She was being surrounded by them, discomfort slowly crept up her spine like a centipede, but she kept herself composed.
"Steal a half-eaten sandwich from a bum and you'll know what it's like." She replied evenly.
"Are you comparing Damian to a bum!?" Travis accused getting in her face.
"No, Dimwit. I was comparing Regina to a bum, your cousin is nothing but a worthless, used, sandwich." She couldn't help but smile slightly at herself.
Regina snarled, "You won't have that silly grin when I wipe it off for you!" She was already taking lightning quick steps forward, the claws had come out, and she was ready to tear.
"Easy, Regina." Travis said holding out his arm, "We don't want to ruin the bride's pretty face." His eyes traveled up and down Kayla. She breathed in deeply, her eyes glowing a brighter amber than before.
"You know, Damian doesn't want you." He said to her, "Which is such a shame, really. If I was him, I would've destroyed you by now. You wouldn't be able to walk the same again."
She was disgusted, no she was beyond disgusted with this pig. No one had ever spoke to her in such crude sexual terms, save for a few drunken human boys at a party, which was why she stopped going, Raul was getting tired of beating people up, unlike Amarie who had no standards for the attention she recieved. But, Travis had already done it twice, in under two minutes! She never thought a Lobain would lower himself to such dirt, then again, he was a Serius child.
"Nice speech, Porky", she retorted, "Is that how you talk to all your lady friends?"
He grinned with sharp teeth, bringing an eerie mirror image of Kevin before her. "Of course, but it's extra special for you, Princess."
"Don't call me that!" She snarled at him. It was frustrating enough to hear it from Damian, she was not going to tolerate it from an empty minded hog.
"Or what?" He asked getting inches from her face. "Will you tell your daddy? Will you also tell him if I touch you?"
She bared her teeth, which were sharpened in defense. In her wolf form, her tail would've been curling slightly between her legs, her ears flattened against her skull. In her human shape, she could still manage to stand tall, however, they could feel the discomfort beginning to rise in her, and it only excited them more. She saw herself transform from an enemy in their eyes, to a helpless piece of meat they had cornered. Trixie was behind her, Regina and Trent on both her sides, and Travis in her face. Something in their malicious eyes told her they would hurt her in the midst of the inconsequential cloud they traveled in.
She could definitely take on one of the girls by herself, but fighting a guy was much different, they were stronger than her. In total, she stood hopelessly outnumbered by them, if they wanted too, they could maul her too pieces in under 60 seconds. Within their minds, they had already mauled her to death, and they could already feel her torn flesh under their claws. The imagination only fueled their lust for Pelisian blood even more.
"You wouldn't dare." She growled back. Her heart rate was rising, soon they'd be able to hear it beating in her chest.
"He would." Regina replied in a sing song voice, "Especially now, since Raul isn't here to get in the way."
Trent nodded in agreement.
She should've never stopped in front of the alley by herself, and most importantly, she should've left when she saw them surrounding her. Raul had always been nearby to ward off the Serius pack when they got too close to her. Even when she was four years old at the park, he kept them away with all his six year old might. But now, she had pushed him away from her, and he departed angrily. She'd always felt confident in herself to go up against anyone, only because in the back of her mind, she knew Raul was never far. This was different now, he was far, he was with a mate, he would not come to her aid.
"You don't think I'd do it." Travis laughed, taking it as a personal challenge. "I would! Just watch me." He lifted a clawed hand high in the air to strike her. It's blow would spell five bloody lines across her face, and it's power could tear at least one of her eye lids, or even pop an eye open. But, before he could even begin his assault, a dark voice stopped them all cold in their tracks.
"I'll watch you back off." It said coolly.
Travis lowered his hand mechanically, "Damian", he smiled, "Right on time."
Trixie, Trent, and Regina slowly backed away from Kayla, retreating back into the alley, until they were a good ten feet from her. Travis wasn't nearly as compliant, he only took one step back. She twisted her head to look back at Damian, unsure if he was her enemy or not. It was his blood relatives, and self-proclaimed girlfriend, that stood in front of her. For all she knew, he had only stopped them cause he wanted to be the first to make her bleed.
To her utmost surprise, he looked angry, his teeth and claws sharpened to a fine point, his green eyes burning bright. He was staring down Travis like he was dog meat. He strode toward with purpose in each step.
"What are you doing?" He asked calmly, shoving Kayla aside with his shoulder. "You know the rules, no one can displace a single hair on her, not even me. So unless you want your throats ripped out, I suggest you find something else to kill."
Travis shrugged, "I was just messing around with the Princess here, I wasn't really being serious."
"Stop calling her that!" Damian snarled.
"What's gotten up your ass?" Travis scoffed, he had instinctively shrunk lower to the ground, using his arms to shield himself at the sound of the snarl. "You're defending her like if she's important or something."
"She is", Damian reminded, "Without her, our packs go to war, remember?"
"Oh, right. Must've slipped my mind." He composed himself and patted Damian on the shoulder. "No worries, it won't happen again." He turned to the rest of his team. "Lets go get something to eat. See you around, Damian."
They carefully skidded past him. Regina looked shattered and heartbroken, she met his eyes for a brief moment, searching for some hint of approval in them. He only returned her look with raging fire. She dropped her gaze to the ground, and couldn't help her jealous grumble as she passed Kayla.
"Wish you were going to the dance, so you can see us ruin it." She sang, practically spitting on her shoes.
"She is going to the dance, so you won't be ruining anything."
They all stopped to stare at Damian. Kayla's mouth dropped to the floor. She was about to say something, but Trixie spoke first. It was the exact same question in all their minds, even the Serius heir.
"Who is she supposed to go with?"
He hesitated for a moment, as if he almost hated himself for saying it: "With me."
He looked as though the words tasted bad coming out of his mouth.