Vivian Gandillon thought she might be nervous about opening the doors in front of her. It had only been a short while since she had fully regained her shape and she had spent many hours relishing the smooth change between her human skin and her wolf pelt. She knew, just as she always had, that she was beautiful in both. So this self-conscious feeling was new to her. While she was slightly apprehensive about facing the pack in its entirety for the first time since Astrid died, she had seen them all separately and these meetings were always friendly. Besides, she thought with a sharp grin, I am the alpha bitch. No one in there can match me. Well, almost no one.
That someone was the real reason for her hesitation, although she would never admit it to anyone, not even herself. Gabriel had been so sweet to her during the week or so after she was nearly killed twice in one night. First, by her own hand and then by her former meat-boy lover. But despite Gabriel's kind words and assurances of love and commitment, Vivian could not forget the Gabriel she knew before that night. That Gabriel was arrogant and unreliable. Although strong and committed to the pack, he enjoyed flexing all his muscles a little too much for Vivian's taste. Such flexing had led to Esme's heart being broken--- if only temporarily. But alone with him, in her room or in the forest, she was enjoying being with a man that she was slowly falling in love with. But she didn't think she could handle another betrayal and so she was afraid. Afraid that Gabriel would not be able to hold on to his sweet nature when confronted with the rest of the pack and revert to being arrogant and callous.
Vivian shook off her musings. Although she was artistic, she wasn't sentimental. Reassuring herself of her dominance and irresistibility with a glance in the darkened glass of the door, she pulled on the handle and entered Tooley's.
The air was thick with smoke and noise. Disjointed conversation punctured the classic rock that crackled from the jukebox. Vivian glanced around for the pack. They had learned to be cautious and as such, they weren't sitting together. Instead the pack was broken into pockets that were scattered throughout the bar. It wouldn't do for them to draw attention to themselves, not here, not after everything that had happened. Vivian grinned as she saw her age-mates sitting in a corner, trying desperately to look old enough to attract the attention of the female clientele. The grin disappeared as her eyes found Gabriel.
He was sitting in a corner with Bucky and a half dozen more men, not all from the pack. Smoke billowed their corner and a colorful array of bottles cluttered the little tabletop. A woman was seated on Gabriel's lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned forward so that if he didn't look up, his face would be planted firmly in her ample and overly exposed cleavage. A heart-wrenching smile spread across his face as he started laughing at something that was said and the woman petted his dark hair and laughed lightly.
Quickly recovering her smile, Vivian turned away to survey the rest of the bar. She refused to be hurt. She had gone out of her way to prove that she couldn't be ordered around and she certainly wasn't going to expose her belly now. Besides, she knew that she was more of a draw than that woman could ever be. Even if she hadn't been more beautiful, she was still loup-garou and that held a powerful attraction for Gabriel. Feeling stronger than she had in days, Vivian looked over the prospects standing at the bar. Just when she was beginning to lose hope, she spotted a young man laughing with a group of friends.
He had dark brown hair that was carefully disheveled and bright blue eyes. His outfit was forgettabley stylish, but his shirt was stretched pleasantly across a broad chest and his forearms were corded and rough looking. There was also a small silver ring in his lower lip, giving his look a slight edge. Feeling pleased with her choice, Vivian adopted her most confident and flippant air before making her way to the bar.
She pushed between her prey and his faceless friend, being careful to brush against his flat stomach. "A Coke, please," she said to the bartender before biting her lip and looking around. C'mon, c'mon, she thought impatiently. Make your move. Tired of waiting, Vivian flipped her hair as she turned to look the man straight in the eye.
"Hmmm… Just a Coke?" he asked playfully. Vivian could tell that he had been watching her before she turned and she fought the urge to smirk triumphantly. He may not be as feral as her pack mate, but judging by the way his eyes raked over her frame, this one seemed plenty… rowdy.
"Well," she began, drawing the word out, "I'm a little too young to drink." She leaned closer and looked up at him through her lashes, an impish grin on her face. "But don't tell."
He cocked his head slightly, whether at her statement or her body language, she couldn't tell and didn't care. "Then how'd you get in?"
This time, Vivian did smirk. "No one cards me." This made him laugh. It was a genuine sound and Vivian smiled in spite of herself.
"How old are you then?"
"Old enough."
"Okay then." He seemed intrigued and Vivian hoped to keep it that way. It wouldn't do for him to feel too comfortable around her. He hesitated for a moment before holding out a calloused palm. "I'm Jake."
Vivian slid her hand against his as seductively as she could. "Vivian."
A hand descended on her shoulder. "And I'm Gabriel. Now that everyone is friends, it's time for little Vivie to drink her milk and go to bed."
Vivian felt a snarl framed on her face, but by the time she turned at Jake's side, her features were arranged into an exaggerated mask of cordiality. "No thanks, Gabe, I'm not tired. But your new little playmate looks a little worse for wear. You might want to put that one to pasture."
"Listen, man, we were just talking. Why don't you leave her alone?" Vivian was thankful that it didn't look like Jake would try to fight Gabriel. That's probably because he thinks he could take him, she reasoned.
"Vivian isn't available to talk to with you. Or anyone else, for that matter," Gabriel said with sarcastic pleasantry.
"I don't belong to you, Gabriel. Or anyone else, for that matter," Vivian echoed his tone and words.
Gabriel dropped his easy smile. "Vivian, you are leaving right now. I don't want to make a scene, but if you force me to, I will drag you out by your hair."
Jake stepped in front of Vivian. "Hey. If you think—"
Vivian pushed him aside" It's okay, Jake." She adopted a mockingly condescending tone. "Gabey's just upset that somebody stepped on his tail. Aren't you, Gabey," she said, roughly patting his cheek. She turned to Jake. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you later?" She bit her lip in false uncertainty.
"Yeah, I'll be around." Vivian could practically feel the desire rolling off of him.
Gabriel clamped a hand around her upper arm and steered her out of the bar. With one last seductive look over her shoulder, Vivian blew Jake a kiss before turning around with a grin. Once through the doors, Gabriel threw her into the cold night air before demanding, "What the hell were you playing at, Vivian?"
Vivian just grinned. "Nothing."
"The hell it was nothing! Are you trying to find another meat-boy to try to off you?" His words stung and he knew it, but Vivian refused to back down.
"Are looking for another meat-girl to kill 'accidentally?'" Vivian felt bad as soon as she said the words, but she felt even worse seeing the look on his face. "Look, I was just flirting with him, having a little fun. It was only going to be a one night thing."
Rather than replying to her, Gabriel sighed and looked around. "This is not the place to be talking about this. Let's go home." Since the pack would be moving to Vermont in a couple of weeks, Gabriel had let the lease on his apartment lapse and was staying at Rudy's for the time being. Many members of the pack had moved in with one another. Vivian knew is wasn't just because it made economical sense, but also because they felt vulnerable and wanted to be with their pack mates. Vivian knew this new exposure was the fault of Astrid and Rafe, but she still felt responsible.
They pair trudged back to Rudy's in silence. Once inside, Vivian was trying to decide how to handle this situation when Gabriel spoke. "You can't be seen with other men now."
Whatever Vivian had thought he was going to say, this wasn't it. She was thrown by the ridiculousness of his statement. "What! What? Why not? I'm not going to tell any of them! I learned my lesson."
"It's not just meat-boys. It's any boys."
"Am I being punished for what happened with Aid—with the last boy?"
"No, but you're my mate now. I can't have you flirting with other men."
Vivian was astonished. "But you are allowed to have other women draped around you like you're wearing them? Screw that."
Gabriel's face was impassive. "I'm the pack leader. You're the alpha bitch."
Vivian involuntarily gasped at the implication. "You bastard!"
"Think about it, Vivian. I would lose the respect of the entire pack if I couldn't control my own mate. Do you really want to go back to being leaderless?"
Arguments swirled through Vivian's head. She took time to order her thoughts and fight back an angry change into her wolf shape. When she spoke again, her voice was chilly. "First of all, and I was hoping this was a lesson you had learned already, no one 'controls' me. I do what I please. If I listen to you, it's only because I want to. And second of all, what about the pack's respect for me? Do you really expect anyone to respect me if I can't even keep my mate from getting distracted by the first thing with breasts?"
"It's different if the pack doesn't respect you. I'm the leader, the alpha male. No one will respect my decisions if they don't respect me. It isn't important if the pack respects you."
Vivian stopped cold. What he was saying now was worse than anything he had said in the past. He was as good as saying that she didn't matter. "Well, you don't need to worry about my behavior compromising your position anymore," she began acidly, "because I will no longer be considered your mate!"
Gabriel looked confused for an instant before comprehension dawned on his face. "Jesus, Viv, that's not what I meant. You know how important you are—"
"Save it." The anger in her eyes cut off his words. "I think I understand you perfectly. You are always just playing a game with me, aren't you Gabriel? Well, this is not a game you will be winning, because I make my own rules." Vivian knew that such open defiance was risky, that he wasn't wary of hitting females and that he could easily lay her out. But to her surprise, he didn't move. He stood in the middle of the living room as she turned and flounced up to her room, making sure he noticed what he had just lost.