ShortFF:The Wallflower:End updated(25/12/09) - Page 14

Originally posted by: Tushi

I was so glued to the story and loved the different flavour but now I am unable to open the last chapter as it says the page is corrupted. Please please please can you repost the last chapter. 😊

Chapter Fourteen

Bani took in the scene before her, trying not to shudder. Pia had Rano pinned beneath her, her claws going for Rano's soft stomach, her teeth at Rano's throat. Rano stared at Bani, obviously terrified, bleeding from numerous small cuts inflicted by Pia's claws, and one bad-looking bite wound on her left shoulder. Her unsheathed sword was just beyond her reach, probably knocked out of her hand when Pia pounced. Her hat had fallen off during the scuffle as well, landing brim up next to a rosebush. Pia had cuts on her arms and a slash in her right cheek, showing Rano had fought back.

Pia snarled, the warning of one cat to another over prey, and Rano froze.

Bani cocked her hip, hands going to her waist as she tried to still the frantic beating of her heart. She had to hit Pia where she lived, get her to turn on her and get the hell off of Rano before someone died. "Okay, some of the peroxide must have leaked into your brains to make this seem like a good idea. What will killing Rano accomplish, other than to piss off Ranveer and Jai and ruin your manicure?" Pia snarled again, but she didn't tighten her hold on Rano's throat. Her claws remained poised above Rano's stomach. Bani racked her brains, trying to think of ways to get Pia's undivided attention. "Did you run out of Liversnaps or something? Oh wait, that's dogs."

Pia dug her claws into Rano's stomach, making her gasp. Red beads of blood, black in the night, dribbled down Rano's sides as Pia released her throat and sat up slowly. Her hand flexed, driving her claws in deeper. "I want the Curana's ring."

Bani stared at her, stunned. "A ring does not make you Curana, Pia."

Pia sneered. "It does to them!" She tossed her head towards the house, indicating all the other Pumas inside. "If they see I took the ring from you, they'll never acknowledge you as Curana." She smiled, her fangs glistening in the moonlight. "They'll see you for the weak, pathetic wallflower you've always been. Jai will be mine, like he always should have been; he won't have a choice. He and I will run the Pride the way it was meant to be run, and you'll be seen as nothing but the Alpha's whore."

Bani nodded thoughtfully. It took everything she had to stay focused on Pia and not her friend. "Yeah, all of that is true. Except for one thing. Well, two, really."

"What's that?"

"One, Jai doesn't want your double-processed skanky *ss."

"Hey! I'm a natural blonde!"

The woman is obviously a few tacos short of a fiesta platter. Bani mentally rolled her eyes. She was so done dealing with Pia. "Two, even without the ring, I am the Curana." Bani's power punched out, reaching for the woman in front of her. "Let Rano go. Now."

Pia whimpered as Bani forced her to do her bidding. Her hand trembled with the force of Bani's command, her claws slowly, reluctantly withdrawing from Rano's stomach. She crawled on all fours off of Rano, her shoulders hunched. Bani's will compelled her away from the bleeding woman.

"Kneel."

Bani's command punched out, forcing Pia to her knees. She shook with the need to break free, her breath panting in and out of laboring lungs, but Bani kept her tied to her will.

Out of the corner of her eye, Bani saw Jai helping Rano, which left her free to deal with Pia. Or so she thought.

The sound she heard behind her caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. She now knew why pumas had earned the nickname mountain screamer as Ranveer's Puma let loose a high-pitched yowl at the sight of his injured mate. Before Bani could stop him, Ranveer pounced on Pia, claws extended, and bore her to the ground.

"I should kill you where you lay," he snarled over her, digging his claws into her stomach in the same exact spot she'd wounded Rano. The scent of blood and fear were thick in the air as Ranveer leaned down, his canines extending. "I could rip your throat out right now."

Bani glanced over at Rano and saw her shuddering in fear, held in place only by Jai's arms. "Uh, Ranveer?" Golden eyes blinded by rage met hers. "You're scaring the crap out of Rano."

She watched as he looked over at Rano. The sight of her seemed to calm him somewhat, though his claws never left Pia's flesh.

"Rano." Rano jumped at the sound of his voice, moaning as her wounds bled some more. "What would you have me do to her?"

Jai's gasp was audible; in essence, Ranveer was giving Rano the kill.

"Ranveer?" It was more of a plea than a question, but for what Bani didn't know.

"Tell me, Rano. What should Pia's punishment be for injuring you?"

Rano blinked back tears and stared at Pia. "What is she? What are you?"

"Pumas. Werecats. I'll explain more later. Right now, you need to decide her punishment."

Rano looked at Bani, who cringed to see the confusion and hurt on her best friend's face. "I didn't know until Jai bit me, then I didn't know if you would believe me or not. But I planned on telling you tomorrow, if Ranveer didn't do it first."

"You're a…" Rano swallowed hard at Bani's slow nod. "And they're…" Bani watched as Rano absorbed the information. When she blew out a hard breath, Bani relaxed. "This is going to cost you a fortune in Tidy Cat." Rano's laugh was shaky but Bani knew everything would be all right.

Bani grinned. "What would you like Ranveer to do with Pia?"

"What can he do with Pia?" Rano asked, staring down at Pia.

"Well, let's see: she was willing to kill you to get the Curana's ring, so Ranveer is well within his rights to rip out her throat." Bani shrugged. "Wouldn't be all that big a loss as far as I'm concerned."

"What the hell is the Curana's ring?"

"It's the ring Bani now wears that proclaims she's my mate and queen," Jai replied, gentling his grip on Rano's arms as he realized she was reacting to the news far better than he'd expected.

"Whoa. Wait, so I was bait for Bani?"

"Rano, the longer Ranveer smells the blood, the harder it will be for him to not kill Pia. Decide her fate quickly."

Rano looked at Pia one last time before staring straight into Ranveer's golden eyes. "What is the lowest status a Puma can hold? If Jai is king and Bani is queen, is there a lowest of the low?"

"No!" Pia moaned, trying to break free of Ranveer's hold. Ranveer merely dug his claws in deeper while his other hand held her down by her throat.

"Outcast," he answered. "Someone who's been made Prideless. She'll hold no privileges, no responsibilities. She will no longer be welcome at Pride functions or homes. Kits will be taught to avoid her. If she wished for status again she would have to leave, find a Pride willing to take her in and earn it."

Rano nodded. "Since the whole damn thing was about status, I think that would do nicely."

Ranveer nodded with a slow smile of approval. He bowed his head formally to Jai. "My mate requests a casting out of the one named Pia Chopra." He ignored Rano's startled gasp and Pia's moaned denial.

Jai eased Rano gently to the ground before stepping up beside Bani. He positioned himself so that Rano could see everything that was happening between them. His right hand, the one with the Alpha's ring, came to rest on Bani's hip as he stared down at Pia. "The Beta of this Pride has requested a formal casting out. My Curana witnessed the unprovoked attack of our Beta's mate, Rano Dixit." Bani saw Rano shoot Ranveer a narrow-eyed glare. "The attack was motivated by greed rather than self-defense. In light of these allegations I ask you, Pia Chopra: how do you plead?"

"F*ck you." Pia tried once more to buck off Ranveer, but he didn't budge an inch. Bani hoped she was having trouble breathing with the massive artist sitting on her chest.

Jai's expression turned icy cold as he stared at the woman who'd tried to hurt Rano and steal his mate's power. "I'll take that as a guilty." Jai's power whispered forth, like a slow moving mist, creeping out onto the grounds and into the house. As that fog of power touched the Pumas, they became aware of what was happening in the garden, if not exactly why. "As Alpha of this Pride, for the unprovoked attack against the Beta's mate, I hereby declare Pia Chopra outcast. You are no longer one of us. You may no longer run with us, or hunt with us. You are no longer welcome in our homes. You may no longer approach our kits without risk to your life."

Pia began to sob quietly as Jai formally kicked her out of the Pride. "Any attack on you will go unpunished within the Pride; we leave you to human laws. If you attack a mate of one of ours, you will be dealt with as an outsider, and your life will be forfeit. Any further contact with Rano Dixit will be considered an attack, and will be dealt with as such. Again, your life will be forfeit. Any Pride member giving you succor will suffer the same fate as you." With a gentle nudge, Jai turned so that he and Bani had their backs to Pia, effectively dismissing her. Ranveer pulled his claws from her flesh, his eyes returning to their normal dark brown, his fangs receding as he approached Rano.

"Um, down, kitty? Good kitty?" Rano smiled weakly as Ranveer reached for her. Ranveer gently picked Rano up, careful of her wounds, and walked out of the garden, undoubtedly headed for the cars parked in front of the Rathore's mansion. A long overdue conversation was about to take place, and if Bani wasn't wrong some more biting was also going to take place.

"Will Ranveer's bite heal Rano's wounds?" Bani asked as they slowly walked away from the weeping woman huddled on the ground behind them.

"For the most part. She'll bear some scars, most likely on her neck where Pia bit her, but otherwise she'll be fine. I'm pretty sure Ranveer will take care of that quickly."

"Hmm. What do you think Pia will do?" Bani tucked her hand in the crook of Jai's arm and leaned on him. Her feet were beginning to hurt in the damn boots he'd bought her.

"Move, preferably far, far away." Jai picked up Bani's hand and kissed the back of her knuckles. "You, by the way, were magnificent, my Curana."

Bani grinned up at him. "You think so?"

"I saw your performance in the house, and part of it out here." Jai stopped and pulled her into his arms, his mouth brushing against his mark on her neck. "Watching you put all those *ssholes in their place really got me hot."

Bani giggled and wriggled her hips against him. "I thought I rocked."

Jai purred slightly as he nipped the mark on her neck. "Ranveer told me I should take you home and start making kits. What do you think?" Jai looked down at her, love and lust glowing equally in his brilliant smile.

She leaned into him as they began walking back to the house, Pia forgotten behind them. Her hand rubbed his chest absently, her ring gleaming in the moonlight. "Jai?"

"What?" His tone was wary; he'd come to expect the unexpected when she used that particular tone of voice.

"Will I give birth to a baby or a litter?"

"Bani," he groaned.

"I mean, will we be feeding them baby formula or Kitten Chow?"

"Bani!"

"If they get stuck in a tree, who do we call? Does the fire department do kitten rescues anymore? This is important stuff to know, Lion-O!"

"God save me." She could tell from the way his chest rumbled under her hand that he was holding back a laugh.

"Too late. Oh, and we're not naming any kids Ajai. I mean, Ajai Walia? Almost as bad as Jai Walia. Has anyone ever mentioned you have a name like a p*rn star? I mean, not that you don't have the equipment to live up to it."

"Bani!"

Bani giggled.

Life was good.

-------------------------------The End--------------------------------

Originally posted by: ducky_euro

great ff

yeah pia got the right punishment

cant wait for ur next ff

SA

PS: will there be an epilogue in this ff?

"You carry mace. I assume that means there's some crime in this area."

She nodded slowly. "There's crime everywhere, even here, what with the college nearby."

He was beginning to worry her. His face was still blank, but something about his eyes had changed. They glittered strangely, almost as if he were angry. She decided not to tell him why she carried the mace.

"Have you been attacked out here before?"

Emma winced and quickly tried to cover up the telltale sign by babbling. "It's perfectly safe out here, and Becky keeps an ear out for the sound of my car. Any minute now she's going to run out here ready to annihilate anyone who's bothering me, so you might wanna let up on the death grip!" Her wince was now one of pain as his hand squeezed hers in a vice-like grip.