Mina's Revenge

by J. M. Witt

  His fingers pulled on a strand of hair as he said it. My body began to shiver and I wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or the nearness of him. A crack of lightening flashed in the sky as we both paid notice.

  “ROLLO! Let’s go man.”

  He stepped back from me and I was relieved. I could breathe again and I had a sudden urge to run. I hadn’t run in shifter form in a long time, not since the night of Scott’s murder, and suddenly craved it like a drug.

  “See you around.”

  I just gawked at him as he smiled and walked away. What the hell did that mean, ‘see you around’? When he was a few feet away, I unlocked the door and stepped into the safety of my mother’s massage parlor.

  I set things up for the next day before heading home. I didn’t have any appointments scheduled but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t have clients. I’d been running my mom’s shop—with help from Scott—for nearly eight years, though I’d only had my massage license for five. I nearly broke my back waiting tables, working odd jobs, and going to school to get it up and running again. It’d been worth it, but there were still so many unanswered questions about my mother’s murder and now Scott’s.

  I made it home, cautious if anyone had followed me. Parking my truck in the drive, I walked into the house and then punched in the alarm code. A shower could wait. I needed to run. Stripping naked in my kitchen, I then stepped out onto the back porch. My house was secluded from prying neighbors which was the only reason I stood naked as a jay-bird out there.

  I enjoyed the cold as it danced over my skin. My nipples puckered and my core ached as his eyes invaded my thoughts. Rollo. What kind of name was Rollo? I scrubbed my face with my hands trying to shake him from my memory. He wasn’t someone I should mess with. I knew it with every fiber of my being. Too bad my being liked fucking with and getting fucked by men like him. That was when the clouds rolled in and I could smell the rain about to come.

  Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I shifted for the first time in months. My shifter form—black and white Siberian husky—took off like the wind into the woods. My arms and legs burned from the exertion, in a good way. I remembered running in these woods with my mother when I was young and loved and hated the memories. They were the only thing I had left of her besides the store.

  I made it up a short hill and stood on all fours taking in the storm that was brewing. My senses alerted me to the presence of another being. Turning, I took a defensive stance. Staring back at me was another husky and he was red in color, something I hadn’t seen since my mother. Growling at him, he stood his ground as we circled one another.

  He wasn’t aggressive and came closer. I was immediately drawn to him, like an instant hunger. Curious, I tensed, but allowed him to move even closer. I didn’t feel that he was a threat and let my guard down. He was a shifter, but who was he? He nuzzled up to me and before I could react I was attacked by another dog. Quickly, I got the advantage and had the bitch pinned to the ground by her neck.

  Growling, I squeezed her neck a little tighter with my jaw as she whimpered. A few more huskies circled around us and I knew that I was outnumbered. All stood, teeth bared, eyes directed at me, except for one; the alpha, the one I’d been alone with for a brief moment. I watched as he walked to stand between me and the others. Releasing the neck of my would-be attacker, I backed off as she rolled to her feet and took shelter behind the other dogs.

  The pack took a step toward me and he growled ferociously back at them. They backed off as he looked at me. The thunder and lightning was becoming louder and closer, matching my fear and anger as my head began to pound. Before I was attacked, had he been trying to bait me or was it purely innocent? I was dying to know who he was, but knew I had to leave.

  It was as if he nodded at me, urging me to go. I wanted him to come with me, but how did I relay that without causing more problems? We were a pack breed and I had no pack, hadn’t since I was young, and I wasn’t looking to join one. Was I?

  Running off, my head became more and more muddled making it hard to focus. The last time I’d shifted the same thing had happened and I’d woken in the middle of the night, naked, in the woods. I had to try to get home before the same thing happened. I recognized the copse of trees that outlined my property before the winds picked up and everything went black.

  I walked away from her, leaving her in front of her store, knowing exactly who she was. What I hadn’t expected was to feel about her the way I instantly did. She was my mark—to protect and eliminate—and instead I wanted to make her mine. Fuck! Mora was long dead, along with her entire pack, supposedly. But based on the pictures I’d seen, this chick looked just like Mora. There was only one certainty; she was her daughter, Mina. This was going to complicate everything if she found out who I was, if she’d even heard of me. That had me wondering if Scott had ever mentioned me to her. According to Victoria, her mother had been a traitor, banished by both our packs and Mina was the reason for that banishment.

  “Come on, Rollo. Let’s run.” Dixie linked her arm through mine as I brushed her off.

  Dixie was determined to be mine, but I had no interest, especially when everyone had already had her. I didn’t share my women. Period. Which was probably one reason I was still single. Pack life and the way I was raised battled with my own morals. I didn’t want anyone’s leftovers. I just wanted something that was mine and vaguely wondered how I could make Mina mine.

  I hopped on my bike and as Dixie attempted to climb on I told her to go elsewhere. We rode to my uncle’s house. It’d seen better days, but it would serve its purpose and I enjoyed fixing things. I’d been in town about a week and was excited about making a new life for myself and my pack.

  Walking to the backyard, I disrobed.

  “Care for company?”

  Looking over my shoulder at Dixie as she made no qualms of staring at my nakedness, I shook my head. “Nope. Solo run.” She pouted before going back inside. She was relatively new to the pack, brought in by Zeke.

  The weather was being temperamental, but I enjoyed running in the rain. Shifting, I stretched before running off into the woods. I had yet to really explore and was looking forward to it. I knew Woodland Creek was full of shifters, but had yet to have any kind of formal introductions.

  A couple hours later I spotted her and began following her. I could smell her in the wind. Mina. She, too, was a husky, but black and white unlike my red. She seemed to be running alone and that made me smile. I always got grief for running solo, but there was a calmness to the solitude of running alone.

  I knew the minute she sensed me. Turning, she growled to assert herself as we circled one another. Before I knew it, fucking Dixie attacked her and the whole pack was surrounding them. I was pleasantly surprised to see Mina almost immediately get the upper hand. She was scrappy and could stand her own ground.

  After assuring her that my pack wouldn’t harm her, she released Dixie and backed away. She seemed hesitant to leave and I wanted to go with her, but I couldn’t. My pack would have serious problems with that. She ran off.

  Once she was out of sight, I shifted back to human form and my pack followed suit. “I said I was running solo!” My voice boomed through the woods as the storm seemed to calm.

  Dixie was massaging her neck as bruises had already started to form where Mina had clasped her. “We got worried. You’ve been gone for hours.”

  “Zeke, get your woman under control.” He nodded. “Get back to the house. I’ll be there shortly.”

  I shifted again, taking off, and easily picked up Mina’s scent. It was almost as if the storm was following her. Her trail was jagged, almost like she was drunk. When I came upon her, she was swaggering and then shifted into human form. Standing, she turned but didn’t see me as I stayed in the shelter of the woods. Something was wrong with her. Her dark hair fell in wet waves over her shoulders. Her blue eyes were almost aglow, but it was like she couldn’t see me, her eyes lost as rain poured down over us. It was
like she had her own personal rain cloud. Was she more than just shifter? If so, what? Maybe the rumors were true that her father was a wizard.

  She fell to the ground and almost as quickly, the rain ceased. I walked to her naked form lying in the grass. Nuzzling her, she was out cold. I couldn’t leave her out here and shifted back into human form. Taking in my surroundings, I saw a house, the only house, about fifty feet away. There was a covered back porch and my instinct told me it was hers.

  Scooping her up in my arms, I carried her to the porch where I could smell her and laid her down on the deck. There were no blankets and the stickers on the window alerted me of the alarm she had in place. We didn’t need the cops showing up now. Her lips were turning blue as she shivered. Sighing, I did the only thing I could think to do. I lay down next to her and pulled her against me.

  I fought my body as it immediately reacted to the nearness of a woman. Why hadn’t she reacted the way I had? I know that sounds egotistical, but I wasn’t used to women not hitting on me or refusing me. Maybe she was a master of hiding her feelings. What the hell was I supposed to do now? Maybe it served me right for all the women I’d used and discarded over the years. But it’d been too long since I’d been with someone and holding her was torture. Drowsiness hit me and I couldn’t help but drift off.

  The slight movement of her body woke me as I leapt away from her. She was still coming to when I shifted back into husky form and walked into her yard. As she sat up, she was startled at her nakedness and probably wondering how she got to the porch. Then her eyes spotted mine and she froze.

  Standing, she pleaded, “Don’t go. I’ll be right back.”

  Running into the house, I heard the high pitched warning of the alarm as she disarmed it. She reemerged on the back porch with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

  “I know what you are and I think you know what I am. Please don’t be afraid.”

  I took another step back toward the woods. I was pretty sure that if I shifted into human form, I wouldn’t be who she expected or wanted.

  “Please. Who are you?” She now stood on the bottom step and there was sadness in her voice. “I haven’t seen another like us in years. Where’d you come from?”

  I was enthralled by her. I wanted her. Craved to know her. Secrets, desires, needs, wants... In that moment I knew I wanted all of her. And I was going to get it. Just not right now. And there was the small problem of Victoria wanting her for her own purposes.

  She stared at me as I gazed back. Sitting down, almost in defeat, she pulled the blanket tightly around her. Covering her face with her hands, I heard her mumble something about being lonely. I was lonely, too.

  Abruptly, she stood, almost as if she was embarrassed by her admission. “You know where to find me.” She walked back in the house, slamming the door behind her.

  Waiting, I stood on her property line as the lights downstairs turned off and the ones upstairs turned on. When all the lights were off a short time later, I left.

  Over the next few days I’d go for a solo run every night in hopes that I’d run into her. But I had no such luck. I’d found no more clues at my uncle’s place about Mina and wondered if what his letter had said was true. How was it that she’d lived there at some point, yet there was no evidence of it? I’d always been told that Scott had followed Mora to Woodland Creek, after her banishment, to keep an eye on her. But I was beginning to suspect there was way more to the story. And if my uncle was sent to keep an eye on her, why hadn’t he returned after her death? Mina had to be the reason and if he stayed to care for her, there were a few possibilities.

  The next weekend I walked into Vider’s and found her hustling some college kids at the pool table. She could deny it till she was blue in the face, but she was a pool shark! Her eyes caught mine and she became momentarily distracted. One of the kids reminded her that it was her turn and she averted her eyes back to the table. I watched closely as she took her shot and barely made it. The boys were ogling her in the same fashion I was. Whether she knew it or not was the question.

  Grinning, I flagged down the waitress and ordered drinks. “Two of whatever she’s having.” I pointed to Mina and the waitress nodded, though she seemed hesitant.

  When she returned with the drinks, she handed one directly to Mina and whispered something in her ear before pointing in my direction. Mina lifted the bottle, smiled at me, and then took a long sip before returning to the pool game.

  I sat down at the end of the bar and waited. Chuckling at the cover song playing on the jukebox. Maneater by Grace Mitchell was playing overhead and I had a feeling that’s exactly what she was. When the game was over, the boys groaning about how she hustled them, they handed over the money, and she made her way toward me. Standing at the end of the bar, she finished the bottle and set it down in front of me.

  “Another?” She nodded. Flagging the bartender, I ordered two more.

  “So. Where’s your posse?”

  I laughed at her question, more at referring to my pack as a posse. “Out. What about you? No posse of your own?”

  Shrugging her shoulders, she answered, “I have people, you just don’t know it or them.”

  My eyes traveled the length of the bar as eyes all the way down glanced at me. It was very clear to me in that moment that Mina was protected and valued in Woodland Creek. That intrigued me even more. My research had revealed that she’d reopened her mother’s massage parlor full-time a little over five years ago. And given her young age, she’d had to bust her butt along the way. Or, she had help. I had a feeling it was probably both.

  From the stories I’d heard and the digging I’d done, it was unknown who Mina’s father was. I still didn’t understand the rivalry my family had with hers except that it seemed someone took something that hadn’t belonged to them. That I understood. My stepmother had raised me and had done nothing but ingrain in me the hatred for the Spitz line. As a child I didn’t get it and even now I was full of mixed sentiments.

  “So, Mina Spitz,” that got her attention, “tell me about yourself.”

  She studied me before looking away and at the barmaid as they exchanged a silent conversation right in front of me. “Seems to me I don’t need to. You’ve clearly been doing your research since I never gave you my name. All I know about you is that your name’s Rollo. Care to enlighten me?”

  The bartender set down two more bottles and we both took a drink, our eyes watching each other. My pants were growing tight with just the nearness of her and those blue eyes of hers penetrating my own.

  “Rollo, Rollo Frost.” That got some stares.

  One of the men asked, “As in Scott Frost?”

  I nodded, “He was my uncle.”

  “He was a good man. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You planning to take over his business?”

  Nodding, “That’s the plan.” My eyes returned to hers as she raised her eyes from my chest to my face. “Did you know him?”

  “Your uncle?” She then nodded. “He was my mechanic, plumber, lawn maintenance, snow removal, and so on.”

  I chuckled. “Yes, he was very handy. Wouldn’t know it by the condition his house is in.”

  “Well, he always put everyone else first,” she answered. Her demeanor had changed, like she knew I was prodding and was being careful about what she said.

  “True.”

  “Well, Rollo Frost.” She downed the rest of her beer and said her goodbyes. “Time for me to go home.”

  Pushing herself off the bar, she headed toward the door. “Hold up.” I threw down some cash, hoping it was enough and followed her. I caught up to her in the parking lot asking, “That’s it?”

  She laughed, “I’m sorry. Were you expecting some form of payment for the drinks?” Her question took me aback as I shook my head. “Ask Zeke to pay you. He owes me anyways.”

  She turned away and I grabbed her bare forearm. It was freezing out and again she was without ap
propriate clothing. “How are you not freezing?”

  “The cold rarely bothers me. And you’re not exactly wearing cold weather attire yourself.”

  She pointed at my long sleeve t-shirt as I smiled. “The cold rarely bothers me, as well.” She tried pulling her wrist out of my grasp and instead I pulled her closer. “Mina.”

  Entranced once more, I took in every inch of her face. Her eyes closed as I traced my thumb over her cheek. Leaning down, my mouth was an inch from hers as her breath caught. A small groan escaped her lips as I made her wait. That groan sealed the deal and I claimed her mouth, my hands holding her face.

  Gently, I sucked on her lower lip as her hands clung to my forearms. I kept my tongue at bay until hers flicked against my upper lip. It was the only invitation I needed to invade her mouth. The kiss was hungry and brutal on both sides. Her hands moved up my arms and to my face as she fingered and pulled on my overgrown beard.

  Picking her up, so I could stand to my full height, her legs wrapped around me as I pressed her against the side of a random car. I could feel every curve of her body through those black leggings and the warmth, too. Her breasts were heaving against my chest as my mouth pulled away from hers. Her eyes remained closed as she tried to steady her breath, and I tried doing the same.

  Softly she whispered, “You can put me down.”

  “What if I don’t want to put you down?” Her eyes opened and I pushed her hair from her forehead and kissed her again. She kissed me back with the same fervor from moments prior. “I don’t think you want me to put you down.”

  Breathless, she pleaded. “Please, Rollo. I can’t.”

  “Can’t what?”

  “Can’t do this…”

  Her hands and mouth contradicted her plea. Pulling the shirt from the waist of my jeans, her hands moved over my abdomen and through my chest hair. She kissed me with an eagerness that demanded my attention. Maybe she did recognize that there was something between us, but why were her words denying it?