by Jenny May
A man in the cell directly across from her was curled into a ball, rocking on his bed. The way his eyes stared off into space reminded her of her mother during those last moments. That man was no more in his right mind than a person lying in a coma.
Georgina turned and looked behind her. A wolf stalked the length of the room, back and forth. Even though his head was tilted down, his eyes never left the three of them. She knew that look, too. That wolf was only running on one thing. Blood lust. Every wolf went through that stage once a month, but this beast looked to be stuck in the pull of the full moon.
“Take me to see my brother. He doesn’t belong here.”
Damien and Austin both took her hands and they made their way to the end of the hall. Through the bars, Georgina saw that Michael was sleeping. Her heart began to race. He wore what looked to be dark-blue scrubs, but from the way he was curled into a ball, she couldn’t see if there were any pockets on the front or not. There were no blankets or pillows. The only thing that rested in the room was a small cot, a toilet, and a sink. There wasn’t even a mirror in the confined space.
“Michael.” She called to him quietly. When she realized that he must have not heard her, she spoke louder. “Hey, Mike.”
He blinked and rose from the bed, slowly. His leg wasn’t broken anymore. His wolf had always healed fast. But from a broken bone? She assumed it’d have taken a little longer to heal.
Georgina’s wolf felt skittish as she watched him stare at her. The creature inside of her was cowering and practically pushing back against her spine. Bare feet patted against the floor while he walked two steps toward her. The pure evil radiating from his body had her wanting to run. Her hands tightened on her mates.
No words came from his mouth as he began to pace and stare at her. It reminded her of the wolf she’d seen further back.
“Michael.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. “I wanted to come see how you were. You need to understand that I’m okay.” She paused. “Everything…will be…okay.” Breathing was becoming harder while she watched his eyes mask with darkness. His wolf was beginning to take over. “Michael,” she snapped. “Stop this, and look at me. I’m fine. I’m not like her. Mother abandoned us, and you know what, maybe wherever she is, she regrets that. But we’re not her. We don’t have to deny our mates for fear of turning out like she did. We’re stronger than that.”
A growl tore from his throat. “No! You are weak. Look at you, Georgina. You gave in so easily to them. They own you now. Don’t talk to me about being strong.”
“Michael.” Her hands disconnected from her mates and she grabbed the bars. “Don’t push me away. You’re my brother. This person you’ve become, it’s not you. What happened? We used to be so close.”
He looked down and she could see his beast recede a little. When he looked up, his eyes were almost completely blacked out. “I faced my demons, and you know what? I won.”
Georgina shook her head, confused. “What do you mean? I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“My mate,” he growled. Raspy sounds came from his mouth at his deep breathing. He was so close to shifting. The muscles in his arms flexed while he continued to pace and glare in her direction.
“You have a mate?” Tenderness filled her as she took in her brother. “Why didn’t you tell me? Mike, that’s great news. This person can help you heal. You’ll see, it’s nothing like what we thought.”
The fabric that covered his bicep tore as his wolf rippled through his body, almost taking over completely. “You don’t understand, Georgina.” The deepness of his voice had her own wolf racing around in fear. “I fucking killed her.”
Damien and Austin both jerked her back from the bars, wedging her between them. Something between shock and horror hit Georgina hard. All she could do was stare at Michael with her mouth hanging open.
“You see, little sister? Who’s the strong one now? It’s not you. I’m alive. But you won’t be for long.”
Blue fabric exploded into the air. A scream came from her mouth as the weight of Michael’s wolf crashed into the thick iron bars. His snarling and biting set off a ring of events down the cells. Howling echoed off the walls around her from every direction. A million things exploded inside of her head and all Georgina could do was run. She pushed past her mates and raced down the corridor to the still-open door. Wolves were leaping at her from every direction. The sound of their teeth snapping at the bars left the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.
She hit the main door hard, trying to push her way out. It wouldn’t budge. The man at the desk looked at her panicked. “Open the fucking door!” She began to kick at it with everything she had.
What had just gone down was so much more than what met the eye. Without her being in wolf form she had no idea exactly, but some things just came from instinct. The chain reaction he’d caused throughout the cells was nothing more than him basically putting a price on her head. And with wolves, there was no money involved. The power of her blood was enough for some to take the bait. But would they? Probably not. He knew he was going to die. Maybe that’s what he wanted deep down. There was no way for her to know. But he sure didn’t mind throwing her under the bus on his way out.
Tears streamed down her face, and a buzzer had the door opening at her push. The hot sun beat down on her and Georgie began to run. She had no idea where in the hell she was going. She started to head toward the barn where she usually kept her truck, but she suddenly realized it wasn’t here. The gravel shifted under her feet as she slid to a stop. She slowly spun around, looking for something. Anything that made sense. Suddenly, Damien and Austin were in her path.
“Doll, come here.” Damien held out his hand and Georgina felt blank as she looked at it. All that kept going through her mind were tons of questions. How had this happened? And when? Why didn’t Michael just come to her and talk about it? Killing a woman? Whatever possessed him to take a life?
Georgina pulled off her hat and threw it to the ground. She leaned over putting her hands on her knees. It was impossible to breathe in this dry heat. Logan rushed out of the office and her eyes flew to him. A cry came from her mouth as she stood up and walked away. God, he was going to be forced to kill her brother. She couldn’t even look at her friend and alpha.
“Hey!” When she didn’t face him, he growled. “Georgina.” Logan’s voice was deep. She screamed in frustration and spun in his direction. “What is going on? Pete said you went bat-shit crazy on the door.” He looked over at Damien and Austin. “Does someone want to explain to me what happened back there?”
Worry was etched all over Austin’s features. “Georgina. Please.” He motioned and she dropped her head as she went to her mates. Damien lifted his arms and she practically collapsed into them. The crunching of Logan’s boots getting closer was the only thing keeping her from completely breaking down.
“Get to my office,” Logan snapped. “People are starting to look.”
Damien practically carried her into the back room where Logan’s desk was set up. There were only two chairs in front, and he pulled her into his lap as he and Austin took a seat. Logan sat on the other side and placed his arms down on the oak. “Now tell me what this is all about.”
“Michael.” God, the words wouldn’t come. Georgina was sure she was going to be sick. “He—”
“Shh.” Damien pulled her into his chest. “Why don’t you let me take you home and Austin can stay here and tell Logan about it?”
She shook her head and sat back up. “No. This has to come from me.” Logan rested his mouth against one of his fists as he took her in. “My brother bonded to a woman a few months back. I wasn’t aware of this, but that’s what he just told us.” Logan sat up straight and nodded. “He says he killed her.”
“Jesus.” Logan stood from the desk and walked to the window. “Did he tell you her name, or where she is now?”
“No. He didn’t stay in form long enough to tell me. He shifted shortly after.”<
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Austin leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “Yeah, didn’t mind calling her out to all the wolves in there, either.”
“Excuse me?” Logan spun around, and his eyes narrowed angrily. “As in, he put Georgina up as fresh meat?”
Did he ever. Unless alpha, females wolves were technically weaker than the average male. If she was anything within her pack, it wasn’t one of the stronger ones. She was average, at best. Bloodlust apparently hit the prisoners hard.
Nausea surfaced and she swallowed, trying to push down the bile that kept rising in her throat. What her brother had done was the ultimate betrayal. Only thing was, he clearly viewed her bonding with her mates a million times worse. It was the only reason he’d pretty much sacrificed her. And she wasn’t stupid enough to believe that his commands would stay confined in the jail. Word had a way of traveling, but would anyone listen to them?
Damien nodded. “Yes, the moment he put out the orders, the majority of the people behind the bars went crazy. Most shifted. I don’t think it’s a threat to take lightly.” Damien stood and put her in the chair. “Truthfully, I don’t think I’ve heard anything like it in over ten years. No one does that anymore. It was a demand. It’s not like he was just thinking the words and they were like, sure, I’ll try to take her out. The call was more like a vibration that tuned into their wolf.” A sigh came from Damien’s mouth. “I wish I would have been in form. I would have been able to know more about it.”
The room was suddenly getting suffocating. Georgina looked at her alpha. “The only people that would have heard it, though, are behind bars, right? I mean, are any of them getting out any time soon?”
Logan shook his head. “No. With the way Michael was, I kind of figured he wasn’t ever going to recover. All the people in there will never leave.”
Relief fluttered into her chest. “So, he’ll stay there then. You’re not going to kill him, right? I mean, he can stay behind bars, that way he’ll never hurt another person.”
“For now.” Logan looked at Damien and then Austin and she knew he wanted to talk to them about things he didn’t want her to hear. “Anyway, you don’t worry about that.” He looked up at Damien. “How’s the security at your new house?”
Damien laughed. “Excellent. Once Georgina sets the alarm the perimeter will go up. No one will make it within a hundred feet of the house without getting zapped like a bug.”
“What?” Georgina’s eyes shot up to him. “You mean they’ll get electrocuted? What if you don’t realize I have it on and you come home, or a poor salesman tries to come knock on the door or something?”
Damien laughed. “Well, I can deactivate it from my phone so don’t worry about me or Austin. As for the salesman, come on, Georgie, we live out in the middle of nowhere. When was the last time you heard of a salesman knocking on someone’s door? That just doesn’t happen anymore. The perimeter stays up at all times when Austin and I aren’t home. Understood?”
“Yes, Damien.”
“Good.”
Logan sat back down in his chair. “Would you like to see if Rogue wants to stay at the house for a couple days? He doesn’t have to head to the border of Triple Z until next Monday.”
The thought seemed to weigh heavily on Damien as he bit his lip. “Where is Rogue? Have you seen him lately?”
“Yeah. Saw him this morning.” A groan came from Logan’s mouth. “Oh, shit. I forgot to tell Cooper. The guy’s been trying to hunt your brother down, too. No such luck. I think Rogue’s avoiding him. What in the hell is going on with those two, anyway?”
Damien laughed. “I’m sure we’ll find out in due time. You know what? I think Rogue should stay with Georgie. They need to get to know each other, anyway. Maybe she can teach him how to speak.”
Her eyes got big. “You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you? You haven’t said much about your brother, but I think I’d recall you mentioning that he couldn’t actually talk if that were the case.”
“The guy can talk. Just hardly ever wants to. And when he does manage to get a few words out, it’s nothing good. I’ll give him a call and explain things. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. Austin, why don’t you and Georgie go load up. I need to take care of some stuff before we head out, and I want to spend the last few hours with our mate before we’re gone for so long.”
Austin’s hand encased Georgina’s and she didn’t argue. There was nothing important left to do today, anyway. Plus, she wanted to feel her men deep inside of her before they were gone. If they were pleasuring her, then she wasn’t having to think about the events concerning her brother. It was a pleasurable distraction from reality. One she wished she could bask in forever.
Chapter 8
Georgina had never noticed it before, but as she watched Damien mess with his phone she realized that he was turning off the alarm that surrounded their ranch. The cattle guard vibrated the black M3 and Damien increased speed the moment they were over the thick metal bars. Georgina flew back in her seat and gripped the door nervously.
“Hands down, Georgie. You will not be afraid of my driving.”
The car jumped up over sixty and she looked at the looming house ahead. Dust clouded out behind them and she was so afraid they were going to slide out of control on the loose dirt. What if the car wouldn’t stop in time and they hit the house? Holy shit. All Georgina wanted to do was close her eyes.
Austin leaned forward from the back and laughed. “You are one crazy son of a bitch, Damien.”
“Eh, maybe.” The car began to slow, but not by much.
Damien’s arm jerked forward, and Georgina pushed hard into her seat at the house closing in. A scream came from her mouth as he let off the gas and pulled the emergency break. Georgina’s vision blurred as the car whipped around three hundred and sixty degrees and came to a stop right in front of the house.
Damien’s finger settled under Georgina’s chin and pushed her mouth shut. She hadn’t even realized it was open. “See. We’re home, alive, and well.”
“You.” She shook her head at him. “You could have killed us.”
Damien laughed loud. “That would not have killed us, Georgina.” The driver’s side door opened and he got out. She turned and looked at Austin. The smile on his face said he was one hundred percent with Damien.
“Men.” Georgina headed for the house.
“Oh come on, sweetheart. Don’t be upset. It was fun. You need to learn to live a little.” Austin shut the door and she spun around to look at him.
“Fun? I’m about to show you fun.” She looked at Damien. “Pop the trunk.”
As Georgina walked around to the back of the car she felt her wolf surge through her. The back opened and she took out her whip. “Down. Now.”
Austin turned to Damien and she gripped the wooden handle tightly, letting the end hit the ground. As she circled it over her head the whistling brought his face snapping in her direction. But it was too late. The leather wrapped around his ankle and she jerked hard. Austin hit the ground and stared up at her in shock. “I told you to get down, cowboy. Are you having a hard time hearing?”
Damien pressed his lips together as if he was trying to repress a smile. He stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest, watching.
“Take off the shirt and get on your knees. I want your head touching the ground. If you so much as move, you’re going to be in so much trouble. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Geo—”
“No. I’m not Georgina to you right now.” Her body was shaking at the adrenaline pumping through her. Yes. This was right. Although she could easily submit to Damien, she wanted this from Austin. “I’m your mistress, and you will address me as such. Now say it.”
“Yes, mistress.” Austin pulled his white T-shirt over his head and assumed the position. She began circling around him slowly. Angle and distance were everything. If she was off, she could hurt him or miss completely. It was a dangerous game she was playing, and she knew it. If she wasn’t one h
undred percent sure she could do it, Georgina would have walked away. But this was her life. She could wield a whip in the dark and hit her target spot on.
Damien’s movement caught her attention and she met his eyes. There was such a sense of pride on his face that Georgina’s heart exploded in rhythm. She turned back to Austin and focused on him. There was a good few feet between them. As she made it to his backside she spun the whip and popped her wrist. Dirt flew up a few inches from his face just like she’d intended. “Do you trust me, Austin?”
“Yes, mistress.”
Georgina walked forward and sent the end trailing along his back gently. As if making an invisible infinity symbol in the air, she let the whip connected tenderly against his flesh. Austin initially jumped at the first contact but seemed to relax almost instantly. “That’s right. See, isn’t this fun?” Georgina moved to his other side and repeated the action. “I think you can take it a little harder, my pet. You’ve heard the colors. Enlighten me.”
The whip cracked and Georgina connected with the dirt, brought the end around, and then let it make contact with the far side of his back. A moan came from Austin’s mouth, and she couldn’t deny how wet it made her feel. “Green, mistress.”
“Good, boy.”
The leather met his skin a good inch higher. Austin’s fingers dug into the earth. Sounds began coming from his mouth that were bordered on pleasure and pain. A pause in his speech told her the last one was hard for him to decide on.
“Green, mistress.”
The welted areas called to her. All Georgina wanted to do was run her tongue over the swelling. And she knew Austin was enjoying this. Over the last few days she’d seen Damien do things to him a lot more intense.
The power of the whip circled around overhead and Georgina brought the length against his ass. Austin’s head shot up and his gaze looked heavy and smoldering as he stared straight ahead. “We’re done, my pet. You may stand.”
“Thank you, mistress.” Austin grabbed his shirt from the ground and rubbed his ass. “I think that’s the best spanking by far.”