“Well, not really.” I paused. “I mean, I’m on the pill. But you know what? I’m in love. And I want to have his babies. But it’s too crazy. This all happened so fast. Too fast, right? I’m crazy.”
We made eye contact and I tried to gauge my best friend’s reaction. Amy didn’t miss a beat in her response.
“Who wouldn’t want to have Jacob’s babies? He’s amazing. Handsome, a king, powerful, treats you well, alpha male—check, check, check. I’m honestly just surprised he’s not an asshole.”
“He’s not an asshole. He’s incredible,” I answered.
“Good, just be careful there, Andrea,” Amy said with a slight tone of warning behind her voice.
Dammit. I was totally fine with being oblivious and in love. Now Amy had put a seed of doubt into my mind. Was King Napletoni playing me? No, not possible, I thought. This might have been only a three-night stand so far, but this was real. At least it was for me. Was it real for him? Now I was worried.
“I know it’s strange, Amy, but I just trust him. He’s a great guy, trust me,” I said defensively.
“Of course he is, Andrea. I just don’t want you to get hurt,” she said.
“What about you and Shooter, anyhow?” I asked, deflecting back onto her.
“Oh, you know, he snuck into my bed last night like a dirty little boy.” She lowered her voice, hoping that Shooter wouldn’t hear her. “I gave Shooter a night he surely won’t forget anytime soon. I put on a little show for him, teased him a little bit, showed him my, ahem, skills.”
“Oh my gosh, Amy!” I put picked up a jack and put down a group of kings. Not like I was paying much attention to this game of Rummy anyways.
“I know. I couldn’t help it. I like being a show-off sometimes. And he didn’t seem to mind it.”
“So . . . are you going to see him again?” I whispered, not wanting Shooter to hear.
“I don’t know. I got a weird vibe when he left. I mean, it was fun, but I think we both know it’s not anything serious.”
“Amy, you are the queen of being not serious with guys.” I laughed.
“I know, I know, it’s a problem I have. I love sex with men, what can I say?”
When she said that, I swear I saw our guard, Shooter’s, ears perk up. She leaned in to whisper in my ear so he couldn’t hear.
“Andrea, I don’t want to stay here all night.”
“Me neither,” I responded. “But what are we going to do? There’s no way we can overpower Shooter.”
“True. You have any ideas?” she asked.
I thought. I might be able to break away in the night. Plus, since I was part Jarona now by virtue of being with Jacob, the night vision would come in handy in the dark. What help would I be in the dark though? Jacob had never even shown me how to kick in my powers of psychic connection.
“I got nothing,” I said. “But I really don’t want to stay cooped up here all night.”
“Hang on, I have one,” Amy responded. “Just follow my lead.”
“What is it?” I whispered, putting my cards face down on the table like she had. “I’m going to pull the old siren routine.”
“Siren routine? Like the siren seductresses in ancient Greece?”
“Shh.”
She unbuttoned her shirt so almost two-thirds of her boobs were showing. And Amy had a nice pair. She walked up to Shooter, who was standing as still as one of those British guards with the big hats who never move.
“Um, Shooter, hi. I really need your help with something,” she said sexily.
“What is it?” he asked, not even making eye contact with her as he maintained his serious guard face. Although I could see that he was struggling not to look down at Amy’s cleavage. It was actually pretty cute.
“I’m really concerned about a part of my room next door that might have a hole in the wall. I think intruders could enter and we wouldn’t even know it,” she said with a pouty face.
“Impossible,” he replied. “I would sense and smell any intruder who even came close.”
“I believe you, but,”—Amy started to cry a little bit—“I’m just worried! And I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep until we check it out. Can’t we please just go look at it for a second so you can cover it up?”
She was good. Shooter finally broke concentration and looked down. He saw Amy looking up at Shooter with those glossy doe eyes. Shooter was caving, I could tell.
“Well,” he said, “If it’s dangerous, I can check it out just for a minute. Andrea, you wait here, okay?”
“Okay! I’ll stay on the bed. Just make sure it’s safe, I’ll be here.”
Amy, you are a genius, I thought.
Shooter and Amy went out the door to ‘check out’ Amy’s room.
After they left, I too exited the room. I strolled right out into the night. How refreshing it felt to be outside in the warm night air.
Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to go into a Jarona war zone, but I’ve always been a curious girl. And I wasn’t about to set a precedent where I just wait for the king to come back from the battlefield, a damsel in distress waiting helplessly for her man.
Now I probably should have waited for Amy. But I had no idea how long she and Shooter would be in there. Plus, this was a mission I needed to complete on my own.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The village was completely quiet except for a low rumble of growling in the distance. I reasoned the noise must be where the fight was taking place, so I began walking toward it. I knew it must be dangerous there, but I figured I could just observe from the outskirts of the fight and see if Jacob was doing okay. Plus, my night vision was awesome now.
I wished had the psychic powers that Jacob had spoken about. How hard could it be? I tried focusing hard on a stick I saw on the ground, like they did with ‘the force’ in Star Wars. No dice.
Slightly sad, I continued on, and as I did, the growls became louder and closer, uninterrupted. Uh oh. This must be a hell of a battle.
The moon was shining a little now, and it allowed me to see some of the beautiful landscape of the savannah. The tall grass surrounded me, but I seemed to be following some kind of a path. In the distance I saw a grove of trees. Behind me, the huts of my father’s village were becoming smaller and smaller.
I heard a rustling in the grass very close to me. I quickly wheeled around to see what it was, but nothing was there.
I turned back around and I was face to face with a very tall man and a growling hyena. My heart beat like mad. How had they closed in on me so quickly and silently?
“What do we have here, Clifford?” the man said, apparently to the hyena next to him. The man walked up to me and sniffed me. I stood looking straight ahead, frozen to the ground.
“Well hello, who are you?” he asked me. “I don’t recognize you from our last attack on the Napletoni village.”
“My name’s Andrea. Who are you?”
The man laughed menacingly. His laugh gave me a sinking feeling. Like he was someone I’d known before.
Someone evil.
“You do not already know? My name is King Newgatu. My, what a beautiful female specimen we have here,” he said slowly as he and his hyena circled me.
“Are you the one who kidnapped all of the kids from the village today?” I asked.
“Oh, you lost some kids today in the village of Napletoni? I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, laughing deviously. King Newgatu seemed crazy as hell. He was ugly, though he did look so muscular he could probably lift a boulder. The hyena at his side snarled. I tried not to panic.
“Please, just let me go. I’m only trying to find my way home. I’m not from here,” I lied.
“You’re from the other world?” he said and took a step toward me.
“That’s right,” I lied.
“Bullshit. I know a Jarona when I smell one. The only question is why you are out so late at night with no jaguar protection. In a war zone, no less.”
“I . . .
was just out looking for my baby,” I lied again.
“Enough with the lies,” King Newgatu roared. “I may as well have you ripped to shreds right now.” The hyena at his side snarled, showing his big teeth.
“Please, don’t . . . I’m just an innocent girl.”
“You’re right. And you’re far too beautiful to simply kill. You’ll be useful for breeding purposes.”
Breeding purposes? Now this was a sick fuck. I was so angry.
King Newgatu continued. “My sources on the inside tell me that King Napletoni has finally found a mate. What do you know about this?
Holy shit. Word travels fast. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so loud today in bed with the king . . .
“I haven’t really heard anything about that.”
The hyena next to him roared so loudly my eardrums started ringing.
“What’s that? She’s lying? Yes, I can tell,” the man spoke again to the beast.
“No, I’m not lying, I swear,” I lied.
The hyena laughed loudly, making a noise between a yell and a yawn.
“Oh yes? You can smell that she’s been mating with a Jarona? No! You don’t say.” With an evil grin, he turned back toward me. “Oh my, Ms. Andrea. You aren’t a very convincing liar. You need to work on that.”
King Newgatu grabbed me and tied my hands behind my back with some kind of super-strong vine. I tried to fight back, but he was very strong, and the hyena was nipping at me every move I made.
“Now follow me,” he said, walking ahead. “And don’t fall behind. Clifford hasn’t eaten in a couple of days, and he may just snap you up if you fall down.”
Oh God, oh God. Why didn’t I just listen to Jacob and stay put? Why did I always have to be so damn curious?
I screamed as loud as I could, but King Newgatu covered my mouth.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
After an hour of walking, we arrived at a hut in King Newgatu’s village and I was put in a holding cell.
“Welcome to your new home,” King Newgatu said as he tossed me onto the dirty floor of the cell.
“The iron bars will certainly keep you caged up.”
“Wait, King Newgatu, what are you going to do with me?”
He laughed loudly. Over the course of our walk I had already come to hate his vile, evil laugh more than any sound in the world.
“Well, Andrea. I believe you are carrying the future heir to the throne of my competing village. I can tell from your scent. I will either let your babies be born and kill them, or I will let your babies be born, and then raise them to think they are fatherless, pledging allegiance to me. Or, I might just kill you in the morning. I haven’t decided yet.”
“You’re a disgusting pig, you know that?” I spat at him and it hit him in the face.
“I must say, keeping you alive is sounding like a worse and worse idea to me. I’m leaning toward the third option.”
Newgatu locked the door and tossed the keys to the guard.
“You are absolutely insufferable, Andrea.”
“Go fuck yourself, pig,” I screamed, my blood boiling.
“Although I can see why King Napletoni chose you as his mate. You are quite the beauty.”
The way he looked at me was so creepy.
“I would never sleep with anyone as sick as you.”
“Don’t worry, I have a feeling you won’t be sleeping with anyone else during your short life.” Newgatu laughed and headed up the stairs of the dungeon with his hyena sidekick.
I sat on the ground of the jail cell, my hands still tied together. What the hell was I going to do? I needed a plan.
For what might have been hours, I thought hard. If I had any other option, I would have used it, but I could only think of one thing. I decided to try an ‘Amy’ tactic on the guard.
I walked over to where the guard was sitting and leaned over in front of him, my boobs hanging down pretty visibly in front of his face. Come on, buddy. I know you want it.
“Hey, Mr. Guard,” I said in the sultriest, sexiest voice I could muster, “I’ll bet you don’t get much action in these parts.” I smiled at him as I gave him a nice preview of my boobs.
He just laughed. “Your siren techniques won’t work on me. I have a girlfriend. Several, actually.”
Well, there goes that idea.
I collapsed on the ground of the dirty cell, my head resting against the wall as I contemplated everything. Would Jacob come for me? Was I just a one-night stand in his eyes? Why would an alpha male like him be so attracted to me? What we had was real, I repeated to myself. There was no doubt in my mind about that.
Even if Jacob did come for me, how on earth would he break me out of the place? The guard held the only key.
It looked like the prophecy might actually come true. I cursed myself for thinking I could be the one to tempt fate.
I got down on my knees and prayed.
* * *
Light began to shine through a couple of cracks in the dungeon. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to inform me that the sun was rising, if it hadn’t already passed the horizon.
I awoke to the unpleasant sound of King Newgatu’s voice.
“Good morning, sunshine,” he said sarcastically. I said nothing in response, preferring to look at the wall rather than grace that fucking asshole with my glance.
“My king, how did the battle go last night?” the guard asked Newgatu.
“It was hard fought and we had a few casualties, but in the end, King Napletoni and his pride retreated as they knew their defeat was imminent.”
“Excellent. And we still have the child hostages?”
“Yes. They will be executed today at the break of dawn, along with this sacrifice right here.”
My heart began to pound.
“And once the lineage of King Napletoni is destroyed, we will reign supreme,” his guard added.
“And you and all who helped me will be handsomely rewarded,” Newgatu said to him.
“Thank you, my King. Your humble servant, always.”
“Yeah, yeah. Now bring her upstairs and put her in the public cage.”
“Right now?” the guard asked.
“Yes, right now,” the king responded. “The execution is in ten minutes.”
The guard walked me up the dungeon stairs. The light hit my eyes hard as he opened the door to the outside. He walked me up another flight of stairs until I reached the execution cage in the center of the wooden scaffolding. To my left and right were children. They weren’t in cages, but they were tied up. I felt a pit in my stomach. This was it. This was the end of the line.
I should have listened to that damned prophecy.
Hundreds of humans and hyenas stood below us. The platform raised me high above the Savannah and I could see for miles and miles. A shame I couldn’t concentrate on the beauty of it all. I stood listening as King Newgatu addressed his people.
“The great Newgatu tribe will expand its reach as we have been wanting to do for years. Our population is growing, and we are becoming more powerful. As the most powerful tribe on the savannah, we need more territory.”
The king paused and the crowd cheered. This was it. I was going to die right here. No more lovemaking with Jacob. No more anything. I held back tears.
“Today it brings me great pleasure to perform the execution of the heirs to the throne of the Napletoni bloodline. Although they may be small now, in the years to come they would become the most powerful hunters of the Napletoni tribe. Now they will die before they even blossom! Unleash the rogue beast now!”
A big, frazzled, angry-looking hyena stepped out onto the platform and roared.
“Our rogue beast, Zara, has not eaten for two weeks! We will first put him into the cage with Andrea, fresh meat!”
The crowed let out an even louder cheer.
I was so angry I was screaming and crying on the inside. King Napletoni, where are you? I thought. And I prayed while the Zara, the giant hyena, drew closer.
&n
bsp; That’s when Jacob’s voice popped into my head.
This was weird, but I needed to listen to Jacob. What other choice did I have? The rogue beast of a hyena was slowly walking toward me, growling with his sharp teeth showing. I blurred out the cheering audience.
I closed my eyes. I could still hear King Newgatu yelling to his people, although it seemed distant.
“And now we open the door to Andrea’s cage to let Zara through! And let the fun begin! This is what happens when you cross the path of King Newgatu!” he yelled madly. My eyes were closed, but I heard the growl of the beast and its warmth as it got nearer to me.
In spite of the wild animal closing in on me, Jacob’s voice inside my head kept me calm. I closed my eyes.
I asked him.
Jacob did not answer. I opened my eyes, and felt the wind from the beast’s roar as he breathed into my face. My heart pounding, I accepted my fate.
That’s when I heard the commotion outside. King Napletoni had arrived with his pride. The crowd was caught completely off guard and had to switch from celebration mode to fighting mode.
Holiday Heat Wave Page 7