“Impossible,” he stated.
“Is it?”
“You can’t be. I haven’t bitten you three times. That’s the only way it works, babe,” he explained. “Craving the blood, that blows my mind, but don’t worry, I will keep you away from it.”
“How?”
“You won’t have to hunt anymore I will take care of you,” he said.
I didn’t want to think about that. I had no plan on stopping. I knew I wouldn’t be able to live without it. Maybe I would be able to cut it down but I knew, for a fact, stopping completely was out of the question. My body needed it, it craved it.
“I don’t want you to have to take care of me.”
“It’s my job,” he assured me with a smile. “I love your independence but a man’s job is to take care of his woman.”
I had never had a man take care of me so well. Rayce was the perfect man for me. I wanted to gush over his words but I couldn’t focus. I wrapped my arms around him and placed my head against his chest. All I could think about was how he wanted to keep me away from the blood. I knew he was trying to keep me safe but I was almost enraged over the thought of not having it. I had to focus on the last doubt he had.
“I have been bitten three times. Twice by Gage and once by you, maybe that’s our answer.” I explained and looked up at him.
He cleared his throat, “Jessica, it doesn’t work that way. You have to be bitten by the same person three times for it to work,” he explained.
“Okay, look at it from a different angle. When a hellhound is made, the person who makes them is the only one who bites them and then that person made belongs to them. Am I right?” He nodded but kept a serious face. “Now, through all the years of hellhound’s existence, has anyone ever been bitten by multiple hounds before?”
He took a cigarette out of his pack and placed it in between his lips, “Yes.”
“So, maybe something else happens to a person who has been bitten by different hellhounds. Now, I feel different in so many ways.”
“How different?”
“My body heat is higher but I am running no fever and my teeth are sharper. I crave blood like a dog craves a bone. I’m starving right now and it’s not food I want, I feel no need for food. On top of all of that, I can smell and hear everything.”
“What do you mean?” He looked at me like I was crazy.
I pointed across the street and he looked in that direction, “I can hear that field mouse chewing on an old paper plate and it still has bar-b q sauce on it.”
I couldn’t believe it myself, but I knew he could hear and smell everything I could and he didn’t even try to deny it.
“Ok, Jessica, if that is what’s happening to you, then why is it taking its sweet time doing it? When someone is turned, it is instantaneous. They are one of us in a matter of hours and you haven’t been bitten in nearly a month.”
“I don’t know. Maybe my immune system is fighting it. I don’t know,” I said.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with you yet, but I know that if you happen to be turning into one of us then you still have to eat food, even if you feel like you don’t need it,” he explained.
I nodded. I was trying to take in everything he was telling me and to tell the truth, it did make sense. Marie explained that it was almost instantaneous.
All I wanted to do was be with Rayce and live with him forever, but he didn’t want this life for me. My stomach flipped but I knew what I had to do, I had to find Gage. Maybe he would have some answers for me. I had to risk everything to find him.
I got up on the tips of my toes and kissed Rayce on the lips. His warm arms wrapped around me and drew me close. I loved this man and I knew he loved me. There wasn’t anything that I wouldn’t do to be with him. We didn’t talk, we only held each other.
“I better get home and put up these groceries,” I said.
He took my face between his hands and gazed down into my eyes. His stare was intense. Everything about me had changed and he could see it.
“Would you like me to come with you?”
“I can handle it, thank you,” I said with a forced smile. I couldn’t focus. “I love you.”
“I love you too, babe. I’ll be home soon but call me if you need me.”
“I will,” I said and kissed him before leaving.
Once inside my truck, I thought about where Gage could be. I loved Rayce but I still had a plan. My plan was to find Gage, but where could he be? I knew he was watching my every move. I scanned the office parking lot and surrounding area.
“Alright, sicko. Where would you be?” I pulled onto the highway toward home. As I stopped at the one stop light in town, I scanned the area which could be seen from my home. There were a couple as almost everything resided in a strip-mall fashion. My house was on the corner of the street facing Main Street. I tapped my hand on the steering wheel. “Where are you,” I whispered.
The only place he could see my every move was open twenty-four hours. When the light turned green, I hit the gas. Only two blocks down from my home sat the establishment with blacked-out windows. The only one where he wouldn’t be questioned as to why he was there all the time. The only place someone could sit for long periods of time.
I waited for a long moment before getting out of my truck. Random people walked in and out of The Watchdog, my old job. I glared at the windows and wondered if he was watching me in that moment.
The bar had the familiar smell of cigarette smoke and stale beer. Music played on the juke box in the far corner. Two people were tending bar. A woman I had never met before and my old boss. I looked down at my feet and continued to a window seat. I didn’t exactly give him any notice when I quit. He was pissed.
I could see almost the entire town from this window. The blue paint on my house stuck out like a sore thumb. There were other places he could watch me from, of course. The diner was one of them but they closed early. The Watchdog was the only place he could be all night if he wished.
“Hey, sweetheart. What can I get for ya?” The barmaid asked. I looked up at her and her brown curls hung down her shoulders. She was a foot taller than me and her figure was slimmer but still had a thick shape. Her brown eyes looked tired but her smile was nice.
I didn’t want anything but I had to order something in order to sit, “Coffee?”
She smiled brightly, “Anything else?”
“Just coffee, for now, thanks.”
“One cup of black gold, comin’ up.”
I should have parked in the employee parking lot out back of the building. If Rayce drove by, he would see I was here. I could only hope he would stay at the office for a while. The barmaid set down a paper napkin and my coffee in front of me.
“I appreciate it.” She turned to leave. I would have stopped her for cream and sugar but I didn’t plan on drinking it. It didn’t appeal to me anymore. I knew what I wanted and coffee wasn’t it.
I sighed and looked back at my home. I began to wonder what Gage was thinking. Why would he want to watch me so closely? All because Rayce and I were together? I wasn’t that special. I had never dealt with anyone like Gage before. Even my controlling and abusive ex wasn’t that sadistic. There was absolutely no sanity in the entire situation.
I needed to ask him why. I was taking a huge chance on talking to him or coming to find him for that matter, but being in public was safer. He couldn’t attack me with people around and get away with it. I knew he would come in, I had to wait.
I sat with the cold cup of coffee between my hands for what seemed like hours. All I could do was watch the traffic on the street. For a small town, there was a lot. That was why I would take the back-alley home after work. It was safer, or so I thought. Main Street was full of mostly truckers traveling through.
The familiar sound of the back-door opening caught my attention. The brightness from outside shone in, blinding me for only a fraction of a second. The instant my eyes focused, they landed on Gage. I found this stran
ge. My old boss hated it when customers used the back door. I waited for him to start yelling, but he didn’t.
I didn’t move a muscle or make a sound. I only watched him as he walked behind the bar and grabbed a beer from the cooler. I was flabbergasted. He took a white binder from under the bar and skimmed the pages. It was the product log. I remembered it from when I worked at the bar. Then I heard his deep voice. “You need to order a keg of draft and toilet paper for the bathrooms,” he stated to my old boss.
“I’m on it, boss.”
“Boss?” Then the realization hit me. Gage owned this place. I began to wonder how long he had. Rayce was right. Gage has had his eye on me for a long time. The barmaid walked up to Gage and smiled, “Hey, baby,” she said with a smile.
“Baby?” I whispered. “Oh, you poor girl.” I kept my voice low while I observed him wrap one arm around her waist and pull her closer. She kissed his cheek and that was when his eyes landed on me. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. I sat back and crossed my arms over my chest and rolled my eyes. A wash of disgust came over me and I fought the feeling to get up and leave.
“Give me a minute,” he whispered to the woman in his arms. With my heightened senses, I could hear the slightest sound. I still thought he was a good-looking man but the thought of him touching me made me ill. He grabbed another beer from the cooler and walked around the bar. As he approached, I shifted in my seat. He was taking in my appearance. “I knew you would come to me,” he said cockily.
I snickered, “Don’t flatter yourself.” I wanted to shoot out his knee and stomp his balls but I needed answers. “Sit down, Gage. We need to talk.”
CHAPTER
20
“You own this place?”
He grinned, “I do.”
“How long?” I asked, but he wouldn’t answer. He only smiled and sipped his beer. “Years?”
“What are you doing here, Jess?”
I hated that he was avoiding my question. He was a sly dog. What I really wanted to say was how much I hated him and wanted to kill him in that moment, but he already knew that.
“Gage, I don’t want you to take this to heart but I need you.” His face lit up. “I need you to answer a couple of questions for me. Something is happening to me and I need to know if you can explain.”
“I will try to answer any question that you have if you have dinner with me.” he said smiling that great smile.
“Are you serious,” I blurted a little too loudly. I toned down my voice, “Are you serious?”
Before he could reply, the barmaid came over, “Can I get you anything.”
I smiled up at her the best I could in the current situation, “No, thanks.” She walked away slowly, glimpsing at Gage over her shoulder as she went.
I wasn’t going to fall for his shit this time. “Looks like your hands are full at the moment,” I said.
“If you expect any answers out of me, you will not speak of that traitor,” he growled.
“He isn’t the one who abandoned his people.”
“This conversation is over,” he said trying to stand.
“Wait!” He stopped and I sighed in defeat. “Fine. Food.”
“Cattletown tonight?” he asked with high hopes.
“How about, no?” Eating steak was not what I wanted to do. Especially with the man in front of me. I wanted to do this and get out quickly. He was not making it easy.
“I do not think you are in any position to say no at this moment.”
“Sure, I can,” I said and wiggled my fingers like two legs. “I can walk my pretty ass out that door and not come back,” I snapped.
“A pretty ass indeed,” he said deeply.
“God damnit, Gage. Please cut the shit,” I grumbled. “You know it’s never going to happen. Get over it.”
“Don’t ever say never, Jess,” he said with a grin.
“Ugh, listen, we can have a burger here if you want, alright?”
“Fine,” he snapped his fingers. The barmaid came over like a loyal dog. It sickened me. “Two bacon burgers, fries, and two fresh beers.”
“You’re gonna eat with her?” Her feelings were hurt, but if she stayed with him, she would have a long road of hurt ahead of her.
“Believe me, honey. It’s not something I’m looking forward to,” I said with another eye roll.
“Put in the fuckin’ order,” Gage snapped at her, causing her to flinch slightly.
She spun around and marched away in a huff and barked the order into the kitchen window behind the bar. I wasn’t going to eat it, even though it felt like my stomach was going to claw its way out of my body cavity. I wrapped my left arm around my torso and held my stomach inside. My mind raced with the thought of the hunt and having the satisfying blood curbing the hunger I felt, but I focused on the questions I had for him.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I’m starving,” I said in a hiss.
“This looks like a lot more than simple hunger,” he observed.
“You would know,” I grumbled.
“What does that mean?”
“I already know you hunt vampires for their blood. Don’t try to deny it.” The thought made my mouth water.
“I won’t deny it. Can you?”
I was shocked. “What do you mean?”
“You reek of fresh blood. I can smell it all over you,” he whispered in a sexy tone. It was as if the scent of the blood turned him on even more than his obsession.
I couldn’t get my tongue to work. I stared into his storm-gray eyes in wonderment. The barmaid set my plate down in front of me roughly, but I couldn’t even react. The smell of the food made me sick. I held back the vomit.
“Leave us,” Gage barked at her.
“Ketchup?” she asked snidely.
He slammed his hand down on the table, “I said, leave!” he growled. She spun on her heels and left. I felt bad for her.
“It happened last night on a hunt. Jay and Rayce are trying to figure it out but they can’t. What’s happening to me?”
“Do you remember what Jay said to you the first night you met him?”
“Yes. He said there was something special about me.”
“He couldn’t have been more correct,” he expressed with a smile. “I knew you were special the moment I found out who you were, what you are. I can’t believe you don’t even know by now where you came from,” he said.
His words baffled me, “Gage, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I confessed.
He smiled evilly again. This man was evil. He ruined my life and hurt those whom I loved. On top of all of that, he killed my dog. I hated him and I only wished I would have brought a gun with me. It would have been too easy to take care of my problem. I was cursing myself until I remembered I had my blade strapped to my leg, safely hidden from sight under my pant leg.
He leaned in closer to me and as he spoke, I could feel his hot breath on my face and it had the sweet scent that my body craved. I closed my eyes and breathed in the wonderful scent. I felt my mouth begin to water again. My mind was flooded with the sweet ecstasy of the feeling the thick blood gave me when it rolled down my throat. If I didn’t come back down to earth, I would lose the handle on the situation and the reason I came here would be lost. I opened my eyes.
“Jess, you are a very special being.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
He snickered, “I’m going to tell you some things. You can choose to believe me or not, but it is the truth.”
“I don’t think you’re capable of the truth,” I snapped.
“You were adopted into the family you have now.”
“That’s the information you have? News flash, I already knew that,” I sighed in frustration.
“Do you also know that you were brought to America when you were very young?”
“That’s new,” I said a little shocked.
“Your birth father was a member of a pack in Greece. He and a normal human wo
man fell in love, but it was forbidden to breed outside the pack,” he explained with disgust on his face.
“Ok, say I believe you. Why would they give me up?”
“Things are done differently over there. The packs are old fashioned and only believe in pure blood breeding. Your mother and father secretly had your brother and then you. They didn’t want to risk the pack finding out about you in fear that they might exterminate you both. Your parents put you up for adoption.”
“So, they gave me up, knowing what I was? That’s hard to believe,” I expressed and crossed my arms over my chest. I hadn’t touched my food.
“The parents you have now were chosen because of their back ground.”
“What do you mean?”
“To be quite honest with you, I’m surprised the craving for the blood didn’t hit you sooner. Being half hellhound, I figured it wouldn’t take more than two bites to turn you. I was wrong about that.”
“Yes, you were,” I said as the scar on my shoulder itched.
“We are all born craving blood. Some mothers are known to even bottle feed their babies vampire blood. My mother included,” he said proudly.
I was appalled. I couldn’t even fathom the thought of a mother feeding her child vampire blood. The one thing about his little story that had me questioning his story was that I had come from Greece. If it were true, Gage knew who my birth parents were. How else would he know where I came from?
“Do you know their names?”
“That information is classified…unless,” he winked.
My aching stomach flipped. “Gage, how did you get that information? Why did you come after me? And even if what you say is true, then why didn’t you tell me in the first place? Why keep it from me?”
“I didn’t tell you in hopes that you would let me turn you and then it wouldn’t matter. I wanted you to be mine and I still do,” he said still smiling. I shook my head no to his answer but he continued. “When you came here to apply for a job, I wanted you then but only for sexual purposes. When I found out who you really were, that made me want you all the more. I want you to have the honor of birthing my children,” he looked at me with lust in his eyes.
Hunting Jessica Page 22