by Helen Scott
Down libido, down girl. Pussy can’t handle any more right now. She needs a break.
“Here we are,” a female voice said, jolting me out of the captivating stare Roman held me in.
I turned to the voice and found the bartender standing before us, handing out drinks off a tray. A few bottles of beer, along with some drafts and a short glass with amber liquid that had to be whiskey or something similar were unloaded a moment later.
I grabbed a bottle of beer, and Roman grabbed the whiskey, while the others sorted the rest between themselves.
“I’d have been happy to come and get them,” Tate said to the bartender.
She smiled at him, and if I were in wolf form, my hackles would have raised. I hadn’t paid her much attention before, but that one look had me taking in everything about her in a split second. Her makeup was a little heavy around the eyes but probably worked in her favor when it got darker out, the tight T-shirt she was wearing was cut—and I mean someone had taken scissors to it—to show off more cleavage, while her denim shorts were practically showing off ass cheeks. I was all for women wearing what they wanted, but I didn’t want women that were as beautiful and sexy as she was directing those come-hither smiles at my mates.
“Happy to bring them over. Besides, it’s slow right now. Gives me something to do,” She grinned at Tate, and I could practically see the invitation on her face. She was more than willing to let him give her something else to do as well.
I glanced at my mate and saw that he was barely paying her any attention, which allowed my wolf to stand down a bit, though she wasn’t willing to back down completely, not until the threat had walked away. I could understand what she saw in him. I mean, I thought he was hotter than anyone, except my other mates. His tawny skin gleamed under the low lights of the bar, and his dark eyes and darker hair made me think of all the wicked things he could, and did, do to me.
When he didn’t respond with more than a polite smile, she walked away, though there was definitely some extra sway in her step. I knew I would have probably done the same thing walking away from this table of men who all looked like sex on a stick, even if they were just in T-shirts and jeans. I was barely even noticeable among them, which was fine by me, for the most part. I did want her to notice me and back off though.
“Anyway…” Roman began, but he paused and a moment later, continued with, “You can stop staring daggers at her now, angel. She’s got the hint, I’m sure.”
With that comment, I wrenched my gaze away from the bartender, who was back behind said bar and had just bent over, giving all the men standing there a good show. Believe me when I say none of them missed it.
“Sorry,” I mumbled before taking a swig from my bottle of beer. I was barely able to stop my face from screwing up with disgust. Why did people drink this crap? I’d never understood it. I hadn’t been able to drink before, since I didn’t have any valid ID to buy alcohol with. I’d tried it a couple times when I had been feeling reckless and lonely and had gone out to parties, but always hated it.
“Want something else?” Blake asked.
“No, it’s fine,” I said, pulling up my mental big girl panties and trying it again. Nope, still disgusting.
“Maybe this would be more to your tastes?” Roman asked as he slid his squat, heavy bottomed glass to me. “Take a sip. A small one.”
I did as he said and immediately regretted it. It was like straight rubbing alcohol or something. Not that I’d ever tried rubbing alcohol, but still. I wheezed slightly and slid the glass back to him with a shake of my head.
“Have you ever been drunk before?” Tate asked, watching me with surprise tugging at his eyebrows.
I shook my head. “Wasn’t exactly high on my list of priorities, since I was more focused on surviving.”
He snapped his mouth shut and stuffed whatever he had been about to say back down, which made me feel guilty.
“I mean, I had opportunities to, but I didn’t ever trust anyone enough to lose control like that,” I added to try and soften it.
He nodded. “When all this is done, we can find you something that you like, maybe a margarita? I mean, we are looking for a bar with margarita specials.”
“I bet you’d like a piña colada,” Blake added.
Sure, I’d heard of the drinks, one of them is in a song that used to play at the grocery store all the time, and the other was constantly advertised by some of the Mexican restaurants that were close to my old apartment. I’d never tried to figure out what they were or what they tasted like. That was something that seemed like effort for nothing, since there was no way for me to try one.
“A margarita is salty, sour, and sweet, very citrusy, while a piña colada is coconut and pineapple. Both contain alcohol, obviously,” Micah explained swiftly.
“They both sound good,” I replied, genuinely meaning it.
“Want me to get you a piña colada?” Tate asked.
I nodded and grinned. Anything had to be better than whatever was in the bottle in front of me. At least it gave me something to do with my hands though, as I ran my fingers through the condensation and picked at the edge of the label.
Tate popped up out of his seat and headed back to the bar, where I watched the bartender like a hawk. She asked for his order before she took some others, making some of the patrons that had been waiting irritated, but then she started pouring liquor into a silver container before pouring that into a blender that sat on the counter behind her, along with some frozen fruits that must have come from a freezer under the bar. She blended it all together, along with a good helping of ice, and poured it into a glass. As she passed it over to Tate, her eyes slid past him to me.
She seemed surprised to find me staring, or maybe I wasn’t wearing a very nice expression on my face. Either way, she turned away quickly and went to serve the other customers.
When Tate came back, he carried a curvy glass filled with what looked like a slushie from the gas station, only it was a cream color and decorated with pineapple slices and a cherry for good measure.
“Tate, you and me are going to play some pool,” Roman said as I tentatively sucked on the straw that was buried in the creamy concoction.
The sweet, tangy flavor burst over my tongue with only a hint of the alcohol it contained. I moaned quietly to myself at the yumminess I was experiencing.
“Make that noise again, and I’ll take you back to the motel room,” Blake murmured in my ear.
A flush of heat went through me, pooling in my core and making me ache in both good and bad ways. I wanted him to do just that, but I also knew that the tender flesh of my pussy needed a break, so I pushed the feeling aside.
“You could, but we need you to hustle some darts,” Roman said, saving me from myself.
“I’ll stay with Nina,” Micah said. His tone was more pleased than I expected, not that I didn’t think my mates wanted to spend time with me, but there was something almost victorious about it.
“See that you do, and keep an eye out as well. Don’t get distracted,” Roman ordered like he was a general going into battle. “I’ll take this, unless you have any objections?” He reached for the bottle that sat in front of me next to my new best friend, the piña colada.
When the three of them walked away and it was just Micah and me, he looked over at me and a sweet smile played on his face.
“Whatever can we do to keep ourselves entertained,” he said in hushed tones, as though he didn’t want the guys to hear as they walked away.
Roman paused and shot Micah a glare over his shoulder, though that told us he’d heard exactly what Micah was alluding to. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched them move farther away from me, while Micah closed in. I didn’t think he would actually try and fool around in the middle of the bar, but he did love getting a rise out of Roman.
We both sat and watched the guys for a few minutes. Roman and Tate were already killing at pool, and Blake was throwing darts in a way that had the digital
banner of the dart board lighting up like it was a slot machine or something. I sipped away on my piña colada, and when there was an empty slurping sound coming from the bottom of the glass, my heart sank.
Micah simply chuckled and went to the bar to get me a fresh one. The bartender was more than happy to help him, and when she caught me glaring daggers at her again, I saw a look of confusion flit across her face before she turned away. When I heard the blender going, I relaxed slightly, then Micah was back with my drink without so much as the bartender even batting her eyelashes at him again. At least someone recognized my ‘don’t fuck with my men’ face.
Just as I took another glorious sip of piña colada, the door to the bar swung open, the sound of the handle hitting the wall drawing my attention. As soon as I saw the men that walked in, I knew they were shifters. The second their scent was brought to me on the air, I knew they were from Jax’s pack.
I waited with bated breath to see if the mate bond stirred, and I saw my other men glance at me surreptitiously. We all know they were here, but they didn’t seem to realize that we were here. I took a long pull on my piña colada, letting the tropical taste soothe my frayed nerves.
“We should get out of here,” Micah said quietly enough that I knew I was the only one that could hear him.
I nodded. The last thing we needed was to cause a scene in front of humans. As quickly as I could, I finished my drink, and when I made eye contact with each of my mates that were hustling the humans for some easy cash, I nodded at the door. The only one I was seriously concerned about was Tate. He needed to close out his tab and get his credit card back, which was risky since they might recognize him or scent him in the process. If they did that, then we were screwed.
16
Nina
If none of the shifters that had walked in were my fifth mate, then I didn’t want to hang around trying to find out and risk getting caught. There was fearless and then there was stupid. I was neither. Or at least I tried to be neither.
Fear kept you alive.
As much as I wanted to be ballsy and stay, give the middle finger to Jax via his men, I wouldn’t put our lives at risk like that. As I downed the last of my drink, I began to slide from the booth, moving slowly at first, so I could see whether or not we were drawing their attention. I tried to listen to see what they were talking about, but all I could hear was them flirting with the bartender.
“Where’s Brandon? It’s weird seeing you two without him,” she said with a seductive glance.
“He’s outside finishing up some business. Don’t worry, we’ll keep you entertained enough,” one of them said, leering at her as she reached under the bar for something.
I secretly hoped it was a shotgun or baseball bat. Something that could cause pain.
Every instinct I had told me that these guys were creepers. I didn’t want to be around them any longer than absolutely necessary, which was why I was making my way to the door. They had a friend outside though, so we wouldn’t be completely safe out there either.
Micah was right behind me as I exited, and I knew that Roman, Blake, and Tate would be joining as soon as they could. We made it halfway across the parking lot when I heard it.
A woman’s voice begging for someone to stop.
Hiccupping sobs escaping her as she began to pray for help.
My feet slowed under me, and I watched as Micah turned and gave me a pleading expression. He didn’t want us to get involved, but I couldn’t walk away from a woman being attacked like that.
I turned away from Micah and headed toward the noise. The woman was pinned against the side of a big pickup truck, while the missing shifter was trying to get her jeans off. Rage boiled over in me.
She was human and stood no chance of fending off a full-grown male wolf shifter, though she was doing a hell of a job. I launched myself at him without hesitation, knocking him from her and plowing the two of us into the ground behind the pickup.
“You want to play, bitch?” he growled out at me.
“No, I want to rip your cock off and shove it down your throat,” I snarled back.
“How about I keep my cock and shove it somewhere else,” he demanded as he tried to wrestle me off him.
“Maybe I should just package it up and send it to Jax, tell him that he has a rapist in his pack,” I replied as I tried to pin his arms to the ground. It wasn’t something I was going to be able to do alone though. Even with the changes I’d been experiencing, I wouldn’t be able to stop him if he really wanted to attack me, not unless I shifted. Somehow, I didn’t think that was going to happen.
“The fuck do you know about Jax? You think he wants us doing this shit with the pack females? Why do you think we’re out here? Dumb bitch.”
Jax had sanctioned this? He wasn’t happy terrorizing the weaker members of the pack, but he allowed his unstable wolves to come out into human areas and terrorize them too?
The wolf shifted and rolled over on to me then, grinding his hip and his erection against me. “Don’t worry, I like it when you fight back. It’ll be even better since you’re a bitch. I’ll claim you as my own and sire a whole load of pups off you until your body is too used up to produce any more, and then I’ll find someone else to do the same with.”
“You’re fucking sick. Jax should have had you put down,” I snarled.
I saw Micah standing behind him, fury contorting my sweet mate’s features, and I shook my head. I knew that he wanted to step in and help me, but I wanted to beat this shifter by myself. I wanted to show him how strong a bitch could be. Fortunately, my opponent didn’t seem to notice me communicating with Micah, and he thought I was giving in as I went still. His hands immediately went to his belt buckle, and as soon as his attention was split enough, I yanked myself free from his grip, scooting out from under him as he fell flat on his face.
The man growled, his wolve shining in his eyes as he looked up at me once more. Instead of moving to run though, I lashed out with a vicious kick to the side of his face. It was a little off target, and I was fairly sure if I’d hit him where I intended, then it would have knocked him out.
Since I didn’t, the kick just pissed him off, though he did look surprised at the violence that had just been wrought upon him. I wasn’t sure whether it was because he wasn’t used to actually fighting instead of just threatening people, or if it was the fact I was a woman that surprised him more. He went to grab for me, but I dodged out of the way.
“You think you’re clever because you landed one hit?” he spat at me as he pushed to his feet.
I did the same and said, “I’ll land more than one, but that has nothing to do with why I’m clever, that’s just my physical ability. I don’t think you’d measure up if it came down to a battle of wits.” I knew I was poking the bear, or in this case wolf, but I didn’t care. The guy needed to be brought down a peg or two.
Micah was still just in the corner of my vision, ready to step in if he needed to, but I really wanted to do this on my own. The next time I caught a glimpse of him beyond the asshole’s shoulders, he wasn’t alone though. Roman, Blake, and Tate were there as well, all glaring at me. Micah might have been willing to stand by and let me get a little banged up, because he knew I was as stubborn as a mule and wasn’t going to walk away until I had to. Roman, on the other hand, would drag me away kicking and screaming if he thought I was going to get legitimately hurt. They must have thought I could take this guy though, because they were all still standing back as I dodged the asshole’s attacks.
“You think some fancy footwork is going to save you, little girl?” the jerk in question snarled before lunging at me again.
“No, but it sure as shit looks like it’s tiring you out. You should probably do some more cardio, bro,” I replied putting on my best gym bro voice at the end. Was it judgey of me? Yes, but that wasn’t about to stop me.
“Cardio is for little bitches like you. Once I catch you, I’ll fucking crush you,” he roared and charged at me aga
in.
I simply moved to the side and let him fly by. When he did, he finally noticed my mates standing there, waiting for me. He pulled up short, seeing them waiting for him, and when he straightened, he glanced over his shoulder at me. I could almost see the thoughts connecting in his head a moment before he said, “You’re her! You’re Jax’s bitch!” Astonishment pulled at his words, and I grinned at him, letting too many teeth show as I advanced on my opponent.
The guy let out a high-pitched whistle, and I knew he was calling to his friends inside. The volume he got was almost deafening, and the pitch was something that would cut through just about anything. I wasn’t surprised when the two guys that had been at the bar came out a few moments later after he and I had been circling each other. My mates immediately jumped into action against the other two men, and I was left with the asshole rapist.
“So, it’s just you and me now, little girl. Once your boy toys are taken care of, I think me and the guys will sample the goods before we turn you over to Jax. After all, we’re the ones putting in the work to bring you in.” Her leered at me, as if the fact that he and his buddies would win this was obvious. What he didn’t know was how much my mates and I had been through until this point. There were three of them, which would be a challenge, but we were more determined and more willing to fight to the death for our freedom than they were. My guess was that once one of them was injured badly enough, they would run away like puppies with their tails tucked between their legs.
He thought they were going to win, but he was wrong.
I knew we were going to win. He’d be lucky to walk away with his dick intact, because I planned on ripping it off for trying to hurt a woman, just so he could never do that again. The anger rose within me, and I let it fuel me, let it help me react to his attacks faster, move faster, until he was flagging.
We were all fighting in human form, since the risk of us being discovered was too high for us to try shifting. Plus, I knew my guys didn’t want to have to walk back to the motel naked. We’d gone through so many clothes since being forced to go on the run, it was a little crazy. The clothes I’d managed to scavenge were still intact since I wasn’t exactly able to shift, but the guys? Their closets were decimated. We’d had packs stuffed full when we first started out, and between abandoning clothes and shredding them when they shifted, we were all starting to run low.