“I know. I’m sorry,” Jared apologized again. “Once the clan sees you aren’t going to harm anyone I promise we will make some changes. Right now, they’re all afraid of you being here uncommitted to a wendigo.”
“Then why not take me home and let me live my life the way I want?” Cassie suggested snarkily. Why couldn’t her life just be easy?
She wasn’t normally brash, especially with strangers, but something about Jared felt familiar. He didn’t feel like a stranger. He felt much like Owen; she was now beginning to worry about her other best friend.
“I’m sorry, Cassie. I truly am, but you can’t go back, to your home or to your life before you knew about night humans. You were destined to be here at this moment. We can’t change things like that. We can’t change what we are born into and what we’re meant to do.” He began walking to the door on the left side of the room.
“What happened here?” Cassie finally asked. “Why can’t I go home?” He made it seem final.
“I was pretty sure my brother said you drove past your uncle’s place.” Jared didn’t turn around. “When John transformed, he destroyed it. There’s no home to go back to at the moment.”
Jared reached for the door handle, but Cassie stopped him by placing a hand on his arm.
“What happened here?” Cassie asked, looking up into his eyes.
Jared just stared back at her. She caught a jumble of images—people turned into animals, witches screaming, and then some of herself as a kid. It was an odd assortment that left more questions than answers. Jared closed his eyes and cocked his head to the side, like some of those images weren’t meant to be seen.
“We need to go down to the barn now if you want to see your friend off. She transformed about an hour ago, it seems. Ryder is packing her up to release her.” Jared opened his eyes and looked back at Cassie. His tone immediately changed. “I’ll explain it all when we get a moment alone. You wanted to see your friend, and I want you to see we didn’t harm her. We were really keeping you safe. She could have turned at any moment once she came back into town, and then you would have been stuck in a car or house with a cougar. That wouldn’t have been safe. All the skinwalkers are going feral when they turn.”
“That’s not possible. She doesn’t have a mate. She can’t turn until the full moon, and that’s over a week away.”
“I promise I’ll explain more, but they are hauling her to the truck. I doubt Ryder will wait for us. He doesn’t exactly like to listen to me.” Jared held out his hand, like she was to take it. “Please just play along that you’re considering being my mate. It’ll make everyone else a bit calmer and easier to get through.”
Cassie tried to hide her shock that he could see that she was far from sold on the idea. She had only just met him a week ago, and now it was like he could read her face and her mind at the same time.
“Just pretend for now and make your choices later, after you see your friends.”
She took his outstretched hand. Again, it felt familiar. How could someone she just met feel like she had known him her whole life? It had to be because he was Owen’s cousin. It was almost like a bit of Owen was there with her.
“And Owen or my aunt? Are they okay?” Cassie asked. She knew where her uncle was and that they had Nate and Whitney. She still didn’t know about Owen or her aunt.
“Owen was one of the first to transform. He’s running around the woods somewhere. He’s fine just like the rest of the skinwalkers. They’re just not human anymore,” Jared said quietly.
“And my aunt?”
Jared led them outside the room into the hallway. There was a door cracked open across the hall that looked like a messy mirror image of Jared’s room. Jared paused.
“I can’t discuss that out here. Other ears might be listening,” he told her, pleading with his eyes for her to drop the subject.
Cassie didn’t see another soul in the empty hallway, but night humans had much better hearing. She dropped it… for now.
The house wasn’t as large as Cassie expected, or at least, it didn’t take long to leave it. Down the hallway from Jared’s room was a mudroom which led outside. Cassie wasn’t even sure what the rest of the house looked like, but they were immediately outside, and Jared was pulling her quickly down the hill on a walkway that might have been paved or cement at one time, but was beyond repair at the moment.
Cassie didn’t ask any more questions but kept a lookout around her. They were in the woods, but it wasn’t by her cousin’s place because it was much hillier. She didn’t have a sense of direction to where town was. The brush was thick, and she was sure any leaving outside would be impossible without her friends to lead the way. She never would be able to find civilization again with it the way it was. She needed to find a way to free her friends, and then they would all be able to leave together.
The path turned and opened up to a large parking area and barn. It looked eerily similar to the barn at her cousin’s house where Jack held her friends captive and tried to kidnap her.
“They come with the places around here?” Cassie joked to cover her growing dread.
Several cars were parked outside the barn. Ryder yelled at someone.
Jared led Cassie around the larger van blocking her view of the other vehicles. Behind it was Ryder next to a small pickup truck that had its cargo area filled. He was busy talking to someone. Ryder abruptly stopped as they came into view and he smiled up at them.
“You made it in time to say good-bye,” he said cheerfully.
Cassie had to do a double look at him. She had met him before, and he was beyond scary. He seemed like the embodiment of the evil Whitney told her the wendigo was, but now Cassie didn’t feel that from him. It was almost like he was a different person. Cassie knew that wasn’t true, but it still felt that way. He was still the same guy who gave her nightmares, and still the same one that was chasing them the night before, at least on the outside.
“We got her all packed up, but don’t get too close. She’s a feisty one,” Ryder continued.
He grabbed the edge of a blanket that was thrown over something in the back of the truck they were standing by. Inside a small cage with just enough room for her to stand was Whitney in her cat form. Cassie had assumed wrongly that Whitney was the tiger she had met when the crazy night human world first began, but she wasn’t. She was about a third of the size of Nate in his tiger form and a tawny color with a light black dusting of hair around her mouth and above her eyes. Cassie had never seen a cougar in the wild, but she had seen one in the zoo before. It was strange to know it was her best friend inside the cat.
The cat hissed and scratched at the bars in Ryder’s direction. Whitney was beautiful as a cat, but scary when she was looking at Ryder.
“I don’t think she likes you much, brother,” Jared commented, holding tight to Cassie’s hand to keep her from getting any closer to her friend.
“I might have asked her to undress before turning purely to save her from ruining her clothing and all.” Ryder grinned.
Cat Whitney hissed at him, claws scraping on the metal. It was as if she understood what he said and was beyond mad.
“What are you going to do with her?” Cassie asked, still watching her friend. Whitney turned around in the cage and lay down, keeping her eyes on Ryder.
“We trapped each one that was dangerous in town and took them out to Beck’s park,” Ryder explained. “The woods at Beck’s butts right up against the Morin State Park. They should be safe there, as there’s no hunting allowed.”
“You’re really just setting them free?” Cassie asked.
Ryder looked at her with a scrunched-up face. “What else are we going to do with them?”
Cassie shrugged. “Whitney said you guys are set to kill each other every chance you get. Something about a war over territory.” Cassie wasn’t exactly sure what the history behind the two groups was, but she was sure that the wendigo weren’t good guys. Only good guys would take the enemy to
the woods and let them go.
Ryder laughed. “There’s no territory to fight over. The witches are all gone, and all the skinwalkers are animals. Well, all except your former mate. There’s no one to fight with. The town and all in it are ours now.”
The guy from before came back out to the car and tossed keys to Ryder.
“We’ll be back in an hour,” Ryder said to his brother before climbing into the driver’s side of the truck.
The car slowly backed up and then began to drive away. Cassie watched her friend, and she could have sworn that her friend was watching her, not very feral. Inside that animal was Whitney. Cassie needed to find out why and how they were keeping everyone in their changed form. She couldn’t have help from her friend if she were now a cougar. Everyone she had ever known growing up was gone. Cassie needed to find answers.
CHAPTER 4
After Whitney’s departure, Jared led Cassie into the side door of the barn. It was unnervingly similar to the barn she had been in only a week ago when the wendigo were holding Nate and Whitney captive. Nate was the only one this time. He was tied up by his ankles and wrists in a semi-standing position, covered head to toe in cuts that ranged from one-inch gashes on his arms to a long, at least six-inch, cut on his chest. He looked up immediately as they entered and his fierce glare turned to worry when he saw Cassie.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Nate told her, his voice raspy.
“You said he was fine.” Cassie dropped Jared’s hand and rushed over to Nate.
“He is fine,” Jack replied, stepping into the room from the doorway behind Nate.
Cassie froze only a foot away from Nate. She didn’t exactly leave Jack on good terms the week before. Actually, she hoped that her skinwalker friends would have done enough damage to keep him out of commission for a long time. Jack was family she had never known growing up, and now she didn’t care to learn anything more about him. She had seen it in his eyes. He was the evil Whitney had warned her about.
Nate’s head snapped up, and he glared at Jack, who smiled back at him.
“I’ve always wanted to test the mating bond. Is it like a blood connection? Will you bleed if I cut him?” Jack commented, reaching out and picking up a piece of Cassie’s hair. Nate growled at the same time that Jack was suddenly thrown across the room.
Jared stood between Cassie and Jack. “You’d do best to keep your hands off her,” he warned Jack.
Rising, Jack wiped his hands off on his pants. He gave a lazy smile to Jared.
“I would never do anything to actually harm Cassie. After all, she’s family.” Jack grinned. “I was just curious how far the bond goes between mates. No harm.” Jack held his hand up in surrender, yet his eyes said he wanted to really know the answer.
“You are going to leave my property and go home, Jack,” Jared ordered him.
Jack’s eyes flashed with anger. Jared didn’t seem intimidated as he stared back at him.
“Mark my words. You are making a mistake,” Jack told him. “You need me here to keep him drained and controlled. The minute I’m gone, he’ll break free and guess who he’ll attack first?”
“You can disagree all you want. I’m the one in charge. We do things my way.” Jared kept his back to Cassie and Nate, but Cassie could feel the authority pour off him.
“You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, you know. You’re going to have to get your hands dirty sometime.” Jack backed up to the door, never turning his back to Jared.
“Not this way,” Jared replied, watching Jack with hawk-like eyes. There was something more that wasn’t being said between them, but Cassie had no clue what. It was as if she came into the middle of a conversation she wasn’t meant to hear.
“Your loss, man.” Jack shrugged and slipped out the door.
Jared took a deep breath before turning around. “He was supposed to just watch over Nate and not let him go,” he explained to Cassie. “He was never supposed to touch him. That, he did on his own.”
“And enjoyed it,” Nate added.
Jared shrugged, obviously not surprised by Nate’s words. Cassie wasn’t too surprised either. Her cousin scared her as much as the wendigo.
“You can have a few minutes alone,” Jared told Cassie. “To be sure he’s being kept safe. I promise you we aren’t here to hurt him. We are waiting for him to change to set him free like everyone else.”
Cassie nodded to Jared but didn’t take her eyes off Nate. The smaller cuts were halfway gone, and the large one was already smaller. His super night human healing was coming into play. Cassie still felt bad. She was upstairs sleeping peacefully while her deranged cousin was having fun cutting up Nate. It wasn’t exactly a fair situation.
The door clicked as Jared left the barn.
Nate watched the door like he expected Jared to come right back. Cassie didn’t wait, choosing to inspect the cords around his wrists and legs. They were tied tightly, and she needed something sharp to cut them. Glancing back to the table near the doorway where Jack entered, she saw there were knives of all shapes and sizes. Cassie hated to think how they had been used, but took one anyway. She cut the rope off Nate’s right wrist first, just barely missing his skin. Her hands shook as she worked, but she wasn’t ready to talk. He was being tortured.
Nate covered her hand with his own as she tried to cut free his second wrist.
“I’ll do that,” he offered, taking the knife from her. With much better precision, Nate cut through the bonds on his wrist and then legs.
Nate stepped down from the almost vertical table to the ground before he fell to his knees, dropping the knife in the process. Cassie jumped down to try to catch him, but he weighed almost twice as much as she did, so it wasn’t going to work. They tumbled to the ground together.
“Sorry about that. I prefer to be a bit more graceful, but it’s been a long two days,” Nate remarked from his spot on the floor beneath Cassie. He grinned up at her, but Cassie knew it was strained. The cuts were still all over his half-clothed body.
“Why don’t you just transform?”
Whitney had explained that when they got hurt in one form or the other, they could transform into the other kind and be instantly healed since the process of transforming put everything back together again.
“I would, but there’s something about your crazy cousin. It’s like he wants me to do so, and if that’s what he wants, it can’t be good.”
Cassie nodded as she tried to push herself up from Nate. He quickly grabbed ahold of her and kept her pressed to him on the ground.
“If I had any energy, I would take advantage of this. You’ll have to thank your cousin for keeping me drained.” Nate’s eyes sparkled with mischief and made Cassie’s stomach do flip flops.
“Let me up,” Cassie ordered. “You’re injured, and I shouldn’t be squishing you, you can’t even stand.”
Nate laughed while Cassie stared at him in shock. He had been a prisoner for at least two days where her crazy cousin was torturing him, and yet his first bit of freedom and he was lying on the ground laughing.
When Nate loosened his grip, Cassie slid off him, and he pushed himself up to sitting next to her with a bit of effort.
“So about escaping …” Cassie glanced at the doorway Jared left from.
“Not going to happen without a little magic for me,” Nate commented, following her gaze.
“Magic?” Cassie asked. She wasn’t sure what sort of spell would help, but at least he knew.
Nate laughed again. “I didn’t mean literally. I meant I’m in no condition to run from those monsters, or to fight them when they come chasing you. I need a bit of time, and blood would be nice to get my energy back.”
“Was Jack draining you?” Cassie asked, finally realizing what he had said and that even the small cuts were places which would bleed a lot.
“Yeah. Pretty much about the only universal way to make a night human weaker is to take their blood. We all live on blood, night or day hum
ans. It’s just that night humans can’t make their own like day humans. We run out and have to take more from regular people. Keep a night human drained of blood and they can’t fight back.”
“Can I help with that?” Cassie asked.
After all, she was a day human, and she was more than willing to give a little blood away if it meant he would carry her off to someplace safe and away from the monsters outside the barn.
“I can’t let you. If anyone out there smells your blood, we’ll have a room full of wendigo before I can even recover. It isn’t safe, no matter how tempting your offer is. And it’s tempting. When I’m recovered from all this, can you offer again sometime?” He was grinning at her and, based his jokes, he was okay.
Nate put a hand out for Cassie. He was now propped against the same table he had been tied to for who knew how long. Cassie took his hand, and he pulled her into his lap.
‘I’ll get you out of here once I’m sure it’s safer to be outside the walls than in. I’m pretty sure by what we just saw that Jared won’t let anyone harm you. You’re safer with him for now until I can talk more with everyone else,’ Nate explained silently.
‘Wait.’ Cassie pulled back from him. ‘I’ve been trying to talk to you since we got back like this. How come it didn’t work?’
‘I cut our bond temporarily when Jack was draining me. Our bond isn’t just mental. If something happens to me, it happens to you. Luckily, to keep the coven from finding out, your aunt put a spell on me which allows me to make it temporarily disappear. I’ve been coming back to check on you every few hours, when I don’t have cuts that will transfer to you.’
He was right. She could feel him every now and then, even if he didn’t speak. And she could feel everything now. It was all clearer. Nate was weaker than he was letting on. She would scold him, but he was being strong for her. He could feel her worry as much as she could feel his lack of energy. She felt inside him. It was strange, but a bit comforting that he was still there. She had felt alone before. Then it dawned on her. The other voices were all gone. There was still silence. The clan was gone.
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