I took the seat next to Garrett. Ethan sat next to Rob. The blonde spoke next, indicating the two people beside her who nodded as she introduced them. “Jackie, Ethan, this is Sylvia & her mate Brad and I’m Maya. We’re elected members of the Shifter Council here in Crescent City. I need you to answer our questions honestly and completely. Will you do that?’
“Yes,” we said as we nodded.
“Jackie, is it true that you’re a cheetah?"
"Yes."
“Who are your birth parents?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been brought up with humans in foster care. I’ve had six families. The last one, the Crawfords, adopted me."
“Why were you placed with so many families?”
“I was a lot to handle. They knew there was something different about me and it made them uncomfortable."
“What happened when you were attacked two years ago?” Garrett felt me tense up and sent, “You can be honest about my part. Maya wants to see how you react under stress, so keep calm.” I told the story quickly, ending with Garrett killing the attackers.
“Rob, could you please give us a rundown of their training and performance so far.”
Rob spoke about Ethan’s accomplishments and his propensity toward leadership. He emphasized my ability to adapt under stress, my speed, tracking skills and basic willingness to work with a team. He also felt that I had the ability to illicit trust and that people were comfortable opening up to me.
Maya nodded. “Yes, her aura is a rich green. It's extremely rare.” She glanced at Garrett, who didn’t look surprised by this information. I’d have to find out later what that meant. Some of the audience were whispering excitedly, like they thought this info was important.
Maya asked the bears, “Jim, why do you feel that these young people are dangerous and shouldn’t be accepted by us?”
Jim described our so-called combative attitude when we first encountered them on the island path. When he described my claws coming out there were several gasps and a lot of quiet murmurs. Phillip gruffly complained about Ethan and I escaping the island, while Rob spoke up, insisting that we were sent on a training mission and were not “running from justice” as the bears put it. Rob was pretty good at bending the truth.
“Jackie, tell us about what happened when Garrett was kidnapped.” Sylvia said. I described finding his car, tracking him to the lodge, Kyle saving me from Hank’s attack and then Garrett's rescue by the group.
“How did you know where Garrett was and exactly how many enemies were inside the building?” asked Sylvia.
Here was the tricky part so I turned to Garrett and asked mentally, “What can I say?” He was about to answer when Maya rose up slowly, stopping him.
“You're conversing mind to mind?"
"Yes." I must have looked a little surprised when I felt a strong push on my magical shield. The wall held and it was Maya’s turn to look shocked.
She recovered her poise and sat again, saying, “Garrett, could you please describe Jackie’s mental abilities?” The audience was very quiet, some of them leaning forward in anticipation.
Garrett went into detail about how he’d noticed that I was feeling the effects of the ley lines at Carly’s small cottage and how he’d tested me and trained me in using the energy to protect myself.
Maya stretched out her hand. “Jackie, please come here.”
I looked once more at Garrett for guidance. He sent, “Keep our channel open,” then squeezed my shoulder.
I moved to the council table. "Please give me your hand."
I smiled sweetly and complied. She was trying to speak to me mentally, nudging at my shield, but instead of letting her in, I focused on holding strong. In my mind, Garrett stood beside me on the bluff above the sea, an arm around my waist. I looked back at the table surprised to see him still sitting there, smiling. “This is so cool,” I sent.
Maya let go of my hand, obviously irritated. She wasn’t used to being blocked. “You can sit down.” I walked back and sat, glad that I didn’t stumble.
Sylvia asked, “Were you able to communicate with Garrett mentally while he was in the building?”
“Yes. He was very weak and I thought he might be dying, so I let him feed off of me." Grumbling and curses erupted from the audience when I mentioned him feeding.
Maya asked Garrett, “You were able to take energy from her—from a distance?” She seemed shocked that this was possible.
Garrett nodded. “She was able to pull up magic and send me energy through our mental connection. It wasn’t done with much finesse, and it was a dangerous thing for her to attempt. I was in very bad shape.” He turned toward me, smiling proudly.
Brad asked, "So you can feed from shifters from a distance now?" He looked uncomfortable, as did most of the audience.
"No. Only from Jackie. We have a unique connection." He took my hand in front of all these people, met my gaze and smiled. The world around me disappeared when he looked at me like that..This beautiful sexy male said he loved me. Je t'aime. He'd said that to me.
"Garrett." We looked back at Maya who'd spoken rather sharply. She'd said his name but she was staring at me. “What’s your relationship with Jackie?”
"That's not really ." Sylvia began
"It's fine. I’ve claimed Jackie as my mate.” He'd twisted his fingers through mine and as it rested on the table, a possessive move which made me tingle with happiness. We were now officially outed as a couple for the entire world to see. Despite the seriousness of the circumstances, I gave him a peck on the cheek.
There was a brief moment of complete silence and then a section of the auditorium erupted with shouts, mostly coming from several men, of “You have no right!” or “Can a vampire do that?” The three bears looked smug, expecting that this would guarantee my forced exile or worse. Sinc, Ethan and Peter were all smiling, seemingly thrilled for us both. Kyle looked annoyed as usual.
Maya’s cheeks had turned several shades of pink and I could see various other women glaring at me furiously. I sent to Garrett, “You broke a few hearts tonight.”
“I’ve had lovers in the past, but I’ve never claimed a mate in my 234 years.” I closed my eyes and wished we were somewhere alone. He laughed as he felt my emotions. “We have hundreds of years ahead of us. Stop rushing.”
“I’m going to self combust.” I glanced into the audience and saw Peter and Kyle holding hands and I giggled softly.
“There are quite a few male shifters here who would've fought for you to be their mate. That’s why they’re so angry.” I glanced around at some of the men complaining loudly. Each one looked young and fit and was glaring at Garrett.
“Quiet down, please. We have more to discuss”, bellowed Brad. The room grew silent again as everyone waited to hear more.
“In what ways can you manipulate magic?’ asked Sylvia.
“I can only protect myself with a shield and share magic with Garrett. I’m not fully trained.”
“Who’s training you?”
“Garrett.”
The three council members conferred quietly for a moment. Maya spoke. “We’re going to take a break to discuss this startling information. You should all be back in one hour.” The tone of her voice was glacial and her gaze was only on me.
Garrett and Rob motioned for us to leave via the back door to avoid the crowd. We piled into Garrett’s car and Rob’s SUV and took off for Kyle’s favorite burger joint which was just down the road. In the restaurant I sat next to Garrett who sipped a cup of coffee and rubbed my back, enjoying watching everyone else eat.
Rob swallowed a huge bite of his cheeseburger and said with a grin, “You and Garrett have officially blown the minds of the council. The last time the reaction was this strong was when Garrett first came to us, said he was moving into the neighborhood and offered his services.”
“Yeah, let’s hope they don’t decide to blow our brains out with a shotgun in retaliation.” I was worried, but not enough to keep me
from eating another juicy bite of my bacon burger. I looked around and recognized some of the courtroom attendees as they sat down for a quick meal and wondered if any of them felt I should be executed or sent away. I scrunched down a little lower in the chair.
“Chill Jackie. They aren’t about to turn Garrett into an enemy.” Ethan shoved in another mouthful of double deluxe burger, the juices running down his chin. Sinc handed him a napkin shaking her head and smiling indulgently.
Peter spoke up. “The only real danger is Maya. You were able to block her out, a new experience for her, and she seemed to be giving it her all. She’s also the jealous type.” He didn’t elaborate. I stole a glance at Garrett who was twisting his mouth into a frown which he directed at Peter.
“Quite a few girls were upset about your declaration, Garrett”, said Sinc sniffing and pretending to wipe away a tear. Garrett smiled and Ethan frowned, pulling her closer in a possessive way. She leaned against him and practically purred, then took another dainty bite of her grilled chicken salad.
Kyle asked, “So what’s it like, reading each other’s minds, always knowing what the other one is thinking and feeling?”
I answered. “It doesn’t seem to work like that. We can keep our regular thoughts closed off to each other whenever we want. But it’s harder now with emotions. We’re tuned in to each other’s feelings most of the time.” I put my hand in Garrett’s and he pulled me closer wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
“I don’t think I could stand it if someone were reading my thoughts all the time,” said Kyle between bites.
“What thoughts would those be?” teased Peter. “What’s for dinner or why don’t I have any clean socks or maybe, who changed the channel?” Kyle laughed and pushed his shoulder playfully, their affection glowing around them. I looked over at Rob who sat alone and wondered if someone waited at home for him.
Rob looked at his watch. “Time to go back.” Garrett paid the check despite everyone’s protests and we arrived back at the auditorium just in time. Ethan and I returned to the front row with the rest of the team, while Rob and Garrett took their seats at the table. A minute later, the council strolled in and sat down.
Brad stood and said, “We’ve reached a tentative decision. Ethan is approved as a member of the shifter community without reservation. Congratulations, Ethan.” The audience clapped but stopped quickly, waiting to hear about my fate.
I was trembling visibly, so Garrett sent “No matter what they say, stay very calm. Nothing will happen tonight. You’re perfectly safe.” I breathed in deeply and waited.
Brad continued. “Jackie is required to train under Maya’s supervision; Two hours every evening at dusk beginning tomorrow. At the end of one month, her case will be reviewed. Tonight’s meeting is adjourned and we’ll reconvene in one month.” They stood and walked out.
I sat there in shock. They thought I needed special training? What, like anger management? Garrett crouched in front of me, his hands on my knees. “She wants to make sure the community is safe. We’ll give her plenty to sink her teeth into. If you can relax, you’ll learn a lot from her. She can be an excellent teacher.” He laughed and hugged me, apparently feeling relieved.
“But I’ll get to see you less and less.” I complained.
“Come with me, I’ve already thought about that.” He grabbed my hand and we walked to the parking lot behind the courthouse. The people we passed gave us a wide berth, not sure of what to think.
We were pulling out onto the road when I said, “I’d like to stay with you for a while tonight and not go right back to the cottage.”
“How do you feel about moving in with me?”
The largest grin I’d ever managed to pull off decorated my face as I threw my arms around him, kissing his cheek. “I’m in,” I laughed. “Why did you change your mind?”
“Now that we’ve completed more of the ritual, I can’t handle thinking of you sleeping next to Ethan. You're mine now. Although you'd have to be blind not to see that he's mad about Sinc.”
“Aren’t they adorable?“ I sighed leaning against him.
He snorted. “Oh yes, adorable is the word I’d choose.” I punched him in the shoulder and his jewel toned eyes glinted with humor. “You’ll be much safer in my house in case anyone disagrees with the decision. If there's an emergency while I'm resting, you can still contact me mentally. I won’t be at my best, but even then I’m fairly strong.”
“Don’t vampires…? Aren’t you dead to the world, so to speak?”
“No, we sleep deeply. We don’t breathe or move and our bodies grow colder. To be at our strongest, it’s important to feed as soon as we can after we wake. But our connection is very strong, Jackie; I would hear you if you needed me.”
We pulled up to the little house I’d shared with Ethan. It was empty and quiet since Ethan had gone to Sinc’s, so I quickly gathered up my things. Grabbing paper from a drawer, I left Ethan and Carly notes, took one last look around, and left with Garrett.
Chapter Twenty-eight
A perfect gentleman, Garrett held the door of his lovely home open for me and I stepped inside. A fire was already burning in the fireplace and the shadows dancing around the room reminded me of the way the embers had reflected on the cabin walls the first night I’d spoken to him on the island.
He grabbed my hand and my backpack. “C’mon.” He led me into the kitchen and showed me that he’d had the refrigerator and cupboards stocked with food. I looked around surprised to see that the mess I’d left from dinner was cleaned up. The place was spotless. “Elves,” he teased, and we laughed.
Tonight he looked his 19 years, carefree and excited and so hot I almost jumped him right there, but I figured we had all night for that. Because of our emotional connection, he could feel my heat too. He looked at me with an amused expression, then shook his head and started walking. “This way.” I followed him down the hallway toward his room, only instead, he turned me into the room across from his; another bedroom.
The queen sized bed was a four-poster, draped with a lovely blue fabric which coordinated with the custom window blinds. The deep blue satin sheets matched the fluffy down comforter: The furniture was a light oak and my bare feet sank comfortably into the rich cream carpeting. It was quite lovely, but definitely not what I'd planned on this evening. There was a hint of irritation in my voice when I turned to him and said, “Garrett, I thought you wanted… I thought we’d be sleeping together.”
“We’ve talked about this.” He sounded a little irritated himself as he dropped my backpack on the bed and ran his hand through his hair. Because of our emotional connection, I could sense his desire for me. Wicked woman that I was, I sauntered over and pressed myself against him, leaning in to kiss him.
He grabbed my shoulders a little too tightly and held me away at arm's length, forcing me to face him. “Let me be clear.” He spoke softly but I could feel tension and frustration rolling off of him. “If you continue to throw yourself at me, I'll eventually cave. I may have lived over two hundred years, but physically, I’m a healthy nineteen year old male with a strong libido."
Who apparently didn't want me. His words bit into my heart. I began to tremble, so he pulled me closer to stroke my hair, trying to be reassuring. “You’ve gone through a lot of crap, some of it sexual abuse. You need time to heal, my love.”
“You've healed me.” A tear ran down my cheek and he caught it with his finger as if it was something precious. “You’re the only man I’ve ever wanted to touch me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever want to be touched again.” I looked away from him, embarrassed by my confession.
“Come into the living room and sit with me.” He took my hand and I followed him reluctantly. Some of my old uncertainty started spinning in my mind. It was clear that he didn’t want me the way I wanted him. I’d practically thrown myself at him and he’d refused. What did I expect? I wasn’t a virgin. He probably thought that I was damaged beyond repair. Maybe I was.
; A few more tears raced each other down my cheeks. We sat in front of the fire and he put both of his arms around me and spoke softly into my hair, “I’m not rejecting you. Please don’t take it that way.” He whispered, obviously having read my anxiety. “I love you and I want you to trust me.” He turned my face so I was forced to look at him. “You’re so beautiful and strong: incredible in so many ways.” He ran his knuckles along my jaw and then gently over my lips. ”I only want us to wait until you’re ready.” He nuzzled my ear and ran his lips down my neck. “You’re worth waiting for.”
I hugged him and buried my head in his chest. Tears started flowing more freely until I was sobbing uncontrollably, all of my anxiety pouring out in streams. He held me and whispered words of love and encouragement. I didn’t know exactly why I was crying, only that I felt safe doing it with him. Somehow, I didn’t feel like a loser or a freak when I opened my heart to him.
We held each other in front of the fire and after some prodding from Garrett, I finally felt able to talk about the foster father who’d beaten me and his seventeen year old son who’d raped me. I talked about it more calmly than I thought possible, but Garrett could feel my terror, and guilt as if they were his own. Rage built in him. I reached out with my mind. “If you kill these men to avenge me, then I’ll feel responsible for their deaths. Please don’t look for them. They aren’t fostering children anymore."
I could feel his emotions spinning between fury and concern. He sighed and pulled me into his lap, turning my face toward his. I tried to turn away, knowing that my eyes looked red and puffy and my hair was an ugly tangle, but I couldn’t twist out of his firm grip. “I cried all over your shirt. I probably ruined it.” I wiped my face with the tissue he handed me. “
Rebirth (Rogues Shifter Series) Page 17