by Cassidy, Cam
She glanced around. I’m in the middle of nowhere. No one would hear her scream, no one would come looking for her.
A growl rumbled the air off to her right. Heart pounding, she scanned the area but saw nothing. Wait. The sound came from inside my head.
“Pathetic human. Rest.”
Exhausted, she did what the voice said. The moment she closed her eyes, sleep overcame her.
When she felt the not-so-gentle kick in her mind, she sat up quickly, moaning at every ache and pain. The sun had risen though not yet over the horizon. She stood, her muscles screaming in protest. What she wouldn’t give for a hot bath and a cup of coffee. Instead, her feet once again moved with a purpose all their own.
She whimpered at each first tender step and peered down at her feet. The cuts that had obviously closed during the night had reopened, leaving fresh blood in her tracks. Each attempt to stop, to rest was met with a mental shove to keep going, move forward despite her body’s need to stop. She walked the entire day, pausing at the occasional stream for a drink of cool water. Above, the sun began to set.
“Los Lobos, finally. I’m home.”
She spun around, searching for the voice. Nothing. Voices inside my head? I must be going mad.
She stumbled out of the woods and looked up and saw the old barn. There was no possibility she had been here before, yet the sense of joy nearly overwhelmed her. She scrambled up the final embankment, stopping only when something sharp embed into her palm. She hissed and grabbed her hand, checking the wound and watched with an odd fascination to see the blood flowing freely.
“Son of a bitch!” Bending, she picked out the piece from the ground. Wiping off the dirt with her fingers revealed the black shiny stone. Onyx. A heavy circle had been scratched through the center, four lines came from each point of a compass. The symbol the Native Americans would use for God.
She dropped the stone, the true meaning filling her mind. The object harnessed evil. Bad god.
She fought against the force inside her causing her hand to reach down to pick it back up. She wanted to get away from the stone. “No! Whoever you are, go and leave me in peace. You don’t belong here.” She glanced around her, then at the sky. “I beg in the name of the holy spirits, purify me, fill me, use me. Banish the evil which surrounds and threatens me so I may continue my journey to the light. To use my gift to help—”
The stone was back in her hand.
Involuntarily, her fingers squeezed around the object, and tears streamed down her face. She felt the evil mix with her blood. Her skin crawled, starting at the cut in her hand and spreading throughout her limbs. Her body was no longer hers.
She dropped the stone in her purse. A dark haze filled her vision, so she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her sight had cleared.
Evil laughter filled her mind. “So damn easy. Now, let’s see what my son’s been doing while I’ve been away.”
***
Jax had made it through two days. But they were two of the longest fucking days of his life. Day one, he had shifted to his Wolf and ran for hours, long past the point of exhaustion. It hadn’t helped. If it hadn’t been for the man’s interference, the Wolf would have run straight to Sturgis, walked right through the middle of town, grabbed Ange by her nape, and dragged her ass back to his cabin.
Instead, he shifted to human where he had a little more control. His shower to clear his head didn’t do shit. So, he settled on drinking until he passed out cold on his couch.
Day two hadn’t been much better. First was the dream. He had Ange pressed against the wall, his dick buried deep inside her. He could almost feel the heat, smell her, hear the sweet little gasps and sounds she made right before she exploded around him.
Needless to say, he woke with a hard-on from hell, so goddamn painful he thought his balls would explode. That time, he’d tried a cold shower to clear his head—the head which was supposed to be the voice of reason. The other one would have to suffer. He could jerk one off to an image of her in his mind, but that would only prolong the agony. The sorry fact was that as much as he hated what she did, the bottom line was that he still wanted her with a desire that threatened to consume him. He had to convince himself, she was the past. Raking his fingers through his hair, he wished he could call it a drunken mistake. Too bad at the time he had been sober. He needed to move on.
He spent the day outside. There were always things to do. Winter was coming, and wood needed cutting. By the time he took a break, he had split enough firewood to supply half the town. At least the ache in his arms helped him forget about the ache and emptiness in his chest. For a while.
He stood in his kitchen drinking a beer when he felt her. She was near. His Wolf sensed she was in pain. Without a thought of the past to what had happened between them, he ran, the screen door banging closed behind him. There was only one all-consuming thought running through his head. I have to get to her. His feet didn’t seem able to move fast enough. He had to fight the urge to shift. His wolf would have made much better time, but that would only serve to scare her and bring up questions he wasn’t ready to answer.
Jax’s entire body trembled with anger as he when he finally caught site of her. There, crawling in the middle of the road was Ange. When he saw him approach from the side he sprinted the final distance to reach her. Of course, he thought, Drew would sense anyone who stepped foot into their territory. Keeping their town—hell, their existence—unknown was imperative to their survival. Drew stepped from the woods directly beside her.
“Fuck!” Jax’s hackles rose on his neck.
Ange pushed up onto her knees, propelling herself toward his Alpha only to miss and land in the dirt, her body unmoving. Drew reached down and touched her….
Jax’s Wolf clawed beneath the surface. Mine.
“Don’t touch her!” Growling orders at the Alpha wasn’t anything he would normally do. But this wasn’t normal. Whether the man agreed or not, the Wolf knew this was his mate and would die before he let any harm come to her. When at last he reached her side, dropping to his knees, he rolled her over.
“Easy, pup,” Drew growled. “You don’t have to bother telling me she belongs to you. I can smell you on her. The question I need answered is how the fuck did she find you? Did you tell her about this place?”
Jax’s quick survey of Ange had his Wolf pacing to be set free. He pushed the hair from her face to reveal small scratches and scrapes. Drew’s words registered, Jax didn’t attempt to hide his sarcasm. “Yeah, I left her in town and then drew her a map how to get here. Did you look at her feet? Her hands? It’s like she clawed her way here. Who the hell goes for a hike barefoot in these hills?”
“I don’t have answers, I want answers, Jax. A human walks miles through the Black Hills and happens to show up on Main Street doesn’t fly. I won’t let the pack be put in danger. Not by her and not by you.” Drew, always the voice of reason.
“You’re gonna stand there and question my loyalty to the pack? Are you fuckin’ kidding me? Have you forgotten I was one of the few who stayed through Magnum’s reign? I did everything I could to hold our people together behind his back. Of course, you remember, you were the one who found me strung up in the barn like some kind of goddamn sacrifice.” Jax spat the words.
“I do remember. I’ll never be able to repay you for what you did or for what you suffered. Your loyalty was something I would never question, until now. There is no other explanation. Take her home, clean her up, and keep an eye on her. I’ll be by to talk once she’s up and around.” He walked away.
There was nothing else to say, at least not now. He picked Ange up carefully, cradled her against his chest, and headed home. He reminded himself of when he found her in Sturgis. She was a fake, a damn con artist. But how did she find her way here? The next to last thing he wanted to do was take her to his cabin. The last thing he wanted to do was turn her over to one of the pack to take care of her.
Mine, his wolf repeated in his mind
.
Jax let out a deep sigh. Did his Wolf really think the man needed to be reminded? His heart sunk in his chest. How could something feel so right and be so absolutely wrong?
Chapter Nine
It was a dream, a nightmare. There was no other explanation. Or was there?
Patches of light then dark seemed to swallow her. She pushed against it and searched for the light, for control. Her dreams, her drawings, the day in the tent all came back to her in a rush. All that had happened was for one reason, to lead her here, to this, to him…to Magnum.
The man who had stood in the road, she didn’t know his name, yet it came to her. He did…Drew. The name was growled in her mind with more anger and hatred than she had ever known. At the same time, the dark presence inside grew like a poison spreading through her veins. The last few days her body had seemed to become a marionette. She knew the name of the evil that pulled her stings, but until that moment, she hadn’t known his intent.
“Kill Drew.”
She screamed in her mind, praying to God, to anyone who would hear to help. It did little good. She dove for him, her hand reached up and grasped the pendant she wore around her neck. It had always given her comfort in the past and prayed it would help her now. The last thing she remembered was landing face down in the dirt. She had stopped him, at least for now.
***
Jax couldn’t get Ange to the cabin fast enough. There was a pattern, couldn’t get away fast enough, couldn’t get to her fast enough, and now couldn’t get her safe and alone fast enough. Kicking the door closed behind them, he strode straight to his bedroom, placing her gently on his bed.
He took his time looking her over. Her clothes were torn, and her purse hung over her shoulder, covered in mud. Pine needles and small sticks stuck in her hair. She was scratched, cut, bruised, and still the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. A primal rage roared through him causing his hands to tremble. He would kill anyone who caused her pain. But there isn’t anyone. She came alone. Drew had wanted answers, so did he. The most pressing of which wasn’t why she was in Los Lobos, but how she found them.
Taking care of a human wasn’t anything he was used to. Common sense told him he needed to get her cleaned up. The thought had him rattled. A Wolf, had no need to worry about infection. If a Wolf got in a fight or had an accident, it shifted, healed then went and had a beer. She was human—a joke of fate, a mind trick she played. Whatever the hell she was, his need to care for her overrode everything else. He only left her alone to draw a bath. Three times he checked to make sure he didn’t have the water too hot. The last thing he needed was to scald her on top of everything else.
He kneeled beside the bed and brushed the back of his knuckles against her cheek. “Ange, wake up, sweetheart. Come on, darlin’, lemme see those baby blues.”
She whimpered, her eyelids fluttering before they finally opened, her gaze settling on his. It crushed him how she moaned in pain. She tried to scoot away, but Jax wrapped his hand around the back of her neck. He moved slowly to put his face in front of hers.
The terror in her eyes almost killed him. “Look at me, darlin’. It’s only me. No one else here, no one’s gonna hurt ya.”
“Jax? How’d you find me? Where am I?” Her voice sounded so damn weak, scared. No resemblance of the teasing little minx from two days ago.
He caressed her face, his thumb stroking across her cheek. “You just asked the million dollar question. I didn’t find you, Ange, you found me. Something you shouldn’t have been able to do.”
Her entire body seemed to tense. He thought for sure if she’d had the strength she would have bolted out the door.
Keeping his voice soft, he said, “Hey, we aren’t gonna talk about this right now. First, we’re gonna get ya cleaned up and something to eat. Then we need to talk, and you can rest.”
He eased her upright then began to undress her.
She brushed his hands away, fumbling with the buttons on her shirt with fingers caked with dried blood and dirt. “Why are you doing this?”
With care, he took her hands and placed them in her lap then resumed undressing her. “Because even though it sounds crazy, you need my help, but more than that, I need to be the one to help you. Don’t ask me to explain. It’s something I have to do. Just let me take care of you.” He lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bathroom.
“I wouldn’t come after you.” She met his gaze with tired, wary eyes. “You said I was a fake and you left. I’m not a fake, Jax.”
“I said we can talk about everything later.” When he eased her into the water, she hissed and he stiffened, ready to jerk her back out. “Fuck, I’m sorry. I checked the damn water to make sure it wasn’t too hot.”
Her hand rested on his forearm. “No, the water’s fine, not too hot. It stung like a bitch on the cuts at first. It’s fine now.”
He grabbed the washcloth and the soap, tugging it away when she reached for it.
“I can wash myself you know. I’m scratched up. I’m not an invalid.”
The water seemed to help a bit. She didn’t look at him with fear in her eyes. Her voice was stronger, no longer laced with fear.
He lathered up the cloth and reached for her leg, cleaning away the dirt and dried blood. “I know you can take care of yourself, it doesn’t mean I’m gonna let you.”
For the remainder of the bath, she was quiet. He washed every inch of her skin, picked the twigs and pine needles out of her hair. Hair that felt like fine silk between his fingers. He massaged her scalp and saw her eyes closed and her expression finally relax. He would’ve thought she had fallen asleep if it hadn’t been for the soft moan she released. A moan of pure sweet pleasure that went straight to his dick.
One thing he didn’t need help with was getting hard when she was around. His dick was already a fuckin’ titanium rod from having his hands on her. One more sound and he would come in his jeans. “Tilt your head back.”
He’d intended the words to come out an order, but his voice betrayed him, coming out husky revealing the desire he tried to curb. He grabbed a basin from under the sink and used it to rinse her hair. It was a damn good thing her eyes were still closed. His need for her would be obvious while he watched the soap and bubbles slide off her hair and down the slope of her neck. With pure animal instinct, his canines enlarged. His Wolf wanted to mark her. To sink deep into the softness of her skin.
Her blood would taste of pure honey on his tongue. Struggling to keep his Wolf in check, he forced his gaze down. His eyes landed on her full, sweet breasts, bright pink and glistening from the water. Fuck, he had no clue what he had done to deserve this—he was in hell. Healthy, injured, clothed, naked, it didn’t matter. Her body called to him on every level, and his answered.
“Thank you.”
At the sound of her voice, he turned to reach for a towel. If she got a look at his fangs, she would be screaming and running through town. Another complication he didn’t need. He didn’t face her until he felt them recede.
Reaching into the tub, he pulled the drain plug before he lifted her from the water. He held her steady while he set her feet on the rug. She crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to hide those luscious curves from him.
“We’re way past the point of bein’ shy. You don’t have anything I haven’t seen or touched. Every inch committed to vivid memory.” He dried her body with a towel then grabbed another to use on her hair. After wrapping her in a dry towel, he carried her to the bedroom and set her on the edge of the bed. Her fingers combed through the tangles in her hair. In an instant, he imagined those long tresses wrapped around his hand, pulling her head back to have another taste those sweet lips. It was only with an iron will that he forced himself away from her to grab one of his shirts from a drawer and pulled it down over her head. She wiggled to get her arms through the sleeves. The thing hung on her like a dress that came down below her knees. Fuck, she looked good both naked and wearing nothing but one of h
is shirts. No way in hell he would be able to keep his hands off her.
Chapter Ten
Ange needed time to think, time away from Jax and his probing hands and wandering eyes. She was pissed off at him. She was exhausted. Her damn body had betrayed her with the touch of his hands, strong, calloused, yet gentle on her skin awakening her desire. She’d left the bedroom to sit in a chair in his kitchen while he warmed soup on the stove.
How had she found him? More importantly, why had she found him?
He placed a bowl of soup in front of her “stop thinkin’ so hard and eat. You look a damn sight better than you did when I found you, but you still look ready to fall over.”
Almost on cue, her stomach rumbled. Jax gave her a knowing cockeyed grin, and she lifted her spoon to eat, all but inhaling it after the first taste. If she had been at home, she would have tossed the spoon and drunk from the bowl. “This is delicious, tastes homemade. Don’t tell me you cook, too?”
He got his bowl and took the seat beside her, his eyes never leaving her. “Don’t look so surprised. I can cook. Not that I made this. Couple of ladies in town seem to think I need looking after and drop off bowls of food or home canning.”
Anger spiked through her at the thought of these “ladies” dropping by his house. “Oh, how nice. I can only imagine the way you repay the favor.” She looked down into the bowl. “Oh, never mind. I bet I already know.”
“Watch yourself, Ange, you sound a bit jealous.” His soft chuckle only fueled her anger.
“Not on your life. Been there, done that in case you forgot. And quit staring at me. I’m not gonna fall outta the chair, and I’m not on the dessert menu. I’d hate to have to show you again exactly what a fake I can be.”
Leaping up, he spun her to face him, gripped the arms of her chair, and was in her face before she could move. “Let me explain to you short and sweet how things work here in my house,” he growled. “You do not lie to me. You do not hide from me.” He leaned in, inhaled deeply at her neck. “I can smell the jealously on your skin. Acrid. Bitter. Doesn’t suit you at all. Of course, it doesn’t hurt my male pride at all when you go off over the thought of some female taking care of me. But be honest with yourself. And, to clear up any confusion in your pretty little head, we do things different here. They leave me things they think I need, I do the same for them. Chopped wood for the fires, items I pick up cheap when I go to town. We don’t trade sexual favors. I’m not interested and neither are they.”