by R. E. Butler
Logan held open the heavy back door for her and Reika, and he and Bo followed. He took her hand again and strode down a long hallway covered in dark paneling. They passed several doors, which Logan told her were the bathrooms, an office, and storage rooms. She could hear muffled country music through the walls, and when he opened the door into the bar, the sound increased dramatically.
Jenna’s eyes adjusted quickly to the dim lighting. There was a large mahogany bar at the back of the main room. Tables and chairs surrounded a wooden dance floor, booths lining both sides of the open space, and an elevated stage took up the far wall. The stage was empty, and Reika said that the house band only played on Fridays and Saturdays.
All the booths were full, and Jenna assumed they were going to find a table near the dance floor, but Logan and Bo led them over to a booth that was full of young men. Without a word, the men scrambled out of the booth as if their lives depended on it and found an empty table to sit at.
Jenna laughed. “How did you do that?”
Bo waited for Reika to slide into one side of the booth and then sat down. “Reputation. High ranks get to sit wherever the hell they want. Those pups knew to get going quick.”
Jenna sat down on the vinyl seat and scooted in a little, looking up at Logan. He stood next to the booth but was looking intently around the bar. There weren’t a lot of people there, thirty perhaps, scattered around the tables and booths.
Logan looked down at her and slid his fingers along her jaw. “Don’t go anywhere alone, baby. I’ll come back when it’s break time.”
He leaned down and kissed her and then walked towards the long bar, stopping and shaking hands with Peter and Tina Gerrick. They had taken over management of the bar when the former owners had left town. Jenna knew it was an important place for the pack, so they had somewhere to go where they could have the support of their friends and not worry about getting into trouble.
Tina came over after a few minutes and greeted them warmly. “What can I get for you?”
Jenna hadn’t had much opportunity to drink alcoholic beverages while she was on vacations with her parents over the years. Fairies drank their own spirits, fermented fruit concoctions and ales.
“Something sweet?” Jenna asked. “I don’t know what would be good.”
Tina smiled. “I know just the thing.”
After taking Reika and Bo’s orders, she left and returned several minutes later, placing a tall glass of dark soda in front of Bo, a glass of wine in front of Reika, and a tumbler filled with pale green liquid and ice in front of her.
“It’s called a Melon Ball, and has vodka, melon liqueur, and pineapple juice in it. I think you’ll enjoy it.”
Jenna took a small sip from the tiny straw and was pleasantly surprised to find it tasted just like a honeydew melon. “Oh, it’s good!”
“Thank you,” Tina said and left them to their drinks.
Bo left Reika and Jenna to their ‘girly chat’ while he played a card game on his cell phone. Jenna really liked Reika and enjoyed getting to know her.
It was nearly two hours later when Jenna had to use the bathroom. Reika stood with her, kissing Bo on the cheek and promising to be right back. As she walked through the bar with Reika, she detoured to where Logan was watching things from the back of the bar and told him where she was going.
“Be quick woman, it’s almost time for my break and I’d like to sit with you.” He pecked her cheek.
She nodded and followed Reika to the bathroom. After they used the facilities and were washing their hands, Reika asked, “How are you feeling after your drink? Is it very strong?”
“No, it’s just perfect. I’m feeling fine. A little warm, maybe, and happy, but not drunk. It’s not much different than other drinks I’ve had in my realm.”
“Good. I don’t think Logan would be happy if we got you drunk your first night out with us.”
Jenna chuckled, wadding up the paper towel and tossing it into the trash. As they exited the bathroom, they heard a commotion coming from inside the bar.
“Do you hear that?” Reika asked, pausing just outside the bathroom.
“Yeah. Sounds like fighting.”
Muffled yells and the sounds of breaking furniture could be heard through the walls. Jenna shuddered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. She was glad she hadn’t been inside the bar when it happened.
The door leading from the hallway into the bar opened and two men slunk through.
They look awfully familiar.
The men broke into a dead run suddenly, eating up the distance to the two women in seconds. Jenna knew why she recognized them. They were part of Jasper’s pack! She opened her mouth to scream for help, when one man knocked Reika against the wall and the other snagged Jenna around the waist and hauled her over his shoulder.
The wind was knocked from Jenna’s lungs, but she knew she had to fight back. The man carrying her was charging towards the door that led out into the parking lot. If they took her again, she wasn’t sure what would happen, but she had a feeling that Jasper would not make the mistake of assuming she was dead again.
Wrenching up off his shoulder, she shrieked, “LOGAN!” and beat on the back of the man carrying her. He grunted at her blows but only tightened his grip on her legs. She saw Reika struggling to get free of the man holding her, but he had her pinned against the wall.
The man shouldered the back door open, and as he ran through, Jenna’s head knocked against the opening and she winced, grabbing her head with a groan and falling back over his shoulder. Tears clouded her vision, but the crunch of gravel under his boots reminded her she had to get free.
She raked her nails up the man’s back, digging through his shirt and trying to draw blood. The man growled and grabbed her side, twisting her flesh sharply until she cried out and released her hold on his back, ripping some of his shirt in the process.
“Fucking bitch,” he snarled.
“Quit fucking around!” Jasper’s voice broke through the haze of pain and Jenna struggled even harder to get free. She knew she couldn’t be taken. It would be her death.
“Hey!” a woman’s voice shouted, and the man stopped walking. “Put her down, asshole.”
Jenna lifted her hair from her face and saw three young women that she recognized as pack members standing nearby. One of them held a baseball bat, one held a crowbar, and the other held a knife.
“Mind your business, little girls, this isn’t your concern,” Jasper said. “Toss her in.” He stood next to the open door of a van. She saw shackles lying inside the vehicle and she screamed in fear, kicking and hitting as much as she could.
“No. No!” she yelled.
The man carrying her dropped her suddenly as he went to his knees with a pained grunt. Jenna fell off his shoulder and hit the ground hard, scrambling away from him. The woman with the crowbar had thrown it at him, nailing him in the legs.
The other two women were advancing on Jasper.
The one with the bat said, “Get over here, honey.”
Jenna scrambled to her feet and ran over to them. They pushed her behind them.
The back door slammed open and the male that had attacked Reika came flying out yelling, “They’re coming!” Just seconds behind him, wolves poured out, Logan and Bo in the lead.
“I’ll see you soon, fairy bitch.” Jasper smiled in a way that chilled Jenna to the bone. Jasper and his crew grabbed their fallen man and fled. Several wolves jumped onto motorcycles and into cars and took off after them as Logan gathered Jenna in his arms and hugged her tightly.
“Are you hurt, baby?” His face was buried in her neck but she could still hear him.
“I’m okay.”
One of the women said, “He grabbed her pretty hard, she’s probably going to be bruised a bit. McKenna stopped the worst of it when she nailed the guy.”
Logan lifted his head and Jenna saw the look of surprise on his face.
The woman snorted and kicked at the groun
d with the toe of her heeled boot. “I know what you guys think of me, but I’m part of this pack. She’s your mate and worthy of our protection.”
“Thank you, Lindy,” Logan said.
Lindy nodded and turned back to her friends. After speaking to Peter and Tina, who had come out of the bar, the three women put their weapons back in their cars and went into the bar.
Logan said, “A couple of new guys started a fight in the bar. They were human, so I didn’t think anything about it. I broke up the fight and escorted them out. By the time I got back inside, there was another fight, and this one was even worse. Chairs were thrown, bottles were broken. It was a riot.” Logan lifted one hand to her cheek. “I thought you were safe in the bathroom with Reika. Until I heard you scream my name.”
Peter said, “It was clearly a distraction.”
Logan growled. “A good one. They waited until she left the room and then distracted me. I’m sorry, baby.”
“For what? I’m okay now.”
He ran his hands down her arms and opened up her fists. She hadn’t realized she was squeezing her hands together tightly. A scrap of T-shirt fabric was gripped in one hand.
Logan picked it up from her hand and tossed it aside. Jenna snatched it out of the air and said, “We need to call the hospital.”
“Are you hurt? What’s wrong?” Logan asked anxiously.
“No, no. Brigid can do a locating spell on the fabric and find out where the males are!”
* * * * *
Two hours later, Jenna and Logan were sitting inside the kitchen of Brigid’s small home. The cabin, located behind a garden center in the town of Lucks, was warm and inviting. It made Jenna feel homesick.
Brigid set cups of mellaro tea in front of them both, and Jenna inhaled the spicy, sweet steam and wrapped her hands around the stoneware mug.
Brigid picked up the scrap of fabric and looked at it. “This belonged to one of the attackers?”
“Yes. I was trying to get him to let me go and ripped his shirt when I was scratching him.”
Brigid hummed in her throat, rose from the table, and left the room.
“Can she really find him with just a piece of his shirt?” Logan asked. Jenna could hear the skepticism in his voice, but she didn’t let it bother her. Things that were normal to her were strange to Logan, and vice versa.
She traced a crack in the worn tabletop and said, “How do you think Jasper found me?”
“What?” His brow furrowed in confusion.
“My parents said Maximus was missing. He can cast spells. I’d bet anything that he’s working with Jasper and has something of mine that he used to find me here in this realm. Maybe a scrap of my dress from when they abducted me.”
Logan’s lips curled back when he growled. “I’m going to tear his fucking head off.”
Brigid came back into the room with a bundle of objects in her arms. “No you won’t, young wolf. You’ll find the errant fairy and take him back to the Fae Realm to be punished accordingly. To become his judge, you would cause your mate to be shunned by her own people.” She paused and stared at him. “You don’t have to return him in perfect condition, however.”
Logan said, “As if that were even an option. I’ll try to control myself so he’s at least breathing by the time he gets back to his realm.”
The corner of Brigid’s mouth turned up. Turning her attention back to the scrap of fabric, she laid out the things she had brought from the other room: a map of the state of Kentucky, a navy blue taper candle, a box of matches, and a small stone bowl.
Brigid opened the map and stretched it out on the table. She placed the stone bowl in the center of the map and tore the fabric in half, pushing one piece aside and laying the other piece inside the bowl. She lit a match and dropped it into the bowl, chanting low in the old fae-language. The material flared quickly and burned up, leaving only ash behind.
Another match was lit and the flame was touched to the wick of the candle. Brigid held it upright for several moments as she began a new chant, and then she turned it sideways so that the wax dripped into the bowl. She began to chant faster and the wax melted quickly, running into the bowl like water. Tipping the bowl over onto the map, she dropped the last of the candle into it and held her hands over the melted wax. Her body began to glow with a faint blue light and her wings extended from her back, ripping through her top. They unfurled and she glowed brighter, the wax bubbling and moving under her hand as she closed her eyes and spoke the location spell in a loud, clear voice.
Jenna had seen spell casters all her life and always been in awe of their abilities, but she’d never seen anything as impressive as what Brigid had done. Her eyes opened on the last word of the spell and her hands separated, revealing three blobs of wax around the name of a town.
On the surface of the wax blobs were three crystal-clear images. One was the face of the man that had grabbed Jenna, the second was the number one-forty-nine, and the third was the word Robin.
“Fuck me,” Logan said with awe in his voice.
Jenna chuckled. “Well, that guy is the one that snatched me. What do you think the number and word mean, Brigid?”
“I believe they are the street number and name of the location where the male is. The town the wax surrounds is named Dartly.” Brigid leaned back in her chair, her wings receding and her glow fading.
Logan pulled out his cell. “One-forty-nine Robin in Dartly,” he muttered under his breath. Jenna leaned over and looked at the screen. He was searching a map program.
“There’s a Robin Street and Robin Drive.” He looked at her. “I’m going to give the map to Teller.”
“He’ll find Jasper and his pack?”
“Without a doubt.”
Brigid stood when Logan did and said, “Just a moment.” She moved quickly out of the room and Jenna stood next to Logan, leaning into side.
She returned with a linen satchel. “You smell like a male, Jenna. It’s unpleasant to the nose.”
Jenna laughed and Logan growled under his breath. “It’s alright, Logan. Some fairies have sensitive noses, and I really do prefer my own homemade soaps and lotions.”
“And tea, from my own herb garden.”
Jenna hugged the short woman with a laugh and thanked her. She had not been very fond of the mass-produced organic teas available in the market that Logan took her to. She couldn’t wait until her own garden was ready for harvest and she could make her own teas and personal items.
When they left Brigid’s house and Logan held open the truck door for her, he snagged her close with his arm around her waist and buried his face in her neck, taking a deep breath. The sound from his throat was a wolfy purr. “You definitely don’t smell like a male.”
He kissed her on the cheek. “What do I smell like then?” she asked.
“Mine,” he answered simply and shut the door.
Chapter 10
Teller met Logan at his home on Friday morning. He was tired as hell, but his desire to keep Jenna safe from harm drove him to find Jasper and put an end to his terror.
“Jenna’s asleep,” Logan said in a low voice as he let Teller inside.
Teller nodded. “How is she?”
“Good, considering that they might have gotten away with it if three pack females hadn’t shown up when they did.”
Logan led him into the kitchen and poured coffee for both of them.
Teller fixed his coffee and took a drink. “I heard that Lindy was the one that spurred the other two to action.” Lindy was one of the mid-ranked females and had a reputation for trying to fuck her way into better standing in the pack by mating with a higher-ranked male. It hadn’t worked, and she’d become more and more bitter. McKenna and Faith were her close friends. The three females weren’t the sort to put their necks out for others.
“It’s true. McKenna took the guy carrying Jenna out with a crowbar and Lindy and Faith kept them busy until we got there. It was close, though. Lindy surprised me. The way she
’s behaved in the last few months…I never would have guessed that she would be willing to step in and risk her own neck. She had no idea what those males were capable of.”
Teller hummed in thought. “Maybe she’s tired of her rep in the pack? Maybe underneath the heavy perfume and trampy clothing is a kind person.”
Logan made a disbelieving sound.
“You don’t think people can change?” Teller asked.
Logan knew very well that people could change, since he himself had been a rather sketchy character at one point. “I didn’t say that. I don’t think about Lindy or the others because they’re not my mates. I’m surprised that they helped, but I’m incredibly glad that they did.”
Logan slid a map of Kentucky between them. Teller looked at the three blurred blotches and touched one.
“Wax?” Teller asked.
Logan told him about the location spell that Brigid had cast. Logan was still amazed that with just a scrape of fabric she had been able to find the wolf who wore the shirt. “Somewhere in Dartly, one of the males that tried to take Jenna is staying. It’s either 149 Robin Road or 149 Robin Drive. They’re both residential neighborhoods, and there’s no way to tell for certain which one is the location until we go. I don’t want to wait too long, because we have no way of knowing whether it’s a temporary location for the pack or if that one member lives there alone.”
Teller nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll put a team together and we’ll go in the afternoon.”