by R. E. Butler
She stepped onto the back patio and looked out over the backyard. The sun was setting and the sky was a mixture of oranges and yellows. Watching the sun set from Logan’s patio was one of her favorite things to do here in the Mortal Realm. Well, outside of spending time in Logan’s arms. That was hands-down her favorite activity.
“Is the brute gone?” Darlie asked, startling Jenna from her musings on Logan’s muscular arms and the tattoos that beckoned her touch.
“His name is Logan, Darlie,” Jenna said with a smile. “And yes, he’s at work.”
Darlie sniffed. “I know what the brute’s name is.”
Jenna chuckled and looked over the yard. The shed caught her eye. She began to walk to it, explaining to Darlie that she was looking for a place to make soap. Darlie approved, especially when Jenna promised to give her sprite-sized slivers so she could wash with them.
The shed was made from rough wood planks with black shingles and had one small window. Sunlight had faded the paint, and the door creaked as she twisted the handle and pulled it open. It didn’t have electricity, and with the sun setting it was hard to see inside. But she could see that the counter was covered with tools and small equipment, gardening implements were hung from the wall, and the floor was filthy.
As if on cue, Darlie sneezed, making her body jerk in the air. Jenna said, “It needs some cleaning, huh?”
Darlie hummed in agreement.
She knew she’d seen a battery-powered lantern in the garage. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Jenna promised, and headed back into the house. Douglas came around the corner and she said, “I’m going to work in the shed for a bit.”
He nodded. “I heard you outside and just thought I’d check. Have fun.”
“I will.” He continued walking around the house, leaving her alone. She walked into the house and back to the bedroom, where she changed into a pair of comfortable pants and a long-sleeved shirt that she didn’t mind getting dirty. It was warm out, but as the sun was setting it would grow cooler. She tossed her clothes into the hamper and twisted her hair into a long braid to keep it out of the way.
Logan’s garage was very well organized. Metal shelving ran down both walls, filled with boxes, tools, paint cans, and things she didn’t recognize, like colorful stretchy cords with hooks on the ends. After searching the shelves, she found two lanterns on a middle shelf behind a canvas bag with a picture of a tent on it.
One of the lanterns worked and the other didn’t, so she left the one behind and took the working one outside. With the lantern glowing brightly in the small shed, she could see well enough to work and began by clearing the long counter and shelf underneath.
“The brute is messy, isn’t he?” Darlie asked, perching on the top of a hoe hanging from the wall.
Jenna didn’t think he was messy so much as he just didn’t have a knack for gardening and hadn’t given any thought to the shed. The garage was proof that he could be neat if he wanted to be. Jenna just shook her head at Darlie and went back into the house to bring the boxes out, stopping to look for a pair of scissors in the kitchen to cut the tape open from the boxes. When she couldn’t locate scissors, she pulled a knife from the block on the counter.
By the time she had unloaded the boxes and set up her supplies, the sun had set completely and the moon had risen. She wondered how Logan was doing at work and decided to call him. She reached into her front pocket and realized that she had left the phone in the pocket of her pants that were in the laundry basket in the bathroom.
Knowing Logan, he’d probably called her just to see if she had the phone on her, and wouldn’t be happy that she hadn’t answered. Smiling to herself, she walked out of the shed and towards the house, with Darlie flying next to her.
“That’s weird,” Jenna said, her steps slowing. “I left the house lights on, didn’t I?”
She glanced at Darlie, who shrugged. The house was completely dark. The only light came from the shed behind her where the lantern still burned brightly. She took a few more steps, and something tickled at the back of her mind as the hairs on her neck rose.
“Douglas?” she called. Only silence answered her. Wolves had exceptional hearing. Even if he was at the front of the house, he would have heard her.
A creak from inside the house made her hold her breath and stop moving. Her first thought was that it was Logan, come home to check on her. But she knew that he would never turn off the lights and sneak around. And Douglas wouldn’t come into the house, either. She saw a flash of something through the open back door. With her heart pounding in her ears, she began to back away from the house.
A shadow passed through the door and a figure wearing black stood on the patio. As her eyes adjusted to the moonlight, she saw a face she had hoped to never see again: Jasper.
He didn’t speak, he simply growled. Two more dark figures appeared behind him, adding their growls to the previously quiet night. She knew running to the front of the house and trying to make it to a neighbor’s house was a long shot. The neighbors were too far apart and Jasper and his men were werewolves and would be much faster than her. The woods were out, too. That was a wolf’s natural territory.
“Darlie,” Jenna hissed, “go find Logan.”
Darlie sped away, her wings buzzing furiously, and Jenna turned and raced to the shed, hoping to find a way to hold them off until Logan could get there. She heard the wolves coming, their growls growing louder. When she was through the shed door, she pulled it shut. There was no lock on the inside.
Keeping her hand on the handle, she looked for something to wedge the door shut. Spying a thick-handled hoe, she grabbed it, feeding it through the handle. It was long enough that it braced the entire door. She wasn’t foolish enough to believe that would keep them out permanently, but she certainly hoped it would buy her some time. Grabbing the knife from the counter, she crouched down against the door, gripping the handle with one hand and pulling hard, bracing her feet against the door jam.
Where was Douglas?
Something hit against the door hard. Her body jerked with the force.
“Come out and I won’t hurt you. If you make me break through this door to get you, you’re not going to like what happens.”
Logan, Logan, Logan, she chanted in her mind. She didn’t know if he could even feel her fear through their connection, but she was willing to try anything.
“My bodyguard will be right back, he’s patrolling around the house now.”
Jasper chuckled. “The dart I used on you worked equally well on the wolf. He didn’t even have a chance to call for help before he was out.”
Poor Douglas! Her mind reeled. “My mate is on his way home. You better leave before he gets here.” She tried to make her voice calm and tamp down the fear rising in her, but she could hear the trembling in her words.
“Liar, liar,” Jasper tutted. “He’s still at work and won’t be home for a while. Think we haven’t been paying attention?”
Something hit the door again and the hoe rattled, shifting slightly. She grabbed it and pulled it back into place.
“How did you find me?” Maybe distracting them would keep them busy enough until Darlie could find Logan. Assuming the sprite actually could.
Logan, Logan, Logan.
“Your old boyfriend was a wealth of information once I threatened to break his wings. He did some kind of spell that showed us where you were at the bar. And then I broke his wings anyway. Once I knew your mate worked at the bar, it was easy enough to track him, and you, here.”
So Maximus had doubly betrayed her. Not that she was surprised. He was the kind of slimy toad that would do anything to save his own hide.
The door was hit again, and she heard a crack this time, as if the wood had been split. She didn’t know what they were hitting it with, but she imagined it was one of the wolves knocking his shoulder into it. She was sure that Logan was strong enough to break through the door, and while Jasper and his wolves weren’t as muscular as Loga
n, wolves were generally stronger by nature.
Another loud hit, followed by a cracking sound, reverberated through the little shed. Jenna’s arm ached from where it gripped the handle. There was another blow to the door. And another. And another. Tears streamed down her face as she prayed that Logan would come for her. Clutching the knife tightly, she braced herself for another hit.
The window shattered. A chunk of wood from the nearby woodpile had been thrown through. She screamed as it smashed through the small window and bounced on the table, knocking over the lantern and sending her supplies skidding around. The lantern crashed onto the floor and the light went out. When the lantern was extinguished, the hits against the door increased and something else crashed through the window. With the moonlight through the window, she could see that someone had thrown another piece of wood into the shed.
Two more blows against the door and another log through the window had Jenna fighting terror on two fronts. If she moved from the door she would become a target for the logs being tossed randomly through. If she stayed by the door, eventually they’d get through. She was trapped, and her only defense was a steak knife.
There was a moment of silence. Jenna could hear her heart pounding. Then she heard running footsteps and something heavy hit the door. It cracked loudly and wood splinters showered down on her as the door began to give way. She had no choice but to scramble away from the door or risk being flattened when whoever was throwing themselves against it made it through. The hoe angled slightly, no longer completely bracing the door, and slid free with the next blow.
Jenna scrambled to the end of the shed, just feet away from the door, as it broke apart. Jasper stepped through. Her eyes had adjusted enough to the moonlight for her to be able to see him. She could see his two men just outside the shed, but they didn’t come inside.
“Now,” Jasper growled, “I told you that if you made me come in here, you wouldn’t like what would happen.”
Jenna straightened slowly. Her shoulder bumped into a shovel leaning against the wall.
“I won’t commit crimes for you.” She wrapped her free hand around the handle of the shovel.
“I don’t want you to do anything but die, bitch. After we make good use of your body.”
The sheer menace in his voice sent shivers racing down her spine. Dread filled her. If they took her from Logan, there was a good chance that she would never see him again.
Taking a deep breath, she swung the shovel up, yelling mindlessly. Jasper caught the shovel with one hand and jerked her off her feet. The knife thudded to the floor as Jasper swung her around and drew the shovel handle against her throat. He pulled tight so her back was against his chest and the handle dug into her flesh. Immediately pain lanced through her and she couldn’t breathe. Gasping and choking, her hands struggled to push the shovel away, her nails raking down his forearms before she began blindly lashing out with her hands.
One hand slapped onto the counter and she felt the small bottles that she kept oils and fruit juices in to use in her products. The cork popped easily on one with her thumb, and as her chest began to burn and her vision darkened, she flung the bottle behind her and hit Jasper in the face.
He shouted, dropping the shovel, and she fell to the floor gasping for air, her hands searching for the knife. Jasper yelled, “You bitch! I’m blind!”
One hand closed around the knife and she jumped to her feet. Jasper lashed out with his hands, and she caught a glimpse of claws in the moonlight. One hand caught her upper arm and raked across it. She cried out in pain and he slashed at her again but stumbled in his blindness and began to fall. He knocked her down as he went; she raised her hands to protect herself from his claws and she felt the knife in her hand hit him and sink deep in his chest.
He made a strangled sound and went limp as hot blood seeped over her hand and dripped down her arm.
She couldn’t see the door because Jasper was blocking her view, so she didn’t know where his men were. Terror rose in her, knowing how vulnerable she was. She choked on tears, struggling under the heavy weight of the man on top of her. She only hoped he was dead.
She heard engines roaring loudly and relief flooded through her. Logan was coming! It had to be him. It had to be!
Sucking in as deep a breath as she could with Jasper’s body pressing down on her, she screamed the name of her mate. “Logan!”
Chapter 14
As Logan careened around the corner onto his street, he caught sight of a black van. It appeared empty, sitting at the side of the road. His street wasn’t very populated, and he knew that the van didn’t belong to any of his neighbors. A small part of him was relieved to see the van, because it meant that whoever had come to harm her hadn’t gotten away with her. He felt in his gut that it was Jasper and his pack.
He swore he could hear Jenna calling his name in his head. His wolf was going crazy.
He saw headlights catch up behind him and knew that his packmates had come to help. Missing the driveway entirely, he raced the truck down the side of the house and stopped next to the garden. Leaping from the truck, he could hear the sound of Jenna’s heart beating wildly. She was in the shed.
Two figures dressed entirely in black had been standing at the open door to the shed and they split up, one running into the woods and one heading for the front of the house. Logan wanted to go after them, but finding Jenna was his top priority.
Stalking towards the shed, he heard her scream his name. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jason head into the woods after one male and the pounding footsteps of his friends heading towards the front of the house where the other one had gone. His pack would stop them from leaving, and then they would deal with them.
“Jenna?” Logan called, stepping into the dark shed.
“Logan?” she answered, her voice cracking. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw the glint of the metallic strands in her hair and saw she was pinned underneath a wolf. Rage surged through him. Had the male raped her? Jerking the male off her by the back of his shirt, Logan roared his fury, slamming him against the wall.
The male’s head lolled to the side, his eyes open but unseeing. He was dead.
Tossing the male outside of the shed, he went to his knees before Jenna as she lay frozen on the floor, a knife wet with blood in one hand. Extracting the knife from her fist, he was relieved to see she was still fully dressed. “Baby, are you hurt?”
She gasped for breath but didn’t speak as he leaned over her. Running his hands over her quickly, he scented for her blood. He found an injury on her arm that was bleeding, but otherwise he thought she was okay. Just terrified. He picked her up, careful of the wound on her arm, and carried her out of the shed, stepping over the dead body.
“Is he, is he dead?” she whispered, clutching at Logan with her good arm.
“Yeah, baby. Don’t look.”
She turned her face into his neck and a sob wracked her body. As Logan walked towards his house, Jason walked from the woods at the same time as Teller rounded the corner of the house. They both had males slung over their shoulders.
Dumping the men in a heap near the dead body, Jason said, “Fast fucker. Good thing I’m faster.”
Logan looked at the two unconscious men. He looked at Jason and Teller as the rest of his friends joined them.
Bo carried Douglas from the side of the house and laid him on the grass near the back patio. “He’s unconscious. I found a dart sticking out of his shoulder. His cell was near him. I think he tried to call for help.”
Logan was glad that Douglas was going to be okay. Bo stood and said, “I’ll go meet Trick and let him know to head back here.”
Patrick “Trick” Flannigan was Allen’s chief of police, human, and married to a she-wolf in the Tressel Pack.
Logan looked at his best friend. “Thank you.” Turning back to the rest of his friends, he repeated the words to them.
Teller looked down at the male that Jason had caught and grinned. “Lo
oks like your guy ran into a tree.”
Michael quipped, “Several times.”
Jason said, “Go take Jenna in the house, Logan. We’ll handle things out here until Trick needs to talk to her. She doesn’t need to see this.”
Nodding, Logan turned and walked into the house, flipping on the kitchen light.
Darlie was hovering just inside.
“Thank you for coming for me, Darlie.”
She nodded. “Jenna was very brave.”
Logan’s hands tightened on Jenna. “I know.” He would forever be haunted by the image of Jenna underneath that male.
“How did you find me, Darlie?” he asked, pulling out a kitchen chair and setting Jenna on it. He didn’t straighten, but went to his knees so Jenna could continue to lean on him.
“It wasn’t hard. I’ve explored the town, so I knew where you went. I’m just sorry it took me so long to get to you.”
“I’m in your debt, sprite,” Logan said, his voice thickening with emotion. He could have lost his mate. She could have been killed or taken from him.
Darlie hovered next to his face for a moment and then kissed his cheek before buzzing out the door.
“Let me see your arm, baby,” he said, easing her head to his other shoulder so he could look at her left arm. The long-sleeved shirt she wore had been shredded and was wet with blood. With as little jarring movement as possible, he tore the sleeve open to expose her skin. There were four slash marks. That told him that the male had shifted partially so his claws came out.
“You must have been so scared, baby,” he spoke softly.
She started to cry in earnest and his heart cracked sharply. “I-I’m s-sorry,” she cried, her voice cracking and her hand twisting in his shirt.
Smoothing back her hair from her face, he said, “Don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I didn’t stay in the house and I didn’t have my phone with me,” she sobbed the halting words.
He shushed her gently, promising that he wasn’t upset about that. His assurances didn’t seem to ease her crying. He was also having a hard time dealing with his emotions at the moment. He wanted to kick his own ass for leaving her.