Maisey found herself giving it to him.
He put it close up to his nose and breathed it in.
“You smell absolutely delicious,” Chase said. “May I ask you a question?”
“What?”
“Are you bi-sexual?”
“No,” Maisey swallowed.
“I wonder, if you can learn to be. Yes. I think … perhaps. I just have to find that part of you, wherever it is hidden.”
Maisey withdrew her hand sharply. “I don’t buy this.”
“We’re just having fun, remember?”
“I feel really weird.”
“I think you want me to sit closer to you.”
“Huh?”
Chase stood up and moved his chair next to hers. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her.
“Let’s turn over the future card then,” he whispered in her ear. “Let’s turn it over together…”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Bane had dimmed the lights in the foyer. He’d pulled curtains across the entrance and changed the sign to ‘closed’. He opened the door opposite the bar area which led out to a restaurant.
“Shall we go in?” he asked Declan.
Declan didn’t want to. The further he was away from Maisey, the worse things seemed. He knew of course, nothing bad was happening to her and that he could trust Bane. As long as… He had the right explanation.
“Nice and quiet, isn’t it here?” Bane said moving through the restaurant. “Nice and warm?”
“Let’s just remain standing for now.”
Bane turned abruptly.
Declan made it clear from his eyes that he was going no further into the restaurant. If Maisey screamed out for help, then he had to be able to hear her…
“Alright,” Bane said. He plucked a couple of chairs up from the floor and moved them as close as possible to the lobby area. “Will you be more comfortable here?”
Declan reluctantly accepted the chair.
“Things are fucked up back at the club,” Declan said. “With you and Chill gone, Slash’s tigers have basically taken over. I tried to warn Chill, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“That’s okay, Declan,” Bane said. “You don’t have to worry about them.”
Declan stared at his boss carefully. “I’m not being heard by you.”
Bane pressed his lips together. “No, I am hearing you –”
“Fifteen minutes after Chill was gone, Slash had me dressed up like a clown. Forced me to shift and then ride tricycles around his little gathering. They kicked me. Spat at me. Threw stuff. Laughed at me. It was no better than when I was in the circus. You told me those days were over.”
“I’ll have a word to him,” Bane said. “I’ll call him, make sure he doesn’t do it again.”
“That simple?”
“If he does do it again, I promise he’ll be replaced.”
“Why can’t you and Chill come back? Where the fuck is he?”
“Now, that’s a fantastic question, why we can’t come back,” Bane said. “We are coming back, in a way, we’re just transitioning our business model. The club is going to be used in more ways than for shifters to find mates.”
“Okay. Run it by me.”
“Well, we want to use the club sort of as a harness, in order to attract certain types of shifters, into our fold.”
“You mean like, recruiting them?”
“Yes, you could say we are recruiting them. The point is though we do need a familiar face down there, fronting things for us. Shifters aren’t going to let their guard down if they think Slash’s tigers are running things.”
“He said some pretty messed up shit as well. About you and Chill being replaced. He made it sound like you’d been abducted here or…”
“He was probably just trying to scare you,” Bane said. “You’ve seen how he gets. He’s a bit of a control freak.”
“Alright,” Declan said. “Can you tell me though … what are you guys doing here exactly? I thought this was your honeymoon –”
“It is our honeymoon. We’ll all be moving on shortly.”
“Where?”
“That I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Because I think it’ll upset you.”
“Upset me? What the hell are you talking about?”
Bane appeared uneasy. “We should sit down and discuss this another time. It’s getting late. I’d ask you to stay here, but I’m not sure they have any vacant rooms. You’re better off calling a car and going home.”
“Okay,” Declan sighed. “I’d feel better though if I spoke to Chill before I left though.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, Maisey’s friend Cordelia was calling her up, saying she was in trouble.”
“You … you let me deal with Maisey. I’ll see her and Cordelia get a chance to speak to one another. I’ll see they both get home safe.”
“What?” Declan looked at him sideways.
Bane put a hand over his. “Your services are no longer required tonight, friend. Go home.”
Declan stood from his chair. He walked out into the lobby.
Bane followed him.
“No,” Bane said after him. “No, don’t go back in there.”
Bane grabbed hold of Declan as he went to go to the bar area.
Declan stopped, turning around to face Bane, struck with surprise.
“I said we’ll look after her,” Bane said. He pushed him a few paces down the lobby. “I’ll call you a car. Wait outside. Go home.”
Declan took a couple of steps back in the direction of the entrance.
“That’s it,” Bane nodded. “Off you go.”
Declan stopped. His eyes pierced Bane’s.
“This is your final warning, Declan. Don’t even think about it.”
Declan’s feet leapt through the air past Bane, and he landed by the bar room’s door. “Maisey!” he cried pulling the door open. “Maisey, we’re going!”
As he pulled the door back however, he was greeted with a sight that was all too much for him.
Maisey and the cheetah shifter were on the floor together, their arms around each other, kissing.
Naked.
“Noooo!” Declan screamed. “NOOOO!”
He shifted into his panda and bounded forward to them with unspeakable rage. He grabbed a hold of the cheetah and ripped him from Maisey, hurling him across the bar.
He landed there with a giant crash of broken bottles.
Declan turned and looked down to Maisey, who was staring up at him in a zombie-like trance.
“Why did you do that for?” she whispered. “I love him.”
Declan’s panda roared, and he lashed out in anger at Maisey, striking her cheek and drawing blood. She screamed and Bane quickly ran in and stepped between them.
“Get out of here Declan! You’re not wanted!” Bane shouted.
Declan looked down at his paw, still having trouble understanding what he’d done. Tears flowed from his eyes. Then he bounded away as fast as he could.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Maisey tried to sit up. Her head was still dizzy. From the … wine? She hadn’t had that much to drink…
Bane handed her a napkin. “Your cheek.”
Maisey took it and placed it against the cut. Her heart was still racing from his touch.
“Sorry, about that,” Bane said, leaning over the bar. “Are you okay?”
Chase’s fingers took hold of the edge. He hoisted himself up.
“I thought you said you had him under control,” Chase said. “That … he wouldn’t be a problem for me.”
“Well, he must’ve been particularly upset tonight,” Bane said. “No matter.”
Chase staggered around the side of the bar. “My pants?”
Bane picked them up and tossed them to him.
Maisey was suddenly aware she was naked. She couldn’t remember how that happened.
“Where are my clothes?” she whispered.<
br />
Bane turned around. “Behind you. Underneath the table.”
Maisey saw them and scooped them up. She ran past Bane and Chase towards the bathroom.
“I’m not finished with her,” she heard Chase mutter.
Maisey rushed into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. As she began to get dressed one of the cubicle doors opened and the blue haired woman appeared.
“He’s mine you know,” she said in a quiet voice.
Maisey increased her speed of dressing. “Who is?”
“Chase. He belongs to me.”
“I … I don’t know what happened back there.”
“He’s chosen you,” the woman said stepping forward. “He’s taking you into our bed.”
“I … fucking don’t know what happened back there. But I’ve … I’ve got to…”
The woman was standing right next to her. She put a hand on Maisey’s shoulder.
She stopped.
“If you don’t want him, then don’t look into his eyes,” she whispered. “It helps.”
The woman exited the bathroom.
Maisey finished dressing and then walked round to the mirror to inspect her face. The claws had struck her hard enough they would surely leave a scar.
Maisey touched it and began to cry.
CHAPTER TWENTY
This was it. Declan’s end. He’d climbed to the top of the hill behind the resort, and his panda had sat himself down in the snow, as painful as it was. He couldn’t believe it. What he’d just done. Tonight had been filled with terrible things for him, first being humiliated by Slash, and then discovering Maisey didn’t love him anymore. Or better said, that she never did. Declan’s heart had been broken in that moment. For all the tragedy and hardship he’d stood to face, the one thing that he knew would keep him alive through it was the fact that Maisey liked him. That she didn’t see him as the laughable punching bag, everyone else did. Declan was so shy … he didn’t know how to talk to women. To find one who he felt comfortable with, that he felt connected to … it had never happened before. And now here he was, alone and in the snow. He had struck the poor girl, out of his own sinful rage. He had done the very worst thing his panda could have done. He had become like them – the abusers.
Declan sobbed for a few more moments, before standing up again, and looking back at the resort, for one last goodbye. He was done with it. With Bane, Chill, the whole shifter club. He needed a change of scene. He didn’t know where the new journey would take him but hopefully … someday … he could forgive himself.
His teeth chattered together and his used his paw to wipe some of the snow off his back. Then he straightened himself up and began his journey into the unknown.
“Declan!” a voice called out through the wind behind him.
He stopped.
No, it couldn’t be.
His mind was playing tricks on him.
“DECLAN!”
He turned around to see Maisey running towards him. She landed in his arms and he held her tightly, the both of them sobbing uncontrollably.
For a minute or so, it was as though time had stood still, the sadness and joy too much for either to bear. Declan shifted back to his human form so that he could feel Maisey against his human skin. So it would be more real. So he would know it wasn’t just some silly panda’s dream…
“He tricked me,” Maisey sobbed. “I didn’t want to be with him. He had these weird tarot cards and he was reading my future –”
Declan pushed his lips to the place on Maisey’s cheek where he’d hurt her.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “So, so sorry…”
“It’s okay,” Maisey replied. “I know you didn’t mean it.”
He pulled her tight into him again, stunned that it was happening to them.
Stunned he could feel so happy.
“What’s that?” Maisey said. She was looking over his shoulder.
Declan kissed her cheek gently again and then turned around to see what had caught her attention.
There were some purple and pink lights hovering the distance.
“I have no idea,” Declan said. “Does it matter?”
“What if it’s a town or something?” Maisey asked. “We might run into Cordelia and Chill.”
Declan swallowed. “Have you been checking in with that friend of yours?”
“Who?”
“Marshall. Maybe you should call him. Find out if the police are on their way.”
“Okay,” Maisey said. “I’ll try.”
Declan stepped away from her. He walked along the snow for a few meters so he could get a better look at what the lights were. They seemed to cover a large area.
“Hello, Marshall?” Maisey’s voice carried on behind him. “Where are you now? Are you at the station…?”
Declan’s eyes were adjusting better to the horizon.
His ears were adjusting to the wind.
Something stirred inside of him.
“Great. Yeah, we’re here but we still can’t find Chill or Cordelia. Bane was here, he said they went for a walk –”
Declan turned around. “Do you hear that?”
Maisey covered the phone. “What?”
“That … music. Do you hear it?”
She turned away from him. “Yes, Marshall. I know we shouldn’t but –”
Declan touched her shoulder.
She looked back to him. “I have to go, Marshall. I’ll call again if we find them.” She put the phone away.
“We need to go down there,” Declan whispered. “I think that’s where they are.”
“Okay, sure. Let’s get going.”
Declan turned and started walking. Maisey caught up to him and held his hand.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “You’re acting strange.”
“The music makes me sick,” Declan said. “But I realize now. I must face it.”
“What music?”
She couldn’t hear it yet, but soon she would.
As they ventured forward, it was only to get louder and louder. The purple and pink lights, brighter and brighter.
When they were almost there, the entrance in clear sight, Declan stopped and looked through all the scenery on the horizon.
“I think it’s closed,” Maisey said. “It’s too late for them to be open.”
Declan’s eyes stopped.
Yes.
Yes, there he was.
The man with red eyes staring down at them from the roof of the faraway tower.
He thought Declan wouldn’t see him this time. He thought Declan wouldn’t know where to look.
“I see you,” Declan whispered. “You’re waiting for me.”
“Declan, who are you talking to?” Maisey demanded.
“Someone I know. Someone … from long ago…”
“Declan?”
Declan stepped away from Maisey, his eyes and feet and soul drawn into the gaze of the man in the tower.
“Declan!” Maisey shouted. “Where are you going? It’s closed!”
But Declan couldn’t hear her anymore. His mind was shutting it out.
He only had one focus.
One purpose.
One calling.
“DECLAN!!!”
Declan shifted into his panda and raced as hard as he could towards the main gates. Just as he was about to rip them from the ground, they began to open for him.
Declan stood still while parted, and when the gap was wide enough, he ran through.
Still a fair way behind, Maisey could be heard running after him.
Calling his name. Crying for him to come back.
But there was no coming back for Declan.
Because here, in the sound of the circus music, and underneath the theme park lights – here –
He would be lost forever.
THANKS FOR READING. IF YOU ENJOYED THIS STORY, PLEASE CONSIDER HELPING ROSETTE OUT AND LEAVING A REVIEW.
AVAILABLE NOW
CALLUM (TRILLION
AIRE SHIFTER CLUB BOOK FOUR)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B0WI8U0
It's New Years Eve and Ava Armadale is stuck alone working the late shift. Seven weeks ago she went to Trillionaire Shifter Club and met a man who broke her heart. Ever since their night together, she can't stop thinking about him, and how he could just disappear from her life. Her self worth has been crushed.
But as she begins work that evening Ava soon learns that Callum's disappearance might not have been of his own making. Eager to solve the mystery, she sets off with her best friend Ruby to the hottest party in town, located within the walls of the theme park, 'Shifter World'.
Rosette’s New Release Alert Mailing List
http://eepurl.com/399VD
Rosette’s Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rosette-Bolter/291036691093985
Email: [email protected]
Declan: Trillionaire Shifter Club Book Three Page 5