“Enough!” Cole yelled and jumped from his chair. He pushed her backwards onto the bed and pinned her down by her shoulders. His body trembled with anger.
Lacey looked up at him with frightened eyes. She tried to push him off but he didn’t budge. Cole’s jaw clenched as he spoke through gritted teeth. “You don’t know anything about me. And you sure as hell don’t know anything about Jesse. You seem to think that our hatred of each other is because of something that I did. Well, you’re wrong. Everyone has a bad side Lacey, including your precious Jesse.”
Lacey searched Cole’s face for any sign that he was lying. “That’s not true. Jesse is good. He’s nothing like you.”
Cole eased his grip on her shoulders and gave her a small smile. “I’m not going to argue with you, Lacey. I know who my brother really is and one day everyone else will to.” He took one last look at her before sitting back in his chair. “Let’s get back to our little question game, shall we. Can you move anything with your powers or is there a limit to what you can do? Can you lift a car in the air? Or move things that aren’t near you?”
Lacey raised her brows and shook her head. “I don’t want to play your stupid game anymore” she said stubbornly.
Cole let out a small growl. He wanted to hear more about her powers and he was losing his patience with her. He had already showed her way more than he had ever shown anyone else. “I’ll tell you about my parents if you answer my question” he bargained.
Lacey thought about it for a second. Her curiosity got the best of her. “Fine. No, I don’t think I can lift a car. I mean I’ve never tried to. As for the distance question, I don’t know. I’ve never really tested myself. I usually try not to use my powers. Now tell me about your parents.”
Cole smiled, pleased that Lacey was responding to him. He let out a deep breath before speaking. “Our mother was a human that our father had been dating for a while. She didn’t know what he was, he never told her. Once father fell in love with her, he decided to change her. Apparently, she didn’t like being a werewolf. She tried to kill herself several times in the years after she was changed but when she got pregnant father hoped that she would feel differently. He hoped that having children to love and care for would make her enjoy life. After Jesse and I were born, she did change for a little while. She was never happy but she didn’t try to kill herself anymore.” He paused and looked away as memories of his childhood caused a pain deep in his chest. “She tried her best to be a good mother. I know that she loved us even though she hated what we were...what she was. Jesse and I were twelve when we came home from school and found her dead in her room. She had shot herself with a silver bullet. On the table beside her body was three letters, one for myself, one for Jesse and one for our father. In my letter, she apologized for not being strong enough to live with what she was. She said that she loved me and wished that I’d find happiness one day. I don’t know what the other notes said, I didn’t bother to read them.”
Lacey was speechless as she listened to Cole talk about his mother’s death. She wanted to say something but didn’t know what she should say. Her mind was on Jesse. The thought of him finding his mother dead was heartbreaking. She wanted to hold him and tell him how sorry she was for what he had been through.
She didn’t realize that while she was thinking about Jesse, Cole had turned away from her. He stared off into the corner of the room without saying a word. When he finally faced Lacey again, she could see the pain on his face that talking about his mother had caused. She instantly felt awful that she hadn’t acknowledge that Jesse wasn’t the only one who lost his mother. Cole did too.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Cole” she said.
He ignored her comment like her sympathy meant nothing to him. “Your turn. Is there anything that your powers don’t work on? Can you crush metal or rock?”
Lacey rolled her eyes again and said, “No, I can’t crush metal. I’m not superman. Windows, mirrors or any type of glass isn’t safe around me. When I get angry, it shatters. And I can’t do anything against steel. It’s too strong. Your turn” she said and pointed at Cole. “What about your father? Where is he?”
“He’s dead” Cole said flatly and returned her gesture by pointing at her. “Your turn.”
Lacey was getting frustrated. “How did he die?” she asked.
Cole shook his head. “Your turn” he said each word slowly and firmly.
“Damn it Cole, I’m tired of this. Can’t you just tell me what I want to know and be done with it?” she yelled.
Cole grinned. “I could ask you the same thing. I’m not happy playing this game either, but it seems to be the only way I can get any information from you.”
“Ugh...just forget it!” Lacey yelled and pulled the blanket over her head. “I don’t want to hear anymore anyway” she lied. She desperately wanted to know what happened to Jesse’s father and what had made Cole hate humans. But she wasn’t going to let him think he had any control over her by dangling information in her face.
Cole laughed. Lacey’s childish antics amused him. He was intrigued by her. He liked how one minute she was strong and willful, and the next, she was more stubborn than a mule and then as bratty as a child. The only thing that he hadn’t seen from her yet, was weakness. Even when she was in pain from the poison and barely able to move, she still lashed out at him. He got up and walked over to the door. He wasn’t giving up on finding out more about her but there was no point in pushing her, she wasn’t going anywhere. And he was beginning to know her well enough that he knew if she didn’t want to talk then she wasn’t going to. “I’ll come back later to check on you. Maybe you’ll feel like talking then” Cole said and left the room.
Lacey threw the blanket off of her and stared at the door then yelled, “Jerk!”
She heard Cole laughing from the hallway. She buried her face in the pillow and screamed.
The sound of Lacey’s voice echoed in Cole’s head as he made his way to his room. He couldn’t help but smile even though it was obvious that she hated him. There was something about her that he liked and it scared him. Once in his room, he closed the door and leaned against it with his eyes closed. Lacey’s face popped into his mind. She was looking up at him with so much love. Her eyes were wide with concern. His heart thudded in his chest as he saw himself stick the needle in her neck.
He opened his eyes and pushed the image away. Lacey hadn’t been looking at him with love. She thought she was with Jesse, not him. Cole growled and pushed away from the door. What was happening to him? Why was the thought of Lacey being with Jesse so infuriating? Why did it bother him so much? Being around her was making him feel things that he didn’t want to feel. She was making him soft. The mere fact that he still had not been able to get all of the information he wanted from her proved that. Normally when he wanted something from someone and they refused to give it to him, he would just take it. He had beaten information out of people many times over the years. But when it came to Lacey, he wasn’t himself. He didn’t want to hurt her. Even worse, he wanted to take care of her and that is something he had never wanted to do for anyone.
Cole’s belief has always been that only the strong should survive, which typically meant only werewolves. But every time he looked at Lacey, he felt the need to comfort her. He kicked the chair at the foot of his bed, sending it flying across the room. Then he flopped down on the bed and brought his fist up on both sides of his head and squeezed as if he was trying to force Lacey from his mind.
He was going to have to get tougher with her. He wasn’t about to let a human be his downfall. She was going to have to start obeying him or pay the consequences just like everyone else. He couldn’t afford for his pack to see his weakness with her. He had never cared about anyone and he wasn’t going to start now. Although he was starting to understand why his brother had foolishly fallen in love with her. But he wasn’t going to make the same mistake. He was going to have to keep his distance from Lacey for his own sake
more than hers.
Chapter Fourteen
“It’s been over a week and we still haven’t found Lacey. I’m afraid that it might be too late to save her” Tonya said and reached across the table and squeezed Kindal’s hand.
“I miss her” Kindal said and wiped a tear from her eye. “I was supposed to protect her and I didn’t and now Jesse is killing himself trying to find her. He’s barely gotten twenty hours of sleep since Cole took her. He’s not eating and he looks weak and tired. I hate seeing him in so much pain.”
Trevor walked into the kitchen and put his hand on her shoulder. “He’ll pull though this. It’s not easy losing someone that you love and it’s going to take Jesse some time.”
Scotty looked up from his bowl of cereal and glared angrily at his friends. “What the hell is wrong with all of you? You’re acting like Lacey is dead and we should all just move on and forget about her. Well, I don’t believe that. I agree with Jesse, she’s out there somewhere waiting for us to find her. I don’t think Cole wants to kill her. He wants her powers and she can’t use them if she’s dead.” He pushed away from the table and stood up. “I’m going to keep helping Jesse look for her until we find her...dead or alive. And if you all were really his friends, you’d do the same. He’s always been there for us whenever we’ve needed him, and it’s time that we were there for him.”
Scotty stormed out the door of the warehouse, slamming it behind him. Tyron and Devon got up from the couch and followed him outside, leaving Tonya, Kindal and Trevor alone in the kitchen.
The mood at the warehouse had been somber since the night Lacey was taken and everyone was having a hard time dealing with losing her. But no one was hit as hard as Jesse.
He sat in the hall outside his bedroom, leaning against the wall as he listened to his friends talk about him downstairs. Every time he heard them talking about Lacey like she was already dead, it ripped a new hole in his heart. He didn’t want to think she was gone. He had to believe that she was alright. It was the only way he could go on each day.
He knew that his friends were worried about him but he couldn’t stop looking for Lacey. He loved her too much to give up. And the fact that she was with his brother urged him on even more. He knew the kind of madness Cole was capable of and he had to get her away from him. The image of Cole kissing Lacey the night that he took her went through Jesse’s mind and he punched the wall beside him, making a huge hole. He cussed to himself and got to his feet for another long day of searching.
*****
Kevin was sitting at the kitchen table cutting potatoes for supper when Sasha came into the room wearing a super short black leather mini skirt and a hot pink tank top. She sashayed over to the table and leaned over it so that her breast spilled over the top of her shirt. She smiled.
Kevin looked up from what he was doing and raised his brows at her. “What are you up to, Sasha?”
She came around the table and straddled him in the chair. “Who says that I’m up to anything? I’m just bored and Cole doesn’t want to play with me anymore. He has his little human to keep him company” she said and leaned over to kiss the side of his neck.
Kevin closed his eyes, loving the feel of her on his lap as she kissed him. He had wanted her for years but never made a move because she was with Cole. Never in his wildest dreams did he think she would be sitting in his lap rubbing herself against him the way she was now. Sasha playfully bit down on his ear lobe. Kevin let out a low growl. She reached down between their bodies and grabbed his crotch.
“Sasha” he growled in warning, “don’t start something that you can’t or won’t finish.”
She smiled at him seductively then claimed his lips with hers. Her kiss was rough and needing. And it excited him.
Kevin stood up with Sasha’s legs wrapped around his waist as they kissed. He backed her up against the wall in the corner of the room and explored her body with his hands without breaking from their kiss. His whole body trembled with the need to have her. He rubbed his hand up her thigh and under her skirt.
“Not here” Sasha said breathlessly. “We need privacy. Let’s go to your room.”
Kevin didn’t waste any time. He put her down on her feet, grabbed her hand and led the way to his room...right next to Lacey’s.
He opened the door and Sasha pushed him inside, eager to get what she had to do over with so that she could get him to help her with her plan. The mere idea of having sex with him disgusted her but she was willing to do whatever she had to in order to get Cole back. And she was sure that once Lacey was out of the picture, he would fall in love with her again.
Kevin grabbed Sasha by the shoulders and pushed her down on the bed. He stared at her with hungry eyes. He knew that she was just using him. He wasn’t dumb enough to think that after all the years they’ve known each other she suddenly wanted him. She was using him to get to Cole or maybe Lacey, but that wasn’t going to happen. If she was stupid enough to think that by sleeping with him, he would do whatever she wanted him to do, then she deserved to get used. And he intended to use her all night long.
*****
Several more days had passed and Lacey was starting to accept the fact that she may never escape. She came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head just as the door to her room opened and Zack walked in carrying a box. He set it down on the bed and turned to face her. “Cole told me to give this to you. It’s some clothes and other woman crap” he said and quickly left the room.
Lacey walked over to the box and searched through it. She pulled out a pair of very comfortable looking pajama bottoms and checked the tag. To her surprise, they were her size and so were the rest of the clothes. She quickly put the pajamas on before anyone had the chance to walk in and see her naked. Then she looked through the rest of the box and found some makeup and lotions. In the corner of the box was a stack of books, she picked them up and read the titles.
“You have got to be kidding me” she said with disgust as she rolled her eyes. “Wolf Lover, Mating of the Wolf, Sleeping with a Wolf.”
She shook her head and threw the books back in the box. “Not in this lifetime, buddy” she said to herself and moved the box from the bed to the corner of the room. She took the bottle of lotion and rubbed some of it on her ankle where the chain had rubbed her skin raw. She stared at the purple bruises around her ankle and grimaced. How could she have been so stupid to let herself get kidnapped? The question hung in her mind making her mad at herself.
She walked around the room, amazed at how much better and stronger she felt. She hoped that in another day or so she would be strong enough to use her powers to attempt an escape.
She walked over to the window and tested the bars on it to see if they would move but they didn’t budge. They were cemented into the wall. Standing in front of the window, Lacey looked around her prison. Her eyes landed on the only object in the room that she could use to help in her escape, the chair that Cole always sat in. She went over to it and tried to pick it up but the legs were nailed to the floor. She smiled. It was obvious they didn’t trust her and were afraid of her powers. She liked knowing that. It made her feel stronger.
Lacey sat down on the edge of the bed and focused on the nails that held the chair in place. The chair wasn’t going to be much of a weapon but it was all she had to use. She stared at the nails as a tiny surge of electricity tingled through her body. It wasn’t as strong as it usually was but it was more than she’d felt since she was kidnapped.
The nails started to move a little. Lacey narrowed her eyes and focused harder. One of the nails pulled from the chair leg and impaled itself into the wall on the opposite side of the room. Lacey smiled at her tiny accomplishment and let out a deep breath and tried again. Two more nails pulled from the chair and fell to the floor. The fact that they didn’t fly across the room told her that she was already getting weak again. She was about to try one last time to pull the remaining nails out when she felt something wet on her lip. She touched
her hand to it and looked at the blood on her fingers. She got up to go to the bathroom at the same time the door to the room opened and Cole walked in. He stood in the doorway staring at her. “What happened? Why are you bleeding?” he asked and walked over to her.
Lacey quickly covered her nose with her hand and walked past him to the bathroom. She grabbed a towel and covered her nose with it before she came back out. Cole was standing by the bed staring down at the floor. He bent over and picked something up. He looked at the object in his hand then at Lacey.
She tried to hide her reaction when she saw the nail in his hand. She walked over to the bed and sat down like nothing had happened. “I have nose bleeds sometimes” she said to get his attention away from the chair.
“Do you need anything for it?” Cole asked but didn’t take his eyes off of the chair. He grabbed the arm of it and jiggled it. The chair moved against the floor. He noticed immediately that some of the nails were gone. He turned his attention to Lacey, his eyes narrowed. “You were using your powers, weren’t you? I thought you were too weak for that. You’ve been playing me this whole time, haven’t you?” He grabbed her by the arm, jerking her up from the bed.
Lacey slammed into his chest hard but quickly pulled back from him. “Let me go!” she yelled and tried to pull her arm from his grip but he held her tighter.
“I’m done playing your games, little girl. Either you agree to use your powers to help me or I’m going to kill you right now” Cole said through gritted teeth and jerked her against him again.
Lacey couldn’t hide the fear that she felt. He hadn’t been that rough with her before and now she was starting to see why everyone was so afraid of him. The cold calculating way his eyes stared at her made her breath catch in her throat. She quickly pulled what little energy she had left together and focused it on Cole. She knew that she was pushing herself too hard, but she didn’t see where she had a choice, he was going to kill her if she didn’t do something.
Power surged through her and into Cole. His hands were ripped from her arms as he was forced backwards across the room. He hit the wall and slid down to the floor. Shocked by her attack, it took him a second to pull himself together. Then he jumped up yelled for Zack to come in and help him. Without wasting any time, he charged toward Lacey. She hit him again with her powers but he was barely pushed two feet. She could taste the blood in her mouth again and the onset of pain in her head was quick and crippling.
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