Take Me (Crimson Pack Trilogy Book 1)

by A Lonergan

  The tips of my fingers were raw and bloody. Some of the nails were even cracked or broken off. I rubbed my hands down the shirt covering myself. The hem of it hit my knees and the collar was stretched and hanging down off of my shoulder.

  The water stopped in the bathroom and after a few minutes, Tracey emerged with a towel around her head. The gash on her cheek wasn’t as ugly but it definitely needed stitches. How had I managed to do that to her? She threw herself down onto the bed and watched me curiously.

  “Last night shouldn’t have happened the way it did.” She buried her face in her hands. “If I had known, I would have brought you to my parents.”

  My head was spinning. “Talk after I get out of the shower.”

  Tracey refused to talk about anything until we got to her parent’s house. Which I wasn’t too excited about, to begin with. But if it would get me answers, I wouldn’t turn the opportunity down. I had never met her parents, mainly because she lived in a dorm on campus. She spoke of her grandmother often and I knew she lived nearby. But when we drove into the woods that backed up to my house I could feel my anxiety skyrocket. The little dirt road brought us to a massive iron gate that had the Crimson Crest stamped into it. I had figured Rafe and Tracey’s parents were neighbors in a neighborhood, not living on a commune in the middle of the woods. This was an awful idea. I clutched the door handle, ready to bolt if I needed to.

  I pushed my wet hair from my face and sat up straighter. Even though the movement made my back ache, I stayed that straight until a house popped up in the distance. It was a work of art. It had to be at least five thousand square feet. It was an old farmhouse that looked like it had been remodeled. The full wrap around porch almost had me drooling. The white paint was shiny in the sunlight as we pulled up in front of it. There were various cars parked around it. I refused to acknowledge all of the expensive cars around us.

  I forced my mouth closed and looked at Tracey with a shocked expression. “Everyone lives here?”

  She shook out her curls. “No, this is just the main house. Behind the house is another dirt road that will bring you to the other homes here. This is just our common ground where we go to eat dinner, have game night, or just not feel so alone.”

  Which sounded amazing for someone that was as lonely as I was. But all of it was foreign. What was it like to be loved by so many? To never have to worry about not having love from someone? One look at the white crest stamped onto the glass on the front door and I had a bad feeling about who owned the main house. I was rooted in my seat, even after Tracey shut the car off and got out.

  Even though she closed her door, I could still hear her when she spoke. “I don’t think he’s here.”

  And somehow, I knew that was a lie.

  Chapter 16

  Rafe Crimson

  Tracey had warned me she was coming with Jade. Even though I had been prepared, nothing helped with the feelings that spiked in my chest as I watched her refuse to get out of Tracey’s car. She crossed her torn up arms over her chest and her bottom lip jutted out. I wasn’t even going to try to tell myself that it wasn’t adorable. But that was the last thing I needed to be thinking. They were here for a reason. Everything that should have happened last night, didn’t. That meant me and Tracey’s parents were on clean up duty.

  Axel was going to be pissed. I hadn’t told him what I had done and when he found out, he wasn’t going to take too kindly to it. I had a feeling there would be a challenge over it. Which was fine, pack challenges happened all the time when the wolves got anxious or even angry with the dynamic that I enforced.

  Jade finally shoved the car door open and walked up the front porch on shaking legs. I could hear the rapid pace of her heartbeat through the floor under my feet. It was time to face the music. Jade Rivers was about to get the surprise of a lifetime.

  Chapter 17

  Jade Rivers

  Tracey’s father, Axel, didn’t look very pleased to meet me. His massive hand shook mine but the frown on his face never left. He was a handsome man and I could see where Tracey got some of her looks from. His big brown eyes looked like he would possibly be a softy if you caught him on the right day. Today was clearly not that day. After Tracey introduced me to him, her mother came down the stairs next. She was the opposite of Axel. She was soft and kind where Axel was brooding and unforgiving with his stance. Her skin was soft and translucent where Axel’s was dark and rich. They were the perfect yin and yang.

  Instead of shaking my hand, Vivian hugged me. She smelled like flowers and mud. Which was odd.

  Tracey took a deep breath and led me over to the massive wooden table beside the kitchen. It was breathtaking. The renovations the home had gone through had been recent. Walls had been knocked down and large wooden beams took up their placements on the ceiling. The table had enough seating for fifty people, at least. Did they have that many people living on this property? How strange.

  Vivian opened her mouth to speak when I smelled it. Him. The heavenly smell that had taken over my bedroom like he had rolled across every inch of it that day he had returned my belongings. The scent still lingered even a week later. Pine needles, musk, and something spicier. Something hotter. My stomach clenched and I had to curl my hands into fists to get the hot feelings to go away. I hated this place already.

  When Rafe entered the room, I jumped from my seat and lunged for him. No one saw it coming. Not even Rafe. My fist flew and knocked him right in the nose. Blood sprayed and I went in for another punch. This one was anticipated. He grabbed my fist in a tight hold and glared down into my eyes. I glared back. He wasn’t going to intimidate me. He was the one that had created this entire mess, I was sure of it. He didn’t wipe the blood flowing down his face as he stared into my eyes. I gritted my teeth as I swung my other hand. The sound of my slap rang through the room. He didn’t even blink. I continued to stare into his yellow eyes and growled.

  There was a collected gasp behind me but it didn’t make me back down. No, it made me want to take him down even more.

  “You need to stop this, Jade, you don’t know the war you are waging. This can get dangerous.” Tracey’s voice came out as a growl behind me and it snapped me out of it. I turned away from Rafe and frowned at the family staring at us. Their expressions were shell shocked. Something like victory rolled through me. I felt powerful.

  “You’ve got guts, Jade,” Rafe said as he released my hand and slid into the chair at the head of the table. “I’ll give you that.”

  “You won’t have any if you keep talking to me,” I sneered.

  Axel looked between us and shook his head. “What is going on here?”

  I smiled as I tattled on the stupid man staring at me. “Rafe drugged me last weekend and tried to continue to drug me after I woke up.”

  Tracey made a face like she wanted to explain but she couldn’t. She just leaned back in her chair and Axel took the floor. “What the hell happened?”

  Rafe looked between us all with a satisfied smirk on his face. I wanted to claw it off. “Jade likes bad boys, so I showed her just how bad I can be.”

  Axel narrowed his eyes at both of us. I wasn’t going to deny the fact that I had liked bad boys, it would have been a lie and I didn’t like lies unless they were completely necessary. It wasn’t vital in this current situation.

  A growl rumbled through the room and Axel slammed his hands down on the table. “So you thought it would be a good idea to turn her?”

  “Turning her would mean that I would have had to claim her,” Rafe picked at his nails like this was the most boring thing he had ever had to do. “I didn’t claim her, in case you’re wondering.”

  Turn? My brain went ninety to nothing with that term. What was happening? What did this mean?

  “I can tell you didn’t claim her,” Axel pinched the bridge of his nose in agitation. “I just can’t understand why you would turn her, without the approval of the pack first.”

  Rafe shrugged. “As Alpha, I wasn’t a
ware of the fact that I must pass everything by the pack. This doesn’t endanger the pack.”

  Axel exploded then. “The hell it doesn’t!”

  Vivian put her hand on her husband’s. He managed to control his rage with her help. “Rafe, honey, you know the rules. Unless she is dying of injuries inflicted by the pack or your true mate, turning isn’t allowed.”

  What. The. Hell.

  Tracey’s eyes found mine and she smiled. I could tell it was meant to be reassuring. I felt anything but reassured. What kind of mess had I allowed myself to get caught up in?

  Rafe shrugged again. “As Alpha, I also don’t have to explain anything at the moment. When further information becomes available, I will clue you all in. Is that all? I have a date this evening.”

  “Try not to drug her too.” If looks could kill he would have been dead.

  Rafe cocked an eyebrow and pushed his chair back. The legs on his chair scraped across the floor with a loud screech that had me cringing. “Baby, I did a lot worse than drug you. Enjoy the shit show.”

  With that, he got up and flounced out of the room. Axel’s face was beet red from barely controlled rage and Vivian had a strange, confused look on her face. They both looked at Tracey for answers and all she did was grin. Except, it wasn’t a grin, she was baring her teeth.

  This was great, just freaking fantastic.

  Chapter 18

  Jade Rivers

  Hours passed and I was still no closer to the information I needed. My body was humming with frustration. I wanted to leave and go home but as much as I wanted to, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. Tracey walked me around the property and to her parent’s home. She talked about how there was an acre of land for her to build her house here one day and I wondered about the word pack that everyone had kept throwing around. Here I sat with unanswered questions and more confusion swirling in my head.

  We passed a waterfall and I sighed. “Tracey, please take me home.”

  “Your body is going through some changes right now,” She chewed on her lip.

  I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think having the birds and the bees talk is really going to help me here.”

  Tracey grabbed my hand into her honey-colored one. “No really. Last night and everything that happened, I think your brain is suppressing the memories because it was too traumatic. Your first shift shouldn’t have been like that.”

  “Everyone keeps saying that and pack and I don’t know what the hell is happening!” I yanked my hand out of her hers and marched away. My boots crunched on the leaves beneath my feet.

  Tracey stayed rooted in her spot. “You’re a werewolf.”

  I blinked a few times before I turned around. She continued talking, “Last night was the full moon and I knew you would be partially shifting, but I guess my wolf triggered yours.”

  My world shifted. I felt like I was going to fall sideways. I blinked a few times. I knew weird things were happening, but a werewolf? A freaking wolf? I pressed my hands to my chest and tried to control my rapid breaths. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to pass out right there. I ran my hands down the front of my jeans and shook my head. Nope. Nope. I wouldn’t accept this. How the hell did this even happen? Bile rose up my throat. But then hysteria won over and I laughed. I actually laughed.

  “What happened? Did Rafe have something to do with this?” My knees gave out and I fell to the leafy floor. I buried my hands into the dirt as I tried to control my breathing.

  “With the needle.” She sat down beside me. “He didn’t want to claim you.”

  “What does that mean?” I couldn’t even wrap my mind around the fact that she said I was a werewolf. A freaking werewolf. What the hell?

  “Take you as his mate.” She chewed on her plush bottom lip again before her hand found mine. She held it loosely in hers and I didn’t have the strength to pull away from her comfort.

  “Mate?” I asked. I thought I knew what she meant but I had to be sure.

  “A forever union between two people that our wolves choose. They choose compatible wolves or partners that will make strong pups and protect them if needed.”

  It shouldn’t have bothered me that he didn’t think I was qualified to be mate material for him but it stung a little. I was clearly delusional. He had drugged me, turned me, and then he had snubbed me. This was all fantastic. Best news ever. Not.

  “How do I know this isn’t all some joke orchestrated by the Prince Asshole himself?”

  Tracey grinned. “First, I love that nickname for him. Second, I’ll show you.”

  She yanked her shirt over her head then her pants down her legs. In seconds she was standing there nude like stripping in the woods was completely normal. Or… it was for her. But then she was on all fours and her body was stretching and contorting. Fur the same color as her hair sprouted all over her body. A growl erupted from my throat and I blinked in surprise. There was a weird stirring in my chest as Tracey’s body finished its transformation. Standing almost as tall as I was, was a wolf with caramel coloring and bright yellow eyes. I stumbled backwards and fell onto my already sore bottom. Everything kept getting better and better.

  She sat down on her hind legs and blinked slowly. I pressed my lips together. “So what do we do now?” She laid down on her front paws and blinked again. “I can’t communicate with you, I don’t know what to do. You proved a point.”

  “She can’t transform again for a little bit.” A little voice behind me made me jump.

  I peered over my shoulder and came face to face with a little boy that couldn’t be over the age of eight. He was a little thing. His orange eyes glowed. He had dark hair that flopped over his forehead and slightly into his bright eyes.

  “Why is that?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “It takes a lot out of our bodies to transform into our wolves. It’s not an easy feat.”

  I licked my lips. “No, I suppose not. I’m Jade.”

  He smiled and there was a huge gap between his front teeth. “I know, the whole pack is talking about you.”

  I nodded my head. Of course.

  “I’m Ford,” he held his hand out and I took it in mine. His scent was slightly familiar but I couldn’t place it.

  “So we can shift on command?” I found myself asking.

  He teetered his head back and forth. “Kind of, our shift is stronger on a full moon though. She’s not going to recover as quickly from this shift as she would have last night or if she was shifting with the rest of the pack.”

  I nodded my head. “Do you go to school?”

  “We’re homeschooled until we can control our shifts.” He watched Tracey with me. “Around middle school.”

  “I guess it’s not too funny to have a kindergartener transform in a class full of kids.” I tried not to laugh at the picture in my mind. Maybe I could accept this as my new reality, but there was still nausea swirling around inside of me. I mean, I had to accept it, there was a werewolf sitting in front of me… but maybe, it wasn’t so bad.

  He shrugged as the corner of his mouth lifted up in a sideways grin. “Yeah, it’s happened.”

  Tracey’s body started to contort again and Ford smiled at me before he turned to leave. “Nice to meet you, Ford.”

  Chapter 19

  Rafe Crimson

  “She really isn’t that bad,” my little brother, Ford, muttered at the dinner table later that night. He pinched off a piece of his bread and made a face. He was getting closer to being able to control his shifts. I was surprised he had even entertained the thought of sides or extras besides the rare steak on his plate. Children usually preferred the red meat over anything else and then the rest of their palate developed later in life.

  I rolled my eyes openly but inside was cringing. I couldn’t let on what I knew. It would cause too many issues. Granted the ass-chewing I had gotten from Axel hadn’t been a good one. He would have never done anything like that in front of the rest of the pack but I allowed it when we were alone. When we couns
eled on things regarding the pack. I valued his opinion and insight, even though it did rake my nerves. He had been second hand to the Alpha a lot longer than I had been alive.

  But war was brewing and I couldn’t even trust my second. Which didn’t make anything easier either.

  Poor Jade was going to end up right in the middle of it.

  “Yeah?” I asked. “What do you know about girls, anyway?”

  “I know that if you’re nice to them, they’ll be nice to you and they won’t punch you in the nose or try to kill you.”

  “What if I tell you that this wasn’t because I did anything?” I waved at my slightly crooked nose and bruising. She packed a wicked punch. This girl was going to be a seriously dangerous problem.

  Ford laughed. “I wouldn’t believe you.”

  “Hmmm,” I scratched at the stubble on my jaw. “Glad you know me too well.”

  Ford balled up his little fist and punched me in the arm. I barely felt it. “You’re too bad for someone like her. You should probably stay away before she finishes you off.”

  “Don’t I know it, buddy.”

  Chapter 20

  Jade Rivers

  The need to shift always came with an itch in my chest. It almost felt like a sneeze or an itch I couldn’t scratch. I was scared to go back to the university without being able to shift or knowing if I would do it randomly. But every time I felt the need, I would close my eyes and picture myself hitting Rafe in the face and the feeling went away. Even though I hadn’t shifted since the full moon, classes and life carried on like Rafe Crimson hadn’t tried to steal it away. Everything continued like he wasn’t the biggest thorn in my side.