Tessa

by Gabelman, Teresa

  Jill grabbed his hand, lifting it up, and then cocked her eyebrow. “Sure looks like you got it all under control.” Jill dropped his hand like it burned her. “Why do you have her ring?”

  Jared leaned down in Jill’s face. “None of your business, brat.”

  “He’s right.” Tessa’s voice rang out over the silence. “It’s none of anyone’s business.”

  Jared’s head snapped up as he looked over Jill’s head to see Tessa standing there. Relief, as well as desire, filled his body. Damn, she was beautiful, and she was his. No matter what in the fuck she thought.

  “Sorry I’m late.” Tessa glanced at Charger. “It won’t happen again… I think.”

  Watching Tessa laugh and smile at Charger set Jared’s blood boiling. “Well make sure you call next time, so we don’t send out a search party.”

  Once Bonnie, Jill, and Tessa headed toward the other mates, Jared grabbed Charger by the shirt. “You’re pushing me.” Jared sneered at him.

  Charger looked down at Jared’s hand before removing it. “Good.” was his only reply before they both turned to look at Steve, who stood silently writing something in a notebook.

  Looking up, Steve frowned. “Go on.” Steve waved his pencil around. “Don’t let me disturb you.”

  Jared grabbed the pencil and broke it in half, throwing it back at Steve. “Write one word that resembles anything about me and I will kill you. Painfully.”

  Steve stared at the broken pencil at his feet, then reached into his back pocket, pulling out another one. “Kill you painfully.” Steve wrote, then looked up. “Noted. Literally.”

  Charger walked away chuckling, shaking his head. “You fucking Warriors….”

  “Better than being a Guardian,” Jared shot back, then wished he hadn’t when Charger stopped in midstride.

  He turned and looked over his shoulder at Jared. “You would know, wouldn’t you?”

  Steve snorted. “Isn’t anyone better than the Warriors, fool,” Steve said under his breath. Then he glanced at Jared in confusion. “What did he mean by that?”

  Fuck! Jared ground his teeth in frustration. “Don’t make me break your neck like I did that fucking pencil, Steve.”

  Jared rolled his eyes as Steve began to write vigorously in his notebook. He promised to take it easy on the kid since they almost lost him, but that lasted all but a few hours after Steve was back on his feet. Jared walked to the side of the mats and leaned against the wall. His eyes found Tessa easily. She stood among the women but only stared at him. She wasn’t engaged in conversation with anyone; she just stared. He noticed her eyes went to his hand. He knew exactly what she was looking at. Holding his hand up, he wiggled his small finger with her ring on it until her eyes shot to his, narrowing a little. With her redhead temper, it was easy to set her off. Aware he needed to explain many things to her, Jared first needed to come clean with Sloan and the Warriors.

  “You are mine,” he mouthed, and smiled when she shifted and looked away quickly as her cheeks reddened.

  “Okay, lover boy.” Sid walked into his line of vision. “We are going to take the first half an hour and then the demon guys the last. You want to start it or me?”

  “Go for it,” Jared replied, not letting Sid goad him, so he totally ignored his first comment.

  “Sure, oh and, Jared…” Sid’s widening grin should have warned Jared, but his focus on dumb shit was a little off. “…you’re a dick,” he mouthed and followed it up with a wink before barely missing Jared’s punch that was quickly heading toward his face.

  Shaking his head, Jared watched as everyone started running to warm up. Each time Tessa passed, he could smell her sweet scent and it was driving him fucking crazy. If she thought they would be spending the night apart, she was wrong.

  Raven walked up and stood next to him. “She’s very beautiful.”

  “Yes, she is,” Jared agreed, not taking his eyes off Tessa.

  “You know she’s in the line of fire, don’t you?” Her voice took a darker turn. Not letting him answer because it was obvious to the ones who knew what was coming, she continued. “Is she ready? Is she tough enough to survive?”

  “She will be,” Jared replied with a stern nod.

  Tessa passed them, giving first Jared a nasty glare and then Raven before looking away. Laughing, Raven nodded. “Maybe she already is.” Raven grinned at Jared. “Looks like I’m on her shit list.”

  “Well, you’re in good company, I’ve been on it for a while,” Jared replied, his eyes never leaving Tessa. This time when she passed, she ignored them both.

  “Have you even told her anything?” Raven crossed her arms over her chest.

  Jared didn’t respond. Instead, he gave her a look before heading toward Sid, who was beginning the training. He wished to fuck everyone would get off his case. Yeah, he should have told everyone already, but he hadn’t, and that was on him. He was definitely paying the price for letting his past dictate his future, but dammit to hell, it was complicated.

  “Partner up,” Sid ordered everyone.

  Jared groaned when Raven went and stood in front of Tessa. He started to head their way, but Charger stopped him.

  “Get the fuck off me.” Jared pulled his arm away.

  “Let’s see what you Warriors have taught your trainees.” Charger grinned, then laughed when Sid flipped him off.

  “I’ve got fifty on Tessa,” Sid announced with a cocked eyebrow toward Charger, Kane, and Val.

  “I’ll take that bet and raise it another fifty on Raven.” Kane smirked, then took Val’s hundred.

  And so it went. The Warriors and Dark Guardians placed their bets until they were all looking at Jared. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a hundred and slammed it into Sid’s chest. “I hate you.” He walked away to where he could be close enough if things went south.

  Chapter 9

  Tessa had never wanted to claw anyone’s eyes out more than she wanted to this woman’s. “Raven,” Tessa mumbled in a sarcastic, bitchy tone.

  “What?” Jill, who was running next to her, asked.

  “Nothing.” Tessa shook her head as they ran past them again, but this time she kept her eyes straight ahead.

  As she ran, she realized that even seeing Jared and Raven together, she really didn’t know what that meant. Of course she was thinking the worst because their relationship was in the shitter, as Gramps would say. She’d been late because she’d sat in the car talking herself into walking inside. She could talk all tough in her mind, but when it came down to facing things, she had issues. But they were issues she was determined to overcome. Spending all her life feeling worthless—convinced that’s the way people saw her—was a hard habit to break. It seemed like her whole life had been one big test, and Tessa was finished failing.

  Hearing Sid yell to “partner up,” she turned to go with Jill and almost ran into Raven. Speaking of tests, this one may be one for the records.

  Raven gave her a grin with a nod, then glanced at Sid who moved away from Jared but was looking at them before glancing away. “Okay, ladies and assholes, let’s see what you’ve learned. There is no quitting. Only tap outs or knockouts. Playtime is over. If you don’t think you can handle it, then walk off the mats right now.”

  Standing her ground, she felt Raven look at her, but Tessa kept her eyes on Sid. There was no way in hell she was going to tap. As for getting knocked out, well, she hoped not and was going to fight like a woman possessed.

  “Go!” Sid bellowed, and the room became chaos.

  Nervous energy flowed through Tessa’s body as she and Raven danced around. Tessa wondered if this was a challenge somehow from the other woman. Well, if that was the case, challenge definitely accepted. Even though she’d laid her ring at Jared’s feet just hours earlier, she loved the asshole, and she’d be damned if some other woman was going to waltz in and take him from her. Yeah, fuck that. Damn, her mindset was all sorts of screwed up, and she realized after taking a punch to the face so
was her focus. Shit, that hurt.

  Seeing the next punch coming, Tessa dodged, bringing up her left in a counter, making a connection to Raven’s jaw. She didn’t see the kick that sent her stumbling backward, but Tessa kept her footing, ready for the onslaught of punches coming her way. Tessa covered up as she was taught, taking the blows with her arms, waiting for her chance to retaliate.

  “Use your power.” Jared’s voice echoed in her head.

  It took Tessa a minute to realize what he meant, and dammit, he was right. She could read her, know what she was getting ready to do, and counter. It was perfect, so why in the hell was he just now telling her? She could have used that information months ago. Wasn’t that his job? Well, to be fair it was, and he did do his job, just not with her. So why now?

  One minute she was cursing Jared in her mind for being a stubborn asshole and the next she was flat on her back looking up at the ceiling. Raven’s face came into view with a smirk. “You give?”

  Rolling, Tessa stood and smirked back. “Not even close.”

  Emptying her mind to everything other than what was in Raven’s, Tessa countered everything she threw. Not realizing everyone else was done, they continued. Taking a few hits, Tessa tasted blood, but it only spurred her on. She had never done so well at fighting, but with Jared’s instruction, as minor as it was, she was literally kicking ass.

  Knowing Raven was going to do a spin kick, Tessa was ready. Just as Raven began to spin, Tessa rushed in, grabbing her around the waist and slammed her on the ground. Climbing onto Raven’s back, Tessa quickly slipped her arm around her neck in a perfect rear naked choke.

  “Push your chest into her back and squeeze your bicep!” Jared ordered inside her mind.

  Tessa did as ordered, putting everything she had into it. Silence echoed inside the warehouse until the sound of three loud taps on the mat reached her ears. Tessa released the choke immediately and stood up, staring down at Raven who rolled over rubbing her neck and peered up at her with respect.

  Even though Tessa wanted to do a fist pump in the air and scream in triumph, she controlled herself. Instead, she reached her hand out toward Raven, who stared at it a beat before grasping it. Tessa helped her up.

  “Class act.” Raven gave her a nod. “And one hell of a choke.”

  “Thanks,” Tessa replied, then glanced at Jared who was staring at her with a half grin and a wink. She continued to look at him confused, wondering why now? Never had he contributed to her training─other than glaring at her as if she were the biggest disappointment he’d ever seen walk onto the mat.

  “Okay, losers, have a seat,” Sid ordered, not pulling punches. “Everyone else, grab another partner.”

  Tessa was usually one who had a seat early, but not tonight. Using her shirt, she wiped her mouth, seeing blood against the whiteness. With a smile, she turned and faced her next opponent. It took her a minute to regain her focus, but the drill continued until she, Katrina and a few of the human social workers remained. Humans, of course, went against humans in these drills.

  Tessa wasn’t really looking forward to going against Katrina, but they faced each other.

  “How about we just spar around?” Katrina whispered with a grin.

  “Sounds good to me.” Tessa chuckled. “I’ll volunteer to tap.”

  “Yeah, not happening,” Sid said, overhearing them. “Jared and Tessa. Katrina and Blaze.”

  “Huh?” both Katrina and Tessa said at the same time.

  Tessa also saw that Jared and Blaze were looking at Sid as if he’d lost his mind.

  “What?” Sid replied to their questioning glares. “All they are going to do is patty-cake with each other. Let’s see how well they do against well-trained Warriors.”

  “If they don’t want to do it, I’ll take red.” Kane stepped up, but Jared slammed his arm across his chest, stopping him.

  “Over my dead body,” Jared growled, then walked toward Tessa.

  Okay, this was not expected. Her eyes shifted from his, but then slammed back into his golden gaze. He leaned toward her.

  “You know I can’t let you win. Right?” Jared’s breath brushed across her cheek, causing her stomach to flutter.

  He moved back and stared down at her with a slight grin on his face as if he knew exactly what he did to her. This time, she leaned close to him, making sure her breast brushed against his arm. “You know, I’m going to do everything in my power to do just that, right?”

  Jared chuckled with a nod. “He said go.” He cocked his eyebrow at her.

  Tessa went at him, throwing punches and kicks that he easily dodged or knocked away. It didn’t take Tessa long to realize he was playing with her, or at least it seemed that way. The harder she tried, the easier it seemed for him to move out of the way, but he wasn’t countering.

  “Why aren’t you fighting back?” she hissed after throwing a kick and missing again.

  “Why aren’t you thinking?” Jared did counter this time, but with words. “Your frustration is beating you worse than I ever could.”

  What pissed her off was he was right. Clearing her mind, she read him, but what she saw shocked her. It was a memory of him and her naked with him taking her from behind. She went to punch just as she read the memory and stumbled. Jared grabbed her from behind and carried her to the ground where he mounted her. “And that was a mistake.”

  “But you told me to use my powers.” Tessa frowned, giving him an angry glare.

  “Yeah, on them.” Jared cocked his eyebrow. “Not me, the one who told you to use it.”

  His eyes roamed down her body, then back up to her eyes. “What?” she asked, knowing there was no way she was going to get him off her.

  “You give?” he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

  One thing about Tessa, she may be a little on the heavy side, but she was limber—could do the full splits without batting an eye. With a speed that even surprised her, she raised her legs and caught him around the neck. Using not only speed but surprise against him, she forced him backward and scrambled on top of him.

  “Do you?” she shot back with a large smile.

  “To you, always,” he whispered. With pure strength, he stood, taking her up with him and set her on her feet.

  “Holy shit,” Steve said, looking at Jared. “Did you tap?”

  “Fuck no,” Jared replied, then glanced over at Blaze and Katrina. “It was a draw.”

  Tessa also looked over at Blaze and Katrina, who were grappling, but it looked more like a training session.

  “Okay, stop,” Sid called out. “Shit. Guess that fucking backfired. Looked like more of a lovefest.”

  Everyone laughed with agreement. Tessa felt her cheeks flame because, in fact, she really had tried to punch Jared in the face a few times.

  “How about you and Lana have a go at it?” Jared shot back. Blaze nodded with agreement.

  “She carries a gun, bro,” Sid replied, with a half grin as he winked at his mate.

  “Damn straight I do.” Lana nodded, a warning glint to her eye.

  Sid turned serious as he looked around at everyone. “You all did really well, but there’s a lot of room for improvement. Be here as much as you can. Your life depends on it. Now, what you’re about to learn from Charger is a little different. I’ll let him explain.”

  Charger stepped out onto the mats, his eyes going to everyone before he spoke. “Sid is right. There’s a lot of room for improvement, but hand-to-hand combat will be the least of your worries when dealing with demons.”

  Anxiety and nerves thrummed through Tessa as she listened to Charger. There was something about demons that terrified her. What frightened her the most was the unknown, but also, it was the teaching on Sundays when she had gone to church. A feeling of doom came over her, but she forced it aside, ready to listen, learn, and do what she could for the kids who were the ones in the most danger.

  “There are a few experts in the world where demons are concerned and not one of t
hem is in this room. Demons feed on weakness, fear, and greed. They have been on earth since the beginning of time, causing chaos. Most demons work alone because they don’t work well with others. Danger for everyone occurs when they unite for a common goal, and for reasons we haven’t figured out yet, they are uniting.”

  A chill overcame her as her gaze met Jared’s. The look in his eyes actually scared her more than the talk. It wasn’t really fear she saw, but something close to it. He quickly looked away as if afraid to give her more of a glimpse.

  “There is nothing, unfortunately, that we can teach you other than stay strong, don’t be a hero, and call us for backup if you think you are dealing with a demon.” Charger looked around at everyone. “That confusion you feel is what we feel every single day. A lot of times we don’t know what we are dealing with until it’s almost too late. We will call in more Guardians as we see the need.”

  “Can they be beaten?” Steve asked from the back. “Or are we fucked and you just ain’t saying it to keep morale up?”

  Charger glanced toward Steve. “Morale isn’t going to save anyone’s ass, but you have something going for you. Even a white witch can sense a demon, so keep your mate near. Anyone have any questions?” Charger asked, then looked at Jared. “You got anything to add?”

  Tessa frowned, looking toward Jared, who just shook his head. Why was he asking Jared? Kane, Val, and even Raven were standing right there. She also noted that those three were looking at Jared. Her eyes roamed the room, and she noticed she wasn’t the only one confused by this. As they were dismissed, she realized Charger never really answered Steve’s question, which in her mind meant they were fucked.

  “Jared, Sid, Blaze,” Sloan called out. “I need to see you so don’t fucking disappear.”

  Tessa made her way toward her stuff. She was ready for a shower but seriously didn’t want to go home to an empty house, especially after all this talk about demons. They freaked her the hell out. Kneeling, she gathered her stuff, then felt him behind her.

  “We need to talk.” Jared knelt beside her, leaning in close. “I guess it’s too much to ask for you to wait for me?”