Romancing the Paranormal

by Stephanie Rowe

  “Then why is she always at your place?” Marcus narrowed his eyes, his face going from non-caring to pissed off in a flash.

  “I don’t know.” Garrett sighed. “Why don’t you grow some balls and actually talk to her so you can ask her that.”

  “Fuck you!” Marcus took a step toward Garrett, who didn’t even turn around.

  “That’s a big mistake, brother,” Garrett said as if he had eyes in the back of head. “You need to check yourself before you start something I’m going to finish.”

  Janna glanced over at Hunter who was leaning against the sink stuffing his face, but he watched his brothers closely as if anticipating what was coming.

  “Oh, you think?” Marcus tossed his unfinished sausage, which landed beside Garrett’s hand.

  Everything happened at once. The small kitchen erupted in total chaos as Garrett jumped up, spinning so fast, pinning Marcus to the kitchen wall.

  “Whoa!” Janna stood, heading toward them, but Hunter stopped her.

  “Careful there.” Hunter pulled her back as fists started flying. “Just some brotherly love going on. It will be over in a minute.”

  Janna looked over at Jonah, who was leaning against the kitchen doorframe watching the scene as if bored, his eyes met hers before shifting away. Struggling against Hunter, she broke free and headed toward Garrett and Marcus.

  “Stop!” she yelled, using her foot nudging against Garrett who was on stop of Marcus. When they wouldn’t stop, but kept fighting, Janna grabbed the glass of water she had been drinking and let it loose. “Stop, dammit!”

  When they still didn’t stop, Hunter grabbed a large bowl filling it with water. “Here, try this.” His grin was pure evil, but his eyes looked innocent.

  Grabbing the bowl, she marched over and dumped the water. Both men jumped up, sputtering. Garrett wiped his wet hair from his eyes glaring at her. “What the hell are you doing?” his yell bounced off the walls in the small kitchen.

  “Don’t be mad at her.” Hunter stepped forward. “I told her to do it.”

  Janna pushed Hunter out of the way, her face flaming red from anger. “No, he didn’t.” Janna stood toe to toe with Garrett. “You two are brothers and shouldn’t be fighting, especially over a woman.”

  “Yeah.” Hunter nodded, being his normal smartass. “You’re brothers and shouldn’t be fighting.”

  “Shut up.” Janna turned on Hunter.

  “Hey, I’m on your side.” Hunter frowned, giving her a hurt look which she knew was fake.

  “Oh, really?” Janna put her hand on her hip, glaring at him. “I don’t think so. I think you’re on Hunter’s side.”

  Hunter looked around then back to Janna with a crooked grin. “In this group, it’s the best side if you ask me.”

  Janna mocked his grin with a crooked one of her own. “Why don’t you tell Marcus how you consoled Roxy after Garrett sent her out of the house?”

  The room became deathly silent, but Janna didn’t break eye contact with Hunter whose expression changed from smug to busted in a flash.

  Hunter looked away from Janna for a split second to Marcus, then back to Janna. “That was good. Harsh, but good,” he leaned in and whispered, but knew everyone in the room heard him. Turning toward Marcus, Hunter put his hands up. “Nothing happened, bro. I know you have the hots for Roxy and I would never…”

  “You sent Hunter after her?” Marcus yelled at Garrett, who also threw his hands up in the air as if he gave up. “Are you fucking crazy?”

  Hunter dropped his hands, and then looked at Janna with a big grin and a shrug. “That’s part of being the youngest brother.” Hunter crossed his arms and started to lean casually back against the kitchen counter until he saw both Garrett and Marcus glaring at him. “Then again, it has its downfalls.”

  Garrett pulled Janna out of the way as Hunter took off toward the door with Marcus chasing after him. Hearing the front door slam, Janna cringed.

  “I’ll go get them,” Jonah sighed. “And then we need to talk.” He didn’t look at either one of them as he left the room.

  Glancing up at Garrett, she took a step back not feeling as confident about dumping the bowl of water on his head, though he looked sexy as hell wet. A small smile curved her lips; she couldn’t help it.

  “Oh, so you think it’s funny?” He cocked his eyebrow at her.

  “No.” Her lie was evident by the growing grin on her face.

  Without warning, he bent, hitting her lightly in the stomach with his shoulder as he picked her up and carried her out the back door of the kitchen. All Janna could see was the ground, and well, his ass, which looked damn good in jeans. Pushing off him, she looked around his cute ass to see where he was taking her. A small pond sat a few yards away and he was heading straight toward it.

  “Don’t you dare!” She started twisting and fighting her way against his grip. “I mean it, Garrett. Put me down.”

  “I will in just a few seconds,” Garrett replied, his steps quickening.

  “I can’t swim.” She tried that lie, hoping she sounded convincing.

  “Then I will save you.” Garrett’s tone stayed even. He wasn’t even out of breath as he carried her closer to the water.

  “I’m sorry.” She gave one last twist trying to dislodge his grip, but it was no use. He wasn’t letting her go. In a flash, he brought her down in front of him, cradled her against his massive chest.

  “No, you’re not.” He grinned as he started to swing her away from his body.

  “No! Don’t! I’m really sorry,” Janna screamed, gripping him like a cat. The picture of his and Marcus’s face when she dumped the water on their heads picked that moment to flash into her mind. A small giggle escaped her mouth. Her eyes widened, but she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face, so she slapped her hand across her grin. “Please, Garrett. A gentleman would never do this.”

  He pulled her hand from her mouth, kissing her grin. A small curved grin appeared on his face. “I’m no gentleman, sweet Janna.” And with that, he sent her sailing into the small pond, screaming the whole way.

  As soon as she hit the water, she popped back up with a scream. “What the hell was that?” She wiped her wet hair from her eyes, the sweater she put on over the top of her muscle shirt hung heavy and soaked. “Are you kidding me?”

  Garrett stood on the bank with a large grin on his face. “You shouldn’t dare me.”

  “I didn’t dare you. I said don’t you dare. There’s a big difference, mister.” She huffed, and then lifted her foot out of the water. “These are the only shoes I have.” Losing her balance, she fell back in the water going under again.

  “Ah, why is she in the pond?” Hunter walked up next to Garrett with Marcus and Jonah close behind.

  “Because he threw me in,” Janna sputtered as she tossed her arm toward Garrett, her soggy sweater sleeve arcing water in the air. Stomping toward the edge, she glared at Garrett. “You are so going to regret that.”

  Picking a piece of moss out of her hair, he grinned down at her. “I doubt it.”

  Frowning, she smacked him with her wet sleeve. “Oh, you will, bud.”

  “Maybe she needs another dunking.” Hunter smirked at her.

  An evil grin lit Janna’s face as she turned toward Hunter. In one quick movement, she grabbed him and hugged him tightly, and then just as quickly, pushed him away soaking him. “You think so?” Walking between Garrett and Hunter, she spread her arms in a quick movement slapping them both with her soak sleeves. Glancing up at both Marcus and Jonah, who were staring at her with amused grins, she glared. “Don’t even say anything,” she warned as she passed them.

  “I like her.” Hunter grinned as he watched Janna disappear into the house. Garrett didn’t say anything, only nodded as he also watched Janna. “And she looks damn good wet.”

  Garrett’s head snapped toward his brother. “If you want to keep your teeth, you’ll watch your mouth.”

  “Ah, Garrett’s got a girlfriend,” Hu
nter sang as he quickly got out of the way of Garrett’s fist.

  CHAPTER 9

  Garrett growled at Hunter, but his eyes went back to the house. He knew as well as anything that Janna was more than that to him. He had waited to find her, his mate, and it happened when he least expected. He knew as soon as he heard her wolf calling his, before he ever saw her face, she was his. He also knew that she didn’t understand their ways, but he was more than willing to teach her everything she needed to know.

  “You think you should have thrown her in the pond?” Jonah frowned.

  “Probably not.” Garrett cocked his eyebrow, wondering if maybe he’d gone too far. But Hunter was right, she looked sexy as hell wet.

  “You think?” Marcus was giving him a ‘what in the hell were you thinking?’ look. “She looked pretty pissed.”

  Garrett smiled; he couldn’t help it. Her spunk was very attractive to him and his wolf. She was fun to spar with and he hoped to hell making up would be exceptional. “Yeah, she did.”

  “What in the hell is wrong with you?” Marcus frowned.

  “He’s in lurve.” Hunter snickered like a girl, and then turned serious. “You better watch your back, bro. She’s probably scheming her revenge right now. Women are good at that shit.”

  “What are your intentions toward her?” Jonah broke his silence, eyeing Garrett with suspicion.

  Garrett’s gaze snapped toward Jonah. “We playing the dad card now?”

  “If I have to, yes.” Jonah stood taller. “She has no one else to look after her and if what she says is true, I am her father.”

  “She has me to look after her and needs no one else.” Garrett’s whole demeanor changed in an instant.

  “But I am her father,” Jonah added, not sounding too sure, yet he made the effort.

  “And she is my mate,” Garrett countered, daring anyone to say a word otherwise.

  Unfortunately Hunter took the dare. “Poor girl.” He shook his head. “She has a father she has never met and a mate all in the span of a day. Finds out her father is an ex-alpha who’s a drunk and a mate who threw her in a pond.”

  “Hunter.” Marcus warned, eyeing both Jonah and Garrett.

  “No.” Hunter suddenly looked older than his years. “You guys think I’m just a goof, but I see things others don’t. What I see is a scared woman who has no one but us. Yeah, I was hard on her at the beginning, but she kind of grew on me and I won’t stand around and watch her get hurt.”

  Garrett wanted to punch his brother, but he knew he was right. “No one is going to hurt her.”

  “Then we need to figure out what we’re doing,” Jonah added. “They’re coming and soon.”

  Garrett’s wolf reared in protective anger at those words. “Marcus, you and Hunter get everyone together. I’ll meet you at Jonah’s.” He looked at Jonah. “You up for this?”

  “Yes,” Jonah replied, but looked ragged from not having a drink in twelve or so hours. “I want to talk to her.”

  Garrett nodded, looking at all three. “If trouble is coming, we will be ready. I want everyone to know what’s going on. All women and children will be taken to a safe place until this is over.”

  “It’s coming,” Jonah replied, turning to walk away. “I have a strong feeling Jasper has been waiting a long time for this and Janna is going to be his prize in this game of revenge.”

  “Then he’s going to die.” Garrett’s words were spoken strong and true.

  ******

  “Who’s going to die?” Janna had changed quickly and was back outside within minutes. She wanted to talk to Jonah, but she seemed to have walked up on a very serious conversation.

  “Damn, that was fast.” Hunter looked from the house to her. “Didn’t think women could get ready that fast.”

  “Well, I don’t have many clothes to choose from.” She shot Garrett a narrowed look as she wiggled her toes in the grass. “And only one pair of shoes.”

  “Sorry about that.” Garrett’s eyes ran over her face, down her body in dry clothes, and to her bare feet.

  “Yes, you will be,” Janna countered, a warning in her gaze. When no one said anything, Janna looked at all four men. “Who’s going to die and does that have anything to do with me?”

  “Tomorrow is the blood moon,” Jonah answered when no one else did. “Whoever marked you is hunting you as we stand here. This is serious, Janna.”

  “I know it’s serious, Jonah.” She looked at the man who was her father, but such a stranger to her. She didn’t know what to feel for him.

  “I’ve never seen a Reaping, but obviously, they don’t know she’s a shifter, or perhaps they do. Who knows?” Marcus broke in, his eyes going to Janna for an answer.

  “I don’t know.” Janna shrugged, not wanting them to see how nervous she really was. She was trying to be as strong as her mom had been. “But the man who knew Jonah and my mother was more focused on her while his son was carving me up.”

  Garrett growled at her words, his body going tense, yet he didn’t say a word.

  “From what I can remember, I really don’t think he knew I was your daughter, at least I don’t recall him saying that.” Janna frowned. “I wish I paid more attention, but watching my mother die and being…” She didn’t finish, just shook her head while turning away to take a minute to compose.

  Taking her in his arms, Garrett held her tightly to his side, and it felt so right. “We’ve been through this before.” Garrett’s voice was even, offering her comfort.

  “Sure have.” Marcus nodded, his eyes narrowing. “I’ll go talk to the rest and get things set up.”

  Hunter was staring at the ground when he suddenly looked up. “If anything happens, which it won’t because we won’t let it, but if it does, all you have to do is shift. They won’t know what the hell is going on.”

  Janna bit her lip, shifting nervously. “I’ve uhm…” She looked up at Garrett.

  “She’s never shifted,” Garrett finished for her, his arm tightening around her back.

  “Never?” Marcus was looking at her as if she was some kind of freak.

  “Why the hell not?” Hunter was also looking at her, but with shock. “You have to shift, Janna. It’s just…unshifter like.”

  Everyone gapped at Hunter who lifted his hands. “Well, it is.”

  “I’ve never shifted because I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” Janna explained, trying not to sound so defensive, but it was hard.

  “Didn’t anyone ever tell you anything?” Marcus questioned, his eyes going from Janna to Garrett.

  “No, all I knew is that I had this beast…inside me.” Janna shrugged as she looked to Jonah. “She knew what you were, but that’s about it. When I started having problems at night with not sleeping and a feeling something was inside me, that’s when my mom told me everything.”

  “Except who I was, because she was still trying to protect me.” Jonah didn’t form the sentence as a question. It was stated as a fact.

  “Holy hell, this is complicated.” Hunter shook his head. “Well, one thing is for sure, you must be one strong woman to be able to hold your wolf back.”

  “I fight it every day and it’s getting harder and harder to hold it back,” she admitted. Finally she felt she was with people who could help her. Feeling Garrett’s tight hold on her shoulders, confirmed it.

  Hunter’s attention swung toward Jonah. “You know, old man, if I didn’t respect you like I do, I’d beat the living shit out of you,” he sneered, anger shading his eyes.

  “He didn’t know.” Janna surprised herself by sticking up for Jonah.

  “But he could have made sure,” Marcus added, glaring at Jonah.

  “You guys go round up everyone and let them know what’s going on, and to be on alert.” Garrett came to Jonah’s rescue, breaking the tension and moving them into action.

  Both Hunter and Marcus grunted as they turned to leave. Janna glanced over at Jonah who was staring at the ground, his hands in his pockets. She coul
d actually feel the remorse and guilt coming off him in waves. Letting go of Garrett she walked up to him. His gaze slowly rose from the ground to meet hers.

  Janna looked deeply into Jonah’s eyes, actually feeling the regret reflected so intensely. “I forgive you,” Janna said, her voice strong with meaning. “My mother loved you and because of that, I can forgive. Maybe one day, we can become friends.”

  Jonah’s face was emotionless, but his eyes swirled with unshed tears. Without saying a word, he grabbed her in a bruising grip, hugging her tightly. The breath hissed out of her, but she wrapped her arms around him and just as she was feeling comfortable in her father’s arms, he pulled away, turned and left.

  Rubbing her sore ribs, she watched her father walk away. She felt Garrett walk up silently behind her and felt the sudden urge to turn into him. Her feelings shocked her to the core. How could she seek comfort from a man she didn’t even know? Yet his comfort was what she wanted more than anything. Biting her lip to keep her chin from trembling with emotion, she wrapped her arms around herself instead, not wanting to lose her cool in front of Garrett.

  “Are you okay?” His deep voice was so close.

  Closing her eyes tightly, she nodded. “Yes,” she whispered the lie. She wasn’t fine and she honestly didn’t think she would ever be fine. She was a shifter who had never shifted. Her mother, who was human, was dead. She’d just met her father who was a shifter; she was being hunted for something called a Reaping, and that wasn’t really the worst of it. She wanted nothing more than to turn to the man behind her, ask him to take her into the house, and make her forget everything. It was so wrong because he was a stranger, but she was so close to doing just that. She couldn’t lie to herself. Garrett Foster was in her blood and it terrified her.

  “Don’t lie to me.” He turned her around, tilting her face up to his. When she wouldn’t look at him, he leaned his face closer to her. “I know we just met, but you can trust me, Janna.”

  Janna stepped away from him, raising her hands from her sides in frustration. “And that’s the problem.”