Charlie stepped back. Something about his words and the way he was staring at her caused her stomach to churn. “If this is your idea of foreplay, it sucks. Why are you telling me this?”
Jack felt her trying to put more walls between them as she edged further away. Before she could retreat completely, he grasped her wrist and held it loosely between them.
“Because I believe you’re my mate and felt I should say it before things progressed between us,” he said.
“Progressed? We’ve already had sex.”
“We haven’t exchanged blood. I didn’t think I’d ever find my mate, but after being with you, I believe you are my mate.”
“And you couldn’t have told me this when I had clothes on?” She resisted covering herself with her hands. It wouldn’t do any good, he’d already seen it all, and she would only succeed in making herself look childish.
“I didn’t expect this. I so badly want it, but I didn’t expect it.”
“Did you plan on telling me or were you hoping you were wrong?”
“Of course, I was going to tell you,” he said when he felt her ire mounting.
When he tried to draw her closer, she planted her heels into the ground and resisted him. He could easily pull her against him, but that would only prove he was like everyone else who never cared about her feelings. He had to proceed cautiously, but dread over the possibility of losing her clawed at his insides.
Charlie almost kneed him in the nuts, but instead, she yanked her wrist from him and stalked away.
Jack bit back a groan as he watched her walk away from him. The sway of her hair against her back and the roll of her hips was almost his undoing. With trembling hands, he pushed his recalcitrant erection back in his jeans.
“When did you plan to tell me about this mate thing?” she asked as she pulled her pants on and buckled her belt.
“When we were out of this mess and you didn’t have so much on your plate.”
“Sure.”
She snatched her shirt off the ground and tugged it on. Fire burned her cheeks; she felt like an idiot. What did you expect? Well, she hadn’t expected this kind of an excuse to end things between them, but she certainly hadn’t expected white picket fences and a happily ever after either.
He moved so silently she didn’t know he was behind her until he gripped her arm and turned her toward him. Charlie glowered at him, and her hand fell to one of her knives, but she didn’t pull it free.
“Listen to me,” he said. “I’m not lying to you; I’m not making this up. I’m—”
“My mate; I got it,” she pulled her hand free of his and shoved her feet into her boots.
“My friends, Liam and Sera, have been mated for years, and some of their children have also found their mates. I didn’t tell you this to push you away; I told you so you might have some choice in this before things progressed too far. If you drink from me, Charlie, there will be no going back. I don’t think I can go back now, but I refuse to take the choice away from you. Before this continues, you should know I want you for eternity.”
His words robbed her of any reason, and her brain felt as if it had taken a vacation, as she could only stand there and stare slack-jawed at him.
“I mean it when I say I won’t let you go. You’ll have to walk away from me to get rid of me, Charlie.”
She hadn’t believed it possible for her jaw to hang any lower, but it felt about to hit the ground.
A small scuffling sound from outside caused Jack to release her. Stepping forward, he placed his body protectively in front of Charlie’s as he listened for another noise, but he didn’t hear anything. Still, his instincts screamed that something wasn’t right as tension thrummed through him.
Charlie kept her eyes on the beach as she pulled a knife from its holster. She placed it on the sand in front of her when she bent to tie her boots. She almost grabbed Jack’s hand when he stepped forward but kept herself restrained. This whole “mate” thing had thrown her for a loop. She didn’t want anything bad to happen to him, but she couldn’t reveal she might care for him in case he was messing with her head.
He was the opposite of Chad, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t sick and twisted in some other way.
She pulled her other knife free when she heard another scrape and then someone landed in front of the cave. When Charlie glimpsed the security patch on the front of the black coat, she let her knife fly. It struck the vamp in the throat, effectively silencing it from calling out a warning.
Jack charged as the shocked vamp’s hands flew to its throat. Before the Savage could recover, Jack slammed into it and, shoving his shoulder into the vamp’s chest, he lifted the vamp off the ground and drove it into the sand. Blood and breath exploded from the vamp’s mouth and sprayed Jack in the face as he came down on top of the Savage.
The vamp beat at Jack’s shoulders while his hips bucked to try to dislodge Jack. Seizing the Savage’s head, Jack yanked it to the side and broke its neck. The vamp’s hands fell limply onto the sand while its eyes rolled wildly. Twisting the vamp’s head further, Jack ignored the sound of tearing sinew as he succeeded in ripping the head free of the vamp’s shoulders.
Sitting back, he tossed the head aside as a heavy weight crashed onto his back.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Charlie stifled a gasp when the Savage landed on Jack’s back and thrust him onto its fallen comrade. Jack didn’t cry out, but she knew he was injured, and that knowledge ignited a vibrant rage in her.
She almost raced out of the cave, leapt on the back of the Savage, and tore out its throat, but her fury hadn’t completely clouded her judgment. Where there were two, there could be more. At the end of the cave, she stopped and craned her head so she could look cautiously up at the cliff face.
She half expected something to fall off the cliff and land on her, but there weren’t any more Savages above her. Charlie checked the beach before bolting out of the cave and throwing herself on top of the Savage. The creature grunted, but she didn’t give it time to issue a warning before she sank her fingers into its hair, jerked its head back, and slit its throat in one smooth motion.
The vamp’s fingers clawed at its throat as it made gurgling sounds that wouldn’t travel far. Rolling to the side, Charlie pulled the vamp off Jack’s back and released it before it could fall on top of her.
She rolled across the sand before leaping to her feet, pulling out a knife, and going back at the Savage. Blood poured from its wound, but its eyes blazed a fiery red, and it was far from defeated as it swung out his legs. Charlie jumped to avoid the kick that would have taken out her knees.
The Savage rolled over and staggered to its feet before spinning on her. Not much bigger than her, it swayed as it gave her a look promising bloody retribution before giving in to the effects of blood loss.
Charlie shifted her hold on her knife as the idiotic vamp charged at her with its arms outstretched like Frankenstein’s monster. Charlie hefted her blade and let it fly. It would have taken out the vamp’s right eye, but it had more life in it than she anticipated; it ducked out of the way in time to avoid becoming a cyclops.
It was almost on top of her when Charlie ducked and dove for its knees. The impact jarred her shoulders and knocked the breath from her. As the vamp went over the top of her, she shoved upward to throw it away from her. She grunted when its feet caught her in the ribs, knocking her to the side. When the Savage landed in the sand a few feet away from her, Charlie staggered to her feet as Jack bolted past her.
The Savage rose and turned toward him as Jack swung his fist forward. Bone cracked and splintered as Jack sank his hand into the vamp’s chest.
The vamp fumbled to grasp Jack’s arm as realization set in, but it couldn’t stop Jack from tearing out his heart. Still enraged that this bastard had dared to touch Charlie, Jack gripped the Savage’s heart as he delivered a skull-crushing punch to its face.
Chest heaving, Jack released the heart as the Savage collapsed a
t his feet. He spun toward Charlie who gazed at him with blood coating her face and clothes.
“Are you okay?” he demanded as he stalked toward her.
Was she okay? Charlie had no idea how to answer him. What she’d just seen… Well, she’d seen plenty of carnage since arriving on this island, but she’d never seen anything like the brutality Jack unleashed.
“I’m… I’m fine,” she stammered out.
Grasping her wrists, he pulled her toward him. He inspected her arms before tenderly clasping her chin and turning her head from side to side. None of the blood was hers.
“I’m fine,” she said again. “What about you?”
Pulling her hands from his, she touched his swollen cheek. Beads of fresh blood oozed from the cut beneath his eye. The Savage had punched him and, in doing so, created a large welt beneath his eye that split his skin. It would heal fast, but the sight of it still made anger churn within her.
“I’m fine,” he assured her, and clasping her hand, he brought it down to kiss her delicate fingers. “We should get out of here.”
Charlie ignored the butterflies his kiss created in her belly as she pulled her hand free and turned away from him. She collected the knife from the beach before going to the first Savage Jack killed.
She pulled her knife from his throat before wiping the blood on the sand and putting it back in its holster. She searched for any weapons on him and discovered a couple of stakes. Having nowhere to store them, she offered them to Jack, who was examining the other Savage.
Jack waved them away. “I’m out of room.”
“Me too,” she said and buried the stakes in the sand while Jack went to retrieve the rifle from the cave.
“We should go,” Jack said. “It’s time to climb.”
Charlie followed him down the beach as they searched for a good place to scale the cliffs.
* * *
Charlie accepted Jack’s hand and allowed him to pull her over the edge of the cliff. She wanted to collapse onto the ground and lay there until her arms and legs didn’t feel like rubber. However, staying here would get her killed.
The sun beat down on her as she lifted her head to take in their surroundings. The woods were twenty feet away, but they stood in a wide-open section that left them exposed to anyone hunting them.
Keeping hold of her hand, Jack pulled her towards the woods, and somehow, her legs managed to keep up as she ran beside him. Heedless of anything waiting for them, they plunged into the sanctuary of the forest before Jack pulled up short and dragged her against his chest.
Charlie didn’t try to move away from him as she surveyed the woods. She allowed herself to lean against him for a second to take comfort in his strength. She didn’t know about the mate bond, and she didn’t have time to sit down and figure it out, but he did make her feel things she’d never experienced before.
Nothing stirred around them, not even the birds as the tops of the swaying trees cast shadows across the ground. She sighed in relief before taking the time to examine their surroundings.
“I think we’re close to the boat ramp,” she said. “If I’m right, we’ll pass it on our way back to the tunnels.”
“Let’s go then.” Jack was eager to see this boat ramp and learn if there was some way he could use it to get off the island.
Charlie led the way through the woods while keeping an eye out for any enemies lurking in the shadows. She kept expecting someone to rush out of the woods and take them down, but nothing emerged.
They were almost to the cliffs above the boat ramp when the distant sound of gunfire and a blaring alarm scared the birds from the trees. Their screeches reverberated through the trees as their tiny bodies filled the sky.
Kneeling, she rested her fingers on the ground as she glanced around. She braced herself for something to come bursting out of the woods toward them, but nothing stirred. Jack tugged the rifle from his back and gripped it against his chest as he knelt beside her.
“It’s an alarm,” she whispered.
“For what?” Jack asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve never heard an alarm on the island before. Did they sound one when you broke out?”
“No,” Jack said.
Charlie tilted her head to the side as she listened. “It’s coming from the area of the boats.”
Jack’s heart lurched. “Mike and Doug. I know it’s at least one of them and they’re getting out of here.”
Before she could reply, he clasped her hand and stood. She rose beside him. “It might not be them.”
“It is,” he insisted. “Where’s the boat ramp?”
Getting any closer to that alarm was a bad idea, as it would draw the Savages, but the look in Jack’s eyes stopped her protests. He was determined to get to the boat ramp, and she couldn’t let him go alone.
“This way,” she whispered and led him through the trees. They moved through the forest until she stopped at the edge of the trees. “There it is.”
“Where?” Jack asked in confusion. “All I see is more cliffs and sea.”
Charlie pointed across the open expanse of land. “There’s a stairwell carved into the side of the cliffs. The boat ramp is down below.”
Jack studied the woods before turning back to the cliffs. He didn’t want to take Charlie into the open, but he had to know what was happening. “Stay here.”
“You’ll be exposed out there, and the alarm is going to draw others in,” she protested.
“I have to see what’s happening.”
And so did she. “I’m coming with you.”
“No. Stay here and remain hidden.”
“I have to know if someone is escaping this island.” She glanced around the woods as she listened for anything coming their way. “I have to see. Let’s go.”
Before Jack could protest further, or she could stop to think about what she was doing, Charlie slipped from the woods and sprinted across the open land to the edge of the cliffs. Savages raced down the dock while four people scrambled to get into a yellow boat.
“Is it your friends?” she asked when Jack arrived at her side.
“Yes.” He recognized one of the women with his friends as Mollie, but he had no idea who the other one was. It didn’t matter as he lifted the rifle and started firing at the Savages chasing his friends.
Charlie didn’t know what to make of everything unfolding before her. This was the closest to getting away she’d ever seen anyone come, and they were going to make it! Someone was going to get free of this island!
“You can go,” Charlie said as she rested her hand on Jack’s arm. “You can go with your friends.”
It would be difficult, but not impossible, for Jack to make it down there to join his friends. If it weren’t for Dylan, she would attempt to go for it, but she would not leave this island without her son. However, Jack could make it. He could get free too.
Jack didn’t respond as he continued shooting at the monsters swarming the dock. “Jack—”
“I’m not leaving you,” he grated through his teeth as he fired the rifle.
Glancing frantically around, Charlie spotted security members and two hunters running toward them. She clutched Jack’s arm and pointed at the approaching death.
“We can’t stay here, Jack!” she shouted at him. “Run for your friends, or we have to go!”
He slid the rifle onto his back as Mike steered the boat away from the dock. He’d done what he could for them; they were getting free, and he had no doubt they would return for him. “I’m not leaving without you and Dylan.”
Charlie ran beside him as he pulled her toward the woods. She didn’t have to look back to know they were being hunted.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Charlie released Jack’s hand to shove aside the branches slapping her face and tearing at her clothes as they plunged through the trees with reckless speed. She didn’t care about the noise they made; there was nothing they could do to stop that until they put more distance between th
em and their pursuers.
Something whistled past her ear, and it wasn’t until bark exploded in front of her that she realized someone was shooting at them. Jack spun and, grasping her arm, pulled her forward until his body blocked hers while they ran.
Had he just put himself between her and bullets that were most likely wooden? She didn’t know what to make of any of this, and thankfully, she didn’t have the time to figure it out as another bullet hit a tree a few feet to her left.
She dashed in and out of the trees in a zigzagging pattern that would make shooting them more difficult. Charlie didn’t dare look back at their hunters, she’d run into a tree if she did, but she could hear their heavy footfalls following them through the trees.
Jack glanced over his shoulder as Charlie made a sharp left he almost didn’t follow. He had no idea where she was going and wondered if she knew, but then, it didn’t matter where they were going if they couldn’t lose their pursuers.
Another bullet cracked off a rock only inches away from him. Splintered debris flew up to pelt his face, and he felt blood trickling down his cheek. On the other side of the rock, he was dismayed to realize they were back into open land—open land that ended in a cliff.
Terror crept up Charlie’s spine until she could taste the rancidness of it on her tongue and feel its icy tendrils breathing down her neck. She hadn’t known where they were going, hadn’t realized they’d run so far and were heading toward a dead end.
Jack closed the few feet of distance separating him from Charlie when he felt her slow down. They had no choice. He could only hope there was ocean below them and not land.
He pulled her close as a bullet slammed into his left shoulder. Fragments of bone dug into muscle and skin as the bullet burned into his body. He didn’t hesitate, and he didn’t let Charlie go as he plunged over the edge of the cliff and toward the ocean below.
Unforeseen: The Vampire Awakenings, Book 9 Page 16