Juanty's Hope

by T C Underwood

  Juanty was losing a lot of blood, fast. Her head began to swirl, and just as it had happened many years before, she saw her sisters running towards her with Panther speed. Never in her life was she happier to see her family.

  "We're here, sister." She could hear Ayanna clearly in her head.

  "Great, because this shit hurts."

  No sooner as she responded to Ayanna's call, she knew Zaire had approached. Disoriented, she lay, hoping that her sisters had somehow caught up with Elizabeth and grabbed that old, white bitch and decapitated her ass, but only after they ripped off her limbs, one by one. The only way to kill a shapeshifter was to detach their head or heart from the body. She wanted Elizabeth to suffer tremendously before receiving her final blow.

  Juanty knew she would recover from her wounds. She could already feel herself beginning to heal a bit, but the damage to her heart was irreparable as anguish quickly rushed to it. She wept. She was able to shift to human form, and she did so. She knew the pain would be worse that way, but she didn’t care. She needed her sisters close. Without speaking a word, Pearl grabbed her and held her close. Zaire remained in her panther form, circling Juanty with a low, impassioned growl deep in her breasts.

  Juanty heard the cop yelp in pain. She turned to see what was happening. Ayanna was on her knees, just inches from the cop’s face.

  “You tried to hurt my sister.” The cop could not speak. He just stared back with dread.

  Ayanna let her nails lengthen, and with the precision of a heart surgeon, she cut into the man’s chest. She felt for his beating heart and grabbed hold, pulling slowly. She could feel the valves rip and veins snap. The man’s body went slack. She held his beating heart in her hand. Juanty sighed with relief and turned back to Pearl.

  Once Ayanna joined them, the two instinctively knew to give their big sister some space. Zaire moved closer and licked Juanty’s face, then moved to the injured area. With care and love, she licked the wound around her neck until it was healed completely. Once Juanty was breathing at a normal pace, Zaire shifted and stared into her red eyes. Only this time, they were red from her tears. "Jay, who did this?"

  She could not form the words to respond. She could only cry. Tears spilled over in torrential buckets, and she released years of hurt, anger, and sadness into each drop. "Did she get away?" she managed to spit out through blinded eyes.

  "Yeah, those motherfuckers hobbled away, “Pearl said, “but we'll get them next time, Jay.”

  “You're much more important than they are, and we wanted to make sure you were okay," Zaire agreed.

  Juanty fell into her sister’s arms and wailed into the early morning sky.

  Once the ladies got home, Juanty showered, dressed, and headed downstairs to let her sisters in on why the ugly beast-woman wanted her dead.

  "Hey, Jay," Ayanna spoke gently, "is you okay?"

  Juanty nodded in the negative and walked to the kitchen to pour her favorite drink: tequila and sweet lime juice.

  Pearl lit a blunt and took a hit before putting it into rotation. "Girl, you need to sit your ass down and tell us what's going on,” she said. “Why you out here in these streets, getting your ass whooped?"

  Juanty put her drink on the table and plopped down on the couch, still tender from the morning’s events. She grabbed the bag of jerky next to her drink, pulled out a piece, and bit down on the tasty treat. "First of all, I didn’t get my ass whooped. There were a few surprises that caught me off guard."

  "Like what, Jay?" Ayanna asked.

  "Like the ugly hyena-raccoon-cat-whatever-animal-thing. She is not just an ugly beast. She is Elizabeth Woods, the slave owner I thought I killed one hundred and eighty-two years ago. Turns out, I did not kill her. I turned her."

  "Well, why the fuck did you turn her into Sasquatch, Jay? Damn, girl!" Pearl spat.

  Zaire cut in. “When an Iluma hybrid is turned, their animal is created based on your heart. If you are evil on the inside, then the demon will show on the outside. We know if you are innately evil just by the way you look. If your inner beauty is evident, then your outer beauty will be as well.

  "I can speak from experience. Elizabeth is demonic, but that's not all. I recognized one of the other creatures with her. The dead creature by the tree was the cop I had that little altercation with a while back."

  Pearl caught a chill. “Jay that was no little altercation. That was some sick shit!” Ayanna and Zaire looked at Juanty for clarification.

  Juanty looked at Pearl and rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the other beast, the pretty one, she had a familiar scent, but I couldn’t figure it out. It is the craziest thing. I definitely know her from somewhere, though.”

  Zaire perched herself on the rug in front of Ayanna. Ayanna grabbed the rat-tail comb from her and began loosening Zaire’s braids. “So we need to find her and destroy her before she destroys Juanty. Where has she been staying?”Zaire questioned.

  "That's what I need to find out," Juanty thought aloud.

  Pearl grabbed the last bit of jerky from Juanty's hand and popped it into her mouth. "Oh, so now that we know who's trying to kill you, and that she's recruiting other ugly motherfuckers, what are you going to do about it?"

  Juanty began to tear up again. "It's complicated, guys. We cannot just attack. We have to be certain we can kill her because she threatened, or rather, promised, to hurt Johnathon and Olivia if I don't stop seeing him. If we mess this up and they are harmed, I don't know what I will do. I just found them. I can’t lose them." Juanty let out another sob.

  The sisters looked at one another in disbelief. "Jay, are you in love with this man? I mean, you just met him." Ayanna got up and walked over to console her blubbering sister.

  "Girl, that must be some grade-A, FDA-approved dick he got on him for you to want it this bad. Damn, Jay! I ain't never seen you torn up over a man." Pearl shook her head.

  "I don't know how, but he's the one. Johnathon is my mate."

  Zaire spoke. "Juanty, he's human. He couldn't possibly be your mate. Iluma can only bond with other supernatural creatures. As a human, he would not be able to please you, and he could even die."

  Juanty lifted her head and wiped her nose with the tissue Ayanna had given her. "He pleases me," she spoke quietly.

  "Girl, hell no!”Pearl said. “You have been getting your back blown out, and you isn’t gave no details? Oh, you about to spill this tea. Are y’all using toys? You know they say that butterfly bullet be having you about to have a seizure! Or is it his tongue action?" She made a lightning speed motion, darting her tongue in and out of her mouth while falling into her favorite recliner.

  "Pearl, he is so gentle, but at the same time, he fills me up in so many ways. We have not used toys. We don't need them."

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa! So you're saying he actually popped that cherry and didn't vomit violently afterward?" Ayanna looked into Juanty's eyes and clung to her next words.

  "He's my mate. We made love. He put it down, had me climbing the walls. We damn near burned a hole in the rug in my office." Ayanna covered her mouth and bounced up and down on the sofa in excitement.

  "So, he's not human then?" Zaire argued.

  "He is. He doesn’t have the scent that comes with a shifter. I'm not sure how it's possible, but I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on him that he was different. He makes me happy. He gives me hope."

  "Well, girl, he’s got you glowing and stuff, so as long as you're happy, then we are happy for you. I say go for it." Ayanna grinned.

  Zaire shook her head. "We will always be here for you, sweetheart. We just have to figure out a way to keep Johnathon alive until we can kill the Get-Ugly Crew, as you ladies like to call them.”

  Pearl got up and walked over to Juanty for the sole purpose of mushing her in the side of the head. “It seems like your fast, freaky ass won't be able to keep that cookie away from him anyway. I can tell by the way you sitting, you want some right now. Get your hot ass up and go over there and see that man."

/>   "How am I going to explain all of this to him? How are we going to keep him and Olivia safe?"

  Zaire was the last to join her sisters on the sofa. She squeezed in between Ayanna and Juanty and took Juanty’s hands in hers. “Be as honest as possible. Tell him as much as you can without revealing who we really are. Tell him how you feel. Be with him tonight. We will figure things out together. In the meantime, after tonight, you will need to keep your distance. Until we find a solution, we are all at risk. We will not allow anyone to stop you from being with your true mate. If he is as you say, death will not come to him. The gods will make sure of this.”

  Chapter Nine

  Juanty hesitantly climbed the two steps leading to Johnathon's porch. "Come on, Juanty. You can do this. You have to keep Johnathon and Olivia safe."

  If anything happened to either of them, Juanty would die a slow, torturous death. To lose the two most important people in the world to her in the past had been unbearable. She never thought she would feel normal again, this alive again, this whole again. With Johnathon and Olivia, she felt all of those things and more. The threat of losing them at the hands of the same demon who destroyed her family once before was more hell than anyone could bear. She would never survive it.

  Why is this happening? Haven't I been through enough? Why am I being punished like this? I know I have taken the law into my own hands a time or two, but those criminals deserved their punishments. Is this payback for the vigilante life I have lived?

  She pulled her mind away from her thoughts long enough to ring the doorbell. When she heard movement inside, she lost her nerve and turned to leave. She made it to the first step before she heard that familiar voice that was so comforting."Where are you running off to, beautiful?"

  The flips in her stomach were immediate. "I, um …I …I was just admiring your beautiful landscape. I'm a fan of the outdoors."

  "Well, I'm a fan of your beautiful face. Please, come in."

  "Uh, where's Olivia?"

  "She's sleeping. It's late. I was surprised to hear from you tonight. I thought you canceled on me, but I must say, I am glad you are here. I was missing that gorgeous face of yours."

  She blushed as the butterflies in her stomach flew down and perched between her legs. "We need to talk, Johnathon. Can we sit down?" She did not know how she would get through this moment, but she understood the possible consequences if she continued to see him. This would be her last time, face to face, because telling him by phone or text seemed cowardice, and she was no coward. Yes, this was the only way. After tonight, she would walk away and hope for the best. Finding and killing Elizabeth, along with anyone in alliance with her, was essential to her future with her mate.

  "You seem uncomfortable, beautiful. Is something wrong?"

  Juanty fought back the rising bile and stared into Johnathon’s gorgeous, dark eyes. "I never thought I could love anyone again after losing my family. I felt guilty for living without them, and as a result, I thought I was unworthy of love. I have pushed any and everyone away that has tried to get close, and no one could get close enough to my heart to make an impact until you walked into my life. You make me feel alive. Olivia makes me feel loved. You make me feel passion. I am complete again with you. I'm in love with you, Johnathon."

  Her throat was dry, and she struggled to get out her next words. "For the first time in a very long time, I thought I might be able to live a normal life. There are things about me you don't know about. I'm not what you think."

  Lips crushing hers cut off her next sentence. Johnathon had swooped in so fast, she did not see it coming. She couldn't help herself and accepted all he poured into her. His tongue danced with hers. Neither missed a beat. He tore himself away long enough to whisper the words she needed to hear more than she needed to breathe."I love you, too."

  With that, she became butter. Every part of her body was weak. He held her in his arms and again devoured her lips with a passion she had never felt before. The sundress she wore was ruined as she flooded it with her juices. As if he could sense her predicament, he stood her up, lifted the sunlit, yellow garment, and slipped a finger inside of her body.

  "Juanty, why can't I get enough of you?" She tried to answer, but just like that, his lips were back on her. This time, placing slow licks up her neck.

  “Yes, baby. I will stay with you tonight.” She had forgotten the ultimatum given to her just hours before. All she could remember was how this man filled her up physically, emotionally and simultaneously. He dislodged his fingers from her wet, tight canal, slowly lifting her into his arms while she wrapped her legs around his strong body.

  "How do you do that?" he wondered out loud.

  "Do what?" She did not realize she had spoken her thoughts aloud. She was so caught up in the moment.

  "Read my thoughts. You answered before I could ask you to stay."

  "Does it scare you?"

  "No, sunshine. It intrigues me."

  ***

  Johnathon lay next to his sleeping beauty. He could not figure out what captivated him so much about this woman. He did not even know how he had gotten to this point, but one thing was for sure, he was totally taken with her. They had known each other less than a month, and already, he felt like his world was incomplete without her in it. That is why he was so panicked when she was trying to let him down easy. He sensed it coming.

  For some reason, beyond his control, she wanted to walk away from something they both knew was inevitable. She explained that she thought love only came once in a lifetime, if you're lucky, and he'd felt the same way, but to have Lady Luck visit twice was more than he could hope for. He felt like he could explore a life with her without the guilt of letting go of the love he shared with his first wife.

  Juanty turned over, found his chest, and laid her head against it. He stroked her soft curls, and flashes of their lovemaking flooded his mind. Once he got this beautiful creature into his bed, they made love through most the night. Everything about her got him in frenzy. The way she smelled like fresh soap and nature, not perfume like most women he knew. Her chocolate skin glowed, and he could not explain how or why, nor did he care. She was stunning. Her short, curly hair accentuated her soft features. Her even softer skin beckoned his touch.

  He was exhausted. There was something about making love to this woman that wore him out but made his shaft extend at the very thought of her wearing him out. She was becoming like a drug, and he didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. All he knew was that he wanted more. He had to have more.

  He pulled her closer and eased a finger down the center of her back to the tip of her ass. He did not stop. He made his way further down and was met with a puddle of goodness. Once his finger was lubricated, he eased it back up a bit and stopped at her forbidden cave. He helped himself to the tight opening until the tip of his finger was inside. She gasped but was receptive to his invasion. The brick between his own legs made its desires known, and he did not hesitate. He kissed her shoulder and heard her moan in response, "You're an animal. You know that?"

  He laughed."Well, you bring out my wild side." He touched her lips with his and bit her bottom lip. He was about to kiss her deeply but was interrupted by his phone ringing on the small nightstand next to the bed.

  "A girlfriend?" Juanty inquired.

  "You're my girlfriend." He kissed the tip of her nose as he reached for the device. "It better be important at this time of the morning. Who is this?"

  "Mr. Reid?”

  "Yes, this is Mr. Reid."

  "This is Quinton at Security Monitoring. Sir, we received an alert from your alarm system at your place of employment. It seems your fire alarm has been set off. We notified the local authorities, and there is indeed a fire. You should get there as soon as possible."

  "Thank you. I'm on my way."

  "Is everything okay?" Juanty had concern in her eyes as if she knew something was very wrong. She could feel it, and the thought of him being hurt made her heartache.


  "My building is on fire." Johnathon hurried from the bed and into the bathroom en suite. Moments later, he returned and grabbed a pair of sweats from his closet.

  "Baby, can you stay here and watch Olivia until Sye arrives? She will be arriving shortly. She's due in at 6:00. Olivia should sleep until around that time. I hate to put you in such an awkward position, but this is truly an emergency. I can call my mother if you prefer."

  Juanty climbed out of bed with nothing on and kissed Johnathon gently. "That won’t be necessary. Of course, I will stay. I'm honored that you trust me with your baby girl."

  Johnathon glanced into those golden-colored eyes that drove him crazy. He pulled her into his arms. "I've never trusted someone so fast, but I trust you. And if I have things my way, we will one day be taking care of Olivia and our other five kids together."

  "Oh, geesh. Should I run right now?" She turned to free herself, but he held her tighter.

  Johnathon chuckled before getting serious once more. “I really do have to go. The baby’s milk is in the fridge, already prepared. She has not been feeling well lately. She seems to spit up just about everything she eats lately and is rather fussy. I've had to take some time off work recently to take care of her. Please let me know once Sye gets in, and most importantly, baby, I love you already."

  "I love you already, too." Her voice trembled. They kissed again briefly, and Johnathon left the room.

  Juanty continued to the bathroom to wash up and get dressed. It had been over a century since she had experienced alone time with a little one. She did not like being around children since she had lost her own child. She was also a creature that killed and could not be trusted around children during her shift, but something about Olivia made Juanty want to be near her. Maybe it was the fact that she was totally smitten with her daddy.

  Oh, boy, that man, she thought, and what a man he was. She shook her head and looked at herself in the mirror. He was every bit of sex on two legs. Two strong, toned, well-built legs that belonged to his well-built, six-pack-riddled body. Jesus, does the man possess any flaws?