"Cat! Hurry!" Bill shouted, standing by the door, a suitcase in each hand. "I'm taking these to the car!"
Cat frantically shoved the last of her possessions into a large gym bag. She was familiar with having to relocate in a hurry, but this was something else.
Taking the stairs three at a time, she abruptly halted on the last step. She could hear Bill out front, but the noise was from the back. She went into the hallway leading to the kitchen, staring at the back door, sunlight poking through the edges.
The door banged open, and she swore.
Luca ran at her, pointing something. Cat jumped aside as the taser leads flew past. "Pathetic," she sneered, and launched at him.
Luca dropped the taser to fight, wrapping an arm about her as they went down together. His free hand brutally tangled into her hair.
"Is this where you really want to be?" Cat sneered, tightening her thighs around his torso, her hand around his neck in a death grip.
Listening for approaching steps, Cat discerned Luca had arrived alone. He'd rushed ahead of Hector's men, scared he'd miss her. He was right.
If Cat weren't so incensed, she'd have smiled at Jett's handwork. Luca's face was a mess; dried blood down half his face, the side of his neck, dark hair matted with it. Through the blood and bruising, his brown eyes were pure, malicious evil.
Luca stared at Cat; the sexily short, fiery red hair that matched her temper. Those giant blue eyes, that gorgeous, fuckable mouth. The stunning fury that always got him going, that he couldn't find in another woman.
Through the violent anger, his twisted mind still envisioned her riding his cock. She couldn't understand the pain she caused him. "I
will
have you, Cat!"
Cat didn't flinch when he pulled her hair. She dug her fingers in, willing her body to turn. But Luca wasn't Bill, or Lycan, and she wasn't aroused in the slightest. She was tougher than the average man could handle, but Luca's fighting background was hardly average.
Luca grinned; his white teeth tainted by red. "Should I lick your cunt to make this an even fight?"
Cat punched him in the face. "Keep chasing me and you'll end up dead, Luca!" she shouted.
"Or I'll catch and keep you," he said, spitting fresh blood aside.
Cat noticed Luca was firmly connected to her waist, something in his hand embedded under her skin. "No!"
"Easy, girl." Luca slowly sat up and Cat's limbs refused to stop him. "Don't worry, I'll teach you to roll over and play nice."
Cat fell back, panting with terror, buried memories coming to surface.
Luca choked, gripping the large forearm suddenly crushing his airway. He'd completely forgotten about Bill; the bigger threat he'd meant to take care of first. His excitement about Cat erased all his good sense.
"We don't want any part of this war," Bill growled in Luca's ear. "That's the only reason I'm not going to kill you. Hector's money is on the kitchen bench. It's all there but I won't be offended if he counts it."
Furious, Luca gurgled as a fuzzy blackness crept into his vision. His eyes closed at the same time his struggle dwindled, and finally his hands fell away and his limbs relaxed.
"What the fuck have you done, Jett?" Bill muttered, grabbing Cat's bag of clothes, inspecting his semi-conscious wife, pulling the needle out and throwing it at the wall.
"Bill...Bill...!" she slurred anxiously, blinking heavily through her lashes until her eyes couldn't stay open.
Bill knew she was petrified, reliving the past. "I'm here. It's me," he reassured her, kissing her cheek. "It's alright, love, it's me," he repeated, lifting her off the ground and carrying her out the door. "I've got you. It's alright."
***
Tessa endured most of the journey in tense silence. Since Jett's wicked grin to answer her question, he kept his eyes on the road ahead. He was reluctant to look at her.
They stopped once for supplies. Before leaving the car, Jett calmly explained he didn't want to have to kill anyone unnecessarily. When Tessa scowled, Jett bluntly pointed out she was naked and more likely to get raped than helped in that region. After peering through the tinted glass at a loud, swearing group of men slinging glass bottles at a brick wall, she stayed put.
If it hadn't been so long since she'd eaten, she would have refused Jett's offerings. But she was so hungry, she didn't even care that the blanket gaped open while she scoffed everything down.
On the road again, Jett put his phone on charge and Tessa's eyes darted continually to the screen that seemed to light up every few minutes. The latest messages were hardly comforting.
He went for a drive. It'll be okay. Your rooms ready.
Carl said he'll rip your throat out, but you know his bark is worse than his bite.
I got whips and chains if you want 'em ;) Can I watch?
"Who's Carl?" Tessa uttered, curling into the seat when Jett angrily snatched his phone from the charger port. She narrowed her eyes at his silence. "If I'm going to be torn to shreds-"
"Not you. You'll be fine," Jett frowned.
"D-Did Hector do something to you?" Tessa tentatively asked.
"Yes and no."
He took what's mine.
Tessa swallowed tears. "Whips and chains?!"
"Oh, Jesus." Jett rubbed his face. "Don't heed the messages."
"But t-that's where we're going, right?" Tessa said shrilly, her heart pounding with fear. "Into another hostile environment?"
"I told you," Jett snapped, glaring at her. "You'll be-"
He made the mistake of looking too long. Tessa's fair skin was soft and sleek, like the rest of her. Even traumatised, she was beautiful; everything about her made for him.
Gentle green eyes that switched to burning anger in a moment, elegant blonde tresses, that sweet mouth he'd been thinking about since he first sighted her at the diner. She looked every part the damsel in distress and he fucking needed her.
Tessa cried out as the car veered and screeched to a halt.
"Jett!" Tessa gasped, staring down her exposed chest at the blanket, currently bunched in Jett's large fist. The car was warm, but her nipples were suddenly hard. "Jett...?"
"Jesus," Jett growled, leaning heavily toward Tessa while she flattened herself against the passenger door. He inhaled deeply, catching the scent of her skin, her fear and sweat, her damp thighs.
Tessa stared into Jett's weird eyes as he cupped her face, then his gaze was on her mouth. She gasped against his lips when he kissed her, her body heating to an overwhelming passion. She pressed forward, straining against the seatbelt, wanting to be flush against his hard chest, for the bulk of him to encompass her. His heat, his smell, everything felt right.
"Fuck," Jett groaned between fervent kisses, his hands all over her soft, taut skin. Every part of her tasted good. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..."
"Yes, yes," Tessa moaned giddily, clinging to him, hornier than a colony of rabbits. "Don't stop!"
Jett's eyes shut and his jaw clenched like he was in pain. Tessa jumped with fright when he growled, the noise rumbling up his chest. The sudden aggression was startling and out of place. Jett pulled back to the driver's side.
Trembling with unsated lust, Tessa's lips parted indignantly when Jett practically threw himself from the car and locked the door after him. She watched him stumble slightly and catch his footing, then crouched down and rested his head in his hands. Squinting, she saw his jaw moving rapidly, could hear his low, deep voice. He was angrily talking to himself.
When Jett returned, Tessa had covered herself with the blanket and was stiffly staring out the window. He didn't look at her, but there was an awkward air about them as he started the engine.
Jett felt her simmering, delicious rage. Tessa was fucking furious, probably presuming the anger was based on his rejection. Rejection had nothing to do with it, but she couldn't know that. Jett found himself at a complete loss for words. But he had to say
something.
"Sorry," he muttered, and pulled back onto the road like nothing happened.
***
They turned off the freeway, weaving along a narrow road bordered by forest. It was a beautiful drive, fresh air, trees and sounds of running water.
Finally, they were on the long driveway leading up to the house. Jett's stomach was in knots as he carefully eyed the reception waiting out the front of his childhood home.
It was a big house. Four slightly uneven levels because his dad wanted something more modern. The result was pleasantly contemporary, but with the balconies and windows angled in such a way for people to lean out and shout at each other.
One balcony in particularly jutted out and allowed a clear view of one bedroom which was consequently sheathed in heavy block-out curtains. It was smooth mahogany in parts; the roof, borders, decks and stairs. Large tinted windows throughout. The rest of the house tastefully greyscale.
Jett quickly scanned the faces in the group. As expected, his dad wasn't there. Jett had three brothers and one sister. One brother, Carl, was notably absent. Probably in the car with his dad, bitching about him.
On eager lookout, Mia sighted him first. Even from a distance Jett knew she was smiling; had probably been that way since he'd let her know. Lycan women were forgiving; they reserved their anger for the bedroom. His mother, Lily, would be happy to see him. She probably told Carl to take a hike with his father, Axel.
Jett slowed to a stop a short distance away and cast an uneasy sidelong glance at Tessa. She'd put up a blistering cold wall between them since his clumsy apology. Now, she stared breathlessly out the window at the group, assessing the threat. There were no guns. They were dressed like normal people.
Jett cleared his throat. "They're my family," he said shortly. "They look like civilians but they're like me."
Tessa scowled her scepticism, her eyes on the girl who suddenly broke from the group, running fast to them. As she drew close, Tessa noted the girl looked in her late teens, slightly younger than herself. With a pale complexion, long, straight black hair and Jett's cold grey eyes, her appearance seemed more vampiric than hot-blooded.
"It's Mia," Jett sighed, letting the window down a crack.
"Why'd you stop?" Mia complained through the limited gap, crossing her arms in an impatient hunch. She pouted, trying to see through the heavily tinted glass to where Tessa self-consciously retreated under the blanket. "I can't see her! Wind the window down!"
"You'll meet her last, if you stay here," Jett warned. He closed the window and began to drive.
Mia made an angry noise and ran alongside the car to join the others.
"I'm not getting out," Tessa said flatly. "I want to go to
my
home. I don't want to be here."
"Yeah, you do," Jett sighed, parking the car. "It'll be a very brief introduction, I promise. I'll carry you in the blanket. They won't see anything."
"I said 'no'."
Watching closely, Jett could see Tessa's eyes burning like green embers. She was still a little excited by him. It was sexy.
