by Celeste Raye
He smiled widely. “I would hope not.”
“Tell me you didn't really bring one of our enemies back here because you want to screw her? I heard about this Jake and I wanted to believe you wouldn't do it, but here she is.”
“It just happened. It’s not like it was planned.”
Fred shook his head.
“I'm not going to be able to help you out of this one. What the hell are you thinking?”
With everyone else, Jake would be defensive if someone asked that kind of question, but it was different with Fred.
Fred was the one that he was closest to. He wasn’t asking because he was being like his father. He was asking because he really wanted to know and cared what happened to him. To Jake, that made all the difference in the world.
“I wasn't thinking, obviously. I was about to kill this dude, but I wanted to see his face. Then he took his helmet off, and it was this hot chick and all this red hair was coming out of it. Have you seen her?”
“No, not yet. I hear she's locked away in your room upstairs, safe from any prying eyes.”
Jake agreed, but he still wanted the two of them to meet. He was convinced that if Fred saw her, then maybe he would understand. But he certainly wasn't going to be showing her off tonight. It was already weird enough. He didn't want to make it any harder for Alexis.
“So, this hot chick was in on it and you decided to bring her back here?”
“Yeah, but when you say it like that, it doesn't seem like it's that good of an idea.”
“You had to know that Dad was going to freak out.”
“Yeah but hearing them talking about passing her around with the rest of the clan, I just kind of lost it. And then what was I supposed to do with her? I had to bring her back here.”
“Yeah, but what are you going to do with her now? What is the plan here, Jake? I'm just not getting it.”
“I don't really have a plan. I just didn't want them passing her around and I couldn't let her go.”
“Why couldn’t you just let her go?”
“Because they already knew that I’d captured her. Word would have gotten back to Dad, and he would've been pissed. The only way for me to get out of it was to bring her here. I couldn't see any other way out of it.”
“Great plan.”
He gave his brother a dirty look and Fred shrugged. “I know that you don't want to hear it but killing her was probably your best bet.”
“Have you ever killed a woman like that?”
He sighed. “No, I can't say that I have.”
“Do you think you would have been able to? I mean, even if she were ugly, I don't think I would be able to kill a woman. Any woman, no matter the age or whose daughter they were.”
“You have always been the one with the morals around here.”
“And you're saying it like it's a bad thing.”
“Well, Jake, we're frickin’ criminals. Sometimes it can be a bad thing. But I agree with you: I wouldn't go around shooting women either. I just don't know how to help you out of this.”
“I know, Fred, I'm telling you though, this one is different. There was a reason I brought her back here. I just don't know what it is yet. Once you meet her, you'll see.”
Jake didn't feel much better after the conversation, but he was a little more aware of how everybody else felt about it. They would just as easily take her out, no questions asked. He was going to have to keep her on a short leash to make sure that she was safe.
Chapter Nine
The room didn't hold much to keep Alexis's attention. There were very few things around to look at, and she didn't want to get caught in his underwear drawer snooping, so instead, she found a book that looked interesting and decided to give it a read.
She was only a couple of pages in before her mind started to work overtime. Alexis shouldn't be content to stay. She should be getting back to her people, or what was left of them; to warn them of an impending attack.
Why was it that Alexis had to actually remind herself that she wanted to escape? Her captor had told her earlier that she would get used to it, and that made her think that he expected her to stay awhile. Even that wasn't enough to make her want to rush off into the night. Jake was unlike anybody she’d ever met before, and maybe it was the idea of being around him that made her not feel like she was being held against her will.
It wasn’t a horrible experience, not so far anyway. He treated her with respect, and in a strange way, Alexis thought that given the right circumstances, they might actually be friends. Or maybe even something more.
Alexis must've fallen asleep at some point because she woke up with Jake standing over her. He had a look of concern on his face, and it made her a little nervous. Something was obviously on his mind, but when she asked him what was going on, he changed the subject.
“Do you want to go get something to eat?”
She told him that she wasn’t that hungry.
“What I really need is to take a shower. I forgot to earlier, and I think the day just kind of finally caught up with me. When I woke up this morning, I certainly didn't think that I would be here with my enemy.”
“I don't want you to consider me your enemy.”
Alexis looked at him a little curiously. “Is that not what we are?”
“Our families are enemies, but that doesn't mean that we have to be.”
Alexis smiled, though she didn't agree with the sentiment.
“Actually, I think that's exactly what it means. Whoever your family is, that's where your loyalties have to lie. Isn't that how it works?”
“I have always thought so, but now I’m not so sure. It seems like my father has made a lot of enemies lately. We used to have just one little spot in the city that was ours. It kept us busy enough, but then something happened, and he started to get greedy. He wanted more and more of the city, and before long, he wasn't willing to share any of it. You don't know how many battles we've had because of his stubbornness. I know there are definitely going to be some things that I change when I take over. Some people aren't going to be so happy about it, but I don't care. All this in-fighting between the different shifter clans has to stop. We're not enemies. We should see each other as allies.”
Alexis was glad to hear it, but was impossible to believe him. The sad part was that she really wanted to because that would mean she had a chance of getting out of there. The alternative was something she didn't want to think about.
“Do you mind if I take a shower?”
“Of course not. I will show you where it is. It’s just right down here.”
Alexis was happy to think of anything else. As much as she appreciated Jake for what he was doing for her, she still wasn't sure what his intentions were. In Alexis's experience, very few people did anything for anybody else without wanting something in return. What was he going to ask her for later or maybe even tonight?
When Alexis got to the bathroom, he was a bit too close to her and she started to get nervous.
“When you said that we have to be side-by-side, you didn't mean in the bathroom with me, did you?”
He chuckled. “Of course not. I was just showing you where everything is. Take your time, and I will have the cook bring us up something to eat later. It should all be ready when you're done with your bath.”
She thanked him again and closed the door before he changed his mind. Alexis had not even had time to fully process what was going on. She started thinking of her brother and her father and all the rest of the people that had died today.
Alexis was never going to get her family back, and now she was at the mercy of their killers. If it were anyone other than Jake, she didn't know what she would do. Her mind wondered how it could be any worse, but she never said such a thing out loud. Alexis knew better. It could always get worse.
“Did you fall in?”
Alexis jumped at the sound, and she didn't answer right away. She didn't know how long she’d been in there, but the water was cold.
Then, reality kicked back in. How was Alexis supposed to ever get over such a thing? It wasn't like she had lost one or two people. And now she was in the hands of the enemy. Sure, it was Jake that had her and he wasn't as bad as the rest of them, but still. How could Jake keep her safe when he wasn't even the leader?
“Yeah, just kind of soaking.”
“The food is in here getting cold. Do you want me to bring it in there to you or send for something else, so it will be ready when you are?”
“No, I'm getting out now. You don’t have to do that.”
Alexis sighed to herself and got out of the water. She immediately felt a chill in the air as the water on her body started to evaporate.
She didn't really think about it until she got a towel, but she didn't have anything to wear.
Alexis was supposed to be celebrating victory over the Rebel Bears. They were all going to dance and have a good time. But now they were gone.
Again, her eyes started to water, and Alexis had to push the thoughts from her mind. It was already bad enough that she had been captured; she did not want to show off her weakness as well. Alexis had not been able to grieve, and it wasn't time yet.
Chapter Ten
Jake heard his name being called through the door and he went immediately to see what she needed.
“What is it? Is something wrong?”
“Well, um, I don't have any clothes.”
She said it so quietly that he had to really listen to get what she was saying. Of course, her words filled him with a yearning that he was unaccustomed to. For a second, he thought of what Donovan said. How easy would it have been for him to open the door and take everything that he needed?
The thought was gone in an instant, though. His guilt started to override his thoughts. He couldn't believe that he thought it, even for a second. Jake had never felt that sort of need before. Women were too easy to come by to worry him much. He never got much more out of a relationship than the easy parts, like sex. Since his feelings for Alexis were so different from anything he’d ever felt before, Jake had to wonder if this was what everyone talked about: the feeling that didn't seem to make sense, yet he couldn't get it to go away.
“Give me a second, Alexis, and I will go find you something. I can ask some of the women in the compound for something to wear later, but I can at least find you a shirt that's too big and some shorts or something for now.”
She thanked him through the door, not even opening it a crack, and again, the knee-jerk reaction of just pushing it open and seeing what he would find was hard to battle. Jake backed away from the door because he didn't like the way it made him feel. He didn't want to have desires like that.
After a few moments, Jake was able to bring something back that was as small as he had, but it was still practically falling off of her. The redheaded woman had quite a slight figure, and though Alexis had a few curves, it wasn't much that would hold the clothes up. He just hoped that they would do. It wouldn’t have hurt his feelings, though, if she decided to wear nothing at all.
Pushing the last thought out of his mind, he knocked on the door and told her that he had something for her. He waited for her to unlock the door, but she never did. It was never locked, and Jake didn't know if he should regret not taking it further. Here he was, beating around the bush, and he could have very well been exactly where he wanted to be. That thought didn't settle well with him.
She opened the door crack and he sent the clothes in. The door was only open for a moment, and he got to see nothing, but just the idea that she was behind it with nothing on sent his mind spiraling downward again.
Again, Jake got away from the door, afraid that he was going to say or do something that he’d regret. The draw to Alexis was unreal, and he had to wonder why. It was the main reason Jake was so taken with it all. He never felt this way, ever. It was always easy for him to avoid dealing with the thoughts, but now he couldn’t.
When she came out, all scrubbed and cleaned, he could see there was even more beauty in her than before. Alexis wasn’t meeting his gaze.
“You must be starving. It has been a long day.”
She didn’t respond. Jake feared that his true intentions were clear on his face.
“So, are you going to tell me a little bit about yourself, Alexis? I would really like to know how you came to be with them tonight. After being around you a bit, I have to say, it doesn’t fit.”
“I’ve already told you. I wanted to prove myself, and I wanted to be taken seriously. I am a great shot, but that is just in practice. I was never able to go out on any runs, do anything, really. I was expected to cook for the rest of them. That was my job. I thought if I did well enough on the raid, then maybe they would finally let me go with them. Take me serious for once.”
“Why would you want to do that? You don’t strike me as that type of woman.”
She shrugged and sighed, all at the same time. It was clear that Alexis had a lot to say on the subject, but something was holding her back.
“You wouldn't understand.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because you’re being raised to be the leader. You are able to live your life the way you choose. Nobody is telling you that you have to be a certain way, you have to marry a certain person. You get to make decisions that are not just about your life, but everybody else’s. My life is in your hands now, so I think it would be quite hard for you understand simply wanting a life that is your own. I want to be able to make my own mistakes and to learn from them, like everyone else. That's why a lot of times, I wish that I were human. We just have to go along with things while you guys fight endless wars.”
She must have realized what she was saying and who she was saying it to because she abruptly stopped. He had never really thought about the women in the gang. They were just there, and not unlike how she described, they were usually helping in the capacity of cooking and cleaning and taking care of the next generation. Why had he never thought about that before?
“You're right that I’ll be leader one day, but wrong on the rest. I don’t have the freedom that you seem to think that I do. I am being told that I need to get married, though he only suggested a few women right now. I'm sure if I don't find someone suitable to marry, my father will make it impossible to refuse one. It will be one of some significance to the clan. It will be woman from a gang that we want to have better relations with most likely.”
Now he paused for a moment, thinking about what he had just said. It was certainly not something Jake usually told people. Everyone thought that he should be ecstatic to be the next leader, an extension of the life he was already leading. But someone else was always steering the ship.
“In the end, we aren't that different.”
They were both quiet for a time, thinking of what the other had said.
“Why would you have to get married?”
“It is thought to make for a more stable clan. If the leader is not settled down with a family, he has no true reason to make things better.”
“So, you will do this? You'll marry someone to satisfy your family?”
Jake knew that was exactly what he was going to do.
“Yes, I guess I will. It is what the leader has to do. It's all about obligations. I don't think any of us really have freedom. Not what I would consider freedom, anyway. Maybe things will be different once I am leader. It's going to take some time for that, though.”
“So, who are you going to marry?”
“You seem really interested in my love life.”
Jake just said in a joking manner, but Alexis immediately clammed up, and he wished that he hadn’t said anything.
“I don't know what is going to happen. I know that if I don't pick my wife soon, one will be chosen for me.”
Alexis just kind of shook her head. “At some point, I will have to get married as well, but I guess you have helped me in that department. They can't possibly make me get married now because there's no
one around to marry.”
He saw her face fall. It was different now, and it was because of him.
“I have so much more freedom in that respect now, I guess, which is sad.”
He didn’t like the way she said it. Jake actually wanted her to be happy. He needed her to be happy enough to stay, even though he didn’t know why.
“What else can I do for you? I want to make your stay as pleasant as possible.”
“Honestly, I'd just like some answers. I want to know what's going to happen to me, and while I know that you think you can keep me safe; I wonder if that is true or not.”
Jake assured her again that nothing was going to happen to her, but she was skeptical. He could see that much.
“Well, Jake, you have to admit that they are not happy that I’m here, are they?”
“No, they’re not. I think you are a constant reminder of what happened, and we have never kept prisoners before. It's always been pretty straightforward.”
“Straightforward, huh?”
“Yeah: if you're an enemy and you're caught in the middle of a battle; you're supposed to be killed. Simple, and something that we've always adhered to.”
“Then why didn’t you kill me, Jake?”
That was the million-dollar question, but he just passed it off because she was a woman.
“Have you never faced a woman in battle?”
“Actually, I haven't. Not that I know of. Our gang is much like yours; we leave the fighting to the men and the women take care of the home and raise the children. It’s been that way for thousands of years. Why would we change it now?”
She shrugged, saying it was something that she had heard a million times before. Alexis was supposed to just be happy with her station in life because it had been that way for so long, but she didn't want to. It was obvious that her station in life wasn’t one that she wanted.
“I know it’s hard to imagine, Jake, but some of us women want more adventure and less cooking in the kitchen.”
