by A. P. Jensen
Chapter Seven
Jillian ran down the hallway to the kitchen as the sun began to rise. She glanced at the front door and knew she couldn’t outrun them. She circled around the kitchen island and searched for a weapon. She saw the wood block of knives and grabbed the nearest one. As her hand closed on the handle, someone tried to slam her face into the countertop. Teeth bared, Jillian whirled with the knife. The wolf shifter dodged her swing and grabbed her by the throat. One claw pinned her knife hand against the wall while the other held her against the cabinets and choked her. His face was cast in shadows, but she saw his smile. She kneed him in the crotch and he crumpled with a high pitched scream. Another shifter stood on the other side of the island, watching. She held the knife in front of her to keep them at bay.
“Mac!” Jillian yelled.
She listened for movement in the bedroom at the top of the stairs, but the house was eerily silent. The uninjured wolf chuckled as the other recovered.
“He’s not here. He invited us over so we could help you out.”
Bile rose in her throat as the smell of their lust hovered in the air. “I don’t need your help, so you can leave.”
“Mac doesn’t see you that way,” the injured one spat.
“Mac doesn’t want anything permanent. He thinks you’re damaged. All he has to do is crook his finger and countless bitches open their legs for him.”
“Shut up!” Jillian hissed.
“Mac doesn’t give a shit about you. He’s tired of babysitting. He said you’re free game, baby.”
One of them lunged at her so fast she didn’t have time to defend herself. He viciously wrenched her head to the side and bit her neck. Jillian screamed as she felt her flesh tear. She swung the knife, slicing his cheek open. Warm blood cascaded over her and the wolf inside of her snarled. She dropped the knife and bolted to the front door. This time, she didn’t try to stop the shift. She heard snapping bones and knew both men were doing the same. She raced for the cover of the forest, hoping she would be able to lose them on the property she’d come to know so well.
The first wolf took her down just shy of the first line of trees. He jumped on top of her and his teeth clamped on the back of her neck. Jillian barked as he used all his strength, teeth tearing into tendons and muscle. She knew any wolf in their right mind would submit, but she wasn’t free game. If Mac didn’t want her here, she’d leave. She wasn’t a possession to be passed onto the next asshole.
The other wolf, desperate to join the fray, charged and rammed into her side. Jillian used the momentum to turn and slam the other wolf beneath her. He lost his grip on the back of her neck and she whirled and lunged at him. Jillian let her wolf take over. The male wolves were larger and faster than her. They worked as a team, dashing forward to distract her while the other attacked from behind. Jillian’s wolf went feral and spilled blood until she was dripping in it. Fur, howls and whines split the morning air and when the sun lit the front yard, Jillian’s wolf retreated.
One of her legs was damaged so badly, she could barely walk. She felt as if the back of her neck had been sliced open. She spit out blood and stood over two naked wolf shifters who didn’t move.
The knife fell to the floor from Jillian’s nerveless fingers. Mac turned to her and she bent down hastily, picked up the knife and dropped it in the sink to wash it. Her hands shook as she tried to bring the men’s faces into focus. Early forties, handsome and their features were similar. Relatives? Had she killed them?
Jillian brushed her hair over her shoulder as she cut the lettuce and placed it in the bowl. She grabbed tomatoes and sliced them as well, eyes fixed on Mac’s back. Fear flooded her. Was Mac playing with her? She looked down at the knife blade, stained with small tomato seeds and her stomach clenched.
“What happened the day I disappeared?” she asked.
Something in her voice gave her away because when Mac turned, she saw the wolf watching her.
“Why?”
She wanted to edge away, but she knew it would incite him to attack. She tried to stop her wolf from bolting. The animal inside of her growled, hackles raised. Jillian and her wolf relived the memory together and neither of them was stupid. They had to leave.
“I want to know,” she said and tried to keep her voice even.
Mac leaned back against the stove. “I went out for groceries. I wasn’t going to be gone longer than four hours. When I came back, you were gone.”
According to the wolves, Mac invited them. She didn’t want to believe what they said, but it was kind of hard to call them liars when Mac gave them an opening. If her wolf hadn’t gone feral, she would have died. She’d been badly injured. How did she get away? Why didn’t Mac mention the dead wolves in his front yard? Was he waiting for her to mention them?
She clutched the hilt of the knife. “I want to leave.”
“You remembered something.”
She took a step back, taking the knife with her as she rounded the island. The pleasant day she spent by the stream was gone, eradicated by cruel reality. Mac left her alone and she was attacked in his house. Either Mac called the other wolves to take care of her or the wolves knew she was going to be alone. Neither flashback so far included Mac, so she had no idea what went on between them before. All she had was his word. Maybe Mac got tired of dealing with her rages. The cautious woman she cast aside rushed to the forefront as self preservation took over. She had to get away from him and she was scared shitless.
“Tell me what you remembered.”
She took a step away from the kitchen and Mac followed. She held up a hand and unfortunately for her, it was the one that held the knife. Mac disarmed her so fast, she couldn’t help but admire the swift move. She took several steps back and he stalked her across the living room, reminding her of the first time they met in the alley.
“How did you find me in New York?” she demanded.
“I’m a good tracker.”
What had she been doing in front of that cafe, dressed in those clothes and shoes that were too big for her? Mac said she’d been missing for a week. What happened to her wounds? She didn’t have a limp or the back of her neck ripped open, so someone healed her before she appeared at the cafe.
“Tell me what you saw,” Mac said.
“No.”
Why was this all so complicated? Why couldn’t she find out who the wolf was that wanted her, tell him to fuck off and go on her merry way? Who was Mac and why had he bothered to track her down and bring her back? All the answers were trapped in her head and now she was having random memories of fighting more male wolves. Mac was the wolf cop. Did he want her to admit that she killed two more wolves? Was he going to record her confession and euthanize her?
Mac’s eyes glittered in the dark. “Jillian, tell me.”
“I just want to leave.”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Her heart thudded in her chest. “Why?”
“You’re wolf isn’t stable.”
The fact that her wolf was feral saved her life twice. Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing that her wolf was a crazy bitch. She just needed to stay away from humans and she would be fine.
“I’ll deal with my wolf myself. Thanks for helping me out.”
She made a wide circle around him towards the front door and froze when he stepped in front of the exit. He held his hands up and she knew the gesture was meant to reassure her, but all it did was scare and piss her off.
“I won’t hurt you, Jillian.”
True. He wasn’t home when those wolves attacked, but how much of a coincidence was it that those wolves attacked when he left her alone? If she spent so much time with Mac and they were “involved” shouldn’t she remember something, anything about him?
“What do you want from me?” Jillian exploded.
“I want to help you,” he said quietly.
She paused and remembered what the wolves said. “He invited us over so we could help you out.” From the salacious tone, i
t was obvious what the wolf implied. Help her out by screwing her? If she was with Mac, why would she need anyone else? He was more than capable of keeping up with her sexually. “Mac doesn’t see you that way.” That could only mean…
“We were never together, were we?”
She saw something flicker in Mac’s eyes. She hit a nerve and it made her go cold because it was confirmation that something was very wrong here.
“I can explain,” he said.
Typical guilty man answer.
“You can trust me, Jillian, I promise.”
She closed her eyes and clamped down the urge to shift. She wouldn’t lose control in front of him. He doesn’t matter, she told herself. She looked him right in the eye. “What do you want from me, Mac?”
“I want you.”
They screwed enough to keep her sated for a year. “You already had me.”
His face hardened. “You trust me with your body, but nothing else.”
“I didn’t trust you with my body. You didn’t give me a choice, did you?”
“Tell me what you remembered!” he shouted in an uncharacteristic outburst.
“Why? So you can twist it to your advantage?” she demanded.
“You remembered the night before you disappeared?”
Hearing the worry in his voice, she cocked her head. “What?”
He ran his hands through his hair. “That’s not what you remembered, is it?”
“No, but since it was so important, why don’t you tell me about it?” she said icily.
“We argued.”
“About?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
She thought of her encounter with the wolves. Whatever argument she had with Mac hadn’t stopped her from calling out for him when they cornered her in the kitchen. She believed he would help her, so what did that mean?
“Can we just eat?” he said cautiously, eyes trained on her face.
She wanted to say no, but he wouldn’t allow her to leave and she needed to think. She moved to the stool and Mac quickly made a plate for her and paused when he saw her staring at the knife he pulled out of her hand. She tested the blade with her finger, placed it within reaching distance and looked at him with cold eyes. They ate in silence and she ignored the way Mac stared at her as if he had the power to read her mind.
“If you leave here, it’ll only be a matter of time before the wolf who hired the mercenaries sends more after you,” Mac said.
“Well, I’ll fight them. There’s no one else for them to kill now except me.”
“I can keep you safe here.”
“No, you can’t.”
Mac jerked as if she stabbed him. He got to his feet, vibrating with tension. “What did you say?”
Two wolves nearly killed me here. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t say it.
Mac restrained himself with obvious effort. “Jillian, please tell me what you remembered. Did something happen that I don’t know about?”
“I don’t know,” she said, watching him closely. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“The only time I left you alone is when I went to the store that day. You have to be talking about something that happened while I was gone because when I left, you were asleep.”
She frowned. “Why did you leave me alone if I couldn’t control my wolf?”
“I knew you wouldn’t wake.”
“How?”
He didn’t say anything for a long minute and then he let out a long breath. “I drugged you. It would have worn off not long after I came back.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You drugged me?”
“It was for your own good.”
Rage spurted like lava in her chest and when Mac rounded the island, she bolted off the stool and faced him with the knife.
“Don’t touch me! I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I don’t want anything to do with it!” she hissed.
Mac didn’t look ashamed. He looked more impatient than anything else. He didn’t even have enough morals to know that drugging people wasn’t right! What did she really know about Mac? She was gambling with her life and up until now, trusted him blindly, stupidly. Ever since she met him, it had been a whirlwind of confusion, grief and lust. Why didn’t Mac mention the wolves? His front yard should have been saturated with blood. No wolf would miss that.
“I did what I had to. You weren’t stable and I needed to go out. Tell me what you remembered and we can figure this out.”
“I can figure this out by myself. I want to leave. What are you going to do if I try?”
“I can’t let you leave.”
“You can. Forget you ever met me.”
“I’ll track you down. There’s no way you’ll escape from me.”
Claustrophobia and anxiety made her blood race and her vision got sharper as her eyes went wolf. She felt wolf ears poke through her hair and incisors inched past her lips.
“Mac, let me pass.”
“No.”
With a roar, Jillian shifted into a wolf. It was obvious talking wasn’t going to get her anywhere. It was time to use brute force. Her blood pounded and she coated her heart in ice. She couldn’t look at Mac, the man she began to trust and who loved her through the day. She didn’t really know him and she wasn’t safe here. He was holding things back from her and if there was something she couldn’t stand, it was lying. She had too much at stake to let lust and affection blind her to the facts.
Jillian wasn’t surprised when she faced the black wolf. She bounded forward and he blocked her way with his much larger body. She used speed to get around him. She knew she couldn’t win in a physical fight. Mac wouldn’t back down. He was twice the size of any of the male wolves she’d seen thus far and the only way to get away from him was make another exit.
Jillian charged a large glass window in the living room. She heard a bark of warning, but she didn’t listen. She ducked her head down and braced herself for impact. Her head hit the glass and excruciating pain exploded in her head. The sound of glass shattering didn’t happen. Instead, Jillian heard a loud thud and a pitiful whine. The glass didn’t break and Jillian was pretty sure she just broke her head open. She crumpled in a tangled heap of four legs and passed out.
Jillian’s eyes fluttered open. She had so many drugs in her system, she could barely think. Two stuffed cherries swung happily on a rearview mirror. N Sync played on the radio and the driver’s voice was high enough to crack glass. Jillian fought the drugs so she could stop the horrible screeching. Her sensitive wolf ears were figuratively down flat and she wanted to maim whoever was inflicting this torture on her. Jillian’s head lolled to the left and she examined the thing responsible for the racket.
A woman with curly blonde hair wore a red and white polka dot dress and a shiny red belt cinched around her waist. She had white cat eye sunglasses and a big red ribbon in her hair. Jillian blinked several times, but the woman stayed the same and unfortunately, so did her voice. Jillian opened her mouth to speak, but a moan escaped instead. The woman stopped “singing” and pulled down the sunglasses to look at her. She had a perfect face and wide violet eyes.
“How you doing, Jillian?” she chirped and turned off the radio.
“Ugly outfit,” Jillian mumbled.
The woman beamed and Jillian was temporarily blinded.
“You can thank me for your dress later.”
Jillian looked down at the fluffy baby blue dress. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“You want to wear your bloody clothes?”
“Anything but this.”
“Too late now.”
“Where are you taking me?” Jillian groaned.
“I’m taking you back to New York. It’s too dangerous to keep you at my cottage. He’ll find you there. I’m going to drop you off at a cafe. A witch named Benji will meet you there. I told him what you’re wearing. He’ll take care of you.”
“Men can be witches?”
The wom
an laughed and Jillian found her mouth curving in response.
“Of course, silly. Sorry for the heavy dose, but you’re not nice when you’re hurt. The potion you drank will take away your memories, so nothing will trigger you to shift. Benji’s terrified of wolves. I had to beg him to do this for me. You’ll get your memory back gradually.”
Jillian saw the bite and claw marks on the woman’s skin. “I’m sorry, Flora.”
She waved Jillian’s apology away. “You can’t help yourself. Benji’s gonna have his hands full if you don’t learn how to control your wolf.” Flora pursed her lips. “Being a witch is hard, but being an alpha female is a bitch, no pun intended.”
Jillian bared her teeth.“They wouldn’t let me kill him. The next time I see him, I’ll castrate him.”
Flora grinned. “You almost succeeded. One more slash and you would’ve solved our problems, but you paid a hefty price. He nearly broke every bone in your body.”
Jillian winced and moved her body, testing. “I feel fine.”
“Yes, but I’m going to need a long nap after I drop you off. He’s gonna be suspicious.”
“All of you put yourselves in danger.” Guilt flooded her. “Maybe I can-”
“No.”
“I can’t let you-”
“Yes, you can. We’re bonded to him. There’s nothing you can do.”
Jillian knew behind that Pollyanna cheer, Flora had a heavy burden to bear. “I want to help you.”
Flora reached over, grasped Jillian’s hand and squeezed hard. In the morning light, Jillian saw Flora’s violet eyes shimmer.
“Don’t worry. When the time comes, you will.”
Jillian sat straight up in bed and bit back a yelp when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Though the room was dark, she made out Mac sitting in a chair beside the bed. Jillian tentatively reached up and touched her head and found it matted with dried blood. She didn’t have any pain and her skull was intact, surprisingly.
