“You are sick, Eli,” Ryleigh seethed. “She was just a child.”
“No, Ryleigh, she was nothing; just like you, a pet, or more appropriately, a toy to be used and then thrown away when you are done playing. You know what the irony of this is? If you would have just listened and let me do the procedure none of this would have happened and for that fact only you are going to pay.”
Eli paced around Ryleigh, as if circling his prey.
“It is your fault that I had to hurt them. We are better than you, better than humans. We are at the top of the food chain, not your fragile little humans. My species is stronger, faster, and healthier than any mere human. My people will prove that. I never could convince them to put you five down; it was really quite frustrating. They wanted to watch and see what would happen. Would your Shifter gene kick in, would you be able to have healthy children, could you produce Shifter children?”
He continued his rant.
“You see, my associates like to watch. You have even met some, but were just too stupid to figure out that you were still an experiment. Senior made you feel safe. I can tell you that you were never safe. I could give you a complete dossier on all five of you mutts down to the day you start your cycles and what you had for breakfast. It’s really quite disgusting. At least none of you have tried to procreate yet. My associates were still very curious and had all these questions. They wanted those questions to be answered, but several of us see you like the garbage you really are. Kind of like how God takes care of his own mistakes, we should have taken care of Pandora’s. But no, the powers that be wanted to observe the mongrels in their natural environment and all that. But I couldn’t let you breed with my men. It wouldn’t have been right. Jacks was too good for the likes of you. I heard them talking before you and Jacks left on that mission. Do you know that they think fated mates are real now? Can you believe that? Females are just the vessel. But maybe if we are able to make actual female Shifter, then that might change their minds. But fated mates, that is ridiculous and still the fairy tale it was meant to be. There is no proof; only speculation. Unfortunately, though, or fortunately for you, Ryleigh, you have now outlived your usefulness. I only need one thing from you and that the drive. My associates are no longer interested in observing you now that you have decided to look where you shouldn’t be looking.”
With that, Eli continued his lesson, and Ryleigh screamed until she couldn’t scream anymore.
Chapter 43
The tracking device lead Jacks right to Ryleigh. It was magnificent tech. NAC, and The Holly group would benefit greatly from it. If one of their operatives were ever taken or lost, they could find them just like he found Ryleigh. Now he needed to get her out of there. He was standing within twenty feet of her, and it was killing him not to just charge there and get Ryleigh out. He had to be smart about this because backup was coming and he didn’t know what he was walking into. He was just about to start the recon and that is when he heard it, Ryleigh’s scream, and the bear burst right out of his skin.
Just when Ryleigh thought she couldn't take any more, the biggest grizzly bear she had ever seen crashed through the door going right for Eli. She knew that Jacks had come for her.
Eli shifted as well, but he didn’t stand a chance against Jacks’ bear. The giant grizzly had the smaller bear by the neck and within seconds it was over; Eli was dead. Ryleigh watched as his body shifted back to human form.
After a few minutes, Jacks changed back and said, “No asshole, you are at the bottom of the food chain. Alphas always rule.”
He seemed to be in a trance for a second but then quickly came back to himself when he saw Ryleigh.
“Oh, God, Baby, let me get you down from there,” he cried, while releasing her from her constraints. “Shit, are you okay? I couldn’t hold my bear back any longer when you screamed. Fuck, are you all right? Let me look at you.”
Jacks’ eyes were still too bright and he seemed bigger than he normally was, but he was being so gentle, trying not to hurt Ryleigh further.
“Jacks, it’s okay. I’m okay, really, I’m okay,” she said weakly.
Then Jacks looked at her back.
“Oh, Baby, I am so sorry what did they do to you?”
He was looking at her back, and Ryleigh knew what he was seeing. The fresh marks that Eli left weren’t the only thing on her back. As a child, if she didn’t perform for the incubators, they allowed her instructors to discipline her to make her compliant. She decided she would tell him, but not now and not in this place.
“Jacks, can we please leave; I’m okay I promise I knew you would come for me, I felt you. But, please, can we get out of here?” she begged.
Before Jacks could answer, Cash and two of The Holly Group members ran through the door. Cash looked a little worse for wear, but he also looked pissed. When his eyes finally landed on Jacks and Ryleigh, he looked relieved, and she couldn’t help but run to him.
“Cash, oh Cash. He said he killed you. Are you okay?” Ryleigh said, somewhat relieved. “What about the others? Please tell me we didn’t lose anybody.”
Cash was choked up but managed to reply, “We are all going to be okay, little sister. Wyatt has a nasty bump on his head, but he is going to be fine. Your family is safe and worried about you.”
Jacks pulled Ryleigh back into his arms where he needed her. He couldn’t help but shiver; he could have lost her. Had he even been a second slower… Jacks just could not imagine his life without this wonderful, caring woman in it and he would make sure that he never came that close to losing her again. But right now, he needed to get his woman out of this place. He would fight her demons for her past, present, and future.
“Come on, Baby, let’s get you out of here,” he said, picking her up in his arms.
“Cash, can you guys contain the scene? I am sure the authorities will have questions, but I don’t want Ryleigh to be in here any longer than necessary,” Jacks said.
“You got it, Alpha,” Cash replied. “Police, and EMTs ETA is two minutes. We got it handled. Get Ryleigh out of here. Dude, you could have at least left me a little of that fucker. He tried to kill us and then tried to hurt my family. A little payback would have been nice.”
“No time,” Jacks added, “the bear took over, and that was it. I’m going to get Ryleigh checked out and call Senior. We should be able to wrap this up pretty quick. Make sure you download and scrub the video from their surveillance equipment. I don’t think the rest of the world is ready to learn about Shifters or what we can do. Once we finish up here, Ryleigh and I are heading home. Let's have everyone meet back at home base in 72 hours.”
“Roger Alpha. 72 hours,” Cash replied.
Jacks made sure that the EMTs checked Ryleigh out, and they gave their statements to the authorities. He knew it all went far too smoothly and figured that Senior had pulled some strings. The paramedics had cleared Ryleigh; the wounds on her back were superficial and only one required a couple of butterflies to close it up. She would be sore but she would survive, and that was the most important thing.
He and Ryleigh had a lot to talk about, but he knew everything would work out. While the paramedics were finishing up, Jacks spoke with Senior. He was chomping at the bit to talk to his daughter, but Jacks put him off by asking for her hand.
He could have sworn the man was choked up, but he quickly masked it and said, “You know what’s going to happen if you don’t treat her right?”
All Jacks said was, “Yes, Sir. I would expect nothing less.”
After all, the burn of the dragon fire wouldn’t even compare to the pain his bear would inflict if he ever let Ryleigh down; she was his life.
Once the police released them, Ryleigh asked, “where to, Jacks?”
“Let’s go home, Ryleigh,” Jacks suggested. “I thought that I needed to talk to my Dad and Grandfather, but I don’t. You are my mate, Ryleigh. I know it with every fiber of my being. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, you a
re going to marry me, but we are going home now.”
“And where would that be, Jacks; your home or mine?”
“Our home, Ryleigh; Alpha Team’s home base in the Upper Peninsula. Do you have a problem with that?”
“Nope, I heard it's really pretty all the way up there and I just so happen to love the snow. But Jacks, aren’t you supposed to ask me to marry you? You just told me I was marrying you. I might not know much about how relationships work, but I do know the guy is supposed to ask the girl to marry him, not demand it.
“Nope, just semantics. Let’s go home, Baby.”
Chapter 44
Ryleigh felt like crap. She and the guys had been trying to get through all the data on Dr. Franklin’s hard drive, but they weren’t finding anything that would help them find Cassie Larson. She knew it was the information was there she just had to find it but time was running out. She had to be coming down with something because her body ached and she felt like she was going to puke all the time. Maybe she and Jacks should have stayed out of Lake Michigan, but it was just too beautiful to resist; she would have followed him anywhere. Ryleigh was home now, and that felt good.
Just thinking of the Lake brought back the last couple of weeks. She and Jacks had flown into Traverse City and rented a car. He said he wanted to show her one of his favorite spots. Jacks wanted to give her time to heal, so they holed up in a cabin by a beautiful lake so they both could recover from what had happened. Ryleigh was surprised she wasn’t more affected by the kidnapping or the words both Eli and Julius had said to her. But she knew that Jacks would find her, and he did. The first night they just fell asleep in each other’s arms; it was incredible. Ryleigh wanted to wake up that way for the rest of her life. If what Jacks had said was true, they would, and that made her an extremely happy woman.
That night Jacks showed Ryleigh what she had missed out on. He worshiped her body with his hands, tongue, and teeth. He also showed her the difference between fucking and making love. Ryleigh would never make that mistake again. Smiling, she relieved that lesson.
Ryleigh had been sleeping when something feathered its way across her stomach. When she tried to brush it away, she found that should couldn’t move her arms. Panicked at first, she opened her eyes to find Jacks hovering over her naked body.
“Baby, you owe me, and I plan on collecting,” he said. “I decided that I didn’t want to take the chance that you would take before I was ready again, so I took the liberty of making sure you stayed right where I wanted you.”
Looking up, Ryleigh noticed her hands had been bound to the headboard of the bed with what looked like strips from the t-shirt Jacks had been wearing. Looking back into Jacks' eyes, she also realized that she wasn’t in the least bit scared. Jacks would never do anything to hurt her, and she knew he needed to be in control this time. She was more than willing to give him that control.
Damn, Jacks could see when Ryleigh made up her mind to let him take control, and he loved it. He loved her. She would learn that he needed this from time to time, but he didn’t want to risk scaring her.
“Baby, I know you have read some books, but this isn’t like that. If I do something to scare you or hurt you in any way, all you have to do is tell me and I will stop. But I have to say, you lying naked spread open for me and only me is a huge turn on. I love you, baby.”
“I love you too, and I’m not scared, Jacks. I know you will never hurt me. Please touch me. I want to feel your hands on me. I want to feel everything. I know I can tell you if I get scared, but Jacks, I am so far from scared. Please, Jacks.”
Ryleigh tried to squirm closer but realized pretty quickly that her hands weren’t the only things that were bound. Jacks had also tied her legs to the bed.
Jacks wanted so badly just to slide into Ryleigh. He wanted to feel her hot cunt wrapped around his thick length again so badly. But more importantly, he wanted to give Ryleigh what she had cheated them both out of the first time. He was going to make love to her, and the thought was enough to unman him. He would make this good for both of them even if it killed him. And with the state his balls were currently in, that was a possibility.
“Just lay back and relax Baby. I am going to make you feel so good” he assured her.
Jacks wasn’t kidding. He kissed, sucked, and nipped every bit of Ryleigh’s flesh. She was so aroused that she was on the verge of pain. When he finally took mercy on her, going to her core and giving her the friction she needed with his tongue, Ryleigh exploded. But that wasn’t enough for her Jacks. He continued his attack, alternating between using his fingers and his mouth. By her fourth orgasm, Ryleigh was crying out for him to stop.
“No Baby, we are not even close to being done yet,” he said.
Jacks then climbed up the bed after untying her legs. She hadn’t even noticed, but when he maneuvered her legs up around his waist, she realized she was no longer held down. Positioning himself, he slowly entered Ryleigh, inch by slow inch. He was going so slow, and Ryleigh would have screamed, but what she saw stopped her protests. Jacks was watching their flesh join together, and the look of awe and love was enough to keep any protests she might have had at bay.
“Baby, do you feel it? Do you feel how different this time is from the last?” he asked.
Ryleigh could feel it, and Jacks had been right. She might have needed him back at the Franklins’, but this was so much more. This was life changing. She could feel the love Jacks was giving her. She could also feel their bond strengthening. It was an amazing thing, and he was an amazing man. Jacks picked up speed and started to thrust deeper and deeper. When he hit that mythical place within her body, Ryleigh screamed out his name and the world exploded into a rainbow of colors behind her eyes. Soon after, Jacks movements became less schooled and more erratic. When he shouted her name in completion, Ryleigh’s world was rocked with another smaller, but no less intense, orgasm. The one thing she couldn’t figure out was, why he decided to pinch her. It was kind of odd, but hey, what did she know? He was her first and only and that was all that mattered.
He asked, “Did you see the difference, Baby?”
“Yes, Jacks, and I am so sorry that I took something so special away from both of us.”
When they finally left the cabin, Jacks took her to see that special place he had been talking about. It was an old Coast Guard Station on the Lake Michigan shoreline. The park was aptly named Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. She laughed, sleeping bear sounds about right.
Before they could walk down to the coast, Jacks handed Ryleigh a garment bag and asked her to go and change. She was a bit puzzled but more than willing to play along. Looking around for a bathroom, Jacks stopped her.
“Baby, just go inside the station. You can change in there. I will make sure that no one come in,” he assured her.
Ryleigh wanted to protest, but he looked so excited. She decided that she would do anything he wanted, even if that meant possibly getting arrested for public indecency. Walking in, Ryleigh was in a state of shock because standing before her were 5 of her closest friend. All but one of The Holly Group’s original members was there.
“What are you doing here, has something happened? Is Zoey okay?” Ryleigh asked.
Ryleigh’s brain hadn’t even processed the fact that they were all wearing dresses; all of them, even Caty.
Mia was the first to speak, “Ryleigh, I think if you open your bag you might be able to figure out what is going on. And Zoey is the same as she always is; maybe just a little more closed off, but that could be from all her recent human interaction.
Fumbling with the garment bag, Ryleigh finally got it open, and she must have still been in a state of shock because the beautiful white dress that lay inside did nothing to jog her frazzled mind. When her Dad walked into the room, she started crying and went right into his arms.
Ryleigh loved Declan Quinn with all of her heart. She remembered the times he tried to make her into a normal little girl by holding tea parties or tr
ying to encourage her to play with dolls. None of it worked, but those attempts proved just what a loving and good man he was. He may have saved her life all those years ago, but Ryleigh liked to think that she also helped his life in some small way as well. He had been the only person Ryleigh had ever relied on and felt safe with, until a week ago, that was.
“Honey, you’d better hurry up and put that gown on,” Declan said, “Cash had to put Jacks in a head lock to keep him out. So, unless you want to get married in your shorts, I suggest you get a move-on. You don’t want to be late for you own wedding, do you?”
Yeah, she knew it was cliché. She was the master puzzle solver, and she hadn’t figure out until that exact moment that she was getting married. All she could think was, Oh My God, I’m getting married. Jacks said they were getting married, but she didn’t think that meant now.
Mia broke into her fuddled mind, “Hey, if you changed your mind and you don’t want to go through with this, I can have you out of her in less than five minutes. The Shifters won’t even see us.”
“What, no,” Ryleigh stammered. “Oh my god. I am getting married and you all are here. Are the guys here too?”
Declan spoke again, “Yes, baby girl. Your entire family is here, waiting to watch you take the next step in your life. Well, at least the Alpha part. Are you ready to take that step, honey, do you love him?”
‘Oh, Dad, I love him so much,” Ryleigh professed.
Finally coming out of her haze, Ryleigh said, “Jacks did all this, for me?”
“Yep and the men are not going to wait long,” Declan added.
“Well, then I guess I’d better get ready.”
“Love you, baby girl. I hate to say it, but I kind of want to keep you all to myself still. I’m a selfish man and I don’t want to share you with that grumpy assed bear,” Declan joked.
Laughing Ryleigh said, “You were the only man that I have ever loved until I met Jacks. You might have to share me, but you might get grandchildren someday too, and I will expect lots of weekends spent with Grampies.”
Jackson: NAC & The Holly Group (Alpha Team Book 1) Page 26
