Solstice Heat

by Leila Brown

  She wanted to scream, but as she slid a glance at the dark-wooded door, she decided not to chance it. Those two monsters outside the door could come barreling in here and tear her limb from limb. She shuddered as the memory of that beast’s teeth clamped over her skin replayed in her mind. The pain of his teeth pushing into her flowed through her body as if she were still sitting on that hard floor, trapped.

  Oh shit. He’d bitten her. Somehow, in the last couple of hours, she’d overlooked that small detail. But he hadn’t done more than puncture her skin. It wasn’t like he took her blood or anything. Wait… That was vampires. She didn’t want to even think about getting furry. Hell, she’d just had her legs waxed three weeks ago. Damn it.

  Her heart raced. It rushed and dashed until she knew she was about to pass out. Calm down. Calm down. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn’t stop the panic drumming through her.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out. She held it up and stared at the three bars, then at the single sliver of red in the battery section. Shit, it was almost dead. Hopefully she had enough juice for one call. If it went through, one call was all she would need.

  She punched in the numbers and prayed.

  “Nine-one-one. What is your emergency?”

  “Hi, my name is Giovanni Odell, and I’m being held prisoner. I think they might kill me.” She chose her words carefully, even though the voice in her head was screaming at her to tell it all. Tell the woman about how the men had changed on her. Tell her to call out the police and animal control.

  “Can you tell me where you are?” the woman asked slowly.

  “I’m in Climax, Minnesota. I don’t remember the address. Can’t you pull up my location from my phone?” Gio heard a small beep and knew her phone was about to go dead.

  “No, ma’am, I’m sorry; we haven’t upgraded to the new systems. Do you remember anything special about your location?”

  Before Gio could answer, the phone clicked, then shut off. She pulled it away from her ear in time to see the cheery good-bye message on the screen before it went black. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  She wanted to throw the damn phone with its short battery life at the wall. Her one chance at escape gone because she hadn’t bothered to fully charge her phone on the drive up here. Anger overtook the fear coursing through her. This could not be happening. Her head ached. She was consumed with the need to scream, cry, and run. And just like that, she passed out.

  * * *

  A loud knock at the door woke her with a start. For a minute she was disoriented. Had it just been a dream? No, no she hadn’t been dreaming. She scanned the room quickly, looking for something she could use as a weapon.

  “Are you ready to come out?” a male voice yelled through the wood.

  “Is that monster still out there?” She groaned as she realized that it didn’t matter which one of the men was speaking to her, both had turned into monsters. Almost the same size…

  There was a chuckle from the other side. “Come on out and see for yourself.”

  “Not fucking likely.”

  “Look, we aren’t going to hurt you. We want to sit and discuss this like rational adults. Besides, do you really think that door would keep me out if I wanted to come in?”

  He had a point there. She rubbed her hand back and forth along her forehead. Didn’t the news always say you should tell your kidnappers your name? Build some sort of connection with them. Make them see you as a person. Gio licked her lips. She was going to have to go out there.

  When she went to take a step toward the door, her legs turned to jelly. With each step, her muscles quaked, and she found her heart racing as though it was about to burst from her chest. You can do this. You can do this. She pinched the door lock between her fingers and twisted, then grabbed the door handle and pulled it open.

  Jason was there, staring up at her, and he was grinning.

  “How long have you been there? Were you going to sit there all night?” Her gaze narrowed, but she knew she didn’t want to hear his answer. “Never mind. I don’t care. I just want to get out of here.”

  “You’ve been in there since yesterday,” he said hesitantly.

  “No. I couldn’t have.” She started shaking. This was crazy. He moved out of her way, and she walked toward the door. She wanted to think he was lying but there was no denying the light coming in the window.

  “We can’t let you leave.” He turned the wheelchair and rolled after her.

  “And why not? It’s not like anyone would believe me if I told them what happened here.” She stopped and swung around and noticed two things. First he was right behind her. Hell, he’d almost run into her, he was following so closely. And second, the other man was sitting across the room watching her. “I don’t want to spend my future locked up in some mental facility, sipping Jell-O through a straw.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Some people would believe you, and they would come here trying to kill me and others like me. That can’t happen.” Jason sounded like he didn’t expect any argument.

  “What? You’re going to kill me now?” she asked in a matter-of-fact tone, even though her heart stuttered as she said the words.

  “Not necessarily,” another male voice sounded from close behind her.

  Shit. She hadn’t seen him. Great. Just freaking great. He’d slipped between her and the doorway while she wasn’t paying attention. Damn it. It took her mind a minute to replay those last words. He hadn’t said they weren’t going to kill her. Which meant there was a very real chance she was going to die.

  “Okay, talk.” She was in a bad position here, but it could be worse. At least she could still see her way to escape.

  “Are you hungry?” Jason asked as he moved away from her toward the open kitchen.

  Now she had a clear path back to the bedroom. But that wasn’t going to get her out of here and wasn’t going to help her stay safe. She needed to make them see her as human. Even though it was a long shot, her chances of survival were better if she at least made an effort to be civil. But if the chance came to run, she was damn sure taking it.

  “Some food would be okay.” Yeah, and they were going to taste it first. She was not about to be drugged.

  “Bacon omelet, or are you more of a sausage girl?” Jason asked.

  She really didn’t care. Hell, she doubted she would even be able to swallow anything they put in front of her. “Doesn’t matter.”

  It looked like the other man wasn’t going to move until she did. Great. Frustrated, Gio pulled in a breath, crossed the living room, and stepped into the kitchen.

  “I wish I could offer you more than an omelet, but I need to go into town to pick up some groceries sometime soon. So eggs it will have to be.” Jason’s pale skin turned red.

  “Don’t worry about it. Make a list, and I’ll get it,” Jason’s friend said, plopping down on bar stool closest to the door.

  That left two other stools. One close to the other man and one close to Jason. As she sat in the one next to Jason’s wheelchair, her mind screamed at her. Wasn’t he the thing that had tried to take a chunk out of her less than twenty-four hours ago? Why was she literally itching to get closer to him? She had no fucking clue. Gio scratched the inside of her right palm then rubbed it along her jean-clad thigh.

  She looked up to see Jason staring at her. His eyes were questioning. “What?”

  He turned back toward her omelet. “Nothing.”

  She watched him open and close his mouth several times; then he cleared his throat. “Did I bite you yesterday?”

  Gio had to do a double take. She blinked several times. Why was he asking her? Surely he knew. “Why? Am I going to turn all furry now?” She said it in a half-mocking tone. They were too calm for that to be the case.

  “Not right away.” Donovan’s happy voice grated on her nerves.

  “Answer the question. Did. I. Bite. You?” He followed every word with a quick flip and turn of her omelet.

  Th
is was getting serious. Did a bite mean she was one of them and they would let her live? Or did it mean they were for sure going to kill her? Either way, she knew she couldn’t risk telling them the truth.

  “I don’t know. Are we talking like teeth gouging the skin or a tiny little scratch?” She lifted her plate. “I think it’s done.”

  He placed the food on her plate and then turned to her. “You didn’t answer the question.”

  “I didn’t understand it.” She held her fork up and pointed it at him. “You need to be more specific.”

  He growled at her. Actually bared his teeth and growled. The fork stopped midway to her mouth, and she scooted her stool back a few inches. This couldn’t be happening. Not again.

  “Don’t run. I’m not about to pounce on you,” he told her, moving back about a foot.

  “Yeah, like I believe that. It’s not like it didn’t happen before.” She rolled her eyes but got off the stool. Maybe she should lean against it or stand behind it. Looking like a coward wasn’t her, but what had happened yesterday… Well, she was smart enough to know when to fight and when to run away.

  “Give Donovan the keys to your car,” Jason told her.

  Was he crazy? If she did happen to make it out of the house, she would need the car to get away. “Doesn’t he have his own car?”

  He let out a deep breath. She could see his exasperation but didn’t feel sorry for causing it. “Yes, but he hiked over here. If you want something to eat tonight besides eggs, you’ll give him your keys.” By the time the last word left his mouth, his eyes had changed. It took her a second to figure out what was different; it was very subtle. The blue-gray had changed to a deep blue. It made his face look more alive. Then she noticed the other changes. He was breathing faster. He clenched and unclenched his hands as if he was fighting the urge to grab her.

  She took a step away and bumped into Donovan.

  “Don’t run. Running only excites the beast. Stand still and stop antagonizing him,” Donovan whispered.

  Before she could turn around and tell him exactly what she thought of his suggestion, she heard a rip. She looked down. The bastard had ripped her jeans and was holding her keys. How the hell had he ripped through the denim? Surely she would have felt the poke of scissors… One finger was sporting a wickedly sharp-looking claw.

  “You’re going to pay for that. These fucking jeans weren’t cheap.” She hoped they cost him a full day’s salary. That was, if he even had a job. She turned back to Jason after Donovan made his escape. Maybe this was her chance to run too. Not that she would get far without her wheels. With her plans whizzing through her head, she looked down at Jason. His eyes were even bluer than before. This shit was not happening again. “Down, boy. Down.”

  “I am not a dog.”

  “Okay. How about you tell me just what the hell you are?” she asked as she moved to sit on the stool Donovan had vacated.

  “If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.” He smiled at her, but she didn’t smile back.

  “You’re going to do that anyway. Just go ahead and tell me.” She watched as some of the blue in his eyes drained away. Somehow, after seeing the vibrant blue there, his blue-gray eyes looked washed-out.

  “It’s not that we—I mean, I want to kill you. It’s just that I have to protect others.” He stopped and turned his gaze toward the ceiling before looking back down at her. “The pack moved here in 1895. Back then, we were just one more group of settlers. We chose a wooded area so that when our wolves wanted out, we could let them free.”

  “Wait. I’m not asking about the town. I’m asking—”

  “I know what you’re asking. Just shut up and listen. This town was built on top of the scrap of a town my ancestors created. They didn’t complain but instead immersed themselves into the new community.”

  “That still doesn’t explain about the wolf thing. Are you a werewolf?” She fluttered her eyelashes and let fake excitement color her tone.

  “We’re shape-shifters. We have the ability to change into wolves. Which doesn’t explain the how or the why. I can’t give you those answers, because I don’t know. I was born as I am.”

  “And your bite can change me into a shape-shifter?” She didn’t know what to think.

  “Only if I bite you while in wolf form and you possess the enzyme to transmute the shifter poison.”

  “Poison? Poison?” She stood and took a step toward him.

  “When you answered my knock, we figured that since you hadn’t died, either I bit you and you’ll change, or I didn’t and I’ll have to kill you.” The matter-of-fact way he announced he’d have to kill her made her hand itch with the need to slap him.

  “If I don’t go all wolfie, I die. And if I do go all furry, what happens then?” Exasperation filled her voice.

  “If I did bite you? An Alpha’s bite is very potent, even a retired one. You’ll go into heat before the night is over. You’ll want sex, and a lot of it.”

  “Not fucking likely.” She stared at him in disbelief. “You’re not only a shape-shifter, you’re also a freaking pervert.”

  “Unmated females in heat will eventually fuck anyone. And while you’re in heat, you can transform others without being in animal form. We can’t risk a new shifter converting or killing mass amounts of humans.”

  Gio pinched the bridge of her nose. She needed to concentrate. “Let me see if I got it right. If you bit me, I’m going to turn into a furry nymphomaniac. And while I’m in a cock-crazed state, the only person I’ll be able to have sex with is you?” She pointed at him. “Does that cover everything?”

  “Essentially.” A shadow fell across his eyes.

  “Well, fuck you.” She turned quickly and raced toward the door. Her car might be gone, but she could disappear into the woods. “You’re going to have to kill me.”

  Just as she touched the door handle, she felt the heat of him. She knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help herself. One look back and one missed step had her crashing into the floor.

  She cracked her head against the door, cutting off her scream. He was the big, shaggy brown wolf. And once again she was helpless on the floor. When she went to sit up, he was right there, breathing over her. His hot breath tightened the skin on her leg.

  “Back off.” She shook her head and pulled up to a sitting position. When the animal took another step closer, she squinted at him. “I’m sure you can get me before I get out the door, so please back the hell off.”

  The animal whined and nudged her leg but didn’t move closer. Thank goodness. Her head hurt so much that she thought she might vomit. No, that wasn’t true. Her head hurt, but it wasn’t the pain of hitting her head. This was more internal. She had a headache that radiated through her eyes. She massaged her temples as if the simple movements were somehow going to ease the pounding pain.

  “Why the hell did you knock me down?” she asked, looking at the wolf between her fingers.

  The wolf let out a high-pitched whine, then sat on the floor and folded his front paws in front of him. He never took his eyes off her. Instead he looked to be waiting. Waiting on what?

  “I don’t feel good.” She scrambled to the bedroom and into the adjoining bathroom, just making it to the sink before she threw up. Bye-bye, omelet. Then bye-bye, water, until she started throwing up some yellow junk and dry heaving.

  It had been a very long time since she’d last thrown up. She felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach repeatedly. A few seconds later the wolf nosed into the bathroom.

  “Get out,” she mumbled as she splashed water on her face. Pain radiated down her jaw, through her neck, and then along her shoulder, down her arms, and straight to her fingertips.

  The wolf whined, then moved closer. She looked down and saw the towel between his teeth. She didn’t want to take it, but a cool towel on the back of her neck sounded like heaven. She put some water in her mouth and rinsed out the taste of bile. Once she felt like she could bend without having anothe
r bout of nausea, she grabbed the towel. The damn wolf sat back and watched her.

  If she didn’t think she would fall, she would have kicked the damn thing. Right in those all-knowing eyes. She didn’t have to tell him he’d bit her. He knew it. Which meant he was probably thinking he was going to get some tonight. Over her dead body. She moaned as his words came back to her. It just might be over her dead body.

  A fire started at the base of her feet and burned up her legs, to the pit of her stomach, and through her chest, before reaching her head and exploding into a world of pain. She doubled over and lay on her side, then pulled her knees to her chest. Every single cell of her body was screaming. “What the hell did you do to me?”