“Where’s our supper.”
I stood beside her. She was a couple of inches shorter than me.
“There’ll be no supper tonight, you mouthy wench. Next time you’ll think twice before you interfere.”
Jenna took a step toward the man. “Next time you’ll think twice before you try to touch one of those girls.”
The man stalked up to her. I noticed he had a black eye.
“Maybe I’ll just touch you instead.” He grabbed her by the arm and started to drag her out of the tent.
Jenna growled low in her throat and twisted so that she was facing him, blocking his path. Her knee connected with his groin and then moved up to meet his face as he doubled over in pain. She stumbled back and I took the opportunity to take three long steps toward them. I swung my leg as hard as I could and kicked him in the head. He fell to the ground, unconscious, his head sticking out of the tent.
“When’s he going to learn not to bug that dark haired one,” mumbled one of the men outside the tent. One of my captors poked his head in the tent and came in holding his hands up. He surveyed the situation, shrugged, took five buns out of a bag and threw them on the ground. Without a word he grabbed his friend by the hand and dragged him out of the tent.
“Will they be back tonight?” I asked Jenna. She shook her head.
“No. He’s the only one who likes his fun. The others leave us alone.”
One of the girls in the corner whimpered.
“Shit. He used them didn’t he?”
She nodded. “Clara and Nadine. Then I got here. I almost escaped the first night, but I let them catch me again. I couldn’t just leave them here knowing what was going to happen to them.”
The wind blew the tent open and the fire light illuminated our surroundings. I was able to see the girls clearly for the first time. Though the three blonds in the corner didn’t look hurt, they were obviously horrified. I looked at Jenna and noticed the bruise on her cheek and a cut under her jaw. She took a deep breath.
“Come on, girls. Come eat a bun. We can pretend we’re playing catch the cunnies.” She shrugged at me and smiled. I had to admit that I was in awe of this young woman. Though she had yet to turn of age, she was now the self-appointed protector of three other women.
She knelt on the ground and bent over to take a bite of one of the buns. I did the same. After a few minutes, the others joined us.
“Sounds like we’ll be travelling tomorrow,” Jenna stated. “Try to get some sleep, girls.”
Everyone made their way to the pile of straw that served as the bed. Clara, Nadine and Brynn huddled together while Jenna and I sat together a bit farther away. Once the blonds had fallen asleep, I turned to Jenna.
“Who taught you how to fight?”
“My brother, Ray. Mom and Dad were killed while they were out on patrols. I was just a pup. Ray raised me.” She smiled. “What about you? It takes some practice to be able to kick like that with your arms behind your back without falling on your arse.”
I laughed. “My mate. And I’ve had lots of practice.”
“I saw the look you gave Brynn. You’re her, aren’t you?” Jenna’s voice was just a whisper.
I nodded. “I am.” I listened to the men snoring outside. “Get some sleep. I’ll take first watch.”
Jenna nodded and lay down. “Make sure you wake me for my turn.”
“I will.” I got myself as comfortable as I could and got ready for a long night.
*****
I awoke to the sound of Jenna grunting. I jumped to my feet, ready, glad that it was starting to get light out and I could see.
“I told you to quit interfering!” The blond man wound up and kicked Jenna where she lay on the ground. She rolled with the kick, trying to get away.
I ran at the man, throwing my shoulder into his chest with all of my weight behind it. Both of us fell to the ground. I stumbled, trying to get to my feet.
“What’s going on in here?” One of my abductors came stomping into the tent. The blond man took advantage of my distraction and punched me in the jaw. Spots started to fill my vision as I fell to the ground.
“Hayden!” Brynn’s voice sounded far away in the haze inside my head. I shook it to clear it and managed to get my eyes to focus just in time to see the blond man’s fist coming at me again. I rolled to the side, swiped my leg against his, and was rewarded with his surprised cry as he hit the ground. I scrambled to my knees and stopped short.
“I’d stop while I was ahead if I were you.” The second man pressed a bit harder on his dagger to make his point and I felt it bite into my neck. I saw Jenna wind up to kick the blond man.
The latter saw what she was up to and grabbed her leg, pulling her to the ground. He wound up and punched her in the face as he straddled her.
“Take it easy, Garth. She has to be sellable when we get there.”
Garth stopped in mid swing and looked up. His friend’s dagger cut a bit deeper into my throat and I gasped. Outside, someone was fighting.
I heard an animal running, a grunt of pain and a man’s dying scream. Even from in the tent I could hear the bones breaking. There was a moment of silence and whatever was in the clearing charged again. This time the man’s scream was long and tortured. It cut off abruptly.
“Look, go in the tent! Take the one you want!” That sounded like my second abductor. A man’s footsteps could be heard running away from the tent. By the sounds of it, he didn’t get far.
“What is it?” Garth asked from on the ground. Jenna lay still under him, turning blue from the pressure of his hand on her neck.
“I don’t know!” My abductor pushed me to the back of the tent where I fell to the ground. Garth scrambled to his feet and stood beside his friend, dagger drawn. I went to kneel beside Jenna and let out a sigh of relief as color flooded back to her face.
“If you think you’re so tough, why don’t you shift and settle this man to man?” I had to hand it to the fourth man outside; after seeing his friends picked off one by one he was showing a lot of spunk. Everyone in the tent listened intently to see what would happen. Someone groaned and the sound of a person hitting the ground could be heard. There was a loud hiss of pain, a gasp, and the sound of a fist connecting with a nose. This was followed by a gasp and an airless grunt which I recognized as the sound of a dagger going into someone’s diaphragm.
Garth and his friend looked at each other and we all looked to the tent opening, wondering who or what was going to come walking in.
The blonds in the corner gasped and screamed at the sight of the bloodied man as he came charging into the tent. Jasper’s sky blue eyes locked with mine and even I was shocked. He looked wild and out of control. It was almost as if he had shifted but was still in his human form. He blinked, took a deep breath, and honed in on the men standing in front of me. I got to look him over for a fraction of a second. His tunic was ripped and soaked with blood. I wasn’t sure if it was his or not. His nose had been broken and his leg was bleeding.
With speed that surprised even me, he threw his dagger at Garth who grunted in surprise as it dug itself to the hilt into his belly. I threw myself at the second man, knocking him to the ground from behind. Jenna was a fraction of a second behind me. Her foot connected with his face with a sickening crunch.
Somewhere behind us, Garth screamed. I looked back and found Jasper pulling his dagger from one side of the blond man’s stomach to the other. He pulled it out with one swift movement and slashed it against the human’s throat. He seemed to fight to get himself under control and focused on the man lying under me and Jenna.
She gave me a questioning look and I stepped back a few paces. She followed suit. Without a word, Jasper stalked to the last human alive in camp, pulled his head up by the hair and slit his throat with one fluid motion.
I waited while he rocked back on his heels, took a deep breath then turned his attention to me. We gazed at each other for a moment. The wild look left his eyes and I gave him a
half grin.
“Your nose is broken.” I was rewarded with a perfect smile.
“But I still have all my teeth.” He got up and pulled me to my feet before crushing me to his chest. “By the moons, Shlova, I’m starting to think that maybe you get taken on purpose!”
I started to laugh. “Yeah, that’s it!” I leaned against him and tried to slow my breathing. “That’s exactly what I’m doing!” I looked up into perfect blue eyes and smiled. “How did you find us?”
He leaned down and kissed me softly. “The blue bird saw you get taken. She found Trent a short ways from where you were, told him to come get me and which way I needed to head. She followed you here and doubled back to come get me.” He wiped his dagger on his pant leg and cut my hands free. I groaned as my shoulders rotated back to their regular position.
“You came alone?”
He nodded. “I was on my way to meet you when Trent found me.” He handed me Garth’s dagger and I helped him cut the rest of the girls free.
I introduced him to all of them. “Jenna, Clara, and Nadine, this is my mate, Jasper.”
He nodded to them even though Clara and Nadine were staring at me. I frowned. “What?”
“You’re… you’re her!” stammered Clara. I touched the amulet which had made its way back to the front of my neck and nodded.
“So if they didn’t know who you were, what in the world was going on here,” asked Jasper.
“It looks like these men were abducting women to sell as slaves.”
Everyone fell quiet as something came close to the tent.
“By the moons, I knew the man was great at what he did, but this is ridiculous.” There was a pause. “Uncle Jasper! Aunt Hayden! Are you alright?”
I burst out laughing and left the tent. “We’re fine, Trent.”
His dark eyes narrowed as he looked me over. “Are you sure?” He touched my jaw softly. I gave him a hug.
“I’ve had worse. What are you doing here?”
“Well, at first I listened to what Uncle had told me. I was to stay put at all cost. Then I thought I’d better go for help.” He shrugged. “I decided that would take too long and that I should probably go after him so I could give him a hand.” He looked around and shook his head in amazement. Jasper stepped out of the tent and Trent’s eyes widened. “Uncle Jasper! Are you alright?”
Jasper smiled. “I’ve had worse and your Aunt was just about to fix me up.” He knelt without being told to and sucked in a breath as I ran the green wave over him. He shook his head and smiled. “Thanks, Shlova.”
I pulled his head to my chest and kissed the top of his head. “No, thank you.”
He stood behind me and wrapped his arms around me tightly, his chin resting on my head. He took a deep breath.
“You’re alright?” he asked.
I reached a hand back and ran my fingers through his curls. “I am.”
The rest of the girls were making their way out of the tent.
“Trent!” Brynn was a blur of blond as she ran toward my nephew.
“Brynn? What in the world are you doing here?” He hugged her tightly and rubbed her back as she sobbed into his tunic. He held her back and wiped her tears away. “Are you alright? Where’s Bree?”
She shook her head. “She was with Tyler. I was on my way to see you.”
Trent pulled her to his chest and smoothed her hair. “Shush, Brynn. It’s alright. I’m…” Whatever he was about to say stuck in his throat.
I glanced up at him and would have laughed at the deer in the headlight look on his face had he not looked so scared. I turned, ready to fight whatever was coming then relaxed. Standing at the tent’s entrance stood Jenna and I understood. Her long dark brown wavy hair blew around her in the breeze, her light grey eyes just as wide and scared as Trent’s.
Brynn looked from Trent to Jenna, her lips pursed into a small ‘o’ shape. She wiped her tears and kissed his cheek then came to stand beside me. She sensed my confusion at her actions and shrugged.
“Brent told me Trent must be fated. It was the only explanation why I couldn’t get him interested in me.”
I wanted to laugh. Low on self-esteem this girl wasn’t.
Trent swallowed hard and cleared his throat. “Your face… are you… I mean… does it…”
Jenna shook her head. “I think it looks worse than it feels.”
Trent slowly closed the distance between them. He touched the side of her face softly and she closed her eyes. He brushed a few stray strands of hair away then tucked them behind her ears.
“Auntie? Do you think…?”
I got Jenna to kneel so that I could heal her. Trent held her hand and flinched at her gasp as her face healed. I moved the wave over her ribs and my jaw clenched as it confirmed what I had thought.
“Trent, I need you to kneel behind her. Hook your arms under hers so she doesn’t fall when I mend these ribs.”
He nodded and did as I had asked. Jenna leaned back against him. Both of them closed their eyes. Jenna jerked and Trent pulled her tightly against him. They stayed like that until her breathing got back to normal. Jenna relaxed against him and reached back, her hand running through his short hair.
“It’s shorter than in the dream.”
He blushed. “I had a run in with some birn bushes.” His chin was resting on her shoulder. It was almost as if the rest of us had disappeared. “Are you just as scared as I am?” His voice was husky.
She nodded. “Maybe if we talked first.”
Jasper cleared his throat and everyone in the clearing jumped. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the moment, but I’d rather we get as far away from here as possible. If we keep up a good pace we can be home by supper time.” He led over one of the horses and boosted me up onto it.
Trent pressed his face into Jenna’s neck and kissed it softly before nodding. He stood and pulled her up, his arms still around her. He took a few deep breaths and I could see the effort it took for him to let go. He shifted and looked up at her. She smiled and followed suit. The two grey wolves gazed at each other for a moment before Jenna licked the end of Trent’s nose and dashed off into the woods. Trent yipped playfully and leaped after her.
I looked down at Jasper and smiled. He gave my leg a squeeze then shifted. I looked to Clara and Nadine who had shifted into a leopard and a jaguar as they chased after Brynn the black wolf.
“Jasper.”
He looked up at me.
“A shlova yan.”
He blinked and a loud purr rumbled through him. I gave my horse a kick and we galloped off toward home.
*****
It was just getting dark as we neared the den. Brynn headed home while Clara and Nadine made their way back to the clearing. We’d been fortunate enough to run into Cole and his mate Hailey who was a healer and my face was now back to normal. Trent howled to announce that we were close to home.
Luke, Mel, and Tyler were waiting outside for us to arrive. I got off of my horse and started to laugh at the mischievous gleam in Luke’s eyes.
“Never mind! Come on! Admit it! Even you thought it should be safe for me to walk around with all these cats and dogs around.”
He burst out laughing. “Hayden, my dear, it doesn’t matter if you are surrounded by a complete army, you are never safe.”
Jasper shifted back and grinned at me. “See? I’m not the only one who thinks that and I’m fairly sure that this little incident might prove the point.”
I stuck my tongue out and laughed.
A small whine turned my attention to Jenna. She was watching as Trent gave Tyler a hug. The brothers laughed and Tyler gave Trent a playful punch to the shoulder. Jenna was looking from one to the other. She shifted and stood, tense.
“Oh! You found her!” Mel grinned.
The twins turned to face Jenna and she immediately relaxed. Her eyes found Trent’s and his face lit up with his smile. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.
“I’m glad you
can tell us apart.”
She started to laugh. “Me too.”
Tyler stood with his mouth open. “What? When did this happen?” He frowned. “By the moons, Trent, why wouldn’t you tell me you dreamt of her?”
Trent put his arm around Jenna’s shoulder. “Quite honestly, I didn’t think I would find her this quickly. If I hadn’t chased after Uncle Jasper, who knows how long it might have taken.” He took a deep breath. He looked from me to Jasper and moved on to his mom, dad, and brother. “I need to talk to Jenna.” He took her hand and led her away.”
The rest of us headed into the house. We sat down to eat and I told them everything that had happened during the course of my abduction. Over an hour later there was a knock at the door. Mel got up to answer.
“Jenna, honey, come in. Where’s Trent?”
Jenna sat at the table and put her head in her arms. “He’s gone.”
“Where?” Luke looked at Jasper who shrugged.
“He didn’t say.” She took a deep breath.
“Well, what did he say?” Tyler was frowning.
It took a minute for Jenna to answer. “He said he couldn’t do it; that if we bonded now that he wouldn’t be able to fight with Hayden. He said that he didn’t think he could fight it so he couldn’t stay around me. He told me I had to come back here so he would know I was safe and that he would stay away.”
“He left?” Tyler sounded outraged. “Which way did he go?”
Jenna shook her head. “He made me come back before he left so I wouldn’t try to follow him.”
“Where did he take you?” My nephew was vibrating.
“It was a clearing with two fallen trees.”
Tyler shifted as he crashed through the front door.
“Tyler!” Mel’s yell fell on deaf ears.
We all stared at the open door.
“Do you want me to go after them?” Luke put a hand on Mel’s shoulder. She took a deep breath and shook her head.
“I imagine they’ll have a lot to talk about when Tyler finds him.”
“But Trent’s been gone almost an hour. There’s no way Tyler will find him.” Jenna sounded miserable.
Destiny (The Chosen One Trilogy:Book Three) Page 17
