by Mandy Rosko
"Anna has a bathroom they can try their clothes on in if she wants privacy. Why are you out here?"
Again, Dane made another awkward gesture, scratching the back of his neck this time. "The woman looked like she was about to cry if I followed them inside. She was uncomfortable enough with Anna and Miranda. And she knows Miranda."
Garret's brows lifted. It was true, he could hear the sounds of soft music coming from the feminine-sounding male voices of the latest pop sensation in Anna's room, but the fact that Dane had really chosen not to follow them inside for that?
"You are pathetic."
Dane snapped his gaze back to Garret, a snarl on his lips. "What?"
Garret wanted to laugh. He crossed his arms and shook his head instead. He didn't bother trying to conceal the smile on his face. "That red-haired woman starts to tear up and you melt."
Dane tensed. Had he been in his bear shape, the hackles on his back would have lifted. "I did not melt."
"Yes you did."
"Says the alpha who won't claim his mate for fear of hurting her feelings."
Garret lost all sense of play and growled. His frustration with the lack of sex boiled back to the surface of his mind, and he rushed his friend, slamming his fist in the wall beside Dane's head.
Dane didn't flinch, not really, but the way his eyes glanced over to the side, and how harsh his breathing suddenly became was enough to tell Garret he'd made his point. The other shifter would close his mouth.
Garret pulled his fist from the hole he'd put into the wall, causing dust to litter the air. He'd hit a beam beneath the thinner wooden paneling and drywall. The skin on one of his knuckles was pushed to the side and bloody from the scrape. Fuck. That had hurt, but he'd be damned before he'd ever show that weakness to Dane.
Garret continued to growl and rumble deep in his throat as he glared at his friend. He put his hand on the doorknob leading into his sister's room and tried to turn it.
It wouldn't budge.
Garret growled louder.
"She locked the door."
"I can see that she locked the door." Garret pounded his fist on the door. "Anna, it's me. Let me in."
He heard nothing but the music. No shuffling of fabrics or feminine laughter. That was the thing that worried him the most.
Garret knocked again. "Anna, you will open this door or I will break it."
Still, he heard nothing under the sound of music, a sound that suddenly seemed suspicious. It was just loud enough to disguise the fact that no one was inside, fooling the man waiting in the hall.
Garret glared hard at Dane. Dane's eyes were wide with concern, as if he, too, was suddenly seeing the mistake he'd made.
Garret held the brass doorknob and pulled until it broke off the door. The handle on the other side fell with a clang to the hardwood floor, and he pushed the door open and let himself inside.
His sister's overly pink room was a constant reminder of how young she was, and how she could so often make foolish mistakes if given the chance.
Dane moved to the closed bathroom door, putting his ear to it before swinging it open. It wasn't locked and the light was off inside.
"They're not here."
Garret didn't need him to check the bathroom to know that, and he suspected Dane didn't need to check to know the truth either.
He was looking to the same open window Garret was staring at. "How long ago do you think they left?"
Dane sighed. "Maybe right after they shoved me outside. There's no way your sister's leaving for good, and I'm pretty sure your mate's coming back. She still needs you."
Garret hoped that was true. The fact that nothing had happened between them put a thin knife of worry between his ribs. "They're taking that red-haired woman to the road."
"You think Dennis will be able to track that far out?"
He didn't want to know, and he wasn't going to risk it.
Garret and Dane rushed out of the room and down the stairs. Garret hollered for Jax to follow. They were already in their other forms, Dane in his bear shape and Garret in his wolf shape, as they charged out the front doors. Jax's dragon roar sounded from behind them.
Chapter 11
"Okay, so we're almost at the road," Anna said, as cheerfully as if they weren't walking out in the woods, away from her home and brother.
"Are you sure you're not going to get in trouble for this?" Miranda asked.
"Well, yeah, of course I'll get in trouble, but it's not going to be a big deal."
Lois shook her head, her arms around herself, as she stared down at Anna's low-heel, knee-high boots she'd been forced to wear since her own shoes had been taken to prevent this very thing.
Running away.
"How can none of this be a big deal? Neither of you are human."
Miranda looked down at her hands, which looked normal enough in the moment. "I'm still human."
"You can turn into an animal," Lois shot back.
"But I'm still human," she argued.
Garret and Anna had tried having this talk with her, but she wasn't ready to give up the title of human just yet. Not until… well, not ever. She couldn't just change the way she'd thought about herself for her entire life just because she could grow claws and run on all fours if she wanted to.
"You're still my friend, Lois."
Lois glanced at her, her eyes scanning Miranda's body up and down before she looked back at her feet as she walked.
"I know. You're still my friend, too."
At least that was something. It was better than Miranda was hoping for ever since Lois had been brought to that giant mansion back there.
Anna started walking a little faster, and soon the blonde-haired girl was over ten feet ahead of them. Miranda was grateful for the privacy. Anna was young, but she was smart.
"I'll still pay you back all the rent money I owe you."
Lois shook her head. "Don't worry about it."
"I want to. You need that money, too, and it's not fair if I don't."
Especially now that Garret was offering to help her with that. Though, how generous he might be feeling after this little stunt she was pulling was something Miranda would find out when she got back.
Lois looked at her. It wasn't just a glance, either. She really looked at her, and Miranda's throat closed.
"I think you might have bigger problems to deal with for the next little while."
Miranda stopped walking and stared down at her hands. She had to keep checking just to make sure the claws and fur weren't showing through. She'd been restless ever since leaving that enormous house, and every step made her feel antsier, more itchy and nervous.
"It's… It's not so bad. He's going to help me control it. He's not a bad guy."
"They wanted to kidnap me, Miranda," Lois said.
Miranda didn't think Lois was trying to sound harsh, but she flinched all the same.
"It was just because they were scared." Miranda looked back into her friend's eyes. "You said it yourself. I'm not the same. I'm not human. If you said anything to anyone—"
Lois quickly cut in. "Would someone try to hurt you?"
She sounded worried about the possibility.
Miranda thought back to those enormous paws, those unnatural fingers with the claws that pulled her screaming out of her car and into the woods. They'd turned her, but it had been an accident. They were trying to kill her.
"I think so, yeah. Garret didn't do this to me. Someone else did. Garret's trying to keep everyone safe, and you'll be fine, too. Just don't say anything."
"Who would believe me anyway?" Lois asked. Her blue eyes softened. "Will I ever see you again?"
It was that question that made Miranda crack. That was all she needed to hear to believe her friend was still her friend, that despite everything, they were still good.
Would she ever see Lois again after this was all over? Miranda honestly hadn't thought it through. The idea that she wouldn't was suddenly terrifying and unimaginable.
>
As she sniffed, Lois pulled her close, hugging her, wrapping her arms tight around Miranda's shoulders.
Miranda squeezed her back. Lois was taller than she was, even without the heels. Like a big sister. That was what Lois felt like.
"It's okay. It's going to be okay." That fact that those words were coming from Lois brought on all the big-sister worship that Miranda had ever felt for the red-haired woman. She didn't want to let her go. She didn't want Lois to leave her behind, because as nice and sweet as Anna could be, there was no one else like Lois.
"I'll call you, I promise," Miranda said, meaning it this time. There had to be a way they could do this that didn't require Lois to be a prisoner in that enormous house.
"You'd better call me."
"Uh, you guys?" Anna said.
Miranda wasn't ready to turn away from her friend, but the tone Anna used had her curious, and not in a good way.
When Miranda pulled back from Lois, she understood why Anna sounded scared.
She wished she could have stayed blissfully unaware.
There were men all around them. They were naked, and some had long, scraggly hair, looking as if they hadn't had a shower in weeks, but absolutely everyone had broad shoulders, stood tall, and stared down at Miranda, Lois, and Anna like they were something to eat.
The man with the short-cropped black hair, the one who looked the cleanest, stepped forward. Anna shivered and fell back to stand with Miranda and Lois.
That couldn't be good. If Anna was scared of this guy when she was a born shifter, then what kind of danger did he pose?
"You're not supposed to be here, Dennis," Anna said. She stood in front of Miranda and Lois, as if she was trying to be brave and protect them, but there was something in her posture that gave Miranda the impression Anna wanted to hide behind them.
And then she realized why. "Dennis?" Miranda said.
She had a flashback of her driver-side window smashing in as an enormous, gnarled, clawed hand broke through. She'd screamed as that monster hand grabbed her and yanked her out.
Miranda blinked out of that memory before she could get lost in it, and she stared at the man in front of her. He looked different, obviously, but his eyes…
When he spoke, his voice was so damned familiar that Miranda shivered.
"You know, I thought we'd see something good if we watched the territory, but I didn't think I'd find my prey and my enemy's sister out here all alone with—" Dennis frowned at Lois, then he shrugged. "—some random human. Whatever. So Garret's taking up kidnapping now."
"This has nothing to do with her or Miranda," Anna said.
Dennis stared at her, long and hard. Anna tensed, looking away from his hard eyes.
Miranda looked around at the men who surrounded her. Scars decorated many of their necks and chests. Some had faces that were twisted with badly healed marks that cut deep. That seemed to make them look even meaner. She kind of thought they looked like pirates, what with being bare chested and all. One guy even had what looked like a sash tied around his waist. The only thing that pulled her away from that thought was the lack of swords or hooks.
She shivered when she remembered why they didn't need those kinds of weapons. They had claws. Big claws. Hooked claws. They didn't need anything else.
Dennis raised his hand and grabbed on to a heavy tree branch above his head. The sound of the wood splintering when he dug his fingers into it made Miranda jump.
"I don't know about that. She might be useful."
"For what?" Miranda asked.
"I don't know, anything. The fact that you're holding her hand so tight means something."
Miranda looked down, and noticed she was squeezing Lois's hand. When she pulled away, Lois's palm and knuckles looked pale and squished, but not broken. Lois said nothing. She gave no indication she was in any pain.
"Garret's sister might be useful, too," Dennis said, turning his attention back to Anna, who jumped a little when he smiled at her.
Oh, God. Miranda looked up at all the men around her, all of whom were looking at her, at all of them, with a little too much interest for Miranda to feel comfortable.
She felt the need inside her to do something, to say anything that could help, that could change this man's mind about taking her and her friends. It expanded and swelled until she opened her mouth and started talking without thinking.
"I don't know much about you, but whatever Garret did to you, I'm sorry."
Anna hissed. "Miranda!"
Garret had explained some of it, that they were friends, that things had gone south, but while it didn't all sound like Garret's fault, for this man who had lost his father, his friend, and his pack, it must have seemed so much worse. Miranda didn't know if his side was justified, and she didn't much care either. She just didn't want Dennis taking her, Lois, or Anna as prisoners and doing God only knew what with them for his revenge.
"Miranda, you don't know him," Anna said.
"And you think you know me, little girl!” Dennis snapped, teeth and claws showing as he roared at Anna.
Anna winced, looking away from him, but she didn't stop talking. "I know everything I need to know about you. You're a killer."
Dennis snorted and shook his head. Miranda wished Anna would stop pushing her luck. For whatever reason, Dennis wasn't killing her for talking back, but that didn't mean he would continue to be so generous.
Anna clenched her fists. Her body trembled as she glared at the ground, but thankfully, she said nothing else.
Miranda didn't take her eyes away from Dennis, however. She didn't want to make him angry, but if he could just see that she, Lois, and Anna were people, and not pawns meant to be used for his revenge, they might stand a chance. She kept her voice soft and respectable. The last thing she needed was to come across as angry, defensive, or manipulative to this man. "I don't know you, but you don't know me either. I never knew you before this, and Lois and I didn't do anything to hurt you. We wouldn't do that. Anna wouldn't either," she added before she could forget about her new friend. "Please, whatever's wrong, I can talk to Garret about it for you. This can be fixed."
Lois's voice was a barely audible whisper. "Miranda, your hands."
Miranda didn't need to look down at her hands, or touch her face. She could feel the itch of the transformation shivering over her body. It felt as if the fur was rippling right under her skin before the needle-like hairs stood on end and started poking through her pores. She was changing, and she couldn't stop herself. Her heart hammered as she wondered if Dennis was seeing this as some sort of attack in the making.
He frowned as he looked at her, and then he smiled. "I wondered if you would change. That cut was pretty deep." He looked off to the side. "Hey, Charlie, she looks a little like you, like a mutt."
The guys laughed. Charlie growled at Dennis, but otherwise said nothing.
Miranda barely took her eyes away from Dennis to glance at Charlie. She was starting to panic. She felt something stirring inside her, not just the transformation, but something else. An animal scratched and yowled inside her head, digging its claws along the inside of her skull, making scars as deep as the ones that were on the faces of some of the men surrounding her.
It wanted out. It was going to come out.
"Oh shit," Anna said. "Lois, come here. Get behind me."
"What's going on? What's happening to her?"
"Just come here!"
Lois was yanked away from her and behind Anna. That strangely seemed to make the tension inside Miranda tighter. She was… She was having trouble breathing.
As she looked back at Dennis, she struggled and fought with that wild creature inside her. His eyes were curious as he watched her. There was something different in the way he looked at her. Did he think she was faking this?
The sudden cramp in Miranda's stomach and legs was like a slice of pain that shot up her spine. Miranda's body jerked upright before she fell to her knees.
This was… Oh
God, this was the thing Garret had warned her about. The loss of control when under stress. The need to let that wilder side out. It was happening. After Miranda had changed and run with Garret yesterday, she hadn't taken his warning as seriously. She'd thought she could keep control with some focus and self-awareness, but this was something she couldn't control. She was trying, too. God, she was trying so damned hard, but she couldn't do it. She couldn't pull back, and every second that went by was more terrifying than the last.
"I don't think we'll have to worry about getting messy," Dennis said. "This one might do it for us."
"No," Miranda wailed, but it came out sounding more like an inhuman cry. Almost like a growl.
"Get off me! Get off me!" Lois pushed Anna away, and she was suddenly in front of Miranda. She looked so much smaller all of a sudden, but only because Miranda had gotten taller.
Miranda swiped her hand out to push Lois away from her before she could hurt her. Lois yelled and jumped back, and only then did Miranda realize her claws were out and she'd nearly slashed her friend's throat, face, and chest.
She groaned, a deep, rumbling sound. She tried to turn away, to run before the last of her control snapped and she attacked her friend, but when she did, three of Dennis's men stepped in her way. They were suddenly in their monster-wolf forms. They were standing tall, taller than Miranda and very likely stronger, too. The hackles on their backs and shoulders were raised up high, their tails hanging low behind them. The message was clear without words. She wasn't going anywhere.
Miranda whined. She tried to speak, but something was wrong. She knew she could speak, she'd spoken to Garret when she was in this form, but all of a sudden, it was like her vocal chords wouldn't produce anything that wasn't a growl or a snarl.
And then Lois's hands were in the thick fur surrounding her face, and she was gripping tight, forcing Miranda to look into her face and eyes.
"Listen to me! You are my best friend and you are a human being. You are not an animal, and you don't want to hurt anyone. You understand? So focus. Come on. You are a good person and you don't want to hurt anyone. Okay? Miranda! Okay?"
Miranda clung to those words, and they helped, but they weren't enough. It was just slowing things down. Lois seemed to take the fact that Miranda hadn’t ripped her throat out yet as a good sign, but she wanted to.
