Gut Deep: Torn Worlds Book One

by Augustine, Donna

  A nearby door shut, and I tried to settle in. I stamped my foot as a tingle ran up it. Just a spider. Not a big deal. I had worse things in my life than spiders, and this shouldn’t take too long. Nope. Not a big deal.

  I could see lights streaming through the cracks of the shed right before hearing the sound of raised voices.

  “And you put her in the shed?” Donovan’s voice echoed loud and clear, even where I sat.

  “We saw her with a vampire and we didn’t want to bring her in the club,” one of the goons said.

  “I’m in here,” I yelled, pounding on the wall.

  The door slammed open, and I squinted against the bright lights now flooding the alley, Donovan’s silhouette in front of me.

  I knew I was a mess, partly from the fall, partly because there were cobwebs hanging in my hair and grease on my arms and legs. Losing a shoe hadn’t helped, and I’d been shoved against dirty tools in a cramped place. But despite appearances, I was fine.

  “Thanks,” I said, unfurling from my position.

  Donovan was still, nearly frozen.

  One moment he was staring at me, and the next his clothes were shredding as he grew a foot taller and a couple feet wider. His jaw elongated, fangs showing as he curled back his lips and turned on the two men who’d hauled me here.

  “We didn’t—”

  I couldn’t hear anything beyond the roar from Donovan.

  I couldn’t move past the shock. He was protecting me, and this wasn’t Mallard or a vampire. These were his people. He thought they’d hurt me, and he wasn’t just protecting me but avenging me.

  Donovan shook as the two men in front of him froze.

  The thought of blood, of these two guys being struck down, finally spurred me on. I jumped in between Donovan and his men.

  “It wasn’t them. I fell on the pavement. I’m just dirty,” I said, looking up at a monster I didn’t recognize that towered a couple feet above me.

  “Pen, get out of the way,” Huddy said, from somewhere off to the side.

  I hadn’t realized we had an audience, but a glance showed a handful of people watching and more spilling out of the club.

  I ignored Huddy and the growing crowd. I laid my hands on Donovan’s chest, could feel the growl underneath my hands as he stared at the two men behind me.

  “All they did was bring me here. They didn’t hurt me,” I said, keeping my tone calm.

  A growl escaped massive jaws.

  “Donovan, I’m okay.”

  A shudder went through him. He was pulling it back in, trying to contain the rage and rein in the beast. The fur under my hands slowly faded until it was replaced by flesh. Donovan stood naked in the alley, still looking at the two men behind me.

  “Don’t touch her again,” he said, his voice rougher than normal. Then he lifted me up and carried me through the club with him. All eyes were on us until we came to a room in the back. He dropped me on the couch and went back to the door, locking it, as the boiling rage still clung to him.

  He leaned both hands on the desk, not looking at me, every muscle in his nude body tense. “I told you to wait in the car.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry. I got freaked out and was going to follow you. The vampire happened upon me as soon as I got out.” I repeated the excuse I’d been replaying in my head since the shifters grabbed me. It was pitiful but the only thing I’d been able to come up with.

  “Do you realize how unsafe this area is? That car is like sitting in a tank. It’s bulletproof, torch-proof—you were safe in that car. You weren’t safe running around the streets.” He straightened, his anger filling the room until it felt like the temperature had spiked.

  “I’m sorry,” I repeated, running out of things to say, hoping if I repeated it enough it would appease the beast in the man.

  “Who was the vampire you were talking to?” he said, switching to something closer to an interrogation.

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged.

  “What did he say to you?” he asked, as soon as my last answer was out.

  “He asked who I was, and then your guys were there and he took off. That’s all that was said.” I didn’t know how much the shifters had heard, or what they’d told him, but I hadn’t been ready for this questioning. I wasn’t a natural liar and needed more time to prepare.

  His jaw shifted as he stared at me. “Pen, whatever is going on, you should tell me now. Don’t make me find out what’s going on from someone else.”

  My stomach turned inside out as panic infused my veins. I forced myself to stay calm, knowing how steep the cost of getting caught could really be.

  He was part of the ruling race, one poised to vote that sick humans should be killed. He’d never intermingled with humans until me, and then only because his friend had put him on the spot. How could I possibly trust him with this secret? Even if I were willing to take that gamble with my life, could I roll the dice with my sister’s? Just throw her out there and hope I didn’t crap out?

  But I couldn’t completely lie, either. He knew I was holding back. It was clear as day, and he deserved something from me after everything he’d done. He might not know it, but he already had my loyalty, if not all my truths.

  “There might be things I know, but it’s nothing to do with you and it’s nothing I can talk about. They aren’t my secrets.” Not my own. My sister, on the other hand? She had a thousand and one, and they were all piled up around me, penning me in. “If you want to talk secrets, why do you keep helping me? And for once, give me a straight answer, because I don’t believe this crap about your reputation. You don’t give a fuck what people think of you. Just tell me the truth.”

  He would’ve torn his people to pieces if I hadn’t stopped him. Just like he’d saved me from Mallard the first time, and then saved me from the council, and continued to protect me. He wasn’t doing this for him at all. He might claim to be a monster, but he was anything but, at least not when it came to me.

  His eyes dropped to the ground before meeting mine, stoic and sad but unflinching.

  “I can’t, Pen, because it changes nothing. There’s no future for you here.”

  But didn’t that just say it all? I was right. He did care.

  And he was right. He wasn’t my future. He would be my downfall. The only time I felt safe was with him, and it was the most dangerous place to be, even if he was the only thing holding me together right now.

  It was too much. Everything, the last few days, weeks, years…

  I stood and walked to the door of his office, or whatever the fuck this place was, and pulled on the handle. I didn’t want to be here, knowing where this would end.

  The damned door wouldn’t open.

  I pounded on it. “Open this fucking thing. I want to go. I need to go home. My home.” I’d take my chances with Mallard. In the end, it might be the less painful route. I rested my forehead on the door.

  Donovan walked over, reaching out and flipping the lock that had been right by my face.

  I didn’t move as I felt him standing behind me, and couldn’t even turn around, because if I did, he’d see the tears that threatened to fall. I didn’t know if they were for my sister, or Mallard, or the other vampires who were now after me. If it was because I no longer had a home or a future. Or maybe they belonged to the overwhelming gulf of misery I felt when I heard Donovan say there was nothing for me here. I’d known it in my head, but him saying it sent the words straight to my heart, because for the first time since I met him, I couldn’t deny I was falling for him.

  He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me back against him.

  “Do you really want to leave?” he asked.

  “You said so yourself—there’s nothing for me here.”

  “I said there was no future. I didn’t say there was nothing.” He dipped his head down and trailed his lips over the base of my neck. Continuing down this path with him was heartache at its purest, waiting right on the other side of the strongest temptati
on I’d ever felt.

  His jaw brushed against my ear. “Don’t cry,” he said softly. “I hate it when you cry.”

  I hadn’t realized tears had begun to stream down my face. “Would you really have protected me from your people?”

  “What do you think?” he said, his voice gruff with need. He wanted me. I didn’t know how deep the feelings ran, but it was enough to topple any resolve I had left. He cared, even if I felt a thousand times deeper for him.

  Slowly he moved his hand on my stomach upward and over, until he was grazing my ribs, his thumb whispering near the underside of my left breast. He moved it higher until he tugged the top of my dress down and the bra along with it. My nipples hardened, already begging for his caress.

  I turned in his embrace, running my hands over his shoulders and down his arms, over his stomach as his erection flexed in between us. My eyes moved up to his, my lips parting.

  He moved his hand to my chest, shedding my dress, dropping it to the floor. My bra and underwear followed until I was as naked as him.

  He took a step back, taking every inch of me in before walking forward, picking me up, and carrying me to the bathroom. He walked us both into the shower, the spray hitting me seconds later.

  He rubbed away the grease and dirt from my arms, and then my legs, before his hand slipped between my thighs, his fingers slipping inside me. He pressed me back against the wall, as he knelt in front of me. He held me still by my hips as he ran his tongue across my clit, as his fingers continued to delve inside me. My back arched as I shuddered. I was still riding the last wave of orgasm when he stood, grabbing my thighs and hoisting me higher as his cock dragged over my already sensitive clit, before he plunged into me, pinning me to the shower with his thrusts as I wrapped my legs around him, sending me into waves of pleasure again.

  I no longer cared if the future didn’t exist for us, because I had him now and desire had taken over every inch of me, making me quiver with need. Another thrust and he was growling his release.

  Twenty-Eight

  Penelope

  My life was officially falling apart. I couldn’t save my sister. I’d slept with the enemy, who hadn’t even lured me in with promises. He’d told me there was no future for us. For some reason I’d taken that as my cue to wrap myself around him like a starving boa constrictor. I’d woken this morning in his bed alone, because he’d probably snuck out so he wouldn’t have to speak to me. He’d probably woken to the smell of my desperation and run for dear life. Now I sat in his study, reading a book because I had nothing left of my own life to do.

  I’d thought I’d hit rock bottom, couldn’t fuck up anything else, when Larissa Tessa strolled in. She was decked out like her only concerns in the world were how perfect her manicure was and whether her lips were freshly glossed.

  I would’ve hidden if I’d known she was coming. I only had a couple of perks in life right now: not having to work for her and fucking her son. Neither of those made this meeting a good idea.

  She strolled into the room, looking about as if there might be someone else in here.

  “You’re the human? You’d think I’d remember, since you apparently worked for me, but I’m not very good with you people. Plus, I guess I expected something a little—different.”

  She knew exactly who I was and what I looked like. The comment was an obvious attack, which should’ve dulled its hit a bit. It might’ve if her son hadn’t insinuated something similar recently.

  I closed my book. If we were going to do this, might as well have at it.

  “Would you like a drink or something?” I asked, not sure what else to say.

  “That’s charming. As if they’re your refreshments to offer.” She took a seat on the other couch as she laughed.

  I’d been nearly sucked dry by a vampire. My life was still hanging by a thread, and so was my sister’s. If Larissa thought not owning the tea I’d offered was going to fell me, she needed to sharpen her sword. She was better off going back to calling me ugly.

  I opened my book up again. She wasn’t going to make this quick and easy, so I might as well try to read through it.

  “It won’t work. You must know that,” she said.

  Pretending I didn’t know what she meant would drag this out. Retreating to my room was weak. Shifter or not, I wouldn’t run from her. I hated her too much to give her that. Giving her nothing was the best way forward. I continued to read.

  She picked up another medical book I had sitting on the table, made a point of perusing it, and then placed it back.

  “I don’t know humans that well, but I know women. I know how their minds work.” She tapped on the book cover. “Maybe there are some who are looking for a good time, but I don’t think you’d be counted in those numbers. No, you aren’t one of those good-time girls, which means you’re going to want something more.”

  She waited for me to respond. I turned to the next page.

  She sighed almost as loudly as Sassy.

  “Maybe you know everything I’m about to say or maybe you don’t, but I’m going to tell you anyway to make sure.” She leaned forward, a hair too close for comfort. “Even if he were a low-level pack member, it would be difficult for you two. Pack is everything to us, and you’ll never be accepted. Not to mention he’ll never be able to have children with you. The odds of a human woman giving birth to a shifter are a million in one. Then what? He’ll have no pack, no family of his own. He’ll be completely alienated for a female who could never be his equal. Can’t even drive anymore.”

  She sat back, letting her cruel words settle in and hit the mark, seeing if their poison was getting into my system.

  I flipped another page, schooling my features so she couldn’t see how true her aim had been.

  “Madam?” Bigs said from the door.

  “Yes?”

  “There seem to be some children toying around your car with some eggs. I scared them off, but perhaps you should move it to a different spot?”

  “It’s in the driveway.”

  “We have some rambunctious children in the neighborhood.”

  Larissa stood with a huff. She took one more glance at me before giving me her parting shot: “I hope you don’t set your hopes too high. You’re smart enough to know the truth when you hear it.”

  She walked out the front door, and Bigs made his way to me.

  “Did you egg her car?” I asked.

  “Only once,” he said.

  “Windshield?”

  “Door handle,” he said, with a little giggle that shouldn’t have been possible from a shifter.

  I wasn’t sure if it was Bigs or the egg, but I laughed too.

  Donovan

  “Do you ever stay home anymore?” Huddy asked as he walked into the club’s office and flopped down onto a chair. I’d been sitting there for the last hour, staring at the couch where I’d fucked Pen for the second time last night. That was before I’d brought her home and fucked her in my bed. If I hadn’t left early this morning, I would’ve fucked her again.

  “No. She’s there.”

  “Considering what I heard going down in this office last night, and the scent of the marking you put on her when you both left, I’d think that wouldn’t be a problem?” He was smiling widely.

  “That’s the problem. If I see her, I’m going to fuck her, and there’s nothing left to stop me.” Certainly no self-control left in that area. It would be surprising if she could walk this morning.

  “So? Go fuck her,” he said, getting up to help himself to the bar.

  “She deserves more than being a pathetic human whore.” I slammed back the rest of my bourbon.

  Huddy sighed as he turned back to me. “Those humans have better lives than most of the population at this point.”

  “Not if I got her out of the country. She could have a good life somewhere else.” It might be the right move for her, even if the thought of it made me want to go on a killing spree.

  Huddy didn’t deny i
t. He couldn’t. In any other country, things would be nearly the same as they had been in the U.S. She could go back to med school, pick up like nothing had happened.

  When Huddy kept silent, I knew there was something else he had to tell me that wasn’t overly pleasant.

  “Yes?” I asked. Having to drag details out of Huddy was one of the only things that made me impatient with him.

  “I looked into that rumor about Pen being in contact with the vampires,” he said, spinning the bourbon around in his glass.

  “And?”

  “There’s a number on her message log that isn’t registered to a human.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t mean it’s a vampire, but it’s slightly suspicious. Still, it seems the contact was mostly incoming. There were only two outgoing messages, and that was weeks ago.” He leaned back, as if he could relax now that he’d delivered his murky news.

  “They might be reaching out and trying to turn her but not succeeding. That would make sense of why she was with a vampire last night.”

  “And why our guys said they heard the vampire calling her name.” Huddy shook his head. “But why not tell you? Why get out of the car?” he asked, as if he too didn’t think the pieces were lining up.

  “We’re fucking. Not confidants. She might feel like I wouldn’t believe whatever she said.” I didn’t need anyone else’s doubts piled onto mine. I knew she was holding back. She’d all but admitted there was something. Life would be a lot easier if she’d just come clean, but that wasn’t the relationship we had.

  “Would you believe her?” Huddy studied me intently.

  I shrugged. I didn’t know what to think anymore. I never thought I’d get in this deep with a human to begin with. I was developing a new appreciation of the term “never say never.” What if the secret could jeopardize the entire pack? It was one thing to teach a lesson to two of our slower-witted members, but could I really stand by if she could hurt the pack as a whole?

  This situation with her needed to end. It had to.