by JF Holland
Jaden came out of the tree-line and carried on running going straight up and over the back fence on Maya's property. He wasn't too worried about being seen as his and Maya's homes were the only properties attached. Dropping down on the other side of the fence he crouched there, ears twitching and whiskers sifting through the scents available to him. It was here, shit. He looked over his shoulder, his ears lifting as he waited a few seconds to see if the other one came up behind him, it was a definite possibility.
"Jaden, are you in the house?" came the tentative enquiry in his head and he swore, head swinging left and right as he tried to come up with a plan. He needed to keep her calm, if she began to panic she'd make a mistake and give herself away, keeping her talking seemed like the best solution. If she was busy talking to him she wasn't worrying over what was in the house with her.
"No I'm outside, but I'm going to be coming in. Where are you?" when she didn't immediately respond he growled low in his throat, panicking himself at her silence.
"Fucking answer me, where are you?" he repeated doing another visual sweep as he slowly began to creep across her back garden on his belly, keeping under the fence line so the shadows helped to camouflage him. Jaden's cat was midnight black, his rosette's only noticeable if you were up close, and normally by then they were the last things you saw if he was hunting. He was a big man, so he was also a big, heavy cat, with a large head full of weapons in the form of those long, razor-sharp teeth and the tough jaw. Never mind the daggers he had on him on the end of his huge paws.
"Secret compartment in my wardrobe. It's in the room with me Jaden, stay back," then she cut off her thoughts. Fuck, what was he going to do? There was one in the house with her and another one possibly behind him? He could hold his own in a fight but in a confined space it would limit his movements and he couldn’t see them obliging him by shifting. Then he remembered that if his mate was killed, it would release him from the binding, but shook the thought away. He was kind of getting use to her now. He may not be entirely happy about not having a choice in whether he was given a mate or not but he kind of liked her smart mouth. He'd certainly miss her shouting, even that he'd gotten used to in the short time she'd begun to talk back. She had spirit, and it fascinated him, he'd never come across a woman before who would defy him or talk back, it was refreshing. It pissed him off that he may not get the chance to make his own decision on whether he got to spend time with her or not. After a couple of months he may get bored and decide for himself that it was time to move on but it should be his decision no one else's.
"Seriously, you're out there deciding if you should leave me to it. You fucking arsehole," Maya spat in his head and he winced, forgetting that she could pick up on his thoughts. Then he grinned. She was smart, and not just her mouth. She was also resilient, plus the more she was getting riled at him the less time there was for her to think and worry. He swung his head around again and swallowed a chuff of laughter, seriously she made him laugh even in such a tense situation. She really was a bit of a hellcat.
"Aww, come on honey, don't be mad. I wouldn't really let anything happen to you. Plus I haven't had my way with you yet, I still need in your pants." He heard her growl in his head, then she mentally sent him the birdie. "You will be getting nowhere near me you arsehole, I'll be cutting your dick off the next time I see you." He had to swallow the chuff of laughter that time, she really was funny. She'd give in, it was part of the binding, completely out of their hands. They would be attracted to each other no matter what, the choice was fates to make not theirs. He heard her snort as he continued to crawl across the back garden, commando style on his belly, stop start moves as he made his way towards the back door.
"I locked the back door," she sent him mentally, obviously picking up on his movements by his thoughts.
"It's wide open now, I guess he left it open for his buddy," he heard her gasp and could have slapped himself for reminding her that there wasn't one but two of the bastards. He had to think quickly before she began to panic.
"So honey, what are you going to be cooking to keep me satisfied? You know once I've had in your pants that is. Seriously, you have to give me an incentive here, especially if you want me to get my arse in there. I could break a nail you know." He heard her snort again and got a mental picture of a steaming pile of dog shit, he had to swallow another laugh as he again checked his surroundings.
"That's not nice, and really not much of an incentive. I could find that on the street, seriously, you have to work on your sweet nature here if you want me to be your hero and save your fine arse." He again got the birdie and saw a mental image of her rolling her eyes and then she cut him off, shit. "Maya what's going on in there?" he sent back.
"Shush, be quiet he may hear you," Jaden was the one to send a picture of rolling his eyes now.
"I'm in your head, how on earth is he going to hear me?"
"I don't know but there's something about this one. I don't know how I know but there's something in the way he moves that's familiar to me. Every time I answer you it's as if he picks up on it and moves closer. Shit, I can hear him outside the wardrobe."
Jaden thought that one over and then ignored it, there should be no way another shifter could pick up on mates talking telepathically, should there? He didn’t think so, but he didn't know enough about his own kind to make that assumption. He should have mixed more with his kind, instead of isolating himself, he should have looked some up and asked questions. Just then he heard a noise behind him and dropped lower to the floor as anther shifter came over the fence, it turned in his direction and shifted to human form. Spine twisting, fur and muzzle receding as he went from 4 to 2 feet. Jaden's lips drew back and he gave a rumble as he realised it was the man who'd been at Maya's door earlier, but his wasn’t the scent of either of the two he was following. The other shifter slowly walked towards Jaden, hands up and crouching so as not to set his cat off.
"I need you to shift so we can talk, I know you can hear me but I need the man not the mate." Jaden heard him and had to fight, his head swung towards the back door and then to the man.
"I know your mate is in danger, that's one of the reasons I'm here." He held his right hand up, palm out so he could see his own mark. Jaden pushed back the cat and shifted, his bones contorting as his muzzle and fur disappeared leaving him crouched as a man. He looked suspiciously towards the newcomer.
"I'm a friend of Maya's. My friend and business partner Sam and I have been keeping our eye on her. We knew she had a mate somewhere as Sam noticed the mark on her palm when she came into the coffee house when she first arrived in the area. We talked her into working for us and we've been keeping our eyes on her since, but there's been another couple of shifters hunting her. They've been scoping out the area and we've taken turns watching them. I guess you turning up has moved their plans along, as they'd just been watching her up to his point." Jaden looked towards the property and back to the stranger, agitation evident in his grim features.
"She's in there and there's one in the room with her, I have to get in."
"My friend is at this very moment moving around towards the front of the house. He's going to knock on the door and start making some noise. We're hoping to spook and flush him out."
"How did you know what was going on?" Jaden asked him, still suspicious of his motives.
"We had cameras fitted to help us keep an eye on the property, we came running when we got an alarm to say the back window had been forced. Whether Maya puts the alarm on or not, we know when the property has been breached as we put sensors on the doors and windows." He watched Jaden's brow lift and grinned.
"Shit, don't tell her. She'll skin us alive if she finds out, she's not as sweet as she looks. She has a bit of a mean streak, and I'm kind of fond of my balls. The how was easy, Sam is a computer whizz. He sneaked in here when she was working after we realised she was being watched. We didn't think it was her mate as his actions weren't those of a mate just checking out his territ
ory." Jaden raised a brow.
"Yeah, we knew as soon as you showed up in the area. I'm Binks by the way," and he held out a hand. Jaden took the offering and gave it a quick shake before he turned back to the house, getting ready to go in.
"No, Sam is about to knock on the door."
"That's all well and good but there's another shifter around here somewhere." Jaden said, his head swinging back towards the back fence and the surrounding trees.
"Hey kitten, you know someone called Bink? He says he's been keeping an eye on you," he covered his mouth and bit back a cough as she sent him a picture of a noose and then a pair of balls being kicked. He cupped himself and looked towards Bink who blinked as he watched him.
"Yeah unfortunately she already knows as she just plucks information straight out of my head. Apparently you're in for a lynching and your nuts kicking into next week," Jaden informed him and watched Bink run his hand around the back of his neck.
"Sheesh man, way to cover my back. How the hell does she manage to just pluck information out of your head? That normally takes years of being with a mate to learn." Jaden just shrugged his shoulders.
"Not a clue, I don't know much about our kind, I stick to myself so it's all new to me." They both went quiet and looked towards the house as they knocking coming from the front of the house, then a deep male voice shouting Maya's name.
"That's Sam, he's also a black Jaguar like us, so remember to check scent, do not go after him." He warned Jaden and looked back towards the house. Just then a shifter came flying out of the back door and barrelled into them both, knocking them over before leaping the back fence and disappearing. Jaden looked towards the fence and then the house.
"I'll chase, you open the door and let Sam know what's happening and get to Maya." Then he changed and took off after the other shifter. Jaden quickly went through the back door and opened the front door to find a tall well-built man with green eyes and mahogany skin.
"Out the back, Bink's just given chase. I'm going to check on Maya, Sam?" The other man nodded and rushed past him, shifting once he got to the back door and taking off over the fence after his friend. It always surprised him how their clothes just vanished in a shift. It would be nice if they re-appeared afterwards because then he wouldn’t' be stood in Maya's kitchen bollock naked. He watched him disappear over the fence and spotted his t-shirt outside the back door, bending he picked it up and pulled it over his head. He looked down, yep his junk was still on show because it wasn't long enough to cover shit. Sighing he went back inside and shut the door behind him, trying to figure out how to lock the bloody thing and keep it that way. Then realised that the door wasn't broken he'd just used the key that she'd left in the bloody door. He shook his head and turned the key, then slid the bolts in place, top and bottom and took the key out, placing it in the drawer in the sink.
"Maya, you can come out now you're safe, he's gone. Binks and Sam have taken off after him so can you bring me something down to cover my arse," Jaden shouted up the stairs. He began to do a walk through the downstairs, checking the windows, trying to figure out exactly how he'd gotten in without making excessive noise.
In the back room; the one she used as a study, the side opening window had a broken lock. He'd obviously jimmied it open with a tool of some kind, then on closer inspection he realised the lock wasn't broken. He must have prised it open with a claw as it had left a big gouge out of the plastic frame. How the hell was he going to make it secure for the night? He ran a hand over the back of his neck, trying to figure out what to do with it, even if he closed and locked the window it wouldn’t stay that way due the missing chunk of plastic under the locking mechanism. It would have to be replaced, and he didn't know if anyone would come out and do that at this time of an evening.
Maya lay huddled in the back of the wardrobe, she knew the shifter had gone as she'd stopped itching and had heard the exact moment he had given up and left in a hurry. She'd sat there barely breathing as the wardrobe door had opened and she could swear she'd felt the breath of the large cat on her face. The sweat had begun to drip between her breasts and she'd bitten her lip to stop herself making a sound, she'd had no weapon and felt like her 4-year-old self all over again. Her mother was out there with the monster that was her father and she was seeing the scene again play through her head.
He stalked her mummy across the floor until she was backed up against the far wall. Grabbing her by the throat he pinned her against the wall, the one opposite the cupboard she'd hidden her in. He was laughing as he lifted her off her feet by her neck. A horrible maniacal sound as she'd tried to claw at his hands to make him let her go. His hand so tight around her throat, her eyes had begun to bulge and her feet slammed against the wall and his shins as she struggled. Then just before she'd lost consciousness, her eyes beginning to close he'd relented and released his hold. She'd dropped to the floor gasping, holding onto her abused throat, her eyes watering. Maya had thought it was over, his temper dying down and any minute now he'd go and leave them alone again. He'd not been around for months this time and she really thought it was over but the next minute he'd crouched down in front of her mother again.
"So where's the little witch, what have you done with her?" Her mother shook her head, and Maya wanted to get out of the cupboard and run to her mummy. She wanted to fling her arms around her and tell him to leave her alone, but mummy had made her promise not to come out. She'd made her pinkie promise too so she wouldn’t break it. It was bad to break a promise, and she covered her mouth and pleaded in her head for her to release her from it. Maya wanted her mummy, she wanted the bad man who mummy said was her father to go away, she didn't like him as he hurt her mummy, a lot.
"I'll ask you one more time Helena, where is the brat?" again she shook her head and Maya heard him sigh thinking he was going to leave but he didn't. Suddenly one of his arms was covered in fur, his hand now a large paw with huge claw like daggers where his fingers had been. He swung it towards her mother and Maya watched her close her eyes as he caught her face, screaming as her cheek opened under his slap. The tears ran down Maya's face as she shook her head as he just laughed at her agony. Then he swung that horrible arm again and did the same to her side just before the rest of him grew fur turning into a huge lack cat with a wide mouth. He opened that mouth, which had horrible sharp teeth and put it around her mummies head. It made a terrible sound as he bit down on her skull, the crunch loud in the now silent as mummy went quiet as he opened his jaws again and released her from its grip. Her limp body dropped to the floor and stayed there.
Maya prayed for her to get up but she just lay there lifeless on the floor, like her raggedy rabbit teddy. She was no longer recognisable as mummy, as bright red coated and dripped from what was left of her face, her blonde hair dark and wet with her own… blood. One eye was staring sightlessly through the gore towards Maya as she sat huddled in the cupboard. Her own eyes staring back at her in shock but she didn't make a sound, not a one as she had made her promise, she always did as her mummy asked her. She swallowed a sob and held in the sniffle as she watched her father walk out of the front door. Then he came back in and began to throw something around the room, something that smelt bad and made Maya's watering eyes sting. He spat on her mummy as she lay there and then threw a match at the wet stuff as he slammed the door shut behind him. As the whoosh set off in the room, lighting it and her mummy up she could hear him laughing as he walked away.
Still she lay huddled in the cupboard like a good girl, but now she was rocking. Her little arms around her knees as she watched the room and her mummy burn. Then she turned her head away and faced the wall before she finally uncurled to do what she'd been taught to if anything happened. She pulled at the floorboards near her feet with the string that was attached and they opened, she climbed down and pulled it shut behind her before crawling along the tunnel mummy had made. As she got to the end, there was a vent on the outside wall and she pushed it out. She climbed out of the vent but sta
yed behind the bush that mummy had planted there so she wouldn’t be seen. She put the vent back in place and then lay flat on the floor behind the bush and waited. She knew he was still around watching and waiting, her mummy had taught her how to hide and how to get away and had made her practice this weekly just in case anything happened. She'd also remembered to spray herself with the magic stuff mummy had made and she'd not cried as mummy had used that machine to draw the words onto her side. Mummy had said that one day she may have to make it on her own so she'd made her learn how to make the spray on her own. The words etched into her side were her protection, to keep her hidden in plain sight. It was written into her skin for all time with special ink that mummy had had made for her.
She tucked bunny under her arm. Bunny was her raggedy teddy that she'd had from being a baby, he went everywhere with her. She traced her finger over the letters on her side and repeated the words, it made her feel like her mummy was with her. She sniffed up and ran the back of her hand over her eyes and nose and waited a little longer, eventually she knew he'd gone as her skin no longer itched. It always itched when he was close but she didn't know why. Mummy had said it was her warning system, her own body telling her that danger was close and that she always had to listen to it. So now the itching had stopped she came out from behind the bush with bunny tucked under her arm began to make her way towards her great aunts house. Mummy said she had to go there if anything ever happened to her, and had shown her how to find her way there by herself. She'd told her that great aunt Sophia would know what to do and that she wasn't to talk to anyone else, no one. She'd said it was the only way any of them would be safe. It had taken her hours to get there, every time she heard a car approach she had to hide. She eventually got to her great aunts and knocked on the door. Aunt Sophia answered on her third knock and when she opened the door, Maya threw herself crying into her arms. Aunt Sophie picked her up and carried her inside and sat rocking her on her knee in her front room.
