I squeeze her upper arms in my hands, not caring about any bruises I may be causing. “It was a game, we weren’t declaring our love to each other. Hell, you even kissed him!” Getting angrier by the second, my chest rumbles with the constant growl behind my words. My wolf wants out. She wants to stand her ground and teach this bitch a lesson.
A heavy hand drops onto my shoulder. Jesse. His energy strokes my wolf, calming her. “Frankie, go sit down before you bleed to death. Let someone look at your wounds. I'll deal with Tracey. Okay?”
Tracey looks up at his words, her eyes falling on mine. I stare into her eyes, not wanting to leave her thinking she’s more dominant. She drops her eyes once again before I can even count to five.
“Don’t ever try that again!” I snarl leaving the ‘or you’ll be dead’ as a silent threat.
She gulps and nods, all the while keeping her eyes downcast.
Happy with her reaction, I turn around to follow Jesse’s previous order and the floor comes up to meet me before everything turns black.
Chapter Nineteen
Jesse
As Frankie turns to face me, my heart jumps into my chest seeing her eyes roll back and her body drop like a ten tonne weight. “Fuck!” I call out, reaching out and catching her dead weight in my arms. I’d told her to sit down for a reason, it wasn’t so I could fight her battles for her. Stubborn females. I hoist her up, an arm under her knees and another around her back, and head for my bedroom without a word to any of the others.
I feel Kate following me up the stairs but I don’t question it. I’m sure Frankie would prefer another female to clean her up. Laying Frankie on the bed I turn to face Kate.
She pulls her long blonde waves back into a hair tie. “I’ll make sure she’s comfortable and clean. Make sure they save me some pizza,” she says.
I give her a grateful smile. We both know there would be no worries about the pizza being eaten. Kelly lives to feed us, he’d make her a whole fresh one if there wasn’t any left for Kate. “Thanks, Kate. I’ll come back as soon as I’ve dealt with Tracey.” I shake my head. “I don’t know what she was thinking.”
“Jesse, I know you. You’re going to blame yourself, thinking you must have done something to make her think she had a chance with you.” Kate reaches a hand out and gives my arm a comforting squeeze. “You’ve done nothing of the sort. The things she said about you being hers… She’s batshit crazy.” She releases a nervous laugh.
“We definitely need to keep a close eye on her. I dread to think what she’ll do next time.” I glance back at Frankie unconscious on the bed. There won’t be a next time. “I should have stepped in and done something.”
Kate walks to the bathroom and starts running the tap, no doubt filling the sink to clean the blood and liquor off Frankie. “No, if you’d have jumped in and taken charge Frankie would have looked weak. Hell, there were a few of us fighting the urge to jump in. Me included. She needed to deal with it herself and she did a damn good job in the end.” She speaks from the bathroom not bothering to raise her voice as I can hear her easily with my enhanced hearing.
I nod to myself, knowing she’s right. “You’re right,” I admit. I glance at Frankie laid out on my bed one last time before walking towards the door. “I won’t be long,” I say to both of them as I leave the room.
I walk back into the lounge to find everyone sat glaring at Tracey, who is sitting on the sofa in the same place she’d been before it all started. “What were you thinking?” Niki asks. Tracy doesn’t even acknowledge the question, fiddling with the hem of her floral skirt as she stares at the floor in a trance.
“I’d like to know the answer to that, too.” Tracey jumps at the sound of my voice, lifting her eyes to mine for a second before snapping them back to the ground in submission.
“I… It’s like I said to Frankie.” She raises her eyes and straightens her shoulders, showing no embarrassment over her actions. “You deserve better than her as a mate.”
“You said ‘He’s mine.’ That sounds like you’re staking a claim on our Alpha to me.” Nate says.
Tracey gulps and her shoulders drop slightly, cowering under the anger in his voice. She glances up at me. “I’d be yours in a heartbeat if you wanted me,” she begs. Her heart is as clear as day on her sleeve.
Part of me wants to comfort her as I let her down gently but I wonder if she’ll look too deeply into that. The memory of Frankie crumpling before me flashes in my mind, bringing my anger to the surface. “Tracey, you’ve been a member of this pack for a long time. If I was interested don’t you think I would have made a move by now?”
“I…” Her sentence dies off as she shrugs.
“I’m an Alpha. If I want something I go for it.” I pause, not really wanting to say my next words but knowing I have to if I want to get my point cross. “It’s taking all my will power not to stake my claim on Frankie, but I want her to choose me. Not feel forced to be with me. She knows I want her; that’s the only thing allowing me to hang on to my will power.” I turn and stride out of the room.
I hear Tracey’s apology follow me out of the room. “I’m sorry, Jesse.”
“You owe Frankie that apology, not me,” I call back as I take the stairs two at a time. My wolf anxious to get back to the person he wants as his mate.
Chapter Twenty
Frankie
I open my eyes to a dark, silent room. It only takes a second for my eyes to adjust thanks to my wolf’s vision. I glance around to find myself on a four poster bed. Reaching my arm out I touch the one closest to me, feeling the intricate carvings in heavy wood under my fingertips. The feel of the cool satin sheets against my skin suddenly brings me to the realisation that I’m naked beneath them. How did I end up naked? I rack my brain trying to remember something to explain it.
There’s a movement beside me, alerting me to the fact that I’m not actually alone in the bed. I can feel the loss of the body heat from the person on my left hand side. Questions of who this could be run through my head causing panic to settle in. I slide back away on the bed and pull the cover closer to conceal my nakedness.
Jesse’s raspy voice caresses me through the darkness. “I won’t let anyone near you Frankie. You’re safe.”
Jesse.
Relaxing, I settle back down and turn to face his back. Believing every word he’d said while wondering who I should be worried about. A vision of Tracey rearing back with a broken bottle in her hand flashes through my mind reminding me of the events that led up to this moment. “Tracey,” I growl.
“You dealt with her pretty well. She’d be an idiot to try anything like that again.” Jesse’s gruff voice confirms my memories of the incident. He turns over and opens his eyes.
My breath catches in my throat. If I thought his eyes were beautiful in the daylight, they are magnificent at night. They glow just like a flame in the dark. “You’re beautiful.” The words leave my mouth before I can even think about whether to stop them or not. I allow my body to move towards him, wanting him to know that I want him.
“No!” he orders, holding me in place at my side of the bed with a hand on each shoulder. “I don’t have that much self control. Please don’t kiss me.” His whole body’s rigid, as though it’s taking everything for him to hold me back. The sadness in his eyes is the only thing helping me through his rejection. He doesn’t really want to stop me. He moves faster than my eyes can track and he’s suddenly looking at me from beside the open bedroom door. “No one will bother you in here, you’re safe. Sleep well.”
Watching the door close behind him I raise my voice out of habit, forgetting he’ll hear me even if I whisper. “Please stay.” I concentrate on my hearing, listening for signs of movement behind the door. There’s nothing. He must still be there.
I start thinking Jesse must have gone without making any noise when his voice finally comes through the door, sounding as cold as ice again. “You need to weigh up your options before you choose a mate. There are p
lenty of male wolves in the pack; some you haven't even met yet.”
Tears roll down my cheeks at his words. He spoke as though it doesn’t even hurt him to push me away. I know he can hear me sniffle but I can’t stop myself. I want him to know how much this hurts me. “Why do you insist on pushing me towards other men? Why can’t you just accept me… claim me?”
He sighs deeply and I hear a thud against the wall. “Because hearts are fragile, Frankie. It's painful when the one you chose chooses another, not to mention dangerous.” He pauses for a second and I wipe away my tears with the back of my hand. “You heard what Mary said earlier? I ripped my last mate apart. I won't let that happen again, not to you.” The sound of his footsteps walking away causes my heart to hurt even more than I thought it could.
Letting my head fall back on the pillow, I take a deep breath to calm myself. Jesse’s scent invades my sinuses causing my mind and emotions to race. Anger burns inside me, making my wolf pace beneath my skin. She’s just as angry as I am. I can’t help but let a manic laugh out. He doesn’t want to rip me apart. Can he not see that he already is? It’s just not physical. Hell! I’d take physical over this; at least it would be over quickly. Unable to lie here any longer I slide my legs on the satin sheets and hang them off the bed wrapping the top sheet around myself. Switching on the lamp on the bedside table, my eyes fall on the intricate vines carved into the bedposts which my fingers had previously traced in the dark. I run my fingers along them once again, following their path with my eyes. How can Jesse show so much love in his work and yet not care enough to see he's hurting me?
I need to get out of this house. I pull my hand away from the bedpost and glance around the room. Spotting my clothes in a neat pile on top of the dresser, I jump up and grab them before heading through the open bathroom door.
Looking at my reflection in the mirror I ignore the red puffy rings around my eyes that give away the fact that I’ve been crying and tip my head to the side to look for the spot where the bottle had connected. There isn’t a mark. Running my hand through my hair I feel for any sign of injury and come across nothing. It’s healed. Someone had cleaned me up really well, having only missed a small amount of dried blood in my hairline.
Seeing a clean towel folded on the vanity top, I decide to get a quick shower. I don’t want my head to sweat in my helmet on the way home and cause the blood to stain it.
Knowing my phone and keys were in my jacket, which should be downstairs where I had left it earlier, I turn off the lamp and I leave the bedroom in darkness. The abrupt change in light makes me wish I’d kept the light on but I pull open the door and I’m surprised to find the hallway doesn’t get any brighter. There are no windows at all, making the hall pitch black. The only sign of light I can see is what is showing under a door further down the hall.
I take a tentative step and my foot accesses something in front of the doorway. I hear a grunt and a shadow of a figure slowly rises from the floor. “Who is it?” I ask in a panic, imaging it being Murderous Tracey or even Sleazy Tim.
“It's me, Nate.”
Nate’s voice calms me instantly and I feel out for his energy allowing it run along my skin. Why hadn’t I thought to do that a second ago? “What are you doing on the floor?”
“Jesse came and asked me to sit guard, I must have dozed off. What are you doing leaving?” I hear him move and see the hands of his watch glow in the dark, having lifted his arm to look at his watch. “It’s 3am.”
Where do I start? “I just... Need to leave,” I mutter as I walk past him, not giving him a chance to reply, all the while hoping I’m heading in the right direction of the stairs. A small smile comes to my face as I think how lucky I am that it’s not Kelly, I’d never get away from him. He’d just follow me on his bike. If Nate jumps in a car to follow me I can easily lose him. Finding the stairs I hop down them and hear Nate following behind me. Not stopping, I grab my jacket off the rack by the front door and dash outside.
“Frankie, I don’t know what happened between you and Jesse but he's just as pissed as you are. Please don't leave.”
Seeing my bike, exactly where I’d left it with the helmet hanging on the handlebars, I take sure strides across to it, knowing my escape is close. “Nothing happened Nate, that's the problem,” I snap, not even feeling weird about let my feelings for Jesse be perfectly clear for Nate to see. Pulling my helmet on I kick the bike off and speed down the gravel driveway, not caring that everyone in the house would have heard me leave. It's too late for anyone to follow.
Chapter Twenty One
Frankie
Enjoying the feel of the wind in my face through my open visor, blowing the cobwebs and any remaining anger towards Jesse away, I ride until the sun starts to rise. I finally pull to a stop at the cemetery, wanting to delay my arrival at the farm for a little longer. Running my hand over my father’s name on his gravestone I briefly wonder what it would be like if he was still here and still Alpha. Would Jesse still be pushing me away? Maybe he wouldn’t even be interested in me, having not had to protect me all those years. I let out a sigh as sadness rolls over me, knowing I’ll never know those answers.
I straddle my bike once again and ride it the few metres to the farm. I should really go back to my apartment; I haven't been back since I was stabbed. The bed will still be pulled out how Carter had left it that morning. I hope it doesn’t stick open. I contemplate heading in that direction for a second before deciding I wouldn’t be able to last the drive into town, especially not after my body relaxed at my pit stop. I need sleep.
As I pull on to the drive I spot Kelly’s bike parked where he usually leaves it; he must have come home after I left Jesse’s, thinking I’d be here. Parking my bike next to his, I pull off my helmet and shake my hair out as I brace myself for the Spanish inquisition I’ll get the second I step in the door. After taking one last grounding breath I open the door and enter the silent house. I pause for a second, expecting Kelly to jump out at me in the dark, but to my surprise there is no sign of him.
Heading straight for my room I tip toe up the stairs trying not to wake him if he’s still sleeping. I throw off my clothes and climb into bed.
“She’s here... No, she’s gone straight to her room... Okay, I will.” I hear Kelly’s voice through the thin walls as I drift off to sleep. He’s no doubt on the phone to Jesse.
The smell of bacon and sausages rouses me from my slumber. Knowing how satisfying Kelly's breakfasts are, I pull on some clean clothes and dash downstairs. My stomach grumbling I barge into the kitchen, praising Kelly, “smelling good.” I come to a sudden stop at finding Carter cooking on the stove.
“Are you talking about me or the food?” Carter glances back at me over his shoulder, giving me a cheeky grin.
“Carter, what are you doing here?” I ask, sounding as puzzled as I feel. I’m in two minds about whether I should throw him out or eat his food first. It might not be Kelly’s breakfast, but it sure does smell good and I’m starving. The healing last night must have taken more out of me than I thought. Come to think of it, the last thing I ate was yesterday’s breakfast.
“Cooking you breakfast. That healing will have taken a lot of energy out of you. I bet you’re starving,” he answers, sounding perky, which is somewhat confusing to me since we haven’t been on talking terms lately.
He was on point and I’m not exactly feeling like raking up the past. If he can be here and act like none of it happened so can I. “Where’s Kelly?” I ask, wondering if he'd actually stopped guarding me. Surely he wouldn’t just leave without saying goodbye, unless he thinks I don’t want him here? Or worse, what if what I thought was a friendship between us was actually just a job to him?
“There’s another Alpha sniffing around town and Kelly’s a brilliant tracker. Jesse asked him to find out where they’re staying.” Carter says whilst piling two plates high with food.
Overcome by a wave of dizziness, I slump down in the nearest chair at the table. Carter
gives me a weary look as he places a plate of food in front of me. “Eat. You'll feel better in no time.” Ignoring my glare at the order he sits down and starts tucking into his own plate of food.
It only takes me swallowing a few mouthfuls to start feeling better and allow my mind to function properly enough to come up with some questions. “Why are you here though? Yesterday Jesse said I didn’t need guarding anymore.”
“He doesn’t know what this Alpha wants. He's come into Jesse’s territory without asking or telling him. That’s a huge ‘no no’ for werewolves or any supernatural being,” he admits with a shake of his head before taking another forkful of food. He waits until he’s chewed and swallowed his mouthful before going on. “Jesse’s worried that Rick might have caught wind of you. So I’m sorry, but you'll have to suffer a shadow for a little longer.”
I watch as Carter goes back to his food without a care in the world. Rick. The name runs through my head as panic flows through me and the hackles rise on my wolf. “Rick? Rick as in the Alpha that killed my parents?” I ask as a flood of emotions flow through my body; panic and fear - that he may kill someone else I care about, and anger - that he had killed my parents and is still alive. Part of me wants to march out of the door so I can go and find him myself; to kill him myself. But I’m not suicidal, there is no way I could go up against an Alpha and survive.
“He told you about that?” Carter asks, the note of surprise in his voice matching his raised eyebrows. I nod. “Yes, it’s that same Rick.” No doubt catching onto my panic he places a comforting hand on top of mine, giving it a little squeeze. “Don’t worry. He won’t get anywhere near you. I won’t let him.”
Releasing the Wolf (The Rossi Pack Book 1) Page 11
