“Don’t blame you, get going before you get hammered. I’ll take care of the girl for you, for now. I know she’s all sorts of on edge.”
“She say why?”
“No, but did you see the news last night? I’m guessing that has something to do with it.”
“The killing, the one the kid caught on camera. Yeah, I bet that’s got her a mess. Hopefully she wasn’t conscious enough to remember it.”
Coran laughed. “I doubt that was the case. Talked to Derrik about it, she was throwing up everywhere and freaked out at the news.”
“Not good.” Her scent hit Jax’s nose and he stood. “Catch you later, immortal.”
“See you, cat.”
Jax weaved his way through the crowd to avoid her and hoped she didn’t scent him or spot him in the crowd.
Kass came up to the bar and glanced at Coran who kept staring at her. “Got a problem, pup?”
“Not at all, kitty, just watching you. You look tired.” He grabbed a rag off the bar top and threw it in the sink behind the bar as a customer came up.
Kass rolled her eyes and went up to the customer. “What can I get you?”
“Sex on the beach, with you.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
She snarled and snatched the front of his shirt pulling him close. “Want to try that again?”
He tried to pull away, but couldn’t escape her grip. “Fuck woman, you’re nuts. I was just passing you a line.”
Kass shoved him away and he tripped over his own feet, falling to the floor. She jumped over the bar with swift movements and landed in front of him. “You might want to think twice before shooting another comment like that out of your mouth.”
“Kass.” Coran’s voice sounded far away as she stalked up towards the man on the floor. Her panther wanted to play and he smelt of fear.
A cruel smile twisted on her lips. “Now you’re speechless.” She took confident steps towards him, her body moving with the grace of her panther.
“Kassity.” Derrik’s voice echoed around her, making her and her panther freeze as they recognized his dominance. “Office. Now.” Kass spun on the spot and headed towards his office.
He slammed the door behind them. “What the hell was that all about?”
“He made a pass at me.”
“Must have been one hell of a pass for you to jump over the bar and scare the shit out of him.” Derrik snapped at her as he sat at his desk.
Kass rubbed her eyes. “I’m sorry, it’s not like me.”
“No, it’s not. You shouldn’t have attacked him, I would fire most of my employees for that.” He met her eyes. “Tell me what is going on. You ran out of here last night after I mentioned the clan.”
She pulled a chair up and slouched into it. “They are here because of me.”
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“They are my family, half blood, but family nonetheless. Last I checked they wanted to kill me.”
“Inconvenient, but I knew this. You confirmed it last night. What I don’t get is Lucius letting you out of his sights. You’re his prize-“
“Don’t even want to hear it.” She shook her head. “I can’t help what I am and he’s right. He’s the only thing that can keep me safe.”
She saw hesitations flash across Derrik’s eyes. “Yeah, I know you want to take care of me, but you can’t. I can try to come to you during the full moon, but I’m sure he’ll just drag me back home.” She shivered at the thought of being dragged anywhere.
“Kassity, don’t you even think about it.”
She stood and shook her head. “I’m not safe here. I’m not safe anywhere.” Her panther stirred in her and she bolted for the door. Derrik jumped over his desk and slammed her against the wall, trapping her with her arms at her side. “Don’t run.”
“Let go of me. I can smell them.” She met his eyes. “Please.”
Derrik’s eyes searched her face; seeing the fear he let her go. “Go straight back to Lucius. Got it?”
“Like I would go anywhere else.” She whispered. “Thank you.” She ran out of the room and through the crowd again, ignoring the questioning look from Coran.
Chapter Twelve
Kass pulled up to the mansion and sighed when she got out of the car. The quiet night did nothing to soothe her panther’s panic. A gust of wind brought the familiar scent of two males and the fading scent of a female. She turned just in time to be taken to the ground by one of the males, fully shifted so there was no telling if it was Garret or Stephen that was pinning her to the ground. She kicked him off and tried to call her claws to her hands but nothing happened as Stephen walked out of the shadows.
"Don't have your control anymore, do you?" He asked, laughing as Garret paced in front of her. "I thought so when Garret came back without a scratch on him. He was lucky to find you at that bar, I didn't think that your scent was strong enough to mean you were still there. You must have quite the protection."
She swallowed and dropped to a fighting stance. She knew that she would have a chance if she could shift and take the two, but the fading female scent told her Sarah was around as well. She questioned if she would be able to remain in control long enough to know what she was doing. The image of the boy watching her came back.
Garret took advantage of her moment of hesitation and took her down to the ground again. She didn't give herself a choice and shifted. Letting all her fear and panic feed her panther, she snarled and grabbed Garret by the throat, throwing him off of her.
Kass sat back on her hunches and watched Stephen, willing him to try and attack her. Stephen walked around her as Garret stood back up. "So your shifts are the same, why didn't you attack him the other night?"
She snarled at him, and her gaze went to Garret who was stalking her from the bushes. Stephen called his claws to his hand. "You think you're still good enough to take us both."
She nodded and wiggled her tail. It had been a long time since she and her panther felt this strongly about something and both of their instincts screamed to kill. Garret came at her from the side, but she swatted him down and narrowly avoided Stephen's claws as he brought them down over her.
Stephen tried to grab the scruff of her neck, but she bit his ankle. Teeth tore into his flesh as she dragged him to the ground. The taste of his blood felt amazing in her mouth as he let out a strangled scream. Garret landed on her, knocking her off her feet, and pinning her down on the ground again. Nipping at her neck, he tried to keep her down. She shook off the confusion of the almost friendly nip, and bared her teeth at him. She dug her claws into his chest, telling him to back off. He pulled back with a whine and looked up at Stephen.
"Come on Kass, you're out numbered here, we want you to come home. We don't want to kill you."
Kill you, not harm you. She didn't like the wording and backed away from the two, snarling. With her body low to the ground, she watched the two in front of her. She knew at the very least that she could outrun them, until she heard the snarl behind her and the female scent grew stronger.
Sarah tackled her from behind, knocking Kass sideways and trapping her against a rock where all three of them surrounded her. She got up and shook her head, trying to stay steady as they closed in on her. She let out a roar to alert anyone around her that she needed help. Where is Lucius, she thought as Stephen avoided her snapping teeth and grabbed the scruff of her neck. A strange stinging sensation went through her fur and she growled at Stephan.
"It's time to come home sister, father has been missing you and we need you to help us with the war." He laughed and dragged her out of the forest. Kass watched as Lucius’ mansion grew further away and her body refused to fight against the man that was carrying her. She didn't think that she had hit her head that hard, her yellow eyes looked up at her half brother's trying to ask the question.
"I put a sedative in you when I grabbed your scruff. You'll be out in a few minutes. We couldn't risk you trying to wreck the van, even with the silver cage."
He gave a chuckle. "We remember how powerful you were, but it does seem that some of that power has faded. Father will be disappointed. He seemed to think that you would have grown stronger once you left us."
Panic tried to bubble up in her, but the drug kept it squashed down. Her paws twitched as she tried to tell herself to run, but soon she felt her panther retreat. With a flow of fur and skin, her brother was holding her by her hair instead of her scruff. He looked at her. "That was quicker than I thought. You look like hell."
"How could you do this to me?" She whispered. With everything she could muster she tried to fight but her limbs only twitched.
He shrugged. "War is war, now rest."
Kass hissed as her skin brushed against the silver bars when her brother threw her in the back of the van, but darkness claimed her and took the pain away as they drove.
Jax downed a drink and motioned for another one. "She ran out again? What the hell is going on with her, this isn't like her."
"She said something about someone being after her." Derrik shook his head. "You shouldn't be worrying about her." He looked up as the crowd parted.
Jax turned around to see Lucius making his way through the crowd, heading straight for him. Jax downed the drink that Derrik had poured for him. "What brings you here? Your precious killer isn't here."
"Where the hell is she?" Lucius grabbed Jax's throat and pulled him off the stool.
Jax laughed and tried to wiggle out of Lucius' grasp. "You almost actually sound worried about her. Don't you think you should go look for her instead of assuming that I know where she is? I haven't seen her since the night we slept together."
"I smelt her family all over my property, the only way that they would know where she was is if you told them. She is gone, her blood is on the ground and I don't know where the fuck they have taken her."
Jax stopped struggling when Lucius' grip became tighter. "I swear I had nothing to do with it. I've been here drinking most the night."
Lucius looked to Derrik who nodded. "Kass ran out when I asked her why she attacked a customer."
"Was it another panther?"
"Nope, some poor guy who tried to make a move on her." Derrik shrugged and motioned to Jax. "He's bound and determined to get drunk to forget about Kass for the night. Don't think he told the clan where she was."
Lucius let him down and shoved him back towards the bar. "Where were they staying?"
"At the hotel you found me outside of, but I'm sure they've moved on. I know they were talking about setting up shop in the woods outside the territory of wolves so they wouldn't have to worry about politics, but that's it." Jax rubbed his throat, trying to shake off the pain. "You think they actually got her?"
Lucius nodded. "Yeah I do, and you're going to go get her back."
"You want me to go rescue the panther you lost and won't let me mate?" He laughed. "Why don't you just go get her? Certainly you know where the clan lives."
"I can't step foot in that territory. You can, you don't have any loyalties."
"I do this, you let me mate her."
Lucius laughed. "I don't think you're really in a place to negotiate."
"Oh, I think I am. You want her back but can't go get her. I get her back and I get to mate her." Jax snapped.
“If she wants you, and if she doesn't then you have to leave her alone." Lucius laughed. "As my killer and without any interference from any of the panthers. Understood?"
Jax nodded. "Yeah, I guess that sounds fair. Now if you would excuse me, I need to finish my night so I can start my hunt in the morning."
"I can't believe that I had to come to you for help."
"I can't believe you lost her. You should have known that she needed protection."
Lucius ordered a drink. "She can normally protect herself, I shouldn't have given back some of her control. Fuck, her panther should have taken over and torn them apart."
"If she had complete control she could have as well. She was much stronger with her control."
"She was much too brash as a young panther."
"You say that, but you are using her and her power." Jax laughed. "And you think she was too brash."
Lucius nodded. "Josh pampered her because she had so much control and was so strong that she thought she could win against anything and anyone. She got her ass kicked by some wolf because she was trying to steal. That’s when I first started sending her out on jobs. She continued to be cocky and take unnecessary risks, almost getting caught several times. Then her human side got the better of her and she started feeling guilty."
"That's when she got shot, when she was supposed to die."
Lucius nodded. "She turned herself in at one of those...safe houses for lycans, so she was registered as a panther. She got shot during one of her missions because she hesitated. That’s when I found out about the clan wanting her back, and I took advantage of it.”
“She was out for a while then and you stripped her control.” Jax filled in the rest.
Lucius nodded. “Then I killed Josh.” He shrugged. “And Kass still ended up back with her family.”
“Until I get her.”
“That’s right.” Lucius raised his glass. “Forgot to mention, you fail, I will kill you. I like the taste of panther blood.”
Chapter Thirteen
The pounding wouldn’t stop even as she placed a hand against her head. She opened her eyes and growled at the bright light that greeted her. She touched her neck, pulling her hand back with a hiss and looking at her blistering fingers. “Silver.”
“That’s right daughter, silver.” The male voice caused her to spin around. His hair was the same blond she remembered and his eyes the same blue as hers. “Welcome back to the land of the awake.”
She rubbed her head. “Why haven’t you killed me yet?”
“Thought Sarah said she explained this to you. I need your power.” He sat cross-legged in front of her. “I have some people interested in you.”
She pulled her knees up to her naked chest. “I want clothes.”
“No. Turn around and let me look at you.” He snapped.
“Pervert.” She snorted and pulled her knees tighter.
He scrunched his nose up. “I’m looking for a mark.”
“A mark?”
“Yes. I didn’t see one on your chest when you were brought in, but it’s possible for it to be on your back or I’ve even seen one wrapped around a leg before.” He motioned for her to stand. “Just let me look or I’ll drag you off your mat.”
“What kind of mark?” She slowly stood and turned around for him.
“One that’s not there.” A growl trickled from between his lips. “Your mother assured me that it would show up eventually.”
She turned around. “My mother?”
“Yes. Fuck. I needed that mark to appear. Guess we’ll just have to wait it out.” He snapped.
“Why would my mother tell you such a thing?”
He chuckled. “Your mother was an immortal my dear, your mark should appear. Though, since you weren’t really an...expected consequence this might be my punishment.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” She sat back down and pulled her legs back up to her chest.
“Your mother wasn’t my mate, Kassity, and she wasn’t willing to be with me.”
Kass paled at the news and stared at him. Instead of the normal fear she felt when facing him, anger ran through her and touched her beast. They both wanted to take a chunk out of him.
“That’s why she gave you to me. Because she knew that the other immortals would abandon her because of you.” He shrugged. “Then she was killed. Head cut off, body burned. Cruel twist of fate.”
“You had her killed.”
He nodded. “She was worthless, not like you. You are powerful.”
“I’m not helping you. I’m Lucius’ killer, not yours.” She snapped. “He’s the one who took me in, he’s the one who nursed me back to health, who fed me, sheltered me
-“
“And stripped you of your control.”
The reminder hit her hard, but now she understood why Lucius had done that. “It’s so my human side doesn’t get in the way of the kill.”
“Makes you stronger.” He caught on. “You feel a sense of loyalty to him, don’t you?”
She remained silent and looked away.
“Oh, you do.” He laughed. “Where was he when we got you? Obviously not there.” He turned. “I’ll leave you to think about things.” He walked out, shutting the door behind him.
Jax took a deep breath as he walked up the stairs that led to the wraparound porch. A couple days travel away from Lucius’ territory led him to the Black Moon Clan’s land and he could smell Kassity. He rapped on the door and waited. His ears picked up a scuffle inside before the door swung open. Sarah met his eyes as she tried to run her fingers through her tangled hair.
“What are you doing back here?”
“I wanted to see if you guys managed to snag Kass.” He crossed his arms, trying to come across casual. He kept control of his heart and his breathing with practiced techniques.
“No.” She paused with her fingers and her breath caught while she struggled to get her heart back to normal.
He nodded. “Good, I want back in.”
“Oh?” Garret came up from behind Sarah. “You were pretty adamant about keeping her away from us. What changed your mind?”
He shrugged. “I’m a mercenary, thought my other client could make me a better offer. Turns out he can’t. I go where the money is.”
“Your services are no longer required.”
“You have her then?”
“Yes.”
Jax took a step forward. “I want to see her.”
“What?” Sarah asked, her mouth opened in a little surprised ‘o’.
Garrett laughed. “Sarah, go inside. This could get ugly and we don’t need your weak beast coming out.” The woman turned and disappeared inside. “You aren’t allowed to see her.”
“I just want to make sure that you have her. I’m sure she’s raging right now and her beast is trying to get out.”
Dark War Chronicles Box Set One Page 12
