The drive over wasn’t the greatest, and she wished a couple times that she had gone to get Lars. The damp cold soaked through her clothes as she rushed up to the house. Maybe she would shift and run home that way. Navigating ice and snow on her hooves was much easier than on four wheels. She rubbed her arms slightly against the cold and ran for the house. It was cold and drizzly and felt like the temperature was going to drop. Everything would freeze then and Jess wanted nothing more than to curl up with her men. She grinned. Her men. She liked the way that felt when she thought it. She felt so protected in their arms, as if nothing could harm her.
It only took a minute to find her photo album. It was open on her kitchen table, and several pictures lay strewn across the table. Her stomach churned at the idea of Geoff touching this. It held her hopes and dreams. Pictures of her grandparents and Daniel, pictures of them in animal form, a copy of her diploma, and handwritten dreams she scribbled as a teenager.
She found a messenger bag with a long enough strap to wear over her neck as a deer. All she needed to do was leave a note on the dashboard. That way if someone saw her car here they wouldn’t panic if they couldn’t find her.
With the note tucked under the windshield, she started to unzip her coat. At least once she was in fur, the cold wouldn’t bother her so much. A twig snapped and she snapped her head in that direction. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, her muscles contracting, getting ready to run.
“Jessie,” a voice whispered on the breeze. The name made her skin crawl. That is what Geoff used to call her, but it wasn’t Geoff’s voice. “Jessie, please come here.”
“Who’s there?” She rounded the vehicle and stopped. It took a moment for her to recognize the woman standing in the shadows. “Cheryl, is that you?”
The shadows prevented her from getting a good look at the other woman. “Are you okay? How did you find me?” Did Geoff start beating her, too, and she got away from him?
Cheryl stepped out into the light and that was when Jess got a good look at her. She looked different, and it took a moment for the change to register with Jess. Instead of mounds of curly, white blonde, Cheryl’s hair was straight and more golden. In fact, it was almost identical to her hairstyle. “Did you dye your hair?”
“I did it for Geoff.”
“Oh, god. Cheryl, I’m so sorry he made you do that.” Jess couldn’t imagine the mental stress that Geoff had sunk to in order to make this woman change like this.
“He didn’t make me. I wanted to.” She smiled as she moved closer and opened her arms wide. “I wanted us to be twins, and he liked that idea. We could have had a perfect family if you hadn’t left.”
A sick feeling washed over Jess as she stepped back from her. “Cheryl, I think there has been a misunderstanding. You can’t be my twin. You need to be your own woman.”
“I’ve watched what goes on in this town, and Geoff told me a lot.” Cheryl dropped her arms slightly and leaned back. “You and I are going to have a family together. We will be twins, and you can teach me how you turn into a deer.”
Fear clenched at Jess’s heart. “What did you say?”
“Don’t be afraid. I saw you turn into a deer the other night. “You’re so pretty, like Bambi’s mama. I’ll keep your secret as long as you stay with me. If you ever leave, then I’ll make certain that war is declared on this little town.”
“You don’t know what you are talking about. Cheryl, I already have a family.” She stepped back, but the other woman stepped forward at the same time.
“The two men you were fucking? I watched you through the window.”
The idea of being watched by this woman embarrassed Jess and made her angry. Her heart fluttered rapidly and she could feel the urge to shift and dart through the woods pound in the back of her mind.
“You will never have to go through that again. I know that Geoff wanted that, but we had a long conversation. He begged, but in the end I got my way. It’s going to be you and me. I’ve loved you for so long, and I’m tired of waiting.”
Distracted by the cold, dead look in Cheryl’s eyes, she was late in realizing that she jumped at her. Jess felt a sharp pinch in her shoulder. She instinctively smacked Cheryl’s arm away, but saw the hypodermic needle embedded in her skin. “What are you doing?”
The world tilted and Jess dropped to her knees. Cheryl’s face was a sick mess of emotions. “You broke my arm.”
She held her arm with one hand, and then let go and punched Jess in the face.
Jess felt the darkness closing in on her, but she fought it as much as she could. She didn’t know how much was in that needle, but she prayed it wasn’t enough to really take her out.
“I saw that man tie you up like an animal. Was it to stop you from getting to the fridge? I’ll do that, too, if I have to. You are way too fat now.”
Not so long ago Jess would have taken those insults to heart, but she knew that it was bullshit. Jelani and Marcario didn’t care about her outside. They loved her for who she was.
She blinked and tried to keep herself centered again. Cheryl pulled a long length of rope from a bag behind her. “I went and got some rope, too. This will be my rope for you.” Cheryl fashioned an old-fashioned noose and slipped the hoop around Jess’s throat.
“I can’t believe you would betray me like this.”
“Cheryl…confused,” she managed to mumble. There words where right there in her thoughts, but she couldn’t manage to get her mouth to work properly.
The noose cinched tightly around her throat and she felt a wave of panic wash over her. She tried to move her arms, but they wouldn’t respond. The most she managed was to dig her fingers into the snow under her.
“I should hang you from that tree. I could make it look like suicide. Would you do that for me? Stand up, okay?”
Jess stayed on the ground and fought to keep her eyes open. Cheryl pulled another length of rope out of the bag. She tied it around a branch and threw it up into the tree in her front yard.
“Geoff did as I asked. He begged and cried, but I pulled harder. I made him hold on to his cock and stroke himself. I told him all about autoerotic asphyxiation and he went for it. I promised to let go of the rope when he came.” She giggled and covered her mouth. “My bad. I saw the marks on your body at the gym. I knew he was hurting you. You must be one of those quick healers, but now I understand why.
“Can you be killed, Jess? I’d hate to go to all this work for nothing.” Cheryl waved her hands in the air as if dismissing Jess’s answer. “It doesn’t matter.”
Jess tried to fight against Cheryl’s hold, but whatever was in the syringe was messing her up badly. She was terrified that she wouldn’t survive this. How would the crazy bitch know how much to give her? Perhaps she didn’t and she gave her a human dose. That might be why Jess could actually think and not be completely unconscious.
Cheryl picked her up under the arms and dragged her into the grass and over to another vehicle that was parked in the shadows. She couldn’t get her limbs to cooperate, and was helpless to do anything. That frightened her as well. She promised herself she would never be helpless again, and here she was allowing herself to be dragged away.
The world tilted as she was flopped onto the backseat. Cheryl bent her legs up and tucked them in before quietly shutting the door.
“I can’t believe you let them touch you like that.” Cheryl spoke from the front seat. “I know you will thank me from the perverted things they do to you.” She turned on the car and backed out of the driveway. “Tying you up like a piece of meat. It was disgusting. You’re going to thank me for that.”
Jess felt sick that Cheryl watched anything of what happened yesterday. That was the most incredible experience of her life. Her memory flashed on the events as well and Jelani’s pictures. It was beautiful, and there was no way she was going to let this psycho take that away.
“Jessica!”
For a moment she thought she heard her name screamed, but t
he drugs in her system were playing games with her senses. She couldn’t hear much other than the car engine. Cheryl had fallen silent. Jessica concentrated and managed to get one eye open. Relief washed over her. Whatever she gave her must be wearing off. She relaxed and concentrated on her toes. It took a few minutes, but finally she felt them wiggle. She had been paying attention to where they were headed. It was away from town which was good because she had no idea how unstable this woman was. She didn’t want to put anyone else in danger because of her stupidity.
Thankfully when Cheryl dropped her on the seat, she left her facing forward. That way Jess could watch her though her lashes. Cheryl kept looking in the review mirror, and perhaps that meant that someone was following them. Taking a chance, she flexed her thigh and felt her leg move. Okay, legs are moving. She didn’t know how much strength she would have in them. If she could get out of the car she could try to shift and maybe work the rest of this out of her system. She didn’t dare try it in the car. The last thing she needed was Cheryl getting in an accident.
The car swerved sharply, throwing Jess off balance. She bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from crying out. You’re unconscious. Remember that. Carefully, she squinted one eye open to see what was going on. Cheryl leaned over and pulled a large knife from the console between her seats. She was rapidly alternating from looking where she was driving to the rearview mirror. “They aren’t taking you back, Jessie. I promise you. I’ll kill you first, and that will teach them a lesson.”
Jessica was afraid to move. She didn’t know what was going to happen next, but knew that it was dangerous. With her face buried into the backseat, all she could smell was some sort of chemical car cleaner. The upholstery was spotless, so she figured it might be a rental. Jessica could hear a slight tick in the engine as Cheryl revved it up. More importantly, she could hear that another car followed closely behind them, and it sounded exactly like the truck Marcario and Jelani were borrowing from Gaspar.
Knowing they were near gave her strength. It’s wasn’t that she couldn’t get out of this by herself. She might be able to. She might not, but what was important was she didn’t have to. They were here for her, and she knew they wouldn’t let Cheryl get away.
Cheryl jerked the wheel again to make another quick turn. This time, Jess used the momentum to allow her body to roll off the seat and onto the floor. The hump slammed into her ribcage and her head cracked against the back of the console. It hurt like a bitch, but at least the pain helped to clarify her thoughts.
“Oh, my poor baby. Look what they made me do to you.” She felt Cheryl’s hand reach back and pet her on the head. Feeling Cheryl hand against her hair made her skin crawl. The insane-sounding humming the woman started as she stroked Jessica’s head really freaked her out. This was not how she wanted this to end. Dammit. I should have thought this out better. She was stuck in an awkward position on the floor and unable to do anything to stop the psycho bitch from touching her. Cheryl pulled her hair out of her face and cleared her field of vision. She opened her eyes ever so slightly and peered thought her eyelashes at her surroundings. Cheryl was reaching back to touch her, but thankfully was facing forward. The knife wasn’t anywhere in sight, but she figured it must be on the passenger seat or close by.
“Okay, I’ve lost them. Let me get you more comfortable. I’m going to take such good care of you. We are going to be together forever. If those stupid men come anywhere near you, then I’ll end us both. You know I could do that right now. There are a couple cliffs around here. We could go out Thelma & Louise style. No one could hurt us then.”
Jess heard the tires crunch over underbrush as she drew the car to a stop. There were a couple steep cliffs around here, but nothing that compared to the Grand Canyon. Not that is mattered, because she didn’t plan on sticking around that long. Anticipation grew as she waited for Cheryl to walk around the vehicle. Cheryl was very strong for a woman her size, and Jessica was nervous that she might not be able to take her. But she wasn’t going to allow herself to be killed, either. Jess heard the car door open and tensed her thighs. As soon as the door opened by her feet she was going to kick Cheryl right in the chest. With any luck she might break a couple ribs in the process. When the door opened behind her head, Jessica wanted to cry. Her lower body was much stronger than her arms. Cheryl crawled into the backseat and hooked her hands under Jess’s arms. She tried to lift, but Jess kept herself dead weight. It went well until Cheryl’s fingers dug into Jess’s ribs.
She jerked out of instinctive habit whenever she felt as though she was about to be tickled. She opened her eyes and met Cheryl’s empty gaze. “Faker!” she spat. Cheryl lunged toward the passenger seat and Jessica had to imagine that it was for the knife. She balled up her fist and punched upward, catching the crazy woman in the throat. As soon as her fist impacted, Jessica knew she overestimated her strength. Cheryl gagged and jerked back as she coughed, but didn’t go down. Jessica lurched upward and pulled on the door latch, kicking with her feet. The door swung open and she threw herself out of the car.
Her hands shook and the horror of the situation sunk into her. She looked over at the car as Cheryl crawled out. One hand held her throat. The other gripped the knife. Her eyes looked cold and devoid of any type of emotions. “I’ll kill you for that.” Her voice was soft and hoarse, but the intent was there.
Jessica didn’t have any intention of sticking around. Rolling clear of the car door, she closed her eyes and opened herself to the deer inside. The scents of the forest filled her senses, and the woods fell silent around them as she opened herself to her alter ego.
Nothing happened.
True fear flooded her system like a tsunami. I can’t shift? She felt like a piece of her had been violently ripped away. How? Why? Her fingers dug into the loose gravel as she tried to skitter away from the vehicle. She tried to get her limbs moving properly, but they were clumsy. She managed to get to her knees, but was slammed into the ground a second later. Her head spun wildly and bile rose up in her throat. When her vision cleared her gaze met Cheryl’s cold, empty one.
“Do you know what I’m going to do? I know what kind of freaks live around here. I saw that monster in the lake. He saw me, too. I’m going to kill him when I’m done with you. I’ll poison the lake. I’ll phone the TV stations. I’m going to tell the newspapers and then they will invade. Your precious little town is going to burn. There aren’t going to be any freaks in my world.”
A low growl set all the hairs on her arms on edge, and Cheryl whipped her head up and looked over at the tree line. A large, silver wolf stood there. Lips curled back and teeth bared, this predator was looking to kill something. Crouched low and about to spring into an attack, the wolf looked for the perfect opportunity to strike.
“You stay there!” Cheryl grabbed Jessica by the hair and pointed the knife at her chest. She screeched so loud it echoed off the trees around them. “I'll kill her. I’ll do it.”
Jessica remained as still as possible. Her heart pounded in pain at the prospect of her deer being lost to her, but she could still hear incredibly well.
The big wolf still snarled and snapped, but stepped back into the trees.
“See, that’s right. You can’t stop me.” She yanked on Jessica’s hair. “Get up, Jessie. You’re staying with me. They have you brainwashed. I’ll take good care of you.”
Thirty seconds ago she was going to kill me. Jessica knew that there was no way Cheryl was that stable. The moment the knife point angled away from her chest things happened at an incredible pace.
Marcario grabbed Cheryl’s arm and pulled it around her back. He tossed the knife to the ground, while Jelani pulled her into his arms.
Jessica wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her tight up against him. She watched over his shoulder as Marcario pushed Cheryl away from him. Gordon immediately lunged from the trees at her, and then more wolves stepped out of the tree line around them. Cheryl was screamed obscenities and lunge
d for the knife.
Any other noise she might have made was drowned out by the angry sound of wolves attacking. A horrified scream from Cheryl ended abruptly when one of the wolves went for her throat.
Jess covered her ears and buried her face in Jelani’s neck. “Oh, god. I’ve never been so frightened in my life.”
Marcario caught up to them and wrapped his arm around her and Jelani. “We better get her away from the wolves. They’ve killed the woman who abducted you.”
“The wolves wouldn’t have hurt us,” Jess whispered.
“That’s not what I’m talking about, Jess. I have to get you someplace safe before I lose what’s left of my mind.” Marcario rushed them toward their truck as Jelani’s heart pounded rapidly under her ear. Her entire body shook, and she didn’t know how to stop it.
“What if I’m dying? I can’t stop shaking.”
“You’re not dying. You hear me, Jessica?” Jelani snapped at her. She looked up into his expression, but he wasn’t angry. He was as scared as she was. “She give you anything?”
“I don’t know what she gave me. It was an injection, and it was strong enough to almost knock me out, but not quite.”
Jelani shifted her into Marcario’s arms so he could open the truck door and jump onto the bench seat.
“I can’t shift. What if my animal is gone forever? I’ll never be whole. I’ll have a hole there.”
“Ssshhhhhh, we’re going to get you some help, Jess.” Marcario held her close to his body and pressed a kiss against her temple. He passed her up into Jelani’s waiting arms. “Don’t you worry. I promise you that you will be okay.”
Chapter Twelve
Marcario didn’t know what to do. Jelani wrapped Jess’s shivering form in a blanket and scooped her up. He was racking his brain trying to think of the closest hospital when a police car pulled up next to them.
Obsessed with Fur [3xtasy Lake 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 12
