Beasthood (The Hidden Blood Series) (28 page)

             
To the right of the prison scene was a boxing ring, right near the back, behind the wrestling match. Up there she saw two younger men kick-boxing. They looked barely older than sixteen. They were kicking the shit out of each other. And refereeing the match, was Driver.

             
She tried to pretend she hadn't noticed him.

             
The night before, around half nine, she'd sat in bed unable to go to sleep so instead of wasting anymore time trying, she'd pulled out Lora's diary. She'd wanted to sit down and read it properly.

             
She'd been holding it off for a long time. But after her first attack, and her conversation with Edda about mates, she'd felt she could handle simply reading a diary. There couldn't have been anything in there that was worse than what she'd just gone through, right?

            
 
I found out today what Fraya had been itching to hurt me with.

             
She'd been savouring it for just the right moment.

             
Nik and I have been together for a long time, and I started to think maybe she'd learnt to accept it. She'd even gone out of her way to try to be civil with me. I'd been suspicious at first, and then I'd given her the benefit of the doubt. How stupid have I been? I should have trusted my instincts long ago.

             
I don't know how she found out but she knows I'm pregnant. So for her it was the perfect time to announce to me that she had slept with Nik.

“What!?” Jaz had blurted out loud. She clamped her hands over her mouth, waiting for Edda to come bursting in. After a minute of waiting, she unclamped her mouth and continued reading.

            
 
I don't know what to think of that. I asked him today and he gave me that same unreadable look that makes me want to smack it off his face sometimes.

“Ha, you me both,” she muttered.

            
 
But he then opened up and admitted he had. “But it was years ago. Not long after she'd lost her mate.” Then he got into the story about how that had happened.

             
Thor had been killed by a man called Joan from a Northern Pack, who'd trespassed through Deer Creek. Things got out of hand when they'd tried to come to an agreement and a fight broke out. It turned pretty nasty but eventually they managed to fight the Northern pack off. Thor was one of the sacrifices. Ironically, the Pack Leader of their tribe, wrote a letter of apology as he hadn't been there and said it would never happen again, etc etc. And so a truce was settled. Thor basically died for nothing. 

             
Nik told me all this to prolong the inevitable. I'd nearly blown a fuse in my brain waiting for him to just tell me why on God's green earth, even if there had only been him and Fraya left alive, would he even
think
of sleeping with her, let alone
then
!? 'Then'- being about six or seven years ago. A few weeks after Thor had died.

             
He'd said, “she was grieving and in a terrible mess. She'd wanted me, and rather than turn her down and make her feel worse, I'd given in to her. It happened once and we never and would never do it again. I love only you.”

              Jaz scoffed. “So you were just doing Fraya a favour? Peh! Moron.”

             
She tried not to let herself feel how much those last words bothered her. Why should it anyway? He'd loved Lora so much and she him. So what?

             
She was also deeply saddened by what Lora must have gone through. It was
a
s if she could physically feel Lora's pain and jealously. And even though it was in her own personal diary, Lora still didn't have the ability to be even remotely nasty about Fraya, or Nik. She had been very -almost too- forgiving and sweet, and Jaz wished she was even half the woman Lora had been.

              Now she watched Nik, even though she was shouting at herself not to.

How could he? Of
all
the women?

“
Jaz?” She blinked and turned to see Carr standing at the front of the mat, having to call over the cacophony of roaring spectators. “Come over here!” He pointed to a punch bag hanging near the far wall.

             
There were at least ten altogether all dangling on the right hand side of the mat and boxing ring. There were two other men punching the hell out of their own, a few bags down from her. They were ripped to an impossible degree. Jaz swallowed the nervous lump in her throat, the butterflies in her stomach now felt like bats. She didn't like what was coming.

             
Carr stopped at the nearest bag and wrapped an arm around it. In his other hand he was holding two, red boxing gloves. Jaz stared at them as if they were giant tarantulas. He held them out. “Put these on.”

             
Jaz looked at them, not moving. She then peered at the people around her. It was loud and she was practically choking on the sweat and testosterone and strength in the air. “You can't be serious,” she responded in a low voice.

             
Carr grinned, flashing his big, pearly whites. “Put them on,” he insisted. She slowly, shyly, took them and slid her hands inside the gloves. She slipped them on fully and held them up awkwardly. “How do they feel?”

“
I dunno, like gloves?”

             
Carr chuckled. “Let me see.” He observed them, squeezing the top to feel where her fingers were and nodded his head in approval. “Yeah, these fit good. Okay take them off, I'm gonna wrap you up.” Jaz raised a brow questioningly. He grinned. “Trust me, okay?”

             
She bit her lip and took them off.

             
Five minutes later both of her hands were bandaged. Around the wrist, thumb, knuckles and between each finger until they were properly protected. She thought it was unnecessary, it wasn't like she was going to break her hand from punching too hard. She knew how to defend herself- the basics anyway- but she wasn't exactly in the same league as the beef cakes a few punch bags down.

             
She felt like an idiot.

             
After the gloves were on, his first 'amazing' tip was to punch the bag and only the bag.

“
Great advice,” she commented facetiously. He gave her a sharp look and she went a little pale.

“
I want you -for now- to hit the bag with your most-used hand, so that would be your...?”

“
Right.”

“
Okay, and when you hit it, hit it with your knuckles flush against the bag.” He gave her an example, with the knuckles hitting it straight on. He had a strong left hook. He must have been left-handed. “If you hit it like this,” he tipped his wrist down so the knuckles weren't flush to the bag, “you can sprain your wrist and hurt yourself, okay?”

             
Jaz nodded shakily.              She peeked to her left and right. She could just see the punchbag-ers, some of the onlookers of the wrestling match that was getting pretty heated in another round, and part of the boxing ring. She didn't turn fully to see if Driver was there, and if he was watching her but to her relief none of the others were. “Okay now hit it as hard as you can.” Carr instructed as he stood on the other side holding it lightly in his garden rake-sized hands.

             
Jaz fixed her eyes on the bag, flickered a look at him. He told her the correct starting position and when she got it he nodded his head once. She then focused on the bag,  let out a hard breath and then jabbed. It barely shifted him or the bag.

             
She looked up at him with upturned brows and made a face showing how much she thought that had sucked. “Again,” he encouraged. There was no sign of teasing or disappointment in his voice. She hit it again. “Again.”

             
She got the idea and began throwing punches with both fists, always keeping her knuckles flush against the bag. Her moves were slow at first and uncertain, and her punches weren't very strong but she was a quick learner and she listened well. She attacked the bag with focused eyes.

             
Then he began moving the bag around, pushing her to move her feet around and jab it from different positions. She'd punch it a few times and then move and punch it again. She did this solid for half an hour until she was panting so hard she thought she'd faint. But to her surprise, she'd really enjoyed it.              

             
If she'd been on her own punching it, it wouldn't have been the same. He was an encouraging but vigilant trainer. He saw her weaknesses fast and showed her how she could improve. When she got angry he persevered and motivated her to challenge that anger on the bag and away from the frustration she felt for herself.

             
After an hour and a half of punches, resting, stretching and more punches, he announced she was done. She was so tired her legs shook and she couldn't lift her arms properly when he passed her a bottle of water.

             
The wrestling match had calmed down -either that or Jaz had just gotten used to the noise- and had changed challengers several times. Now it was a man and a woman and to Jaz's delight, the pretty blonde was whooping his ass. She was quicker where he was stronger and it was paying off, this round at least.

             
She watched the match, sipping her water -Carr told her to sip slowly- as she calmed down her heart. When she glanced at the boxing ring, Driver wasn't there. She scanned the room unable to find him, until, as she peered over at the office window, she caught sight of the inside just as the blinds were shut.

             
She was sure she'd seen him on the other side.

~
Chapter 24-
Caution~

Monday June 6
th
, 10:48 a.m.

             
Nik Driver closed the blinds to the gym office and sat down on the swivel chair. His companion who had just entered, sat down on the chair facing him.

             
Nik'd had a busy day.

             
A council meeting which had decided Fraya's punishment for her violent and abusive actions towards a fellow Pack member, a two hour shift in the gym that involved controlling overzealous teenagers, avoiding stealing glances at Jaz and failing, and now his Pack Leader duties were calling him to attention. Today's agenda; keeping his Pack alive, keeping himself alive, and finding out who the traitor was in his Pack.

             
And his companion had the answer.

“
What can you tell me, Kerk?”

             
The middle-aged man, with medium- length, black hair and long, graying sideburns leant forward in his seat causing the leather to groan. “You were right. Something's going on with the Red Sword Pack. And it isn't just them. Dead Tree and Running Horse are buzzing with talk of someone overthrowing the 'Deer Creek Leader.'”

“
Shit.”

“
'Shit' exactly. There has been meetings between the Packs; word is that Red Sword is conspiring against you, trying to bring neutral Packs and those we've got patchy truces with to betray you. You'd be glad to hear, many have turned them down.”

“
I'm more
surprised
than glad to hear it.”

             
Kerk raised a thick pointed brow inquisitively.“You seem to be taking this pretty well...?”

             
Driver's lips pricked up in a fleeting smile. “It's nothing personal on their part. If there was an opportunity to gain more land and power, I wouldn't blame them if they took it, or were at least tempted by it. The only reason I haven't allowed them to enter our land without permission first -and obviously within reason- is because it usually causes chaos and problems. I was much kinder in the past. It wasn't a fault on my part, just a mistake. I underestimated their greed. I won't make that mistake again.”

“
You did the right thing keeping protection here tight. It's not like you're the only one either. They're all touchy about territory.”

“
I owe it to people like Fraya and Saga who lost their loved ones because of wanker-ruled Packs like them, who want to take everything they don't have, no matter what the cost.”

“
A lot of people here would agree with you. Tyra hates the Red Sword and Dead Tree Packs more than anyone. Maybe even more than Fraya. They killed her brother, and her father.”

             
Nik looked up in astonishment. “She never told me that.”

“
When she said she had allies to help defend our land, well, she meant her family. That's why I recommended her to this Pack. When she lost them she had nowhere else to go, and gave up a lot to protect us.”

“
How could I have sent her brother and father out to their deaths without knowing who they were?” Nik was mortified.

             
Kerk shrugged. “Don't beat yourself up. No one forced them. And apparently she told them not to say who they were. I'm not sure why. Her brother was called Tomas and her dad, Jakob.”

             
Nik's eyes brightened in recognition. “I remember.” He said nothing more about it. After a moment of passing through difficult memories he added, “I trust your judgement. I never thought to ask your reasons for her joining.” He sounded apologetic, rubbing his hand across his shaven head.

             
Kerk smiled poignantly. “It was purely selfish on my part, I assure you.”

             
Driver looked up at him with his hand still cupping the back of his neck. Kerk's eyes were bright and intense from across the desk. They spoke volumes of his love for Tyra.

             
Nik closed his eyes, showing he understood. “No one will begrudge you for it,” he replied in a low, soft voice. “Did you find out who the sneaking bastard is?”

“
I did, but before I tell you, you need to know something. I found a portfolio buried in the woods. I'd startled him before he'd had time to burn it. I couldn't bring it, in case he suspected we were on to him, but I took photos.” He handed them over and Nik studied them, reading the text.

             
He looked up. “Njord is part of the halfbreed exterminators?”

“
The Cur Hunters.”

             
Nik smiled darkly. “I think my name's better. It's more
fitting
.”

             
Kerk bobbed his head in agreement. “He's certainly interested in them if he isn't with them. He's been digging up information about them, using spies from all over to retrieve intel. He's also been very interested in you. And your... love interest?”

             
Nik's eyes sharpened. Kerk gazed at him levelly.

“
What are you talking about?”

             
Kerk gave him a look that said 'oh, come on,' and Nik skewered him with a glare, but there was a glimmer of concern in his eyes that only Nik could have seen, had he been watching himself.

“
There's been rumours about you and Jasmine.”

“
I don't care about rumours,” Nik dismissed it, jutting his chin up.

“
But Njord does. And now he's curious about her,” Kerk warned. Nik clenched his jaw. “I think he wants to know what all the fuss is about.”

             
Nik gazed at Kerk for a short, irritated moment and then sank in his chair, resting his chin on his hand, and sighed. “I had a feeling this would happen.”

             
Kerk nodded.“You should always trust your instinct.”

“
Do you know why? What he wants?”

             
Kerk tipped his head to one side. “Besides the obvious, it isn't clear yet. He's never seen her in person, though I'm sure he's had spies take photos of her if he's that interested. But I don't think he wants her as a prize. At least, that's not his ulterior motive, even if he maybe putting up that facade.” Nik bobbed his head. “A greedy prick like that will always want what his enemy has. No doubt he knows she's 'untouched', and with his sick mind that's probably more interesting for him than her looks. But rather than spy on you and find your weaknesses, why is he spying on her? I haven't found any proof he's been using his time to find your weak spots. Or maybe that's just it? Your one weakness, is Jasmine?”

             
Nik shook his head.“She's a member of this Pack, nothing more. I have no other attachment to her. People may assume she's a possible mate because of her connection to her sister, but that doesn't mean anything. I've not seen any proof to confirm their suspicions. Emotionally or otherwise.

“
I care about her as much as anyone else and I'm protective of every member in this Pack.

So does that make everyone in my Pack my weakness? It doesn't make sense.

“And now that I think of it, what about Lora? Why be interested in Jaz and not her? He's had enough chances to attack me at my lowest moments and yet, he hasn't. Why?”

             
Kerk frowned thoughtfully. “You don't suspect he had anything to do with Lora's death?” Nik shot him a look. Kerk bowed his head. “I'm sorry.”

             
Nik sighed.“I don't see how. Maybe it would have been easier for me to deal with. And I'd have had an excuse to rip his head off and no one would have stood in my way.

If he wanted to hurt me now, and he believes that Jaz is my mate, all he has to do is kill her. So why hasn't he? Because I believe he's plotting something a little different, and I think she's somehow a part of it.”

“You think she's
helping
him?” Kerk's tone raised.

“
No, of course not. But he's definitely after something. Something more than just satisfying a grudge, or stealing land. And it has something to with the Cur Hunters, Jaz, and my head on a platter. Nothing good can come from that.”

“
Not when you have a traitor in your Pack.”

             
Nik looked at him squarely and then held up the photos on his desk. “Who was this deal meant for?”

             
Kerk sucked in a breath and squeezed his eyes. “I'm sorry but... it was Garik. Even if I hadn't seen him with my own eyes, I'd recognize his scent anywhere.”