Beasthood (The Hidden Blood Series) (39 page)

             
His eyes widened a fraction.

             
Her last words had a profound effect on him. He knew what it meant. It meant she'd seen herself as his mate.

             
It was something very difficult for her to admit, amongst all the things she'd talked about with him. It was a small gesture that spoke volumes. Perhaps an invitation.

             
Whatever it was he wasn't one to hesitate.

             
She turned away closing her eyes. They flashed open in astonishment when she felt the bed dip down and his warm lips on hers. She stared at his face as it touched hers; his eyes closed tightly as he savoured the sensation of her lips entwined in his.

             
He waited for her to hit him, to push him away and shout a bunch of swearwords that would give a nun a heartattack. But she didn't.

             
She didn't stop him.

             
She didn't resist.

             
And that was the answer he'd been waiting for.

             
He kissed her again, gently and slowly, caressing her bottom lip between his.

             
Her response was subtle at first. Shy and uncertain. Then after the second kiss made her body- her defenses- weaken and yield to him, she slowly released the tension in her neck, letting her head dip back into his palm. Her eyelids closed, allowing him take her. Enabling herself to give in.

             
She answered his kiss with her own sensual, desiring one. His kiss then became stronger, and hungrier and she accepted it, opening her mouth wider until they weren't holding back anymore.

             
For a minute, they were lost in each others lips. Nik's hands cupped Jaz's face as he knelt on the edge of the bed, Jaz's fingers slithered down his back, and over his shaven head. The tiny bristles sent tingles through her fingers that shot through her body, concentrating in her groin.

             
But then she saw a flash of Lora's face in front of her eyes. Saw her anger and pain and immediately felt it and the magic disappeared like a balloon popping.

             
She released her kiss, pulled back, slapping him across the cheek harder than she'd intended. She hadn't intended to do it at all. She'd reacted. Wrongly. Irrationally.

             
She was doing that way too often nowadays.

             
He pulled back, stunned by the sharpness of the slap but not the action. He did not react angrily like she'd expected. He was calm. In fact he left her even more shocked as he pulled her into him, kissing her again.

             
She didn't give in so easily this time and pushed him away in irritation, though her body was betraying her, wanting to kiss him again.

             
He then grabbed her shoulders firmly but with a relaxed patience that made her feel like she was overreacting. Then he kissed her tenderly once more before she finally turned her head away. He waited. She determinedly kept her eyes focused on a blank patch of wall, her eyes squeezed shut with shame. When she felt his warm hand brush her chin and cup it, turning her face towards him, she had to meet his gaze.

Oh my god, what have I done?
She cursed herself.
Why can't you keep your feelings to yourself? Why can't you understand that he's NOT who you should like? Don't you realize that everyday he'll see Lora in you? He'll compare you to her?

             
She wished her first thoughts were for Lora, not herself.

             
How awful the idea that Lora was cursing her somewhere for stealing her man. How cruel it was to kiss the man her twin sister had loved, had a baby with, and would still be with now if she hadn't been killed.

             
Would he have still remained with her, had he met Jaz when Lora was alive? Would his feelings for Jaz have outweighed his feelings for Lora?

             
And, the worst, treacherous question of all... Would Jaz have kissed him if Lora had been alive right at this moment? She was afraid the answer was yes. She could never forgive herself if that was the case.

             
Despite all that, her first concerns weren't about the one thing that mattered. Lora. Her pain, her suffering, her silent jealousy. Instead Jaz's thoughts were completely selfish. She loathed herself because of it.

“
We can't do this.” She stared at him with hard eyes. “Ever.”

             
He watched her with an intensity that made the heat in her body rise again.

             
Her determination momentarily withered. She inched back even further unable to trust herself.

“
I loved Lora. So much, it felt like I'd died and gone to hell when she was taken from me,” he replied huskily. She gazed at him carefully, grief etching both their faces. “But I feel like I could not live, if you weren't in my life.” She didn't realize her mouth was wide open until she pressed her lips together. “Does that make you uncomfortable?” He seemed a little too amused by the idea. His words came out almost as a tease.

             
She paused, unblinking. “A little.”

“
Well, I don't care.” He said firmly. She frowned. “I'm not going to kill myself trying to make you feel at ease or comfortable anymore. I've tried that. This is what I feel. You can take it or leave it. I'll be damned if I'm gonna feel ashamed about it, or feel like some awkward inconvenience to you.”

             
Looking at him you'd have thought he was having an ordinary conversation. It was only the glimmer of passion in his eyes, and the resolute power of his deep, velvet voice that convinced her otherwise.

             
Her mouth was now open in bewilderment. She stared at him unable to form a sentence. Unable to work out whether she was angry or stunned or flattered or offended. Perhaps she was all four things.

             
Instead of reacting, or forming an expression, she just stared at him in blank shock.

             
He continued to study her face before adding, “If I had a choice I would spend this time prying your true feelings out of you but there are important things to discuss. This can wait.”

~
Chapter 34-
Mask
~

Monday, June 20
th
, 11:49 p.m.

             
The Pack Leader conversed with the cloaked man in secret.  Two of his most trusted men stood guard several hundred yards away.

             
The wind direction was not in their favour. Meaning, their scent was very obvious to the cloaked man -which made both of them more than uneasy- and it also meant that the words spoken between their Pack Leader and the stranger were swept away with the passing breeze. They were exposed, practically deaf and standing in rival territory with no nose to detect any danger.

             
The cloaked man always planned his meetings with the utmost precision, down to the last detail.

             
The Pack Leader did not know who he was but he could see from the cloaked man's physique and the skin on his hands that he was young, in his early twenties or so at a guess. He could smell the scent of youth on him. He didn't recognize his scent but the young man was clever and he'd somehow masked his original odour. The Pack Leader was still trying to figure it out when the man's sharp tone cut his thoughts in half.

“
Are you listening?”

             
He looked up at the shadowed eyes of his cloaked ally. A faint glimmer of brownish light told him his eyes were hazel. The Pack Leader nodded firmly. “Next Monday. The 27
th
. Got it.”

“
I don't want anyone to die. But do enough damage to get his attention. He will refuse a duel if you kill his Pack members. And many will back him up on that.”

“
You included?”

             
The heat from the man's glare was electrical.

             
The Pack Leader inched his neck back ever so slightly with unease, but kept his expression serious, if a little ironic.

“
What I do outside of our meetings is not your concern,” the man stabbed back. “In case you've forgotten, no one knows who I am. Including you.  I only told you my Pack for this plan, so don't throw it back in my face.”

“
Why only tell me?”

“
Because I need my anonymity to keep this plan alive, you idiot.”

“
While I go out and risk my neck?”

             
The young man lunged at the Pack Leader catching him off guard. He had great strength for a smaller opponent and was absolutely terrifying even when his face was partially concealed.

             
The Pack Leader had to hold his bladder tightly in as it threatened to give way. His back smacked against the brick wall and he gasped aloud.

“
If they find out what you're doing before the dual... your death will be
much
slower and much more
painful
than anything Nik Driver would dish out. Understand?”

             
The Pack Leader nodded pleadingly as the man gripped his throat on the verge of crushing his windpipe.

             
After a second or two, the man let go and sweet succulent air whooshed into the Pack Leader's throat making him cough and splutter. He tried to regain his dignity by remaining standing, but nothing could help him hide the noisy need to gasp hungrily for air.  He held his hand up stopping the two guards rushing towards them mid-stride. He waved them back. They stood there for a hesitant moment, glowered at the back of the cloaked man, before disappearing into the darkness, never turning their back on him.

             
After a minute of letting the Pack Leader recover, the man turned to him and added, “But make no mistake... just because Nik is a gentlemen in the ring, and plays fair, if you betray him, he will inflict merciless torture on you in ways even I can't imagine.”

             
The Pack Leader's eyes widened. “I thought...” he began rasping as the pain of talking seared through his bruised throat, “...you were supposed to be convincing me to fight him? That our Pack would have a chance at winning?”

             
The young man smiled. His lips were just visible in the murky light. “Do this, my way. And you'll have a very good chance.”

“
But why that way? Why does he need to be weakened? Y'think I can't take him on normally?” The Pack Leader folded his arms defiantly.

             
The young man turned, his shoulder pointing in the Pack Leader's direction, poised to leave. “That's exactly what I think.” With that he left.

             
The Pack Leader dropped his hands by his sides. He clenched his fists making them crack. “Bastard,” he muttered.

             
But he knew, deep down beneath the layers of wounded pride, the young man had a point.

~
Chapter 35-
Flare
~

Monday, June 27
th
, 10:14 a.m.

“
Stop daydreaming!” Kenna bellowed.

             
Jaz flinched as the sound attacked her ears. Kenna's voice was like a megaphone at its loudest. She was grinning with pleasure at the startled look on Jaz's face.

             
Jaz's hand, which had been delicately brushing across her hot lips as she thought of Nik's kiss for the millionth time since it had happened- it had been so void of control, so full of hunger- dropped to her side.

             
She thought back to the conversation they'd had five days ago.

             
After the passionate kissing and his admitting of his affections for her, and after he'd sneaked with her outside, behind the back of the cabin out of sight -saying after a moment of sniffing the air and listening out that they were safe to talk freely- he elaborated more about the Cur Hunters. Their ruthlessness, their anonymity. How they were considered a myth to people who didn't know any better, which she had come to know very well.

             
How they'd been linked with killings of both humans and Weres. And not just killed, but eaten, in some cases in a very sick, ritualistic manner. Though what that exactly meant Jaz didn't- and didn't want to- know. 

             
Police and forensic teams had been sniffing around close to neighbouring Pack territory. Two times they'd come onto Deer Creek grounds to investigate. Fortunately, whoever had been there to answer questions had been very convincing and the police had come to the conclusion the land had just been used by the killers to carry out the attacks and wasn't connected to them.

             
Some of the victims had been ripped apart so violently they'd suspected it was an animal attack. A bear or wolf though they're supposed to be extinct in the UK. Or possibly by the mysterious big cats that have appeared on the news a few times.

             
Nik said how he'd suspected for a while now that she was a hybrid but wanted to be sure, and didn't speak of it for fear of something happening to her. He never referred to her as a 'halfblood' or 'halfbreed', and said it was because it was offensive. Unjustified and inaccurate.

             
Through the whole conversation he'd consoled her without pity, but was also firm and told her to trust him, to listen to him. That she was in danger and the less people knew about her, the better.

             
She then confided in him about Fraya's threat. That she might even be a member of the Cur Hunters. That she suspected Fraya had a hand in her sister's death. That Lora had mentioned Fraya's bullying and harassment many times in her diary. That it had made her so miserable. Driver's expression was more than sad. It was tortured.

             
She didn't delve any further into the conversation. If it was hard for her to speak about her sister, it must have been harrowing for him, but if she was being brutally honest, talking about Lora and him made her jealous.

             
She asked about Garik. Where he fit into all of this. Nik said although he didn't know if he could trust him yet, Garik was apparently playing a dangerous game with other Pack Leaders, pretending to be on their side when he told Nik, his loyalty was with him and this Pack. That he was using the other Packs to get information about the Cur Hunters. That he wanted them named and shamed. And probably killed too.

             
A man called Njord who was the Red Sword Pack Leader was the big dog on his 'friends' list. Jaz knew immediately not to underestimate this man and though she didn't really know her uncle -didn't know if he was even trustworthy- she still feared for his safety. 

             
Nik emphasized the need to be careful about the knowledge of her hybrid blood, even if it was still unconfirmed. Even the slightest suspicion about that, in the wrong hands, would be very dangerous for her. She completely agreed with that.

             
After that long conversation. which lasted until almost midnight, she felt more in the loop about what was going on. She understood the politics better. Though she still had a lot more to learn.

             
But even after all that, she still couldn't stop thinking about that damn kiss.

              Her gaze that had been fixed on the slithering river, shot up at the faces of her friends.

             
Their eyes were studying her in an invasive way she did not like. A knowing smile was on all their faces. Apart from Ronnie who was too busy working out if a small blue stone he held in his hands was worthy of his collection or not. She focused on him, avoiding their inquiring eyes  -her cheeks hot with embarrassment- as she watched him squatting by the edge of the river, oblivious to what was going on. She pretended to appear the same.

             
Alf practically jumped on her, wrapping his muscular, bronze arm around her shoulder like a big brother teasing his smaller sibling. He squeezed her into his firm chest playfully as he questioned, “Who were you thinking about, Skin?”

             
Skin was her shortened nickname now. It was something they'd all become accustomed to saying, and she'd gotten so used to being addressed by it, that now it was strange whenever she heard them refer to her as Jaz outside their circle. Only Skye called her Jaz amongst her little group of friends.

“
Only you Alf. Always and forever,” she goaded, playing Miss Unfazed. He grinned his flashing-white teethy smile. She rolled her eyes.

“
If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a crush on someone?”

             
She eyed him warningly, her playfulness swiftly turning dark. Alf wiggled his golden brows challengingly and suggestively. Jaz gnawed on her sulky lip in response.

“
A crush?! Ooooo. Who's he talking about Skin?” Kenna cried, rushing towards them. She grinned widely and expectantly at Jaz.

“
His dad. I think he wants me,” she muttered.

             
Alf froze in astonishment and Kenna sniggered behind her hands at his face. Kelda bit down on her top lip suppressing a laugh.

             
Skye was eyeing her brother, not focusing on the conversation.

             
No. Not at Ronnie.

             
She was looking somewhere else, beyond his head. Something about the way she was standing, so stiff and alert made Jaz watch her intently.

“
Cheap shot Skin,” Alf was saying by her ear but she wasn't paying attention. “You've met  my old man once. I don't even think someone as pretty as
you
could work your magic
that
quickly.” 

             
Skye's eyes were fixed on the edge of the forest across the river.

What
is she looking at?

             
The current was so strong that the sound almost drowned out voices that weren't raised above normal level. Jaz then noticed Ronnie wasn't playing anymore. He was staring in the same direction too, his eyes wide and wary.

“
Skin, what is it?” Alf questioned, his voice low and alert as he sensed the tension in the air. She took one step forward, towards the river's edge, shortening the space between herself and Skye and Ronnie. “Skin?”

“
Shhh!” she shushed him.

             
Alf grabbed her arm. “What
is
it?” he hissed.

“
I don't know,” she whispered in a high, distracted voice.

             
He sniffed something in the air and his nose wrinkled. “Shit.”

             
The sound of his voice made Jaz snap her head round to gape at him. She'd never seen him show fear. But right then she saw it in his eyes and it sickened her to her stomach.

             
She swung back round towards the river, hearing the footfalls before she was overwhelmed by the sight of the twenty or so strange, threatening Weres lining the length of the trees across the river.

             
The Weres had the five of them completely outnumbered, though it was clear Jaz and the others weren't the main target. It only made sense that a Pack of that size planned to attack the Deer Creek village.

“
Kelda,” Alf whispered, barely moving his lips. She heard but made no sign of acknowledgment beneath her thick, blonde fringe. “Go. Now.”

             
It took her half a second to make up her mind and as fast as she could, she turned and sprinted in the opposite direction, ripping through the trees back towards the village.

             
Jaz gawked after her, then quickly swivelled round again expecting an attack.

             
A dark haired, olive-skinned man standing in the middle had his arm out to stop his comrades chasing after Kelda. She saw his mouth form the words, “Leave her.”

             
She frowned. Something about this was very, very wrong. Worse than she had at first presumed. Why didn't he attack? What was his intention?

             
She could feel something foreboding in the air, creeping up her spine.

             
Skye was inching towards Ronnie. Ronnie was gripping hold of his blue stone so hard his hand turned white. When Skye tried to step forward again towards him, some of the Weres stirred. She froze.

             
The olive-skinned man Jaz presumed was the Pack Leader, swaggered forward, ahead of the scattered line of his comrades. He called across the rushing water in a booming voice, “Which one of you is Nikolas Driver's mate?”

             
Jaz stared, trying to keep the trepidation from erupting into her limbs. Skye and Kenna looked at each other in confusion. Jaz thanked whoever was watching over her that they hadn't drawn any attention to her.

His mate?
She questioned herself.
Does he mean me? Does he think I'm his mate? But I'm not. Am I? No. But he thinks I am. Why? Who told him? 
She cursed as she raced through ideas, not knowing what to do.

             
The Leader scanned with his black eyes between the four of them. He gazed slowly, one at a time between Jaz, Kenna and Skye as if he was a cat toying with mice. He fortunately paid no attention to Alf who was standing in front of Jaz -a little too protectively for her liking. She wanted to mutter to him to back off but whatever she did, she was afraid it would push the Leader into doing something that meant death for them. She kept her mouth shut and her body a stiff as a plank.

             
Kenna glanced back at the forest, obviously worrying about her little sister. She then, for a short moment, drifted her gaze over Jaz's face; they locked eyes and Jaz could see what Kenna was thinking.

             
She knew who Alf had been teasing Jaz about. She'd seen the look on Jaz's face at the Leader's question.

             
Something that they had been teasing her about only moments ago, was suddenly not so funny. It was deadly.

             
Kenna gave her a slight, hardened look with her smoky-green eyes to show she understood and she had Jaz's back. Jaz wished with all her heart she could have embraced her at that moment.

“
Don't make me ask again!”

“
What do you care, Kain!?” Alf shouted back.

             
Jaz wasn't the only one to look at him worriedly. He didn't seem to be aware of anything but Kain at that moment. Not the twenty men that very clearly outnumbered them. Not the danger or the chance one wrong word could mean death. It was just him and Kain.

             
Kain smiled. If it wasn't full of menace, his smile could have been described as handsome. “I've heard he's taken a fancy to a new comer, and I wanna get a glimpse of her. Before I rip out her heart and hand it to him,” he snarled.

             
Jaz tried not to gasp, her whole body was wound so tightly she thought she'd snap apart. She wanted to run, but seeing Ronnie and Skye in front of her, she couldn't do it.

             
How could she leave them?

             
Alf played the part of a 'Don't mess with me' bad boy perfectly and gave a bemused scoff. “Why not just kill yourself? It'd be much quicker. And less
painful
,” he retorted in a cold, threatening voice that Jaz couldn't believe she was hearing from the fun, lovable and teasing Alf's mouth.

             
Kain smiled unflatteringly. “Fine. I guess we'll have to get his attention another way...”