Warrior (Twisted Sister #2) (10 page)

I just want to get away from him as fast as possible. Lucas glances over my shoulder quickly, his eyes dart up the hall. His full plump lips twist in a snarl as he pushes me into an empty examination room across the hall.

“Cut the fucking bullshit, Madison, we’ve been playing this game for months now. You know you want me. You know as well as I do that I’m the only man who can make you feel loved, wanted.” He pushes me roughly up against the wall and reaches around grabbing my ass. His hold on me is painful as I suck in a pain-filled breath. He smirks and squeezes my ass harder, pulling me in flush to his body. And all I can think about is gagging. There was a time when I loved his rough treatment of me, but then he changed. He got violent, and I couldn’t get out fast enough. He promised he’d stay away if I never mentioned it to anyone. I kept my promise, but from the look of it, he won’t be keeping his. It’s been the day from hell, and I use that. I pull on all the bad crap I have had to put up with, all the emotions I was forced to feel, and using all that to my advantage I lean forward and whisper in his ear, “If you don’t get the fuck away from me, Lucas, I will castrate you. Oh and FYI sweetheart, I will enjoy every fucking second of it.”

Lucas laughs and lowers his head to kiss my neck, his short black hair tickles the side of my face.

“What the fuck is this?” Lucas jumps back like I’ve just burnt him and hisses, “Who the fuck are you sleeping with, Madison?”

The fucking nerve of this asshole. I narrow my eyes and place my hands on my hips.

God, I have no idea what I ever saw in this guy.

“Let’s get one thing straight here, Lucas, I don’t ever have to tell you anything. It is my goddamn business if I’m sleeping with anyone. Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Madison, you fucking whore. Who the hell do you think you are, lying to me?”

His eyes remain focused on my neck. What the hell is he going on about? I am just about to ask him when he finally raises his gaze to mine and sees the confusion on my face.

“You have bite marks all over your neck, and I don’t mean love bites either. I’m talking about full-blown teeth marks. If I find out who you’re sleeping with,
I will kill him
, Madison. You’re mine and don’t you ever forget it,” he growls.

His hand flies up to my throat, squeezing hard. His eyes darken to a raven black as he tightens the pressure on my neck, cutting off the circulation and making it hard for me to breathe. I won’t give him the satisfaction of panicking. I know his game, he wants to see the fear in my eyes. I close them and let the green eyes from my dream fill me with comfort. I only have to think about them and I start to feel warm, calm and loved.

“It would be in your best interests, Doctor Callow to let Doctor Green go.”

Lucas drops his arm fast, allowing it to fall at his side, as a shadowy figure comes striding into the room. Lucas tries to block me from whoever it is that has now joined us in the room.

“Just who do you think you are talking to? Get back to your room. Right. This. Minute! ” Lucas screams at the intruder.

He reaches behind his back and pushes me further into the shadows of his body. Oh, hell no. I take advantage of the newcomer and step out around from his back. At first, I wasn’t sure who it was that’s come to my aid. But when I see the short blonde hair and small bumped female walk into the room, I wanted to knock her out myself.

What the hell is she thinking?

Alison takes a step further into the room, and I stop breathing completely. The light from the small lamp on the table shines on her face, her eyes are glowing red. I can’t believe what I’m witnessing. Her eyes aren’t just reacting to the small light, they are literally glowing a red, orange color.

“I’m not someone you can walk all over, Doctor. Now, what I do suggest is that you get out of here before I really get pissed off.”

Well, I’ll be damned, the girl’s got a strong backbone. With Alison distracting Lucas, I take this as my opportunity to step away. He narrows his eyes and glares as I make my way over to her, gently taking hold of her arm and guiding her toward the door. I’m shaking as I walk with her down the hallway. My mind is a buzz of all the things that Lucas will do to me once he gets me alone, none of them ending in a good way.

“Thank you,” I whisper to Alison as I reach out for the bedroom door and stop. I need to let her know one thing. “You have placed yourself in his sights now.” My heart hammers painfully in my chest, I take a minute to catch my breath. “Is there someone who can come and pick you up? Hospital or not, you are not safe here now.”

Alison rubs a hand over her small bump and looks at in me in dismay.

“W-what do you mean not s-safe?” she stutters.

Oh shit, I didn’t think I’d have to explain this to anyone. I mean, how do I explain this all to the girl? She was only trying to help me. She wouldn’t have known that Lucas doesn’t like to be told no.

I reach out and take hold of her shoulders. “While I appreciate you helping me back there, it could have turned out very badly.” Inhaling a deep breath I continue, “But now, he’ll come after you, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Are you saying that he will come after me?” Alison looks over at me doe-eyed, confused, and shocked.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. You have no idea what a man like him is capable of. But now is not the time for us to talk about this. So back to my question, is there anyone who can come and get you?”

We walk inside her room and Alison walks over to the window, gazing out at the forest. Her shoulders start to rise and fall as she draws in deep lungfuls of air. Poor thing, she’s on the verge of hyperventilating. Alison shakes her head slowly and sits on the edge of her bed. Her eyes flutter over to the doorway. She must be expecting Lucas to come barging in.

Alison swallows audibly and turns to face me. “I have no one. I’m… I’m alone. It’s only been me for a long time,” she stammers, tears forming in her eyes.

I stare at her shocked as I realize that I can’t leave her here to fend for herself. Lucas is a prick, and will stop at nothing to get his revenge. Pregnant or not, he
will
find a way to pay her back. I know him better than anyone else. He’ll be thinking that she insulted him, that she somehow messed with his manhood. I have no choice, I need to fix this and now. I can only come up with one conclusion for this minor problem we have. Shit, I don’t want to have to do this, but she’s in this mess because of me. I won’t let that evil man hurt her when she was only doing what she thought was the right thing to do.

“There’s no choice in the matter. You will come home with me. That is… until I can work out another option.”

I don’t give her a chance to fight me on this. I know what the risk to her will be if she stays in the hospital any longer than she has to. I turn and walk toward the door.

“You c-can’t do t-that,” Alison stutters, running a hand through her spiky hair. “I was admitted for twenty-four-hour care, I w-won’t do that to you.”

She can’t be serious. I spin back to face the door. Alison huffs frustrated, I turn and look over my shoulder and start chuckling at the nineteen-year-old when I notice her face is screwed up like a five-year-old in trouble. She’s been through so much today. I start to feel like an ass for laughing, so I take pity on her.

“Alison, I’m a doctor, remember? I will be right outside this door signing your discharge papers. If he comes in here, you scream holy murder. You hear me?”

As soon as I see Alison nod, I walk out to the nurse’s station to get her papers sorted out. I have no idea how I’m going to explain this. But I know one thing for sure, I need to make this happen and like yesterday.

Once again, I find myself waking up on a bed in the medical bay. The first thing I do is look around the room. Everyone is still here, standing around my bed like guards.

“Okay, now
that
was extremely fucked up. Where the kilt did you go?” McKinley asks pushing himself off the wall. He walks over to the edge of the bed and takes a seat. His red-brown curls bouncing as he gets comfortable.

“What?” I ask confused. My eyes scan the room, I’m hoping one of the brothers can help me understand what’s going on? What I notice is the brotherhood staring back at me. Some with smirks, others with shock or horror on their faces. This is seriously messed up. I turn back to him.

“Holy shit, Philli, did you get laid?” Jay cries out in disbelief.

Hang on, what did he just say? Murmurs echo around the room. Someone chuckles and another groans at a poorly made joke.

“What the hell are you going on about?” I sneer. I’m starting to get extremely frustrated with the whole thing. This day of weirdness just won’t end. Instead of answering me, Jay glances over at McKinley, who subtly shakes his head.

“Someone fucking answer me,
now!
” I growl. The loud sound echoes off everything in the room. Beds, windows, and chairs vibrate. McKinley jumps off the side of the bed, holding his hands up in a surrender pose.

“Philli, Brother, get control of your Dragon. Calm down and I will explain as much as I can.”

Why the hell are they all treating me like a child?

My jaw clenches together painfully as I grit out, “I am in complete control of Dragon. But, I can guarantee that if you don’t start talking, I will show you just how pissed off I am, and I
will
release him.”

McKinley takes a step back, assessing the situation. He comes to the conclusion that he is in a no-win situation. “Okay, calm yourself. I meant no disrespect toward you, my Brother. This isn’t something I’ve seen happen before. We were already on edge over the attack on the Island and now we have this…” he points his finger over toward me, “…going down as well.” He takes a tentative step to me and resumes his seat once again on the edge of my bed. Then he takes my hand in his and grins softly.

He’s holding my hand.
Okay, now this is some seriously weird shit.

The only thing that I can think about is, that while I was knocked out, they all must have drunk something the Sirens gave them. Or better yet, aliens have come down and shoved probes up their asses, because he doesn’t touch anyone, and I mean anyone. As far as I know, he’s never even laid his hands on a woman before. I’m shell shocked at the touch. I look down at our joined hands and close my eyes waiting for him to battle bond with me. Honestly, it’s the only thing I can think of in that moment. Then he starts talking, keeping his gaze firmly on mine while he speaks to the other Watchers in the room.

“Everyone else can clear the room. I wish there only to be Owen, Jordi, Philli and myself.”

Well, there goes my idea of him going to battle bond with me. Seriously what the ‘F’ is going on? The room erupts with moans and murmurs of disapproval, as they clear the room.

“Are any of you questioning my role as Leader and Grand High Lord of the Judicial Council?”

Jay walks over to the medical room’s open door. Peeking over his shoulder he chuckles. “I don’t question your role as Grand High Lord, but you should get a medal for, Grand High Jackass.” Laughing at his own joke, he continues, “Well losers, as much as this has been a pleasure, truly a great pleasure, I’m out. Love ya Brother, we will catch up soon.”

“Come to the cave later,” I tell Jay.

He scrubs a hand over his five a clock shadow and turns around to face McKinley with an unreadable expression. “This has shown your hand at last. Very interesting. You’ve given me a lot to think about. But that will come later. Right now, I have a very willing female waiting on my return. Later losers.” With a wave of his hand, Jay strides out of the room laughing to himself.

McKinley growls, letting go of my hand, as he runs it through his hair pulling at the unruly curls. If there’s one man completely full of himself, it would be Jay. I love my Brother with everything in me, and will fight to the death for him. But I’m waiting for the day that someone will put him back in his place. If anyone ever needed a lesson taught to them, it would be him. He’s starting to forget where he comes from, not to mention those who matter to him.

I feel a light pressure on my hand, snapping me out of my mood. I look down and see McKinley’s hand resting on the top of mine. He’s awfully touchy today. I’m not bothered by the gesture, I’m a pretty touchy-feely guy myself. But this, coming from him, is unusual to say the least.

As the other members of the council leave the room, I turn my head in time to see a strange look pass between McKinley and Owen. The sudden tension in the already stiff room is driving me insane. I flip my hand over and hold onto McKinley’s hand, linking our fingers together in a firm grip.

“If you wanted to hold my hand, boss, all you had to do was ask. I never knew you were the touchy-feely sort. But hey, when my mating heat comes on, I’ll try anything once,” I joke around.

I bring my spare hand up and run it down the side of his face. I can’t help myself as I blow him a kiss, and wink. Jordi starts laughing hysterically at my attempt to lighten the situation, while Owen looks like he wants to be sick. Suddenly, his feet are the most important thing in the world, as he stares down at the ground.

Jordi raises his eyebrows and asks, “Yo, Owen, you okay there?”

“Wh… what?” Owen stumbles. He shakes his head softly and as I watch him, I notice the flush of emotions come and go from his face. Something has him hot and cold. He raises his head and glances quickly over to McKinley and me. His eyes meet mine and it’s clear he’s hurt and in a big way. His eyes water briefly, his jaw clenches tight as he grits his teeth.

“Sorry Jordi, what did you say?”

Jordi narrows his eyes at Owen and shrugs his shoulders. He walks over to my bed and sits on the end of it.

“Nothing Brother, you looked like someone shit in your cereal, that’s all.”

“Can we get back to the matter at hand?” McKinley barks, letting my hand fall to the bed. “Now, as I was saying Philli, I’ve never seen anything like that before. What you did has never been done.”

Jordi, Owen, and McKinley are now all sitting on my bed. My bed suddenly feels a lot smaller than it was a minute ago. I sit up and shift over to make more room for the men. We aren’t exactly small, each one of us is close to or over six feet tall. We’re built, broad and strong.

“What I did?” I asked confused arching my brow.

“Oh come on, don’t play dumb,” Owen snaps, slapping his hands down on his thighs.

“Owen,” McKinley warns, his voice strained with defeat as he talks. Neither of them can make eye contact with the other. I tilt my head to the side and stare at the puzzle between us. Jordi notices the look on my face and shrugs his shoulders. There’s something going on here, but I just can’t put my finger on it yet.

“That Watcher needs to watch his attitude with us,” Dragon grumbles trying to push to the surface.

It takes all my strength to push him back down into my body. Dragon is stronger than normal, and I’m having a hard time making him stay where he is.

“He’s been through a lot, Dragon, please cut him some slack. There’s something going on and we need to find out what it is. There is too much going on at once and I can’t piece it together yet, but I will. Now behave, and let me work.”

Owen squirms uncomfortably on the bed, as McKinley stares at him. The look is heated, full of desire… wait, no that can’t be right.

“I apologize Philli, I do not know what has overcome me,” Owen whispers.

Not another word is said as Owen focuses back on his boots. I can’t take his upset anymore, so I reach over to squeeze his shoulder in a show of brotherhood, and telepathically send a thought to him, “Anytime you want to talk, Brother, you know I will hear it.”

I let go of his shoulder and he sucks in a shuddered breath. He looks up at me and nods. The move so small that at first I thought I imagined it. Jordi and McKinley look from Owen and I, and the air in the room thickens to an uncomfortable level, so I tell Owen aloud, “It is okay. Now back to the topic at hand. I have honestly no idea what you’re talking about. What was it that I’ve done?”

“Philli, you don’t know? Do you?” Jordi replies skeptically. His head jerks to the side and suspicion starts to creep in.

“No Jordi, and you know me, I won’t tell you an untruth.”

“Holy shit,” McKinley curses. Before I can push the matter further, he speaks again, “Philli, you just poofed out of here. No transformation, no magic, just poof and you were gone.” He raises his hands in the air in an over the top flutter to demonstrate what happened.

"What the hell are you going on about?” I continue sarcastically laughing, “You all know as well as I do, all magic is monitored on the Island. And not only that, I’m a fucking Dragon, I can’t do that sort of shit.” I roll my eyes and shake my head in disbelief while waiting for the men to tell me this is all just some sort of sick joke. But nothing comes. No one says a word as they look at me. If anything, I become increasingly aware, that this is indeed the most fucked up day in history.

That’s when I remember what Owen told me earlier. Without realizing what I’m doing, I turn to him and ask, “When did you lose your powers?”

Fuck, I said that out loud.

I feel like a royal ass when Owen grunts in frustration and throws his hands up in the air. “Thanks a fucking lot, Dragon,” he sneers.

“Lost your powers, when?” McKinley sounds panicked as he jumps up and steps in front of Owen. His large hands come down and clasp onto either side of his face, the tenderness in his eyes when he lifts Owen’s face to his own has my own heart racing in a frantic beat.

Mon Dieu, I really need to get out of the cave more, I miss all the fun.

“It...” Owen licks his dry lips and continues, “…it started to fizzle out about five months ago, Mac, but it’s completely gone as of today. Now, if you’ll kindly get the fuck out of my face, I think I’m on duty.”

McKinley drops his hands to his side and takes a step back from the bed. Owen jumps up from the bed and storms out the room. We hear the heavy pounding of his boots echo as he storms down the hall, grunting and groaning. Jordi never one to miss an opportunity to rile McKinley up, shakes his head and chuckles.

“Aren’t you the boss, McKinley?” His eyes glitter with mischief as he continues, “And since when do you have a nickname?”

Trust Jordi to pick up on all of that. McKinley’s face turns a bright shade of red and he shifts on his feet uncomfortably. Well, that certainly is an interesting reaction.

“Shut it, Jordi. Now fuck me, we need to get this sorted out. No more getting sidetracked. Something big is going on, we were attacked.” McKinley points over to me. “You poofed out of a room that’s magic protected.” He lowers his arm and starts to pace the room. “You really didn’t do it, did you?” He spins around gauging my reaction.

“No, I didn’t, and come to think of it, I can’t really remember what happened. I do know one minute I was here and the next…” I trail off. I start to search my memory for anything. Anything at all that will help me work out what the fuck is going on around here?

Oh my God… No… No, that’s not right. Could it be?

“No fucking way…” I muse aloud.

“What?” Jordi says.

McKinley starts to walk back toward me. “You remember something, don’t you?”

I nod my head absently and rise from the bed. My legs shake as I make my way over to the mirror that hangs on the far wall. My mind runs over all the things that have happened today, the one memory replaying in my mind is the one that clicked it all into place for me.

Dragon pushed through earlier and almost took control from me. That’s what scared McKinley. My breath catches and hitches in my throat at the realization that it could only mean one thing.

“Oh, fuck me…” I moan, as the thought hits me like a ton of bricks.

There’s no way this could be happening, not when I’m ready to back out and leave it all behind. My hands shake violently, as I reach for the collar of my shirt exposing my neck. I look into the mirror at my reflection and feel like a sissy girl as I shut all emotions down. My face is as white as a ghost and my lips tremble. As tilt my head to the side and look for the evidence of either my dream or my nightmare. There it is! I don’t know how I should be feeling. I’m stuck between wanting to jump up and down that it’s finally happened, or crawling into a ball and allowing fate to take its course. I lean forward to get a closer look at the bite mark on my neck.