5: Hood - Pack Trust (8 page)

“Damn, Jack. What’s that cologne you have going on?”

“That’s it.” Fera leaped without warning, shifting just like her brother did, without a pop, a grind or anything.

I never really knew what hit me, but I was slung to the floor in a hard-hitting, shoulder-splintering slam, pounced atop by that little bitch--an inch away from her crinos teeth.

Yeah. It slipped me into a déjà vù of when Hood did that to me. Only this time, I was scared breathless. I mean, I knew Hood’s limits. But Jack had just said she was working on her self-control still. And crinos is no toy to play with.

Before she could say anything, though, or rip my head off, Jack grabbed her by the nape and yanked her off of me. But her claws dug in. Twice in the same day, I had my shirt ripped apart. Except she drew a little blood, too, with her kicking and clawing.

Jack’s amazing. He held Her Scrappiness at arm’s length until she got a grip, then laughed and shook his head. “If we’re gonna have a bitch fight, keep it fair, honey.”

That redirected her. She twisted and started to swipe at him instead.

I thought it was funny. Talk about a boon to my soul. I needed something to really laugh at. I’ll giggle over that for a long time.

The minute she heard me laugh, she growled, grunted and popped. She didn’t shift to lupus, because he would have still held onto her neck. But, in human, she could slip from his grasp. He dropped her instantly. She bounced on all fours, then sprang a leap out of his range, turned, squared, and rolled up to a standing position. She shrugged a few times as if to untangle the tension, stretched her neck and smiled at me like I was a child.

“You better watch your mouth. If Jack had turned his back, you’d have been dead.”

I immediately looked at Jack, who was reaching a hand out to help me up, and said, “So don’t turn your back on me ever again, please, Jack.” Then followed it up with a “Thanks.”

He scratched the back of his neck, obviously thinking. “We need to get a few things straight, here.” Sheepishly, he looked at Fera, and said, “You can’t go after her like that. I’m not gonna let you hurt her.”

I straightened my back, and offered a small smile at her--from behind him.

But he looked over his shoulder at me. I think her wrinkled lip told him exactly what I was doing. “Giselle, what’s the matter with you? You got a death wish or something this week?”

Grumbling, I clutched my shirt, but there was no fixing it. I peeled it off and dropped it. I was glad I had a bra on. Yes, I had a death wish. Living with wolves does that to you.

Fera, of course, growled, and I know she sprouted a little hair on the back of her neck. I saw her claws, too.

Jack muttered, “Fuck,” pulled his shirt over his head, threw it at me and said, “Stop it. We get stupid, we’ll be dead before the next full moon.” He looked up, as if he felt someone just above us, or heard someone.

Fera and I both looked up, too.

I don’t really think he heard something up there. I think he was just trying to get his point across. We were on dangerous ground, and we needed to get our wits about us. I pulled on his shirt. A great, big, hulking shirt, compared to me. I had to tie it in a knot at my waist, and roll the sleeves.

Fera didn’t like me wearing his shirt, I know, but then, it was all her fault. I don’t know which was worse; me without a shirt, or Jack. We both kept snatching glimpses of his body.

There was nothing not to like there. I mean, he was a freaking Olympian hard body.

Not Hood, though.

No real scars, hidden wounds that drove him. Jack had his own issues, but they were so different from Hood’s that they didn’t compare. Not really. Not to me. I mean, I wasn’t blind, so I looked, I appreciated. But he wasn’t what I truly wanted.

Blood seeped through the scratches in places, but everything was superficial.

Fera had a touch of remorse, I guess, because she said, “I really am sorry about the shirt.”

I glanced up from patting a scratch with the fabric on my upper left arm. I shrugged, “Hey. I’ll live.”

That’s when I realized it was remorse over the fact that I was now wearing Jack’s shirt and he was bare to the waist in front of me. I didn’t blame her. She obviously knew Jack’s history with me. She had a right to be leery. We had good chemistry between us.

“You are so obviously Hood’s sister.” I had to smile. Then I commented to Jack, “Distrust is inbred, you know.”

She flinched and turned away.

“Winning is a sport, Giselle. We talked about that.”

“I know.” He was right. Everything was a game. You just had to figure out the rules, and then play it the best you could. I had to play more fair. Hitting below the belt wasn’t going to win friends.

“I find a sense of humor helps me through.”

I smiled again, and I realized that I’d smiled more in the short time back with Jack than I had in ages.

“He’s a million laughs.” Fera said, “I hate it here. It’s too...tight. It stinks. We gotta get out of here.”

“Okay.” That simply, she made a request and Jack accommodated her. I marveled at it, and wondered what that would be like, to be able to make a request, straightforward, and have my man fulfill it without any razor comebacks. Jack led us down a tunnel in silence. A mile, at least.

There were no lights in there, but we have enhanced night vision, so that wasn’t too bad. At one point, Jack told her, “You can run on ahead if you want out real bad.”

She growled, “I can handle it.”

What she meant was, there was no way in hell she was leaving us alone in the dark together. Jack and I both snickered.

We surfaced in a park, believe it or not. So, what’s that tell you? Master planning. Unbelievable pre-thought.

My stomach was growling by the time we reached it, but I didn’t complain.

Fera did. “We’ve got to feed her. And get her a bath.”

It surprised me. I mean, like the light of day brought her humanity out. Though, from looking up at the sky, I could tell that it was waning. I’d lost track. “Is it a full moon tonight?”

Jack chuckled. “Uh, yeah.”

No wonder I’d been so bitchy.

“What are you doing here?” I knew Jack preferred the habitat on the full moon--so he didn’t have to worry about hurting innocents. And I had a suspicion that was his motivation for returning.

He said, “Tried the tundra. Tried the Sahara. The habitat works best for me. Thought I could slip in, ya know?”

“Wait.” That’s when the earlier comment about being in communication with Hood hit me. “Did Hood know you were coming?”

“Of course,” Fera said, “We’ve got a suite close by. Come.” Irritated, she said, “Gaia, I wish I hadn’t ripped that shirt. Everybody’s gonna notice Jack.”

“Well, yeah.” I kind’ve laughed. “It’s not like you can miss his physique when he’s got his clothes on, but--”

Totally annoyed, she rounded on me. “Shut the fuck up, would you?”

We moved in silence for a few minutes before I said, “Why don’t you go on up and get a shirt and come back?”

“Well, for one, you dumb-ass bitch, I’m not leaving you two alone.”

“I’m not letting her out of my sight.” Jack’s voice sounded very protective. I loved the way he said it. I don’t care that he was talking about her. You have to love a man who makes no secret of his affection.

I volunteered, “I’ll go with her, then.”

Fera thought that was funny.

“What?”

Jack said, “You can’t protect yourself, let alone her.”

“Give me a few hours.” A second later, I added, “I bet the two of us would make a pretty scary team then.”

A couple more steps and I said, “Wait. What can you protect her from, in your current condition?”

“Herself, for one.”

Fera let a noise escape her throat.

“I don’t understand.”

She turned and looked me in the eye. “Giselle, would you stop asking questions? You’re making me mad.” Her eyes flashed a warning.

Once again, Jack stepped between us, but this time, he pulled Fera into his chest and rubbed the back of her head, “Breathe, honey.”

She fought the embrace a little.

And I had to ask, “What’s going on here that I’m not quite getting?”

Chapter Eight

Jack said, “Let’s talk about it at the hotel.”

We all felt an urge to get out of the open, I think. That cranked up a notch when Fera said, with a sniff, “Lupus security team.”

Jack and I sniffed, too, but we didn’t wait for the scent to carry. I muttered, “Thank God we’re upwind.”

“They’ll pick up your trail.” He reached above him, yanked a small branch from a tree and said, “Stand still.” He swept the path we’d followed, all the way back to the entrance of the tunnel. When he returned, he picked me up--against mine and Fera’s protests--and said, “Use the branch for a bit behind me, Fera.”

She growled, “It won’t work.”

“It just has to slow them down for a bit,” he said. “Long enough so we can figure out what to do.”

We were not inconspicuous, but luckily there was no one out there but us and the search squad. We made it to the room without any audience at all, and I had to ask, “You rented this condo-resort room?”

Jack said, “Lobos owns the place. That’s why you don’t see anybody lurking around.”

I didn’t like it. Right outside the doors of Lobos, they had another community, but I hadn’t known about it? That just showed me how little Hood actually trusted me. A rock settled in my belly.

There was a part of me that thought,
When I crinos, I’m gonna pick a fight I can’t win.
I know, it sounds awful, but sometimes you just get too tired to do it any more.

We were in the room, drapes drawn. Fera had her nose to the crack, keeping an eye out, but she turned and looked at me, like she was confused.

Like she heard my thoughts.

I asked Jack, my mind on Hood, “You’ve been in contact with Hood all this time? And never sent a message to me, one, so I wouldn’t worry about you?”

He took a shirt out of a bag. Apparently, they hadn’t unpacked. As he shook it out, he said, “Why don’t you hop in the shower, Giselle?”

“But--”

“I need to talk to Fera. Please.”

Sent. I hated that whole alpha complex. But he was right. I needed a shower desperately.

Fera moved quickly, and rifled through another bag, pulling out a sheath dress. “Put this on.” She tossed it to me.

I snatched it mid-air and said, “Thanks,” disappearing into the bathroom. Once there, I checked it out. A stretchy thing made of spandex, red. I had to smile. Dancey little number. I’ll bet Jack picked that out for her. It was that or more of Jack’s shirts?
I got it, Fera. But you’ve got it so wrong.

I loved Jack, but I wasn’t in love with him. I turned on the shower, tried to block my thoughts, but the water sluicing down my back sort of stopped consciousness, which means my natural train of thought jumped on track again.
What can I do to get you, Hood?

I have no idea what Jack and Fera talked about while I was in the shower. I took my time, but I’ll tell you, the smell of sex was unmistakable when I returned to the main room of the suite. He’d convinced her of his affections? Or she’d staked a claim? It was a little funny. They were across the room from each other. He had the TV on. Discovery channel? She was flipping through a magazine. Fashions and hairstyles?

Rubbing a towel through my hair, I mumbled, “I bet I look great now.”

Jack glanced up, a feral appreciation in his wink. “Not too bad.”

She tensed, pouted her lips and held her tongue.

“I wasn’t fishing for compliments.”

Fera slapped the magazine shut and asked, “Just exactly what does that expression mean?”

Okay. I realized, then, that there was nothing I was gonna say that would not be misconstrued.

Jack thought it was funny. The smirk on his face said it all. He was glancing between us, waiting for my reaction.

It was getting closer and closer to dark. I was damn hungry, working up a bloodlust of an appetite, and not about to back down--although I wasn’t quite up to the fight. Let me tell you, it was all I could do to take an inhale there before opening my mouth on a retort. I took the safe way out and without warning, smacked Jack in the head with my towel, announcing, “You are enjoying this too much!”

Neither of them was expecting it. And to tell the truth, I don’t know where the reaction came from. I needed to hit something, and he was the safe bet?

Fera had to laugh at his expression, too.

Of course, he snagged the towel and came out of the chair--after me. Chasing me, as I ran giggling. It was fun. Even Fera was enjoying it, squealing, “Run!”

Since it was a Lobos investment property, the place was pretty good-sized. There were plenty of things to scoot around and leap over. It was nice to let loose, be a girl again, running from the big, bad, boy--who was laughing, too, by the time he caught me and threw me down.

Pinning me with his body over my belly, grabbing me by the wrist with each of his hands, I let loose with a squealing cackle, “Jack! No!” I just knew he was going to tickle me, as soon as he got both hands in one hold.

The door flung open, then. And there, in the doorway, stood Hood.

We all jumped.

Okay. Jack and I froze--looking pretty guilty.

Fera recovered first. In seconds, she was hanging off Hood, hugging him, kissing his jaw. Thanking Gaia. Telling him how glad she was to see him.

His eyes were on me and Jack, though, deadly black, flashing red. His back was stiff. And his fists were clenching--clawing in semi-crinos on my shirt--which he tossed the minute he set eyes on me.

The slinky number I had on was climbing, barely covering anything. Not that Jack was noticing that. He had his fat butt squishing my belly, couldn’t see the exposure behind him. Hood got the full twat view. Okay, Jack doesn’t have an ounce of fat anywhere, except maybe in his head. But you know what I mean.

So, it took Fera a minute to figure out that Hood was not reacting to her at all. To realize that he was blinking in a freaking shift strobe of some unnatural thing.

She kicked the door shut, backed against it and looked pretty scared.

Time sort of stood still, there.

Jack and I were afraid to move. At least, I sure was. Maybe Jack just knew that it wasn’t his turn on the playing field?

We waited for Hood to do something, anything, besides fight that crinos rage. Finally, he managed a growl. “Get the fuck off of her...now.”

Jack obliged him, climbed off immediately, pulling me up as he went.

Call me an idiot, I wanted to giggle.
At least you’ve got your shirt back on, now, Jack. Imagine what he would have done if--

Hood roared his fury, effectively shutting up any coherent thought I might’ve been working up to follow my stupidity with.

Flinching, I ducked behind Jack.

Now, Jack’s cool as they come. So cool. He tucked me behind him and tried some calm conversation. “Nice of you to drop by, Hood.”

I squeaked. Wasn’t that what I’d said the last time he’d been screwing around on me?

Hood caught my thoughts in one, narrowed his gaze on Jack and said, “I should have known you’d come for her.”

So he assumed that I’d somehow been in contact with Jack all that time, too? He didn’t trust either one of us? That’s not much of a surprise. But I wasn’t registering Hood’s words then.

Jack, not knowing what was going on between us completely--Okay, none of us were really getting the whole picture--said jokingly, “Done that, thought that was part of your plan, friend.”

You know that Hood moves like a freaking superhero, right? One minute he’s there. Next, he’s on top of you. It was like that. From the door to punching Jack in no time flat.

The only one who could react that fast was Fera.

The minute Hood leaped at Jack, she pounced his back, shifted crinos, and bit him in the shoulder of the arm that plowed Jack in the head, dead center on the nose. Yeah. Jack went flinging backward, stumbling into me, and we both ended up on the floor.

Blood went everywhere. Hood had broken his nose.

I started screaming, “Oh, God! Oh, God!”

Hood slung his sister off his back. She pounced back.

Meanwhile, Jack was coming up off the ground with a “Son of a bitch!” and a head-butting, barroom brawl style assault of his own.

There was a big “Hmph” when he hit Hood in the midsection and they tumbled backward over some furniture.

I scrambled toward them, screaming, “Jack! No, Jack! Fera--help!”

So, that just pissed Hood off more, gave him renewed frenzy, and he blinked to crinos completely, slashing at Jack with his claws. He wasn’t thinking at all. Just clawing. Jack was on top of him, pummeling him in the side repeatedly, boxing him in the kidney. Probably one of the few spots that really could be hurt. With every solid thump, Hood let out a pained groan. I think there were, maybe, three? Four? hits in quick succession.

Fera did the only thing she could do at that point. She hit Jack from the side, knocking him off Hood. If she hadn’t, he’d have been shredded. It all happened so fast that if I’d blinked, I would have missed it. I know that for a fact, because the second Hood could breathe....

She rolled, spun and came up at about the same time Hood did. They almost attacked each other--I think--before they realized who they were facing. She snarled right up in his face. There was no doubt; he’d have to go through her to get to Jack.