E.A. Price - Valentine's Wolf (Grey Wolf Pack #11) (19 page)

Lester let out a mirthless chuckle and shook his head. “You’re an abomination,” he said slowly as if he were talking to a child. “Creatures like you shouldn’t be allowed to live. No creature should have as much power as you – it isn’t right. You’re a freak, and you need to be put down.”

He turned his back for a second, and when he spun round he was holding a scalpel. She hadn’t noticed at first, but he appeared to be wearing scrubs. That didn’t bode well.

Val licked her lips and tried to avoid looking at the small blade. “You trashed my apartment, right?”

Lester shrugged unconcernedly. “I thought it would get you back to town – I had no idea where you were. But when you wouldn’t come back, I had to resort to more stringent methods.”

She felt ice-cold horror sink right down to her stomach; it was like drinking the world’s worst slushy.

“You mean you attacked Hilary?”

“I saw her at your apartment, I guessed you were close. So I figured that all I had to do was wait for you to show up at the hospital, and here you are.”

He spread his hands out like he was displaying a magic trick.
Ta-da, here’s Valentine!

Her limbs felt heavy and leaden, but she forced herself to try and move them. She needed to get out of there, and she wasn’t going to do it lounging around on an operating table. Thankfully, she still had her clothes on. She repressed a shudder at the thought of Lester taking them off her.

“How did you know I was a… half-breed?” The word was distasteful in her mouth and Venus huffed indignantly.

He rolled his eyes and sighed like he was bored with talking to her. Perhaps he wasn’t used to chatty victims she thought tartly.

“I recognized you for what you were when I came across your profile online – it’s your eyes that give you away,” he said.

“My eyes?”
What was wrong with her eyes?

Lester tapped his foot. “Yes, they’re obviously not human eyes, but they’re not shifter – you’re in between,” he told her condescendingly. “My father taught me how to spot creatures like you, and he died doing the same work as I do.” She detected a slight tremor in his voice as he started talking about his father. Whether that was good or bad, she couldn’t tell.

“That’s why you asked me all those creepy questions about my parents.”

He frowned at the word creepy. “Yes, I checked the record of your birth – your father was a leopard shifter and your mother was a witch.”

Jeez, the guy knew more than she did about her parentage. Surely someone should have mentioned this to her before? No-one had even tried to bring this up – it’s not like it was something that she’d forget!

He looked at her expectantly and then smiled when she didn’t say anything. Crap, she’d run out of questions. She started trying to wiggle her arms and legs with more force. Work, damn you, work!

Lester walked toward her slowly. “Don’t bother using your powers. The potion I gave you will stop you from moving, never mind shifting or using magic on me, so don’t even try.”

Val bared her teeth at him as she struggled to move, and he snickered contemptuously, making her struggles even more fervent. He leaned over her to look directly in her face and, unable to do anything else, she spat at him.

He gritted his teeth and wiped his cheek. “Fucking bitch!” He leaned even closer; his face was only an inch from hers. She almost gagged at his rotten breath – smelled like someone had been eating an onion log recently.

His nostrils flared, and his eyes flashed. “You creatures really are pathetic. After the trouble you put me to, I’m going to enjoy this. And after I’m finished with you, maybe I’ll pay another visit to your friend and finish the job!”

Her leopard roared, and blinding white rage assailed her. Without thinking, Val felt adrenaline pulse through her, and she managed to reach her head forward and she used the only weapon at her disposal – her teeth. With a cry, she bit him on the nose –
hard
.

Admittedly, up until a few days ago her inner warrior princess had been relegated to verbal smack downs over the last muffin at her local coffee shop. But she had gotten along just fine for the last 30 years without any magical powers or a leopard to rely on. She didn’t need them to save herself from this nutcase.

Lester screamed in pain as his hands fumbled at her head, trying to dislodge her. He pulled on her hair, yanking and twisting it, but even the pain of that wouldn’t stop her. Eventually, his cries turned to whimpers and Val let go and swiftly head-butted him. He let out a startled ‘oof’ and stumbled backward, tripping over and smashing to the ground.

Move!
She screamed at herself. Her body felt sluggish, but her heart was pumping a mile a minute. She needed to take advantage of this surge of energy before it went away. She needed to get the hell out of there.

She psyched herself up with the help of her inner beast, and flopped her body off the table. She hit the ground with an undignified slap, and every inch of screamed in protest, but she didn’t have time for that right now. She could cry and whine over her aches and pains later. If she stopped now, there wouldn’t be a later.

Val ignored the stirring body of Lester and began crawling along the floor. Progress was slow, but all she had to do was find someone or find a phone and get help. She inched her way to the door. Lord, she must look like a worm. She almost giggled aloud at the thought, but Venus snapped at her to stay focused. It wasn’t easy; her mind felt foggy and tired. Damn, stupid potion.

She got to the door and managed to shoulder it open. A thick smell of fresh paint assaulted her delicate nose, and she winced. A heightened sense of smell was not her favorite thing about being a shifter.

Her heart lurched as a clammy hand snaked around her ankle.

“No…” Lester breathed, faintly, “you’re not going anywhere.”

He could barely spit out the words, and Val was no better.

“Oh yes, I am,” she panted, exhausted from the effort of moving.

Val pushed her way out of the door and was relieved as his fingers slipped away. Painstakingly slowly, she belly crawled out of the room. She was in a hospital corridor. Maybe she never even left the hospital!

At the end of the corridor, she spied an elevator. Yes, all she had to do was get there. It seemed like a monumental undertaking at that moment in time, but she was determined. She began slithering along the ground for all she was worth.

“No… stop…” rasped a voice behind her.

She looked back to see a bloodied Lester pulling himself along the ground, trying to get to her.

“Not happening,” she slurred and wriggled toward the elevator.

They were engaged in the strangest, slowest chase imaginable. He kept moaning at her to stop and she flat out refused.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, Val made it to the elevator. She clutched at the wall and managed to haul herself up to press the button.

“C’mon, c’mon!” she muttered, as she slumped against the wall.

She gasped and looked down as once again Lester gripped her ankle.

“I have you know, bitch!”

He was breathing heavily as if he’d just run a marathon; his face was pale but his nose was one big bloody mess.

“The hell you do!”

She tried shaking her foot, but in spite of his weakened state, he was determined. She could feel the darkness creeping up on her. Whatever he had given her was certainly taking its toll. Unconsciousness gnawed at her. She couldn’t stand up for much longer; her jelly-like limbs wouldn’t support her.

Oh, well, only one thing for it.
She did want a soft landing, after all.

Val went completely limp and dropped to the ground. Or rather, she dropped all of her not quite feather-like weight directly onto Lester.

It was hardly graceful. It definitely wasn’t badass. It was more Coco the clown than Xena, but hey, it worked. He groaned in surprise, and it took the fight right out of him.

“Bitch…” he wheezed.

“Shut-up.” She had heard more than enough from him for one day. “I’m not that heavy.”

He may have whispered the word elephant, but she was just too darn tired to give a rat’s behind at that moment in time. Her leopard practically cocked her head on one side in amusement at Val’s interesting choice of fighting style.

The elevator dinged.
Oh great, now it chooses to arrive.

“Valentine!”

Relief poured through her, and she let her body go even limper as Jake dashed out of the elevator. He scooped her up into his arms, kissing and stroking her all over. His wide eyes darted between her and the softly sobbing man on the ground.

“Sweetheart, what the fuck happened?”

She hiccupped and giggled. “I bit him on the nose; it was so gross…”

Then, darkness.

Chapter Nineteen

5
th
March

Val stretched out over the bed and patted the space next to her.

“Room for two,” she purred.

Jake frowned at her disapprovingly. “You should be resting.”

She let out a huff and her leopard sulked. “I’ve been resting all day long, I’m very rested, so rested I don’t think I’ll need to sleep again for the next week.”

She bit her tongue between her teeth as her eyes devoured the sight of him stripping out of his shirt.

“Maybe I should change in the bathroom,” he said musingly as she let out a lusty growl.

“Don’t you dare, you just stay right where you are.”

His lips twitched. “That all I am to you? A piece of meat?”

“Yes, but you’re a very sexy piece of meat, now drop your pants and tell me what happened to Lester.”

He gave an exaggerated sigh and then did as he was told.
He knew better than to argue.

After Valentine had collapsed, Jake had her checked out by a doctor. It turned out that after Lester had abducted her, he took her to a floor of the hospital that was closed for renovation. She was fine; the potion he gave her just made her more docile… to a certain extent anyway. They kept her in overnight; she slept right through. It was probably the best nights sleep she ever got.

When she finally woke, Jake was right by her side. He wanted her to stay in bed, but she absolutely insisted that she had to go and see Hilary. Besides, she still had a fear of doctors and didn’t want to give them a chance to decide she needed any surgeries or drugs. Val ignored Jake’s objections and his grumbles and only agreed to let him take her in a wheelchair because otherwise he threatened to carry her.

Hilary, thankfully, wasn’t nearly as hurt as her mom led Val to believe. She was a little dazed and had a broken arm and leg, but otherwise she was okay. The doctors didn’t anticipate that there would be any lasting damage.

When they saw each other, they wept and hugged. Val apologized and blamed herself for putting Hilary in danger. Hilary told her not to be silly. They went round and round in circles for a while saying the same things over and over until Jake coughed in interruption. At this point, Hilary became much more interested in getting details and making sly innuendo. Val tried to blame it on the pain medication she was taking. Hilary was absolutely amazed to learn that her best friend was actually half-witch and half-shifter, but she took it in her stride and was fascinated to hear about what it was like to shift.

After a couple of hours, Jake put his foot down and said that Valentine needed to rest. She didn’t want to go, but Hilary, with waggling eyebrows, insisted that she do so.

Jake checked them into a hotel room; she wasn’t keen to go back to her apartment after finding out that Lester had been the one to trash it. He arranged for a SEA agent to guard the hotel room door - mostly to make sure Valentine didn’t leave – and he went back to the SEA offices to help wrap up the case.

After Lester had been taken into custody, it didn’t take long before he confessed to the two murders. He was Morgan’s son but was always a bit of a black sheep due to his lack of magical prowess. And the fact that he used his real name on the dating website showed he wasn’t exactly a mastermind.

Robyn was pleased that she could go on TV and tell everyone that she had caught the murderer. Her glory-hogging attitude irked her team, but Jake could care less. He just wanted to get back to Valentine.

“I saw that woman…”

“Robyn,” supplied Jake in amusement.

“Yes,
her
. I saw
her
on TV telling everyone how brilliant she is. Pah. What will happen to Lester now?”

Jake slipped into bed next to her. “A psych evaluation. They don’t think he’s fit to stand trial. By the sound of it, his dad used to torture him. Hopefully, he’ll spend the rest of his life locked in a mental hospital.”

Val snuggled into his arms and kissed his chest. “I’m just glad it’s over and Hilary’s going to be okay.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “For a second I thought… I thought I’d lost you. Worst moment of my life.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere.”

“You better not,” he growled.

“Just try and get rid of me.”

Val ran her hands up and down his back; her nails lightly scraped his skin.

Jake groaned. “Valentine, I don’t think…”

“Don’t think,” she murmured and nipped his collar bone.

“You’ve been through a lot…”

“So I deserve a treat.” Her cat agreed with that wholeheartedly.

She smothered kisses and soft bites over his skin. The proof of his desire swelled against her thigh, and she rubbed her leg against him.

“I could get you a candy bar.”

“I don’t want a candy bar.”

“How about a banana?” he offered generously.

“Mmmm, is that a euphemism?”

She reached between them and ran her knuckles up and down his manhood.

“Ice-cream?”

Val pulled back and gave him her most angelic smile. “Do I get to lick it off you?”

“Fuck, Valentine, you’re killing me here.”

She giggled. “I know.”

Jake cupped her head and rubbed his thumb over her flushed cheek. “Seriously, I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened. I love you, Valentine.”

Her leopard purred in pleasure as happiness fluttered through her heart. “I love you, too.” Probably since the first moment the insufferable wolf first arrested her.

He rested his forehead against hers and smiled. “Mine.”

Val pouted prettily. “No, mine.”

He chuckled and sighed. “Must you argue about everything?”

She clucked her tongue. “I don’t argue about everything, I…”

Jake cut her off with a kiss, and she gladly melted into his embrace. His mouth traced over her jaw, and he nuzzled her hair.

“Mmmm, I didn’t think you wanted to do this.”

“I always want to do this,” came his muffled mumble.

“Good,” she breathed.

Val edged onto her back, and with gentle persuasion, she pulled Jake over her. He covered her with his large body, and she felt the pleasant pressure as he pressed her into the mattress.

“I never want to lose you, Valentine.”

“I never want to be lost,” she teased.

Amber seeped into his eyes and Venus let out a whimpering growl.

“I mean it, Valentine, I want you to be mine forever.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “I want that, too.”

Jake’s eyes searched her face for a few moments; looking for what, she didn’t know.

“Will you bond with me?” he asked almost hesitantly.

“Yes, of course, I will,” she gushed and then frowned. “What does that mean?”

He pressed his lips together to stop himself from laughing. “To bond, we would need to bite one another and drink one another’s blood while making love. It would mean that we would be connected emotionally, forever. If you wanted, we could…”

Venus roared ecstatically. “Yes, I want to bond with you. Now?”

Jake chuckled in surprise. “Now? You’re very keen.”

“Just don’t see any point in waiting.”

“You’re sure?”

Yes, what the heck were they waiting for?!
“Yes, Jake, I love you, and I want to be with you.”

Val wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling his sex to hers. She was ready – more than ready for this. Venus was going crazy in anticipation.

Jake leaned down and brushed a tender kiss over her lips. “Thank you, mate.”

He snaked an arm under her shoulders, holding her tightly as he pushed against her sex. Her body rippled, and she let out a shuddering sigh as he eased inside her. At first he took her with long, slow thrusts while he peppered her face and neck with kisses.

She squeezed her body around his and enjoyed the slow, passionate way he made love to her. His other hand cupped her ass, kneading the flesh, and he rocked in and out of her. A part of her wanted it to be this way forever, but she could feel the tingles in her body and she knew she needed more.

Gradually, he started to drive in and out of her with more force. His chest heaved as his caresses and kisses become hungrier and needier. Eventually, she was clutching onto his wide shoulders as he pounded into her. Their sweet lovemaking had turned into ardent mating, and she loved it.

Val moaned, squealed and whimpered every time he powerfully filled her. She pushed her hips up to him, desperately trying to meet his thrusts, desperately trying to take more and more of him inside her as she throbbed and quivered around him. The searing hot pleasure grew and grew, and she felt Venus impatiently prowling, awaiting the bonding.

She was alarmed as she saw her claws push out of her fingers and press right into his shoulders. Jake snarled and sped up even more. He filled her so beautifully, hitting every sweet spot inside her and relentlessly rubbing her clit.

She couldn’t take it anymore. Her fangs pushed forward and with a roar she sank them into his neck. She stilled right before her body exploded in release and the hot, ambrosial liquid of his blood flowed down her throat.

Jake roared as he reached his own climax, and his fangs found her throat. She felt no pain, only relief, love, and ecstasy pour through her. Venus howled at their joining and vaguely she was aware of another beast joining her – Jake’s wolf.

Finally releasing her neck, he whispered the words, ‘mate’ and ‘mine.’

They spent the night making love until finally exhausted they fell asleep in one another’s arms.