Worshiped By The Bear Kings - Complete (14 page)

CHAPTER
TWELVE

Thunder Brad didn’t know what Spike
was up to right now. He had waited around for a bit hoping his cousin might
have second thoughts and return to unite with him, but alas this was not the
case. Wherever he went, and whatever he did, Brad just hoped he’d be okay.

As right as
Spike may have been about them abandoning Jasmine, Brad still had greater
responsibilities to live up to. Without his own army, there was little he could
do to free the Uthuro from the Ice Storm panthers. Hades and Gaspar had given
him a way out. A beacon of hope. Their true war was with the lions, and not the
Uthuro. Perhaps then, at the very least, the lions might be his friends.

It was no
secret as to where Lady Lynette Thistle could be found. As Brad walked the city
streets he passed many a flashing sign or billboard directing him to her. Even
though it had been years since they’d seen each other, she was still as
beautiful as ever. Her beauty was the very reason she was so popular with both
humans and shifters. Thousands of people each night would gather to the city
arenas to watch her musicals. Brad had never seen one himself, but judging by
the posters of her in revealing clothing, there was definitely an erotic vibe
to them.

After about a
half hour walk, Brad had made it to the central city’s coastline, and was
following it round to the arena she was performing in tonight. The music could
be heard even this far away. By the sound of things, they were wrapping the
show up, this was the last song and dance – her final moments on the stage.
Brad didn’t know with all the busyness how he was going to be able to get in to
see her. The only way through would be if the past meant as much to her…

As it did for
him.

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

After scraping some change off the
pavement and finding a payphone, Spike was able to call the ranger Scott
Wiggins, whose home number Brad had forced him to commit to memory. The ranger
was at home, and while at first reluctant to give out Jasmine’s address, he did
agree to come and meet with Spike on the prospect of taking him to her.

Spike put the
receiver down and sat at the edge of the curb.

Before long,
he realized someone was sitting next to him.

“You’re not
too bright, are you?”

Spike turned
and couldn’t contain his gasp. It was the robe man from the forest earlier.

“What are you
doing here? Why are you following me?” Spike demanded.

“The ranger
isn’t going to help you. In about five minutes, this road is going to be filled
with police looking to arrest you. Is that what you want? Or do you want to
protect her?”

“You mean
Jasmine?”

“Of course.”

“Where is
she?”

“I will give
you her address on this little piece of paper here, but only if you promise me
that you will protect her.”

“Alright. I
promise.”

The man handed
him the paper. Spike took it.

“What do I
have to protect her from?”

“Dark
forces,” the man said standing up. “They are coming quickly. But you have
time.”

Spike stood
up with him.

The robed man
turned and began walking away.

“Wait a
second,” Spike said, fumbling with the address. “How am I supposed to get
here?”

The man
turned slightly, and smiled. “I called you a cab.”

To Spike’s
amazement, a yellow taxi pulled up on the other side of the road and honked its
horn.

“Thank you,”
Spike said, turning back to the man.

But he was
already gone.

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

“Goodnight everyone! Goodnight
and goodbye!”

The grass
parking area was filled to the brim with cars as far as the eye could see, but
there wasn’t a person in sight. Thunder Brad heard the cheers inside the
stadium rise with enormous applause as everyone gave Lady Thistle the send off
her performance deserved. To escape the flood of audience members that would
soon come bursting out from every side of the circular arena, Brad hurried
towards the fenced off staff only entrance, and ran along the side of it.

He was
spotted by a dark skinned man in a trench coat on the other side of the fence,
who was obviously part of the security team.

“Back away,
sir!” he shouted. “Personnel only.”

“Come here,”
Brad said, beckoning.

“Okay, but
you’re going to regret it.”

The man
pulled out his taser stick as two more guards followed behind him, making their
way out of the fenced area.

They
approached Brad without breaking stride.

“Just listen
to me for five seconds, please,” Brad mumbled.

“What is it?”

“I must see
Lady Thistle.”

“Really?”

The guard
shoved the taser into Brad’s stomach, and he hit the ground crying out in
agony.

“Please, it’s
urgent,” Brad managed to say.

The guard
tasered him again, and he dropped onto his  back.

“That’s your
last warning,” the guard said. “If you persist again, I’ll have the cops come
grab you and you’ll be in jail for a month before there’s even a hearing.”

“You don’t
understand,” Brad wailed, “I’m her friend.”

“Call the
cops,” the guard barked. “Get this piece of shit out of here.”

A guard
behind the fence went off to phone the cops whilst the accompanying guards,
grabbed hold of Brad’s underarms and started to drag him across the ground.

“I tried to
warn you,” the guard said to Brad as he was being dragged.

“No,” Brad
whispered.

“No, what?”
the guard mocked him.

“I tried to
warn you.”

 
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

The cab pulled up to the side of the
road and came to a stop.

Spike looked
around nervously.

“That will be
seventeen dollars fifty.”

“I’m sorry,”
he replied. “Are we here?”

“Seventeen
fifty,” the driver repeated leaning over the seat.

“I don’t have
any money on me,” Spike said. “I have to get some from the house. Is that
okay?”

The driver
glared at him, and then nodded his head for Spike to leave the car.

He quickly
hurried up the driveway and approached the front door of the house. As far as
he could tell all the lights were on, which meant someone was home.

He knocked
three times.

A minute or
so later, Jasmine appeared at the door.

She was
dressed in a jumper and jeans, like she was about to go out somewhere.

“Spike?” she
exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

“I need some
cash for the cab driver,” he said. “He’s waiting.”

Jasmine
looked over his shoulder. “How much do you need?”

“Seventeen
fifty.”

“Just a
moment.”

Jasmine
backed away from the entrance and ducked into one of the rooms. She returned
with a twenty dollar bill. “Give that to him.”

“Thanks,”
Spike said.

He snatched
the note away and hurried back down the drive to pay the driver. He accepted
the note, then took off down the other side of the street. By the time Spike
reached the front door again, he was long gone.

“Come in,”
Jasmine said, holding the door open.

“Thank you.”

Spike entered
the house.

For Spike, he
found the inside of the house to be a bit confronting. Not so much because he
wasn’t used to being indoors, but because this was where his mate lived. This
was her natural habitat. All around him he felt the presence of others. Many of
them were strangers, and few of them were friends.

“Are you
okay?” Jasmine asked him. “You look a little caught up.”

“I’m okay,”
Spike said. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”

Jasmine led
him into the lounge room and sat with him on the sofa.

Spike felt
nervous.

“How did you
find me?” Jasmine asked.

“Oh,” Spike
mumbled. “Well. It was your friend again.”

“My friend…?”

“The one who
led us –” Spike stopped himself short, remembering that he wasn’t supposed to
mention the man.

But Jasmine
had already figured it out. “That guy you saw in the forest?”

“Did Brad
tell you about him?”

“Oh God.”
Jasmine stood up, her hands covering her face.

“What is it?”
Spike asked. “What’s wrong?”

“That guy is
after me. He’s stalking me. Now he knows where I live…”

“No, I think
he wants you protected,” Spike said. “That’s why he told me where you were. He
said dark forces were coming.”

“He’s just
saying
that. He’s the dark force. I wonder what his plan is.”

Jasmine put
her hands through her hair.

Spike stood
up and went to her.

Even though
they weren’t touching, and she was clothed, he could feel himself becoming
aroused.

“I…” he
mumbled. “I want you to not be afraid of him.”

Jasmine shook
her head. “Oh. Don’t worry about that.”

He reached
out for her hand. “But I am worried about you.”

He touched
her hand and felt it tingle in his grasp. Her lips curled inward.

“Where’s
Brad?” she asked.

“He’s out
there. Looking for Lynette.”

“The
lioness?”

“Yes.”

Her waist
brushed against his shins.

“This feels a
bit weird,” Jasmine whispered. “Being with you. Without him.”

“Only because
we haven’t done it yet,” Spike replied.

He put his
hand through her hair and touched her cheek.

Jasmine leant
into it and closed her eyes.

Wherever the
danger was, Spike didn’t know. If the dark forces were coming, he wasn’t sure.

All he knew
was that he wanted to be with her.

Right here.

Right now.

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

Jasmine was lost. Faraway. After
saying her goodbyes to Stacey over the phone she was supposed to just lie down
and go to bed. It had been a long day.

But the night
had called to her. She knew it was not yet over.

And here he
was. From the depths of darkness, one of her shifters had risen over the
impossible task of finding her… The likelihood he would even want to find her…

And right
when she needed him, he was here.

So youthful.
So strong and innocent. Spike was nervous in her arms because he was like a
deer in headlights, or a fish out of water. He had wandered so far from his
home to find her, to rescue her, to protect her. She had been with him already
and in that sense they were connected – but it was always Brad who had directed
things. Jasmine had been so focused on him she hadn’t barely enough time to
understand Spike – to look into his eyes and see who was truly there.

But she was
looking into them now.

And he was
looking into hers.

They kissed.

At first
slow. For a long time, slow.

At times,
their lips barely grazed one another. He was touching her in other places. His
hands were moving from below her shoulders to touch the outsides of her
breasts.

Jasmine
didn’t lead. She didn’t force them to go any faster than they were. He just
appeared fascinated by her. She was fascinated by his fascination. Although no
words were being spoken, it did not mean that communication wasn’t taking
place. She now understood things about Spike she didn’t before. He was in a
word, pure. He hadn’t been bruised or corrupted by the outside world, the same
way Thunder had. Of course that meant he was missing the same strengths as his
cousin. Spike was much softer. And Jasmine was drawn into it. She realized it
was because Spike thought so highly of her… Or he felt so highly. He worshiped
her, as was their initial pledge.

Jasmine knew
that he was aroused. He didn’t hide it, but he made no move to alert Jasmine to
his protrusion either. Instead, because she couldn’t stand the friction any
more, she reached out with her free hand whilst they were still gently kissing,
and massaged it. As she did so, something stirred within Spike. His kissing
became more aggressive, and soon that wasn’t enough for him. He picked Jasmine
up off the ground and carried her into the bedroom.

With his
foot, he closed door behind them, as they advanced towards the bed. He set her
down gently and then remained motionless, standing over her.

“Can we turn
down the lights?” he whispered.

Jasmine
reached over to the bedside table and switched off the ceiling light. Behind
Spike, in the corner of the room by the cupboard, Jasmine’s blue and yellow
lava lamp shone dimly as its magnificent colors crept up the walls.

Spike stared
down at her, the distance between them nothing short of extraordinary.

“Is this okay
for you?” he asked.

“Is what
okay?”

“This.”

Jasmine
blinked. “I’m your mate, aren’t I?”

That was all
she had to say. Spike ripped off his clothes and then he ripped off hers.