Chapter 7
I dreamt of the troll doll again, but this time it was in a fight with a single wolf, one with nearly black fur and gray eyes that I hadn’t seen before… I woke up just as the troll doll broke the wolf’s back. It was after noon when I rolled over and looked at the clock, and I sighed as I shoved my blanket back and headed for the shower.
When I was washing my hair, I was shocked to find it so short, having completely forgotten about cutting it; and when I went to dry it, I had to change my whole routine to get the same look the stylist had given me the day before. I just tossed on a pair of jeans and a tank top before I went downstairs, saving my new outfit for later.
I walked downstairs and found… no one… nothing… the house seemed completely empty. There was a plate of tacos sitting out on the counter in the kitchen and they were still warm, but there was no one around. I sat down and ate a taco with the dream still playing in my mind. I wonder if that’s what I’d look like as a wolf… It crossed my mind before I froze, my hand holding the taco midair before I dropped it and darted out the back door.
“Please, whoever is out here… is Malcolm’s little sister okay?” I questioned in a panic, not loudly because I knew whoever was there could hear me.
Tobias walked out of the tree line a minute later wearing only a pair of shorts, and I struggled to keep my attention on his honey colored eyes and away from his very muscular chest, stomach, arms…
“Why did you ask that?” he queried as he stopped in front of me, but I bit my lip, “She’s at the hospital… pretty much everyone is there with her….”
“Because she has a broken back…?” I whispered and Tobias’ eyes widened before he barely nodded his head, “I know Alex probably told you all about my weird dreams… I dreamt that the troll doll was fighting with a wolf I hadn’t seen, but when I really stopped and thought about it, the wolf reminded me of myself, which made me think about Malcolm’s sister….”
“We got really worried when she never made it home yesterday. She tunes out a lot, so we don’t know what exactly happened… she’ll be fine though. Malcolm found her and we got her to the hospital and got her back realigned… she’s a werewolf, so it will heal up within the day,” he explained hesitantly, “Jack says to tell you that you’re not getting out of your date tonight that easily.”
“Why don’t you know what happened? Hasn’t she told you yet?” I pressed and his gaze fell to the ground as his long dark brown hair fell across his face.
“She hasn’t woken up yet… but we know she’ll be okay… Alex doesn’t want me telling you anything else about it, I’m sorry…” he reasoned with a sigh, “He told me to stay up at the house with you, but I have to get my bag if I’m staying here… I’ll be right back, okay?”
I only nodded before he dashed off into the tree line and I felt my hands trembling. Before I could really think about anything, Tobias was back in front of me with a duffle-type bag tossed over his shoulder. He stepped past me and opened the door, holding it open until I was inside then closing it behind us.
“Who made the tacos?” I wondered and he chuckled as he grabbed one and shoved nearly the entire thing in his mouth in one bite. I was thankful he at least chewed and swallowed before trying to speak.
“Caiden came in and tossed them together in case you woke up. He actually had just gotten back on patrol when you came outside,” Tobias stated as he fell onto one of the barstools and motioned for me to sit down, “And before you ask, he’s fine.” There was that silver around his eyes that made his eyes look like gold.
“What made you think…” I trailed off when he grinned at me.
“It’s so obvious you liked him and were just holding off because of Sage… I’m sorry you got caught up in that… Sage won’t date anyone but Caiden, Caiden won’t date Sage because he doesn’t want to hurt his brother… Rai is obviously a little… uncontrollable.”
“How long is my blood going to stay in his system…?” I queried, watching him chew on his bottom lip and glance out the back door.
“Pretty much permanently… all he needs is for you to have one drop of his blood and it will create a blood tie… so be really careful around him… Caiden is staying open to his brother to show him that he’s staying away from you and from Sage… I can’t believe Rai didn’t understand what was going on…” Tobias growl-sighed and rested his head on the countertop.
“What do you mean ‘pretty much’ permanently?” I pressed and he sighed and groaned as he rolled his head over so that he was staring at the floor.
“Too observant…” he grumbled, looking over at me after a long minute, “I can’t tell you that… Alex said not to tell you anything but what I said… so I can’t tell you.”
“Then you mean he ordered it,” I countered and he sighed again and nodded, “Okay… what can you tell me? Can you tell me how old everyone is?”
He laughed and sat up straighter on the stool, starting to count on his fingers, “Amy is 20; Farren is 19; Alex, Jack, Lissa, and Rayne are 18; Aeril will be 18 in November; Sam, Michaela, and Malcolm are 17; Sage, Kiris, and I are 16; Caiden, Trina, and Liliana are 15; Evan is 14; Violet is 13 and Sybil is 12. So we have a pretty wide age-range in the elite group when you really stop and think about it.”
“You’re my age?” I wondered and he barely shrugged his shoulders.
“My birthday is in December. So I’m a Junior this year. Aeril, Rayne, and Michaela are Seniors, Sam and Malcolm are Juniors… Obviously you’ll be seeing a lot of Aeril, Rayne, and Michaela at school…” Tobias considered thoughtfully, “Well, Aeril and Michaela at least… Alex is still....” He trailed off and bit his lip really hard, “Did you want to go anywhere or do you want to stay here?”
“I’m allowed to leave?” I laughed softly and he nodded his head, “As long as you go with me…?” He grinned and nodded again. “I, honestly, wasn’t planning on going anywhere today… About the only place I might decide to go would be the ice cream parlor because that place has amazing ice cream….”
“I remember the day you were there… We couldn’t believe Jack went over and talked to you with that fierce protective vibe your brother was giving off… If you want to go there, we can,” he offered and I barely nodded my head.
“I didn’t realize you were there…” I murmured and he laughed.
“Yeah… Jack definitely caught your attention that day… that seems like such a long time ago…” he was still talking, but he was across the room pulling on a shirt before his fingers glided over the different sets of keys hanging on the key rack. He sighed and took a different set of keys than what he had originally stopped at, then turned back to face me, “Let’s go.”
I got the very distinct feeling he didn’t want to be in the house and checked my back pockets for my phone and wallet before I followed him into the garage, which was normally more filled with cars than it was that day, but I guessed most of them were at the hospital. He led us to the oldest car in the garage, a 2006 Honda Accord and I climbed into the passenger seat while he eyed the really beautiful brand new sports car across from him. It took him an extra minute to get into the driver’s seat.
“Alex said no to driving the fancy one I take it?” I quietly laughed and he chuckled distantly and nodded his head.
“He doesn’t trust my driving skills yet… Sorry…” he murmured while we left the house and headed into town.
The longer we rode in near silence, the quicker I realized I hadn’t ever really been alone with Tobias. Did I like Tobias? Sure; but it was totally a superficial little crush because he was gorgeous, I didn’t really know much of anything else about him. He glanced at me while we were stopped at a red light, a smile playing across his lips.
“What?” he laughingly asked, “You’ve been staring at me… why?”
“I was realizing I don’t think I’ve ever been alone with you before… I don’t really know you very well,” I explained, but my gaze fell to my lap as my face shaded pink and he laughed sof
tly.
“I’m too shy to spend time alone with you,” he mumbled, continuing down the road when the light turned green.
“You don’t strike me as shy,” I countered and he laughed softly, pulling into a parking space in front of the ice cream parlor.
“Have I ever talked to you when someone else wasn’t around before today?” he pressed and I considered it before I shook my head, “Because I’m shy, and you’re intimidating… if Alex hadn’t left just Caiden and me at the house… I wouldn’t be talking to you now….”
“How can someone so attractive be so shy?” I wondered curiously, realizing he was blushing only after I’d gotten out of the car, “Sorry… I’m not trying to embarrass you, I promise… I just don’t get it.”
“I’m right dead center of the elite group with Malcolm… I dunno… I guess the older ones and the younger ones got more attention… I didn’t have anyone pushing me to be less introverted, so I just kind of stayed quiet…” he murmured with a shrug, holding the door to the ice cream parlor open for me.
“Well… now you have me,” I decided while inspecting the different ice cream options before I ordered a caramel sundae with double chocolate ice cream and nuts.
I turned around when he sighed. “Um… Alex… ordered me to buy that for you… sorry…” he muttered, staring down at the floor instead of looking at me.
“Tell him to stop trying to buy me off, I don’t like it… but it’s fine this time… I guess…” I sighed while he ordered a sundae, too, and then skipped ahead of me to pay for both of them. I went over to one of the high top tables and sat down, my gaze wandering out the front windows to the overcast afternoon.
“The rain won’t get here until after you and Jack leave,” Tobias stated as he sat down across from me, “But it is on the way….”
No sooner had the girl behind the counter brought out our sundaes than the bell chimed as the front door opened. My eyes darted up to find Ty walking into the ice cream parlor with two of his band mates. His pale blue eyes instantly found me in the room as his lips curled into a grin, the hoops in his bottom lip glistening in the light.
“Hello, Anna Gray,” he greeted as he strolled over beside our table while the other two got in line to order ice cream, “I like the new hair. I hear you landed yourself in something you can’t get out of just like I thought you would.”
“Ty…” Tobias’ voice was cold, warning, and I darted my eyes to him in confusion, “Did you actually need something?”
“I just wanted to say hello,” Ty smugly countered, “Not that it’s any of your business, Tobias. I’m surprised you’re the only one here… did something happen?”
“Violet got hurt,” Tobias muttered and I saw the brief pang of guilt flash across Ty’s eyes, “She’ll be fine… we don’t know what happened yet… Where are your other two band members?”
Ty’s gaze shifted slowly to his friends before he glanced at me and then finally back to Tobias. “They got hurt,” he admitted quietly, “You should take Anna Gray home, I think.”
“Why do you care?” I murmured and he grinned when he looked at me again.
“I have my reasons, Anna Gray. Tobias is too nice to tell you this, so I’ll do it for him… you need to hurry and finish your sundae so he can get you back to the house,” Ty stated with certainty before he turned around and walked off to his friends who got their ice creams and left.
I spun around to face Tobias, but he was staring into his sundae. “Tobias… what was that about?” I asked anyway but he kept shoveling ice cream into his mouth.
“We need to hurry,” he mumbled and I sighed but resumed eating my sundae.
We got back to the house about an hour before Jack had said we would be leaving, so I started getting ready.
At exactly 4 o’clock, there was a knock on my bedroom door. I inhaled a shaky breath as I glanced in the mirror at my short black dress with the studded belt and various ‘punk’ elements, which apparently made it completely appropriate for the concert; then I looked at my studded black ankle boots and the nearly three-inch heels on them. There was another soft knock and I exhaled harshly before I grabbed my tiny purse and tossed it over my shoulder.
When I opened the door, I watched Jack’s eyes move up from my shoes, slowly moving across my dress and finally making it up to my face, wide, and sparkling. He was wearing black jeans with a studded belt and a v-neck charcoal gray shirt that was made out of some really soft material. He grinned as he pushed off of the doorframe and held his hand out to me.
“You ready?” he queried and I barely nodded as I took his hand and pulled my door closed behind me, “You look… amazing….” He kept looking back at me as he led me downstairs and out the front door to the sports car that Tobias had wanted to drive earlier that day. He held the door open for me while I maneuvered my way into the passenger seat, then darted around and climbed into the driver’s seat and we were off.
“So why do you get to drive it and Tobias couldn’t?” I wondered and Jack laughed, glancing briefly over at me.
“Alex had it washed particularly so I could take you out in it tonight. Tobes can drive it another day, just not today,” Jack explained with a soft smile as his hand fell to rest on top of my hand on my knee, “I’m really glad you decided to come with me tonight.”
“Just how crazy did you drive everyone for the past week thinking about tonight?” I wondered and he laughed such a melodic laugh that my heart skipped.
“Pretty crazy,” he admitted with a grin that suddenly disappeared, “I heard you ran into Ty at the ice cream parlor….”
“He dropped in for a few minutes with two of his friends… I’m not entirely convinced he didn’t do it on purpose, but I can’t figure out how he would’ve known I was there…” I admitted with a shrug, “No harm done though, so no worries… Where are we going to eat?”
“This Japanese restaurant in the city right around the corner from the concert venue,” he stated, “The girls say it’s a nice enough place for a first date. Apparently my first choice didn’t meet their expectations.”
“What was your first choice?” I wondered and he chuckled softly.
“Sushi-Me… it’s back in town, and I can see where they were coming from,” he revealed with another soft laugh. He caught a glance of me while he was switching lanes on the interstate. “You look tired… why don’t you rest until we get there?”
“Okay…” I agreed, because I was much, much too mentally worn out to argue with him. The dreams had been taking their toll on me, and Tobias and Ty being so strange at the parlor earlier hadn’t helped any. Plus actually going on my first date?! Speaking of first dates… I had told Austin about it with explicit instructions to not say a word to Jason. I was pleasantly surprised by how well Austin dealt with the news. He, of course, wanted to know the exact details of when and where and who, as well as when I’d be back at Alex’s and to remind me that sex isn’t for first dates. I’d nearly hung up on him at that point from sheer embarrassment! My brother, talking to me about sex!? Like I didn’t already know about it… And how could he even think I’d consider it after what had happened with Mark… Being intimate with someone… I had a bad feeling that was going to take some seriously slow acclimations to avoid any panic attacks or anything. The nice thing was that even though these guys were werewolves, totally supernatural gorgeous guys that could have any girl they wanted, and surely had the animal urges to boot, they never made me feel any kind of pressure, any kind of worry… I felt really comfortable around them, safe, I guess.
Jack caught me staring at him and lightly squeezed my hand as he finally got off of the interstate in the heart of the city.
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” he quietly asked, looking directly at me while we were stopped at the red light at the off-ramp.
“I have a really weird… personal… question…” I murmured and he lifted a single eyebrow at me. “I would think… being werewolves and all… that yo
u would have more… animalistic urges…” I faltered over the words and saw him trying to keep himself from smiling, “So do you? And if you do… why don’t I ever notice it…?”
“We do,” he admitted as he resumed driving down the road, “We also have impeccable self-control, and you are much too precious to us to ever show that part of ourselves to without your permission. Why in the world are you asking me that?”
I barely shrugged my shoulders, but he looked at me skeptically. “A whole series of thoughts starting with telling Austin about tonight and him telling me not to have sex.” I felt my face flush, but tried not to acknowledge it. Jack laughed as he turned into a parking garage, rolled down the window to retrieve a parking ticket, and then went through the gate into the sporadically lit cement maze.
“You’re too fragile…” Jack murmured beneath his breath, stopping the car in a spot near the elevator. He was out of the driver’s seat before I could blink and pulling my door open for me. He helped me out of the car, but I was looking at him in confusion.
“What… you’ll break me?” I pressed and his eyes briefly widened before I realized he had the silver around his pupils.
“I didn’t…” he sighed and barely shook his head, “I didn’t even mean to say that out loud… much less for you to hear it… I meant… mentally… fragile… I don’t want to scare you… or remind you of anything….” He sighed again before smiling softly at me, “No one wants to remind you of anything.”
I smiled distantly and shook my head. “So where is this restaurant?”
“Upstairs,” he answered softly, his hand sliding into mine as he led me to the elevator and we waited for it to get to our level, “It’s the top floor. You’re not scared of heights are you?”
“No…?” I replied in confusion. He laughed as we got into the elevator and he pressed the button for floor 65.
“I want to kiss you,” he suddenly stated and I looked up at him with still-flushed cheeks.
“Why don’t you?” I wondered, his fingers trailing across my cheek as I could almost see him thinking about it.
“I’m too excited… I don’t know that I could stop…” he whispered. He was only a breath away from me when the elevator doors opened and he laughed softly as he slowly stepped away. He was still holding onto my hand and gently pulled me off of the elevator behind him.
The heights thing suddenly made a lot more sense. We were on the top floor all right, and the entire thing was glass. The walls were all glass, the ceiling was glass… there was even glass covering the floors with koi swimming under our feet. I absolutely froze and felt the pull on my hand before Jack turned back around to look at me and found me staring at the floor.
“It’s safe, I promise. That’s the super thick stuff they use at aquariums, you won’t fall through it,” he assured as I inhaled a shaky breath and tightened my grip on his hand, slowly and carefully following him over to the hostess stand.
I guess it was just koi swimming around over pebbles and little pathways that almost looked like a small city, but it still made me nervous, especially actually walking across it and feeling like the koi were following me. We reached a table beside one of the glass walls and Jack pulled my chair out for me, laughing when I sat down and kept glancing at the floor while he pushed the chair back under the table and sat down across from me.
“There are five koi under my feet… that isn’t normal…” I murmured, staring down at the fish swimming little figure-eights under my chair.
“You attract animals,” Jack chuckled as I finally looked up at him, “Ignore the fish, ignore the floor.” He motioned toward the wall and I looked out over the city with a silent gasp. “Enjoy the view.”
It was beautiful, and the sun was just starting to fall behind the tallest buildings casting lights and shadows across the cityscape. When I looked back at Jack, he was staring at me, watching me.
“I’ve never been on a date before…” I whispered and his lips curled into a soft smile.
“I know,” he replied.
“I don’t know what to say…”
“I know.” He reached across the table and took hold of my hand before the waitress appeared and took our drink orders. When she left, he was staring at me again. “Just be yourself, Anna… I like you for who you are.”
“But you aren’t being yourself,” I mumbled and he looked at me in confusion, “You’re usually joking around and being really silly and spontaneous… you’ve been being more and more serious lately….” The tiniest smile slipped onto his lips as he kept watching me. “Goofy Jack has a tendency to pop up right when I need a laugh….”
“Just wait til we get to the show,” he chuckled, squeezing my hand tighter, “I’m serious about you, Anna… so I guess I feel the need to at least show you that I can be more mature….”
“I know you can,” I murmured and he laughed softly before he nodded toward the menu.
“Figure out what you want to eat; anything at all, okay?” he insisted, and I nodded even though I knew I would never dream of getting something too expensive. Thankfully as I looked at the menu, the teriyaki chicken bento box sounded delicious and wasn’t too very pricey.
When the waitress came back with our drinks, we ordered our food, and I wasn’t even sort of surprised when Jack ordered steak and had it cooked rare and a sushi sampler.
“So how long have these dreams of yours been going on?” Jack queried and I darted my eyes up to him, startled, but found the silver still in his eyes, “I have permission to tune out for pretty much the whole night as long as I tune back in during part of the concert for a few other people.”
“Sometimes I think you’re reading my mind,” I laughed softly and he grinned.
“I wish I could… sometimes you just have your thoughts really clearly written across your face,” he replied seriously, “Most of the time I have absolutely no idea what’s going on in your head.”
“You’re really going to stay tuned out?” I pressed and he barely nodded his head, “So… Aeril doesn’t ever tell you what’s going on in my head?” His eyes widened, and the silver flickered but stayed. “The dreams started… sometime after I moved here… long before I found out the truth about you guys… but back then it was just wolves.”
“Aeril told you…” Jack faltered almost silently, “Anna… Alex will punish him if he finds out….”
“Then Alex won’t find out… will he…?” I pressed and Jack sighed as he barely shook his head, “Why did you ask about the dreams?”
“I’m curious what exactly they are…” he admitted with a faint smile as the sushi sampler arrived at the table and he insisted we share it. “If you had been having them longer, I wouldn’t think they were linked to us….”
“I’ve had them before… a really long time ago… back when I used to keep my sense-feeling thing open…” I mumbled, picking up a strip of eel with my chopsticks and barely looking up at Jack to find curiosity on his face.
“So the dreams are linked to your feelings…” he considered thoughtfully, “Maybe, at least….”
“Maybe,” I quietly admitted, “I still don’t understand why you care.”
“Call it cliché, but I want to know everything about you, Anna,” he remarked with a grin, “Every little teeny tiny thing.”
“That’s a little bit creepy,” I laughed and his grin shifted to a smile, “I can’t explain the dreams… and I can’t explain the feelings… what else do you want to know?”
“When were you adopted?” he questioned.
“Austin said I was a year and a half old… It’s not like I remember it or anything…” I murmured, shrugging my shoulders, “So if you were hoping for more information, I don’t have any… My dad said he has my birth parents’ names, but I haven’t asked, and I wasn’t really planning to ask….”
“I think I’d be curious if I were you,” he commented but I only shrugged my shoulders, “What do you get involved with in school besides… well, school?”
“I didn’t…” I stated, “I…” I was twirling my straw around in my cup, watching it dazedly. “Austin wouldn’t let me date… he kept everyone away from me… so I didn’t bother trying to get involved in anything… it would have just caused more problems….”
“Well, that isn’t a problem anymore… so what do you want to get involved with at school?” he pressed but I shrugged my shoulders, “Do you do any kind of art or music? Any sports? Theatre maybe?” I shrugged again and he frowned. “We’ll just have to find you something then.”
“You aren’t going to be at school,” I countered in confusion and he smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
“More of a general we. Everybody has something to be involved in, you can just join whoever until you find something you like,” he decided while the waitress placed our food on the table. When she was gone, we started eating and became more or less silent.
He laughed and I darted my gaze up to find him watching me.
“What?” I blurted as he just smiled at me.
“You are so cute,” he chuckled, “I knew you were shy… but I didn’t realize just how shy you really are.”
“Shut up,” I mumbled in absolute embarrassment as my face shaded bright red but his eyes only sparkled brighter.
“Cute,” he chuckled before we resumed eating in near silence until we finished our meals. After he paid, he stood up and held his hand out to me, helping me up from my chair and holding my hand as he led me back to the elevator.
No sooner had the elevator doors closed than his fingers slid across my cheeks and he kissed me. They were slow, gentle kisses at first, but then they became more and only the ding of the elevator as we reached the ground floor caused him to stop. He very slowly backed away from me, his eyes searching my face as I spotted the panic in his.
“Ahem,” an older man cleared his throat and both of us looked at him standing there with his wife. Jack’s hand slipped down into mine and he pulled me out of the elevator behind him.
“Sorry, excuse us sir,” Jack faintly apologized while I bit back a laugh and we walked into a marble entryway. He pulled me off to the side, up against a wall and spun around to face me. “Anna, I’m sorry,” he whispered, but the panic was almost instantly replaced with confusion when he found me stifling laughter.
“Austin stole my first kiss,” I started and his confusion worsened, “Right before I told him about what had happened with Mark… Stop worrying so much….” Before the words really finished leaving my mouth he kissed me again, just once, so sweetly that my heart melted.
“You scared the crap out of me,” he muttered, his fingers sliding across my cheeks again as he backed away, “Let’s get to the show before I do something stupid.”
I didn’t argue with him because he was definitely slipping up. He took hold of my hand and we were off again, outside this time and around the block to the arena and the line of people heading in the doors.
When we got inside and found our seats, even though we kept standing with everyone else, Jack was bouncing around like a little kid in a candy store. The show started a short time later, and it was really cool, actually. There were people in weird costumes on stage playing all kinds of random percussion instruments with occasional vocalists and regular musicians joining in. Lights and fog were everywhere, and shifting backgrounds that took us from some other planet to the jungle and to a field with the stars in the background, amongst other places. He was screaming and jumping around and dancing with nearly everyone else, and I was watching him and laughing until it was over.
When the show was over and we piled out of the arena with everyone else, Jack was trying to be calm, but that’s like saying a shaken up bottle of soda is trying not to explode. He looked at me and smiled and pulled me into a tight hug.
“That was amazing,” he managed to say before he let go of me. There was a change, so suddenly I was confused, as the silver slid out of his eyes and he turned deadly serious. His hand holding mine started to get really hot, but he pulled it away and curled it into a fist.
“Jack,” I whispered, but he wouldn’t even look at me until the silver slid back into his eyes.
“I’m going to kill him,” he growled under his breath, barely shaking his head, “Call your brother….”
I reached into my purse and pulled out my phone. No missed calls; but he was right, out there away from all the excitement, I started to get the feeling something was really wrong. I dialed home and Austin picked up after the first ring.
“Arianna… you’re okay,” he sighed in relief, “I know where you said you were… so I was trying not to worry… but….”
Jason had apparently picked up another phone, because he suddenly burst in on the conversation. “Where are you, Arianna?” he demanded, but I felt my stomach sink even lower, they were both calling me by my full name.
“I’m in the city,” I answered evasively, “I’m fine. What’s going on over there? What’s wrong?”
“You have to stay there,” Austin insisted sternly, “It should be safer there… Mark… escaped… he killed three people and put five more in ICU while he did it….”
“What? When? Is Dad okay?” I panicked while Jack stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Sometime before dawn this morning… the cops were keeping it quiet because they thought they could find him… Dad sent Jay and me out on a bunch of errands to keep us out of the house…” Austin continued hesitantly, “Arianna… Dad’s missing….”
“She should come home!” Jason blurted, but I was frozen in shock.
“Do not come home, Arianna. We don’t know where Mark has gone… we don’t know where Dad is… Amy invited Jason and me to come stay there… But you need to stay away from here. Stay in the city tonight, okay?” Austin insisted and I barely nodded my head, knowing fully well he couldn’t see me. I couldn’t think clearly, and I felt my phone slip out of my hand, but never heard the crash of plastic on cement.
“I’m sorry, Anna,” Jack whispered in my ear. “She’ll stay in the city, I’ll keep an eye on her,” Jack recited into the phone and I flinched.
“Who is this?! Why do you have Anna’s phone?!” Jason hollered so loudly I could hear him.
“All right,” Austin agreed with a sigh, “We’ll keep you posted.”
“Goodnight,” Jack finalized and hung up the call before he slipped my phone back into my purse. “Let’s get to a hotel and we can talk, all right?” he whispered across my ear and I barely nodded my head again as he took hold of my hand and gently pulled me along with him. When I finally looked over at him while we waited at a crosswalk, he was completely tense.
“Jack…” I started, but he shook his head and smiled softly at me.
“At the hotel,” he reiterated.
We walked across the street to what turned out to be a really fancy hotel and Jack nearly forced me to sit down in a chair in the lobby while he went up to the front counter. I pulled my phone back out to take it off of silent, but there were text messages from Jason, and I clicked into them despite knowing I shouldn’t.
You’re on a date with Jack? How could you go on a date!? How could you not tell me?!
He was mad, and hurt, and I knew he would be which is why I had avoided telling him… Jack’s hand locked around my phone and he took it out of my grasp, shoving it in his back pocket while I looked up at him in confusion.
“I think you have enough to deal with right now. You don’t need to add your little brother’s anger to it,” he quietly remarked, holding a card out to me, “Your copy of the key… let’s get upstairs.”
We rode up the elevator in silence to the 60th floor and stepped off directly into a large living room. There was food on the table, and I could see clothes, robes, and basic bathroom necessities sitting on the humongous bed through the other door. I turned back to look at Jack and he laughed distantly.
“There are more people coming… but suffice it to say, Alex put us
up in the Penthouse as an apology… I told him it wasn’t enough of an apology,” Jack stated, slowly shaking his head and going to sit on the sofa while I wandered around to look at everything. “Alex knew about Mark first thing this morning… Alex knew Mark was the one who hurt Violet… he had a bunch of the guys out tracking him, but told us that the guys were watching the house, and told Caiden and Tobias that the guys were at the hospital… so he kept the whole thing a big secret….” He trailed off when he realized I had stopped and turned around to face him.
“What do you mean, Mark hurt Violet?” I barely heard my own voice.
“Mark is a troll, Anna… they’re big, they’re built like rocks, a little on the dumb side, and extremely possessive…” Jack calmly explained, “For whatever reason… he’s taken an interest in you… We thought we’d taken care of him, but they’re not easy to kill… and now he’s really pissed off….”
I sank to the floor and Jack was immediately off of the sofa and at my side. “Mark is a troll? So the troll doll… and you guys knew and didn’t tell me?” I pressed while Jack turned my head to face him.
“Alex ordered us not to,” he reasoned, “He thought knowing what Mark was would just freak you out even more….”
“The little dancing lights… are those faeries?” I questioned and saw his pupils dilate and constrict with the silver still around them.
“I can’t…” Jack sighed, his gaze falling to the floor, “I wish that I could, Anna….”
“Who did he send to look for Mark? Why haven’t they found him?”
“Malcolm, Rayne, Aeril, Farren, and Evan… he didn’t even tell us Evan was home…” Jack muttered in annoyance, “They tracked the troll right out of the state, out of the country, and came back when they lost him somewhere over near Alaska… All of them but Malcolm are on their way here… Malcolm is looking for your dad… he’s our best tracker.” His eyes suddenly darted to the elevator doors and he smiled faintly, “Actually, that’s them… Looks like you get to meet Evan finally.”
“Why do you say it like that…?” I muttered and he looked back at me with concern in his eyes.
“Evan is the fourth in your little group… but Evan can’t talk,” he stated just before the elevator doors opened and Rayne, Farren, Aeril, and a young guy with mischievous yellow-gold eyes beneath shaggy dark auburn hair, stepped into the room. That was clearly Evan, and his yellow-gold eyes inspected me curiously while he sat down on the sofa with Farren, but Rayne and Aeril were almost instantly beside me. Something about the way Evan was watching me so intently had me staring back at him in confusion until he smiled faintly and waved.
“Where’s my dad?” I demanded, still staring at Evan, not sure why I thought he would have an answer but so sure that he did. He barely shrugged his shoulders and I glared at him. I pushed myself to my feet and walked past everyone and into the bedroom before I closed the door and flipped the lock. I sat down on the bed and focused on my bad feelings, sorting through whom each one was coming from. What I found where Dad’s feelings usually came from, wasn’t the worry and fear and panic that everyone else was feeling… it was guilt… and love… and numbness…. I focused so hard on the feeling, I swear I heard him speak… “I love you kids.” But then all of the feelings disappeared and I realized tears were flowing out of my eyes. “No,” I muttered, my eyes opening as I grabbed the nearest thing and threw it across the room, barely hearing the shattering glass as I shook my head, “No!”
“Anna?” Jack called in a panic at the door, jiggling the locked doorknob, “Anna, open the door, please.”
I didn’t even try to stop crying as I walked over to the door and pulled it open. “What?” I murmured coldly, but Jack’s gaze fell to the floor and he suddenly picked me up and placed me on the sofa.
“Did you not even realize you were just walking on broken glass?” he demanded with worry written across his face while Rayne and Aeril disappeared into other rooms. Rayne came back with towels while Aeril went into the bedroom with a small broom and a dustpan. “What happened?” Jack insisted, but a hand wrapped around my wrist and sent a strange chill across my skin as I looked up at Evan.
“I’m sorry about your dad,” Evan whispered and I looked at him in wide-eyed shock before he smiled distantly and walked over to Aeril. A second later, Aeril dropped the broom and turned around to face me, horror in his eyes.
“Arianna,” Aeril uttered with such regret in his voice that even Rayne stopped picking glass out of my bloody feet to look over at him. “Shit….”
I could literally feel the tension spread around the room before Rayne bandaged my feet and picked me up from the sofa, heading toward the elevator doors.
“Rayne, what are you doing?” I questioned while he pressed the button for the elevator and balanced me carefully in his arms.
“I’m breaking from the pack and taking you away from here…” Rayne murmured nonchalantly but I started struggling to get down which made him hold me tighter.
“Rayne, no!” I blurted, “You can’t! I can’t leave my brothers!”
“I’ll tell them where we are… I’m not going to let this stupid pack cause you any more grief,” Rayne muttered, “I can protect you….”
“You can protect me from a troll all by yourself? Didn’t he break Violet’s back?” I pressed, fully aware of Aeril and Farren blocking Jack into the living room area, “Put me down, Rayne.”
“I can’t trust Alex anymore… and I can’t trust him with you,” Rayne sighed, shaking his head, “I can’t do it, Arianna… I love you, and I can’t trust him to keep you safe anymore.”
I froze as I looked up at him, wondering why the elevator was taking so long when it suddenly chimed open.
“Rayne, please don’t do this,” I pleaded, his gaze falling down to me. He started to step into the elevator, except Evan was standing in his way. He shook his head once and I felt Rayne flinch before he turned around and walked into the bedroom, placing me on the bed.
“Call your brother… Malcolm found your dad…” Rayne muttered, sighing before he walked back into the living room area. Evan walked into the doorway, his eyes searching my face before he smiled distantly and pulled the door partly closed.
I picked up my cell phone with shaking hands. It wasn’t possible, was it? My dad couldn’t be dead… could he? I was barely able to click on Austin’s number, and tears streamed from my eyes when he answered.
“Arianna, are you okay?” Austin instantly asked and my heart sank even deeper. “Arianna?”
I inhaled a shaky breath. “I’m okay, Austin, but…” I faltered and heard absolute silence in the background of the end of his phone, “Austin… I still have my feelings open… and everyone panicking was troublesome… but… I realized… that I wasn’t getting that from D… Dad….”
“Arianna, what’s wrong with Dad?” Austin demanded, his voice cracking.
“D… Dad… I… um… he’s gone, Austin,” I whispered, sniffling while Austin went deadly silent.
“Are you sure…?”
“I wish I wasn’t,” I whimpered, falling onto the bed and burying my face in the pillows, “I’m sorry, Austin….”
“It’s not your fault, Arianna…” he whispered, “Are you safe where you are? Is Jack still there with you?”
“He’s in the other room, but he’s here… I’m fine,” I assured quietly, “But I think it really is my fault, Austin… I think… I think it was Mark… I think he’s mad he can’t find me….”
“All the better reason for you to stay out of the way where he can’t get to you. Don’t do anything stupid, Arianna,” Austin insisted seriously, “Stay where you are or I’ll call Jack and tell him to tie you up to keep you there if he has to.”
I laughed through my tears and heard him chuckle distantly. “I won’t do anything stupid, I promise,” I swore and Austin sighed, “Are you going to tell Jay?”
“I kind of have to…” Austin grumbled, “I don’t get why you didn’t w
ant him here, Anna… he really likes that Trina girl….”
“Oh?” I mumbled, feeling the anger well in my chest, “I should let you get off the phone… I think I’m just going to try to sleep….”
“All right… I love you, Arianna,” he concluded, “I’ll call Mom tomorrow, too.”
“Love you,” I whispered, “Bye….”
I hung up the call and quit trying to hold back my anger, sadness, and frustration as I just cried until I fell asleep.
“Anna,” Jack gently called, his hand resting on my shoulder lightly shook me awake as I moved enough to look at him, “It’s morning… Mark hasn’t been spotted coming back across the border or anything… the cops officially declared your father’s death… it’s time to get you home… Why don’t you get washed up and we’ll get out of here?”
“Do I look that bad?” I laughed halfheartedly and he smiled sweetly as he brushed my hair away from my face, lightly kissing my forehead.
“You always look beautiful to me,” he quietly recited, “Get washed off, cleaned up, change clothes… Breakfast is on its way up.”
I only nodded before he kissed my forehead again and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
When I got to the bathroom, I laughed. Jack was way too nice to me… Makeup was smeared across my face and my eyes were puffy and red from crying, plus my new bangs were sticking straight up in the air. Dad hadn’t even seen my new haircut…. Tears stung my eyes before I jumped into a hot shower, letting the water wash my tears down the drain.
When I got out of the shower, and was wrapped in a towel, I heard a commotion in the living room and snuck across the bedroom to peek out the door.
“I can worry about her if I want to,” Ty hissed angrily, his icy blue eyes darting over to me as my face shaded pink and I closed and locked the door. “Evan, I’m surprised you haven’t said anything to them.”
I scrunched my eyes in confusion, but darted over and tossed on the jeans and shirt laid out on the bed. I threw my hair up into a wet ponytail and opened the door again, stepping into the middle of their argument as Ty instantly looked over at me.
“What are you doing here, Ty? How did you even know where I was?” I interrogated and he laughed, his eyes sparkling.
“They haven’t told you?” he responded inquisitively, “I’m fae, Anna Gray. I can find you if I want to.”
“You’re… what?” I faltered and his lips curled up into a grin.
“I’m a faerie,” he reiterated, “Little winged people linked to nature…? Don’t get along very well with werewolves…? You had no idea….” He was nearly laughing, but my mind was going back to the first time the little dancing lights had appeared in my dream… it had been right after Jack’s birthday party, right after I had met Ty, and there had been rock music in the background of the woods.
“My dreams are real…” I whispered, watching his gaze grow more curious, “Are there other faeries around here? Are they hurt?”
“Two of my band mates are missing,” Ty answered seriously, “Do you know where they are?”
“The troll doll ate them… in my dreams… at least…” I muttered distractedly, shaking my head, “I guess the troll… Mark… if all of it’s real….”
“It’s real, Anna,” it was Evan again and I darted my gaze up to him in confusion, “It’s all real.”
“Trolls don’t eat faeries… but a troll would consume a fae’s magic…” Ty considered, “If that’s the case… they will have automatically been sent back to Faerie to recuperate….”
“Anna… would you please ask him to leave? Since he refuses to listen to anyone else,” Jack requested in a completely disgruntled voice but Ty waved him off.
“I’m leaving. I have to check on my friends. But you had best keep Anna Gray safe,” Ty finalized. He smiled at me, and then he was gone. Just there one second, and gone the next. The elevator doors opened and the poor waiter looked startled to find us all standing around.
“Um… room service,” he announced and Jack motioned him inside and instructed him to just leave the cart before he tipped the very scared waiter who slipped back into the elevator and away.
“Breakfast is ready…” Jack murmured while I crossed the room to find a tray full of pancakes. I rested my head against his chest and felt him flinch in surprise before he slid his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. “I’m so sorry about your dad, Anna…” he whispered and I shrugged my shoulders.
“Shit happens…” I mumbled, staring blankly across the room, “I don’t know what’s going to happen now though… I will not live with my mother… ever again….”
“She should be able to name Austin as yours and Jason’s legal guardian…” Jack considered with a sigh, “We shouldn’t be talking about this right now… we need to get back to the house, to your brothers….”
I didn’t say a word as I collected a small plate of food and went and sat down on the sofa, staring blankly at the t.v. that I hadn’t even noticed before then.
Only a moment later, Rayne was sitting beside me and Aeril beside him, and then Farren sat down in the chair beside me, Evan sat down on the table, and Jack walked up behind the sofa and rested his hands on either side of my head.
“None of us are thrilled about taking you back to the house…” Jack murmured and I grinned to myself.
Very smart, getting Jack to tell me that… I’d expect it from the rest of you, but not so much from Alex’s right-hand man.
“This isn’t a ploy, Anna,” Farren interjected while I wondered just who all Aeril was communicating my thoughts to, “What Alex did yesterday was wrong on so many levels and we don’t trust him anymore. Especially not with you….”
“What part of what he did yesterday was wrong? And Aeril better stay out of this,” I countered, but Rayne’s hand slid down my arm and I darted my attention to him.
“All of it, including letting your little brother meet Trina when he knew you didn’t want them to meet,” Rayne replied and I laughed distantly, “We need to get you back to your family… that’s really our only goal right now. We intend to, and he knows it, keep Alex away from you.”
“He won’t cooperate,” I muttered, absolutely certain that he wouldn’t, “He thinks what he did was to protect the pack… maybe me… but definitely all of you… Despite the results, he believes he did the right thing.” I ate my food and stared blankly across the room. “Why did Ty know where we were? Who else knows?”
“We didn’t tell him… We don’t want him anywhere near you,” Jack growled behind me and I laughed distantly.
“Then why did he know where I was?”
“Because he’s a faerie,” Evan remarked and I darted my eyes to him, “Go ahead if you want, I won’t stop you; but they won’t understand either.” I narrowed my eyes before I barely lifted a finger to point at him.
“If he can’t talk, why do I keep hearing him talk?” I finally asked, not looking away from Evan who stared calmly back at me.
“That isn’t possible,” Farren remarked in confusion.
“He knows I can hear him,” I muttered as Evan barely inclined his head in acknowledgment.
“Maybe you just think you hear him?”Aeril suggested and I sighed as I sank deeper into the sofa and started eating again.
“Tell Jack I said he broke his ankle when he was five and wasn’t paying attention when he was running through the woods in wolf form,” Evan stated, providing me information I could never know on my own, but I barely shook my head, “He’ll believe you if you do.”
“Jack, Evan says when you were five, you broke your ankle running through the woods in your wolf form,” I uttered between bites, but I felt his hands clench the back of the sofa.
“And Farren burned down the old garage by trying to have a bonfire at the house when he was sixteen,” Evan continued and I sighed again.
“Evan also says Farren burned down the garage with a bonfire,” I recited, disinterested by then, but Fa
rren was leaning forward in his seat, “Oh… when you were sixteen.” I glanced briefly at Farren to find his gaze darting between Evan and me.
“Now they pretty much believe you. They just don’t understand how it’s possible so that’s stopping them from fully believing you…” Evan reasoned but I looked up at him again.
“How is it possible?” I pressed, “And you do know, so don’t act like you don’t.”
“I do, but I can’t tell you right now,” Evan answered with a distant smile, “They believe you now.”
“How is this even possible…?” Rayne whispered in a breath as my eyes shifted slowly to him, but he was staring at Evan, “I see his lips moving… but I don’t hear him….”
“We should really get you to your brothers, Arianna,” Evan commented and my heart thumped against my ribcage.
One of the last places I wanted to be, was near my brothers, especially after realizing that my father’s death was my fault. That was selfish, though… so I pushed myself to my feet after I finished my food, and walked into the bedroom. I picked up my phone only to realize I had several missed calls and a few text messages.
I’m so sorry about your dad, Anna… Just tell me what I can do to help. ANYTHING I can do to help… That one was from Lissa.
Anna… are you okay? Your brothers are here… but you aren’t… the guys said they had you somewhere safe, I just… I’m sorry, about your father… but right now, I just wish I could see you to make sure you’re okay. That one was surprisingly from Tobias. He was always so quiet… I guess he actually was shy….
I’m sorry… about everything with Caiden and Rai… especially now with your dad… Gods, I’m sorry… Caiden’s worried about you… he won’t say it, but I can tell… and he keeps checking his phone… if you get this… could you maybe just let him know you’re okay? Let me know what I can do for you… I’m really really sorry… :( That one was from Sage, and barely made me smile; I wasn’t even thinking about that whole Caiden-Rai-Sage fiasco… but obviously it was bothering her.
I called Mom… I’m sure she’ll try to reach you even though I told her not to bother you; it’s up to you if you talk to her or not right now. She said she *would* come back, but her mother isn’t feeling well, and ‘what with Mark still on the loose’… I doubt we’ll see her anytime soon. I hope you get here soon, Arianna… I love you, sis. That one was clearly from Austin, but it made me so mad at my mother that I nearly broke my phone.
I will be happy to help you in any way I can with your loss. Just say the word, Anna Gray. But best to keep your wolves at bay. –Ty I stared at that one for a really long time wondering how in the world he had gotten my cell phone number.
In the missed calls were Michaela, Jason, Alex (my phone was really almost crushed then), and my mother. I reluctantly listened to voicemails. The first was Jason, and he kept going from angry to sad and back again throughout the message; angry that I wasn’t there, that I had gone out with Jack, sad that I wasn’t giving him a chance, about Dad… he ended the message just by saying ‘Come home, Arianna,’ and I felt tears welling in my eyes. The next message was from Alex, and again, I nearly crushed my phone from the anger that I felt. He was apologizing for my loss, saying he had never intended for my father to get caught up in things, but there was no real regret in his voice, and he didn’t mention my brothers aside from to say they were safe at the house.
Then my mother’s voice clicked on. ‘I’m going to turn over legal guardianship of you and Jason to Austin. I just…’ she got choked up for a minute, ‘This is all too much….’
I didn’t realize I’d done it until it was much, much too late. My phone was in a bunch of pieces on the floor, and Rayne stood calmly in the doorway, his hazel eyes watching me closely as I suddenly found myself wondering just how long he’d been standing there.
“I need to borrow a phone,” I mumbled, remembering Sage’s request, and Rayne walked over and held his cell phone out to me. I typed in Caiden’s name and hit call when his number popped up.
“Hey,” Caiden greeted when he picked up the phone, but in my silence, he grew worried, confused… I could sense all of that… “Arianna…?” His voice was a whisper.
“Yes,” I answered almost silently, “I just… I’m all right… okay? I don’t want you worrying about me….”
He laughed distantly. “Did Sage say something to you…?”
“Yeah,” I admitted quietly and he laughed softly again.
“If you’re all right, why are you calling me from Rayne’s phone?”
“I broke mine… We’re coming back to the house soon… if there’s any possible way you and anyone else can keep Alex away from me, for at least a while, I would really appreciate it.” I heard my voice turn into a hiss when I said his name, it felt like venom on my lips.
“I’ll see what I can do. Maybe…” he hesitated a second, “Maybe they could take you to the basement… if we can’t keep Alex away that is….”
The phone suddenly disappeared from my hand and I darted my gaze up to Rayne as he put it to his ear.
“Just tell Alex if he comes near her, I’m leaving, with her,” Rayne clearly recited into the phone, “I’ll tell her you said goodbye… try not to let your brother know you spoke with her… we have enough problems right now.” He hung up the call and smiled softly at me. “Did you need it for anything else?” he asked and I barely nodded as he handed it back to me.
I clicked into the text messages, and started one to Tobias.
It’s Anna… I broke my phone. We’ll be there in a little while, okay? I clicked send and only waited a minute before I sent essentially the same message to Austin.
What do you mean you broke your phone? Austin replied and I groaned.
I might have thrown it at the wall after I listened to Mom’s voicemail… it wasn’t intentional… I was about to hit send when Rayne lightly touched my shoulder and motioned toward the door where Jack was standing.
“We’ll drop by the store on the way home and get you a new one… None of us want you to be without a phone…” Jack remarked and I barely nodded my head, “But we really have to leave… Farren is downstairs checking us out right now.”
I barely nodded again and bit back tears as I added to the message: Jack says we’re going to stop and get me a new phone. We’ll be there soon. I finished it and hit send.
Good. Whose phone is this? Austin answered instantly.
It’s Rayne’s… don’t pester him. I replied with a sigh while grabbing my few things into a laundry bag and following the guys onto the elevator.
I don’t feel like you’re okay, Anna… Don’t hurry too much, they’re organizing a way to block Alex while you get upstairs to your room. That was from Tobias and I smiled softly as I handed the phone back to Rayne.
“Thanks,” I laughed distantly, staring at the floor of the elevator. Jack’s hand slid into mine just as we reached the ground floor.
“Tell them bye for now… the car won’t fit anyone else,” he gently instructed as we walked out of the hotel and headed toward the parking garage while Farren fell into step with us.
We stopped inside the parking garage and I recognized the SUV parked beside the sports car as having come from Alex’s house. Jack let go of my hand, but took the bag from me and put it inside the trunk of the car while I looked up at Rayne, Evan, Aeril, and Farren and smiled half-heartedly.
“I guess I’ll see you back at the house…” I mumbled, but Aeril suddenly pulled me into a hug and tears I had been trying to hold back slipped out of my eyes.
“You won’t see him when you get there… we will make sure of it,” Aeril promised, backing away enough to gently wipe the tears from my eyes before he kissed my cheek. When he released his hold on me, Rayne pulled me into a tight embrace. Hug versus embrace… what was the difference? I didn’t use to think there was one, but Aeril’s was a hug, Rayne’s was more, and he didn’t say a word before he let go of me and smiled distantly while Evan he
ld the car door open for me.
“We’ll see you at the house,” Farren contributed while I barely nodded and got into the passenger seat before Evan pushed the door closed.
The car purred to life when Jack turned the key in the ignition, but he still had the parking brake up as he leaned across the middle console, sliding his fingers across my cheeks as his thumbs brushed away the tears and he softly pressed his lips to mine. The kisses became nearly desperate, but that was my doing, and he slowly pulled back, searching my eyes.
“Oh, Anna,” he whispered, “I would love nothing more than to become your distraction from everything… and I would… if I didn’t think you’d regret it later.”
“It’s not…” I faltered, my face red as I stared down at the gear shift, “That’s not…” I sighed and barely shook my head, “You make me feel safe, Jack… and I’m… comfortable with you… in a way that I’m not comfortable with any of the others….” I trailed off for a long minute, not looking up at him even though I could feel him staring at me, “But that doesn’t make it right for me to use you… Because I’m still in love with Rayne….”
Jack laughed hollowly and I finally looked up to find his emerald gaze distant, the silver still ringing his pupils. “I know you are,” he muttered, “You’ve turned me against my pack leader… but I can’t get you away from Rayne….”
“Jack…” I whimpered and he smiled distantly.
“It isn’t your fault that I don’t trust Alex anymore… he did that himself… it just wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t here…” Jack reasoned with a faint chuckle, “Well… it wouldn’t have happened so quickly if you weren’t here….”
“I don’t want to cause problems between you and Alex…” I sighed, but Jack suddenly jolted in his seat and turned around to face the front of the car. I followed his gaze out the windshield, but I didn’t understand… there was nothing there. “What is it?” I whispered almost silently.
“It’s time to go,” Jack decided, carefully maneuvering out of the parking garage before taking off down the city streets.
“Jack…?” I whispered worriedly as he sped through the city and out onto the interstate.
“I want to know why Ty is so interested in you… why he can find you…” Jack considered quietly, “He said he was leaving… and yet I could sense him outside of the car….”
“Does it really matter?” I wondered and he laughed distantly.
“Yes…” he mumbled, “No… I don’t know… I’m worried it matters, but I don’t know if it does or not… We don’t get along with the fae… I want to know what he wants with you….”
“Have you tried asking him?” I pressed, catching the brief disgust that flashed across Jack’s face.
“Never trust a faerie to be telling the truth… They all lie, and they all lie in really sneaky ways that sound like truths,” Jack grumbled, “So no… I haven’t asked him. I wouldn’t believe him no matter what he said.”
“What if I ask him…?” I wondered, feeling the shift of the car when he jerked the steering wheel just a little too hard.
“Please, Anna… we have enough problems on our hands… just stay away from Ty and the faeries….” Jack requested with such pleading in his voice that I couldn’t really tell him no… I also couldn’t tell him I would because I wasn’t going to avoid Ty, I just wouldn’t go out of my way to see him.
As we were driving, dark clouds shifted over us, and it very suddenly began pouring rain. When we stopped at the phone store, we darted through the sudden torrential downpour, and I made Jack wait out of the way while I got the new phone from the clerk, who, thankfully, didn’t give me too much of a sales speech because I really wasn’t in the mood to try to deal with something like that. When I met back up with Jack after getting the phone, he seemed more upset than when I had left him, but he only led me back through the rain, out to the car and started toward the house again, thankfully at a slower speed since the roads were wet and the storm seemed to be following us home.
“Jack… what’s wrong?” I questioned for probably the fifth time as we got into town. He carefully pulled the car off on the side of the road, turned in his seat, and his intense gaze landed on me while I tried to tune out the patter of raindrops on the roof.
“The sales guy at the store… what were you doing to him?” Jack insisted, but I looked at him in blatant confusion, “Besides giving off a really strong ‘don’t mess with me vibe,’ you were doing something else to keep him from giving his sales pitches….”
“I really don’t know what you’re talking about…” I murmured, tilting my head to one side while his fingers slid across my cheek and brushed my hair behind my ear, a distant look growing in his eyes.
“I have a bad feeling,” he admitted almost silently, “That these things you can do are the reason why Ty is interested in you….”
“But you won’t ask him?” I reiterated and he smiled faintly but shook his head. I saw his eyes widen, and his arms wrapped around me, pulling me out of my seat and across the car into his lap as I distantly wondered what had happened to my seatbelt just before something slammed into the side of the car and I blacked out.