The men stopped behind the couch and glared at Lacey and Scotty like they had grown extra heads or something. Scotty jumped up, smiling.
“Devon, Tyron, this is Jesse’s friend, Lacey.”
Both men looked at her for a second before smiling and holding their hands out to her. “Hello” they said in unison.
“Hi” she said and shook their hands. No one said anything for a few seconds after that and Lacey began to feel uncomfortable again. “Would you guys like something to eat?” she offered.
Devon and Tyron looked at each other, then at her. “Sure.” They followed Lacey into the kitchen and sat down while she fixed their plates. Just like with Scotty, soon after that she was talking with the cousins, as Scotty had told her everyone refers to them, like they were old friends.
Once the cousins were finished eating, they left the kitchen and flopped down on the couch while Scotty helped Lacey wash the dishes.
*****
As soon as Jesse opened his bedroom door, he heard all the laughing from downstairs. He went to look for Lacey. He stopped halfway down the stairs and watched as she talked and laughed with Scotty in the kitchen. They looked so comfortable with each other. And for some reason that bothered Jesse.
Scotty splashed water on Lacey and she giggled and playfully pushed him with her shoulder. Jesse watched them with curiosity as they continued to play around. He smiled when Lacey laughed out loud at something Scotty had said. Her voice was like music to his ears; soft and whimsical.
Jesse’s smile suddenly thinned to a hard line when he saw Scotty rest his hand on Lacey’s lower back and whisper something into her ear. Why was Scotty touching her? The question popped into Jesse’s mind and was quickly followed by more. Why was he standing so close to her? Was he flirting with her? The questions made Jesse feel something he wasn’t used to feeling...jealousy.
He growled low in the back of his throat and stalked into the kitchen area with his eyes locked on Scotty and Lacey. Just seeing them standing together caused anger to swell up inside him. He stopped a few feet from the table but they were too busy laughing and playing around to notice him. He cleared his throat to get their attention.
Lacey looked over her shoulder with a big smile on her face as drops of water rolled down her cheek. “Oh, hey Jesse” she said casually before returning to her task of washing dishes. She was completely oblivious to the tension in the air as Jesse stared at her. But Scotty wasn’t. He noticed the look on Jesse’s face and immediately stepped away from Lacey. He grabbed a towel to dry his hands. “Jesse, you’re up. It’s about time, man. You missed a great breakfast but there might be a few scraps left” he teased to lighten the mood. It was obvious that Jesse was pissed about something. Scotty could see it in his eyes and the hard set of his jaw.
Jesse ignored him, his gaze locked onto Lacey. Scotty took the hint and joined the cousins on the couch.
“I see you’ve already met some of my friends” Jesse said as he took Scotty’s place beside her at the sink.
Lacey smiled and handed him a soapy plate to rinse. “Yeah, you’re friends are really nice. Especially Scotty, he’s very entertaining and easy to get along with but I guess you already know that.”
Jesse glared over at Scotty who was trying to watch them discreetly, but Jesse knew he was looking at them. He had to try really hard to hold in the growl that was threatening to escape his throat. “Yeah, he’s something alright” Jesse said through tight lips.
He grabbed the towel that Scotty had used and dried the plate Lacey handed him. He found it hard to keep his eyes off of her. She looked even more beautiful than she did last night when she was sleeping. Lacey caught him staring at her and Jesse quickly dropped his gaze. “So, I know you’ve already met Tonya. Have you met Kindal yet?”
“No, I haven’t” Lacey said and put the pans that she had just washed back on the stove and started pulling things from the fridge.
“What are you doing?” Jesse asked, puzzled. He didn’t think it was possible that she could still be hungry.
Lacey put the eggs on the counter and smiled. “I’m going to cook you something to eat. There isn’t anything left from earlier.”
Jesse stared at her. The thought of eating something that she cooked just for him, made him happy. But just as she started cracking the eggs, Tonya and Trevor came down the stairs. Tonya hurried into the kitchen and put her arm around Lacey’s shoulder. “Oh no sweetie, you’re a guest here and I won’t have you cooking for yourself. Just have a seat and I’ll fix you something.” She led Lacey over to one of the chairs at the table and pushed her down in it.
Lacey smiled shyly. “Thank you, but I already ate. I was going to fix something for Jesse.”
“Well, aren’t you sweet” Tonya said, “But I can take it from here...Jesse, what would you like?”
Lacey sat at the table, not knowing what to do with herself. She looked over at Jesse, who was standing at the sink with his arms crossed over his chest. Their eyes met and she saw something in his eyes that made her temporarily forget how to breathe. The desire on his face caught her off guard. She wasn’t used to men looking at her in that way. After a few heated seconds, Jesse broke eye contact and turned his attention to Tonya. “I’m not hungry” he said.
“That’s a first. You’re always hungry” A petite brunette said as she came into the room. She looked at Lacey and smiled. “Hey, I’m Kindal.”
“Hey” Lacey said to the girl that looked about the same age as her. As a matter of fact, all of Jesse’s friends looked like teenagers with the exception of Trevor and Tonya. And they looked like they were only in their twenties. Before she could stop herself, Lacey looked at Jesse and asked, “How old are you?”
He was caught off guard by her question. There was no way he could tell her the truth. “I’m nineteen, why do you ask?”
“No reason. It’s just that you all look so young. I was wandering if you guys are runaways or something.”
Jesse chuckled. “No Lacey, we’re not runaways. But I take it that you are?”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her, waiting for her to respond. When she didn’t, Trevor glanced at Jesse then at Lacey. “How old are you?” he asked.
She looked up at the only person in the room who hadn’t said one word to her, until now. Trevor was a tough looking man with shoulder length jet black hair that he kept tied at the nape of his neck. The truth was, he scared her a little. “I’m seventeen. I’ll be eighteen in less than three weeks” she muttered.
“Are you a runaway?” he asked.
That question, she didn’t want to answer but she was the one who brought up the whole runaway and age issue. She looked up at Trevor and nodded. “Yes, I am. And before you say anything, I’m not going back so don’t waste your time trying to talk me into it.”
Trevor narrowed his eyes at her and Scotty busted out laughing from across the room. “That girl’s got spunk. She’s going to keep things interesting around here.”
“Shut the hell up, Scotty” Trevor said before turning back to Lacey. “And you” he pointed his finger at her, “should go home. This city isn’t the place for a young, naïve girl like you. You should be home with your parents. The fact that you were attacked proves that you can’t take care of yourself.”
Lacey dropped her eyes to the floor. Trevor’s remark was like a slap to the face. She knew that she shouldn’t be on her own, but what choice did she have. Her mom didn’t want her and she had no idea where her dad was or if he was still alive. And even if he was, he made it clear a long time ago that he didn’t want her either.
“That’s enough, Trevor” Jesse said in a rough voice and pushed away from the counter when he saw the hurt that crossed Lacey’s face.
Lacey sat quietly and chewed on her bottom lip. It was a bad habit that she hadn’t done since she was a child, but she suddenly didn’t feel so grown-up or comfortable anymore. Jesse came up behind her chair and rested his hand on her shoulder.
She looked up at him. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. But I think I’ll go upstairs if that’s alright” she said and got up to leave the kitchen. From the look on Trevor’s face, it was obvious that he didn’t want her there and while she had enjoyed talking with the guys earlier and the women seemed nice, this was not her home. It was theirs and it was time she got on her way. Jesse had saved her and brought her there to get her strength back and she had. Now it was time for her to go.
Jesse walked with Lacey to the stairs. “I’ll be up in a minute so we can talk.”
She looked down at the floor for a second before meeting his eyes. She was starting to like him and didn’t really want to leave. She felt safe with him but apparently she had overstayed her welcome. “Um Jesse, I want to thank you for your help last night and for letting me stay here, but I think it’s time for me to leave.”
He looked at her with an expression that Lacey didn’t quite understand. He looked scared. “You can’t leave. It’s not safe. For whatever reason, my brother wants you and he’s still out there looking for you.”
“Look, I can deal with your brother. And if I can’t then I’ll call the cops. I really don’t want to get them involved because of the whole runaway issue, but if I don’t have any other choice then I’ll call them.”
Jesse looked to his friends for help. He knew that there was nothing the police could do to keep her safe. Cole had no problem what-so-ever with killing human cops. “Why don’t you stay here for a little while longer and then I’ll take you somewhere safe out of the city.”
Lacey thought about his offer. She wanted nothing more than to stay there with him but she needed to get on with her life. Find a job and a place of her own. She didn’t want to be a freeloader and she didn’t want to stay where she wasn’t wanted. And Trevor obviously didn’t want her there. She gave Jesse a forced smile and shook her head. “No, I really should go. I just need to grab my backpack.” She started up the stairs then stopped and glanced over her shoulder and said, “maybe I’ll see you around town sometime.”
Jesse looked like he wanted to argue but he didn’t say anything. Once Lacey was upstairs, he walked over to Trevor. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you tell her she needed to leave? How am I supposed to protect her when she’s roaming the city?”
Trevor glared at him. “She’s doing the right thing by leaving. We’re werewolves and she’s a human, she doesn’t belong here. If you want to protect her then make sure she gets out of the city safely but don’t ask us to put our lives in danger by letting her stay here.”
Jesse growled and pushed him. “You don’t run this pack! I do.”
Trevor stumbled backwards and Scotty caught him by the arm, steadying him. “What’s gotten into you, Jesse?” Scotty said and looked at him with disbelief.
Trevor gave him a disappointed look before walking off. Jesse had never once put his hands on him or anyone else like that before and he was hurt by his actions. They had always been like brothers and hardly ever disagreed about anything. He didn’t know what was going on with Jesse, but he wasn’t going to fight with him.
Tonya looked at Jesse and frowned. “He’s only trying to look out for us, Jesse. Don’t forget who your real friends are. We are the ones who will still be here with you long after Lacey is gone.” She walked off in search of her mate but before she made it out of the kitchen a loud knock sounded at the door.
Everyone looked at each other. They never got visitors and no one ever knocked on their door.
Another knock hit the door. “I know you’re in there Jesse, I can smell you so open the door and let me in” Cole yelled.
Jesse’s eyes got wide when he heard his brother’s voice. He stared at the door. Within seconds Scotty, Devon, Tyron and Kindal were all standing at his side. “What do you want to do?” Scotty asked in a serious tone.
Jesse looked at him, then at the others. Trevor and Tonya came from the room behind the kitchen, hand in hand. Trevor looked at Jesse for a second then nodded. It was his way of saying that what happened earlier was forgotten and he had his back just like always. Jesse nodded back then glanced up the stairs where Lacey was. He had hoped to have more time to get to know her before his brother came looking for her. It didn’t look like that was going to happen now. He closed his eyes and prayed for her sake that she wouldn’t come downstairs.
“Open the damn door, Jesse!” Cole bellowed.
“I’m sorry for getting you guys into this” Jesse whispered to his pack before he moved to unlock the door. He opened it and stood in the doorway blocking Cole from coming in. “What do you want, Cole?” he asked and leveled a death stare at his brother.
Cole smiled and leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. “What? I can’t come visit my brother from time to time” he said sarcastically.
Jesse rolled his eyes. “No asshole, you can’t. In case you’ve forgotten, we hate each other. So why the hell are you here?”
Cole lifted his nose in the air and sniffed, then smiled. “I think you know why I’m here. You have something or should I say someone that belongs to me.” He looked past Jesse to the stairs. “Where is Lacey? I know she’s here, I can smell her.”
Jesse stiffened. “She’s sleeping” he lied.
“Well then, I’ll just take my sleeping beauty and be on my way” Cole said and tried to push past Jesse.
Jesse stood his ground and pushed Cole backwards. “You’re not taking her anywhere” he said as Scotty, Devon and Tyron took up positions at his side while Trevor, Tonya and Kindal stood behind him, ready to back him up. “Lacey is staying here and you are leaving.”
Cole chuckled at his brother’s bravado. Faster than anyone had been expecting, he pushed Jesse with all of his strength. Jesse flew backwards, knocking his friends to the floor before finally hitting the wall by the stairs and falling to the floor.
Within seconds, all hell broke loose as Cole’s men stormed into the warehouse and started fighting with Jesse’s pack.
Lacey was sitting on the bed trying to pull herself together long enough to make it past Jesse and his friends without them seeing how much leaving was hurting her when she heard a loud crash from downstairs.
She ran from the room and looked over the railing of the stairs at the scene below her. Her breath caught in her throat at what she saw. The warehouse was filled with people and they were all fighting each other. But they weren’t fighting like normal people. They were throwing each other across the room and jumping through the air to tackle one another. It was like something out of a movie. Lacey wanted to run back to her room and lock herself inside but she was too scared to move.
It wasn’t until she saw someone she knew that she was able to get ahold of herself. Tonya was in the middle of the room fighting with another woman and Trevor was at her back battling his own group of attackers.
Lacey’s eye’s nearly popped from her head when she saw Tonya grab the woman by the throat and toss her across the room like she was a ragdoll. Surprisingly, the woman didn’t land in a heap on the floor like Lacey had expected her to. Instead, she landed on her feet and charged toward Tonya again.
Lacey stayed at the top of the stairs and watched as everyone fought in the same way. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. But what she saw next nearly made her fall over the side of the railing.
One of the men she didn’t know threw his head back and howled like a wolf. Then he ripped his shirt off like a madman and fell to the ground on his hands and knees. And in the time it took for her to blink, he changed into a wolf and charged at Devon.
Lacey held onto the railing to keep from falling over it as her head swam with dizziness. She couldn’t have seen that. It wasn’t possible. She kept telling herself that she was seeing things, that her headaches must have messed up her mind and she was hallucinating. But one by one, the other people changed into wolves as they fought.
Lacey flopped down on the stairs and clos
ed her eyes as fear that she was finally losing her mind made her body tremble uncontrollably. She rocked back and forth on the top step and mumbled to herself. “This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.”
Chapter Seven
“Give me the girl!” Cole yelled and grabbed Jesse by the throat and shoved him against the wall.
Cole’s voice echoed across the room to Lacey. She looked around the warehouse and saw that the only people who hadn’t turned into wolves were fighting in the farthest corner of the room. She immediately recognized Jesse and jumped up from where she as sitting when she saw that he was pushed up against the wall with the other man’s hand around his throat. She couldn’t see who his attacker was because he had his back to her, but she had a feeling that she already knew who he was. Cole.
Lacey screamed Jesse’s name and both men looked at her. Jesse’s face was full of fear as he shook his head at her. Cole smiled and released his grip on Jesse, letting him fall to the floor.
Lacey watched with fear as Cole slowly stalked toward the stairs. Toward her. She stared at him, unable to believe how much he looked like Jesse. Cole whistled loudly and all the wolves stopped fighting but kept their eyes on each other as if they were daring the other to make a move. Lacey didn’t know what to do. She wanted to run but there was no point. There was no way she could make it out the door before either Cole or one of the wolves caught her.
“Lacey! Run!” Jesse yelled. She looked at him as he got to his feet and started after Cole. He ran and leapt through the air over Cole’s head. He landed at the bottom of the stairs a few steps in front of Lacey and took a protective stance in front of her.
Cole laughed. “Get out of my way before you really piss me off” he said dismissively.
Jesse growled, sounding more animal than human, and backed up the stairs to stand closer to Lacey. “Stay away from her” he said through gritted teeth.
Cole followed him up the stairs. He narrowed his eyes at Jesse and clenched his jaw. “Don’t make me kill you. I’ve put up with your interference in my business over the years. But don’t push your luck with me. I want the girl and I will have her one way or the other.”