Feral Passion (20 page)

“Why? So I can put up with all of this crap?”
she asked, outraged. Finally, the dam that had been holding back
her emotions, her stress, broke.

“No!” he replied back, jogging up to her
angrily. The air was brisk around them all, the men not having
broken a sweat after having to chase her. Her arms crossed over her
chest, eyes blazing.

“Then tell me, dear
brother
, the reason that you want me to go back
there?” she spat, finally standing up to him as she had always
subconsciously had dreamed she would.

He paused, eyes indecisive.

Mary narrowed her eyes, then shook her
head. “I want you to leave me alone. I want everyone to just
lay the hell off
.”

Jacques stepped up from behind her brother,
shock laying subtly in the depths of his eyes.

“I’m tired, sick, my head hurts, my
fucking leg is aching like
hell
right now, and I
still
have to deal with the same old shit from all of you!” she
screamed, a car passing in front of them, lights flashing in the
dark.

“Just...” Ulrich started, casting a worried
look at Jackson. The older man stood back, eyes calm, watching the
scene as someone examining a crime would.

“No,” Mary snarled, slashing her arms in the
air. “Get mom to take me home. I could care less about those damn
doctors right now, I just want to get away from you all. Actually,
I don’t even want just that. I hate being a leader,” she confessed,
her voice breaking. “I hate having all this responsibilty over a
broken race, and doing this all alone.”

Silence.

Nothing but the cool air, the soft whir of
tires in the distance, and crackling leaves dancing around them.
Her heavy, hitched breathing was the only thing the confused men
noticed.

“You can’t bond with someone lesser than you,
Mary. You know you can’t...”

“I know that!” she snapped, glaring at
Ulrich. The others wisely stayed back.

“You can bond with me, though.”

At first, Mary thought she had heard them
wrong. Not until her gaze landed on a man that looked as if he were
doomed did she realize what had just been said.

“Bond with me,” said Raffaele Jacques, eyes
hard with determination.

Chapter 31

Raffaele was a dead man, that was for sure.
The minute the words were spoken clearly, everyone within hearing
range digesting the damning words that would change the fate of
thousands, he realized that he had just tied himself into a
situation that he might never get out of.

The silent plea that she had emitted ever
since she had started out of the hospital had called to him, made
him realize that although she wasn’t like him...she was. In so many
ways that just staring at him made him realize that only with her
could he save his people, her people, themselves.

Desperation was clouding his senses, all
coming from her. Raffaele knew her brother and the Acutos male,
Jackson, could sense it.

And maybe that was the only thing that was
stopping them from ripping him to shreds.

Mary stood there, eyes dead, unthinking,
unrealizing of the fact that he had, ultimately, pledged his life
to her, his very soul. The only thing that could stop what he had
set in motion would be an untrue bonding, and even if that
happened, he doubt it would affect what he had done.

The torture that he relived every day was
nothing compared to this, he thought, watching her, trying to read
her. For once, he realized the true meaning of feeling, of knowing
that he had made a mistake--or blessing--so grand, that he would be
paying for it the rest of his life.

“What.”

He stared at her, registering the short word,
so bare of emotion, of reaction, that he felt as if it were a robot
talking and not a passionate woman who was a danger to herself and
others around her.

A couple of days ago, he never would have
thought that he would be foolish enough to propose a bonding with a
woman that he had barely known, a woman that, only moments ago, had
been found passed out along the river. He held himself at ridge,
waiting for the growl and snarl, the threat of attack.

Strung as tightly as he was, he was so close
to turning, changing into the one monster that he had always feared
would appear again.

“What’s happening out here?” a hard demanding
voice asked, coming from the man who had produced Raffaele’s
fate.

“Samuel, slow down for a second! I’m
not as agile as I used... Did someone die?” Alicia asked, confused.
Raffaele looked back at her, recognizing her from the woman in the
hall and from a brief file that he had read on the leader of
the
pacchetto
after his first
meeting with her.

“Might as well have,” Ulrich mumbled, oddly
quiet.

The coroner that Raffaele had talked to
yesterday while at the site after dropping Mary off at her house,
stepped forward, a big grin on his face.

“Congratulations!” he cheered, eyes dancing
with delight, despite the situation. “You, my dear friends, have
just acquired a new family member and the salvation of our
race!”

Now
that
caused tension. Samuel, who had stood by his daughter, turned
slowly and stared at Raffaele.

The sound of a car door slamming brought him
out of the staring match, and he saw Chase coming towards him,
phone to his ear. When he reached them, he snapped it closed.
Obviously not realizing that Raffaele was about to be gruesomely
gutted and killed, he had a grin on his face as he said, “The
lovely waitress and I are...”

“Daddy,” Mary finally said, cutting off
Chase’s wonderful news.

“Yes, sweatheart,” he said, voice more of a
growl as he stared at Raffaele.

“I want to go home. Now.”

Alicia grabbed for her husband, eyes
wide. “This is just what I’ve been waiting for! What a coincidence
that
right
after talking to
you, you finally snatch a man!”

Ulrich gave his mother a weird look.
“
Obviously
, you missed her
screaming match inside there,” he muttered, eye
twitching.

Mary’s mother frowned, looking between them
all with confused looks. “What do you mean?”

“Take me home,” Mary said, voice emotionless,
yet louder. Raffaele watched her closely, still silent, once again
regretting everything.

“But, darling--”

“Mother,” she said, looking at Alicia
point blank. “I want. To leave.
Please
.”

Sam put his arm around her shoulder, the aura
around him visible to everyone-- especially Raffaele, who swore
that by the time he fell asleep in his bed, he wouldn’t be waking
up any time soon.

Checking his watch and ignoring the
looks of everyone else as he did so, he listened to them escort her
away, Alicia asking exuberant questions, not catching on
at all
about what had just happened,
with Sam grumbling and muttering about how he should have kept his
baseball bat with him while she was growing up--and
still
should have kept it even
now.

“It’s three in the morning, I’ve been
up since nine, and I’m tired. I’m going to the hotel.” With those
short words, he walked off. Away from the drama, from the brother
who was starting to get affronted, from Chase who was
still
catching on, and
Jackson.

Jackson, who had the biggest, shit eating
grin that Raffaele had ever seen in his life.

Wanting to hit something because of his
stupidity, he climbed into his tinted Bentley after unlocking it.
The machine rumbled to life, the soft purr not comforting him as it
normally had before. Instead, it made him think of the way Mary’s
father’s eyes had looked, so dangerous and...threatening.

A shudder wracking his body at the thought
that he might have to face that soon, he pulled out and ignored the
people that he had left behind, almost getting his phone out to
call Hannah about engagement rings...

God, he was stupid. Engagement rings? She had
all but thrown it in his face that she was not up for the idea.
Even though he was on board with her about it, he couldn’t help but
think of everything that would benefit from their bonding.

And the more he thought about it, the more he
realized that if she would only agree, it wouldn’t be so...bad.

They were both Chosen, something that
he was
still
reeling from. She
knew Kevin, and while she might not know Stuart, she still knew who
they were. He realized then that if he bonded with her, he would be
her savior. Not just the races, but
Mary’s
hero.

What a foolish thing to want, to be admired
by her, her with her forest green eyes...

A honk sounded, Raff slamming on the break.
The man driving cursed him, flipping him off before carrying off
through the intersection. Watching him leave, Raffaele knew one
thing.

He was utterly and truly screwed when it came
to Mary Waters.

The hotel room was silent, untouched by
maids and other people. He fell against the bed, wishing he could
sleep right then. His mind was too full of shit to sleep though.
Like his
beta
, the property
that he was in jeopardy of losing, and Kevin’s and Stuart’s lies of
omission.

Something whispered his name, softly and
barely heard. Groaning, Raff grabbed a pillow and let Stuart take
him.

Chapter 32

Kevin glanced at Stuart, worrying his hands
together.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked
his blue brother, eyes flickering to his Chosen who was sitting in
one of the carefully placed chairs, subdued.

Stuart looked him in the eye. “You heard what
my Chosen proposed. Now it’s time to make sure that it gets carried
through.”

At that moment, Kevin was looking down in
time to see Raffaele slowly appear, white surrounding his fit body.
When the form settled, he looked at Mary and watched her
reaction.

There wasn’t one.

“I don’t think we should do this!” he said,
turning to his brother in desperation. Beside them, a green flash
came. Closing his eyes in patience, trying not to freak out, he
turned to his other brother.

“Bill,” Stuart said in greeting, both the
forms, blue and orange, bowing. “And even if we shouldn’t, Kevin,
it has to be done. You told your Chosen that she shall bond with
mine, and now is the time to mend your wrong doings. This is going
to happen,” he said sternly, Bill nodding beside him.

Defensive, almost panicking, Kevin rounded on
Bill. “You shouldn’t even be here! You aren’t involved in this,” he
said, almost backing down.

Bill raised an arrogant eye brow. “You wanna
go, bro?” he asked, jumping on his feet lightly, raising his fists
like a boxer would. The slang stabbed Kevin like a knife, and the
knowledge that Bill was different made him antsy.

As Creators, they were renowned for their
power, their abilities. While Kevin was the dramatic one of the
group, Stuart was the wise one, Bill was the cocky, modern one, and
Joe... He didn’t even want to think about Joe.

Kevin and Stuart both opened their mouths to
say something when a sudden screech brought their attention
downward, to Mary.

Mary, who’s form was wavering so much it was
a wonder that she was holding back from the shift.

“Kevin!” she shouted, her voice raising
several octaves within that one word.

Swallowing, he allowed her to hear him,
asking, “Yes, Mary?”

“What. The--” she took a breath,
staring at Raffaele who had a look of surprise on his face
—”
hell is this
,” Mary finished
with a short, enraged scream.

Bill paused, eyes popping wide as he
stared down at the two Chosen. “Dude, what did you
do
?”

Kevin sighed, closing his eyes once again.
“Mary, you need to...”

“No. Send me back. Just send me back.”

“Mary, will you just--” Raffaele started,
staying wisely where he was.

Her finger stabbed at him. “Don’t talk to
me!”

Raffaele sighed, not talking again. Kevin was
slightly shocked at his reaction, wondering what was wrong with him
to make him back down from a woman--and Mary, at that. Her anger
was misplaced, Kevin thought, watching the anger that was boiling
in her eyes. She was so close... so very close to changing into her
Feline that it was a miracle that Raffaele was even alive and
breathing.

“Kevin, I swear... If I could talk to
you, if I could so much as lay a
hand
--”

“Watch your mouth, Chosen,” Stuart
interjected, his voice a hard snap.

Mary’s eyes opened wide, lips pressing. In
the forest green depths of her eyes, confusion and maybe even fear
shown there. Raffaele visibly tensed, hands clenching at his
sides.

Kevin watched them. Instead of being subdue,
distant, Raffaele was...angry on Mary’s behalf? He started to grin.
“This is perfect!”

Bill gave him a weird look. “Bro. You need to
get laid.”

Kevin ignored him, used to the phrases that
he some how came up with. “Shove your hand in your mouth and keep
quiet, I’m concentrating.”

“You mean foot?”

He waved a hand at his foolish brother,
watching raptly at the anger that was gathering in Raffaele’s eyes.
Mary wasn’t looking at him at all--in fact, she was looking
anywhere but him, her face red.

“Are you wondering why you are both here?” he
asked curiously, thinking that the answer was probably an in
between. The two of them looked more angry than anything.