Obsessed with Fur [3xtasy Lake 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (17 page)

Jessica didn’t have any intention of sticking around. Rolling clear of the car door, she closed her eyes and opened herself to the deer inside. The scents of the forest filled her senses, and the woods fell silent around them as she opened herself to her alter ego.

Nothing happened.

True fear flooded her system like a tsunami.
I can’t shift?
She felt like a piece of her had been violently ripped away.
How? Why?
Her fingers dug into the loose gravel as she tried to skitter away from the vehicle. She tried to get her limbs moving properly, but they were clumsy. She managed to get to her knees, but was slammed into the ground a second later. Her head spun wildly and bile rose up in her throat. When her vision cleared her gaze met Cheryl’s cold, empty one.

“Do you know what I’m going to do? I know what kind of freaks live around here. I saw that monster in the lake. He saw me, too. I’m going to kill him when I’m done with you. I’ll poison the lake. I’ll phone the TV stations. I’m going to tell the newspapers and then they will invade. Your precious little town is going to burn. There aren’t going to be any freaks in my world.”

A low growl set all the hairs on her arms on edge, and Cheryl whipped her head up and looked over at the tree line. A large, silver wolf stood there. Lips curled back and teeth bared, this predator was looking to kill something. Crouched low and about to spring into an attack, the wolf looked for the perfect opportunity to strike.

“You stay there!” Cheryl grabbed Jessica by the hair and pointed the knife at her chest. She screeched so loud it echoed off the trees around them. “I'll kill her. I’ll do it.”

Jessica remained as still as possible. Her heart pounded in pain at the prospect of her deer being lost to her, but she could still hear incredibly well.

The big wolf still snarled and snapped, but stepped back into the trees.

“See, that’s right. You can’t stop me.” She yanked on Jessica’s hair. “Get up, Jessie. You’re staying with me. They have you brainwashed. I’ll take good care of you.”

Thirty seconds ago she was going to kill me
. Jessica knew that there was no way Cheryl was that stable. The moment the knife point angled away from her chest things happened at an incredible pace.

Marcario grabbed Cheryl’s arm and pulled it around her back. He tossed the knife to the ground, while Jelani pulled her into his arms.

Jessica wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her tight up against him. She watched over his shoulder as Marcario pushed Cheryl away from him. Gordon immediately lunged from the trees at her, and then more wolves stepped out of the tree line around them. Cheryl was screamed obscenities and lunged for the knife.

Any other noise she might have made was drowned out by the angry sound of wolves attacking. A horrified scream from Cheryl ended abruptly when one of the wolves went for her throat.

Jess covered her ears and buried her face in Jelani’s neck. “Oh, god. I’ve never been so frightened in my life.”

Marcario caught up to them and wrapped his arm around her and Jelani. “We better get her away from the wolves. They’ve killed the woman who abducted you.”

“The wolves wouldn’t have hurt us,” Jess whispered.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, Jess. I have to get you someplace safe before I lose what’s left of my mind.” Marcario rushed them toward their truck as Jelani’s heart pounded rapidly under her ear. Her entire body shook, and she didn’t know how to stop it.

“What if I’m dying? I can’t stop shaking.”

“You’re not dying. You hear me, Jessica?” Jelani snapped at her. She looked up into his expression, but he wasn’t angry. He was as scared as she was. “She give you anything?”

“I don’t know what she gave me. It was an injection, and it was strong enough to almost knock me out, but not quite.”

Jelani shifted her into Marcario’s arms so he could open the truck door and jump onto the bench seat.

“I can’t shift. What if my animal is gone forever? I’ll never be whole. I’ll have a hole there.”

“Ssshhhhhh, we’re going to get you some help, Jess.” Marcario held her close to his body and pressed a kiss against her temple. He passed her up into Jelani’s waiting arms. “Don’t you worry. I promise you that you will be okay.”

Marcario didn’t know what to do. Jelani wrapped Jess’s shivering form in a blanket and scooped her up. He was racking his brain trying to think of the closest hospital when a police car pulled up next to them.

The officer lowered his window to yell at them and Marcario recognized his voice as the one who called earlier. “Come on, follow me!”

He fired up the truck and pulled in behind the cruiser. They drove in line and tore down the roads back into town. Jess lay quietly in his brother’s arms. Her face looked calm, but really pale. An angry-looking scrape lined her cheek and jaw, and a patch of dried blood stained the skin beneath her lower lip. To him they were proof he wasn’t there when she really needed him.

Jelani whispered about how much they loved her into her ear. Marcario tried his best to pay attention to the road and follow the racing vehicle ahead of them.

They pulled into a parking lot and Marcario glanced at the sign.
Ecstasy Lake Animal Clinic.
“Jess doesn’t need a fucking vet! She’s not a dog, goddamn it! We’re taking her home. You could do a better job, Jelani. You take care of her.”

“I don’t know anything about shifter physiology. I might do more harm than good. This is a good idea, Marcario. Between the two of us we’ll figure everything out.”

As they reached the front door, it was thrown open by Carol Henderson. Marcario felt a bit of relief at seeing a familiar face.

“Oh my god. Is she okay? Brenna and River are waiting for you all. Go straight down the main hall and to the second door on the left.”

A gothic-looking woman stood by the exam room door and waved them in. “Lay her here. This bed will be a good size for her.”

Another woman rushed into the room. “Hi, I’m Brenna. You must be Mai’s brothers.”

“This is Marcario. I’m Jelani and I’m a trained nurse-practitioner.”

“Perfect. Jessica will have the best care now.”

Jelani laid Jess down as gently as possible, and Brenna immediately went through a standard series of tests, checking Jess’s pupils as Jelani checked her pulse.

“She’s running a bit fast.”

“That’s normal for shifters. We tend to be a bit higher temperature, too.” Brenna replied to Jelani’s comment.

Marcario stood there feeling as helpless as the night that the clinic was attacked. He didn’t manage to save any of those women, like he couldn’t save his own woman. At least Jelani had the medical background to be of some good. Like many other people past and future he felt completely useless when he couldn’t do anything constructive. Brenna and Jelani spoke in shortened medical codes, but Marcario noticed that his brother didn’t seem quite so stressed anymore. That was typical for him, though. Throw him in the middle of a medical emergency and he would be the calmest person in the room.

The officer stepped into the room and nodded for him to step out with him

“Who the fuck are you?” Brenna snapped out the question as she froze in everything she was doing staring at the cop. Her face drained of colour and Marcario feared she might pass out.

“Are you all right?” Jelani asked, and she snapped her attention back to Jessica’s body on the table.

“I’m fine. Officer, you may leave. We’ll take care of this woman.”

Officer Walker didn’t seem too shocked by her outburst, which was odd. “Of course, Ms. Roberts. Marcario, can I speak to you?”

“No, we need him here. He is her mate, and she needs both of them to be close. You have to go. They will speak to you when it’s convenient for them.”

The officer nodded slightly and then stepped out of the room.

“Do you know him?”

“No, he must be new. I’ve never seen him before in my life.”

Marcario wasn’t impressed by her bitchy attitude, but if she took good care of Jessica, he didn’t care how rude she was to anyone. “How’s she doing?”

“Tell me what happened.”

“I don’t have any hard facts and details.” Marcario filled her in with the small amount of information he had regarding what had happened before.

“Physically, she seems to be fine, but she couldn’t shift her form earlier, and that is when she really got agitated.”

“That’s understandable. Our animals are like another one of our senses. Imagine if you lost your sight or”—she looked at Marcario—“you lost your hearing.”

Terrified for Jessica, Marcario moved to leave the room. He would call his brothers-in-law and see if they had any suggestions. He didn’t make it three steps when River grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. “Don’t be scared. She needs you close.”

“I don’t want to get in the way.” He placed his hand on Jessica’s ankle and then slipped it under her pants hem so his palm rested was on her calf.

River smiled her approval. “You’re a natural. Jessica is a doe, which means she isn’t a predator like me and Brenna.”

Brenna cleared her throat, and River grinned. “Okay, like Brenna. Because of that, she needs to feel secure and safe. Sensations like fear and anxiety are much more difficult for her to process, and that is why her inner animal went into hiding inside her. As soon as she feels safe again, she’ll be able to shift and that will heal her.”

“Would it be impolite to ask what your animal is, River?”

“Yes.” River grinned impishly. “But I’ll tell you anyway, because I’m a nice person. But if you ask one of those grumpy predators, you might get your face bitten off for your curiosity. I’m a fox.”

Brenna lifted her stethoscope and handed it to Jelani, who didn’t hesitate to listen to Jessica as well. Brenna stepped back and waved Marcario closer. “Come on up here so she can smell that you’re near. I’ll step back because my wolf might make her more nervous right now, and we need her calm.”

“What about if she shifts into a deer? What do we do then?”

“Talk to her. It’s still Jessica. She needs your support. If you can’t handle the fact that you are her mate then step away tomorrow and leave her alone. Don’t you dare back down now, when she needs you most.”

Marcario didn’t like the tone Brenna was using or the way she seemed to be assuming that he or Jelani were going to go anywhere. Well, they were, but she was going to come with them. He couldn’t keep her safe if she went off on her own. “We’re not going anywhere, Ms. Roberts. Jessica is ours as much as we are hers, and we’ll keep her safe.”

“Good. She has a wonderful soul and I’d hate to see it trampled again.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Jelani stroked his hand along the side of Jessica’s neck, and she sighed softly.

“Do that again, Jelani.” Marcario leaned close and placed his lips against her ear on the other side. “Jess, baby, I swear you are safe here now. We have you and you’re going to be fine, but we really want to see that pretty doe you keep hidden inside.”

“I know you’ve been coming around the house, Jessica.” His brother stroked her neck again as he spoke. “I know you’re the doe in the woods. You don’t have to hide from us anymore.”

There was a flash of heat under Marcario’s lips, and he felt a soft bit of hair against his skin. Opening his eyes he was looking at the neck of a deer. He jumped slightly and stood up straight. He hadn’t expected her to shift so quickly and without warning. Standing here looking down at her, his brain struggled with the truth of it all.

The doe…no, Jessica, lay there staring up at him with her big brown eyes and long black eyelashes. She might look like a deer at the moment, but those were Jessica’s eyes looking up at him. “You are so pretty, baby.” He stroked his hand along her neck and Jelani did the same. Her body calmed and stopped shaking. It looked like the air around her filled with glitter. It reminded him more of sunshine reflecting off Saran Wrap and then Jessica lay on the table.

“There you are.” There was an uncertainty to her gaze that made his heart ache. He smiled down at her and cupped her jaw carefully. The scrapes had healed, and he gently drew a damp cloth over her cheek, wiping away the bloody residue.

“You scared us, Jessica.” Jelani was still in medical mode and ran her through a series of standard tests that Marcario knew were second nature for his brother. It was Jelani’s way of reassuring them both that she was all right.

“I knew you would find me.” Jessica grabbed his hand, and then his brother’s. “I trusted that you would come.”

“We didn’t do a very good job of protecting you, Jess. It took a few pissed-off wolves to end this.”

“No, it took a few pissed-off wolves to end this without endangering either of you. If I didn’t believe in you both, then I never would have survived that.”

“We’ll always come for you, Jessica.”

Marcario didn’t understand why his brother’s comment would cause a flash of pain to appear behind her smile.
She said she trusted us, so what is holding her back?

“Without you I don’t think I would have come back.”

“Yes, you would have, and we would still be waiting for you. Don’t think we are ever going to let you go now.”