Page 11 of Snatching Jackie (Wintermoon Shorts #5)

JACKIE

I need to figure something out and quick, because if I don’t get rid of Kendrick right now, I’m going to have far bigger problems than just some jealous bear shifter shit.

I force a smile at Kendrick while guarding the door, placing my body between him and the room where a possessive bear shifter is barely containing himself.

“I need to speak with you about something,” Kendrick says, his eyes boring into mine with an intensity that makes my skin crawl.

I glare at him. “Speak to me about what? Do you want me to give India a makeover?” I cross my arms over my chest. “She doesn’t need it if I’m being honest. She’s a v ery well put together woman.”

Before I can react, Kendrick steps forward, his hands grabbing my waist. He leans in, lips puckered for a kiss. I shove my palms against his chest, pushing him back with enough force that he stumbles. Heat rises to my face as irritation courses through my veins.

“What the hell are you doing?” I spit. “You are engaged.”

A smirk spreads across his face. “In a few minutes, after I get a taste of you, I’ll be a single man.”

“Excuse me?”

“The sight of you alone,” he continues, eyes raking over my body, “your curves, your beautiful smile, your confidence... it swept me off my feet at first sight.”

My stomach turns. “And does India know that? Or are you just using her for resources?”

Kendrick’s smirk deepens, his eyes darkening with lust. “We’ll deal with India later, after you and I have a talk about the future.”

“Are you nuts?” I throw my hands up. “You don’t even know me, yet you’re talking about a future with me.”

He shrugs. “Isn’t that what the shifters do? Take one look and then decide who they want to spend forever with.”

This idiot doesn’t have a clue about how shifters find their fated mates. He’s just making assumptions, and terrible ones at that.

“Look, I’m not about to get into that with you.” I point down the hallway. “You need to leave.”

“Not without you.” His voice drops lower, threatening. “Now unlock your door so we can talk.”

Kendrick moves closer, invading my personal space. He leans in, burying his face in my neck. “I love the smell of your sweet perfume,” he murmurs. “Like cherries.”

Disgust ripples through me as I push him away again. “Cherries?” I almost laugh. My perfume might smell like that, but what about my natural scent? Honey—the scent that told Jabari I belonged to him. But Kendrick wouldn’t know that. He’s just a human male with a dick that functions as his brain.

“You know what, Kendrick?” I narrow my eyes.

“You’re a low-down, dirty, cheating, mediocre, resource-syphoning waste of a man.

You probably wouldn’t even be on this ship if it weren’t for your fiancée.

” I jab a finger at his chest. “Yes, I know men like you, using women as a come-up, then discarding them once you think you can find something better.”

His face contorts with anger, the mask of charm slipping away to reveal the ugliness beneath. He grabs my arm, fingers digging painfully into my flesh. “Unlock the fucking door now or I’ll make you unlock it.”

The next moment happens so quickly that I barely have time to process it.

The door behind me explodes outward, ripped clean off its hinges.

It flies past him with such force that it slams into the windows of my balcony.

The glass shatters with a deafening crash before the door continues its path, plunging into the lake waters below.

Jabari ducks his head under the doorframe and steps out, his massive frame towering over me. His focus is entirely on Kendrick, his eyes practically glowing with rage. The air around him seems to vibrate with fury.

“I tried to behave,” he says, his voice a deep rumble that resonates within me. He spares me a brief glance. “I tried to wait like you told me to. But I told my bear three times. On the third touch, he was a dead man.”

When Jabari looks back at Kendrick, he bares his canines, longer and sharper than any human’s could be, and lets out a loud, animalistic growl that makes me shudder from head to toe. The sound isn’t just heard; it’s felt, vibrating through the corridor.

How the hell am I supposed to calm a bear down? Especially one this pissed off?

I look to Kendrick, whose expression has frozen. “I’d run if I were you,” I say. “To save your life.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice. Kendrick takes off down the hallway, sprinting away.

Jabari moves to follow, but I quickly place a hand on his chest. His muscles tense beneath my palm, but he doesn’t push me aside. Instead, he looks down at my hand, his breathing heavy.

“You cannot stop my bear,” he warns, his voice thick with restraint.

“Look,” I say, meeting his gaze, “you think I want to save that asshole? No, I don’t, and frankly, if you catch him, I hope he gets what he has coming.”

A wicked grin spreads across Jabari’s face, transforming his features from dangerous to darkly playful. “Would you like me to kill in your honor, my sweet mate?”

“If this were the old days, I’d say hell yeah,” I admit, “but since I don’t know the implications or the consequences you’ll face for doing that on Wintermoon, how about we raincheck on that?”

Jabari dips his head down suddenly, stealing a kiss from my lips that sends electricity coursing through my body. I’m so distracted by the sensation that I don’t realize he’s slipped around me until I feel the rush of air as he takes off running down the hall after Kendrick.

“Goddammit,” I mutter, coming down from the kiss-induced haze. I push off the wall and start running after him.

By the time I hit the deck and turn the corner, my heart nearly stops.

He’s standing at the railing, holding Kendrick by the back of his shirt, dangling him over the ship like he’s nothing more than a rag doll.

Kendrick’s legs kick frantically in the air, his screams for help ringing across the water.

Jabari’s face is lit with satisfaction, like a predator toying with its prey before the kill.

“Put me down, you disgusting fucking shifter!” Kendrick shrieks, his voice cracking with terror.

“Gladly,” Jabari replies, loosening his grip slightly.

“No, wait!” I hold up my hands cautiously as I step toward them. “Yes, he’s a dirtbag, but let’s be reasonable here. If you drop him, he won’t survive. He’ll likely get sucked into the propellers and chopped up or something like that.”

Jabari’s grin widens, his teeth flashing. “Good. A quick death. Sounds fair.”

Kendrick’s shouts intensify, drawing the attention of other passengers who begin to gather at a safe distance, their faces masks of horror and fascination.

A black cloud of smoke appears near us, and suddenly Kade is there, leaning against the wall of the ship, smirking at the scene before her.

“What the fuck?” I turn to her. “Aren’t you the sheriff? Do something!”

Kade narrows her eyes at me. “I heard Kendrick. Didn’t he just threaten you?”

“You are not serious right now.” I stare at her in disbelief. “Weren’t you practically on the verge of a stroke when you realized he found me just a few hours ago?”

She shrugs, casual as can be. “I’m about to get you off the ship, so what’s wrong with a little vindication?

” She flashes her fangs in a bright smile.

“He’s not going to listen to me anyway, not when it comes to you.

You want Kendrick to live his little miserable human life, then command your bear to stop. ”

I look back at Jabari, at Kendrick dangling over the open water. Why am I even bothering to save him?

“Jabari, I beg you, please put him back on the ship.”

His eyes find mine, intense and questioning. “Is that a command?”

I swallow hard. “Yes, it’s a command.”

Something shifts in his expression. He lifts Kendrick higher but keeps his feet dangling as he brings him face-to-face.

Then he lets out another monstrous roar, so loud and primal it sends vibrations through the deck beneath my feet.

The smell of urine fills the air as a dark stain spreads across Kendrick’s pants.

“You live because she says you can live,” he growls, his voice barely human. “Remember that, human.”

In one fluid motion, Jabari pivots and hurls Kendrick through the air. The man’s body strikes the wall of the ship not far from Kade with a sickening impact. I wince at the sheer force of it. Kade doesn’t even flinch as Kendrick slides down to the floor, dazed, his eyes fixed on nothing.

I stare at Kendrick’s crumpled form. “Is he?—“

“What?” Kade shrugs. “He’s not dead.”

I’ve had enough. “You know what? I’ve had enough of both of your asses. Get me off this ship right fucking now.”

Kade snorts and looks to Jabari. “You heard her. The boat is ready, let’s go.”

She rolls her eyes. “Fuck it, I’ll do it myself. Stay here with Jabari, and I’ll get your bags.” With that, she disappears in another cloud of black smoke.

I ignore the mystical cloud fading around me as I approach Jabari. Despite everything, I feel a need to acknowledge what he did for me.

“Thank you,” I say softly. “For taking up for me. And for sparing him, even though I know your bear didn’t want to.”

He smiles down at me, his eyes softening. He lifts his hand and gently runs his fingers over my forehead, down the bridge of my nose, and across my lips. The touch is feather-light, almost reverent.

“You’ve done that before,” I murmur. “What is that?”

“It is how the men in my clan show love to their mates,” he explains, his voice low and tender. “Passed down through generations. It is how I say I love?—“

He stops abruptly, his body tensing. He grabs me and pulls me behind him in one fluid motion. I peer around his massive frame to see what’s happening.

Fear grips me. Kendrick is standing, wobbling on unsteady legs, a pistol clutched in his shaking hand. The barrel is pointed directly at Jabari.

I hold up my hands instinctively, but Jabari glares at me over his shoulder.