26
Bite
H ours later, my skin feels too small to contain my body and beast. The cabin is quiet; a thick blanket of darkness has been pulled over the forest.
I'm doing nothing other than wearing a path into the floorboards, stalking around the kitchen and living room in a continuous loop, picking at my fingernails.
Dante still hasn't checked in to let us know the Whites have left, but according to the chime of the clock in the hall, their timeline has officially expired.
Jay is sitting in the kitchen at the island, nursing a fresh cup of coffee with an open laptop before him. The computer screen holds a bunch of windows to all the cameras set up around town and the forest. Each one shows nothing but the sleepy, dark Hollow.
No one has left the White's hotel room, and that very simple fact has my nerves frayed. They're up to something; I can feel it.
Eventually, Jay closes the laptop, deposits his now empty coffee mug in the sink, and says, "The forest is too quiet. I'm going out."
"Okay, let's go," I reply, pausing my endless pacing beside him. Saint doesn't say anything, though he gets up and waits for us next to the door, arms crossed.
"No, I need you to stay put." Jay's jaw flexes, and none of the usual mischief dances in his eyes.
"What? No!" I immediately fire back, crossing my arms.
"Please, you'll be safer here," Jay pleads, grabbing my hand. I can't tell if it's intentional, but it's almost as if Jay's Alpha power is rising.
He will order us to stay, My wolf growls, inky black ears pressed tight to her skull.
"What if they come here instead, Jay? Hmm? What then?" I seethe, my irritation rising the more my wolf and I feel the press of his influence.
"Artemis, that's not going to happen. You'll be safe here," Jay scoffs, and my wolf growls, the sound echoing in my skull.
"If you don't let me come, I'll just end up going out alone," I blurt, re-crossing my arms.
"Will you please stay put, Artemis? You're the one they're going to be after!" Jay's voice rises at the end, his eyes flashing.
I scoff, rolling my eyes. "They'll never see me. They'll never catch me."
Jay's eyes darken, his voice lowering to practically a growl. "You can't run faster than a bullet."
"Maybe I can, I haven't ever tried!" I fire back, and Jay opens his mouth, stepping towards me before Saint charges between us, pressing a hand to Jay's chest.
" Okay , guys, we can all agree we're worried about each other, right ?" Saint asks, glancing between us.
Jay and I mumble our agreement, glaring daggers at each other. Saint looks pleased.
"Amazing. So, if we are all concerned about our safety, we should stick together, right ?" Saint presses with a sly smile on his face.
Immediately, I shout, "That's what I've been saying this whole f-" I don't get to finish the sentence because Saint claps his hand over my mouth, so the rest comes out as a muffled garble. He shoots me a cheeky grin when I fall silent.
Saint clears his throat before saying, "Jay? Can't you agree you'll be at least a little less worried about her if she's within your sight?" While he's speaking, I take the opportunity to lick the inside of his hand, trying to get him to remove it.
Saint barely reacts, other than a slight warble in his voice when my tongue touches his palm.
Sighing through my nose, I give up. Jay's eyes darken, but he nods in agreement only once.
Saint grins, his entire face transforming with the expression. He's beautiful .
And then Saint takes his hand off my face and says, "Alright then. Kiss and make-up or whatever," Before striding towards the back patio doors. I give him the finger as he walks away, and Saint just winks in return.
Jay looks at me softly before taking a few steps toward me and presses our foreheads together, blue-green eyes boring down into the depths of my soul. We stay like that for a few breaths, simply staring at each other.
"Just…. listen to your instincts, please," Jay asks quietly, "Don't worry about us. We can take care of ourselves. You just worry about not being seen."
I gulp but nod. I have no intention of leaving Jay and Saint behind if shit hits the fan. Jay's eyes dart back and forth, examining my expression. For a second, I think he will call me out on the white lie before he nods, too.
"If Ethan knows it's you, that we're shifters, he's going to try to goad you into doing something stupid," I whisper, smoothing my palms over his shoulders.
"It's a good thing I have you to keep me smart, then, isn't it Gorgeous?" Jay says softly, pressing a kiss to my forehead.
"Always."
I find him deep in the dark places of the Hollow, near the gorge. His scent.
Ethan is within these trees. But he is alone.
We've been tracking him for the past few minutes, staying downwind and in the shadows. Jay and Saint flank me, Jay's silver coat more liable to draw the eye than mine.
Ethan White strides through the forest armed with only a pistol clutched in one hand. I've never seen his clothes, the black cargo pants, or the big black coat. He's not exactly stealthy, but he's not making much noise, either. He seems to be looking for something or perhaps someone .
When he trudges along the path that I know leads to the clearing, I drop back, letting Jay take the lead.
My Alpha bumps along my side as he steps forward, nuzzling me lightly. A nudge to the side is clear enough communication. Flank him. Keep to the shadows.
Saint follows me, staying between me and Ethan the whole way. While we do that, Jay slinks into the darkness after Ethan, circling around to cut him off at the clearing.
Mere minutes later, Saint and I creep along the snowy forest floor, careful not to make too much noise. Or at least less than Ethan.
Jay steps out from behind a tree just as Ethan reaches the thinning tree line, the opening of the clearing.
"Where is she?" Ethan demands, "I know you can understand me, Temple ." Ethan spits, and my blood runs cold when he unholsters the pistol.
Jay growls, exposing his sharp, white teeth. My heart is in my throat, and my ears are pinned to the sides of my skull.
Ethan raises the pistol to the dark sky and fires into the canopy. The forest goes quiet with the echoing shot ringing through the Hollow, and my breath seizes in my chest.
I have to do something. Or Ethan is going to kill our Alpha. Slowly, with Ethan's attention firmly on Jay, I slink forward, Saint a half step behind.
"Where is she? That bitch needs to pay for disrespecting me like that."
Jay growls again, louder than before.
"Answer me, you dumb mutt!" Ethan demands, leveling that gun at Jay.
I can't take it anymore. With my wolf in complete control, I snap.
With a mighty lunge, I jump and close my teeth around his wrist, closing my jaws with enough force that we cleave clear through the bone, tearing free ligaments and muscles.
Ethan screams, staggering for a moment as blood pours out of his wrist, the other hand clutching the stump. And then he's screaming and running away from us. I don't know how it's possible, but I guess adrenaline will do that.
The boys and I follow him for a few steps and have the supreme pleasure of seeing Ethan tumble straight down the overhang, crashing into rocks the entire way. A satisfyingly painful-sounding thud tells us when Ethan has finally stopped moving.
When Jay prowls forward, standing next to me, I can tell by looking at his wolfish face that we can't leave Ethan to die on Pack lands.
My wolf and I sigh. Then, Jay leads Saint and me down the ravine to where Ethan fell, finding him unconscious with his arm stuck under a boulder. His entire body is bruised and badly mangled. The massive rock on his arm, though, is probably the only thing keeping his blood in his body.
Jay shifts, then, in a gruff voice, orders Saint to run back to the packhouse and get a four-wheeler to get Ethan out of the forest.
And, despite everything that has just happened, or maybe it's because of it, I find myself unable to look away from my Alpha.
Naked Jay in the forest is a distraction. One that makes me almost want to shift and have my dirty way with him right on top of the boulder that holds Ethan prisoner.
While we wait for Saint's return, I realize that shifting would be a ticking time bomb to doing just that, so I decide to stay wolfy.
Even then, I can't do much other than ogle Jay's body.
Eventually, Saint returns on a four-wheeler, fully clothed, carrying a change of clothes for Jay and a length of blue stretchy silicone to wrap around Ethan's forearm so he doesn't bleed out when they move the boulder.
He and Jay quickly get Ethan onto the machine, and before they take off with him, Jay looks at me and asks, "You're running with us, right?"
My wolf and I nod, tracking his every movement. I can't stop thinking about the fact that Ethan had managed to fire a shot at Jay before I bit off his hand. Ethan could have killed him. And I was almost too late.
Sloppy, Artemis. So sloppy.
My irritation rises step after step, trailing after the boys.
When we get back to the cabin, I shift, running up the stairs while ignoring the looks of Jay and Saint, who are busy getting Ethan into the Jeep so we can haul his ass back to the hotel.
Quick as I can, I pull leggings up my legs, along with a bra and long-sleeve shirt that I pick up from the closet floor. Thick socks are pulled onto my feet, and then I rush back down the stairs to shove my feet into boots and grab a hoodie.
Jay and Saint are waiting for me next to the Jeep, as is Nero's car in the drive.
"Ready?" I ask, rushing to get the word out before Saint says anything.
"Yep," Jay answers, opening the door for me. Unfortunately, it's the front passenger door, meaning I have to sit next to Saint, but at least it isn't Ethan, so I will have to take the situation as a win.
The ride back to Sommerville is quiet as a hearse. I keep replaying the night over and over, wondering how close that bullet came to Jay and if Saint could have gotten hurt, too.
"What happened to the gun?" I blurt, breaking the silence.
"We picked it up. It's being disposed of," Jan answers succinctly.
All I can do is blink at the information. "Are we going to make the lawsuit public?"
"Depends on how the next interaction goes," Jan answers again, looking back at Ethan in the trunk space.
And then, seemingly all too soon, Saint is pulling into the hotel parking lot. Then we're shuffling Ethan out of the back and marching towards their door. Jay carries Ethan easily over his shoulder like he's done to me. Ethan looks so…. petite in comparison to Jay. And, for that matter, Saint. Nero follows in their wake, yet another manilla folder in hand.
Saint pounds on the White's door in swift succession, the banging unbelievably loud in the quiet early morning hours.
When Stephen White opens their hotel door, Jay unceremoniously drops Ethan at his feet.
"I think you lost something," He says, the quiet threat palpable.
"What have you done to him?" Stephen shouts though he doesn't do so much as twitch in his son's direction.
"He was caught, again within the bounds of protected lands. He attacked the wolf pack that lives in the Hollow. They fought back." The rumbling power in Jay's voice raises gooseflesh down my arms.
"Mr White," Nero interjects, showing him a photograph that looks to be taken from a drone of Ethan pointing a pistol at a wolf. Jay. " Your son was warned, as you were. Trespass again, and you will be removed with force."
Stephen scoffs, " Please. Trespassing. That won't hold up in the court. I'll have you bleeding out your balls paying for what you've done to my boy."
Nero clears his throat. "I believe you are mistaken, Mr White. We have defended these lands from poachers such as yourself for many years."
"Where is his hand?" Stephen demands, finally sparing Ethan a glance.
"Our apologies. The wolves must have gotten to it before we could assist ," Jay says, smirking. Phil walks behind Stephen, looks down at Ethan, and starts shouting.
"What did they do to him, Father? You can't just let them stand there!"
"We didn't do anything." Saint chuckles, tucking his hands into his pockets. "He was trespassing. Found out why our woods aren't open to outsiders."
Phil always was a hot head, even more so than Ethan, so it shouldn't have been a surprise when Phil reared back and punched Jay square in the face. Jay gets in an answering blow that sends Phil to his knees.
Then, Nero pulls Jay back, knowing that if he lets loose, Phil will end up being no better than mince meat.
" Gentlemen , unless you'd like to add assault to our lawsuit, I suggest you control yourselves," Nero chides, making me fight back a smirk.
"Phil, take your brother to the truck,"
"But they-"
"Do as you're told," Stephen orders in a booming voice, making his thirty-year-old son flinch away.
Without another word, Phil picks up Ethan, who groans and marches away into the darkness. Well, at least he's not dead on our account.
"How can I keep this under wraps, as you say?" Stephen asks, grabbing a keyring from a nearby table.
This feels like as good of a time as any for me to unveil my secret weapon, so I step forward, pulling Stephen's attention to me. Looking him dead in the face, I lay it all out for him.
"Leave and never return. Tell no one what you know about us, and stop hunting altogether. Do it, or I tell everyone about your arrangements with the Senators. How you are all corrupt pieces of shit. I'll tell the whole world everything. How you poach and how you treat women. How your son is a rapist pig, and you gave me hush money in the guise of a prenup to never open my mouth about him. I'll bring Cassandra's family down with you, too. You and all your little circle will crash and burn, and I'll be standing above the wreckage at the end."
By the time I'm done, Stephen's face is a mottled red, lips tightening into tiny little white lines.
"I'm not bluffing. I'll do it. I know all your dirty little secrets, Stephen," I goad, leaning forward slightly. "Even the ones Cordelia doesn't know about."
"You little bitch," Stephen seethes, stepping toward me.
"Mr White, Threats of bodily harm will not be condoned," Nero says, stepping forward. Jay stands still as stone, arms crossed and legs braced shoulder-width apart.
"So what do you say, Stephy-boy? Do we have an accord?" I ask, smiling sweetly at him.
I see the emotion flick over his face; know it when I've won. Begrudgingly, Stephen says, "We have a deal."
"So you'll stop poaching, telling no one you know about what is in this little town, and never stepping foot here again?" I reassert, holding my hand out.
"Correct," Stephen says, reaching for my hand.
At the last moment, I pull mine back and say, "Great! Thanks for the confirmation. By the way, this whole thing was recorded:" I point quickly towards Dante on the opposite balcony, with a camera trained on the four of us at the hotel door. "Toodles!"
Then, hoping I look more confident than I feel, I turn on my heel and march away from Stephen, hopefully for the last time.