Authors: Melissa Snark
“When’s
the last time they fed you, Josie Cat?” Jared asked after witnessing the
cheeseburger carnage.
Josephine
sniffed. “I eat all the time,” she lied.
He
laughed, a rich sound, stroking her fur like a friendly hand. Josephine
glowered. His eyes danced with deviltry and his mouth was 100% kissable. He had
big hands and strong arms; a lap designed for straddling. His animal magnetism
oozed from every pour. And oh, how she hated him!
Time
passed before they spoke again. “Why did you do this to me?” he asked.
Josephine
stared at Jared. Her great blue eyes filled with tears that she fought against.
“You see this collar?” she asked.
He
nodded. “It’s hideous.”
“That’s
not even the half of it. That demented vampire can suck the life from me any
time she wishes if I disobey.”
“Why
don’t you turn into a cat and take it off?” Jared asked.
“Don’t
you think I’ve tried? This is as far as I can shift.” Josie indicated her
cat-woman form with a quick gesture and scrubbed at her tears. “I didn’t want
to bring you here. Evangeline ordered me to find her someone new. She was
already angry with me because I—” She bit her tongue to keep from saying too
much.
“Because
you what?” Jared asked. He sat on the floor with his back against the wall,
knees bent, and arms dangling between them. His manner was mild and curious, as
if they were discussing trivia instead of the betrayal that had landed him
here.
“Because
I had already made her mad,” Josephine finished. She knew it was a lame excuse.
She stared at the ground and then looked up at him. “I’m sorry. I had no
choice.”
Jared
flicked an imaginary speck of lint with his fingers. “It’s okay,” he said, and
she didn’t believe him for a second.
Sinking
to a crouch, Josie wrapped her tail about her body and covered her nose. Jared
deserved his anger. She despised herself for what she had done to a fellow
shapechanger.
****
An
hour later, Jared stood and the motion caused Josephine to stir from her
catnap. She opened her eyes and found Jared standing near the entrance of the
bathroom.
“Hey,
Josie,” he called in a soft voice. “Come here a second.”
Cautious
but curious, she rose. She had stopped expecting him to jump her a while ago. “Why?”
she asked, approaching the bathroom. “What is it?” She peered past him through
the half open doorway.
“Is
this the only place without cameras?” he asked in a low voice.
“Yes,”
she said, peering at the werewolf. What was he up to?
“Are
there any microphones down here?” he asked.
“No,
the security system is ancient. It has video but no audio,” she said. “Why?”
“I
want privacy,” Jared said. His hands closed on her upper arms in an iron-strong
grip she had no hope of breaking. A jolt of pure terror hit Josephine. She
panicked and hissed, and then yowled as Jared shackled her against him with his
hands.
“I’m
sorry, Josie.” He dragged her into the bathroom and shoved the door closed
behind them.
“No,
Jared! Please, don’t—” Josephine fought him with frantic determination. Her
claws scored his forearms and she sank her teeth into his throat, drawing a
hiss of pain from the wolf. Josie yowled in distress and her struggles were all
that much more frantic because there was no one who would come to her rescue.
“Jared,
please! Please don’t hurt me!”
Jared
pinned her beneath him against the dirty tiles. Josephine shredded his shirt
with her claws and left bloody gouges across his chest. She bit his face and
fought with all of her might until the werewolf immobilized her on the hard
floor.
His
naked chest pressed against hers, and his considerable weight held her down.
Arms pinned above her head, Josephine could only sob and scream as his crotch
pressed against her pussy. Through the denim, she felt his straining cock. He
was huge, hard, and primal. She waited for him to finish undressing, for
penetration, for the inevitable violation that never came. He remained rigid
above her. His breath was short and labored, and his entire body dripped with
sweat.
Eventually,
she dissolved into tears and he rolled off her, apologizing. “I’m sorry, Josie.
I need for that bitch to believe I’m using you. My scent must be on you.”
Josephine
turned away from him and pressed her face against the cold tile. Her
heartbroken sobs echoed through the small bathroom. What he had done, cruelty
following kindness, was so much worse than any torture Evangeline had ever
devised. Josephine
knew
she wasn’t strong enough or brave enough to
survive him. If she couldn’t be rid of him, he’d do worse than kill her. He’d
break her.
Day
2
The
next evening found Josie curled on the hard floor of the cell because she had
refused to share the uncomfortable cot with Jared. After the incident in the
bathroom, the werewolf’s behavior had reverted to laidback and flippant. He
offered her food, which she refused. He attempted to engage her in small talk,
which she ignored. He had shown his true colors; she would not buy into his
deception again.
“How
long have you been here, Josie?” Jared asked with transparent irritation. Repeated
failed attempts to engage her in conversation seemed to be wearing down his
patience.
Boredom
was the enemy of any cat. Josie glanced his way, tired of staring at the water
stain on the wall. “Three years,” she said with a flick of her ear. “Maybe
longer; it’s hard to keep track of time.”
Jared
stretched his arms and back. Muscles and joints popped as he worked out the
kinks. “Does anyone know you’re here?”
Josie
blinked against more tears and shook her head.
“No
family? No friends?”
She
bit her lip. “Werecats are like werewolves. We’re born, not bitten. I was born
feline; I don’t remember my mother. I spent the first twenty years of my life
with a sweet old lady from Pensacola. I knew what I was, but I was content to
spend most of my life as a cat. I only shifted when I wanted to open a door or
get into the fridge. I made sure my owner never saw me change. She thought
there was a ghost in her house.”
Jared
chuckled and grinned. “That’s so you, Josie Cat.” He paced the length of the
enclosure once, stretching his legs. His movement brought him too close to her.
Jared
sank to a crouch. “How did you get here?”
It
was more personal information than she had ever meant to share but then no one
had ever cared enough to ask before. She found herself answering against her
better judgment. “One day I was kidnapped by vamps and then sold to Evangeline.
I’ve been her blood pet ever since.” She stopped. “Until recently, that is. She’s
done with me now.”
Disgust
crossed Jared’s mobile features. “Have you been alone the entire time?” he
asked. “Or have there been others?”
Josie
shot him a sharp, hateful glance. Trust the wolf to sniff out the topic that
hurt the most. “There was another cat when I got here,” she informed him. “He’s
gone now. Evangeline killed him.”
Jared
did not take the hint. “What happened to him, Josie Cat? What happened to you?”
Josie’s
fur stood on end and her tail lashed. His ability to penetrate her defenses
angered her beyond the point of caution. “I know your secret,” she hissed.
Taunting him was the height of stupidity, but he refused to leave well enough
alone.
Jared
cocked his head to the side, regarding her with an intent stare. “Which one
would that be?” he asked, ironic and dangerous.
“You’re
not a submissive wolf, Jared. Any fool can see it.”
“What
are you going to do?” he asked. Jared’s body had grown stiff and he towered
over her.
The
sounds of approaching footsteps cut their confrontation short. “Josie, don’t
tell,” Jared warned, intimidating her with his topaz stare.
Evangeline
entered the confinement area with Carl and two of her other minions. Josephine
flew at the bars and gripped them with both hands. “Mistress, please, let me
out.”
The
vampire regarded Josephine with disdain. “Why on earth would I do that?” she
asked. “Frankly, I’m surprised to find you still alive, Josephine.” She sniffed
and then smiled. “The wolf has been making good use of you, I see.”
“It’s
boring in here,” Jared said with a shrug. “Can I have something to read?” The
werewolf’s audacity was unbelievable. Josephine did not dwell on it. She could
smell his anger and knew he intended to kill her.
“Mistress,
please, I beg of you. The wolf hasn’t been honest with you. Just let me out—”
The werecat clung to the bars, prepared to beg on her knees if necessary.
Evangeline
regarded her and sneered. “I’ll admit, I’m intrigued to hear what you have to
say. Do you have a secret, Jared? What do you think Josephine has to tell me?”
Jared
had not moved from where he stood. “I can’t say, but it’s probably a lie. As
far as I can tell, she can’t be trusted,” he said with a chuckle.
“She
is a treacherous creature. Come, Josie, let’s hear it,” Evangeline said.
“Let
me out of the cage first, please,” Josephine begged. Her fear of the
unpredictable werewolf was greater than for the familiar vampire. Evangeline
might be moody and cruel, but at least she was a known quantity.
“Open
the cell, Carl,” Evangeline said with a small gesture.
Carl
opened the cell door and grabbed a fistful of Josephine’s hair. He held the
cattle prod ready to keep the werewolf at bay. Josie scrambled from the
enclosure and Carl locked the door behind her. Josie cowered at the vampire’s
feet.
“Let’s
hear it,” Evangeline demanded.
“Take
off my collar first,” Josephine demanded. Removed from Jared’s reach, she moved
on to her next highest priority. The collar represented a constant threat to
her life.
Evangeline’s
lips compressed. It was clear the vampire had not yet eaten and her patience
was thin. However, she bent to work the combination lock on the cat’s collar.
Josephine had spent endless hours playing with the antique lock, spinning the
numbers in an attempt to find the right code. The vampire removed it within
seconds.
Josephine
gasped and reached for her bare throat, feeling matted fur where the collar had
encircled her neck. It was exhilarating to have the heavy weight removed. She
felt able to breathe again for the first time in weeks.
“What
is he hiding?” Evangeline demanded.
“Jared
is a dominant wolf. He’s not his pack’s Omega at all,” Josephine blurted out,
casting a quick glance at the werewolf. With a start of fear, she found him
standing much closer to the bars than before. He was within arm’s reach of her.
Evangeline
arched her fine brow. “Really,” she said, casting a skeptical glance at the
werewolf. “Jared, what do you say?”
Jared
rolled his eyes. “You’d think she could come up with something more creative.”
He leaned against the bars and offered his arm. “Would it please you to feed,
Mistress?” He spoke with exactly the right amount of humility and
submissiveness. His entire body language communicated sensuous indolence; he
was pure seduction.
Evangeline
beamed, both distracted and pleased. The vampire wrapped her hands around the
werewolf’s arm and tilted back her head, mouth opening as her fangs extended.
She bent forward, burying her fangs in his muscular arm. Jared grunted and
turned his head to the side to conceal his expression from the minions across
the room.
While
Evangeline fed, Jared stared at Josephine with malevolent topaz eyes. He froze
her with his gaze and she discovered green and red specks within the golden
irises. Josephine’s terror escalated with each passing second, leaving her
trembling.
Evangeline
finished and used a handkerchief to dab at her mouth, wiping away a small
amount of blood. She smiled at Jared with girlish adoration. Jared maintained a
demur stance at odds with his blatant masculinity.
“Carl,
bring Jared reading material,” Evangeline instructed. “Find out what he likes.”
“Yes,
Mistress,” Carl said.
“Can
I please have my cat back?” Jared asked, keeping his eyes lowered in an
ingratiating manner.
Josephine
shook her head in silent denial. Evangeline did not even look at the werecat. “Carl,
put her collar back on.”
A
wail of denial rose from Josephine as the human servants surrounded her. She
got in a couple good scratches before a solid kick to the stomach left her
doubled over. Before she recovered, Carl snapped the hated collar back on
Josephine’s neck.
“Let
this be a lesson to you,” Evangeline said. The vampire extended an open hand
toward Josephine. The collar about Josephine’s neck glowed white hot and
excruciating pain lanced through her body. It felt as if the vampire were
ripping her apart from the inside. Josephine screamed and grabbed for the
collar, making a futile attempt to be free.