Predator Girl (A Paranormal Romance) (19 page)

I lingered behind, Anne-Lace and a boy known as Basil at my side. There went Jared’s chance for escape. Now I’d have to find some other way to sneak him out. I couldn’t have him here as my pet for long—I didn’t see him that way now. If he stayed, I might slip up.

“Mmm,” was all she replied. Turning away, she headed for the stairs.

I followed. Rex blazed me with his usual glare. Fox sat across from him in a chair, rolling his eyes at us. As I climbed the stairs, I noticed a new kid stationed near them on the floor. He had a startling resemblance to Rex’s deceased bodyguard, Adonis.

He must be the replacement, Rex’s new crony.

Except for Holly’s group, who seemed unaffected by the hunters’ deaths, the rest of the house was filled with gloomy auras. Behind the first door on the second floor, I heard a girl weeping. The wolves in the loft were quietly talking instead of roughhousing. The bathroom door opened as I passed. A pregnant blonde, probably in her late twenties, came out dabbing puffy eyes. I’d seen her once before, kissing one of the older hunters. As she drifted toward the stairs, sniffling, I thought,
that baby will never know its father.

The happy, loving Ilume I’d been with slowly became this gaunt, busy girl that only spoke when she was spoken to, and only ate when she was reminded. I stayed back those first few days, letting her train some new hunters, visit with pack members, and plan a funeral for the dead. I had enough control to not throw myself on her during the day. Nights were harder—a lot harder. We were in one room, alone, no interference from the pack. Neither of us slept well. Every hour she’d roll around or glance at me. It took all my strength to stay on the floor.

On the third night home, Fawn came into the kitchen all pale-faced and handed Ilume a box. I was sitting at the counter with Aspen as she pulled the top off. Laying in tissue paper was a short, silver dress. My stomach shriveled as Aspen mouthed,
wedding dress.

Ilume left the kitchen. She disappeared for the rest of the evening. It wasn’t until late in the night, when I’d given up searching for her and decided to go to bed, that I found her in her room. The French doors were wide open. She lay curled up at the end of the bed in shorts and a camisole. I approached slowly and bent over her. She wouldn’t look at me. In the dim lighting, I saw the red lines down her face, heard the quiet sniffling noises. Her hair was soaking wet, reeking of lake water.

That was the night I slipped up. Gathering her in my arms, I tucked her into bed and slid into the other side. She curled into me without protest. I savored every minute that I could touch her, kiss her cheeks and lips. I slept well that night, even though the door was unlocked. It didn’t hit me until morning that someone could’ve entered and seen us.

I didn’t slip up after that.

I started hanging with Aspen and some of the trainees, when they weren’t hunting. They invited me to go to the lake or watch TV in the living room. I often forgot my new friends were werewolves. If only coach knew what I was doing. Even Peter would flip.
Don’t tell me you believe everything they’ve taught you?
I started thinking about Aspen’s words again. It was weird, questioning things you’ve been taught all your life. Otherworlders were always, well, Otherworlders before coming here. You keep watch on them, you chase and tag them; you don’t go swimming or laugh at
The
Simpsons
with them.

When the gang was out hunting, I braved the care center. Under Fawn’s eye, Hawthorn left his siblings and came to visit me. He became my best buddy outside of the boys. I taught him to play baseball and he taught me to draw, or at least he tried. He was the little brother I never had. Unfortunately, his presence made me miss my sister.

The hourglass drained to its last bit of sand. I knew my time with the wolves was limited. One morning I got up and saw Ilume drawing a red line on her calendar. Her birthday was so close. I wouldn’t stay and watch her marry Rex. I couldn’t even think about it. It made me so crazy I considered killing him. He was injured, weak from the venom. Now was my best chance.

But I wasn’t like that. Training hadn’t taught us to kill—just injure or persuade. PIU’s government teams might’ve done it differently (I didn’t really know), but Fugleman taught us that killing was a last resort. The only time I’d killed something besides a house fly was during the trapper attack, and once when Leo was almost eaten by a basilisk.

As I watched the days get marked off on her calendar, I began to wonder why I stayed. Had I hoped that if I stayed long enough, she would change her mind and dump Rex?

Things got bad at the end of the week, and I went from being a social butterfly to a recluse. Ilume moved me out of her room, down with Aspen. When I saw some of her things being taken to Rex’s room, it was my turn to disappear for the day. I stayed near the lake, throwing rocks and large objects. I carved twigs into spears, which I proceeded to stab into anything that resembled Rex’s head.

I’d thought a few kisses and close moments with Ilume were okay, that I’d recover from losing her. What a stupid, stupid thought. The idea of losing her made me ill. The woman still had no off switch, and she’d ignited a fire in me that only burned brighter when we were together.

There had to be some way to help her. I had one week. There had to be something I could do or say to stop her from marrying Rex.

The window squeaked as it slid open. Stepping over the city of peanut spiders, I used the tub’s edge as a footstool, hoisting myself outside. The crickets chirped and the frogs were singing somewhere near the creek.

I lay back, staring at the stars. It was way past midnight, but the house felt stuffy, claustrophobic. My mind wouldn’t shut off. I couldn’t close out the images of silver dresses and orchids and streamers. I’d spent the last twenty-four hours trying to think of what to say to Ilume, who had been sucked into wedding planning today.

Ilume,
I would say.
Your whole life has been dedicated to this pack, and I get that, but you can’t go on like this and expect to be happy. If you take Rex as your mate, things will only get worse. I could make you happy. I have way more to offer you than—

I cocked my head. My Finder senses had picked up on sounds.

“You can’t expect them to stay away much longer,” someone said.

I sat up, peering over the roof. Three darkly-dressed figures were leaving the house, heading into the forest. They carried an array of objects that glinted silver in the light.

“I
don’t
expect them to,” muttered another. If his voice didn’t give him away, his limp did. It was Rex. He’d been up and around the past couple days. The antibiotics were working well (damn it). “What do you think we’ve been doing this for? I have few doubts that they’re planning an ambush as we speak.”

“Rex, this is still a bad idea.” I recognized the first voice now, the southern accent. Fox. “What if one of our own gets stuck in one of—”

“Our pack doesn’t go near the borders, Fox, you know that,” Rex hissed. “And if they do we’ll keep them away. None of us can afford a real battle right now. The next time any of their mutts come sneaking through our territory, they’ll be in for a deadly surprise.”

Fox made an annoyed sound. The third werewolf, Adonis’ replacement, cleared his throat, but didn’t comment. I listened until they were almost out of range, then I tip-toed across the roof. I had to crawl over Ilume’s balcony. For a moment I gave in to my worries. I peered through the French doors.

She’d accidentally left her lamp on, her book kicked to the edge of the bed. I could see her perfectly: she was sleeping.
Oh, hell.
She looked like a zombie, dark circles under her eyes. Through her nightgown I could see her hip bone protruding. She was losing weight, which she really couldn’t afford.

Hang in there, baby.
I slid over to the other side of the balcony. This was my chance. If Rex was up to something else she didn’t approve of and I found evidence, maybe she would finally give up on him.

Climbing down an old maple tree, I dropped to the ground. The crew’s voices were inaudible now, but I could smell them. I followed their scent into the woods, surprised at how well I could see. Dawn must be close.

The wolves took a path unknown to me. It twisted and dropped and turned like some kind of obstacle course. There were muddy, hidden spots that I slipped in a couple times. I wished I had shoes instead of socks on. The wolves’ footsteps sounded ahead. Nobody spoke now, which made it hard to estimate their distance. Twice I dropped back, just in case.

It seemed like hours before they stopped. I heard the clinking sound of metal as Rex gave instructions. I veered off the trail into the bushes. Creeping up behind a patch of ferns, I crouched, watching.

The trees thinned where his gang was working. A green-gold field spread out behind them, the mountains brightened by the rising sun. Yards of rope beside cases of metal darts sat under the trees. Something shiny peeked out from a pile of leaves. As the new Adonis kicked them aside, he pulled up three shovels.

What the heck were they doing?

Fox went into the woods, stone-faced, and pulled up a piece of netting from the ground. I stretched up just enough to see him tacking the net over a giant hole off the trail.

Oh.

They were booby-trapping the place. It made perfect sense—how do you fight an enemy you don’t want to confront? You set up traps for them.
But wait.
I had seen Rex doing this before the trapper attack, before the loss of the hunters. That morning I had seen him outside the kitchen window—this had to be what he was doing.

So he didn’t want to confront the Jackals, period. What a coward.
I’ve got to tell Ilume.
Traps weren’t just a danger to the enemy; they were a danger to her wolves as well. Slowly, I backed away from the ferns. I headed back to the trail, about to make a sprint for it.

Something wrapped around my ankle. I gasped as my leg was jerked into the air, flipping me head over heels. There wasn’t even time to grab onto something. I found myself staring at the ground far below, dangling from a tree.

“Well, well, now.” Rex came limping into view. He flashed me an impish grin. “I thought I smelled a follower. I was just saying to Fox the other day how we really needed a lab rat to test these things, make sure they worked. I guess that’s one less problem to worry about.”

“You’re a wuss, Rex,” I snarled, pissed that I didn’t see this coming. “What kind of alpha male makes traps to fight his battles? Afraid of getting creamed by somebody?”

That wiped the smile off his face. Pulling out a pocket knife, he sliced my rope. I twisted before crashing to the ground. The wind knocked out of me, I didn’t have time to scramble away. A hand grabbed my shirt, hoisting me to my feet. I saw Rex’s scowl just before his fist came up. His claws came out. He slashed me across the jaw, sending me back to the ground.

He wiped his claws on his jeans. “You really shouldn’t insult those that you’re no match for. From day one I knew you’d be a problem. Ilume doesn’t take to humans. She never has, even during her few months as a worker.”

“Afraid of—a little competition?” I stammered, slowly pushing off the ground. The world spun, turning colors. My face was pulsing, burning. I tasted blood in my mouth.

He chuckled. “Competition. You can’t be serious.”

I cried out as he jammed his heel into my back. Grabbing a handful of my hair, he pulled me up to meet his gaze. His eyes were feral, unmistakably the eyes of an Otherworlder, of a predator.

“I know why you saved her during the spider attack, why you didn’t take off running the second you were unsupervised,” he said. “So let me make this clear: in just a few short days, Ilume will be my mate. Forever. I meant what I said: few mortals that cross my path live, especially your kind. You did pretty good, using my woman to get around me. Not anymore. Fox.” Rex let go of my hair. “Will you bring me the—”

Just before he stood up, I socked him. My fist collided with his nose, causing a loud, crunching sound. Rex howled, hands over his face, stumbling away. His bodyguards hesitated, in shock. I took my chance. Still dizzy, I jumped up, tearing down the path.

Ragged breathing came behind me. Two pairs of feet were in pursuit, chasing me down the rollercoaster trail. I’d have gone off into the gully, climbed a tree or found a hiding spot, but who knew how far the traps went?

My head started to clear. The world stopped wobbling. I hit a straight shot, picking up the pace.

A piece of twine flew past my eyes. I was yanked backward, the blue thread twisting around my waist, flattening my arms to my sides. Rex, blood dripping out of his nose, finished off the ends with a triple knot. I tried to kick him. He caught my foot and twisted it sideways. I screamed, feeling the bones crack.

“Rex, stop!” Fox appeared, hands waving. “He’s just a human! You can’t kill him! What is Ilume going to say—”

“Shut up, old man,” Rex barked. “Or you can hang with him! And this is between us three; the Jackals got him while he was wandering where he shouldn’t be. End of story. Now, bind him up with the good rope and hang him in the field. He’ll draw Raven’s wolves in like flies.”

Rex let go of my rope. I crumbled. I lie on the ground again, dizzy and out of breath. My foot was pounding and fire-hot, like someone shoved hot coals into my skin. The awful heat traveled up my calf. I gritted my teeth. It wouldn’t go away. If anything, it got worse by the minute.

Fox didn’t move. He held Rex’s gaze. Rex’s muscles rounded, his eyes narrow. Finally, Fox grabbed me up and slung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I didn’t fight him. What was the point when I couldn’t even run?