31. The Call Gets Stronger
THIRTY-ONE
THE CALL GETS STRONGER
Seven
I was so warm. And so comfortable.
The weight against my back felt safe.
Something was prodding at my backside. I wriggled sleepily against it, sighing when a low groan stirred the air by my ear. A hand slipped around my waist, pulling me back against the hard thing. It pulsed against me.
I pulsed between my legs.
I ripped myself from his grasp, falling off the mattress and rolling across the floor, heart hammering. Hazy memories of the night before came back to me.
Shit. I could still feel the way I’d ridden his fully-clothed body to climax. I could still taste … him … on my tongue.
“Fuck,” he grunted. I shot to my feet, turning away. He was hard in his jumpsuit. I couldn’t look at him like that.
I’d done things to that part of him last night … I’d touched … tasted. Made him come apart with my hand … with my mouth.
My core pulsed again.
Shit.
“Listen, Seven, I …” he rasped, voice thick with sleep. “I’m sorry about last night. I don’t think I was in my right mind, I—”
“Don’t,” I begged him, refusing to turn, to see him making a tent out of his ragged jumpsuit. “Let’s just pretend it didn’t happen.”
Let’s not , my whisper snarled. Let’s think about his delicious cum coating our tongue. Let’s think about that while we spread our legs for him.
My body flushed with heat, and I raced for the door before he could tell how aroused I was.
Too late , the whisper chuckled. He can smell the wetness between our thighs. He wants to taste us, too.
This was not in my plan.
Rebuild power. Regain strength. Refresh skills. Revenge against all of them.
That was what I needed to be focusing on. Not this ache between my thighs. Not the pull to be close to him. Not the smell of him … in my nostrils … clouding my judgment … shuffling my priorities.
I stomped around the side of the cabin, running the shower. I wouldn’t undress—being naked anywhere near him would be the stupidest thing I could do right now—but splashing my face with cold water seemed like a great idea.
I gasped at the iciness of the water but went back for more, ducking my entire head under the spray until my hair was soaking. I turned my mouth to the spray, swishing it and spitting before guzzling deep.
I couldn’t get the taste of him out of my mouth.
No, you won’t , the whisper assured me cockily. We will never forget the taste of what belongs to us.
“Hey, Seven, I—”
I screeched, jumping through the spray and landing on the other side. As if the running water could keep me safe from him … from the need to be nearer to him.
“Jesus! Sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” Jack said, reaching out to shut off the water. His own hair was wet—he must have rinsed off under the sink inside. But to wake up? Or to cool down the same burning I was feeling?
“No, it’s … I’m a bit on edge, that’s all,” I mumbled, heat blooming in my cheeks.
The whisper cackled. I know a good way to help take the edge off.
“I’m going to try to shift and scout the surroundings today,” Jack went on, leaning one palm against the side of the cabin. In the rolled-up sleeves of his jumpsuit, his forearm bulged.
“Last night, I had a thought. I want revenge on those bastards back at Taiga as much as you do … but—”
“Look, if you’re not committed to going back there, that’s fine. I don’t need you,” I snapped, my stomach churning at the thought that in the light of day, he’d realized that everything he’d said to me the night before had been ridiculous … meaningless.
Jack frowned, twin lines forming between his eyebrows. “Fuck that! I’m in this, with you. No matter what shitstorm we walk into there, we’re doing it together, Blossom. We will have revenge for what was done to you.”
He stepped closer. I backed away, my fingers twitching at my sides. If I didn’t keep some semblance of distance between us, I didn’t know what would happen.
I know exactly what will happen , my whisper hummed.
He paused as if he could see the worry on my face. That hand, still pressed against the wall, clenched into a fist against the timber.
“But we can’t leave them all in there,” he continued. “The other half-breeds, and my mother and … my father. Blaire’s parents. That agent, the young one, who helped us escape. Your friend, the one you haven’t seen since they moved you out of the Guardian Program.”
My mouth fell open. Was he really saying what I thought he was saying?
“You said I could shift into anything I could picture. I’m going to give that a try. Today. I’ll shift into a bird, and I’ll scope out our location. See if there is a town nearby.
“If my friend … if Blaire is out here, she’ll be with Roman, the Drinker, and his sister and friend. They’re fucking fast, and they’re smart … and I think there’s something … extra … about the friend, Farida. If there’s a town close enough for us to get there on foot, we can call them. They might help us to get everyone out of Taiga. Shit knows Blaire is probably beside herself with worry for her folks.”
My stomach turned over when he mentioned her, but I ruthlessly stifled the primal rage her name brought over me.
He wanted to get everyone out. He wanted to save everyone.
That meant he’d help me find Two.
I could have kissed him. But that would have been the stupidest thing I could have done. There could be no more kissing. What would it take for us to Join anyway?
More than what we’ve done so far, the whisper muttered. She was frustrated, but all I felt was a washing sense of relief. I hadn’t Joined with him.
Not yet, the whisper snapped. But the blood still calls. And the call gets stronger.
“Yes,” I blurted. “Yes, I want to get them all out. And … I think it’s a great idea for you to leave … I mean, for you to go scout … for the day. We need to know if we’re safe here, while we work out our next move.”
I was rambling, and he took another step towards me. I stepped away once more.
“And I think we should try to contact your … friend. Whatever her name is. You’re right, two of us against everything in that place is an impossible task. So, you should go. Find out how close the nearest town is. Go now, before the day gets too far away from us.”
Jack watched me, a strange light in his eyes.
“And you’ll wait inside for me to get back.” It didn’t sound like a question, but I shook my head anyway.
“I’ll hunt. We’ll need to eat again tonight. Especially if you’re holding a shift all day. You’ll be ravenous when you return. We need food.” I managed the ghost of a smile. “And let’s face it, hunting isn’t exactly your strong suit.”
Jack scowled, and like a flash, he had me pinned to the wall of the cabin. His eyes were fully gold, glowing with fury, his face mere inches from mine.
“You will stay inside, where you are safe,” he snarled, hands pressed to the wall on either side of my head. “You have barely acclimated to the outside world. You will not endanger yourself.”
His chest was heaving, rubbing against my breasts with every sucked-in breath. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from moaning at the contact. I didn’t want him to know that this affected me.
I was too angry with him.
“Fuck. You,” I hissed. “I am not a fragile female. I am immortal. I trained for years to fight and kill beings much scarier than you .”
The gold of his eyes flashed. “And yet you backed away from me just now, Blossom. Tell me you’re not terrified of what I could do to you.”
The bastard flashed his teeth—not human, but sharp and long and dripping with saliva. “One bite, female, and all that is stopping us from Joining is some flimsy fabric between my cock, and your drenched little pussy.”
I barely dared to move, to breathe, as he leaned closer until his lips were at my ear, those sharp teeth so close to pierceable skin. “I can smell how much you want me buried deep in you.”
I shook my head, not trusting my voice.
Jack chuckled. Or, more accurately, Jack’s monster chuckled. Because this was all him.
I found my voice.
“If you’re the scariest thing out here, and you’re going to be off flying somewhere for the day, I should be just fine!” I snarled, and faster than he could react, I gripped him by the jaw, twisting his head, removing the immediate threat of his teeth. I hooked my foot around one of his legs and jerked it towards me, shoving his face away at the same time. In a blink, he was flat on his ass on the wet stone.
He shook his head, momentarily stunned. His eyes were hazel again, and he winced as I bent down, the thrill of the fight making me cocky.
“I think I’ll be just fine,” I crooned into his ear, then straightened, backing away. “Looks like you’ve got your hands full with that monster of yours, Jack.”
I walked off into the clearing before he had a chance to respond. All the open space didn’t feel quite as terrifying as it had the day before.
I needed that space. I needed to think. I couldn’t think when I was near him.
Is what his monster said true? I asked my whisper.
That we want his cock? Absolutely , the whisper replied. I rolled my eyes, ignoring the throb low in my abdomen.
That Joining requires biting … and sex , I clarified.
The whisper didn’t reply immediately. I kept walking, my pace quickening as I approached the trees on the far side of the clearing. The prickle at the back of my neck told me he was watching me. All my other senses told me he wasn’t following, which was good. Because if he did …
Already, everything in me was begging for me to turn. To go back to him. To give in to these urges, these feelings I never thought I would feel for a male, but that I couldn’t stop myself from feeling for him, no matter how much I might want to.
Our instincts say it is likely so , the whisper eventually conceded as I wove through the trees until I was fully out of sight of the clearing. I found a hollowed-out one and quickly stripped out of my jumpsuit, stashing it inside the tree. His monster may know more than us. After all, didn’t he watch that bitch friend of his Join with a Drinker?
I don’t think he watched them Join . I hoped he hadn’t watched her Join if Joining required what I now thought it might. And don’t call her a bitch , I added, trying not to let angry heat flare in my gut at the thought of her.
Would it be so bad to Join with him? the whisper asked. For once, her thought didn’t feel snide, or lusty … but genuinely curious.
Probably …
I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
At the very least, it would be a huge mistake right now, I clarified. We can’t be weak, the way Twelve and Nineteen were weak, when we’re planning a large-scale rescue mission.
So … the whisper began slyly. What you’re saying is, we CAN Join with him, but not until after a successful mission.
I’m saying nothing!
The whisper giggled. Well, I’m even more motivated to get back to Taiga and kick ass now!
I sighed in frustration and opened myself to the shift, hoping that our animal form would make her less obsessed with this Joining business and more focused on our tasks.
The change into our tiger form was faster again today. We shook out our coat and stretched luxuriously, reveling in the feeling of our other form fitting us like a second skin once more.
The drugs have left our system , the whisper said. We’re ready to fight .
We need to have a plan , I argued, trotting deeper into the forest, senses on high alert, sniffing out game, ears pricked for the scuttle of prey on the ground, in the trees. There are too many agents for a straight fight. We need to be smart. What Jack said makes sense. We need whatever help we can get.
Even if it comes from the ‘friend’ he had special feelings for?
HAD special feelings. Past tense , I argued.
Do feelings like that ever really go away, though?
Shut up. Let’s hunt.
A loud, screeching peal echoed above the trees, and a shiver rocketed down our long spine. We twitched our tail to shake it off.
It was him. We knew it. We glanced up. Perched on a branch, peering down at us, was a glossy, white-headed eagle.
Beautiful , we marveled.
Bald Eagle , Jack’s monster told us. And we aren’t beautiful; we’re deadly.
We snorted in his direction. Will you go and do what you need to do and stop scaring away the prey with that awful chirping?
The eagle cocked his head, watching us with predator’s eyes. We glared right back at him.
Why? He asked eventually. Afraid you’ll suck at hunting today and need to have a scapegoat?
That sounded like something Jack would have said. Our heart thrummed.
Have you merged? we asked.
The eagle shook his head. Jack still refuses. But I told him what you said about our ‘chirping’ … he was less than impressed.
We huffed out a laugh.
It was a very masculine chirp , we said. But really. Go. You have an important job today. Go do it. Quietly.
Without another sound, he launched into the air, finding his way out of the trees and disappearing from view into the blue sky beyond.
We shook ourselves thoroughly, willing away the feeling that going in a different direction to him was somehow … wrong.
And with effort, we forced ourselves to focus on the hunt.