Read Online Deceived By the Others by Jess Haines - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jess Haines
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shivering in the bitter cold. Surges of adrenaline from my terrified reaction as twigs snapped or branches rustled around me alternated with feeling like an absolute dork for scuttling around in the dark like I was playing at being a secret agent. Though there wasn’t a lot of light, I could still see my breath fogging the air in front of me.
Hazy moonlight glinted off the shifting surface of the running water. As I got to the bridge, something moved against the wind in the trees above me. Tensing, I swung about so I could see whatever it was, my knuckles cracking as my grip tightened on the busted chair leg.
The stupid crow cackled at me again, watching me with beady eyes from a perch high up in the trees. The big, gangly bird hopped down another branch to move closer, and I made a shooing motion at it, annoyed.
“Um, maybe this is a stupid question, but what are you doing with that stick?”
A little cry escaped me, as I stumbled back to the raucous sound of something suspiciously like laughter from the bird. As it flew off, I raised a hand to my brow, letting the makeshift bat swing at my side.
“Kimberly, Jesus Christ. You almost gave me a heart attack.”
“Sorry,” she said, not sounding sorry at all. She looked me up and down, warily amused. “Seriously, what’s going on? Are you okay?”
“No. Somebody tore the shit out of our cabin. There are claw marks all over the furniture, so I think it was a Were. I didn’t want to wait there by myself in case it came back. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Brown eyes wide with surprise, she nodded agreement, ushering me ahead of her as we rushed back toward the lodge. I left the chair leg by the creek since it was basically useless, and I figured Kimberly would be better able to deal with anything that attacked than I would. She was in amazing shape and, if something came at us, she could always shift into Were form to scare it off or fight, which I had to admit was a pretty useful quality in a girlfriend.
We hurried through the trees, me breathing hard, Kimberly barely showing any sign of effort. I vowed silently to hit the gym a little more once I got home. And, damn, it was cold, made colder still by the wind rushing against the fear-induced sweat that had broken out over my body.
The warmth inside the building was like a balm to my frazzled nerves. We followed the easy hum of conversation to the bar where Chaz was in heated discussion about something with a few of the guys. They looked up when we stopped in the doorway to the dining hall, surprise etching Chaz’s face when he saw our expressions.
“Shia? What happened? Are you okay?”
Kimberly hesitantly touched my arm to indicate she wanted to speak. I nodded assent. She turned to address Daisy, who’d stopped rubbing down the bar mid-motion, and the Weres in the room. “Someone’s gone rogue.”
A long pause followed those words. I didn’t like the dangerous light that came into the Weres’ eyes. Clearing my throat, I spoke up, hating that my voice was so unsteady. “Our cabin was trashed. Some of the furniture was busted, and there are scratches on the furniture that look like they came from claws.”
Chaz stood up, pacing over to join us with that easy, liquid grace that said he was pissed and on the verge of shifting. Great. “I’ll bet it was Seth. That little shit finally went off the deep end.”
“Excuse me, but before you start tearing up more of our property, you better go speak to my father-in-law,” said Daisy from behind the bar. She drew herself up straight, looking almost as nervous as I felt when she met Chaz’s eyes. “If what she said is true, someone better pay for the damage.”
Chaz stared at her a long moment before giving a slow nod, though the anger didn’t fade from his manner or expression. “I will talk to him. We’ll make sure it’s handled.”
She nodded in return, still looking uneasy. I didn’t blame her. At last, she bent back to the task of
Hazy moonlight glinted off the shifting surface of the running water. As I got to the bridge, something moved against the wind in the trees above me. Tensing, I swung about so I could see whatever it was, my knuckles cracking as my grip tightened on the busted chair leg.
The stupid crow cackled at me again, watching me with beady eyes from a perch high up in the trees. The big, gangly bird hopped down another branch to move closer, and I made a shooing motion at it, annoyed.
“Um, maybe this is a stupid question, but what are you doing with that stick?”
A little cry escaped me, as I stumbled back to the raucous sound of something suspiciously like laughter from the bird. As it flew off, I raised a hand to my brow, letting the makeshift bat swing at my side.
“Kimberly, Jesus Christ. You almost gave me a heart attack.”
“Sorry,” she said, not sounding sorry at all. She looked me up and down, warily amused. “Seriously, what’s going on? Are you okay?”
“No. Somebody tore the shit out of our cabin. There are claw marks all over the furniture, so I think it was a Were. I didn’t want to wait there by myself in case it came back. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Brown eyes wide with surprise, she nodded agreement, ushering me ahead of her as we rushed back toward the lodge. I left the chair leg by the creek since it was basically useless, and I figured Kimberly would be better able to deal with anything that attacked than I would. She was in amazing shape and, if something came at us, she could always shift into Were form to scare it off or fight, which I had to admit was a pretty useful quality in a girlfriend.
We hurried through the trees, me breathing hard, Kimberly barely showing any sign of effort. I vowed silently to hit the gym a little more once I got home. And, damn, it was cold, made colder still by the wind rushing against the fear-induced sweat that had broken out over my body.
The warmth inside the building was like a balm to my frazzled nerves. We followed the easy hum of conversation to the bar where Chaz was in heated discussion about something with a few of the guys. They looked up when we stopped in the doorway to the dining hall, surprise etching Chaz’s face when he saw our expressions.
“Shia? What happened? Are you okay?”
Kimberly hesitantly touched my arm to indicate she wanted to speak. I nodded assent. She turned to address Daisy, who’d stopped rubbing down the bar mid-motion, and the Weres in the room. “Someone’s gone rogue.”
A long pause followed those words. I didn’t like the dangerous light that came into the Weres’ eyes. Clearing my throat, I spoke up, hating that my voice was so unsteady. “Our cabin was trashed. Some of the furniture was busted, and there are scratches on the furniture that look like they came from claws.”
Chaz stood up, pacing over to join us with that easy, liquid grace that said he was pissed and on the verge of shifting. Great. “I’ll bet it was Seth. That little shit finally went off the deep end.”
“Excuse me, but before you start tearing up more of our property, you better go speak to my father-in-law,” said Daisy from behind the bar. She drew herself up straight, looking almost as nervous as I felt when she met Chaz’s eyes. “If what she said is true, someone better pay for the damage.”
Chaz stared at her a long moment before giving a slow nod, though the anger didn’t fade from his manner or expression. “I will talk to him. We’ll make sure it’s handled.”
She nodded in return, still looking uneasy. I didn’t blame her. At last, she bent back to the task of
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