Feral Craving (13 page)

 
“I
said stop!” The words came out as a harsh whisper, followed by the cerebral
equivalent of a punch from Tyler. Bari jerked his mind from Mackenzie’s, the
blow making the room spin. As the connection released, Bari watched, frozen, as
Mackenzie turned and walked away, her clenched fists giving away her mood. As
she reached the door behind her bar, she looked over her shoulder. “You have no
right. I had no choice. You are the one, the only one here who left me with no
choice, Bari.”

He sat there, glued to the spot. He had
been brought here, not under his own will, and changed permanently, was forced
to deal with changes of things he didn't understand. Mackenzie’s teasing, her
scent, images, and remarks drove him insane. If Bari could move, he would go
after her and explain just what was a choice and wasn't. Instead, he was forced
to sit, completely useless as his body recovered from Tyler’s blow.

"You know where to find me, how to
reach me. If anything and I mean anything seems out of place, you call
immediately. Understand?" The muscle ticking in his jaw stood out, as
anger pulsed. At Bethany’s nod, Bari forced himself to move, pushed out of the
chair and turned.

“Where are you going?” Tyler asked.

‎"I’m taking a breather."
He started for the door, yanked it open and stepped outside. The town’s noises
assaulted him, the sun blinding him. Bari angled his head back at the sky and
took a deep breath, urged his body to relax. He felt on edge, his skin itchy,
something inside of him wanting to claw out. His mood seethed with pressures
thrust upon him along with the mind games played. He stepped off the sidewalk,
going in the opposite direction of his car, and headed down the street. His
footsteps were heavy, and his mood dark. His fists clenched and unclenched at
his sides. People gave him a wide berth as if they had an instinct to stay
away, perceiving him as a predator in search of prey.

Chapter
Fifteen

“Well that
went well.” Mackenzie watched Bari walk out with a sense of déjà vu. It wasn’t
the first time he had done it, and she figured it wouldn’t be the last.

“I know it’s
not worth much, but give him some time.” Mackenzie glanced over at the deep,
rumbling voice. Watching her with intense eyes, Tony seemed to see right
through her. His eyes captured too much, and she saw it in the way his gaze
steadied on her.
With skin the color of coffee and eyes the shade of a storm
brewing, Tony was any female’s fantasy. Easy on the eyes, tall, muscular. A hint
of secrecy encircled him, his mood quiet, almost shy. His voice made a woman
think of a long night—hot, dirty sex.

Right now those gray eyes trained on her,
watching, studying. She saw expectancy in his gaze.

“I’ve given him nine years, Tony. I’ve
given him too much. Perhaps it’s time for him to give me something in
exchange.”

Tony nodded.

Huh, a man of few words. “You know what,
Tony? Matter of fact, why don’t you tell Bari to forget it all. Maybe coming
home wasn’t such a good idea.” She turned to go back to her office when a hand
closed around her arm, then whirled her around.

In a flash, Mackenzie was face to chest
with an extremely tall male. Bare inches separated them and the pounding in her
heart increased. Being handled, even by people she knew—and Tony, she did
not—wasn’t something she handled well. Too many memories, too much fear
prevented her from staying quiet. A small, sharp cry of alarm came out of her
mouth.

“Hush, Mackenzie…”

Her hands shook as she lifted them to the
sides of her head. “What do you all want from me? Don’t tell me it’s nothing
either, ‘cause Tony, I’ve seen the way every single one of you watch me.”

A finger tipped her head up to meet his
storming gaze. Tony’s eyes searched hers, penetrated, before he released her
arm and stepped back. “I mean you no harm, Mackenzie. None of us do, but you
can’t run from what is expected, from what has already been written. Bari can’t
either, but he needs a moment for it all to sink in. He’s not like you,
Mackenzie. None of us are, and he’s just finding out.” Tony tilted his head in
thought. “I would expect it could be a bit to take in at once, on top of
finding out you’re a father. But have no doubt, Little Mouse, he won’t walk
away this time.”

Tony turned
from her and walked away, joining Mike and Tyler at the front door. Both men
had looks of concern on their faces. Tony said something to Tyler, and three
sets of beautiful eyes looked at her before Tyler nodded and pushed open the
front door. A gust of wind pushed through and within seconds it wrapped itself
around Mackenzie. She shivered and glanced up at the sky: it looked very much
the same swirling color as she had seen in Tony’s eyes.

****

Bari eyed Tyler across the top
of his knuckles. The man’s smirk grated on his nerves. They had been at this
for the past hour, and he had been knocked on his ass more times than he could
count. His mind was so scattered it refused to focus.

Cutting out his right hand, Bari took the
small opening Tyler allowed him—he comprehended it had been allowed—to toss a
right cross. His body moved astutely, but Tyler lurched and grabbed his
outstretched hand, turning his body, and tossed Bari over his shoulder as if he
didn't weigh anything. Bari grunted as he slammed to the mat, his eyes closing
as pain fed through every … damn … muscle in his body.

"Fuck..."

Tyler’s ugly mug came into his view,
grinning.

“Hey, Cowboy, you wanna go get your big
girl panties and try this again, or have you decided today be deemed Kick
Bari’s Ass Day? Matter of fact,” Tyler said as he stood and mocked the buffing
of his nails on his t-shirt, “maybe I’ll go find Bethany, seeing as you’ve
decided to keep your head in the clouds.”

Bari’s jaw clenched, the verbal jab
adding to his irritation. He rolled over, coming to his knees, and set his
knuckles to the mat, pushing off.

"I'm right here, asshole."

Bari brought his fists up to his face and
eyed Tyler bouncing around the ring. An ache settled between his shoulders, and
his head started to spin. He didn't know what was worse, watching Tyler bounce
around like a fucking rabbit or being unable to keep his head in the fight.
Stalking across the mat, he hunched his body, putting forth a burst of speed
before his shoulder connected with Tyler’s midsection. Tyler grunted, and Bari
pushed backwards, the other man coming along for the ride. All too soon, Bari
found himself pushing nothing but air before falling on his face.

"Damn it!" His face smacked the
mat, stars clouding his vision.

Bari rolled to his back, heard the
familiar rasp of that damn lighter. He pushed off, again, sat up and draped his
heavy arms around his drawn up legs. Getting his feet underneath him, he stood,
his entire body screaming in protest. Tyler's words drove home that he couldn't
keep up with the way he had been going. The trip this past weekend didn't get
anything out of his system; it seemed to have made things worse when it came to
thinking about Mackenzie.

“I thought you were told to get her out
of your system?”

Bari glanced over. The words, compared to
the knowing look in Tyler’s eyes, didn’t seem to add up. “I don't know what the
fuck you're talking about, Tyler. Get out of my head." Bari padded over to
the edge of the ring, reached through, and grabbed his water, chugging the
contents of the bottle. He hoped Tyler would take his silence as a hint.

“It’s something more, isn’t it?” A pause.
“No shit … that Mackenzie? She is
that
Mackenzie? Well hell, now that makes things different.”

Bari swung around and leveled Tyler with
a glare. They both knew damn well who Mackenzie was and wasn’t to him, and
Tyler’s satisfied expression gave it away. Bari’s hand tightened on the bottle,
the plastic crumpling. Damn the fucking male and his cryptic, all-knowing ways.
"It’s nothing, bro. How about you stop trying to force something that
can’t be?"

Even the words coming from his mouth
sounded like a lie, failed to convince, and had Bari shaking his head. Tossing
the bottle in the trash, he started removing the tape from his hands. A hand
landed on his shoulder and stopped him. Bari clenched his teeth before Tyler
opened his mouth.

“Liar. Stop fighting what it needs.”

“What the fuck are you talking about,
what it needs?”

Tyler sighed and scrubbed a hand through
his dark hair. “You remember me telling you about what happens when a
Eurydice
turns?”

Bari’s heart slammed against his chest
like a sledgehammer. “Yeah?”

Tyler studied him for a few moments,
watching his eyes, and then took a deep breath. When he spoke, it was slowly,
and the words seemed to have been chosen carefully. “A JD needs his mate in
order to keep himself level. These females are one of a kind, ones who are the
better half of our true souls. You see, if one of us dies, our bodies go, but
our souls are reborn into the next warrior life. It’s not until our change that
we truly know who we are.” Tyler held up his hands as Bari opened his mouth. “I
know it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but trust me here. You need her.”

Bari shrugged Tyler’s touch off. “What in
the fuck is it with you all and butting into my relationship with Mackenzie?
You know what, don’t answer that. I'm going to hop in the shower. Convo is
done. Same time, same place tomorrow."

Bari didn't wait for an answer, couldn't
bring himself to meet Tyler's eyes, and didn’t want to admit something he
already understood. Mackenzie was getting under his skin and by God's grace,
somehow, someway she had stayed out of his path for the last few days. An odd
feeling manifested inside of him tonight, one he couldn’t explain. An urgency.
He didn’t know how much longer he would last.

Chapter
Sixteen

Mackenzie sat with Byron all night, his
fever finally breaking, his body dehydrated. After hours of trying to bring
down his fever, Bethany had her bring Byron to the hospital where she hooked
him up to an IV. By the time Byron passed out, the sun was rising. Exhausted,
she let out a profound sigh at the sight of Byron looking so peaceful, so small
in the big hospital bed. She didn’t understand what was going on with him,
neither did Bethany, and worry settled in deep. She felt helpless. She always
provided for him, gave him time, love, and affection, hoping it made up for the
void in their lives.

Leaving Byron in the room, Mackenzie
stepped past the nurse’s station and down the hall. She needed coffee in the
worst way. She’d already called in to Mary Jo, asking her to open the shop this
morning, but really craved a cup of her own, rather than the hospital sludge
she was about to get. Caffeine was caffeine, and right now she’d take it any
way she could get it.

Not paying any attention, she stepped off
the elevator, rounded a corner and slammed into a hard wall.

“Oh my God, I am so—” The words died in
her throat, her breath catching as she glanced up and caught a familiar blue
gaze. “Bari, I … I’m getting coffee,” Mackenzie blurted out in a rush. She
needed to get away from this male and her reaction to him, needed her space,
and with Byron upstairs this ran too close for comfort.

****

Bari gnawed his teeth together, closed
his eyes, and bowed his head back as Mackenzie’s sweet curves pressed into his.
The jolt, the awareness he had to her, ran like lightning through his system.
He took a moment, breathed in and out slowly, and tried to maintain his
control. Something deep inside of him, the beast, wanted more of her touch. He
took her hips in his hands and set her back from him deliberately.

"Mackenzie, you going
somewhere?"

Bari’s body immediately hardened at the
sight of her green gaze glancing up. He reached down and picked up the envelope
he had dropped when Mackenzie slammed into him, setting it in front of his
erection with nonchalance. She looked exhausted. His brows furrowed, drew down
tight. She bit her lip, and his cock gave a painful jump in response.
Goddamnit.

What are you
going to do, Bari? Toss her against the wall here in the hospital?

Well yes, yes
that’s exactly what I’d like to do.

For fuck’s
sake, shut up!

Bari grimaced and stepped back, angling
his head away from her tempting scent. He needed a cold shower, to get as far
as possible from her. Normally, so in control of himself, of his body, this
reaction to her drove him insane, confused the hell out of him.

“I ran into a slight problem last night.
Beth is helping us out. Why are you here?” Mackenzie shook her head, a soft
snort coming from her mouth. “You know what? Don’t answer that. In fact, please
move.” She reached up and set a hand on his chest to push him back.

Mackenzie’s touch ignited a spark inside
of him, sent that spark into a burning inferno through his veins. His entire
body trembled, shuddered, as heat coiled deep inside. Fuck, what was wrong with
him? If she unraveled him with a single touch, what would happen if he gave in
to temptation and took what he wanted? He fought against the urge to groan
before her words snapped his attention back to her face.