Passion Projected (7 page)

50

if her plan involved saving his life or hers, maybe a little of both. All she knew was she needed to get out of the way.

The man’s reaction to the bite caused him to throw her down from his tight hold. Marley hit the ground, barely catching herself in time.

She didn’t hesitate. She ran to Cole or Jordan. still unsure of their identities. All she knew was that the blond one dashed toward them.

He scooped her in his arms, holding her securely. Marley clung to his neck for dear life.

The growling got louder. Hesitantly, she turned in time to see the stranger turn into a tan wolf. Snarling and tearing left haunting echoes in her ears. With both hands, Marley covered them to keep out the sound, but she couldn’t look away. A need to make sure Zachary was going to be all right left her watching the blood spray on the concrete.

Zachary had told the truth all along. They were werewolves, all of them. Over and over, her brain kept rejecting the idea, but she couldn’t deny witnessing their transformations with her own eyes. It made her world feel off balance, like everything she had ever been told was a lie.

A high pitched yelp brought her back to focus. The tan-colored wolf fell to the ground hard, blood flowing freely from the jagged tears in his throat. The van sped off so quickly smoke floated around all of them, making it impossible to see anything.

The smell of rubber filled Marley’s nostrils, making her hold her nose. Now that she knew she was pregnant every little smell seemed to affect her. At that moment, she wished she could have gone back to the ignorance-is-bliss stage.

A combination of emotions hit Marley all at once. She wanted to scream, to cry, but what good would that do? It would probably just freak everyone out, and then they would just be angrier at her. The realization of what she had done twisted her stomach. Because of her, Zachary had killed someone. All because he told her not to do something and she disobeyed.

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51

Zachary walked through the smoke now in his human form.

Cole’s arms loosened, and Marley wiggled to get down, fearful yet anxious to see how Zachary fared. Everything inside of her screamed to make sure he wasn’t hurt.

The moment her feet hit the hard ground, she sprinted toward him, running her hands all over his body.

“Are you all right? I didn’t know. I’m sorry. How could I have been so stupid?” Marley cried.

The words tumbled out of her mouth while her hands roamed over him. Tears poured down her cheeks. This was such a mess, and where did he get clothes? He still wore the same thing. Impossible! He had exploded. She saw him!

Zachary’s arms embraced her, hugging her tightly to him. “Shh, Marley, it’s all right, but we need to get out of here. As long as you understand now, that’s all that matters. Cole, tell Jordan to take care of that mess back there. Where in the hell did he disappear to, anyway?”

The walk to the car was disorienting. Zachary’s arm wrapped around her while she clung to his waist, replaying everything she caused. If anything happened to Zachary or the baby she now carried, it would have been her fault. Not only that, but she had just gotten some man killed. He may not have been a good person, but he could have been someone’s son, brother, or possibly husband.

Dizziness pulled at Marley. Her head spun, making the ground feel uneven. Vertigo took over, causing everything to move in slow motion. The SUV stood feet away, but she wasn’t sure she could make it.

“Marley, are you all right?” Zachary pulled her closer into his body.

His drawn-out words sounded odd to her ears. Marley opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t. Every word she wanted to say seemed to be trapped in her throat, fighting with the bile that threatened to choke her.

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52

“Cole go in and get Marley some bottled water, a soda, and some crackers. I’ll take care of her here in the car. Be quick. We don’t know how many of them there are.”

With one of the men being addressed in front of her, Marley noticed that Cole was indeed the blond one, so that made Jordan the brown-haired one. They both happened to be very handsome, but not as handsome as Zachary, at least not to her.

Cole had light blue eyes whereas Jordan‘s had a milk chocolate color. Both of them had generous lips. The girls in this area would have been honored to catch the attention of either one of them.

Marley felt herself suddenly lifted as Zachary laid her down on the seat. The lightheadedness was already starting to subside. She must have just had too much excitement, which made her blood pressure skyrocket. It had happened before. This wasn’t the first time.

After a few minutes of taking deep breaths, she slowly sat up.

Lying down wasn’t doing anything good for her stomach.

“Zachary, I’m sorry. Really, I am. It won’t happen again, but I have to ask you. Will you please take me home? I’m nothing but trouble. I’ve gotten a man killed because of my actions. I’m sorry.”

Pain shot through his eyes, and he reached for her hands.

“Marley, I can’t take you home. There is no way I could possibly protect you there. We’ll be safe at my estate. My brother is there with the rest of the pack. You have to know they’re not going to stop. I need you to trust me. Never would I do anything to put you or my child in any danger. Please say that you believe what I’m telling you.”

With her heart sinking from his assertion, she looked into his eyes.

Without a doubt, she believed every word he said. His expression wasn’t anything but completely honest and sincere.

“I believe you. I just want to go home,” she said, defeated.

His large arms wrapped around her gently. “Thank you for understanding. I know you want to go home, but if you just give this a chance you might not think it’s so bad.”

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53

Possibly not, but she had no way of knowing for sure. She wanted Zachary, but not the life he wanted for her. Virginia! Come on, that was so far away. Plus, with danger everywhere she turned, that was asking a lot. Wait, Virginia?

Anxiety started to take over. The drive posed a problem. Ever since she was a small child, she’d been notorious for getting car sick.

She had no control over it, it just happened. Anxiously, she began to fidget, thinking about what she could do to make it easier.

“There’s something bothering you. You can tell me,” he coaxed.

Afraid to look at him from embarrassment, she nodded. “I get sick if I’m in a car for too long. It’s always been that way. I’m all right for the first few hours, but after that it’s not very pleasant.”

He got really quiet and seemed to be contemplating something.

Cautiously, she took a peek at him under her long lashes, but after a minute or two she started to become impatient.

Cole opened the door handing Marley the water, soda, and crackers. Relief filled her. The water could wait. Right now, she needed her caffeine intake.

Not even concerned about what Zachary pondered anymore, she took a big drink, letting it burn her throat and make her eyes water. It was one of her favorite feelings in the world. Yes, she was a caffeine addict and didn’t care. Coffee or soda, either one hit the spot.

Jordan joined them in the car after what felt like an eternity. The SUV pulled out of the store and headed north. Zachary remained in deep thought, causing her to keep taking glances at him every few seconds. She wasn’t sure what he tried to figure out. She just knew it began when she mentioned becoming car sick. Maybe he would take her home, after all.

After ten minutes of complete silence, he grabbed the phone out of his pants pocket and hit a number. Her heart started to race.

“Kylie, get me the next flight out of Austin-Bergstrom International, four tickets. Yes, yes I’m sure.”

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54

He hung up the phone, and Marley noticed the other guys turn to look at him. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who was surprised by his words.

“Jordan, head to Austin. We can’t drive. Marley will get sick, and I don’t want to put her or the baby through that. There’s already enough for her to deal with. I don’t want her body more stressed than it already is.”

Marley’s heart softened at his concern. A part of her wanted to wrap her arms around him and repeatedly say thank you. Another part felt disappointed she wasn’t going home.

Jordan just nodded his head and continued north. Marley looked at the route he headed in. “Jordan, you’re going to Houston this way.

You need to turn around. I’ll get you to the airport. I know a shortcut.

I thought werewolves were supposed to have a badass sense of direction?” she teased.

Zachary laughed, hugging her to him. The closeness felt good, but she leaned away trying to keep her distance until she could make up her about mind what she wanted.

“Thank you,” Marley whispered. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I would do anything for you, Marley. Well, almost anything. I won’t put you in danger if I can help it.”

A phone rang, breaking through his words. Zachary flipped it open, remaining quiet as he listened to the voice on the other end.

“Thanks, Kylie. We’ll see all of you when we arrive.”

He hung up the phone, smiling nervously at Marley. “There’s a flight that leaves in three hours. How long does your shortcut take?”

“Two hours, depending on traffic. It shouldn’t be too bad when we arrive. But wait, I thought, or so as myths go, werewolves don’t fly.”

Silence filled the SUV. Waiting for an answer she looked at everyone. They all looked worried. Her stomach tightened. Were they doing this for her? From the nervous set of all of their faces, she knew they didn’t want to fly. Once again, her stomach twisted.

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55

“We prefer not to, but it can’t be helped. I don’t want you to be sick. It’s better this way.”

Jordan and Cole looked straight ahead, solid as stone. Their statuesque profiles were disturbing, yet beautiful. Deep down, she knew she couldn’t do this to them. To make them face a fear or situation they weren’t comfortable with felt beyond her. It wasn’t in her makeup to be selfish.

“Zachary, how immediate is this danger we’re in? Could we afford to take a break every few hours from driving?”

After a pause, he shook his head back and forth. “There’s no way of telling. I think we should just fly. We’ll get there faster, and then we won’t have to worry about anything.”

Once again, she turned to Jordan and Cole. Trying to get closer, she sat on the edge of the seat, maneuvering her shoulders between the two. Cole turned and looked at her curiously, his blue eyes studying hers. Jordan glanced in her direction quickly but continued to watch the road.

“What do you two want to do?” she whispered softly. Their uneasiness upset her. They had no choice but to do what they were told. She felt sorry for them.

Cole opened his mouth, but shut it swiftly, looking toward Zachary. Marley’s fingertips caressed his cheek, moving his eyes back to her.

“Cole, what do you want to do? What do you feel would be better for the group?”

Nervously, his eyes darted down and then he looked up steadily.

“Truthfully, I’m not sure I can control myself if we get on a plane. I don’t like them. Being off the ground just isn’t natural. But I would try my best. I don’t want you to be sick.”

“Jordan, do you feel the same way?”

His brown eyes caught hers for a brief instance before looking back at the road. “I’m good. Whatever Zachary feels is best. I can Ebook piracy is stealing. It is a federal offense.

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Passion Projected

56

handle the flight. At least, I’m pretty sure I can. I’ve never flown before.”

Marley’s heart dropped. She turned to look at Zachary. With the tenseness in his shoulders she could tell he wasn’t any better than the other two. “Zachary, have you ever flown before?”

“Yes, once.”

With a deep breath, Marley sat back against her seat. She knew absolutely nothing about werewolves, but something told her flying wasn’t a very good idea. What would happen if one of them couldn’t control himself? They’d all be in a world of shit, that’s what would happen.

“Zachary, we need to drive, we can’t fly. It’s not safe. Plus, I don’t want anyone to be uncomfortable. It would make things worse for me. As long as we stop every few hours so I can get out and walk around, I should be fine.”

He seemed to be going through some inner battle. More than anything, she wished she could read his mind. The mystery of how he managed to read hers earlier confused her, but he said it had to do with the bites. Well, hopefully after the last one, she’d be able to read his, too. Of course, she had no idea how the bond worked. Her luck, she wouldn’t feel anything and once again, get the short end of the stick.

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Passion Projected

57

Zachary listened to pieces of Marley’s scattered thoughts, intrigued. He could tell she was extremely upset, and yet he felt the part of her that wanted to be with him. There had to be a way to make her understand. Right now, she questioned the bites. He could help her out there.

“That’s not how the bond works, Marley. Only I can read yours, but only surface thoughts, and right now the bond is not complete.