Predator Girl (A Paranormal Romance) (20 page)

Fox gathered some rope from their work site then walked into the meadow. He climbed up a lone willow tree, stringing a line down the trunk. Instead of making a noose, like I figured he would, he just tied the back of my rope to the end. I swayed a few feet off the ground. His face looked sallow as he backed away. The old man seemed older all of a sudden, gray. I wanted to hate him, but I couldn’t. Not quite. I knew he was just doing as the bastard said. If he didn’t, he’d get killed, too.

“I’m sorry, kid,” he muttered, shaking his head. “I never thought I’d see the day that I hung a kid out as bait. I don’t know whether it’d be better to snap your neck now or let them,” he trailed off.

“It’s okay.” My voice trembled. I should’ve been brave, told him to just do it now, save me the agony of being torn limb from limb. I couldn’t bring myself to say it. “Just go.”

“He wasn’t always this psychotic, you know. A human, a Finder, killed his father. It does things to your head—”

“I really don’t give a shit.” I grimaced. If I had my daggers or my revolver from home, I’d have killed Rex for this. To hell with what Hunters High would think of me. Rex wasn’t the only one without a father.

Fox stared at me a minute, then turned away.

“Fox?” I called. He glanced back. “Do me a favor, will you?”

“What?”

I swallowed. “If I don’t come . . . tell Ilume . . . tell her I love her. All right?”

Fox blinked, and then nodded. With that, he was gone, jogging back into the woods.

I was alone.

The ropes were cutting into my skin. Every time I squirmed they dug in deeper. Lupine’s bite mark on my arm had been half healed, but split open again. Blood seeped through the twine, staining my ties. Escape was impossible. Even if by some miracle I did make it down, what was I supposed to do? Limp back to the mansion? No. Rex would surely be monitoring this area now, and if he caught me again he’d kill me himself. If I hadn’t been of use, I’d be dead now. Body stuffed in one of his trenches.

I hung there for hours, listening to the sound of hammering and low voices. When it stopped, I knew the jerks had left, headed back home. I wondered if their traps were finished, set, and how many more of them there were.

The sun was just above the mountains when the storm clouds formed. In minutes cold droplets hit my head. I began to shiver uncontrollably. Maybe hypothermia would get me before the Jackals did.

Stick it out, Jared. Ilume will notice you’re gone. She’ll come looking for you.
But Ilume had barely talked to me since I’d moved into Aspen’s room. Maybe she was forgetting about me. Besides, I didn’t want her coming out here to the border. What if she got hurt by one of Rex’s traps?

Hot tears mixed with the rain on my face. I kicked out at the air, angry, and feeling more hopeless than that first day I arrived, when I’d been dragged out of my cage. Ilume had been there to save me then.

The depression sank in with the cold. It wasn’t long before circulation left my hands and thighs. I wished that I’d never followed her. I wished I’d have let her go that first night she passed Peter and me at Whirlwind. I wished that I was still the shallow guy who hooked up with nymphs and thought love was dead.

And then, as the day dragged on, I didn’t wish for any of that at all.

I just wished it was me, not Fox, telling Ilume I was in love with her.

I wanted him so much, which was why he needed to leave this week before my birthday. If I saw his face among the crowd, I would never be able to say yes to Rex. I
would
go bolting off. Already I pictured the event in my head, me in the silver dress standing with Rex under a moonlit arch of orchids. I would look out to the crowd, see Jared’s heartbroken face and drop the white bouquet. Leaping off the stage, I’d transition, run to him in the crowd. He’d jump on my back. His hands would bury into my fur, and we’d bound off into the night. I’d wake in Gram’s den with him at my side, Rex an old, distant nightmare.

I slumped down against the railing.

The French doors squeaked. Mom stepped outside, coming to join me. “Hey,” she greeted.

“Um, hey,” I said, raising an eyebrow. Mom didn’t usually come in my room. She’d stopped checking on me when I was fourteen and insisted I could take care of myself.

She eased herself down beside me, sitting crisscross, focusing on the forest. “I’m worried about you,” she whispered. “You’re turning into a wraith, Lume. Ever since you came back you’ve looked sicker every day, like the life’s draining out of you.”

“What do you mean?”

She eyed me dubiously. “Why him, Lume?”

“Oh, jeez, you’re not seriously asking me that. Because I have to, Mom! Do you really see him running this pack alone?”

“I wasn’t talking about Rex.”

I scratched my head, puzzled. “Well, who are you talking about then?”

I received a sarcastic look. “You know very well who I’m talking about. I see the way you watch him, and I hear things. He and Hawthorn sit on the patio outside the care center and he talks of you like you’re a queen.”

My mouth hung open, wordless. She knew.
Oh, Jared, you idiot!

“Don’t look so shocked,” Mom giggled. “You two weren’t exactly being discreet.”

“We’ve been avoiding each other since we got home!” I exclaimed, wondering why she took this so lightly.

“Well, of course you are, at
home,
” she drawled. “But not in the woods. Aspen told me what he saw before his hunting group found you.”

“Oh, no,” I whined, hands over my face. Damn it, Aspen! I would have to threaten him, make sure he didn’t spill to anyone else. What kind of wolf goes and tattles to the alpha’s
mother
that she kissed a mortal?

“I think you’re condemning yourself by mating with Rex, Lume. Then again, I think you’re insane for loving a human, but I’ve come to accept your bad taste,” she smirked. “And in some ways he’s the lesser evil.”

“Are you saying that you
want
me to go with Jared?” The second I said it, my soul felt lighter. I’m not sure why. Maybe because Mom made it sound possible instead of like a dumb girl’s daydream. “But how am I supposed to do that?”

She cupped my chin between her fingers. “By making a choice. This pack survived before you were an alpha. We know how to fend for ourselves, and there are others who could take your place—”

“Yeah, others who Rex will run over. Some other girl will let Rex do whatever he pleases, whether it benefits or harms the pack.”

“We will live to see another alpha male.”

Of this, she sounded sure. Brushing her jeans off, Mom stood and stretched. Just before going inside, she stopped. She frowned over her shoulder. “This is your life, Lume. Don’t throw it away for us. If the wolves knew how much you’re dreading the Ceremony of Mates, I know they wouldn’t let you do it.” She leaned her head against the door. “I love you. No matter where you go or what you do. You know that, right?”

She looked like she wanted to say something more but closed her mouth and went inside. The door clicked shut behind her. I got up soon afterward, feeling . . . okay. This was a big improvement from the doom that had been eating at me all week. Her support seemed to make a world of difference, although I’m not sure why. I still faced the same problems.

This is your life, Lume.
She was right. But what if I hated living among the humans? Where would I go if Jared dumped me? Not back to the pack. Once this decision was made, it’d be set in stone. The only way I would feel comfortable with such a huge change, the only way I’d feel secure in leaving was if . . . Jared offered me what Rex was offering me: a mate, a marriage.

But he’s just a kid.
Young humans didn’t mature or have the same mentality as werewolves. They change their minds, especially when it comes to romance. One out of a thousand human teen couples stays together for life. But Jared wasn’t a normal human—he was a Finder, born of different genes—and me and him, it felt different. Lasting.

I would talk to him. If he had truly come to love me in the short time we’d been together, then I’d consider. There was so much to fear though, so much at stake. I never thought I’d be one of those girls who’d put it all on the line for love.

I headed inside, straight to Aspen’s room. I was shaking a little. When I got there, the room was empty.
Huh
. Aspen would be out hunting, I knew that, but where was Jared? In the kitchen I found his frying pan in the sink, but the room didn’t smell like cooked food. Not even a little bit. Did he not make breakfast this morning?

“Acai?” I addressed the spike-haired girl in the care center. She looked up from her magazine, sitting on the couch. “Was Jared in here this morning?”

“Mm-mm.” She shook her head. “At least, I didn’t see him. If he’s here he’s in with Hawthorn.”

I strode down the aisle to the purple curtains in the corner. I peeked in to find a little girl playing with some ragged dolls and a stuffed wolf. A long-haired boy, probably twelve or thirteen, had earphones on and was asleep on his bed. Even in human form, I recognized him; he was the kid who’d ripped Jared’s arm open.

“Ilume?” Another boy, this one younger, perked up against the wall. He sat with a notebook in his lap, color crayons spread across the floor. I glimpsed the picture he was drawing—a pair of stick figures, one of which had Jared’s name in messy font.

“Hi. Are you Hawthorn?” I asked him.

He smiled. “That’s me!”

“You haven’t seen Jared this morning have you?”

“Nope.” He stuck his lip out. “He supposed to take me to play ball today, but he hasn’t shown up yet. I wish he’d hurry up.”

“Oh. Okay.”
Does Jared miss dates?
Worry flickered through my head. No breakfast. He was supposed to meet someone and wasn’t here. “If you see him, tell him I’m looking for him. It’s important.”

“I will!” He grinned.

Where else would he go?
I left the care center, glancing around the ballroom. He’d been here a couple times this week with Aspen and Holly. Oh my God. What if he left?
No, he’d say goodbye.
He would tell me, wouldn’t he?

I had just stepped onto the porch, deciding to go snoop around the woods, when Shadow come flying out of the trees. “Ilume!” he shouted.

“Shadow?” I trotted down the steps. His voice said it all: something was wrong.

He skidded to halt in front of me, wiping the sweat off his hairline. “It’s—it’s the Jackals,” he panted. “Oh, Ilume, I’m sorry.”

“What? Why are you sorry?” I put a hand on his arm, willing him to tell me.

A rustling came from the bushes. Fox and Rex appeared, both covered in sweat. Fox was doing what I called “the gargoyle,” which was where his face goes all tight and he just stands there, staring at you.

Rex came forward. He had blood coming out of his nose and the weirdest look on his face, like he too was sorry. “Ilume.”

His voice was soft, too soft for Rex.

That’s when I knew it was bad. “What happened?” I demanded.

He raked a hand through his blonde hair. “I’m just going to say it because I don’t know how else to tell you. It’s your pet, Jared. He’s dead.”

“Stay back,” she said to the creatures, then came forward. It was too dark to make out her features, but her voice was young. Based on that fact alone, I guessed her to be around my age. “What are you, boy?” she asked me. “Human or an abnormal?”

“Um.” My voice was crackly, mouth dry. I was dehydrated. “Neither.”

She mumbled something that sounded like,
that’s what I thought.
“Who put you here and why?”

“A werewolf.” I sniffed at the intruders. Their scent was familiar, but my head was too foggy to place it. Some kind of shape-shifters, I think. “As bait for a rival pack.”

Someone snorted. “And which pack might that be?” she asked.

“Jackals.”

They laughed. It was a strange chorus, like hyenas. “Why does that not surprise me? Rex and his sloppy battle tactics. What might you be baiting us for, nonhuman?”

I hesitated. Her question made me realize two things. One, these weren’t just any shape-shifters. They were Jackal members. Two, I had a plan of action. “Get me down and I’ll tell you.”

The group stopped cackling. The girl shifted on her feet. “Why should I let you down? Won’t you run off, tell your little government about us? I bet you will.”

“Cheetah,” the male Jackal—Bear, I think his name was—said. His ears fell back. She hushed him.