Running in Fear: Cupid's Venom (2 page)

Remi glared back at a shadow of a man. “The National pack must be made aware of this.”

“
No!
Please don’t call them.” She grabbed his hand. “They
are
aware of this. Remi, please, don’t call them.” She shook as he frowned down at her.

“The National pack knows of these experiments?” The man named Tug pulled her up and sat her in his lap. Cecil couldn’t understand why, but she felt safe in his arms. She rubbed her chin against his chest, and then stopped herself, glancing up at him. His gaze was hard, but there was something else in it as he stared down at her.

She sighed. “I’m so sorry, but they’ll come after you now. I didn’t want this, believe me.” Cecil curled up on Tug’s lap and shook. “They’ll kill me soon enough. You still have time to just let me go. Forget about all of this and me.”

Tug hugged her and rubbed her back. “We’re not going to forget about you and you’re not going anywhere without me. If we have to, we’ll go somewhere away from the pack and hide out till it’s safe.” He growled and glanced up at Remi. “With the council coming here so often, it would be safer if we left.”

“No one is going anywhere,” Remi said. “If one of the council members is doing this, then no one is safe. We need everyone here to protect those who are weaker.”

Dane asked Mark to bring Jaycee inside. “Maybe she’s heard or seen something that would give us a clue as to who is doing this. For right now, we can’t let anyone know about her being here,” Remi ordered, and glanced back down at her. “Did you hear anything about who could be behind this on the National pack? If we had a name, we could start there.”

Cecil shook her head. “They kept it quiet. All I know is they called him Mr. B. He only visited the lab I was in once, and all of us were locked in our cages.”

9

Chapter Two

All Tug wanted to do was take Cecil away from everyone and keep her safe, but he knew Remi was right. They would be safer in numbers. The door opened and Jaycee once more moved into the room and smiled at Cecil.

“Hello. I’m Jaycee and these three bumbleheads are my mates.

Don’t let them scare you. Their barks are worse than their bites.” She laughed when all three snarled.

“Enough, Jaycee. We need your help here and what we say can’t be repeated to anyone, including the National Pack.” Remi wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his body.

“Cecil was telling us someone from the National pack has been conducting experiments on live people.” He nodded to her.

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry.” Jaycee shivered and placed her hands on her belly. “Remi, what if they tried to get our children?”

All three of her mates growled. “No one is going to touch our children. We need to figure out who this is and put a stop to it. Cecil says the person in charge was called Mr. B. Does this ring any bells?”

Jaycee frowned and looked at Remi. “You’ve been in more contact with them than I have. The only one who comes to mind is Blackwell and I know he wouldn’t be involved in any of this. I’ve been in his mind Remi, there is not a chance I would have missed something like this. Maybe it’s someone from overseas. We didn’t meet any of them.”

Remi frowned. “That’s what I was thinking. Mark, we’re going to need a list of all the members. Use the excuse that we’re thinking of holding a party for the Fourth of July.” He glanced down at Tug.

“Tug, take her to your place and grab Rory on the way. I want both of you with her at all times.” He studied her for a minute.

“Did their experiments affect the wolf? Can you shift?” Remi asked Cecil.

Cecil curled up closer to Tug. “I refused to shift. I’m afraid to. I feel the wolf, but it’s different now. I was too afraid to.” Her voice was a bare whisper as she grabbed onto Tug’s shirt in a death grip.

“Shh, it’s okay. We’ll figure this out.” Tug pulled the blanket from the bed and wrapped it around her.

“Well, that is a plus,” Dane said. “The council won’t know what she looks like when she shifts, but we need to know what happens if she does. Could you try to shift for us here so we can see what we’re dealing with?”

“What if I’m a freak half-snake?” she squeaked.

10

Tug lifted her chin and stared into her eyes. “Wouldn’t it be better to know now, with people you can trust? It might help protect you.” Tug smiled at her.

She glanced around and nodded. For some reason, Cecil trusted them. “You might want Jaycee out of the room. I don’t know if I can control it and I’d die knowing I hurt her or your children.” She looked at Jaycee, then glanced down at her belly. “You’re so lucky. I always wanted to have children, but now I’d be too afraid to have them.”

Remi pushed Jaycee behind Dane into Mark’s arms. “I’m not leaving this room. She needs another female here.” She glared at her mates.

Dane snarled. “You’ll not move, Jaycee, when she does this and I mean it.”

Gently, Tug helped Cecil stand and remove her clothes. Cecil hid her face behind her stringy hair, embarrassed by the scars of her past on her skin. They were strong reminders of the pain she had endured for six years.

His heart clenched and tears formed at the pain she had suffered.

“I’m right here. Just concentrate on me. I’ll help you.” Tug cupped her cheek and stepped back as everyone watched and waited.

Cecil took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Bones popped, muscles stretched, and she screamed in pain as she fell to the floor. Her body shook and Cecil’s eyes rolled back in her head.

He glanced up at Remi and frowned. Tug heard the growl and looked down at the wolf. Her coat of fur was a mix of blond, red, and brown, with tints of blue.

“Remi, look! She has the tongue of a snake and the fangs of a cobra.” The doctor slowly moved forward, but she growled and backed away from him.

“Easy, Cecil. He just wants to see what other changes there are.”

Tug knelt down next to her.

The doctor ran his hand over her fur and shook his head. “Under the fur, she has skin like a snake.”

Remi knelt down by her and smiled. “Doctor, do you think it might help if we give her our blood?”

“I don’t know, Remi. There’s a chance. It all depends which is stronger, the snake or the wolf, but maybe with your gene pool and the power you have, it would help.”

Remi bit into his wrist and held it out to her. “Drink, Cecil. It can only help.”

She whimpered and tried to back up.

11

“She’s afraid to hurt you.” Tug looked into her eyes. “Come on, Cecil, you can do it.”

Slowly she made her way up to Remi’s wrist and licked the blood that dripped down. Her body twitched and Cecil backed away, crying and lying down on the ground.

Tug once more pushed his hand through her fur and sighed. “The skin is soft and normal, but I’m afraid she still has the fangs of a snake and tongue.”

* * * *

Cecil, can you hear me now through the blood connection?

Remi’s voice broke through the pain and confusion.

Yes, it hurts. Something is happening. Please stay away. I don’t
want to hurt anyone.
Cecil curled up further away from them when the smell of the lab drifted to her. She tensed and raised her head towards the door.
They have found me. Protect your mate.

Cringing at the pain, she slowly got to her feet and growled at the door.

Remi stood and grabbed Jaycee. “Dane, you and Tug stay in here with Cecil. It seems someone has tracked her here. Mark, let’s go! We can’t let them escape.” Remi opened the door and slipped out of the room with Mark.

She needed to shift back. Cecil wasn’t about to let them see her other form. Concentrating, her bones snapped, muscles stretched, and skin replaced fur as she slowly stood.

Tug wrapped a blanket around her naked form as he drew her behind him. “It’s okay. Remi will take care of the threat, Cecil,” he tried to reassure her.

“You don’t understand. If even one person from the lab is here, the others will know. They won’t stop until they have me and have destroyed everyone who knows about their labs.” She glanced over at Jaycee and the alpha, Dane.

“I’m so sorry I brought this to your home. I should have stayed away.” Cecil backed away and sat down on the bed abruptly.

The bed dipped down next to her and Jaycee took her hand into hers. “You’re not going anywhere, Cecil. Believe me when I say I’ve had my own nightmares when it comes to people hurting me. You’ll get through this and we’ll all help you. I know it’s hard to trust, with everything that’s happened, but I personally guarantee I will do everything possible to help you.” She nudged her on the shoulder and smiled at her, glancing at Tug. “Plus, I don’t think that man is going to let you out of his sight,” she whispered.

12

Cecil glanced at Tug, and he grinned at her, nodding. “She’s not going anywhere without me,” he declared, crossing his arms across his chest.

“And what makes you my personal bodyguard? You don’t even know me. I could be dangerous.” Cecil frowned, but she was pleased he cared.

Jaycee laughed and patted her hand. “I’m afraid most men around here do the Dom thing. He’s the headmaster here at the club since my mate, Remi, stepped down.”

“What is a Dom?” Cecil asked. “I don’t understand. You have to remember, I’ve been locked up for more than six years.”

Tug kneeled down in front of her and lifted her chin up. “Don’t worry about it, Cecil. I’ll show you everything you need to know when it’s time. A Dom is someone in control of every aspect of his submissive—his lover, mate. He wants only to please her.” He leaned in and kissed her nose.

She pulled back, frowning at him. “I can’t be with anyone. I’m a freak. Don’t you get it? And, well,” she added, looking down, “I’ve never been with anyone.” She peeked up at him and his grin grew larger.

The door opened and Remi stepped inside, smiling. “Well, that’s taken care of. We have the two who were following you downstairs, all locked up. I’ve sent out scouts to make sure no others were with them, and to cover their tracks. That should give us some time.” He kneeled down in front of her. “I want you to go with Tug and Rory. They’ll keep you safe until we can figure out what to do next. I’ll bring Jaycee and her sister, Sheila, over later tonight. Maybe they can change your hair color or something to help disguise you while you’re here.” He stood and nodded at Tug. “Take her out the back way. Rory is already waiting for you there.

After we question the two we have downstairs, we’ll know more and I’ll let you know. Come on, Jaycee. I want you home with Mark until we talk to our friends downstairs.” He took her hand and helped her stand, but she turned and smiled at Cecil.

“How would you like to have your hair a tri-color? You already have the blond. We could put streaks of black and red in it.”

Cecil smiled and ran a hand through her hair. “I’ve never had my hair done before. They would just chop it off when it got in their way. I’d like that. Maybe we could style it too?” She wanted something normal for once, and maybe to look nice.

Cecil wanted to look pretty for Tug, now recognizing the signs her mother had once described. She sucked in her breath and shook her head.

He was her mate.

13

“Sheila is great at cutting hair,” Jaycee said. “I’m sure we can think of something. We’ll have a ball fixing you up. We’ll even make the men leave us alone so they won’t see the transformation until it’s done.”

She winked at Tug as she moved towards the door.

Tug took her small hand in his larger one and pulled her up.

“Here, put on these sweatpants and sweatshirt. We keep them here in case of an emergency. Pull the hood up over your head, too. That way they won’t see the blond hair.”

Turning her back on him, she pulled the sweatpants over her legs and laughed. They were three times too big, but at least they didn’t smell like the lab. Cecil grabbed the sweatshirt, pulled it over her breasts and brought the hood up, covering her hair.

She turned to see Tug smile. “It’s a little big,” he acknowledged,

“but they’re clean and they hide everything.” He tucked a single strand of blond hair into the hood. “You ready?”

Cecil nodded, stepping up to him as he wrapped his arm around her.

“Just keep your head down,” he said. “Everyone will just think I have a new slave whom I’m training.”

Stopping, she glanced up at him and frowned. “Slave? I don’t understand?”

“Sometimes, in the world of Bondage, a master will have a woman who wants to be his slave. He does everything for her and she doesn’t do anything without her master’s permission.”

Rubbing her arms, Cecil glanced down at the floor. “I don’t know if I could do that. It would be just like being in the cage. If we didn’t do what we we’re told, we were whipped or starved.”

Tug hugged her. “Oh, Cecil. I’m sorry. I promise I’ll never hurt you. If any man ever comes after you again, I’ll rip him to shreds.” He leaned down, kissing her lips softly.

Cecil reached up and touched her lips. Her face heated and her nipples hardened. “That was my first kiss. Thank you,” she whispered.

Emotions she never before had to deal with now clouded her brain as Tug lead her out the back door to an awaiting man.

She glanced up, surprised to find herself at the back door. A tall man leaned against the door frame and smiled at her. “So, this is the little pretty we get to guard.” He was as tall as Tug and had a small mustache.

“Is something wrong? Did I mess up again?” Cecil glanced behind her, nervous she had given herself away.

The man at the door laughed as Tug sighed. “No,” Tug said. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Cecil. It’s just me. I’ll explain later. We’d better 14

get going.”

15

Chapter Three

Tug tucked Cecil under his arm and pushed through the door, scanning their surroundings. His Ford truck was in the back parking lot so they wouldn’t have to go around to the front of the club. He pushed the electronic button to the truck, unlocking the doors, and helped Cecil in to the truck. Rory climbed in after her, dragging in his duffel bag.

He jumped in the truck and glanced at Cecil. “Keep the hood up until we get to my house, just in case someone else is out there looking.”