The Choice (The Choice Series Book 1) (6 page)

He yell
ed, “You stupid girl you’re gonna pay!

He
tried wrenching my hands from his hair.  But I didn’t let go and I ended up ripping some of his hair.  After he distanced himself from me he stood up and kicked me hard in the stomach.  It made me roll over and away from him.  The wind was knocked out of me and my stomach contracted which made it even harder to breathe.  I had never felt anything like this.  Before I knew it he had flipped me back over straddling me.  His large thighs pressed into my hip bones.  His large hands were around my neck squeezing.  The pressure from each finger was brutal and cut off my airway.  I tried yelling for help but Jeremy put his mouth over mine muffling my weak attempt to scream.  I bit him and tasted blood.  He let go of my neck and with one hand held me down while using the other to wipe the blood from his mouth

“Oh you
stupid girl!”  Jeremy slapped me across the face.  My head fell sideways and the stinging sensation was awful. 

I
screamed, “NO!”

I
bucked my body trying to get him off but he was too heavy.  I spit on him and his dark eyes glowed. I flinched when I saw him raise his hand again.  I closed my eyes because I knew there was nothing I could do.  I waited for the impact.  The pressure on my chest was lifted when Jeremy was knocked off.  I took in a deep breath, and continued to cough, struggling for air.   Once I could breathe again I looked over to see Jeremy lying on the ground. The sound of growling and fighting was loud.  An extremely large brown wolf was standing over Jeremy baring his sharp teeth.  Jeremy lied still underneath the wolf.  I watched as Jeremy and the wolf stared one another down. The muscles in the coffee colored wolf’s shoulders relaxed when Jeremy looked away. The coffee wolf’s coat glistened with shades of brown as he shifted in the moonlight.  A light burst and in front of Jeremy stood a man I’d never seen before. 

“What were you doing to her?” The
man asked, turning to point to me. 

Jeremy l
ooks around him to glare at me.  “Come on man she bit me.” 

“Why?” 

“What do you mean why Jason?  She attacked me?” 

So that’s Jason I thought. 

“Look Jason all I was doing was going to loosen her binds.” 

“Lia
r!” I yelled, “You were touching me. You kissed me, you hit me!  Liar!” I yelled.

Jeremy start
ed to move around Jason heading my direction with anger in his eyes.  He mouthed the words, “You’re gonna pay.” 

I flinch
ed and looked at Jason.  Jason grabbed Jeremy, “Man knock it off.  Why don’t you go finish the perimeter run.  Then get back here so we can get some sleep.”

“Didn’t you finish it?”
Jeremy asked as he rolled his eyes.

“No I had to come back after I heard
her screaming. Just go, you need to cool off.”

Jeremy shifted
running off into the forest.  The anger coursing through my body was tangible.  I was distracted by the intense stare of Jason’s eyes on me. 

I turn
ed to look at him.  He looked to be about twenty-five.  He had thick brown hair.  His long eyelashes surrounded the most amazing green eyes.  They were kind eyes.   He was tall and muscular.  I could see his broad shoulders through the t-shirt he was wearing.  I noticed the way the dark jeans fit loose around his legs and hung on his hips.  I looked up and he was watching me stare at him.  I blushed and looked away like a kid who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.  I heard him laugh under his breath. 
Great
I thought
,
how embarrassing getting caught ogling the enemy.
 

I hear
d his feet crunch along the ground. I looked up and watched him walk towards me.  He stopped near the fire and picked up a backpack. 

Holding his hands out in
front he said, “I am going to unbind your wrists and clean them up, okay?” He kneeled in front of me. “I am going to get my knife out of my pocket.”

I
nodded as he slid his hand in his front jean pocket and pulled out a knife.  I flinched when he grabbed my wrist.  He pulled them forward and started to cut the twine.  I finally heard and felt the twine snap. 

I quietly wh
ispered, “Thanks,” while pulling my dress down over my knees. 

He reache
d in the backpack pulling out a couple of waters and a plastic bag with gauze and antibiotic ointment.  He wet the white rag with some of the water from the bottle. 

“This will hurt a bit but
by the time I am done it should feel a lot better.” 

I
grimaced as he started to wipe off the dirt and blood from my wrists.

“Sorr
y,” he saida
s
he flipped my wrist over. 

“It’s not your fau
-” I stopped talking because I noticed his eyes go big and he stops cleaning.  “What?” I asked, looking at my wrist trying to figure out what he’s looking at that had him distracted.  

All I saw
was my birthmark; shaped like an olive branch that I inherited from my mom.  And my bruised, bloody red swollen wrists.

Oh that wa
s from wrestling with Jeremy.  He really was trying to hurt me.”

He look
ed away and started to rinse off the now pink rag.  “I am sorry that he did that to you,” he said while twisting the cap off the ointment. 

“So what are you doing with him?  You seem so
… normal.” I said quietly.  I was lost in his green eyes until he spoke and brought me back to reality. 

“Jeremy isn’t that bad he has just had a rough life
.  His mom died when he was younger and his father isn’t that great.” 

“I don’t care what kind of life he
’s had, he doesn’t have the right to kidnap me, tie me up or force himself on me.” 

Running his hands through his hai
r he replied, “I didn’t know.  I will talk to him.  He usually isn’t like this.”

Getting
frustrated I retorted, “Well each time I’ve seen him this is exactly how he’s been.  Maybe he isn’t the person you think.” 

He hung
his head and focused on his task.  Grabbing my right hand he rubbed some antibiotic on it and then wrapped it up.  It did feel a lot better. 

“Look I heard about his fat
her, I know he isn’t a good man.”

I kne
w he heard me but he said nothing.  He grabbed my left wrist and flipped it over.  As soon as his fingers slid the ointment over the birthmark an intense feeling of peace coursed through my body.  Every nerve was consumed and I felt content.  I let my eyes close and let the feelings of anger, sadness and hurt leave my body, letting it be replaced with joy, love and happiness.  It was as if my body and depth were pure and perfect.  Like the world hadn’t let its ugliness taint my soul.  I sighed. 

I open
ed my eyes slowly to see Jason sitting very still.  His eyes were closed with a look of pure bliss on his face.  I reached up and dragged my fingers down the side of his face.  I enjoyed the feel of the five o’ clock shadow under my fingertips.  He opened his eyes and gazed into mine.  I felt his hand on my wrist as he pulled me towards him.  I wanted to pull away but something inside me was pulling me towards him.  His hand reached into my hair and pulled my head up to his.  I breathed him in, the intoxicating smell of sandalwood.  My mouth parted slightly and I could feel his warm breath close to my lips.  My eyes closed.

“Hey Jason, man we’ve got to go!
”  I could hear Jeremy running towards us breaking through the forest. 

I open
ed my eyes and felt Jason’s hands let go of my wrist and head.  He backed away from me quickly just as Jeremy broke into the camp.  My mind is still trying to comprehend what just happened. 

“We got to
go; they aren’t that far behind me.”

I smile
d at the thought of seeing my dad again.  Jeremy comes over and grabs me roughly.  I kicked him and started screaming, “Dad I am over here!”

Jeremy start
ed to cover my mouth and then I heard it.  One, two, three, four and five howls broke the silence in the forest. 

Jason reached
for Jeremy. “Come on we don’t have time.  They’re going to kill us, let her go.  We will come for her a different time.”  His eyes held sorrow in that statement. 

I
didn’t want him to go just Jeremy. 

I mouth
ed, “Thank you.” He nodded dragging Jeremy behind him. 

Just as
Jason and Jeremy ran through the trees I turned to see my father, Ryan and Enoc in wolf form running into the camp, followed by Grace and Amber.  My father signaled to Ryan and Enoc to chase after Jeremy and Jason.  They followed the same path that they had just left on only minutes ago.  I could hear them growling and howling into the wind.  Amber and Grace transformed and came running to my side.  Both of them threw their arms around my body and hugged me.  Helping me stand up I walked over to my father. 

I wrap
ped my arms around his body and cried, while he whispered, “It will be okay my little dove.”

Chapter 5

When we finally made it back to pack territory I felt like I could breathe again. My shoulders finally relaxed and the tension in my hands eased up.  Amber and Grace stayed by my side the whole time.  I couldn’t believe everything that had been going on.  My life had changed so much these past few weeks, it seemed crazy.  Not to mention Jason, Jeremy and Enoc.  Plus finding out my dad was alive and the mystery of why my mom survived the bite.  It was a lot to take in.  At least I had Amber here with me. 

Grace
broke me away from my thought
s
.
“
I have to go to my mom’s cabin and pick up some supplies.  I will meet you two at Amber’s okay.” 

We hug
ged good-bye as she took off running down the path to Ruth’s.

After
I had healed from my fall earlier I left Ruth’s cabin.  Since all my stuff was at Amber’s I moved in with her.  I was glad since we are best friends and I knew it’s where I would feel most comfortable.  Our cabin felt like home.  The cottage style couch was decorated in greens, pinks, reds and yellows.  A floral rug sat on the floor that complimented the couch.  The variety of throw pillows helped accentuate the room.  A distressed soft sea green coffee table and matching hutch helped fill in the living space.  My favorite part of the room was the bench seat that sat in front of the two large windows.  I would often read books or just unwind from the day staring off into the trees. 

Amber had pictures decorated throughout the cabin
.  Each picture I looked at came with a story or a happy memory.  One picture was from when we went camping.  We were sitting by a fire with our hoodies on shoving sticky marshmallows into our mouths.  Another picture was of us on a paddleboat at the lake.  I smiled at one of the most recent pictures of us, the one of us on graduation day in our gold gowns.  One of my favorites was when we got dressed up for Halloween.  We dressed up like zombies.  We were super big into the Walking Dead Series.  I mean come on who didn’t think Daryl was awesome with his bow.  I smiled at the photo of her and her family. I didn’t know her parents that well they were always gone working.  That was why she was at my house most the time.  There was even a photo of us and my mom.  The white queen sized bed sat at the back of the room.  The comforter was French cream with embroidered solid lime green floral designs.  It was chic yet stylish. On the nightstand next to the bed was one of my favorite photos.  It was of me and my dad at a school dance, when I was nine. 

I
had only been living there for a few weeks now.  I was lost in thought and it took me a while to realize that Amber had been talking.  Apparently she asked me a question but I hadn’t even heard it.  I only realized she was talking after she grabbed my shoulder and pulled me to a stop. 

“What? W
hat did you say?” I asked as I looked at her. 

“Are you okay?
Amber asked. “You haven’t said much about what happened.  You know you can tell me anything, right?” Her eyes pleaded with me to let her help.

I knew what she saw when she looked at me. 
A bandage on my right wrist: scrapes on my knees and forearms, even bruising on my cheek where Jeremy had hit me.  I looked down and realized my dress was ripped in several more places.  I nodded but I just didn’t even know where to start.  Let alone explain to her what I was feeling.  Heck I didn’t even understand what I was feeling. 

“I just don’t know what to say Ambe
r,” I say, as I look in her big brown eyes hoping she understood.  I could tell she does. 

She
grabbed my hand leaning into me. We walked close together the rest of the way home.  I loved how she could read my body language.  How she knew what I was thinking.  She’s my best friend and I love her.   

F
inally we arrived at our cabin. I smelled the flowers hanging from the porch as we walked inside.  Amber waited for me to shower and change into some clean pajamas.  By the time I was done getting changed Grace was knocking on the door and letting herself inside.  I noticed the bag of supplies she brought to fix me up. 

I
saw Grace mouth the words to Amber, “Has she said anything yet?” 

Amber
shook her head no.  I knew they were just worried about me.  I didn’t know why I was having such a hard time telling them what happened. 

I guess it
was better to get it over with…“Okay, I know you want to know what happened.  So maybe if you just ask questions it could help me get it out.”  My fingers twisted together in my lap nervously. 

“Okay
what happened?  How did they get to you?” Amber blurted out.

“
It all happened so fast, I was walking to meet my dad for breakfast. Jeremy showed up on the trail.  He knocked me to the ground, hit me and then choked me until I passed out.  He must have drugged me because I didn’t wake up until evening.  I didn’t even know where I was.  I was so afraid because I didn’t know if you guys were going to be able to find me.” 

Grace reached
for my wrists and I nod because I knew she was asking if she could clean them.

“I notice
d you have a bandage on your right wrist.  Did they bandage you up?” 

I start thinking about Jason and how kind he was to me.  “Well Jason bandaged me up after…
”

I was quiet, and I could tell they were holding thei
r breath.  I didn’t say anything.  I just watched as Grace put medication and re-wrapped my wrists and ankles.  I couldn’t help but see how really pretty Grace was. She had short blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes.  She had a slender build and medium height.  I knew she was nervous after I stopped talking, because she nibbled on her lower lip. 

“Did they, you know hurt you
, hurt you?”  I looked down and shook my head no and then yes. 

“
Uh, he didn’t uh you know.  It wasn’t for not trying but he did hurt me.” 

“Who hurt
you?  Was it Jeremy and who is Jason?”  Grace asked firing off question after question.

“Jeremy
tried to… hurt me but Jason, his best friend, was with him and stopped him.” 

Amber started brushing out my hai
r.  She did that because she knew it soothed me.  Grace reached in her bag and handed me an icepack, after breaking it up in her hands.  She said, “You’re going to need to put this on your face, it’s swelling.”

I did as she instructed
.  It was cold on my face but also soothing in a way.  I could feel the heat dissipate from my face from the cold ice pack.  “Thanks Grace I really appreciate it.”  

The
three of us ended up sprawled out on the queen bed.  Our legs all spread out totally invading each others’ space.  It was crowded but comforting.  Amber reached into the pine nightstand and grabbed a big candy bar out.  It was my favorite, Symphony bar with toffee. She opened it up and handed each of us three squares.  I held it to my nose and inhaled the rich chocolaty smell.  It made my stomach grumble; making me realize I hadn’t eaten anything all day.  They both laughed and I smiled.  We ate our chocolate in silence and I didn’t mind. 

After licking the remaining chocolate from my finger I
finally asked, “How did you find me?” 

“We tracked you
by your smell; it was difficult at first because we lost it on the road.  We thought they had taken you in a vehicle.  Enoc found your smell further down from the road.  Enoc was the first to notice you were missing.  He took off and searched the whole time.” 

“So
I wasn’t imagining that you all have a unique smell?”

“No, but I am surprised you noticed.  What do we smell like to you?”

“You know Amber you smell like cotton candy.  Grace you smell like honeysuckle.  I even noticed that the men even smell.  What do I smell like?”

Amber and Gr
ace giggled and it makes me smile, “Yeah we all have a distinct smell; it is a wolf thing and you smell like the flower sweet pea.”

“So wha
t happens now?”  I asked. 

“W
e wait to see if your dad, Enoc or Ryan found out anything.  Who knows maybe they caught them.” Amber said while she tossed the last bit of chocolate in her mouth. 

“
What would they do if they caught them?”  I asked.  I saw Amber and Grace give each other a look.

Grace responded
, "They will most likely be killed.” 

I gas
ped, “But what about Jason, I mean he helped me and he isn’t bad like Jeremy.  He’s good.”  I saw them look at each other with concern. “Would you two knock it off and stop treating me like I am crazy.” 

Amber reached
out to touch me. “I don’t want Jason to get hurt.” 

I must have gotten a peaceful l
ook on my face because Amber and Grace both asked, "How did he help you?  I mean he was with Jeremy and he helped kidnap you.”  

“I kno
w,” I said, reaching up to touch my necklace but it was gone.  It made me sad and angry that Jeremy took it away from me. 

“You do because you’re not acting like it.
  He was taking you to Caleb and nothing good would have come from that.” 

I raised
my eyebrows at her, “You don’t know what he did!” 

Amber j
umped off the bed and put her hand on her hip, “I would if you told me.” 

“Okay fine, don’t
go putting your hand on your hip.” I mimic her move.

I motion
ed for her to sit back down, which she finally did.  “Okay, Jeremy attacked me and was forcing himself on me. When Jason heard me scream he attacked Jeremy.  He protected me.  Then he made Jeremy leave and while he was gone he cleaned up my wounds.  He was nice and kind, he wasn’t anything like Jeremy.” 

Amber cover
ed her mouth and then removed it.  “You like him? I know that look.  It’s the same look you get when you eat Birthday Oreo cookies.” 

I ran
my fingers over the bedspread, “You’re comparing him to food?” 

“Well you like food and you always get this happy look on your face when you eat them.”

Crap she’s got me there but they’re so freaking good.  “Look, I am just saying he isn’t like Jeremy.  He was nice to me.” 

I looked
at Grace, “What about you?   What do you think?” 

I
kept watching her waiting for her to respond. 

“Well it
is kind of romantic the way he protected you and rescued you from Jeremy, but he still did help kidnap you.” 

I kne
w she could read the confusion all over my face.  “That is why it is so frustrating.  Please don’t say anything to my dad, he won’t understand” I pleaded. 

She
nods, “But if he asks me you know I have to tell him.”

“W
hat about Enoc?” Amber asked.

“What about him?  He has barely spoken to me since my first day here,” I responded, motioning with my hands. 

“Well I thought you liked him.  I thought there were sparks
between you two?” 

Shrugging my shoulder
s, “I do but I don’t think he likes me anymore. I am guessing since I am not a wolf he wouldn’t want me anyway.  Come on he doesn’t act like he is even interested.  I am just someone he agreed to watch out for; for my dad.” 

They both look down and start fidgeting with the quilt.  T
hey’re not arguing with me so it must be true.  Changing the subject I asked, “Hey Grace you staying here tonight?  I am exhausted, is it alright if we get some sleep?” 

I
lay down on the bed not waiting for a response. I pulled the covers up to my chin.  We were all squished side by side but it made me feels safe not being alone. We all lay like that not saying anything.  I couldn’t help remember the smell of sandalwood, the smell of Jason.  The last thought before I fell into a deep sleep was of Enoc.

Sitting at the huge
breakfast table Amber on my right and Grace on my left I listened to them as they talked about heading into town to go shopping and maybe watch a movie.  I couldn’t help but look around the kitchen. Ryan sat at the end of the table in deep conversation with my father.  Both their heads were lowered and I could see the tension in my father’s eyes as he kept glancing up at me and then back to Ryan as he spoke.  I didn’t know what they were talking about but it seemed important. 

“Olivia did you want to come with us too?” 

Dazed I realized Amber just asked me a question, “Uh what did you say?” 

“I wanted to know if you want to come into town with
Grace and me.” 

Taking
a bite of my French toast I covered my mouth when I answered, “Yeah that sounds fun.” 

I ca
ught Grace watching me, “So we were thinking we could all get ready at my place.”

I d
idn’t answer because Enoc walked in, looked at my dad and something passed between them.  Enoc grabbed his own food and sat next to my father and Ryan.  My father ran his hand through his hair.  His brow lifted and then he looked directly at me.  He changed his expression and smiled.