Wolfsbane [Dark Hollow 5] (7 page)

Evan looked down at himself for the first time. Crusty bits of dried cum covered his stomach. “Oh God. Yeah, I’d better do that. He went to bounce from the bed and shuddered to a halt as the soreness really hit him. “Damn. I can barely walk.”

“A hot shower will help, baby. Hurry now, before they get here.”

Evan hobbled into the bathroom as quickly as he could, feeling the burn deep inside. Good thing that knot thing only happened on a first mating and then rarely after that, he thought. His ass would never hold up.  He hesitated then, his hand still soaping up his chest as he realized what he’d just been thinking.  This was a one-time thing for him, no matter what Brett had said.  He was a Hunter, and had no intention of becoming Brett’s bloodmate.  They’d come to extract him soon, and he’d probably never even see Brett again, and that’s the way it was supposed to be.  So why did the idea make his chest hurt and his stomach churn with nausea?

He stood under the shower spray for a long time, relishing the feel of the hot water on his sore muscles. He scrubbed at himself and washed his hair with the shampoo the complex had provided. He got out and toweled himself dry, then wrapped the towel around himself and went back in to Brett.

Brett looked up and smiled at him, his green eyes lighting up. He pointed to the towel. “Take that off. When I get you home, you’ll be naked most of the time in our rooms.”

Evan pulled the towel away and dropped it on the bed, stepping between his legs. “Get me home?  Look Brett.  This is just a one-time deal.  I like you and you’re good looking and all, but I’m not your bloodmate.” Brett sighed. “Evan, we’ve been all through this.  Yes, you are. We’re mated now and you belong with me. We’re getting out of here, and I’m taking you with me to the mountains. You’re just feeling confused, baby. You’ll feel better when I get you away from here.” He smacked Evan’s ass lightly. “Now get dressed before those asshole guards come in and see you again. This time I might have to rip off their faces for putting their hands on you.”

Evan stepped over to retrieve his jeans from the floor and pulled them on, then slipped his T- shirt over his head. He needed to find some way to get through to Brett.  He didn’t want to go anywhere with him.  Did he?  He turned back to Brett and held out his hands. “Better?”

Brett growled at him. “Not much. They’re too damn tight. Once we’re back at the lodge, you won’t wear something so tight again.”

“Jealous, much? You keep saying when you get me home, but I’m trying to explain to you that this is just a temporary thing.  I mean, I only agreed to this as an experiment.  I appreciate the sentiment and all, but my life is here with the Hunters.  Besides, what do you have in mind? You think they’ll just let you walk out of here? We’re stuck in here till they let us out.”

“Patience, baby. We’re leaving tonight. I told you that you belong to me now, and you agreed, remember?  You’re not thinking straight.  If you don’t drink my blood, you’ll become feral and play right into their hands. Unless you want to be in their fuckin’ feral army?” 

At the confused, yet horrified look on Evan’s face, Brett nodded.  “Right.  Get your shoes on. They’ll be here soon.”

“Wait!  No, Brett.  Promise me you won’t do anything crazy. Don’t hurt anybody!”

Brett nodded solemnly. “I promise.” And he meant every word. He had no intention of hurting anyone—if they didn’t mess with him. He only wanted to get out of there with his mate.

“But what...” A slight noise at the door made him turn around quickly, and that was when Brett moved so fast it was frightening.

He wrapped one strong arm around Evan’s neck, the other around his waist, pulling his back and hips up close to his body. Brett could feel Evan’s sweet body nestled against his crotch and a strong feeling of protectiveness washed over him.  His scent clogged Brett’s nostrils, and it was all he could do not to take him down to the floor and make love to him.

“Be still, Evan. Look scared.”

“Not a problem,” Evan said in a choked voice. “Let me go, Brett!”  He didn’t know what was going on, and he really didn’t think Brett would hurt him, but this violence scared him more than a little. He put both hands around Brett’s strong forearm and tried to pull it down from his throat. He couldn’t budge it, and that was when apprehension and anxiety overcame him. What if this had all been a lie? What if the Hunters were right and he wanted to kill them all? His throat went dry and he struggled in earnest.

The door opened and the guards came in.

* * * *

Brett was amused to see the guards do an almost comical double take and then quickly draw their weapons.

“Stop right there,” one of them yelled frantically, as the other one went for his assault rifle and took up a position behind the door. “Release that man!”

“Don’t shoot!” Evan managed to yell as Brett made his way almost casually across to confront them. He still gripped Brett around the throat and waist, but was totally unarmed. Brett hated using Evan as a shield this way, but there was no other choice if he was to get them both out of there alive. They had to believe that Evan was his prisoner.

“Shoot and I’ll snap his neck before I die,” he said in a low, menacing voice. “I promise you, I’ll take him with me.”

Evan gasped at the words and began to struggle harder, forcing Brett to tighten his grip around Evan’s neck. In his peripheral vision, he could see Evan’s face growing alarmingly red, and his legs stopped moving as he was deprived of oxygen. Horrified that he might have hurt his mate, he loosened his grip just a bit, but the sight of Evan’s slump was enough to make the guards back off.

“Let him go!” one of them yelled.

Brett laughed shortly. “Not fuckin’ likely! Now back off and put your weapons down or I’ll kill him.”

He could hear the guards’ sharp intakes of breath at the words, and felt Evan’s heart thumping wildly in his chest. His mate was frightened of him! Surely he knew Brett’s rough voice was only for the guards’ sakes. Their only chance lay in making the guards think he’d go through with it.

There was a tense silence as the guards tried to figure out what they should do next. Brett yelled at them. “I said put the goddamned guns down or I’ll kill this worthless human! Do you think I won’t do it?”

He tightened his grip slightly again and Evan choked, clawing at his arm in a vain attempt to get air. He kept up the pressure for about ten seconds, or until he was sure he had the guard’s attention before easing off. This time Evan collapsed over his arm, and Brett saw that he’d passed out, probably as much from fear and anxiety as from the grip he had on his throat. He pulled his body up more securely and watched the guard drop their weapons.

Backing up a few steps, he called out to them. “Slide those rifles and cell phones over here. Now!”

They put them on the floor and quickly slid them toward him. He laid Evan on the floor carefully, his eyes never leaving the guards and picked up the rifle closest to him. “Get in that closet over there,” he said tersely, nodding toward it.

They scrambled over to get inside, and he closed the door on them, dragged a chair over with one hand to jam it in the door handle and called to them. “You can save your breath, boys.  This room is sound proof.  Sleep tight. Somebody should be along by morning.”

Brett chuckled and went back over to Evan. He was waking back up and flinched when Brett pulled him back into his arms. It killed Brett to see it, but he had to make it look good to protect the doctor, not to mention Evan if anything went wrong. He dragged Evan out into the corridor, looking around quickly, spotting the security cameras right away. Once he escaped, they’d be sure to pore over the tapes, so he had to make it look good. He held Evan up with one arm around his waist, but made sure his toes were dragging the ground, so it would look at lot rougher than it actually felt to Evan. Evan was making breathy little moans that tore at Brett’s heart. He hated having to scare him this way.

He wanted to whisper reassurances in Evan’s ear, but this had to look real. Evan’s body was limp as Brett dragged him up the steps and out into the main corridor. Moving with supernatural speed, Brett made it down the hall to the central lobby, completely surprising the guard on duty there.

 He stepped out of the shadows with Evan in one arm and an AK-47 cradled in the other. “Throw your weapon over here, and I might not kill you both. Cell phone too.”

Caught completely by surprise, the guard took one look at Evan’s panicky expression and put his phone and handgun on the floor, sliding it over to Brett. Brett bent over to pick it up, motioning with his head to a nearby broom closet. “Get in there.”

The guard quickly complied and Brett closed the door, then with one hand pulled a big display case over in front of it.

He smashed the phone casually with his foot then gathered up the gun. Holding both guns in one arm and Evan in the other, he again moved with supernatural speed, tearing out the door and running toward Evan’s car. He already knew from his investigations into Evan’s routine exactly where he parked it every day. He put Evan in the front seat beside him, buckling him into a seat belt. He found Evan’s car key on the ring in the dash, started the car and drove quickly toward the gate.

The guards, no doubt recognizing Evan’s car, stepped out routinely to check him. With the gate still closed in front of him, Brett floored the gas pedal. As the guards jumped to get out of his way, he slammed through the gate, smashing the front of Evan’s car, but tearing through and out onto the highway and freedom.

Driving swiftly down the road, the wind in his hair and his mate beside him, Brett experienced complete exhilaration. The adrenalin pumping through his body made hair sprout out on the back of his neck and his claws extend. Evan was slumped beside him, the only movement the rapid rise and fall of his chest. When Brett started to shift, he suddenly opened big blue eyes to gaze directly at Evan.

He didn’t react at all for about three seconds, and then it hit him—he was alone in his car with a big, bad wolf already about a quarter way through a shift, and it seemed to be the last straw for him. He startled violently, unsnapping his seat belt and shying away from Brett as far as he could. He probably would have jumped from the car had Brett not been using the child- proof locks. When he saw he couldn’t get out, he backed up against the door as far as he could and stared wild eyed at Brett.

Brett tried his best to force his wolf back down. He couldn’t speak very well when he was shifting, so he stayed silent, concentrating on calming down until he felt his claws retracting. Finally, he felt as if he could articulate normally and turned toward Evan, who was clearly panicked and almost in shock.

“Settle down, baby,” Brett said, keeping his voice steady and low-pitched. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Evan simply kept staring at him, his breathing ragged and harsh. He wet his lips, looking as if he wanted to say something. At first nothing came out, and Brett winced, cursing himself for not knowing his own strength when dealing with him. He must have hurt his throat. It had been so long since he’d been this intimate with a human he’d forgotten how fragile they could be. Evan tried again, and this time his voice came out, though hoarse and slightly cracked.

“You already did. W-where are you taking me?”

“Don’t be scared. I’m taking you to the wolf pack.”

Evan’s big blue eyes opened even wider than Brett thought possible. “Just let me go, okay? Please—put me out here on the side of the road, and I won’t tell them anything. Just let me go!”

Brett could see he was quickly becoming hysterical, so he pulled him away from the door and slid Evan over toward him. “Calm down, damn it,” he said sternly. “I told you I’m not going to hurt you again.”

“Let me go, Brett.”

“What the hell are you talking about? You’re my mate. I told you I’d never let you go!”

Even though his back was now pressed against the seat instead of the door, Evan was clearly a wreck. His hands were clenched so tightly they were white, and his eyes were wide and staring. Brett must have scared him more than he’d thought when they made their escape. Of course, it hadn’t helped that he’d seen him as less than human for the first time.

His voice came again, this time speaking to him like he was some kind of beast he was trying to calm. “I helped you, remember? I wasn’t the one who hurt you, Brett. If you’ll let me go, I swear I won’t say anything. Just stop the car.”

“I’m not going to kill you, damn it!” Brett yelled at him and he watched Evan shut his eyes tightly and bite his lower lip. “Please, baby, be calm. Of course I remember,” he said softly, cursing himself for losing his patience. He was scaring him pretty badly. He had to remind Evan of his earlier feelings. And he really needed to feed him again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Evan’s hand snaking slowly down toward his boot. It occurred to Brett he might have a weapon hidden in that boot.

“Evan,” he said, trying to defuse the situation, “why are you so scared of me? I know you saw me partly shifted, but you know who I am. It was all that adrenalin, honey. I’m back now, and I won’t shift again. I promise. I told you I won’t hurt you, sweetheart. I’m your mate.” Brett glanced over at him. “You weren’t so scared of me before, back at the complex.”

Evan was silent, biting his lower lip and looking down. His hand continued to move downward whenever he thought Brett’s attention wasn’t on him.

“Talk to me, Evan. What’s changed?”

“You weren’t an animal back at the complex—I forgot for a while what you are.”

“Oh? What I am?”

“A fucking werewolf!”  He shuddered and cast another frightened glance over at Brett. His hand had reached his boot, and now swung upward wildly, holding a wicked looking switchblade. Brett’s reflexes were lightning fast. His hand flashed out and struck Evan’s wrist, knocking the knife and Evan’s wrist away at the same time, causing Evan to cry out and clutch his wrist to his chest his face filled with pain, while Brett fought for control of the car. Brett cursed loudly. He had miscalculated his strength again. Damn it! He’d wind up hurting his own mate if he wasn’t more careful with him.