Chapter Two
Jackson
Jackson walked back to his bike where it was parked at the bar, filled with irritation and annoyance at the woman he had just met. He hadn’t gotten her name, but it seemed that he’d gotten to know every part of her, every part that she was willing to show him.
He heard the merriment coming from the bar but didn’t want to deal with them right now. Not when the panther’s scent was all over him. Why was guilt twisting in his gut? He had made sure she got home safe. It wasn’t like he’d left her running around the forest by herself. There was nothing else he was supposed to do with a casual hookup.
A sweet little kitten like that wouldn’t be able to handle his life. There was no reason for that hurt look on her face to linger in his mind any longer.
Yet, when he started his bike, he angled it towards her house, wanting to apologize for being so crude with her at the end. Even if she shouldn’t have expected anything other than a one-time thing. She had awoken his wolf in a way that had never happened before, making it playful. He couldn’t remember the last time he played.
The light was on in her home and the door was slightly ajar. When he turned off his bike and headed for the door, he caught a sickly-sweet scent. Rotting sugar. A chill ran up his spine and he dashed inside. A muffled scream met his ears, and, with a roar, he launched himself into the room it was coming from.
The panther crouched on the floor. Beside her stood a man he had never wanted to see again. Astrophel’s eyes glowed as he whipped a hand across the panther’s face. She fell back with a small cry.
Jackson lunged at Astrophel as he started to bend over the panther, but the vampire threw back his elbow, hitting Jackson’s chest. The wind was knocked out of him and he stumbled back. Astrophel lunged, sinking teeth into the panther’s shoulder.
“No!” The cry was ripped from him before he could stop it.
Jackson choked on his breath, trying to catch it as he shifted into his wolf form and lunged at the vampire. Astrophel fell to the ground, cursing, then got to his feet unnaturally fast. He glided backward, floating just above the ground.
“Stay your attack, Son of the Storm.”
Jackson itched to launch himself at the vampire again but stopped himself. Astrophel was one of the oldest, most powerful vampire kings. Killing him would only cause disaster. His skin prickled as the panther whimpered on the floor, but he forced himself to shift back to human form.
“She is one of mine. You know the rules; you’re allowed humans that stray into your territory,” and that was only because it would be a massacre, for both humans and shifters, if they tried to starve out the vampires, “but coming into Savage territory is—”
“Is forbidden, yes, yes.” Astrophel waved a hand, looking bored. “You also know that if one of your shifters kills one of my vampires, I am permitted my choice among your people.”
A shiver ran down Jackson’s spine as Astrophel pulled a cellphone from his pocket. He swiped his thumb over it and tossed it to Jackson. The image of a shifter savaging a vampire came onto the screen. Jackson swiped through a few more images, until the shifter ripped off the head of the vampire he was fighting.
“He’s not one of mine,” Jackson snarled as he tossed the phone back.
Astrophel rose a brow. “No?”
“No.” His heart slammed hard into his chest. “Do not disrespect the treaty. You know how this works, corpse. You don’t mess with us, we don’t kill every single one of your kind.”
The treaty, the Contract of Peace, governed how vampires and shifters interacted with each other. Mostly, it involved staying away from each other, but lately there had been more vampire attacks on both shifters and humans on the borders. Some people, like the shifter that had attacked the vampire in the woods, were talking of taking matters into their own hands.
“The treaty,” Astrophel repeated. “By its writings, I can claim any shifter life in exchange for the life that was taken from my people. Do not disrespect the treaty, dog. Is this kitten worth your risks?”
The panther whimpered. She was still conscious? Jackson’s hands clenched. He should tell the vampire to take her and go. What was she? A casualty to the war. She never should have been involved in this, sure, but she was not worth sacrificing more lives over.
His jaw clenched as his wolf growled. He would never give up so easily.
Astrophel sighed and shrugged. “You cannot save her, boy. When she’s a raging beast, bring her to the cave where you watched your parents die. I will take my claim there.”
Jackson lunged, but Astrophel had already leapt out the window, glass shattering around him. The vampire’s form darkened and disappeared into the sky.
He moved to follow, but a whimper behind him made him turn. The panther stared at him with wide eyes, her dark hair tumbled around her shoulders. One hand pressed tight to her shoulder as blood dripped between her fingers.
“Fuck,” Jackson hissed, dropping to his knees next to her.
“Don’t—” she gasped. “Don’t say that word.”
Her eyes rolled into her head and she collapsed. Jackson was just able to catch her before she hit the floor. Her hand dropped, revealing what he had been dreading. Astrophel’s green venom, stinking of death, bubbled at the edges of her wound.
It didn’t always happen, but vampire venom was more than capable of killing shifters. With humans, it was different. Humans got a high from vampire venom and were able to be turned.
He tore open her dress and focused on the wound. Fresh. There was a chance. He dropped over her, locking his lips over the bite mark, and started to suck, trying to draw the venom out. It burned on his tongue and tasted like rotten meat, but he fought down the gag reflex and continued.
He wasn’t sure how long he sucked before the putrid taste was replaced by clean blood. He spat out the mouthful, checking her pulse. Fever burned her skin, her breathing was shallow, but her heart beat was strong.
The trickle of blood slowed to an ooze, and he nodded, satisfied that she was healing. Soft whimpers came from her lips as he pulled her into his arms. They couldn’t stay here. And with Astrophel having staked his claim, there was only one place for him to take her.
***
His sister’s eyes were cold and angry when she pulled up in a stolen minivan. Her nostrils flared when he pulled the panther into the vehicle, but Val didn’t say anything as she peeled out of the neighborhood. Gratitude welled up in him. Anybody else would be questioning him, but not Val.
She was silent as she drove to the safehouse. The old building seemed like something Norman Bates would live in, a two-story house that would otherwise be called a cabin. It was located deep in the woods beyond the city, away from any man-made path in the forest. Val slipped the key in the door and pushed it open, then stood back to allow Jackson in. He carried Ava in, greeted by a new kind of still, stuffy coldness, and laid her on the couch. He touched her skin to find it was no longer warm, but cold and clammy.
He sat next to her and pulled her into his lap to give her some warmth. “Find some blankets.”
“Like hell, Tornado.”
It had been a while since she called him that. Everybody in the gang had a nickname, but Val usually called him by his name. The only one who did.
“I can smell vampire on her. What happened?”
Jackson glared at her.
“You know this safe house is only for the gang. Only for us. When Typhoon finds out you brought an infected here, he’s going to kill you. And since he’s not touching you without going through me…” She narrowed her eyes. “Tell me what happened.”
His jaw tightened for a moment before he sighed. “A shifter killed a vamp.”
Val hissed between her teeth. “Shit!”
“Astrophel has claimed her as payment.”
“Give her to him.”
Jackson’s wolf growled, the sound reverberating from his throat.
“What’s she worth? Not the lives of our men.” Val narrowed her eyes at him. “Jackson. She’s not worth it.”
“The guy who killed the vamp wasn’t one of our guys. The treaty isn’t broken. Astrophel should have dealt with the alphas, rather than coming into my territory and claiming one of my people.”
“She’s not one of your people, she’s an outsider!”
“She’s a shifter!” Jackson roared, causing the panther to flinch. He sucked in a deep breath and eased her back to the couch. He towered over his sister and narrowed his eyes at her. “She stays.”
Val glared for a moment before she dropped her gaze and backed up a step. “Fine. Whatever. But you know this house won’t hold if Astrophel and his guard show up. Not to mention she was bitten. Tie her up, and when she goes mad maybe you’ll hand her over to the corpse.”
“No.”
“Great,” said Val sarcastically. “Now you’ve got a monster on your hands and a vamp out for blood.”
“It doesn’t happen to everyone,” Jackson said. Val raised her eyebrows.
“Name a shifter who got bit by a vamp who didn’t go rabid after,” she said.
Jackson said nothing. He glanced back over his shoulder at the woman, who stirred in her sleep but didn’t move, her eyelids only fluttering.
“He only bit her. He didn’t drink her blood.”
Val studied him for a moment, then nodded again. “You know that they’ll take this as an invite, Jackson. You were an idiot to bring her here.”
He had to grin at that. His sister never was one to hide her displeasure when she disagreed with him. In private, at least. He could never ask for a more solid lieutenant in the gang.
“I’ll take care of her here,” he said, ignoring her insult. “If that corpse thinks he’s getting his hands on her… There have been more vamp attacks, and with this, him coming onto our territory and claiming a woman just after I…” He frowned for a moment, trying to think of the right word.
“Fucked her?” Val suggested.
Jackson growled, despite himself. He didn’t like the connotations of that word right now for some reason. He took a deep breath, shoving that aside. “There’s a war coming. We both know it.”
“So, what are we going to do, Tornado? You’re the boss.”
Jackson took a deep breath.
“I’m going to have to think about it. We may need to recruit more people. I have the guys out on a job tonight—"
“Oh, great,” Val said. “So, what if something goes wrong, Jackson? And you’re at the safe house with a dangerous predator while your guys are out getting busted or worse.”
“You can handle it,” Jackson said. “Bruno’s leading it. Call them back, catch them up. Take care of it. I’m going to—to try to stop her fever.”
“You have to tie her up before she wakes up,” Val said, shooting him a look.
He didn’t look at her, though he knew that it was true. Sometimes, when shifters were infected by vampire venom, they awoke as their animals, wild and out of control. In her panther form, she could kill him with the strength of vampire venom in her blood. He had to tie her up or risk an attack.
“What do we do about the vampires in the meantime?” Val asked as she glanced back at the panther.
Somehow the thought of roping her wrists was not something he wanted to do. She still shivered, and, with a curse, he pulled off his jacket and put it over her.
“Get the rest of the guys on rounds. I want everybody patrolling the perimeter of the city, particularly in the west where that vamp cave is. When Bruno gets back, get him and his crew out here for an extra guard.”
Val nodded. She stepped toward the door, then stopped. “Tie her up, Tornado.”
He couldn’t stop himself from growling this time.
Val’s hands clenched, then relaxed. She let out a deep breath and tugged at her dark hair. “Whatever. You do you. But you know I’m going to have to report this to Typhoon. Don’t order me not to, or I’ll have to tell him that, too.”
Jackson nodded reluctantly. “Tell him, then.”
“What are you going to do with her?”
“Make her better,” Jackson said as he lifted her into his arms. He needed to warm her up first. He’d figure out what to do next after she stopped shivering. “I’ll call you in a few days.”
“Be careful, Jackson,” Val said. “If she wakes up—"
“She won’t hurt me,” Jackson said.
A strange look came over his sister’s face, then she was gone. Jackson shifted the panther’s weight in his arms, noting that, despite the situation, her curves molded snugly against him, and carried her down the hall into the bathroom.
It was only after he was running the water almost hot enough to burn that he realized that dunking her in fully clothed was a bad idea. She’d have nothing to wear afterward, and he couldn’t have her soaking wet while fighting the venom.
He cursed under his breath and pillowed her head with a towel. Then he found the thermostat and turned it up full blast.
Cleaning out the wound was necessary, though, and hot water was the best way to warm her up quickly. He toyed with his phone, considering calling Val back to help him. He had a feeling that the panther would be less upset about another woman undressing her than a man.
There was no time to argue with her about it, though. Jackson turned his face away as he stripped the waitress’ uniform off of the woman’s body. He decided to leave on her underwear and lifted her into the hot water. He then held her by the shoulders, making sure that her head stayed above water, while he cleaned out the wound. It was dark and scabbed around the edges, the area red and swollen, but the skin had scabbed over and it no longer bled.
When the bath water started to cool, he lifted her out and wrapped her in several towels. The furnace had kicked in and the house was blazing hot. Jackson carried the panther upstairs, where he toweled down her hair, laid her dress on a chair, and pulled off her soaking underwear.
Not looking at her, he patted her skin dry and then put her into the bed. Color had returned to her cheeks, and, for a moment, he looked at her beneath the blankets, soft and at rest.
He left the room, then, shutting the door quietly, took a deep breath before he begrudgingly locked her inside.