Chapter Eight
“Here,” Sarah said softly, handing Jenny some clothes. “I hope they fit.”
“Thank you,” Jenny mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed over her nakedness. Sarah didn’t seem put out though, turning her back as Jenny dressed.
“Got to be one of the downsides of being a shifter, huh?” she commented, with a chuckle. “There’s never any clothes around!”
Jenny smiled, pulling a T-shirt over her head. “Yeah, I guess so. Thank you for the clothes.” Something caught her between the shoulder blades, the scratchy feeling she’d become used to. Perhaps it was just the T-shirt’s tag.
Turning back around, Sarah smiled at her. “Not a problem. After what you’ve been through, it’s the least I can do.”
Hating the hot tears that suddenly rushed into her eyes, Jenny glanced away, trying to hold them back. “I’m so grateful Ross found me.”
Sarah lifted her eyebrow. “Yes, well, Davidson came across as suspicious, and Ross is pretty good with his instincts.”
“Davidson was here?” Jenny gasped, staring at Sarah. “What for?”
"We run a detective agency," Sarah explained, handing her a cup of steaming coffee and gesturing around the office. "Davidson claimed that you'd been kidnapped, but now we realize he was just using you as bait. Obviously, he knows there are shifters around and is trying to work out who they are."
“But then, I’ve led him right to you,” Jenny replied, panicking that Davidson was going to burst through the door at any moment. “You should have left me!”
Putting a hand on Jenny’s arm, Sarah tried to calm her down. “No, not at all,” she said softly. “Davidson’s spoken to a few different people in town, trying to work out who the shifters are. Ross made sure not to link your escape with them being in the house. In fact, they got Davidson to believe that his house is being bugged, just to throw him off guard. You don’t need to worry.”
Jenny tried to calm her breathing, taking in what Sarah was saying. She was aware she was still tense from what at happened, despite her new feelings of safety.
“Try not to worry,” Sarah said again. “You and Ross are going to be heading off soon anyway, far away from here. But I’ll let Ross explain.”
There was a sharp knock on the door, which Sarah went to open, gesturing that Jenny should sit down. Finding a comfortable chair, Jenny sat back, realizing for the first time just how weak she felt. It was probably a mixture of relief and fear since she was still worried about Davidson finding her somehow.
“Jenny,” said a deep voice. “It’s nice to meet you in person.”
She glanced up, her eyes widening as she took Ross in.
“I’m Ross,” he continued, reaching his hand out to shake hers. “I’m so glad we were able to get you out of there.”
Dark gray eyes looked into hers, making her shiver involuntarily. A mop of dark-brown, almost black, hair fell over his forehead, with just a spattering of stubble on his jawline.
“Thank you,” she murmured, taking his hand. Electricity shot up her arm as their fingers touched, and Jenny was sure she saw a flare of heat in his eyes. A strong jaw and powerful handshake just added to her first impression of a fiercely strong protector and defender. It was no wonder he was the pack leader. “I—I don’t know what else to say.”
He smiled at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “There’s nothing else to say,” he grinned. “We weren’t exactly going to leave another shifter there.”
Jenny's breath hitched as he smiled, his face transformed in a moment. She suddenly realized she still held his hand and dropped it at once, thoroughly embarrassed.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, glancing away.
Clearing his throat, Ross turned to the side and introduced her to the rest of the pack: Thomas, married to Sarah, Ash, and Connor.
“Ash was hit by a tranq dart the last time we were at Davidson’s place,” he explained, remembering the first time he’d seen her. “But we got him back here before Davidson had time to get him.”
At the mention of Davidson’s name, Jenny shivered. “He’s a ruthless man,” she said softly. “If he’d caught you as your wolf, Ash, he’d more than likely have paraded you around for a while before shooting you in the head.”
Ash’s gaze met hers with not a single trace of fright in his eyes. “Why would he do that?” he asked gruffly. “I know he’s a hunter, but why does he hate shifters so much?”
Jenny saw each of the shifters sit down in various seats in the room, all waiting for her to tell them what she knew. “I’m not sure where his hatred of our kind has come from, although he did mention something about his wife once.”
“His wife?” Ross repeated, frowning. There hadn’t been any scents at the house that had led him to believe there was a woman living in the house. “Did you ever meet her?”
Shaking her head, Jenny frowned. “I did see a photo of her once, and there are boxes of her stuff in the cellar.”
“So, you think she left him?”
She shrugged. “Either that or she’s passed away.” Biting her lip, she glanced around the room. “Whatever his reasons, I do know is that he’s got two other people on his side. They are determined to wipe us all out.”
“But that’s murder!” Sarah exclaimed. “They’d never get away with it!”
Shaking her head, Jenny's mouth drew into a thin line. "Not if he kills us when we've shifted," she explained. "That's why he kept me in the cellar. He was trying to get me to shift so that he'd be able to kill me. After all, no authority is going to care if you've killed a wolf, are they?"
She could see the effect her words had on everyone. Each face grew more serious, more cautious.
"That's why they tranquilized me," Ash said. "So that they could shoot me the moment I woke up."
Jenny nodded, hating that she had to tell them the truth. “Yes, exactly. There are around ten hunters altogether—that I know of, I mean. They’d all want to be there to see you shot.”
“And they think that we’re the beasts,” Ross muttered darkly. “We’ve done nothing to humans, nothing that would bring this kind of retribution. We keep out of the humans’ way, help them where we can, and generally just stay out of their lives! There’s no reason for these hunters to be chasing us.”
Wishing she had the answers, Jenny sighed, looking directly at him. “I really wish I had the answers for you,” she said quietly. “But I don’t. There’s obviously something that has driven Davidson to do this—because he’s definitely the one in charge—but I just don’t know what it is.”
Ross shook his head before putting his head in his hands. “I doubt it would make much of a difference even if we did know what drives him,” he said quietly. Looking up, he nodded to Sarah and Thomas. “You two look into this wife of Davidson’s. Find out whatever you can and let me know.”
“Will do,” Thomas replied firmly.
He nodded in appreciation, before turning back to Jenny. “I suppose I should tell you the plan, Jenny. In a few hours, we are going to be driving out of town.”
“We?” Jenny asked faintly, wondering what his plan was.
"Oh, sorry," Ross muttered. "Myself and Connor. We're going to go up to the East River pack, which is quite a distance away. We'll have to travel in the truck for most of the way but walk the last five miles or so. I don't want to lead Davidson to them since he'll be searching for you."
Feeling quite confused, Jenny glanced from Ross to Sarah and back again. “Who are the East River pack?”
“They’re a bigger pack,” Sarah explained. “They can look after you better than we can here.
“Less exposed, you mean,” Jenny murmured, understanding what they meant. “But I can make my own way there. I don’t want you to put yourselves in danger on my account.
“Absolutely not.”
Ross’s tone was firm, his voice filled with authority as he glared at her. Jenny felt herself wince inwardly, dropping her gaze.
“Sorry,” she muttered, looking away.
She heard Ross clear his throat, and, out of the corner of her eye, caught Sarah glaring at him.
“What I mean is,” Ross continued, more quietly, “shifters look out for each other. I wouldn’t even dream of letting you go out there alone. Not after what Davidson’s done to you so far. It wouldn’t be right.
Guilt trickled into Jenny’s soul. Ross was the leader of the pack and had clearly decided to make her one of his own. She shouldn’t have suggested walking out by herself. “I’m sorry,” she replied, finally managing to look into his eyes. “I haven’t been part of a pack before.”
“Never?” Thomas asked, sounding surprised. “What did you do before now?”
Jenny shrugged, relieved that the conversation had moved on. “I mostly kept to myself,” she replied. “My parents were both shifters, and I was their only child. We lived out in the sticks, so there wasn’t exactly a lot of other shifters nearby!”
“That must have been lonely,” Sarah commented.
Pain tore into Jenny’s heart. “It was, after my parents died,” she replied quietly. “Car crash, a few years back. Nothing they—or anyone—could have done. After their funerals, I sold the house and moved away. I wanted to start over.”
She could still see Ross watching her but couldn't quite bring herself to meet his eyes. It was as though she was almost afraid of what she might see there, and if there were sympathy and compassion, her already confused feelings toward him might just get themselves even more knotted.
“Did you meet Davidson here, then?” Connor asked, his dark eyes so like his brother’s.
Nodding, Jenny gave a quiet laugh. “Yes, at the local bar, of all places. I thought he was just being friendly, at first. We dated for a few weeks.”
“And then he got you back to his place,” Ross growled, his eyebrows furrowing.
Heat rushed to her face. "He said he was going to cook dinner." Her stomach twisted as she remembered exactly what had happened. "It didn't go too well, considering I found myself locked in the downstairs cellar."
“How awful for you,” Sarah murmured, reaching for Jenny’s mug and getting her a refill. “Had he seen you shift, then?”
“He said he had,” Jenny confessed. “I’d never thought to be that careful. I mean, I always went far away from the town and made sure there wasn’t anyone nearby, but I guess he must have been looking specifically for shifters.”
“And he’s not going to give up, either,” Ross interjected, looking grim. “Jenny, before we go, I was wondering if you had managed to get a good look at either of the other two hunters? Thomas here is a pretty good sketch artist, and it might give us something to go on.”
Jenny frowned, thinking hard. “Davidson always kept the room quite dim, probably so I couldn’t identify any of them in case I managed to get away, but I’m sure I can try to remember. I got a good look at them once. Davidson took them down the stairs back to the cellar to show them where he was keeping me.” Her stomach clenched as his laugh echoed in her mind. “He told them he was keeping me caged like the animal I was.” Her voice drifted off into a whisper, and it was only the touch of Ross’s hand on hers that startled her back to reality.
“It’s over now,” he murmured softly. “You’re part of our pack now, Jenny. Part of White Fire. You’ve got a family.”
A family. Jenny smiled slightly, filled with conflicting emotions of happiness, relief, and sadness. It was time to start again.