He’s not acting like a typical mage, but I have such a strong feeling that he is. Yet, if I try to move his scarf to look, he’ll have the full opportunity to use his defensive abilities to escape. Though, if I’m wrong, this could end with us on the run for kidnapping without even having a mage to show for it.
“What do you think?”Ares asks and I chew my lip so much I’m surprised it’s still intact.
Why do I have to decide? What if I’m wrong and I fuck everything up? Can’t you just, like, smell him or something? Do mages smell different than humans? I bet they’re spicy, vampires probably think they’re a special treat-
“Rin. What do you think?”he asks again; firm, yet patient.
Taking a calming breath through my nose and out my mouth, I strive to listen to their advice and stop overthinking in favor of justfeeling.I need to trust my instincts, because they’ve gotten me where I am. And if you ignore all of the countless problems, it’s actually pretty amazing.
Let’s grab him. The alley up ahead; if you can direct Cole to the other side, and think you can trap his arms before he can retaliate, let’s go for it.
I’m surprised to feel a thrill run down my spine that I know sure as shit isn’t my own, glancing over to see a predatory smile on Ares’ face. He’s been more reluctant than any of us about this plan from the beginning, but now that we’re face to face with it actually happening? I’m half concerned he’s going to shift and run him down as a tiger at this point.
“Three, two,”he counts down before darting forward and banding his arms around the man from behind, dragging him off his feet easily.
I race to keep up, quickly jerking part of his scarf up and over his mouth to muffle his shouts. He’s thrashing around too much for me to untangle it from his neck, and I jam my hand into his pockets, frantically searching.
“Little rude to grope another man’s junk so soon after you came on mine,” Ares tosses out there and I mentally flip him off. He doesn’t appear to be having any issue restraining the man, far too at ease for the situation, but his joking helps keep me from spiraling.
“Aha!” I pull out the phone that was wedged into his too-tight pants and rip the back off.
The man struggles harder as I pull the SIM card out and smash it alongside the battery and phone, tossing the majority of the pieces into the dumpster as Ares hauls him towards the other side of the alley where Cole comes to a screeching halt.
I open the back door and Ares drags himself and the man in easily, Ozzy there snarling and teeth bared. The man frantically struggles at the sight, but goes ramrod straight when Ozzy opens his mouth and leans closer to his throat, making his point clear.
Shutting his door, I move to mine, hefting myself up with far less grace. Cole pulls away slowly, following all of the speed limits to the digit as we start making our way to the edge of town. None of us dare speak until we cross town lines, as if that somehow makes us less noticeable. It’s only after we’re well onto the highway that I breathe a bit easier, putting a hand to my chest.
“Holy hell, I hope we never have to do that again.”
“If he’s not a mage, what do we do with him? Dump the body on the side of the road?”Ozzy asks without remorse.
“Fuck, man,” Cole asks, chuckling nervously. “When did you get so ruthless?” He shakes his head before glancing at me. “Honestly. He tears out one throat and now he’s got a taste for blood as bad as the vamps.”
The man in the back squeaks nervously, but doesn’t fight. Short of trying to cause a crash at these high speeds, he’s smart to wait for a better opportunity.
Time to bite the bullet, so to speak. “Mage or no?”
There’s a clear moment where he mentally scrambles for whichever answer he thinks will result in his best chance at survival, but ultimately, he knows we’ll find out one way or another and goes for honesty. When he nods his head, I sag in visible relief.
“Thank gods. Then I’ll make you a deal, alright?” He eyes me warily, waiting for me to proceed. “Help us, and I won’t let them kill you.”
Seventeen
Osiris
We don’t head straight home despite how badly we all want to have the illusion of safety. It’s not worth the risk of leading anyone straight to our doorstep if we were followed, though. Instead, we voted to go way out of our way, driving through the night and the better part of the next day. The only stops we made were bathroom breaks and so that Ares and Cole could trade off.
The scent of sex clings to Rin as well as the evidence of claiming bites starting to bruise on her shoulders already, and all I want to do is add my scent to hers. The urge is so overwhelming it’s hard to fight, needing to claim her as mine despite the fact that she’s part of our pride in every way that matters. Hell, I never even expected a pack link was possible with a human and should be grateful for just that.
But I’m not.
I don’t want to look at the glass half full. I don’t want to have to be grateful for something as basic as being happy I’m alive. I want my fucking body back and I want to kiss my goddamn mate. It isn’t wrong to want more and I’m sick of pretending everything is okay.
So rather than curling up on her lap, I stay in the back with our prisoner; torn between wanting him to fix me and hoping he gives me an excuse to tear his throat out to release some of this pent up aggression. The longer I spend as an ocelot, the more feral I’m starting to feel. My animalistic instincts are becoming louder and harder to ignore and a part of me is terrified that too much longer, I won’t even remember how to shift back.
I’ll be stuck like this forever and I have no clue if I can mentally survive it. If my instincts are this amped up already, then what about a few more months down the road? As the years drag on and I’m relegated to a pet while everyone continues their lives happily around me, telling me to just be happy I’m alive?
How can I stand by and watch my brothers live the life that should be mine too, and plaster a smile on my face for them day after day?
