Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Jason was rushing back and forth, putting necessities in an overnight bag for his unexpected stay in Michael’s home. He stopped for a moment wondering how long he was going to stay and grabbed another small suitcase to start packing it just in case.

Tabatha sat on the bed watching him run around and truly felt sorry for him. This was all brand new and she knew he was close to his breaking point. Jason could take a lot more crap than most people gave him credit for. He came off as a very sensitive guy, but if you pushed his buttons one too many times… boom.

Jason zipped up the overnight bag and flipped open the suitcase, packing more stuff into it. “How long have you known about all of this Tabatha?” he asked. “Have you always known? What about Envy? And is Kriss aware of anything that’s going on?”

Tabatha sighed, “Only a few weeks, no I haven’t, Envy knows for different reasons, and Kriss is very aware.”

Jason paused in his movements and just stared at the suitcase, “What reasons does Envy know? How is she involved?”

“Devon is a shifter.” Tabatha said trying to suppress her cringe.

Jason turned with a jerk and looked at her with wide eyes. “Say what?”

“Devon is a shape shifter, more specifically… he’s a werejaguar.” She gave into the cringe seeing the expression on his face

“You mean like a werewolf but a jaguar instead?” Jason asked with a deep frown.

Tabatha nodded, “That’s right.”

“So he’s her lap cat.” Jason exclaimed making Tabatha laugh.

“I never looked at it that way before.” Tabatha managed between giggles.

“What about ball breaker?” Jason asked trying to get the image of Devon curled up on Envy’s lap out of his head.

Tabatha blinked, “Ball breaker?”

“Blonde vampire with an attitude… the one that was set on taking away my ability to sire children,” Jason elaborated.

Tabatha shook her head, “Stay clear of him if at all possible.” She warned. “Kane is a very dangerous man… he can protect you but don’t try to become friends with him.”

Jason nodded with a thoughtful expression on his face and continued packing. “Dangerous maybe… man, I think not,” he mumbled to himself. Suddenly jerking his gaze toward Tabatha, another thought struck him.

Closing the distance between them, Jason reached out and grabbed a handful of her hair and lifted it off of her neck.

Tabatha didn’t know whether to frown or laugh as he circled her like a vulture while holding her hair away from her neck and looking at her skin from every angle. “What… are you doing?” she demanded already knowing.

Jason studied her neck, even going as far as caressing her skin to make sure it was smooth before he let his gaze trail lower remembering that in movies… it wasn’t always the neck that was bit. “Have you ever been bitten by a vampire?”

Kane rolled his eyes when he felt his pants tighten at the innocent question. A flash back of licking the wound on Tabatha’s neck the night Raven had kidnapped her crawled through his mind like a dirty thought and he leaned his head back on the wall behind him. The tightness in his groin became painful when he heard Tabatha’s answer.

“Nope… but I have been licked,” Tabatha admitted and felt the heat rise up into her cheeks when Jason stopped in front of her and stared at her like she’d lost her mind. She blew her bangs out of her eyes when he simply turned back around and continued packing.

“Jason, that’s not what…” Tabatha started but was cut off.

“I don’t want to know,” Jason said a little too loudly refusing to look at her. “We’ll just leave this conversation alone and forget we ever had it.”

Tabatha lapsed back into silence. She felt bad about not being able to tell Jason the real truth about Kane… but she couldn’t take any chances. If Kane was listening in on their conversation, she had to keep up appearances at all times so he wouldn’t catch onto the fact that she hadn’t fallen for his thrall-induced suggestion.

Kane was just outside the bedroom door leaning back against the wall. When he heard Tabatha tell Jason he was dangerous it tugged at his very soul. This was his doing but it was something that Tabatha needed for her own protection. She had to hate him… otherwise she would become an even bigger target for Misery.

“I need to go grab my toothbrush.” Jason said suddenly.

“I’ll go get it, you keep packing.” Tabatha announced and left the bedroom.

Kane let an evil grin spread across his lips and quickly darted into the bedroom. He moved so fast Jason didn’t even see him. Picking up the stack of clothing Jason had just folded on the chair behind him, Kane moved them to the floor of the closet and quickly ducked back out of the room again.

He wanted the human to hurry up so he could go back home and sulk some more. What better way to speed someone up then to give then a wiggly-boo moment.

Tabatha returned with the toothbrush and Kane sighed quietly, glad she couldn’t see him. “Here you go,” she said and handed the toothbrush to Jason.

“Thanks, now all I have to do is get my…” Jason had turned around to face the chair and found the clothes he’d placed in it gone. “Where are my clothes?”

Tabatha frowned, “Weren’t they just in the chair?”

“Yeah, but now they’re gone.” Jason said quietly and started looking all around the chair.

Tabatha looked around the room and her gaze landed on the pile of folded clothing sitting on the floor inside the closet. “Is that it?” she asked with a frown.

Jason looked over at the closet where Tabatha was pointing and nodded, “Yeah, but how the hell did they get in there?”

Tabatha looked around the room glaring at everything in it except Jason. She knew that Kane was somehow responsible for this and fisted her hands, wincing when her fingers pressed against the wounds she’d self-inflicted the night before.

Jason finally closed the suitcase and went over to his desk to claim his laptop, tucking it into its shoulder bag.

“Ready?” Tabatha asked.

“Yeah, just let me get one more thing.” Jason said and walked over to the wall where he’d hung a crucifix his mother had given him.

“What’s that for?” Tabatha asked.

“Protection,” Jason informed her and tucked it into the side pocket of his laptop case.

Kane rolled his eyes at the cluelessness of humans… they thought everything was a movie.

“I hate to burst your bubble,” Tabatha said softly. “But that won’t work.”

“What do you mean it won’t work?” Jason demanded.

Tabatha was really trying not to laugh, “They live directly across the street from a church, in case you hadn’t noticed when we went there earlier.”

Jason’s face went blank before he sighed and shook his head. “You’re gonna have to tell me everything, you know, so I don’t end up looking like a complete idiot.”

‘Too late,’ Kane thought to himself.

“Is there anything you want to grab from your room?” Jason asked.

Tabatha thought about it and shook her head, “No, I got everything when we went to work this morning.”

Jason gave her a curious look, “What about work? I can’t go into hiding and keep my job too.”

“Hunter knows what’s going on and since he’s the boss, he promised to give you dibs on keeping watch over the city for any wild animals that might wander in from the forest.” Tabatha answered with a smile.

“Animals aren’t the only thing we don’t want wandering in form the forest right now,” Jason added.

Tabatha’s smile wavered but she didn’t say anything… what could she say?

“Is Hunter in any danger?” Jason asked concerned for his friend.

“I don’t think so,” Tabatha said. “Black Crow didn’t exactly attack him, his attention was on you at first, then the both of us… he pretty much ignored the fact that Hunter was there at all.”

“That reminds me,” Jason asked as they moved into the living room. “You said that Devon was a werejaguar, right?”

Tabatha nodded, “Yes, he’s the second in line for alpha should anything happen to his brother Warren. Why?”

“Well, a couple weeks ago, we got a call at the station from some guy about a cougar and a jaguar running loose downtown. The man said one of them had a cell phone strapped to its hind leg.” Jason said then looked up at Tabatha, “That was a shifter he saw, wasn’t it?”

“That was probably Warren,” Tabatha nodded. “Envy said most of them have the habit of carrying their cell phones on their ankles so they could shift back into their human form and call for help if they needed it.”

Jason’s face contorted into something that looked painful for a moment before he broke down into peals of laughter. Just picturing a jaguar running around with a cell phone strapped to one of its legs did provide a very interesting picture. But that wasn’t the only reason he was laughing his ass off… his life as he knew it, the whole thing, was one completely naive delusion.

Tabatha took the opportunity to hug him and they both stole a moment to laugh at the hilarity of it all… both believing that Karma was not being a very kind deity and had to share in the humor of it.

The sound of someone yawning quite rudely made them pull apart and Tabatha fixed her expression into a dark glare. Kane was leaning against the doorjamb leading from the back of the house into the living room with his mouth wide open. His fangs were showing prominently and he made a show of rolling his neck to make it pop.

“Time to go kiddies,” Kane announced in a bored voice. “You may continue your communal bonding once we get home… unless you want the starving zombies to find you.”

“Sorry Kane,” Tabatha informed him irritably. “We’re stopping by Moon Dance first before going to my place to get some of my stuff… I’ll bring Jason back when we’re good and ready to call it a day.”

Kane shrugged and his expression showed his disinterest. “It’s no skin off my nose if he gets eaten.”

“With all the shifters at Moon Dance, I really think it’s a safe place… just as safe as Michael’s house.” She raised an eyebrow waiting to see if Kane would argue.

“That sounds like a good idea.” Jason said wanting to see everyone now that his paranormal eyes were open. He was curious to see if he would notice anything different about Devon when he saw him.

Kane yawned again, “Okay… I need to get back home so I can sleep. It’s the middle of the day for crying out loud. Lack of sleep makes me hungry.”

Jason made a little ‘eep’ sound when Kane looked right at him and Tabatha gave Kane a warning glare.

*****

Tabatha and Jason approached the front doors of Moon Dance and stared openly at the crowd already starting to congregate outside the front door. It was barely past four in the afternoon and people were lined up, damn near camping out to get inside. They walked past the long line and Tabatha was relieved to see Nick step outside and shake his head.

The bouncer shared a smile with him before Nick looked up and saw Tabatha. His smile widened when Tabatha raised her arm to wave at him and nearly hopped up the steps.

“It never ceases to amaze me that I was once one of those people waiting to get in.” Tabatha said looking out at the crowd.

Nick laughed, “Yeah, now you know the owners and can get in without paying.” He nodded at Jason, “How’s it going?”

“All right,” Jason said while giving Nick a thoughtful look.

“What?” Nick asked and looked down at himself making sure his zipper was up.

“Nothing,” Tabatha said quickly and elbowed Jason in the ribs. “We came to see Envy.”

Nick smirked, “I don’t know if you wanna go in there at the moment.”

“Why not?” Tabatha asked locking arms with Jason who was still doubled over a little bit.

Nick just shook his head again and his smirk widened hearing the argument on his comlink, “Go see for yourself but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Tabatha stepped through the doors when Nick held them open and immediately heard raised voices inside. The three of them entered the main floor of the club and stared at Envy standing in front of Devon next to the bar with her hands on her hips.

Kat had her back turned to Quinn with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Jewel didn’t look happy either as she was giving Steven a dark look that didn’t seem to suit her sweet personality.

Quinn and Devon’s faces were set in stone, not budging from whatever stance they’d taken against their mates. Steven had his arm around Jewel’s shoulders but his expression was one of an adult trying to teach a child something they needed to learn.

“What do you mean I can’t go shopping?” Envy demanded. “Believe it or not, I do need to spend time away from you once in a while. Don’t make me go get the taser out of its hiding place!”

“Is the honeymoon over?” Tabatha asked with raised eyebrows and a grin on her face.

Jason stood behind her, looking over her shoulder at the people standing around the bar. Warren was behind the bar, leaning on it with his arms crossed on the surface and a smirk on his face. Nick walked around Tabatha and over to where Warren was, getting a bird’s eye view of the drama unfolding.

Leaning against the wall directly behind him… Nick’s face took on the same amused expression as his older brother. Both men were having a personal field day with what was unfolding in front of their eyes. Both were also glad they weren’t mated to anyone at the moment.

Envy looked over her shoulder when she heard Tabatha’s question.

“Tabby-cat!” Envy exclaimed and rushed over to her friend after sending Devon a withering glare. She threw her arms around Tabatha and started mock-crying on her shoulder. “He… he’s a… he’s an overprotective Neanderthal… he won’t let me go shopping.” Envy stopped and stood up giving Tabatha a serious look. “No shopping is grounds for divorce… you know this.”

Envy hugged Tabatha again and grinned at Jason over her shoulder. “Hey Jason, wanna go shopping with us girls?”

“Hey Envy,” Jason returned the greeting but couldn’t keep his gaze off of Devon. No time like the present to let the cat out of the bag, pun intended. “So, I hear you went furry?”

Envy blinked up at him and pulled away from Tabatha very slowly, “What?”

Tabatha shook her head, “I had to tell him… he knows pretty much everything now.”

“What brought this on?” Micah asked, speaking for the first time from his corner spot behind the bar.

“Since he was lucky enough to get a death mark placed on him by a demon out on the reserve.” Tabatha answered and looked at the shocked expressions around her… she supposed that was one way to get their attention and derail an argument.

“See,” Devon stated, prying Envy away from her friends. “It’s not safe anywhere right now… even the freaking woods are starting to sprout demons. And you want to go shopping in demon central? I don’t think so.”

“I’ll go with them,” Steven offered standing up from his perch on the bar stool.

“Sit back down,” Kat pointed a threatening finger at him. Steven gave a very good rendition of a deer in headlights before he sat right back down making Jewel grin… Kat was definitely the ‘momma’ of the group. “We are going shopping and no MATES are allowed to go, especially you.”

“Why not?” Steven whined and put his arm back around Jewel while giving Kat a look that reminded everyone of a kitten left out in the rain… adorable and pitiful at the same time “She doesn’t mind me seeing what she’d be buying. And besides, I’m going to see her in all of it anyway.”

Jewel moved away from Steven’s embrace and stood next to Kat. “You know, I’ve been a prisoner it seems all my life. I want it to stop and I want to surprise you by wearing a nightie that doesn’t belong to your sister. I want something normal for a change.” Jewel emphasized her point by stomping her foot and crossing her arms over her chest. “Unless you want me to start comparing you to a dead mongrel, you’ll let me go.”

“I don’t want to let you go,” Steven’s sweet side disappeared and his stubborn streak surfaced. “Last time you left without me I almost didn’t get you back.”

“Jason and I will go with them,” Tabatha offered trying to get rid of the tension in the room. She put her arms around Jason and batted her eyelashes, “Sounds like fun.”

“Oh great, that’s exactly what we need.” Steven grumbled. “We have a demon magnet wanting to follow our mates around the city without protection,” he shook his head, “No way, no how.”

“I agree,” Quinn stated. “It’s too dangerous for anyone to be alone right now.”

Tabatha flinched when a voice came from directly behind her and Jason, accompanied by a low growl.

“The demon magnet has two body guards,” Michael said with a smile while slapping Kane on the back of the head to stop the growling.

“What did you do that for?” Kane demanded.

Tabatha released Jason and swung around to look at the pair of vampires who had abruptly appeared behind her. She heard movement and a muffled snort and looked over at Jason. She blinked realizing Jason was no longer standing beside her and looked around. Everyone in the room had grins on their faces and she spotted Jason standing on the other side of Nick trying to look inconspicuous.

“Damn, that was fast.” Micah muttered with wide eyes. “Did anyone actually see him move?”

“Oh sure,” Nick ground out. “Put me in the middle between you and a psychotic vampire. If he comes after you, I’m moving out of the way.”

Tabatha turned back to look at Michael and couldn’t resist a short glance at Kane. He was leaning against the wall away from Michael with one ankle crossed over the other and his hands in his pockets. When his gaze met hers in that brief second, her heart sped up. She swung around to face the ladies of the group.

“It’s settled then,” Tabatha announced. “All boyfriends stay here and work while us girls go out shopping with the bodyguards and spend the men’s money.”

Kat thrust her fist in the air with a loud ‘yeah’ while Envy started whistling and Jewel clapped her hands. Quinn, Devon, and Steven all looked at each other wondering when they’d lost the argument.

“Are we ever going to win?” Steven asked.

“No,” Warren informed them mercilessly. “You just grin and bear it because a woman is going to do what she wants to regardless of what her mate tells her.”

Quinn sighed, “I remember Grandma Katherine telling us stories about the old days when males protected their mates and the women did as they were asked.”

“Welcome to the 1950’s.” Jewel muttered making Envy, Kat, and Tabatha snicker.

“I’ll go too.” Nick offered. “It never hurts to have another set of eyes.”

“Oh Jason,” Envy exclaimed and ran up to him. “You gotta help me pick out something while we’re out.”

Devon felt a little jealous when Envy and Jason started talking quietly but kept his cool about it… Jason had never been a threat; he wasn’t even an ex-lover so there was no reason to be jealous. He saw Jason’s expression darken a little bit before the blonde man bent over to pull up his pant leg. Devon arched an eyebrow when he saw the mark and shivered because the room suddenly felt colder.

Micah remained in his corner wishing that Alicia was there with them doing normal things like wanting to go shopping with the girls. She would have loved going out for the afternoon and he would have gladly stuck up for her if Quinn tried to stop her. But instead of shopping, she was with that psycho vampire Damon… somewhere.

He watched as Jason showed Envy the death mark and frowned. To him, it looked like the mark had literally been burned into his skin and appeared to be very painful. However, Jason looked fine if not a little tired. It didn’t matter to him… he would just be glad when Alicia came back from wherever it was she’d gone.

Jason was ushered out of the club by the women with Nick, Michael, and Kane following close behind. This was his element, for lack of a better phrase… he’d always gotten along better with women than men and it showed. He felt more comfortable around this particular group because he already knew most of them and had no reason to fear them… regardless of whether they were furry or not.

Looking over his shoulder at Michael and Kane, Jason’s thoughts stilled. He didn’t trust Kane and it wasn’t because of what Tabatha told him. There was something very off about Kane that Jason couldn’t quite put his finger on. He wasn’t even sure if he could trust Michael, but he figured that if Tabatha felt safe with the dark-haired vampire, then he would attempt to do so as well.