And there was nothing she could do about it.
Gabriel’s wolfen senses burst to life a second before the faint scream echoed on the night air like the cry of a dove. His head snapped up, his pulse hammered, his body went tense with sudden, repressed violence.
He knew instantly who the cry came from--Jessica. The sound of his chosen one in danger reverberated through his being.
He cocked his head, centering on her location, though her voice had faded away.
She was in the cemetery, where he’d told her not to go, where he’d followed her anyway. He was close, but not close enough.
He threw his head back as the wolf inside growled, erupting from his throat in fury, a haunting challenge that carried on the air.
For the first time in his life, he was out of control. He wasn’t near enough to her.
She could be dead even now.
He refused to believe that.
He took off at a run, low to the ground, lower, leaping over obstacles in his path until he was flying with the speed of strength borne of desperation. The quickening surged in his blood, spread through his muscles, invading his every pore. The beast was eager for blood, eager to protect its claim. He recognized the cry for what it was-- the sound of prey.
Someone hunted his woman.
He would kill them for hurting her.
Chapter Five
The man bent over her. Hot, fetid breath spilled over her face and chest. He stank like a dog, his feral stench turning her stomach. He growled and nuzzled her breasts roughly, as if she’d invited him to touch and taste.
She strained against her fleshly bonds, but the hands holding her down yielded nothing, allowing her not even the slightest movement.
Hopelessness crept into her, growing like a cancer.
Jessica gnashed her teeth, unwilling to succumb to it. She swore to kill them if given the chance.
In the distance, a dog howled at the moon. She wondered dimly if it was one of Gabriel’s werewolves prowling the night. She’d never be so lucky.
The man on top of her halted suddenly, sniffing the air. He snarled, growling deep in his chest, like a Doberman giving warning to a trespasser. Jessica felt her heart and lungs freeze--there wasn’t enough air to breathe.
One of the others snapped his jaws, growling in response. The hairs raised on her skin, shivers crawling over her like swarming ants. Why didn’t they speak? Their animalistic behavior kept pushing her to the edge, panic dulling her mind. She swallowed against the rising tide, trying to keep calm.
The man between her legs stiffened, twisting against her thighs. He released her abruptly as something came crashing through the night with the force of a barreling semi. The hands holding her arms and legs disappeared, ripped away. Jessica gasped at the bruising wrench, the sudden freedom. She scrambled upright, pushing her dress down, peering into the shadows. She couldn’t see anything. She felt like her eyes were closed, like this was a nightmare come horribly to life. Jessica continued scrabbling back, until cool stone pressed against her back. She kicked her feet out, waved her hands in case anyone came near.
In the dark, the men snarled and growled like pit bulls at a dog fight. Jessica didn’t know if she was more scared or relieved. Had some guard dog come to defend her?
Feet scuffled on the worn path, grunts echoed meaty strikes.
“It’s because you are pups I don’ kill you for dis,” a voice growled in the dark to the accompaniment of heavy thuds.
Jessica’s bones nearly melted from her body at the velvet drawl she’d recognize anywhere. Gabriel. Somehow, he’d come for her, known she was in trouble.
Jessica huddled on the ground, not daring to move lest she distract him. She wanted to help, but she couldn’t see a damn thing and she was too scared she’d injure him if she entered the fray.
Something liquid splashed against the ground next to her feet, and the coppery scent of blood filled the air as the beatings continued, interspersed with painful groans and shouts.
Finally, after what seemed like an hour of unbearable tension, someone touched her shoulder. Jessica startled, looking up to see the faint, star framed silhouette of a man above her.
“Chere?” Gabriel asked.
“Gabriel!” Jessica breathed in relief, getting to her feet. She hugged him fiercely and felt her thin dress soak through with sweat or blood or both--she couldn’t tell. He ran his hands against her back in soothing circles.
“Did they hurt you?” he murmured against her hair.
“No. Nothing I can’t handle.” She pulled back, wishing she could see him. “Thank you, Gabriel. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
He stifled a groan and slumped heavily against her.
“Oh my god. You’re hurt. Gabriel, where is it? Where are you hurt?” His silence unnerved her. Jessica felt around his body, but she couldn’t find anything that could have weakened him so much--unless it was something internal. The thought galvanized her. “We have to get you to a hospital.”
“No,” he said and pushed away from her.
“Yes.”
“No,” he said emphatically. “You can ... take me ... home.”
He sounded like he was just before passing out. She couldn’t blame him. He’d run off three men nearly as big as he was, and from the sound of them, they’d been insane. She didn’t have time to be impressed. They had to leave before the thugs had a chance to come back. “I’ll take you home. But first we have to catch a cab or something.”
“My car is out front,” he said, and leaned into her for support.
Jessica stood under his arm and they hobbled their way to his car--an old Camaro, its color indistinguishable in the faded dark.
She followed his directions, and he fell asleep as she drove up the Ponchartrain Expressway, getting off once they’d passed the fair grounds. A wooded area came into view, and she stopped at the first house as he’d instructed: a sprawling two story Victorian with a gazebo and porch swing on one end, interconnected with the porch curving around the house.
Jessica didn’t stop to admire the house, pulling the Camaro onto the lawn along a roughened patch of dirt until she neared the front entrance. She stopped the car and switched it off, giving Gabriel a concerned glance before she got up and went around to help him.
He came awake as she opened the door and got out on his own, but Jessica fussed and continued to help him walk. It was just like a man to try and be macho about serious injuries. She didn’t know about his, but she wasn’t about to take any more chances than he was already forcing her to take.
The front door was unlocked, which she found oddly trusting considering the state of this day and age, but she pushed it open and went through. A long, wide hallway shot straight through, past the narrow staircase, to the back door, and large rooms parted off from each side.
“Dere’s d’livin’ room,” Gabriel said, pointing to the right tiredly.
Jessica shuffled to it, feeling on the wall for the light switch. She found it easily enough, flipped the lights on, and guided him onto a worn, leather couch facing an old TV. He collapsed on it, closing his eyes and throwing an arm above his head. He was wearing the same basic outfit she’d seen him in before: Jeans and no shoes or a shirt. Blood smeared his chest and throat, and she knew she had to clean him off to properly to assess the situation.
Jessica left, in search of a bathroom or a kitchen. She found the kitchen in the back of the house on the left.
