“All the supplies you have now?” Jasper asked when I paused.
I nodded. “I was intending to follow Oliver’s plan to leave for Belgium. We would fly there and then I’d slip off at the first opportunity, but almost as soon as Oliver and I arrived at the international terminal, I knew that staying with Oliver for any amount of time would be a terrible mistake. I’d always known that his longing to dominate and possess me had everything to do with his pride. He lusted for me like a poor man might yearn for a mansion or a yacht.”
“Sounds fucking dangerous.” Jasper’s blue eyes met mine. “How did you get away?”
I shuddered, remembering that day.
Jasper rolled over onto his side, propping his head on a hand. He webbed his fingers through mine, and I pulled our joined hands to my chest. “You don’t have to answer.”
“No, it’s okay. Nothing happened, not really. He just wanted to have sex the moment we got into the airport. He ordered me to go with him into a family restroom, but I managed to talk him out of it, insisting that we couldn’t risk it, which made him angry. He kept ordering me to do the simplest things like pick up my bag and sit in the chair he wanted me in. I told him that I had to pee, and he ordered me to hold it. Every time he ordered me, I felt his emotions, and they’d changed. His longing wasn’t this yearning dream, it was like a victory and intense possessiveness. Oliver was both angry and entitled like I owed him everything.”
I gasped, feeling like I’d run a marathon rather than told half of a story. “Oliver’s anger flipped off like a switch, and then suddenly, he got overly-affectionate and kept kissing me on my shoulder and my neck and nibbling at my fingers—until it hurt. When I told him to stop, he ordered me to be quiet and kiss him. While he was distracted, I slipped his gun out of his bag with my feet.”
“That sick fuck!” Declan growled. “Thank all that’s holy that you got away. Did you pull the gun?”
“I didn’t have the chance. They called our flight, and people flooded the aisles. I had to stash the gun quickly. There was a human flight attendant, a woman. She kept looking at us. I think she sensed that something was very wrong. And… she was just a human…”
My breath caught, “I was scared. As she took my ticket, she met my eyes, and I nodded. Somehow, that flight attendant knew what that meant, and security came on the plane and said that there was an issue with my passport, and I needed to deplane. I thought that Oliver assumed it was Kane recapturing me, and Oliver stayed on the plane to save his own ass. I guess he must have followed me.”
“Do you think Oliver Hunt tracked you here?” Jasper asked.
I shook my head. “Oliver seemed shocked to see me—like he didn’t believe his eyes. It took him almost a minute to react. It’s probably the only reason I got away. I think he came by Grayhaven the same way I did.”
“What do you want us to do?” Jasper asked with his eyes drilling into mine. “Do you want us to get you safely over the border, or do you want to stay here? Do you want us to kill him?”
Blood clouded my vision. A man’s screams echoed in my ears. “No…” I shook my head. “No murder, please. If it’s self-defense, it’s one thing. But hunting a man down and killing him is something I can’t live with.”
“We could run that fucker out of town,” Declan suggested.
“Oliver Hunt is more dangerous out there where Kane can find him than he is here with us.” Jasper rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “Are you thinking of leaving, Teagan?”
I licked my lips. Running was always my first instinct, but if I ran, I would likely have two werewolves hunting me. Kane was plotting to capture me, but from Oliver’s rage, he would likely be bent on an act of bloody revenge.
I met Jasper’s blue eyes. “I’d like to hear what you think.”
He lifted a dark brow. “Do you want to hear what I think, or do you want me to tell you what I think you want to hear?”
I nibbled on my bottom lip. “Both.”
“I think you want me to tell you that there’s some solution where everyone is safe, and that predator Oliver will never bother you again.” Jasper looked to the other side of the room, and the muscles of his jaw tensed. “But the truth is that I will eventually kill Oliver Hunt. It’s just a decision on whether I let him attack us before I kill him.”
Declan ran a hand down my side. “You’re okay with us planning to kill Kane. Why is Oliver Hunt different?”
“Because Jasper has a private reason to kill Kane, outside of me. Also, Kane is the Head Alpha of all of North America and a mass-murderer. With him, it’s political and personal to you. With Oliver, it’s only personal to me. I can’t go along with a plan to kill him. After the con-man I married, Michael Card, sold me to Kane…” I trailed off as the words dried in my throat.
My mind tried to pull me back. I brought you a present. Stab him until he’s dead. The taste of metal flooded my mouth, and I could feel the blood-soaked knife handle in my fingers. Panic surged in my heart. I shook my head. I wouldn’t go back, not there, not ever.
“I just can’t.” I shook my
