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Things swirled again and my stomach turned, bile rising up my throat, just thinking about what might happen next. The image that formed was of her cowering in the corner of a room, her husband pulling her up by the hair so he could viciously smack her down again.
“So useless. I should ask for my money back. What good is a wife if I can’t breed her, huh?”
I roared again. I knew it was useless, but I couldn’t hold it in, not while watching my mate get beaten. Of course he wouldn’t be able to breed her. She wasmymate. I was the only one who would ever be able to plant seed within her womb.
“I didn’t want you to know any of this, but especially that.”
Her voice was still monotone, but there was a little emotion creeping into it now. The man pulled a knife, slashing at her. She attempted to fight, and as the blade sliced across her collarbone, I knew how she’d gotten the scar I’d kissed so many times.
“Enough, Jolie. None of this makes a difference to how I feel about you! You’re still mine. I still want you. I want to kill those two fuckers, but I still want to keep and protect you.”
I looked away from the scene before me to focus on her beside me. She’d returned to her ghostly form, and I thought I saw tears in her eyes before she faded away, vanishing completely. She left me to watch the other Jolie now in a bathroom, tears streaming down her face as she used butterfly-clips in an attempt to close the wound on her collarbone, and another one up the underside of her forearm. She then grabbed a bag and stuffed it with clothes and toiletries, before slipping from the room. Helpless, I watched as she snuck from the house and out into the night where she hitchhiked out of town. Then, finally, the dream faded to black, leaving me wrenching awake to discover her sleeping peacefully beside me. She’d rolled over as we’d slept and the sheet had slipped down, baring the top part of her breasts. The moonlight shone on the silvery scar along her collarbone. It was all I could see.
I needed to check with Ranger, but I didn’t think she would know we’d shared that dream when she woke. She wouldn’t know what I’d seen, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to act as though I hadn’t seen what I had. As quietly as I could, I slipped from the bed and dressed before leaving her. I needed to talk to Ranger. Needed to try to work out what her foster father’s name was. I needed to find and end that prick before he came after her again. Maybe that husband of hers too.
****
Jolie
I woke slowly from my peaceful sleep where I dreamed of Neo as he’d grown up. I envied how he was raised. Well, it was just a dream, so I guess I envied my imagination. Which was working overtime because it kept inserting bears at various times throughout the dream. That had been beyond strange.
I rolled over and stretched, the tightness between my thighs reminding me that I’d brought Neo home with me last night. Had I remembered to send him on his way afterward? Memories filled my mind of me crying against him and falling asleep wrapped in his arms. Slightly mortified at my breakdown, I opened my eyes and sat up to look around the room. He wasn’t in bed with me and I couldn’t see anything to indicate he was still here. If I couldn’t still smell his scent on my sheets, I’d wonder if I hadn’t dreamed the entire night. There were no signs of him having been here. He wasn’t in the bed with me, and there were no clothes on the floor. So where was he now?
I was still sitting there, flipping between relief that he’d left without me needing to push him away and hurt that he’d snuck away before I woke, when my alarm buzzed. With a huff, I shut off the noise and headed toward the bathroom. I needed to get ready for work. As I washed up and got dressed, I hoped that Neo would be out of the office today. Last night was different. Something more happened between us and I needed time to process what the hell it was and what the hell I was going to do about it.
By the time I was in my car, I’d concluded that I needed to come clean and tell Neo about my inability to have children. Despite me trying my best to keep him at arm’s length, it wasn’t working. It was as though something deep within me needed him or something. It was completely crazy, but I was beginning to accept the fact that it wasn’t going to go away. And since I couldn’t seem to leave him, I needed to tell him everything and hope it wouldn’t end with him kicking me to the curb.
With that decision made, I was disappointed when I got to the office and discovered that Neo was out. His brother, Ranger, was there, but he seemed off. He was acting weird. He’d nearly run out of the building when I’d said good morning to him earlier. With a frown, I set about making myself a coffee. Then I turned my computer on and the phone answer machine off.
By the time my computer was up and running, I was enjoying my fresh hot coffee. After taking a couple mouthfuls, I set it aside and pulled up the calendar to see if I could work out when Neo would be back. In the three months I’d been working here, I’d never gone an entire day without seeing him. Well, except for that one time he took a group on a three-day hiking tour.
“That’s strange.”
There was nothing booked in for any of the brothers. So where were they all? Before I could get up and start searching for them, the phone rang and the daily chaos started. When I’d first started, it had shocked me how busy they were. The inquiries by either phone or email were nearly constant every day of the week. I was grateful for it. It meant that the days passed so much faster because I was busy and didn’t have time to dwell on the past. Yet, I was still a little surprised at how fast lunchtime came around today. I still hadn’t seen Neo, or any of his brothers, which was extremely strange. Flipping the phones over, I stood and, after stretching, decided I’d go for a wander and see if I could find any of the brothers.
I was about three feet out the back door when the sound of a car door slamming caught my attention. I turned toward the side of the building where the parking lot was located and cursed silently, as it looked like my break was over already. The sight I discovered had me frozen in place, unable to fully reconcile what I was seeing.
This couldn’t be real. Just when I’d decided to attempt to really settle down in one location, he turned up. It was as though he could read my mind, even at a distance, and refused to allow me any chance at happiness. Although, I wasn’t sure if Neo still wanted me with his vanishing act after I broke down on him last night.
A sob caught in my throat as I turn to sprint toward the forest. With none of the brothers around, my only chance of escape was to outrun him. My daily afternoon runs paid off. Even if with the low heeled boots I wore—I wasn’t as fast as I’d have been if I’d been wearing running shoes—I was still setting a good pace. As I hit the tree line, I heard a shout that had my heart kicking up a notch and my legs pumping faster. He’d seen me. I knew he’d give chase, and if he caught me, I was done for.
I swiped at the tears in my eyes and focused on going as fast as I could without tripping on anything. After about ten minutes of running, my foot slipped on some leaves and my ankle rolled. I bit my cheek against the scream of pain that was trying to break free.
Panting, I rested my forehead against a tree trunk and held the injured foot off the ground for a few moments. Knowing I didn’t have time to stay in one spot, I tentatively tested the ankle by stepping on it. Pain shot up my leg, stealing my breath and making my eyes water even more than they already were. “Fuck.” I breathed the curse and braced myself to take the pain. Ihadto keep moving. I couldn’t run anymore, but leaning on various trees, I kept moving as best I could.
Chapter Three
Neo
A jolt of fear had me instantly on alert.
“What is it?”
I’d been working with Ranger, Axel, and Darby out in the shed doing some maintenance and checks on all the equipment this morning, to avoid my mate. Even after talking to my brothers about what I’d learned overnight, I didn’t know what to do about it. They weren’t much help with providing ideas either. So, instead, all four of us were out here hiding from her.
“Don’t know, Rang. Jolie’s scared. Really scared.”
I jogged out the door, with my brothers on my tail, and got outside just in time to see Jolie running like her life depended on it into the forest.
