Page 19 of Stolen Choices
They both fell silent and ate a little more meat and sipped their tea.
“There is a chance you know?” Molly finally spoke.
“I don’t think it can ever be.”
“He still loves you.”
Jane looked down at the table. Too many jumbled thoughts ran through her head. There was another man she’d once felt something for, but it could never be. It wasn’t possible, and he was another reason why she shut herself away. She’d lost too much in her life, and she couldn’t lose anything else. She wouldn’t survive it. Her path in life was to protect Brayden from finding out the truth about his father’s death. Her chance at a fresh start was over. It was time for her to place all her time and effort into Brayden, Selene, and the baby.
“I’ll always feel something for him, but our paths are very different now. They have to be. We made our decision long ago—no, fate decreed our decision. We have to follow the route destiny has laid before us even if it means we must stay apart.
“Destiny is a bitch. She really deserves a slap in the face. She needs to learn to take the crap out on someone else for once and leave the Glacial Blood pack alone.” Molly threw the leg of venison back down on the table. “Seriously! Nuka for a start—he needs to be taken down a peg or two.”
“I can’t deny that one. Maybe karma will bite him in the ass soon, and we can all get back to just living rather than waiting on edge all the time wondering what comes next.”
“Amen to that.” Molly held her hand out for Jane to high five.
Both women collapsed in fits of giggles. They spent the rest of the afternoon gossiping about matters that didn’t involve love but certainly did look at methods of defeating Nuka in the most humiliating ways possible.
Jane looked outside—the sun was starting to sink below the mountain tops.
“I better get going. If I’m out after dark, Kas will send out a search party. He’s got us all on lock down. Katia made the right decision to get away for a while.” Jane pushed her chair back and started to collect her belongings.
“Where’s she gone?” Molly started to clean up the tea things. The puma shifter had nibbled down to the bone on the venison leg.
“Just to one of the cabins in the woods. She finds all the relationships in the pack hard to deal with too.”
Molly looked sad, Jane guessed the puma knew Katia’s story as well.
“If I ever find her father, I swear I’ll scratch his eyes out.”
“I think you’ll have to get in line behind a few other people first,” Jane responded and placed her handbag over her shoulder, rummaging in it for her car keys.
“Fate really needs to change her tune soon.” Molly showed Jane to the door. “Which cabin? I was down by the ones at the bottom of the park this morning. I didn’t see anyone there.”
“Those are the ones she’s staying in.” Jane immediately felt a level of concern. “I’ll pop in on my way back home and check on her.”
She and Molly said their goodbyes, and Jane made her way to the cabins. Molly had been right. There wasn’t any sign of life. Worry prickled at the back of her neck. This wasn’t right. Katia should be here. If she wasn’t, where was she? Jane needed to get back to the mansion and let Kas know. As she turned to get back in the car, something glinted in the dwindling sunlight. She bent down to have a closer look and found the key to one of the cabins abandoned on the ground.
This wasn’t right at all.
A cold shiver ran through her.
“Jessica,” she spoke into the air, knowing the pack’s witch would be listening to her. “Get Kas and bring him to me now. I think something’s happened to Katia.”
Chapter Twelve
Jackson crept silently through the corridors of the brothel. He tried not to draw any attention to himself, because the last time he was here he’d been thrown out by Weston’s cronies. He needed to check on Katia. It had been a day since he’d last seen her, and his headaches had gotten even worse. Especially when he thought about what was happening to her. She didn’t deserve it. If only she’d change her views on humans, maybe he could persuade Nuka to have her freed. It was a futile hope, though. He knew the tigress was stubborn.
He pushed open the door to her room and popped his head in to see where she was. Katia sat on the floor on her knees, naked and with her head bowed. Her long black hair was matted—it needed a good brush, and she needed a wash. She was covered in bruises, and he suspected Weston had beaten her. He needed to get her out of here. The pain throbbed behind his temples. What was wrong with him? He felt weak and not in control of his own body. It was an eerie feeling. When he got back home, he’d get Nuka and Ciaran to examine him. Maybe the witch of the Glacial Blood pack had put a curse on him for taking one of their own. But then if they knew Katia was missing, why weren’t they looking for her?
He pushed the door open a bit more, and Katia lifted her head. She saw it was him and turned away to look back down at the floor.
“What do you want?” she questioned with a monotonous tone.
“To check on you?” He entered the room and walked quickly over to her. “You can move,” he instructed her, knowing that Weston would have had her frozen to the spot.
“I’m fine. Leave,” Katia was still not looking at him, and even more worrisome was that she continued not to move. He wondered whether the spell controlling her been changed after she’d tried to attack Weston last time he was here.