Page 20 of Stolen Choices
“Katia, you can move,” he tried again.
She raised her head—her eyes were dull and lifeless. She raised her left arm up in the air and then lowered it before looking back down.
“Happy?”
“Stand up.” Jackson needed more from her. She had some spirit left, but this was not the woman he’d brought here. Katia instantly got to her feet, her body unable to disobey his instructions. She still didn’t look at him or even speak this time. “Look at me,” he ordered again, and she was forced to raise her eyes from the floor at his instruction. “What happened to you?”
“You don’t get to control my power of speech,” she snapped and now stared at him so intensely it sent a shiver down his spine.
He had to save her. He had to do everything in his power to rescue her. Why did he bring her here in the first place? A flash of pain shot through his head, and he bent over holding his head in his hands.
“Fuck!” he exclaimed and rubbed his temple.
Katia didn’t move. She stayed as still as a statue. However, when he eventually found himself able to get back up, he saw tears streaming down her face.
“I wish you understood,” she told him.
The pain increased until it was unbearable. He couldn’t stand her looking at him anymore.
“Look down,” he ordered like the wimp he felt he was becoming.
Was he dying? Was something developing inside him? A cancerous growth sending him slowly insane. Why was he feeling sorrow for a woman from a pack that would kill him given half the chance? A pack that trusted humans…humans were evil. They killed his parents. They slaughtered them, and Nuka was the only one to come to his rescue. Nuka saved him. He owed his loyalty to the polar bear, but here he was feeling sorry for a member of a rival pack. Jackson had brought her here, for god’s sake. He was a complete fool. Something was obviously growing inside him and twisting his mind from the righteous path—it was the only explanation. He needed to get out of here. It was wrong to keep coming back. Katia had worked and even lived with humans. She was the one in the wrong and deserved this. It was the only explanation that made sense to him. It was the only one possible.
He turned on his heels and started to stomp from the room not caring if the guards discovered him.
“Please take me with you,” Katia called to him. She didn’t move, though—he hadn’t told her she could. He’d simply told her to stand. “Please.” The last plea broke her voice and a long sob followed it.
Jackson stopped. His whole body frozen to the spot as if it was him being controlled by magic.
“Human’s come in here and rape you. How can you trust them, Katia?”
He didn’t turn to face her.
“Because they’re not all the same. You only have to visit the Glacial Blood pack to know that. If only you could see how humans like Jane and Isobel interact with us all. They do not fear us or believe we’re wild animals. They live and work in tandem with us. They love us, and in Isobel’s case, she makes love to Zain. She worships him and puts her faith in him. She’ll never betray him as you believe she will.”
“The senator’s daughter?” Jackson turned around and strode purposefully back toward Katia. “She’s probably biding her time until she can finish her father’s work. I’m glad that man is dead. He deserved the death he got.”
“Nuka killed him?” Katia questioned.
“It’s how he got his grandfather back,” Jackson replied.
“You have it all wrong, Jackson,” Katia insisted, still frozen to the spot. She couldn’t move, and he was directly in front of her now.
In fury he pushed her backward up against the wall behind her. He pinned her in place before lowering his forehead against hers.
“I can’t accept that. It has to be this way, or they died in vain,” he almost whispered to her.
“Your parents didn’t die in vain. They created you, and the man you could become if you don’t let Nuka win.”
He pulled his head away from hers and looked down into her eyes. They had a sparkle back in them, and a warmth that filled his heart. Before he could even think about what he was doing, he lowered his lips to Katia’s and pressed a kiss against her mouth. Her body was still under the control of the spell, but he felt her respond to him, and he hadn’t ordered her to. It was of her own free will. They deepened their kiss, her mouth opening and allowing his tongue entry. He twisted his tongue with hers and savored the sweet taste of the tigress. It was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. His cock hardened in his jeans, and he pressed it against her core. The second he did, he felt her body stiffen. He immediately moved away from her until they were both standing breathless on opposite sides of the room. She was a victim of the circumstances he’d put her in, and here he was trying to take advantage of her. She didn’t even have control of her own body.
“Jackson.”
He held his hand up to her, needing more time.
“You didn’t control me then. I chose to kiss you.” Katia brought her hands up to her lips and touched them. “I made a decision about my own body.” Her words were almost said in shock, and her eyes filled with tears. “What is happening to me? I should want to kill you, but instead, I’m letting you kiss me. Have I finally gone insane?”
Something in him flipped, and he prowled back across the room and grabbed Katia’s hand.