Chapter 16: Sixteen

Kinsey watched as Mandy left through the front door. She didn’t really blame Mandy for needing some time away. The three of them had been glued to each other since they entered the cabin on Sunday. While it would have been nice spending this hump day doing exactly that, Kinsey knew they all needed a break to sort through the sudden waterfall of emotions their animals forced upon them. Life just took a dramatic turn for them all.

Kinsey poured herself a fresh cup of coffee and headed to her bedroom. They had been so busy exploring each other’s bodies, they never took a moment to unpack Mandy and Fitz’s clothes completely. Not that it mattered much. With as much sex as the three of them had over the past couple of days, they hadn’t really needed clothes. Of course, even with as much as they may have wanted to remain that way, eventually they would need to mingle again with the rest of the world, and for the most part, that would require clothing. If only the rest of the world were as comfortable with their bodies as the paranormal world.

Kinsey set her cup on her dresser, pausing a moment to look at herself in the mirror. She wore one of Fitz’s T-shirts and nothing else, but now pulled it over her head and off, tossing it onto the dresser. She stood there, staring at her naked body, her gaze fixed on the two marks on her shoulders. The one on her right was just a bit smaller than the one on the left, but both left bruises that would not fade soon. She could still feel the ache from where Mandy and Fitz marked her, felt the electrical charge still from those bites, the bites of a destined mate.

Or rather, destined mates.

She now had two lovers, two life partners, two others with which to share every little thing in her life. She would never be alone. She took a deep breath as panic gripped her in its cold clutches, threatening to undo her with the unknowns of her future. What the hell was she thinking? How could this ever work? Why was she so willing to share another woman’s man? Yet, it was more than that. She wasn’t just sharing Fitz. Her panther had wanted Mandy as well. She was mated to a couple, not just a person. Lucky for me that couple was already a couple before my panther became greedy. She wondered how Mandy felt about it all. In the two days they spent exploring each other’s bodies, they never discussed the more practical aspects of what their relationship would be going forward. The sex was great, of course, but sex was only a small part of any relationship. She wondered what boundaries needed to be established, how they would function as a couple with three people, what rules needed to be created to protect each of them individually as well as the three of them as a unit.

Then Kinsey paused as she stared down at her left hand. Would she get a wedding band? She already knew she could never gain Fitz’s last name. Legally, she would never be seen as his wife. Her heart ached at that realization, knowing that many would see her as the interloper attempting to break into another woman’s marriage. A home wrecker. She took a deep breath, forcing the tears that threatened to spill to stop their pooling. She knew she wasn’t the one forcing her way into another’s marriage. Mandy pursued her. Left Draven Falls to come find her and make Kinsey her mate. Mandy brought her husband here, a man she knew Kinsey had loved since high school. There had been no hesitation, no regret in the days since they both marked Kinsey. There had only been contentment and peace, but that was in the sanctuary of her cabin. Reality was easy to ignore when it didn’t slap you in the face when you sat at dinner in some fancy restaurant or sat together in a movie theater or walked hand in hand in a park. Reality was easy to ignore when you didn’t notice the disgusted looks from passersby who didn’t like the choices you made about the ones you loved. Reality was easy to ignore as long as you stayed hidden.

But they couldn’t stay hidden. Fitz had a life in Draven Falls. Mandy had a family. They all had lives to live, and they couldn’t remain locked away in Kinsey’s cabin forever. Hell, they probably had already remained hidden longer than they should. It surprised her that Dimitri hadn’t pounded on her cabin door by now making sure they were all right. They also still had to deal with Daniel Everest. Fitz was with Dimitri now trying to figure out their next moves. The fact that Fitz was ready to take the alpha position of his family spoke volumes about his love for her and Mandy and the future he foresaw for them.

She heard the front door open as she reached for her coffee cup. Either Mandy decided to cut her walk short or Kinsey had stood there lost in thought longer than she realized. Perhaps now would be a good time to talk to Mandy about some things rambling around in her head, try to get a grip on what they needed to figure out before they walked into a future stumbling. Kinsey had always been that way, wanting everything figured out, a plan in place before going on any adventure. She liked adventures, loved spontaneity, as long as it was planned out and structured.

She saw no need in getting dressed at that point, not even throwing on a T-shirt. She knew she’d just be naked again soon enough. She ran her hand through her blond hair, thinking how similar she was to Mandy. Fitz truly does have a type. She laughed softly to herself at the reality of her thought as she turned toward the door to talk to Mandy. At least, she could get Mandy’s perspective before Fitz returned home. Two women living under the same roof, each used to doing things their way, might need to be sorted through before bringing the man into the mix. Why confuse Fitz at this point?

She lifted her cup to her lips to take another sip, then froze, the cup inches from her lips, as a burly man with dark hair and a bulbous nose stepped into her bedroom doorway. Another man, just as thick and ugly, stood behind him. Fear embraced her as she stood, fighting through her panic to react, but unable to do so. She suddenly regretted not tossing on a shirt. Why hadn’t the wards warned her someone was on her property?

The first man took a few more steps toward her, reaching out to grasp her. Just as his callused hand wrapped around her wrist, a dam broke within, and Kinsey screamed, her coffee cup falling to the floor. She tried to swing, to lash out and punch, but the man was taller and stronger, his grip on her arm sure. She collapsed, hoping her dead weight would slow down what she knew would happen next. She felt her panther growl within her, felt the first shift as her nails grew and her tawny fur slid out from under her skin.

“Ah, no,” the man growled. “There won’t be any of that. We know what you are, and if you even think about shifting into your perverted animal, I’ll slit whichever throat my knife finds first. I don’t care if it’s yours or that damn animal’s.” He jerked her, her foot sliding across the floor into the spilt coffee, smearing it into a long line. “Now, be a good little bitch and don’t cause us any trouble.”

Kinsey forced herself to her feet, jerking her arm out of his grasp as she glared around at both of them. “Oh, trust me,” she growled. “I intend to be the biggest bitch you’ve ever dealt with.” She reached out, gripping his face just under his eyes, and shifted, her nails digging into his face and downward as she brought her knee up into his groin.

The man screamed as he clutched at his face, doubling over and falling onto the floor. Kinsey turned toward the other man, hissing as she continued to shift. His eyes went wide as he witnessed her bones popping as her panther shoved its way out of her, taking over. She hissed again, driving the man back through the doorway as his partner rolled on the ground, groaning. She needed to get out of the cabin. Once she hit the outside, she could race off, and they would never be able to catch her. She saw no guns, no real weapons of any kind. The arrogance of men thinking her a weak female they could easily snatch.

“Grab her!” the man on the ground screamed.

“How?” the other man squealed as he fell against the back wall knocking the picture of a Florida sunset to the ground, glass shattering and flying everywhere. “You fucking grab her if you want her.”

“You fuckin….”

She heard the other man scampering to his feet. She needed to get out of there quickly or she would be trapped.

“Just grab her, damn it!”

Kinsey leaped into the air at the man pressed against the wall in the hallway, her front paws hitting him full in the chest as she hissed at him. The man screamed, trying to vanish into the wall as he attempted to push the massive panther away. Kinsey dug her claws into him, causing him to shriek in pain, and shoved him to the side and to the ground on top of the broken glass as she pushed herself toward the front of the cabin. If she was lucky, they left the front door open.

She barreled down the hallway to the kitchen and living room, her claws gouging into the wood flooring. They hadn’t left the door open. Damn it! Kinsey skidded to a halt, frantically searching the living room for another way out. Off to the west, a window let in the afternoon sun, a small chair under the window. It was her only option for escape. This is going to hurt.

Noises could be heard from down the hall, jerking Kinsey’s attention that way for only a brief second. She shook her head, snorting once in a way to brace herself, and then, she took a running start toward the window. She leaped onto the chair, hunching down to put all her strength into her back legs, and then launched herself through the window. Glass shattered, slicing into her fur and flesh as the wood frame splintered, slivers of wood stabbing into her as she sailed through the wreckage to land hard on the ground outside. She hit the earth with a loud mewl of pain, crumbling in a heap. Pain sliced her right leg, but she gritted her teeth and bore down on it as she forced herself back to her feet. She put her weight down on her left leg to put some distance between her and the cabin, but something, some bolt of white light, struck her in the side, sending her back into a heap on the ground.

“I will say this about you vile creatures,” a man said from behind her. “You never cease to surprise me. Drug her and let’s get out of here.”

Kinsey lifted her head and saw a tall man with slick gray hair standing a few feet away, his hands clasped behind his back. Beside him stood a scrawny man with greasy dark hair and a sneer that twisted his face. Kinsey could smell the magic on him. A warlock. But that didn’t make sense. She assumed the other man was Jeremiah Prescott, a man who despised anything paranormal, including witchcraft. What was he doing with a male witch?

Jeremiah sneered at her. “Sometimes, you have to use the tools at your disposal to rid the world of vile creatures such as yourself.” He shrugged. “Lucky for me I did, as you seem to have added to the protection around your cabin. Without Enoch here, I would have walked right into your wards, and then, we wouldn’t be having this pleasant conversation.” He shrugged. “Sometimes, we have to get dirty in order to clean up the world.”

Kinsey hissed at him, but Jeremiah just laughed. Then, Kinsey felt a pinch in her neck as someone behind her stuck her in the neck with a needle. Seconds later, blackness swallowed her.