Jackal's Pride (Seven Deadly Book 2), page 3
The wind ceased, and it became eerily quiet. When I came to a clearing, I stopped running and gazed around. My breath was visible in front of me.
“I don’t see anyone.” Gavin chimed in standing next to a huge boulder that covered the side of the cave wall. I ignored him. The ass was always trying to get ahead of me.
It was strange though. I clearly saw the chain lead into this cave, and yet I couldn’t sense anyone other than Gavin and me. The presence of an entity was hard to miss, hence my confusion.
“Did Newt give us this opportunity to be alone?” Gavin chuckled in that sly, blunt manner of his that I hated.
To be fair, I actually didn’t mind Gavin when we were playing a game of cards and he wasn’t leering at me, but that didn’t happen much.
I fought the urge to cringe as I walked around. “There’s something we’re missing…” I said more to myself than him, but hey, if he managed to figure something out, I wasn’t going to complain. In the end, all that mattered was who collared Jackal first.
“I can show you what you’ve been missing,” he went on.
Ugh. I exhaled, catching sight of him coming closer. “One more step, and I’ll neuter you.”
“Don’t know what it is.” He shook his head and flashed his fangs. “I can’t stop, not until I finally taste you.”
My head snapped to the right. It was faint, but I sensed another presence. “Did you sense that?” I said in a hushed tone.
“Your heart pounding?” he asked huskily. “Yes, I do.”
I shoved him away as I stepped to my right and examined the rocks near the wall. Even with my enhanced night vision, it was hard to make out what might lie around the jagged edges. I materialized a flashlight and shone it on what appeared to be broken fragments. Now that I got a closer inspection, it wasn’t debris at all. Leaning down, I could see that the destruction was deliberate. It was like someone smashed together thousands of rocks and left them there. Overtime they managed to form together, but you could still see the cracks where they’d all once been separated. Someone that could smash all these huge ass boulders together like this had to either be extremely strong or extremely big or both.
I leaned away and materialized the collar to study it. “Gavin, do these collars lengthen any more than this?” I held it up.
He squinted his eyes before smirking. “It’s magic, Maureen. Once it gets close enough to the neck, it automatically latches on.”
I nodded, satisfied. “Rightttt.”
I gripped it tight but made no plan to dematerialize it. I had no clue where Jackal was, but I knew he was here. Closing my eyes, I reclaimed my fate’s vision and immediately I saw the glowing black chain all over the place in the cave along with mine and Gavin’s. I followed it around and caught sight of it leading right next to where I stood. I poked my head on the other side of the rocks, but I still couldn’t make out anything. Waving the flashlight around the small space, I realized that there was no way I’d search for a notorious entity beneath a demon-made boulder. If it weren’t for the chain leading inside the small hole, I definitely wouldn’t dip my head into it to check.
“What are you doing?” Gavin muttered behind me, no doubt staring at my ass in the air.
I hoped that maybe there was some sort of drop off underneath us where Jackal was possibly hiding. What else would explain why an entity went missing for so long? I didn’t care—I gasped as I caught sight of something black right about the same time I touched something frozen… Was it fur? My eyes widened at the size of him. “A puppy?” I mumbled almost sweetly. Until said puppy opened one bright green eye and peered into mine. The wave of power that awakened with that gesture sent both chills and heat slithering up my spine. All that power that was hidden came bursting through the cracks of the cave. So, so much.
I staggered back just as the rocks I stood on flew apart and sent me flying. I was so caught off guard that I landed on my ass. “That’s not a fucking puppy!” Gavin hissed. I glanced up in time to see the giant gorilla tumbling out of the wreckage he created. He wasn’t a puppy anymore, but I recognized the raging emeralds staring around the cave. His eyes lit up in the darkness, a bright contrast to the dark fur. He roared, and I shivered right before I remembered the reason I came here.
My gaze flickered to Gavin right about the time his eyes lit up toward the gorilla. “That’s the Jackal? He’s mine.”
When Gavin jumped with the collar in his hand, the gorilla backhanded him like he weighed an ounce. Gavin smacked into the cave wall with an oomph! The gorilla rounded on me and roared, drool dripping from his teeth and lips. He was way bigger than the average gorilla.
“You took me by surprise there,” I told him as I gripped the collar tighter. “But let’s get this over with, shall we?”
I jumped, then faded just as his giant hand came after me. I re-faded back behind him, but he was smart. His body, while huge, swiveled around easily and wrapped his hand around my torso. Jesus. I faded out of his grip and re-faded on top of him. I brought the collar down over him, and the rest was history. A flash of light sparkled around the collar as it wrapped around his neck and sealed.
“Easy,” I whispered surprising myself at how gentle I sounded. The collar shimmered, and the gorilla slumped forward. I cast a grin to where Gavin had fallen to see that he was gone. My lips stretched wider. The vamp most likely left the moment he was thrown.
Standing on one of his shoulders, I glanced down at the panting gorilla. I expected more of a fight from a raging animal. Collaring him was too easy, nothing like Fear or Harvest. I jumped down and faced him.
“Can you understand me?” I asked, and two huge emerald eyes blinked back at me before the gorilla dropped on his behind and rapidly shrunk. I watched in fascination as he shed his fur and smooth caramel skin took its place. So he had a human form after all.
I hadn’t realized I was shining the light on him mouth agape until the beam hit his exposed cock.
Holy mother of—
Although he shrunk a lot, he was a huge man—everywhere. My brain went on vacation as I got lost in my thoughts. The man before me was perfectly sculpted, like a bronze god. Could this really be Jackal? I expected his hair to be hanging over his shoulders and fuzzy. Instead, it was barely an inch long. And those eyes…
Stop staring between his legs.
I blinked then coughed to clear my voice. “Are you really Jackal?” I asked.
He squinted down at himself, propping his elbow on his knee he just bent up. Just as quickly as he did, he practically whimpered as he grabbed his chest and leaned forward. “Stop! Stop! STOP BEATING!”
What?
I only understood him because I knew every language known to mankind, even those that were lost. He was definitely using something from the olden times.
And the way he grabbed his chest, pounding and howling, saying stop beating… Did he not want to be alive? If that was the case, it must suck to be an entity and live forever.
I squatted next to him. “Jackal?” I waved my hand around, throwing a bit of power toward him. In the process, I fed him languages. I couldn’t stand the guttural sounds and barbaric words he was using.
“Stop making me feel.” Ah, much better. He spoke in English this time. I didn’t even think he noticed what I did. Hell, I didn’t think he was speaking to me.
I sighed and dropped my head between my knees. After a split second of sulking, I lifted my head and tapped his shoulder. He stiffened and his eyes bore into mine. “Why did you wake me?” He lunged for me, but the second he did the collar glimmered. He howled in pain and pulled back. “What the—” He noticed the collar. “What is this?” His eyes cut into mine again, leaking with fury. “What did you do to me?”
“Are you Jackal?” I ignored his question.
He bared his teeth. They were extremely white and perfect for someone who had been asleep for so long—perks of being an entity I was sure. “Who’s asking?”
“I’m the Grim Reaper’s daughter,” I informed him impatiently.
“How can a skeleton…?” His words died off as he glanced up at me. “What year is it?”
I smirked. “Would you even know if I told you? Did they even keep track of years before you hid up here and slept?”
He scoffed, then I saw the moment he finally took me in. I saw the way his eyes skimmed over me slowly. I was fully clothed head to toe so there wasn’t much he could see, but one thing was for sure. He could tell that I was the opposite gender. He fixated on the gap of my thighs with a curious intensity. His nostrils briefly flared as he inhaled the air around me. Lifting his gaze back to my face, he asked again, “Why did you wake me?” He rubbed his chest every few seconds like it hurt. Strange.
“A bet,” I said absentmindedly, placing my chin in my palm. “You can go back to sleep now.”
“No,” he said so swiftly I blinked at him.
“No?”
He yanked at the collar around his neck, his bright gaze now terribly dark as he scorned me. “You did this to me and expect me to let you go?”
I laughed. “Well, I was going to take it off but with that attitude...”
“Do you know who you’re messing with?”
“Jackal?” A woman could hope she caught the right guy.
“Exactly.” He gritted his teeth, then squinted at my chest with a menacing twitch to his lips. Seconds went by before his smile vanished, and he studied me angrily. “Why aren’t you sick?” He glanced down at his hand. “Why isn’t my plague working?”
My nostrils flared. “Did you just try to give me the plague?” I hissed and stood. He did the same. Now that he was standing I could see how big he truly was. I was by no means a short woman at almost six feet tall. I was surrounded by my brothers and father who were all way taller than me but nothing made me feel as tiny as Jackal did. “Good thing the collar keeps you from hurting me then!” I shouted at him. “What an asshole!” I said even though my actions started this mess. “And just so you know, I’m an entity as well. I’m immortal so if I caught the plague, I’d suffer for a bit and move on.”
“Asshole?” His jaw jumped. I could tell that he was clenching his teeth through his closed mouth. “You come here and do this!” He yanked the collar. “You wake me from my slumber, and it’s wrong for me to want to snuff the life out of you right here and now?”
“I was going to take it off after I won the bet!” I yelled.
“Bet?” His nostrils flared before he growled again. Oh, boy. If I thought he was mad before, mentioning the word ‘bet’ made him ten times worse. “I’m going to fucking squeeze the life out of you the moment I get the chance.”
I laughed haughtily. “Thanks for the info. There’s no way I’m taking that collar off now. I guess that makes you my bitch boy.”
Oh man, the look on his face. He really wanted to kill me. Snuffing and squeezing the life out of me wasn’t going to be enough. Then just as quick as his anger came, it disappeared. He stumbled back, looking between us. His brows lifted as if he just realized something. “This is anger?” I didn’t know if he was talking to himself again or me so I didn’t answer. He gaped at me incredulously. “I’m angry?”
I squinted my eyes. “I can’t answer that, but from the looks of it—you do seem mighty pissed off.”
His pupils dilated, the force of his anger darkening his green eyes. His brows furrowed together as he hissed. “It’s the hearts—they’re making me feel.”
His mouth twisted around the words like they tasted bad. He glanced up when a snort escaped my mouth. What the hell! I wasn’t Joy—she snorted, not me. I was bad news wrapped in leather ninety-nine percent of the time.
“What are you the fucking Grinch?” I scoffed, regaining my composure. “Going on about feelings…” I said it in a little kid voice for the full Cindy Lou Who effect.
“Something about you really pisses me off, and I’ve never disliked anyone before,” he said it like it was important that I knew this.
I shrugged. News flash—most people didn’t like me.
“Take this thing off of me.” He yanked on the collar again.
I rolled my neck and glanced at his giant cock hanging between his legs. Giving a nod of appreciation, I said, “Nice dick.”
There was silence. Then finally, without covering himself, he said, “Are all women in this time as crass as you?”
Suddenly, I remembered Jackal was no doubt as old as my father. Which meant he existed since the beginning of time. A period when men scooped up maidens—caveman style—to mate and claim.
Disgusting.
“Pretty much,” I told him.
“Revolting.”
His words mimicked my thoughts. Anger boiled low in my stomach. So it wasn’t okay for women to be tactless yet he no doubt didn’t bat an eye to men being that way. It didn’t matter that I thought he was disgusting as well, but I clearly had a problem with him thinking that way about me.
“Goodbye, jackass,” I muttered as I turned around.
He grabbed me by the shoulder, twisting me back toward him. “Not until you take this off.”
I lifted my shoulders. “Hmm.”
“Don’t play games.”
I smirked. “Why because you don’t know how to play them?”
Even through the thick coat I wore, his touch was scalding, almost blistering. Just how hot did his body temperature run? His grip tightened. “I don’t play games.”
“Then what do you do?”
My question caught him off guard. He peered off into the distance almost as if he was unsure himself. “I did what I was created to do.”
“Okay,” I dragged out.
“And I’ve paid for it ever since.” I gave him a puzzling glance until his eyes moved over mine and hardened. “Which is why I won’t let another woman mess with me again.”
Was he scorned by an old lover? I didn’t care, but I was nosy as hell. I got into all of my siblings’ business. I found it my duty to be that one that had to know everything.
He peered behind me. “Where’d the vampire get to? I know there were two of you.”
“He ran off the moment you sent him flying.”
His brows shot up followed with his smirk. “Men are different in this time.”
For once, I could agree. “You are correct. Most are pathetic in this day.”
“So, daughter of the Grim Reaper.” He stepped into my personal space. How did he smell like a cozy campfire in the frigid cold out here? “Take this collar off my neck, and I’ll spare your life.”
I placed my hands on my hips, seconds from laughing my ass off. “Try hurting me.” His vein protruded from his neck, and I thought briefly of running my fingertips over it. Something told me this bronze bully would feel like fire against my flesh. Chills broke out over me.
“Don’t make an enemy out of me,” he warned.
Too late for that. “Don’t pretend you won’t try to harm me the moment I set you free.”
“You said you were an entity.”
I was bored with this. If I let it continue, he would go on and on and on…
“As interesting as this has been, I’m going to leave you be. Go ahead and sleep. I’ll stop by another time and take off the collar when you’re no longer glaring at me like you want to pick my bones from your teeth.”
“Don’t you—”
“Adios.”
Chapter 2
Jackal
It wasn’t her voice, or her presence, or the vampire that brought me back from my eternal hibernation. It was her touch across my frozen fur, unfazed by the surrounding climate. Light flowed from her fingertips and seeped beneath my eyelids. She summoned life when I had wished for none. Something so vivid, so soft and so warm shouldn’t have come from the likes of the woman that had left me with a collar around my neck.
I wasn’t aware I knew the difference between soft and hard or cold and warm until the moment I touched her skin.
For a brief moment before I awakened completely, I sensed something gentle inside me. Tranquility until the heartbeats roared and thundered in my ears. With it returned the anger and restlessness. I tore my way out of my nest and confronted my intruders.
I didn’t have to leave the cave to know the world was different. The way the air slithered across my bare skin told me enough. The Underworld was different. As was everything in it.
My words… They were different, and I didn’t know how that was.
The Grim Reaper’s daughter was gone, her erratic presence left me in a void I’d never known. Before the hearts, there were never any emotions to embrace and live through.
I stood there too long, right where she left me. The heartbeats became stronger. It was maddening to hear so many beats over and over. I wondered if I even had a heart before the one hundred and thirty-seven that now resided somewhere inside me. My ears roared with their out of sync thumps. I placed my palm against one ear as if it would help. It didn’t.
I glowered at the place she stood. The emptiness sent a rush of adrenaline through my veins. My body twitched, and my breath was heavy. How dare she do this to me? First the witch, now Grim’s daughter.
For once the anger I’d learned and fought away with sleep from the one hundred and thirty-seven wasn’t theirs but mine. The impulse to scream and tear something to shreds was from me.
I’m mad. I wanted to say aloud again so someone would know too, but even if I told someone they wouldn’t get it. They wouldn’t understand why this was new to me. Everyone feels. Everyone but me.
Not anymore…
The one hundred and thirty-seven wasted no time sending me to my knees. My head tipped forward, eyes wide, but I couldn’t see anything but images of people hacking up blood. Although a memory, I clutched my chest as I felt a random person’s coughing. Fire exploded in my chest and with it came the agony.
This hurt was one reason I forced myself into dormancy. The pain was unbearable.
