Pack Challenge

Chapter Eight

TOC

Sara paced back and forth inside Miki’s tiny apartment. She was anxious, tense, and extremely horny. This seemed odd, considering her current situation.

As soon as they left Marrec’s shop, Angelina had dragged her to Miki’s. After banging on the door for several minutes, a clearly just-awakened Miki answered, “What?”

Angelina looked surprised, “My god, where you actually asleep?”

“Yeah,” she replied sarcastically, “I was actually asleep.”

“Well, isn’t that rare.” Angelina stated honestly. She had pushed her way past Miki, dragging Sara behind her. “You’re not going to believe this shit,” she announced to Miki. And before Sara knew it she was forced to act like a runway model, parading back and forth in Miki’s tiny, book-filled living room to demonstrate how her limp had all but disappeared.

By this point, Miki was fully awake, “Honey, exactly what did that guy do to you?”

“I’m not answering that question again.” Sara had given them the barest of details on her sexual exploits the night before. She wasn’t about to go into how she’d screamed and writhed under the man’s tongue like a horny dog.

“Would you focus,” Miki snapped. “There has to be a reason you’re suddenly…okay.”

Sara had stopped modeling and faced her two friends, “But I’m not okay. I’m dying.”

“What?!”

But Angelina cut off the potential insanity. “You are not dying, you idiot.” Angelina looked at her friend from the safety of Miki’s old couch, “In fact, you look as healthy as a fucking horse.”

“Which brings us back to the point,” Miki cut in. “What did he do to you?”

“I don’t know. Nothing?”

As if rehearsed, both Angelina and Miki raised one eyebrow each as they stared at their in-denial friend.

Sara sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, hoping to hide her hardening nipples. Christ, just the thought of him! “Look, I’m not telling you about… you know.”

Miki rolled her big brown eyes, “I don’t want to know where his tongue was…”

“Dude!”

Miki barreled on, “But did he give you anything? Any pills? Anything to drink? I mean, fuck, it was a rave.”

Sara thought back to that night. She remembered him rubbing her thigh, kissing her thigh, licking her… shit.

Sara turned and charged into the bathroom. Miki and Angelina close behind. As they walked in, Sara already had her khakis down around her ankles and was turning to the mirror to examine the wound she had cleaned off and slapped a large bandage on just that morning. With one move she tore the bandage off, revealing her old scar, ripped through with four ragged lines.

“Holy shit.” Angelina gasped as Miki knelt by Sara and looked at her thigh. After several moments her eyes locked with Sara’s.

Miki shrugged, “They look like animal marks.”

“Bullshit!” Sara barked, “How would you know that anyway?”

Miki looked exasperated, “Hello. I read everything.”

Miki left the bathroom, and Sara could hear her rummaging around her apartment, pawing through the huge number of books. After a few minutes, Miki returned with a huge, dusty tome. “Here.”

She pushed a book at Sara and Angelina. The two friends looked at page 234 of the Encyclopedia of Mammals and saw a huge paw print. “Front paw print of 6-year-old gray wolf, actual size,” read the caption.

“You see?” Miki demanded.

“See what?” Sara demanded back.

“It can’t be,” Angelina muttered, still staring at the book.

“Exactly.” Sara momentarily felt vindicated.

“The paw mark on her leg is much bigger.”

“It is not a paw mark!” Sara barked angrily as she reached down to pull her pants back up. “You are both insane!” She pushed past her two friends, “I’m outta here.”

Sara headed for the door, but both Miki and Angelina grabbed her just as she stepped outside.

“Oh, no you don’t, missy.” Angelina pulled her back in while Miki slammed the door. “Until we know what’s going on, you’re not going anywhere.”

And that had been four hours ago. Her friends still had no answers, although a lot of ridiculous theories were running rampant. So, Sara paced and paced and paced. She was starting to feel like the walls were closing in on her. Like she was trapped. The apartment was so tiny. And she had all this energy. She just wanted to go for a run or something. She just needed some fresh air. What could be the harm of that?

Angelina and Miki had gone into the bedroom to argue in whispers. So, a few minutes on the porch wouldn’t hurt anybody.

Sara silently moved to the door. She eased it open and slipped out into the night.

Zach was about to howl in frustration when he got the call. He had been searching for her for hours. He knew she was with her friends, but he lost her scent once she left Marrec’s. He tried her house. The two restaurants in town and the local movie theater.

Then Conall called. “You better get over here.”

It turned out that “here” was the club he first saw her in. He had gone there earlier, but it was a quiet evening with just a few patrons hanging out.

But when he rode his bike up, Conall was standing outside with Kelly and Julie. Standing with them was a small group of patrons, wearing their requisite Goth black and leather. They all looked like they were waiting for something, but he was afraid to ask what.

He got off his bike and walked up to Conall. “Well? Where is she?”

“In there.” Conall motioned to the club. “But you better hurry up. The owner’s about to call the cops. I’ll hold him off as long as I can.”

Zach headed toward the entrance. He heard Conall’s voice behind him, “Be careful, Zach.”

Zach walked into the club and right into a bar fight. Several men were already knocked out and bloody on the floor. But at least six other men were still fighting. He looked for Sara assuming she’d be in the middle of it. She wasn’t.

But in seconds he picked up her scent. He was shocked he hadn’t caught it five miles back, it was that strong. He looked across the room. She was sitting on the stool watching the men fight. It hit Zach like a thunderbolt. They were fighting over her. And she was letting them. In fact, she looked as if she were thoroughly enjoying herself.

The men fighting were bikers. Gang members she’d probably known over the years who never paid much attention to her. Until now.

Okay. This is bad, he thought to himself. But it could be worse.

Sara looked up from the fighting men in front of her. She cast around and he realized that she had picked up his scent. She turned and looked right at him and he felt his heart stop. She was beautiful before but now…

She slid off the stool she had been perched on and walked toward him, expertly avoiding the tangle of bloody men.

As she came close to him, she licked her lips and Zach wasn’t sure how much more he could take before he lost the control he was barely holding on to.

Sara stood in front of him, a smile sliding across her full lips. She reached up and kissed him. Nothing fancy. Just her lips touching his. She just as suddenly pulled away from him.

“Have fun.” She spat. She moved away and he was hit from every side by six bikers who hated his guts.

Okay. That was really bitchy, Sara thought as she watched Zach hit the floor. Every man she’d touched that evening had some how ended up in this huge brawl in the middle of her favorite club. And she knew that kissing Zach would send the remainder of these idiots his way. And yet she felt he kind of deserved it.

Christ what was wrong with her? She had been out of control since she walked out of Miki’s house.

Well, actually, it started off innocently enough. She went for a walk along the highway, enjoying the chilly night air against her skin and the smell of the trees. Then she’d heard music and realized she was nearing the club. She figured she should go back to Miki’s first; let her know she was okay. But, she reasoned, a soda would really hit the spot after such a long walk. So she went to the club first. But as soon as she walked in she knew something was different.

In the past, she’d walked in and out of Skelly’s without anyone ever noticing her unless she was with Angelina. But as soon as she walked in tonight, all activity stopped. And every man in the place turned to look at her.

At first, she panicked. She wasn’t used to being the center of attention. But as she forced herself to move through the club, she realized that she wasn’t scared. In fact, she felt remarkably confident. She walked with her head held up and looked every man that looked at her straight in the eye. Daring them to make a move.

That started off pretty simply too. A couple of bikers she knew bought her a round of drinks that she didn’t touch. But rival gang members pushed them out of the way to talk to Sara. And that was all she wrote. She worried that guns might be drawn, but it seemed that all the men felt the need to fight mano y mano.

So she’d sat on a stool and let them. Until she saw Zach. No. That’s wrong. She didn’t see him at first. She sensed him. Then she smelled him. He smelled primal and oh, so male. Her mouth actually watered.

She debated whether to ignore him but, she thought, Why shouldn’t the fucker fight for me too?” And that’s where the kiss came in. She knew she had him as soon as she licked her lips.

But she was starting to worry. Zach wasn’t coming up out of the throng of men. And she had no intention of going home with anyone else tonight.

She was about to start dragging men off of him herself, until she heard an angry snarl and saw a biker she knew only as Ray fly by her. Then another. Then another.

In less than three minutes, Zach had wiped the floor with the biggest, toughest bikers she had ever known.

When he was done he turned and faced her. He was breathing deeply and his face was battered and bloody, already starting to swell in some spots. His lip had been split and it was dripping blood. She had the overwhelming desire to lick the blood away.

Looking at his face, she had the feeling he was about to take her right there. On the dance floor. Fuck her brains out in front of everybody. Not that she’d complain.

Zach didn’t know whether to fuck her or to soak her head in the toilet. Both seemed like reasonable reactions to what she had just pulled.

But he smelled his Pack behind him.

“Well, well. What a mess, huh Zach?”

He gritted his teeth at Casey’s smug voice. Maybe he would fuck Sara and put Casey’s head in the toilet.

Casey leaned against the bar and stared across at Sara.

“How ya doin’, honey? You doin’ okay?”

Sara didn’t answer her. Instead she just stared. At first Casey was smiling, but when Sara didn’t turn away, Casey lost her smile. She wanted, no needed, Sara to turn away.

Without turning from her, Casey spoke to Zach, “You better put a leash on your girl there, Zach. I’d hate to have to break her in so soon.”

He’d kill Casey first before he let the bitch touch her. “Breaking her in” was the euphemism they all used for grabbing a Beta around the throat and bringing them down until they showed their belly and learned their place. But apparently Sara wasn’t about to be anybody’s bitch. He caught the woman in mid-flight as she was diving over the bar; her hands were outstretched and she was reaching for Casey’s throat.

Sara just didn’t like the way Casey was looking at her. It was like she was challenging her or something. And she was standing a little too close to Zach for her liking. In fact, the bitch was just pissing Sara off. She wanted to hurt her. She wanted to see the bitch bleed.

So what’s stopping you? She thought, just before she’d dived for her.

But Zach stopped her. “Sonofabitch!”

Casey didn’t move, but she was clearly rattled. Her eyes were wide as she watched Sara. And Sara seemed enough of a threat that Yates stepped between them.

Zach luckily had a good grip on her, because she was losing it, “You fucking whore! Break me in?! FUCK YOU!”

Zach pulled her back. He wrapped his arms around her body. She was shaking, but it wasn’t from fear. “Easy,” he whispered in her ear. “Easy.”

His voice seemed to soothe her. He thought he might just be able to get her out of there without any more problems. But Casey, not wanting to show weakness to her females, continued to stare at Sara.

Sara pulled away from Zach and went for Casey again. He caught her on the bar and dragged her back. He tossed the woman over his shoulder and headed to the exit. Sara was still screaming and banging her fists against his back demanding to be let go so that she could “…finish the little bitch!”

He motioned to Conall who tossed the truck keys to him. He caught them in mid-air, went outside to the truck, threw Sara in, got in after her, and tore out of the parking lot.

Sara wasn’t exactly sure when she turned feral, but she was curious to see where this would lead. She’d never actually “lost it” before. Miki lost it all the time. She popped off continually, like a little firecracker. Angelina seemed like the most rational of the three, but everyone in town knew she had a temper that had caused some men to actually move out of Texas. No, it was a well-known fact that Sara was the rational one. She was the one people came to for sage-like advice. She was the one that people knew they could rely on since Miki might forget and Angelina just wouldn’t care. She was Golden Retriever Sara.

Until tonight. Tonight she was Drunk-Sara without the liquor. And she finally had to admit, Drunk-Sara was fucking scary.

When the pickup truck pulled up to her house, Sara was immediately disappointed. She wanted to hit another club. Go to Austin and scare some city-folk. She sure didn’t want to slip into her comfy clothes and watch TV for the rest of the night.

Now, if Zach wanted to keep her busy for a few hours… well that was completely different. But by the look on his face when he stopped the truck, his staying might be a remote possibility.

She sighed and waited to see his next move.