Chapter 7
Titus felt like a peeping tom as he concentrated on the security monitor then realized just what he was doing… wasting time. At first, he’d been glad that they had rescued a female shifter in hopes of gaining information that the human hostages wouldn’t have noticed. Shifters could hear voices at a greater distance and their eyesight was sharper too.
Instead of getting the info he needed to go shut down more of Lucca’s franchise… he now found himself nothing more than a glorified babysitter. It also wasn’t helping that his sense of smell was stronger than a normal pack werewolf and that half a bottle of scent cover-up wasn’t nearly enough to keep her heat from affecting him.
Snatching up the phone, he dialed Tasuki’s number and waited impatiently for him to answer.
Tasuki reached in his pocket and pulled out the vibrating cell phone seeing it was the detective department. He had a feeling Titus wasn’t having a good day.
“Too bad,” Tasuki waited for the call to go to voicemail before slipping it back in his pocket so he could finish nailing the protective boards around Kyoko’s portrait. He didn’t care what the misguided shop owner had said about the carbon dating of the paint used in the portrait. They were wrong and he had every intention of taking the painting home before returning to the station.
Titus hung the phone up after giving Tasuki’s voicemail an earful. He was about to stand up and start pacing again when the department phone on his desk rang.
“What,” Titus growled letting his moodiness show.
“It’s Boris… we loaded the five guards into the paddy wagon and everything is going according to plan. Damon helped make sure no one on the force knows what he and Alicia did to the guards, so that’s a go as well.”
Titus nodded, “Good call… that way if we happen to have a spy among us, word won’t get back to Lucca.”
“How’s the little lady doing?” Boris asked hearing the tension in Titus’s voice.
“Awake and being a frustrating little brat,” Titus growled not revealing the fact that he had already seen her human form. He had a feeling the first person that asked him what she looked like, he was going to deck. “She’s refusing to shift but ready and willing to pitch a fit because she’s still locked up. The next time she snaps at me, I have a good notion to shoot her with another tranquilizer dart.”
Boris chuckled, “I wouldn’t be too hard on her. She’s probably used to being pampered as most female werewolves are. Because of her recent treatment, she wants to snarl at every authority figure she can get her hands on.”
“Whose side are you on?” Titus griped
Boris smirked and added, “Plus, being in heat always brings out the fight in them. Sounds to me like you’ve got two choices. Either show her you’re the Alpha by making her shift and get it over with… or just treat her like a lady and hope you get what you need.” With that said, Boris hung up leaving Titus glaring at the receiver.
‘Get what I need?’ Titus mentally ranted feeling his jeans tighten. Boris didn’t have a clue what he needed. What he really needed was to get her out of the building before he blew his cool. Putting the phone down, he leaned back against the desk trying to figure out the best way to go about getting the girl out of his reach as quickly as possible.
With the guards on their way back to Lucca as spies, the department no longer needed the information she might unknowingly have. He could put her on a plane back to wherever she came from and away from him because, he realized, she was only distracting him from what he needed to be doing.
Glancing at the clock, Titus noted that forty minutes had already passed since he left her in the cell with the warning of a time limit. His gaze shifted to the monitor and he felt anger and frustration well up inside of him. She hadn’t moved an inch from the cot to do as he asked… and it was obvious she had no intentions of obeying.
There was no sense in waiting the extra twenty minutes. Boris had been right with his first suggestion… for him to be the Alpha everyone expected him to be and take care of the problem before the problem gets out of hand.
Grinding his teeth together, Titus stormed out of the office and down to the holding cell.
***** Jade lay on the cot thinking about what Tasuki had said before he left. The human thought very highly of this Alpha named Titus and had even hinted to her that Titus was their best shot at freeing any hostages Lucca had. She had to admit that she was thankful for the scent cover-up the Alpha had used on her but she still wasn’t sure she trusted him.
Once she was out of here, she’d hunt down where Lucca was holding Sonia and if she couldn't get her away safely by herself… then she might think about coming back and asking for help.
She looked at the overnight bag seeing the items within. Growing up as the daughter of an Alpha, then the sister of the new Alpha… she was used to being pampered and having most everything money could buy. Too bad they had refused to give her the one thing she wanted most… her freedom and right to choose who she was going to mate with.
What would Sonia do if the tables were turned and Sonia was the one faced with a rescue mission? Jade felt guilt knowing Sonia would have already shifted and tried to enlist Titus’ help in finding her. She lifted her gaze toward the huge clock on the opposite wall seeing that she still had twenty minutes to shower, dress… and swallow her pride.
Having made up her mind, she jumped off the bed started toward the bag but paused mid step when she heard a loud bang followed by the sound of heavy footsteps. Her heartbeat doubled knowing what an angry Alpha smelled like and she glared back at the clock again just too double check the timing. She hadn't counted wrong… she still had twenty minutes.
A low growl started in the back of her throat as she watched Titus fish the keys out of his tight jeans pocket. Her eyes narrowed on his crotch seeing exactly why his jeans were tight. She’d been right to distrust him but he’d been very wrong to underestimate her ability to fight back. Even Lucca’s men had known better than to climb in the cage with her.
Jade backed up and feinted right trying to dart past him as soon as he opened the door but he was too damn fast, slamming it closed behind him.
“Time’s up!” Titus rose to his full height and for the first time since playing Alpha, he truly intended on using the power to its full potential. “Shed your fur now!” his voice sounded like thunder as it echoed through the empty halls.
Jade’s growl intensified in volume to block the order out when she felt his power wash over her like a hot wave. Lunging at him, she dug her claws into any piece of him she could get to, drawing blood with satisfaction. He might be able to make her shift but she’d be damned if she was going down without a fight.
Titus ignored the scratches and reached for her. “You will shift and you will be civilized about it!”
When he grabbed a hold of her, Jade quickly found herself upside down and started struggling as he headed toward the shower. That’s when she noticed the huge bulge right in front of her face. Feeling the hold she had on her wolf form slipping, she reared back then struck, missing his crotch when he almost dropped her but she felt pure satisfaction when her teeth penetrated the jean material and sank into his inner thigh.
“SHIFT!” Titus roared. He suddenly found his hands wrapped around creamy thighs and the scent of her heat hit him hard.
Jade screeched as she jerked her teeth away from his leg feeling like she’d just loosened several of her teeth from shifting during the bite. Balling up her fist, she hit his knee cap as hard as she could then made a face knowing that had hurt her hand worse than it had him.
“Let me go you oversized bully!” she screamed in outrage. If she ever saw Tasuki again… she’d definitely question the naive human’s choice of friends.
It was all Titus could do to keep a hold of her as he forced her into the shower. She had grabbed onto the doorless shower frame, still fighting him in her upside down position. It was when she wrapped one of her long legs around his neck and tried to pull herself up on him that Titus knew if he didn’t get the cold water on fast he would show her who was Alpha in a completely different way.
Jade screamed and yelled, digging her long nails into his flesh. Her scenery suddenly changed when she was swung upright and pushed against the brick wall behind the shower partition. She screamed again when cold water hit her overheated skin.
Trying one more time to gain her freedom, she tightened her fist and hit Titus right in the jaw with every ounce of anger she had. She felt a small amount of satisfaction when the punch sent him crashing into the steel partition of the shower… denting it with the impact.
Titus pushed himself away from the cold steel just as she tried to dart back out of the shower. He quickly moved forward, slamming his palms against the wall and trapping her in the cold spray of water. His power flared again and he smirked when the girl’s knees nearly buckled and she winced in response.
Grabbing the bottle of body wash, he squeezed it, deliberately squirting the soap across her shoulders and all over her hair before tossing it aside. Grabbing the rag off the little rack, he pressed it against her upper chest.
“Now,” Titus hardened his voice as she blinked up at him. “Do you want me to wash you… or can you manage it by yourself?”
“I dare you to try it,” Jade was so mad that she couldn't have stopped herself from pushing her luck if her life depended on it. She was wet, cold, oddly enough turned on, and mad as hell… and she was staring at the cause of it. This egotistical brick wall of a werewolf was stronger than Lucca, Danny, or her brother. No Alpha had ever forced her to summit to his demands and she found herself grudgingly admiring him and hating him for it at the same time.
The look in her big brown eyes reminded him of a wounded animal backed against a wall as she glared up at him waiting to see if he would do it. Titus wasn’t in the mood to back down from her dare. He leaned in closer to her, coming within a hairs breadth of touching those pouting red lips.
Sliding his injured thigh between hers, he kept their lips aligned as he backed her up until she was flush with the wall. Without taking his eyes off of her, Titus reached above them and pointed the shower head at her shoulders. Rubbing his hand through the bath gel lingering on the upper swells of her breasts, he slid his palm in a straight line down her stomach with only one destination in mind.
Jade closed her eyes and moaned as his soapy hand slipped between her legs. She rubbed herself against his hand and looked him straight in the eyes. While he was distracted, she desperately hooked her fingers in the edge of the pocket she’d seen him put the key in. It was all she could do to keep her mind on what she was trying to do and not obsess over what he was doing. If she couldn't beat him in a fight, then she would enjoy using what weapons she had at her disposal.
Titus felt every muscle in his body tighten when that melancholy expression crossed her face and she rocked against his sliding fingers. That seductive sound that came from her was his undoing and he descended on her lips in a demanding kiss.
In one quick movement, Jade ripped the pocket and palmed the key while using her other hand to rub soap in his eyes. Shoving him as hard as she could, she darted out of the shower.
Titus opened his burning eyes under the spray of the water and let the sting of the soap snap him out of the sexual state he was in. He should have known better than to come in here while the scent of her heat was affecting him.
He could hear her playing with the lock on the jail cell and laughed. “I told you if you shifted into your human form I would let you out of here.”
“You lied about giving me an hour to shift,” Jade mumbled wishing her hands weren’t so damned slippery. “What makes you think I will believe you this time?” She smirked when she felt the lock click and give.
Feeling like he was suddenly in complete control, Titus stepped out of the shower and in several long strides had his hand barring the door so she couldn't slam it in his face. Leaning toward her, he waited until he was the same distance from her lips as he’d been in the shower.
“And you’re free to keep the key in your hand if you want to go back in there and finish your shower. All I ask is that you stay in human form.” Coming a hair’s breadth from touching her, Titus slid past her naked body and headed for his office and a dry set of clothes.
Jade blinked as soap dripped into her eyes then flinched when she heard that same door slam shut in the back of the department. She rubbed her hand across her chest and looked down at the foaming soap then shivered when a blast of cold air hit her chilled skin. She slowly glared upwards at the air vent in the ceiling knowing he’d just turned the central air conditioner on.
“You’re a jerk… you know that,” she yelled in the direction he’d gone. Feeling the security of the key in her hand, Jade marched back into the ice cold shower… this time turning the hot water on and taking her time.
Titus also took his time changing clothes, easily keeping his gaze trained on the monitor. From the angle of the surveillance cam and the partition that allowed semi-privacy, he could only see from her shoulders up and from her knees down. He was having a hell of a time trying to keep his memory from filling in the blanks.
He waited at least fifteen minutes before coming to the conclusion that she was staying in that shower in order to avoid him.
Jade made sure she was squeaky clean before stepping out of the shower. She cocked an eyebrow seeing a fluffy white towel lying on top of the duffle bag. Scanning the area for the jerk, she found him leaning lazily against the wall on the other side of the bars as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
Grabbing it up, she could feel him glaring at her as she dried her hair but didn’t give a damn. If she played her cards right, he’d let her go without a second thought and she’d be able to go find Sonia as planned. Right now that was her only goal. After that, they’d probably get passports and leave the country entirely.
Titus silently wondered if he was testing his wavering willpower as he watched her slowly slide a pair of black lace underwear up those long legs and then encase those creamy swells in a matching bra. He was already so swollen that he couldn't hide it… so he didn’t bother.
He noticed the two sets of clothes as she laid them out on the cot and felt himself throb when she passed up the good-girl clothes and put on the Goth set. The angry black leather and lace seemed to suit her.
Jade left the duffle on the bed deciding she didn’t need anything else out of it nor did she need it slowing her down. She and Sonia had paid a year’s lease in cash for a beach front house that was secluded and stocked with everything she needed… including weapons. Being raised with wealth had allowed her to stock pile cash… that and the fact that Sonia had helped her raid her brother’s safe the night they left New York. She had buried the rest of the money in the sand underneath the porch of that beach house for safe keeping.
Titus glared broodingly when she walked out of the jail cell and headed straight for the front door of the department. In several quick strides, he wrapped his fingers around her arm and swung her around to face him.
“Look, I’m sorry. We both know why I had to force you to shift. It was obvious that you’d already stayed in your wolf form too long and it was messing with your head. Admit it… you feel better now that you’ve shifted.”
Jade avoided looking him in the eyes because he was right on too many levels. It was a known fact that staying in your animal form for a week was risky and she’d stayed that way for just over a month. For now, she’d happily blame it on her stubborn streak.
“You said that I was free to go once I shifted… or are you an orbital liar?” Jade asked sarcastically.
“I said you would be free of that jail cell and you are,” Titus corrected, steering her toward his office. The simple fact that she wouldn’t look at him bothered him and he suddenly found himself wanting her trust and some kind of assurance that she really was okay. “But we are going to have a little chat before you go out that door alone.”
Jade gave him a look of total boredom, “I just love how you let slave traders walk minutes after they arrive… but you can’t seem to let me have a freakin’ inch.” She tried to jerk her arm out of his grasp but he wouldn’t allow it.
“If you will use that pretty mouth of yours for something besides insults, you might get out of here a lot quicker,” Titus informed her.
“If you’re waiting for another kiss, you can forget it,” Jade sassed back, her mind going a mile a minute and in two different directions. She quickly reminded herself to calm down, bat her eyelashes, and hopefully speed up the getting the hell out of here process. Problem was, out of all of the emotions she was feeling right now… her temper was riding the highest.
“Are you always this stubborn?” Titus asked opening his office door and propelling her in first.
Turning on him, Jade came within an inch of pressing her chest up against his as she glared up at him. “Are you always this pushy? Oh wait,” she touched her temple as if she’d just figured out how to turn water to wine, “you’re an Alpha… so of course you are.”
“Sit,” Titus instructed having a very vivid flashback of the shower. He was tempted to kiss her again just to see if it would shut her up. Instead, he forced himself to go around to the other side of his desk to keep distance between them.
Jade sat down in the padded chair in front of his desk and realized she really didn’t have a clue what she was doing in here. She pulled her feet up in the chair with her and wrapped her arms around her legs feeling vulnerable. Her eyes widened when it dawned on her that she missed the protection of the cage.
Damn it… she hated to admit it but Titus was right about things messing with her head. She was stronger than this.
She slowly placed her feet back on the floor and straightened her back knowing she didn’t have time for any Dr. Phil therapy. What she needed was complete freedom so she could track down Lucca, and in order to gain that freedom all she had to do was outsmart yet another Alpha.
“Why did you bring me in here? Why not just let me go like you did everyone else from the warehouse?” Jade asked raising her chin a notch.
Titus knew she was talking about the guards but he didn’t feel comfortable telling her the five guards they’d caught were now the perfect brainwashed spies. “The other girls are being treated by a doctor while we track down their closest of kin so we can send them home.”
Jade raised an eyebrow and glanced longingly toward the door.
Titus leaned back in his chair and frowned when the scent of her fear overrode the scent of her heat. Was it the mention of seeing a doctor that had caused her fear to spike? His thoughts darkened and he knew of five expendable spies that would not outlive their usefulness.
“The human girls went to the hospital, but I can have our pack doctor come here to meet with you,” he nodded knowing Mrs. Tully wouldn’t have a problem with it.
“I don’t need a doctor,” Jade informed him in a steady voice. “Lucca gave orders that I was not to be harmed or touched.”
“I saw them harm you, and from the burn marks on your fur… I know it wasn’t the first time,” Titus said in a deceptively calm voice. “They were also shooting you up with hormones to make you go into heat… and it worked.”
“It was wishful thinking on their part,” her sarcasm came rushing back full force and she wasn’t afraid to be blunt. “Lucca said I wasn’t to be raped, so the cowards guarding me thought that by pumping me full of hormones, I would be more willing and they wouldn’t be breaking the Alpha’s rules.” She shrugged lifting a dark eyebrow, “and we both know the burns will heal so you see… it would be a waste of your precious doctor’s time to come here.”
Titus watched her body language and decided either she was a very good liar or she was telling him the truth. One thing he did know for certain was that she would give Mrs. Tully a hard time if he did call her.
“Okay, fine. No doctor then,” he conceded.
“Grand… let’s get this Q and A over with so I can get back to my life and you can go back to playing God… I mean Alpha for your pack,” she said trying to rush him.
“Fine,” Titus slid his keyboard closer and pulled the report he was doing for PIT back up on the screen. He was interested in what life she was in such a rush to get back home too. “What’s your name and what pack are you from?” he glanced up at her when her fear spiked again.
“The Lone Wolf Pack… population one,” Jade smiled charmingly. “But that’s enough about me, its Lucca you’re really interested in… right?”
Titus removed his hands from the keyboard and leaned back in his seat to study her. “Lucca is a very important issue here… but I have the feeling that all you’re going to do is lie your ass off.”
Jade sighed, “Whatever!”
Not trusting his penetrating stare, she turned her eyes away and her gaze passed over a handgun. She pretended not to see it and once again gave him her full attention. With that fleeting glance, she made a mental note that it was a 9mm. With her being a mafia princess, her father had made sure she’d spent a lot of weekends at the shooting range. She’d even bet she was a better shot than half of the police force that he obviously had in his pocket.
“You know, the hospitality around this place really isn’t any better than the warehouse. They didn’t like to feed their hostages either.”
Titus felt guilt ride him. For all he knew, she hadn’t eaten in a week. “I’ll make you a deal. You give me your name,” he shrugged, “just your name, and I’ll go raid the vending machines.”
She gave him a fake as hell smile and batted her eyelashes, “It’s Jade.” Her smile disappeared and she slumped, leaning back in the chair. She was tempted to put her feet on the edge of his desk but figured that would be pushing it.
“Let me guess,” Titus countered as he came out from behind the desk, “It’s short for jaded.” He smirked when she lifted a dark eyebrow and shrugged. “Is there a last name that goes with that?”
“Yes,” She said and just stared at him until he gave up.
Jade waited until he was out of the office and a good distance away before she moved. Going over to the 9mm that was sitting innocently in a space on his corner shelf, she grabbed the weapon and tucked it into the back of her pants, pulling the back of her shirt down so it wouldn’t be seen right away.
Just moments after she got herself resituated, the Alpha came back with not only half a sub sandwich, but a large bottle of juice as well.
“You’re welcome,” Titus said as the girl dove into the sandwich like she hadn’t eaten in months. Then again, that could very well be close to the truth. He wouldn’t put it past Lucca to wear down someone in that manner and he had no idea how long she’d been there. He waited a few minutes so she could finish eating.
“How long did they have you?” he reached across the desk and took the empty sub wrapper from her.
“About a month as best I could tell,” Jade said opening the juice and taking a drink.
“Do you know where Lucca might have more prisoners or where his hideout is?” he couldn't help but ask just in case the food made her more responsive.
“I can’t help you much there,” Jade shook her head. “When I did see Lucca, it was when he came to the warehouse.”
“So he came to check up on his guards?” Titus asked curiously. He knew Lucca was more the type to send one of his meanest men out to do the little things for him.
Jade lowered the juice bottle and shook her head, “It was more like to make sure they hadn’t done anything to me that he didn’t want them to.”
“So, Lucca must have had special plans for you,” Titus mused. “Do you know what those plans were?”
Jade frowned at him and told the truth… missing a bunch of details of course, “To make my life a living hell.”
“Yeah, he’s made a lot of lives a living hell and I plan on stopping him,” Titus offered softly.
‘Not if I get to him first,’ Jade thought inwardly and took another drink of the juice, emptying the container.
Titus held his hand out for the bottle the same way he had the wrapper and pretended to throw it in the trash just under his desk. “How often did he come to visit?”
Jade smirked at his choice of words, “Maybe once a week.”
“Did he bring buyers or anyone else with him?” Titus continued, carefully tapping commands into the computer to make it look like he was recording her answers.
“Sometimes,” Jade said not wanting his Alpha senses to go haywire because of too many lies. Lucca had often brought Sonia in to see her, but it was usually to goad her into doing something she didn’t want to do for him. He would even use the cattle prod on her and Sonia would always beg him to stop… agreeing to do whatever he’d wanted. “But I don’t know if they were bodyguards or business men… they all kind of look the same.”
Titus nodded and inwardly smirked when a device built into the front of the monitor scanned the juice bottle for her fingerprints. A picture of the prints appeared on the screen and he immediately began a thorough check to find out who the girl was. He tilted his head when an immediate response came back from his link with the PIT database… a driver’s license.
“I bet you’re homesick. Where does your family live? They must be looking for you. If it’s out of town, I can contact them and buy you a plane ticket,” He offered and inhaled finding another spike of fear filled the room.
“I’m not homesick and where I go is no one’s business but mine,” Jade stated wanting him to drop it.
Titus shrugged, “It can’t be that bad of a place… but then, I’ve never been to New York. What’s the weather like on the other coast?”
“What?” Jade asked feeling panic beginning to well up inside her. She took a harder look at the man across the desk knowing how easy it was for one Alpha to contact another.
Titus turned the screen around to face her, showing the license with her picture on it. “Just who are you running from Jade?”
Jade was suddenly on her feet with the 9mm pointed directly at him. “Get up! And if you think for one minute I won’t pull this trigger… then just try me.”
