"Lola." Jax's voice had changed. It didn't make her relax as it had before. His eyes weren't the ones she had seen when they were in the bedroom, and his face was contorting in anger.
Lola gulped and raised her head. She turned to Ash, who stood on Clay's other side. He was quietly witnessing the cold exchange.
"Your mate is the reason the vampires are returning to Wild Cliff. This town's plague is on her hands, and yet," Mrs. Blackwood said and flicked her tongue. She clasped her hands in front of her body and walked in a circle around Lola. "We haven't figured out why," she continued. "But something tells me that this young man carries the answers to all of our questions." She pulled out a small, finger-long knife from under her sleeve. In a quick, swift motion, she plunged it into Clay's chest. His face turned cherry red as his lips parted in a soundless scream.
"What are you doing to him?" Lola asked and her panic rose.
Mrs. Blackwood looked into Clay's eyes. "The knife is laced with werewolf poison. It doesn't do much to humans unless transferred directly from the source-" She turned to Lola. "-Our canines. But to a vampire, the small dose on this knife is an excruciating, never-ending pain that causes every nerve in their body to fry."
The manic smile on her face caused Lola to shiver noticeably.
She pulled out the knife, and Clay could finally draw a breath. "Now I will ask you this only once: why were you after Lola Graves?" Mrs.Blackwood asked.
Clay looked at her. Sweat ran down his head from the pain. For the first time, it looked as though he was defeated. "I-" He hung his head and panted.
Lola stared in fear. Feared over what he might say. What if he told them? How would they react? She had noticed by now that there was no love lost between the two species. If they knew that the vampires were here for her and why they were here, would they give her over to them?
Clay knew Lucien. He had sent Clay to find her. Lola knew she had to run. Nobody was safe here if she were to stay, least of all her.
"He wants her," Clay finally muttered. Blood spilled from the side of his mouth.
"Who wants her?" Ash asked impatiently.
Jax turned his head only an inch and side glanced at Lola. He saw the fear growing in her eyes. Her fingers were rolled up, and her shoulders were tense.
Clay's shoulders started shaking. He looked up, and they saw him laugh. "If you kill me, two more will come. He won't stop. Not until he has her," Clay said weakly, but his smile didn't falter.
"Who?" Ash seethed.
Clay was ignoring the question. Why doesn't he tell them?
Jax's eyes flickered between Lola and Clay. His chest rose heavily before falling, and he clenched his jaw roughly before closing his eyes and taking a breath.
He opened his eyes. Lola was frozen in fear, watching them interrogate Clay.
Jax took two big steps and stood in front of Clay. His hand shot out into Clay's chest, and he pulled it out. In his hand was Clay's heart, which dropped from his fingers and landed on the plastic sheet.
Everyone snapped their heads to look at what he had done.
"Jax," Mrs. Blackwood angrily remarked.
"Son, what did you do..." his father said in an exhale and looked at the dead vampire who was hanging limp.
"He wasn't going to speak," Jax defended and turned around. He raised his head. His eyes burned with determination, and he took on the role of Alpha in front of his father.
"That wasn't your decision to make," Mr. Blackwood said threateningly and lowered his head.
"As rising Alpha, it was. We'll find our answers another way." He stormed toward the door.
"There is another way," Ash said and locked down his gaze on Lola.
Jax turned. His eyes turned yellow, and in unison, he spoke with his wolf, "If you touch her or speak to her without my presence, I will kill you next." His words slipped off his tongue with ease and promise.
Everyone turned in silence and watched as Jax left the room. He was contemplating his decision, whether it was right or ruled by desire. When he saw the fear growing on Lola, he knew that Clay had information that she didn't want to be released. Jax wanted the information. He needed to know why they were back and coming for her. However, he didn't want his parents or his cousin to take part in it.
Lola stood in the middle of the study with a pulse about to rocket her through the ceiling.
Finally, Mrs. Blackwood, filled with rage, uttered that magic word. "Leave," she said bitterly.
Lola scurried out of the study. She tried her best to keep her composure until she was out of sight, and then she ran. The threat of the truth almost being exposed made her realize how the chances of survival were slim if she stayed. Lola reached the room and pulled out her bag.
She stuffed the little things she had into it, and when she was done, she stared at the box in her closet. She could take the computer and sell it. That would give her some money to move around with.
Her fingers tightened around the closet doors. With a frustrated shake of her head, she closed them, hiding the box.
No matter how badly she needed the money, she couldn't sell something that she hadn't bought. Lola didn't see the laptop as a gift but rather as a bride. It could stay here with the rest of the expensive things.
She threw the bag over her shoulder and opened the door. Everyone would be too preoccupied with the vampire problem. They wouldn't notice if she left, but she had to be careful and make as little noise as possible.
However, everything suddenly crashed when she stepped out into the hall. Jax was leaning against the side table, staring at the wall. She saw his reflection in the mirror behind him, and his eyes scanned the bag in her hand.
"Put the bag back and come with me," he said and uncrossed his arms.
Lola looked toward the staircase.
"Jax, I have to go. By now you have to realize that my being here will cause more trouble than I'm worth." She hoped that he would understand. Maybe now Jax would see it from her perspective and a logical standpoint.
He came over and grabbed the bag, slowly sliding it off her arm. "I decide how much trouble you're worth." He grinned. "You haven't filled the quota just yet," he continued.
Jax threw the bag into the room and flicked his head toward the stairs. "Come with me, please," he said.
With a mind filled with woven webs of lies and thoughts, Lola reluctantly went with Jax downstairs, and they left the mansion. Jax held open the passenger door for her, and she got in.
When they drove away from the gated community, Lola began to wonder what these houses must've cost. They were all lavishly big, with at least two floors, big backyards, and cars on the driveway that cost more than Melissa's house.
Whenever Lola saw a person leaving their house or children playing in the park, she thought they all looked normal, but they weren't. They were stronger, faster, and deadlier than any human, yet they blended carelessly into society.
They drove through Wild Cliff. She tried to spot a werewolf among the humans in town, but she couldn't see a difference-not unless their eyes shifted color or their bodies bent and broke into a wolf.
"Where are we going?" she asked to break her train of thought when it became too gruesome.
"You've worn the two same shirts for a week," Jax remarked.
Lola had. Still, she washed them in between wears, but these clothes were everything she brought from her apartment. The vandals had taken all of her other clothes.
"So?" she asked snidely, offended by his remark.
"So, I'm taking you shopping."
Lola started shaking her head left and right. She looked at him in shock. "No, you're not. Jax," she said quietly.
He turned and cast a gaze at her worried face.
"I don't have any money."
She suddenly fell in her mind, down on the ground with her legs curled up to her chest. Money had always been scarce, but it had never been an issue, not until now when she was expected to maintain a standard.
Money had never before been a reason she felt bad about herself, but just like that, her heart sunk, and she shrunk.
"Yes, you do," Jax said as his brows crocked, and he smiled. He saw that she wasn't following his train of thought and explained further. "We're marired, Lola. Everything I own is yours."