Defying Destiny

The Attacks

The Attacks

Freshly showered, Jenna towel dried her hair before twisting it up in a bun, still a bit damp. She was thankful they had removed their clothes before things had gotten too hot and heavy – she was able to pull her tights and tunic back on. She left her underwear off and tossed it in the washing machine, along with the sheets that Cam had bundled up.

‘Where to?’ Cam asked, appearing next to her as she turned the dials of the machine, turning it on.

She turned, surprised. ‘You don’t know of any good places around here?’

“I do” he said, shrugging. ‘But it’s 1am.’

Jenna laughed, ‘s**t, I didn’t even realize. Oh no. I forgot to tell Dom that I’m okay. He’s probably waiting for the juicy details.’

‘Well.’ Cam paused as his eyes flashed black for a second. ‘You can tell him that it was juicy’. He winked, grabbing her ass so quickly she didn’t have time to react. ‘Come on, I think I know a place that’s still open.’

Jenna leaned into Cam in the elevator ride down. She didn’t feel awkward or uncomfortable, which was typical for her after a random hookup. Her libido would get the best of her but after her drive settled down, she’d often leave as quickly as possible, feeling slightly awkward. But with Cam, it was just different. She closed her eyes for a second, smiling, feeling safe and at ease.

‘Ladies first’. Cam motioned towards the open elevator doors leading to the foyer.

‘We’re not driving?’ Jenna asked, unsure. ‘It’s not exactly the best area to walk around in at night.’ Actually, it was downright dangerous she thought silently to herself. The area was sketchy in broad daylight, but she never waited around to find out what it was like after dark.

‘Don’t worry, I’m here’. Cam grabbed her hand, as if the was the most natural thing in the world and led her outside. This time he was prepared, draping one of his coats over her dainty shoulders before she could get cold. ‘This place is close enough to walk to, and it’s worth it. One of the few authentic shawarma restaurants around.’

‘Okay. If I die trying to get shawarma, at least it seems like a worthwhile death.’ Jenna laughed, her fear easing with Cam’s confidence. She supposed that if she stood 6’3 tall and was built like a Greek god, she wouldn’t be afraid of being downtown in the early hours of the morning either.

Cam smiled, but suddenly felt uneasy, as if they were being watched as they walked down the block. Rowan? I feel it too. Be careful Cam. You know what’s been happening lately. The attacks are becoming more and more frequent. She’s human, she’s perfect prey for them and won’t be able to defend herself. I will defend her! Cam thought fiercely back, but he knew Rowan was right. They had to get somewhere safe, and fast.

‘Whoa, what are you doing?’ Jenna asked as Cam made a sharp right, pulling her into a 24hr Tim Hortons. ‘Coffee’ he replied. ‘We have a long night ahead of us.’ Cam scanned the restaurant quickly. There were enough customers inside that he doubted whatever had been watching them would come inside to openly attack. He prayed silently that he was right as he walked up to the counter and placed an order for them both.

He directed Jenna to a table on the other side of the restaurant, positioning himself so he could see the door. Deciding to trust his gut, he pulled out his cellphone and scrolled through his contacts before hitting ‘call’. ‘Just a sec’, he said to Jenna as he stood up and moved away for privacy, while still watching the door and their table.

‘Hello?’ Despite the time, the voice on the other end was alert.

‘Dad.’ Cam said quickly, ‘I think I found some. I have a human with me, so I can’t engage. We’re not safe.’

‘Where are you?’ His dad asked briskly. Cam quickly sent a share location link to his dad’s messenger. ‘Okay. Stay put. I’ll have Melony make a portal. Expect a distraction in the next ten minutes and get ready to move.’

‘You okay?’ Jenna asked as Cam came back and sat down at the table, his eyes never once leaving the door. ‘Yeah, fine.’ He shook his head and met her worried gaze. ‘I need some of that coffee in me’, he chuckled ruefully, trying to reassure her.

‘Here,’ she passed him his cup. ‘We could just eat here’, she said astutely, unwrapping one of the sandwiches that he had ordered and pushing it towards him. ‘It’s probably safer not to walk any further in this neighbourhood. We can call a raincheck on the shawarma and that way you will have to take me on a second date.’ She said softly, flirting with him.

Cam smiled, forgetting his uneasiness for a moment. He directed his gaze to the sandwich Jenna had offered and began to eat. A group of older teenagers entered the restaurant loudly, and sat down next to them. A few of them dragged chairs over from other tables so they could all sit down together.

Cam caught Jenna rolling her eyes and grimacing slightly. She didn’t have much patience for obnoxious at 1:30am. “Eat.” Cam said, sliding another sandwich over to her. ‘We can go afterwards.’ He checked his phone. It was getting close to the time when his Dad, was supposed to arrive with Melony. Deciding it was safe for a few minutes until backup arrived, he decided to find a toilet. ‘I’ll be right back’ he said and left for the bathroom.

Jenna took a few bites of her sandwich, trying to ignore the group of teens next to her. It was proving impossible to drown out their stupid bantering.

‘No Joey, it’s your turn. Henry got the last one.’

‘You wish’. Another voice chimed in, with Jenna assuming it to be Henry. ‘The last one was a scratch, I barely got the tip in before she fainted.’

‘Guys, calm down.’ A softer voice interjected. ‘You’ll have to share.’

‘Stay out of it Vanessa, you’re just thrilled about your match tonight. At least no one is fighting you for him. You better go on ahead or you’ll miss your chance.’ The sound of a chair scraping across the floor echoed across the nearly empty restaurant as Vanessa stood and left. Jenna didn’t look up to see where she went.

Instead, she grimaced, trying to swallow her food. These guys were so dirty. She bet they were on their way to one of the late night clubs down the street. It sounded like they made a habit of it. They were probably the people who slipped drugs into girls’ drinks to render them unconscious before taking advantage of them. Although it didn’t sound like it worked for the last one, thankfully. Feeling goosebumps racing up her arms, Jenna shifted as far as she could in her chair, away from the group.

‘See Henry, this one doesn’t like you’. Another voice jeered loudly, followed by a laugh. ‘Besides, it’s my turn.’

‘f**k you Paul’, Henry said, his voice rising angrily. ‘At least I don’t play with them first.’

Jenna kept her head down, suddenly paralyzed with fear. They couldn’t be talking about her, could they? She didn’t want to give any indication that she suspected anything. There was a very strong chance she was overreacting anyways. It was late, and she was suddenly very tired, despite her senses being on hyper alert. It was probably all in her head. She bit her bottom lip, suddenly wishing Cam would hurry up and get back quickly.

‘Hey.’ She felt the table shift slightly as someone slid into Cam’s chair. Relieved, she looked up but her smile fell quickly from her face. Cam was not sitting across from her. Instead, she was face to face with a stranger. He had short blonde hair, almost in a military style cut. He wore silver tags around his neck and was dressed in a baggy black hoodie and black sweats. He grinned at her, catching her gaze. His eyes were such a light blue, that Jenna found herself looking at them for a moment to see if there was any pigment there at all.

Misreading her silence, he continued ‘I’m Paul. What are you doing sitting here all alone? Did your friend leave you? He didn’t seem like much of a friend anyways, if I’m being honest. What kind of guy just ups and leaves a girl all alone at this time of night? Do you need a ride home? We have room.’

‘No thanks’. Jenna said firmly, trying not to engage him further.

‘Come on.’ Jenna jumped as his hand reached over and touched her arm. His touch was colder than Cam’s and it made the hairs stand up on her arm.

‘We could have some fun’. He grinned widely at her.

‘DON’T TOUCH HER!’ Cam roared, coming from out of the bathrooms. His hair was askew and his shirt ripped, but Jenna didn’t have time to process his appearance as he strode angrily towards them. ‘I said, get your hands off of her.’ He growled, grabbing Paul’s hand and twisting it deftly. Jenna could hear a loud crack as Paul’s wrist snapped. Jenna quickly withdrew her arm from the table and placed her hands in her lap. Frankly she was terrified of all of them right now, including Cam. She just wanted to go home and forget this ever happened. Shakily but determined, she stood up from her chair and attempted to walk around Cam.

Her action stunned all of them, Cam included, and they each paused to look at her. ‘Jenna, get behind me quickly’ Cam said, recovering the fastest. ‘We’re not safe here. Let me protect you.’

Henry issued a loud laugh, starling Jenna and making her jump. ‘How are you going to do that? There’s four of us and 1 of you. She doesn’t count’, he added pointedly, nodding towards Jenna.

‘Three.’ Cam said firmly. ‘There’s three of you. Four came in. How many will come out?’ He smirked, trying to push his confidence through his fear. The girl had been easier to take care of. She had thought to catch him with his d**k literally in his hands, unsuspecting, but instead it was the other way around. He had gone into the bathroom to wait for her, trying to lure one of them out to even the odds. If he could stall, his dad and Melony would be here, hopefully along with some of his pack members.

‘Enough.’ Paul said briskly, standing up, cradling his broken wrist in his good hand. ‘Let’s finish this. I need blood now to help heal my wrist, thanks to this i***t. I no longer want to play.’ The three men stood side by side, blocking Jenna and Cam from the exit.

Rowan? Cam reached out to his wolf in his mind. I don’t know if we can shift Cam. Rowan said slowly. The risks outweigh the potential benefit. I don’t think there’s enough space in here to fight and we risk exposing ourselves to the humans. Your dad and Melony should be here by now. We stand a better chance with them.

No sooner had Rowan voiced this when the bell chimed over the doorway as the door opened and a group of adults walked inside. There were six men and three women in the group. The cashier behind the counter looked up in dismay, clearly hoping to finish off her shift without having to clean up again. The group ignored the cashier though and headed to the back of the restaurant where Cam and Jenna stood, blocked by the three men.

‘That’s a shame you don’t want to play.’ One of the strangers said gruffly as he walked towards them. ‘I was hoping we were just getting started.’

Paul, Henry and Joey turned to face the group. Now they were the ones trapped, with Cam and Jenna on one side, and the group on the other. Joey stepped forward slowly. ‘I don’t know what’s going on here, but we were just leaving. No need to make something out of nothing.’ He beckoned to Henry and Paul. ‘Come guys, let’s go find an easier game.’

Jenna was shocked when the group of strangers parted to let the three predators through. They all stood and watched as the three men left the restaurant and headed down the street. ‘Bex, Lilian, Fox and Eli. Make sure they do not reach their destination. Be discreet. We can’t have anyone finding out it was us.’ The leader of the group spoke quickly and quietly. Bex, Lillian, Fox and Eli quickly turned heel and left the restaurant, much to the relief of Jenna who was glad those three were not being let loose on some other unsuspecting victim.

‘Dad.’ Cam quickly pulled the group’s leader into a hug. ‘Thanks for coming. This is Jenna.’ He turned, beckoning Jenna to come forward to meet his father.

‘Jenna. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Clark.’ Clark extended his hand for a brief handshake before addressing his son. ‘Cam, we’ve got to move. There’s more out there tonight and it won’t be long before they find what you left in the bathroom here. We can’t be connected to this.’ He paused suddenly, as if remembering something. He looked at Jenna, and then back at his son.

‘We take her with us.’ He said, in a final tone. Jenna didn’t even have time to protest before she was guided to the exit by Cam, with a hand on her back and ushered into a car that was waiting outside. As Cam opened the door and she climbed into the car, Jenna suddenly felt violently nauseous, and her world went black.