Runaway Mate

Reliving the nightmare

Josh's POV

Jennifer tells us all about her parents and anyone can tell from her voice and the way she talks about them, that they were close and loved each other. I also learned that her favorite food is tacos and her favorite color is purple. She has a strong work ethic and runs her own company. I stare at my mate with so much pride.

"So, how many guys have you been with?" I dart my eyes at Dan for asking such a personal question.

"DAN!" Luna Heather, Stefanie, and Alison holler at him in sync.

"Okay, sorry. None of my business." He throws his hands up in surrender as he chuckles.

"Ignore him." I calmly tell Jenn. I can tell how nervous she got by the question from the racing of her heartbeat. I mean, I do want to know the answer to that question... I think. But, not in front of everyone. Dan is such an ass at times.

"You're from the same town the serial killer was from, right?" Alison asks, which is no surprise. This woman is obsessed with murder mystery shows and serial killer documentaries.

If possible, I hear Jenn's beat even faster at that question. "Hey." I rub her hand softly. "You don't have to share anything you don't want to. Okay?" She nods her head at me and takes a deep breath.

"It's fine. I want to get this off my chest. Maybe talking about it will help." She sweetly replies to me.

Everyone at the table remains quiet as they wait for my mate to tell her story of Chad Kreisher. I knew I was going to have to hold my wolf back from trying to come to the surface. Thank goddess that he's dead, or else I would track him down and end his life right now for the fear and harm he caused Jenn.

"I- I went to a bar after my shift had ended at work. It was a stressful day, so I really craved some captain with cola. This is something I don't often do, but like I said, it was a rather more stressful day than usual with business. As I sat on the bar-stool at the counter, a man soon sat in the seat beside me." She looks at me and begins to fiddle with her fingers nervously.

"He seemed really sweet, funny, and was attractive as he engaged in conversation with me." I couldn't help but clench my fists at hearing her call another man attractive. "Breathe, i***t. She's here with you." My vampire reasonable side remarks.

"When I felt that I had enough to drink, I wished him a goodnight and began to head outside to walk home. Just as I stepped foot outside the bar, he appeared next to me. He told me he wouldn't forgive himself is he didn't make sure I got home safely and just wanted a reason to spend a little more time with me. He offered me a ride home, and I stupidly accepted."

Well, that explains why she refused a ride home when I offered. That d**k scarred her for life.

"He started driving before I even gave him directions to my house. Even though I was drunk, I had a feeling in my gut that something was wrong. I tried calling his name and telling him to just pull over, but he wouldn't say a single word or glance at me. I pulled on the handle, ready to jump out of the car, but he had child locks on. He only turned to me when I began to scream. Apparently he reached in his backseat to grab a baseball bat and hit me so hard with it that I blacked out."

"When I woke up, I was in a forest in the middle of the night. I ran on instinct, but he eventually found me. He later on told me it was a game of hide and seek. He drugged me once he found me in the forest and when I woke up again, I was in a freezing cold bath tub."

"D-did you have your clothes on?" The question slipped out before I could stop myself. She looks down to the ground, and I had to take deep breathes to calm down. "Did he-

"Josh. Please, let your mate tell us as much or as little as she wants." I bow my head at Alpha Steven, knowing he's correct.

"I'm sorry Jennifer, you don't have to answer those." She looks back up at me with a forced smile.

"I know, but I want to answer them."

"No, I had no clothes on. He had washed me while I was still unconscious. His reasoning being that he didn't want his meal to be dirty. Before you say anything else, I had thought the same sick thing. I yelled and told him to kill me, that I din't want to feel or remember his touch." She then lets out a humorless laugh. "Implying that he was a rapist got him pissed off. Saying he would never do such a thing. Oddly enough, he was honest about that."

"I still was unable to move from the drugs he gave me, so he dressed and fed me like a little baby. It was so degrading." I watch as her face begins to pale during the story telling. "Jenn! You okay?"

"Yes, it's just... the food he fed me turned out to be human."

If it wasn't such a serious situation right now, I would have laughed at the looks on everyone's face at the table. Out of everyone, I didn't expect Stefanie to be the one to begin throwing up, but she did.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I'll stop." Jenn apologize quickly to my best friend.

"No, no. I should be the one apologizing. I may be physically strong, but I have a weak stomach when it comes to stuff like that. Please, continue." She says after drinking her glass of water.

"The sick bastard explained to me that I wasn't part of his plan. That he was actually at the bar waiting for a date, but I caught his attention. He confessed to me about killing his own father before leaving for his date."

"I used as much mental strength to try to make myself move, and eventually the drugs started wearing off and forced myself to crawl to the front door and escape. I headed straight tot he police and later got him arrested."

"Oh, thank goddess you survived!" Zach exclaims, clearly surprised by the story. Everyone seems to be in a bit of shock from what they just heard. "Wait till they hear the rest." My wolf adds in.

"This had all happened a few years ago, so you can only imagine my fear when I heard yesterday at work that Chad had escaped prison. I told myself that everything would be fine, that he didn't know where I lived. Deep down though, I knew he was going to come for me."

"Deep breathes." My vampire keeps repeating.

"It started to rain and I was so paranoid, that I thought I heard footsteps following me. I darted into the nearby coffee shop, and that's when I met Josh." She looks at me with a genuine smile and when I return it, she begins to blush.

"Aww!" We hear from everyone around the table.

"We chatted and when it was time to leave, he offered to drive me home."

"May I interrupt for a second." Jenn looks at me confused. "I understand why you refused, and thank goddess you did. Because I didn't take a car to the coffee shop. I had arrived to town in wolf form." I honestly tell her. This causes the table to erupt in laughter.

"So, I'm guessing that umbrella you grabbed was not yours?" She asks with a raised eyebrow. I nod my head sheepishly.

"Okay, okay. Cute, but what happened next?" Adam eagerly asks.

"He ended up walking me home, and..

"AND!" Dan asks, on the edge of his seat. Luna slaps his arm. "Calm down, will you?"

"We kissed." Jenn quietly says, but we all heard it.

"Yeah, until I got stabbed in the back causing me to cough up blood into her mouth." I chime in.

"Ew, stop!" Stefanie exclaims, looking pale.

"Josh began to fell, but I caught him and lowered him to the ground. Chad had somehow found me and I knew I was good as dead. What I didn't know, was that Josh is a f*****g hybrid and was not actually dead. He came to my rescue and I was beyond relieved when I saw for myself that Chad was no longer alive."

The table begins to holler and woot for me. "Way to go Josh!" "Good job, man!"

"I would do anything for you, Jennifer." I catch her by surprise when I capture her lips, causing her face to heat up. I know she's embarrassed to be kissing in front of everyone, but she doesn't stop me. In fact, she grabs the back of my head and deepens the kiss.