Force of Temptation
Page 17

Harley gave a brief shake of the head. “I’m done.”
Jesse frowned at the half-full plate. She hadn’t eaten enough, but he could hardly blame her for losing her appetite at the mention of the extremists. “Harley was just about to show me the hate mail.”
“It’s all online,” she said.
Grabbing his laptop from the coffee table, Jesse pushed aside their plates and placed it on the dining table.
She slowly raised a brow at Jesse as she returned to her seat. “You sure you want to read it after you’ve just eaten? Some of it is pretty graphic.”
“I’m sure.” Jesse sat down, switched on the laptop, and then turned it to face her. “Log into your e-mail account, show me what they’ve been sending you.”
As her fingers flew over the keyboard, Shaya and Ally took the two empty seats at the table. The other wolves remained standing.
“I have a new e-mail,” said Harley. Her stomach sank as she read it.
“Is it them?” rumbled Jesse.
“Yep. They know I’m alive but they don’t know where I am.” And he wanted to teach her what happened to sluts by fucking her in every orifice she had while covering her face with a pillow. It wasn’t a threat he hadn’t made before. She was more disturbed by the line, “You might look innocent while you sleep, but I know the truth and nothing will save your soul.” Creepy.
After punching in a few keys, Harley slid the laptop back to Jesse. “This e-mail is the first one they sent.”
As Jesse read each e-mail aloud, he called on every ounce of his hard-won control to conceal the dark rage building inside him and his wolf. It was bad enough that the bastards called her a slut and a whore. One of them also talked of sneaking into her hotel room and slitting her throat while he raped her—that watching the life leave her eyes would make him come harder than he ever had before . . . and that was the tamest sexual threat he’d made.
Only once Jesse was done did he realize his hands were clenched so tight that his knuckles were white. He shoved the laptop aside, a growl rattling in his chest. His wolf was raking Jesse’s insides with his claws, wanting to surface and wreak vengeance on the people who had dared target and threaten Harley.
A long moment of silence passed before a very pale Shaya said, “I don’t have words.”
Ally rubbed her stomach. “I genuinely feel ill. Harley, how have you not gone insane receiving these, week after week?”
“I consider myself to be a tough bitch, but even I’d be a wreck if I was being harassed this way,” admitted Roni.
Harley shrugged. “Words are just words. At first I worried, but when time went by and they didn’t do anything, I figured they were all talk.” But she had still been scared, she just hadn’t wanted to face it, as it would have given the bastards power over her.
“Did you know your father monitors your movements?” Nick asked Harley.
She nodded. “He’ll know I’m here. That a problem?”
Eli pursed his lips. “Well—”
“No,” said Shaya, casting Eli a warning glare.
They chatted a little more about the extremists before Jesse walked his pack mates out of the lodge. Ally, however, hung back and then turned to Harley.
“I know what it’s like to come here, feeling unwanted and with no chance of fitting in,” Ally said to her. “If you ever need to vent about it or anything, you come to me.”
Surprised, Harley blinked. “Um, okay, thanks.”
With that, the Beta female was gone.
“She’s uncomfortable here,” Marcus said to Jesse.
He gave a curt nod, fists clenched. “The shifter world was never good to Harley. And she doesn’t trust easy.”
“Did you tell her I was half human?” Shaya asked.
“Yeah. I think it relieved her to know that being half human wouldn’t be an issue.” He was pretty sure it also annoyed her that he’d weakened her “I can’t stay” argument.
“It takes time to settle into a new place, especially if that place is filled with strong personalities,” Ally pointed out as she joined them. “You’re not exactly a relaxing person to be around, are you, Jesse?”
“Harley deals with me just fine.” Which wasn’t an easy feat.
“She won’t find it easy to fit in here,” Derren warned him. “I’m not trying to be an asshole. I’m just being straight. Her upbringing was no walk in the park, but she survived it. That tells me she’s strong. And I can see she’s highly dominant. Prides and packs have a similar structure, but she wasn’t part of a real pride. This will all be very new to her.”
“I know,” he said.
“She’s also spent a lot of years around humans,” continued Derren. “For her, moving to a pack will be the equivalent of a city girl moving to a small town. She’s used to noise, bustle, and privacy. We’re in each other’s business and have no real privacy and are out in the middle of nowhere. It might not bug her, but she might grow to feel bored, overwhelmed, and disconnected. She’s used to having a paying job and a purpose; she might not find a role or purpose here.”
Jesse sighed. “I know all this, Derren.”
“You need to also consider that she’s been living the high life for a while now.”
“She also spent a lot of her years living the total opposite of that.”