This Is Where I Want To Be

30. Hierarchy Established Pt 2

Chris

Juliet gripping onto me wasn’t lost on all who were there, especially Marcus. He had no idea what was going on, and neither did I. “Who are you?” he asked eventually after staring at my shirt.

So, how did you address the husband of the girl clinging to you for her life? The man that had made Nicholas so anxious that he would send me in there. Make Francis and Jack swear to do all in their power to stop him from laying a finger on her. “It doesn’t really matter. All that matters is what Juliet wants… Juliet needs… and Juliet deserves.” He turned around, away from me. That last statement hurt him. Even with his cold features, his emotions betrayed him. “Where is Louis? I need him,” I said to get the ball rolling.

“He’s safe….” Marcus pointed to the big round steel door, trying to contain his own emotions. “Juliet promised me a… conversation… I need to talk to her—alone,” I could barely hear him. A frenzy ensued, and he lifted a hand. Every vampire bowed, but the werewolves snarled. The situation was weird… There was respect but no loyalty?

I took in a breath and turned to face the terrified person behind me, “Juliet, do you want to? It doesn’t matter what you said to get here… Only what you want to do right now. We could take Louis back, or you can sit down for… I turned to Marcus… Five minutes.”

Juliet’s head jerked up, expecting me to say something else. When I didn’t… Her sweet smile fell off her mouth, and she shrugged—disappointed. I had to do all I could not to pull her lips onto mine. It felt like that was all I had to do to make everything better for her. But I couldn’t, and I didn’t.

He watched our interchange as confused as I was. I led Juliet to the couches, checked my watch, and reminded Marcus he had a time limit to the access he was getting to my… What was Juliet to me…? Friend? I shuddered at the thought.

He tried to negotiate. It must have been something in the way I held my hand that made him sit down. It took a whole minute; then he did something that I would never have thought was even something people did to apologize. Marcus went down on his knees in front of Juliet. The room became animated as everyone had an opinion. Marcus lifted his hand, silencing the onlookers. He bowed down even lower and kowtowed before her. Juliet jumped up, “Get up, Marcus! I would never expect anyone to do that.” she yelled. When he came up, his face was contorted in pain… desperation, and need, sitting back onto his feet. His hand on his heart, “Juliet, my obsession with you... It will never go away.”

I felt Juliet’s face turn to me, giving away her own obsession. I just couldn’t look back up at her. Slight creases formed between his brows. For a second, he struggled because she was looking at me and not at him, “I didn’t do anything really that bad,” he said to get her attention. She turned to him and wanted to say something. He cut her off, “If I didn’t do it. It would have been worse for you.”

That silenced her. I heard her breathing change. Marcus was getting to her, “It means nothing… I might be tied to you for life, but it doesn’t mean I can’t put another mark on top of this one,” the murmurs continued.

Marcus jumped up, stepping closer to her, “No Juliet…” he whispered pleadingly. “How can you say that? Don’t you understand…” He lowered his voice even more, “Do you still not understand what happened that morning. I had no choice… I did it because I love you... I didn’t consummate or hurt you like that… But you were going to be someone’s wife… What I did protected you.” His gaze fixed on me, “Even if you take fifty lovers,” he was forcing me to say something.

I lifted my hands into the air, “I haven’t laid a finger on her. Don’t look at me… Burn Juliet like a cow… Never!” There were more murmurs.

Juliet’s lips quivered slightly. Marcus was visibly relieved. He got the information he wanted. He wanted to know if we had consummated… this and if this was serious.

“You’re older now. You can see how this alliance between the families can change all the generations to come and maybe even bring change,” Juliet scoffed at him. Marcus kept going, “If you can, just come back with me.”

Juliet cussed.

“And I’m sorry… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what was going on… If you give me half a chance, I will make it up to you.”

Her hand slid into mine. She gripped it and pulled me to my feet, “Thank you for coming with me. Just remember that if you kill him, I die as well.”

I frowned at her, “I think we will get out of here without a fight.”

She smiled and squeezed my hand, “Sometimes I wonder who is more naïve between the two of us… Kubra isn’t here.” She looked at Marcus, “It’s time. Do what you have to. I’ll never go back there. Not in a million years. This is still all about control for you… and not being able to get out from under your father… Your… five minutes… are up,” Juliet had a difficult time getting those last few words out.

“Juliet! There is nothing left for me. Not one person. I’m alone! Only when I’m in the same room with you does it feel like someone sees me,” Marcus was desperate.

The longing that I felt by those words pierced my heart. I wanted Juliet to constantly be looking for me… but I was still denying her any affection, and I didn’t know why. I turned to Marcus, “The last guy that said that to her… also did this to her.” Marcus’s jaw clenched, glancing at her arms. “You haven’t even seen the rest of her,” I said softly. I shook my head, “So excuse us if neither of us believes you right now. Your time is up.”

“Are you in love with her?” The question caught me off guard. I didn’t know what to say.

Juliet answered for me, “No, he isn’t,” she said it so matter of factly like she knew what was going on in my head.

Marcus turned from us to the steel door and back again, “So what the hell is going on between you, him, and Louis?”

I turned and pushed her out in front of me. We were about to exit the room when a steel barrier thundered down in front of us, right where the door was supposed to be. Quick, instant security. Juliet shook her head, not even scared. She smiled so sincerely, “What did I say. You should start listening to me.” I had only a moment to look deep into her eyes before the werewolves wanted to attack him. The vampires waited to see what would happen next, keeping the wolves at bay.

I had only another moment to take in all the faces. Vampire faces.

“It takes two people to make any relationship work, Juliet,” Marcus said loudly over the commotion in the room. “And if I remember correctly, you weren’t completely against us,” he stood and walked towards the desk.

She turned and gave him her death stare, “Look at what you’re doing. You ask for forgiveness, but your actions make you just—”

“Don’t say anything you know isn’t true,” Marcus interrupted and pointed his finger at her.

“Then open the gate and let me go. You can prove it to me.” He turned away from her, opening a bag. Worriedly, we all watched him. He lifted his hand and made a fist. Everyone there was startled, ducking from a gushing sound coming from the ceiling. A foggy hue descended with a spreading sound like that of a fire alarm activating. Bodies began to fall… I tried keeping my eye on Marcus, peeking at Juliet, grabbing her before her knees bent. Francis and Jack were passed out and back in their human form. I was the only thing still standing. Marcus had put on a gas mask and watched me with narrowed eyes. I had Juliet in my arms while he backed up, pressing a display screen on the wall. The vault door slowly slid open. There was only one word for the ‘beast’ that emerged from the smoke hanging in the air. He walked intently towards us, ready to go into a run to come at me.

I didn’t know what triggered it. At that time, I was fully aware of my surroundings and I didn’t blackout. The beast was strutting… I was at the door, and then I was behind him, my one paw around his neck, towering over him. All I had to do was extend my claws and retract in one swift action, severing his spinal cord… The beast went limp in my hand. I pulled up into the air, letting gravity work, removing his head from his body. He dropped to the floor while Juliet was pressed against my chest in my other arm. Marcus stood motionless, watching me. I made a noise that made the walls vibrate. Nicholas was right; animalistic instincts had taken over. I chucked the head at the wall and advanced on Marcus. The floor shook underneath me. He lifted his hands in front of his face, “Like that would help,” I whispered. My voice sounded foreign to my ears. He let his arms drop slowly. I tore the mask off his face, “That’s better, Marcus.”

“Thud.”

I looked around, panicky about how to get everyone out—quickly. I ran to the vault, breaking open Louis’s prison gate, and pressed the gas mask over his face. I tried to shake him so he could take deeper breaths. His eyes opened slowly, startled momentarily, seeing Juliet and me like that. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the air just to put him on his feet like a child. I dragged him towards the main entrance. I gently handed her over to him… I had put her in his arms again, and it went against every strand of nerves in my new body.

Nevertheless, I turned to the steel barricade and ran my claws through the steel door from bottom to top. The metal bent enough for me to create an opening for them to get through. I scanned the floor, looking for my keys. They had to be there somewhere. I bent down to get them but had a hard time picking them up with my paw-like hands. Louis bent down, shaking his head. I reciprocated with a growl. That was new for me. He smiled, “Leave and don’t look back,” and he didn’t.

The only other thing I could think about was to break the glass window. It lined one entire wall to create a vista of the skyline… The vacuum it created sucked out all the smoke. I was going to have to run. I ripped out the whole steel barrier to fit, making my way to the emergency stairwell at the end of the hall. I stumbled down the stairs, hiding in the basement parking. I tried to recognize myself in some glass, touched my face, feeling my way to understanding what I had turned into. It was a mess. I thought about Juliet… How close it was. She could have been taken. When I rushed headfirst into the situation, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Every decision Juliet had to make was really life or death. It was survival first and then—family. She had a husband and was branded; it tied them even in death. She was linked to yet another man. I wouldn’t just be competing against Louis. She had been a busy girl. Was there a way of getting rid of Marcus for her? Would she want to after what happened in that room? Was that why she wanted someone older? Argh, all the variables were driving me crazy.

At least all my thoughts made my manifestation recede, and while I watched, I slowly changed back. I breathed easier when I could run my fingers through my human hair. The feeling of helping and saving Juliet made me smile. I had meant something. I was a being not even Marcus had recognized. Not even his drugs did anything to me. At first, I thought Juliet was stupid, doing something so dangerous alone. I snorted at myself. I didn’t know her at all. She had a whole army of people who would help if she was in trouble.

I made my way to the front of the building. Vampires and werewolves were druggily exiting the hotel doors and getting into cars. Francis and Jack saw me and worriedly came over, asking me if everything was okay. “We have to go now! Keys! Get in!” I didn’t lose time and left. I had no desire to see Marcus. Nicholas could figure out a way to thank all those people for being there tonight.

The two cousins passed out again, sleeping in the back. The drugs had not worn off completely. I was left to drive back all the way I had just come. I sighed. I thought about my cell phone. It was in the other car Louis took. Where were they? Would she take him to Nicholas? Would they go home to our little town? To his house. I missed her already. I wanted to be with her—talk to her. I wanted to go on their run with them. If I had been there, I could’ve protected her. I wanted to know where she was and that they were safe. I stopped the car, bent over to the back, and checked for phones. Jack’s was on, and he had a lot of calls and messages.

First, I needed to call Nicholas. He would have to get in contact with everyone. Only then would I find out what was going on. Half an hour later, he called to tell me Juliet was safe, but she and Louis had gone home. Disappointment and relief clouded my judgment. There was an apparent gap between us, except when I brought down all my walls. Just for a few minutes, we were a couple—together. She trusted me with her life. But I didn’t say that I loved her… and she was okay with it. I had to bite my lip just thinking about it. Why could I not let her go? If I didn’t love her… why?

I tried to focus on myself. What all of it meant for me. I had killed someone… Or something… I would have to get over killing people—eating them… Accepting myself as that thing… If I could… There really was only one way out of all of it.

It didn’t seem like I was everything to Juliet. Neither was she for me. I had pushed away from her feelings for me for so long… I might as well push through and try to get over her like I was doing before Friday. Nothing really happened anyway. All I did was help her to fight Jerry.

***

Juliet

My eyes opened in a moving car I didn’t recognize. Not capable of sitting up or having a proper conversation yet. I just peered sightlessly at the roof, lying in the back seat.

“Hi, baby.”

I didn’t know how I felt about Louis being in my head twenty-four-seven. But, with my personality… there was something about it I liked... The idea of him knowing everything. I really didn’t have to hold back, hide or lie. It had its advantages. “Did they do anything to you?” I asked.

“No, nothing… You came for me… You came to save me!”

Would he read my mind? Please read my mind… I couldn’t talk yet.

My thoughts were a jumbled mess… Jumping from Louis and how scared I was that something would happen to him. Remembering that night, we first went hunting when I wanted to kiss him in the car. He knew what I was thinking… That was why he pushed so hard that whole night. I should have let him… None of it would have happened… I pressed my lips together, trying to make sense of everything. My thoughts jumped to Chris… How relieved I was when he came. I told Nick not to send him. Would he have come out on his own? He saved me again… Saved us all.

Marcus’s face came up… His voice and the way it made me feel. Hearing all he had to say after so long. Bowing down in front of me… I couldn’t wrap my head around what it must have taken for him to do that. Just thinking about it wanted to make me cry. I had forgotten how Marcus really was. That made me think about everything we went through and how ridiculous my life had become. Louis pulled the car over. It didn’t even register until the door opened, “Can you lift up your head?”

I did. Louis helped me and sat down, pushing his arms under my shoulders. He pulled me onto his lap and into his arms. He held me close, wrapping me in a tight embrace. My head fell onto his chest like it always did.

Like this was where I belonged.

He did read my mind. I nestled into him, knowing that we were safe. We were going home. “How will we know if they are, okay?” I asked softly.

“They will call,” he stroked my hair. “You came for me, Juliet… You were willing to even see Marcus and confront him. To me, that is a huge deal.”

I didn’t feel like talking. After a moment or two, I must have fallen asleep. The drugs were not entirely out of my system.

We ended up at the Thompson farm. We needed to get Louis’s car and give Sita her grandfather’s car back. Would she and Chris meet if she went back to Nicholas’s farm? Talk? The thought chafed at my insides, making me uncomfortable. I was so jealous I could hardly look at her. I moved around in my seat like a child who couldn’t sit still. Before Chris and I slept together, I didn’t like her. After Chris and I slept together, I hated her… I wanted to be as far away as possible from her—forever.

Louis made our goodbyes, hopped into his seat, and closed his door, “She wants to talk to you.”

“No! Please, can we leave! You don’t want me to disappear again, do you… Don’t push me into a corner.”

He stared at me, “I told your parents this was going to happen. Now that you’re back and after everything, you’re not going to accept what we say,” Louis turned in his seat towards me.

“I have respect for my parents and for you. But it goes both ways! Yes, things will have to change. I did feel bad for them. What they did for me. From now on… It just can’t be a reason anymore.”

“Starting with?” He asked.

“Starting with going to France and getting the hell out of here.”

“You still want to go? With me?”

“Of course! You don’t want us there anymore? I would understand if you didn’t?” I was carelessly gazing out the window into some bushes beside the car. But really I didn’t want to hear his answer.

Louis leaned over. That time, he didn’t ask. He turned my head towards him. He got my attention and slid his hand in behind my neck. Quickly, he planted his lips on mine. It felt so good that I leaned into him, tilting my head. My response to his kiss made his hand on my neck squeeze hard. I coaxed his lips with my tongue. His fingers ran through my hair, fisting a handful as his lips parted. He pressed us together as our mouths met. It felt so right. We were both breathing heavily when he slowly lifted his lips from mine. I was surprised by the bright eyes of an optimist fixed on me. His gaze wasn’t full of lust or want. He was happy and that made me happy.

I was in love with Louis. I have been, and he knew. He knows everything I have thought about him. Dirty thoughts. Happy thoughts… It made me blush, but it allowed me to speak my mind, “Your lips are so soft.” My eyes darted to his and up again. When we kissed, something had stirred in me… The love fever that connected all the dots of a person to yours. Those dots that weren’t there before… between us. The attraction and feelings were alive and well. He had bridged the gap… And it had left me breathless, wanting more of—this. He snickered, “No more taking your feelings into consideration, Juliet.”

I scoffed and muttered, “Like you ever have. It’s been all about you, Louis.”

“I’m serious, Juliet! There were a lot of factors involved. It made me act the way I did.” I tried to get out of his grip but couldn’t. “If you want something, you will have to fight for it. And if you disagree, you have to speak up and push. You have to decide faster because as soon as we get on that plane… It’s you and me, baby. Or you guys go alone… Do you understand what I’m saying?” No! I thought. Does he want me to choose? Was it about Chris or about us being official? He took both my hands in both of his, “I’m not talking about the details. Or what the future may hold. How I will act or how you will act. I… want you close to me… Will you stay… with me?”

A frown played on my forehead. My one rule in life was to love what was good for me. Louis… is by far the best. He had chosen me, knowing everything. He stayed, and I would not throw that away. I was going to take him and keep him. He bobbed his head, “That is good enough for me. The rest… we’ll figure it out as we go along.”

He let my hands go and turned in his seat, putting the car in gear and leaving Sita staring after us. What she must be thinking… One woman has a problem with sex and love, and the other doesn’t. But I was still just a girl. Nervously, I gripped the door handle for support. My life had just monumentally changed. Louis had kissed me. His eyes bore into me. I could feel him on me, “What is it?” I asked self-consciously.

The new Louis was treating me like an adult. I would have to get used to it. “What? You don’t like the more assertive male in me?” he gestured to my hand with his eyes.

“You were holding back… Why?” I asked.

“I wanted you to choose me. I meant that… Even so… I was stupid,” I smiled a little, “Me waiting was only leaving you with more questions than security. Isn’t that what they say about women? The most important thing is security, stability, and—”

“Money!” I laughed when he seemed floored by my answer. “You understand why I was angry, Louis?” Guilt was written all over his face as he turned the steering wheel with one hand, glancing quickly at me and then turning around a corner we needed to take.

“Because I lied. Because you want someone who sees you. Hears you and… listens to you.”

I sighed with relief. He knew what I didn’t like, “Will you lie again?”

“Probably.”

I snickered, “Not what I wanted to hear.”

I was only young when it suited me. I gave myself a break being courted by a guy like Louis. He smiled again. That time very smugly... He opened his hand. Instead of gripping onto the handle, I laced my fingers with his. His fingers closed around mine. I never wanted him to let go, “How are you still here? After Chris.”

“Baby! This Is Where I Want To Be. No conditions.”

I left it there and instead thought about our kiss. His hold tightened on my hand.