Chapter 7

Krista inhaled sharply as she registered who was in front of her. She tried to slam the door closed, only to have Justin block it and shove it back into her, knocking her to the ground. Krista hit hard, hitting the corner of the cabinet as she landed on the floor. She tried to get to her feet, but wearing only socks, she could not get traction to stand and run from Justin.

"Stop that," Justin hissed through clenched teeth as he grabbed her by the hair and yanked her backward. He moved to push her down and hold her by the throat as he straddled her body. He whispered to her, "Shut up. If you keep making noise, you'll force me to shut you up. Do you understand?"

Krista tried to nod, but Justin was still holding her head tightly in place by her hair.

"Do you understand?" Justin asked again, his lip curling into a sneer.

"Ye…yes," Krista whispered. "Yes, I understand."

"Good girl," Justin said with an oily grin. "And now, you are going to come with me."

"No," Krista said as panic filled her. Not for herself, but for her grandmother, who needed her to be there in case she had problems. "I can't leave my grandmother." She was praying that her grandmother would not wake up. Mimi had taken her medication, which included something to help her sleep. With luck, Mimi would never know what was happening until it was over.

"You can either walk out that door with me, or I will carry you out of it. Either way, you are leaving with me," Justin warned.

"I'll go with you," Krista agreed. 

She had no intention of going with him without a fight, but she could not let him know until she was ready. Krista could feel her wolf ready to act as soon as the time was right. She prayed that she could fight him enough to get him out of the house and lock the door. She needed to mind link someone with security, or even the Alpha, but she did not have time to explain what was happening. She would have to deal with Justin herself.

Justin removed his hand from Krista's throat, still holding her hair in his other hand. He pulled her to her feet and brought her face close to his. He pressed his face to her throat, closing his eyes as he deeply inhaled her scent.

"You have always smelled so good," Justin whispered as he kissed her neck.

His touch repulsed Krista. There had been a time when she enjoyed being with him. That had all changed the first and, until then, the last time he had hit her. She hated to be in the same room as him, and now, having him kiss her neck, made her skin crawl. She had to act, and it had to be now. 

Krista felt her wolf surge forward. She whirled to the side as her canines elongated. She tried to bite into his face, but only managed to graze his cheek with her teeth, leaving a nasty gash. She snapped again and again, trying to make contact with him as she elongated her claws. Krista took swipes at him, but it did little. 

Justin still clung to her hair. He yanked her back violently, throwing her off balance as she fought and making her lose her footing. That was the opportunity Justin needed. He slammed her head down onto the tile floor with a resounding crack. 

Krista lay motionless on the floor as he untangled his fingers from her hair. She was still breathing, and her heartbeat was strong. That was what was important to Justin. Her being unconscious might be a bonus. It would make it easier to get her out of the house and pack without anyone noticing.

He could see a small pool of blood beginning to form under Krista's head. Justin rummaged through the kitchen drawers until he found some hand towels and a roll of packing tape. He went back to where Krista lay on the floor, rolling her over so he could close the cut on her head from hitting the floor. Justin was not concerned that leaving it would cause Krista further harm, but he was worried that the scent of her blood would alert any scouts in the area to a problem.

Justin quickly wrapped the towels around Krista's head, leaving her just enough of an opening to be still able to breathe. He then secured the towels with packing tape, making round after round to ensure they stayed in place and none of her blood's scent escaped. 

He looked down at his own wounds and let out a low growl. His wolf had already stopped the bleeding and started the healing process, but his blood would be as much of an issue as Krista's. Justin grabbed several large black trash bags from under the kitchen sink. He removed his shirt and stuffed it into a bag, rolled it up, and taped it shut to help hide the stench of blood. From there, he went to the sink and washed off the rest of the blood before turning back to Krista.

"Too bad I can't stuff you in a bag like that," Justin grumbled as he looked at Krista's unconscious form on the floor. "Then again, maybe I can."

Justin hurried to slip Krista into one of the lawn-and-garden bags from under the kitchen sink. He worked her into a second one to make sure it would be strong enough to hold her. He tucked the trash bag with his shirt inside with her, tied the bags partially closed, and picked them up with Krista safely tucked inside. 

"Alright, Krista. Now all we have to do is get you to my car, and everything will be just fine," Justin said before slipping out the back door, pulling it shut with his foot as he left. He had parked behind some bushes so he would not be seen from the house.

Justin was at his vehicle in just a few steps. He waved his foot under the bumper to activate the automatic tailgate. He slid the bags containing Krista inside, pulling them open to allow more air to reach her before closing the hatch. Justin got behind the wheel and started his SUV. He wanted to floor it and get out of Blood Moon as fast as possible, but that would draw more attention than if he drove with caution. Justin sighed as he pulled onto the street. In only a few more minutes, Krista would be all his, and there would be nothing anyone could do about it.

-

The first thing Krista became aware of was the pain in her head. The second thing she understood was that she was in a moving vehicle. Every bump sent a jolt of agony through her head. Krista felt like she couldn't breathe. Something was around her head and face, leaving only her nose uncovered. Krista tried to stay calm as she lay curled up on her side. Plastic surrounded her, and she could not push through it. She was weak, and every move filled her with pain. The adrenaline had long since worn off, and she was feeling every hit she had sustained when fighting Justin.

The vehicle began to slow. Krista felt the vehicle make a right turn and heard gravel crunching under the tires. She tried to talk to her wolf, but she couldn't. She did not know if it was because of her head injury or if Justin had given her something, and that terrified her. She did not know what she would do without her wolf. 

Krista was focusing on pulling in as much breath as she could when she felt them stop moving. One of the doors opened and slammed shut, making her jerk from the added pain of the sudden noise. The back hatch opened, and she heard Justin sigh. Krista had heard that same frustration directed at her more times than she could count, and it always ended badly for her.

"You're awake," Justin said, his voice filled with malice. "I can hear your heart pounding. You should be scared. I can almost promise that no one will come looking for you, and even if they do, they won't find you. I drove all night to get here."

Krista did not answer or fight as Justin picked her up, still cocooned in the plastic. Her head wound was against him, making her eyes water as she was jostled and bumped against him. Justin balanced her on his thigh as he opened a door, hefting her back up into his arms when he had finished and making her want to throw up from the pain and dizziness of the movement.

"I will put you on the sofa, and then I will get you unwrapped," Justin said as he placed her gently on the sofa. "I'm sorry about all this. I didn't want to hurt you, and I had to wrap your head in towels and put you in the trash bags so none of the werewolves would smell your blood."

Justin ripped the plastic bags away from Krista, exposing her to the cool room and making her shiver. The plastic had made her sweat, and now that she was in a cool room, she was freezing. 

"Are you cold, baby?" Justin purred sweetly. "Let me get the towels off your head, and then I will get you a cover." After fussing with the tape on the towels for a few seconds, Kyle growled and said, "Let me get a knife. I used more tape than I thought I had. I didn't want to risk the towels coming off the way you were bleeding."

Krista lay motionless on the sofa as she waited for Justin to return. She needed her wolf, but she still could not communicate with her, or even feel her. The more Krista thought about it, the more she was convinced that Justin must have dosed her with something to keep her wolf at bay.

"I'm back!" Justin said, sitting beside her on the sofa. "Now just lie still. I don't want to cut you as I take this stuff off your head. 

Krista lay motionless as she heard and felt Justin slicing through layer after layer of tape that he had wrapped around her head, focusing on her nose and mouth first. He claimed it was to bandage her wound, but she knew him better than that. Somehow, it was to protect himself or his car. 

"There you go," Justin said as he pulled part of a towel away from her mouth and nose, letting Krista inhale deeply for the first time since she regained consciousness. "That's it, take a few nice deep breaths. It will help clear your head. You got a pretty bad bump when you hit your head on the floor."

"My wolf?" she whispered, worried about how close the knife was to her throat as Justin continued to cut through the tape.

"Oh, that," Justin said, pausing in what he was doing. "I had to give you something so you didn't do anything dumb again. You will get your wolf back when you can control yourself better."

"My head," Krista groaned as Justin pulled the towels and tape from her head, taking some of her hair with it.

"Yeah, you hit it hard. You never could walk across the floor without tripping over your own feet—just one of the things I love about you. I'll get you something for your headache. You just stay right here. Moving around will make it worse," Justin said as he stood. He paused and looked at her, shaking his head slowly before he left the room.

Krista's vision was blurry, but even with that, she could make out Justin's expression. He was irritated, most likely by her. Even if she were not responsible for what had happened, he would find a way to blame her. She tried to remember everything that had happened at her grandmother's house, but it was hazy. Panic washed over her. Her grandmother was alone. She had to figure out where she was and get home to Grandma Mimi. Both of their lives could depend on it.