Chapter 11

Chapter 11

“I-I didn’t mean to do it,” Ashley mumbled in a daze as she hugged her arms around herself as she looked from Jacob, who still hadn’t put any fucking clothes on, back at him, looking absolutely fucking lost.

“Go get dressed,” Kale said with a pointed look that had Jacob shooting Ashley a wince as he murmured, “Sorry,” before quickly making his way out of the room.

“Listen up, because I’m only going to say this once,” Kale said as soon as they were alone, forcing himself to ignore the effect that look had on him and focused on getting the hell out of there. “You’re not to leave this property without permission,” he said, pulling the tracker that he had created out of titanium for her out of his backpack before dropping the bag on the floor.

“Why can’t I leave?” Ashley asked as she watched him grab her left wrist before he thought better of it and switched his attention to her right arm and that mark that turned his stomach every time he saw it.

“What are you doing?” she asked, frowning as she watched him place the tracker that would let him know exactly where she was at all times on her wrist.

“Making sure that you don’t leave,” Kale said as he tried to force himself to ignore just how soft her skin was.

“I can’t stay here,” Ashley said, trying to pull her arm back before he could lock the tracker in place.

“You don’t have a choice,” Kale said, tightening his hold on her arm as he pressed his thumb against the small piece of black glass located on the side of the cuff until the lock slid into place with a series of small beeps, letting him know that the tracker was now active.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked hollowly when he finally released her arm.

Kale ignored her question as he grabbed his bag and pulled out the bagged blood that he stole from the Williams mansion. “Make sure that you’re eating every few hours. I have a blood delivery scheduled for tonight, but this should last you until then,” Kale said, tossing the bags on the bed next to her and watched as she noticeably flinched as they landed.

“I can’t do it,” Ashley said, swallowing hard as she shook her head while Kale pulled his phone out and double-checked that the reward for the little bastard that had somehow evaded capture over the past two months was still good.

“You can and you will,” Kale absently said, noting that the offer was now fifteen million as he typed in his access code and with a swipe of his thumb, accepted the job.

“I really can’t,” she whispered, but he wasn’t in the mood to play this fucking game with her.

For the past two months, he’d been stuck playing nursemaid for a mate that he didn’t want and now that she’d made it through her transition, he was getting the hell out of here and getting back to his life. He had too much shit to do to sit around here on his ass for another day.

“You can’t leave,” Kale said, grabbing his bag and threw it over his shoulder as he debated his next move.

For a moment, Kale considered finding that cabin that Vane mentioned, but he couldn’t be that fucking stupid to send his son there after he’d told Kale about it. That left…

Too many fucking possibilities.

“I just want to go home,” came the softly whispered words that had him absently nodding.

“Do you want the truth or some sugarcoated bullshit that will help you sleep at night?” Kale asked as he slipped his phone into his back pocket.

There was a slight hesitation and then…

“The truth,” Ashley said, swallowing hard as she reached down and grabbed hold of the comforter with trembling hands as she prepared herself for what he was about to tell her.

“The truth is that you could leave anytime that you want and there’s not a hell of a lot that I could do to stop you. Thanks to your transition, you’re stronger and faster, which will make it easier for you to tear apart every man, woman, and child that makes the mistake of crossing your path,” Kale said, shrugging it off while he watched all the color leave her face.

When she didn’t try to bullshit him by telling him that she would never do something like that, he continued. “Right now, you have no control over your abilities. It won’t take much to set you off and make you lose control, which is why your mate, who doesn’t want you, is willing to meet my asking price to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“What happens if I lose control?” Ashley whispered as she began to tremble.

“It will be the last fucking thing you’ll ever do.”