"NO!" He spun her around to face him, "We are working through this shit right here and now!"
Joslyn hung her head in defeat. "Then lets at least move this conversation into the living room. If we stay in here…. It's not a good place for this conversation." She refused to admit that even with the current argument, seeing him in only his boxers was turning her on. She turned back toward the door without meeting his gaze. He leaned off the door and let her open it.
Joslyn had barely walked through the doorway when she saw Shelly standing in the hallway in front of her bedroom, propped up against the door jam, arms crossed in front of her. She was wearing an irritated expression, her eyes seemed to be staring more through Joslyn rather than at her. "I see, as expected, you've already gotten bored of playing my brother's whore. You've always been such a cold, callous individual. Taking what you want, with no regard for their lives." She uncrossed her arms and pushed herself from the door frame staring straight threw Joslyn.
Russ's mouth dropped open in shock, "Shelly! What the fuck!" Russ stepped out into the hallway to get a better look at his twin sister. "What the hell would make you say such a thing! You know better than anyone she's not like that!" Russ stepped out of the room and moved to pull Joslyn against him, but she avoided his grasp.
Joslyn hung her head as she began to walk farther down the hall, "I deserve that." A hand shot out to grab her arm as she made her way past Shelly. Joslyn jerked her head up in surprise. Shelly had always been a sweet, timid person who always avoided confrontations anytime it was possible.
Shelly's penetrating gaze stared directly into Joslyn, "Where do you think you are going?"
Joslyn gasped as sharp pain bit into her arm. Before she had time to figure out what was causing the pain, claws lashed out across Joslyn's cheek. Joslyn's free hand shot up to her face as blood oozed from the wound.
"What the fuck!" Russ boomed, in a perpetual state of shock. He moved quickly to Joslyn's side as blood continued to trail down her face from 3 large gashes.
Another door opened farther down the hallway. Raven popped her head out in time to see Shelly launch her body at Joslyn full force. Her eyes widened as she watched Joslyn try to block the attack while Russ stood wide-eyed in even greater shock, mouth gaped open, stood beside the two women in only his boxers. She watched as Shelly attacked again this time leaving a gash across Joslyn's upper arm. Raven pushed the door farther open and leaped out into the hallway. "Shelly, what the hell man! Stop this now!" But Raven's words were useless as Shelly slashed at Joslyn once again.
Russ quickly grabbed his sister around the waist, only for her to turn her rage on him. Her body began to crack and bend as her shift began. Russ's eyes shot up to Raven's, fear and intense shock written across his face, "Get her out of here now!" He clutched Shelly as tightly as he could as clothes tore and fur began sprouting.
Raven grabbed Joslyn by the arm a quickly headed for the door. Only taking enough time to grab two pairs of flip flops as she went. Raven pushed Joslyn out the front door and quickly turned to shut and lock it behind her. When she turned she ran full body into Joslyn. Joslyn was frozen into place staring over the edge of the breezeway. It didn't take her long to find out what had caused Joslyn's body to freeze into place.
As the top of a head came into view from the stairs Joslyn asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I took the first flight out of Florida this morning. After my brother called me last night, I became worried… So I came back early." Xavier ran his hand through his jet black hair. As he stepped onto the top step his attention jerked to the many lacerations across Joslyn's body. "What happened?"
A loud thud sounded against the front door as Raven grabbed ahold of Joslyn's uninjured arm and quickly made her way toward the stairs. "No time to explain! We have to get out of here, quickly!" Another loud crash sounded from the other side of the door.
Joslyn wobbled slightly as she made her way down the steps, nearly losing her footing. She was still too disheveled to protest when strong arms lifted her up from behind. She looked up but met the reflection of her own eyes in the dark sunglasses looking back at her.
Xavier looked over her face nervously as the smell of blood filled his nostrils, "Some of these cuts look pretty bad, we should get you to the ER."
"There is an urgent care facility right down the block. I hate to ask this, but do you think you could take her? As you can tell I'm not really dressed for the occasion." Raven indicated her bralette and thin silky pajama shorts. Another loud bang sounded from inside the apartment. "Plus, I have to figure out something to do with those two. Even if I can miraculously break up the fight, I can only imagine what state the apartment will be in with two grown ass werewolves duking it out... in wolf form no less..." Raven glanced back toward the door as a loud growl sounded followed by a wolf's yelp. "...And I'll probably have to deal with the landlord at some point as well..."
Xavier shook his head yes as he glanced up at the room. "Yeah, no problem." He quickly made his way down the steps taking them two at a time. As he neared his jeep, he shifted Joslyn's weight in his arms slightly so he could retrieve the key from his pocket. He then fought to open the door balancing Joslyn in only one arm. As soon as it was opened, he quickly sat Joslyn on the passenger side seat and leaned across her to buckle the belt before running around to the other side of the vehicle and jumping inside.
He made his way quickly to the medical office, risking only brief glances at Joslyn. He shut off the engine and sped around to the other side of the jeep and once again lifted Joslyn out of the vehicle. Blood had completely soaked her clothes and was seeping out from beneath the hand she held over her cheek. He didn't bother setting her down as he kicked the door shut and turned to run into the facility with her still in his arms. As he burst through the doors he yelled, "Please someone help; my friend is seriously injured!"
A nurse jumped up from behind the counter and shot around the side, "Please follow me this way!" She led him back into a private room down a small hallway. "Please place her on the bed and have a seat." She began moving around the room taking items from various drawers and laying them out along a small silver table. Once she was finished, she approached Joslyn and handed her a few clean gauzes. "Here dear, please hold these against your wounds until the doctor can come in and examine them." With that, she hurried out of the room.
It had been nearly an hour since they arrived at the small clinic. Xavier walked toward the exam table Joslyn was sitting on. She hadn't moved or said a single word to him since the apartment. She answered questions the nurse and doctors had asked with short direct answers, but she seemed to still be in a state of shock. {There is no way the attack was a coincidence. Dante's name is written all over this situation. If only I'd gotten here sooner.} Xavier thought to himself. He reached out toward her face, but she jerked away from him.
"Why are you here?" Joslyn asked before looking up at him, "What were you doing at my apartment? Weren't you out of town?" suspicion colored her words.
Xavier ran his hands through his hair, "I was… I told you I flew in this morning." He tried masking his disappointment in her reaction to his touch but feared he was failing at hiding it. "I came straight to your place." When she gasped he caught himself, then quickly added, "I don't mean it like that. It's just that my brother… Tends to take things to the extreme as frequently as possible. When he showed me the video of you, then called back later with your roommate at his house…. I was concerned for your safety... Hers as well..."
Joslyn's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open, "Video of me?! What do you mean…" Realization hit her. {His brother had been standing near the back-stage area at last nights show. He must have recorded us.} Joslyn's face turned blood red as she stared back at him.
Xavier blushed slightly and averted his gaze away from Joslyn, "Yeah…. About that, I'm sorry. I told him to leave you alone, that we weren't… You know…. Together, but he was still worked up about it." He finally turned back toward her so he could read her expression. "When he called me back, your roommate was passed out in his living room." He ran his hands through his hair again. "To be honest, I came there today to check on her. I originally assumed he planned on hurting her, but instead, it looks like he has used her to hurt you." He moved forward again but stopped before getting too close to the table she sat on.
Joslyn puffed out a breath and looked up at him. "I'm sorry for what you saw, but aside from an unwanted video your brother really didn't do anything last night. Shelly was already pissed when she left the house the night before. It's not like he has any control over her. He didn't make her drink, and he definitely didn't make her attack me today."
Xavier looked away, though he knew she couldn't see his eyes from beneath the sunglasses he still wore. "Actually he could have…"
" What do you mean by that." Joslyn arched a brow at him.
Xavier adjusted his glasses before looking back up at her. "Dante has a way of manipulating people to get them to do exactly what he wants."
Joslyn rolled her eyes, "Are you saying like magic?"
"No, nothing like that." He searched for the proper explanation. "He's very good at persuasion."
Joslyn continued looking at him doubtfully, "Shelly may be young but she's still a werewolf if you hadn't noticed." Pain filled her next words, "She wouldn't do anything she didn't want to do."
Before Xavier could say more the doctor came into the room. "Ok miss Joslyn its time for some stitches." He examined the wounds again as Joslyn laid back on the table. "It looks like this one on your arm is the worst, but I wouldn't mind treating the bite mark either." He said as he pulled the neckline of her shirt down to fully revile the mark Russ had left.
Joslyn heard Xavier's quick inhale and quickly brought her hand up to cover the mark. "No doctor it's ok. I'm just worried about the scratches."
The doctor looked up at her, "Miss, at the very least I need to clean it out. It could set up an infection. Now you don't want that do you?"
Joslyn let out a sigh and shook her head no.
Xavier waited quietly, watching as the doctor worked. {The bite on her neck looks horrible. No doubt about it the spot had been bit numerous times in the past two days. It hadn't been there on Friday night. There's also no doubt about what kind of 'bite' it is.} Xavier retrieved his phone from his back pocket then glanced up at Joslyn. She was staring at a poster on the wall as the doctor stitched up the large gash on her arm. He looked back down at his phone and began typing.
[How much do you know about werewolf mating rituals?] Xavier sent the text then glanced back up. He felt a vibration from his phone and pressed the button to unlock it.
[A fair amount. Why?]
[Is there biting involved?] Xavier arched a brow up over his glasses as a moan broke the silence. The doctor must have hit a tender spot.
[Yes, in fact, it is one of the key steps in their mating. It's a sign the wolf has chosen the other person as their mate. It's actually common for both parties to bite.]
Xavier arched his brow again at his phone this time. [Really? Would a wolf bite a person they hadn't chosen as a mate?]
[I guess they could, but typically it's saved only for imprinted mates and consists of several bites in one chosen spot.]
{Just as I suspected.} Xavier gritted his teeth as he sent a thank you text.
[Will that be all Sir?]
[Yes, for now. Thanks, again] Xavier narrowed his eyes behind the glasses. {Well this explained a lot. This goes a bit farther than just messing around or dating then doesn't it?} Xavier's thoughts were interrupted by the doctor.
"Alright, miss, all done." The doctor set his tools down on the small silver table and removed his gloves. "I recommend a triple antibacterial ointment on the bite and the gashes. Make sure to keep them clean, you may want to avoid public pools and the ocean for a week or so. I would like to see you back in 10 days to check these and remove them if they are ready." With that, the doctor got up and moved to the door. As he opened it he glanced back at Joslyn, "I hope whatever situation you were in to receive such injuries, you don't plan on going back any time soon… especially that bite." He shot her a look over his glasses, "I will have the nurse bring you some handouts along with your discharge paperwork." The doctor shot Xavier a curious glance before walking out the door, closing it behind him.
"So, she bit you too?" Xavier felt like a jerk for bringing it up but he had to know what she would say and whether she knew what it meant.
Joslyn's face turned red as she looked away. "No… It wasn't from Shelly."
Xavier forged surprise as he asked, "Then it was from the brother?" Surprisingly it didn't take much effort to forge hurt as he asked, "Was it during… the video?"
Her face reddened more, "Yeah, kinda."
Xavier signed, "So the two of you… are… together then?"
Joslyn buried her face in her hands, a sob slipping out. "I don't know. This is all so sudden and now Shelly… I don't know what to do!"
{I shouldn't have said anything. Now she is upset on top of injured and it's all my fault.} Xavier moved quickly over to her side. He gently stroked her back. "I feel like none of this would have happened if it hadn't been for me. You are more than welcome to say at my place until all this passes over. I would like to help however I can."
Joslyn looked up into his sunglass-clad face, "Thank you, that is a kind offer, but you have to understand why I can't do that."
He let his hand slide away from her back. "I didn't mean it that way. I have a large guest room you could use for at least tonight. Until things calm down. I'm not there much. I work quite a bit. You would have the house pretty much to yourself." He looked down at her from over his sunglasses. His green eyes sparkling down at her, "I feel responsible for what happened. It would make me incredibly happy and relieve some of my guilt if you would agree to stay the night."
Joslyn couldn't look away from the glowing depth of his eyes, they were mystifying. But she still didn't answer.