Chapter 74

Ardal

I open my mouth to answer Jack when I’m hit with Kadeem’s familiar scent and then hear a low growl reverberating through the air.

I glance over my shoulder as Kadeem is stalking menacingly towards us. His face is so contorted by hostility it renders him almost recognizable.

Alarm bells sound off in my head. He wouldn’t dare transform into his wolf in broad daylight on this busy street?

And also, what the hell is his problem?!

I glance nervously around for witnesses, but Kadeem seems to be radiating such an aura of pure malice that it sends the passersby scurrying away like mice.

Jack gawks at Kadeem, who directs all of his villain energy straight towards him, like a bullseye target.

Without thinking, I quickly step in front of Jack as a shield. Kadeem doesn’t even spare me a second glance.

“Get away from her,” he grunts at Jack.

I grip Jack’s hand tighter as my heart races like a jackrabbit. “What’s your deal,” I ask in a sassy tone, but a quiver modulates my voice. “I’ll decide who I want to date, thank you very much,” I say, raising my chin defiantly.

Kadeem casts an exasperated eye roll before returning to his glowering form. “Do me a favor, babe, and quit pretending everything is all about you!”

Face red as a cherry tomato, Jack puts his hand on my back and steps forward protectively.

“That was really uncalled for,” he says, with a deadly calm to his voice. His eyes fill with anger behind his glasses and sunlight glares off of them like stars.

Kadeem leans in closer to Jack, sending a shiver through me. “I’m not kidding,” he snarls. “Stay away from Chelsea. I may not know everything yet, but I’m on to you, Mr. Wizard.”

Hold the phone. What?

I search Kadeem’s face for clues that this is all some kind of a weird joke.

Jack blinks. “What are you talking about,” he stammers, confusion etched across his face.

Kadeem’s snarl reverberates like a lion’s roar. “I think you know what I’m implying.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere,” Jack says staunchly before looking back at me. “Unless she wants me to.” He gives me a small nod and I’m grateful for his respect.

“Then we’re going to have a problem,” Kadeem says. His muscled arms glisten in the sunlight.

My eyes dart from Jack to Kadeem and back again, my heart thundering in my chest.

“Yes, I guess we are,” Jack says, rolling up his sleeves as the color drains from his face.

“Hold up!” I jump in front of them both. “No one’s going to get into some Old West showdown over me! I’m dating Jack,” I yell, angrily pushing Kadeem with all my might. It doesn’t budge him an inch. “Get over it!”

Kadeem’s expression darkens. He takes another step closer to me, leaning in so his breath brushes against my cheek like the wind. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” he hisses, almost pleadingly.

My stomach drops as I look up to meet his eyes, and for a second, I see something there that looks like fear, just before Jack shoves him away from me, enraged.

“You heard her,” Jack roars. “Take a hike.”

It’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Faster than I can process it, Kadeem has moved me aside with a remarkable gentility given the rapid speed. Then he spins around to deflect Jack’s wild swing at him, striking out at Jack with a blow so hard it sends him flying backwards and knocks his glasses off of his face.

Aghast, I want to do something to stop all this madness, but in a second, Jack’s already scrambled back on his feet and lunges at Kadeem with a savage ferocity. His teeth are gritted, and with zero hesitation, he takes another swing.

Taken by surprise, Kadeem moves just a little too late, and as he swivels and bends to dodge him, Jack’s fist misses Kadeem’s face, but somehow manages to clock him square in the side of his head.

I’m more than a little shocked at the effect it has on Kadeem. His face goes blank and he stumbles for a second, but Jack wastes no time going for a second hit, and then another.

As Jack is aiming for the third strike, Kadeem suddenly grabs his arm, throwing it back with a sickening force before kneeing him in the chest, and smashing him into the brick wall of the building. It knocks the wind off of Jack, and he staggers, gasping for air.

I start to rush to him, but Kadeem blocks my path, gripping my shoulders.

“Stay back,” he says. His eyes look dazed and I’m not sure he’s really all there. He seems to be trying to force his shaky pupils to stay focused on me, and there’s something tender in his gaze, but I push past the irrational longing for him that rises up in me, and try to fight my way out of his iron grasp.

“Don’t you dare touch her,” Jack growls, hurtling himself at Kadeem with furious intent.

Kadeem moves away from me, propelling his body quickly in the other direction. They nearly collide with each other and fists begin to fly.

As I watch in horror, I barely register the sound of footsteps racing.

“What the fuck?” Wearing a blazer and tie, as though he just got off from work, Mateo rushes towards us. “Cut it out! Someone’s likely to call the cops, Kadeem!” He tries to barrel his way through them, only to get pummeled by each punch in the process.

The additional complication seems to infuriate Kadeem further. He thrusts his friend tumbling out of the way before turning on Jack and unleashing a brutal assault. “I. Was. Going. Easy. On. You,” he says, punctuating every word with a fisted strike to Jack’s body. “Not anymore,” he says, sending a chill through me, just before he begins to deliver a flurry of blows, one after another.

“Stop it,” I scream, watching the fire in Kadeem’s eyes as grabs hold of Jack and pins him against the wall with a savage grip around his neck.

Mateo valiantly scurries up, but Kadeem seems to sense he’s coming and sends him sprawling to the ground.

Mateo groans in pain as he crashes against the pavement, clutching his knee in agony.

"Kadeem, stop!"

My cry seems to cut through his frenzy and Kadeem stops mid-punch. He releases Jack and looks at me, panting.

Something about my disgusted, horrified expression seems to douse his anger like an ice bucket. He loses that animal look to his eyes and stumbles away from Jack, not intervening as I race to him.

Jack is lying crumpled on the ground, bleeding, his left eye swollen shut, and gasping for breath.

“Oh my god,” I sputter, as I reach his side. My stomach churns in fear, my hands trembling.

“I’m okay,” Jack whispers, but I’m not so sure. I hold his hand and fight back tears.

Kadeem’s shoulders are slumped as he turns to help Mateo, who struggles to move his swollen knee and grimaces in pain as Kadeem gently lifts him up on his feet.

The door of the gym opens and two older women in their workout clothes step nervously out, their faces drawn in disbelief. They’re flanked immediately by Dylan.

One of the ladies is pointing at us and looking back at Dylan. “See?”

Dylan’s eyes are wide as he takes in the scene, and wider still when he registers it’s Kadeem in the middle of bloodbath. “Er…”

For once, he’s lost for words.

Kadeem’s face goes nearly purple with mortification and more people begin arriving, gawking at the scene before them as they file into the gym for their evening workouts.

“Need any help there, Kadeem?”

I look over to see Terry, a brawny, salt-and-pepper haired Were and a sort of “good ol’ boy” of the pack.

Kadeem shakes his head and turns to Dylan, instead. “Dylan, can you get Mateo inside so I can wrap his knee?”

“Sure thing, Boss.” Dylan’s licking his lips nervously, but he seems relieved to have a task to do.

Kadeem is letting Mateo hold on to him for support, and helps him transfer his weight to Dylan so he can limp inside.

Turning to Jack, I choke back a sob and attempt to stifle my tears so he won’t worry about me. “There’s a first aid kit inside. If you can get up?”

“I’m not sure,” Jack says weakly.

He looks so fragile and vulnerable right now. What will happen if he can’t? And what if he needs more than a first aid kit? Should I call for the paramedics?

“I’ll help,” Kadeem says quietly. I can see whelps and bruises forming on Kadeem’s face, too, and I feel a little bad for him as he stands pathetically in front of me. He looks devastated.

Despite the pang of empathy, my gut response is to reject his assistance. I feel rage bubble up inside of me - this time not just for Jack’s sake but for mine. The cruelty - the vicious, controlling audacity of him to hurt someone I’m dating because of his own jealous insecurity!

But looking down at Jack again, I know there’s no other choice. He needs help badly, and I don’t think I can manage it alone.

With an apprehensive nod from me, Kadeem reaches down to foist Jack onto his feet.