Uncaged

Chapter 15

I stood nervously on the landing at the Garrison's house and rang the doorbell. I was hoping this was going to work, but who knew what her dad's reaction would be? I was dressed for a date, or as much so as I could afford. My best jeans and one of my dad's old pale green button-down shirts that he had handed down to me. It wasn't fancy, but it was better than shorts and a tee shirt. I'd even brought the beast with me, and it was parked over in the driveway. I knew Jane was out with Jasmine, so the fact that it was Christmas Eve shouldn't be an issue.

I heard footsteps approaching and took a deep breath to try and calm my nerves. Finally, Mr. Garrison opened the door, looking a bit confused to see me. "Hey Lucas, what can I do for you?"

"I was hoping to take your daughter out for a date, sir." Yeah, I did it without stuttering, this was a good start.

"I'm sorry, Jasmine is out with Jane tonight," he apologized, starting to shut the door.

"Yes, I know. I wanted to take Nikki out," I explained calmly. Damn, did his face go pale.

"Lucas, come inside." He led the way inside, shoulders stooped. I followed, closing the door and then went to the living room, where he had taken a seat on the couch. "How did you find her?"

"Do we really need to go into that? You know we have three weeks before Phillips is back, and I'd like her to enjoy some of that time. Maybe even come up with a plan to save her," I retorted. "And before you go arguing, I was under the bad last night when you brought him in, I can send you the video if you like."

"So, you know what she is?" he asked in wonder.

"I do, yes. I know what I am to her as well, and I'm not letting her go."

He actually smiled at that. "I was worried you might reject her, but she was convinced you wouldn't."

I shook my head sadly. "You should trust her more. You should also tell your wife to stop trying to fix her, and instead either learn to live with the differences, or find a fix for her own power to tune Clover out. Nikki doesn't deserve this! She needs to be able to live her life."

"And how do you propose she does that?"

"Let me take her out. Let me make her happy. And then maybe we come up with a plan to take on Phillips," I stated. "He doesn't know she can read minds, so he won't expect us to be waiting for him when he returns."

"Do you think it is as simple as that?" he scoffed.

"Of course not, I'm terrified at the thought of fighting a bunch of werewolves. I don't have a plan for it yet. But I'm more terrified of what happens to Nikki if he takes her." I pointed out. How could he not be working to come up with a plan as well? I had really admired him in the past, seeing how he had been a single parent to two kids. But now, knowing about how he had treated Nikki, and that he was resisting even now, his image was shrinking before my eyes.

He sat there shaking his head, as though he were looking for more excuses. "What if she bites someone?"

"Do you really think she has no control? She could have bitten any one of your family over the last 6 years. She could have bitten me last night! She could have attacked Phillips when she realized what he wanted! How much longer does she need to live as a prisoner?" Seriously, what the hell was he thinking?

"Alright, fine. But you said you know you're her mate, don't let her mark you!" he growled.

Yeah, I'm not going to mention anything about that. I can't imagine that would go over well. "No marking tonight, got it."