Uncaged

Chapter 19

Even on Christmas Eve it was still reasonably warm, so everyone was out at Twistee Treat after last minute shopping. I had texted Jane to tell her that we were headed there, though she didn't know I was with Nikki, so she assumed it was just me, and she promised to meet me there. I pulled us into the drive through line, not wanting to deal with the drama of being seen with Nikki once Jasmine showed up. It was her first night out, and I didn't want her gawked at.

There were still a few cars ahead of us in line when I realized that Nikki might not realize what she was getting into. "Have you ever been here?"

She nodded slowly. "I think so, a long time ago. Do they still have vanilla and chocolate swirl cones?"

"They do indeed!" I promised. "Do you want sprinkles or anything else on them?"

Her eyes lit up with excitement at that. "Yes! Sprinkles are perfect!"

A few minutes later, we arrived at the window to pick up our two identical cones with sprinkles, and then went to park while licking them. It was a nice night, and while the beast once again merited a lot of looks, the dark tinted windows gave us all the privacy we needed. Not that we were looking for privacy this time, otherwise we'd be back at the vet's office scaring the dogs again.

Before too long, Jasmine and Jane pulled into the spot next to us in Jasmine's Merc. One more thing to be bitter about, Nikki never got any of that stuff. Did she ever even have a chance to learn how to drive?

"No, I didn't," she answered after picking up my thoughts.

I spun my head to her, not minding her picking up my thoughts, just mad once more for her situation. "I'm going to make sure we do everything you ever missed out on, okay?"

"Lucas, I don't care. The fact that you're so angry on my behalf is more than enough for me. It shows how much you care." Her eyes drifted past me as she saw the two girls standing next to my window.

I took a deep breath and lowered the window so they could see inside. "Hey ladies."

They both had looks of shock on their face, with Jane having to look between Jasmine and Nikki several times to believe her eyes. Jasmine was the only one that could speak though. "Nikki? You're out?"

"It's a Christmas miracle," I joked. "But really, once I found her, your dad didn't have much choice but to let me take her out. The secret was out."

"And he's my mate, so I was leaving either way," Nikki added, putting her hands on my arm and leaning in close.

"I think I'm missing a lot here," Jane mumbled with a confused expression.

"Yep, you are. Go get ice cream and we'll talk," I assured her.

15 minutes later, we were all sitting in Jasmine's car. It was easier since her Merc was a 4 door, and I didn't want anyone in my back seat till I had cleaned it. Not that it was disgusting, but I had my bare butt on the seat earlier and I was trying to be polite. It took some convincing for Jane to believe everything that was happening, and we couldn't let Nikki shift in public, but Jasmine backed the story, and I might have whispered a few things in Nikki's ear that let Clover get a bit excited. When her eye started glowing, Jane was awestruck, and she was converted into a believer.

"You're serious about a pack of wolves attacking on the full moon? That is right out some cheesy horror flick!" Jane scoffed.

"It's going to happen," I assured her. "The question is, how do we stop him from taking Nikki. We know the bars of her cage are silver, so maybe I can make some weapons from them. I have some metal working gear at the garage that we use to fabricate parts when necessary, so I can make some simple things."