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"You're not going!"
Jasmine blinked, turning a frown onto a glaring Zoe. "Excuse me?"
"You can't go!" Zee snapped as she moved to stand between the mutant and the door. "It's crazy! He's a psychotic killer, Jaz! You can't help him!"
One sleek black eyebrow arched upwards as Jasmine finished tying her sneakers. "Zoe, I can take care of myself."
"Can you?" Dark brown eyes widened in obvious worry. "For God's sake, Jaz, you're still healing. Your arm's busted, you're not sleeping... You're walking right into a hornet's nest of trouble!"
Jasmine shook her head and met Zoe's gaze. "I can't explain it, Zoe, not in terms you'd understand. He wasn't lying when he promised not to hurt me or the Pack, I would have smelled the lie." Her green eyes became peppered with amber flecks as she looked at the flame haired teen. "He didn't have to let me go, Zoe."
"You really think he'll keep his word?" Angel asked, speaking up from where she had been watching the exchange.
"Yes."
Cat, who was sitting next to Angel on what could be loosely termed a 'couch', rose her violet gaze to Jasmine's. -Instinct?- she signed curiously, relaxing a little when Jasmine nodded. The young teen had known Jasmine the longest, almost three years. Jaz had saved her from not only a rapist, but a certain death on the streets of San Francisco. She knew that the mutant's instincts were rarely wrong. So if Jasmine thought she could trust Venom, Cat didn't have a reason to argue.
That never stopped Zoe, though.
"Instinct? Are you shittin' me? You're basing all this on instinct?! Holy, hell, you are insane!"
Jasmine snarled at her, fangs bared, eyes flashing gold. "It was my instinct that led me to let you into my Pack," she growled lowly. "Instinct to protect a pup in trouble, because you are still a pup, Zoe, despite your belief otherwise. I am not human, Zoe. I will never be human, despite appearances otherwise. I thought you understood that."
The rebuke made the teen flinch. "I-I... I do. But..."
Sighing, Jaz forced her annoyance aside, softening her gaze. "You worry. That's natural. But I'm a grown wolf... a grown woman. I can take care of myself." She looked over at Angel and Cat, rumbling softly. "We need the money. You know we do. Angel has to get a check-up to make sure the pup is healthy."
"Stubborn overprotective mutt," Angel murmured fondly, shaking her head with a laugh when Jaz mock growled at her. "When will you be back?"
The mutant blinked at the sudden acceptance. "Well, the fights usually take place around midnight, so, two?"
Zoe grumbled and folded her arms across her chest. "You're still insane," she muttered sourly, though she did move away from the door. "Just... just be careful."
A smile tugged at the corner of Jaz's mouth as she slid a belt through the loops on her jeans. "Always." She carefully pulled a tee shirt on over her tank top, hiding a wince at how her cast encased arm ached at the movement. "Besides, I'm more than a match for a bunch of drugged out humans."
-It's not the humans we worry about,- Cat signed, eyes worried. -It's the guns they carry. You're fast, but you can't dodge a bullet.-
"I won't have to, pup. Trust me."
Zoe snorted. "Famous last words."
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tbc