"Wake up, Princess," Jack whispered in my ear.  "We're here."

I blinked as I came awake, the night's events crashing into me.  Connecticut.  I was in Connecticut.  Jack tugged at my seatbelt and then he was hauling me up.  Logan was in front of us and Paul took up the rear.  They didn't trust me not to try to run.  Jack's iron grip on my hand confirmed my suspicion as we started out of the plane.

My teeth started to chatter as soon as they opened the door.  Icy winds attacked when I stepped down.  Snow blinded me and I stumbled.  Jack caught me and I wanted to jerk away from him, but the ice my foot hit made me rethink that when I almost went down.  The heated seats in the waiting SUV did nothing to dispel the cold that settled in my bones.  I was a Cali girl.  I didn't do cold.  My tank top and blue jean shorts attested to that.

"I told you there were things I needed," I hissed at Captain Jack. "Pants and a jacket would have been nice things to have before I landed in the middle of a snowstorm!"

Jack growled and I found myself in his lap. His legs wrapped around mine and his arms enclosed my upper body. In an instant I was in a furnace. Heat seeped into me from everywhere. I sighed, literally sighed at the warmth invading my senses. It was something more than just heat assaulting me, though. It made the pit of my stomach feel funny, not like the butterflies I got when Jimmy smiled at me, but something more intense. I liked it and I didn't want to. 

Logan groaned in the front seat and I frowned at him. What was his problem? He wasn't freezing. Both he and Paul had put on heavy jackets before departing the plane. Not that they thought about my comfort, oh no. Neither of them even offered me their coats. Let the kidnapped girl freeze to death instead.  Not that I was freezing at the moment. Nope, I was warm and toasty right now.

"You need to work on that," Jack sighed.

"What?" I asked him.

"Controlling the pheromones you're giving off," he said.  "It's what made the idiot in the front seat groan like a girl."

"Hey man, not cool," Logan snarled at him.  "It's not just her either.  You need to control your own."

Another wave of intense...something...lashed out of Jack and I whimpered at the pain that lashed through me.  Logan shuddered, but didn't say anything.  I know it had to have hurt him because it did me.       

"Dude, don't lecture her on pheromones when you can't even focus your Alpha. You let it hit the Princess again." I felt Jack stiffen at Paul's rebuke. The heat coming off him intensified and for a second I felt like I was in an inferno, then it subsided. Jack took a deep breath and his body temperature cooled down to just a balmy summer day instead of Dante's Inferno. 

"Won't be a problem once we dump her in the headmaster's office," Jack said matter-of-factly. "She'll be someone else's responsibility then."

I flinched. He was just going to dump me off on someone else? Not that I cared, mind you. It was just, well...I didn't like this feeling of abandonment I suddenly felt. Everyone I loved, everything I cared about had been ripped from me and now the one person I trusted just a little was throwing me away too? 

"Ah, hell," Logan muttered. "You've gone and upset her again."

"No," I denied. "I'm fine."

"You're talking to people who can smell your lies, Princess," Logan told me with sympathy.  "We can smell the fear and the anger and the hurt."

"I'm fine," I told them forcefully. "You can let me up now.  I'm warm."

His arms tightened around me for a fraction of a second, but he released me.  I scooted over to my side of the seat and fastened my seatbelt.  The clock on the dash read 4:30 am.  I'd fallen asleep almost as soon as we'd taken off and slept through the entire flight.  Not sure how that happened.  Flying and I didn't get along.  It terrified me really. So sleeping through the flight was something I couldn't explain.

All I could see outside was the snow blowing.  It was too thick to even make out landmarks.  The fact that Logan could see to drive, let alone keep the SUV on the icy roads, was a miracle. 

How was I supposed to not let them see my fear if they could smell it?  I don't know if only weres could smell emotions, but I was betting there were tons of creatures that could do the same.  Not fair.  Then again, what could be described as remotely fair about any of this?  I sighed.  I wanted my Gran and yes, I even wanted my Pillow Pet.  The old ladybug had seen several bouts of tears over the last few years and she'd be seeing more if I had her right now. 

"Jack's usually not such an ass," Paul told me quietly.  "I think you just threw him is all."

"Shut up," Jack growled, his voice deep and gravelly.  If I looked, I bet his eyes would be glowing amber.

"I'm only trying to help," Paul threw up his hands.  "She's hurt.  Even I can tell that and I don't have the super sniffer you guys do."

"I'm fine!" I yelled a little too loudly.  I closed my eyes in frustration.  Why couldn't they just leave it be?  Yeah, he'd hurt my feelings, but Jimmy had done far worse to me tonight in public.  So why did Jack's intentions seem to hurt worse than being humiliated in front of what felt like the entire school?

"Look, sweetheart," Jack sighed.

"Don't call me that."  The words were quiet, but even I could hear the malice in them.  Guess I was madder than I thought.

"Fine, Princess then," Jack snapped.  "Once we get to Ravenwood, we'll take you to the headmaster's office and then you'll be escorted to your rooms.  Once we drop you off, you'll be turned over to the Princess brigade to learn everything you need to know about being Snow White."

I didn't bother trying to deny I wasn't their Snow White. It would be a pointless argument. If my parents really were Supernaturals, then so was I.  I really could hurt someone if I didn't know how to control my abilities.  I'd watched enough TV to know that.  Bravo had a show about Supernaturals who tried to deny what they were.  It never ended well. 

My parents supposedly learned what they needed to and then walked away from it.  I'd confirm that once I got either my phone back or my dad showed up to talk to me.  They had to have a parents day right?  If my mom and dad could get out, then so could I.  I'd learn what I needed to and leave.  There was nothing here for me.  Nothing.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Jack demanded.  Heat pulsed off him.  I could feel it all the way over here.

"None of your business," I told him.  "As soon as you dump me off at the office, I'm no longer your responsibility remember?"

He growled.  He seemed to do that a lot.  "Well until we get there, you are my responsibility.  What are you thinking?"

I ignored him and turned to look out the window instead.  Not that I could see a thing, but it was better than looking at him.  He just wanted rid of me.

"If you are thinking of ways to escape, don't," he warned. 

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I laughed bitterly.  "The Big Bad Wolf will hunt me down and bring me back."

"Always," he told me, the finality echoing in the confines of the car.

"I'm not stupid enough to try to escape in the middle of a blizzard," I sighed wearily.  "I'd get lost and die of hypothermia."

"I'd find you before that happened."

I rolled my eyes and then went back to ignoring him. Paul chuckled in the front seat.  He winked at me and I couldn't stop the small smile from sliding over my face.  His good humor was contagious. 

Logan slowed and I found my grin fading.  A massive gate appeared in front of us and Paul got out of the vehicle.  I leaned forward to try to see what he was doing, but there was too much snow.  I saw a blinding light and then I saw the gates swing open.  Paul got back in and put his hands up to the heat vents.  He looked frozen through.  We drove through the gates and I expected to pull directly up to the school, but we didn't.  We continued to drive, taking several turns before rolling up to another set of gates.  This time, Logan punched in a code and then we were driving up the driveway of the school grounds. 

"Ready, Princess?" Jack asked me quietly.

"As ready as you are to get rid of me," I hissed at him.

The car came to a stop in front of the school and Jack jumped out, waiting for me.  My first instinct was to open my door and run as far and as fast as I could, but unfortunately, common sense won out.  I would get lost and it'd be just my luck to die in the middle of nowhere in a freaking blizzard.

 As much as I didn't want to, I had to get out and face what lay inside those doors.  With a sigh, I scooted out and let Jack lead me inside.

God knows what was waiting for me.