by Juniper Hart
Fear colored her eyes.
“You’re trying to get rid of me!” she squealed, backing away. “You don’t care about me! You only care about Hazel!”
“No,” he corrected earnestly. “Hazel needs you as much as she needs me. We both protect her.” Asha eyed him uncertainly.
“What will happen to me?” she whispered.
“Nothing,” Lev promised. “You aren’t going anywhere. You’re a part of Hazel. Not me or anyone else can take that away from you. I love Hazel—all of her. That includes you, Asha.”
He stared at her face, and his heart leaped into his throat as he saw the veil slipping away from her eyes. Slowly, her body shifted back into her mortal form, and Lev knew he had his mate back. He, too, permitted himself back into his human skin.
“Hazel?” he breathed, grabbing at her as her knees buckled. She looked around in confusion, fear covering her face.
“Where am I?” she gasped, jumping as she saw Gabriel laying at her feet. “H-how did I get here?”
“It’s all right,” Lev assured her, pulling her away from Gabriel’s unconscious form. “He’s out—not dead.”
“What is going on?” Hazel breathed. “W-was it Asha?”
He nodded, pulling her into his arms to stroke her hair comfortingly.
“Everything is going to be fine,” he said. “I’ve got you now.”
Hazel sniffled, burying her face into his shirt. The sound of sirens in the distance gave Lev a deep sense of relief. Hazel’s head whipped back, and she gaped at him.
“Is that the police?”
“The FBI,” he replied. “I called them.” More terror colored her expression, but Lev pulled her back into his embrace. “Gabriel is the Werewolf,” he explained. “They will find his teeth marks match the victims here in Washington.”
“What about the ones in California?”
“We’ll have to let the feds pursue it there,” he told her firmly. “You’re about done with this case. We need to focus on you now.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t solve this myself,” Hazel muttered, shuddering. “I ran myself ragged trying to catch this bastard, and I didn’t even close this case.”
“What are you talking about?” Lev demanded, laughing as cars screeched to a halt outside. “You and you alone solved this case. Even the leader of the Lycans couldn’t find this bastard. You’ll probably get a medal.” He was joking, of course, but Hazel stared at him in disbelief.
“There are werewolf medals?” she breathed as the study door flew open.
“Hands where we can see them!” Lowell yelled, approaching them both, gun in hand. They raised their hands as agents swarmed the room, but their eyes were locked on each other. “Are you all right, Hazel?” Lowell demanded, sliding Lev’s hands behind his back to cuff him.
“Don’t cuff him!” Hazel cried. “He saved my life!”
“He broke out of holding—after assaulting me!”
“He shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place!” she barked back, reaching out to intercept the steel bracelets from going over Lev’s wrists.
“This isn’t your call, Hazel,” Lowell growled.
“No, it’s mine,” Castillo interjected, stalking into the room. “Let him go, Lowell. You have overstepped—again.”
Lowell balked and reluctantly dropped his hands as Hazel reached for his hand.
“Are you all right, Kirk? Carrington?” Castillo demanded, glaring at Lowell.
“We will be,” Lev replied, casting Lowell a half-smile.
“You have no proof that this guy is responsible for any of the murders!” Lowell protested. “Kirk broke out of jail! He’s obviously got something to hide!”
“Like your feelings for Hazel?” Lev quipped, relishing the hot flush of Lowell’s cheeks.
“He confessed,” Castillo retorted. “He came to and begged us not to put him in the same car as Carrington. It seems he’s afraid of her.”
Lev cast his mate an admiring look, even though Hazel couldn’t fathom why Gabriel feared her.
“You two have done enough work for a year,” Castillo continued. “Once we’ve taken your statements, consider yourselves on paid vacation for two weeks.”
Our statements. This ought to be interesting.
I’ll do all the talking, Hazel told him, and he had to smile.
Why does that not surprise me in the least?
When their eyes locked again, Lev saw for the first time that he finally had Hazel’s implicit trust. It had been a long and winding road, but he had won her over. If the journey over the past few days had taught him anything, it was that no matter what was thrown at them, they would overcome it.
Because that’s just what mates do.
16
They drove back to the city with Lev in the driver’s side, his hand firmly entwined in Hazel’s.
“Do you think they bought our story?” Hazel asked after what seemed like an inordinately long period of time. “That I got his location from a CI?”
“I think that they have a confession and they’re happy that one of their own didn’t do it,” Lev replied. “Don’t overthink it. Landon is coming in to take care of this so Gabriel doesn’t escape.” Hazel stared at him in wonderment.
“How do you do that?” she asked. “How do you simply wave it off like it doesn’t matter?” Lev cast her a sidelong look, his eyes still on the road ahead.
“Because nothing matters in the end except love,” he explained. “I know it sounds so Hallmark, but when you’ve been alive as long as I have, Hazel, you’ll realize that little else matters. Everything but love is fleeting in the grand scheme of things.”
“How old are you?” she asked.
“Too old,” he answered dryly. “Why? Are you thinking of leaving me for a younger man?”
Hazel didn’t smile.
“I’ll never leave you,” she swore. “You’ve saved me, not only from Gabriel but from myself.”
“Well, technically, Gabriel was never really a threat,” he reminded her. “Asha really did a number on him, although I didn’t get all the sordid details. Maybe one day, when you and she have united, you can regale me with that story.”
Hazel’s mouth pursed together, a shadow falling over her eyes.
“What’s she like?” she muttered. “Asha.”
Lev’s brows rose slightly. “She’s a lot like you—just more reckless. I suspect she knows she has much less to lose than you do.”
“Oh, God!” Hazel gasped. “How did I get to the compound? Did I shift?”
“No…” Lev seemed uncomfortable answering her. “You drove,” he mumbled. “I should say, Asha drove. She stole a car.”
“What?”
“It’s all right,” Lev told her quickly. “I had someone take care of it. You left it on the road away from the estate. One of our pack members wiped it down and moved it so there’s no connection to you.”
“Our pack,” Hazel mumbled, seeming dazed by the idea. “I guess I belong to a pack.”
“You do,” he agreed. “Maybe I can bring you back to Virginia so you might meet them on our little vacation.”
Hazel cast him a shy look.
“Maybe,” she agreed. “But I have other ideas of how to spend our time together.”
“Oh, really?” Lev teased. “Like what?”
“Turning off our phones and unplugging from the world. Locking ourselves in the bedroom, where we won’t be disturbed.”
“We might starve,” Lev warned, and she snickered.
“I’m not worried.” He gave her another sidelong look.
“Hazel, we’ll still have to speak to someone about Asha,” he warned. “You won’t be safe until you’re fully integrated. If Landon Burke finds out that you’re shifting unaware, I don’t know what he’ll do.”
“What if we tell him?” Hazel suggested, and she watched Lev’s hands tighten around the steering wheel.
“The Council of Seven is not like a court of law, Haz
el. You don’t get leniency for coming clean.”
“You said yourself that the other women and I should have been put to death by now. There must be a reason that they didn’t vote to kill us. Maybe we should try being honest with Landon Burke and see what happens.”
“I don’t like those odds,” Lev growled.
“You didn’t like the odds about telling me the truth either, Lev,” Hazel pointed out, “and look where that got you. If Landon thinks I should be executed for something beyond my control, maybe that’s the best thing for everyone.”
“Not for me!” Lev yelled. “Stop talking about your execution.”
“The Council is meant to look out for the greater good, aren’t they?” she argued. “You said they’ve done it for thousands of years. I’m just one being in the entire make up of the Enchanted.”
“You’re my being, and I won’t let anything happen to you! I swore to Landon to protect you, and that’s what I’m doing!”
“You can’t stop me from telling him the truth. For all you know, Lev, he’s encountered this before and knows a solution.”
“No one has done what Gabriel did. This is foreign territory, I assure you.”
Hazel was silent, and she ground her teeth.
“I don’t want to keep running and hiding,” she muttered. “I’ve spent my entire life with the covers over my head, blocking out an abusive childhood, putting up walls, running from relationships. If we’re going to do this, Lev, I want to do this with my whole heart.”
“Hazel, it’s just temporary,” he pleaded. “We’ll find you a good therapist who will integrate your personalities together, and that will be the end of it. There will be no more hiding from Landon.”
“And if it doesn’t work? Or if I shift one night and you don’t catch me? Then what?”
“I will not leave your side.”
“You’ve lost me both times I’ve become Asha. If we tell Landon about this, at least we’ll know for certain what he intends to do about it.”
Abruptly, Lev slammed on the brakes of the sedan, and their bodies lurched forward before being thrown back by the seatbelts.
“No!” he cried, frustration coloring his face. “I can’t bear the idea of losing you, Hazel, not when I’ve fought so hard to keep you safe!”
Hazel met his eyes sadly and shook her head.
“This isn’t your decision to make,” she reminded him softly. “This is my life and my choice.”
Lev’s jaw locked, and he turned to look out onto the endless highway.
“Why did the gods have to pair me with the most stubborn woman in the entire universe?” he moaned.
“Karma,” Hazel replied, sinking back against the passenger side. Lev didn’t drive, and the car sat in the middle of the road, unmoving.
“If he sentences you to death, Hazel, I’m going to request to die with you.”
“Okay, Romeo,” she chuckled, even though her heart was heavy and dark. “But I think you need to have a little more faith in your kind.”
“And for once, Hazel, I’m going to tell you that you need to have a little less faith.”
Landon Burke was not what Hazel had expected, but when she thought about that, she wasn’t sure what she had expected.
“I’m surprised that you reached out to me, Hazel,” the head of the Lycans confessed. “You really should direct all your concerns to Lev.”
“Lev knows I’m here,” she said, sliding into the booth across from him. She didn’t add that he’d refused to come, worried that he wouldn’t be able to contain himself when Landon made his decision.
“I would hope so,” Landon replied, waving the waitress over for coffee. Hazel realized that it was the same waitress who had inspired so much jealousy in her that first day she and Lev had worked together.
Is that a sign? Somehow, it felt like one, especially when the woman leered at her.
“Don’t you just come here with the most handsome men!” she cooed cattily, but Hazel ignored her.
You can’t do this, she thought. You’ve had so little time with Lev, and he doesn’t deserve this.
“So, what did you want to discuss, Hazel?” Landon asked, a note of impatience in his voice. There was no warmth in the man, no compassion. He would kill to maintain order and not think twice about it.
“You know what?” Hazel said, looking down in embarrassment. “I really shouldn’t have come here. I’ve wasted your time.”
“Have you?” Landon didn’t sound remotely impressed by the confession.
“Yes,” she mumbled, rising to flee the diner before it was too late. “I’m sorry.”
“Sit down, Hazel,” he instructed. Fleetingly, Hazel considered running, but the look in Landon’s eyes made her change her mind. There was nowhere she could go that he wouldn’t find her.
I dug my own grave, she chided herself. I did this to myself. Why didn’t I heed Lev’s warning? He keeps trying to keep me safe, and I keep spitting in his face. I don’t deserve him. She slid back into the booth, her eyes fixed on the Formica tabletop.
“Is this about Asha?”
Her head jerked up, and she gaped at Landon, her ears on fire.
“Y-you know about Asha?” she gasped. Landon snorted before taking a sip of his coffee.
“As clever as Lev likes to think he is, he can’t hide something like that from me. Of course I know about Asha.”
Hazel felt the blood drain from her face.
“I came here to be honest about it,” she muttered. “But…”
“You don’t want to die. That’s fair.” Landon dabbed the corners of his mouth with a napkin and shook his head. “You should be executed,” he said and signaled the waitress for the check. “Even if you were in control of your shifts, the very nature of your existence is volatile. Since you have no control over them, well, you’re doubly dangerous. You’ll bring scrutiny upon us that we’ll never recover from. You have to understand, it’s not just the Lycans at stake—it’s all the Enchanted.”
Hazel swallowed the lump in her throat. It was the very argument she’d used for going to Landon and pleading her case. I’m sorry, Lev. You tried to warn me.
“You understand, don’t you?” Landon continued, taking the paper check from the waitress, who winked at him flirtatiously.
“Yes.”
“Good.” He tossed two twenties on the table and rose. “But of course, I can’t order your execution. You found Gabriel while you were Asha. What kind of message would that send to the other Lycans? The rest of that blasted pack is still out there, and if I see you executed, no one will come forward with information on the rest of the pack.”
Hazel blinked, trying to comprehend what had just happened. “So, you’re not going to…”
“No,” Landon said. “In fact, I have the leading Lycan psychotherapist waiting for your call so you can get this matter sorted out. But don’t push your luck, Hazel. The longer you put off your therapy, the higher the chances that you’ll expose us, and if you do that… well, all bets are off.” He didn’t give her an opportunity to respond, leaving her to gape after his retreating back in shock.
A moment later, Lev entered the diner, stalking toward her, his face twisted in concern.
“What did he say?” he whispered, claiming the seat that Landon had just occupied.
“He said I’m good unless I expose us,” Hazel muttered. “Because I found Gabriel.”
Relief flowed freely over Lev’s face, and he slipped around the table to embrace her tightly.
“You won’t expose us,” he vowed. “We’ve got this.”
Hazel permitted the warmth of his body to overwhelm her, and she exhaled a deep breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding.
“Yes,” she agreed. “We’ve got this. Together.”
Lev moved his head back and gently lowered his lips to hers, the sweetness of his kiss dispelling all the worry she’d clung to so tightly. He studied her face closely when they parted, his eyes probing i
nto hers.
“What?” Hazel asked. “What are you thinking?”
Lev grinned. “I’m wondering how your partner is going to take it when he comes back from California and realizes he’s been replaced.”
“Ortiz will get over it,” Hazel replied, and Lev’s face softened.
“Not me,” he said quietly. “I would never get over losing you as a partner.”
“You say that now, but remember that the next time we disagree on something.” Lev kissed her forehead and sighed.
“I think you fighting me is what kept me fighting for us,” he said. “Never give up your fight.”
“Our fight,” Hazel corrected. “And I won’t.”
Mate’s Lesson
Alpha Protectors
Prologue
Eight Years Ago
Danica snuck another look at her iPhone as she strolled through the quad, careful not to ignore her surroundings as she moved. She’d spent a lot longer in the library than she’d intended, and now it was much later than she had expected.
I should have called a taxi, she thought grimly, but she was already halfway across campus. There was no point in turning back around when she’d be on the street in less than two minutes. She shook her head at her own irrational fear. It wasn’t like the university was known for its crime, but too many episodes of Dateline had caused her to look over her shoulder with paranoia.
It was hard being a college student with her past, for more reasons than one.
It wasn’t just that she seemed much older than everyone else in her classes—Danica was also more world-wary than anyone she knew. These kids, they didn’t understand the evils that lurked behind every corner.
Neither do you, she chided herself, almost rolling her chocolate eyes at the melodrama of her thoughts. It seemed like it had been a long time since she had faced the horrors of living in a crime-ridden neighborhood.
It was unusual for her to be trampling about the campus at ten o’clock at night, yet there she was, as if the carefree attitude of the other twenty-one-year-olds in her courses had rubbed off on her. But she knew better. Maybe she always had. It was difficult to remember a time when she’d been anything but skeptical of the world around her.
