Jasper_United Together_Book 2 of The Guardian Shifters

by KM Lowe

  “Seriously? Don’t they teach you anything at that council?

  “I’m no witch. I’m not into that hocus pocus gibberish. That’s why you’re here.”

  “A scrying mirror is an old ancient mirror. The black scrying mirror, or magick mirror, is a powerful psychic tool. It can bring the user hidden knowledge and clairvoyant ability and can act as a portal to other planes of existence.

  Scrying is the ancient art of clairvoyance achieved by concentrating on an object, usually one with a reflective surface, until visions appear.”

  “I have the very object,” says Lavina as she backs out of the room. “Lelland, grab the candlesticks from the main room. We have plenty of spare candles in the store cupboard.”

  I take this opportunity to face Jasper. He’s been quiet since we came downstairs, but I’m not sure if it’s because of us, or because he’s been flung in the deep end here. “You okay?”

  “Of course.” His arms wrap around my shoulders and it’s like we’re standing here alone. Nothing and no one even matters right now. “I kind of like your bossy side. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so perfect. So strong. Determined, even.”

  “What, by shooting that numpty down, or talking about magic?” I giggle.

  “Both.” He laughs.

  “I can get carried away when it comes to my magic, but just tell me to shut up if I bore you all. You know I only use my healing powers back home. I’m not really into the magic side now.”

  “I would never tell you to shut up. We need your help. Without you, we wouldn’t be getting anywhere near their camp. Every piece of intel we get is a bonus. By the sounds of things, we don’t want to be going in there blind.”

  “Let’s see if I can get anything first. I’m not sure what I’m up against, but between us, it takes a stronger kind of witch to be able to wield that amount of magic to block out any paranormal being.”

  Jasper nods softly. “I thought it wasn’t going to be easy going.”

  “Here we go.” Lavina breezes through the room and stops at my side. A look of pride radiates from her. The object she holds in her hand is clearly important to her. She holds it out to me and I take the ancient mirror from her hands. “Will this work? It was my grandmother’s. Lelland got it for me when my grandmother passed. I always knew it would come in handy.”

  “It’s perfect, Lavina. Let’s get started.”

  While Jasper and I had stood in a huddle, Ashley had placed candles on the table, and she was lighting them as I placed the mirror down carefully.

  “While I’m doing this spell, I’ll recite a chant from the Goddess. I’ll need everyone to be quiet, and no one interrupts me, no matter what happens.” I look up to Jasper and raise my eyebrows. I need to know he won’t interfere with magic of any kind; it’s dangerous.

  “I promise. If you can promise that you know exactly what you’re doing, and you won’t put yourself into harm’s way to protect others.”

  “I promise. Now, let me begin.” I poise myself at the edge of the table. I hold my hands above the wooden surface.“Goddess Gaia, I call upon you. Grant me the sight through my charmed mirror with thy blessing. I wish to see into the camp surrounding the Meadow Mountains. Grant me my wish.”

  I feel the power shift from my hands. I lift my head carefully to look into the mirror. I see nothing. There’s nothing but a white fog. “It’s no good. They’re either blocking my magic, or they’ve got a spell to block any magical currents flowing through the camp.”

  “I thought you said they can’t detect your magic.” Callum speaks first.

  “They shouldn’t be able to tell where it’s coming from, but they can block anyone trying to interfere with them. Unless…” I turn to Lavina. “How far are the mountains from here?”

  “The foot of the mountains is roughly three miles from here, but the actual climb could be another three, four miles.”

  “We could be too far away. They could be expecting you to try something. If they have a powerful witch on their side, they could have a block on your house. No magic would leave these walls. Hence why I got nothing but a white fog. Maybe we could go closer.”

  “No way. Absolutely not. You’re not going near that pack,” says Jasper, folding his arms over his chest.

  “The foot of the mountains will be enough. We need to do this, Jasper. How can you get any closer without this information? How can you be safe? You and I can take a walk out there with one of your vampire friends. The quicker we go, the quicker we can be back, and you guys can work on a plan to get out there.”

  “Stracey is right,” says Ashley. “I’ll come with you. Jasper, I know how you feel about Stracey. I know how hard it is to see her here, fighting with us, keeping up with us. I went through this with my husband when I first turned. She wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t as strong as you and me.”

  I smile at Ashley as she walks away from us. I like her. She’s my kind of girl. I can’t help but wonder if immortality made her this strong, feisty character, or was she like this before? She certainly isn’t shy at stating what she wants.

  CHAPTER 14

  Jasper

  Stracey, Callum, Ashley, and I drove out to a small barn about a mile from where the entrance to the mountains is. We exit our vehicle quietly and help Stracey set up. She’s probably the calmest of us all. I’m a bag of nerves. My heart is pounding in my chest at the thought of Stracey being hurt in all of this. The only other time I felt this anxious was when Markus and Lisa were stuck in the forest, surrounded by her father and his witch. No one could get through the forcefield around them. They had to use everything they could to get out alive. That had to be one of the worst moments of my life. I can’t go through that again. I need to clear my head and focus on the task at hand.

  “Ready?” Ashley kneels down beside Stracey and places her hand on her shoulder.

  “As I’ll ever be. Keep back.” She clears her space and takes a few deep breaths then kneels. “Goddess Gaia, I call upon you. Grant me the sight through my charmed mirror with thy blessing. I wish to see into the camp surrounding the Meadow Mountains in all its glory. Grant me my wish. So mote be.”

  I take a step forward. Stracey’s head jerks from side to side a few times. Her body is tense. Her shoulders square. She isn’t my relaxed girl anymore.

  Ashley takes a step in at the other side, and her eyebrows raise, a look of concern etched over her features. We’re both unsure of what we should do. Stracey made me promise not to do anything where magic is concerned, but I can’t stand by and watch her head thrashing around. It’s like she’s being tortured, but she can’t scream out.

  “Strace. Can you hear me?” I lift my hand to touch her shoulder, but I stop when her body stills. Her head falls down to her chest and her body moves quickly, pushing me aside to expel everything from her stomach. I move quickly to grab her hair from her neck. My hand instantly runs up and down her spine to comfort her.

  “Is she okay? Was that supposed to happen?” Callum asks.

  “Babe.” I lift her chin when she sits back on her heels. She’s shaking. Her skin is pale and clammy to touch. “Stracey, you’re scaring the shit out of me. What happened?”

  “Girls… lots of girls. Oh God, Jasper. We need to help them. Now!” She jumps to her feet and stumbles over my boots. I catch her and bring her eyes to focus on me. I can hear her heart beating erratically.

  “We’ll help them. First you need to tell me what you saw.”

  “It was horrible. They’re all naked. Cut. Bleeding. Scared. I felt all their pain and emotion. Some of them are laying in their own blood and urine. They’re being caged and treated like wild animals.” She sobs into my chest. My arms wrap around her to ease her pain.

  “Let’s get back to Lelland’s. We’ll make a plan of action. I think we’ve heard enough for the time being.”

  Whatever we’re going to walk into, we sure need to have our wits about us.

  ***

  Callum pulls up o
utside Lelland’s house, and before I can move, Ashley is opening my door to help me get Stracey out. She’s still shaking, but she has a little more colour in her cheeks.

  “What happened?” Lelland came to meet us at the door.

  “Can we get some sweet tea?” Ashley asks before I can engage my mouth and brain.

  “Sure. Come through to the study. It’s warmer.” Lelland ushers us in and I sit Stracey down before joining her. Her hands rest in her lap, and I cover them with mine.

  “What happened?” Lelland asks.

  “Jasper?” I turn my head to the door to see Kevin pacing.

  “What is it?” I stand, taking Stracey’s hands with me. I’ve never seen Kevin like this before, even when he should have been panicked over his sister’s kidnap. “Kev. Talk to me.”

  My stern voice breaks Stracey out of her trance and she tilts her head to Kevin as well.

  “I feel something. I’m not sure what. Ten minutes ago it started. I’m fighting to keep control. My wolf wants to overtake.”

  Stracey stands on shaky legs and walks over to stand in front of the troubled teen. One hand rests on his heart while the other rests on his cheek. “Calm,” she whispers.

  “What did you do?” asks Kevin nervously.

  “I just calmed your heart down. About ten minutes ago, I saw…” she trails off and looks away from Kevin.

  “You saw what, Stracey?” I can see Kevin getting anxious again, so I move to his side. “Stracey, what did you see? Tell me!”

  “Girls. Lots of girls. They were in bad shape. Real bad shape. Some were possibly even dead. If they weren’t, they might as well be.”

  “What does this have to do with the way I’m feeling?” Kevin pulls at his hair and moves away from us, pacing the length of the room.

  “Could it be…?” Lavina stops and lifts her hand to rub her temple. We stare at her and wait for her to finish. “Could it be that Kevin’s wolf is on edge because his wolf senses his mate in need? She could be close by.”

  The room falls silent. No one, not even Kevin, says a word. The colour drains from his face and he stands still. “It’s possible,” I say. “You need to keep calm until we figure all of this out. If your mate is near, we’ll find her.”

  “Do you hear yourselves? We’re here to rescue girls from a pack of filthy fucking mutts! We’re not here to find me a mate.”

  “I think we need to charge in there. There’s enough of us to take them on. We can’t keep skirting around the issue.” Ashley steps forward. “I can’t stand by and let this happen for one more day. You heard Stracey. Even if we get any kids out of there, they’ll possibly never be the same again.”

  “I agree.” Stracey stands beside Ashley and faces me, Lelland, and Lavina. I can’t believe I’m hearing any of this. It’s a fucking suicide mission.

  “Sorry, boss.” Callum steps beside Ashley and shakes his head. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with the ladies. We’re all more than capable of doing this. We attack just before sunrise. They’ll be expecting us at night. If anything, morning will knock them off kilter.”

  “I didn’t agree with Ash before, but I do now. We didn’t know what we faced before. We have an idea now.” Lavina steps away from me and Lelland. Before long, Kevin joins them, leaving Lelland and me on our own.

  I turn away from the gathered huddle and look out of the window. I know Callum is speaking sense, but it just doesn’t sit right with me. Any one of us could lose our lives. We all have something to lose.

  My pocket vibrates. I retrieve my phone and see Markus’ name flash against the screen. My heart rate picks up immediately, because he would never call me on a mission unless it was important.

  I answer quickly. “What’s wrong, son?”

  “Dad. Thank God. Are you and Kevin okay?” Markus’s voice is shaky, and I know he’s worried about something.

  “Yes, why? What’s going on?”

  “Lisa just had one of those crazy visions she’s been having lately. It was Kevin and some other wolf shifter. They were captured in some cave. Does this ring any truth?”

  I turn to face Kevin and the others. “Yes. No. It doesn’t mean anything. But I think I know why Lisa had that vision. Kevin is with me now. He’s safe and well. We’re dealing with a mission at the moment and a cave may be involved.”

  “Can Lisa speak with him to put her mind at rest? She’s been freaking out since she woke up.”

  “Sure.” I hold out the phone to Kevin and he takes it. He looks confused as his brows dip. “Hello…”

  I walk away to give Kevin some privacy. I lift my hands in the air and shake my head. “You win. We go in at dawn.”

  “What did Lisa see, Jazz?” Stracey steps back into my space and takes my hand.

  “We need to be alert. She saw Kevin in some cave with another wolf shifter. I didn’t get much detail, but she needs to speak with him to calm her nerves.” I side step Stracey. “Lelland, we know Lisa’s visions are accurate. I won’t let any of my family suffer at the hands of these bastards that get some kind of kick out of torturing poor, innocent young girls.”

  “Okay. Let’s get together in two hours and make some plans. Take this time to eat, relax, and compose yourselves. We’ll win this fight if it’s the last thing I ever have to do.”

  That’s what concerns me. If it isn’t one of us that loses our lives, it will certainly be one of our allies. None of which is alright with me.

  Chapter 15

  Jasper

  The last two hours have been testing. After speaking with Markus and Lisa several times, I feel like I should be with them. I really shouldn’t be here fighting everyone else’s battles when my own kids need me. The last text message I received from Markus was him offering to help us out here. That was the easiest decision I’ve ever had to make, because it was a flat out no. It’s bad enough having Stracey and Kevin here with me. It’s even worse knowing Lisa had a vision about her brother. What does it mean? I’m not sure. I do know Kevin’s on edge. His wolf isn’t settling, and I’ve watched him pace outside for the last hour. I move away from the bedroom window and see Stracey coming from the bathroom. Her hair is tied back tightly. A braid hangs down around her shoulder. She looks a lot more like her usual self now, but I can’t get my head around seeing her here, helping us fight through this mission. It’s just crazy. Barbaric. Nonsense. I could rhyme off a lot of words that suit this scenario, but none of them are PG friendly.

  “You seem troubled, Jazz. Are you okay?” Her arms wrap around my waist and her head rests on my bare chest.

  “I am troubled, Strace. I just can’t get my head in the game. Lisa needs us back home. Kevin is losing the will to live down there.” I point over my shoulder to where Kevin is pacing outside and Stracey moves around me to take up my place at the window. I wrap my arms around her waist and her back leans against my chest. Her petite frame always melds into my touch.

  “I can’t imagine how hard that must be. He’s young. He hasn’t faced this life for that long. Well, a normal shifter life, I mean. How can we make this easier for him?”

  “We can’t. If what Lelland thinks is correct, then we need to be there for him when the time comes. After speaking with Lisa and Markus, I believe Lelland is speaking the truth. What we find in that cave could be devastating for a young wolf of Kevin’s background. He’s strong-willed, determined, enthusiastic… but when you find your mate and lose them in the same breath, well… it’s devastating.”

  Stracey turns in my arms and raises her hand to my cheek. I instantly relax at her touch. “You’re the best one to help him through this, Jasper. You’ve faced this pain and heartache. You’ve overcome it. You’ve moved on. Life is always going to throw you curveballs, but with a strong family and loved ones around, we’ll always be a united pack. Kevin’s in the best possible hands. Let’s just go downstairs, figure this mess out, save the girls, and go home. Once we get home we can move on with our lives and face whatever we must.
We can’t do anything until the council is off your back.”

  “You always know what to say. I wish I had your level head right now.”

  “You do have a level head. That’s why the pack and the council love you. Forget I’m here. Forget Kevin is here. Just go out there like you would any other mission and show those arseholes who’s boss. Stop overthinking things.”

  I lean in and capture her mouth with mine. My heart beats for this woman now. Whenever she’s around, the beating picks up, but whenever her mouth lands on mine, my pounding heart is erratic.

  Our tongues duel together, exploring every inch of each other’s mouths. Her sweet, minty taste makes my dick spring to life. Perfect timing as usual. I pull away softly and let my head rest against hers. Her eyes are closed. Her lips are plump and rosy from our embrace.

  “I’ve been so stupid, Strace. I’m so sorry I ever hurt you. Believe me, it wasn’t my intention. I only meant to protect you, but by pushing you away, I did the opposite. That will never happen again, I can promise you that.”

  “Sshh!” She holds her finger over my lips and smiles brightly. “I think everyone is waiting for us, and if we don’t leave here very soon, I won’t be liable for my actions.”

  “I might like the sound of that.” I smirk. “Just know that the moment we arrive back in this room, I will satisfy that arousal.”

  Her cheeks flush beetroot red. I always love how she gets embarrassed easily. Within a pack of wolves, it’s hard to keep them in check around ladies, because they just open their mouths and let it run away with them. I did think over the years, Stracey would be able to control her blushing, but it just makes her look so innocent and adorable.

  “Let’s go, Casanova.” She smiles and takes my hand, pulling me in the direction of the door. We make our way down the stairs into the dining area we’ve been using to gather our information. Everyone is sitting around the table, apart from Callum. He’s standing at the window, and Kevin is following Stracey and me into the dining room.