by Alisa Woods
“Okay,” she said with a grimace. She’d really only understood part of that. “So, they’re trying to make a computer from crystals and flashing lights. Sounds very high tech. Not to mention New Age.”
He chuckled. “Actually, that’s exactly what it is. Pooky New Age physics that seems a bit iffy. Especially when I look at their testing protocols. I’m not sure they’re actually measuring anything coherent. They could be influenced by power fluctuations from the laser for all I can tell, just looking at the reports.”
“So that’s why you’re visiting the lab? To see if their setup is legit.”
“Precisely.” He looked askance at her, but his eyes were filled with mirth. “You sure you weren’t a tech major at Bellevue?”
“Positive. Didn’t even have a smartphone back then.” She swallowed and looked forward again. “Not that I exactly have one now.” Mace won’t allow her to use the phone. Even though she was mated now, and her family knew there was no point in coming for her, he still didn’t want her calling them. Stirring things up was what he called it. Her heart ached to talk to her mom again, but Mace was her alpha, so that was that.
She avoided Jak’s concerned look and stared out the window at Seattle’s downtown towers in the distance. Silence reigned as Jak took the exit and wound toward the University. His sedan was one of the pack cars, wide and roomy for transporting lots of hulking shifter men to wherever they went when they left the estate. It wasn’t a luxury car, but the faux leather interior felt luxurious to Arianna. Maybe it was the freedom that driving represented. Someday Mace might let her drive again. For now, she was happy to have a driver… as long as it was Jak.
“You okay?” he asked, looking at her sideways. He turned the car into the University grounds, and soon they were descending into the plaza’s underground parking. She had Business Finance again today, and this was the nearest parking to Kane Hall.
“I’m great.” She gave him a broad smile.
“On Wednesday, you seemed… not so happy at the end.” He looked nervous again.
She frowned. She had liked everything about the first day of school… except when she faced the prospect of going home. “I was just sad to see it end. Didn’t know if I’d have a chance to dunk you in the fountain like I was planning.”
“Um… when exactly were you planning to do that?” He gave her a mock look of shock.
“Well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?” She grinned with all her teeth again, and it made him laugh. The sound of that lightened her heart even more.
Perfect day. She knew it.
They parked and took the elevator up to Red Square. It was late Friday morning, and the plaza was practically empty of students: maybe they started the weekend early and decided to skip out on Friday morning classes. Arianna sighed, wondering how her life would be different if she could live on campus, stay in a dorm, have normal friends. Boyfriends, all-night study sessions, and way too much alcohol. That’s what she had always assumed her life would be like during her college years. But there was no use in wishing for something that would never be.
They reached her classroom early, and there were only four students instead of the usual hundred or so.
“Light day,” Jak said. “Get in there and sit in the front row. Your professor will remember you as one of the few who bothered to show up for the whole first week of class.”
Arianna took her backpack, which Jak had been carrying. She bit her lip. “You know, you could go get a coffee or something. You don’t have to stand in the hall for the whole hour of class.”
He laughed. “Not a chance. You’ll run off without me, and then I won’t have a date for lunch.” His smile did strange things to her stomach, and his dark eyes were sparkling again.
She ducked her head in acquiescence, but the heat was back in her cheeks. He was handsome and funny and… he was flirting with her. It ran a thrill straight through her heart, made of equal parts danger and desire for… more. More banter, more talking, more smiles. It was like he was feeding liquid friendship crack to her, and she couldn’t get enough. But that innocent flirting was dangerous. She knew it. If Mace found out, he would rip out Jak’s throat. And she didn’t want to think about what Mace would do to her.
“I… better go in,” she said, feeling suddenly awkward. She hiked her backpack up on her shoulder and turned to hurry inside the classroom.
She felt Jak’s stare on her back all the way in.
Jak lurked in the hall, messing around with his phone but making sure not to miss when the doors to Arianna’s classroom opened this time. Right at the hour, students started filing out. His heart almost quit beating when the students stopped coming, and he still didn’t see her. But then she hustled out, scribbling some final notes on her tablet before stuffing it in her backpack.
“How’d it go?” he asked.
She beamed. He was pretty sure his whole body lit up with it.
“Great!” she said. “This stuff is really easy. Nothing like your magic crystal computers. Can’t wait to see what that’s all about.”
His smile was going to break his face if he didn’t get it under control. “Well, our appointment’s not for another hour. How about lunch at the HUB? They have sandwiches, soups, pizza… there’s even a killer curry place I think is still there.”
“Anything sounds awesome. Except for the curry. Not so sure about the curry.”
He tamed the smile a little. “And now my life will not be complete until you try the Thai Green Curry.”
She smirked. “Then I think your life will remain sadly incomplete.”
They’d reached the outside of the building and strolled down the steps before Jak looked around enough to realize the plaza was empty. They turned to head toward the far end of Red Square, but he thought he might take her by the fountain again before they hit the food. He was tucking his phone back into his pocket but somehow managed to bobble it—the thing flew from his hands and skittered under the leaves still coating the red bricks.
He swore under his breath and bent to fish through the leaves to find it. Just as he did, Arianna tripped or something and fell.
“Hey!” he said, alarmed, and hustled back to her side. “Are you—” He stopped short.
She had shifted into her wolf form and was twitching and thrashing on the ground.
“What the—” Then he saw them: two figures in hoodies, coming at them from barely a dozen feet away, one with a giant, black sack held high, the other with a gun of some kind. Jak didn’t speak or think, he simply dove to the side, shifting as he went, flinging off clothes, and coming up wolf.
Then he lunged for them, teeth first.
The one with the gun got a couple shots off, but they were silent whispers and bee stings that bounced off Jak’s thick fur coat. He reached the man, fangs clamping on his gun hand, bones crushing under Jak’s snapped-shut jaws. The man screamed. The gun tasted metallic then fell into a rustle of leaves and brick. Jak released the hand to go for his neck, but the second man pulled him off from behind. Jak whipped around and went for that one’s throat. They both went down on the pavement, but Jak had a strong grip on his neck. He squeezed. The man flailed, hands trying to pull Jak’s jaws away, but Jak just clamped harder. The flailing grew weaker but more frantic. Jak flicked his gaze around, searching for the first one, judging his next move.
What the hell was happening here? The men were both mid-twenties, gray hoodies and combat boots. The first one was desperately searching through the leaves for his gun. A gun that shot darts not bullets. The second one’s bag was lying on the ground where he dropped it.
A dart gun.
A bag.
They weren’t muggers—they were bounty hunters. Out to bag a wolf for some unholy witch magic or to sell their parts to the highest bidder for the black market. Both of which would be a death sentence for said kidnapped wolf. But how the hell did they know he and Arianna were shifters?
That didn’t matter no
w.
He would kill them both before they could get their hands on her.
Jak growled a warning, but the first bounty hunter didn’t seem to hear it. Then a second growl caused Jak to whip his head to the side, wrenching fresh cries of pain out of the hapless bounty hunter trapped in his jaws.
Arianna. She was limping towards the first bounty hunter, her gorgeous brown fur bristled out as she dipped her head down and growled again.
This time the bounty hunter froze in his search for the gun and stared at her. Arianna bared her teeth, making it clear she intended to go for his throat.
Arianna, no! Now that they were both in wolf form, he had access to her thoughts. And they were terrified. Angry. Confused. Back away, Jak thought. I will take care of these assholes.
I am not going to let him shoot you, Jak. But he could see her back legs quivering. One of the darts must have already found her. Or maybe it was just starting to work. He didn’t know, but he didn’t have time to think about it. Jak released the man in his mouth and shifted. As soon as he was in human form, he punched the man whose throat he had just held. The man reeled to the side, still conscious but stunned. Jak stood naked over him and faced the first bounty hunter.
“Take him and leave. Now. Or I’ll kill you both.” He hoped the man would choose the smart path—dead bodies caused all kinds of problems.
Arianna backed him up with a growl. It sounded a little stronger, but the last thing Jak wanted was to have her involved in this at all.
The bounty hunter was hesitating.
Jak lowered his voice to a growl. “You’ll only get that offer once.”
That shocked the man out of his crouched stance. He bolted upright and shuffled over to where his partner still laid reeling on the pavers. The second one scrambled to his feet, with no small amount of help from his partner, and the two of them stumbled off in the direction of the fountain. Jak didn’t know where they thought they were going, but there was no one else on the plaza to see everything that had gone down. He kept an eye on them while he shuffled over to Arianna. She was still in wolf form, only now she was lying on her side.
“Arianna.” His heart clenched. “Are you okay? Can you shift?” Her eyes were open, and she gave a few whines, but she didn’t move. He stroked the soft fur of her head. “It’s okay. I’m going to take care of you.”
God, he hoped she was just tranq’d by the dart—if it was something worse, he would need to find a healer fast. Her natural shifter magic should be able to ward off almost anything… but who knew what was in that dart.
He kept an eye on the two bounty hunters until they were out of sight then quickly scooped up both his and Arianna’s clothes, the bag and her backpack, and even found the gun. He didn’t bother dressing, just stuffed everything in the bag and picked up Arianna, cradling her limp body and soft fur against his bare chest. He needed to get her inside, away from the scene, in case the bounty hunters changed their minds and came back. The classroom was closest, but they might be discovered there, and until she could shift back, her identity as a shifter was in danger. And if her professors or classmates even suspected… her days at the University would be over. The human world knew about shifters, even tolerated them in some capacities, but discrimination was rampant. And shifters in wolf form had no rights whatsoever. She could be killed, and no one would even be charged with a crime.
The car, then.
He hurried across the plaza, chest heaving, with his precious cargo in his arms.
Chapter Five
Carrying Arianna in her wolf form, as well as the bulky bag with all their stuff, was no small trick. But they had to get away from the scene of the attack as quickly as possible.
The icy weather worked its way past the heated panic of the moment and chilled his naked body. The parking garage was slightly warmer or at least sheltered from the wind. Fortunately, it was still relatively empty, so there were no witnesses to the naked man carrying a brown wolf off to a black sedan in the middle of the concrete underground structure. Arianna started to move in his arms, whimpering and struggling against his bare skin. He didn’t know if she was in shock or if the dart had injected some kind of tranquilizer in her that was wearing off. He prayed it was only that and not something worse. There should be no reason to poison a wolf with a dart, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen. If she didn’t recover quickly, he would have to get help.
“Just hold on,” he said as she stirred, making it harder for him to carry her. “Let me get you to the car.” She stopped fighting him. When he reached their car, he gently laid her in the back seat, and she immediately struggled up on two legs and dragged her limp hind legs behind her to the far side of the seat, giving him room to climb in, dragging along the bag of all their stuff. That she was moving again was a really good sign. When they both were safely locked in the car, he scooted closer, stroking her fur and trying to reassure her. He could feel her shaking.
“Arianna, honey,” he said in his most soothing voice, even though it was still ravaged from the fight. “It’s okay. You’re safe now. Can you shift for me?” He couldn’t tell what was wrong with all the fur and without the ability to speak. If she couldn’t shift, he might have to shift back to wolf, just so they could communicate.
She closed her eyes, and it took a moment, but then she shifted human. Which meant she was suddenly naked in his arms, even more beautiful in all her bared glory than she had been in his fantasies. His cock twitched in response, but he already had a full-blown erection left over from the fight. It was always that way: the adrenaline, the testosterone, and especially with a female to protect and a shift to wolf and back. His raging hard-on wasn’t quitting anytime soon, and now with them both naked… Arianna’s shaking was even more visible once there was no fur to hide it. Jak cursed himself for his rampantly sexual thoughts and quickly dug his jacket out of the bag. The car was relatively warm, but he was sure she was in shock. He wrapped the jacket around her and rubbed her arms and back to heat them up.
“Are you all right?” he asked softly. “Tell me what happened.”
“J… Jak,” she said, her teeth chattering.
He stepped up his rubbing of her arms and pulled her into his lap. He tried to ignore what that did to his aching cock, while he focused on holding her, warming her, reassuring her.
“It’s okay, just take it slow. Tell me what happened so I can see if we need to get a healer.”
“No.” She shook her head vigorously. “No healer.”
He frowned, but he took that as a good sign. If she were really hurt, she’d be crying or wincing in pain. The fact that she was able to shift at all was a good thing. She took several deep breaths, obviously trying to calm down, so he waited until she was ready to speak again.
“I think…” She stopped to swallow. “I think one of them shot me with something.”
“He had a dart gun. I brought it with us, in case it has some kind of poison—” He stopped at the worried, wide-eyed look on her face. “I’m sure it’s not poison. Probably just a tranquilizer.” He brushed back the hair that had fallen across her face. “I think you must be some kind of super shifter if they hit you with a tranq dart, and you just kept going.”
“I felt something pinch,” she said, her voice calmer now, “but it was on my shoulder. Through my jacket. I don’t think it went all the way through. Plus, I pulled it out.”
Jak smiled. “You pulled it out?”
“Well, with my teeth.” She gave a small smile in return.
“With your teeth?”
“I shifted as soon as I felt it and yanked the dart out with my teeth. I don’t know… it was just instinct. I probably shouldn’t have.”
“No, no…” Jak said with amazement. “I think that might have been the only thing that kept you conscious. Shifting probably helped dislodge the dart. Or maybe stopped the tranq from working the way it should have with your wolf biochemistry.”
She shuddered. “It still felt… strange
. For a while, I couldn’t seem to move. Or shift. I was… I was so scared, Jak.” Her voice hiked up.
“Hey.” He brushed her hair back again, and this time let his hand stay on her cheek. “It’s over now. And you were incredibly brave. Just next time… let me handle the bounty hunters, okay? That’s my job, remember?”
She nodded, and it wasn’t quite so shaky. His hand was still on her cheek. And the air was becoming warm around them: their breath and their bodies were heating the car. She was still mostly naked on his lap, her bare skin touching his. His thoughts were veering in dangerous directions. He should be helping her get dressed, get the situation normalized, recover from the shock of the attack, and figure out what to do next. Instead, he just kept holding her face and peering into her brilliant blue eyes. Which weren’t looking at his but rather drifting down to his lips.
He licked them, frozen in indecision, unwilling to move a centimeter away, unable to move any closer without crossing an invisible boundary…
“Jak,” she whispered.
“Yes.” He could barely breathe without moving into her space.
She leaned into him and pressed her lips to his. It almost wasn’t a kiss, just a touch, and then she pulled back, but only a few inches. Her eyes were wide as if shocked by her own actions. Jak’s hand had slipped into her hair with her movement. It was silky soft on his fingertips. Her naked body was still pressed against his, her thigh against his cock, her breasts peeking from the jacket draped over her shoulders.
“I… I shouldn’t have…” Her breath was coming faster, and he was suddenly aware of her scent: her blackberry-and-lavender soap was overwhelmed by the earthy musk of her arousal.
It was more than he could resist.
His fingers curled in her hair and brought her back for another kiss. A proper one. His lips devoured hers, his tongue plundering her mouth and tasting all the sweetness there. His heart raced as her slender hands found his chest, and she kissed him back. Her kiss was eager, and she arched up in his lap, pushing his head back with her need. The ache deep inside him surged up and found expression in his hands: in her hair, sliding down her back and then up again, seeking the bare skin under her jacket. Their tongues fought for dominance, their hands roaming each other’s bare heated skin: hers were on his shoulders, in his hair, then back to his chest; his hands switched places, the one on her back sliding into her hair to hold her fixed in his kiss, freeing his other to skim down the silky skin of her chest and cup her breast. It was heavy and hot, and her nipple was taut against his palm. She sucked in a breath, pulling it straight from him, and he moaned into her mouth.
