by Alisa Woods
A rapid knock sounded at his door.
Jak lifted the phone to his ear as if he was talking to someone. He covered the microphone and shouted at the door, “Be there in a minute!”
The doorknob turned, and Gage stuck his head in. Every muscle in Jak’s body tensed.
“Hang on,” Jak said to his imaginary phone caller. “What’s up?” he asked Gage.
“What’s up?” His alpha gave him an exasperated look. “Did you forget we’re having a ceremony tonight, Jak?”
“No, I just…” He held the phone out. “I’ve got these jokers from Silver Quick on the line. They’re giving me some bullshit about the numbers being different than what they were showing us yesterday.”
“On a Saturday night?” Gage asked, skeptically.
“They had some grad student working late, and he found something… I’ll be off soon, I promise.” The gun under Jak’s arm felt like a heavy indictment of the betrayal he was about to commit. Was already committing…
Gage frowned. “All right. But we’re ready to go. The guys are going out afterward, and I’m sure they’re anxious to get to the party phase of tonight’s activities.”
“Yeah, okay.” Jak nodded then pretended to talk into the phone again. “Hey, I’m back.” He waved to Gage. “Okay, fine, but tell me how that changes anything…”
Gage shook his head and retreated from the room.
As soon as he was gone, Jak drifted over to the window, still holding the phone to his ear, in case someone else decided to pop in on him. The moon lit up the entire estate, turning the grass into a silver-frosted carpet and the trees into dark sentinels protecting the perimeter. Mace’s house still had its lights on, but that might not mean anything. He was only going out into the meadow in back to do the ceremony. Jak ground his teeth as he realized Mace had every intention of forcing Arianna to have sex with him in front of his pack in the middle of the estate.
Not tonight, asshole.
The rustling sounds from the hallway settled, and the distant thumping of boots on the stairs said most of the pack was heading outside. His time was growing short. A couple more minutes, and Gage would be back in Jak’s room, insisting he call the university nerds back later. Jak really needed a backup excuse for delaying further. Maybe he should take this moment, when everyone was heading out, to slip outside on his own and just lurk around Mace’s house until he got the signal from Arianna that Mace had shifted. The problem was, Jak didn’t know who was still straggling behind in the house like him.
Or if Gage was waiting just outside his door.
Just as Jak was about to pace the room again, and try to come up with a backup excuse for delaying, a movement over at Mace’s house caught his eye. Shadows moved across the blind-covered windows, and a breath-stopping ten seconds later, he saw long shadows cast by the moonlight of something moving at the rear of the house. Jak glimpsed five figures just briefly before they moved deeper into the meadow where he couldn’t see them. But that had to be Mace, his three pack members, and Arianna.
Come on, come on, come on.
Jak pulled the phone from his ear and looked at the face of it, willing Arianna’s text to come. Just at that moment, Mason stuck his head in Jak’s door, jolting surprise through him.
“Hey, are you done?” Mason asked. “Gage is getting pissed.”
Jak shook his head and quickly put the phone back to his ear. He needed more time. “What do you mean, the basement’s flooded?” he said harshly into the phone. He held up a finger to Mason, indicating he needed another minute.
Mason just crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.
Shit.
“Well, yeah, but I don’t see why that would shut down your hoods,” Jak said into the phone. He shrugged to Mason and held up his hands like he was helplessly stuck on the phone then waved off Mason like he should leave.
Mason just shook his head and stayed put.
Meanwhile, Arianna could be texting him any second.
Dammit. Jak covered the microphone and whispered to Mason, “Dude, I’ll be there. Just start without me.”
“No can do,” Mason said, not moving an inch. “Gage says not to come back without you.”
Jak stalked across the room, still holding his hand over the phone. “Look, just give me two seconds, all right?” He uncovered the phone. “Yes, I’m still here,” he said into it. “I’ve got to go, so can we—yes, I know that’s a problem.” Jak took his free hand and shoved Mason out the door. He closed it in Mason’s face before he could get a foot back in. Jak leaned against the door to hold it closed. He sighed in relief. At least Mason would be out of the room when Arianna’s message came in, but now Jak was stuck in a major way.
He glanced at the phone. Still nothing.
Jak would have to take Mason out somehow. Once the message came in, everything went into play. Jak had to be ready to move. The last thing he wanted was to have to shoot Mason, not least because it would be too soon for shots to be fired and send everyone into red alert. And because he actually liked Mason. His stomach knotted up even more than the ball of extreme tension it was already. Jak would have to knock Mason out or come up with some excuse—
His phone pinged.
Morgan Media.
What the hell?
Ice ran through his veins. Why were the witches calling him?
He swallowed and answered. “Hello?”
“Well, hello. Damn, you even sound sexy on the phone.” It was Circe, Hecca’s sister. The witch who he had hoped would break Arianna free of her mating bond, only to find the spell would break him instead.
“Look, I’m a little busy right now—”
“I’m sure you are, lover,” she purred. “Full moon and all. Isn’t that when you boys get together and tuck your tails between your legs—”
He gritted his teeth. “What do you want?”
“The question is what do you want, hot stuff? I’ve been waiting for your call. You left me hanging, and that’s something you promised you wouldn’t do.”
“I didn’t promise you shit,” he said, but his heart was hammering. He had left the coven without making it absolutely clear he wasn’t interested in Circe’s offer of exchanging her dark art spell—which would free Arianna but kill him—for a round of wolf-on-witch sexploits.
“Well, you did brag quite a bit about your prowess, Jak dear,” Circe chastised. “You got me all hot and bothered. I was hoping you would take me up on my offer.”
Mason banged on the door, making Jak’s heart lurch.
“This really isn’t a good time,” Jak said, quiet but harsh into the phone. “And I’m not interested in your offer. I’ve made other arrangements.”
Her voice turned from smolder to ice in an instant. “Have you, now? Well, then, I’m glad I called. Because, darling, you see, you really don’t have a choice. Not if you want to keep secret this little yearning you have for an already-mated wolfy playmate.”
“What?” Jak pushed away from the door, locking it so Mason couldn’t barge in. He stalked to the window and peered out, looking for Mace and his pack. He couldn’t see anything. “What exactly are you threatening me with?”
“It’s not a threat, Jak darling, it’s an opportunity.” Her voice was back to purring. “You have something I want—namely your smoking hot body in my bed. And I have something you want—a little tidbit of information about that female you’re so hot for. I propose a trade.”
“Wait, what?” A chill ran through him. “What do you know about Arianna?”
“Oh, just the names of the people who sent those bounty hunters after her.”
Jak’s chest grew tight. He wanted to know who was after Arianna, but at this point, it was more important to get her free of Mace. And his plan to do that was seriously in jeopardy the longer he was on the phone with this witch. He was tempted to hang up.
“We can discuss that later.”
“I’m sorry, darling, later doesn’t work for me,” she sai
d, her voice cool again. “In fact, maybe I’ll call that alpha of yours right now and let him know what his beta has been up to in his spare time.”
“No!” Jak’s breaths were starting to heave out of his chest. He rubbed a hand across his face. “Just… give me a little time.”
“I have a taste for wolf tonight, Jak.” Her voice dropped dangerously low. “And you don’t want to leave me hungry.”
He swallowed. “All right. I’ll meet you in an hour.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” Her voice was back to the sex-drenched tone from before.
It churned his stomach, but in an hour, he planned to be in his car, heading for the state line with Arianna by his side. The witch could go to hell, then. He just couldn’t have her screwing things up for him right now. But if he left her high and dry, he had better make sure they were leaving the area in a serious hurry. And any information he wanted from her, he had better get it now.
“Now tell me what you know about the hunters,” he said.
“In an hour, lover,” she teased. “If you’re good.”
“Now.”
Mason banged on his door and rattled the knob. A cold sweat was breaking out on the back of Jak’s neck.
“You don’t want me coming to bed angry, do you?” he said into the phone. “Besides, you’ll still have my little secret to hold over me to make sure I show up.”
She paused. “Well, all right. No harm in it, I suppose. But you’re not going to like it, lover.”
“Circe…” he warned.
“It’s the girl’s family,” she said. “They want her back.”
Chapter Sixteen
The phone was heavy in Jak’s hand, the witch’s words ringing in his head.
It’s the girl’s family. They want her back.
He let the phone fall to his side. A tightness seized his chest. Circe’s voice was squawking from the dangling phone, but his mind was racing ahead. He hung up on the witch and ran a hand across his face.
Arianna’s family was behind the bounty hunters. They weren’t trying to harm her: they were trying to rescue her. And Jak had foiled their attempt. Jak’s family had always been a cruel freak show, but he couldn’t imagine Arianna’s family was anything like that. She was too sweet and brave and kind to have come from that kind of hot-mess family situation. Besides, they wouldn’t risk working with bounty hunters to rescue her if they didn’t love her.
They want her back.
This completely foiled his plans to take Arianna and head for the state line.
He scoured his memory for anything he knew about her family. They were a small pack from rural Washington. She had a mother and brothers. Mace had captured her while they were visiting the Olympic mountains: packs often ran into each other there, for better and worse. Usually worse. The only reason Mace managed to take her was because her pack was so small. They couldn’t fight the combined Red packs. Even if her family managed to rescue her now, they would have to flee the area... or Mace would hunt them down, reclaim her, and probably kill them all.
What were they thinking, coming back for her?
A pounding on the door startled Jak out of his shock. Mason was on the other side, impatient for him to join Gage’s submission ceremony. Jak shoved his phone in his pocket. He couldn’t wait any longer for Arianna’s signal that Mace had shifted and the ceremony had begun. He had to move now. After he had broken her free of Mace’s hold, then they could talk about what to do next. If she wanted to return to her family, Jak would make sure she was still protected, but he wouldn’t stand in her way.
He had already decided that freeing her was more important than keeping her.
Jak strode to his bedroom door, wrenched it open, then punched a very surprised Mason in the face. He went down, cursing and sprawling on the carpet. Jak didn’t waste time trying to make sure he stayed down… he just needed Mason out of the way. Jak’s attire—jeans, fall jacket, sneakers—was designed for their escape tonight, and he made almost no noise as he sprinted down the hall.
He took the steps two at a time, down to the main floor, then raced out the back door of the main house. If Mason was chasing after him, Jak would have heard something. But he didn’t slow down or look back as he raced toward Mace’s house.
The moonlight had turned everything a whitish gray, stealing the color of the night. Jak’s breath rushed in his ears as he sprinted across the expanse of lawn, past the winding road of the estate, then down the long side of Mace’s suburban-looking home. He stopped when he reached the back corner, peering around to see if Mace’s pack was in the clearing.
They were. Unfortunately, there was a good hundred feet of empty lawn between the house and the pack, which meant Jak would have no cover whatsoever. No element of surprise.
And he could see now why Arianna had never texted him.
Mace and his pack—Beck, Alric, and Thomas—had formed a circle with Arianna in the middle. The men were all naked, having already shifted at least once, but Arianna was in wolf form, already in the submission pose with her tail tucked low, legs stretched forward, and head bent. Her clothes lay in a heap at the edge of a circle. Beck and Alric were tossing something small and silver back and forth between them. It glinted in the moonlight as it arced through the air: Arianna’s phone.
She had been caught with it.
Alric caught the phone, then held onto it, examining it. A moment later, Jak’s phone pinged. He shoved his hand in his pocket and turned off the ringer before it could give him away. Meanwhile, Mace had strutted to where Arianna crouched in the grass. He stroked himself as he loomed over Arianna, obviously getting off on the whole sick ceremony. Jak gritted his teeth and drew his gun out of his holster. He gauged the distance, but there was no way he could sprint across the lawn and get close enough to shoot Mace before they all saw him.
Shit.
Jak holstered the gun, his strained breath steaming the cool night air. He started to calmly walk toward the group. If he could just get close before they realized what he was up to—
Suddenly, Mace shifted and started rubbing his snout against the side of Arianna’s face. Then he clamped his jaws on the back of Arianna’s neck, forcing her submission deeper, and even from the fifty feet or so away, Jak could hear her wolf whine. Jak’s own wolf was snarling and stomping to be released.
He lurched into a run, one hand on his gun underneath his jacket. If he could just get close enough to shoot Mace while he was in wolf form… Beck noticed Jak first, barreling toward their pack. He snarled, and then Alric turned as well. Meanwhile, Mace was working his way behind Arianna, moving into the claiming position. He clearly meant to take her any second now, in the middle of the lawn, with Thomas smirking and watching.
There was no way in hell Jak was letting that happen.
He pulled his gun. “Get away from her, Mace!” He held it in front of him with both hands while still running toward the pack. Mace whipped his head toward Jak. For a split second, long enough for Jak to get a few feet closer, Mace did nothing. Then he roared and leaped away from Arianna, toward Jak. Which was exactly what he wanted. Alric and Beck had already shifted and were charging toward him, closing fast. Jak waited a heartbeat longer, just long enough for a clean shot at Mace without endangering Arianna.
He squeezed the trigger just as Mace’s betas reached him.
Jak shifted, twisting away from their snapping fangs and leaving a mouthful of jacket in his wake. While Alric and Beck tangled with his clothes, Jak charged toward Mace, who was snout down in the grass. Jak’s bullet must have found its target. His heart surged with hope, but before he could reach Mace to make sure, Thomas, the third beta, finally clued in and intercepted him. Thomas lunged in front of Mace, protecting his alpha and going for Jak’s throat.
They went down together, rolling across the lawn, snapping and clawing and drawing slashes of blood. Jak yelped as Thomas’s teeth sunk into his side, but then he rolled hard and flung Thomas free. Jak scrambled up, ve
ering to avoid Beck and Alric who were after him again, and lunged towards Mace. He was still down, but he was moving.
And then he shifted to human form.
Goddammit.
Jak leaped over Mace’s body. The moonlight and smears of blood made it difficult to see where the bullet had gone in, but apparently, Jak had only clipped his shoulder. And given Mace’s enhanced shifter healing, without a clean shot to the head or through the heart, he would live. Jak wrenched his gaze from Mace’s cringing form and loped to Arianna’s side, just to make sure she was okay. She was still cowering in her wolf form in the submission pose.
Arianna! he sent a thought to her even as he dashed to the side, evading the betas chasing him. You need to shift!
Now that Mace was back in human form, she should be able to. And he needed her in human form to escape—otherwise, the mating bond would be too strong. With his first shot only wounding Mace, running was now their only option.
Arianna whimpered, but she managed to shift. Jak couldn’t circle back to her—he was too busy zigging and zagging through the open space, trying not to get trapped by Mace’s betas. He circled back toward his clothes, praying he could get hold of the gun, but Thomas was already there, in human form, rifling through Jak’s clothes. Jak galloped toward him, but Alric and Beck caught him from behind. He roared and snapped at them, but they sunk their teeth deep into his legs and dragged him down. Pain streaked white-hot through his body. He was kicking and biting, but they had two sets of flashing razor-sharp teeth, slicing through his flesh. Just like a hundred times before, when his older brothers had pinned him, Mace’s betas were ripping him to pieces until the agony overtook him, and he had stopped fighting. But Jak wasn’t giving up, not this time, not until he was dead. He raked a claw across Beck’s eyes and tore a piece out of Alric’s ear. Their yelps of pain and anger were enough for Jak to break free of their grips and scramble to his paws.
