by Briers, M L
“I was borrowing…” Jasmine shot back, and Nathan raised his eyebrows and slowly turned towards her with an incredulous look on his face.
“Borrowing means having the intent to return, and once you had your grubby little fingers on the Grimoire’s, I wasn’t going to see them again.” Nathan silenced her with another look, and she shrugged.
“Perhaps.” Jasmine shrugged it off, leaving Nathan to grin in victory.
“Sticky fingers, this one.” He informed Sienna good naturedly, and Sienna grinned as much to herself as to Nathan. These two were certainly going to liven the place up quite a bit, she told herself as she settled back in her chair, feeling for the first time in a few days that everything was going to be alright after all.
“So how is your mate?” Jasmine took no pleasure in the slight wince that flicked over Nathan’s face.
“Pissed that she has a vampire for a mate, but she’ll come around.” Nathan raised his eyebrows and bounced them a couple of times for good measure as Sienna chuckled.
“Mate’s always come around.” Sienna assured him, but her eyes flicked to Jasmine and she guessed that the comment was intended for her, not him.
“And here comes one now.” Nathan chuckled as he shot Jasmine a look and saw her back stiffen in response to his teasing grin.
“Why are you cosying up to my mate?” Wade eyed Nathan with a dark glare as he postured beside the table and Jasmine sighed.
CHAPTER THREE
“Where would you like me to sit?” Nathan’s smug smile had Wade growling low and hard in his chest.
“Alaska.” Wade shot back and Jasmine almost spit out her mouthful of coffee, spluttering a giggle, as she eyed Nathan who didn’t appear to be perplexed by the Alpha.
“That’s not very friendly brother…” Nathan offered getting to his feet, and for a long moment the two of them eyed each other. “But I yield my seat to the alpha, and the mate.” Nathan took a sideways step and walked over to stand beside Sienna, who was motioning to the chair next to her, she nodded with a smile. “Thank you, Sienna.” He offered courteously, before sliding into place beside her.
Wade stood there a moment longer, eyeing him with something of a curious stare before he moved next to Jasmine and sat beside her.
“Well, I think I’ll go for a walk.” Jasmine announced as she got to her feet and Wade was up on his feet in an instant.
“Not alone. There’s a rogue on the loose.” Wade informed her, and he saw Jasmine’s back straighten and waited for round two. The woman was obviously going to protest and he was ready for her.
Jasmine thought for a long moment about digging his ego and asking Nathan if he would accompany her, but Nathan had his own battles to fight within the pack, being Sky’s mate, and she didn’t want him in the middle of her problems with Wade.
“Fine. Then I’m going to go anywhere within the house that you are not.” She snapped as she turned on her heels and walked away. The sound of Sienna and Nathan sniggering and the alpha growling out a long groan floated towards her as she quirked one eyebrow and carried on walking.
Wade sat back down and stared at the table in front of him. His brow drawn down and his eyes focused on nothing, as he contemplated how much easier it would have been to have a Lycan mate.
“She’s testing you.” Nathan offered and Wade’s eyes flicked up to the vampire.
“Meaning?” Wade hated to ask. He hated the fact that Nathan had a relationship with his mate, and he would rather chew his own tongue off than ask a vampire for anything and yet, who knew his mate better? And this vampire was part of his pack, or soon would be.
“Meaning, Jasmine will push and push to see how far she can get before you rein her in. She’s wild of spirit, like most Fae. She just needs a strong hand.” Nathan shrugged and Wade scowled.
“Why did you never show her a strong hand?” Wade demanded, curious about how their relationship had been.
“She wasn’t my mate.” Nathan offered and Wade grunted his approval. “She’s been looking for something her whole adult life. She throws herself into her magic…”
“I don’t like magic…” Wade grunted in annoyance again at the thought of the jolt she had given him earlier. If she hadn’t of been his mate he might have been tempted to rip off her head.
“Learn. Jazz is all about magic. And that little buzz she gave you earlier…” Wade looked at Nathan who grinned wildly. “She was just playing. That’s nothing compared to what she could do to you.” Nathan watched the dark scowl deepen on Wade’s face and it amused him. “Your little witch has thrown me across the room so many times I couldn’t even begin to count them.” Nathan thought it was better to forewarn the guy than find the two of them trying to kill each other if Jasmine really decided to let him have it.
“So she’s powerful?”
“She’s one of the most powerful witches I have ever met, and I’ve met a lot of witches.” Nathan informed him, slouching back against his seat and watching the alpha take it in. “Just don’t get on her bad side.” Nathan chuckled and Wade couldn’t help but sneer.
“Does she have a good side?”
“She’s got the kindest heart you’ll ever encounter.” Nathan left it there, although he couldn’t help but follow through in his own mind. And it’s filled with the love that she’s been waiting to give to someone.
Sienna smiled her approval at her son. “I think my children have two very fine mates, and this pack will be all the better for them. A Fae and a vampire, oh my, what an adventure this is going to be.” She rested her hand over Nathan’s on the table and gave it a slight squeeze, and he grinned at her in a devilishly wicked way.
“Does that mean I can call you mum?” He teased and watched as the older woman chuckled and nodded her head. “I haven’t had one of those in a very long time.” He answered with a slight air of sadness in his tone and she squeezed his hand again.
“Well now you do.” She assured him and Wade grunted again, but this time Nathan couldn’t be sure if it was a good grunt or a bad grunt.
Jasmine sat on the top stair with her knees drawn up and her elbows resting on her knees, with her chin resting in her hands she watched the three of them at the table. It was at times like these she wished she had the kind of hearing that Lycans and Vampires possessed, because her ears were burning and she would like to have been privy to their conversation.
The sudden presence of someone sitting beside her made her jump in place and she turned to see Sky, fully healed and pouting beside her. The younger woman eyed the sight at the kitchen table and sighed.
“You’re the vampire’s friend?” Sky started, not taking her eyes from Nathan as Jasmine grinned inwardly.
“Yep. I’m Jasmine.”
“The Fae, my brother’s mate.” Sky flicked her eyes only briefly in Jasmine’s direction, but it felt like a full and thorough survey as her eyes swept over her.
“Don’t remind me.” Jasmine groaned and Sky dragged her eyes from Nathan again and turned on a deep frown.
“You don’t like Wade?” She asked sounding a little surprised and Jasmine shrugged it off.
“What’s not to like.” The sarcasm in her voice made Sky chuckle.
“He’s ok. Better than having a vampire mate.” Sky sounded morose as she went back to eying Nathan, scowling again.
“Nah, he’s ok too. He’s funny, he’ll make you laugh when you don’t want too, and even when you think you couldn’t possibly find anything funny, he’ll come out with something to cheer you up.” Jasmine sighed. She liked that about Nathan. Whereas Wade just seemed so…
“Wade does that too…”
“He does?” Jasmine couldn’t help the disbelief in her voice and Sky turned to her with a slight smile.
“Sure. He’s just got a lot on his mind, with the rogue and you, and the vampire.” Sky informed her and Jasmine dropped her arms and leaned against the stair rail.
“I don’t want a mate. Not yet anyway.” Jasmine just sa
id it out loud and Sky nodded her understanding.
“I get that. I don’t want a vampire mate…” Sky sighed as she watched her mother fawn over the vampire and sighed again.
“You might just change your mind when he feeds from you.” Jasmine grinned when Sky’s head snapped around to look at her in disbelief. The deep scowl on her forehead told Jasmine a lot.
“Yuck.”
“Trust me, you won’t be saying yuck…”
When Sky narrowed her eyes and assessed her position, Jasmine watched her mull it over. “He was your boyfriend, wasn’t he?” Jasmine had to smile at the little possessive edge of jealousy in Sky’s voice.
“Friend’s with benefits.” Jasmine assured her, and the younger woman flicked her eyes back down to her mate.
“And were those benefits…?” Sky stopped short of asking the question.
“Very, very good.” Jasmine assured her. Sky seemed to perk up a little, a smile lifting the corners of her lips, before she caught herself and went back to scowling down at him.
Nathan flicked his eyes upwards and grinned at his mate, and Sky pulled back from the edge of the stairs and turned away.
“He’s still a vampire.” Sky spat out and Jasmine nodded.
“Yep, a vampire who’s been searching for you his whole life.” Jasmine assured her. Sky snorted, but she couldn’t help but turn back and look down at her mate again, her eyes drinking him in.
Jasmine spotted Nathan coming in from outside and made a quick beeline for him. Grabbing his hand and yanking him with her as she travelled out of earshot of everyone else.
“Sweetheart, we’re both mated.” He teased. She stopped pulling him through the downstairs and turned back to look up at him, peeking around his body to see if anyone was close enough to hear them.
“Don’t be a smartarse…” She hissed up at him, keeping her voice close to a hushed whisper.
“What’s up poodle, planning to make a run for it?” His eyes flashed with amusement. She took a long deep breath and bit down on a handful of swearwords.
“Something like that. I want your car keys.” She hissed up at him and Nathan frowned down at her.
“What? No.” Nathan spat out. Reaching out his hand, he brushed her shoulder trying to sooth her worries. “Look, Jazz…” He started, but she knocked his hand away.
“Key’s, Nathan, not lectures. I want to get my Grimoire’s.”
“They are my Grimoire’s, and the answer is no. The damn alpha will go into meltdown if you run out…” Nathan wasn’t amused, but Jasmine didn’t care.
“Nathan, just give me the keys. Don’t make me hotwire your damn expensive car.” Jasmine peeked another look around him, spotting Wade and Brock as they came through the back door in the kitchen, she winced.
“ You can’t hotwire my damned expensive car, it’s one of the reason’s it is so damned expensive, and if you think for one minute that I’m going to let you run from your mate…” Nathan felt the slap on the back and winced as Jasmine’s face went deathly white.
“Who’s running from their mate?” Wade looked down at Jasmine as she raised a brow and snorted.
“That’s what happens when you listen to other people conversations, you get it wrong…” Her accusing tone gave Wade pause for thought as he glared down at her.
“So why don’t you fill me in on what I missed.”
“None of your business…” Jasmine informed him curtly, as she almost snapped off the index finger that Nathan had raised when he opened his mouth to speak.
“It is my business, you are my mate.” He growled down at her. Nathan pulled his finger from Jasmine’s death grip and went to speak again, but she cut him off.
“I was not going to run away. If I want to decline your advances I will tell you.” Jasmine bit out between clenched teeth, and Nathan shrugged and ducked backwards away from the two of them, leaving them too it.
“You will not be declining my advances, Jasmine, and you will not be running away.” Wade crossed his muscled arms over his broad chest and glared down at her. Jasmine stiffened as she placed her fisted hands on her hips and glared back up at him with just as much fire inside her.
“Listen here you mutt brained, muscled bound, oaf…” Jasmine lifted her hand and pointed a finger at him accusingly, and Wade growled down at her. Reaching up with fast hands, he wrapped his hand around her wrist and pulled her towards him. Her other hand came up and played against the heat of his chest as she was thrown off balance, his hand circled her waist as he pressed her to the length of him, his other hand still at her wrist, and from a distance they could have been mistaken for dance partners.
“Jasmine, I know you are a Fae, and therefore limp brained…” He started and her eyes went wide with fury.
“How dare you…”
“But try to let this sink into the brain floating around that pretty head of yours…” Wade had to bite down on the smirk that wanted so desperately to fill his face, Nathan had no such qualms.
“You…” Jasmine sneered, but he carried on regardless.
“I am the Alpha, and you, my little mate, will do exactly what I tell you…”
“You’re not the alpha of me!” Her eyes flashed with loathing and Nathan had to chuckle before he burst out laughing.
“Oh, but I am. And if you run from me, I will hunt you down, and when I find you…” He let go of her wrist and ran just one fingertip down over her neck, collarbone, and ended in the deep valley between her breasts as he looked down at her, his eyes flashing with desire as he pressed his arousal against her.
“You…” Jasmine felt the shiver run through her body like wildfire. And she held back her desire to hit him with a jolt of her magic, instead she lifted her foot and slammed it down on his toes.
The pain registered in his face as he ground his jaw in anger, but he didn’t release her. He just growled long, hard, and menacingly, as his eyes turned the colour of Hematite. A second before he was distracted by the pack link.
‘Wade, we’ve picked up the rogue’s scent. ‘
‘On our way.’
“Brock, we have a scent, let’s go.” He growled out, letting his eyes take her in one last time before he stepped back away from her. Turning to look at Nathan he growled, “Do not let her leave, brother.” Before he took off at speed for the front door.
“Do not let her leave, brother…” Jasmine mimicked, as she turned to look at Nathan expectantly, but he was just shaking his head.
“You heard the alpha, Jazz.” Nathan turned away and carried on shaking his head as he left her in his wake.
“Oh, come on, Nathan… Nathan!” She snapped at his back, but he didn’t turn back around.
Brock sensed his alpha was close. Wade was being fast, not stealthy as he took the upper path on steady paws to where they had scented the rogue. Slowly now, as he got to the outcrop over the ravine, below Wade saw his Beta and two others from his pack making a wide pass around the area trying to pick up the wolf’s scent.
The fresh kill that lay on the ground, a young deer, ripped and torn apart in what looked more like a frenzy than a feeding, was a strong scent in the air, and Wade tried to take apart the individual scents he was picking up from the surrounding countryside and his own pack, trying to zero in on the rogue, but to no avail.
‘Anyone picking up even a remote scent from him?’ Wade bit out, anxious to hunt the abomination down for what it had done to his sister, and taste its blood on his tongue as he ripped it limb from limb.
‘No, and I’m getting a feeling this rogue’s an alpha, because he can mask his scent well.’ Brock growled back. He was equally eager to track the thing to its death. While it lived none of the pack were safe, none could enjoy the freedom of the land to come and go as they pleased. It could attack anyone of them at anytime, and would show no mercy, as with its attack on Sky.
‘Increase the patrols. We’ll fan out from here, and I want Jinx and Jason up at the caves before nightfall to make sure the r
ogue doesn’t get in or out of there to take shelter. I want it out in the open so we stand more chance of picking up its damn scent.’ Wade knew his land. It was vast and the size of their pack couldn’t hope to cover the whole area, but they could be smart about it. The rogue was close to insane, relying on its beasts instincts to get by. They needed to use their human cunning to hunt it down.
‘We do have another ace up our sleeve, Wade…’ Brock informed him and heard the low rumble of the growl from his alpha from above.
‘The vampire.’ Wade agreed. He knew the damn man was already itching to get out and track the rogue for the justice it would give him for the attack on his mate.
‘He’s an expert tracker by nature…’ Brock offered, and heard the mumbling of other members of the pack at the thought of allowing a vampire free reign on their hunting ground. ‘And he’s Sky’s mate…’ Brock deliberately added to silence the rumbling of the pack. ‘Which gives him cause to want to track the beast, and reason to kill it.’
‘If I let the vampire loose I’ll have to pull everyone else in. I don’t want any accidents, not with him being Sky’s mate.’ Wade snorted. It wasn’t his way to allow someone to clear up his problems for him, even if it was for the good of the pack.
‘Not everyone. Let him scent those that will hunt with him, so that he knows them…’ Brock offered and his alpha was silent for a long moment.
‘It’s still a risk that he won’t be consumed by his bloodlust…’
‘Maybe he’s old enough to handle it. How old is he exactly?’
‘Good question. I hadn’t thought to ask.’ Wade turned away from the outcrop and padded down to where his pack searched. He had already made enquiries with other packs about Nathan to find out what they knew of him, he just hadn’t had time to check and see if anyone had gotten back to him yet. He’d have to make that a priority when he got back. He needed to know what he was dealing with.
Nathan’s hand shot out and he caught Sky’s wrist. She had tried to make a beeline for the stairs when she saw him coming. She stopped on a half sigh and a guilty look, and he couldn’t help but smile when she couldn’t quite meet his eyes.
