Marked (Valeterra Series Book 1)

by Jennifer Reynolds

  Reluctantly, I handed the stack of papers back to her with Jackson’s on top and without looking at the rest. She studied the top sheet for a bit before stuffing it into the files and all of it into her briefcase and turning back to me.

  “Those seven are all from the area of Valeterra that is parallel to the United States. They are all alphas, making them the leaders of the remains of their individual clans. There are hundreds of alphas without mates all across Valeterra. Most refuse to participate in the experiment. We hope that if a few of the ones who volunteered do find mates in the next five to ten years or so, the others might join them.”

  “Did all of those people,” I asked, pointing toward her briefcase, though I was only curious about one of them, “lose a mate to the sickness?”

  “No. Most of the current volunteers lost their mates before the disease, which is why they were more willing to volunteer than the others were. One volunteer has been without his mate for over fifty years, and one has never had one. None of them have children.”

  I didn’t ask about the one that had held my attention. I’d burned that man’s face into my brain. I was sure he wasn’t the volunteer who had never had a mate. He had a look about him that said he was well-versed in the art of lovemaking. The knowledge of which made me want to drag him to my bed.

  “I don’t know,” I finally said, attempting to shake the man from my thoughts. “I need proof. I need something tangible to convince me that there truly is another dimension and that I should move to it—God, that sounds crazy coming from my mouth. If, with proof, I choose to do such an outrageous thing, what do I tell my family? I assume that I can’t say where I’m going. That they can never visit me. Will I be stuck there forever?”

  “We will make up something to tell your family. No, you can never come back. Your sister might have the same immunities and DNA that you do. If she does, then, of course, you can tell her if she is willing to go to Valeterra as well. Our intel on her states that she doesn’t have any children and isn’t married either, is this correct?”

  “Yes. My sister was married, but when she couldn’t have children, her husband left her for someone else. The two of them tried everything to conceive but couldn’t. I never married, so when she got a divorce, we moved in together, and she opened her deli right next to my store. That’ll be my deciding factor. If you can bring me proof and if my sister has the option of going, I’ll think about going. I’ll miss my parents, but they’re happy with each other and their RV. I almost never see them so it won’t be such a shock to be without them.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Stutts,” she said, rising and gathering her things. “You’ve given us more than anyone else has. I’ll see what I can get you in the way of proof. I have a video on my laptop I could show you of a shifter changing, but no one else has believed it’s real, and I doubt you would either.”

  “I wouldn’t. Professional filmmakers can do too much with CG these days. I might believe a live feed, but not something you’ve previously filmed.”

  After showing her to the door, I sat and stared out my office window until Gail knocked on my door with lunch. How was I going to keep something like that a secret from her of all people? She gave me a quizzical look, and when I didn’t say anything, she asked what the woman had wanted. I told her the line I had come up with earlier about the woman wanting my store to carry her books. Gail didn’t believe me one bit, but I didn’t change my story no matter how much she prodded.

  6.

  ~~~Jackson~~~

  “How did your meeting with…Ms. Stutts go?” I asked, pretending to read Valerie’s name from her bio on the form I held in my hand even though I knew every bit of information we had on her by rote. I was sure Stephanie knew my nonchalance was an act, but she allowed me the pretense.

  Stephanie relaxed into her seat and gave me a sad smile. “She’ll need a bit more convincing. She has too many ties to her world. A sister. A home. A business. She’s the first one to sound the smallest bit as if she believes us, though. She even asked how we felt about things. Not one of the other humans even considered how all of this was affecting us.”

  “What did she say exactly?” I asked, sitting up straighter in my chair. I was curious despite myself.

  “She wanted to know why any of us were volunteering after suffering the way we were. She felt for us in a way none of the others have. I’m not calling the other women selfish or anything. Learning of our existence is a shock to the system whether they believed it or not. And…” She cut her words off with a snap as if she hadn’t meant to say the last one.

  “And what?” I all but demanded.

  “I think she has a connection with one of you. She’s a first in that department as well.”

  “What do you mean? How so?” I nearly leaped out of my seat at her words. Stephanie smirked at my shift in interest.

  “I showed her a stack of photos of the volunteers, thinking that might help her decide. She flipped through the first few quickly, but when she got to one in particular, she stared at if for a long time, studying the entire page. Her behavior was strange. None of the others had done that when we showed them the photos. They ogled you guys, of course, but none stopped like that. I think she would have gone on studying the file all day if I had let her. If I’m right, she might have a connection with one of you. She might be the first one willing to come.”

  “Whose file did she connect with?” I asked, trying to keep the alpha tone out of my voice.

  “Jackson, I…” Stephanie shrank a bit at my behavior.

  “Tell me.”

  “I don’t think you want the answer to that question.”

  If it was someone else’s file besides mine, no I didn’t. I couldn’t help myself from snarling, though.

  “Stephanie, you will tell me,” I demanded.

  “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. You aren’t ready for this. I told you not to volunteer.”

  “It was my photo then?” I asked, relaxing a fraction.

  “Yes. And I saw how you reacted to hers when I first showed it to you. I know what that reaction means. And you aren’t ready. I’m not saying this because I want you to pine for my sister the rest of your life. I’m saying this because I know you. You’re going to refuse this mating, and in doing so, you’re going to hurt this woman.”

  “I would never harm her. Mate or not, I’m not a cruel person. When did you start seeing me as such?”

  “I’m not saying you would do anything to hurt her physically, but if you bring her here and don’t claim her, you’ll break her heart. She’ll eventually figure out that in this world you’re the only man for her. By doing that, you’ll be forcing her to live one of our lifetimes alone. She’ll hate you for it. If we move on to someone else, Valerie will at least have a chance at finding love in her world.”

  I couldn’t stop the snarl that curved my lips, showing her my teeth. The act shocked Stephanie a tiny bit. She thought she knew me. She thought I would let my mate be with another. No, I wasn’t ready for another relationship. My wife’s death hadn’t been that long ago. My world was dying, but one day, my grief would soften, and my world would settle, then I would be ready, and she would be here. Until then, she would be where I could at the very least keep her safe. She would be where I could watch over her and be where no other man would dare touch her.

  She tilted her head and looked at me as if seeing something in me that she hadn’t suspected. I didn’t like her look one bit, and snapped out a, “What?”

  She shook her head and said, “Nothing. Sorry. I was just surprised for a second. Until this moment, I thought you would grieve for my sister for the rest of your life, but now… I don’t believe that you will.”

  Not liking her shift in tone, I said, “Stephanie, watch yourself.”

  “Nope. We’re bringing her here to Greenleaf, aren’t we? Don’t deny it. I see it in your eyes. Seeing you mated again is going to be easier than I thought. How do you want to go about convincing
her to come?”

  I growled at her gleeful change in attitude. She shrugged off my growl and started making plans without me.

  My suggestion on how to get Valerie to Valeterra worried Stephanie, but she agreed that it would get her here the quickest. When Valerie found out, though, she wouldn’t be happy, even if I’d mated with her by then.

  7.

  ~~~Valerie~~~

  A month after my visit with Stephanie, I found myself sitting in my office, looking down at an eviction notice, and trying not to cry.

  Clara startled me by rapping on my office door. I was reading the letter for the third time. She pushed the door open a crack and said my name before I was completely composed enough to tell her to enter.

  “I’m sorry, what?” I asked her while blotting away tears and praying my face didn’t appear swollen.

  Forgetting what she came in for, Clara stepped fully into my office and asked if I was all right. Fear of how I might respond kept her from coming to me and putting her arms around me in comfort.

  I loved my employees. I’d hate letting them go.

  “I’m fine. What did you need?” I said, burying the letter under a pile of papers on my desk and purposely turning away from her.

  Understanding that I wasn’t in the mood to talk right then, she said, “A Ms. Weems is here to see you.”

  “Who?” I asked, looking up at her quizzically, then down at my calendar to see if I had any meetings scheduled for that day that I’d forgotten. I didn’t.

  “I apologize for showing up unannounced, Ms. Stutts,” Stephanie Weems said, stepping around Clara and into my office before Clara could say anything more.

  “Oh,” was all I could say as I registered who the woman was. “Thank you, Clara. Can you do me a favor?” I asked, stopping her from making a quick exit.

  “I can. What do you need?” my day manager asked, eyeing Ms. Weems’ back as if she were the possible cause of my tears, considering the look I’d given the woman when she entered my office.

  “I would like you to call an emergency store meeting. Try to schedule it for this afternoon right after closing. If you can’t, try for first thing in the morning. Tell everyone it’s mandatory, but it won’t take long.”

  She gave me a frightful look but nodded and left to do as I asked.

  “You received the notice, I take it,” Stephanie said once Clara had closed the door.

  “How do you know about that?” I asked so harshly she flinched.

  “I just heard about it this morning, which was why I came. We try to keep updated on all of the women we’ve contacted, mostly to be sure they haven’t violated the NDA but also to make sure their circumstances haven’t changed.”

  “I take it this…” I said, digging the letter out of the stack of papers and waving the document in the air, “means my circumstances have changed?”

  “Unfortunately, it does. We know this bookstore is your world and that losing it will break your heart.”

  “It is. So how does that affect you guys?” I asked, flopping into my chair with a sigh and motioning for her to take the seat opposite me.

  “Well, as I said before, Valeterra isn’t a tech-heavy world. They don’t read on Kindles or cell phones. Don’t get me wrong, they have electricity and a few minor electronics, but only because they are convenient. My boss asked me to come to you with a compromise. We’ve run tests on your sister’s blood. She is immune, and she does have their supernatural DNA. Now, we aren’t ready to approach her, as we want to do this slowly, and two humans in the same town might be too much for that city to handle, and I assume the two of you would want to be together. That means we won’t be giving her the opportunity to choose to go with you at this time, but we will give her a choice in the near future.

  “We want you to move to Valeterra to open a bookstore that predominately sells books from this world. The citizens from Valeterra don’t want to come here, at least none of them that I’ve met want to, but they are curious about this place. I think doing small things like opening a bookstore with books from this world will help familiarize them with your world. You’ll have to make them understand that most of the books you sell are fiction and not entirely realistic, but the books will give them small glimpses into this world.

  “They can’t get your television shows, your Internet, or anything like that because radio waves and the like can’t pass through the barrier between the two worlds. We are even contemplating opening an old fashioned video store for them.”

  “A video store?” The thought was so absurd that I burst into hysterical giggles. I hadn’t known how much I’d needed a laugh right then until I’d started laughing.

  Stephanie sat quietly across from me and waited for me to calm. She smirked at my reaction but nothing more.

  “What’s the catch?” I finally asked.

  “Catch?”

  “Yeah, catch. Do I have to agree to marry one of the shifters to open my bookstore?”

  “We hope that a mating will happen, yes, but no, you aren’t required to mate anyone. We aren’t putting your store in the center of a particular pack territory, only close to a pack whose alpha is the Archon, or Mayor, as you call them, of Greenleaf, the town where your store will reside. Since you won’t be in his pack’s territory, none of the other local alphas will feel as if you or we are playing favorites toward one or the other.”

  “I don’t know. I barely make ends meet here. I don’t have enough money to move or start up a new store.”

  “Don’t worry. My boss will take care of it all. The building he has chosen is a bit larger than this one with an apartment on the second floor. The rent will be reasonable since you’ll be doing them a favor, and we expect things to be slow at first.”

  “I can’t be beholden to anyone like that. What if the bookstore doesn’t go over well? I’ll be stuck there owing someone all that money.”

  “That isn’t how this works. Valeterra will take care of you. If, after five years, the business doesn’t take off in Greenleaf, then we’ll move you somewhere else, and we’ll keep moving you every five years or so until we find the perfect place for you. I don’t fear that you won’t fit right in with the residents of Greenleaf, though.”

  “This sounds too good to be true.”

  “In any other situation, I would say it was, but I can promise this offer is legit. I can’t say if we will give every woman such special attention, but you’re the first female who is immune to consider making a move, so we want to make the transition as smooth as possible.”

  “I make no promises about the whole mating thing. I’m in my thirties and not at all what society deems beautiful. I know you say things are different there, but I can’t imagine one of those men in those photos wanting me.”

  Stephanie opened her mouth to say something, something that I was sure was going to be an argument, judging by how quickly she opened her mouth and the look on her face, but just as quickly, she closed it and said, “There’s someone out there for everyone. Everyone’s tastes are different. You never know who finds you attractive whether they’ll admit it or not.” She said all of that with such conviction that I almost believed her.

  “Fine. I do have one other complication. My home. My sister and I live there together. I have a few more years left on the mortgage. We also have to pay the taxes and insurance. I can’t just leave her with all of that.”

  “We’ll take care of it for you. Your sister will think you’re the one helping her, though, until we’re ready to tell her what’s going on, then you’ll have to put the house up for sale.”

  “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

  “I do. We’ve thought this through thoroughly.”

  “Fine. I need a change, and I want my bookstore, so let’s do this. How do we do this?”

  I knew I was making the decision without thinking it through, and that I shouldn’t make significant changes after receiving such bad news, but at that moment, I didn’t care.
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br />   “Close your store. We’ll help you financially. I’m sure you’ll want to give all of your people a little extra money to help tide them over until they find another job. Once we’ve settled everything here, you’ll tell people you’re going on vacation to tour Europe or something. After a while, you’ll say you found a job in some small town in Oregon and want to stay there for a while. Hopefully, by the time your sister gets suspicious, we’ll be ready to tell her.”

  “Will I ever get to come home?”

  “Every once in a while. I told you no earlier, but I’ve convinced my boss that the request is an unreasonable one. I would save those times you go home for holidays, though. That’ll keep your sister from asking too many questions, won’t it?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Good,” she said as if maybe meant something else. “I’ll be in touch over the next few weeks to help you settle things.”

  “Great,” I said sarcastically and laid my head back in resignation. I didn’t look her way as she gathered her things and left.

  A second later, Clara stepped into my office, and seeing me, said, “I’m sorry to disturb you, but…”

  “You’re fine, sweetie. What do you need?”

  “I just wanted to let you know that I’ve scheduled the meeting for this afternoon. Everyone should be here within five minutes of our closing.”

  “Okay. Do you need me out there right now?”

  “No. Things are a little slow at the moment.”

  “All right. I’m going next door to see my sister. I’ll be back in about thirty.”

  She nodded and left the room. I wasn’t looking forward to having to tell my sister what was happening. Her feisty ass would just try to hunt down the asshole who had bought our strip of buildings to kick his ass until he agreed to let me stay. Chuckling at that mental image, I left the bookstore.