Shifter In Ascent (Louisiana Shifters)

by Wood, Vivian

  Jace really hated to leave her here, but if he didn’t go over to Maddie’s house, his sister

  would come over here. That couldn’t happen until he’d figured out what to do with Tessa. Jace hustled himself to the shower, turning the heat up all the way and practically scrubbing

  his skin off in order to remove all traces of Tessa’s scent. He thought he might even shift and roll

  in some leaves on the way over to mask the human scent completely.

  The girl had only been in his life a couple of days and already things were getting

  complicated, Jace realized. This couldn’t go on for much longer.

  All he had to do was snow his very clever sister for the time being, and find Tessa a mate

  that met with his approval.

  It couldn’t be that hard, right? First Maddie, then the mate thing. Someone decent for Tessa. It’d have to be Rhett. Tessa would like Declan, but the idea of her touching his closest rival

  sickened Jace. Jace would talk to Rhett, make him understand. Jace needed to see this through

  and make sure Tessa would be protected and accepted.

  Jace tried out the idea of Tessa scowling at Rhett. Rhett giving her orders, telling her to

  behave. Tessa lying in Rhett’s bed, making those noises she tended to make.

  THUNK.

  Jace looked down to the floor next to his foot, where a fist-sized chunk of the marble

  countertop now rested. Jace sighed and brushed off his now dusty right hand.

  Maybe finding Tessa a mate was going to be harder than he thought.

  NINE

  “Just stay in the house? My ass I’ll just stay in the house,” Tessa fumed. She waited until Jace had dressed and left the house, and then scrounged around in his closet. She dug up a box labeled “Maddie”, which was full of youthful women’s clothing. Obviously Jace kept some of his sister’s stuff around, for which Tessa was thankful.

  Most of it was Tessa’s size, but it was definitely from the Juniors department. Tessa ended up in a very short pleated black skirt and a snug gray tee that said “HBIC”.

  I’ll take what I can get, she thought.

  Slipping on the ballet flats she’d worn the day before, Tessa checked herself out in the bathroom mirror.

  It was very un-Tessa, but it didn’t look awful. Mostly it made Tessa look like a college sorority girl. That was all right, because Tessa aimed to make some friends today. If her guess was correct, the buildings she’d seen the day before housed more Shifters.

  While she was in the shower, a revelation had struck Tessa. What the Legion claimed to really want was information. The more Tessa found out, the more she had to bargain with when the Legion reeled her back in. Yes, she’d have to tell them all the Shifters’ secrets, but she might be able to avoid directly betraying the pack. At the very least, she could get away with claiming that Jace had got away from her.

  After running her hands through her hair to revive her curls, Tessa was ready to go. She stepped out of the house, stopping dead on the porch. When Jace had brought her to the house yesterday, they’d simply followed a dirt path straight here.

  Today, in contrast, there was a short gravel driveway leading from the front of the house and dead-ending at the edge of the yard. Where the path ended it met a dense thicket of trees that rimmed the clearing around the house with perfect symmetry. It was unnerving.

  What had Jace said earlier? The Den was sentient, it provided you with what you needed.

  Clearing her throat timidly and feeling quiet sheepish, Tessa stepped out into the yard and spoke.

  “Um… I’d like to go to the main area of the compound, please?” she asked hesitantly. A breeze rippled through the leaves of the trees, and then the trees began to peel back, beginning to reform. Even though she’d been expecting just such a thing, Tessa nearly jumped out of her skin.

  The trees rearranged themselves, opening an arched pathway with an attractive gravel road. Tessa tiptoed over to it, testing the road with her right foot before quickly drawing it back. When the road proved not to be quicksand, Tessa stepped out onto it fully, feeling increasingly silly.

  That was about when Tessa realized she was being watched.

  Just act like you belong here, and show no fear.

  Tessa took off at a brisk pace, her nerves causing her to practically powerwalk down the road. She just had to hope it was friend out there and not foe. She walked along for about a quarter of a mile before coming to a larger main road. Tessa looked left for a moment and decided that the camp must be the other direction.

  Turning, she ran into a warm, solid wall. The wall laughed as she bounced off, and the laugh was sexy as hell. Tessa stepped back and craned her neck up at one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen.

  “Err.. hello,” she said awkwardly.

  The man laughed again. He was enormous, maybe 6’7. Jace would probably tower over most people, but this guy might have him beat by a couple of inches. He had olive-complected skin and dark hair clipped close to the scalp. His smile was so huge and perfect that it seemed like he had too many teeth, but the smile paired with the aqua eyes were a killer combination.

  “Ah. So you’re what Jace has been hiding out here. I should have known he was up to something. And an Ascendant mate, that’s a big something,” said the man in a deep voice inflected with a thick Irish lilt.

  Tessa immediately felt like there was a string attached to the center of her chest, and it was dragging her towards the man in front of her. She moved closer instinctively.

  He offered Tessa his hand.

  “Declan O’Riley, damned pleased to meet you.”

  “Tessa Anderson. Nice to meet you too, Declan,” she replied. “And I’m not Jace’s mate. It’s a long story.”

  “Ah, now the truth is revealed. He’s hiding you because you’re Ascendant, pretty, and single. Horrible friend, that Jace.”

  Tessa blushed and laughed, then waved a hand toward the road.

  “I was just heading out to check out the rest of the Den. Would you mind giving me the tour?”

  “I am almost entirely certain that this is going to get me in trouble, but I couldn’t say no to that,” Declan teased. Offering her his arm, which she accepted, he led her toward the main area and as they walked they chatted amicably about the places from which they each hailed. When they reached the cluster of buildings, Declan gave her the tour.

  “This big area of grass in the middle we just call the Grass. We’re imaginative folk. There’s the big mess hall in the middle, the apartment-style residences for Shifters who prefer to live close to one another. There’s the infirmary on the right, and the gym. There’s the armory in the far back, and the rest are all communal buildings as well.”

  Tessa nodded as he talked, admiring the large ivy-covered beige brick buildings that were scattered around the Grass. It reminded her of some small private college set back in the woods.

  “Where is everyone?” she asked.

  “The question of the hour. I do believe that there is a Game happening somewhere, my dear Tessa. The pitch will have popped up somewhere out past the Armory, I should think.”

  Tessa raised a quizzical eyebrow but simply nodded and followed his lead. Declan walked her to the right of the Grass and behind several buildings before coming to a stop by a footballsized field. The field had no lines or markings, but it did have a soccer goal at each end. Two dozen people were spread out over the pitch, and by Tessa’s estimation they were playing something between soccer and rugby.

  “What’s are they playing?” she asked Declan.

  “We just call it the Game, capitalized G. There aren’t many rules except that you have to be strong enough to play.”

  Declan cut across the field, giving all the players a wide berth. The men and women they passed spared Tessa a look here and there, but otherwise were entirely occupied with the movement at the other end. Tessa couldn’t really understand why they were so alert w
hen the action was so far away.

  Suddenly there was a loud POOMF and the figures around her blurred into motion. “SECOND BALL IN PLAY. MIND THE GAWKERS!” shouted a woman’s voice from just “SECOND BALL IN PLAY. MIND THE GAWKERS!” shouted a woman’s voice from just

  behind Tessa. Declan slipped his arm around her waist and halfway carried Tessa the last ten yards to the sideline, freeing her when they reached a large group of sparsely occupied picnic tables.

  “Watch the field,” he gestured, and Tessa complied as they sat down.

  “Don’t worry about what everyone is doing. The only things you need to remember are that if they make it in either end it’s a goal, and don’t ever turn your back on the field,” he said, already absorbed with what was happening in the game.

  “Got it,” Tessa affirmed.

  The two balls were now close to one of the goals, and it seemed as if there was a fist fight happening across the field by the other goal. Hopefully it was all in fun, although it looked pretty serious from here.

  SMACK!

  Tessa winced as two of the players smashed into each other, and one went down hard. The blond man didn’t seem to be getting back up, but the redheaded man just kept moving.

  “Nasty check, there,” commented Declan.

  “That’s Cord there on the ground. He’s more of a surfer than a ball player, innit? The one that bashed him’s Rhett. Big guy, always plays an aggressive forward.”

  Big guy? Coming from Declan, that phrase really meant something. He wasn’t wrong, though; the man was huge and so solidly built that the other players almost looked fragile next to him.

  “The bloke there on the other end breaking up the fight is Shaw. He’s the pack alpha. Bit of a temper so mind that,” Declan pointed to an angry-looking dark-haired man way across the field.

  Tessa stared at Shaw for a long minute, shaking her head. He looked familiar somehow, but that was impossible. She was sure she’d never met anyone named Shaw before. Still, the sensation was hard to shake.

  The man Declan had identified as Rhett put the rugby ball through one of the goals and Declan shot to his feet, cheering and clapping.

  There was a thunk as black-haired giant came up to their table and dropped a massive ice chest next to Tessa. The man turned to examine Tessa. He had a thin scar running from his left temple through his eye and down to his chin, and somber brown eyes. His gaze was so intense and direct that Tessa frowned and fought off a shiver. Without warning the man whipped his shirt off while still staring at Tessa.

  “Go on then, Jesse,” Declan said to the man.

  Jesse looked at Declan, then back at Tessa. She honestly didn’t know what the man was thinking; she hoped he didn’t see her as a threat.

  “Jess. There’s ball to be played, mate.”

  Jesse gave Tessa a final once-over before turning and trotting off toward the field. As soon as he stepped within the white lines, he immediately clotheslined the man closest to him. Then he tripped a tall blonde woman that was sprinting past him toward the ball.

  “JESSE IN PLAY!” shouted the same short brunette who had been giving game updates before. She seemed to be both a player and referee, somehow. Declan caught Tessa’s line of sight and nodded to the woman in question.

  “That’s Kat, there. Bit of a witch. Stay away from her when she’s in a foul mood,” Declan intoned.

  Tessa looked over at Declan and smiled. Funny, exotic accent, and crazy hot? She definitely Tessa looked over at Declan and smiled. Funny, exotic accent, and crazy hot? She definitely

  felt a strong pull toward him, and he seemed to be edging closer and closer to her. Maybe it was a mutual pull, then. Tessa envisioned dating Declan for a moment. He was easy to be around, and nice. A girl could do a lot worse.

  You’ll probably like Declan, Jace had said.

  If everyone in the pack was this attractive, no wonder Jace had warned her to stay at the house. Tessa wasn’t sure what would happen if all these sweaty, muscular Shifters started fighting to court her, but she would almost surely like it. The only thing that would make it better was Jace making an appearance, showing off his toned abs and shoulders. And that incredible butt…

  Tessa’s thoughts turned sour, and the smile vanished from her face. Jace was the last person she ought to be thinking about right now.

  “All right there, Tess?” Declan asked, his eyes suddenly on her. Tessa tucked a wild strand of hair behind her ear and nodded.

  “Just thinking.”

  “Right then. How’s about a drink?” he asked, rising to open the cooler Jesse had left on the table.

  “It’s like… one in the afternoon,” Tessa said.

  “Precisely!” Declan replied, “So will that be beer or something harder?”

  Tessa couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Surprise me,” she said.

  “Ah, the magic words. I do believe we’ll be fast friends, my dear.”

  Jesse poured her a plastic cup of something clear and strong-smelling, then settled in next to her on the bench.

  “BALL!” screamed the referee from the field.

  Declan and Tessa both ducked as a soccer ball whizzed past them with astounding speed. Tessa looked at Declan and they both burst into laughter, and then clinked their plastic cups together.

  A girl could really get used to this, she thought.

  Jace stared Maddie down as if he could will her to stop being suspicious of his unannounced arrival and close-mouthed answers to any questions about what happened to be going on with him. Maddie tossed her long, deep-brown mane with a sigh and readjusted herself on her front porch swing, folding up her long legs to get comfortable. Her violet-blue eyes narrowed.

  “Are you SURE there’s not a game today? I could have sworn there was one,” Maddie asked, distrustful.

  “They’re redoing the field. You know how much Shaw loves that damned field,” Jace replied nonchalantly.

  “He really does. That man needs to get laid,” Maddie said, standing up and stretching.

  “Well, thanks for coming out and visiting your old maid of a sister, J.”

  “See, when you say things like that, Madd, I begin to suspect that you’re up to something.”

  “Me? Well, I might have a plan or two for tonight. Nothing too wild,” she said with a huge grin.

  “Wild is a relative term for you.”

  “Yeah. Thank god,” Maddie said mischievously.

  “Are you leaving the Den?”

  “A girl has to get out and socialize from time to time. Don’t start in about my safety again. I can bench press my own body weight.”

  “Why can’t you just date within the pack?”

  “Please. Like any of your BFFs in the pack are gonna try to take your little sister out. They all look at me like I’m a time bomb. Besides, I like a little adventure.”

  “Who are you going out with?”

  “Who are you going out with? What time will you be home?” Maddie mimicked.

  “Fine,” Jace said as he rose from the swing, “I’m off. I have a lot of things to take care of this weekend, so I might not be around much. Just call me if you need anything.”

  Maddie’s face softened a bit, and she gave Jace a quick hug.

  “You don’t have to be my mom and my dad anymore, J. I’m a grownup. But thanks.”

  Maddie turned and vanished inside the house, leaving Jace alone on the porch. Maddie wasn’t very into expressing emotions, so it was to be expected. It ran in the family, Jace thought.

  Jace headed back toward the Den, intending to stop in and get the latest news before heading back to his house… and his houseguest. Refusing to think of Tessa and the fact that she could be walking around his house naked, or maybe doing dirty things in the shower, Jace steeled himself and thought about his sister instead.

  Maddie wasn’t perfect, but she could have turned out a lot worse considering the circumstances.

  Jace and Maddie’s family was originally part of the Atla
nta wolf pack. Before Jace and Maddie had moved, the pack had been outed to a human extremist group just crazy enough to go after a group of people who might or might not be werewolves.

  The humans came in the middle of the night, and they didn’t leave until the morning sun lit upon the smoking remains of the Atlanta pack’s Den. Bodies of all sizes littered the ground, children and their parents felled together.

  Jace and Maddie had survived the massacre by slipping into their storm cellar. If the door hadn’t been well concealed and the stairway hadn’t led into a packed-earth room…

  Too often Jace found himself back there, listening to gunfire and screams. Crouching over Maddie protectively and praying that his parents would come back and bring them to safety.

  No one ever came, of course.

  Jace sighed, pushing the thoughts away. Better to think of anything but that. Even Tessa, who was nothing but trouble with her knowing eyes and that ass he couldn’t stop checking out every chance he got.

  Jace came up behind the mess hall, intending to stop for a moment and see if there’d been any sightings of Jasper or his stooges. He heard the boom of Rhett’s laugh, and the garble of excited voices. Following the sounds, he headed for the patio to the side of the dining area. Shifters were crowded around a few picnic tables, talking animatedly about the game Jace had missed.

  He spotted Rhett’s lumbering form just as he was moving aside, and then Jace could see what the group was gathered around. Or who, rather.

  Sitting right in the middle of all the wolves, positioned as if she were the Queen speaking to her court, was Tessa. She was perched on the end of one of the tables, with Declan to one side and Cord to the other. Every male in the pack was staring at her, enraptured. Even Kat seemed to and Cord to the other. Every male in the pack was staring at her, enraptured. Even Kat seemed to

  find Tessa fascinating, and Kat hated everyone. Tessa was wearing an obscenely short skirt that showed her smooth legs to full advantage, and a tight shirt that begged you to stare at her full breasts. When she laughed and leaned forward a bit, Jace got a glimpse of creamy cleavage. Tessa’s giggle washed over him. She was drunk. She’d been at the game, and one of these bastards had gotten her drunk. Jace could smell the moonshine coming off her.