by Woods, Erica
Keeping my gaze on the female with the now-bent-shotgun lying at her feet, I spoke into the phone, “Trey?”
“They attacked Mark. He’s fine,” Trey said before I could ask. “We heard and got there in time, but Ash . . . There were a whole pack of them. At least six, maybe more.”
“What do you need?”
“I don’t want to leave Rebecca alone”—a muffled feminine protest rose in the background, quickly silenced by a soft rumble and muttered words—“no matter how many times she says she’ll be fine,” he growled in a voice that told me this was not the first time he had been forced to have this conversation with his mate. “When they’re this many, I’m not comfortable leaving her without at least three of us, and that only leaves two for the hunt. Can you guys come down—what? Sweetie, you know I don’t—no, just . . .” Trey sighed. “She’s baking, can you believe it?”
“I can.” I thought of Hope, of the way she thrust out her chin and narrowed her eyes when she tried to be brave—imitating Ruarc the best way she knew how, failing to understand that what looked fierce on our enforcer only looked cute on her.
Trey sighed again, cleared his throat. “Could you guys come down here and help us out? I want to scare them off before they make a play for our female.”
“You know you have but to ask.” I waited through his thanks before requesting my own favor. “We need your support at the Assembly.”
“For Rederick’s vote? You have it. Though I’ll be leaving Becs at home with Jesse and Xavier. The Assembly is no place for a female—what?” Though the rasp of skin over glass told me he had tried to cover the phone with his hand, I heard every word as clearly as I would have if I were in the house with them.
I blocked out the feminine rebuke and Trey’s response, a heavy feeling settling in my gut. Rebecca reminded me of Hope, of the kind of spirit the small human housed. A spirit much too fierce for the body it was bound to. “There will be another,” I said, cutting through Rebecca’s hushed whisper. “A vote regarding me and my brothers.”
Silence. Then, “What kind of mess have you gotten yourself into, old friend?”
“The complicated kind.”
Trey cleared his throat, but when he spoke, his voice was strong. “Say no more. I have your back, you know that. And I will see you in—” He cut himself off. Muffled conversation on the other side, as though he had placed his hand over the speaker itself this time. Then, “Becs is starting the coffee. What?” More muffled sounds. Trey sounded exasperated when he returned. “The woman is determined to feed you. Four cups of coffee and eight muffins coming up.”
“Three cups,” I said. “I will not be joining.”
Brief silence. “You’re not coming?”
“I am not needed.”
A sweet voice murmured softly on the other end. “Yes, whatever you want, babe,” Trey replied before he switched his focus back to me. “You’re the alpha.”
My lip twitched. “I am. And I am needed elsewhere.”
“I won’t pretend to understand, Ash—yes, for god’s sake, woman, get the ice-cream, get the cake, get a whole bowl of sugar and let them choke on the sweetness!”
A decidedly feminine gasp of outrage followed Trey’s outburst. A few seconds later came an exasperated apology, an annoyed huff, more apologies—genuine, this time—and finally murmured words of forgiveness. Then Trey was back. “I’m sorry, Ash,” he said. “Becs is being welcoming and here I’m acting like the worst cad. My only excuse is that this whole thing is making me darned uncomfortable. We could use you over here.”
Had the situation been any less dire, I would have laughed at Trey’s quick backpedaling. His mate was relentless, and she had him wrapped around each of her fingers. “I have someone at home who needs me more.”
In the quiet that followed, Trey was most likely going over all possible explanations—and responses. He settled on a question. “A female?”
“Tell Rebecca Lucien is looking forward to her cooking.” I hung up.
Trey did not need me. Not when Ruarc and Lucien were joining the hunt. Jason would keep Rebecca from worrying while her mates were out searching for trouble, and I would listen to my instinct and stay with our Hope.
She would not be left alone.
I turned to the human that had taken up residence in Nadir’s cabin. “When Nadir returns, tell him to get in touch.” I looked down at the gun, her only line of defense, and imagined Hope in her stead. “I will send someone by tomorrow to replace your weapon.” And to keep guard until Nadir returns.
6
Hope
After a big dinner and a chocolaty desert so succulent I’d nearly combusted, I was still shaking with excitement at having seen Ruarc and Lucien’s wolf forms.
“Wanna watch a movie, love?” Jason’s arms were wrapped around me, his chin resting at the top of my head. We stood in the middle of the kitchen, watching Ruarc wipe down the stove and the counters that were already clean.
Another detail about him to store away—the man liked things in order.
I was overwhelmed with the need to know them better, to know everything about them. Nothing was insignificant.
I turned in Jason’s arms so I could look at him, take in that wide grin and strong jaw. “What was your favorite movie growing up?”
Jason snorted. “If my mom ever had any money lying around, she sure as shit wasn’t gonna spend it on me.”
“W-what?”
He stilled. “Nothing, love.”
“Jason—”
A quick kiss to the tip of my nose, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I forget we haven’t introduced you to Netflix yet.”
“Wait, Jason—”
“I know, I know, Ash has this huge collection of movies, but you know what he doesn’t have?”
“I don’t—”
“Series! Netflix has so many series. They’re good, too,” he added when my mouth opened to protest. “Although . . .”
He cocked his head, and my stomach dropped, knowing he was about to turn the tables. Not maliciously, but because he, like me, cared.
“You’ve probably watched Netflix before, haven’t you?”
If I were earth’s surface, this would have been when the tremors began. The small yet terrifying warning of the tearing that was yet to come. The tearing that would rip me apart, rip us apart.
“No.” Quiet, so quiet I barely heard my own reply.
Glass shattered, the sound dying to make room for Ruarc’s hissed curses.
I tried to turn, to see what was going on, but Jason kept me in place. Shutters passed over his eyes, the corners of his mouth tightened. The hand he kept on my waist curled, fingers burrowing into my flesh before he flexed them and relaxed. He didn’t dig deeper. “No worries, love.” He leaned down; rested his forehead against mine. “We’ll introduce you to the wonders of streaming.”
I closed my eyes, relief warring with something else. Something darker. Something that nearly made me spill all my secrets right then and there, just to have it over with.
Tonight. I’d tell them tonight.
“How about a series starring the Devil?”
My eyes flew open.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds, he’s on vacation,” Jason said with a small grin.
“Wha—”
A hand grabbed my shoulder, a deliciously dark voice rumbling behind me. “That the guy all the females are crazy about?”
Jason frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Find something else,” Ruarc growled. His arm snaked around my waist and pulled my back against his front.
Jason’s frown deepened. “Isn’t there something with an all female cast?”
“Chick shows,” Ruarc replied.
“Dear lord.”
“Or something with small males. Weak ones.”
Jason rolled his eyes. “Compared to you, everyone is small.”
“True.” Smugness dripped from that one word, and for some reas
on it made my insides heat.
“I’m sure we’ll find something.”
Ruarc grunted and lifted me into his arms. Brushing past Jason, he stalked upstairs and into my room. I half expected him to slam the door in Jason’s face, but instead, he made his way to the bed, plopped me down in the middle, and arranged pillows behind us so he could lean against the back and keep me tucked to his side.
Jason followed, carrying a laptop.
Before he could turn it on, I gathered all my courage and said, “About my past . . .” Only, what came out of my mouth sounded suspiciously like, “About the Assembly.”
Coward.
Well, I had to know more about what we were facing, so I might as well get that out of the way first. Right?
Ruarc groaned, but Jason put the computer away and grabbed the hand Ruarc hadn’t claimed. “What do you want to know?”
“I still don’t really understand what’s going on.”
Ruarc moved then, dragging me along until we both lay on our sides, my head pillowed on a massive bicep, one of his calloused palms running along my rib cage with slow, mesmerizing movements—as if searing every inch of me into his memory. His hand was big enough to span nearly half my waist with one touch, and when he opened his legs, thick and muscular and so solid they could’ve been carved from rock, I allowed my feet to be trapped.
I hadn’t realized they were cold before now.
I hadn’t realized I was cold before now.
Stubble scraped along my neck. Lips brushed across the sensitive skin. My whole body was engulfed by Ruarc’s heat. He was so big. So strong. So hard all over. I felt tiny lying pressed against him. Like I could disappear into him—my shield.
“Mo chridhe,” he muttered. “My heart.”
Jason also lay on his side, facing us. He reached out and brushed a couple of strands of hair away from my face. “Don’t be scared.”
My insides hollowed, an uncomfortable tightness lumped in my stomach. “Why do you say that?”
Jason looked over my head at Ruarc. “Ash said to prepare her.”
The male at my back didn’t answer, at least he didn’t speak. But maybe there was something on his face, something that made Jason shake his head and growl softly.
“Ash said we’d been called to the Assembly,” I began. “That I was to come. But how do they know about me?”
Again, Jason looked over me at Ruarc. And again, Ruarc remained quiet.
“Well . . . Technically, we’ve broken the law. When we told you what we were . . .” Jason tipped his head, staring down at me with emotions I couldn’t read. “Humans are not supposed to know about lycans.”
If I hadn’t been lying down, I would have fallen. My hands grew cold and clammy.
They’d told me this. In what felt like another lifetime, they’d told me it was their most important rule.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to remember. I’d said . . . I’d said I wouldn’t say anything and Lucien . . .
“Good,” Lucien had said. “The Council executes those that do not abide by their laws. They wouldn’t simply kill you. They’d kill us as well.”
For a second, the world went black and I couldn’t breathe. But then the ice that had been crawling up my throat and choking off my air melted.
. . .those that do not abide by their laws.
The guys were responsible for my actions, but I hadn’t broken any laws. The only non-lycan who knew about their world was me, so if there were to be consequences, they would fall where the blame lay; with me, and not with them.
Air rushed from my lungs on a relieved sigh.
As long as the guys didn’t get hurt, I could face almost anything. But . . . “How did anyone find out?”
The chest I was pressed against vibrated with an ominous growl. “Don’t know how. Intend to find out. After.”
“I haven’t told anyone,” I said in a small voice.
Ruarc’s arms tightened around me at the same time Jason said, “We know that, love. No one is blaming you.”
“But . . . If we haven’t told anyone, they can’t have any proof. Can’t we just . . . lie?”
“Many lycans can smell lies”—despite Jason’s gentle tone, my stomach dropped; had they smelled all of my lies?—“especially the old ones, the powerful ones. And only the most powerful lycans sit on the Council.”
The world came to a shuddering halt. My breath caught, my heart stuttered, the buzz in my ears grew and grew and grew. The Thought was there, pushing at my mind, growing claws and tearing through the walls of denial, the armor of time.
“The Council?” I whispered. “That’s who’s calling us to the Assembly?”
Another vicious sound tore from Ruarc. Jason looked mildly concerned, stroking a finger across my cheek. “Yes, but don’t be afraid—”
Whatever he was saying was drowned out by the thundering of my heart.
If I was being taken to the Council, I was out of excuses. Out of time.
The idea that had taken root in my mind and refused to let go, pounded at my skull. It wasn’t even a plan. More a notion; a poorly thought out, desperate attempt at redemption, at making up for all I’d done by saving the ones I’d left behind.
The day the Thought had formed, the day I’d sat in Ash’s office and learned about the existence of a governing body in charge of the lycans, I’d thought it a near impossible task. How would I find this Council? How would I get within a hundred feet of them? How would I make them listen when I spoke?
But now, I was being taken there. They had called me. And the Thought had ceased being a vague idea and instead become something tangible. Solid. Terrifying.
Convince the Council to declare war on the Hunters.
“ . . . a vote.”
“A vote?” I asked, dizzy and latching on to the only word I’d heard.
Jason’s eyes were kind. Too kind. “To determine if we should be punished for breaking the laws.”
“Punished?” It came out as a high squeak.
Ruarc snarled and sat up. He put me between his thick thighs, wrapped his arms around my waist, and snapped teeth in Jason’s direction. “Will protect you,” he told me.
Me?
“Oh. Right.” Once again, my terror dissipated.
I was the human who knew what I wasn’t supposed to know. If anyone was going to be punished, it would be me. As long as the guys were safe . . .
That’s all that matters.
It was hard to be scared of punishment after all I’d survived at the hands of the Hunters.
Jason scooted closer. “Don’t worry, love. There’s another matter coming up for a vote and we’ve been preparing for that for months. The packs whose support we’ve garnered are sure to support us in this, too. No need to be alarmed.”
“Okay,” I said, thoughts spinning. It all made sense now. Ruarc’s over the top reaction, Ash’s stillness, Jason’s concern. They were worried about me.
“Don’t sound ‘okay,’” Ruarc growled against my neck. He grabbed my chin and tilted my head sideways, staring down at me with narrowed silver eyes. “Nothing will happen to you. Nothing.”
A smile stole over my face. “Okay.”
Suspicion narrowed Ruarc’s eyes further. “Why’re you smiling?”
“No reason.”
He looked at Jason. “Why is she smiling?”
“Hell if I know.”
My smile widened and Ruarc growled.
“Female, you better tell me now or—”
“Or what?” My voice was quiet, breathless. I wasn’t sure if it was the laughter I was trying to suppress—typical Ruarc; ordering me not to worry—or the light, tingly feeling that grew in my stomach the longer he stared at me.
Jason popped his head over the arm Ruarc used to shield me and looked down at me with a grin. “Or I’ll tickle it out of you.”
My smile fell. “You wouldn’t.”
His grew. “Wouldn’t I?”
And then I was on my back, the
m on their sides, caging me in. I wrapped my arms around my middle—protecting the area I just knew would be too ticklish to stand—scooting closer to Ruarc and eying Jason with suspicion. “W-what are you doing?”
A flash of a grin, a gleam in eyes of purest amber. “Whatever do you mean, love?”
I turned so I was facing Jason and pushed my back into Ruarc. He made a sound, halfway between a growl and a groan, but I only had eyes for Jason. I said his name in a warning tone that did nothing but make his eyebrow rise in a taunt.
He moved closer.
My heart sped up.
“Stop running away,” he murmured.
A hand on my hip—Ruarc’s. His breath on my neck. Another hand reaching out, Jason rubbing a thumb over my lip.
The tingle in my belly grew, dipped lower, heated.
“I . . . I’m not.”
Ruarc kissed my nape.
A strangled sound pushed past my lips and hung in the air between the three of us like a waving red flag at a bullfight.
“Do that again,” Jason said, molten eyes tracking over my face.
“M-me?”
In answer, Ruarc brushed his lips over the same spot, but instead of pulling back, he returned to let his teeth drag over my skin, lips following, then teeth again.
A full-body shiver started in my toes, curled them, before traveling up my legs, pooling between my thighs, tickling the inside of my stomach, whipping my heart into an erratic rhythm that dragged a gasp from my throat and left a silent plea on my lips.
More.
Jason leaned closer, and there was nowhere for me to go. They were so much bigger than me. Stronger. Walls of muscle and power and protective instincts.
I twisted around to look at Ruarc, saw the wide shoulders curled over me, the powerful chest and arms, the corded muscles everywhere. And I felt tiny, feminine, defenseless.
But in a way that had my breath catch.
When I turned back, Jason filled my vision. He’d moved close enough that I would have been squished between them if they weren’t so careful, so gentle. He cupped my cheek, leaned down, and whispered so close to my lips my eyes fluttered shut, “Are you ready to fess up?”
