by Kat Bostick
Jasper pawed her frantically, filling the car with agitated whimpers. His answer was a resounding “yes!”
The cemetery was northwest of town, further into the bosky outskirts. They followed a narrow gravel road that snaked through a mixed forest, branching off every five hundred feet into private driveways. The sun was brushing the horizon above the trees, offering a delicate pink and gold view of the world around them. To Mari, the beautiful dawn colors looked like hope.
A greying wooden sign marked the cemetery half a mile from their location when Jasper gripped the steering wheel with his teeth and yanked it down. Mari slammed the brakes, sending a spray of gravel up behind them. It was clear that he wanted her to turn but she wasn’t keen on indiscriminately driving onto private property. What if he was wrong about which turn to take? Until today, he couldn’t even remember where the town was.
Her hesitancy infuriated him, so much so that he switched tactics. This time Jasper tugged the passenger handle until the latch clicked. He threw his body weight into the door, flinging it open and taking off at a trot.
The last glimpse of a fuzzy red tail vanished down the curving drive, leaving her with no choice but to follow him. She hadn’t gotten him this far just to be shot by some scared land owner. The car puttered loudly down the road, groaning mechanically every time she turned the wheel too sharply. This had better be their destination or they might be forced to stop indefinitely until the Toyota received much needed maintenance.
A forbidding black gate loomed at the end of the driveway, lined with privacy panels that blocked any view of the property within. Towering stone walls stretched far into the woods on either side, making the desire for visitors—or rather, the lack of desire—very clear. Obviously they accepted some because there was an intercom system installed beside the gate. A high pitched tone sounded when Mari leaned out of her open window to press one of the buttons. Before she could speak into it, Jasper made a bounding leap over the wall.
“You’ve got to be freakin’ kidding me with this shit, Red!” Mari shouted. “I can’t climb that.”
A growl on the other side told her that he expected her to. She made sure her aggravated groan was loud enough for him to hear when she climbed out of the car with her backpack slung over one shoulder. The only feasible way up that wall was with a boost. Since she wasn’t about to park her car next to it and climb on the hood, the best option was to use the storage tote from her trunk. It fit snuggly against the wall, giving her an added two feet of height when she carefully rested her weight on it.
Calling on five years of gymnastics from her childhood, Mari backed up thirty feet, tore off into a high speed sprint, and vaulted off the tote. The plastic lid cracked but she got the momentum she needed to launch herself up the wall.
The scratches on her skin from the stone were nothing compared to the pain in her ankles when she jumped over the other side. Her perfect landing was spoiled by the three inch heel of her boots. Jasper rushed over when she grunted and lost her footing but she waved him away with a reassuring smile.
“I’m fine. I’ll just be very sore tomorrow.” She gave the top of his head a pat and forced herself up. Hopefully Jasper didn’t see how she flinched when she put weight on her left ankle.
Please be sprained and not broken. She prayed as she limped after him. And please don’t let this be some stranger’s property that we just trespassed on.
Jasper had to circle back every ten feet to keep from losing her. Even if Mari hadn’t hurt herself, she couldn’t keep up with him when he was running. His impatience irked her. It wasn’t like it was her fault she was a slow-poke human. She finally made the stupid decision to let him go ahead. Within two minutes she lost his trail and had no idea if she was going in the right direction.
The woods on the property weren’t too dense but they’d walked for what felt like half a mile and still hadn’t seen a house. Mari was beginning to wonder if there even was one when a crash of footfall over understory stopped her dead.
“Jasper?”
A chestnut colored wolf exploded from the trees with a bestial roar. He landed ten short feet from her, teeth bared and postured for an attack. Dark sepia eyes glared at her, blazing with pure and lethal hatred. Long, breathless seconds stretched between them. Every moment that the wolf didn’t act brought Mari’s heart higher in her throat. The beast inhaled deeply then cocked his head with a look of bewilderment.
“Deak! I said hold up!” A gargantuan man, taller and broader than any Mari had ever seen, barreled through ferns and shrubs after the wolf. More notable than his size was his complete lack of clothing. “What in God’s name…” His booming sentence trailed off and he cocked his head in the same manner as the wolf.
“Sweet hairy Jesus! You’re, um, tall.” Mari sputtered. “And naked. Why are you naked?” “Why are you trespassing?” The naked man countered.
“I’m looking for Charlie Dunne.” She answered with a hand shielding her eyes.
“What do you want with my alpha, witch?”
“Father Above, Jasper was right! You’re motherfreakin’ werewolves too!” Man and wolf flinched at her shrill tone. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“We?” His nostrils flared and more confusion creased his dark brows. “Where’s Trevor? What have you done to him?”
“Who’s Trevor?”
They were interrupted when a blur of red shot between them. Jasper landed atop the other wolf, maw crashing down on his throat. The other wolf was caught off guard and could do nothing but lie limply in Jasper’s deadly hold. With a conflicted grumble, somewhere between a growl and a happy yip, Jasper released him. Back on his feet, the chestnut wolf glowered at Jasper, yet with none of the previous hatred.
The man flicked icy blue eyes between the three of them, an impish grin tugging his lips. “A witch? You finally decide to come home and you bring a witch with you?” Jasper responded with a flash of fangs. Mari was surprised by how quickly he identified her by scent alone. What did she smell like to them? Hopefully not bad. “You crazy son of a bitch.”
Those snarled words acted as a trigger, sending both wolves and man into a flurry of wild movement. For a horrified moment, Mari was sure they were attacking Jasper. Then she heard the booming laughter of the man and saw the rapidly wagging tail on the chestnut wolf as his body slammed into Jasper’s. The greeting was boisterous and savage and so filled with joy that moisture gathered in her eyes.
“Damn, we missed you little brother.” The man finished his welcome by rubbing his closed fists on top of Jasper’s head.
A word fluttered lazily into the forefront of Mari’s mind. It didn’t make sense at first but she recalled the Johnny Cash song and something clicked. “You’re Cash.”
“And just who the hell are you?” His smile fell, his eyes becoming mistrustful slits.
“I’m Mari. And yes, I’m a witch but I mean no harm. I’m here to speak to your alpha.”
“Why would you want to do that?” Cash growled. It was less ferocious coming from the throat of a man but still startlingly animalistic.
“Jasper needs his help.” She squared her shoulders, answering confidently.
He frowned. “Who’s this Jasper?” Mari motioned to Jasper, a little confused until she realized that name wasn’t his real one. “You mean Trevor?”
“Sure, yeah. He couldn’t remember his name when we met so I gave him a new one.”
“What the hell is going on, Trev? You disappear for more than a year and come back with some witch? Charlie is not going to be pleased if he finds out you’ve been gallivanting around when we were worried sick.” Cash gave him a reproaching look that only a brother could.
“He’s been gone for over a year?” Mari rested a hand on Jasper’s haunch and lightly gripped his fur. “It’s not his fault. I can explain everything but I need to speak to Charlie.”
“No, Trevor can explain. Change and give me your story. I don’t trust a witch in my house.”
Apparently Gran was right about relations between werewolves and witches. Well, half right. They didn’t kill her on the spot.
“He can’t.”
“He can’t explain? That’s not good for you, witchy.”
“Please, just listen. He can’t change. He’s been cursed. We don’t know much about it but I might have figured out who is responsible. As far as I can tell he’s been a wolf the entire time he’s been gone from the pack.” Mari put up a placating hand.
“And you know this, how? If he can’t change then he can’t talk.”
“He can. Kind of. We speak in dreams. And maybe telepathically? Jasper claims he can’t read my mind but then he throws words around in here,” she tapped her skull with a finger. “so I think he’s lying.” She got a nip on the thigh for that remark.
“You speak to him in dreams? And…your mind?” All hostility left Cash’s voice and she couldn’t tell if he was genuinely curious or mocking her. He was walking around the woods naked. What right did he have to mock her?
Mari crossed her arms. “Yes.”
Cash and the chestnut wolf went very still. Mari had no idea if their stillness was a good sign or one that should send her running. She should have thought this whole thing through before just showing up. Oh wait, she couldn’t because Jasper had to go sailing over some wall without warning. He was going to hear it from her if she didn’t get eaten.
“Trevor, do you vouch for this witch?” Cash lifted black brows. Jasper who was also Trevor dipped his head and sidled up to Mari’s side. He flicked his ears back and nuzzled her chest, stomach, and hip with the edge of his jaw like he usually did on her face and neck. When he was done he nosed his head under her hand so that her palm rested on the back of his neck. The action meant something to the other two because the wolf growled and Cash’s square features drew together. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. No. Hell no.”
Jasper snapped a “hell yes.”
Cash gave a derisive snort. “Tell me you didn’t take a witch as your mate. Is that why you disappeared on us? You thought we wouldn’t approve?”
“Mate?” Mari balked. “You must have misunderstood. We’re not mates.”
“Does he know that?” Cash laughed. It was a cheerful noise that sapped the tension from the air.
Jasper turned an irritated gaze her way. Father Above, maybe he didn’t know that.
“This is not how I expected to begin my day.” Cash groaned, rising to his full height which, now that he was standing so close to Mari, was intimidatingly large. Like over six and a half feet, large.
Cash was precisely what she imagined a werewolf would look like in human form. Thickset and carpeted with black hair, he towered over them with easy confidence. A shaggy beard framed his square jaw and his inky locks were just long enough to look intentionally unkempt. There was an intense wildness about him that made Mari want to shrink back when his limpid eyes fell on her, like she could feel the predator watching from within.
And then there were the scars. Once she noticed them, she struggled not to stare. The worst of them stretched across his neck; distinct discolored lines like something sharp—probably teeth—narrowly missed taking out his throat. His chest and arms weren’t free of them either, though the hair helped to cover them.
“Let’s go, Deak. Boss’ll get this sorted out.” He turned to leave, revealing even more marks on his back. The obvious bite on his left shoulder was as eye-catching as the scar on his throat. Whoever left it had very big jaws. Cash glanced over his shoulder and waved impatiently. “C’mon then, witch.”
Huh, Mari thought. This was a little too easy.
After weeks on the road and the dramatic events before that, she hadn’t anticipated their arrival here to go that smoothly. This miserable year had all but diminished her hope for anything to go right so it was unsurprising that she grew more fretful when Cash agreed to take them to the alpha. The other shoe was going to drop and Mari should be ready when it did.
Cash and Deak got about fifty yards before they realized she was struggling to keep up. “What’d you do to it?” Cash backtracked and knelt to look at her purpling ankle.
She did her best not to stiffen but when he tried to unzip her boot she yelped “Don’t touch me!”
Jasper quickly pushed between them with a snap of his teeth. “Christ, Trev! I’m not going to eat her. I only want to look.”
“No need. I’m fine.” She pushed past him to continue after Deak.
“It’s almost a quarter mile back to the house. I can carry you.” Cash offered with outstretched arms.
Mari’s gaze fell between his thighs, which was exactly where she had desperately been trying not to look. Despite his muscular arms and sturdy legs, that was the part of him she was most afraid of. She blinked and shifted away. Of course her fear was silly. If he wanted to hurt her he would just crush her throat with his werewolf hands. And going near his naked body didn’t mean he would suddenly act on any urges.
Silly or not, she decided she would rather not have a stranger’s arms around her. “I’ll walk.”
“Suit yourself.”
If Cash and Deak were impatient with her pathetic limp through the forest, they didn’t show it. They were as casual and relaxed as they would be going for a morning stroll.
Jasper whined excitedly when trees opened up to reveal a soaring stone structure. Half towers reached proudly to the sky on either side, blocking out the sun with their black shingled tops. A wide balcony stretched between them to shelter the entryway. Stained glass windows scintillated on the gable above it, the only hints of color on the entire house save for the vines that climbed the stone. Mari knew the house was extravagant yet, in person, it was far more beautiful than she expected—something out of a fairytale.
“Jas, this isn’t a house.” She whispered around the side of her hand. “It’s a castle.”
“You and your witch stay here. I’ll fetch Charlie.” Cash jogged up the porch, unashamedly marching through the double cherry wood doors in his naked state. With a final scornful glance in Mari’s direction, Deak trotted off into the forest.
“I can’t believe we actually found them.” Her trembling fingers danced along Jasper’s spine.
The relief at accomplishing their goal was short lived. Finding the pack was only half of the challenge. Mari was persona non grata in werewolf territory and if she didn’t play her cards right, she might become dinner rather than being invited to it. This was a dangerous game, one that would require slow, scrupulous moves. That wasn’t usually Mari’s style but no matter what Gran said, she couldn’t trust this alpha, or any of the pack, with the full story of who she was and what she might be capable of. Not yet.
If she was afraid of her own power then it wasn’t a stretch to assume they would be too. Mari didn’t know much about werewolves but like any other creature, fear would drive them to hasty judgements and rash behavior. That was exactly why she needed to get a handle on her own fear and hold her imprudent tongue.
The only way to make it through this in one piece was to walk the razor’s edge between truth, sincerity, and secrecy.
Chapter 24
Mari
Mari’s first impression of Jasper as a man painted him like a warrior; unyielding, dominant, and deadly. His tall form was wrapped in corded muscle and when they found an enemy, his eyes were harder than steel. Cash was even larger and more menacing than Jasper, leading her to believe that even on two legs, werewolves were indomitable brutes.
That was probably why it came as such a surprise when a husky man, barely six feet tall, stepped onto the porch and asked in a slight Irish lilt “am I interrupting something?” Based on his raven hair and pale eyes, this was Charlie. This was the alpha? His burly build didn’t seem to fit with his soothing tenor but his size didn’t seem to fit with his title either.
Mari blushed and quickly wiped wolf spit from her chin, where Jasper had been nibbling affectionately. The fabric of her sweatshirt was damp from the ra
in and only made her face wetter. She supposed it didn’t really matter since she was wearing mud as foundation anyway.
