by Alisa Woods
Jak rose up from the bed, pulling her up with him. “Let’s get dressed and go apologize to Sarra. Then I’ll make my call.”
She felt her face get hot. “We made a lot of noise, after all, didn’t we?”
Jak chuckled as he hunted through the pile of their clothes. “To be fair: it was mostly you.”
She swatted him but quickly got dressed. It wasn’t as if they had taken showers or anything. Sarra would scent the sex on them. But that was different than having to listen to it. Guilt speared through Arianna. She had a sense that Sarra had real feelings for Jak, and here Arianna was, having wallbanging sex with him in her studio.
She tried, unsuccessfully, to get the grimace off her face.
Jak held the door of the bedroom for her, hand at her back, but she still could barely force her legs to walk through the door. She crept out, guilt all over her face.
Sarra sat at the kitchen table in the small apartment, sipping from a giant mug that said Keep Calm and Kick Ass while reading something on her ereader. She looked up and sized them up with her bright blue eyes. “Feeling better, I see? I could tell by the pictures falling off my wall.”
Arianna cringed and fought for something to say.
Jak didn’t even have the decency to look sheepish about it. “You could have let me bleed a little longer.”
“Yeah.” She snorted. “Like a dead shifter in my front yard would have been less trouble.”
Arianna was frozen, torn between her desire to effusively thank Sarra and her need to sink into the floor due to extreme mortification. Jak just grinned at Sarra and left Arianna’s side to stride over. He bent to place a kiss on the top of the petite girl’s blond head. She peered up at him, and they exchanged a moment of soft smiles that Arianna knew she should feel jealous of, but she just couldn’t. Instead, it warmed her heart that Jak was forgiven. And hopefully she would be as well.
Sarra sighed, then peered at Arianna over her cup. “She’s the one, isn’t she?”
Jak smiled at Arianna with such love that her grimace finally faded away. “Yeah. She’s the one.” Then he gave Sarra another soft look. “I’m going to step out to make a call. Can you keep her company for a little bit?”
Sarra’s eyebrows scrunched up. “Whoever you’re calling, don’t bring them here. I’ve had enough party for one night.”
Jak grinned again, dropped another kiss on her head, and strode toward the door.
“I’m not in business again, Jak!” she called after him, but he just waved on his way out.
Arianna stood awkwardly, still right outside Sarra’s studio.
Sarra beckoned her over to the table. “Well, c’mon. Sit down. You’re probably hungry.”
“I’m fine, really, I don’t want to put you out.” Arianna shuffled over and took a seat at the rickety wooden table. It was pretty cheap, like everything in the apartment, really. Except for the paints and easels in the guest room. Those seemed top quality.
“I’m not much of a breakfast person either.” Sarra got up, went to the tiny kitchen behind her, and returned with another steaming mug. This one said Keep Calm and Paint On. “I hope you like tea. No coffee in the house, sorry.”
Arianna took the mug. Just holding it was reassuring to her. “This is perfect.”
Sarra settled into her seat and took a sip from her mug, but her eyes never left Arianna. The awkwardness was creeping up Arianna’s neck again.
“He really loves you,” Sarra said. “I hope you know that.”
“I do.” Arianna let out a sigh of relief. “I hope… I’m sorry about…” She glanced back at the studio.
Sarra just chuckled, set her mug down, and leaned back in her chair. “Jak’s a sex machine. Believe me, I know how he is. If he hadn’t woken up and wanted some, I would have been worried I didn’t stitch him up right.”
Arianna felt heat rising to her cheeks, but a smile as well. It was true. Jak couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her. Not that she exactly minded.
She peered shyly at Sarra. “The two of you were together, weren’t you?”
Sarra sighed and gave a lingering look to the door Jak left through. “Three amazing weeks. If you think he’s a sex machine now, you should have seen him as a hormone-raging teen wolf.”
“Did you grow up together?” Arianna asked. Maybe that was it… childhood sweethearts.
But Sarra just snorted. “No. And thank god for that. Jak’s family almost killed him.”
Arianna drew back. “What?”
Sarra raised one eyebrow. “He didn’t tell you? Interesting.” She studied her mug. “Jak stumbled into my apartment, torn to shreds by his own brothers, when he was only sixteen. His brand-new alpha brought him. I stitched him up. I hadn’t been a healer long, and I was terrified I would miss something. But he was a strong wolf, even then. He almost died.” Sarra looked up at her. “He stayed for a few weeks. I don’t think we left the apartment more than a couple of times.” She smiled, but it was in a sad way, then she just shook her head and sipped her tea.
Arianna sipped hers as well. There was more to that story, but she wasn’t sure she should ask. Or if she really wanted to know. She knew she had Jak’s heart now… but it felt like she should know more about where this brave, selfless shifter had come from.
“Jak said he wanted to make you his mate,” Arianna said, recalling his exchange with Sarra, in the car the night before. “But you said no. Was it because he was a beta?”
Sarra laughed outright, setting down her tea so it didn’t spill from the jostling. Arianna glanced around the apartment. It was clear that Sarra lived alone. And she was Jak’s age, probably twenty-four or twenty-five. A female shifter, unmated at her age… it had to be by choice. And Arianna couldn’t imagine turning away someone like Jak.
“No,” Sarra said, amusement high on her face. “I would have had Jak for a mate in a heartbeat. If I was… normal.”
Arianna dropped her gaze to the table. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry. It’s none of my business.” She gripped the mug with both hands and peeked up.
Sarra had a soft smile on her face. “I can see why he likes you. You’re kind-hearted. Soft. Jak needs more of that in his life.”
The heat rose in Arianna’s cheeks again, but she didn’t want to feel embarrassed. Not about loving Jak. It was one of the best things she’d ever done, no matter what pack rules had to say about it.
Sarra’s lips drew into a tight line. “I’m a shifter who can’t shift, Arianna.”
Realization dawned. “You’re a half-breed.” Then she grimaced. That wasn’t exactly a complimentary term. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
Sarra held up her hand. “That’s exactly what I am. Might as well call it what it is.” She took a breath and let it out. “I was on the losing end of a pairing between a bastard of a shifter and a human girl who couldn’t wait to drop her panties for him.”
Arianna drew back a little. Sarra was talking about her parents. It didn’t sound like she had the best childhood either.
Sarra continued, “Not all half-breeds are non-shifters. Some are just like full-breeds in all their abilities. But I didn’t get enough magic in my blood out of the deal, so no shifting for me. And a female who can’t shift? Not exactly sought after as a mate. I don’t bring the right, shall we say, genetic material to the bargain. My blood isn’t fit for parenting. At least not with shifters, and really, probably not with humans either.”
Arianna’s heart was breaking, and she didn’t even really know Sarra. But there was something that still didn’t make sense. “Did Jak know?”
Sarra’s life-hardened face softened a bit. “Oh yeah. He knew. Even back then, even when he was just a kid, Jak was full-on ready to rescue me from my fate. But I knew he deserved better. I’d stitched him up and shared his bed and, dammit, I fell hard for that boy. But I knew I wasn’t the right one for him. He deserved someone who could give him pups and a home and everything he didn’t have with that fucked up family of his
. I told him there was someone out there, someone who would be The One for him.” Sarra captured her with her blue-eyed gaze. “He rescued you from something bad, didn’t he?”
Arianna nodded, a lump in her throat.
“And you’re not broken, like me, right?” Sarra held her gaze steady.
Arianna had to look away. “I’m still mated to another wolf.”
“Oh shit.” Sarra leaned forward, rubbing her hands across her face. “I take it back. Maybe Jak has a taste for hopeless cases.” She laughed a little, but it was sad.
Arianna’s chest was squeezing tight. “I can’t give him a family, either.” She looked up at Sarra with tears in her eyes. “Not strong ones, with the protection of a mating between us. Not like he deserves.”
“All right, look here,” Sarra said, her voice rising. “Forget everything I said. That boy loves you. Do not send him away just because you can’t have magic puppies together.”
Arianna dropped her gaze to her mug. Was she making a terrible mistake?
“Arianna look at me,” Sarra demanded.
She wiped at her eyes and looked up.
“He thinks you’re The One. If you care for him at all, you stay with him and figure out how to make it work.”
Arianna nodded through the tears making their way down her face. “I love him so much,” she whispered.
“Then you’ll figure it out.” Sarra gestured to her. “If nothing else, you’re still mated, right?”
Arianna nodded again.
“Then, as much of a bastard as your mate no doubt is, you’ve still got that magic in your blood. Your pups will have that going for them, even if it’s not Jak’s magic.” Sarra pinched up her face. “I know that’s not what you want. But if you break Jak’s heart, I swear to God, I’ll have to find you and beat you down. I don’t care if you can shift. I’ve got a black belt that says nobody messes with my Jak.”
Arianna smiled through the tears now flowing freely. She didn’t miss how Sarra called him her Jak. Her love for him was as clear as anything, and it was the purest kind. The selfless kind. The kind Jak gave to her freely. And Sarra was right. Whatever else happened, Arianna would rather die than do anything to hurt him.
Even if she had to carry Mace in her blood for the rest of her life.
Jak paced the sidewalk outside Sarra’s apartment, phone to his ear.
He had five messages from Circe, the witch who wanted his body, each more threatening than the last. He had planned on being well out of her reach by this time today, not just barely recovered from his completely failed attempt to kill Mace. But now he needed her… and pissing off a witch was not the best way to start a negotiation.
The phone was ringing.
It rang four times before Circe picked it up. “Yes.” The chill in that word could freeze the sun.
“Sorry I didn’t make our date,” Jak said hastily, hoping the immediate apology might help. He added a bit of low growl to it, just in case that might help.
“I hope you were dead.” The frost was still in negative temperatures. “That would be an acceptable excuse.”
“Well, if you called my alpha to expose my little secret, you would know that wasn’t far off.”
“Oh?” She was warming a little. “Did you boys get a little over excited with the full moon and nip each other to death?”
So she hadn’t called Gage. Jak blew out a silent sigh of relief. Not that it mattered if she spilled his secret to his alpha—ex-alpha—but he didn’t want Gage to know about his connection to the witches. It might get back to Mace and make for trouble with his plan. Which was a terrible plan, but it was the only one he had. And making sure Arianna was forever free of Mace was still more important to him than keeping her for himself.
“No, little witch, we’re not quite that stupid,” Jak said, putting more of the sexy in his voice. He needed to get this witch to play nice if his plan was going to work. “However, I did do a rather stupid thing last night that almost cost me my life. Otherwise, I would have returned your calls.”
“Hm,” she said, and she was definitely warming up now. “What flavor of stupid were you?”
“I tried to kill an alpha.”
“And that didn’t go well? I’m shocked.” Then she paused. “Wait… this was the alpha of your little pet, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.” He sucked in a breath through his teeth. This was the hard part. “And that didn’t work out. So I’m back to needing your help, Circe.”
“Are you, now?” She was warming up to a full purr.
“I need to know if you were serious about Arianna’s family sending the bounty hunters after her.”
“Your wolfy affairs don’t interest me enough to lie about them, Jak,” she said with disdain.
“How did you know it was them?” he asked.
“Well, that’s for me to know and for you not to worry your pretty little head about.”
“I need to know, Circe,” he said. “All deals are off otherwise.” He had his suspicions: the bounty hunters knew exactly where to find him and Arianna. When pressed, they squawked Hecca’s name. And now Circe knew who really hired the bounty hunters. That was way too much circling for the bounty hunters and the witches not to be connected. Which mean Circe was somehow connected to Arianna’s family.
Circe was quiet on the phone. “And what do I get in exchange for this information?”
“I’m willing to make you a very happy witch for a very brief period of time.” Jak swallowed down the choking in his throat. This was a trade. A barter. And he didn’t have many other options.
“I like the sound of that.”
“I thought you might,” he said. “Now tell me: how do you know that Arianna’s family hired the bounty hunters?”
“Because, my sexy little plaything,” she said, “I hired the bounty hunters for them.”
Jak stopped his pacing and braced a hand against his car. “You hired them.”
“Well, they were offering quite a bit of money to get their beloved sister back.”
The gears clicked fast through Jak’s head. “You used Hecca’s name to make some easy money while ratting out your sister’s favorite pack.” What he didn’t understand was why? If he could figure that out, maybe he could use that—
“When you put it that way, it sounds so underhanded.” But Circe’s voice was smug, not worried.
“Maybe this is something Hecca might want to know,” he said. If the sisters were fighting, maybe he could pit them against each other, rather than having to get down and dirty with Circe.
“Nice try, little wolf.” Now she was irritated. “But once you left the office, I made sure Hecca was aware of my little arrangement.”
Dammit.
“And I disposed of the bounty hunters,” she sniffed.
He choked. “You what?” Jesus. How did he forget that witches were not to be messed with? But again: short on options.
“Oh, it’s wasn’t that bad,” she said with a sneer. “A simple forgetting spell and a bus ticket did the trick. I don’t need the inconvenience of bodies floating in the bay.”
“Glad to hear that.” But he still didn’t understand what her motivation was in this. “So if this isn’t some kind of sister-spat, then why? Why help out Arianna’s family when it might jeopardize Morgan Media’s contract with Red Wolf?”
She sighed into the phone. “Let’s just say I don’t like wolves who kidnap women. You’re tremendously hot, little wolf, but your kind can be so barbaric. Helping to liberate a sister, even of the wolf flavor, has its satisfactions, even if Hecca can’t see the merits of getting involved.”
Jak wholeheartedly agreed, but he was honestly surprised that she cared. Maybe she was lying, but it didn’t seem so—her voice had lost that haughtiness it carried most of the time. And if she meant it, if she was telling the truth, then getting her to help might not be as difficult as he thought.
Time for the big ask. “Circe, I need to meet the family.”
&
nbsp; “And I need a little hot wolf action in my office.” Her temper was rising.
“I think we can both get what we want,” he said carefully. “Call up the family. Have them come to your office. I get to check them out, and you get to put your desk to a use for which it was never intended.”
He could practically hear her licking her lips. “Getting them here may be a bit difficult.”
“Make it happen, Circe.” He couldn’t keep the anger out of his voice. If he was going to have to pay up in witch-on-wolf sex, she better not fight him on the details.
“Why exactly do you want to meet the family, little wolf?” Suspicion was creeping into her tone.
“That’s for me to know, and for you to not care about while I’m fucking you in your office.”
She laughed softly. “All right, then. Give me an hour.”
“I’ll be at your office in half that.” He had no idea how long it would take Mace to start looking for them. He could already be on the hunt, for all Jak knew. “We can take care our bargain, then I want to meet the family.”
“Fine.” Her voice was tense again. “Half an hour.”
Jak tapped off the phone and ran the back of his hand across his mouth. He could still taste Arianna on his skin… and he was about to trade sex for favors with a witch. The thought made his stomach turn, but he needed to make sure her family understood the stakes. And would be able to take care of Arianna.
After he was gone.
He took a deep breath and tapped the phone on again. He dialed Sarra’s number. She answered on the first ring.
“Hey,” she said. “What’s taking you so long? We made you tea, and it’s getting cold.”
“I have to run an errand, Sarra.”
His good friend and ex-lover snarled into the phone. “The hell you do.”
“Please, Sarra, just watch over her for a little bit longer. I need to do something, and Arianna can’t be part of it. When it’s safe for her, I’ll call you. Then you need to bring her to me.”
“What are you up to?” Her voice was a whisper now and muffled. She must be hiding her concern from Arianna. Jak smiled: he knew he could count on her.
