by Lisa Kessler
Nadya passed behind me to hug Kilani, while Lana went to Adam’s side. “What’s with all the grumbling in here?”
Adam slid his arm around his wife’s waist. “Nero had snipers shooting at Jason and Kilani this morning, and now he thinks they need to go to Hawaii…”
His voice drifted off and we both turned toward the front door. Sebastian was outside. His scent was familiar to me now. You don’t forget the first guy to knock you out.
Adam started for the door, but I stopped him and handed over his little girl. Animal instinct won out over human pride. The Pack protected their Alpha, whether Adam liked it or not. I turned the knob before Sebastian could knock, relishing the tiny glint of surprise in his dark eyes.
“My scent.”
I nodded. “Tough to sneak up on us. Why are you here?” I didn’t open the door wide enough for him to see beyond me, and meanwhile I scanned the area for anyone else.
“I need to speak with Adam.”
“Did you know snipers paid me a visit this morning?”
Sebastian frowned, glancing over his shoulder. “Inside. They could be watching us now.”
“Why should I let you in?”
He met my gaze. “Because I’m your best chance to help Kilani.”
He was playing my weak spot. I gripped the doorknob tighter. “Your brother paid me a visit last night. Friendly guy with a knife and armed backup. I don’t remember you helping us then.”
“Let him in.”
The command was plain in Adam’s voice. Against my better judgment, I pulled the door back, leaving room for Sebastian to come inside. Lana took Madeleine from Adam, while their son, little Malcolm, hugged her leg. Nadya pried his pudgy hands free, picking him up, and Lana grinned at her sleepy little boy.
I frowned for a second, wishing my head were clearer. Her smile triggered something, but the memory slipped into the fog in my head before I could grab it.
Lana and Nadya disappeared around the corner, wisely keeping the twins far from Sebastian. No doubt he’d get a hero’s welcome from his father if he brought Lana or her twins back to Nero. Females didn’t carry the shifter gene until Lana, and somehow she’d passed it on to her daughter. Madeleine was a jaguar like her mother without ever being bitten.
A priceless commodity to Nero in their quest to breed the perfect assassin. If they could produce female shifters without ever being bitten and breed them, they could insulate themselves from outside investigations. No more kidnapping women off the streets or grooming young girls with psychic abilities in their boarding schools.
I still didn’t have a clue how they actually achieved their goal with Lana, but the money Nero poured into their breeding program had paid off, or it would have if Lana’s mother had turned her over to them. Shortly after giving birth, she abandoned newborn Lana on the steps of a church in San Antonio. She spent her childhood lost in the foster care system. Not a great start to life, but in hindsight, it probably saved her from becoming a lab rat under Nero’s microscope.
Sebastian walked past me, but not before I noticed the bruise under his eye. I may have gone down last night, but he didn’t get out of the ring unscathed, either.
“Why are you here?” Adam asked as I moved to his right side, ready to back him up physically if it came to that.
“Because the snipers were a distraction. My brother has already caught a flight for Hawaii with a two-man team. The others are staying behind in Reno. If they get the shot to eliminate Kilani, they are to take it.”
“He’s going to Hawaii to grab Grandma Nani.” Kilani stood, approaching Sebastian. “You said they already went to Hawaii while they were trying to find me.”
Sebastian nodded. “They did. She had no information.”
“But they didn’t hurt her, right?”
“Contrary to what the doctor may have told you, we are not blind killers. The last thing we want is attention from the police or the FBI. If we couldn’t find you, then holding or harming your grandmother would become a liability. We don’t take unnecessary risks.”
I glanced at Adam, then Sebastian. Did anyone else in this damned room find it strange that the eldest son of Nero’s president was helping us?
“Give me a reason we should believe you. You weren’t backing me up last night.” He didn’t answer fast enough. I pushed it a little further. “It’d probably make Nero’s job much easier if you led me into a trap and delivered Kilani right to your brother in Honolulu, right?”
A wrinkle formed in the center of Sebastian’s brow, and everyone looked my way. I didn’t give a shit at the moment. From what I’d seen so far, loyalty wasn’t a concept Sebastian understood.
“I am not here to protect you, or your Pack, or even Kilani.”
“That’s the first sentence I’ve believed since you walked through that door.” I crossed over to Kilani and took her hand. “So why are you here?”
Sebastian’s attention shifted to Adam. “I’m here because it’s in my best interest to see that my brother is unsuccessful in this mission. I will do whatever it takes to see that he fails, even if it means working with you…this time.”
The back door closed and Gareth came around the corner and stopped, his shoulders bunched, his voice more of a snarl. “What in the hell is he doing here?”
Tension boiled over in Adam’s living room. I took a step, moving so Kilani was slightly behind me, embracing the instinct to shield my mate. Gareth recently discovered Sebastian had killed his twin brother, but we couldn’t afford to allow him to exact Pack justice. Killing Sebastian, heir to the Nero empire, would mean we’d never be rid of them, not to mention that Sebastian was offering us inside information we’d have no hope of acquiring without his help.
None of that mattered a hell of a lot to Gareth.
“How is Nadya?” Sebastian’s gaze locked on Gareth’s, no sign of fear or regret.
The tension eased from Gareth’s shoulders. My jaw slackened. The jaguar negotiated my Pack brother’s hostility like an artist, turning attention to the one thing that meant the world to his adversary. The one thing Sebastian’s insider intel had helped to save. Nadya.
“She’s healed.”
Sebastian nodded. “I’m glad to hear that.”
And for once the bastard sounded sincere. For reasons unknown to us, Sebastian had been the one to alert Gareth that Dr. Granger was doping Nadya, increasing the DNA modification instead of neutralizing it.
I’d been so desperate for a cure that it blinded me. Another check mark under the column of my recent failures and shortcomings. Another drop in the bucket of uncontrollable anger.
Gareth came closer, standing at Adam’s right side.
I focused on Sebastian again. “You came here to warn us that your brother is already on his way to Hawaii to grab Kilani’s grandmother.”
“She’s the only leverage we are aware of to lure the target out of the Pack’s protection.”
Kilani squeezed my hand. “She has nothing to do with any of this. I haven’t spoken to her in years.”
Sebastian gazed at my mate from the corner of his eye. “She’s your only family. It’s a safe gamble that you won’t let her die for you. Your grandmother is my brother’s backup plan.”
“We’re going to Hawaii.” I narrowed my eyes, daring Adam to deny me. “It’ll draw Nero away from Reno. Kilani is their target. They’ll follow us.”
“And then what will you do, Jason?” Adam’s voice was clipped, angry. “You’ll be in unfamiliar territory, during a full moon, without anyone to back you up.”
“We’ll find her grandmother before Nero and bring her back here where we can protect them both.”
“They have a head start, Wolf.” Sebastian rolled his shoulders back. “By the time you get there, she could already be in my brother’s custody.”
I dropped Kilani’s hand and charged Sebastian before I even realized I had planned on moving. “Are you shitting me? You’re seriously taking Adam’s side in this? Un-fuck
ing-believable.” I balled my fist, but soft fingers caught my wrist in an iron grip.
I turned to find Kilani staring up at me, her brow furrowed. “Punching someone isn’t going to fix this.”
Her lips were moving, but it took a moment for her words to sink in through the haze of rage. Taking a breath, I nodded and faced Sebastian again. “You said they have a head start, but you want to be certain your brother fails in this mission. Are you planning to go to Hawaii to stop him?”
“It’s too risky for me to be directly involved. Too much is at stake.” His dark gaze flicked toward Adam, then back to me. “I can offer information, nothing more.”
“So you’re hoping I’ll send another Pack member with Jason to be sure they stop him.” Adam stepped back, tipping his head toward the large dining room table. “Have a seat. We’ll talk.”
I went to follow, but Kilani hung back. Turning toward her, my body blocked her face from the others’ view. Adam and Gareth would hear us even if we whispered, and Sebastian probably could, too, but the illusion of privacy was worth something.
“Are you all right?”
“No.” Her skin paled, her hands trembling as she met my gaze. Tears shone in her eyes but she blinked them back. “I’m far from all right.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She took my hand, lacing her fingers with mine. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”
Chapter Eighteen
KILANI
I took a chair beside Jason, wishing I could unknot my stomach. His rugged profile hypnotized me. While Sebastian spilled details about Nero protocols, I tried to memorize every line and angle of Jason’s face.
My vision a couple of minutes ago had left me shaken.
The moment Adam invited everyone to sit, my mind became a movie set, and at centerstage was Jason, shot and bleeding on the ground. The visceral image made it difficult for me to calm myself and search the scene for clues to time or place. It happened on black asphalt. Outdoors, but where?
And more importantly, when?
I had no goddamned idea. What use was this idiotic “gift” when all it did was scare me? And how could I protect Jason from this dark future? Adam’s words “without anyone to back you up” kept echoing through my head.
Why in the hell would fate throw us together? If I was really his “mate,” it looked like I was going to get him killed.
Across the table, Sebastian answered Adam’s questions. Was he one of the shooters this morning? Did he come to this meeting armed?
After the vision of Jason with a bullet wound, my nerves were shot. It would’ve been upsetting no matter who had been on the ground, but seeing his skin beginning to pale, the crimson stain growing…
This had to stop. I cared about him. Caring for people was my job, but caring about them was something I usually shielded myself from. When had he broken through my emotional defenses?
Did it matter?
I had to keep that vision from becoming reality. But what could I do, search every person I came in contact with for weapons?
If I didn’t get a grip and focus soon, I’d make myself insane.
Lana came into the room, snapping me out of my panic. “Hi, Sebastian. It’s been a while.”
She stood behind Adam, kneading his shoulders, but the tension in his jawline grew.
“Still happy living among wolves, Little One?” Sebastian raised one brow. Grace used to find the facial gesture cute, but to me, it always came across as condescending. “How many lambs might the stern wolf betray?”
Before I could ask what the hell he was talking about, Lana rolled her eyes. “Shakespeare, right?”
Sebastian almost smiled. “I see living with wolves hasn’t dulled your cultured mind.”
“From my side of the fence, wolves aren’t betrayers.” Lana grinned and kissed the top of Adam’s head. “You’ll get more bees with honey, Sebastian. Just a suggestion.”
Jason watched Lana, his muscles tensing up. I rested my hand on his thigh, instinctively rubbing it, offering comfort without any idea why he needed it.
He leaned forward toward Sebastian. “How old did you say your brother is?”
“Why would that matter?” he countered.
“I’m not sure yet.” A muscle contracted in Jason’s cheek. “But it might matter tremendously.”
Sebastian frowned. “Damian is twenty-seven.”
Jason tilted his head to gaze up at Lana for a moment. “Huh, strange coincidence. Lana just turned twenty-seven, too.”
“Many people are currently twenty-seven, Wolf.”
Jason nodded. “You told Lana her mother was dead, but her father is still alive.” His hand covered mine under the table. “Did Lana have a twin, too?”
Sebastian got up. “I think you misunderstand my intentions here, Wolf. I came to stop my brother, not to betray my father or Nero.”
Jason shot out of his chair. “How is telling us if Lana had a twin betraying your father, exactly?”
Adam and Gareth stood, and I followed suit, wondering what the hell I was missing.
“It has nothing to do with making certain my brother’s mission is unsuccessful.”
“Maybe not, but it sounds like you’ll be counting on me to do most of the legwork for you. A little information on your brother, who tried to kill me last night, seems like a small price to pay for my assistance.”
Lana glanced at Jason and back to Sebastian. “You said my father still works for Nero. Do you know who he is?”
Sebastian shook his head. “Your knowledge of Shakespeare is endearing, Little One, but this isn’t a play, and some mysteries are better left unsolved.” He went to the door. “I will be in touch when I have more information about my brother’s location in Hawaii.” Opening the door, he took a step outside and stopped, turning to meet my eyes. “I never meant to pull you into this world, Kilani, but here you are. It would be wise to use every gift you possess to stay alive.”
Down at Adam’s barn, the horses nickered as we walked to my car. Adam had parked it inside in the hopes Nero might not discover it. His plan seemed to be working so far, but they already found me at Jason’s place, so my Ford Fiesta was probably much less important now.
I pulled the rest of my clothes and my laptop from the back. This would be enough. Lana bought our tickets to Hawaii online, and by dinnertime, we’d be in the air. Surreal.
“You’re not alone in this. You can talk to me.”
Jason’s deep voice and the slow touch of his large hand down the back of my hair had me suddenly on the verge of tears. I laughed and wiped the corner of my eye. “What do you want me to say? We’re fleeing to my childhood home to save my grandmother who hasn’t spoken to me since I was eleven, not to mention our lives are in danger. I’m just this side of losing my shit.”
He pulled me into his arms, kissing the top of my head. “You are one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. We’ll get through this. I promise you.”
I clung to him but kept my eyes open, afraid of what I might see when I closed them. “I had a vision up in the house.”
He tried to pull back, but I didn’t loosen my hold on him. I wouldn’t get the words out if I had to see him. “I couldn’t tell when, or where, but you were shot and bleeding out.”
“That’s not set in stone. We’ll be careful.”
“I wish we could run away.”
“You’ll never be able to live with yourself if they get your grandmother.”
I sighed and tipped my head back. “Tell me about werewolf women.”
He chuckled. “No such thing.”
“What about your mother? She’s a werewolf, right?”
He nodded. “She is now, but only men are born wolves. Shifting is carried in the Y chromosome.”
“How did she turn into a shifter?”
“Why all the questions?”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to acknowledge the answer just yet. “I’m curious, and discussing werewolves is
n’t something we can do in public.”
He ran the back of his fingers down my cheek. “When a werewolf finds his mate, if they ever want to have children, he has to bite her. There’s a compound in our saliva when we’re in wolf form that mutates human DNA to match ours. A month later, she shifts during the full moon just like we do. She becomes a werewolf.”
“Does it take that long for them to get the heightened senses, like superhuman hearing and smell?”
“We’re also stronger than the average human.” He kissed my forehead. “We need to get on the road so I can grab some clothes and get us to the airport.”
“Okay, but you didn’t answer my question. How long before you get the werewolf perks?”
One corner of his mouth curved up into a crooked smile. “I’ve never heard them called perks before, but everyone is different. For some it’s gradual, and for others their senses are instantly enhanced. But it takes a full month for the final transformation and her first shift into a wolf.”
My pulse raced as I pieced all the information together and the realization dawned on me. I couldn’t seriously be considering letting him bite me. Could I? We were on our way to Hawaii, chasing after men with guns. If I had his heightened senses and strength, I could be an equal partner, an asset instead of a liability. It made sense. It could also change the outcome of the vision I had. Maybe.
Never in a million years did I dream I’d be weighing pros and cons of becoming a werewolf.
“Are you going to tell me what that was all about?’
“I already told you—curiosity.” I wasn’t ready to say the words out loud yet. In truth, was I actually ready for any of this? I slung my bag over my shoulder. “Guess we’d better go.”
Jason surprised me with a slow, lingering, hungry kiss. My heart pounded in answer. When he straightened, my eyes fluttered open and I wished we were going to Hawaii for a honeymoon, not a rescue mission.
I stared up at him, trying to decipher the emotions brewing inside of me. No one had ever looked at me the way he did, like I was all that mattered, and no man had ever put his life on the line for me. The only experiences I’d ever had with “love” left me abandoned and broken.
