“Well I’ll be, you were right, Liv.” He walked over to Jesse and gave him a man hug.
“Jesse, you fooled me.” His father looked proud and not at all disappointed. “You always pay Mama more mind than you should, and I figured you were going to let yourself be driven mad before accepting the gift fate has given you.”
There was that. Looking back on it, Mama was the one everyone was listening too. Crap on a cracker, well there was nothing they could do about it now.
“Sit down already. Garrick made coffee, and I already have the food on the table.” They walked toward the too big table. It could easily fit twenty. “Plus, we have our own good news.”
“Yes.” Garrick’s voice turned all official. “We were able to trace the device from your car back, and we took care of the threat.”
“You mean the stab-me threat, not the run-me-over threat?” She wasn’t ungrateful, she just needed to be sure.
“Yes, the stab-you threat, but we will find the other.” His voice was certain and she knew he believed it to be true. She only wished that the nagging feeling that Mama knew something important would leave her.
“Who was it?” Jesse needed the facts. They would complement each other perfectly, because she often skipped the trees for the forest.
“It was Christopher Theron.”
“My creepy history professor?” Well, that made no sense. None at all. He had had plenty of opportunities to kill her. No wonder he gave her the creeps. “Then why am I alive?”
She felt a shift in the air and tension mount.
“Reign it in, Jesse.” Garrick commanded, and the room returned to the way it was before. “Now that you are mated, your alpha powers are stronger. You don’t want anyone to think you are challenging me.”
“Sorry, Dad, I didn’t realize I could even do that.” He sounded almost like a young boy more than a man in that moment. Just as everything was new to her, she had a feeling just as many things were new to him.
Her mother poured more coffee, even though theirs were barely touched. She must feel the need to keep busy.
“To answer your question, Jolie,” Garrick continued on as if the incident never occurred, “your professor discovered bodarks and what he thought was the key to their creation while completing his thesis, and he became obsessed with them.”
Jesse’s hand found hers, and she held onto it like a lifeline.
“That is why the name was familiar,” Jolie, pondered out loud. “He must have mentioned them in passing to see my reaction.”
Jesse’s thumb rubbed the back of her hand. She didn’t know his intention with the small gesture, but knowing he was still there with her helped.
“We talked with him briefly before he left this world.”
Jolie was sure that translated to they tortured him before killing him, but that was fine with her.
“And it appears he wasn’t actually sure you were the one because your last name was Skuld and only your middle name matched. Seems he didn’t want to kill the wrong girl. Not out of a sense of morality, mind you, but to keep his cover safe.”
Jesse dropped her hand and pulled her to his side.
I’m still here. I will always be here. That was exactly what she needed to hear.
“He was obsessed with my last name, come to think of it.”
“When you were excused from school for the week, he saw your father’s name and realized it was you. That was when he bugged your car. He wanted to ‘take care of you’ away from everyone who knew you and was just buying his time.”
“Was he acting alone?” Jesse asked the question she should have thought of.
“Yes, it appears he was just a lone crazy.”
That made her feel better.
“So now we eat?” It was then that Jolie noticed for the first time that all the places were set and there was a lot more food than they could possibly eat. How had she missed that?
“You can start if you are hungry,” Garrick began, “but the town elders are coming for brunch to discuss where we go from here and apparently to meet Jesse’s new mate.”
Great, a bunch of old fogies were coming to talk about her being murderer bait and getting it on with her stepbrother. What could possibly be more uncomfortable than that?
“I hear some already coming.” Jesse’s voice sent a new wave of panic in her.
“So …” She wasn’t even sure where to begin on this. “You and my mom are married and Jesse is your …”
Her mom put up her “stop talking” hand. That gesture always had driven her nuts. “Jolie, they all understand true mates, so none of that crap will even cross their radar.”
Before she could respond, Garrick was up and over at the door. It appeared that company had arrived and who knew what that would mean?
Mama Time
Everyone arrived pretty much at the same time. Jolie recognized most of them from Jesse’s house the day before. When she heard the term elder, she'd immediately imagined a group of stuffy old men. While this group was predominantly men, they were far from stuffy or old.
Aside from a few jokes about fate having a sense of humor giving Jesse his stepsister as a mate, no one seemed to care at all about their legal relationship. They all seemed extremely happy for the pair. It filled Jolie with relief that they weren’t going to have to deal with that hurdle as well as the “someone is trying to kill her” hurdle.
All but two of the places were filled when they started to eat. The food on the table was only the beginning, and as platters were passed and emptied, new ones filled their place. Her mother must have begun cooking at three AM to have this much food prepared. No one was discussing anything but idle chit chat, and while Jolie knew that would not last forever, she loved it. It felt like she had an extended family, and that was something she had always wanted as a child.
“Sounds like Mama and Richard are here.” Garrick got up and walked to the door.
Now Jolie understood why no business had begun. They were waiting for everyone to get there. Jolie had remembered not liking Richard upon first encounter, but hoped it was the situation in which they met. Everyone else was so nice.
As Richard walked in, the creepiness she'd felt the first time she saw him multiplied. She would have to mention it to Jesse when they were alone. Something was off about him, and she couldn’t place what it was.
Mama walked in behind him and stopped short, anger throwing off her in waves.
“I told you to wait!” She was loud, firm, and just this side of screaming. It seemed that Mama was not going to be congratulating her anytime soon.
“Mom, stop.” Richard had turned to the older woman. It struck Jolie that he called her Mom. Richard must be her actual child.
“No!” Mama was pissed, and the two were in a stare down as if no one else was in the room. Jolie looked around the table. Everyone’s eyes were on the mother-son pair, and all of them looked shocked.
“I will not stop, son.” She walked right up to him. “I have done everything I can to make this work in your favor. You messed it up at every turn. How hard is it to hit the fat girl with a big truck?”
“You bitch!” Her mother was up and ran toward the pair, Garrick effectively getting in her way.
Jolie grabbed onto Jesse’s hand for dear life. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Richard was trying to kill her. Why? She never did anything to him. She barely met him, if having him in the same room even counted as meeting.
“Richard, do it now or you will never get a chance.” Mama was standing beside him now.
“I, Richard Duncan,” Jesse’s hand tightened to the point of almost painful as Richard spoke, “challenge Jesse, Son of Garrick—”
“Enough.” Jesse’s voice was not loud, but the forcefulness of it scared even Jolie. He stood, looking at the pair. “Richard, I am formally charging you with attempting to kill a pack mate’s future mate. Mama, I am formally charging you with conspiring to murder a pack mate’s future mate.”
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br /> “It is too late.” Mama stood as if she had not a care in the world. “Once a challenge is begun, you must wait until it is resolved before issuing any charges. You know pack law, or has your weak excuse for an Alpha father neglected your training?”
The energy Jolie had felt pouring off of him earlier was nothing compared to what was happening now. She could tell from the gasps around the table that she was not the only one to feel it.
“After the challenge, you will pay, Mama.” Garrick spoke with certainty.
“If, and that is a huge if, Jesse wins. If not, Richard will be Beta and have thirty days in which to challenge you. We are untouchable.” Mama was sounding crazier by the second. Looking back on it, Jolie had only trusted Mama because everyone else seemed to. She had given a couple of red flags, like the “don’t mate” thing.
“I will not lose.” Jesse sounded more confident than Jolie was. She wasn’t sure what a challenge entailed, but if it was half as bad as she expected, it was far worse than she would hope for her worst enemy. “Finish your pathetic challenge, Richard. You forget, I am mated now. That makes you the weaker.”
Richard’s confident veneer cracked at that. “I, Richard Duncan, formally challenge Jesse, son of Garrick, for the rank of Beta.”
“A formal challenge has been issued, and as tradition indicates, it will take place at dusk in the place of our people.” Garrick seemed to be on autopilot. “No one is to enter the sacred space until then. Also, as written, we are unable to remove the threat to our pack, through treason, until such a time as the challenge has ended and appropriate time has passed. I thereby decree that anyone harming Richard or Mama until that time will be tried for treason themselves, and face the ultimate consequence.”
Well, there went the half-plan Jolie had to shoot Mama’s ass with the sheriff’s gun the second she got her hand on it. Of all the stupid-ass rules.
“Get out of this house before I decide the ultimate consequence is worth it to see your blood spill.” Garrick’s voice sent a chill through Jolie.
They were out the door in less time than Jolie thought possible. They might play a good game, but they were scared of Garrick. Not sure how they thought they could defeat Jesse and then Garrick. Maybe they assumed his grief would be so severe he would give up. Not that the slime ball was going to defeat her Jesse. Even before his power boost from mind boggling sex, he had a lot on that greasy slimeball.
The rest of brunch was spent in a blur. It seemed that no one had seen Mama’s power play coming, and they were all kicking themselves for putting Jolie in danger. It seemed her father had been more than liked by the pack. He was respected.
After every loophole imaginable was discussed, it became clear that Jesse would have to fight. By the time everyone had left, they had six hours before the challenge. It hurt her heart to think that she might only have six hours left with her mate. His father all but shooed them out, saying Jesse needed time with his mate to help his power grow. Jolie only hoped that that was enough.
The Sacrifices We Make For Power
The ride to Jesse’s was painfully silent. She had originally thought they would head back to the cabin, but as they turned up the dirt road to his house, she realized that was not to be. Probably for the best because her stuff was here, and it was close to everything. She didn’t want to lose an hour of their time together in the car, especially if it was going to be like this.
Jesse continued not to speak as they pulled into a parking spot and got out of the car. She began to speak as he reached for her hand, but then stopped when she saw a warning in his eyes. Whatever was causing this silence was not her, it was something external. That gave her a slight bit of relief and a whole lot of new panic. She had assumed they were one hundred percent safe until the challenge, and now she was a wee bit less sure.
He led her into the house, up the stairs, and into a large bedroom. It was Jesse’s room, if her dreams had been correct. Everything from the floor to ceiling wall of bookshelves to the super-sized bed that needed an old fashioned step stool was just as she had remembered it. As soon as he shut the door behind them, she felt a shift in the air. It was similar to what she felt in the cabin, but somehow more.
Before she could ask what it was, he had his lips on hers and her back was pressed against the closed door. She had so much to ask, but at that moment her need was too great. She greedily took his kisses and worked her hands up the back of his shirt. She needed to feel his skin on hers. He growled at her touch and pulled away, causing her to whimper.
“Sorry.” He was out of breath as he spoke. She felt a bit of satisfaction knowing she cause that. “There are things to say and things to do, and here I go acting like a horny teenager.”
She giggled. “I was just as bad.”
He took her hand and walked her to the bed. She sat down and waited for him to join her. Instead, she got to watch him pace.
“Sorry about the silent treatment all the way here. It looked to me like Mama and Richard acted alone, but we can’t be sure. It is safe to talk in here. I created it with special sound proofing like in music studios and boosted it like Dad did for the cabin.”
Well, that explained the weird feeling when she got in. It also made her extremely nervous.
“Wait, if it is soundproof, what if someone comes in the house?” Not having others hear her was one thing, but she wanted to hear them coming.
Jesse stopped pacing and joined her on the bed. “Oh, sweetling, I would never leave us that unsafe. Sounds come in through a speaker system I invented. It is actually where most of my, our, money comes from. I’m kind of a big deal in the spy world even though I invented it for us. I figured we would want privacy at some point.”
She looked at him, bewildered. “You not only stopped dating when I came to you in that dream, but you also invented crazy technology to make me happy all before you even knew I was real?”
His hand caressed her cheek. “Oh, I knew you were real the second I looked into your sad eyes. It was all a question of when I would meet you. I spent years kicking myself for not asking your name that night so I could hunt you down. Dad told me it wasn’t our time or I would have met you.” He leaned in to give her mark a nibble, causing her to almost come on contact. “I’m not very good at patience, either.”
“So …” Her breath was choppy from one nibble. One. “What do we do now?” She knew what she wanted to do, but sex was probably not the best course of action before a fight.
“Now, I make love to my beautiful mate.” Okay, so maybe it was. “Until the evening comes. Then I go kick Richard’s ass, deal with Mama, and come back here to start my life with you.”
“Am I right?” Jolie had a boulder in her stomach from even thinking about this, much less asking it. “That is, if you … lose, you—”
“I won’t lose.” He enveloped her in a hug and the tears freely fell.
“But …” Her sobs prevented her from continuing.
“Yes, if I lose, I will be dead, but I will not lose. I have too much to live for.”
She wanted to believe him, but was terrified as all the what if’s flooded her brain.
“Richard is a pathetic excuse for a man and always has been. His father was killed in a challenge against my father when he was but a tiny child. I asked Dad once why Mama was still alive, and he said it was because Richard had been so young and they had no reason to believe the challenge was anything but the spontaneous act that it appeared.”
“Mama is a power hungry one, isn’t she?”
“Indeed. Now, let’s get back to the plan.” He leaned in and hovered right over her mark. His warm breath, sending a shiver through her.
“Jesse.” She pulled back slightly in a feeble attempt to concentrate on the matter at hand and not the need to have him inside her. “Shouldn’t you … rest?”
He responded by grabbing the bottom of the T-shirt she was wearing and pulling it up and over her head.
“I …” She was all but pant
ing as he distracted her with a thumb over her breast, still protected by her bra and now aching to be set free. “I want you to be …” His thumb brushed her second breast and all thoughts fled her.
“You are so beautiful,” Jesse mumbled as his lips descended to the mounds above her low cut bra. She pushed into his mouth, needing more. “Patience.” He enjoyed having her so desperate for him, and she could only hope he felt the same about her. His hands slid to the front of her bra and unclasped it. “You drive me just as insane with need as I do you, my love.” That answered that.
Jolie grabbed the bottom of his shirt. The last thing she wanted was for his lips, his tongue, his teeth to leave her breasts, but she needed the skin to skin contact like she needed her next breath. Sensing her need, he helped her divest of his shirt. He was glorious. Her fingers traced every contour of his six pack. He was firm to her soft, and it was as if they were made for each other.
“We were made for each other.”
Jolie vowed to figure out how to get his thoughts as well as he got hers.
“Every curve on your body, every sparkle in your eye, every time you make me laugh, it was all made for me and perfect. Even when you tick me off.” He chuckled at his own joke.
She slammed her lips into his. Reaching down, she began to unbutton his jeans as she explored his mouth with hers. She nipped his lip as her hand was finally able to work its way into the front of his jeans, finding what she so desperately had been seeking. A growl filled the room, and she found herself lying beneath Jesse, her hands held to the bed by his, all before she realized he had even moved.
“You are killin’ me, sweetling.” He lowered his head so they were cheek to cheek. His erection pushed against her belly, and she squirmed trying to get it where she wanted it most. “Patience, love, patience. At this rate we will be done in moments, and I want to savor you all afternoon.”
Beyond The Veil: A Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set Page 71
