Ian’s eyes narrowed. “In the old days we would have done just that.”
“In the old days? You mean last year?” Miri, asked, sarcasm lacing her voice.
“Didn’t Allie tell you?” Ian asked with a quirk of his brow. “The D’Nallys have evolved.”
Jace looked over at the group of men who stood around him. Hard-eyed men with muscles developed through constant training. Given a choice between a gun and an iPod he could see this crew going for the gun every time. “Yeah, I can see that.”
This time Ian’s gaze was assessing. “I’ll bet.” He stood back and motioned them up the stairs. “Come on in and we’ll discuss it.”
“Said the spider to the fly,” Tobias murmured.
“Do me a favor, stop helping.” Jace steadied Miri with a hand on her elbow as she climbed the first step.
“Not a problem.”
Miri glanced over her shoulder. “You’re not coming in?”
Tobias shook his head. “I think you can handle it from here.”
“Are you coming?” Ian asked.
“Just as soon as you tell my wife that no harm is going to come to her or Penny.”
An elbow jabbed his side. Miri frowned up at him. “Or you.”
“No sense pushing the man into promises he can’t keep, princess.”
Miri planted her feet. “I’m not going anywhere if he won’t promise.”
Again that flicker of something went over Ian’s face—hurt?
“The D’Nallys will not harm you or yours. As Alpha I give you this promise.”
Miri still didn’t look convinced. Jace touched the edges of the were’s mind. Ian meant what he said. With steady pressure on her back, Jace guided Miri up the stairs. “This is your cousin, Miri, the boy you grew up with. The man you trusted. The past year might have been hell and changed some things, but it hasn’t changed everything.”
She stopped at the top step. Her gaze locked on Ian. “He’s also Alpha.”
Ian’s gaze focused on the scars on Miri’s cheeks. There was no mistaking the emotion ripping through him now. Rage. White-hot flames lit the edges of Ian’s irises. “Your Alpha, Miri Tragallion.” Miri didn’t back down. “The one who will be avenging the harm done you.”
Like hell. “That privilege is mine.” Jace wanted no misunderstanding there. Miri was his. Revenge would also be his.
The slow nod of Ian’s head was the first acknowledgment that Jace had that the Alpha might just accept this mating.
“But you’d better be making it fast,” Ian warned, his gaze still locked on Miri’s scars, his fingers curling into a fist.
Or Ian would take over. Jace could respect that.
“I have a few things to settle first.”
“Does that include the rescue of your child?”
Miri’s chin came up another notch on that wording, a distinct resemblance to Ian’s arrogance in the look she cast down her nose as she stepped past him into the cabin. “Our daughter.”
Ian blinked in shock. Jace made a mental note. Ian hadn’t known Miri’s child was a girl. Interesting. He followed Miri into the house.
The first thing Jace recognized upon entering the cabin was that there was someone else present. Were, judging from his energy. Upset, if his scent was anything to go by. He knew the second Miri caught the scent. She went stiff as a board. “Who’s here?”
“We need to talk about that.”
Ian wasn’t a man for hedging. This wasn’t going to be good.
A man appeared in the doorway at the end of the hall. His hair was brown, his eyes haunted, and his hands clenched into fists.
“Shit.” And Ian wasn’t happy to see him.
“Is this them?” the man asked. Before Ian could answer, Creed stepped through the front door and headed down the hall. “I’ll handle this.”
Four rapid strides and he was at the doorway. With a hand on the man’s chest, he pushed him back into the room, an office apparently, for bookcases were visible in the opening. The door closed. There was the sound of a scuffle, muted voices arguing. A crash…
Jace raised a brow at Ian. “Trouble in paradise?”
“You might say that.” Ian ran his hands through his hair, pushing it back with a ruthless shove. “You Johnsons never do anything the easy way.”
“Seems easy enough to us.”
“You don’t even know what I’m talking about.”
“I’m still sure it was easy enough.”
“I bet.” Ian dropped his hands to his sides. All was quiet in the room for the space of three breaths. “It wasn’t enough you took up with a were woman, you had to go and claim a were baby.”
“I didn’t see anybody else stepping forward to take care of her.”
“Yeah, that complicates it.”
“Complicates what?” Miri asked.
Ian didn’t answer immediately. He did, however, glance toward that too-quiet room.
Penny woke up, blinking twice. Her stomach woke up a split second later. Her face crumpled into a pre-wail pout. Miri tried in vain to distract her while Ian just looked relieved at not having to answer the question.
Jace was not getting a warm fuzzy in his chest. “Miri, why don’t you take Peanut into the kitchen?”
“But…” She cast a worried glance at him and then a suspicious one at Ian.
“It’ll be all right.”
She didn’t move. When he looked down, she was looking up at him, waiting for something.
“What?”
“Bend down, please.” He didn’t understand what she wanted until her hand came up behind his neck—small, feminine, and strong. He leaned a little closer as her fingers played with the hair at his nape. Her head canted to the side. She came up on her toes. He slid his hand around her waist, supporting her as her lips parted against his, as her tongue slipped between in a hot caress—a tease really, just enough to get his blood perking—and then she dropped back to her heels and turned to Ian. “I meant what I said earlier. You touch him, and I’ll kill you.”
Ian’s head snapped back. “You forget yourself.”
Jace had to agree. Cousin or not, Miri had just crossed a line. Women didn’t challenge Alpha males. She didn’t seem to care.
“I haven’t forgotten a thing. As a matter of fact, I’ve even learned a few new ones. Including that someone in my own pack handed me over to the Sanctuary.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“How do I know that? How do I know you won’t turn Jace over even if you weren’t the one?”
“Enough, Miri.” Jace put his hand on her shoulder, pushing her forward and to the left, past Ian, toward the kitchen. Her muscles were as tight as a drum. Penny, sensitive to emotion, kicked her wails up a notch.
“But—”
“You’re making me look bad in front of the kid.”
She planted her feet just inside the kitchen, glancing over her shoulder to where Ian waited. “You’ll be careful?”
“He’s your cousin, Miri.”
“You don’t know weres.”
“I’m beginning to think I know them a heck of a lot better than you know them.”
“What does that mean?” she asked over Penny’s impatient scream.
He didn’t have the heart to tell her she’d lost her faith. “I’m losing my bonding opportunity with Ian.”
“I’m not sure I want you bonding with Ian over the need to shelter me.”
He handed her the pack with the bottles in it. “Tough.”
She took it, but gave him and Ian a suspicious look before saying, “Just don’t bond too hard.”
“I’ll try to resist.”
Behind him, Ian snorted. When Jace was sure Miri was occupied caring for Penny, he rejoined Ian.
“It’s good to know they didn’t break her,” Ian said, a faint smile on his lips as he motioned Jace into a den.
“They came damn close,” Jace said, the knowledge of that aching on his conscience. “There are days when she’s par
ticularly fragile, while on others she kicks ass.”
“You’re not mated.” Ian took a whiskey bottle from the cabinet on the other side of the room. “Why is that?”
“Probably one of those were reasons she’s always telling me about.”
Ian’s brows raised and he paused in pouring a glass. “Were reasons?”
“Every time I do something she doesn’t approve of, she tells me I don’t understand weres.” He accepted the glass from Ian. “Seems to think that makes her point and settles the argument.”
“So what you’re saying is, you’re committed to her, but she’s dragging her feet.”
Jace leaned back against the soft cushions and took a sip of whiskey. The smooth burn spread down his throat. Caleb swore the D’Nallys had the best whiskey. Jace had to agree. “Pretty much, but make no mistake about it. She’s mine.”
“You say that with the vehemence of a were.”
“I’m saying that with the vehemence of a Johnson.”
Ian took a sip of his whiskey, looking at Jace over the rim of the glass. “Some days, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of difference between the two.”
Jace lowered his glass. “I’m not were.”
Ian shrugged. “But you’d pass for one.”
And that seemed to be important for some reason. “What’s up, Ian?”
“Maybe I just want to see my cousin settled.”
“That’s what drove the grand command for me to appear?”
“As perverse as you are, I couldn’t just send an invite.”
“I’m here. What do you want?”
“How much does Miri mean to you?”
“Enough.” He’d be damned before he discussed his feelings with Ian. “Enough for you to live pack?”
He set his glass carefully on the tabletop. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Miri is the female heir to the Tragallion. The pack is in trouble.”
“Travis wasn’t an ideal leader?”
“No.” Ian sighed. “He drove the pack into the ground. Unfortunately, he got himself killed before things could be straightened out.”
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning either I appoint you their leader through the right of tradition, or I kill you and start a mate hunt for Miri.”
“With those options, I’m a little surprised to be sitting here chatting with you.”
“Amazingly enough, I find myself reluctant to kill you.”
“And why is that?”
“You might be a pain in the ass, without the proper respect for tradition, but you’re the only pain in the ass Miri will have.”
“You got that, eh?”
“Let’s just say I believe her when she says her response to any attempt against you will be vengeance.”
“And that scares you?”
Ian smiled that aggravating smile of his. “You have a lot to learn about weres, but one of the first things you should get is, while a D’Nally male will beat your ass, it’s the females you have to watch out for.”
“You want me to believe you’ve selected me to head up a bunch of weres because you’re afraid of my wife?”
“Would that work?”
“Hell, no.”
“Then how about the fact that you’re honest and straightforward and can be trusted. Hard commodities to come by these days.”
He had to be kidding. Except there was no look of amusement on the were’s face. “It’ll never work.”
“With an ordinary vampire I’d say it wouldn’t, but you’re more were than vampire, and that might work for us.”
“Us?” He raised his eyebrow. “From what I can see, the only one being asked to set himself up to get his ass kicked every day of the week is me.”
Ian shrugged. “You’ve never run from a fight.”
“You make it sound so damn attractive.”
“It isn’t attractive, but it’s necessary. And there’s also the fact that you’re not going to go away.”
Jace bared his fangs. “So clever of you to understand that.”
“Just another were quality that will make you fit right in with the Tragallions.”
“And what would that be?”
He reached for his whiskey.
“That aggressive defense of what you feel is right.”
Jace took a pull on the drink. The smoky liquor burned its way down to his stomach. Ian had to be pretty damn desperate to suggest this. “There’s nobody else to do the job?”
“No.”
“And you think this is going to work?”
“Yup. Because not only have you and Miri given birth to a little girl, you saved another. Once you get the Tragallions past the minor inconvenience of your being vampire, you’ll be a goddamn hero.”
“‘Minor inconvenience’?”
Ian took another sip of his whiskey. “Call it whatever you want, but marrying Miri made you a D’Nally, and D’Nallys have responsibilities.”
“Whether I want them or not, apparently.”
“You want Miri to be happy, right?”
“You already know the answer to that.”
“Pack makes Miri happy.”
He knew that, too. “So what does it take to make this happen?”
“It’s already done.”
“Just like that?”
“One of the perks of being Alpha. My word is law.” Ian polished off his whiskey. The glass clicked on the wood as he set it down. “And now we have to discuss something else—”
He never got to finish the sentence. A crash came from the office. A door slammed against a wall. Seconds later a scream erupted from the kitchen, followed by snarls. Miri!
Jace was out of his chair, reaching for her with his mind before he cleared the doorway. Ian was right on his heels. He felt her panic and anger. Peanut’s scream put wings on his feet. Down the hall, Creed stumbled out of the office, blood dripping from his torn face and his arm wrapped around his torso.
“What the hell happened?” Ian growled.
“He scented the baby. I couldn’t hold him.”
“Shit!”
Jace burst into the kitchen. The strange were had backed Miri into a recessed area. Penny lay on a counter, crying. Miri’s claws were extended and her lips drawn back, fangs exposed. The male were didn’t look any more stable. And he had some damn impressive claws.
Edging around the perimeter, Jace kept his voice calm as he worked his way between Miri and the unknown were. “Miri, sweet, you have a real propensity for finding trouble.”
She watched the were carefully. “I didn’t find anything. It found me.”
“Marc, stand down,” Ian snapped.
“Go to hell, Ian,” the man snapped right back.
Ian went right, Jace went left, and Creed brought up the middle.
“Nice to see you’ve got your pack under control, Ian.”
“He’s not mine, he’s yours.”
The man was bulky with muscle, enough to make Tobias look small, and he radiated a desperate aggression. And he was a Tragallion? “Figures.”
“Neither of you are helping,” Miri snapped.
“I’m working on it, princess.” Jace moved in another foot, angling himself to the best position to attack if necessary. “I want you to pick up Peanut now and very carefully walk toward me.”
She lifted her lip but didn’t move.
“Nice to know you’ve got your mate under control, Johnson,” Ian commented, inching steadily up on the right.
Jace flipped him the bird.
“I want my daughter,” Marc growled.
Shit! “And who are you to be wanting anything?”
“Marc Tragallion.” He motioned to Penny. “And that’s my daughter.”
Not good. Not good at all. A wolf would fight to the death for family.
“Assuming she is—” Jace began.
“She’s not,” Miri snarled.
Not taking his eyes off Marc, Jace tried again. “Assuming she
is, why in hell would I give her back to a man who couldn’t protect her?”
“Because I’ll kill you if you don’t.”
“Seems to me, for someone in no position to do anything, you’re making a whole lot of threats.”
The man took another step forward. Jace went with him. Miri turned and grabbed Penny, pulling her in to her chest with enough force to set her screaming harder. The sudden move had the wolf jerking. His scent came to Jace along with Miri’s and Penny’s. There was no doubt the wolf was related to Penny; their scents were very similar. Something Miri had to recognize.
Jace looked over at Ian. “I’m betting were law’s got something to cover this.”
And as were law was pretty archaic, based on might making right, Jace was betting the old “finders keepers” rule applied.
Ian nodded, his eyes never leaving Marc. “All lost children belong to the finder if they claim them.”
“She was claimed in front of the McClaren council,” Miri said quickly.
Jace looked at her sharply. She’d thrown that out quick and fast like she’d been expecting this moment and had prepared for it.
Marc’s “She’s mine” rumbled low and deadly from his chest.
Jace had heard that line often enough from enough weres to know they were in one sticky situation. Marc’s hands flexed, flashing claws long enough to slice Miri in half with one swipe. And he was within arm’s reach and hanging on to control by a thread. Not good.
“You heard the lady.”
“I challenge you for her.”
“Good enough.”
Creed came up to them, wiping the blood from his cheek. “This kind of challenge is to the death, vamp.”
Jace’s fangs strained and his face began to morph. “No problem.”
Miri clutched Penny to her chest and backed up until she leaned against the counter, holding the were’s attention. “You failed her once. I won’t give her back so you can fail her again.”
That was his Miri, going for the jugular. Marc stiffened. “I didn’t fail her.”
“Do you know how we found her? What they were doing to her? How they deprived her?”
There was only one description for the twisting of the man’s features—anguish; pure, unadulterated anguish. “No.”
Jace Page 27
