by Ruby Madden
"And," Bree continued with obvious reluctance, "she's asking for the pack beta. Actually, she's asking for Jackson. By name. She—knows him." The last sentence was a whisper, but naturally Tamsin could hear it. She also heard the even deeper reluctance beneath Bree' words.
Feeling a groundless yet sharp dread poke at her, Tamsin sped up so much she knew Bree had to pick up a small jog in order to keep up. She beelined straight for the great front entrance to the estate and whatever event that all her instincts suddenly screamed was a direct threat—to her.
~~~
Jackson couldn't keep his smug grin to himself as he and Mac strolled down the hallway to head outside for a run. Mac, who'd been going on and on about his latest paramour and her inevitable reluctance to let their dalliance end, finally gave up and said, “Oh, out with it already. You're not listening to me anyway. Who was it? One of your long-ago flings? One of the previous surrenders? Some lovestruck groupie whose shattered heart you left lying on the white sands of the private island you got to muck around on for a few weeks?”
Laughing, Jackson pictured Tamsin's beautiful face shimmering in ecstasy as she looked up at him. As she'd looked, covered in glistening water droplets and utterly, gorgeously vulnerable, when he'd taken her sweet, delicious body behind the waterfall. As her eyes had darkened and her face opened when he slipped his fingers inside her, meeting him stroke for stroke and cry for cry.
Staying with him in a charged yet delicate little bubble of intimacy and safety, things he'd never before felt with any woman, anywhere.
A woman he so fiercely wanted to protect, it about took his breath away with the intensity of his possessiveness.
Lightly, though, he deflected Mac's probing. “I'm just having a good day. That's all.”
Mac guffawed out a laugh and clapped Jackson on his back, nearly making him trip as they rounded the corner into the formal greeting room by the front door. “Sure, you are, my man,” he said between his snorts of disbelieving laughter. “Sure you are.”
Then they both drew up short, staring at a crowded little scene in front of them.
Easily close to a hundred werewolves and humans milled around the sizable front entrance room. Everyone's attention seemed focused on a small knot of figures, around which there was an obvious distance from everyone else in the room. Tamsin stood at the center of it, her beautiful figure and deliriously overpowering scent immediately causing Jackson to rumble with his recent refrain of Mine, mine, mine. Sensing that Mac's eyebrows were raised not only at the scene before them but because he was picking up on the sudden wave of possessiveness emanating from Jackson, Jackson reluctantly tamped down his emotions—and the wild way his heart took flight when he saw her.
Finn, a few bodyguards, and several of the council members stood in a loose semicircle behind Tamsin. She was facing a human woman. A stranger.
That alone was enough to draw Jackson up short. Partially because of the glamour over Wicked Mountain Town and partially because of the estate's deliberate placement well outside the nearest city primarily occupied by humans, seeing humans here who weren't part of the estate's staff or invited guests was so exceedingly uncommon as to be, in a word, impossible. Due to his status in the pack, Jackson would know if there were any human guests here at the moment.
They were not.
He didn't understand the depth of trouble about to surround him, though, until Tamsin slowly swiveled her head to look directly at him.
Oh. Her face was beyond still. Beyond composed. It was a frozen mask. Without thought, he headed directly toward her. As he did, the strange human woman standing there as well, who really was probably closer to a girl as she appeared barely into her twenties, if that, caught sight of him. He could immediately tell by her self-possessed demeanor that she lived in an area where werewolves mingled far more commonly and far less aggressively with humans then the Wicked Mountain Pack. Once modern times had begun, and human populations exploded, it was impossible for werewolves and other shifter types to keep up with the ancient levels of control over, and, as Jackson now knew, downright cruelty toward, human beings.
He, of course, had soon learned how much damn fun he could have with that, as over the decades breathless hordes of human shifter groupies who didn't fear literally being eaten alive by werewolves discovered the sexual prowess of their gorgeous bodies, long lives, and oftentimes centuries of experience in the arts of pleasure and other forms of entertainment.
Not that Jackson give a rat's ass about any of that anymore. Not now that he recognized that Tamsin was the sole woman to ever gain a foothold in his heart. One he actually wanted to be there. The only one.
As soon she caught sight of him, the confident young human woman raised her arm and waved at him. A big, self-satisfied smile spread across her face. Taken aback and perplexed, Jackson slowed his steps, glancing from her to Tamsin.
"Jackson!” the girl called out, her voice ringing through the otherwise ominously silent room. “Jackson, I was beginning to think I wouldn't find you. Well, this place is absolutely gorgeous. I mean, I've seen the pictures online and all that, but it's a lot more incredible in person."
Every single eye swiveled back and forth from the young woman, to Jackson, to Tamsin, and back again. Except Tamsin. She stared at Jackson with that mask that was beginning to raises his hackles in purely possessive fear. She might be able to hide it from everyone else in here, but he could sense that beneath her frozen expression, both fear and fury were looming.
The young human woman, still smiling with something that seemed like triumph, started to move toward Jackson. Tamsin snapped her head around with a quick glance at one of the Reginald bodyguards. At her nod, the hulking wolf stepped forward to gently but firmly stop the young woman's progress by planting his body directly in her path.
"Um, excuse me." Clearly still having no sense of the fact that the mood in the room had instantly tipped from shocked confusion into a dangerous wariness, the girl gave him a little smile as she tried to go around him, still in her trajectory toward Jackson. "There he is. I told you I was here to see him."
The large werewolf shook his head as he shot out his hand to grasp her arm just above the elbow. Outraged annoyance flashed across her face, even as some of the estate humans widened their eyes at her reaction. They seemed to melt back into the crowd, out of the way. "What do you think you're doing?” the girl snapped, much more self-confident than any other human in the room. “Let go of me. Jackson! Call off your dog, would you?"
Shocked gasps from all the other humans in the room rang out, quickly stifled by glares from most of the werewolves. Sensing the situation was about to get ugly, and still completely in the dark about what was going on and why Tamsin wasn't taking better control of it, Jackson put out a conciliatory hand.
"The question is, who are you? I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met." He kept his voice polite, curious, and cool.
In that same split-second, he suddenly had a horrified thought that she must be some sort of groupie from his vacation. Oh, shit. No wonder Tamsin look like she wanted to freeze out the world with her face. Perfect timing. Well, at least there was an easy answer for this.
"Or, perhaps I met you at the party on the island last month? Release her," he commanded the guard.
The guard didn't release her arm. Instead, he looked at Tamsin, clearly awaiting her command instead. Jackson shoved down his growl. Everyone in the room knew he outranked Tamsin, but never once had he challenged her on it due to his deference to her role as sister to the alpha. And now, there was no way in hell he was going to step on her toes. Not after everything had changed. Not now that she knew she was his—
Whoa. Wait a minute. His what?
Before he could continue that line of thinking, however, Tamsin spoke. Her tone was so stilted that Jackson's uneasiness burst into him so full-fledged he could feel his wolf prickling just beneath his skin.
"Oh, it is our understanding tha
t you do indeed know her, Jackson." Tamsin's voice was just as cool as her expression, although the slightest singsong to it alerted Jackson to sudden true danger.
Her voice was that of the pack's highest-ranking alpha female about to mete out severe justice to a very errant member.
"Please," Tamsin said, turning her gaze to the young woman, whose expression was quickly faltering as she obviously suddenly became aware of the tense atmosphere in the room, "do refresh Jackson's memory. I'm afraid, you see, Jackson has a reputation not only in the pack but the rest of the world, as you surely know.” Her voice hardened just a touch. “He's the bad boy. The playboy, as I'm sure you well know. He tends to not remember the choices he has made. Any of them."
Tamsin leveled a look at him now, pulling along the gaze of everyone else in the room. The weight of their fascination and sudden animosity focused on him. Every instinct Jackson had went on full alert. Even Mac took a step away from him, clearly separating himself from the one wolf in the room who obviously was in the incredibly bad graces of the alpha's sister.
“But,” the young woman said, her voice trembling now as she stared at Jackson. “You're my husband.”
What the fuck.
Nonplussed, Jackson stared at her. He would swear he'd never before seen this girl in his life. She stared back, then looked wild-eyed around the rest of the room as though seeking someone to support her outrageous claim.
“We got married on the island. Here,” she added, bringing up her free hand to rattle white sheets at him. “Here are the papers. It's legit.”
Dead silence greeted her claims. Nobody gainsaid her. Instead, they all looked at Jackson. Accusing. Shocked. Horrified.
He felt so light-headed he thought he was about to pass out.
“Impossible—” he managed to get out before Tamsin cut him off.
Lip pulled back in a snarl as the frozen mask melted into anger, she snapped, "Enough. We examined the papers. I had someone call the island's town hall to ascertain their genuine status. It is true. This woman is your legal wife."
Briefly, she swung her gaze to the human girl, who now clearly understood the incredible danger surrounding her in this room, as evidenced by her bone white, suddenly slack-jawed face. "Escort her to a chamber befitting a guest,” Tamsin went on, in full pack leader mode. “Place a guard outside her door. Her physical needs are to be met, but she's not to be allowed any access to the outside world until further notice."
The girl's eyes widened and she opened her mouth, clearly to protest despite her obvious fear, but the guard holding her simply shook his head and began pulling her out of the room, which was a fairly easy thing to do. Even though she was a large, generously curvy girl like the alpha's mate, Cassandra, she was no match against a full grown male werewolf.
Every eye in the room snapped back to Tamsin as she turned back to look at Jackson. The expression she awarded him was clearly so dismissive, so arrogant, so purely Reginald, he couldn't help flinching. His training urged him to meet her look with a haughty one as well. But something inside him, something crumbling and breaking despite himself, let his firm walls waver and fail him. "Tamsin, this can't be right. There's no way I would've married a human—"
Tamsin flicked her hand at someone behind Jackson. He turned to see who it was, but steel-like hands gripped either arm, holding him in place. Shocked, he merely stared at Tamsin, trying desperately to find in her expression the beautifully open, trusting, vulnerable woman he thought he had seen just the night before.
That woman wasn't there. Right now, he was only looking at Tamsin Reginald, sister of the pack alpha, and current utterly focused, utterly ruthless leader of the pack until her brother returned. When she spoke, her voice didn't waver even a fraction. "Jackson Rule is to be placed into a containment cell immediately, where he shall remain until such time as the Council decides his punishment."
Still in shock, Jackson managed to respond, "Punishment? For what?"
Even as he said the words, he knew exactly how she would respond. He understood the pack laws as well as she did.
Voice colder than winter, she said, "You know full well, as does any wolf here, that marriage to a human is forbidden. Not only that, you are required to receive your alpha's blessing before ever making any such choice."
Her violet-blue eyes glittered at him from across the room, with no trace of any emotion in them. The only thing he felt emanating from her was the unyielding mantle of power she must wear in order to make the tightly controlled decisions she had to make because of who she was: a wolf forever and only ruled by the pack.
"Take him away," she ordered in that frosted voice.
Then she turned her back on him, and his heart shattered.
Head spinning, Jackson didn't even protest as he was dragged away from the beautiful, untouchable she-wolf. The one he only now realized was much more than the sister to his alpha, much more than a woman he found fascinating, much more than a woman he wanted to claim as his.
Tamsin was his true mate. A mate he'd just betrayed beyond all repair.
***
Hunted by the Pack
continues the story of Tamsin & Jackson!
CHASING DAY
By
TWYLA TURNER
Present…
Chase found his seat in the packed auditorium. He sat down and straightened his jacket and tie nervously. He had no idea why he was so nervous. It wasn’t like he was performing though that didn’t stop his palms from sweating. It didn’t keep his hands from trembling. Nor did it silence his erratically beating heart. He wasn’t sure what had him more anxious.
Maybe it was because Day had finally realized her dream, and tonight would be her first solo performance as a principle cellist for the Chicago Symphony. Not that she’d told him about it. Chase had found out from her mother. He would’ve thought that twenty-five years of friendship would have made her pick up the phone and call him to tell him she’d finally gotten into the prestigious orchestra. But he guessed the twenty years of history between them, probably stopped her.
The latter was more than likely the main reason for his nerves. Chase hadn’t seen nor talked to Day in five years. The longest they’ve ever gone without contact. He’d missed her every second of those one-thousand-eight-hundred-and-twenty-five days.
The sold-out auditorium became eerily silent as the heavy burgundy curtain rose. There in the middle of the stage, alone, except for the polished wood and strings between her legs was Chase’s best friend. The love of his life. My Pretty Day.
Chase’s breath hitched and he was catapulted back in time…
Bullies and Best Friends
Chapter 1
August 1990
Chase McCoy sat on the bus with his friends, riding home from his first day of fifth grade. He had been so happy that school had started just so he could get out of his house. Even now, he dreaded walking through the door. His father, Ben McCoy would probably be drunk already and shouting at his mother. Ben was a real standup guy. He lived off of his so-called disability, from an “injury” at his factory job. Chase’s dad had made a career of finding a job, getting “hurt” after a little over a year on the job, and then collecting disability so he could spend his days drunk. Ben would sit in front of the TV for hours, shouting at his mother and talking down to her every chance he got.
Stephanie McCoy did everything she could to please Chase’s father. Everything was never good enough, so she remained a sad, shell of a woman. Chase had rarely ever seen his mom smile. He tried to be on his best behavior at all times. He didn’t want to rock the boat. If he did anything out of line, his father wasn’t opposed to smacking him around every now and again, which would only upset his mother more. He couldn’t wait till he grew up to be big and strong so that he could stand up to his father. For is mother’s sake and for himself, though for now, he had to bide his time and keep quiet.
“Hey dude, what’s your problem?” C
hase’s friend Miguel asked as he nudged his shoulder.
“Nothin,” Chase said as he turned away from the window and the world speeding by in a blur. He pulled himself out of his dark thoughts.
“You daydreaming about Whitney Taylor, aren’t you?” Miguel elbowed Chase in the side suggestively.
“Shh…man! She might hear you.” Chase whispered and looked over the back of the green vinyl seat at the girl in question. She sat at the back of the bus with all of her friends. “I mean, yeah, she is pretty,” Chase smirked, willingly going with the subject of Whitney instead of his sad home life.
“Pretty! That chick is smoking hot! So fine.” Miguel exclaimed quietly.
Chase grinned at his friend. He knew that Miguel got most of his turns-of-phrase from his older brother. Then he’d come to school and tell them all about it so that they could try to be cool and act older too.
“Alright, alright. She is pretty hot.” Chase agreed.
He thought about the girl, sitting in the back. Whitney Taylor was one of those girls that all the boys instantly fell in love with. Every ten-year-old boy at Dickson Elementary School had a huge crush on her. Her chestnut hair nearly touched her butt and hung in big ringlets. Her large blue eyes were the most dominant feature on her pixie face. Those two things alone had them all swooning.
“You know, I saw her looking at you during the assembly,” Miguel said as he gave him a sly grin.
“What?!” Chase said doubtfully.
“Yeah, man. She’s definitely digging you.” Miguel assured him.
They both took the next moment to slowly peek over the seat to the popular, pretty brunette girl. Once Chase peered over the top, Whitney caught his eye and smiled boldly at him. Chase whipped around and sat back down quickly when he realized he’d been caught. If he were being honest with himself, girls scared him to death. So many of them were so bold and confident. He didn’t have the first clue what to do when it came to the opposite sex, which was why he always tried to absorb the knowledge that Miguel would impart. Once he learned it from his brother.
