by Dianna Love
His words were so sincere Jaz once again wondered if he had the same gift to lie as her.
Percee’s voice came into Jaz’s head. He might be able to lie to others, but not to me. Those words are truth.
Slashing a look at her odd partner in facing death, Jaz mentally sent back, How is it you can tell a lie or not?
The strange woman’s expression never changed from a calm veneer when she silently replied, Don’t waste time on unimportant questions. Pay attention.
Jaz shot back, Stay out of my head so I can do that.
Still, Jaz had not been able to get a lie past Percee, so she’d take that as confirmation the Blood King told the truth.
Returning to the crazy ruler before he got pissy again about her not focusing only on him, Jaz replied in a dismissive tone. “None of this about my mother matters. She's lost her mind. So hashing it out at this point is water under the proverbial bridge.”
Blood King shrugged. “Now I have you. But I prefer passive women, which you are not.”
“Trained observer, huh?” The words popped out of Jaz’s mouth before her brain caught up.
His anger reached out to her and raked across her skin. She didn’t care.
Why be careful around a man bent on killing her?
He’d already said he didn’t like dominant female shifters. He certainly wouldn’t turn her loose. That left disposing of her, and probably in a twisted way, or selling her to Black River pack. That would end in death. She and Tarski would not go down without a fight.
She hadn’t saved Kaiser.
She hadn’t saved Daisy.
She was done with the saving business since she sucked at it. Tarski rose close to the surface, but remained silent.
Jaz slammed her gaze back at the Blood King. “No, I’ve never been passive. It doesn’t suit me. We are the Golden Kodiak wolf.” She smiled, going for a homicidal glint.
Their alpha king might not be concerned, but fear stirred in the room.
She felt those eyes on her again and glanced at Percee, who grinned as if she approved of Jaz’s suicidal action. Then the woman turned her clueless smile on the Blood King.
He glanced Percee’s way and did a double-take. “Stop smiling like a fool,” he ordered.
“What other way would you have me smile, my lord?” Percee asked with nothing but loathing in the words my lord.
Everyone could hear how she made fun of him.
While bantering with Jaz, he hadn’t shown any temper, but Percee caused him to snap out orders. “Take her out and contain her.”
Two of his guards jumped to do as he said.
Percee continued grinning, even as she turned to leave. She winked at Jaz who sent back a small head shake. Jaz said telepathically, You should not toy with an insane shifter. He must kill me, but he may spare you so you have a chance to escape.
Percee began shuffling toward the door, jangling her shackles. She sent back, Not in a hurry to escape.
Why not? Jaz shouted back mind-to-mind.
I’m hunting someone who might be here. Not leaving until I find out for sure.
Jaz hated to give this man credit for anything, but Percee just might be certifiable.
Returning to the Blood King, Jaz asked in a sweet tone, “Where were we? Wait, I have it. You were trying your best to insult me about being dominant. Of course, you do it surrounded by guards and with me chained from head to toe. Release my wolf and you’ll find out just how not passive we are. You have never seen a wolf like mine. Could be fun, if you’re man enough to take me on,” she taunted, hoping he’d take up the challenge and allow her to shift.
She and Tarski might not make it out alive, but they’d have a fighting chance.
Not the least bit ruffled, the Blood King tapped his chin. “What a mouth. You are nothing like your mother.”
“Damn right. Not even close.” She loaded her words with fierce self-assurance. She had to push harder for any chance of unleashing Tarski. “I never understood why any male shifter would choose a doormat for a partner. Does it make him feel bigger ... than he is?”
Sudden intakes of air confirmed they caught her double meaning in that insult.
“I did no choose her,” their leader claimed, brushing off the comment. “Reinhold did. You should ask him.” He snapped his fingers. “Oh, but you can no do this, because you are here with me.” He grinned, making it clear who had the upper hand.
A soldier in the Blood King’s army entered. “Sir, forgive me for interrupting. I have a response to your message.”
“Bring it.”
As the soldier stepped up to the throne, Tarski spoke in Jaz’s mind. We are outnumbered.
She replied, I know. I really thought I could trick him into letting us shift.
Always calm, no matter what they faced, Tarski said, It would have given us a small chance. We need a plan.
Jaz swallowed and said, I have no plan for the first time ever.
After a couple heartbeats, Tarski admitted, I have no plan either.
Hearing the defeat in her proud wolf’s voice hurt. Tarski had always been confident and ready to face any threat even when the odds were not in their favor.
But her logical wolf had assessed this situation as much as she had and recognized they had no hope for escape.
She hated to lose when others depended on her. She could accept her fate, but not Tarski’s.
Taking a deep breath, she let it out to keep her heartbeat steady around these shifters and spoke to her wolf again. I have failed us, and for that I am sorry. I wish I could free you from me. I see no way out of this place alive.
Tarski simply replied, I would not leave you if I could.
Jaz sent a buzz of energy inside her to her wolf. She wanted Tarski to know how much she was loved. How much she’d always been loved.
With a flick of his hand, the Blood King order his guard, “Tell him I will deliver what he wants and to have her ready for the exchange.” He licked his lips as if anticipating something delicious. His oily smirk turned her stomach.
That miserable wolf king had probably just cut a deal for another defenseless female shifter.
With the guard gone, the Blood King turned back to Jaz. “You should not have killed Kaiser. Your presence in my territory would have remained hidden from me had you not made such a mistake. Reinhold and his idiots had no idea who had joined his pack. Had he had not ordered his wolves to stay away from you and mention nothing of your presence to anyone so Kaiser could capture you when the time came, I’d have known right away who you were by your scar. Even faster by your wolf’s size and coat.” Angling his body to the side of his throne so he could prop his elbow to support his head, he complained, “Reinhold indulged that boy too much.”
She’d been careful to not shift around any of those wolves and had worn a thin skin covering and makeup to hide her scar. That vanished the minute she had to go on the run.
If she didn’t keep him talking, she’d face whatever nasty fun he had in mind sooner than later. “Reinhold works for you, huh?”
He snickered at that. “You amuse me. I will miss talking with you.”
Just as she thought. Her time was running out. She prodded him again. “Were you giving Kaiser that Jugo Loco drug to bring you women?”
“I have better people than him,” the Blood King answered in an insulted tone.
Truthful, based on what Jaz scented. She’d really like to know what happened to Daisy after all of this.
Scrunching her face to appear confused, she argued, “Kaiser lost Daisy the day he fought me. And lost badly, I might add. You’re saying you, the Blood King, has no idea what happened to her in your territory?”
The Blood King angled his head, looking genuinely confused.
She added, “Mid-twenties female wolf shifter. Five-four, blonde hair and freckles.
He crooked a finger at one of his men who hurried to him. “Is this Daisy one of mine?”
The guard shook his head. �
��We have none of their females, sire.”
Sending his man away, Rey said, “Why would Kaiser bring one he found to me?”
Was this some trick question just to mess with her?
Jaz lifted her chin. “You do traffic female shifters, right?”
The Blood King opened his arms out wide and smiled with pride. So very attractive and equally demonic. “Yes. I have best business of all. Plenty of women. Kaiser needed the few he found.”
Something didn’t fit in all this, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
Who had ended up with Daisy while Jaz fought Kaiser?
Blood King said, “His alpha.”
Had she muttered those words out loud? Evidently, but she replayed his answer. “His alpha? You mean Reinhold?”
“Who else?” he asked as if that should be common knowledge. “I allowed Reinhold to trade females in my territory. I am very generous like that.”
Stunned, Jaz began to see just how much worse that entire pack had to be than she’d thought. She’d been fortunate Reinhold had allowed her a waiting period before she bonded. He’d actually wanted her to wait, which seemed odd for an alpha, but not bonding had worked out for her.
Kaiser had not just been abusing and kidnapping female shifters, he’d been doing that for his father.
“This has been amusing, but we are done,” the Blood King announced.
Guards started toward her.
She rushed her words. “Please, wait. I don't understand this. Not that I should, but I have a question.”
One lift of his hand and everyone stood down. “What is it?”
“Why would you allow any other wolf pack to trade women in your area?”
Blood King shrugged. “Reinhold wished for his own business. We had an agreement and he was no threat to me. In fact, when I see something he had I liked, I took. Is all good. I gave Kaiser tips, but he captured only four females in two months. Too slow. My people are much better. Such a shame. He could have done well. Now Reinhold’s last child is female. She is of no use to him.”
“Tanza is his daughter by his real mate,” Jaz argued. “I’ve seen how he indulges her.”
“For now, but that was before she brought in that wolf to hunt for you. You should no be happy about that. Not to worry. I will deal with this Adrian, if for no other reason than to cheer up Reinhold. I have a beautiful woman picked out for him as soon as we finish a small bit of business.” Snapping his fingers, the Blood King ordered, “Prepare her for tonight.”
Big hands gripped each of her arms. “What’s tonight?”
“You will entertain us in a cage? I told you, I have no use for dominant females. You will be able to show us that Golden Kodiak wolf when we put you inside a large cage. You will get your wish to shift. I have chosen a worthy opponent.”
Who would she be fighting?
What would she be fighting might be a better question.
Guards yanked her around and started her shuffling. She shouted, “One last question, Blood King. Please.”
He must have made a hand signal because the guards stopped.
“You test my patience, Golden. Kodiak. Wolf.”
She translated that to hurry the hell up if she wanted an answer. She did. “Why did you allow Reinhold and Kaiser to collect women right in your backyard? You have a reputation to uphold. Wouldn’t that undermine it?”
“Turn around.”
They shuffled her in a circle to face him.
Cocking his head with a look of surprise, the Blood King asked, “Did your mother no tell you anything?”
She had a sinking feeling she’d asked a question that was going to screw her head up even more, but couldn’t stop now. “Not sure what you’re talking about. She talks out of her mind most of the time.”
“Really? She was no so crazy when here.” The Blood King sounded as if he now understood why Jaz asked so much. He explained it for her. “Reinhold is my brother. Kaiser was my nephew. I kept your mother here after she had Kaiser. Reinhold brought the baby to his mate when she lost a child, but she never cared for the boy. She demanded he kill the boy. Instead, he dealt with her.”
Kaiser never knew Reinhold’s mate who Tanza claimed was killed by another wolf pack. Reinhold would not retaliate and put his daughter at risk, or so he’d told her.
Reinhold had killed a woman he’d bonded to? Had he actually completed the bond?
The Blood King continued, “I had planned to keep you, had your mother not ran away. We have much better security now.”
In a convoluted way, she was related to this monster because he and Reinhold were brothers. She said, “Points to my mother. It’s the only time she grew a backbone.”
“Foolish fear more than backbone. Running was unnecessary. I assured her you would be fine here and Reinhold would understand, but guilt made her crazy.”
Jaz missed something. “What would Reinhold have to understand?”
“She never accepted that blood is thicker than any woman with Reinhold and I. She claimed he loved her and she loved him, which he did not. He enjoyed her very much, but love? That was not for him or me. She became terrified at getting pregnant with you. If you think about it, you created problems for your mother.”
“Of course, I need one more person blaming all this on me just because Reinhold wouldn’t have wanted a useless female child.”
He sighed and spoke slowly as if she were an imbecile. “No, she did not want him to realize you were not his child.”
“Not his?”
“That woman!” the Blood King shouted and cursed in what sounded like Spanish. “I am glad to not have your mother around now. I am the one who stuck a baby in her. She should have appreciated the honor. You both would have lived well here. Instead, she ran to those bears. Get out of here. You remind me of her and no longer amuse me.”
Jaz sagged. The Blood King was her father?
Her vision blurred and her thoughts slammed into each other. She’d been right that her mother’s words had been about Reinhold, not Kaiser. Jaz had risked her life and Tarski’s for the worst of her kind.
Now the Blood King hunted Adrian.
Tarski howled and pleaded, Free me to kill them.
If only Jaz could.
By the time she realized where they’d dragged her to, she looked around to find four wolf shifters present. Maybe now, she’d get to free Tarski. “Is this where I fight?”
One butt-ugly shifter shook his head. “Turn her around and open up the shirt.”
She started breathing hard and bit down, determined not to make a sound at whatever they planned to do.
Her legs trembled.
When she faced back toward the building, a claw slashed down her back, ripping her shirt and skin at the same time. She arched, but held strong.
Something sharp the size of a large nail was driven into her back. She fell against the tree, hugging it to hold herself up. Unbearable pain shot through her. She wouldn’t be able to reach it to pull it out. Tears burned her eyes. She kept her teeth clamped tight.
Tarski howled for blood.
The titanium spike burned hot as red coals.
Her body shook hard from shock and pain. This is what he’d meant by preparing her for the fight.
Could she even shift when they took the chains and hardware off?
Chapter 22
Adrian wiped water off his face, regretting his lack of forethought to grab a ball cap. He paid no attention to weather overseas. They just got wet on missions.
He’d finished covering his part of the area fifteen miles from Hickory in a suburb where two women had been snatched. Rain drizzled and threatened to dump more soon. Human law enforcement hadn’t gotten involved, because this had been a shifter incident. Families of the female shifters could only do so much. They wouldn’t want to draw attention to their pack or clan if they were living quietly off the grid.
All he had to do was find a way to track the kidnappers and figure out who he had to save
for the Gallize.
Plus find Jaz and acquire evidence that would convince the Guardian of her innocence.
Piece of cake, right?
The only part of that he felt compelled to do immediately was find Jaz, the one thing he had no intel on.
He paused at a scent that matched the shirt he’d been given for one woman. Where was Red when he could use some help?
His wolf spoke up unexpectedly in his mind. Find mate.
Adrian intended to find Jaz, but would it be before she killed Reinhold? He waited until he could reply to Red without losing his temper at his wolf not really offering anything of use. If you help me, we can hunt for the golden wolf soon.
Red withdrew.
Maybe Adrian should consider that a win as opposed to the shouting that normally ensued.
Vic came jogging over. “Got nothing. What about you?”
Adrian held up the shirt. “Think I’m standing where this one got taken.” He stood only thirty feet from the road where the woman might have been walking home. From what he’d found with broken branches and a male wolf shifter scent, she’d been dragged into the woods and probably tranquilized.
Vic dropped down and closed his eyes, inhaling. He muttered, “Terrified.”
“What?” Adrian searched the ground.
“Nothing.” Vic jumped up and dusted his knees. “Just saying she had to be scared.”
Understood. But this gave Adrian an idea. “We’ve found nothing more than confirmation a wolf shifter took this one. I know where a recent shifter kidnapping happened not far from here. We should check it out.”
“Was it on our list?”
“No. I doubt anyone has called it in.” Adrian wouldn’t explain that the family had asked him to find Jaz. “I just heard about it myself. I think the wolf pack didn’t raise an alarm because they don’t want to draw attention to themselves.”
“That makes sense,” Vic admitted.
Adrian’s gut was pushing him to check out the place Daisy went missing while this close. He might be straying from his mission for the Guardian, but his team had scoured the locations they’d been given.
He could justify this side trip. He’d feel as if he were doing something for Jaz.
