Jace exhaled and rubbed his face, his decision made.
A deep sigh came from the bed. His gaze flicked up. Her head was turned away, but her eyelids fluttered. That was his cue and he was gone.
He wasn’t answering her calls. She’d tried every day. She woke up feeling his presence and then, nothing. He was gone. When she was released two days later, her dad had brought her home. He was her only emergency contact, even though they hadn’t had much contact over the last fifteen years.
Her dad who’d been staying with her to care for her was worried. At least that made one man in her life. She called into work, needing a few weeks of medical leave to recover and wanting some time off to regain a foothold on her life. And to track down Jace.
Why wasn’t he answering? She hit the end button, not nearly as satisfying as slamming a good old-fashioned phone down.
“You gonna tell me anything yet?”
She looked at her dad, the concern spread across his face, wishing she could unload the last few weeks on him, but refusing to risk setting him back mentally. Get this, Dad. There really is a secret agency and they were after me. He’d been stable for years, after his long stint in the mental health ward. She kept him at arm’s length, admittedly feeling guilty for not helping him more, for turning him in to authorities. Her grown-up self would claim she had been just a kid and her dad needed help. That little girl who missed the time with her dad, hunting and fishing, trekking through the wilderness, bonding over missing her mother would disagree. She could have lied to the trooper who found them in the woods that day. Could’ve said they were fine, instead of the truth that led to tearing them apart for so many years.
Gray Stockwell looked at her with fatherly love, never having held a grudge against his only child for both saving herself and distancing herself from him. “You can talk to me, you know. I won’t break.”
Maybe she should talk to him. Give him an edited version, for sure. She last spoke to him when she was cancelling wedding plans. He asked what happened. All she said was Grant dumped her. End of story. Only it was the beginning.
With a sigh, she put her phone down. “I met a man after Grant and I broke things off.” That sounded good. A little better than I went out to get smashed after I was dumped and brought a strange man home that same night. That’s not a line to tell her dad, no matter what the rest of the story was.
Gray remained silent, waiting for her to continue. Her mind whirred at how to phrase the rest of the story.
“I tried not to get serious fast. He was patient with me. He’s liked me for a long time. Then I fell for him—hard—but I think he thinks I betrayed him.”
“And he’s avoiding your calls?”
Cassie swallowed hard and nodded, pacing her living room. Not usually a crier, tears burned the back of her eyes. Home for three days, she needed rest, but tried to be up and moving more and more each day. When she got off the pain meds, she would hunt that frustrating, big, bald man down. Fantasies of being strong enough to slam into Pale Moonlight, like a scene from an old western, demanding to talk to her man, kept the pain at bay so she could work on getting strong again.
“Was he the big man who kept a bedside vigil when I couldn’t be there?”
Cassie stopped and stared at her dad. The gray at his temples, peppering through his hair, fit his name. “He was there?”
“Tall, shaved head?” She nodded. He kept going, a hint of humor in his eyes. “I only saw him once, but heard several nurses gushing about him and the other men who brought you in.” He gave a pointed stare. “You’ve been hanging out with a different crowd lately.”
“They’re good men,” she said defensively.
“And you’re a good judge of character. And I’m glad. Everyone saw you and Grant weren’t right together… except you and Grant.” She raised her brows at her dad’s bold statement. Gray usually tiptoed around her, kept conversation superficial to prevent bad memories from being dredged up. She realized how much she kept her father at arm’s length, how much it hurt their relationship.
“So tell me more about this man.” Gray settled back into the sofa.
The pain in her side reaching a dull roar, Cassie settled back into her recliner, her recovery area of choice, and told her dad all about Jace. As they talked, really talked, Cassie marveled over the growing relationship with her dad. It took getting shot for them to reach this point, to get her to move out of her own way and live life. Enjoy her dad being a dad and she accepted they were only human and he might go off-kilter again, but she’d be there. That night in the woods when she feared she might lose Jace forever, when he risked everything to save her, made her want to spend eternity with him. Their false bond had been destroyed, but her love for him was real. She dreamed of hanging onto him on the back of his motorcycle and riding into the sunset. After she had a chance to explain why she stabbed him in the heart.
Cassie’s eyes got heavy, her energy spent. Her dad brought over a blanket as she drifted off.
“Rest up, Cassie. He’ll be waiting for you… if he knows what’s good for him.”
“He’s not here,” Commander Fitzsimmons said.
She drove up to the compound, after being lost for an hour because the Guardians somehow erased her car’s GPS. Fucking Guardians. A Guardian she’d never met her at the front door, ignored her inquiry regarding Jace, and got the commander.
She wasn’t getting a warm reception anywhere. Stabbing their friend through the heart didn’t endear her to anyone. Didn’t they realize she had saved them all? Jace deserved her explanation and she would wait to talk to him first.
The club had been a dead end. Surprised to find the door open midmorning, she breezed inside. Christian had been standing behind the bar, leaning over a laptop, a pretty woman at his side. He straightened when he saw her and gave her no greeting other than a dark eyebrow lifting.
“I need to talk to him,” was all Cassie said.
The woman straightened also, her dark eyes full of distain. As short as Christian was tall, this must be Mabel, his mate. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, eying Cassie up and down, the tight curls springing from her head bouncing from the movement. Refusing to shrivel under the obviously powerful woman’s scrutiny, Cassie remained where she was, resisting the urge to fidget.
“He does not wish to talk with you. You may leave.” Mabel’s rich voice resonated through Cassie’s bones, wanting to make her turn abruptly and leave.
“I’d like to hear that from him. Where is he?” Cassie demanded.
Mabel raised an eyebrow and shifted her stance. Christian’s second eyebrow joined his already raised first one.
“He is not here. You may leave,” Mabel said again.
Resisting the urge to turn and run out the door, she said first, “Tell him I need to talk to him.”
It was well into the afternoon now as she found herself in the compound facing off with the imposing commander. She was tired, needed a pain pill, and was getting cranky.
“Do you know where he is?” she asked testily.
“No.” Man of many words, that one.
She was tempted to turn and go. No one needed an explanation but Jace. Yet, something had been bugging her as she relived that night over and over.
“Commander, is X nothing but an evil Sigma Agent?”
The commander stilled even further, if that was possible. His intense hazel gaze drilled into her.
“Why?”
Mabel couldn’t make her fidget, but the commander might. She felt as if her response would determine how she left their headquarters. What kind of history did he and the X have?
“I can read people well, even if they aren’t human,” she said. The commander’s eyes narrowed. “We ran together a couple of times. Now I know she was playing me, setting me up. But in the woods, Agent D was psychotic in his hatred of us. X was aloof, almost. And it felt like she hinted how to get the curse off of us, even though it appeared she was baiting D.”
“It wasn’t a curse, you were mated.” The commander narrowed his eyes at her.
Well, shit, that pissed him off. “No, whatever happened out there wasn’t mating.” She rushed on, before he kicked her out, too. “And during the final standoff, I heard X’s voice in my head, supporting what she’d said earlier in the night.”
“How do you mean?” He wanted clarification, though it was like he already knew the answer.
“It was different from remembering what was said. It’s like I heard her voice, in my head, reminding me of what she said, only I think there was more information. Does that make sense?”
He gave a curt nod and scanned the surrounding woods.
“She’s been an Agent for a long time,” he finally said. “If she were to defy Madame G in any way, it would mean torture, and, if she was lucky, death. But she’s still alive. I wouldn’t read more into it. She plays games.”
Oookay. She did what she came here to do. Jace wasn’t here, she could feel it and decided to call off her search and head home.
The OxyContin she took before bed released her mind from the throbbing in her side to the possibility that Jace may have indeed been at the club and Mabel may have tried her own persuasive techniques on her. His bike wasn’t out front, but Cassie didn’t recall seeing it out front any other time. And Jace may not have used any special powers on her, but nothing could stop Christian or Mabel. She walked in earlier today determined to rip the place apart looking for him, only to turn tail and get the fuck out when Mabel told her to.
Maybe he took off, most likely he didn’t. Last night before succumbing to the pain meds, she went into Dr. Stockwell mode, analyzing the situation. He showed nothing but supreme patience and restraint. So riding off in a cloud of dust, leaving not only her after his secret bedside vigil—which told a lot in itself—but leaving school and work wasn’t like him. Both of those brought him a lot of pride and acceptance, both of which he hadn’t felt since his teens. His concern in the hospital told her he still cared about her.
So, no, he wasn’t gone and she would plow through Christian and his formidable mate and tear that motherfucking bar apart looking for her man. She had one stop to make before she continued her hunt for her mate in the morning.
First, a good night’s sleep.
“He’s here and you can either let him know I’m out here or I can search every inch of this place.” Cassie stood in the club, in front of the bar, looking around to determine where to start her search. And purposely avoiding eye contact with Christian. She wasn’t sure if they needed that for their various gifts to work, but that’s how Jace explained his. And both X and Mabel were looking into her eyes when she felt like she was getting messages from them.
“If he wanted to talk to you, don’t you think he’d have done so by now?”
“Not if he thought I wanted nothing to do with him.” Cassie walked back and forth looking for any office doors. “Jace! Jace, get out here!” Fine, she’d stomp and yell and shout.
“Stabbing a guy in the heart gives a man that idea,” Christian said, calmly watching her pace around. Thankfully, Mabel wasn’t here. Cassie could work around Christian, but she doubted Mabel would allow her to make a scene, eye contact or not. “You’re not mated with him anymore, so go, live your life and give Jace peace.”
Seeing no office spaces beyond the dance floor and The Den, she squared off in front of Christian. “That wasn’t mating. It was something dark and vile and twisted. As long as that madwoman had her talons in us, we would never be free. She would have used it to hunt us.”
“What do you mean?”
Cassie spun around at the male voice, her heart stuttered.
Arms crossed, muscles bulging from his black t-shirt, strong legs encased in the same black jeans, Jace was wary. He looked good, as always. His jaw clenched, eyes direct, he stood and waited. Where he appeared from, she had no clue, didn’t care as long as he was there.
“Didn’t you feel it?” She was confused. How could they not understand how she saved them? She didn’t want trophies or accolades. She wanted acceptance that she did the right thing.
He scowled. “Being mated? Yeah, I fucking felt it. It felt great. Amazing. I felt complete.”
What? How could it have been so different for him?
“Jace…” She moved closer to him, only to stop when he shook his head and held up his hand. She rushed on before either one of the males kicked her out. “Didn’t you feel the darkness? I thought my insides were covered in black slime. It felt… evil, like that woman who mated us. You heard X, she was only interested in us because we were mated and she was a part of it. I couldn’t stab myself to break the bond or I’d die. You said yourself, as long as everything’s still attached, you’ll heal. I’m sorry I hurt you, but I had to do it. For us.”
A furrow developed in between Jace’s brow, but he remained silent.
“It wasn’t right. I had faith that we would heal and be able to mate the traditional way.”
Christian chuckled behind her. She turned to glare at him, but noticed a smile play along Jace’s lips.
Jace cleared his throat, throwing a hard look Christian’s way. “The ‘traditional way’ is to copulate in front of witnesses. But we haven’t done that in centuries.”
The meaning of that was sinking in when Jace moved toward her.
“Did you mean that?” he was earnest. “You still want to be with me? Even after everything that happened?”
“Because of everything that’s happened, I want to be with you.”
“Then why,” his voice dropped low, dangerous, and he was towering over her, “do you smell like your ex?”
Maybe she should’ve been scared, instead she rolled her eyes. “Are you serious?” Her anger spiking, she put her hands on her hips, “I dropped off our honeymoon tickets with him. I couldn’t get my money back so I gifted them to him,” she paused long enough to stand as tall as she was able and get into his face, “aaaand his new fiancé, my friend Emma.” He looked momentarily stunned, so she continued. “I gave him a hug and told him not to feel guilty. You know… since he didn’t know he was influenced. I told him he did the right thing when he broke things off.” Her anger rose another notch. “I would like to think you thought better of me than that. Just like I know you haven’t been with other women. You might be pissed at me, but you,” she poked him in the chest, “are,” poke “still,” poke “mine,” poke.
He was watching her hand each time she poked him. He followed the movement when she put it back on her hip. Then slowly, so slowly, his eyes made their way up her formfitting shirt, lingered on her breasts, watching them as they rose and fell with her breath, then burned their way up to meet her eyes. The heat from his look seared her.
A slow, lazy grin spread across his face. Her breath hitched, he was devastating before he smiled, but when he smiled, she lost herself. He took another step closer; she had to crane her head back to maintain eye contact.
Instead of leaning down for a kiss, he grabbed her butt and lifted her up, careful of her side, to meet his lips for a kiss. She hooked her shoes behind his back and threw her arms around his neck. His tongue invaded her mouth, his taste divine. It felt like an eternity since she’d last tasted him. He hugged her even closer, their tongues dueling, not stopping even as Christian broke into a slow clap and low chuckle behind them. Cassie smiled into the kiss, not willing to stop, either. Let him watch.
Epilogue
Jace was grinning like a dumb motherfucker and he didn’t care. He stood in a clearing behind Guardian headquarters, surrounded by his coworkers. Sunlight filtered through the newly budded trees, casting a soft glow on Cassie’s creamy skin, scattering highlights over her hair.
She stood across from him, absolutely gorgeous. And all his. Dressed in a simple, elegant white dress she repeated her vows. As his pack leader, Christian presided over the ceremony having the power and authority to properly mate them. He worried whether she would offer her ha
nd for this part of the ritual, but she did so without hesitation.
Her only concern about today was not being able to have her dad present. They couldn’t tell another human and risk their people. Cassie was unwilling to risk her dad’s mental health by making him wonder about other bits of reality after learning shifters and vampires were real, and possibly still hunting Cassie.
Commander Fitzsimmons and Master Bellamy interrogated both of them about that night. They determined that the mating ceremony Madame G used was intended for the study of mating and combining lifespans. The evil presence Cassie felt may have indeed been the dark woman herself. Why Cassie could feel it, but not Jace, was also unknown. The only logical conclusion any of them came up with was the simplest—because she was human. Madame G has been ramping up her experiments on shifters and vamps, trying to conquer both species. She recruited humans, mysteriously enhanced them, but has never to their knowledge dealt with mating them. So, while she can settle a part of herself into the mating bond undetected to the wolves, she couldn’t remain undetected by the humans. Or at least not Cassie, who also experienced increased immunity, more than most humans, to Mabel’s mental shoves. Maybe it was Cassie, maybe it was the human mate of a shifter.
Christian finished the ceremony, presenting them with their proper mating dagger—a beautifully simple knife, not nearly as audacious as the first mating dagger. Cassie was told the gladdus was unique for each couple, signifying the strength of their blood bond and lasting love. Humans did rings, shifters did weapons.
The Sigma Menace Collection Page 16
