by Alisa Woods
Jared peered up at him. “Still here?”
He didn’t know if he meant Jared was still here—as in not quite fulfilling his death wish yet—or if Jaxson was still by his side. Which he would be until Jared was up and walking again.
“Still here.” Jaxson shook his head. “And, by the way, you do not have permission to check out, soldier.”
Jared nodded, but even in the dim moonlight falling through the front and back windows of the van, Jaxson could see it was shaky.
“Yeah, all right,” Jared said. “I guess I’ll stick around a while.”
“Damn straight.” Jaxson choked up a little, which surprised him. Usually, the emotional stuff didn’t catch up until well after the fight. “Look, let’s get something straight here. All this shit went down because of you. We do all of this together, all right? No more lone wolf crap, for fuck’s sake. I can’t afford to lose you.”
Jared huffed a short laugh, then winced and stopped. “You don’t need me, bro.”
Jaxson dropped his voice and edged closer, dipping his head down to talk quietly with his brother. “I do need you, Jared. And not just because you can shoot your way out of a cluster of armed paramilitary guards.”
Jared snorted. “Eh, you’re just getting soft.”
“You’re probably right about that.” Jaxson grimaced. But he really did need Jared to pull through this. To stick around. Because Jaxson wouldn’t be much longer. “And I’ve got another problem.”
“What’s that?” Jared looked askance at him.
“I’m in love with Olivia.”
Jared’s eyebrows lifted, and he didn’t say anything for a moment. Jaxson glanced at Jace at the back of the van, talking softly to one of the prisoners. If he heard, he didn’t give any sign of it.
“She’s not secretly a wolf, is she?” Jared asked, drawing him back. There was surprise in his brother’s voice.
Jaxson gave a short laugh. “No.” And now wasn’t the time to explain she was part witch, either. Being human was bad enough. “She’s not a wolf, but she’s the best damn thing to happen to me in… well, forever.”
Jared listened to him, wide eyed. “You’d leave the pack for her.”
“Yes.”
Jared nodded, slowly. “Grab her while you can. Don’t lose her like I lost Avery. If Olivia’s the one, Jaxson, don’t fuck it up. Don’t let her go.”
Jaxson smiled even as his heart ached. “I don’t know if I can convince her to have me, but if she will… I’m going spend my life with her.”
Jared nodded his approval and shut his eyes. The exertion of even that much talking had visibly depleted him. Jaxson gripped his brother’s shoulder and counted the seconds until they could finally stop and sew him up.
He would make sure everyone was healed and recovered and safe.
Then he was going after the woman he loved.
Olivia was back in her apartment, pacing.
Waiting.
Praying that Jaxson would be able to call her and tell her everything was fine.
“Seriously, how do you live here?” Her aunt Gwen’s disapproval of Olivia’s small, very downscale apartment devoid of much in the way of furnishings had manifested as a set of magical drapes, new carpet, and a blue, crushed velvet couch… so far. Olivia didn’t know how much of it was glamour, and how much would stay once the glamour wore off.
She prayed the couch wouldn’t last.
But she bit her lip for now. She needed Gwen’s help to pull this off. Instead, Olivia went for pumping up the pity her aunt obviously felt for her situation. “Foster care taught me to live light. Not get invested in things. You never know when you’ll have to pick up and move.”
Gwen’s look of distress was more than Olivia bargained for.
“It’s okay, really,” she rushed out. “I like it this way.”
“It is not okay.” Her aunt stopped conjuring knickknacks for the shelves she had just created across Olivia’s bare walls in order to stalk over to her. “And this plan of yours is utter foolishness! You can still walk away from…” Gwen gestured around her. “…all of this. There are other men in the world. Let this shifter go and come back with me to the coven. You’d be more than welcome! The sisters would love to have the long-lost daughter of Rowan Damon return. Let me train you. Let me help you conjure a better life. You deserve it, dear. You deserve better than all of this.”
It was the same argument Gwen had been making all evening, as she fussed with Olivia’s apartment and kept her company while they waited for Jaxson’s pack to return… if they would return. But Olivia believed in him. If there was anyone on the planet who could do this—rescue his brother from the hands of whoever was tormenting their fellow shifters—Jaxson was the man for the job. And that’s what made it so worthwhile to take the risk for him.
Gwen may think Olivia deserved a better life, simply because she was her niece, but Jaxson had earned a better life with all he’d done—with all he was—and Olivia’s life would finally mean something by giving him the one thing he couldn’t get on his own: freedom from the curse.
Olivia took her aunt’s hands in hers—something she had a feeling witches rarely did, judging by the wide-eyed look on her aunt’s face. “Aunt Gwen, I have to do this. You, better than probably anyone, should understand. My parents died because of this thing I have inside me. You have to let me take this chance to make that count for something. To do something with this magic inside me that makes a difference. If it’s truly strong enough—if I’m strong enough—I’ll live through it, just like Sybil said. And if I’m not… then I’ll still have freed Jaxson. My life will have mattered. Please don’t take that from me.”
Her aunt clenched her teeth. Magical fire stormed in her eyes. “Your mother, if she were alive, would turn me to ash for allowing this.”
“If my mother were alive, it wouldn’t be necessary.” Olivia held her gaze, unflinching.
Gwen’s shoulders sagged. “All right. I’ll do everything I can to help you, Olivia, but… I don’t know if I’ll be able to save you.” The last part was a whisper.
Olivia was asking a lot of her aunt—she knew that. She threw her arms around her neck and hugged her hard. “I know, Aunt Gwen. And just by trying, you’re single-handedly proving to me how amazing some witches can be.” Olivia released her and leaned back. “If I make it through this, I’m going to join the coven and go all badass witch on you. Just wait and see.” And this time, she actually meant that.
Her aunt gave a choked laugh, even though her eyes were glassy with tears.
Olivia’s phone buzzed from where it sat on the edge of the now-blue couch.
She froze, staring at it for a second, then lunged over to snatch it up and answer the call. “Hello?”
“Hello, gorgeous.” It was Jaxson.
Relief flooded her body. “Jaxson! Are you okay? Is Jared all right? What happened? Tell me! Talk, man, talk!”
He chuckled on the other end. “Man, it’s good to hear your voice.” He pulled in a breath. “We’re fine. All good. Jared took a bullet pretty hard, but Jace sewed him up, and he’s fine now.”
“Oh, thank God.” Olivia let out a breath. “Where are you?”
“Everyone’s at the safehouse for now. We gave the bad guys a pretty good smackdown, but the asshole in charge is still on the loose. I need you to come to the safehouse. Everyone connected to this needs to lay low, stay off the radar, until we can get this sorted once and for all.”
“The safehouse?” Olivia asked, giving a pointed look to Gwen.
Her aunt’s eyes grew wide, and she shook her head rapidly. No way Olivia could bring a witch into a den of wolves. And besides, Olivia couldn’t carry out her plan with that many onlookers.
“It’s really just my family’s place in the mountains. But it’s off the grid and safe. And… plenty big. You could have your own room.” There was apology in his voice. “I know things aren’t exactly settled between us, Olivia, but you have to let me keep y
ou safe. Please. Either way, you need to get out of your apartment. Once they get regrouped, they might find you there.”
“I…” She scrambled for a reason not to do this. “I have a bunch of work in the office that I’m in the middle of—”
“It can wait.” Weariness crept into Jaxson’s voice. It was late. He had to be tired from the mission to rescue his brother. And stressed, worrying about her.
Olivia hated using that against him, but she had to. “Look, if we’re going to hole up for a long time, I need something to do. And Riverwise needs to keep running while you’re hiding out. I’ll just stop by the office and pick up a few things—”
“Fine.” He was frustrated. “But not without me. I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes. Pack up your things and bring everything you’ll need for an extended stay. I don’t know how long it will take to track these bastards down.”
His voice was even more tired now, but she had known he would never let her go to the office alone. Which meant she, Gwen, and Jaxson would be in the same room for a short period of time… and that was all she needed.
“Thank you, Jaxson.” The gratitude in her voice was real.
“Olivia.” The way he said her name, soft and yearning, choked her up all of a sudden. There was a brief silence on the phone. He seemed to be struggling for words. “I was thinking about you tonight, and—”
“I’ll see you there,” Olivia said quickly, then hung up the phone. The choking feeling threatened to crawl up and push tears down her face, but she held it in. Whatever Jaxson was going to say, she couldn’t hear it… not before she carried through with this. Afterward, he would be free to choose from all the female wolves in the world—she didn’t want him professing his love for her now, minutes before she freed him from the curse.
It wasn’t fair to either of them.
“Are you all right, dear?” The concern was back on Gwen’s face.
Olivia swallowed her tears and nodded. “Let’s go.”
Her glamour had to be perfect… only trouble was she hadn’t performed any magic in over a decade.
“How do I look?” Olivia asked her aunt. They didn’t have any mirrors in her office, which was where they were waiting for Jaxson to arrive.
“Sybil had more cleavage showing.” Gwen’s nose was wrinkled with disgust.
Olivia could hardly stand it herself, but her glamour spell was supposed to convince Jaxson that his nemesis had returned. She had to get it right. She closed her eyes and pictured the haughty witch in her mind—yes, she definitely had more cleavage showing under her clingy purple silk blouse than Olivia had allowed. Adjusting the glamour was like adjusting her imagination, so as soon as she had a good fix on Sybil’s porcelain skin, long raven hair, and oversized breasts straining against the skimpy outfit, Olivia opened her eyes again.
“How’s that?” she asked.
“Perfect.” Gwen’s frown showed her disgust, but at least Olivia had the spell right.
“How do I sound?”
“Your voice is a dead match, but you don’t sound like her at all,” her aunt said.
“Because I’m not rude enough?” Olivia winced. She was a kitten to Sybil’s tigress. How was she going to be able to pull this off?
“Imagine you loathe everyone except for the pleasure or power they can bring you.” Gwen’s expression was even more disgusted. “Talk to me like you’re thinking about turning me to ash just for daring to breathe your air. Like you’re the Queen of all magic, only no one has managed to appreciate your brilliance.”
“Pathetic peasants!” Olivia swept out a hand to her imaginary audience. It was jarring to see it look exactly like Sybil’s long-fingered one. “Can’t you see how glorious I am? You will suffer under my reign!”
Gwen gave her a skeptical look. “A little less… medieval.”
“What do I care what you think? You’re a washed up witch in a dreary little coven.”
Gwen looked stricken. “Better.”
“Oh my gosh,” Olivia rushed out. “I didn’t mean that, Aunt Gwen.”
She rolled her eyes. “Olivia, dear… you need to commit to this ruse to have any chance of making it work. But it’s not too late to back out. In fact, I’ve half a mind to simply drag you back to my coven and lock you up until this… insanity of yours passes.”
Olivia pulled herself up to Sybil’s full, haughty height. “Try it, Gwen dear. We’ll see who’s the better witch.”
Gwen’s eyebrows lifted. “Impressive.”
The click of the front door was all the warning they had that Jaxson was coming. Gwen waved Olivia back toward her desk so Jaxson wouldn’t see her until he was already in the room.
“I’ll be right here,” she whispered. “If you change your mind at any time—”
“Gwen.” Olivia put all of Sybil’s disdain into that single word.
Her aunt cringed under it and retreated to the door.
Olivia schooled her expression into one of sultry power—as if she really was Jaxson’s old lover, ready to get one last taste of her favorite wolf before setting him free. Her story was simple: Sybil had obtained a better offer for Jaxson’s mating bond, and she was looking to parlay that into one last fling with her favorite shifter—something Sybil totally would have done if she was anywhere near as smart as she thought she was.
Jaxson was practically running when he reached the door of her office and hurried right in. “Olivia—”
He stopped cold when his eyes met hers—or rather, Sybil’s. He growled and swung a quick look around the room. When he saw Gwen at the door, closing it behind him, his growl ramped up to a hair-raising snarl, and his fangs and claws sprang out. Olivia’s heart lurched at seeing him this way, and she struggled not to let her sudden fear show.
Jaxson half-crouched and flicked looks between Olivia and Gwen, keeping his distance from them both. “What are you doing here, witch?” He spit out the last word.
Olivia steeled her expression. She was a full-fledged witch—at least as far as Jaxson knew—and he wouldn’t attack her for fear of being turned into ash. His look of loathing and anger, however, was breaking her heart… even though it was really directed at Sybil.
“Why, I’ve missed you, Jaxson,” she said, amazed that her voice was at all steady. “And I’ve got a little proposition for you.”
His eyes pinched in suspicion. “What are you talking about, Sybil?” Then his eyes went wide, and he scanned the room again. Now there was plain fear on his face. “What have you done with Olivia?”
“She’s safe.” It wasn’t hard to sound unconcerned. “Sleeping spell. Not far away.”
The fear was shoved off his face by a flush of anger three times as strong. He rushed at her, stopping inches away, chest heaving. “If you’ve hurt her, Sybil, I swear to God, I’ll make you pay.”
Olivia didn’t move a muscle… but only because she was paralyzed by fear. She desperately tried to turn that into the outrage she knew Sybil would have reacted with. “Don’t threaten me, little wolf!” She raised a hand, and he flinched away, backing up two steps.
The anger still seethed on his face, but he was holding himself back. No doubt because he thought Sybil could kill him with a single touch.
Olivia lowered her hand. “That’s better. You’ll have your little human toy back soon enough.” She swallowed. “Assuming we can make a deal.”
“What kind of deal?” His claws and fangs slowly retracted. He glanced at Gwen and frowned, clearly wondering who she was and why she was here. He turned back to Olivia. “You’ve already ruined my life with your curse, Sybil. What more do you want?”
“Ah, yes, the curse. That’s why I’m here, my sexy little Jaxson.” Olivia cocked her head to the side, trying for sultry but afraid she just looked demented. She breathed a sigh of relief inside—they were finally getting to the point.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” His glare was murderous, even though he was holding back. “Out with it, Sybil. Then tell me w
hat you’ve done with Olivia.”
“So impatient,” Olivia said, drawing it out the way she imagined Sybil would. “It’s quite simple, my delicious one. It seems another witch has taken a fancy to you, and she would like you released from your curse.”
“Another witch?” His brow furrowed.
“Yes, she works with one of your clients.” Olivia waved a hand in the air and pulled a name from Riverwise’s accounting. “Mr. Talos or something. What matters is she thinks you’re just her type, but she divined my mark upon you. She’s a fool, clearly, and was willing to pay far more than you’re worth, but we’ve worked out an arrangement.”
The confusion on Jaxson’s face deepened. “You’re saying you’ve sold me to another witch?” He glanced at Gwen, new fear on his face.
“No, no… not Guinevere. She’s my assistant.” Olivia waved at her aunt as if dismissing her, then she slowly stepped toward Jaxson, swaying her hips as much as she could without being completely awkward. “But once I release you from the curse, you should high-tail it out of Seattle, little wolf. Before Ismarelda can find you.”
Jaxson had been backing up in equal measure, but he stopped. “Release me?”
Olivia sauntered closer. “All you have to do is sink those sexy fangs of yours into me, and poof…” She fluttered her fingers. “Goodbye, curse.”
“You want me to bite you?” His bewildered look threatened to throw the whole ruse.
“Well, yes. I’m here because the bite is necessary. Unbreakable magic bonds, blah, blah, blah… I don’t expect your little wolfy mind to comprehend it all. Trust me that a bite is all I require to break the curse.” She looked him up and down as lasciviously as she could. “But a little gratitude for my sacrifice would be a delicious way for you to say thank you.”
He narrowed his eyes at her and threw another glance at Gwen, who was remaining as still as a statue, blank-faced, giving nothing away. “I didn’t think you were into threesomes, Sybil.”
Olivia sighed dramatically. “Fine. You’re really no fun now that you’re all grown up, Jaxson. I’ll settle for just the bite. Let’s get this over with.” She tilted her head to the side, baring her neck to him. Her heart thudded in her chest, but she held as absolutely still as she could manage.
