He placed a pen on the desk. “Soon as you sign that, you’re free to go.” He laughed. “Well, obviously you’re not free. I mean you’ve a wedding outfit to sort out. Make sure the undies are nice won’t you? Oh, and do you like home movies, only I was thinking of filming us and sending my brother a copy. Then again he’ll probably be dead and not able to watch it.”
“Please don’t kill him.” I choked out. “I want to save my friend and please leave Darius. If you take the pack and me, is that not enough? If he’s alive he’ll suffer more watching us, won’t he?”
Jett scratched his chin. “You have a point. I can’t let him live long because he’ll try to find a way to retaliate, but maybe just for a little while I could let him watch me gloat.”
I walked over to the table and signed the paper. It was official. I was engaged to Jett Conall. Our wedding set for Friday evening. I had just over five days to pray for a miracle.
Seth dropped me at home. Come Monday morning he would be back at the coffee shop as normal and I wasn’t allowed to say a word. The minute he suspected anything, Shelley and her baby’s life was in danger.
I had to go back to being Kim, the selfish bitch, and I didn’t like it one bit as it had taken me until now to realise I’d finally lost her.
Chapter Seventeen
Lucy
I sat in the office typing up Frankie’s latest findings on supernaturals. My angel bleeps had developed malfunctions, going off over and over again, driving me mad. When I’d called Seth to check he was okay and asked him if he’d seen Kim he’d told me that they were out together having dinner and her phone battery had gone flat. Everything was okay, so why did I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach that things weren’t okay at all?
Frankie had been his sweet usual self. I don’t know what his secret was and how Kim was involved but I was 90% convinced now that they weren’t having an affair. Not completely because he had left her house while she was wrapped in a bathrobe, but she’d not snogged him on the doorstep which I would have done if someone had just boned me good and proper. I was doing as advised by Andrew and waiting it out.
Theo had called first thing saying that the Caves had decided to admit Shelley for turning after she’d bitten him again last night. I’d assured him that Kim and I could cover. All we needed now was for the lady herself to turn up.
The door to her office banged. Talk of the devil. I went in to tell her about Shelley.
“Fuck, you been on the lash all weekend?” I said as I took in her haggard appearance. She had dark bags under her eyes, like she’d not slept for a month.
“Yeah, I’ve been celebrating.” She said.
“Celebrating?”
“Yeah. I’m engaged, just like you. No ring yet though, we’re going to get that later.”
“You, and… Darius?”
She shook her head.
“Seth?”
Her head shook again.
“Not my Frankie!” I screamed.
She cut me a look. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m engaged to Jett. Jett Conall.”
“Who?”
She actually eye-rolled me. “Jett. He’s a were from the Hogsthorpe Pack. I was on a date with him the night you first got together with Frankie.”
“Oh, him. And you’re engaged. Already? How long have you been dating?”
“Three days. I mean when you know, you know, right?”
“So when’s the wedding?”
“Friday.”
“Friday?” I yelled. “This coming Friday?”
“Yeah, so as you can imagine I have lots to do, to prepare for married life. Sorry that I’m taking the edge off your proposal a little by getting married first.”
“Does Darius know about this?”
“No, what business of his is it?”
I held my hands up outstretched. “None, unless you consider that four days ago you were out on a date with him.”
She waved a hand at me. “He’s of no consequence. Now I’d better go see Shelley and see if she can help me shop.”
“Oh, Shelley’s at the Caves. We’ve to cover for her. She’ll not be out until Thursday morning apparently. She bit Theo again and so she’s being turned.”
“Oh that’s good. Until Thursday you say?”
I furrowed my brow. “It’s good? That your friend is being turned into a vampire?”
“She’s married to one and having a baby one, well a mix up with vamp in it, so it makes sense for her to be one. I’ll be part-wolf on Friday.”
I smacked myself in the forehead. “Have you taken some hallucinogens? Actually, have I taken some hallucinogens?”
“I don’t know. Have you?”
“Well, you tell me, because I’m sure you’ve told me that you’re marrying a werewolf on Friday, one that I wasn’t aware you were dating; plus you’re happy, rather than worried that your friend is in the process of being changed into a vampire.”
“Just a regular Monday morning really working here.” Kim said nonchalantly. “Anyway, I’m hungry and thirsty so why don’t you pop down to Jax’s and get us both a coffee and some cake? Seeing as Shelley is off I reckon that right now that makes me your boss, right?”
The old me would have singed her hair off. The new me smiled and agreed. Mainly because something was wrong—very, very wrong. I’d get our drinks and question Seth, see if he could shed any light on the problem.
I’d returned to my office to get my bag and purse when an almighty white light almost blinded me. I turned around to find my boss, Angel Sophia, standing in front of me, looking all celestial in a long white dress covered in diamante.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re here. My pagers aren’t working properly.” I told her.
She walked over and gazed down into my eyes. “Lucy. Your pagers are working perfectly. That’s the amount of trouble both your charges were in, and you ignored them.”
I gaped at her. “But…”
“It’s not your fault. We’re looking at an alternative communication system. This one was poorly thought out. It’s really hard to get everyone on board with technological advances though when most of us are thousands of years old.” She sighed. “Anyway, Lucy, your main challenges have arrived. Both of your charges have made or are going to make mistakes that could have repercussions for the whole of Withernsea. It’s time for you to step up, Lucy. You’re needed. The angels above need you to take care of the potential hell about to be wreaked down here.
“I knew it. I knew there was something off about Kim’s wedding. Leave it with me, Sophia.” I said. “I got this. I promise.”
“I hope so.” She said and then with a kindly stroke of my shoulder she disappeared in a blast of white light leaving only a trail of white feathers behind her.
Definitely the first thing I needed to do was talk to Seth. I needed some help though to get to the bottom of things. I could no longer be evil… but that didn’t mean someone else couldn’t.
The coffee shop was packed with people once again. This was getting on my nerves now. Damn, I didn’t want to wait in a long queue and I needed to talk to Seth. I decided that seeing as it was being done with good intentions it would be okay and so I shouted FIRE at the top of my voice until everyone had run out screaming.
I’d run through to the back just in time to stop Jax from actually calling the Fire Brigade. “Sorry, Jax. I needed to talk to Seth urgently.”
“So you created panic in my customers and cleared them all from the shop? It had better be life or death, Lucy. Life or death.”
I’d never seen little Jax with attitude before. It was actually kind of amusing though inappropriate, you know, on the lines of a circus freak show. Let’s watch the angry pixie squeak. Yeah, I know she wasn’t a pixie. I’d already had an encounter with a real one of those, but she was short, okay?
“I’ll get them all back in afterwards. They’ll just be admiring all the little doggies in the grooming parlour. It’s all bitches on heat around here these d
ays.”
Jax rolled her eyes and went out the back. “Shout me if you need me, Seth.”
“Everything okay, Lucy?” He asked me.
“Yeah. Just needed a coffee for me and my friend, Kim. And two chocolate doughnuts. Only we’re busy today. Shelley’s off.”
“Oh? Everything okay?”
“Yeah, fine. Well, it is with Shelley. Listen, you were out with Kim on Friday night, right? That’s what you said when I called you. Only she’s in a mood today. Not talking much.”
“Yeah, we had dinner.”
I nodded my head. “Thought so.”
“What?”
“Well, she was with Darius Thursday night, and you Friday night, but after that she was with yet another man and well, I hope I don’t upset you telling you this, but… she’s marrying him.”
“She is? She’s getting married after having been out with me Friday night? That’s disgusting.” Seth pulled a face. “Well, that’s just charming that is.”
“I knew she wouldn’t have told you. She’s so blase. She used to date my fiance you know. I’m surprised she’s not in the tabloids with her exploits—the I have a different guy every day of the week stories. I think I should find this Jett dude and have a word with him. Let him know what she’s like. It’s not fair. She’s probably given him a disease.” I stared. “You didn’t sleep with her did you? She’s probably riddled.”
“No. No. Listen, I would just leave her to it. She must love the guy if she agreed to marry him.”
“Well, she loved him yesterday, but today’s Monday, maybe today it’s the postman’s turn or something. I think he deserves to know what he’s getting himself into.”
“Seriously, I wouldn’t. I once tried interfering in someone’s business and well, it didn’t end well for me.” Seth said, his head dipping down.
“Oh look at that. I’m letting our coffees go cold.” I said. “Okay, I’ll keep my mouth shut. It’s her life after all. I’ll just concentrate on my own wedding.”
He nodded.
“Right, I’ll just go apologise to Jax again and then I’ll go out the back entrance and up to ours, so thanks, Seth, and I’ll see you again soon.”
“Yeah, see you, Lucy.”
I walked into Jax’s.
“Sorry about that, Jax. Listen, you know how busy you are? Did that start the same day Seth started?”
“Yeah. Aren’t women fickle? Get some man candy and they’re here like a shot.”
That word hit me like the cold jet from a water pistol. Shot! Could that be it? Was there something in the drinks? Things weren’t adding up where Seth was concerned.
“Yes, unfortunately we are. Yet if a guy did that to us, we’d call them a sexist pig. Good to be a woman, hey? Well, I’ll see you soon.”
I went back out to the cafe. “Sorry, Seth. I can’t find my mobile. Just seeing if I left it out here. Oh there it is.” I said, lifting it out from behind the napkin dispenser. “Oh, do you have a tray I can borrow for carrying this stuff? It’s burning my hand a little.”
As he bent down to get a tray, I switched my drink with one left by a human customer.
“Thanks, Seth. I’ll stop being a pain now and get out of your hair.”
The moment I returned to my office, I quickly dropped a coffee and bun off with Kim and then I sat at my desk and pressed play on the phone. I’d left the voice recorder going while I’d gone into Jax’s.
“Jett. It’s Seth. Listen, if you get contacted by a woman called Lucy, as far as she’s concerned Kim was with me all Friday night, all right? No. No, she’s not suspicious. She’s fine. No. There’s no problem here. I’ve got it covered. Just promise me please that when you’re in charge of the pack, you’ll get her back for me. That was what we agreed. You’d get the pack, and I’d get my wife back. Yeah, man. Just tell me when to drop the news and I’ll do it. Withernsea Gazette. On it. Okay, Boss. Yeah, jobs secure, can keep a close eye on her from here. That love spell is working like a charm. A charm, get it? Oh yeah, bye then.”
I listened to it one more time and then I knew I had a wait ahead of me. Until my vampire fiancé would be out of bed and could help me make sense of all this and what could be happening. I carefully picked up the drink I’d took from the coffee shop and put it in the small space behind the filing cabinet. I couldn’t afford for it to get tidied away.
Chapter Eighteen
Darius
We’d been called into an urgent pack meeting, so I made my way quickly to the Hall. I walked in to find everyone being handed a sheet of paper. The way they looked at me when they read it filled me with dread. Edon passed me a copy. It was a printout of an email sent to the pack.
To:[email protected]
From: [email protected]
Date: Monday 5 February 2018
Time: 07:00
ANNOUNCEMENT
The Hogsthorpe Shifters are delighted to announce the engagement of Alpha Jett Conall to Kimberly Louise Fletcher on Friday 9 February 2018 at 9pm.
The ceremony will take place in Hogsthorpe Hall before the newlyweds consummate the wedding under the full moon in Hogsthorpe Woods.
Hogsthorpe pack only in attendance.
End of message.
I fell onto the nearest seat. “What? This can’t possibly be right. She wouldn’t do this, so he’s forcing her somehow. What do we do? What can we do?”
Edon looked at me in a kindly, fatherly way. “That is why I have called the meeting, Darius. I know how I would proceed but on this occasion I feel you should direct the pack.
I sat for a moment with my hands steepled, my elbows resting on my knees. Trying my best to breathe slowly through my nose and quiet the wolf threatening to erupt from me to rip out Jett Conall’s throat.
“Okay. I feel I need to see if Kim is with Jett or at home. If she is at work, I shall attempt to talk to her as a first course of action. We shall reconvene at midday once I have more information.
Edon nodded and the rest of the pack murmured their agreement. With the next meeting set, the others left, leaving me with Edon.
“Spoken like a true Alpha.” Edon smiled. “It would seem when it comes to discussions about your mate, you find your confidence.”
I considered what he was saying.
“She makes me feel whole. If she marries that mutt, I don’t know how I’ll survive.”
Mates were our everything, and I had no doubt in my mind that she was mine.
He nodded, and I left, grabbed my things and set off on my bike to drive to Kim’s office.
I walked to the back door and knocked with such force that I put several dints in the door. A buzzer sounded and Lucy’s voice came out.
“Darius. Pack it in, or I’m not letting you in. And straight to my office, not Kim’s, we need to talk first. You got me?”
“I need to see her,” I growled.
“Won’t do you any good, and I have intel so you need to speak to me first. Comprendez?”
I sighed. “Yes, okay. You first.”
She sounded the buzzer and ignoring her instructions I stomped straight into Kim’s office.
Kim startled when I walked in.
I held up the piece of paper. “What’s this shit about you marrying Jett?”
She looked me straight in the eye, no smile on her face, just a dead-eyed look. “What about it?”
“Don’t give me that.” I roared. “What’s he doing? It’s got to be blackmail because no way would you marry him voluntarily.”
She stood up. “Not true. I intended to marry him all along.”
“Then what was all the other night? Sleeping with me, meeting my family? I know you felt what I did.”
At this point the door flew open and Lucy stood there. “God, you stubborn arsed manbeast.”
“I didn’t feel that, Darius. I just pretended, so as to crush you further. That was my plan all along and well, look at you, it would appear I’m succeeding.”
; “This is bullshit.” I punched the wall with my fist. The plaster broke off in chunks and dust rained down on the floor.
I turned to Lucy. “Sorry, I will have that made good.” I moved back around to face Kim. “Stop your lying and tell me the truth. I can help you. The pack will help you.”
“The truth is, Darius, that I love him. He’s my true mate and I’ll be marrying him on Friday. You need to deal with it.”
She sat back down on her chair and started tapping on her keyboard.
“That’s all you’re saying?”
“Yes, to be honest I’m bored now, and as I’m sure you can imagine, with my wedding being on Friday I have a lot to do, so if that’s all… unless you want me to put you back on the dating agency books now with you being a free agent?”
I stomped out of the office, Lucy moving ahead of me and then I swung the door shut with such force that I ripped it off its hinges.
“I’ll be back, shortly.” I said to Lucy and then I ran down the stairs and behind some storage sheds where I sat down and calmed my breathing so I wouldn’t change because if I did I was going to be out of control.
I’d smelled her when I’d walked in. My mate. MINE.
The words she’d said. I couldn’t believe that they were true because if they were… well it didn’t bear thinking about. I needed to throw down against Jett.
“What you thinking there, looking all Beast?”
I looked at my hands and felt around my chin. Fur. Oh shit.
“Lucy. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for not coming to my office and listening to me? Well, better we get to talk here actually. Out in the fresh air and away from Kim.” She took a seat on a concrete step at the side of me. “I think she’s being blackmailed by Jett, and Seth is involved somehow. I overheard him on the phone. He said something about Jett getting him his wife back.
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