by Mia Taylor
Some days, she missed her mother so terribly that tears would soak her cheeks, but only when she was completely alone and no one could see her tears.
After all, Serafina Kennedy did not cry.
I had good motivation to achieve all I did, Sera thought bitterly, calling her stop on the bus. The will to live. I wonder if I’ll ever get that back despite Jacob’s desire to remove it forever.
As Sera dismounted the bus, she shook her head and laughed slightly.
There are no such things as Prince Charmings.
After all, that was what Harry had been to her mother. A rich, dashing Alpha from a good pack who offered her mom the world before knocking it all away with a closed fist.
I don’t need a prince, she told herself firmly, heading toward her unkempt apartment building. I don’t need anyone, least of all a man, ruining my life.
But she couldn’t deny that she was looking forward to round four with Ashur.
I don’t need him, she justified, increasing her pace. But I sure do want him.
And for the moment, Sera’s foul mood was again all but forgotten.
Chapter Nine
Who’s Running the Game?
At nine o’clock the following morning, there was a knock on the door. Jayce hurried to open it, feeling slightly discombobulated.
The Commodore stood in the hall, a beam on his face.
“Good morning!” he called cheerfully, pushing his way inside, his uniform crisp and fresh with a serving tray laden with dishes. “I brought breakfast for you.”
Jayce watched as the charming beast wheeled in the cart and he swallowed his nervousness. He didn’t feel right somehow, his head slightly fuzzy as if he’d been drinking.
“Where is your friend?” the Commodore asked, and Jayce shook his head, the answer not immediately coming to him.
“She… she is still asleep,” he murmured but there was an uncertainty to his tone.
The wolf ruler eyed him knowingly as the door closed and patted him on the back heartily.
“You are wasting your talents in the bright afterlife,” he chortled. “The ladies in the dark otherworld would be lined up at your door. You are too handsome.”
“Thank you for breakfast,” Jayce muttered quickly, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going. “I should be getting dressed.”
He did not want to upset the beast, but the ancient wolf’s presence made him ill at ease, despite the agreement they’d made.
“Yes, yes,” the Commodore agreed, removing the lids from the myriad plates to present a feast of fruit, breads, eggs, and meats. “I only came to bid you a good day and make good on my end of our deal.”
Jayce felt a spark of excitement as he understood.
“You are going to bequeath me powers?” he asked, trying to mask his eagerness, but it was futile to act coy with such a creature. He was sure that the Commodore could see directly through his pretense.
“Yes, of course,” the Commodore replied easily. “You must have every resource at your disposal.”
Jayce nodded and waited, but the old wolf only peered at him speculatively.
“I daresay,” he commented, “you would have made a good soldier of the dark otherworld. I am surprised you would choose the boredom of the bright side. I have been there. It is much more entertaining where I come from.”
Jayce did not know how to respond but he knew he was being lied to. No one yearned to go to the dark side, no matter how charming the Commodore appeared.
“Anyway,” the Commodore continued, “that point will be moot if you fail in your quest, will it not?”
“I will not fail,” Jayce promised, heat rising to his forehead. “I have you on my side.”
When the Commodore smiled, it chilled Jayce to his very core and he was forced to cast his eyes downward.
Suddenly, a hot wind blustered through the room and Jayce could not breathe.
His eyes bugged from his head as he gaped at the Commodore, who smiled pleasantly in his hotel uniform. Jayce’s hand reached for his throat to claw maniacally, his breaths stolen.
He has lied to me! I have fallen into his evil trap! He has sought me out to send me into the dark afterlife, but why? Why me?
Spots danced before Jayce’s eyes and he dropped to his knees, reaching out toward the Commodore imploringly, but he did not move, his onyx eyes boring holes into Jayce’s body with intensity.
When he spoke, his lips did not move but he again fell into the massive beast he’d shown the previous day, filling the living area of the suite as a wolf of proportions that were insurmountable.
“You are under my employ now, Jayce,” the voice said, reverberating through his mind as consciousness slipped away. “Do not disappoint me or this is what your life will feel like every day for eternity.”
The world went black as Jayce fell forward onto the floor, his face crashing into the marble tile. One final thought echoed through his mind.
The Commodore has tricked me! I have fallen into a trap!
An incessant pounding filled his ears and he waved his hands to push the hammers aside.
“I am sorry, Ashur! I did not mean it!” he moaned. “Please, forgive me!”
“Get up, you blithering idiot!” Jayce jumped as the Commodore’s voice filled his head, overcoming the prayer flittering through his mind.
Again, the pounding commenced and slowly, Jayce rose, looking around the hotel suite as if seeing it for the first time.
“Answer the damned door!” the Commodore snapped and Jayce realized that he was alone, sprawled on the leather sofa. “We have work to do!”
Indeed, there was a pounding on the door, but he couldn’t immediately move, as if his body was weighted down by an unseen force.
Looking down at himself, he realized he still wore the terry cloth robe he had wrapped himself in earlier in the morning.
Again, the Commodore ordered him to rise, this time almost screaming the command into his ear, and Jayce forced himself to obey. There was no way to avoid the deal he’d made now, not when the Commodore was inside his head.
He ambled to his feet and shuffled toward the entranceway, noting that the tray still sat in the short corridor, untouched.
So, I did not imagine his visit, but he did not fool me. Why did he do such a terrible thing to me?
“Who is there?” he croaked.
“Barry Christenson and Serafina Kennedy from the law office of Jacob Winston,” a male called back. “We have a ten o’clock appointment with Mr. Parker.”
Confusion washed through him.
“You have the wrong room,” he replied gruffly. “Go away.”
“No,” the Commodore chirped from the place inside his head. “You are Mr. Parker now. Open the door and meet your new lover.”
Heat filled Jayce’s face as his pulse quickened.
“What?”
“I am already growing tired of your stupidity!” the Commodore growled. “Answer the door. Do not make me tell you again.”
Fear prickled through Jayce and he cautiously did as he was told.
In the hall stood a man and woman who appeared to be in the same age group but an odd pairing by any standard.
He was tall and gangly with acne-scarred cheeks and a nervous air.
She was slightly shorter with shoulder-length auburn hair and wise, green eyes, an almost bored expression on her face.
He was a mortal—she was clearly a wolf, albeit relatively young.
Jayce was overcome by her attractiveness despite her seemingly aloof aura.
“Mr. Parker?” the man asked, offering him a timid smile. “May we come in and discuss your accident?”
Jayce opened his mouth to plead ignorance again, but he caught himself, realizing that somehow the Commodore had arranged for the meeting.
“Yes,” he sighed, reluctantly stepping back.
What am I supposed to say to them? he cried out silently to the Commodore, but suddenly the ruler
was quiet.
How convenient, Jayce thought, irritation overcoming him as he granted them entry. Jayce found himself fixating on the girl, Serafina.
Serafina. The fiery one, he thought, and as if she could hear his thoughts, she gazed up at him, making eye contact for the first time.
A slow, almost hypnotic smile formed on her rosebud lips.
“You asked for me,” she said quietly, and Jayce noticed that she stepped closer as if needing to be near him.
He held her stare and nodded.
“Yes,” he replied slowly. “I…”
Jayce trailed off, trying to remember who they were.
They are here from a barrister. He said something about an accident, he remembered.
“I do know you, don’t I?” she whispered. “How do I know you?”
There was awe and confusion in her tone and Jayce suddenly realized that she could not tear her eyes away from his face.
Is she drawn to me or is this something the Commodore has done to her?
Jayce did not feel any different, but he could not imagine why this woman would be staring at him with such blatant desire if she was not under some sort of spell.
It was not commonplace behavior of women… was it?
How long had it been since he had deigned to understand the mannerisms of the fairer sex? Had he really ever?
Certainly the world had changed a great deal since he had last been privy to such interaction, but he didn’t know what to make of her blatant stare. Jayce could not deny that he was as captivated by the ginger-haired woman as he had ever been with any woman.
Or has the Commodore put a spell on me also?
The man cleared his throat, obviously sensing something amiss.
“Maybe we can come in and sit down,” Barry suggested, but Serafina shook her dark red hair, her eyes not moving from Jayce’s.
She bit on her lower lip and for a strange moment, Jayce thought she might begin to strip off her clothes and throw herself directly at him.
“Get out,” she told him. “I can handle this, Barry.”
Barry laughed nervously as if he thought her to be joking.
“Jacob said—” the man started to say.
“Get the hell out,” she said and there was no room for argument in her voice.
Barry gaped at them, his face blushing crimson.
“Are you sure, Sera? I mean—”
“Get out!”
This time Jayce joined the order.
“There is no need for you to be here,” he agreed, reluctantly pulling his gaze away from Serafina’s face to look at the man. “Serafina is fine here with me.”
Barry muttered something under his breath, but he turned to leave without any further protest.
Jayce barely noticed until the door closed, and the woman stepped directly up under his chin, their lips inches away.
“Who are you?” she breathed again, grabbing his hand. “How do I know you?”
“I am Jayce,” he replied, gulping back the anxiety he was feeling.
Could it be this simple? She is already in love with me, just look at her face!
There was laughter in his head.
“You cannot determine the difference between lust and love, fool?” the Commodore snorted. “She is attracted to you, not in love. You must make her love you and not your brother.”
Jayce tensed at the mocking tone in his mind but he tried desperately to focus on the woman before him.
“Why do I know you?” she asked again, reaching out to seize him roughly. There was a panic in her that he didn’t understand and for a moment, he wasn’t sure if she was going to strike him or kiss him.
A sudden burst of boldness empowered him to take control and he breathed at her, his eyes flashing.
“You are mine,” Jayce told her, leaning forward to lick her earlobe, and she nodded eagerly.
“I am,” she agreed. “I am yours.”
A feeling of satisfaction flooded through Jayce even if it was accompanied by a feeling of slight unease. It couldn’t be so simple, could it?
I have won, he thought gleefully, a familiar sense of smugness overwhelming him as he stared at her.
“You have won a spot in her pants for the time being,” the Commodore corrected. “You need to ensure that she does not return to Ashur.”
Jayce almost laughed aloud.
“Oh ye of little faith,” he replied silently. “She is not going anywhere.”
Abruptly, a shadow took over Serafina’s eyes and she backed away, uncertainty clouding her face as if she realized that she was doing something that was out of character for herself.
“What am I doing?” she mumbled more to herself than to him, but she didn’t turn to flee as if she were frozen in place.
“Give her space to breathe, to process,” the Commodore instructed in his head. Jayce thought he heard a note of alarm in the words.
“Why?” Jayce replied.
“Just do it!” the Commodore hissed. “Before she runs.”
“I am using the toilet,” he told Serafina, backing away. She nodded, still watching him with a dazed expression in her eyes. Begrudgingly, he made his way into the washroom, opening the door. He wanted to leave it open to ensure that Serafina remained, but as he turned, he saw something which made his heart stop.
A foot stuck out from behind the shower curtain, its owner hidden. It didn’t take Jayce a second to figure out who it was who sprawled dead in the tub beyond.
Mari…
He had forgotten all about the prostitute during the excitement of the morning, but as he peered into the bathtub, he could see that he did not need to worry about her again.
Her face was blue and bloated in death and she gazed at him with shocked but lifeless eyes.
“What did you do?” Jayce choked, an image of Michele’s bloodied corpse dancing in his memory. Suddenly, he was back in the bright afterlife, his brother speaking the words he asked himself.
“Me?” The Commodore laughed. “You do not know your own strength. You did this. This is your handiwork.”
Jayce shook his head in disbelief.
“I did not!” he insisted, but the Commodore chuckled.
“I warned you to use your powers wisely. You are already reckless.”
Jayce refused to believe it.
“When?” he demanded, searching his memory for any inkling of what could have happened, but he could not reconcile how it had come to pass. There was not so much as a hint to the events that had transpired.
“Jayce?” Serafina called, her voice approaching. “Are you all right?”
He drew the curtain back quickly and closed his eyes.
“Do not be so shocked,” the Commodore chanted. “It is good to know that you are able to kill if need be.”
“What?” he whispered. “Why?”
The Commodore snickered and again, Jayce could hear the exasperation in his voice.
“Because at least if you fail to woo this one, you can always take her life. In any case, your brother must not have her. I do not care how that comes to pass.”
Chapter Ten
An Unpleasantly Familiar Face
Something had changed in Serafina the evening she returned to her dingy apartment, something subtle but apparent.
It was as if she were floating through the space, oblivious to where she was, and she seemed surprised to see Ash there.
“Oh! You’re still here,” she remarked as she entered the door, dropping her canvas messenger bag on the floor. She offered him a fuzzy smile.
Ash eyed her, a strange sense overcoming him as he stared at her.
“Yes,” he replied slowly. “I thought we had discussed me staying here already.”
She shrugged almost indifferently, slipping by him with a silly smile on her face.
“Sure,” she said but Ash could see there was a difference in her as she made her way into the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”
He followed her, his lids narrowi
ng as he looked at her.
“Did you have a pleasant day?” he asked, watching her as she pulled a cardboard box out of the refrigerator and opened it.
“Uh huh,” she replied, her brow furrowing as she realized there was nothing left of the three-day-old order. She turned to him, the smile on her beautiful face widening.
“Let’s go out for dinner,” she offered brightly, and Ash was not sure he understood what she was asking. She spun toward the door again and Ash had no choice but to follow her as she walked into the hallway, bag in hand once more.
Suddenly, he lunged for her, spinning her around to look at him. She gaped at him, startled by his sudden movement, but she didn’t resist his hold as she steadfastly met his stare.
“You are different,” he told her bluntly.
Her green eyes sparkled but something was missing from their depths; the fire he had been drawn in by was gone.
“What do you mean?” she asked, almost blankly. There was no emotion to her words and desperation overwhelmed Ash as he tried to understand the change inside her.
Concern and anger filled him simultaneously, his lips crushing against her as he willed her to respond.
While she didn’t push him away, she also did not return his affection and Ash felt a chill of apprehension filling him.
“She does not seem as smitten by you as she was this morning,” the Commodore chirped in his ear and he bristled at the sound of the dark ruler’s voice. For several days, he’d heard no word from the Commodore. He had no doubt in his mind that Sera’s lack of response had something to do with his tricks.
Ash drew his head back sharply, pushing Sera into the wall as he gaped at her.
“What did you do to her?” he demanded psychically but there was only laughter as Sera continued to gaze at him, a faraway grin on her face as if she were part of some amusing joke of which he had no knowledge.
I should have known, Ash thought, fury coursing through his veins. There would be no way to win this wager without a fight. I knew this going in and I naively trusted he would do the right thing.
Panic overcame him with the realization that he’d come so close to getting everything he wanted, only to have it wrenched away by shameless games.
“I’m hungry,” Sera announced, and her tone was singsong, like a child’s. “Can we go now?”