by Lea Jade
Of course, I lied when I said it had been a year. How could I tell her the urge to mate has been with me constantly since I met her? From the moment she came to the club, her and her wolf sparked something inside of me, a hunger I never knew existed or needed. If only things had been different. If I had my memories back. If I’d never betrayed her father, never left the pack…
With a sigh, I get dressed into the monkey suit Xavier asked me to wear. I shouldn't be thinking of Jess right now. I need to calm my wolf and focus. It’s almost time to for the sponsored lunch. I straighten my blue tie as best I can and grimace.
For big fights, this is the part I hate the most. For an underground event, there’s a lot of public fanfare, usually a week before the event. Because of the short notice of this one, everything is happening the day before.
The twins want me to meet with some sponsor or other, an elite paranormal who likes to feel like they own us. Then there will be a load of posturing and a pre-show party at twins’ uptown nightclub the eve before the fight. All of which, it has been stressed, I need to attend. It’ll be the worst party in the world since it’s basically a celebration of my impending demise. And since I can’t even drink as I’m fighting the next day, I’ll be as boring as hell.
But, Jess will be there.
And that’s the only reason I’m going.
I can’t change the past, but I can change her future. There’s no future for me, even if I win. Everything that led up to this point is my fault. I would gladly die tonight than experience life without her. Maybe having decelerated healing is a good thing. I’m actually fearing what I'll do if I win and I hate to think what losing Jess would do to me.
For first time in forever, I would rather lose.
Outside is pure chaos, the pre-fight kind. Paranormal paparazzi are everywhere. Everyone wants to ask me how I feel about dying tomorrow which is not something you can grit your teeth and smile at. Eric waves them off as we climb into the waiting blacked out town cars, then we head to lunch.
Afterward there’ll be a press conference where they can ask all the questions they want. They’ll want me stripped down to my shorts for the weigh in and some pictures, then I’ll be back in my suit charming whoever Eric wants me to at the party. But since it’s my last night ever, I’m going to skip the networking and take Jess aside and tell her how I feel. Even if she doesn’t feel the same way, even if I lose tomorrow, I want her to know.
At lunch, I see Jess down the other side of the table. She’s sitting next to one of the other girls and they’re deep in conversation.
I taste a few bites of food, but I can't seem to take anything in but Jess. Next to me some big-shot is talking and all I can do is nod and smile, while my eyes are glued down the other end of the table. She’s breathtakingly beautiful. I'd forgotten just how beautiful, graceful and vibrant she is compared to everyone else I’ve ever met. Even the cat-eyed ring girl she’s talking to doesn’t half compare.
Jess must sense my attention because halfway though one of the dessert courses she looks up at me, a slight tug of her lips making my heart soar.
“You have the worst taste in women, you and my brother,” someone drawls next to me. I turn to the person next to me, expecting to see one of the promoters who was sitting beside me all through dinner, and instead find Xavier in his place.
“What makes you say that?”
“You’re both obsessed with females who need rescuing.”
I regard him as blankly as I can, steeling my emotions from the surface. It wouldn't do to be a hot mess right now, not with Xavier around.
“I’ve no idea what you're talking about.”
He narrows his gaze at me, twin daggers that know exactly how to slice through my bullshit. “Oh, don’t be coy, Jake, we both know you’re fucking her. Give me some respect here,” he says as his eyes dart over to where Jess is sitting.
“I’m not…”
He holds up a hand, raising a brow.
“It’s so obvious it hurts to look at you both.”
“Okay,” I say, waiting for the catch. There’s only one reason Xavier wastes his breath on any small talk; he wants something. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because, dear Jake, I want to make money. Contrary to what you might think, I don't give a damn who you are screwing , but I would be careful of flaunting this one too much in front of my brother. He has a soft spot for the doctor for some obscure reason I can’t even begin to understand. It would be a shame if he ripped your heart out before the fight now, wouldn’t it?”
Even though what Xav is saying is true, it doesn't stop my wolf from bristling at the thought of Eric laying claim to her.
“Just make sure the undercard is as we agreed. I’ll deal with Eric.”
He stares at me. “This isn’t a negotiation. I’m telling you to back off, nicely, before you regret it.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then you’ll find that I might have very little control over Eric this evening.” He picks up his drink and swirls the golden liquid in the glass, eyes igniting into a vermillion glow.
The wolf inside me suddenly rears up and I have to grip the chair to stop my inner beast from doing something I might regret. I force my breath to slow and hold myself back, containing the urge to rip the bastard’s throat out. This is not the time and certainly not the place to attack one of the twins. Too many of their men surround us. Ironically, the one location I can kill them both without worry or fear of retaliation is the Pit. All of sudden it hits me—killing them both is the only way out of this. I had been so focused on losing I’d forgotten the rules of cage combat. All death is warranted.
I bite down my anger and continue softly. “There’s nothing going on between us, not anymore. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Good, good. I’m glad we see eye to eye on that.”
“I just have one question.”
He takes a swig of his drink and then cocks his head. “Oh?”
“You promised me pick of the undercard…”
“I did nothing of the sort.”
I feel the rage inside me mounting once more, like a storm rising out of control. The bastard had better be joking.
He chuckles. “I can see your sense of humor is broken, wolf. I would fix that if I were you.”
“What are you saying?”
“It’s done, as we agreed. The golden wolf is in another cage as we speak. Getting him for you wasn’t easy. My brother is livid, hence the warning, but I agree with your choice. Seems fitting for the end of an era. I’m surprised though, that you remember him,” he says, the humor all but gone from his features. All that’s left is a dark look, one that makes my skin crawl and my blood run cold as he looks up.
“Remember who? The submissive?”
Xavier raises a brow and stares at me with that cold, calculated mask of his, looking nothing like his twin in that moment. “Hunter is hardly submissive, Jake... He’s the ex-Alpha of Wildecross.”
Chapter 11
Jess
The pre-fight party at Purgatory Nightclub is in full swing when I see first see Jake, back from the weigh-in, standing there talking to Xavier. The elder twin is leaning in and both of them are smiling like they’re best friends. But it’s not hard to notice occasionally Jake’s shoulders stiffen or his brow furrow. I wouldn’t be surprised if his eyes are also turning ice cold blue. I can’t tell this far away even if I am a wolf, but I've been watching Jake my entire life so I know when his beast is fighting to get out, itching to tear something or someone apart.
What the hell are they talking about?
Those two were discussing something at lunch too, if I'm not mistaken. It must be something upsetting, or Jake wouldn’t be losing it. Either that or he’s disconnecting, becoming less human and more wolf.
If he doesn't mate soon…
“Are you listening?”
“What?”
Nadine taps her teeth with her tongue and then sucks ai
r into mouth, clearly annoyed with me. “You’re staring at your wolf again, aren’t you? Fates, you’ve got it bad for him. Honestly, seeing it up close makes me want to throw up in my mouth.” She leans back and takes a gulp of her wine. “Love is overrated, you know.”
I shoot her a rabid look. “I thought you were in love with your last husband?”
“I was, but not to the detriment of my wits. It’s like talking to Little Red Riding Hood. Every time the big, bad wolf so much as licks his chops at you, your heart bleeds to be eaten.”
“It does not!”
“Not your heart, then… other parts of you, sweeter parts,” she says with a glint in her eye, taking another sip of her wine.
I roll my eyes for the hundredth time. “So, when are we doing this?” The sooner I can find this evidence, the sooner Nadine can help me find my brother.
And Jake won't need to fight.
I hadn’t planned on helping Nadine, but I can’t let Jake fight just so I can get my brother back. If anyone is going to save Dylan, it should be me.
After I called her, she appeared and bullied the security staff into letting her into the party. In the end, Xavier came over, gave me a weird look and then authorized her invite. I find it slightly strange that the twins didn’t invite their own sister to their party, but who am I to judge, my family are just as dysfunctional.
“All in good time… we need to wait until Eric has finished sucking up to the bloodsucking crew,” Nadine says under her breath.
At the other side of the club suite, Eric is laughing and drinking with a handsome but intense looking aristocrat from Eastern Europe, who just happens to be our guest master vampire and main sponsor for the event tomorrow. Behind him, an entourage of extremely good-looking, unnaturally pale, half starved to death vampires sit in attendance, glancing about the room like top of the food chain predators surveying us like we’re a bunch of insects. The wolf in me finds it a little unnerving. Plus, they smell like the sour earth of an abandoned graveyard.
“Vampires give me the creeps,” I say out loud.
“Oh, they’re not half bad if you let them drink your blood often enough. The smell fades after a while, as they take on some of your essence.”
I look at Nadine like she’s from another planet. “You’ve done that? Let one of them drink from you?” I can’t help but clutch at my throat.
She grins. “Oh, Jess, so innocent, it’s actually quite fun. There’s a reason the French call it ‘Le Petite Mort’, you know. Vampire lovers were all craze in eighteenth Century Paris.”
“You say it like you were there.”
She tips her head back to laugh, her large earrings catching the light. Dragons. She’s wearing antique black dragon earrings.
I’m about to ask her about them when Jake appears. I wasn’t expecting him to come over and now he’s here I feel all flustered.
“You look nice tonight, Jess.”
“Nice? Is that the best you’ve got? Oh fates, this is why you’re a called the lone wolf. She looks exquisite, beautiful, glorious… anything other than nice,” Nadine cuts in.
Jake raises a brow and looks at me. “You’re friends with Nadine now?”
“Kind of,” I mumble and stare at my very painful, very tall and pointy, gold designer shoes. They’re Nadine’s, not mine, but they match the strapless, ruffled, champagne-colored dress that’s hers too. It was her idea to dress up tonight. I was going to wear jeans and cute top, but she said I could look common in my own time and that I needed to dress up for her plan.
But, I feel ridiculous.
Even my cheeks, heating up without permission, agree with me.
Out the corner of my eye, Nadine scowls at Jake. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
“Aren’t you going to tell her she looks more than nice?”
“Nadine…” I start, but then Jake comes between us, blocking Nadine out, giving me a wolfish grin, his blue eyes seeing nothing and no one but me.
“You look absolutely stunning tonight, Jess,” he says in a low voice. This time my cheeks burn. Nadine needs to stop interfering. He looks me up and down. “Killer shoes.”
“You got the kill part alright. They’re cutting off the circulation to my toes.”
“Maybe I should carry you home then, give you medical attention. I know the kiss of life.”
“You can’t give the kiss of life to toes,” I say with a half snort.
“Sure, you can,” he says, eyes twinkling devilishly.
“Okay, enough you two. Jake, piss off. Jess, it’s time.”
“Oh sorry, I’ve got to go,” I say as Nadine finds her way to my other side and links her arm through mine.
“Later then?”
Without thinking I nod, just as Nadine drags me off into the crowd. I shoot her a look and but she just smiles more brightly. “Couldn’t let that go on any longer. You’re not fishing for a wolf tonight, remember? We want bigger prey.”
“Eric, yes, I know.” Dread fills the pit of my stomach where only moments ago butterflies were swarming.
“Yes, Eric, he’s coming out of the vampire nest, so we need to move fast. Remember the plan; flirt, get him upstairs, and while he’s distracted get the key to the office safe.”
“I don’t understand why you can't just audit him like any other business partner would.”
“My family is complicated. You wouldn’t understand.”
“And how am I going to distract him again?”
“I’m sure you'll think of something.” Her iron grip digs into my arm as she drags me over to my boss as he crosses the room. “Eric, my darling little brother, we were just coming to see you.”
“What are you doing here, Nadine? You weren’t invited.”
“Xav invited me.”
“He did?”
Underneath our linking arms, Nadine elbows me sharply in the ribs.
“Hi, Eric,” I croak.
His brow creases when he sees me with Nadine. “I didn't know you two knew each other.”
“Oh, we met at lunch,” I say cheerily. Much too cheerily.
“Eric, I was just telling Jess about your fascinating bone collection. As a physician herself she’d love to see it, wouldn’t you Jess?”
I nod and beam like an idiot. This is the worst plan in the world. Bone collection?
Eric’s eyes brighten, lifting the scowl from his face. If he wasn’t such a dick, he’d be quite attractive.
“You like bones?”
“I do, actually, I studied osteology as a part of my medical degree.” Fates, I’m going to hell for such awful conversation.
“Oh, then you must see it. We’ll make a day of it. I keep mine in an environment-controlled vault, at the family home just outside the city.”
“Don’t you have some of your pretties here?” asks Nadine, practically nudging me into Eric’s arms.
Suddenly, she looks up and calls the waitress to come over with fresh champagne. I end up taking a glass but when no one is looking I pour it behind me into a potted plant, as I have been doing most of the night, while Eric and Nadine simply down theirs. It’s a wonder they’re able to stand given the amount of alcohol they’ve both consumed since lunch.
It must be their infamous dragon blood.
“I do have one or two pieces upstairs, yes, in the penthouse.” Eric says, placing his empty flute glass back on the tray.
“Oh, you have to show Jess,” Nadine says, sipping the last of the liquid in her glass.
“What? Now?”
“Yes, now, I was just telling Jess how exquisite they are. Xavi and I can entertain the guests.”
He glances at his watch. “I suppose we could, just for a minute. That’s if you want to? There’s more champagne upstairs.” His twinkling grey eyes hold mine expectantly, and Nadine elbows me again.
I give a weak smile. “Sure.”
His eager grin gives way to triumph and Nadine hands me over like I’m a prize to be won. As Eric leads me
out of the club suite, suddenly I feel exposed and uncomfortable, like a lamb knowing it’s off to slaughter. Going upstairs to Eric’s apartment alone with him is wrong, this whole thing feels wrong.
My eyes somehow collide with Jake’s. And in a split second his smile fades. With narrowed eyes and mask of confusion, his wolf energy explodes, crackling about the room like lightening unleashed as he watches me leave in the arms of a dragon.
“Wait, I need to go to the bathroom.”
“We have one upstairs,” Eric says, suddenly looking between me and Jake. His grip tightens on me just as Xavier appears out of the crowd and puts a hand on Jake’s shoulder. Panic settles in the space of my heart and every part of my wolf screams at me to run, but I don’t.
Instead, I shake my head and mouth one word at Jake. No.
Behind Jake’s eyes, a thousand hurts rain down on him. The last look he gives me as I’m swept from the room, is one of betrayal.
Upstairs in the penthouse, hidden from the rest of the world by a wall tapestry and secret door, Eric pours me a glass of champagne. As I survey his collection, a strange array of prehistoric shifter jaw bones, he occasionally glances over from the mini bar at me. Like a typical omega though, I bow my head, gluing my gaze to the mandibles behind the glass.
I hear him walk over, and my heartrate speeds up as I smell the faint tang of ash and brimstone. I’ve no idea why I let Nadine talk me into this; This was such a big mistake. As usual, my wolf has turned tail, so I’m truly all alone with the big, bad dragon. No one here to save me this time. Not even Jake.
A pang of sadness cuts through me. He must really hate me right now.
Suddenly, I sense Eric behind me. I spin around to find myself trapped between a glass case and a dragon. He looks me up and down, the reds of his eyes fading back into winter grey.
“You seem nervous, my dear,” he says, handing me a glass flute full to the brim of bubbles. “You didn’t bring me up here to see fossils, did you?”