Bad Moon Rising: A Loup Garou World Novel (Tempting Fate Book 2)

by Mandy M. Roth

  Jay swallowed hard. “Well, I do enforce things.”

  “Dear gods above, if anyone else in the pack saw this right now, they’d try to challenge you for the chance to lead,” said Romeo, snickering more. “Just tell the woman the truth.”

  As Romeo’s words moved over me, I gasped, jerking my hand free from Jay’s. “Why would someone need to challenge you to lead the pack? I get there are a fair number of alpha males within the pack, but they’d challenge the head alpha. The pack leader. The supreme badass.”

  Romeo laughed more. “Our supreme badass is currently tongue-tied around you.”

  Jay was the head alpha of the local pack? The actual top wolf, not just one of the many alpha males under the main guy?

  The pack had always been secretive about its members and their rankings within it, but I never thought they’d be so secretive as to keep something as massive as Jay being the guy in charge. More than that, I never thought Jay would hide that from me. The knowledge that he had stung, though I couldn’t explain why exactly. All I knew was, it caused me pain. As if he didn’t trust me.

  My shoulders slumped. “I see.”

  “Gina,” said Jay, trying to take my hand in his once more.

  I didn’t let him.

  He touched my chin, forcing me to face him. “You’re pissed.”

  “No,” I confessed, feeling deflated.

  “She’s hurt,” said Romeo. “She believes you don’t trust her and that’s why you never told her the truth.”

  I glared at him. “What are you, his emotional radar?”

  “In a sense. I’m one of his head advisors and part of his personal team of guards. My empath abilities help Jay lead.”

  Jay touched my arm lightly. “Gina.”

  “Did you think because I’m a slayer that I’d betray you? That I’d leak that information to Zachariah and an attempt would be made on you?”

  “He knows full well who and what I am,” he stated evenly. “I made the decision to keep the truth from you because…”

  He didn’t finish, and I had to wonder if he even knew the real reason.

  I snorted and pushed my plate of food away from me, my appetite gone.

  Romeo sighed. “Gina, you need to understand why packs do their best to hide the truth of who is who to anyone non-pack. If someone wanted to hurt the head of the pack, but they knew they couldn’t physically beat him in a fight, who would they go after first?”

  I shrugged. “His mate or his family, if he has one.”

  Romeo lifted his brows as if that explained everything.

  I stared harder at him. “Jay isn’t mated. Wait—he’s not mated, right?”

  “No,” said Jay. “I’m not mated yet. I would have told you if I was.”

  “Yet?” I echoed, locking gazes with him. “And let’s be honest. It was a legit question, seeing as how you never mentioned you were in charge of the pack.”

  He looked as if he could see into my soul. With the backs of his fingers, he touched my cheek. “Anyone who knows the truth is always at risk. And it’s against pack policy to tell non-pack anything about our inner workings.”

  “Lindsay knows, doesn’t she?”

  He nodded and sighed. “But she only learned the truth after she mated Exavier. When I was, uh, seeing her, I kept it from her.”

  “Pack politics are fucking stupid,” I said, meaning every word of it.

  Romeo laughed. “I agree. But, you should know why Jay is desperate to keep you near him right now.”

  “Romeo, no,” said Jay, the command clear and left hanging there. “She isn’t ready to hear the truth.”

  I snapped my fingers at Romeo. “Ignore him. Tell me why. Tell me this truth I’m not ready to hear.”

  “Gina,” said Jay sternly.

  I eyed him sideways. “Dude, you aren’t my alpha. Don’t go barking at me. I’ll put you in a kennel and get you out later to let you pee, nothing more.”

  Romeo laughed softly and then cleared his throat.

  Jay looked tired, but he nodded. “Gina, it’s important that you stay close to me during this because I can protect you. My position can protect you. The pack will pull together to see to your safety in this, and Romeo is right. Anyone foolish enough to attack my home is waging war with the pack. He’s also right in the fact that slayers are few here, pack is not.”

  Confused, I stared between the men. “Why would the pack protect me? I’m a slayer. There’s still a lot of bad blood between shifters and slayers. I get that. I do.”

  “Gina,” said Romeo.

  “Romeo,” Jay warned again.

  I thought harder about it all and then lifted a brow. “People think I’m Jay’s plus one?”

  Romeo nodded. “Yes, and that thought will be cemented when Jay puts you under his protection.”

  I laughed so hard I hiccupped. “And the pack will believe that crap? I mean, I’m just Jay’s friend. We’re not in a relationship. We’ve never done the dirty deed, and while he’s abstained from sex for over six months, he was pretty much a total man-whore before that. Oh, and I’m just a slayer. I think the ruse that I’m his plus one won’t hold much water, but thanks for thinking it would. I appreciate the offer of protection, but save that card for your actual mate.”

  Romeo widened his eyes in Jay’s direction and made a face, like he was trying to get Jay to say something to me.

  Jay grunted.

  Romeo shrugged. “Fine. Remember this moment then. When she winds up dead because you couldn’t tell her the truth, then you’ll have only yourself to blame. Dumbass.”

  “Have a lot of respect for your alpha?” I mused.

  Romeo grunted. “At the moment, no.”

  Jay slammed his fist on the table, making the drinks nearly spill. He then looked at me, his nostrils flaring. “You’re not just a slayer. You said it yourself. Your father is a shifter who can wield magik. Guess what, sweetheart, that totally makes you fair game in the world of mates. From what Exavier told me, your title as a slayer gave my shifter side problems recognizing what was before me. He said it caused my animal side to manipulate my human side, making the human side of me behave questionably.”

  “Otherwise known as banging endless chicks, trying to fill a void,” said Romeo under a fake cough that did nothing but draw more attention to his words.

  Jay cleared his throat.

  Everyone fell silent.

  I was about to flip him off and leave when it all clicked. Gasping, I jerked around to face him, paling as I did. “You really think I’m your plus one?”

  “I need for you to be serious here,” he said, sounding raw. “Gina, I don’t think you are. I know you are. And baby, I got confirmation from more than one source that I trust fully. Exavier is one of them. And think about Zachariah, and his rantings in and out of French. About how you thought he was confused by mixing up my name with your mate. He knows it too, Gina.”

  I raked my gaze over his hard body and shook my head. “You’re broken, dude. Get your head checked and then pull it out of your ass. I’m not your mate. Slayers don’t have mates.”

  “But you’re not a normal slayer, are you?” asked Romeo. “Something else is in your mix, right?”

  I tensed. “Son of a bitch. I’m not going to spend the rest of my life being bossed around by Jay. Not happening.”

  “Gina, enough,” said Jay in a voice that made me want to obey him.

  I stilled for a second, and then elbowed him hard. “Kiss my ass.”

  A wicked smile came over his face. “Gladly.”

  “Jay—”

  He leaned close, inhaling deep. “Your scent drives me wild, Gina. Every time I’m around you, I want to pin you to the ground, mount you, and fuck you until I bathe your womb in my seed.”

  Romeo whistled and leaned back in the booth.

  I merely sat there, my mouth agape, staring at Jay, unsure how to process what he’d just said. The idea of Jay pushing into me and exploding had a lot of merit. So m
uch so that cream began to pool between my legs and I groaned, knowing the shifters in the booth with me could smell it with ease.

  Jay’s lips twitched, and he draped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. “Soon.”

  “Not here though,” Romeo said to Jay, giving him a stern look. “We should probably contact the rest of the pack and get her back to your house.”

  “Yes,” said Jay, tugging me tighter against his body.

  I pushed him to gain my freedom. “You’ve got a screw loose right now on your shifter side. When it’s better, you’ll laugh at how ridiculous this all is.”

  Romeo put a hand up, stopping Jay’s protest on his lips. “She needs time.”

  “Someone is hunting her kind. We don’t have time for her to fuck around and come to terms with this. The sooner I claim her, the sooner she gets the full backing and protection of the entire pack. And the sooner I’ll always be able to track her, always sense if she’s in danger, and I’ll be able to heal her. I can’t now. Romeo, every time she gets hurt, I sit by her bedside, hating myself for not doing what nature intended. I hunt those who hurt her, but it’s not enough. It’s never enough!”

  Twisting in the booth, I cupped Jay’s face, forcing him to look at me. “Jayson, stop. You don’t have to hunt things for me.”

  “I do.”

  “Are you always this obstinate?”

  He locked gazes with me—then everything around us slowed as he kissed me. His tongue eased around mine, and I moaned into his mouth. He took the kiss to another level, and when I realized I was about to beg the man to fuck me in a diner full of people, I gasped and jerked back from him, my fingers going to my swollen lips.

  I blinked in surprise. “Jay?”

  “I get you need time to process who we are to each other and that you’re in deep denial, but Gina, I need you close to me right now. I won’t be able to function if you’re away from me when I know slayers are being targeted—when I know you’re in danger. Please. For me, set aside your stubborn side and agree to stay at my place.”

  “Okay, but no bossing me around when I’m there,” I said sternly.

  He grinned.

  I paused, thinking about our kiss. “Jay, I won’t be another notch on your bedpost. You know that, right?”

  Romeo laughed. “Oh, he more than knows that, Gina.”

  “Can you take me to my place so I can pack a bag?” I asked.

  Jay laced his fingers through mine. “I’ll buy you everything you need.”

  I snorted. “Uh, thanks, but I know cops aren’t paid enough for what they do. No way am I letting you blow money on me.”

  Romeo lost it, laughing hard. “Dude, she has no clue what your net worth is, does she?”

  Jay blushed. “Uh, no.”

  I thought about his home. It was huge and a fixer-upper. I’d always assumed he’d gotten it at a deep discount and was planning to fix it up slowly and then resell it. I also thought about how it seemed like he didn’t actually live there. The more I thought about it, the more I glared at him. “Do not tell me you’re one of those rich guys who likes projects. Who likes to fix broken things in their spare time? That isn’t your actual home we’ve spent time in, is it, Jayson?”

  He bit his lower lip. “It’s not.”

  I stilled. “Jay, I’m not a project. I’m not that broken.”

  He lifted our joined hands. “I know, baby.”

  .

  15

  Jayson brought the motorcycle to a stop in front of a giant house. It was the biggest home I’d ever been close to and had to have cost millions.

  I took the helmet off and simply soaked in the sight before me. I eased off the back of the bike, refusing to believe what I strongly suspected to be true.

  This was Jay’s actual house.

  Jay slid off his bike and put his hand out to me.

  I stared at his hand and put mine on my hip, looking up at the home. “I’ve seen the pack house. This isn’t it.”

  “No, it’s not the pack house. I conduct business there and use it as a safe haven for pack wolves to live if they want or need to, and to house guest packs.” He kept his hand out to me.

  “This is your personal house?” I asked, refusing to take his hand.

  He inclined his head.

  “I see.”

  “Gina, what’s wrong?”

  Pushing my hair behind my ears, I pressed my lips into a thin line. “Just feeling like a fool. I opened up a lot to you in the last several months. I thought you were opening up to me too. I see the truth now.”

  Jay put his hand down and nodded his head towards the house. He led me in the direction of a side entrance.

  A tall man stepped out of the door, wearing a dress shirt and slacks. He grinned as Jay tossed him his motorcycle keys. The man never said a word as he went to move Jay’s bike.

  Headlights splashed over the drive behind us.

  I turned to see Romeo getting out of his sport’s car. He tossed his keys to the other guy too, and then jogged up next to me.

  I kept my lips pressed together tight.

  His gaze flickered to Jay. “Well, at least you’ll know she isn’t with you for your money.”

  “She isn’t with him at all,” I snapped, still hurt at the number of things Jay had kept from me for so long.

  Romeo put his hand on my forearm. “Gina, how could he explain all this to you and still keep you protected from his enemies? He couldn’t very well bring you home with him. You’d know right away that this is something a cop couldn’t afford. To explain the house, he’d have to explain who he is to the pack. Who his family has been to this pack for as far back as we can trace our roots.”

  I shot Jay a look.

  He cringed.

  “You could have told me. I’d have still called you a dickhead,” I said, my hurt lessening slightly.

  The corner of his mouth drew up. “I’ve no doubt of that, Fiery One.”

  This time, when he put his hand out again, I took it, but I didn’t budge. Instead, I tugged him. “How do you run the pack, work at the police station, and find time to renovate an old house, all while spending time with me?”

  A displeased snort came from Romeo. “He doesn’t need to work at all. He’s big into making sure he’s giving back. Plus, I think he likes a slice of his life to be somewhat normal. Though, Jay, Taylor, and I handle all the supernatural shit that comes through the station.”

  I bit my lower lip. “Correction, you and Jay do. From what I’ve heard, Taylor doesn’t handle anything. In fact, I’m not sure he’s even real.”

  Romeo laughed softly. “He’s flighty like that. We blame the fact that he’s a vampire.”

  I squeezed Jay’s hand. “None of that answers how you find time for everything.”

  Jay didn’t respond.

  Romeo did. “He makes his own schedule at work. People in the right places know who Jay is and what he really does. They’re happy to have his help at all, even if it’s limited. Since I go where Jay goes, the same deal applies to me. The pack, even with as big as it is, goes smoothly and doesn’t require a ton of his time. That’s a mark of how great an alpha he is. Not all packs are like ours. Some have nothing but drama. As for the house and fixing it up—he bought the thing years ago with the intent of channeling his excess energy. He didn’t get serious about it until you started spending time with him.”

  Jay growled ever so slightly. “Enough sharing.”

  I bumped hips with him. “Hush, I want to hear what he has to say.”

  Romeo sighed. “Gina, you should know that Jay’s run on limited sleep for about six months now. I’ve told him it’s not healthy. I told him that it could leave him vulnerable to his enemies, but he doesn’t care.”

  I glanced between the men, a sinking feeling coming over me. “He isn’t sleeping much because of me, is he?”

  “Gina,” said Jay.

  I ignored him, focusing fully on Romeo. “Because he’s taking time to hun
t anything that’s hurt me. And because he’s taking time to spend with me when he should be sleeping.”

  Jay tugged on my hand. “How do you know I hunt things that hurt you?”

  “I might have opened the file you have on me in your computer,” I confessed, less proud of my hacking skills than I’d been during the act.

  A question formed on his face. “The folder was password protected.”

  “I know. And before you yell at me about it, you need to understand that I don’t require a cleanup crew to run behind me. Yes, I get hurt sometimes. It’s an occupational hazard. One you run into with your work too. You’ve spent the last six months doubting my abilities and treating me like I’m some delicate porcelain doll that will be smashed to bits if I don’t have you near me.”

  He huffed. “I’m not that bad.”

  Romeo cleared his throat.

  Jay shot the man a hard look. “I’m not.”

  “You’re right. You’re worse,” added Romeo. “You’ve had how many men watching over her when she’s on patrol?”

  My gaze whipped to Jay.

  He had the decency to look slightly ashamed. “What? I worry.”

  “Just how many men are we talking?” I questioned.

  “Way more than one.” Romeo wagged his brows.

  “You can stop helping now,” pressed Jay.

  Romeo grinned. “Yes, I could, but I won’t.”

  “Jayson, you can’t run yourself down for me. What if something big goes down? You could be hurt because you’re not taking care of yourself.”

  “Is now a bad time to mention he’s not gone on one weekend trip to the cabins we own in the woods? The pack has various cabins up there so we have an out-of-the-way place to shift and run free. If we don’t do it on a regular basis, we can end up with some massive control issues.” Romeo glanced at Jay. “He doesn’t leave the city now because I think he’s afraid something will happen to you, not to mention he doesn’t want to miss out on time with you.”

  I squeezed Jay’s hand tightly. “Jayson!”

  Romeo let out a long breath. “I knew he had it bad for a woman. I knew she was redheaded and I knew she was a slayer. But he locked down the rest from me, and the men he’d tasked with following you were told it was because Jay wanted to keep tabs on the slayers, just in case there was an issue. And while he kept secrets from you about the pack and who he is, he kept just as many secrets from us about you. I think he was worried how we’d take the news.”