E.V.I.E.: 13 Slayers, 13 Missions

by Lexi C. Foss

  “Stubborn sobaka,” I groused.

  Camden scoffed and I tossed a dirty look at him. “I don’t think you have room to talk when it comes to being stubborn, Rowan.”

  I lifted Malfoy up and stared at his cute little face. “I have a feeling you’re the only sane male in my life, lapushychka.” Cooing at him, I gave him tiny little kisses all over his face and I would swear on my life that he smiled at me.

  “You like me too, huh?” I giggled when he licked my nose. Cats didn’t give licks the way dogs did. For felines, it was one of the ultimate shows of affection. It was a memory from what their mother did, essentially trying to groom you. My heart melted for him each time he did it. I smiled at Malfoy. “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

  Emerald snorted at my ridiculous cliche and I chuckled.

  Jax groaned and I glanced over to see him watching me with resignation written all over his face. “I’m not going to talk you out of this, am I?”

  Finally, I let Emerald have a turn and passed Malfoy to her waiting arms so I could deal with the clusterfuck my life had become.

  20

  Jax

  The cat glared at me and I sent him one right back. My wolf just huffed in annoyance, though neither of us were happy that he’d been leaving his mark on Rowan. The only reason he was still breathing was that I knew he was just a cat and not a shifter. Still, there were far too many males around my mate, particularly as the mating instinct was growing. The longer I waited to claim her, the harder it would become to hold my wolf back. Eventually, I would be more animal than man and staying away would be nearly impossible. Even more so because I didn’t want to.

  My wolf was mildly irritated about the cat, but he was mad as hell that there was another man standing so near to our mate. He was pacing back and forth, snapping and snarling, while his fur brushed just beneath the surface in a plea to be let out. That wasn’t going to happen. I was pretty sure Rowan would be upset if I let my wolf rip her friend to shreds.

  “It’s too crowded in here,” Rowan said. “And you two”—she glanced meaningfully at me, then at the male slayer, Camden—“are making things more complicated than I need right now.”

  Camden looked properly contrite, though it was a ruse. I was going to call him on it, but my mate was very perceptive.

  “Peddle your charms elsewhere, Cam, they have no effect here.”

  His face fell and he stole a peek at Emerald, who smiled casually as she continued to pet the feline. I didn’t know how she was resisting him, but it was extremely amusing to watch him try to figure it out. I’d known what he was the minute I heard his voice and was startled that Rowan didn’t seem to have figured it out. I’d been prepared to tear him limb from limb if he so much as breathed his natural seduction in Rowan’s direction. Mercifully for him, Rowan hadn’t been the least bit taken in or aroused in his presence. Until she looked at me, I thought proudly. Her scent had become saturated with desire.

  “Let me help,” Camden appealed as he ripped his eyes away from Emerald.

  It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him to disappear on his own before I made it happen, but again, my mate beat me to it. Though she was much more diplomatic about it than I would have been.

  “I appreciate the offer, Cam. I really do. But there isn’t anything you can do. Dorian is my problem and I’m the only one who can take him down.” She sighed and propped her hands on the flare of her hips. “Meanwhile, I’ve got this one to hide”—she lifted her chin in Emerald’s direction, who was paying her no attention as she was too engrossed in playing with…what kind of a name was Malfoy anyway?—“from the asshole who’s hunting her and”—she jerked her chin toward me—“deal with this one claiming I’m his mate—“

  “Which you are,” I pointed out dryly, earning myself a cute glare.

  “All while running around in different universes, tracking the vamp we’ve discovered used to be a warlock that is to blame for all of this bullshit!”

  Rowan’s voice had risen bit by bit until she’d ended up shouting the last few words as she threw her hands in the air and stomped back to the window, where she resumed pacing.

  I was coming to realize that this was a habit of hers. She liked to be moving and I suspected it was because she was so full of energy all the time. Inevitably, though, what goes up must come down and I could only imagine what happened when she finally exhausted herself and crashed. I had a feeling Rowan wasn’t used to leaning on anyone and that there was no one to catch her when she fell. She’d obviously learned to face it alone, but she didn’t have to anymore; I just needed to convince her of that, which meant I needed time with her. Time to make her face the truth that we were mated, to drive her so fucking wild with need that she would want me with the same ferocity I felt for her, and time for her to learn to depend on me. Being true mates was like two pieces of a puzzle that fit together—they were each exactly what the other needed. That wasn’t always beneficial to the relationship of the mates, but in our case, I was already starting to see how we complemented each other. I had to find a way to make her see it too.

  “Why don’t you leave Emerald’s protection to me?” Camden piped up.

  It would appear that Emerald had not been completely oblivious to our conversation because her head popped up at Cam’s suggestion and she leveled him with a look so dark I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him shrivel up and disappear. “I don’t need anyone to protect me,” she seethed.

  As much as I loathed the man, I had to give him the slightest amount of credit for not backing up at the force of her indignation. When he took a step forward, I decided he had a death wish.

  “If a vampire is hunting you, you will need the protection of a slayer, my glykós.”

  Emerald rolled her eyes as she set Malfoy on the ground. He scampered toward Rowan and Emerald straightened, then cocked a hip out and placed her hand on it while looking at Cam with a patronizing smile. “First of all, I’m not your sweet, Aristophanes.”

  Considering what Camden was, his use of the Ancient Greek endearment wasn’t surprising to me, but I was taken aback that Emerald had understood it.

  Rowan must have seen my curiosity because she answered my unspoken question. “We’re over a hundred years old, Jax.”

  She watched me carefully when she divulged this news, likely expecting me to be shocked or horrified. Her brows quirked questioningly when I had no discernible response. It wasn’t like long lives and immortally were new to me and her comments in the portal made sense now.

  “We’re pretty well-read and speak a lot of languages,” she finished with a huff as she continued moving from one side of the room to the other. She stopped her pacing when Malfoy tried to weave his way through her legs, begging for attention. I empathized with him for a moment, but when Rowan bent down and scooped him up, it morphed into jealousy. I mentally sighed, truly annoyed that I was jealous of a fucking cat. My wolf wasn’t happy about the little feline usurping what he felt was his territory and he growled in my ear to make it known, as if I couldn’t feel his every urge and emotion.

  Emerald ignored us and continued berating Camden. “Second, I don’t need anyone protecting me. I can take care of myself.”

  Rowan’s chin dipped sharply, as if putting a little exclamation mark at the end of Emerald’s declaration. “The only reason I want Em to go into hiding is because Dorian doesn’t know what she looks like and I want to keep it that way.”

  As entertaining as all of this was, it was getting late and I could see the exhaustion beginning to show around her eyes and mouth. And I was tired of this man’s presence around my mate. I unfolded myself from the couch and stood to my full height, which was at least half a foot taller than Camden. I was a little disappointed to see that he wasn’t the least intimidated.

  “If Emerald needs protecting”—I held up my hand for silence when Rowan and Emerald began to argue—“I said if she needs protecting, my pack will handle it. She is
important to my mate; therefore, she is under our protection.”

  Camden looked as though he was going to object, but he closed his mouth when he set his sights on Emerald again. The line of his mouth tightened a fraction, and something flashed in his eyes, something cold and dark. Then he smiled brightly, hiding any hint of what I might have seen lurking under his shiny veneer. “Call me if you change your mind, Ro. I assume our sparring sessions are on hold for a while.”

  “Forever,” I bit out. He didn’t exist in the realm where Rowan would be spending her future. I grunted when my knee went weak from a well-placed kick in the back. Damn, she was feisty. My wolf liked her fire too.

  “If you find yourself in need,” Camden continued—speaking to Emerald this time—“I’ll be more than happy to service you, my glykós.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks,” Emerald whipped back with her own bright smile. Then she shoved on his shoulders to turn him toward the door and saw him out, slamming the door behind him. She flipped around and leaned against the door, breathing heavily. “What the fuck, Ro? You could warn a girl. I had to fight not to rip his damn clothes off.”

  Rowan snickered. “Sorry, it wasn’t like I knew he was coming by. He does tend to inspire that reaction from people. I suspect there’s more to it, but we don’t talk about our pasts with each other.”

  “He’s a siren,” I informed them.

  Two sets of curious eyes swung in my direction. Rowan seemed to catch on first.

  “Yolki-palki,” she mumbled, slapping a hand on her forehead. “How did I miss that?”

  “Male sirens are almost unheard of,” I answered, despite her question being rhetorical. “I might not have noticed if I hadn’t been so attuned due to another man being so close to my mate.”

  “Oh, thank heaven and hell,” Emerald sighed, looking utterly relieved. “That explains why I was practically panting after him.”

  “Um…Em?” Rowan’s voice was hesitant and by the grimace on her face, she was dreading her next words. “The ward I designed and spelled prevents you from compulsion and things like the call of a siren?”

  Emerald looked beyond horrified and glanced at the door like she thought Camden would suddenly appear. “No.”

  “Well, not completely, I mean, even I feel his draw sometimes. It’s probably why we burned so hot during our fling fifteen years ago. But it fizzled out to nothing but a flutter here and there, so I figured it was just his magnetic charm. It did seem a little odd sometimes, but I didn’t really care enough to dig. Our friendship works well for us because we can be close without getting personal. Anyway, you can chalk up some of your reaction to the lure of a siren, but…you are definitely attracted to him.”

  I paid very little attention to anything that happened after Rowan mentioned a “fling” with Camden Dupont. My only concern at that moment was controlling my urge to hunt the motherfucker down and tear out his throat for touching what was mine. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t even known about her—beyond the theoretical idea of my true mate—yet. My wolf liked the idea of the hunt and was feeding off my energy, making it even more difficult to ignore the impulse. It wasn’t that I expected Rowan to be a virgin; I certainly wasn’t so that would make me a complete jackass and a hypocrite. But right now, while I was ravaged with the need to claim my mate, putting a face to one of the men who came before me was very, very dangerous. Just thinking about someone else touching her, even platonically, was causing me to slip and give my wolf more control.

  Emerald and Rowan were deep in conversation, but I didn’t hear a word of it anymore. I stared hard at my mate, trying to remain calm despite the fact she remained unmarked. Anyone who looked at her wouldn’t know she belonged to someone. No one would know she was MINE.

  At some point, I realized that Rowan was talking to me. She approached slowly, more than likely sensing how much I was on edge. When I tore my gaze from her neck and looked into her lavender eyes, I didn’t have the strength to hide the depth of my hunger for her. She paused, looking unsure, but there was also a glimmer of interest—possibly because she’d never been wanted with such force and it intrigued her. She went to take another step and I growled, my wolf so close that the sound came from him as much as me.

  “Don’t,” I rasped, practically shaking from the effort to stay away. “Go.”

  Rowan’s eyes grew wide as she started to understand what was happening to me. She looked as if she might ignore me, so I let her see the ferocity of my wolf in my eyes, wanting her to understand how close I was to shifting into a feral wolf.

  “Rowan,” Emerald called, suddenly appearing at her side. She watched me warily and tugged on my mate’s arm to pull her away. Another low growl vibrated from my chest, my wolf unhappy that this woman was taking our mate away from us. “Let’s go to bed. We’ll deal with everything in the morning.”

  With great effort, I closed my eyes and wrestled with my wolf as I hummed in agreement. I kept them shut until I heard the soft snick of the bedroom door closing and the click of the lock. It wasn’t like the door would stop me, but it represented her wish for me to stay away. Knowing I was too keyed up to sleep and that if I stayed any longer, I would destroy that fucking barrier keeping me from my mate, I stalked to the front door and nearly ripped it off its hinges when I opened it. I had enough clarity of mind to shout, “Lock up, baby,” before shutting it and racing down the four flights of steps.

  I burst out into the chilly night and drew in a deep breath. Fuck. The siren’s scent still lingered, and I knew if I followed it, I would catch up to him. My wolf was craving the fight, desperate to release some of his pent-up rage. I took one step in that direction, then used every single shred of my body that I still controlled and flipped around. Then I took off running.

  I knew I wouldn’t last long, unable to leave my mate without my protection. So, I headed to Central Park, to an area that wasn’t well lit, which kept most people from wandering through it at night. I slowed to a quick walking pace when I neared a thick copse of trees. I did one sweep of the area, before trodding into the thicket and removing my clothes. I put them in my small sack and stashed them in an easy spot for my wolf to retrieve. Finally, I gave him full control. The tension practically melted away from both of us when the shift was complete. I didn’t have to fight anymore, and my wolf was free. I relaxed while he ran and played, the anger and frustration almost forgotten. He knew enough to stay out of sight, but there was plenty of room for him to stretch his legs and work out his built-up energy.

  A few hours later, he trotted back to my clothing but hesitated before nudging it with his nose. He wanted to meet our mate. I knew he was calm enough to handle it now and I couldn’t blame him for his desire to know the woman who hid the other half of his soul. As soon as he felt my agreement, he snatched up my clothes and headed back to Rowan’s apartment, carefully sticking to the shadows.

  We had to wait for just over half an hour for someone to open the front door. We’d been hiding behind the dumpster on the cement slab to the right of the entrance, so when the tenant released the door, my wolf leapt up and managed to get his paw in and stop it from closing. With his ears alert, we made our way up the stairs without incident. At the top, I considered shifting so I could pick the lock, but my wolf practically whined in protest. He wasn’t convinced I wouldn’t change my mind once I was back in my human form. I backed off and felt his gratitude as he lifted one giant paw and scratched at the door.

  It was at that moment I realized, we hadn’t needed to trudge our way through Rowan’s spells. My spirits lifted because the only explanation was that Rowan had specifically given me access to her apartment. I took that as a sign that I was getting to her.

  My wolf scratched again and when we heard the soft patter of footsteps, he dropped to the ground in a submissive pose, well aware that his size might scare her. Especially considering how tiny our mate was. The door unlatched and it creaked open to reveal a set of beautiful lavender eyes and matching hair t
hat was somewhat wild, hanging all around her. She had on a t-shirt and loose pajama pants, her face was scrubbed of all makeup, and though she still looked exhausted, she was fucking gorgeous. She looked confused for a second, then my wolf gently nudged one of her pink-tipped bare feet that had symbols tattooed on them. A gasp escaped her lips when she spied him, but then her eyes darted to the sack of clothes he’d dropped beside him. Her brows rose in surprise, but she immediately smiled and dropped to her knees. “Jax?” she questioned as she dipped her small hand into my wolf’s thick fur. He understood the sound of my name and licked her arm to confirm her guess, then he closed his eyes and basked in the feel of her hands on him. Lucky son of a bitch.

  She cupped his head and stared into his eyes. My wolf retreated far enough for her to see the blue of my eyes and she smiled in recognition. “You’re beautiful,” she breathed as she dug both hands into his fur, making him melt into her body. He forgot to be gentle and nearly knocked her over when he flopped onto her lap. Rowan laughed and I felt his happiness at hearing it. He licked her face and she chuckled again before urging him to scoot off of her legs. Then she stood and scratched him behind the ears before motioning for us to follow. Malfoy jumped down from the couch where I saw Emerald sleeping. He strolled up to my wolf and sniffed haughtily.

  This was going to be interesting. I had the feeling we were about to experience a battle for who was top dog—so to speak. Alas, my wolf really didn’t give a shit, mainly because he could squash Malfoy like a bug. Then the cat shocked us both when he sidled up to us and purred, rubbing his face into my wolf’s fur. Son of a bitch. I didn’t see that coming. Rowan laughed softly and gave us each a pat and a kiss on the nose. “Good night, Wolfgang,” she whispered before padding back to her bedroom. Malfoy watched us curiously, and when my wolf continued to stand there, unsure of his next move, the cat circled his front paws before lying across one of them. This cat clearly had daddy issues.