by Lexi C. Foss
I was about to urge my wolf to go lie down when he began to prowl after Rowan, dislodging Malfoy, who took that as an insult and marched over to jump up next to Emerald. My wolf silently entered the dark room, easily spotting Rowan with his enhanced night vision. She was lying on her side, facing away from us, but from her small movements, I knew she was still awake. My wolf went right to her and put his paws up onto the bed. Rowan instantly reversed her position and smiled at my wolf as she ran her fingers over his head and back. A little bit of jealousy surged through me. I wanted her hands on me. But just as I’d done so many times to him over the last day, he pushed me back—a clear message to wait for my turn.
“Can’t sleep either?” she sighed. He used his snout to push her back on the bed and she chuckled. “I don’t think we’ll both fit,” she teased. Apparently, my wolf was determined to prove her wrong. He pushed again but licked her arm lightly to convey that it was not an aggressive move. The bed was queen-sized and undoubtedly too small for even just my wolf to be comfortable. For some reason, he was extremely determined.
Rowan shook her head with an amused smile and scooted to the far side. “Okay, but I’m not sleeping on the floor, so if we don’t fit, you are the one moving, not me.”
He couldn’t understand her words, but her tone was sweet and amused, so he gingerly made his way onto the bed. Somehow, he managed to find a comfortable spot and settled down. Amazingly, he’d left a space open for Rowan to snuggle into and she didn’t hesitate to crawl in and relax. My wolf was not only protecting her, but he was also offering her comfort, and a feeling of contentment settled over both of us.
21
Rowan
I sighed and snuggled deeper into my warm, soft bed, loathe to get up when I was so comfy and cozy. I hadn’t slept that well in longer than I could remember. When my bed shifted and something wet touched my cheek, I scrunched my face and opened my eyes. A pair of large, golden eyes was staring back at me and I let out a little shriek, scooting back and falling off the bed.
The night before came flooding back and I started to laugh. “Good morning to you too, Wolfgang.”
I admired his beautiful, chocolate brown fur and the few streaks on his face that were more of a golden color that almost matched his eyes. As I got to my feet, he carefully climbed off the bed, likely afraid it would collapse at any second. Considering his size, his worry was justified. Jax’s wolf—I decided to dub him Wolfgang rather than calling Jax that nickname—was easily twice my size. There was barely enough space in the room for the two of us and my bed.
I scooted between the end of my bed and the dresser—there was only about twelve inches of clearance—until I was in front of Wolfgang and staring up at him. “As much as I prefer you to your human half,”—Wolfgang snorted in what I was convinced was a laugh, even though I knew he couldn’t understand my words—“you should probably let Jax come back. He’s a behemoth too, but he still fits a little better in the apartment.” Wolfgang nudged me with his nose, and I gave him one last rub.
A whole lot of cracking and popping started happening and I cringed at the sound, knowing bones were breaking and muscles were tearing. I had no idea how shifters could stand the change. It looked really fucking painful.
I’d forgotten all about the bag of clothes Wolfgang had brought in with him last night, but I remembered really fast once there was a naked man standing in front of me. A very, very sexy and extremely aroused man. I shut my eyes and whirled around toward the bed, putting my hand out, blindingly searching. I hit something soft and snatched the pillow from the bed tossing it behind me.
Jax laughed hard, a booming sound that sent tingles of pleasure straight to my core. I gulped in some air and opened my eyes as I pivoted to face him again, my face the picture of calm serenity. Wisely, he was holding the pillow over his groin, but he was still wearing a shit-eating grin. My magic started humming “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” and I held back a scathing retort that would have made me look certifiable if you didn’t know who I was talking to. Even then people tended to assume I was one banana short of a bunch.
“Em, can you grab the bag of clothes by the door?” I shouted. As hard as I tried, I wasn’t able to stop my eyes from roaming over his body. His skin was smooth and tan, making the tattoos on his arms pop even more. Now that he wasn’t wearing a shirt, I could see how intricate they were, wrapping around his arms all the way up to his shoulders, which were roped with muscle. From what I could tell, there wasn’t an inch of the man that wasn't sculpted and hard. Including what was hiding beneath the pillow.
“Why?” I heard her ask from just behind him. “The view from back here is excellent.”
“Glad you think so,” Jax replied in a dry voice. He turned to the side and held his hand out. “But I think we’ll leave the ogling to Rowan.”
Emerald shrugged. “Fair enough.”
When he had his clothes in hand, he winked at me. “I’m going to shower and change. You’re welcome to join me.”
“Dream on, dog,” I drawled.
“Oh, I do, baby. Frequently.”
Once the door was shut, Emerald looked at me with her mouth open and her eyes comically wide while she fanned herself. “Who do I need to talk to about ordering myself one of those?”
The impulse to snap at her almost made it to my lips, but I mashed them together to keep from making an embarrassing display of possession over the ridiculously sexy wolf. It took a lot of effort considering my mind and body were already at war over whether we should take him up on his offer. Images of his hard, ripped body under a hot spray of water, droplets sliding down over his stomach to that lick-able V—“Ugh! Idi na khui!” I complained to myself, basically telling my hormones to fuck off.
“Wow, Ro-ro.” Emerald’s voice was full of merriment. “Are you jealous?” She was goading me, and I was fuming because it was working.
“Absolutely not.” I glared at her, irritated that she knew me well enough that she could tell I was drawn to Jax, no matter how hard I denied it. I’d also noticed that in the short time we’d been around each other, my attraction to him had been gaining strength.
I stomped into the kitchen and dropped some bread into the toaster. “Do you want some coffee?”
Emerald peered at me in a way that seemed like she was trying to solve a puzzle.
“What?”
“I’m trying to figure out if fighting your sexual attraction to the super hot beast has melted your brain.”
“Point taken.” I kept a coffee machine in my cupboard just for Vi and Emerald, whenever one of them decided to drop by. She’d already found it and plugged it in the night before, so I started a pot before adding water to my kettle and setting it on the stove.
“Do you really think you’re not his mate?” Emerald queried, her tone completely serious.
I scoffed. “It’s ridiculous.” Is it, though?
Emerald was silent while I finished making our drinks, but when I handed her a mug of sludge, it was clear she’d been waiting. “Did you see the mark on the left side of his torso?”
“It doesn’t mean I’m his mate,” I grumbled as I brought my tea to my mouth and gently blew on it. The fact that he had a birthmark that looked remarkably similar to the one on my hip didn’t mean anything.
Emerald gave me a look that said I wasn’t fooling anyone but dropped the subject. As she drank her coffee, Malfoy hopped up on the small island that separated the kitchen area from the living room.
“Good morning, sweetie,” I cooed, running my hand along his back. He arched into my hand and purred. “I need to figure something out for Malfoy if I’m going to be chasing Dorian all over the fucking universe.”
“Do you know where he is now?”
“I’ve been trying to stay in tune with your amulet to sense it and I can’t find the slightest trace. I think he’s back in our home realm.”
“Sounds like it’s a good thing you’re mated to a shifter who also happens to be from your home,
” Jax stated as he walked out of the bathroom in a billowing cloud of steam. I took a sip of my tea to avoid drooling. Why did he have to be so damn gorgeous?
“Why don’t you let me help with your little extermination problem?” he suggested with a lopsided smile that made my body go warm and butterflies take flight in my stomach.
He was wearing jeans but held his shirt in his hands and words flew out of my mouth before I could catch them. “Put your shirt on,” I snapped angrily.
Instead of being surprised or irritated at my outburst, the stupid man grinned and slowly did as he was told. “Possessive is a sexy color on you, baby.”
“I appreciate the offer, Jax,” I said, changing the subject because I in no way wanted to discuss my growing feelings for him. “But this guy was a warlock before he was turned. It’s a whole different ballgame when the hunted and the hunter are both witches.”
My magic perked up, as if it knew what was coming and it was waiting for just the right moment to open a celebratory bottle of champagne. I gritted my teeth against saying something snarky to it and continued with my rationale to my—the shifter. “I’m going to have to use magic”—it was like New Year’s fucking Eve in my head as my magic blew noisemakers and popped corks, throwing confetti and basically making a huge fucking mess in my brain—“to take Dorian down.”
I put my hand on my head where it was rapidly starting to ache and grumbled sharply, “Think you could turn it down a notch before I get a noise complaint from my landlord?”
“She’s not crazy,” Emerald insisted, her voice full of restrained laughter. “She just talks to things that aren’t there.”
“I do not,” I groused. “My magic is a very real pain in the ass—ouch! Fuck!” It had literally shot a blast of magic to one of my butt cheeks. “Aaargh!” I shouted as I stomped into the bedroom to grab some clothes before locking myself in the bathroom. This day was not going well, and it was barely ten in the morning.
After a long, hot shower, which included me lecturing my magic to behave, I dressed in my usual—black clothes that were easy to move in with many places to conceal weapons. I pulled my hair back into a sleek ponytail. With my emotional and literal armor in place, I confidently strolled back into the living room. Emerald and Jax were seated on opposite sides of the couch but appeared to be deep in conversation. It was like he felt my presence because Jax’s head immediately turned and when his gaze landed on me, he gave me another gorgeous smile that had every nerve in my body electrified. His eyes practically ate me up, darkening throughout his perusal. By the time he’d done a thorough once-over, I felt like I’d been caressed from head to toe.
He held out his hand and my feet carried me right over to him like they had a mind of their own. Except they didn’t and pretending they did was just another step farther into a life of denial. I’d never done well living there. I might not be sure about this whole mate thing, but denying my growing attraction was getting tedious. Maybe we should just fuck and get it out of our systems?
I didn’t take his hand, but it didn’t matter because when I stopped next to him, he grabbed my hand and toppled me into his lap. He cupped my chin in his palm and turned my head to capture my lips in a toe-curling kiss. It wasn’t hard or rough, like I expected it to be, it was languorous and exploratory. His mouth was learning mine and his tongue practicing a soft dance. His other hand moved to my lower back, keeping me in place, but not forcing it. He didn’t attempt to touch me in any other way, communicating to me that there was more to this kiss than passion. For the first time since my parents were alive, I felt…cherished.
“Ahem.” Emerald cleared her throat and having forgotten we weren’t alone, I tried to jerk back.
Jax didn’t seem to even notice and his firm hold on me didn’t let me go anywhere. He drew back and nipped my bottom lip, then ran his tongue over it before finally releasing my chin.
“Good morning, baby,” he practically purred.
Want flared to life like a match striking stone and beads of sweat appeared on my temples and trickled down my back. Jax’s slow, wicked smile suggested that he knew how I was reacting to him and that’s when I remembered—damn his shifter sniffer!
“I think I need a cigarette,” Emerald murmured.
I sat up, my back rigid, and debated what to do next, until Jax pulled out my elastic and combed his fingers through my hair. I had no choice but to melt into a relaxed position on his lap. Malfoy jumped into my lap and sniffed, irritated I hadn’t paid him any attention since I entered the room, then curled up and promptly fell asleep.
“Anyway, Jax and I were talking through some options and I had an idea.”
“Oh?” I asked softly, unable to move. I wanted to pay attention, but Jax was surrounding me with comfort, making me feel like I was floating on a cloud. I didn’t feel the need to pace, to tap, to be alert and watchful, because I felt safe and cared for. A little voice in my head was screaming for me to move away, to put my guard up, to protect myself. It was one thing to offer him my body so we could both get some relief from this gnawing hunger; it was quite another to let him inside the walls I’d built around my heart. I didn’t know how to be that open. It would require putting my life entirely in someone else’s hands and that thought was terrifying. The only people I could trust were Vi and Emerald, and it was foolish to forget it.
In the blink of an eye, I was up and across the room, pacing and pretending nothing had happened and giving Emerald one hundred percent of my attention. “You had an idea?”
Emerald leaned back on the couch and crossed one fishnet-clad leg over the other. She was wearing ripped jean shorts over them with a black, long-sleeved T-shirt and black biker boots that laced up to her knees. She was studying me with an indecipherable expression.
“Well?” I demanded.
“Since Dorian in most likely in the other realm and Jax needs to get home anyway, it seemed like a good idea if we all went. If Dorian is from this reality, he’s going to be a lot more lost there than we will.”
Before choosing my response, I glanced at Jax, then back at Emerald and jerked my head in his direction. “You told him?”
“Just that it’s where we are originally from.”
“Is there more I should know?” Jax’s causal tone was at odds with the narrow-eyed stare he was pointing at me.
“No,” I stated firmly. Looking back at Emerald. “It’s been a fucking century since we were back there, Em. We don’t have a single clue what’s become of our world. It’s bad enough to know that they could find me there, but I’d never survive if they got to you and Vi.” I stopped speaking for a minute, refusing to let the terror rule me. “We don’t even know what’s happened to her since that snake showed up.”
I grasped my amulet and it warmed my suddenly cold hand. “The only thing that keeps me from losing my damn mind over it is that I would know if she were dead. It’s one of the enchantments I put on your amulets. If you’re gone, it will lose its magic and I would know.”
“Ro, I get where you’re coming from, but this is the best solution at the moment. Think about what Jude said to Vi. For all we know, they’ve all figured out the ability to travel with the amulets.”
“They have, but I’m fairly certain they don’t know about being able to cross realms,” Jax interjected, speaking for the first time since I ran away like I was on fire—not a completely false description—and refused to look at him because I knew I was acting like a sulky teenager, but I’d never been faced with something like him.
For over a century, I took every obstacle head on. I knew I could handle whatever came my way because I had trained and prepared for it. Even the relationships I’d had were predictable and easily dealt with, at least by my standards. I never walked away with a broken heart and that was all that mattered to me. Maybe that made me a selfish bitch, but I’d never given them a reason to think otherwise.
Jax was a whole other breed—and I wasn’t referring to his wolf. Something insid
e me told me that he was dangerous. He had the ability to break me and I would never, ever allow anyone to do that to me again. It was the one and only thing that even Vi and Emerald didn’t know about.
“Look, we’re wasting time debating this,” Jax said as he pushed to his feet.
I finally peeked at him and the disappointment in his eyes rubbed my nerves raw. Still, he smiled at me, as if I were the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in the world. How did he do that?
“I know I can help with this whole thing, but we need to at least start by going back home.”
I almost corrected him, reminding him that it was his home and not ours anymore. But he narrowed his eyes and they pierced me in warning, which made me want to punch him and shrink away at the same time. One side of his mouth creased as a glimmer of amusement shone in his blue eyes, as if he knew I was weighing those options. “We can check in with Nathan and see if he’s learned anything, and I need to touch base with my pack.”
He got me with the comment about Nathan and the triumphant smirk on his tempting lips said he knew it. I gave him a perfunctory nod and marched into my bedroom to toss some clothes and more weapons into a bag. Emerald was still mostly packed, but she came into my room to gather up the few items she’d left there.
“You’re not going to let him in, are you?” she whispered as quietly as she could so she wouldn’t be overheard by freaky shifter hearing.
She wasn’t stupid, and I wasn’t going to pretend otherwise. “Even if it’s true that I’m his mate, we have a choice. It’s not like the ‘fated mate’ situation. He can let me go and choose someone else, someone who will make him happy.”
“What makes you so sure you wouldn’t make him happy?”
I threw her a pointed look. “You can’t be truly happy with someone unless you have trust.”
Emerald looked like she wanted to argue, except she knew as well as I did that trusting the wrong someone was what had turned our whole world upside down. Violet knew that better than anyone and we’d both seen what it did to her. How it ripped her to shreds that took decades to piece back together and she’d never become quite whole again. It was a soul-wrenching pain that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Well, maybe the devil that deceived her.