by Chloe Adler
What the hell was I even thinking right now? I shouldn't have told the boys.
I stood up and started pacing in front of them. “I shouldn't have said anything. Forget it. Please.”
“Why did you tell us then?” Jared asked.
“My dad's wife told me that Tiyah and Elijah are werewolves and I thought maybe you guys could shift and spy on them to find out but that is not only a ridiculously stupid idea . . . it's rude and not the kind of person I want to be.”
The boys shifted in their seats.
“Spying is very uncool, yes,” Alec said. “Why don't you just ask them?”
I shook my thick mane. “So many reasons.” I counted them off on my finger. “I'd rather they trusted me enough to tell me. If the Council can vote them in first, I'd love to be the one to break it to them. If my stepmother weren't so vindictive and evil, I wouldn't know.”
“I get it.” Jared looked pained. “This can't be easy for you.”
“Nothing right now is easy.” Understatement of the year. But so what? Both of Jared's parents had been murdered and his sister was MIA. Sadie and Chrys's mother barely spoke to them. Alec was estranged from his father. Ryder had been an unwanted orphan. And the list went on. Everyone suffered. Tiyah and Elijah were a species of Signum that had been forced to live undercover as second-class citizens for their entire lives. Worse, they'd had to pretend to be humans. Not to minimize my strife, but really, in the scheme of things, I'd had it damn easy. I looked back at Jared and Alec, who were huddled together on the couch talking in low tones. They stood.
“We're going to our bedroom for a bit,” Jared winked at me.
Spying was wrong, no matter how much I wanted to do it. There was no way I could ask my best friend for help with this. I would have to suck a fang and wait it out. When they were ready to tell me, they would. What did it matter anyway? It didn't change my feelings for them. If anything, I wanted to protect them. From my father and evil stepmother's racism, from being hurt and misunderstood, from assholes here in the Edge, shit—from assholes worldwide.
A key in the door pulled me out of my thoughts. Chrys and Carter entered, carrying a large brown bag with the logo of my favorite Italian restaurant. The scents of garlic and pesto wafted through the entire living room, commanding my attention. Carter barely ever ate human food.
“How did you know?” I followed them into the kitchen with Rex at my heels.
“Jared texted, saying you needed something to cheer you up, and we were already there getting my dinner.” Chrys looked me over, then looked at Carter. “It's worse than we thought.”
Stupid lounge-ware. “Can't I be comfortable in my own house?”
“Your velvet robe isn't comfortable enough?”
I didn't respond.
She piled the containers of food on the counter. “And—” She dug in the bag and brought out my absolute favorite cake. Tres leches.
“Oh you did not,” I squealed and grabbed for it.
“She can't be that upset,” teased Carter, plopping down in one of the kitchen chairs.
“What happened anyway?” Chrys asked, spooning the pasta al pesto and eggplant parmesan onto plates for us.
“Lover drama. Family drama. Drama drama.” I sat down next to Chrys to help distribute the goodies.
She shook her head. “Stupid families. Who needs 'em?”
I spooned a giant helping of food into my mouth to avoid blurting, “I do!”
“If it were only that easy, right?” Carter laughed, then glanced at me. “Hey, slow down there, speedy. Don't you want to savor it?”
“I am,” I responded around a mouthful of bread.
We were finishing up dinner when Alec appeared in the kitchen doorway, hair disheveled and wearing a big grin.
“I know what you've been up to.” I winked at him. His grin broadened. “Hungry?”
“Definitely.” He joined us at the kitchen table.
“Jared?” I enquired.
“Sleeping. I wore him out.” Alec helped himself to a plate.
After he finished eating, Alec padded back to his room but he was only gone a few minutes before popping back into the kitchen, looking worried.
“Did any of you see Jared?” he asked.
We looked at one another and all shook our heads.
“What's wrong?”
“He's gone and the window's open.”
“Gone? Where would he go?” asked Chrys.
Alec's lips had thinned and he was shaking his head at me. Shit. Had he left to spy on my lovers? No way. What reason would he have to do that? Plus I'd told him how I felt about spying and he'd agreed. Hadn't he?
“What should we do?” I asked.
“I'm shifting and looking for him.”
“Please don't. You don't know where he is. Let me call Elijah and see if he's there.”
“And say what? My bestie may be spying on you without my consent to see if you're—.”
“Shhh,” I hissed.
Carter and Chrys exchanged looks.
“I'm going to track him,” Alec huffed. “Please don't try and stop me.”
I followed Alec into their bedroom, holding up my hands. “I won't try to stop you. I want to come with you.”
“No way, you'll just slow me down. Hold tight and I'll be back with Jared as soon as I find him.”
He disappeared into their walk-in closet, skittering out moments later in his spider-monkey form. Before I could do or say anything, he leapt out of their already-open window. I closed it behind him.
I changed out of the loungeware, waved goodbye to Chrys and Carter on their way to Chrys’s bedroom and grabbed Rex. Then I hurried to my car, intending to drive around our quaint town and take my mind off things. But ten minutes later, without thinking, I was parking in the houseboat lot. Had my pussy led me here, or my heart? I did not want to do a drop-by without asking and picked up my phone. But just as I was about to text my couple, there was a ping. Were they on the same wavelength as me?
Apparently not.
It was from a blocked number and read, Found your spy.
What the hell? A replay of the Jared and Alec abduction from last summer flashed through my mind.
Another text came in. It was a photo of Jared in his fox form, trapped in a tiny cage. I gnashed my fangs.
Instinct had led me to the docks after all.
Chapter Eighteen
Ryder's witchy family lived on a boat at the end of Gate Three. The Gates were part of the houseboat community, and while some of them had been renovated over the years, Gate Three stood in disrepair.
The others had been rebuilt above the water with thick railings. They boasted artwork and potted flowers along the pathways, but not this one. It was the last gate still floating haphazardly on the water's surface. There were no railings or handholds, and Gate Three had garnered more than a few tales about drunks falling off the sides late at night.
I walked carefully down the dock, which pitched and leaned as the ocean swelled. The wooden slats were splintered and uneven, but my lightning-quick reflexes stopped me from tumbling into the water.
Rex ran ahead of me, off leash. It was easier than navigating with him as well. By the time I reached Ryder's mom's house, I was having second thoughts. Should I have gone back home instead to burst in on Chrys and Carter's lovemaking, begging for her help? Totally disrespectful and a waste of precious minutes. No. I pounded on the door and Katharine appeared in her bathrobe, holding a cup of coffee. The woman and her daughter were of Native American descent. Their long, dark hair, skin the color of sand and high cheekbones rivaled the world's most renowned models.
“Burgundy,” she said. “What's wrong?”
“Can I come inside?”
“Of course. And you brought Rex.” She bent down and pet the pooch, then stepped aside for us to enter.
Katharine's house changed often, especially the interior, as she loved to cast decorating and redecorating spells. This time it was all art
deco and it looked fantastic. Originally I had thought that decorating spells and other surface-level manipulations were a type of glamour, but it turned out that some witches could physically shape items too. Katharine fell into the latter category, an enviable trait for anyone who loved to be surrounded by an ever-changing personal landscape.
Following her onto their houseboat, I explained the situation while she brought me a cup of coffee in a sci-fi-looking metal cup.
As we settled on the couch, another text came in. Your proof: ask a question only he would know the answer to. That would mean he'd shifted back. Katharine went to get her crystal ball. There was so much to pick from that only Jared would know, but most of it was confidential. There was a knock on the door and I leapt out of my seat.
“Can you get that, Burgundy?” Katharine called from the other end of the house.
“Sure.” I crossed to the threshold. “Who it is?” I asked.
“It's me,” Alec sounded distraught. I threw open the door.
“How'd you know where I was?”
He pointed to his nose. “And your car in the lot . . .” He was visibly shaking and I put my arm around him protectively.
“What happened?” I asked him.
“Jared's scent disappears on Elijah's boat.”
“Are you sure?” So they had him?
“I'm sure.” His entire body was convulsing.
Why on earth would my couple kidnap my best friend? There was absolutely no reason to.
Alec pulled away, holding up his hands. “What?”
I handed him my phone and he read the texts, his mouth unhinged, nostrils flaring.
“I will fucking kill them,” he growled in a low voice and then punched something in. I read over his shoulder. What were we searching for in China last summer? Spelled in Chinese pinyin.
Katharine returned moments later with her ball, candles and her athame. “Alec, welcome, I'm glad you're here. We'll find Jared.”
“Katharine,” he hugged her, “I hope so.”
The phone beeped again and Alec looked at it while I peered over his shoulder.
Zhūshā
“Someone fucking has him.” Alec handed the phone back to me. The sides of his jaw bulged from gnashing his teeth.
Katharine tapped her crystal ball when the next text came in. We will text you our demands. I slammed the phone down.
“I feel completely helpless,” Alec growled.
“Katherine's going to try and find him, okay?”
Alec nodded, but instead of sitting, he paced in front of the couch while Ryder's mom cast a circle around her crystal ball.
“Show us Jared.” She passed her hand over it but it remained blank.
We both looked at her quizzically.
“Strange,” she said. “It should work.” She removed a pendulum from a carved wooden box on her coffee table. “Is the crystal being blocked?”
The pendulum rotated in a wide circle, indicating the answer was yes.
“By another witch?” Nothing. She put the pendulum down, sighing. “It's impossible.” She rubbed her forehead. “I wish there was something else I could do.”
“As soon as I'm able to shift back, I will,” Alec barked, eyes narrowing.
“What can you do if you don't know where he is?” I asked.
He ran his fingers through his dark hair, mussing it. The poor man looked like he was going to explode. I desperately wanted to protect him. And Jared. They were my responsibility. This was all happening because of me. I sure was a shitty friend.
“Why isn't your ball working?” Alec asked.
“There are a few explanations I can think of. Either another shifter masked his scent or another witch cast a spell .” She tossed her long brown hair.
“Why the hell would anyone do that?” asked Alec.
“No idea,” she huffed. “Unfortunately, not all Signum use their powers with integrity.”
That was the understatement of the year.
Alec took a step toward the front door. “The longer we stay here talking, the more danger Jared is in. Do you remember what happened last time? With Landry and the trackers?”
How could I forget? Both Jared and Alec had been captured and tortured. It had been particularly bad for Jared, though, since his sister had been involved.
“I'm the one responsible for this mess. I need to find him and I may know where he is.” I white-knuckled Katharine's couch.
Alec dug his fingernails into his palm. “We go together.”
“Of course, but first I have to be sure.” There was no way I wanted Alec to know who I suspected, especially if it was true.
I dropped Alec off at home, making him promise to wait there while I checked out a lead. He was reticent to let me out of his sight, and normally I would have just insisted. It was my inherent Dominatrix. But this time I pleaded instead, which may be why he acquiesced.
“One hour,” he hissed at me as I left the house.
Sitting in my carport below the house, with Cherry's engine already running, I called my lovers.
“Jah,” answered Tiyah's sweet voice, pinging my heart. I'd never believe she could kidnap Jared, but Jonas? He was a wild card. How far would he go to protect his pack?
Be cool, be breezy. “Where you guys at?”
“The shop, getting ready for a dive. Wanna join us?”
“I'll be right there.”
Less than five minutes later, I walked into The Barnacle and straight into Tiyah's arms, placing a kiss on her warm cheek.
Jonas froze in the midst of stepping into a wet suit. “What the hell is she doing here?”
“And a cheerful hello to you,” I responded.
“Jonas, please, Burgundy is our friend.” Tiyah took one look at my face and steered me into the back office.
“With friends like that . . .” he grumbled in our wake.
“What's up?” she asked once we were alone.
“Someone's kidnapped Jared.” I searched for a tell. Jonas had looked grumpy, but not hostile. But he could have been faking it, and I didn't know him well enough to tell. But there was no way in hell Tiyah could hide anything from her Domme.
“What?” Her eyes widened. “Oh my god. Why?”
“I don't know. I don't know who has him or why they took him.”
“What can we do?”
I lowered my voice. “You don't think Jonas would do anything like that, do you?”
She barked out a laugh. “No way. Why would you even ask that?”
“Because he hates me.” And because Jared went to spy on you, I didn't add.
“That doesn't mean he'd do something dangerous and illegal. I'm offended you'd even think that.”
“I'm sorry.” I palmed my eyes, dropping into the office chair. I'd gotten Jared into this mess but how would I get him out? “I don't know what to think.”
Tiyah was at my side, crouching next to me, hugging me close. “Shhh, it'll be okay.” She pet my hair and kissed my cheek. I turned my head and our lips met. It wasn't a kiss of lust or desire. The touch of her mouth on mine was yielding, offering comfort, as her arms circled me.
“What the hell?”
Tiyah jumped away.
Jonas stood in the doorway, hands on his hips, eyes locked on Tiyah. “Shit, I knew something fishy was going on, but I didn't peg you as the cheater.” His eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring. “How dare you.”
Elijah rushed in, a wet suit over his shoulder. “What's going on?”
“Turns out your wife is a dyke.” His eyes flashed.
Oh for fuck's sake.
I held Tiyah in my arms, stroking her curls while we waited for Elijah in my car. He had stayed behind in the dive shop to try and calm down his brother.
“Well, I guess that cat's out of the bag.”
“Yeah,” her voice hiccupped.
“Do you think he'll be okay with it?”
She shook her head. “He's really old-fashioned. I don't know.”
“He wants the best for his brother and for you. No?” I twisted around to meet her gaze.
She nodded, then winced. “It's not that simple.”
“Nothing ever is.”
My phone vibrated and I dug it out of my purse.
Cut your father out of your life. Tell him you hate him and want nothing more to do with him and your friend will be released unharmed.
I rolled my eyes and showed the text to Tiyah, who shook her head. “What?”
“Well at least I know who has him now.” And this would be the last time I underestimated the depths to which they'd stoop.
The back passenger door opened and Elijah slid in behind his wife.
“Jonas will come around. Eventually.” He leaned between the seats. “So what's the plan?”
Instead of starting the car, I swiveled my body around. “I need your help. It looks like my evil stepmonster has Jared.”
“What can we do?” Elijah asked.
The uncomfortable moment of truth. I took a deep breath and held it while they both looked at me expectantly. “I know what you are,” I blurted.
The couple exchanged looks, and then Tiyah said, “What we are?”
Fuck, here goes. “I know you're both werewolves.”
After a stunned silence, Elijah growled, “How the hell did you find out?”
“Margery told me but I didn't believe her.” I winced. Better to get it all out in the open if I hoped for a future with them. “I confided in Jared and I’m guessing he thought he owed me something, which prompted him to spy on you.”
“Are you fucking kidding?” said Elijah. “You sent someone to spy on us?”
Tiyah’s eyes filled with tears.
I turned to look pleadingly to look at Elijah. “I didn’t send him but I do take personal responsibility. He obviously thought that’s what I wanted.”
He shook his head, his eyes flashing with anger.
“And when he was kidnapped, I thought Jonas had taken him,” I blurted in a rush to get it all out.
Tiyah let out a gasp and Elijah opened the passenger door, muttering “Un-fucking-believeable”.
“Wait.” I put my hand on her arm. “Please. I'm sorry. With everything that's happened, my head isn't in the right place.”