by Wood, Vivian
“There’s nothing else. I’m guessing from your questions you’ve felt the connection with your wolf. Once you’re comfortable with that, you’ll be able to change with ease. When adolescents first change, we tell them to visualize the change. Does that make sense?”
Tessa nodded thoughtfully, trying to appear discouraged.
“It does. But what if I’m not comfortable with my wolf? I won’t be able to change?”
“Not successfully, and believe me when I tell you that you do not want to feel a botched change. It’s really unpleasant,” Kat said, a tiny flush lighting her cheeks. Obviously she spoke change. It’s really unpleasant,” Kat said, a tiny flush lighting her cheeks. Obviously she spoke
from experience, Tessa thought.
“I guess that makes sense. I’m just trying not to worry about all that too much right now,”
Tessa replied, ready to change topics. She picked up her purse from its spot on the floor and
fished out the legal pad she’d been using to make notes before her adventure in the French
Quarter.
“What are you up to?” Kat asked, craning to read off the paper.
“I made a list of pros and cons to figure out whether or not I should try to date Jace or just go
ahead and murder him,” Tessa said with a sigh.
“I think you should just ignore him and not care what he does. He’ll come back on bended
knee, don’t you worry.”
“That’s the thing. I do worry. I can’t help it. Making this list made me realize that I wanted
his pros to outweigh his cons, and when they did I was relieved,” Tessa said wryly. “I’m going to need to hear this list,” Kat said, crossing her arms.
“It’s sort of personal. Not to mention long,” Tessa said, wrinkling her nose. “Give me the top five of each category, then. Come on, I’m on Team Tessa,” Kat teased,
elbowing Tessa in the ribs.
“Fine. But absolutely no laughing,” Tessa accused. Kat raised her right hand and tried to
look grave.
“I solemnly swear,” she said, managing to keep a straight face.
Tessa rolled her eyes and picked up the list, pursing her lips as she reread her notes. “Cons first. Number one, he’s dementedly stubborn and doesn’t take no for an answer,” she
read.
“God, that’s true. Every man in this pack is like that,” Kat agreed.
“Number two, he has a giant bitch for a sister.”
“I can’t disagree, although I like to think I’m worse than Maddie.”
“You’re not,” Tessa said, rolling her eyes.
“That hurts,” Kat quipped, putting her hand over her heart dramatically.
“Moving on. Number three, he has anger issues and he’s crazy overprotective.” Kat nodded, finding no fault.
“Number four, he keeps seducing me. He’s got this sort of come-hither desperation – I swear
one second I’m glancing at his face, the next second…” Tessa trailed off, blushing. “Your panties hit the floor?” Kat suggested helpfully.
“Kat!” Tessa protested, covering her face with her hands.
“Really, Tessa. I have eyes just like you do. I’ve seen your man when he gets all fired up. It’s
really something worth witnessing,” Kat said with a wistful note.
“We are so not talking about this,” Tessa insisted.
“Prude. What’s number five, then?”
“He won’t make up his damned mind. He doesn’t want me, but he doesn’t want me to be
with anyone else. He wants me, but he hates that I’m a human. Blah blah blah blah. It’s wearing
me out,” Tessa sighed.
“It’s unfair,” Kat agreed, reaching over to give Tessa’s shoulder a comforting pat. Tessa
smiled at her, glad to have made such a wonderful friend despite the circumstances. “I guess if he’d picked one or the other, you and I wouldn’t have gotten to be friends,” Tessa
said.
“Sounds like something to go on the ‘pros’ side of your list,” Kat said teasingly. “Well. Number three is that he has great people… the whole pack is so close that it’s like a
huge family. I’ve really never had anyone other than Camilla.”
“What are the other four?”
“You’re going to laugh.”
“Probably, but you should tell me anyway,” Kat said.
“Well, for one, I kind of like that he’s an alpha male. I’ve never been with anyone like that
and it feels surprisingly good. Like I’m special and cherished,” Tessa admitted. “Nothing wrong with that. I’m pretty sure it’s encoded in our DNA somewhere – Shifter
females must love macho men.”
“And I kind of love that he has a crazy sister. After dealing with Maddie, I’ll seem like a
dream come true,” Tessa said slyly.
“Absolutely true.”
“Let’s see… oh, he’s intelligent and very well-read. To look at him you’d assume that he
would be sort of…” Tessa trailed off, trying to find the right words.
“A mimbo?” Kat offered.
“What on earth is a mimbo?” Tessa asked, confused.
“A male bimbo,” Kat said, as if it were obvious.
Tessa couldn’t suppress a giggle at the term.
“Okay, okay. Yes. Jace looks like he should be a model, not a computer whiz who loves
Hemingway. In his case, you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
“Even if it’s a really sexy cover,” Kat chimed in.
“Which brings us back to the topic I don’t want to discuss. Let’s just say that he is very
attractive and he knows how to use that to his advantage,” Tessa said.
“In a sexy way, I assume,” Kat speculated.
“Let’s leave it at that. The last one, of course, is that he has great people surrounding him.
And those people happen to be Shifters, just like me. It feels sort of predestined.” “That’s because it is. Mates are made for each other. Neither of you would ever be truly
happy with anyone else after you complete the mating ritual. The bond is just too strong. It’s
such a huge decision, a lot of Shifters struggle with it. There are good parts, like how Shifter
mates can communicate mind-to-mind in wolf form, but it comes at a high price.” “I guess I can see why that’s scary. A married couple can get divorced, but a mated couple is
stuck together. The idea could be pretty suffocating if you’re not sure about your choice of
mate,” Tessa acknowledged.
“The mating process is a little different for males, too. They get this obsessive need to
protect their females, and that’s not even to mention the jealousy aspect of it all. Then you pile
on all these emotions and stuff… as you can imagine, they don’t really take it all that well,” Kat
said, bemused.
“I’ve never even thought of it that way. Do you think Jace is being a smother-y ass because
he’s freaking out a little bit?” Tessa asked slowly.
“Probably more than a little bit, but you get the idea.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t realize that. Thank god you’re here, because apparently I know
absolutely nothing about men.”
“Glad to be of service. That said, I have to be off. I just came to check on you. You should
get dressed and come meet us for lunch at the Mess Hall,” Kat suggested.
“That actually sounds great. I’m starving,” Tessa said gratefully.
“Well, yeah,” Kat said, as if it were obvious, “You’re a Shifter now. We burn like twice as
many calories as humans do.”
Tessa rolled her eyes at Kat’s back as the other woman got up and let herself out the front
door. The first order of business would be a shower,
and then lunch. After that she’d try to track
down Jace and talk to him.
When she reached the building that housed Jace’s office, she found that the main door was
locked tight. She’d looked all over the Den for him, and this was the last place on her list. A
short list, admittedly. Frowning, Tessa made her way around the side of the building in hopes of
finding another way in. She found an identical set of doors but they too were locked. Tessa
groaned and raised her fist to pound on the door in hopes that Jace might hear her from his
office.
“I wouldn’t do that, Tessa,” came a deep voice from behind her.
Whirling, Tessa found herself face to face with a very pissed-off looking Jasper McDonough.
Make that a pissed off Jasper McDonough who happened to be holding a sleek black gun.
Tessa’s eyes widened in terror and her breath caught in her throat.
“You’re coming with me. Silently,” Jasper said, motioning toward a well-worn footpath into
the woods. He moved aside just enough to let her pass by, but they nearly touched. Tessa
shivered as a spike of fear shot up and down her spine.
Tessa stumbled as they hit the tree line, and Jasper nudged her in the back with the gun. Fear
was coursing through her veins, but now she was feeling the beginnings of anger crackling
inside her mind. Who did this guy think he was, going around kidnapping people? Jesus, it was
like Tessa had a giant sign on her back that said “VICTIM” in day-glo letters. She’d escaped Jasper twice, and she was determined to do it again. Maybe the third time was
the charm. Taking a deep breath, she spoke.
“What exactly are you hoping to accomplish here?” she ground out.
A pause before Jasper answered.
“I have a right to challenge Copeland for you,” Jasper growled.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Tessa sneered.
“I formally requested a challenge from your Alpha, but he hasn’t responded. I assume he’s
been putting me off so that he can keep the new Ascendant in his pack. Mate you to Copeland,
or even himself. It’s against our laws to ignore a formal challenge,” Jasper said. “But it’s not against your laws to abduct someone?” Tessa asked angrily.
“Not if they’re unmated, it’s not. More walking, less talking,” he commanded. They trudged along in silence for what seemed like ages. Tessa scrambled for a way out that
didn’t involve her trying to outrun McDonough. Somehow she didn’t think that she’d get very
far. She couldn’t lie and tell him that she was mated, either. He might just go ahead and kill her
before she had a chance to get away.
Suddenly the trees thinned out to form a large clearing with a small clapboard house similar
to Jace’s. Tessa stopped at looked back at Jasper, unsure how to proceed.
“Inside,” he demanded.
Swallowing, Tessa stepped up onto the porch and opened the door. She shuffled nervously
inside, mainly moving forward to keep her distance from Jasper, who followed right behind. The cabin wasn’t much more than a bed, a couple of chairs, and a fireplace. It had a small
wood burning stove, but no table. It seemed as though it had lain dormant for ages, though there
were signs here and there that someone had visited on occasion. The place certainly didn’t look were signs here and there that someone had visited on occasion. The place certainly didn’t look
lived in.
“Sit,” Jasper ordered.
Tessa shot him an angry glare as she brushed off the seat of one of the aging wicker chairs,
and then sat down. Jasper drew his own chair up close to hers, and Tessa shrank back. Jasper hesitated, and then sighed. He pulled his chair back a little before sitting down.
Tessa’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Still, she wrapped her arms around herself and dropped her
gaze to the floor. She shivered, and was surprised again when Jasper got up and grabbed a musty
blanket off the bed. He tossed it to her before sitting down again.
“Why are you trying to be nice to me?” she asked as she pulled the blanket over her body. “I’m going to be your mate,” he said, as if amazed that she didn’t already know. “In what universe does courtship involve abduction and rape?” she snapped, aghast at his
assumptions.
“No one’s raping anyone unless it’s you to me, and in that case you can’t rape the willing.” Jasper sat back, folding his arms with a cocky grin.
“You’re crazy. You pointed a gun at me and made me come to some creepy cabin in the
middle of nowhere. What exactly am I supposed to think is going to happen?” “Not that. I brought you here as bait.”
“Bait? For what?”
“I intend to challenge Copeland again. That bastard won’t get you without a fair fight,”
Jasper said grimly.
“A fair fight? How is he even supposed to know where we are?”
“I figure he’ll know to come to where we used to live together. It’s all very logical,” Jasper
explained, sounding a bit exasperated.
Tessa opened her mouth to speak, but a distant howl filled the air. It was mournful, and
somehow familiar. The hairs on her neck and arms raised in warning.
“See? That’s probably him figuring out you’ve gone. It won’t be long now.” “You said you lived here together. Are you… brothers?” Tessa asked, unable to contain her
curiosity.
Jasper laughed, seeming genuinely amused.
“He hasn’t told you anything, has he? No, we’re not brothers. But we were from the same
pack before it was destroyed. Initially I was brought here. I lived with Jace and Maddie and a
foster family, but it didn’t work out,” Jasper said.
“What do you mean, didn’t work out?” Tessa asked.
“The Mobile pack felt slighted because none of the survivors were placed there. They made
a fuss, and the only way to placate them was to place a kid with them. Jace and Maddie couldn’t
be separated, and women don’t fare well in the Mobile pack, so…” Jasper spread his hands in
explanation.
“So they sent you away,” Tessa said, frowning.
“I volunteered,” he corrected.
“And then raised you to be… like them,” she said softly.
Jasper’s head snapped up.
“I don’t know what Copeland’s been telling you, but it’s not what you think,” Jasper said. “He told me that you have a history of abducting and abusing women. That was all I needed
to hear,” Tessa said, huddling under the blanket.
“His information is a little inaccurate. My foster father was the alpha of our pack, and he “His information is a little inaccurate. My foster father was the alpha of our pack, and he
believed in the old ways. Shifter females were once so rare that they were shared openly amongst the packs, and the offspring raised communally. My father just took that to an extreme,” Jasper said.
“Like kidnapping?” Tessa offered sarcastically.
“He didn’t really see it like that. He felt that going out and finding Ascendant females was the only way to keep his pack going. As he got older, he started to lose his grounding, mentally. That’s when it started to get bad.”
“You’re speaking in the past tense. Is he-?” Tessa trailed off.
“Dead, yes. He finally lost control completely and nearly killed one of the females. I had to intervene,” Jasper said stiffly.
“I didn’t mean-“ Tessa started, actually feeling guilty.
Jasper stood up abruptly, heading for the door.
“I’m going out to wait for Copleand. Don’t bother trying to run,
” he said over his shoulder. The door slammed behind him, leaving Tessa alone once again.
Biting her lip, Tessa traced his footsteps to the door. Hesitating, she tried to decide whether to wait or to run. If she waited…
Shaking her head, Tessa sighed. Who was she kidding? It wasn’t in her to wait for anyone, much less some incredibly misguided stranger to come back and… it didn’t bear thinking about.
Suddenly her wolf stirred, giving Tessa an idea. Kat had said Ascedants could shift when they were comfortable with their wolf… maybe it was time to find out exactly what her wolf could do. She could at least run faster, and she thought Kat had mentioned something about Shifters mates being able to call out to one another. If she and Jace were close enough to being mated, perhaps she could reach out to him.
Slipping out the cabin door, Tessa couldn’t suppress a grin despite the circumstances. It was definitely time for a Shifter test drive.
“I guess it can’t hurt to try,” Tessa said aloud, as if that would make her first Shift easier. Closing her eyes, she turned her thoughts inward to seek her wolf. Immediately the wolf was there, wrapping herself around Tessa comfortingly. Tessa could almost feel warm fur against her skin, feel herself stretching to bury herself in the wolf’s welcome presence.
Tessa showed her wolf what she felt, showed her that she needed to find Jace. The wolf understood her need, and gave a short howl. Then she was quiet for a beat before releasing another howl, longer this time. This time Tessa could hear the faintest response, far off in the distance. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on listening as her wolf howled again.
Another response, and chills ran down Tessa’s spine. It was definitely Jace, and he sounded distressed. She could feel him in the distance, like a lighthouse beacon. He wanted her to stay put, until he found her. She should hide until he was closer.
Then Tessa’s wolf whined at her. She wanted something from Tessa, sending Tessa an image of Tessa hugging the wolf tightly. As Tessa watched, she and the wolf stretched out together and melded together.
Tessa imagined the same scene. In it, she flung her arms around the wolf as she had in the image. Then she was caught up in a languid stretch, feeling as if she’d woken from the most pleasant nap. It was incredible.
Opening her eyes, Tessa wobbled as she found herself on all fours on the damp forest floor. She tried walking, but only managed to land her butt on the ground with a thump.