Caz shook his head and jerked open the driver’s side door to pop the car’s hood. Nessa fiddled with it as he walked back toward her. When they lifted the hood, it barely rose higher than him. He had to hunch to see beneath it.
“Let’s start by checking the oil.”
Nessa stamped her foot. “I had it changed last week. The oil isn’t an issue.”
“Even if you had it changed, this car is old. There could be a leak the garage didn’t tell you about. It happens when corporate oil change companies get lazy.”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head, unconvinced. Still, he reached for the dipper just to check. He needed to cover all his bases. He owed her that much at least.
As his hands worked, his mind did, too. Only, his mind rolled in a different direction. He remembered the emptiness Hillary’s spell had left inside him. For hours, Caz had been hollow. The sight of Nessa triggered something, but it hadn’t been enough. Not until she’d kissed him had the spell broken. It’d been like the end of a fairytale, yet this one wasn’t over. There was still a witch to be defeated and hearts to be won.
No, there would be no hearts to be won. Nessa was the queen of hearts. She was the matchmaker, not him. The best Caz could hope for was her safety. If that meant staying far away from her heart, then so be it. The thought crushed him once more.
As pain stabbed through his chest, he plucked out the dipper. He let out a bark of a laugh.
“What? What is it?” Nessa asked, impatiently.
“Was it making some awful knocking sounds? Kicking back at you?”
Her brows knitted together. It was an awfully cute look for someone so upset, her brows being fluffy and thick over her piercing green eyes flecked with yellow. “Actually, yeah. It did all that. I barely got it into the lot here before it died altogether.”
“I’m sorry to inform you, but your car had absolutely no oil in it.”
The sound she let out was shrill before she spun away from him, pacing once more.
“Hey,” he called out. “This is an easy fix. We’ll just put more oil into it and send you on your way. Keep an eye on it. Call me again if it acts up.”
He left her pacing in the parking lot. Inside, he retrieved several quarts of oil. Jacob was going to be angry at him for doing free work, but she deserved this. Nessa had broken Hillary’s spell over him, whether she’d meant to or not. He told himself she’d only done it to get her car fixed. He didn’t blame her.
Once he refilled the car with fresh oil, he would send her on her way. It would be for the best. Alone, he could deal with Hillary. He could make some phone calls and see about getting some magical protection. There had to be ways to guard against witchcraft.
“How much do I owe you for this? I can’t afford to pay much, but I want to pay something.”
Caz shook his head. “Bring it back in a couple of weeks. Have one of the guys look it over and see if they can find the leak. I won’t charge you now, but I’m sure they’ll charge you to fix the leak.”
“What can I do then? Can I…” She bit her lower lip. Caz thought he was going to lose control at the sight of the small gesture, at the indecision in her eyes. “Can I take you to dinner? It’s the least I owe you.”
The bear pulled him toward her. He wanted it, more than he’d wanted anything in life. More than he wanted to be Alpha. Her lips were two pieces of ripe fruit begging to be nibbled. He wanted to taste her, over and over again.
No. It had to end here.
“I can’t. And don’t bother calling me after this. I won’t be able to answer.”
He turned his back on her. The bear railed against him, pounding against Caz’s barriers. It took everything he had to let the hood snap shut and walk away. He wanted nothing more than to pluck her from the ground and slam home inside her. Home was in her, and nowhere else.
The bear knew it, the same way the bear recognized her through Hillary’s spell. There was a chance Nessa was his mate. He would never know because he’d gone and screwed up his life this bad. Hillary would never rest, not until one of them was dead. He had a feeling she wanted more than just Caz. Her goals were lofty and far reaching.
She would take him, in the end, but he would make sure that it was only him.
Behind him, Nessa made a small sound. It was somewhere between pain and grief. It almost turned him around. The sound gripped him and tugged, but he held fast. This was for her. It was for the woman he wanted to love and for the Pack he wanted to protect.
Inside, he would pull Jacob aside and hand over the title of Alpha. There were other shifters who knew how to do the books. He would call his lawyer and sign over the business to the Pack as a whole. Caz would remove himself from everything he’d ever known, giving the witch nothing other than his soul.
Perhaps not even that. Hillary could claim nothing more than his body, because if Nessa was his true mate, then she held his soul from the moment they kissed.
“So, all of this is nothing?” Her voice was strained, and it hurt him to have to hear it.
Caz wanted to give her the best life she could possibly have, but he knew that life didn’t involve him. She needed to leave and move on. It was for the best.
“Everything we’ve gone through together, everything we’ve done means nothing? You don’t want to fight for this?”
The beast disagreed with him the only way it knew how. It thrashed and roared, trying to tear Caz open so that it had a voice. Nothing would separate the bear from its mate, not even a witch. But, Caz couldn’t be so careless. He had too many people to worry about.
“Get. Out.” He gritted the words out from behind his clenched teeth. The bear wanted to shape the words into something else. It wanted him to turn toward Nessa and reveal the grief in his eyes.
She would stay, would fight for him tooth and nail, if she thought he wanted her. He had to make her believe this was nothing. They’d made love, but he needed to make it sound like loveless sex. The idea pained him. What else could he do?
“If this was your plan all along, you should have walked away days ago!” There were tears in her voice now. “You should have left me on my office floor when I called you. Maybe then, this wouldn’t hurt so damn bad.”
He listened to her storm away, relief flooding his system. Then, he heard her turn back. His heart clenched, and he flinched.
“You know what? I think this is what you deserve. If you were a better person, maybe then you wouldn’t have to sell your soul to a damn witch.”
She didn’t mean it. He knew those words were nothing more than anger and spite given voice. Still, it hurt. It echoed the voice in his own head that reminded him this was his penance every day. It was only made worse by the knowledge that Nessa was his mate. She was his and he was hers, but he couldn’t have her.
Someone else owned him. The witch held his family and his mate hostage with her magic. He wouldn’t risk them. Not for anything.
Chapter Twelve
Nessa wanted to go home and cry. It was the first time since high school that she’d wanted to cry over a boy. That was what Caz was, a foolish boy. He’d used her and spit her out, and now all she wanted to do was crawl back into bed.
Of course, there was more work to be done. Nessa should have gone downstairs to her office and looked at some of the profiles still waiting for matches, but she didn’t have the energy to find love for someone else. Not when she knew she’d been so close to it herself.
Admitting that she liked Caz had been difficult. Sure, he made her feel awake for the first time ever. She’d thought that was only a sexual reaction. Her body needed physical attention, and Caz had been a great outlet. Instead, her heart had attached itself to him and she was left picking up the pieces once he denied her.
And there was no one to let her talk it over. Lia was busy with her new baby. Monica and Nikolai were probably humping or pranking one another still. Oscar and Regina had their hands full with the teenager they’d adopted. Nessa never felt
so alone in her life. For someone without a pack, she’d had a network of support. Now that they were all busy with their loves, she felt so alone.
Nessa couldn’t avoid it any longer. She buried herself in bed. She pulled a pillow over her head and tried to smother her aching heart. The cat inside her didn’t stretch or yawn. It didn’t try to drag her into blissful sleep. Instead, it kept pulling Caz back to the forefront of her mind.
She growled with frustration and threw the pillow across the room. It landed soundlessly, dissatisfying. Caz didn’t want her. Not like she wanted him. How many times would she have to tell the beast inside her that it couldn’t have what it wanted?
The beast wasn’t appeased. It reminded her of Hillary. Of the deal that had been struck in the back garden. Caz offered himself to her but asked for three days. Hillary, apparently, had not been happy with the three-day trade and sought to take him immediately.
The fool is trying to protect you. Her beast didn’t bother mincing words.
Nessa sighed. What could she do against a witch? Was it even worth it? Caz seemed like a nice man, someone she could grow to love, but she didn’t know if he was mate material. There was no way of knowing if their relationship could grow into anything more than the lust it already was. Not while Hillary stood between them, and Nessa was no longer sure she wanted to take on the witch.
Nessa should walk away. Time could heal all wounds. She would go back to work, helping others find their fated mates, and never again try to look for love. It wasn’t worth this kind of pain. Her clients had it good. She thrust them together, and the bond snapped into place with little trouble.
The front door opened, and Nessa’s heart lurched. She kicked at the blankets, wanting to be on her feet when the witch showed up. Instead, a familiar face appeared in the bedroom doorway, followed by three more faces. Lia looked tired, but happy. Her face was drawn, but settled into a look of content as she smiled at her adopted sister. Behind her trailed Monica, smeared with paint, Regina, and Zara.
The teen leapt atop Nessa’s bed, letting it bounce beneath her. Lia climbed up to sit beside her sister. She nestled into Nessa’s side the way they used to when they lived together, before life became difficult. Regina joined Zara, and Monica grabbed the chair from the nearby vanity.
“How did your date with sexy mechanic Alpha go?”
Nessa’s brows furrowed. “What did you just say?”
She looked from face to face, finding lips pressed to squelch laughter and eyes that glittered with untold secrets. Nessa’s confusion twisted into annoyance when she turned back to her sister. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“Didn’t what? Leave Mattie with Miles? Of course, I did.”
“You know what I’m talking about. Don’t beat around the bush.”
Lia held fast with a secret smile, but Regina and Monica burst into uncontrollable laughter. Regina fell back, clutching her stomach. Monica wiped away the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.
“You’re all horrible! Your little prank could have ruined my car!” Nessa pushed away from her sister. They still laughed, the sound slowly fading. “I’m being serious. That was dangerous.”
Monica waved a hand. “It was fine. I’ve driven cars into the ground without oil. I knew you wouldn’t go too far because you’re too cautious.”
“I’m cautious? Am I really too cautious?” The word struck Nessa. She didn’t like the way it fit her and wanted to cast it off before it stuck.
“Why else haven’t you dated for years? I don’t think I’ve seen you go on more than a first date since you were a teenager, Ness.” Lia was right, but Nessa wasn’t going to tell her that.
Cautious. If Nessa was too cautious, did that mean she’d given up on Caz too easily? She didn’t know how to tell her sister and friends the truth about the situation. Nessa liked Caz, but the witch in his life made things nigh impossible. There was no way she would live long enough to find out if Caz was her mate with that woman around. Already, Nessa understood the breadth of Hillary’s power.
It wasn’t cautious to avoid her. If Caz wanted to sacrifice himself to the witch, he could do so. Who was she to stop him? Only his possible mate?
Her mind spun in circles, over and over, like a dog chasing its tail. She was a cat. She wasn’t this foolish. Their time together was over and that was that. Nessa could not try to force something that wouldn’t work. She wouldn’t approach her death, either.
She let herself fall back into the pillows. “Caz isn’t the one, if that’s what you guys wanted to know. Won’t work.”
Zara snorted. “Like hell he isn’t. I can smell him all over your bed.”
Regina looked at her charge with narrowed eyes. “How do you know what Caz Frost smells like?”
“I mean, I don’t. But the bed smells like man and Nessa doesn’t seem like the type to date more than one guy at a time. I assumed it was Caz.”
“Even if Zara is weirdly accurate with her sniffer, she’s right. The bed does smell like a man. You brought Caz home?” Regina grinned, waiting for all the juicy details.
“We just kissed. It shouldn’t have even happened.” The lie fell from her lips all too easily.
“I think we’ve all told ourselves that once upon a time.” Monica picked her nails, scraping paint from them. When she looked up, her eyes were earnest. She looked from one mated shifter to the next as if to ask for confirmation. “It was just a kiss, it won’t happen again. Whoops, the whole dick is in.”
Nessa’s jaw dropped, but her friends nodded one by one.
“That’s kind of what it’s like with your mate. Before you know it, you can’t stop. Once you find the right man, you need him like you need air.”
Nessa groaned. “I can’t. It’s too…”
“Don’t say complicated,” Lia grumbled.
“No. It’s too dangerous.” Nessa told her friends about the night before and how Hillary had used her magic to frighten the unshakable cat inside her. Lia’s eyes filled with tears. She’d seen Nessa’s cat stand up to bear shifters before, even though one hard shake could have killed her. The cat was not easily intimidated, but Nessa told them how she’d been a heap of uselessness on the floor.
Caz had wasted no time in coming to her side. She wished he was there now. That he could lay beside her and tell her everything would be alright. The damned beast inside her wanted to take the witch head on. It was dumb and brash. Nessa had wanted to kick the witch to the curb, too, until it felt like Caz had finally turned on her.
She’d broken the spell on him, brought him back to himself when it had been clear the spell was tormenting him, but it hadn’t been enough to make him want her to stay. He’d helped her fix the car and then turned his back on her. It made her want to scream and cry all at once.
“Damn, when they say crazy ex-girlfriend I don’t think anyone has this in mind.” Zara’s voice was touched with bitter humor. She crawled across the bed and pulled Nessa into her arms.
Nessa barely knew the black-fox shifter, but the young woman still sought to comfort her. It made Nessa realize that her friends weren’t as far removed as she’d thought. If she listened to her beast, if she took on the witch and lost, she shuddered to think of what would happen to them. Lia had a baby to think about. Sooner or later, Regina and Oscar would have one, too.
It made the decision even harder. Nessa wanted Caz. Her entire being screamed for him in the most frustrating way. While she wanted to focus on the way he’d turned his back on her and the sound of his voice as he detached himself from her, what she remembered was the night they spent in her bed. She remembered the date in the corner of the seafood restaurant where they fed each other.
Chapter Thirteen
Caz walked toward his death. Each step he took, no matter the direction, would take him closer to his downfall. He’d been walking toward it for years now. Ever since he fell for a pair of dark eyes and perky breasts. She must have been on the hunt that day. Hillary had been looking, no
t for a bed partner, but for a predator she could make her own.
When she set her sights on Caz, the Alpha of Monterey, she must have known he was a keeper. He was the beast she always wanted. Caz only wished he’d had the wits to walk away. Women had always been trouble, but none of them had ever lasted longer than a few nights. Never long enough to cause any lasting damage.
When he came across her again, her lips twisted into a frown. He wondered if she could tell what he’d done. Gone was the title of Alpha. Sure, the magic of it still clung to him. It was a part of him, who he was down to his very core, but he was no longer attached to the Monterey pack.
Jacob led them now. He hated the kid, but only because he’d reminded Caz of himself at that age. He was headstrong and a champion of his pack. Jacob would be good for them. Maybe not right away, but the rest would guide him to becoming the right man. Caz had faith in them.
“This isn’t what I ordered.”
Hillary’s joke was in bad taste but revealed what Caz thought to be true. She’d wanted the whole pack. The witch had visions of grandeur, a pack of shifters at her heel. It would have made her unstoppable. Instead, all she had was Caz.
“This is what you’re getting,” he shrugged. He was done playing her games. This ended here and now.
“Nope. This isn’t enough.” Hillary’s power swirled through the air between them. It kicked up dust and leaves. To anyone passing by, it would have looked like a devil’s wind. “I need more if I’m going to get what I want.”
“Then go harass another shifter. I have no doubt that you’ll take me, but I won’t give you anyone else.”
Hillary rolled her eyes. “You Alpha types and your propensity for self-sacrifice is annoying. I didn’t come to you to get just you. I’m sure you know that. Just because you cut yourself off from your Pack, doesn’t mean the ties are gone yet. You should have waited a few more days.”
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