by T. S. Joyce
There they were—those eyes that had visited her dreams.
One was dark brown and one was frost blue.
At seeing her, he stopped and canted his head, and there was a moment when she couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe, couldn’t take a step back. Couldn’t run, couldn’t hide.
And then, with a simple wave at her, he broke the spell.
Wave back, her inner wolf growled.
Marissa lifted two fingers, and he smiled. It was a small one. Just the lift of the corner of one side of his lips, but it was more than he used to do.
Levi was damaged, but over the last two years, he’d grown into a man.
Marissa forced herself away from the window and pressed her back against the wall beside it, waiting for her heart to stop galloping.
Sable.
Marissa startled hard. That voice. That awful, evil voice. She hadn’t heard it in months.
Sssssssssssable. The hiss conjured a mass of fear that filled her entire chest. Horrified, she looked down at her inner elbow where the two puncture wound scars remained red and angry. She healed fast, but these were old and still looked fresh. She’d been bitten by a vampire five years ago, almost to the day, and ever since that day, she and her wolf hadn’t been alone in her head. Not completely.
Remember. The voice faded away on the last syllable.
“Remember what?” she asked aloud in a trembling voice. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
“What?” Morgan asked, peeking her head into Marissa’s open doorway.
Marissa yelped and jumped hard. “Geez, Morgan! You scared me! Why do you sneak up on people like that?”
Morgan arched a black eyebrow while her purple eyes lightened slightly. “I called your name twice and stomped down the hallway.” She shoved her foot into the room. “In high heels.”
Marissa frowned so hard it started a headache. “Oh. Right.” She cleared her throat. “What do you need?”
To everyone in the werewolf world, Morgan was royalty. She was the first Silver Wolf, the rebirth of a clan that had gone extinct centuries ago. Being the only female werewolf who could bear children made her a little important to the supernatural universe. But to Marissa, Morgan was, for all intents and purposes, her big sister. She’d taken her under her wing when Grey had claimed Morgan as his mate and brought Marissa into his pack. Marissa loved her dearly but, lord, Morgan startled her at least three times a week.
Because you’re always in your own head, her wolf quipped. Daydreamer. You need to pay more attention to your surroundings. You’re going to get us killed.
Morgan pointed her finger at Marissa’s suitcase. “I’ve come to help you pack.”
“I don’t need help packing.”
Morgan walked straight to the suitcase and pulled out Marissa’s favorite baggy pajama pants. When had they gotten a hole in the waistband? “Yeah, you do need help packing. You’re having a night out with Levi—”
“Oh, my God,” Marissa whisper-screamed. “You, too? You and Grey need to leave it alone. Levi has his own life, and we’re just friends. Or were. I haven’t even talked to him in two years. It’s just a job,” Marissa assured her, snatching her beloved pajamas out of Morgan’s grasp. “Be careful with these.”
“You bought them from a gas station, and that’s what you’re planning on wearing tonight? Really?”
“They’re comfortable, and I’m not on the hunt for dick, Morgan.”
“I like them,” Levi said.
Marissa jumped again, and like a child, stomped her foot. “Why does everyone insist on sneaking up on me today?”
“Uuuuh,” Morgan drawled out, “I have to go make some macaroni and cheese.” And then she walked right past Levi and abandoned her!
Levi leaned against the open doorframe and tapped a blue folder against his thigh. “It’s good to see you again too, Marissa.” His smile was absolutely baiting, and a little wicked. He’d meant to scare her.
He definitely heard you say you weren’t hunting for dick, hahaha.
Marissa pursed her lips and lifted her chin primly. “You should probably pack. We don’t want to be late to meet…” What was the alpha’s name again? “To meet…” God, why was she blanking right now? She couldn’t even remember where the pack was from.
“Cassian from New Orleans?” he offered, lifting the folder. “Grey briefed me. Maybe I should be doing the meeting and you should be the bodyguard tonight, huh, Mouse?”
He remembered her nickname. He remembered her.
Remember. The vampire’s voice whispered through her head. Marissa shook her head hard. Everyone and everything that was happening were clouding her head.
“You okay?” Levi asked.
“Me?” Marissa nodded. “Oh, yeah, I’m great.” And then she sputtered out, “I’m not a mouse. Not anymore. No one calls me that nickname.”
Levi crossed his arms over his chest and studied her with those striking bi-colored eyes. “I believe you,” he said softly. “You seem different.” He pushed off the door and slapped the folder against it softly. “Grey said we need to dress up for tonight. Cassian wants to meet at the Butcher’s Club.”
“The Butcher’s Club? That place is three hundred dollars a plate.”
Levi grinned and held up a credit card. “Grey gave me the business card.”
Wear something slutty, her wolf said.
Marissa plastered a smile on her face and clenched her hands in front of her. “Faaantastic. I’ll just…finish packing. And get dressed. And put on make-up. And do something with this hair.” She fluffed up her curls.
“Leave it down,” he rumbled, tilting his head back to look down his nose at her. “It looks best when it’s down and wild.”
And then he walked away. Just…left her with those words echoing through her head. Her hair looked good wild? She turned and looked at herself in the full-length mirror in the corner. Levi liked it like this?
Okay. Okay! Settle down, self. It was just a simple observation from a very capable, powerful, strong, sexy man. Who she’d known for years! And who wasn’t interested. He’d just learned to be charming in his time away. That’s what male werewolves did. They needed lots and lots of sex to satisfy stupidly high sex drives so they had to learn to charm women. He probably didn’t even realize he was using his magic on her.
She was a strong, independent woman, and she didn’t need to fix her hair a certain way just for a man. Screw that. She was going to wear it whichever way looked best with the modest dress she was going to wear tonight.
Period.
Chapter Two
Mouse.
He chuckled at himself at the memory of how red her cheeks had turned. Marissa had always been an easy blusher. Teasing her was fun. He was going to make her blush all night. He hadn’t seen her in a while, and she was so easily frazzled. Twitchy almost. She was probably acting nervous because she hated doing these meetings. She always had.
She was gorgeous, sure, but she’d always been a stunner. The fact that she’d grown into a gorgeous woman didn’t surprise him at all.
He checked his watch and tossed his duffle bag into the back of his blacked-out Hummer. Grey had said to use the Escalade tonight, but Levi was more comfortable in his own rig. He wished he had time to wash it. Marissa deserved a clean ride.
He’d been back here one day, and Grey had already put him to work. Fine with him. His head was quieter if he stayed busy.
There was a bird in the oak tree to the east, the water on the property was higher, the sound of the creek was two percent louder, two squirrels were playing on the other side of the house… We should eat them. His wolf noticed everything. It was pretty Goddamn annoying during peacetime.
Levi roughed up his hair in the side mirror. He should’ve used more gel, but no one would be looking at him tonight. He was the sleeper member of this meeting, just there to be invisible. His job tonight was to offer Marissa backup if she got cornered.
You mean murder anyone w
ho even lifts their voice to her.
Fuck. This was why he’d left. This was the real reason—Marissa.
“Just be cool, okay? She’s fine. Her wolf feels steady, she’s safe, everything is good.”
You forgot to tell Grey we are a psycho, his wolf said smugly.
He really hated being a freak sometimes.
It’s the Omega’s fault we’re obsessing. She drags up protective instincts.
“Yeah?” Levi asked softly, leaning his back against the Hummer so he could watch the door to the house. “Well, her being an Omega is also the reason she gets called to do these meetings. And she’s good at them. She’s the lowest rank in the pack, her wolf’s choice, with a calm demeanor but an ability to speak her mind. She’ll keep everyone calm and all the attention on her while she talks them out of whatever dumb shit they’re trying to accomplish. So just let her have her space tonight, okay?” God he was glad no one was around to see him talking to himself.
She still smells good.
He would give his left nut for volume control on the wolf. He would turn it all the way down for life.
The front door creaked open. Here she was, time to go. He checked the woods once more and then reached for the handle of his Hummer to open the passenger side for her. But when Marissa stepped out onto the porch of the sprawling log cabin, his fingers froze to the handle like ice.
A black and silver sequined dress hugged her perfect curves. The V of the neck stretched down, exposing the inner curves of her tits. No bra.
No bra, wolf repeated in a drunk voice.
A long slit exposed her ankle…shin…knee…thigh. Was that a tattoo on her upper thigh?
Her makeup was flawless, and her eyes, the light gray of her wolf, were smokey with whatever eyeball glitter girls smeared on their faces. Strappy black high heels. Cheek bones. Collar bones. Wild hair pushed over one shoulder.
Suitcase, dumbass, his wolf murmured.
Oh. Right. Marissa was holding the handle of a suitcase.
Levi convinced his body to move and jogged toward her. He couldn’t help it. Couldn’t help testing her. She said she wasn’t a mouse anymore. He would find that out for himself. He climbed the stairs and leaned forward as he reached for the handle, his mouth inches from hers. She didn’t move. Huh. He’d expected her to flinch away like she always had when people got too close to her. But she didn’t. She held her ground and, for a split second, he considered it. He really considered kissing her.
Why was his head swimming like this? Why did he feel so unsteady? He never felt unsteady. He was Levi Wright, quiet, dependable Levi. He was a quiet fixer of pack problems, not an instigator.
Marissa’s chest rose and fell, and her eyes were locked on his.
So. Damn. Beautiful.
“Sable.”
“What?” he asked, taking the handle of her suitcase from her.
“I didn’t say anything,” she whispered.
“Yeah, you did. You said…” She looked so confused he couldn’t continue. Maybe he was going crazy. “Never mind.”
Sable.
A sharp pain ripped through his head. Just for an instant, the ache was blinding, and then it was gone. He shook his head hard.
“Are you okay?” Marissa asked.
But there was something about her. Something bigger. Something powerful. He smelled blood.
Instinctively, he crouched and searched the woods behind them. The house would be safe. Grey would’ve made sure of it, but something was off here. Something was wrong.
There’s nothing out there, wolf uttered. The power is coming from Marissa. From inside her.
“What the hell?” she asked in a trembling voice.
The fear in her voice dragged his attention back to her.
Her eyes were full of horror as she stared down at her arm. Two drops of blood trickled down her forearm from where that vampire had bitten her all those years ago. It looked like a fresh bite now.
He stood and gripped her elbow, turned the bite toward him, and studied it.
“I…I don’t understand,” she whispered.
He didn’t either, but he couldn’t stand the look of terror in her eyes. Couldn’t stand it one bit.
“It’s okay. Everything’s okay. Marissa?” He cupped her cheeks and dragged her attention up to him. “We will figure this out. The bite reopened, but it’s just a little blood. Look. See?” He didn’t know why he did it, but Levi pulled her arm to his mouth and cleaned the wound. Just…put his mouth over the puncture wounds and lapped his tongue across the blood until he knew it was gone.
And when he pulled back, the puncture wounds were sealed and scarred as if there had never been blood there at all.
For a second, he could taste the iron of her blood, but now there wasn’t any aftertaste. What in the hell was happening?
“It was there, right?” she asked softly. “I didn’t imagine it again?”
Again?
Levi laid a kiss on the scars and shook his head. “You didn’t imagine it, Mouse. Hey.” He brushed a finger under her eye. “You’re safe. Trust me.”
She had no idea how safe, but nothing—and he meant nothing in this world—could touch her as long as he was close.
You should tell her what you’ve done, wolf said.
Not now, though. Not when she was shaken from whatever had just happened. He straightened his spine and offered her his elbow, then forced a smile. “Everything is okay, I promise.”
The frown still lingered on her pretty face. He could just see her freckles faintly under her makeup. God, she’d grown into a beauty.
“Why did you do that?” she asked.
“Do what?”
“Lick the blood off?”
“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “It just felt right to clean it, I guess.”
“Don’t be sorry. You stopped whatever was happening. It was…” Her voice trailed off.
He had to know. “It was what?”
She swallowed hard and searched his eyes. God, the gray in hers was so pretty. “It was nice. It felt good.”
The wolf inside him gave a Cheshire cat grin, but Levi was sure to hold his face steady. He was good at a poker face now.
You should really tell her what you’ve done, Wolf said.
He would. Maybe. But not now. Instead, he made a joke to draw more of the tension out of her. “I’m pretty sure Grey would tie me to that tree and gut me if he knew you liked me licking you.”
Marissa snorted, and her shoulders relaxed. “You would be surprised. I think Grey would be just fine with it. Morgan, too.”
He didn’t understand what that meant. Grey was a monster. Levi had seen him kill enough werewolves to know never to mess with him or anyone he loved. “Why would they be okay with me touching you now? I thought they hated me…” For you.
Marissa made her way down the porch stairs unassisted, holding up her long dress with both hands. Over her shoulder, she said, “They never hated you, Levi. They were hard on you because they saw your potential. They did the same with me. It was tough love.”
Levi frowned after her for a few seconds as a hundred memories assailed him. How many times had Grey put Levi in his place or told him he was doing something wrong? How many times had he thought Morgan was disappointed in him? Yeah, it had been years ago when he lived in this territory, but he’d fought hard for their respect, and most days, he’d fallen short.
“Think about it, Levi,” Marissa said, turning in the yard. Her eyes held such honesty when she looked at him. “Why would Grey trust you to protect me tonight if he didn’t care about you?”
But…this was a job. It was just another task Grey had assigned to him. He had already given Levi a huge to-do list.
“You’re wrong,” Levi said, jogging down the stairs. He knew exactly what he was here. Knew his exact role.
He passed Marissa and held the passenger door open for her. And as she got in, he asked her, “Why do you think I’m here?”
Mariss
a settled into the seat and buckled her belt. “Because you’ve come back to Dean’s pack where you belong.”
“Then why am I not over at Dean’s house right now?”
Marissa frowned and shook her head, her pretty curls moving with the motion. “I don’t know.”
“I’m here for a job, Marissa. That’s all. I left for school with a specific purpose.”
“What purpose?”
He smiled. “To work for the Demon Wolf.”
He shut her door, strode around the front of his Hummer, and got behind the wheel.
“Okay, but you could’ve just trained under Grey here. He’s the best woodworker around. You could’ve learned from the best, apprenticed under him, and got this job without leaving for school.”
Okay, now he was really confused. “Marissa, what kind of school do you think I left for?”
“Woodworking,” she answered without hesitation.
Ha ha, his wolf laughed.
Levi shook his head and turned the key to his Hummer. It roared to life, and he slowly turned it around. “I didn’t go to school to learn how to work wood. I learned that from Grey already.”
“Okay, but you’re here to help, right? Me and Morgan are bogged down with shipping and sales. Grey is under pressure all the time to produce and keep up with orders. I’m in the shop half the time helping. Lana, too, and she’s only ten. We need help for the business, and you’re that help.”
“Marissa, I didn’t go to school for woodwork.”
“Then why did you leave?”
“For training.” God, he didn’t want to talk about this right now. He just wanted to have a good night. He didn’t like talking about himself. He was a quiet worker. A quiet one.
“Training for what?” Frustration tainted her voice, and he knew it was his fault. Always was. He’d always had a problem giving the right amount of information before closing down. Already, his fingers itched to turn up the radio and end this conversation.
“For what?” she asked again, softer.
He huffed a sigh and ghosted her a glance before he focused on the road again. “For combat. That’s the real reason Grey asked me to go with you tonight. He knows you’re safe with me. It’s not some sign of acceptance, Marissa. This is a job. No more, no less.”