by Vivian Wood
That didn’t mean that she vexed him any less, though. Maddie tried him at every turn, pushing and pushing, never taking less than her expectations. Jasper rolled his eyes, considering how long it was going to take to tame her. Years, possibly.
Still. Once he had her under control she would make an excellent Alpha’s mate, complementing his strength and representing him well. He just had to figure out how to make her submit to his will without seduction, without unnecessary entanglements.
The crux of his plan lay in keeping a certain distance between them, both emotional and physical. They’d consummated their mating bond just once, unable to resist the potent hormones flying between them.
That afternoon, she’d given him more than he’d ever dared to fantasize about. Later he’d woken alone in her bed, finding her side ice cold. Where she’d slept that night, he had no idea. Jasper had searched her things when she’d returned, only satisfied when he found no other male’s scent on her clothes. Though he hadn’t said as much, his only rule for his new mate thus far was that he was the only male in her life now. She’d never have another lover, never so much as embrace another male. He couldn’t tolerate it, wouldn’t do so. The very thought of it made him see red.
Thus the current argument, he supposed. Perhaps another tack would be better in this case.
“We have to leave today,” Jasper said. “I got a call earlier saying I was needed in Alabama immediately. We’ll leave as soon as I can get my car brought around.”
All his good intentions were nearly swept away in the next moment, because Maddie laughed right in his face.
“I don’t see what’s funny,” Jasper said, his tone clipped.
“We are not going anywhere! I offered to be your mate because I thought you’d leave me the hell alone, not drag me all over the country to do your errands,” she said, giving him a hateful look.
“I’m sorry to disappoint. You’re my mate, Maddie. We sealed it with a bite. Now my responsibilities are yours too.”
“Please,” Maddie said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “One bite doesn’t change anything. I’m not some little girl tagging along after everything you do anymore. I thought I had made that clear.”
“Our past didn’t keep you from offering to be my mate,” Jasper said. He heard his tone and almost winced at the harshness. Gods, but the woman knew how to push his damned buttons.
“We both had our reasons. I needed freedom and an end to the pressure to find a mate. And you needed a pretty female to show your Alpha-ness or whatever,” Maddie said, a haughty glint in her eyes. “You know as well as I do that this is a fluke. So go to Alabama, and leave me in peace.”
“The only thing that’s making this a fluke is your complete unwillingness to—” Jasper cut himself off before he could say something he’d really regret.
“Do you really expect me to just lie down at your feet and await your instructions? If so, I have some really sad news for you. I’m not changing who I am just because I agreed to some sham mating bond. We’re a paper marriage, and I intend to keep it chaste,” she said, lifting a defiant brow.
Jasper coughed into his hand, covering his harsh laugh.
“Need I remind you that it’s already been consummated? And what an incredible consummation it was,” he smirked.
“That was a mistake. I was— I was trying to protect my brother and his mate,” she said. She licked her lips, dropping her eyes to cover her lie.
“Madeline Copeland, you have got to be out of your damned mind to say that to me. You offered yourself to me. You bit me back. Then, you halfway dragged me back to your house and proceeded to get naked while you straddled me. Don’t pretend it was anything else,” he said, his face darkening in rage.
“You had a gun pointed at Tessa. What was I supposed to do?” Maddie insisted, her face turning red.
“Uh huh. And what about when we got back to your house? I don’t recall there being a gun around when you begged to suck my cock.”
“Jesus, Jasper! You don’t have to— You know, I don’t want to talk about it. It was just hormones. As I said, it was a mistake. As in, not to be repeated,” she said. Turning, she began adjusting something on her bike.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Jasper asked, exasperated. He’d thought for a minute that this was some elaborate catch-me-if-you-can thing, but no. She was really planning to cut him off forever.
“As a heart attack,” she quipped, flashing him a false grin. She was ten kinds of odd today.
“What are we supposed to do then? Open relationship? Each of us just turns a blind eye? Is that what you really want? Cause I’ll tell you right now, any man stupid enough to touch you is going to find himself ass-deep in alligators, darlin.”
“This isn’t your pack. I’m not some simpering female that you can just order around. Just go back to Alabama, Jasper. If they’ll even still have you as Alpha,” she snapped.
Jasper sucked in a breath. That particular arrow hit too close to the heart. His place in the pack remained questionable, mostly due to his own hatred of being Alpha.
“So that’s it, then? There’s nothing between us, there never will be, and you won’t be sitting here keeping a tally of my screw-ups?” Jasper seethed.
Maddie didn’t say anything, just fiddled with her bike’s instrument panel. Just like a female. No, she didn’t want him, but that didn’t mean he was free, either.
“Fine. I have to leave, anyway,” Jasper hissed.
“Don’t overreact,” Maddie mumbled.
“Shit, woman. Not every damned thing is about you! I have to go back to Alabama and take care of some things in my pack. I’ve been chasing your ass around the Den instead of running my pack, and it’s been over a month. Too long for me to be gone.”
“Oh,” Maddie said, seeming to deflate a bit. He’d said the wrong thing again, somehow. What the hell did she want from him? She pushed him away at every turn. Surely she didn’t expect pretty words and promises that he could never hope to keep.
The worst part of it all was that he couldn’t stop himself from seeking her approval and desire for his company. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
“Unless there’s a reason for me to stay?” Jasper said, trying not to sound hopeful. Maddie’s expression softened for half a moment before she managed to blank it, shutting him out. Whatever the emotion she’d felt, she’d shut it down without hesitation.
If only Jasper could do the same in regard to her.
“No, there’s no reason,” Maddie said, then pulled her helmet onto her head. End of the conversation, it seemed. Jasper watched as she mounted her bike and sped off, leaving nothing but a huge dust cloud in her wake.
Cursing, Jasper turned and went back inside. He really did need to return home posthaste, and it would take less than an hour to shower and pack up the duffel bag of personal items he’d brought from home. Pulling out his phone, he made the only other preparation he needed.
“Hey, Cord. It’s Jasper. Can you go ahead and pull my car from the pack’s auto pool? Great. How soon can I get it?”
He waited with great impatience, tapping his foot as he listened to the other man’s calculations.
“Tonight at seven? Alright. I’ll meet you at the Grass. Yeah, thanks,” Jasper said, hanging up.
He needed his car sooner, really, but it seemed like Cord was busy. He was pretty sure he’d heard a female’s voice in the background, which meant Cord had company. Jasper wasn’t enough of an asshole to cock-block the friendly blond Shifter. The Louisiana pack seemed hard-put to take the surfer seriously, but Jasper suffered no such illusions. Behind the shaggy haircut and all-American good looks was an extremely powerful Shifter.
Jasper wasn’t about to get into it with the man over something so minor, especially when he was sort of dragging his feet on leaving anyway. Part of him kept thinking that if he stayed just a little longer, Maddie might change her mind. Of course, it was the same part of him th
at’d had his ass sleeping on the couch for the better part of a month now.
He had to let her go, at least for the time being. Once he got back home he might be able to come up with a plan to win her over, but sitting around her house gathering dust wasn’t working. He hoped that being back with the pack would clear his mind of all the clutter, especially if Maddie wasn’t so close. Perhaps if he wasn’t surrounded by her scent, living among her things… maybe then his mind would be clearer.
Shaking his head, Jasper turned and started packing.
5
Though he was an upper-echelon member of the Legion, and therefore at least in part responsible for their practices, Monsignor Samuel Sunderland couldn’t help the shiver that slid down his spine as he stood awaiting his trial. Yes, several demons had escaped from the Louisiana facility under his purview. Yes, his own nephew had defected, taking with him an important piece of collateral and intimate information about the facility’s grounds and security measures. Yes, the facility had been attacked several days later by the very group of werewolves that Samuel had targeted for acquisition. Yes, yes, yes.
Still, the summons to this room, to a trial, had taken him by surprise. He was one step away from being a Legion Elder, one step from unlimited, unquestioned power and latitude to reign over all the Legion’s forces. Trials were not often conducted for Monsignors. The Elders must truly be displeased to call attention to such a failure within their ranks.
Instead of pondering the likely outcome of his hearing, Samuel tried to pinpoint exactly what it was about this room that was so terrifying. He knelt at the far end of the cavernous meeting chamber, his allies and enemies seated in wooden pews to each side and the council at their high table directly across from him.
Perhaps it was the near-complete darkness. The Elders each had a small candelabra at hand, illuminating their notes and making discussion between them possible. Other than the high table, though, there was nothing to alleviate the darkness but a handful of wall sconces containing just a candle apiece.
It wasn’t just the dim lighting, of course. One did not get to be Monsignor Samuel Sunderland’s age and rank within the Legion by being afraid of the dark.
He winced as he adjusted his stance, his knees creaking as he tried to find a more comfortable spot. The whole room was bare stone, floor to ceiling. The stone was wet, the dampness soaking upward from his knees and increasing his discomfort.
Although Samuel couldn’t see any gaps in the rough cave wall, the chill draft that swirled through the room and made the candles flicker meant that this room led to others. The Legion had put their stronghold in a vast series of underground caves for several reasons, and the complex and confusing honeycomb layout was one of those.
From sleeping chambers to offices, meeting rooms to the massive dining hall, almost every room had multiple entrances and exits, some hidden from view. You could never be truly alone here, never be certain that your words weren’t overheard by others. Most Legion members carried a candle around, holding it aloft as they scanned the perimeter of each chamber. If the candle flickered, air flowed there, and the chances of being eavesdropped on were exponentially greater.
The worst thing about the air flow through out the place was the sound it made. The barest noise, almost inaudible, but always present. The air hissed and keened, sounding at times like the sea, and at other times like a faraway expression of immeasurable grief.
That sound, Samuel decided, was probably the reason that the Elder’s chamber was so frightening. That, and the severe punishments that were meted out to those who found themselves kneeling in his position.
Movement caught his eye, drawing him away from his inner monologue. Samuel kept his expression blank as he scanned the high table, trying to parse the expression of each Elder seated at the high table. He knew where most of them stood on the issue, with the exception of perhaps Steinn and Varagas.
The short, owlish Elder Varagas rose from his chair in a slow motion, glaring at the assembled crowd of brown-robed Monsignors and black-robed Elders. Samuel couldn’t discern whether the vote had gone against Varagas’s wishes, or whether this was Varagas’s normal hateful expression. Raising a sheet of paper before himself, the Elder cleared his throat before announcing the decision.
“It is agreed upon by the Council of Elders, by a margin of eight to five, that the addressee shall be given leniency in this matter. The addressee will have another sixty days in which to fulfill his specific mission, after which time the Council will reconvene to assess the addressee’s progress.”
Monsignor Samuel Sunderland let out a silent breath of relief. He put the emotion in check at once, schooling his expression to blankness. It wouldn’t do for anyone to realize how nervous he’d been about the repercussions of his recent setback with the demons. Normally addressees of this Council were seen to sweat, shake, or cry out at receiving their verdicts; Samuel didn’t know what his reaction would have been had the vote gone against him. Had the Council demanded his removal from office, or even possibly his death… well, it would have been a reaction worth remembering, at least.
Samuel gave eerie chamber one last look before rising and turning to join the line of Legion Monsignors and Elders filing out the single rough-hewn stone doorway. Everyone was anxious to leave this place, he thought. The room reeked of morbid fear. Still, everyone kept their expressions shuttered and their voices hushed until they were outside the chamber.
The moment he stepped out of the chamber, a young red-haired Novitiate fell into step next to Samuel. The boy was lucky that the Elders no longer associated redheads with evil, Samuel thought with a rueful smile. Less than thirty years ago the Novitiate would have been spurned by the Legion’s governing force.
The Elders’ resistance to change was one reason that Samuel needed to step up to the Council. In this age of technology, the Legion was falling further and further behind. Samuel was certain that this last mission, trapping a number of specimens for the Legion’s huge research facility, was the key to his ascendance to the Council. Well, that, and the death of a current Council member.
No issue there. Samuel had several plans in place to remove several of the older members, Elders more likely to resist the changes he planned.
“There is news, Monsignor,” the young man said. Samuel frowned, noting the boy’s stiff posture and somber tone. Not good news, then.
“You’ve found Novitiate James?” Samuel asked, banishing any hope from his voice. He mustn’t be impatient. His wayward nephew would be found soon enough, and then things could be set right with the Council. At the moment they were simply upset about the loss of the twin witches at the same time as Novitiate James. Until James, the witches, and some of the wolf demons were recovered, he’d just keep his head down.
“No, Monsignor,” the Novitiate said.
“I believe I said that i didn’t want to be bothered with any petty issues today,” Samuel commented, knowing well that his words amounted to a threat.
“This is— excuse me, Monsignor, but you’re going to need to come see it yourself. There is—” the Novitiate faltered.
They came to a stop near a large group of Novitiates, all hovering around the large set of double doors that marked the back exit of the Legion’s Mississippi compound.
“Shouldn’t you all be at mass right now?” he asked the young men milling around the hallway. They all looked to the young Novitiate standing closest to the door, a fair-haired man in his twenties.
“Open the door,” the Novitiate ordered, authority in his tone. Samuel repressed a smile. So the man knew how to give an order. Clearly this Novitiate was going places within the Legion’s political structure.
One of the young men rushed to obey, swinging open the thick wooden door to reveal the early evening sky. A hooded figure stood outside, waiting to speak with Samuel.
“Show yourself,” Samuel commanded, narrowing his gaze.
The figure reached a pale hand up to the hood of the r
obe, then pushed the cowl back.
“You’re not who I was expecting,” Samuel said, searching the familiar face of his visitor.
“You have something of mine,” the visitor replied.
“Yes, we’ve kept our end of the bargain. Come in,” he said, stepping back from the door with a sweeping gesture.
Today was turning out to be interesting, indeed.
6
Maddie eyed Tessa, uncertain how to interpret the bubbly blonde’s intent. She’d come over to seek comfort from her brother, but since Jace wasn’t home Maddie had stayed to talk to his mate instead.
“So basically, you need a pack of your own to run?” Maddie asked, trying to keep the boredom from her voice. “Do you really think you can do what Kat does already? You’ve only been here a month.”
Tessa blushed and shrugged. Her blonde ringlets lay wild around her shoulders, making her green eyes stand out. She stretched, her petite frame and tiny waist making Maddie envious. Maddie was definitely thin, but being almost six feet tall meant that she’d never wear a size two like Tessa did. Fragility wasn’t part of Maddie’s dubious charms.
“I’m just saying that Kat and I are redundant. Before I got here she had way too much administrative work to do for the pack. But with two of us, we’re so bored that we pick fights with each other for amusement. It’s not healthy,” Tessa sighed.
“Well, what are you planning to do?” Maddie asked, yawning. In truth, she couldn’t care less what Tessa had planned, but she figured it was polite to ask.
“I’m not sure yet,” Tessa replied, her tone light. “Jace and I have talked about possibly expanding his skills into a business outside the pack. No solid plans yet, though.”
“That’s a lot of money to invest in something that doesn’t really serve the pack,” Maddie said. “Have you talked to Shaw about this yet? He would probably want a say in whatever interactions you and Jace have with humans.”