by Vivian Wood
“Mellie, you have something to add?” Jasper said.
“We’ve had three males just up and go missing. All upstanding guys, not the type to run off on their mates. All gone in the space of a month. Then it stopped all the sudden, we weren’t sure what to think.”
“Sounds like it could be the Legion,” Randy commented.
“Is there any evidence?” Devin asked.
“Nothing we could find,” Mellie replied.
“It sounds like you’re all jumping to conclusions here,” Aziz chimed in.
“I’m guessing you’ve never been in the middle of a Legion attack,” Jace said, his expression darkening. Maddie saw Tessa reach out and lay her hand on Jace’s forearm, causing him to visibly relax.
“We had a child abducted,” Andrew cut in. Everyone went quiet, waiting for him to continue. “Abby Folsom, just last week. Her parents put her in human school, wouldn’t hear a word against it. We’ve tracked down every pedophile in both Dakotas looking for her. No ransom demand, either.”
“If this is true, it sounds like certain Shifters are being targeted,” Devin commented. “Perhaps there is a common link among all those who have been abducted.”
“Hard to say what the criteria would be. They’ve taken males and females, adults and children. If it’s not gender and it’s not age… who the hell knows what they want?” Randy said, his expression turning bitter. The babble of speculative voices rose, both from the video feeds and in the conference room. After a minute, Jace put two fingers to his lips and whistled with all his might, drawing all the conversations to a halt.
“All right, all right. We can try to piece that together later. Devin is a skilled researcher, he might be willing to take on that project. For the time being, though, it’s important that we come to a consensus. Do we all agree that there is a threat to Shifters?” Jace asked.
Mellie, Randy, and Andrew agreed immediately.
“Aziz?” Jace prompted.
“I believe that there is something worth investigating,” the man said.
“Torrie?”
“I don’t feel strongly one way or the other. I would like to be kept in the loop, though. Just in case.”
“Same here,” said Devin. “Without more evidence, I don’t feel comfortable making a strong statement. I am more than happy to offer my researching skills, though. Safe over sorry, you know.”
“What about all the other packs? If there are this many coincidences just between what, eight packs? There have to be more. We need to get the word out to everyone to be on guard,” Andrew said. “I don’t want a repeat of Abby’s abduction anywhere else if we can help it.”
“And how are we going to do that? Not all the packs are high-tech. Some of them don’t even believe in phones,” Mellie said.
“We’ll have to send an actual person to do it,” Shaw spoke up. Murmurs of agreement followed. Maddie sat up a little straighter in her seat, clearing her throat. A job that required travel all over the country, maybe even the world? She gave Jasper a quick glance, flushing when she realized he was studying her reaction. She dropped her gaze, fidgeting. A job like that would be amazing, true… but it would also mean leaving her mate behind.
“What about Connall Hansard? He travels all over the place already, he probably knows a lot of the Alphas in the US,” Tessa pointed out. Declan shook his head, adamant.
“His work as Scout is too important. Now more than ever, in light of the Legion threat. He’s taken a mate, and they’re a powerful source for tracking undiscovered Ascendants. They’ve already interrupted the Legion trying to snatch an Ascendant boy from his front yard.”
“We’ll find a volunteer,” Jace said, flapping a hand. “All that matters is that we’ve taken a step toward tackling this problem. I think we should talk again in a few days after we’ve all had time to think it over.”
The Alphas and representatives all nodded, agreeing. A few pleasantries were exchanged, and then Jace tapped something out on the keyboard of his laptop to blank the screens.
Maddie sighed and stood, giving a little yip when she moved too fast and her muscles protested. Everyone else was standing and moving about, ready to go on with their day.
“Before everyone leaves, I wanted to announce that there will be a meeting with both packs tonight to inform everyone what we’ve decided to do,” Shaw said. “Mess hall, seven o’clock.”
With that Shaw pointed an angry finger at Rhett, who scowled as he followed the Alpha out of the conference room. That was one argument that Maddie was glad she wasn’t involved in.
She looked over to find Jasper again, but he had turned and half-sprinted for the door already. Where the heck was he off to in such a hurry? Maddie bit her lip, thinking that her eagerness over the traveling position might have hurt his feelings. True, she’d been up-front from the start that traveling the world was her dream. But certainly things had changed a lot since the last time they’d discussed their plans.
By the time she reached the doorway, Jasper had vanished. Maddie sighed, feeling a huge weight settle on her shoulders. She slumped, her lower lip protruding in a genuine pout. She felt silly, but she really wanted to catch him and talk things over.
“That’s not a very happy face,” Tessa said, coming up to stand beside Maddie.
“No,” Maddie admitted with a shrug.
“I was about to go to the mess hall and get a bite to eat. Want to come?”
“Sure,” Maddie agreed, distracted. She might as well spend some quality time with her brother’s mate while she could, before the baby came and dominated Tessa’s life. They might be on good terms now, but they still didn’t know each other very well.
They crossed the Grass and headed up the steps to the dining hall, each getting a tray of food before finding her seat.
“Shrimp po-boys today!” Tessa chirped.
“Your Northern palate must be getting used to the Louisiana food,” Maddie said, taking a huge bite of her own sandwich.
“You could say that. I had no idea that there was a whole culture built around red beans and Tabasco sauce,” Tessa said, reaching for a napkin.
“And what a delicious culture it is.”
“It’s not really that surprising that I didn’t fit into my wedding dress.”
Maddie sighed, setting her sandwich down.
“Tessa, I really am sorry for saying that.”
Tessa waved a hand, offering Maddie a sincere grin.
“Don’t worry about it. I think my hormones got the better of me.”
“I can only imagine that pregnancy does that.”
“Camilla is already teasing me about it.”
50
“So how is Camilla, anyway? I know she’s taking care of… what’s his name, again? The one we rescued from the Legion during the big raid?” Maddie asked.
“Good question. The last time I asked, it was Grant,” Tessa replied.
“What do you mean, the last time you asked?”
“He doesn’t seem to remember much about his life before we rescued him from the Legion.”
“Not even his own name?”
“No. Camilla makes a game of it, changing his name all the time to see if it helps jog his memory at all.”
“No luck so far, I’m guessing?”
“No, not yet.”
“So are they together? Jace said they’ve been holed up in her house since his arrival.”
“I really don’t know. I get the sense that they don’t know, either. To be honest, he’s never even spoken in front of me. Everything I hear comes from Camilla, and she’s not talking about their relationship.”
“Ah. Well, what does she say about his past?”
“Just that it was violent even before the Legion did whatever they did to him. Camilla either doesn’t know the details or won’t talk about it. Either way I imagine it was pretty awful.”
“I bet he has one hell of a grudge against the Legion by now.”
“Jace thinks
the same thing. He mentioned using the male as a weapon against them, which didn’t go over very well.”
“No?” Maddie asked, amused.
“Camilla flat kicked him out of the house.”
“She’s spunky. I knew I liked her for a reason.”
Tessa pushed away her now-empty plate, sitting back in her chair.
“What about you? What are you going to do?” Tessa asked.
“What is there to do? I’m going to stay here and help Jasper sort out things with his pack, I guess.”
“What about your grand plans to travel?”
“I think the pack probably needs me to do… well, I’m not sure,” Maddie admitted. “But something. I’m going to help however I can.”
“What about the new position they’re creating? They need someone to travel to all the packs and get everyone together. That sounds perfect for you.”
“I can’t take it. I can’t just leave—” Maddie cut off, awkward.
“Jasper?” Tessa suggested.
“Yeah,” Maddie said, shoulders sagging. “I’m not sure how it happened, but I don’t think I can leave him. Worse, I don’t want to. I guess if I have to choose between my wanderlust and him… I choose him.”
Just saying it out loud had a profound effect on Maddie, filling her with a sense of sadness tinged with certainty. Tessa leaned forward and patted her on the shoulder, giving her a wry smile.
“I know just what you mean. It happened to me too. Don’t worry, it’s not that bad,” Tessa teased.
Nodding, Maddie got to her feet and picked up her tray. Tessa did the same.
“I’m going to go check on Camilla,” Tessa said. “Want to come?”
“I should go find Jasper and see if I can help with anything,” Maddie said.
They parted ways outside the mess hall and Maddie looked around the Grass, trying to decide where she should go. She ended up just heading back to her house, but when she arrived there was no sign of Jasper. Although she’d intended to track him down and offer her assistance, Maddie found herself feeling heavy and introspective, wanting to reflect.
Heading into the living room, she opened one of the cabinets of the entertainment center and dragged out a cardboard box. It was ancient and tatty, marked ‘Kid Stuff’ in Maddie’s own childish cursive. Sighing, she sat the box down on the couch and flopped down next to it.
Inside were a few photo albums, some cherished toys, and several ill-used books. Maddie spotted a slim green volume and fished it out, knowing on sight that it was what she sought. It was in horrible condition, burned on one end and all kind of other dents and nicks besides. She turned it over, reading the title aloud.
“William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,” she mused. “An oldie but a goodie.”
She thought about trying to read a bit of it, but she knew herself. She had a copy of the 90’s movie on DVD around here somewhere, and no way would she read the actual book over watching handsome young Leonardo diCaprio and beautiful Claire Danes flirt and despair.
Maddie dug the DVD out with surprising quickness, and soon she had the room darkened and the movie playing as she lay on the couch watching the action. She’d seen the movie so many times at this point that she barely needed to look at the screen, choosing instead to sift through the boxes of her old things as she half-listened to the movie.
The boxes mostly contained spiral-bound notebooks filled with her girlish handwriting, various school awards and yearbooks, and miscellaneous mementos. Boring, but she’d probably never throw any of it away.
At the bottom of the last box, though, a grin spread across her face when she found a stack of old travel brochures and language phrase books. Maddie flipped through the pages slowly, savoring the blocky 1980’s style of the books. Nostalgia overwhelmed her, thinking about how her younger self would have been watching this movie and flipping through a guidebook to Rome and daydreaming.
Maddie jumped a bit at a sudden cry from onscreen. Looking up, she found that the film had nearly ended. Lovely young Juliet knelt over the now-cool body of her Romeo, sobbing.
“‘For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo’,” Maddie quoted, absorbed. The line made her smile, thinking back to an ongoing battle that she and Jasper’d had as kids.
She could imagine her childhood self, dressed in grubby jeans and a tee shirt; she’d be standing with her arms crossed, giving adolescent Jasper a stern look.
“It’s romantic,” young Maddie would have said, stomping her foot.
Young Jasper would have merely sighed and rolled his eyes, tossing a lock of his shaggy blond hair out of his eyes.
“But Madd, they die at the end,” he would have explained for the thousandth time.
“But at least they died together,” she would have fired back.
At least they’d be together.
Maddie’s smile slipped as her eyes slid back to the pile of travel guides. Maybe Jasper had been just old enough back then to understand that life was more complicated than just being together. When she’d insisted that being together was the most important thing, adolescent Jasper had always let the subject drop without further comment. Maybe he’d had it right from the beginning. When he’d left, Maddie had decided that togetherness didn’t mean much at all. If Jasper didn’t care, she’d decided that she sure as heck wouldn’t care either.
Maddie frowned.
Thinking about it now, it seemed silly that she’d taken up the torch of his teenaged apathy. In fact, she had no idea how he’d felt; her younger self had just interpreted his silence as disagreement. If someone asked her today how she felt about committing herself to someone long-term, she’d feign disgust to get a laugh out of her questioner.
Was that her true sentiment, though?
Maddie sighed and lay down on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Jasper’s image drifted into her mind, dressed in a simple white t-shirt and dark jeans. She smiled. Of course her mind’s eye would sketch him as she liked him best, the t-shirt snug enough to show the well-defined muscles of his chest and shoulders and the dark jeans accenting the narrowness of his hips.
In her mind, Jasper turned and snared her gaze with his ice-blue one. The imagined sunlight glinted softly against his golden hair, much shortened since his teenage days but with a hint of the once-rebellious curls he’d so hated back then. He smiled, one corner of his mouth quirking upward to form a heart-melting dimple in his cheek.
If someone pointed at Jasper just now, just like this, and asked the same question about commitment… would she react the same way?
Of course not. The answer came without a moment of hesitation, and she knew it to be her true sentiment.
She’d blown off the slightest attachment to any man other than her brother for most of her life, believing in her heart that it was best for both parties. Romance was for fools, and Maddie didn’t waste time on anyone who thought otherwise.
Jasper was different, for so many reasons. He was incredibly handsome, true. But he also made her laugh. He’d been there in the very beginning, back when she’d lost her parents and her home. He understood Maddie on nearly every level. What he didn’t understand, he made the effort to learn. Ever since he’d returned earlier this year, he’d stuck by her side no matter how much she rejected and irritated him.
As a matter of fact, Maddie had intentionally tormented him with her nearness for over a month without Jasper so much as batting an eyelash. Aside from the occasional eye roll and finger-shaking lecture, that was. Most males would have been driven to madness long before he’d even done that much.
And what had she done? She’d been a complete twit, of course.
No wonder Gwen had taken her to task over her treatment of Jasper. Maddie had been pushing him, desperate for a reaction. She’d hidden her own feelings, holding out for a big display of emotion from him. When he merely tolerated her behavior rather than trying to woo her, Maddie had been the one to react. She’d lashed out, shoved at him wi
th all her physical and emotional defenses. She’d wanted him gone, and of his own volition.
Jasper’s image in her mind stopped smiling, his expression turning sad. He gave her a long look, then turned his back and walked away. He faded away, leaving Maddie feeling bereft.
Jasper put his whole heart in everything he did, and she knew that. Since Jasper had taken her as a mate, Maddie had taken for granted that he wouldn’t leave her side again. That hadn’t stopped her from constantly talking about leaving him behind, though. She’d prattled on time and again about her plans for travel, all the places she was going and what she’d do there.
Never once had she said aloud that she imagined that Jasper would be at her side. Never once had she thought to invite him along; after all, before now her plans for travel had been little more than fantasies. She could never have left Jace alone for that long, not before he’d taken Tessa as a mate.
What must her own mate think, then? She’d been waiting all along for pretty words and declarations. Never once had she thought of making them herself. She’d barely bothered to decide how she felt about Jasper, much less told him what she felt.
Clarity struck her with blinding force, causing Maddie to suck in a breath.
She loved him. Completely, absolutely loved him. And although she’d told him that much, she’d never told him how important he was in her life. Never told him that she had long since decided to stay here to be with him.
Scrambling to her feet, she started throwing all the travel guides and phrase books back in the box. She ran into the kitchen, fishing out some lighter fluid and a pack of matches, adding them to the pile of books. She stopped for a moment to straighten her hair and make sure her clothing was in place, then scooped up the box and headed for the front door.
It appeared she was long overdue for some important words with her mate.