“Under the current Caedmon laws, yes,” Devin said. “Arranged pairing. Just like yours, most deals are proposed at birth and signed in blood as your father has done.”
“What if he’s lying?” Jayson asked. “He’d have to produce the contract?”
“You’re right, Jayson. They’d have to produce a contract.”
“What if they can’t?” Jayson persisted, pacing in front of the fireplace.
“What if they can?” Devin shot back.
“I don’t understand,” Tamara's soft voice cut through the tension. “Why would your father promise you to this man?”
“The Zeldano family has a strong presence and a dense history. Arianna and her family are from one of the original branches of human Caedmon. Combine wolf and human of this caliber and the result could be momentous. We thought we’d found this union before in Jayson and Arianna, but nothing came of their relationship. I am still puzzled by this…” He looked at both of them suspiciously and Arianna felt ashamed for her actions. “There have been accounts of a union between these two lines before, but none where both families were considered royalty. And for that matter, there have been no accounts where both families weren’t loyal followers. This could mean…”
“…a potential uprising against us,” Jayson finished.
“Is there nothing that can be done to stop this,” Tamara asked, then turned to Arianna. “You don’t want to do this, right?”
“Absolutely not,” she replied. “I value my right to choose.”
“The business has not been doing well, then?” Devin questioned her.
“Clients have been bailing left and right,” she said. “His debts have piled as high as the mountains.”
“Delivering could mean a big payday for him?” Devin concluded. “I suspect that the consequences for not holding up his end of the bargain with the Zeldanos could be detrimental—to more than just his bank account.”
Arianna frowned. “When it comes to business dealings, Zeldano always wins. No matter what the cost.”
“To my knowledge, this is correct,” Devin said.
Jayson charged toward the door, scooped up his keys from the tall table by the door, and grabbed his jacket. By the time Arianna rose, he was already out of the door.
“Jayson.” She rushed out onto the porch behind him. “Where are you going?”
“Stay here!”
“I asked you a question.” She followed him to his motorcycle.
“I’ll be back.” The look in his eyes told her that he was up to something. His eyes were a stormy gray against the night. It wasn’t a good sign. “You are safe here.”
“What are you going to do?”
Jayson snatched off one of his leather gloves and caressed the side of her face with his palm. “You belong to me, Arianna. Always have…always will.”
“People have been trying to make decisions for me all my life, Jayson. I’ve played dodgeball enough for now. This is fate’s way of telling me the game is over.”
Jayson kissed her, firmly and slowly. Her lips parted and she tasted the sweet woodsy, aroma of the man who’d been a friend most of her life. He was also the man who’d declared that she was his mate.
He revved up his motorcycle and tugged his glove back on. “This game has only just begun.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
The wind picked up like a strong typhoon and dirt whipped at Jayson’s face. He dropped his helmet on the ground and knelt in front of the headstone of his father’s grave. The crisp breeze nearly suffocated him as he lifted his face to the black velvet sky. He took deep, raspy breaths in an attempt to return his raging heartbeat to a normal rhythm. After several minutes, he decided it was of no use. There was no way he could simply dismiss what he’d just learned.
He lifted a hand out in front of him and traced the words on his father’s headstone.
Edward Truman.
While alive, his father had been everything to him. True friend. Advisor. Teacher. E. Truman had been the man who’d taught him how to live when life threw curveballs.
You knew, didn’t you?
It all made sense why the partnership was left intact. It was possible that his father had known all along what Mr. Klein planned to do with the proceeds. So, instead of ending it before his death as he should have done, he’d signed over the shares to Jayson. In return, Jayson had inherited a mess. Unbeknownst to him, he’d also inherited the solution to keeping an underhanded union between Klein and Zeldano at bay. Unfortunately, that solution was no longer available—Klein and Truman, LP was no more.
Why let me find out the hard way?
Jayson got no answer. The dead silence only amplified his impatience. His body quaked and his wolf spirit began to rise to the surface. It was too late to reign in the beast now. They shared in the displeasure and angst.
His lungs burned from lack of oxygen. At the same moment he released his breath and fury, the wolf burst free.
He shifted.
Jayson tipped his muzzle to the sky and howled at the moon.
He took off through the forest, rushing between trees and bushes like a wild animal. It had been months since he’d run in wolf form like this. Letting the beast take over and letting all his inhibitions break free. His paws barely touched the ground as he darted across a field. The tendons and muscles burned like he hadn’t exercised them in days. The slight discomfort was nothing compared to the pain he felt in his heart at the knowledge that some other man would have Arianna.
As Jayson neared the Caedmon village he slowed, coming to a trot. He panted uncontrollably and swallowed to moisten his dry throat. There was still nothing he could do about his raging heart.
He came to a stop in front of a small cabin. The lights were on inside, and a figure moved about. Even though he was yards away from the cabin, he could still smell the incense burning from within.
Jayson shifted back into human form and stopped short of knocking on the door. He didn’t have to.
Roman opened the door and his blind eyes looked out behind Jayson at absolutely nothing. The old man’s forehead creased, his nose flared, and the corners of his mouth twitched in uncertainty.
For a wolf well over a hundred years old, he’d aged rather gracefully. The only thing that really gave his age away was the long stark-white hair braided down his back.
“Come closer,” Roman commanded.
Jayson took a few steps forward and the wooden planks creaked under his feet.
Roman lifted his fingers and traced the outline of Jayson face. Forehead, ears, nose, and lips. His eyes moved rapidly behind the lids.
“Jayson Truman.”
It was likely Roman remembered his father, or perhaps his grandfather. Jayson’s resemblance to both of them was not that far off.
“Roman,” Jayson said. “I need your guidance.”
The most respected elder in the village stepped aside and gestured inside the cabin with his cane. “I’ve just brewed some tea.”
The rising morning sun beamed down on Jayson’s back as he turned the corner leading onto Mr. Klein’s street. His body should have shut down hours ago after being awake for nearly eighteen hours without food or rest. He didn’t have time for any of that. The woman he cherished was about to be ripped away from him, all because of a selfish deal her father made.
He would not allow it.
The wolf spirit inside of him was all the fuel he needed to sustain himself. But how long would it be before the wolf started demanding something in return?
The same guy—Roy—guarded the post and entry to the estate. He stopped his motorcycle and took off his helmet.
“Open the gate,” Jayson ordered.
“Do you have business here with Mr. Klein?” the guard asked, clutching a walkie-talkie.
“I don’t have time for small talk. Open the gate, or I’ll do it myself.”
“No, I’m calling the police.” The guard scrambled backward.
Jayson propped the bike on its k
ickstand. He didn’t have time for this shit.
Before the guard could make it back to the post and phone, he got off the bike, grabbed him in chokehold, and forced him into the control station. He shoved him in front of a device setting on a desk with a row of buttons.
His fangs pulsed from his gums, and his mouth watered in sheer anticipation of the violence he was prepared to commit on this human if needed.
“Open the gate or I’ll rip open your gut, tear out your entrails, and serve them to your master sunny side up for breakfast.”
Roy fumbled with a few buttons and the gate finally creaked open.
Jayson tightened his hold on the guard’s neck until the man grew limp against him. He’d passed out cold. It wouldn’t be long before he came to and called the police as he’d threatened to earlier.
Without time on his side, Jayson grabbed his package and walked through the gate. After he rang the bell, a maid holding a duster and wearing an apron answered the door.
“Mr. Klein, please,” he requested. “I’m Jayson Truman. Don’t you remember me?”
“Why, yes, Mr. Truman, I do. Do you have an appointment?”
“Yes.” It was almost the truth. “Business regarding our partnership.”
The maid paused, reluctantly, but then said, “Right this way, Mr. Truman.”
When they reached the office down the hallway, the maid knocked lightly.
“Who is it?” Mr. Klein grumbled from within.
“Ida,” the maid said. “You have a visitor.”
“Come in.”
As soon as Ida opened the door, Jayson barged inside, causing Mr. Klein to shoot up from his chair once again.
Shock flashed through his eyes. “You? Again? What do you want?”
“I think you know,” Jayson replied.
“Ida! Why have you let this man in?”
“He said he had business. It’s Mr. Truman, Sir,” the maid said from behind him.
“Mr. Truman and I no longer do business.” He slammed his fist on the desk. “Get out!”
The door slammed shut after the maid made her quick escape.
Arianna’s father looked back at him with malice in his expression. “Where is my daughter?”
“Safe from this conspiracy you’ve created.” Jayson was so angry, he could barely speak calmly.
“What you call conspiracy is known as ensuring the Klein legacy lives.”
“No.” Jayson shook his head, slowly. “Being brainwashed by Zeldano’s tactics will ensure the end of your legacy.”
“I need no advice from you,” Klein said between clenched teeth. “What you will do is tell me where the hell you’ve taken my daughter off to.”
“You want to sell her to the wealthiest, is that it?”
Klein frowned. “I don’t have to answer to you.”
“You placed a price tag on her, didn’t you?”
Cognizance washed over the man’s face, but he said nothing.
Jayson continued. “The shares I released to you are worth just over a million dollars. It isn’t enough to buy into Zeldano’s business, isn’t it? You’re pressed for time.”
“Where are you getting this information?”
“I have my resources.”
Klein straightened, and crossed his arms over his chest. “They were my shares, and now it’s my money. I do what I want with it.”
“How much more money would you have needed to buy into Zeldano’s business?”
“That is none of your business,” Klein spat.
“Or perhaps the other half of the deal included the delivery of your only daughter to a crooked investor?”
“Leave,” Klein warned.
Jayson dumped the briefcase he’d been holding on top of Mr. Klein’s desk. The lid popped open revealing bands of cash inside.
“There is enough money inside…another million. This plus the proceeds you received from the dissolution should serve to pay Zeldano off or—if you are foolish enough—invest in his business,” Jayson said. “I’ve also included an additional eighty grand, which is more than enough to take care of Arianna’s unpaid college bills.”
Mr. Klein's mouth had fallen open at some point, but still had not closed as his gaze roamed over the stack of money. “How did you…how did you find out how much was owed?”
“That should be the least of your worries, but if it truly concerns you…I have connections, high and low, outside of our small village. If I told you anything else…I’d have to kill you.”
“Are you admitting to some not-so-squeaky-clean dealings yourself?”
“My admission or denial would not change your circumstances. You see, the difference between you and I, is that you’re in deep debt, and I’m not. I suggest you take this money, pay Ivan Zeldano off, and bid him farewell in his endeavors. For your sake…and your daughter’s.”
Mr. Klein bit his bottom lip, and then said, “And if I don’t agree.”
“I’m not asking for your agreement, Mr. Klein. With or without your blessings, your daughter will be mine.”
CHAPTER NINE
Arianna entered Jayson’s bedroom and placed a bowl of warm water on the nightstand. Only a moment ago, Jayson had been stirring and moaning as though he were about to rise. But now he was lying on his back, body still, and eyes closed as if he were in a peaceful slumber.
She crossed her arms over her chest and observed him. It was nearly evening and he’d slept throughout the day. She didn’t blame him. The events of yesterday could have worn anyone out—human or otherwise.
When Jayson had returned to Devin’s cottage hours after running off, she’d been a little surprised. He’d been so upset about her withholding all the information surrounding her father’s deal with Zeldano that she’d thought he would leave her alone for good. But, no…he’d come back to get her. They’d ridden his motorcycle back to his condo. Too tired to even talk, he’d taken a shower and fallen into the bed beside her.
“How long are you going to stare at me?” Jayson whispered, startling her.
“I didn’t know you were awake,” she said, sitting down on the bed beside him.
He opened his eyes. There was more of a blue tint, instead of gray this time. A sign that he was in a much better mood. “I’m surprised that you’re still here?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“I remember how it was.” He smiled. “We’d go out for a night on the town and have the time of our lives. Drinking, dancing…and mayhem. At the end of the night, we’d always end up in each other’s arms, but in the morning you’d be gone—nowhere to be found.”
Arianna blushed. “I was worried about you.”
“No need for worries. Everything will be fine.”
It was easy for him to say. He wasn’t being sold to the highest bidder.
“Do you still have a headache?” she asked.
“It’s no big deal. A little food and aspirin will take care of it.”
She turned, drenched a cloth into the warm water, and then wrung it out. When she placed it on Jayson’s forehead, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.
“Smells like lavender.”
“My mom always added it to the water when I had a headache. It’s calming.”
Arianna smoothed the cloth across his face and down his neck. She stopped above the bold, intricate tattoo right above his heart that branded him as a Caedmon Council member.
“Devin and Tamara were really nice to me when you left,” she said.
“They complement each other well.” He lifted his arms, and folded them behind his head. “I told you there wasn’t anything to fear…unless you cross him.”
She smoothed his skin, which was mostly flawless despite the scars marring his chest. As a teen, and even as an adult, he’d gotten into many fights. Both in wolf and human form. “I know, but first impressions always count. Now I will be known as the woman whose father betrayed the Caedmon.”
“Who cares what others think? I know bet
ter, and you know better.”
“Where did you go last night?” she asked, tracing the hard ridges of his abs.
“I visited your father to exchange a few words.”
She paused over his chest. “You didn’t.”
He gazed at her, his expression stern. “I can’t lose you, Arianna.”
“Jayson, please, let this be…”
He rose to a sitting position on the bed. “Did you plan to just accept this? I know you very well. This is not like you to give up.”
She met his gaze. “Who said I was giving up? The arrangement is only temporary—one that I plan to get out of.”
“After you’ve acquiesced? You’d go to Zeldano…?”
“To save my father until I can figure out how to fix all of this.”
He cupped both sides of her shoulders. “You don’t have to do this anymore.”
“You don’t want me to do this because it will be inconvenient for you. Just admit it.”
“Arianna…”
“Let’s be real. This curse that turns us into two sex fiends when we’re together is why you want me unattached to some other man. Otherwise, you wouldn’t give a damn. You would leave me to my fate and move on to the next chick on your list. You’ve got an army of them ready to bare all—mind, body, and soul to you.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Finding a true mate is not a curse. Not to me.”
“Either way, it’s like I have no say in choosing what I want in my life.”
“What do you want? Tell me and I will move mountains to ensure that whatever it may be that it is yours.”
“I want a choice. That’s all. For once.”
He took her hands in his. “In the beginning, if we’d discovered that I wasn’t your mate…would you have chosen me? Would things have been different?”
“That’s a ridiculous question.” She attempted to turn away, but he pulled her closer. “How am I supposed to answer that now that I know that you are?”
“Arianna, do you honestly want to live your life unfulfilled with another?”
“Living a fulfilled life means having a choice. I had no choice when my father arranged this. I had no say when fate chose my mate.”
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