“Yeah, Wulf twisted my arm until I agreed to come outside,” she teased.
“Oh really, well then maybe we should go back inside, seeing that you’re not enjoying yourself,” Wulf threatened playfully, taking hold of her upper arm and making as if he was going to march them back inside.
“No. Draco help me, take him away.”
“Hey, don’t drag me into this. I would just put you over my shoulder. He’s just being nice.” They all laughed when she stuck her tongue out at him, moving away to go and pat another horse a few metres away.
“How did it go?” Wulf asked when they were out of her hearing.
“It didn’t. She will only speak to you.” Wulf was standing with his legs braced apart and hands on his hips. At his words Draco could see the turmoil in his eyes.
“How’s it going with you two?” Draco asked. When he had left his heart had been heavy for his friend. He was pleased to see that they were doing better. He had been worried that their problem would upset everything again, when they needed her help to get the children and women out of the way, before they attacked the building.
“It’s going to take time for her to trust me, but we’re okay. Draco, I’m not going to jeopardize my relationship. I hurt her even though it was unintentional. I will not do it again.” Draco could see the conviction in his eyes. He understood his friend, he even envied him. For centuries, he had dreamed of finding his mate, of finally ending his loveless, empty existence. Even with the upheavals he had seen and heard about with Wulf and Jas, their love was plain to see. To have someone to share your every thought, to be completely open with, someone who would not judge you; Draco craved that, but all he could do was carry on, hoping that his mate was out there and that she would cross his path soon.
“She said that she had info on Vercin. If you want to meet her tomorrow same arrangement again.” he looked over Wulf’s shoulder as he saw Jas approaching.
“What’s wrong?” she asked holding Wulf’s hand as she reached him. His eyes were shuttered but he was standing stiff as if at any moment he would explode into movement. She looked across at Draco, feeling his eyes on her. He seemed guilty in a way.
“I was …” Draco started.
Wulf growled, “Leave it!” Draco looked at him for a few seconds. Jas could feel there was silent communication going on between them. Draco shrugged, started his bike and rode into the garage.
“Wulf?” she was looking up at him questioningly. He brought her hand to his lips, nipping her fingers “Come, let’s go in, I have to start preparing to leave, Ceric must be waiting.”
“Wulf, what’s upsetting you? What did Draco say?” There was concern in her voice. She could feel that he was angry even though he was trying not to show it.
“Nothing angel, don’t worry about it.” He hugged her with one arm around her shoulders. Entering the garage, they found Draco talking to Ceric. Both looked up as they approached. Ceric smiled, winking at Jas.
“Glad to see you’re out, I’ve missed you,” Ceric flirted, with a grin on his face as Wulf frowned at him.
“I think that what you missed was my cooking, you flirt.”
“You wound me, but speaking of that, some of that chocolate cake you make would be nice. I would even get rid of that grumpy man of yours for a slice of that cake.”
“She’s not your cook. If you want cake go buy yourself some!” Wulf grumbled, earning a punch from her on his arm.
“Nonsense, I love to cook and bake. If you promise to bring this grumpy man of mine back with a smile, I will have chocolate cake for you when you return,” she promised, with an impish smile at Ceric and a wink at Wulf.
He slapped her backside, making her jump in embarrassment. “Wulf!”
He lifted an eyebrow in innocence. “What?” She laughed at his playfulness, even though she felt that he was still upset.
Walking up close to him, she lifted onto her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. “Be safe,” she whispered, moving back so that he could leave. He nodded moving towards his bike.
“See you later, looking forward to that cake!” Ceric called out as he mounted his bike. Jas went to stand next to Draco as the two men were preparing to leave.
“Ask Celmund to give me a call, I need him to investigate something for me!” Wulf called out to Draco then looking at her, he accelerated and was gone, Ceric right behind him.
“How much longer are you going to stake out the building until you attack? Are you going to attack?” she asked Draco. He was pensive as he looked down at her.
“We are going in next week. Usually Merdor visits the building on specific days. We want to make sure that he’s there when we attack. We also need to make sure that there are no children or women in the building. We’re going to get the FBI involved.” They started walking into the compound.
“Draco, why was Wulf upset? What were you two talking about?” She saw him hesitate. He stopped; looking down at her, he was quiet for a few seconds, pondering what to say.
“Wulf won’t be happy about me talking to you about this. But I want you to understand, sometimes we must do stuff, that goes against what we want. But because of what we are, we must sacrifice. Wulf was angry because of what I said to him when I arrived.”
“I went to meet Katya in Wulf’s stead. You see, we need her team to intercept the trucks of children or women coming into the building next week. She also has Intel for us on Vercin.”
“You’re telling me that he was upset that you went to meet with her?” If that was the case then it meant that he was jealous and if he was jealous then he had feelings for this woman Katya. She felt as if someone had pulled the earth from under her feet.
“No. No. That’s not it. You see, he didn’t want to meet with her that’s why we agreed that I would go. The problem is that she won’t speak to me. She will only communicate with him. That’s why he was angry. He doesn’t want to hurt you. He loves you Jas, but he knows if he has to meet her, you’re going to be hurt thinking that he wants her.” Draco had grabbed her upper arms as he spoke, trying to comfort her with what he was saying.
“You see she told me she had Intel on Vercin, but she won’t share it with me, only with Wulf. We have been after Vercingetorix or Vercin as you know him, for centuries. He is the Keres MC President. We have only been able to get close to him once before, but he escaped. If we can take down Merdor and Vercin, the Keres MC will be leaderless. They will be lost, then it will be easy to stop them from doing so much damage.”
He knew this was unfair of him, but he had to try or they might never get an opportunity like this for a long time to come. “What does she want from him?” she asked, hoping against hope that she might be wrong.
“You know what she wants from him. You also know that no matter what, Wulf will never again give her that.” Tears were threatening, but she refused to show how this information made her feel insecure.
“Don’t be sad Beautiful. If Wulf knows that I made you sad he will be furious,” he tried to appease her.
“So, what you are telling me is that he must go and meet with her, even though he might have to sleep with her. How do you expect me to accept that? How am I supposed to face him after that?”
“Jas, you know he would never do that. He would never cheat on you, it is impossible, when we bond we mate for life; there is no one that can tempt us away from our women. Can’t you see that, can’t you feel it?”
“What if she won’t give him the info unless he sleeps with her?”
“Well then, we tried, but I know for a fact he won’t sleep with her, maybe he won’t even go and meet her. He told me in no uncertain terms that he won’t hurt you.” He looked down at her, knowing that this was a huge thing for her, but he had to try. Wulf was going to be as mad as hell with him.
“Come on let’s go in, forget about this, everything will resolve itself. Come.” He guided her into the compound.
“Thank you for telling me.” She turned, leaving him stand
ing there looking at her walk away in the direction of hers and Wulf’s room. She closed the door behind her and sat on the bed just staring at the wall. Her mind was going over everything Draco had said and everything Wulf had said to her, when he was trying to calm her. She believed in him, she trusted that he did not want to cheat on her. She believed that he loved her, but what if this woman didn’t give him the info without him sleeping with her. Would he do it because they needed the info?
No! She didn’t believe that he would. One thing that she knew about Wulf was that he was loyal to a fault. He wouldn’t hurt her in that way, but it was so hard knowing that she might throw herself at him, kiss him and try to tempt him. Oh, what could she do about it? She knew that she had to tell him to go. She couldn’t make him betray his brothers, but she knew that every minute would be torture. There was a knock at the door.
“Jas, you in there?” Bjarni called.
“Yes.”
“I have Wulf on the line. He wants to speak to you.” She opened the door, looking up at him as he handed her the phone, frowning at the sadness he found in her eyes.
“You okay?” he asked, worried. She nodded, placing the phone to her ear.
“Hey!”
“What’s wrong?” Wulf asked, dispensing with formalities.
“Nothing’s wrong.” She tried to keep her voice as light as possible. She didn’t want to worry him, especially when he was in possible danger.
“I can feel your anguish, you were fine when I left, but halfway here, I started to feel you getting upset. What happened?” She could hear the worry in his voice. How could she doubt him when he was always trying to protect her?
“Nothing, just me being silly it’s over now. Please don’t worry about me. Concentrate on what you are doing. I will be fine.”
“How do you not want me to worry if I know you’re not okay? You want me to come back?”
“Wulf, I’m fine really, I was just being silly. I’m going to go make the cake now, I promise I’m fine.” She was trying to convince him, the last thing she wanted was for him to come back and find out that Draco had told her about what was going on.
“We will talk about this when I get back. I love you,” he said and the line went dead.
“Thank you Bjarni. Sorry that you had to bring me the phone. I will walk back with you, as Ceric requested a chocolate cake,” she said, placing the satellite phone in his hand.
“I didn’t know you took requests, I would have asked long ago.” She smiled, walking the rest of the way in silence. She busied herself with the cake. When that was finished she decided to make some biscuits. She needed to keep busy. She didn’t want her mind wandering and there was enough of that already, even with her being busy. Once she had finished, Wulf still had a few hours to go before he came back. She decided to prepare for bed, thinking that she would be awake when he arrived, but the turmoil of the day soon got to her and she fell asleep.
Chapter 16
Hours later, she awoke and felt Wulf behind her, surrounding her with his warmth. His arm was over her waist, holding her close against him. She could hear by his deep breathing that he was asleep. Slowly she slid out of bed, trying not to wake him. She didn’t want to face him yet as she wasn’t ready to talk about him having to go and meet this Katya woman. She silently exited the room making her way to the kitchen. She made breakfast knowing that once the smell of fresh bread reached the men that they wouldn’t stay in bed for long. She noticed that the cake had been attacked, there were only about three slices left. She smiled, imagining the men around the cake last night, sometimes they were just like little boys.
“Hello Beautiful, now that’s what I call a good morning.” Turning around, she smiled at Caelius as he walked in. After that it didn’t take long for the others to join them. Wulf was the third to arrive, she was standing by the counter waiting for the kettle to boil, when Wulf wrapped his arms around her from behind, lowering his head to her neck.
“I don’t like waking up by myself.” He breathed against her neck, raising goose bumps over her flesh.
“Morning.”
“Come sit down, you have done enough.” He directed her to her chair, placing a slice of fresh bread with butter on her plate. He poured some orange juice and placed eggs and mushrooms next to her bread. He knew that she didn’t eat much in the morning, but he always insisted that she eat something. Once she was served, he heaped his plate, filling his cup with coffee. They proceeded to eat while the others joined them. The men were talking about cars and their top speeds.
“I will be in the training facility with the guys, don’t slave in here okay, let one of the Jezebels wash the dishes.” She watched him walking towards the training facility with Draco. It did not matter how many times she saw him, he could still make her forget everything and everyone around her.
She spent most of the morning painting. It was a peaceful time where she could just paint without thinking about anything much, until Wulf came through the entrance to the courtyard, looking like a thundercloud.
“Why were you upset yesterday? What did Draco tell you?” Drawing close to her she could see the anger in his eyes and his hands were fisted by his sides.
“How do you know that he spoke to me?” Draco had been right, Wulf wasn’t happy.
“What did he say that upset you?” he asked again impatiently without answering her, pacing in front of her.
“It’s not his fault. I asked him why you were angry after he spoke to you.”
“What did he say?” his eyes were flashing. His jaw was tense. She could see that he had reached his limit.
“He said that Katya would not give him the Intel, she only wants you. He also said that she had Intel on some Vercin person and that if you guys can catch him and Merdor the Keres will basically be toast.” When she started to talk he had stopped and was standing with his feet planted apart. His hands were fisted at his sides. His jaw was clamped. A muscle ticked near his jaw.
“Son of a bitch! What else?” She didn’t want to tell him everything. If he knew about her worries he would most probably never go.
“Nothing else,” she whispered. He moved so fast, grabbing her upper arm with one hand and lifting her chin with the other.
“Don’t lie to me! What else?” Wulf was a force to be reckoned with, when he was like this. She wasn’t scared of him. She knew that he would never hurt her.
“I asked him what she wanted in return.” Swallowing, she looked into his eyes. She was not going to cry she thought, as her eyes filled with tears.
“He confided that it was you that she wanted, but that I shouldn’t worry because you would never cheat on me.” He was breathing erratically. She could feel his anger pulsing. “What if she won’t give you the info unless you do?”
“Are you asking me? Or were you asking him?” His voice was angry and Jas could see the turmoil in his eyes.
“I’m asking you!” she cried. Lifting her hand and touching his hand that was still holding her chin.
“I will never cheat on you. If that should be the case then there will be no info.” A fat tear rolled down her cheek at his words.
“Angel, please don’t cry.” He was furious at Draco for having spoken to her, even after he had asked him to leave it. Hugging her he brought her against his chest.
“You have to go, so that you can get the info from her.” She could hear the drum of his heart, wishing that she could just hold him close and not let go, but she knew that he had to do this.
“I don’t have to do anything; not if it hurts you, which it obviously does. He had no right to come and talk to you.”
“I believe you Wulf. I want you to go. It is important to get that Intel. I have to trust you to do this, otherwise it will always be like this.” He tightened his arms around her, trying to reassure her. They stood like that in silence for a few minutes just holding each other.
Suddenly she felt him tensing just as Draco called out. “Wulf!”
“Not now!” He answered, in an expressionless voice. There was silence for a little while then she heard Draco leave. Relaxing his hold, he let her move back so that she could look up at him.
“Please don’t be angry with Draco. I asked him to tell me what was happening.” She worried that their friendship would change because of this.
“I will speak to him later,” Wulf said. “I will also decide after our discussion what I need to do regarding the Intel. I need to be sure though, that if I do go that you will trust me.” He spoke with conviction but there was an underlying note of remorse. She lowered her eyes so he wouldn’t see the fear in them. The fear that Wulf would not be able to resist, even though she trusted him in wanting to resist.
“It will be fine.” He traced a finger down her arm. Bringing her hand to his lips, he kissed it tenderly.
“I love you! Don’t ever forget that!” Turning, he left, heading towards the training facility.
Entering he found Draco at one of the punching bags. He noticed that he tensed, but he didn’t stop his training and didn’t look up at Wulf. Looking around he saw that they were alone. On the way there, he had tried to calm his rage, but he could still feel the anger just below the surface.
“Why did you talk to her? Didn’t I ask you to leave it?” Draco stopped punching.
Looking around he placed his fists on his lower hips. “She needed to know. I explained to her that you didn’t want to meet Katya but that it is something that is necessary. I’m sorry for talking to her behind your back, but if we have a chance at catching Vercin or Merdor we have to try.”
“I don’t give a fuck about Vercin or Merdor when it comes to Jas. Don’t ever assume to know what I want or try to meddle in my relationship again. You’re like a blood brother to me. I will die for you but I will not hurt Jas for you. I will discuss this with her. If for any reason I find that it will harm our relationship I will not go to meet Katya and you will just have to accept that.” Turning, Wulf stormed out. Draco turned, punching the bag with such force that a tear appeared in it.
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