by Alisa Woods
There was a smile on the witch’s face.
“Come on, Jak, you big baby,” she said, lowering her hands. “Wake up.” She snapped her fingers, and his eyes slowly opened.
Arianna let out a gasp. They did it. She lifted up from the floor and grabbed Jak’s face with both hands, barely believing it.
He squinted up at her, like he wasn’t quite sure what he was seeing. “Arianna?”
She laughed a little, grinning like a mad fool.
And then kissed him thoroughly.
Arianna is kissing him.
Jak was convinced he must be in heaven—not only did this kiss feel otherworldly, like he was closer to her now, in this mere locking of lips, than he had ever been before, even when buried deep inside her, but… he was kissing Arianna.
He had to be dead.
God had given him a reward: somehow Jak had died and stayed in some dark, unknowing place until Arianna could join him in the afterlife. And now they were together again. Only her lips were too soft. Her hair spilling across his face too real. And if this was real, if he was alive… then there was a witch who was seriously going to pay for it.
His arms were shaky and weak, but somehow he managed to brush back Arianna’s hair, gently cup her cheeks, slow the kiss, and lift her beautiful, smiling face away from his. The hardest part was that he didn’t want to break the connection between them. He actually felt a physical twinge course through him as she leaned back, putting distance between his lips and hers. Her face glowed with happiness. Other faces swam into view: Circe, the witch; Sarra hovering over him with a troubled look; Marco and Kalis hanging back, but watching intently. The rest of the construction site sat in the background, just barely in focus with his still-blurry vision.
Dammit.
Someone had stopped the spell. The witch had gone back on her word.
A growl rumbled up from deep inside him, and he struggled up to sitting.
He glared at Circe. “What did you do, witch?” His fists were balled up at his side, and he was seriously contemplating raking a handful of claws across her too-pretty face. He would have done it already, except she could reduce him to ash without thinking.
The witch looked unimpressed. “Well, excuse me for saving your life.” She sighed with elaborate patience then climbed to her feet, teetering in her heels. “You wolves really need to work on your manners.” But there was a smirk on her face that didn’t match the anger boiling in his chest. All of this was for nothing.
He ground his teeth. “That wasn’t our deal.”
“And what exactly was your deal, Jak Roberts?” Sarra asked, pushing forward and threatening to get in his face. But her face was contorting like Circe’s, as if she couldn’t decide whether to smile or snarl at him.
Jak winced, realizing he really didn’t want to reveal the details of his arrangement with the witch. Sure, they hadn’t carried through with it, but the deal had been struck all the same. He peered cautiously at Arianna. What a disaster this was… she was still mated, Jak was still alive, and now he’d have to account for everything to her.
Only… the mile-wide grin on her face hadn’t dimmed in the slightest. She threw a mischievous look to Sarra. “Should we tell him?”
“Naw,” Sarra said, looming over him with her arms crossed. “Make him suffer a little longer.”
They were teaming up on him. Jak had missed something, big time. “Would someone like to tell me what in the actual hell is going on here?”
Marco edged forward. He touched Sarra’s elbow gently and had a quick wordless exchange of raised eyebrows and nods that completely baffled Jak. When Marco seemed convinced that everything was fine by Sarra, which was extremely odd—when did the kid become acquainted with Jak’s ex?—he turned to Jak.
“You owe Sarra your life,” he said, solemnly. “Arianna, too. You’re kind of recklessly stupid, so I’m not sure what they really see in you, but they seemed to think you were worth saving.” The smirk on everyone else’s face finally showed up on his.
And if Marco was okay with this… “What about the spell?” Jak asked. He was still confused as all hell as to what had happened.
Arianna’s touch on his bare arm brought his attention instantly back to her. Her touch had always electrified him, but now there was something more… something literally electric zipped across his skin and enlivened his whole body with her nearness. His wolf was quiet, licking his wounds and still recovering from the spell, but this magic enervated him, too.
She was still beaming. “The spell worked, Jak. I’m free of Mace. I’m no longer mated.” She dipped her head for a half second, then captured him with those gorgeous blue eyes again. “At least, not yet. Not the normal way.”
Which confused the hell out of him again. He frowned. “What do you mean, the normal way?”
She reached out to touch the frown on his face, and the smooth caress of her fingertips was like a drug hitting him full-force. His body calmed. His confusion tempered. His wolf sat up at attention, rumbling for more.
He waited for her to explain.
A frown marred her pretty face. She glanced at Sarra then back to him. “You were dying. The spell would have killed you, but Sarra drew out the remnants of Mace’s wolf.”
He shot a look at Sarra, iciness gripping his heart, even with Arianna’s soothing touch. Sarra looked unharmed, but if she had Mace somehow inside her… “What does that mean?” he asked her.
She shrugged. “I don’t know, really. Maybe he’ll be able to sense the connection? I don’t feel terribly different. It was… unsettling at first.”
She and Marco exchanged a look again. There was something there that wasn’t before… Jak wasn’t sure what it was.
“I’m fine now,” Sarra said, looking back to Jak.
Marco’s jaw worked. “Mace may yet come after her. If he does, I’ll happily tear him to pieces.”
“Yeah, well, you’re going to have to get in line for that, kid.” But Jak’s heart was lifting. The spell worked. Arianna was free. And yet… somehow he was still alive. He turned his attention back to Sarra. “Looks like I owe you, again, Sarrabear. But I would have told you not to do it.”
“Yeah, well, you’re an idiot. I think we’ve established that.” She smirked. “Besides, I didn’t save your sorry ass. You’re only alive because you’ve got a huge dollop of Arianna’s magic swimming in your blood.”
Jak turned to Arianna, eyes wide. “Is that true?”
Her smile had turned shy. “I wasn’t sure if you would accept it. Well, your wolf anyway. I guess…” She glanced at Circe, who was smirking like the rest of them. “I guess your wolf thinks I’m okay after all.”
He gaped at her a moment. Arianna had saved his life by donating her own magic to him. That was the connection, the electric feel between them. She was literally inside him… and his wolf yipped in excitement about what that meant. He’d never heard of such a thing, but he was in wonder of it. He was bound to her. Connected. Forever.
He reached for her, pulling her toward him. “Let me show you just what my wolf thinks about that.” He brought her in for a kiss. The second her lips touched his, that electric feel danced across his body again. If he wasn’t so damn tired, and weak from the spell, he’d be sporting a raging boner by now. As it was, he was back in heaven, her lips on his, her angel-soft hair billowing around him. Every part of him sang with the connection between them.
Damn, he wanted to get her alone. He couldn’t even imagine how amazing it would be to have her naked in his arms, their bodies locked together… he pulled back from the kiss. Spell-damage or no, if he kept traveling down that line of thought, he would have the king of all hard-ons and no way to do anything about it.
He still held her close, caressing her cheek and peering into her eyes. “Tell me this is actually real. Because this feels like a dream I’ve had forever, and it’s come true right before my eyes.”
He’d never seen her smile so wide. “It’s real.” It di
mmed a little as she glanced around their group. “I’m not sure exactly where we go from here. But I want to make sure everyone is safe. Sarra most of all.” She turned back to Jak. “She’s family now.”
Jak nodded, happiness flooding his body with all those three little words contained. That Arianna had forgiven him for enacting the spell; that her biggest concern, now that everyone was alive, was Sarra’s safety; and that they were all in this together.
Family.
It was something that only his pack with Gage had ever had a positive meaning for him. And here Arianna was, with a heart as big as the wide open sky, accepting him and Sarra both into her family without a second thought.
“Right,” Jak said. “The first thing we need to do is get far away from here. Then we can sort out all the details.” He tried to climb to his feet, but he only got about halfway up before the concrete floor started to tip up.
“Jak!” Arianna’s hands were on him, trying to brace him, but it was Marco’s shoulder under his arm that kept him from tumbling back to the floor. The smiles were gone, and everyone had concerned looks on their faces again.
Jak blinked away the dizziness and steadied himself. He waved off Marco and Arianna’s help. “I’m fine.”
Circe pursed her lips, looking him over with a sharp eye. “You’re not fine, little wolf. You were near death just minutes ago. It will take even your shifter powers a little time to recover from that.”
He held up his hands. “I’m good. Really. We should get moving.” He lumbered toward the open center of the construction site. The truth was that everything felt weak, like he’d been punched full of holes. It wasn’t so much that any one thing hurt as everything ached. Like all the pieces of him were ready to crumble into a heap of dust. But he forced himself to stand straight and move steadily… as steady as he could. He didn’t wobble… much. And each step felt stronger than the last. Arianna hovered on one side, Marco on the other, but both let him go under his own power. He was grateful for that.
“Where are we heading?” Arianna asked him as they neared Sarra’s jeep.
“We need to clear out of Seattle,” Jak said, holding in the grunts that wanted to escape as he negotiated the hard-packed dirt of the construction site. He glanced at Marco, who gave him a nod of agreement. Jak wasn’t clear exactly who was in charge here—he was supposed to be dead, and Marco was supposed to take care of his sister. Now, with Sarra involved, their group was the size of a small pack… but without any clear hierarchy. Or an established alpha. It was as disorienting as the ravages the spell had worked on his body, but they could worry about all that later. Like he said, details. For now, Arianna had it exactly right: getting everyone to a safe place took priority over everything else.
When they reached the Jeep, Jak gingerly climbed in. It was harder to mask how difficult it was just getting his body to obey his commands, but he managed to keep the grimaces to a minimum. Arianna climbed over him, refusing to sit on his lap, opting to snuggle up next to him on the seat instead… which worked just fine for him. In fact, he was convinced it was helping him heal. Every time she touched his bare skin, it juiced his body with something between an electric jolt and a rush of pure love. A smile crept onto his face and stayed there. With her by his side, he literally felt like he was flying.
Sarra hoisted herself into the driver’s seat and looked to him for direction.
Okay, so he guessed he was in charge. At least, for the moment.
“Arianna said you packed a few things for the road,” Jak said.
“Clothes and toiletries,” Sarra said. “Just enough for the two of you.”
“Anything at the apartment you’re going to miss?” He gave her a serious look. “We may not be back for a while, Sarra.” Like, possibly a long while, but he didn’t want to say that now. He hadn’t thought it through well enough to have a handle on it, and his head was still a bit woozy.
She grimaced and gripped the steering wheel of the Jeep, staring forward at the unmoving cranes and empty half-constructed buildings. “No, I guess not.”
“What about your paintings?” He knew they were the only things she would give a shit about. And he hated the idea of asking her to leave it all behind, simply because she felt compelled to save him.
“I’ll paint new ones.” But her jaw was working, and he knew her better than that.
“We can stop by your place. Just pick up a few things, whatever will fit in the back.” He glanced at the back seat where Circe was once again perched between Arianna’s brothers, smirking and enjoying the close quarters. Marco seemed to be gritting his teeth, and besides, he was focused on the back of Sarra’s head, but Kalis was practically drooling on the drop-dead gorgeous witch. Jak would have to keep an eye on the two of them… but they should be getting rid of Circe soon enough. And there was plenty of room in the back of the Jeep for some of Sarra’s works. Her paints and brushes, for sure. She’d been collecting those for a long time, whenever she could scrape the money together.
He looked back to Sarra, who hadn’t said anything. Her knuckles were turning white where she clutched the steering wheel.
Arianna turned toward her. “Sarra, are you all right?”
Sarra shook her head, as if warding off some thought. “Yeah.” She peered around Arianna to Jak. “There are a couple things I’d like to get. To take with me.” The way she said it… Jak could tell she knew. That they might not be coming back.
“You got it.” He gave her a nod, and she started up the Jeep, gunning it and spinning out of the construction site. The momentum rocked Arianna into Jak’s arms, which he didn’t mind in the slightest. But a quick look back showed Circe draping herself over Kalis.
“God, Circe, give the boy a break,” Jak said, giving her a full measure of disgust. “He’s what, sixteen?”
“Seventeen,” Kalis growled, obviously not pleased that Jak was trying to play Dad. And Jak really had no right to interfere—Kalis wasn’t his family. Not yet, a small thought in his head said. His heart surged at that idea, and he snuggled Arianna closer to his side, debating if he should say something more.
Marco stepped in for him, growling out his words. “She’s a witch, Kalis. Don’t be an idiot.” Marco paused. “No offense,” he said to Circe. Another pause. “And thanks for what you did for my sister.” He said it with a glare that said Circe wouldn’t be getting any sexual favors in return for that act from him. Or from his brother.
Jak nearly laughed, but mostly kept it in. Only Arianna noticed the silent heaving of his chest, but she seemed perplexed about what he found so funny. And he’d like to keep it that way. He threaded his fingers into her beautiful hair, distracting her and himself completely. He brushed his cheek against hers, bringing her closer and dropping soft kisses on her neck. If they didn’t have a car full of onlookers, he’d do more than explore her jawline with his lips. But every bit of contact with her seemed to strengthen him, so he kept it up. She didn’t seem to mind, matching his every touch with another of her own.
No one interrupted them during the short drive back to Sarra’s apartment.
As they climbed out of the Jeep, Circe scowled at the run-down neighborhood Sarra lived in. Jak hated sweeping Sarra into their mess, making her go on the run with them, but he couldn’t say he was sorry to get her out of this dump. He’d been hoping for years that she would leave, but he could never convince her to go. Sometimes things worked out in the way you least expected. His luck had never been that good before, but now… he squeezed Arianna’s hand, getting a fresh electric charge from that. Now it seemed like anything was possible, with her by his side. He kissed her quickly, barely taming the bright smile on her face, then followed after Sarra, who was unlocking the door on the stoop to let them into the building. Arianna’s brothers and the witch were darting looks all around the trash-filled streets and crumbling façade… and keeping close behind them.
They didn’t see anyone on the three flights up, but it was the middle of the day. Th
e junkies were sleeping it off, and anyone with an actual job was gone for the day, trying to scratch out a living. Which was just as well.
“Let’s grab what we can in one trip, eh, Sarrabear?” he said as they approached her door. “Between us, if we each carry something, that’s probably all the Jeep will hold anyway.”
She nodded in agreement, still tight-lipped and grim-faced. He would need to pull her aside at some point and really talk this through. See what the future held… for all of them.
Jak didn’t realize something was wrong until Sarra was inside and he and Arianna were across the threshold with Circe and Marco and Kalis at their backs.
The apartment was trashed.
And it wasn’t unoccupied either.
Arianna’s first hint that something was wrong was when Jak shifted.
One moment, his hand was holding hers, reassuring and warm; the next, he was bounding across the room in wolf form, snarling and snapping at someone. Arianna stumbled back, stunned and confused.
Then she saw Jak’s target: Mace.
A full-body shiver gripped her. Mace shifted to wolf just as Jak reached him, and they went down together in a bundle of fur-flying and fangs-gnashing. But Mace wasn’t alone. His two betas, Beck and Alric emerged from the kitchen and immediately shifted to wolf to join the fight. Marco and Kalis surged past her, already shifted, loping across the room to attack, one each going for the two betas. Sarra stood stock still in the middle of it, hands clenched, looking over the melee with shock. Terror seized Arianna’s heart for all of them: Jak was too weak to fight, Kalis was too young, and Sarra carried Mace’s wolf inside her.
Arianna leaped forward to pull Sarra back from the fight, but she shifted before Arianna’s disbelieving eyes. Since when could Sarra shift? Arianna watched as Sarra leapt into the fight, teeth sinking into one of Mace’s betas who had his jaws clamped into Marco’s side.