“I’m not afraid of Cruz,” Nash snorts.
Val snorts right back. “You should be.”
Nash smiles like he’s caught her in a trap. “So you’re saying he’s dangerous? Too goddamn dangerous for your sister?”
Rolling her eyes, Val focuses on a makeup ad like she doesn’t give a shit. She does, though. From where I’m standing, I can see her entire face. Not sure what her game is, but she’s in this. She looks straight at me for a second begging for backup. Since she’s talking more sense than Nash, I give it to her.
“Val’s right. It’s over, Nash. Shavone made her choice and it wasn’t you.”
Or me.
The big guy’s nostrils flare out. I can almost see the steam pouring out of them.
“Just let her be happy. Leave her alone,” I murmur low.
“Leave her alone?” Jack screeches. “She’s mated to a Native thug who killed his own kind.”
“Oh, brother,” Val says with a big bored-like sigh. “He killed a pack for not responding to his mom’s SOS.”
Holy fuck!
My jaw drops.
That bombshell of intel raises my eyebrows and Nash’s.
No alpha — hell, no wolf — would let a pack get away with that.
“If that’s the case, he didn’t do anything you wouldn’t have done, Nash.” I set the rest of my cognac aside. I don’t want it.
Jack practically snarls at Val. “Where did you hear that?”
Grinning, Val holds the magazine closer to inspect a miniskirt in a fashion spread. “Rumor.”
Nash glares at her. “I don’t give a goddamn what the rumors say. True or not, it doesn’t change the fact that Shav is in way over her head.”
“And we need to make her see that.” Jack nods. “Thank goodness the circle my crones built did what it was intended to do this morning.”
“That circle tried to kill her!” I growl. “You allowed that?” My wolf snarls at Nash.
He swallows, rubs the back of his head.
“On the contrary, it saved her.”
Val’s fake disinterest breaks.
“It’s a very powerful space, isn’t it?” Jack smirks at her. “During worship tonight with her coven, she’ll benefit even more.” Jack presses fingers to her temple and squints.
“She’s not getting back in that circle. Pretty sure Cruz won’t allow it,” Val says.
Nash cracks a disgusted laugh. “Since when has Shavone followed orders from anyone?”
“You’re right,” Val says, smirking evilly at him. “Shav’s doing exactly what — and who — she wants to.”
Val intended to needle him to get angry. That’s what she does to both of us.
Instead, Nash frowns into his drink before downing the rest of it.
He’s my cousin and my alpha. He’s hurting, probably will for a long time to come.
I lower my voice.
“Look. I don’t know Shavone as well as either of you do,” I say to Nash and Val. “But one thing I do know — she’s smart.”
Nash blinks at me, brows pulled together in thought. Am I getting through?
“Enough of this second guessing,” Jack says. “Shavone obviously doesn’t realize what she’s doing. She needs to be controlled. Period. Nash” — she turns to him. “Do what you have to do to make sure she uses that circle tonight.”
Jack waves a hand in Val’s direction. “Shavone cares about this brat for whatever reason.”
Val sneers at her.
“Use that.” Jack rubs her temples, again.
“Don’t do it, Nash,” Val warns in a sing-song voice.
Jack’s nose goes into the air. “If Nash can’t get it done, I will.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I say.
“Exactly what you think it means. Allowing her to work for him in the first place” — she sighs over-dramatically, picks up her purse and a big tote bag from a chair.
Suspicion trickles hot down my spine. I step in front of Jack. “Did you have Shavone kidnapped from the Dollhouse?”
The air heats around me as my wolf simmers with fury.
Val has stopped flipping pages to watch us.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Jack tries to sidestep me.
I block her.
“To punish her for working there? Did you leave her at the Kitten Club to punish me for not telling you about her job at the Dollhouse?” I look at Nash. “Were you in on this?”
“Fuck no!” He booms.
I stare at him, then back at Jack. “If I find out that either one of you” —
“Calm down, Benjamin,” Jack says.
She’s batshit.
All this time a crazy bitch has been calling the shots when it came to the Soft sisters’ safety.
“Know this, Jack. If you had anything at all to do with it, Cruz will kill you — and I’ll help.”
Unable to check my wolf, the fangs drop. He snarls audibly.
Her scent of fear is instant and putrid.
“Nash, get control of your beta!”
“Back off, Ben. She didn’t have anything to do with it. I’d know.”
Holding her head like it aches badly, Jack steps around me toward the back doors. This time I let her go.
“The front door is that way.” I point down the hall. Hope the mahogany door breaks her ass on the way out.
“Nash has been kind enough to offer me the pool house until I find an apartment,” she says opening the door.
“Why the fuck would you do that?” I glare at Nash.
Jack doesn’t look back as she takes her rigid back outside and closes the door behind her.
“She had to leave the Alliance condo and didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Has Lowell been briefed about Jack and her fucked up plan?” I ask. Lowell is our nation’s Prime.
Nash purses his lips, walks to the minibar.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought. You can brief him at the Alliance meeting.”
Nash sets the glass down on the counter, reaches for the cognac bottle. “I’m not going. They can’t help me anymore.”
It’s not about you!
I take his glass and pitch it into the fireplace. “You’re going to that fucking meeting!”
Grabbing me by the shirt with his huge hands, he slams me against the stone wall of the fireplace.
Fuck.
That hurts.
“Don’t tell me what to do.” A string of spit stretches between Nash’s lips. His nose inches from mine, I smell the liquor he spilled on his shirt. It disgusts me.
My SOB of an old man used to smell like this all the fucking time.
My beast breaks through, my upper body shifting as I twist out of Nash’s grip. He’s distracted enough for me to pull his arm around his back. I yank it up hard.
“Someone’s gotta save you from yourself, you son of bitch,” I growl.
A rumble starts in Nash’s belly and his wrist grows in my grip. The girth of his shoulders and arms become massive at the same time that his beast roars to life.
Val jumps up from the couch, dumping the magazine on the floor, and scrambles out of the room to the kitchen.
While I watch her run for cover, Nash spins and grabs me by the throat. Claws prick the back of my neck.
Motherfucker. I can’t breathe.
“Thought I made it clear,” Nash says. “My duty to protect Shavone trumps everything. Wolven Moon Alliance, French nation hierarchy, the pack.” He squeezes my neck harder, the claws sink a little deeper. “Even family, cuz.”
Letting go of me, he steps away and morphs.
I shift human. “Who she needs protection from is you,” I gulp out between breaths. “I’m going to make sure you stay away from her.”
“You and what army?”
He shrugs off his ripped shirt and heads up the stairs.
Fuck. I’m gonna have bruises for sure. I wipe the back of my neck and come away with significant amounts of blood.
&nb
sp; “I’ll help you.” Val says leaning in the doorway into the kitchen.
“You?” I snort, keeping pressure on my wounds. “You hate Shav.”
She shrugs and walks toward me with a first aid kit. “Kidnapping will start a wolf war.”
“Why do you care?”
Squinting her brown eyes, she shrugs again. “I have my reasons.”
“Francisco Suave?”
Tucking her lips, she looks away. The rotting scent surrounding her eases into something sweeter.
Well, fuck me. Valerie Gentil actually cares about someone.
She digs in the kit for a packaged alcohol wipe. She hands it to me.
I rip open the wrapper and press it to the punctures. It stings. “How are you going to help?”
“I don’t know. Give Shavone a heads up that she’s about to be kidnapped again? I could tell Francisco so he can tell Cruz.”
“Telling Cruz will start a war.”
“What do you suggest?” Val asks.
chapter 22
It’s been forty-five minutes since Enrique said he’d call me back.
And thirty minutes since my left index finger developed a strange black band around it.
I set my packed worship tote next to the bed.
I pick up my phone, again. Hit redial, again. It rings precisely six times and goes to voicemail. Again.
I toss the phone onto the bed and pace.
Okay. Okay. Calm down.
He’s an alpha. He can take care of himself.
I breathe deep through my nostrils, exhale slowly through my mouth. It doesn’t help.
Antonio’s shocked fuck on the phone rings in my ears. The more ominous, menacing wolves that he growled out? Even over the phone, his tone of voice sent a shiver up my spine that still tingles.
I rub my left pointer finger. The foreboding in my veins is relentless. I swear I can feel it seeping into my cells.
Screw staying calm.
It’s time to freak out and do something.
But what? Where do I start?
Enrique said I was the cause of the wild goose chase to Aspen. Why me?
Because you’re a Soft witch.
My intuition tells me that is the truth. That the Alliance is involved somehow also rings true.
The image of Jack’s angry face comes to mind. She was unbelievably pissed that I knew about the Alliance and she blamed Enrique for that knowledge.
I wish I knew what was said in the Dollhouse office after I was kicked out. Oh, to have been a fly on that wall. Instead of seducing Enrique, I should have questioned him about that.
I sit on the bed and reach for the phone to try Enrique, again. My thumb grazes the trackpad and wakes the sleeping MacBook.
Wait a minute. I did have a bug in that office! The one I installed on Enrique’s computer! If it survived being dumped on the floor by Nash, that is.
I forget about the phone and turn the Mac to face me. Mousing over the part of the screen that reveals the hidden spyware icon, I click it.
There are a number of recordings under the Dollhouse feed. Unfortunately, none of them have dates.
I click on the first one.
“Explain this nonsense.” It’s Enrique’s voice.
“My mother has the flu,” Paige says.
Oh. It’s my first night working at the Dollhouse.
Paige and I got caught trying to tag team watching Ava. More momentous was Enrique revealing his wolf to me. That revelation was life changing.
I drag the audio bar forward several minutes. When I let it play, it’s Nash roaring my name.
Right.
Nash and his French wolves stormed the Dollhouse that night, too.
I installed the program just before all that went down. That means this must be the first recording and the feeds are probably listed oldest first, newest last.
I close it and go to the very last recording. It should be the most recent. I click on it.
“Here.” It’s Nash’s voice, calmer this time.
“Oh.” I hear my own voice. “The pendant?”
“We’re still looking for it.”
This is the recording from this afternoon. It started recording right after I put the computer back on the credenza.
Awesome. The computer survived Nash. Now let’s hope they said something useful. I click toward the three-quarter mark on the audio.
“As it so happens, you are correct,” Jack’s grating voice says. “We do need to discuss Alliance business.”
I listen to myself demanding to stay and being kicked out by Enrique.
“Shavone!” It’s Enrique calling after me.
“Let her go.” Nash says.
“I can’t leave her like that. She’s upset.” Enrique’s voice trails off.
“She’s always upset. She’ll get over it.” Nash bellows.
What the fuck ever, Nash.
“Make sure he doesn’t leave before speaking with me.” Jack’s anger turns the sound waves into sharp barbs that hurt my ears.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I hate that Nash calls her ma’am.
There are footsteps — presumedly Nash’s, fading away, then rustling.
“Have you found my sister yet?” Jack’s voice is low, almost a whisper.
Who is she talking to?
Silence.
“Damn it.” Jack sounds desperate. “Now that Kennedy has the Alliance behind her, she’s even more of a danger to the Soft sisters.”
Sisters.
I pause the recording.
The memory of my family running across the circle, and hurrying to the hiding place comes vividly to mind.
The leather package Sophia was carrying had embossing on it.
I close my eyes to visualize the scene more clearly.
After our parents sealed us inside the shelter, Skylar screamed. When Sophia reached out into the darkness to calm her, she inadvertently knocked the flashlight out of my hand.
I felt around on the ground for it, and, switched it on once I found it. The beam aimed like a spotlight on the embossed portion of the package.
Oh. I know that S symbol. It’s our family seal and inside that package is our family’s book of shadows. I’d bet my life on it.
I open my eyes.
Soft isn’t a coven or a type of witch. It’s my name!
My phone dings.
Enrique!
I grab it.
It isn’t him. It’s a text from Val.
Don’t hold worship here tonight, she wrote.
Why not?
It isn’t safe.
Says who? I ask
Me.
I’m supposed to take her word for it?
Did Nash tell you that?
No. He WANTS you to use it. So does Jack. That should tell you something.
Yeah. It does. It tells me I can’t trust anyone except Enrique.
I tap his number again. Again, there’s no response.
We’re coming. Join us or not. I text back to Val.
I set the phone aside and reach for the trackpad to hit play to continue playing the recording.
“Call me back if anything changes,” Jack murmurs. “And, Emmanuel?” Her voice cracks a bit. “Be careful.”
Emmanuel.
Enrique’s uncle is working with Jack, and, by extension, Nash. That explains how he knew about worship.
There’s more rustling. Perhaps she’s putting her phone away.
Footsteps echo on the recording.
“How dare you?” Jack’s grating voice seethes.
Wow. She spoke so softly to Emmanuel.
“How dare you defy Alliance orders,” she says.
“Orders that I never should have followed,” Enrique says. “Shavone and I wasted years apart because of you and the Alliance.”
“Those orders were given because there is something about you, Mr. Cruz, that interferes with the shroud protecting her. Don’t you understand that?” Through the recording, I feel her
exasperation.
“You’re wrong,” Enrique says. “The hunters found her before I did the night of the massacre.”
Massacre.
Grief for my parents washes over me in waves.
“It’s Shavone’s own power that leaks through, it’s not me” — Enrique is cut off.
“You’re willing to risk her life on that assumption?” Nash’s voice is menacingly low.
“You think I’d risk her life for one moment?” Enrique asks calmly.
He wouldn’t. Not ever.
“I think you’re an arrogant son of bitch,” Nash says.
“I don’t care what you think of me, detective.” Enrique laughs sarcastically. “Shavone and I are mated now. Only her opinion matters.”
I can almost see the smirk on Enrique’s face. He’s goading Nash and, judging from the shuffling sounds and the low growl I know to be Nash’s, it worked.
“I’m going to kill you.” Nash hisses.
The ruckus gets louder. Sounds of furniture breaking mingles with wolven grunts and Jack’s shouts.
There’s a piercing screech from somewhere outside of the room.
“Shavone!” Enrique shouts.
That was me screaming in the dressing room.
The feed stops as they all leave the room.
Wow. I sit still to let everything I’ve just learned sink in.
My name is Shavone Soft. My sisters are Sophia Soft and Skylar Soft.
We are the Soft sisters.
Jack’s phrasing confirms what I feel — that my sisters are still alive. Keeping me from Enrique was one thing, but keeping me away from my sisters? Unforgivable. We could have grown up together.
I’m so mad, I shake.
That anger mixes with determination — to find Enrique, my pendant, and my biological sisters. I’m not giving up on Val, either. She’s been hexed, I know it.
The Alliance lies at the root of it all. It must be destroyed.
With no time to waste, I go to the next recording on the list. It’s a short one.
“He said no.” The voice is Emmanuel’s.
“What do you mean he said no?” Nash’s booming voice blares over my speakers making me jump.
I tap the volume to turn it down.
“We have no leverage on him now,” Emmanuel says.
We.
I sigh. More proof of Emmanuel’s betrayal.
Soft Fate (Wolven Moon Book 2) Page 19