by Kate Wendley
He asked, “You’re not a jaguar?”
“Coyote.”
His eyes flicked down her body and it instantly irritated her.
“God save the Queen.”
“What?”
He gestured to her shirt. Oh. “You listen to the Sex Pistols?”
“From time to time. They’re in my music rotation.” Huh. Well that was a first. Someone around her own age liking the same music as her.
Sebastian stepped out of the kitchen just then, and she couldn’t help noticing the fierce Alpha Wolf as he strode into the restaurant and immediately snapped his attention on Vince. He frowned and made his way over, so she grabbed her drink and put it on the other side of Zach’s computer, shuffling everything a little further away. People and prized possessions weren’t always safe when Sebastian had that kind of look on his face.
Chester handed Vince his beer as Sebastian sat down smack on his other side. Vince barely flicked a glance at him, his attention still on her, though she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about that. She might give Zach a hard time, but she did actually know better than to get into his business. Besides, once Vince got to know her, he’d probably dump her just like every other guy she ever gave her heart to.
“I’m Vince, by the way.”
“That’s what you said.”
He smiled and his eyes started to shine. “You’re mouthy, aren’t you?”
She arched an eyebrow at him, still not sure how to read him. Was he being cocky and trying to get her to fall all over him like lots of girls probably did, or was he being genuinely nice? Hard to tell.
“What are you working on? Looks pretty technical.”
She sighed and curled her lip. “Zach’s got a virus on his computer again. I’m debugging it.”
He smirked. “A punk rock computer geek.”
“I’m not a geek, jerk.”
Judging by his quickly hidden frown, she realized she’d been a little too bitchy. Guess she wasn’t over feeling trampled on by every man on earth…
**
Vince tried hard to hold onto the feeling of freedom by being among all these shifters. Penny was freaking gorgeous with her darkly lined eyes and punk rock look, not to mention her sexy, curvy body, but it was obvious he wasn’t getting anywhere with her. Her venom got her point across loud and clear.
“All righty then.” He turned his attention back to the bar and took a healthy swallow of beer, the friendly old bartender watching their exchange in amusement. Vince looked lazily around and frowned when he realized the surly blonde dude sitting on his other side was focused pretty hard on him. That irritated him more than it maybe should have. He’d already been harassed by the thick necked shifter upstairs because he was a cat. Just because he wasn’t fully shifter didn’t mean his animal side liked having to back down all the time. He submitted a lot because he’d gotten his ass beat more than once for standing up for himself when he should’ve just walked away, but tonight… well, Anthony said no fights allowed. Vince wouldn’t push it too far.
He said loud enough for the guy to hear, “What’s the deal, dude?”
Surly dude flatly said, “Just wondering what a Savannah jaguar is doing here. You got business with Zach, you take it up with Zach. Don’t make a scene in the club.”
He frowned and turned to face him. “Who says I’m making a scene? And what’s with everyone thinking I’m from… oh shit.” His heart pounded in his ears as he stared in shock at this stranger.
It was no secret Vince looked a lot more Asian than his mom, who was a light skinned, petite blasian. She was part black and part Korean, leaning more towards looking like a very unique combination of the two. His nonexistent father had to be pure Asian since Vince looked more that than anything else, especially with his strong ethnic features. His wide shoulders and the fact that he was over a foot taller than his mom also told him his father wasn’t a small man. He’d always guessed his father might also be Korean like some of his mom’s dad’s side of the family, but he really wasn’t sure.
And his mom always swore she didn’t know much about his father, or how to find him. All she knew was that he was jaguar. Could he be one of the jackasses from Savannah? Everyone seemed surprised to see a jaguar looking like he did in Atlanta…
Surly dude kept an eye on him as Vince’s head reeled in shock. He hadn’t been expecting this twist to his night. He wasn’t even sure what to think about it. Had Anthony known all along? Was that why he’d urged him to come here?
Or maybe his mom knew more than she’d ever let on. Maybe his father wasn’t just an anonymous one night stand, and maybe that’s why she didn’t want him associating with other supers. She didn’t want him to find out who he really was.
He scowled. He didn’t want to believe she’d lied to him all these years, but a heavy feeling settled in his gut. He took a deep breath and tried to focus. Surly dude was seriously packed with muscle and looked like he knew exactly how to throw his weight around. Something about him screamed danger and a whole lot of hurt if Vince ticked him off, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “What’s with the Savannah jaguars? Are they the only Asian jaguars around?”
“Talk to Zach. Jaguar business isn’t wolf business.”
“You’re a wolf?” God that felt weird to ask out loud.
The man nodded once. He wasn’t a talker, but he also wasn’t taking his eyes off Vince.
Feeling anxious and on the verge of being irritated, he snapped, “Fine. But I have no idea who Zach is, man. Can you point him out?”
Surly dude folded his arms across his chest and said, “Sit tight. He’s on his way here.”
Vince looked around himself in a daze. People ate at the restaurant beside the bar, more people hung out and played pool across the club, and Vince might be learning who his father was tonight. None of this was what he’d envisioned by coming here.
He glanced at gorgeous, mouthy Penny, who gave him a strange look before he turned back to his beer, took a big, healthy swallow of it, then decided this was all too surreal for him.
His mom sacrificed so much over the years to keep him safe and hidden in plain sight, from both humans and shifters, while he grew up with way too much strength for a normal person to have, but no animal to be considered a shifter. They moved around a lot when he was a kid just to keep their anonymity, and luckily, because they were so poor and the welfare system was so overtaxed the way it was, no one ever followed up with them on why he’d changed schools so many times, or why he’d missed his annual doctor appointments every single year. She’d given up too much of herself for him, so he felt like he was betraying her by sticking around this place. It was a longshot, anyway, that someone might know who his father was, even if it might help him figure out what the hell was physically wrong with him.
He finished off his beer, turned around, and was nearly ready to take off when surly dude grabbed his arm and held it in a vice grip.
“Let go of me.”
“Stay put. Zach’ll be here soon.”
“That’s awesome, but I’ve changed my mind. Let go.”
The dude narrowed his eyes at him and Vince started to feel claustrophobic.
“Zach wants to talk to you. Wait here.”
He tried to jerk his arm free, but it was no use. This guy was strong. Through gritted teeth he said, “I don’t want to wait here.”
His heart nearly stopped when the guy’s face started shifting into the meanest, scariest looking werewolf he’d ever seen. The only werewolf he’d ever seen, actually. Vince went stock still and weakly said, “I’ll just stay here.”
People began moving away from their general vicinity, and no one wasted any time about it. Wolfman had stopped shifting by this point, but he still looked damn mad. Then, for no apparent reason, he let him go and turned away.
“Who the hell does Yi Min-jung think he is sending his family here? We had an agreement to stay out of each other’s territories. Does he need his ass kicked a
gain?”
Vince cautiously swiveled around on his stool, now face to face with a dark haired man at least five years older than him, and looking more than a little irritated. All fight went out of him as he stared into his intense, deep green eyes because something about his energy felt like home, even as mad as the guy was.
“Are you Zach?”
He scowled and took a step back. “Yeah. Give me your message in private. This way.”
**
Penny couldn’t keep her eyes off sexy Vince as he walked away with Zach. She was mad at herself for being such a bitch to him, but he made her nervous. He was dangerously sexy with that imposing gaze from eyes that looked older than they should be. Even so, he seemed pretty easy going, even a nice guy on top of that, so of course it scared her that not only was he seriously making her hot for him with his overly masculine vibe, but when he totally knew a song from the Sex Pistols, and even knew that her shirt was a Sex Pistols album cover, she freaked out and was a witch to him. She’d spent too long being the butt of stupid jokes to most of the jackasses around here, girls and guys both, so her bitchy self-defense mechanism was always firmly in place.
Most of the people around here deserved it tenfold for relentlessly mocking her about anything and everything that they knew pissed her off. Vince wasn’t one of them, though. He was obviously new around here and just trying to make conversation.
Shit.
Chapter 4
Vince followed Zach to a door along the wall opposite the bar, and couldn’t help a twinge of jealousy at his smooth, catlike movements that were so much like his mother’s. So much unlike his own.
Once inside a small, minimalistic office that had the crisp, lingering scent of a vampire, Zach leaned against the closed door with crossed arms and blurted out, “What’s your name?”
“Vince. Who’s Yi Min-jung?”
“What?”
“Who’s Yi Min-jung?”
Zach gave him a withering glare. “I heard you the first time. Are you seriously trying to screw with me?”
“No.”
If possible, he frowned even harder. “You’re not in Min-jung’s pack.” It was a statement, not a question.
Vince gave him some time to absorb this since it was obviously bothering him, then firmly said, “No.”
Zach didn’t like that answer, either. “Are you from Savannah?”
“No.”
Silence grew between them as Zach studied him head to foot. “Where are you from then?”
“Atlanta. Born and raised here.”
His eyes went wide. “Do you work at Peach’s Books?”
It was Vince’s turn to be surprised. “Wow, did that vampire tell you that? Word travels fast.”
Looking shocked, Zach shuffled further into the room and pulled out a desk chair. He sat down and stared at Vince while he reluctantly dropped onto the sofa that was jammed up against the wall behind him.
“Who’s Min-jung? You think I look like his family?”
Zach looked upset and Vince wasn’t sure why.
“You’ve been in Atlanta your whole life?”
“Yeah. Who’s Min-jung?” He was getting tired of repeating himself and wondered again if it was a mistake to be here.
Surprisingly, Zach finally answered him. “Yi Min-jung’s a Savannah jaguar. He’s the second to his father, the alpha.”
“And I look like him?”
Zach’s jaw clenched and unclenched. “Well, yes. Him and his brothers. I mean, I’m no expert, but there aren’t any Asian werejaguars in Atlanta.” He gestured towards him and said, “Your build resembles the Yi’s. Tall and wide.”
“How many are in Savannah?”
Zach ignored his question. “Do you have a pack here?”
“No. Not like you mean.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. No pack.”
Zach narrowed his eyes at him, then sniffed the air. “You’re all alone, then? I mean, no one to run with?”
“I don’t run with anyone, no.”
Zach sniffed the air again. “You smell like you’re telling the truth, but something’s not right. Why don’t you tell me what it is.”
He scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
By the look on Zach’s face, he knew that was bullshit.
“Why are you here tonight, Vince? You’ve been in Atlanta your whole life, yet this is the first time I’ve ever met you. Why is that?”
“I don’t mix with supers.”
He chuckled. “Why not?”
“They’re nothing but trouble.”
That got a good belly laugh out of him. “Maybe sometimes, but not all the time.” He studied Vince some more. “So why are you here if we’re nothing but trouble?”
He shrugged. “My friend Kaia said she’s marrying your vampire friend. He slipped me a business card with an address on it, then talked to me in my freaking head. He told me I should come here.”
Zach seemed unfazed as he leaned back in his chair and stared at him.
“So what’s with the Savannah jaguars?”
“What do you want to know?”
“I want to know about the family there. What their names are. How many there are. Stuff like that.”
“Why?”
His heart pounded as they stared each other down. He finally said, “Because my father might be one of them.”
Zach frowned sharply. “You’re trying to find your father?”
“I don’t know. I just want to know something about him. I want to know…” He wanted to know if his father was like him. Part shifter, part human, and a whole lot of issues. If his father was just a one night stand for his mother, maybe she mistook him for a full blooded were-animal. Shifters did that to Vince all the time. They’d tried their dominance games with him often enough for him to know they thought he was one of them. He supposed he should be flattered, but mostly he felt like a fake. Like now.
He stood up. “Forget it. It’s a longshot and I need to get going anyway. Nice to meet you, man. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
Zach popped out of his chair and chuckled. “Wow. That’s awesome. You’re such a loner.”
He frowned at his mocking. “Fuck you.”
Zach laughed louder. “Oh, this is going to be interesting.” He calmed down, but never stopped smiling. “Ok, where are we going?”
“We? We’re not going anywhere. I’m leaving.” Zach didn’t say anything, but he did follow him out. Vince caught Penny looking their way as they left the office, too. A lot of people were watching them, but no one said anything, so he kept going.
Zach followed Vince all the way through the club, up the stairs, out the door, and across the driveway to his car.
“What’s up man? You’re not coming with me.”
“Aw, come on. Don’t make me pull rank on you. I just want to ride along.”
“Why?”
“I want to get to know my new pack mate.”
He was getting seriously irritated with this guy. “I’m not in your pack just because we met.”
Zach’s eyes shone brilliantly, then, and Vince had the uneasy sensation of wanting to look away from him. He finally lowered his gaze and cocked his head so his neck was exposed. Fear bloomed throughout his body and he wasn’t sure if it was Zach tricking his mind into feeling the sensation, or if it was because he’d never truly felt the need to back down from someone and submit to them like he did now. He usually did it just to avoid trouble. It scared the hell out of him that it wasn’t his choice this time.
Zach’s voice was less friendly when he said, “I told you I didn’t want to pull rank on you. I’m the Alpha Jaguar of Atlanta and any jaguar living in my territory will be part of my pack.”
He left that challenge hanging in the air for a minute before saying, “It’s not such a bad deal to have someone to watch your back, is it? I mean, damn man, there are only fifteen of us in the midst of thousa
nds of werewolves and hundreds of werecoyotes and vampires. Don’t you want some allies?”
He swallowed, hard. “What’s the price of having allies?”
The intense fear and feeling of wanting to submit to Zach eased, and his voice sounded friendlier when he said, “Putting up with me. Now where are we going?”
Vince stared in shocked awe at him. He’d had his ass kicked before by a shifter, but never because he felt inferior to them. Never because he had a feeling that he needed to submit. Was this what it felt like to be a real shifter?
“What?”
“Nothing. I, uh, need to pick up a friend. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come along.”
“Hmm. Part of what you just said was a lie. I can smell it. I’m thinking the part about it not being a good idea for me to ride along was the lie, so let’s go.”
Vince frowned and Zach smiled.
“Don’t worry about me, Vince. I can handle myself against just about anyone.”
“Just about?”
“I’m not going to press my luck against Anthony. Other than that, yeah.”
That startled him. “Anthony?”
“The Master Vampire of the Atlanta territory. The biggest badass around. Stay on his good side please. You don’t want to see him when he’s mad.”
Zach stepped past him and opened the passenger door of his car.
“Hey! How did you do that? It was locked. And how did you know that was my car?”
“Your scent is around it. Come on. We don’t want to be late picking up your mom.”
He felt the blood drain from his face. “I never said I was picking up my mom.”
“I do actually have some brains to go along with this pretty face. I can smell a woman on you, but not in an intimate way. I took a guess it was your mom. Now get a move on, bud. If she’s anything like my mom, she’ll kick our asses if we’re late, and I don’t want to make a bad impression on her.”
Vince shook his head and finally slid in behind the wheel. He was crashing from all the adrenaline of being here, and of course his stomach started growling.
“You hungry?”
He mumbled, “I’m always hungry. Why all the pressure to have us in your pack? Are you lonely or something?”