by Sydney Addae
“What if that poor girl is suffering right now and needs answers? If it were me, I wouldn’t appreciate my mate not being available. Do what you need to do but I’m going to help Jarcee and Faye. If ever someone deserved happiness, it’s him.”
FAYE PULLED INTO THE parking lot of the building where they’d had the meeting earlier hoping for answers. On the second floor of this building, she learned we truly were not alone. She looked around at the empty lot and released a long stream of air.
When she hopped in the car, escape not a destination, had filled her mind. Returning here made sense. Someone had answers to questions she had. Unfortunately, everyone had left and would reconvene at their new offices sometime later this week.
“My Alpha.”
She closed her eyes as Jarcee’s words flowed over and over in her mind. He was one of them. A wolf-person and Security Guard with direct access to La Patron and his family.
Special Agent High would be pleased if he didn’t have her arrested her for sleeping with the enemy.
She slapped the steering wheel and yelled her frustration. What the hell had she done in life that she constantly made bad choices when it came to men?
Five years ago, she dated an asshole and was really into him. They were in the same company and had played with the idea of getting married, starting a family. The whole enchilada.
Then she got promoted to Section Supervisor instead of him. His initial reaction had been to tell her how proud of her he was and that she deserved it. Like an idiot, she thought they were still a team.
Instead of being happy and supportive, the asshole undermined her. Even claimed to love her the whole time she was being reprimanded or received dings in her evaluations. It crushed her heart when she discovered he was the person causing her problems.
The shit blew up when he filed an Equal Opportunity complaint against her out of spite when she broke up with him. Even though the complaint was later found to be unfounded, a case of sour grapes. Her C.O. warned her about becoming romantically involved with others in the group. From that painful lesson, she’d avoided military guys like they were underaged junkies.
Now this fuckery.
High would take one look at her record and try to find holes in her report. Her heart hurt at the idea of sharing the past two weeks with Jarcee. Their time together had been magical. He had treated her like a queen, and he’d been her king.
She snorted. All fairy tales. Time to wake up and do her job. She put the car in reverse and headed for a hotel. She grabbed a few supplies from the store before checking in and settling down for the night.
Showered, she pulled out her laptop to write a report to submit to Agent High. Now that she’d thought about it, there was no way she could’ve known about Jarcee. That information was highly classified and revealed to her within the past few hours.
Those fears abated somewhat, but new ones rose. Had she compromised the operation? Even though she hadn’t told him her mission, it was easy to guess. If he didn’t put it together, she was certain Knight would. Which meant the Alpha was aware of their presence.
Heat flooded her face. She’d fucked up. They’d lost the element of surprise and anonymity. Knight would be on guard. Heart heavy, she started to write her report.
An hour later she’d written less than two paragraphs. Every time she tried to type Jarcee’s name or something personal about him, she couldn’t. It had nothing to do with her will, physically she couldn’t type the words. Her fingers moved on the keys, but nothing happened.
She had turned her computer off and then on again. Plugged and unplugged it. Successfully typed other things but was unable to write a report on him. Worst, the need for him pulsed and throbbed through her constantly like a roaring ache.
Had he done something to her? Drugs maybe? Although she doubted that was necessary. For the most part, she jumped on him more than he pulled her beneath him. She read through her notes from the meeting. Agent High discussed what they should expect from contact with pack members. There was nothing remotely close to what she was experiencing.
Her skin was on fire. Her heart raced as if it wanted to leave her chest. Jarcee, his scent, touch, voice, everything crowded her mind mercilessly, driving her to put on clothes and return to his house for answers.
At least that’s what she told herself.
JASMINE AND SILAS DROVE Jarcee home without alerting Security or anyone. Truly there was no need, Silas was capable of handling most threats, but he went into overkill when it came to her. He scanned the house for bombs before pulling into the garage and closed the door behind them. They followed Jarcee inside.
“My phones in the bedroom.” With long strides, he left them standing in the living room looking around.
“This is really nice,” Jasmine said.
Pissed over how his mate twisted his hand, Silas nodded and took a seat on a stool in the kitchen.
Jasmine opened the refrigerator, pulled out a bottle of water and set it on the counter. Silas opened it, inhaled and returned it to her.
“No calls,” Jarcee said returning. “What can I do?” He looked at Silas. “I cannot stop her, not if it causes her to be punished. I cannot allow myself to be used against the pack either. I would rather die.”
“Don't talk like that,” Jasmine snapped facing him. Tears formed in her eyes. “Do not say that. Ever.”
Jarcee appeared stunned. “Mistress, she is my heart, my mate. Even knowing she hates me I must protect her. If I remain with her, I may break my oath to La Patron, which is another form of death to me. I’m torn and see no other solution, other than to leave and give my life for the pack.”
“I will kill her if you leave,” Jasmine said crying.
“Jasmine!” Silas called and stood in front of her.
“Mistress, please don’t say that. I cannot... please don’t hurt her.”
“Then stop talking about dying and leaving,” she yelled. “Think of a way to make this work, because you are breaking my heart. I cannot imagine life in the compound without you. So if you really want to save her, change how you’re thinking and watch what you say. If any of my pups knew she caused you this type of anguish and that you’d leave or die for her, what do you think they’d do?” she said pushing Silas aside.
Jarcee covered his face with his hands and wept. “I thought she loved me.”
“Based on what you said happened the past two weeks, she probably does love you. You’re mates. But she had a huge shock today. It might not have been so bad if everything hadn’t hit at once, but it did. As the night wears on, she’ll need you. I mean really need you,” Jasmine said, tempering her voice.
“Be prepared to fight for your heart. Put it all on the line, remind her of the man you’ve shown her you are. You’re more than your beast,” Jasmine said moving closer and shaking off Silas’ hand.
“What if she doesn’t listen?”
“Jarcee, if she contacts you it’s for answers and to have her needs met. You’re the only person in the world who can ease what she’s going through. That’s powerful leverage,” Jasmine said. “As bad as you want and need her, your beast is stronger. Hold off until you talk.”
Jarcee looked at her. “You think she’s coming here?” He looked around and then back at her.
“What she needs she can’t get on the phone. Not at this point. Maybe later.” Jasmine winked at him.
He stood. “I’ll go shower, change the sheets and prepare.” He left them with his head higher than before.
“You think she’s on her way here?” Silas asked as he returned to the barstool and pulled her between his legs.
“If not now, later tonight. I doubt she’ll make it through the night without him.” She nibbled his collarbone.
“Okay, I’ll make sure she gets through.” He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back. “Don’t ever threaten someone’s mate again. I don’t want to kill him for attacking you.”
“It wasn’t a threat and I
know you’ll never allow anyone to hurt me.” She rubbed his chest and didn’t mention she could’ve picked Jarcee up with a thought and tossed him across the room but her Wolfie needed to feel he alone protected her. “If he dies, so does she. By my hand or design. That’s a promise, Silas. No one’s going to hurt Jarcee like that. No one. He’s one of the better ones. I couldn’t face my kids.” She snorted. “They’d go after her just as fast as I would.”
He nodded. “Don’t think much of your methods, but you snatched him out of that pit of pity.” He brushed his lips across her forehead. “How long will we wait?”
“Until she gets here. We’ll answer any questions. Pose for a picture so she can show her boss,” Jasmine laughed at his frown. “Look, she has to report this. Their cover is blown, right?”
He nodded. “What if they remove her? Send her to another base? How’s Jarcee going to handle that? How will she handle being separated from him? Right now the military doesn’t understand the mating pull and aren’t clear how it works with humans. All that changes if she’s reassigned.”
Jasmine hadn’t thought of that. “That complicates things, doesn’t it? I don’t like the idea of the government learning more about human breeders. They may go on a witch-hunt or something.”
“Exactly.” He rubbed his chin against the top of her head and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Seems you were right. She just turned onto the street leading here. If she opens the garage, any bets on her response seeing a strange car in the garage?” He smiled.
“I’d be pissed.”
The garage door rose. Silas told Jarcee to come into the living room while he and Jasmine remained in the kitchen.
The front door opened. “Jarcee!” Faye yelled.
Silas wrapped his arm around Jasmine who remained between his legs, her back against his chest.
“Whose car is in the garage? You’d better not have someone else over here.” She bypassed a surprised Jarcee and strode to the bedroom.
Jarcee looked at Silas.
“She cares, Jarcee, otherwise it wouldn’t matter if there was someone else here.”
Jarcee’s face lightened. He leaned against the wall and waited.
“Whose car is in the garage?” Faye demanded.
Jarcee pointed toward them.
Faye stepped to the side and did a double take. “Shit.”
Jasmine smiled. “No, I’m Jasmine, this is my husband, Silas. It’s nice to meet the woman who’s stolen Jarcee’s heart. Today, he told us wonderful things about you.”
Faye continued to stare. “Why are you here?” she finally asked, her gaze flicked to Jarcee.
“Jarcee is a good friend of mine. Being human, and in love with someone like Jarcee I wanted to meet you,” Jasmine said as if they were close friends.
Faye shook her head. “But I left.” She inched closer to Jarcee. “What made you think I’d come back?”
“Simple, you love him. You were frightened at first but being fair-minded you realized you had a good man, someone who put you first and would always be here for you. I assumed you would process that and return to get answers. Am I wrong?” Jasmine asked.
Faye touched Jarcee’s arm. He took her hand, intertwined their fingers and kissed the back of her hand.
“Um, we’ll talk I’m sure.” Faye looked up at Jarcee for several seconds they stared at each other. “So all this is real?” She looked at Jasmine. “Your pictures don’t do you justice.” She patted her pocket, pulled out her phone. “May I?”
“I don't mind but answer me this first,” Jasmine said, appreciating Faye’s full attention. “When you show that picture to your superiors, they’ll have questions you won’t be able to answer. Will they send you someplace for debriefing? How long? What if you can’t ever answer their questions? How do they deal with anomalies?”
Jarcee growled and pulled Faye close.
“Honestly, I don’t know. But I’m sure I’ll be sent somewhere else unless I can get an early discharge.” She paused. “Something strange happened earlier, maybe you can explain. I tried to write a report on him tonight but couldn’t. Why?” She looked at Jasmine.
“What do you mean?” Jasmine wanted to be sure she heard correctly.
Faye released a breath and held up her hand. “Look, I know he’s your friend but I have a job to do. Earlier, I tried to write up meeting Jarcee. Just like I’ll have to write up meeting you tonight.” She glanced at him and then back at Jasmine who fought down her irritation.
“But I couldn’t. I tried, tapped the keys on the laptop and everything but nothing ever went through. Is that because we had sex?”
“Did you know about that?” Silas asked.
“Nope but I never tried to harm you either.” Jasmine crossed her arms and met Faye’s gaze. “I’ve never heard of that before.”
“Really?” Faye sounded skeptical.
“Yes. I don’t know of anyone who tried to harm a member of our pack with a report.”
Faye’s gaze dropped and then she looked up at Jarcee.
“What do you think happens to Jarcee when you turn in your report on him?”
“Mistress, she must do her job,” Jarcee said.
Uncaring, Jasmine shrugged and continued staring at Faye.
“Happens to him? Nothing.” Faye looked at Jarcee uncertain. “Nothing, right?”
He shrugged. It was apparent he’d lost his ability to reason now that his heart’s delight was in his arms again.
“Let them work it out,” Silas said as Jarcee pulled Faye close for a kiss. “If she turns him in, we’ll deal with the fallout then. But his wolf is driving him to reclaim his mate and if you don’t want to witness that, we should leave.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
JARCEE PICKED FAYE up and walked to their bedroom. He read the questions, uncertainty and desperate need in her gaze. Which should he address first? He kicked the door closed behind him, and laid her on the bed. She didn’t remove her arms from around his neck but kept them linked together.
“I’m sorry.” He never meant to cause her one tear or moment of pain. That she’d been hurt and upset bothered him and his beast.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Her gaze searched his.
“The same reason you withheld information about yourself. You weren’t sure of my reaction. If you had, would we be here today? Or if I’d told you everything about me when we met? We don’t know the answers to that. But we find ourselves here, at this moment in time.” He kissed her forehead, inhaled her sweet scent. “I’ve never lied to you about my feelings. I will always love you, Faye. More than life and promise to do everything in my power to make you happy.”
He leaned back and met her gaze. “I am a man in love with a beautiful woman.”
She frowned. “But you’re a wolf? Or you turn into one?”
“Yes. It’s called dual-natured.”
“That woman, Jasmine, is she like you?”
“No. She’s not.”
She pursed her lips. “You’re not going to tell me anything about her, are you?”
“No, I will not. But you can get to know her and ask whatever you’d like.”
Faye bit her lower lip and looked up at him. “How long have you been... you know? A wolf?”
He stared at her for several seconds. “Are you asking for your report? Or do you want to know more about your man?”
“I just want to know. Don’t worry, I can’t share anything about you personally. It was really weird. Later I want to show you.”
He wanted to see it. “I was born this way.” Just as you were born as a breeder he thought. Breeders were birthed from breeders, but she knew nothing of her mother and he wasn’t sure how much he wanted to share.
Faye had been touching him non-stop since she arrived, he wondered if she was aware of her actions, probably not. He leaned on the side and looked down at her with his hand on her belly. “What do you want to know about me?”
“Did you pick me out specifically?”
“Not really. I was attracted to you, fortunately, it was reciprocated.” Mistress had been right to kick him in the ass. He needed to fight for their relationship. He wouldn’t allow her to hide as if he was indeed a monster. Their relationship caught fire early on. Both of them wanted each other.
“Why? I mean I’ve seen pictures of some of the people in your... pack I believe is the right name.”
He nodded.
“Some of them are gorgeous. You for one. Knight is really handsome, his pictures don’t do him justice. Jasmine is beautiful with a wow factor. Yet you fell in love with me. I’m having a hard time processing that.”
Jarcee didn’t want her exposed to tests to determine how mating worked but he couldn’t lie to her either.
“How could I not fall in love with you? To me, you’re the most beautiful woman in the world. I only see you.” He kissed her, soft at first and then he ravaged her mouth, needing her with an undeniable hunger. They broke apart gasping for air but she didn’t release him.
“I really love you, Jarcee. You need to know that. I’ve never felt like this with anyone else before.” She brushed her lips against his. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when I report to work tomorrow.” Her gaze met his. “I’m going to tell them about you, about meeting Knight.” She exhaled. “I’ll probably be pulled from the assignment because Knight knows we’re here. Best case scenario, I’ll get an early retirement from the service. I certainly plan to ask for one so we can be together.”
He traced her lips with his fingertip while watching her talk. So was so strong, brave and everything he wanted in a mate. But he wouldn’t tell her of their mated status, not when that knowledge could put her in danger.
He’d wait until she was free of the Military.
“Is there anything I can do to make life easier for you? It bothers me to see your sadness, knowing I’m the cause.” He placed a quick kiss on her lips and slid his hand downward.
She hissed as his fingers inched inside her panties and touched her core. “Can I take care of you, my love? You left me earlier, so I must have your permission to put out this delectable fire.” He slid a finger into her hot sheath.