“Jace, wait.”
“Forget it.” He turned his back on her as he straightened his clothes. She didn’t need to see his face. The tension in his muscles told her everything.
He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry if that was unwanted. Believe me when I say I won’t bother you again.” He walked toward the door without looking at her. His hand twisted the doorknob. “Tell David where and when your pack meets.”
After a long moment she finally managed to speak. “You’re still going to shift?” Damn it. That wasn’t what she needed to say. But she couldn’t tell him now, could she? Couldn’t say she didn’t want him to go. He’d pushed her away more times than he’d claimed her.
He paused, his shoulders flexing as he inhaled. “I told you, I can’t let more women die.”
A sharp pang sliced her heart. “Jace, I don’t want—”
He interrupted her midsentence. “You don’t need to explain yourself, Frankie. I get it.”
She stepped forward and raised her voice, forcing herself to say the words. “But I...I don’t—”
He walked out and closed the door behind him. The latch clicked into place and her heart hit the floor.
“I don’t want you to go....”
But it was too late.
CHAPTER NINE
JACE AND DAVID stepped into K9’s, trailing behind Frankie. The deep red carpet squished underneath Jace’s massive leather boots, and the floor vibrated with the beat of the music. The medium-size circular room was filled with private booths surrounded by matching red drapery to obscure the view for more exclusive meetings. A slender woman with manufactured globes attached to her chest danced on a pole in the center. She slapped her thigh and slid her ass up the metal rod as she gyrated to the music. Her bleached-blond hair flipped like she was riding a wild bronco. Jace couldn’t have been more turned off.
He scanned the room, his eyes moving from face to face. Goose bumps crawled up his skin, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He didn’t need to be a hunter to know that he was in a room full of animals.
He followed Frankie farther into the club, with David hobbling behind them with his crutch. Jace’s eyes widened as they moved deeper into the room, taking them closer to the stripper. From near the door, the ceiling looked normal, but standing in the middle of the building, he stared up at tier upon tier of seats, every floor thumping to the same stupid dance music. Didn’t anyone listen to AC/DC anymore?
His attention snapped back into the here and now as Frankie came to a sudden halt. A muscled male werewolf was rushing toward her, talking at a hundred miles an hour. A low growl rumbled in Jace’s throat. David grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him back until they were out of hearing distance, courtesy of the loud music.
“Stay cool,” David mumbled. “Do you want to get us kicked out?”
Jace whipped around and half snarled into David’s ear, “That’s her boyfriend.”
David raised a single brow. “Her boyfriend?”
Jace ground his teeth together, fighting back a serious bout of jealously. Why the hell did he care? He shouldn’t be so hung up on her.
“Jace—”
David and Jace’s conversation skidded to an abrupt halt at the sound of one loud, pissed-off female.
“No!” Frankie yelled. She ripped her wrist away from the newcomer. “You’re not my keeper, Alejandro. I’m your packmaster. Alpha or not, you don’t have any authority.” She started to march away from him but stopped mid-step. “Tell the DJ to turn off the music.”
The bastard didn’t move.
“Now,” she growled.
Without another word, she climbed onto the stripper’s platform. The stripper sauntered over to her and leaned forward, ready to play up some girl-on-girl action.
Frankie glared at her and crossed her arms over her chest. “Move.”
The music stopped, filling the club with an awkward silence. A male voice with a thick Spanish accent boomed through the room.
“At this time, we’d like to request that all non-pack members leave the building. That means everyone but the pack members. Thank you.”
A collective rustle spread through the club as a few people gravitated toward the exits. Jace’s ragged breath slowed to an even pace before David released him. He was thankful his friend was there to keep him in check. They couldn’t blow this.
Frankie stood on the platform with her hands on her hips, silently waiting for everyone’s attention. Standing there, she looked like an average, even-tempered woman. But Jace had seen the fire blazing behind her eyes firsthand—a fire that would never burn out.
A crowd gathered around them as people filtered down from the upper levels. When everyone fell silent, she held her head high and dropped her arms to her sides. “I’m calling you all in, because I’m asking for pack—”
Just then her bastard boyfriend pushed to the front of the crowd. “Where were you?” he demanded.
Muttering erupted across the club. Frankie’s hand clenched into a fist, and she raised her voice over everyone else’s. She had a set of pipes.
“Alejandro, Alpha male or not, you will shut your mouth, before I have someone shut it for you.”
“But—”
“Yeah, Frankie. Where were you?” someone called as murmurs of dissatisfaction filled the room.
“Quiet.” She raised her voice again, and a hush fell over the crowd again. “I was trying to stop the killer.”
Her boyfriend let out a deep roar. “You were what?” He stomped up onto the platform and started yelling right in her face. “You didn’t have pack approval. You could have been killed.”
“I don’t need pack approval, Alejandro. I’m packmaster. I’m exempt by royal bloodline. Now. Sit. Down.” She stared him straight in the eye, challenging him for dominance as their animal instincts bubbled to the surface.
He accepted her rule for the moment and finally glanced away. He stepped down from the platform, defeated and, at least in Jace’s opinion, humiliated. She’d put the jerk in his place.
“As you all know, we’ve been searching for weeks with no results, so I decided to go looking for him on my own, and I’ve finally tracked his scent.”
“Did you kill him?” one of the pack members yelled.
“No.” A look of major impatience crossed Frankie’s face. Apparently she didn’t like interruptions. “And we have a couple of new problems. He’s escalating. He’s started killing in pairs.”
Alejandro stepped forward, chest all puffed out and looking grim-faced, as if he were ready to give someone a good beat-down. “Then we need to catch him, before he catches any more innocent women.”
Words of agreement passed through the pack.
“It’s not that easy, Alejandro,” Frankie said. “He’s strong. Stronger than normal, and there’s something...wrong with him.”
Alejandro let out an angry grumble. “Of course there is something wrong with him—he’s a cold-blooded killer.”
Frankie ignored him. “He’s not a werewolf. At least not a normal one. I’ve never seen or heard of any werewolf like him.”
The room fell so silent that Jace could hear the light breathing of the individuals around him.
“We need someone who knows what they’re doing, so I’ve brought help. Hunters.” She gestured to Jace and David. All the eyes in the room turned toward them, and a surge of adrenaline rushed through Jace’s veins. Damn, did that put the pressure on or what?
A male werewolf stepped forward, his muscles flexing. “You brought hunters into our home?” He growled so low that the hairs on the back of Jace’s neck and arms stood on end. “I said from the very beginning that a bitch should never rule our pack.” He lunged toward Frankie.
Jace pulled his gun and fired into the air. The wolf stopped in his tracks a good three feet from Frankie. Jace stepped up onto the platform, holding his Mateba like it was an extension of his arm. “Yes, I’m a hunter, and I’m fully armed.”
No one spoke, and the would-be attacker melted back into the crowd.
“Now, I believe your packmaster was speaking to you. So pay attention.”
Jace thumped David on the back as he returned to his spot among the onlookers.
Frankie glanced at Jace almost disbelievingly, then shook her head as her determination and resolve showed in her body language again. She straightened and held her head high.
“As I was saying, this might not be a normal werewolf or even a werewolf at all. We need experts to help us. These hunters are only interested in catching this killer. They’re not here to hurt us.”
A member of the crowd stepped to the edge of the platform. “What do we need their help for? What damage can they do with their silver weapons that we can’t with our canines?”
She gestured toward Jace with her free hand. David stepped aside.
“Jace is a half-breed. He’s not allergic to silver, and he has all the strength of any normal werewolf. The killer can also withstand silver, and gunshot wounds barely faze him. Jace is the only one who stands any chance against him.”
The boyfriend shook his head. “Then why the hell did you bring him here? If he’s the perfect man for the job, why bother to notify your pack, since apparently, you don’t need our approval to do anything?”
Frankie let out a feminine, but firm, growl. “You’re right. I don’t need your permission.” She pointed a finger at Jace, while she glared at Alejandro. “But he does.” She dropped her arm back to her side. Her face screamed fury. All the bastard had to do was push her one more time, before the atomic bomb inside her went off—Jace could see it.
“Jace has never shifted. He needs to learn, and I need the pack’s approval in order to teach him.” She drew a deep breath, and he could sense her gauging their reaction. “It’s the only way. We can’t do this on our own.” The silence that followed after her words faded was deafening.
A small grunt came from the other side of the crowd. A small woman with a long mop of curly auburn hair emerged, shoving through the sea of people. “I vote yes. If Frankie thinks he’s our only chance, then I trust her.” She smiled, and it practically illuminated her heart-shaped face.
Oh, shit. Jace knew that face. He’d seen it before, though only in pictures. He shot David a sideways glance. David stood paralyzed, his eyes locked on the woman. It had been years since Jace’s best friend had seen the woman he loved. Yet there she stood, plain as day. Looking exactly the same as all the pictures David ever showed him.
What the hell? She was a werewolf? Why had David never told him? At least that explained why David had been so understanding about his own mixed blood.
Allsún turned her head, and her eyes widened as they fell on David. Abruptly, she turned and pushed her way back through the crowd. David followed her as fast as he could with his injured leg.
* * *
DAVID FOUGHT DOWN the massive lump that had lodged itself in his esophagus. His stomach flipped, and the taste of vomit itched at the back of his throat. Five years. Yet there she was, waltzing into his life again and filling up what he’d grown to think was a permanent hole in his heart.
Anger clenched at his insides as pain shot through his leg. But he didn’t care, he pushed through the pain. He had to see her. She was the only one in the world who truly mattered to him.
Someone bumped into his shoulder, slowing him down. Shit. She... Oh, damn. She was bolting for the outside door. He watched as she shoved her way through the crowd and ducked underneath the arms of anyone who got in her way. She slammed the back door open and ran full speed into the alley. Despite his leg, he trailed not far behind her.
The cold night air hit him hard as he stepped outside. Allsún was here. He could smell her sweet vanilla perfume. He limped down the alley and found her sitting, eyes closed, behind a Dumpster. A small calico cat sat curled in her lap.
“Allsún? What are you doing?”
She opened her eyes and peered up into his face. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m petting my newest cat and getting my ass soaking wet from the snow.” She glanced down at the animal again.
Not bothering to take as much care as he should, David sat down in the snow beside her and ignored the sharp pain in his leg. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said. He reached out and brushed back the curls from her face. His fingers trailed across her cheekbone and down her neck, and she relaxed at his touch. “But I’m glad to see you, gorgeous.”
“You never did know when to let sleeping cats lie.” She stroked the stray feline sitting in her lap. “You never let things go.”
“What are you talking about, Allie?”
She finally looked at him. Gold starbursts encircled her pupils—a stark contrast to the green of her irises. David could spend his whole life gazing at the stars in her eyes.
“Following me here. Tracking me down after all this time.” She hoisted the cat onto her chest and stood, turning her back to him. “It’s been five years, David.”
He rested his head against the concrete wall of the alley. “One thousand, six hundred and ten days.”
She paused, then faced him. “What?”
“That’s how many days I’ve had to live without you.” He stared down at his Harley-Davidson boots. “More than four years. Almost five, but not yet.”
She gaped. “Don’t. Just don’t. Okay?”
“Don’t what?”
She squeezed the cat tighter. It let out a low-pitched grumble of a meow. “Don’t pull any of your overdone romantic lines on me. I’m not sixteen anymore,” she said. She cradled the cat and walked several feet away from him.
“They’re not lines.”
“Damn it, David. Why are you here? Why now? Why search me out now?”
He frowned. “I wasn’t searching for you.” He used his crutch for leverage and pushed himself off the ground, then followed her down the alleyway. “I didn’t know you’d be here. I’m just as floored as you are.”
“You seriously expect me to believe that?”
“It’s the truth, Allsún. I gave up looking for you a long time ago. I thought if you wanted to come back, you would.”
“You’re right. If I’d wanted to, I would have.”
He cringed. Her words stung, and he could tell she knew it. She’d always known how to cut straight to his heart.
“Let me guess, you’re here chasing demons?” Her jaw tightened into a hard line, and a sour look crossed her face.
“I’m helping the pack catch the killer who’s been ripping women to shreds.”
She rolled her eyes. “How very admirable of you.”
“I wasn’t trying to sound admirable. I’m just telling the truth, Allsún.” He followed her farther down the alleyway. The cat’s glowing yellow eyes peered over her shoulder, gleaming in the light from the street.
“You can’t blame me for thinking that. You always wanted to be the hero.”
“You know it wasn’t about that.” He shook his head. She did know that. She was just hitting him where it hurt again.
“There are a lot of things I don’t know about you, David.”
His hands clenched into fists at his sides. She could push every emotional button he had within a matter of minutes. He stared at her back. Her long curly hair cascaded over her shoulders in waves. It had only reached her chin the last time he’d seen her.
“The first time I’ve seen you in nearly five years and you’re already bringing that up?” He exhaled the breath he’d been holding and held back all his frustration. “We can’t even greet each other without arguing?”
She stroked the cat. The animal purred and pushed its face into her neck. He would have loved to nuzzle his face into that crook, run his lips over her collarbone. Silence lingered in the air, leaving a stale taste
in his mouth.
“You were in there as a pack member. What are you doing mixing with the werewolves, Allsún? You’re not one of them.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Fine. You don’t want to talk to me, I’ll leave.” He strode back toward the club, then paused at the door and clutched the handle.
“I’m with them because I needed company,” she called.
He turned around. She was standing at the end of the passage and watching him.
“I’m sure you heard my mom died,” she said.
He nodded. “I visited her, after you spread her ashes.”
Allsún sighed. “After that, I was lonely. I couldn’t find any other faeries in the area. Not even other half-bloods. The werewolves were the closest thing I could find. Frankie lets me hang with the pack. She says all supernaturals are distant cousins.”
David’s lips lifted in a half smile. He’d known Frankie wasn’t all that bad. She would be good for Jace. “That was really nice of her.”
Allsún nodded. A moment of silence passed again.
David cleared his throat. “I miss your mom.”
“Yeah, me too.”
He could hear the strain in her voice.
“I hate that she had to see us separated before she died.” He glanced at Allsún. She set the cat down on the ground. It weaved in and out of her legs before it scurried away.
She stared at him with her arms crossed over her chest. “Why would you say that?” Her voice was calm and completely flat. Anger radiated off her in waves. Her perfectly rounded hip jutted out to the side, and she tightened her soft lips into a thin line.
His cock hardened and he shifted, hoping she didn’t notice his erection. Man, she was sexy when she was angry. He wanted every inch of her. He directed his eyes to the pavement and prayed the feeling would pass. “I said it because that’s how I feel.”
“Yeah, well, you shouldn’t have said it.” She shook her head. Her voice climbed as she paced the alley. “You have no right to say that. Not after what you did.”
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