Jace

by Sarah McCarty; Sarah McCarty

  “Does this mean the guessing game as to why you’re here is finally coming to an end?”

  Tobias smiled. “Have we been playing a game?”

  “I think so. Caleb agrees, but he’s letting you stay because he says you’re an honorable man for all that you’re a dangerous one.”

  And he wanted to know what the game was.

  Tobias smiled. “I’ll take that ‘dangerous’ as a compliment, seeing as Caleb has a reputation in that department, too.”

  “And every bit of it deserved.”

  Tobias leaned back against the tree, folding his arms across his chest. “So do you. I got the impression that reputation is what the D’Nally wants to talk to you about.”

  Jace glanced over. “I was under the distinct impression the only thing the D’Nally wanted to talk about with me was my impending death.”

  “They were unhappy about how you used and abandoned Miri.”

  Jace narrowed his eyes. “I did not abandon her. I finished a mission.”

  “To a wolf, there’s not much difference.”

  “So I’m told, but I’m finding it hard to believe that no wolf has ever left his mate, especially in the middle of this war.”

  “Ah, you figured out there’s a catch.”

  Jace shrugged his shoulders. “There has to be.”

  “Did you know there’s more than one level of were mating?”

  “No. Either a body’s married or it’s not.”

  Tobias hooked his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans. “That’s because you’re looking at it from a human perspective. Where anything to do with another is a choice.”

  “Miri straight-out said mating is not a choice.”

  “She’s not feeding you a line of bull. There’s just more than one level of were mating.”

  Another level of commitment would explain the sense he had that Miri was holding back. “I figured there had to be a catch.”

  “Many mated weres are not in love. There’s usually friendship, understanding, and certainly passion, but there’s not always love.”

  That was an eye-opener. And a potential explanation about the aggressive possessiveness of were males. A twinge of it was going through him right now. “What happens if they are mated and fall in love elsewhere?”

  “They do their duty and work something out, a compromise, but only if neither is marked.”

  There was that reference to marking again. “What the hell kind of compromise can somebody reach in that situation?”

  “Mating at its most basic is for procreation, as only mated pairs can conceive. That being the case, some couples only come together for that purpose.”

  “And?” He had a feeling where Tobias was going, but he couldn’t wrap his mind around it. Especially when it came to the very Alpha, very possessive weres he knew.

  “An unmarked mated couple are free to form emotional attachments elsewhere.”

  Like hell. Jace would kill any were who even thought of approaching Miri for any purpose. Just the thought of it had his lip curling and his talons extending. “I would think the potential to be killed would be a deterrent for compromise.”

  “It’s not as difficult as you would think. Weres are very open when it comes to children, and if neither is marked, they can usually work around the relationship.”

  Not in his book. “What does marking have to do with it?”

  “Weres don’t have a choice with whom they mate, but they have complete choice whom they mark.” Tobias gave him a pointed look. “Miri hasn’t marked you.”

  Jace smiled a cold smile that felt as stiff as the muscles in his face. “I sure as hell put my mark all over her.”

  He’d been wild last night, unable to control himself, leaving love bites all over her, subtle little marks that anybody would be able to see. Marks that stated she was his and no other’s.

  “I don’t think there’s any doubt that you want her.”

  Implying there was doubt that Miri wanted him? “Would that happen to be the reason the McClarens feel compelled to fight me every time I turn around?”

  “Yes. It’s part of the mating process.”

  “Killing the mate?” He shook his head. “Hell of a process.”

  “They’re giving you a way to prove yourself to Miri.”

  “At least that explains why they’ve been holding back.”

  “I wondered if you’d sensed that.”

  “I’m not a fool. If they’d really been trying, with the numbers they’ve been coming at me, I’d be dead.”

  “Could you be that understanding in regard to the D’Nallys?”

  The D’Nallys were the most rigid bunch of weres he’d ever met. Fierce fighters, intensely loyal, but once they had a notion in their heads it was hard to knock it out, and right now they had the notion that he was better off dead. “It would depend on what the D’Nallys want.”

  “They want to talk.”

  That would be the day. He cocked an eyebrow at Tobias. “Just talk or talk with challenge?”

  “Just talk.”

  “For now.”

  The were nodded. “For now.”

  “Why?”

  “The baby.”

  “Faith?”

  Tobias shook his head. “No, the little imp you brought back from the hellhole.”

  “Penny?”

  “Yup.”

  “How do they know about her?”

  “Word travels.”

  “With you being the conduit?”

  Tobias didn’t deny it. Jace got an uneasy feeling in his gut. Was Ian thinking of claiming Penny? That would kill Miri. “In that case, you can pass on another message.” He bared his fangs. “Tell Ian that Penny’s a Johnson.”

  “If Ian wants her, he’ll take her.”

  “He can give it his best shot.”

  Tobias cocked his head to the side. Jace felt the touch of his power. He pushed it back. The probe immediately died. Too easy. That had been too easy. Jace’s unease built as the sense of something going on grew.

  “Do you think you can defeat him?”

  “Yes.”

  Tobias merely appeared curious. “Because you’re vampire?”

  Jace’s talons stretched into his palms. He could feel the bones in his face begin the change. Penny would not be taken. “Because she’s mine.”

  Tobias nodded as if satisfied. “Ian will be glad to hear that.”

  What the hell did that mean? “Ian is a perverse son of a bitch.”

  “And you’re a possessive one. You two should get along fine.”

  “I’m not interested in getting along with him.”

  “Seeing as he’s your cousin now, it’ll make things awkward at family get-togethers if you don’t.”

  “Uh-huh. I’ll work my way up to giving a shit about that.” Jace leaned his shoulder against a tree, forcing calm through the suspicion eating at him. “So what about Penny has Ian asking questions about me?”

  “The fact that you insisted on saving her and then brought her home as your own.”

  “I’m not following.”

  “A vampire would have left her when he discovered the child wasn’t his.”

  “I disagree.”

  “He’s wondering if you’re truly vampire.”

  Jace bared his teeth again. “I even have the fangs to prove it.”

  “When you meet with the D’Nallys”—Tobias jerked his chin, indicating his display—“I’d play that down.”

  “Who says I’m meeting with them?”

  Tobias raised his eyebrow, looking as imperious as any Alpha. “You’re going to turn down a request from the D’Nallys?”

  Jace didn’t say word. He really didn’t need to. They both knew that wasn’t going to happen. Jace couldn’t endanger the alliance just because he wanted to kick Ian’s ass.

  With a twitch of his lips Tobias acknowledged the “No” couched in silence. “I didn’t think so.”

  “So when does Ian want this meeting?�
�

  “Immediately. And he wants Miri to come, too.”

  “Not too pushy, is he?”

  “He has his reasons.”

  “Just as I have mine for saying no to Miri coming.”

  “They’re cousins, Jace. He’s worried about her.”

  “She’s my wife. I’m worried about her, too. As in, what guarantee do I have that this isn’t a trap just to get me there and get Miri back into the D’Nally stronghold?”

  Tobias straightened. “My word.”

  Hell. How was he supposed to argue with that? According to the McClarens, the word of an Enforcer was law.

  He studied Tobias’s energy and body language as he asked, “Is Ian aware you’re giving it?”

  Not by a flicker of anything did the other man indicate deception. Just nodded and said, “I put conditions on the delivery of the message.”

  “That must have gone over well.”

  “It had its moments.”

  “Yet Ian agreed?”

  “Yes.”

  He hadn’t really meant it as a question. “Ian must be softening in his old age.”

  “Times are changing, and Ian’s changing with them.”

  “Hell, I’d pay to see that.”

  Tobias smiled a smile that said he knew he’d won. “Yet it won’t cost you a thing.”

  Just maybe Miri. Loneliness for her pack was a constant ache inside her. Once she got back among them, she could decide to stay. The selfish part of him wanted to say no, to keep her away from temptation. The part that loved her understood the loss of family and how much she suffered for it. Shit! “Tell Ian I’ll be there.”

  “With Miri?”

  Inside, his vampire snarled a protest. His honor prodded. Damn. He needed more selfishness and less honor. Jace nodded. “Yes.”

  “ARE you sure this is safe?”

  It was about the third time Miri had asked that question in the last five minutes. About the thirtieth time since they’d left the SUV four hours back to head in on foot. The hell of it was, she wasn’t worried about Sanctuary. She was in fear of her own pack. Even with Tobias with them, or maybe because of it. Jace shook his head.

  “Ian’s your cousin, Miri.”

  “He’s also pack Alpha.”

  “Princess”—he held a branch back so she could duck under— “Ian grew up with you. You grew up D’Nally. All the laws in the land are not going to make it easy for them to kill you.”

  She didn’t look convinced. Her lower lip slipped between her teeth. Her gaze bounced off his. “Not to mention you’ll be there.”

  “Not to mention that.”

  A breeze ruffled her hair against the deep blue of her parka as she ducked under the branch, the long strands catching bands of moonlight and reflecting it back in pale sheens of white on onyx.

  She stopped and turned. “Ian can be very rigid.”

  “Tobias said he’s changing, adapting with the times.”

  “You’re sure he’s talking about Ian?”

  “He seemed convinced of it. Either way, in a few minutes, we’ll get to find out for ourselves.”

  Miri glanced quickly at him. “We’re that close?”

  He pointed ahead. “See that big rock leaning into the mountain there?”

  She squinted. “Yes.”

  “That’s not really a rock.”

  She stopped dead and frowned at him. “It’s an illusion?”

  “Yes.”

  It was impossible to read the expression on her face. “Does Ian know you have a back entrance into the D’Nally compound?”

  “Yes.”

  Her frown deepened. Pretty soon it was going to occur to her to question why vampires might have access to a secret back entrance to a were stronghold. Pretty soon turned out to be a couple seconds. Miri patted Penny’s back in a staccato display of tension.

  “You created this before you formed the alliance, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.” He didn’t have to read her mind to know what she was thinking. “Ian was a pain in the butt for a while.”

  The emotions that came off her were clear and predictable. First instinctive alarm and then a forced sense of calm. “Do all vampires know about this secret entrance?” she asked carefully.

  She might claim she was no longer pack, but every instinct she had said otherwise. Vampires having this knowledge was a threat to her pack and she was reacting accordingly. “No.”

  She licked her lips and shifted the baby to her other hip. Her nylon parka whispered a protest. “Just the Johnsons?”

  “Yes.”

  She looked at him, her eyes nearly black in the moonlight.

  “Ian must have a lot of faith in you.”

  “He used to.”

  She sighed. “Until me.”

  He shook his head. “Until he ran up against the need to change. Ian’s not a big fan of change.”

  No, but apparently, he’s working on it.”

  “I’m taking it as an encouraging sign.”

  “And that’s why you’re not worried about this meeting?”

  He let the branch go. It snapped back into place. He watched her walk away, admiring the sway of her cute butt. A smile touched his lips. He’d put a mark there, too. “That and the fact that Ian is an honorable man, and honorable men do not set traps for friends or invited guests.”

  The look she cast over her shoulder was pitying. “You so do not understand weres.”

  Jace patted that cute fanny, letting his fingers linger on the spot where his mark rested. “And you so don’t understand men.”

  She scooted away, casting him a reproving glance, her cheeks flushing pink. “Huh!”

  He supposed it was a good thing that she didn’t say anything more on the subject. Truth was he was uneasy about this meeting. Miri was were. She wasn’t committed to him, and based on his discussion with Tobias the night before, there might just be a loophole to exploit when it came to his marriage.

  The hairs on the back of his neck raised as a strange tingle of energy teased his awareness. Vamp, but not vamp, about a hundred yards to the right side of the open field ahead of them. He raised a finger. Tobias nodded.

  Jace halted Miri with a tug of his hand. He backed her up and leaned her against a big pine tree, putting his finger over her mouth when she would have spoken.

  Quiet.

  He masked her presence and the baby’s with a second layer of energy that matched that of the surrounding trees, making her invisible to any probe. Stay here. I’m going to check the lay of the land.

  She nodded, her eyes huge, her fingers spreading protectively over Penny’s back. He motioned for Tobias to head left. He headed right, sliding into the shadows at the edge of the clearing. The energy moved, working the edge in the opposite direction from him, back toward Miri. Jace backtracked swiftly, cataloging the energy as he went, implanting its nuances into his memory for future reference. Slade would want to know about this.

  As fast as he was, the energy was faster. It got within twenty feet of Miri before he reached her. Coming up beside her, he slipped his hand over her mouth, covering her start. She pressed Penny’s face into her parka as she jumped. Vibrantly aware of the invisible source of energy off to the right, searching, Jace rested his cheek against hers, calming her with a stroke of his energy.

  Don’t move unless I tell you to, but if I tell you to, run like hell back to that rock.

  He gave her the key to the illusion, mentally imprinting the combination in her mind, ignoring her fear and the clinging of her hands.

  The D’Nally compound is two miles through that tunnel.

  She shook her head, her lips firming, eyes narrowing. Not without you.

  If she had to run, he’d be going down and he wasn’t going down without knowing she was safe. Obey me in this.

  The energy was coming closer. His talons extended; he could feel the fire burning in his eyes as the vampire came to the fore, ready to do battle. Promise me.

  She finally
nodded. Looking into her eyes, seeing her terror and the determination overlying it all, he cursed the decision not to bring a bigger escort, but a big party was hard to mask. Which just meant it was a good thing that he’d been gifted with incredible power and speed. It might be put to the test tonight. Especially if the Sanctuary had come up with a new enhancement with which to pervert their members.

  He tested the energy again. There was still something off about it. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. A subtle flux in the link.

  He looked for Tobias. He wasn’t anywhere in sight. Jace couldn’t risk calling to him for fear the vampire would trace the source. Damn.

  He moved away from Miri, The energy didn’t move, just stayed were it was, hovering. Had the movement toward Miri just been a coincidence? When he was a safe distance away from Miri and the baby, he leaked a trace of energy. Still no movement.

  He crept closer, almost close enough to make contact. The energy winked out. A movement across the field. Six weres stepped out from behind the illusion. Their dark hair and skin proclaimed them D’Nallys. As if he’d needed that to identify the taller of the two in front. The arrogance with which that one walked marked him as surely as a name tag. Creed D’Nally. Ian’s second in command. In his hand he held a box, and on it were a lot of switches. There was a slight movement and the energy flashed to his left; he spun around. Just as fast it flashed on his right. Creed smiled across the distance separating them. Jace’s warning died in his throat. The energy winked out. The weres kept coming. The energy didn’t reappear.

  Jace straightened. What the hell was going on? Creed inclined his head when he got close enough. “Vampire.”

  “Wolf.”

  A smile lingered at the corners of Creed’s mouth. Jace knew damn well the man wasn’t happy to see him, which meant something else was amusing him. “Looking for something?”

  Jace glanced at the control and then back at Creed’s smile. The pieces fit into place. Creed was controlling the energy.

  “I was.” He motioned to the box in the other man’s hand. “I didn’t realize weres had anyone working on an energy replicator.”

  “Ian feels we need to keep up.”

  “It’s more of a mirror,” the other were supplied. He was a younger version of Creed.