by Wood, Vivian
Kat flopped down on the bed next to Tessa.
“Don’t you find rules to be rather boring?” Kat asked, her sweet faint Irish lilt belying her trouble-making words.
Tessa tried to smile, but instead collapsed into a mess of hot tears. She sobbed for several minutes, and Kat sat beside her and rubbed a hand over her back.
“Just let it out, then,” Kat said.
“Oh Kat, I’ve really fucked up, haven’t I?” Tessa croaked. Her sobs subsided, leaving her damp and sniffling and miserable.
“Honestly? I mean, yeah, a bit. But it’s not like you’re the only person in this pack who’s made bad decisions. We’re kind of known for taking in screw-ups here,” Kat said.
“What do you mean?” Tessa asked, wiping at her face.
“I’m going to tell you some things about our pack members, and I want to you know it’s not gossip. These are issues that are out in the open, but you wouldn’t know unless you’d been here for a long time,” Kat said.
“Okay…” Tessa said, curiosity getting the better of her.
“Shaw has a serious problem with rage, to the point that he’s been entangled with the human authorities more than once. Jesse and Emmy came here as drug addicts, looking to get clean. Declan and I lived hard on the streets of Dublin as children, and we did some desperate things to survive, things we’re not proud of. Cera’s served time in Malaysia for malicious computer hacking, apparently she took down their whole government’s web access for half a week. Every single pack member is here because they had nowhere else to go,” Kat said.
“I- I had no idea. You all seem so normal. I mean, for Shifters,” Tessa said with a weak smile.
“Yeah, well. We’ve all reformed. And as for you,” Kat smirked. “I know you didn’t really do anything bad. Or if you did, you had a good reason.”
“You do?” Tessa asked, mystified.
“Of course I do. I came to bring you some food in case those idiot men forgot to feed you, and I figured you could tell me your side of the tale while you eat,” Kat said.
Tessa felt tears well up at the other girl’s kindness. Sniffling, she gave Kat a pathetic smile and unwrapped the first sandwich. Taking a huge bite, she groaned with appreciation. A little of the crushing sadness she felt eased up.
“Your mate really isn’t doing well without you, you know,” Kat said half-teasing.
“Muh may?” Tessa said around another big bite. Her heart gave a little thump at the word mate, but Tessa ignored it.
“Declain says Jace drank three pints of whiskey and now he’s too wretched to leave the house.”
Tessa chewed, then gestured to her not-quite-cell of a room and shrugged.
“That’s a girl. Hang the lot of them. Men are nothing if not dim, I think.”
Swallowing, Tessa frowned.
“He’s not my mate, anyway. Not after the way he talked to me, Kat.”
“I’m sorry to tell you, Tessa, but you’re a hand’s breadth from completing the ritual. A couple words, a couple bites… and you’re done for.”
“I’ve changed my mind,” Tessa sniffed.
“I’m pretty sure it’s too late for all that, but I’ve never been mated. Could be I’m wrong. In any case, I’m not here to talk about him. I’m here to talk about you and how you got into this mess,” Kat said with a grin.
“It was a boy.”
Kat crowed with laugher, more amused than Tessa thought was warranted. Beggars couldn’t be choosers when it came to help from friends, though.
Tessa started from the beginning, when she’d met a handsome young man who seemed too perfect to be true… and how it turned into her personal nightmare. She told Kat everything about Camilla, and confessed that she would do anything to save her sister. Kat listened and patted her shoulder, not interrupting or judging.
“I came up with a plan, though,” she insisted.
“I like the sound of that. Go on,” Kat said.
“Well, my contact at Legion is like me. Ascendant, I mean. He asked me for to change him into a werewolf,” Tessa said, rolling her eyes.
“Wait, your contact is an Ascendant male? Why didn’t you just start with that? Tell me everything about my future husband. He’d better be hot if I’m going to have to go to the trouble of rescuing him from Legion,” Kat said, delighted.
“Well, he is very good looking. His name is James, and he’s as tall as the rest of them, with dark hair and blue… what?” Tessa broke off, looking at Kat’s expression.
“What did you say his name was, again?” Kat asked, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“James,” Tessa whispered back, feeling a little silly.
“Dark hair and blue eyes, you said. Did he happen to look a hell of a lot like Shaw?” Kat whispered, her face gone ashen.
“I think Shaw’s one up on you, Kat. He’s already decided that James is his brother Jameson, although I can’t imagine how that happened. It kind of boggles my mind,” Tessa shrugged.
“There was an attack a long time ago, before the massacre of the Atlanta pack. Several Ascendant children were snatched from a playground in Alabama. They were from Shaw’s original pack, and one of them was his younger brother Jameson.”
Tessa’s eyes widened, and she took a deep breath.
“Oh, poor James. No wonder he’s so screwed up,” she said.
“You have sympathy for the man who’s holding your sister hostage?” Kat asked, surprised.
“He was nice to me, in his way. I’m pretty sure he kept me from suffering the worst of the Legion’s abuse. I was hurt, sure, but they could have hurt me a lot more,” Tessa said.
Kat looked horrified, but gave Tessa a hesitant nod.
“Well, now we really have to save him, don’t we?” Kat said.
“I think I have a plan that will allow us to kill two birds with one stone.”
“Let’s hear this great plan, then.”
“We lure James here with the promise that we’ll turn him into a Shifter, and then talk him over to the dark side. Or are we the light side? Anyway, we convert James and find out how much he’s told the Legion. Then James can help us find a way to take the whole place down. After we free Camilla, of course.”
“I’m thinking he brings Camilla as a trade for getting bitten,” Kat said, her eyes sparkling.
“Yes! That’s exactly it. Great minds think alike, Kat. I don’t understand why everyone thinks you’re such a big bitch,” Tessa declared.
“I like to sharpen my nails on the males I sleep with, and I wipe my stilettos off on the females I don’t like. They never make it in this pack long,” Kat said, admiring her nails.
Tessa laughed, and flung her arms around Kat. The sadness of her situation with Jace was pressing against her heart, burning her up from the inside, but it was almost bearable when Kat was around.
“Then I’ll make sure to feel extra lucky that we are friends. I think I like it here, minus a certain someone,” Tessa said with a sigh.
“We’ll deal with Jace later. I do wish you’d chosen Declan, but I understand. He’s rather dim at times, too.”
“Let’s focus on the rescue mission for now. What’s the first step?” Tessa asked.
“You need a shower and a clean set of clothes. No offense, but you are starting to smell like Pigpen from Peanuts,” Kat teased, leading Tessa out of the little holding cell.
“I like your priorities. First, shower. Second, we’re going to need to get my phone from Rhett. Third, we ensnare Legion baddie who doesn’t really want to be bad, and trick him into freeing Camilla. Fourth, probably a nap,” Tessa joked.
Kat produced a large scarf from her purse, and stopped Tessa to wrap her up in it.
“This scarf is hideous,” Tessa said, giggling at the ridiculousness of it all.
“I know. It’s Emmy’s. She insists on wrapping herself up when it’s sunny outside. ‘Preservez la complexion toujours’,” Kat said, mimicking Emmy’s accent.
“Small favors,” T
essa agreed.
“Anyway, if anyone stops us, try to sound French. Also if you could manage to be a bit taller and thin as a rail, that would help,” Kat quipped.
“I’ll do my best.”
Tessa prayed that they wouldn’t run into anyone just yet, and it seemed to work. Less than an hour later she was clean and dressed in new clothes, although Kat’s wrap dress was a little shorter and tighter on Tessa than was comfortable.
“That shade of green looks a thousand times better on you than on me,” Kat said, eying Tessa with a frown.
“Yes, well. I can’t wear black, so I think we’re even.”
There was a quiet rap on Kat’s door. Checking the peephole, Kat opened the door to reveal the entire group of girls.
“Angel, you brought them all?” Kat accused.
“We all want to see the sexy Ascendant male you promised us,” Angel said.
As the females entered, Kat frowned.
“The guys will notice if we’re all gone at the same time. If they haven’t already realized Tessa’s missing, they will soon,” she pointed out.
“Non. It’s taken care of,” Emmy said, waving her hand.
“How so?” Kat asked, crossing her arms.
Cera piped up with the answer.
“Project X is ready for testing,” she said, brandishing and plugging in a slim laptop.
The girls all started giggling and high-fiving each other.
“What is Project X?” Tessa asked.
“The security system here is crazy. It’s so sensitive that it can pick up almost any kind of disturbance. Lights flashing, loud noises, even high and low temperatures. The key to the system is programming what to tune out versus what it should alert us about,” Cera explained.
“Okay…” Tessa prompted.
“I’m going to screw up that balance. Everything is going to make the system go haywire. And when it goes haywire, everything shuts down. The whole Den is compartmentalized— listen, it’s not important how it works. You all will sneak out, and I will hang here and crash the system. Repeatedly,” Cera said with a grin.
“Well thanks. I think,” Tessa said. She was overwhelmed with the sudden realization that these girls had accepted her as their friend, warts and all. Tessa, who’d never fit in anywhere in her life, had found a home. Jace or no Jace, she would stay with this pack. Being here was like being surrounded by a loving, if dysfunctional, family. Another point for the Shifters, Tessa thought.
“Believe me when I say, the pleasure is all mine. Jace is a huge pain in the ass sometimes. I consider this a little payback.” Cera flashed a winning smile and slipped on a headset, then gave Angel a thumbs up.
“Cera will remain here while we all go looking for your Ascendant,” Emmy explained.
“I’m the man on the inside,” Cera joked, without looking away from the screen of her laptop.
“Okay. So… now I call him?” Tessa asked, feeling anxious.
“That’s the plan,” Kat confirmed.
Kat pulled out Tessa’s cell phone, refusing to explain how she’d got it off Rhett without his noticing. Tessa accepted it and turned it on, thankful that it still had plenty of battery left. She stared down at the phone for a second, formulating what she wanted to say. James was no idiot; Tessa would have to be convincing.
“Well?” Angel asked, her tone impatient.
Tessa looked up to find the four women in a semicircle around her, staring at her with expectant expressions. Only Cera, still involved in whatever illegal computer stuff she was doing, was uninterested.
“You guys are making me even more nervous!” Tessa protested, shooing them away.
Once they’d dispersed to lounge on the couch and chairs of the living room, Tessa took a deep breath and dialed James’ number.
One ring. Two. Three.
Tessa hesitated. James always picked up right away. Just as she was about to hang up, his voice came across the line.
“What the hell is taking so long?” he growled, his voice thick.
“Um… remember that thing you were asking me for?”
“Hold on.”
A rustling noise told Tessa that James was trying to move somewhere more private.
“You found out how to make me like them?” he asked, his tone nearly pleading. Tessa’s heart went out to him a little, even though he wasn’t a saint.
“I, uh, I can do it. It’s pretty simple, just a bite and then I recite some words,” Tessa bluffed.
“Are you sure? It’s a huge risk for me. If it doesn’t work, they’ll kill me. Not to mention Camilla,” he said, voice anxious.
“Yeah. Here’s the thing about Camilla. I’m going to need you to bring her here before I change you.”
“Are you insane? They’ll kill us on sight!” he accused.
“I have something you want. You have something I want. So we trade, and we both walk away happy.”
“I can’t… they’ll never understand,” James said.
“James. Listen to me. You’re not thinking this through. They might have control over you now, but when you become a Shift— a werewolf, what can they do? You’ll be bigger, stronger, and faster than them. They’re trading my not-even-a-werewolf sister for a fully changed wolf. They’re not going to care about Camilla once they see you in all your glory,” Tessa said, feeding him the script she’d planned out.
There was a long stretch of silence, and Tessa started to worry she’d lost him.
“I’m not even sure I can get her free. The Pentagon has weaker defenses than the ones set up around Camilla.”
Tessa tried not to sound too relieved.
“You know that whole place in and out. If anybody can do it, you can.”
“We’ll have to move right away. The Elders are restless, wanting to know when we’ll have the werewolves captured or terminated,” James said.
“As long as Camilla and I are far away when it happens, I don’t care what you do with the rest of them,” Tessa lied, glancing at Kat. Kat merely gave her a thumbs-up in response.
“Fine. Tell me where their nest is located. I’ll leave now.”
“Sorry, James. You led me around by the mouth once before, so I’m not ready to give you that information just yet. We’ll meet on my turf,” Tessa dictated.
“And where would that be?” he asked.
“Just get on I-10 going west and drive. I’ll call you with more instructions in an hour. If I’m not happy with how far you’ve gotten or I think you’re trying to pull something over on me, the whole thing is off.”
“Jesus. Alright. I have to get moving,” James said.
“James?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t screw this up. You won’t get another chance,” Tessa said, keeping her voice cold as ice.
As she hung up, Tessa let out a huge breath. Hugging herself, she looked over at the girls assembled before her.
“Well?” Kat demanded.
“It’s on. We should get moving if we want to get there before James,” Tessa answered, shaken.
Kat’s eyes glittered with mischief as she stood up and brushed herself off.
“Cera, do your thing. We’re going to need some cover to leave the portal without the males. We’re gonna catch ourselves an Ascendant male,” Kat said.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Less than two hours later, Tessa stood alone in the parking lot of a dingy and forgettable roadside motel just a few miles from the Den. She shivered, despite the Louisiana sun beating down on the asphalt. Her heart raced. She’d given James the last instructions over ten minutes ago. If James had betrayed her, she’d probably be taken down by Legion soldiers any second now.
The silent but persistent anxiety and sadness she’d been feeling all day had been increasing with every mile they’d driven toward the motel. A couple of times Tessa had to stop and steady herself, struggling to draw a deep breath. She couldn’t afford to have a panic attack now.
She heard the crunch of tires on
gravel. A black SUV turned into the lot and parked by room 104, just as Tessa had instructed.
She waited another long minute, trying to gauge whether or not there were more vehicles coming. When none appeared, she pulled a sleek black handgun from her purse and approached the SUV with caution.
There was noisy shifting around in the vehicle, and then the passenger side door opened. Camilla emerged, looking pale and withdrawn. When her eyes lit on Tessa, it seemed to register. Something was very wrong with her sister.
“Cami!” Tessa blurted, unable to help herself. Camilla looked at her again, but didn’t react. A gun appeared next to her neck, and James climbed out behind Camilla.
Tessa swung her aim away from her sister to avoid an accidental shooting. She dragged in another breath, trying to keep her cool in front of the others.
“Put the damn gun down, James! Are you crazy?” Tessa shouted.
“It’s my insurance policy,” he returned.
Tessa made herself breathe before she continued, moving around them toward the row rooms.
“Are you okay, Cami?” Tessa asked
Her sister looked down at her own hands, silent.
“She’s been sedated since she was captured. It will take some time to wear off. For now, it’s easier,” James commented.
“Camilla, go inside,” Tessa urged, motioning toward the door to room 104.
James nudged the drugged girl with his free hand. When she looked up at him, he pointed to the door. Camilla ambled to the door like a zombie, and then went in.
When James moved to follow, Tessa stopped him.
“No. She doesn’t need to see— she won’t understand,” Tessa said, keeping her voice low. She held both her hands up as a white flag, then tucked the gun back into her purse.
“She has no idea what’s going on,” James said, lowering his gun but not putting it away.
“I don’t think you get it. There are things involved with the ritual that are private. Sexual things,” Tessa answered, playing shy.
“You told me it was just a bite and some words,” James said, sounding ambivalent.
“I lied. I thought you would freak out if I told you that we had to… you know.”