by Wood, Vivian
“I’m not freaking out. I’m a guy, Tessa. I still have, you know, desires,” he mumbled, embarrassed.
“Can we not talk about it?”
“Okay. Uh. So we just…” he asked, tucking the gun in his waistband.
“I got us the room next door,” Tessa motioned.
“Well. Ladies first,” James said, inclining his head.
Tessa walked to the room 103 and turned the knob, hesitating for a second.
“James?” she asked.
“What?”
“Are you sure you want this? The werewolf thing, I mean. It’s a huge life change. You can’t go back once it’s done.”
“They’re going to kill me, Tessa. If I slip up, if I show resistance even one more time… that will be the excuse they need to do it. My uncle will probably shoot me himself. Erase the stain on the family name,” James spat, bitter.
“That’s terrible, James, but it’s not a good enough reason to change who you are,” Tessa persisted.
“Jesus. I want to change, okay? I hate my life, I hate everything about myself. I have to change, Tessa. Please,” he said, looking at her with pleading eyes.
“If you’re sure…” she said.
“I’m sure,” he blurted, his face heating.
Tessa nodded and opened the door, dropping to the ground as soon as it swung all the way open.
WHOOSH.
James cried out and cursed. Tessa looked back to see him pulling several bloodied bits of metal from his chest. He glared at her for a moment before his eyes rolled up in his head and he collapsed in a heap.
Kat sprung up from her hiding spot behind the hotel’s musty and overly-used double bed.
“I can’t believe I finally got to use this dart gun,” Kat said. “Thank god I got the rhinoceros tranquilizer to go with it. A girl likes to be prepared.”
Tessa turned and bolted for the other room, leaving Kat to deal with James. In a flash, she was huddled next to Camilla on the double bed, hugging her so hard it felt like Camilla might break. Tessa rocked her sister in her arms, murmuring soothing words.
Angel stood by and watched, but Emmy came over and knelt before the sisters. She stilled Tessa’s rocking, then proceeded to feel Camilla’s forehead for fever, check her eyes, and examine her arms.
“We must get her back, Tessa. She doesn’t look very well,” Emmy said. Turning to Angel, Emmy began issuing orders.
“Angel, you will take Tessa and her sister back to the Den. Take the big truck the man brought,” she fired off.
Angel nodded and moved over to the bed, helping Tessa get Camilla to her feet. The other two girls followed them outside.
Kat met them just outside, looking satisfied.
“Everything all right on this side, then?” Kat inquired.
“She’s sedated, but I think she’s fine,” Tessa said of her sister.
“Great. Let’s all get going, then. The boys already shut Cera down, so we’ll have to figure out how to tell them what we’ve done,” Kat said.
There was a nervous silence for a moment. At last, Tessa shrugged. The feeling of anxiety pressing down on her hadn’t let up for a second; if anything it was growing worse. Tessa struggled to put together a coherent statement.
“We did what needed to be done, and we did it well. No one was hurt. We got Camilla back, not to mention James. They’ll just have to deal,” she said.
“I’m thinking the boys aren’t going to see it that way,” Angel said with a grin. “Especially one Jace Copeland.”
Tessa cocked her head.
“You just leave him to me. I owe him a few words already,” she said.
Tessa wasn’t sure how she was going to approach her former-almost-mate, but it wasn’t going to be pretty.
Slipping her shoulder back under Camilla’s arm, Tessa sighed and helped her sister into the SUV so they could begin the short trip back to the Den… and back to Jace.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Tessa.”
Tessa opened her eyes to find Shaw staring down at her with a frown. She cleared her throat and straightened from her slumped position. She sat in an uncomfortable armchair next to the infirmary bed, where Camilla lay sleeping. She couldn’t believe she’d actually fallen asleep like that, but the aches and cramps she was now experiencing couldn’t be denied.
“Uh,” Tessa said, nearly squirming under Shaw’s intent gaze. She was filled with a painful anxiety, as if someone had a blade to her throat.
“I need you to come with me,” he said, his deep baritone putting Tessa even more on edge.
“I have to stay with my sister,” Tessa replied. She’d been saying the same phrase to every person who came in the room. No, she didn’t need to go rest in a real bed. No, she didn’t need a hot meal. No, no, no. She just needed to be here when Camilla woke up.
“Kat will stay with your sister. You need to come with me,” Shaw said.
“Listen. I know that everyone hates me, except Kat and the girls. I know that I’m probably going to be kicked out of the pack. I get Jace is never going to look at me again. Frankly, the only thing I have to look forward to is apologizing to my sister. Which is why I need to stay here and wait for her to wake up,” Tessa said, her shoulders slumped in resignation.
“It’s Jameson— James. He won’t talk to any of us,” Shaw said, pain filling his voice.
Tessa looked up at the Alpha Shifter for a moment and then sighed, trying to find the words to explain.
“They’ve been teaching him that Shifters are demons. He’s been raised thinking we’re all pretty much the devil incarnate, and the Legion is a champion for mankind,” Tessa said.
“He’s been asking for you.”
Tessa stared down at her hands, twisting them in her lap. She wasn’t sure what Shaw wanted her to say.
“I don’t know anything more than I told you,” she said.
“I need him to calm him down. We have to know what the Legion is planning against us, and we need him on our side for that. There are ways we can force his compliance, but…” Shaw trailed off, looking frustrated and sad.
“But you think he’s your brother,” Tessa finished for him.
“I don’t think anything. I know. Have you ever for a second wondered if Camilla was really your sister?” he asked.
“No, of course not,” Tessa said.
“Exactly. That’s a Shifter ability. James is my brother Jameson. My wolf recognizes him. I think he’s been through enough without us coercing him into helping us. Please come with me, Tessa,” Shaw asked, not bothering to mask his desperation.
“Okay. I mean, of course. I’ll come,” she said, standing and attempting to straighten her wrinkled dress and smooth her wild hair.
Shaw nodded and motioned for the nurse who’d been tending Camilla. Kat followed her in, watching the nurse as she checked Camilla’s vitals. Kat gave Tessa a soft smile, encouraging her.
“I’ll be here with her the whole time, Tessa,” Kat promised, dragging the now-unoccupied armchair over to sit beside Camilla’s bed.
“Thanks,” Tessa replied, then looked to Shaw.
With that, Shaw lead her out of the room and down to the other end of the hall. It was the same padded cell Tessa had been kept in just a day earlier, and she still found it suffocating.
“Can’t you put him in a regular room?” she asked, keeping her voice down.
Shaw shook his head.
“He’s already hurt several of the guards, and tried to hurt himself as well. We can’t keep him safe anywhere else.”
They stopped in front of the cell door.
“He’s restrained and sedated. It’s the only way we can keep him from becoming violent. Still, you’ll need to keep your distance from him,” Shaw instructed.
“Alright. I’m ready,” Tessa said.
Shaw pulled open the cell door to reveal James, bound tightly to a cot with leather restraint straps. Tessa’s heart wrenched as she started toward him. Shaw placed a restr
aining hand on her shoulder, keeping her several feet from the Ascendant’s still form.
“James?” she called.
No response. Tessa stepped closer, pushing away Shaw’s hand when he moved to hold her back again. Stepping next to the man, she placed a hand on his chest and felt for his heartbeat. It was rhythmic and steady, and Tessa relaxed a tiny bit.
Her heart went out to the other Ascendant. He hadn’t had any more choice in his service to the Legion than she had, and he’d had twenty years of their cruel treatment. Could she truly hold a grudge against him? Tessa thought not.
“James?” she asked again, a bit louder.
He stirred, eyes opening and locking onto Tessa.
“I didn’t think you’d come,” he said, his voice hoarse.
“Well, I did,” she said, sitting on the cot next to him. She reached out and smoothed some hair out of his eyes, feeling almost motherly toward the man.
“I want them to let me go, Tessa. I need to go home,” James pleaded.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t go home. You’re going to stay here with us,” Tessa said.
“They’ll kill me!” James said, struggling a little against his restraints.
“James, look at me.”
James turned his head, looking up at Tessa.
“Will you trust me?” Tessa asked, her tone soft.
After a long moment, he nodded and laid his head back down. Tessa felt a surge of hope at his acquiescence.
“Shaw and I only want to help you. He can help you be stronger and better, like we talked about before.”
James stilled.
“He’ll help me become a werewolf?”
“Yes, but there are some conditions. You won’t be able to go back to the Legion, James. And you’ll have to help us, too. Do you think you can do that?” Tessa asked.
James thought for a moment before nodding.
“We think the Legion is going to come here and hurt some of the nice people that live here. What can you tell us about that?” she asked.
“My uncle wants to capture as many of them as possible. He said they need to study live specimens so the Legion can make some kind of super-werewolf.”
A low growl came from Shaw, but Tessa talked over him.
“How are they going to do that?” she asked.
“They’re going to use flash grenades and stun guns and tranquilizer guns. The Elders have been debating how best to take over the camp. My uncle was advocating a pincer approach,” James said, as if reading from notes.
“I see,” Tessa said, even though she didn’t really understand.
“Then they’re going to bring in a bunch of trailers and load the wolves up in cages to take back to the compound.”
“When is this supposed to happen?”
“The initial strike is supposed to happen at 0300 hours on Thursday. The… fifteenth, I think.”
Shaw cursed under his breath and Tessa looked back at him. Shaw motioned for Tessa to come outside with him. As she turned to leave, James spoke again.
“Tessa?” he asked.
“Yes, James. I’m here.”
“I am sorry for… you know, all of this,” he said, his speech slurring with exhaustion.
Tessa patted James on the shoulder.
“I know you are. Thank you, James. I’ll be back in a little while.”
“And then you’ll help me change?” he asked.
“We’ll see. Just rest for now.”
Slipping out of the cell and closing the door, Tessa faced Shaw.
“If what he’s saying is right, we have less than 48 hours to fend off a strategic attack,” Shaw said darkly.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked.
“Go get some rest. I’ll meet with the pack and we’ll figure out the next step. We’ll need you to question James again in a few hours.”
Tessa nodded and turned toward the door, unsure of her destination. Perhaps Kat would let her crash for a few hours of much-needed rest.
“Go tell your mate I need his assistance,” Shaw added as she reached the door.
Freezing, she turned to correct Shaw’s mistake. Before she could even open her mouth, Shaw stopped her.
“It’s an order, not a request. Go tell him before you find someplace to crash,” came his command, coupled with that intense stare.
Tessa swallowed and nodded. She’d rather face Jace than Shaw at this moment, which was saying a lot.
“What are you waiting for?” Shaw said.
Feeling like a scolded child, Tessa frowned at him before turning to leave. She flung open the door to the infirmary as she left, the black cloud hanging over her growing larger and darker by the second. A drumbeat of frustration and anger pounded in her chest, and it was all she could concentrate on.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Maddie lay still, trying to keep her breathing even. She was pretty sure that Jasper had dozed off at last, and she didn’t want to wake him. If she did that, she’d have to speak to him. Mate or no mate, she had no desire to do that.
Maddie gently lifted his heavily-muscled arm from its resting place across her bare stomach, cringing. She gave a sigh of relief when he rolled over, burying his face in one of Maddie’s pillows. Jesus, she was going to have to replace the whole set of sheets and pillows. Everything smelled like Jasper’s distinctive cedar scent, and it was entirely too enjoyable. There was no point in getting used to having him around, she reminded herself.
Maddie scooted off the bed, stretching her limbs. She looked down at Jasper’s still form, allowing herself to admire his body for just one more moment. He was perfectly sculpted, sleek muscle from his shoulders all the way down to his ankles. She’d forgotten how tall he was; his shins hung off the edge of Maddie’s queen-sized mattress and if he spread his arms, his hands would too.
Even in repose, Jasper was magnificent. He’d rolled onto his stomach, giving her a great view of his ass, which was probably his best feature. Okay, maybe second best. Maddie couldn’t suppress the grin that spread over her face as she thought about his best feature.
Maddie released a silent sigh and turned away from him, slipping on her jeans, bra, and tank top. She had better shit to do than to sit here and look at some dude’s ass, no matter who the dude was and how fine his ass might be.
Picking up her shoes, she crept out of her bedroom and over to the front door. She snagged her wallet and keys from the table, then tiptoed out the front door. Only when she’d locked the door did she breathe a sigh of relief and slip her shoes on.
She was trying really hard not to beat herself up over sleeping with Jasper. After they’d exchanged bites, the need to complete the bond had been unbearable. Neither of them had been in any position to fight it, so they’d rushed back here to her place. Jasper had been whispering in her ear, a mixture of sweet things and dirty things. By the time they’d hit the front door of Maddie’s apartment, it was a done deal.
She calmed herself. It was just one time, and she’d done it with the best motivations. For some time now, Maddie had been planning to take a mate. She was tired of the constant heckling from her elders about being a single girl. She didn’t want to go on any more horrible blind dates, she didn’t want to have to stress about her figure or what she ate or how she dressed. She especially didn’t want to have to worry that she might meet some charming Shifter who would sweep her off her feet, then break her heart. She’d wanted to pick someone who was dull, unattractive, and flawed; a male who would be excited just to have a mate, and wouldn’t be too offended when Maddie insisted on her independence.
She wasn’t sure how that plan had translated to taking Jasper as a mate, but it had been the best solution at the time. Yeah, he was nuts. Yeah, he’d obviously wanted Jace’s female. Yeah, it had hurt Maddie’s pride a little bit while she was eavesdropping.
But the second she’d stepped into the clearing with him, she knew what she had to do. Jace had needed Maddie to distract Jasper, and Maddie nee
ded a mate who would leave her alone. Jasper lived in the Mississippi pack’s Den, so if Maddie simply refused to move…
It was as simple as that. He’d go back to his pack. Maddie would be left to do as she saw fit, but without the guilt.
It was a perfect plan, really. Maddie smiled to herself as she crossed the Grass in search of her brother. Usually when Jace was in a jam, he tended to dive into his work and not look up until he was content again. That fact, plus the looming threat of the Legion’s attack, meant that he was almost certainly hiding out in his office.
Maddie took a deep breath as she entered the building of executive offices. Her brother needed a serious reality check, and Maddie was the only one who wasn’t afraid to tell him the truth. She didn’t think Jace was going to take her constructive criticism very well.
She steeled herself and knocked on her brother’s office door. Jace didn’t even bother to say anything, just grunted as she opened the door. He looked more than a little disappointed to see her.
“Sorry, I’m not Tessa,” Maddie said, pursing her lips. She flopped down into one of the chairs, staring her brother down. For his part, Jace’s gaze bored right back into hers. Damn he was a stubborn bastard. If he wasn’t so soft and squishy inside, he’d make an excellent poker player. Or hit man, maybe.
“I wouldn’t expect her anywhere near my office. I’ve made my position on her betrayal pretty fucking clear,” Jace growled.
“God, I’m sure you did. She confessed to you that she was trying to save her sister from the Legion. What a bitch. I hope you kicked her when she was down, too.”
Jace’s jaw tightened as he glared at Maddie. Good, she was getting somewhere. She just needed to poke the hornet’s nest a little more, get him talking.
“What, you don’t like me calling her a bitch? Bitch bitch bitch,” Maddie said, smirking.
“That’s enough,” Jace said, picking up some papers from his desk as if he were going to return to work. Time to kick it up a notch, then.
“You’re a moron,” Maddie said. Jace’s eyes snapped up to meet hers again, their amber hue deepening to a chocolate brown. How easy it was for them to go right back to childhood, picking fights with each other.