“We think there might be something there,” she sighed. Jonathon shook his head hard, but she ignored him. “That’s a map we found in an artifact that we were told might be able to help me turn into a human again.”
Josh stared at her. He set his glass down and leaned forward. “Turn you human?”
“Maggie,” Jonathon whispered. “Don’t. We can’t trust him.”
“I can’t be trusted?” Josh sneered at him. “I’m the alpha here. I’m the one who gets to say what goes. And if you think that you can turn human again on that island? Well, I can pull some strings. I can get you there. I’ve always wondered why that island was forbidden. There have always been stories of shifters who go there and never come back. I wonder…”
Josh stroked his chin and Maggie watched, holding her breath. If he would help them get to the island, it would be the first stroke of luck they had! She was so close to her destination. So close to being human again. Even if everything had changed and she couldn’t go back to the life she had before, at the very least she wouldn’t have to be stuck in a form that she didn’t belong in.
“I’d like to talk to you for a moment, Maggie,” Josh said, standing. His gaze flickered to Jonathon and a smirk grew over his mouth. “Alone.”
Jonathon stood, his mouth opening. Then he stopped and looked down at Maggie. “Will you be okay?”
Maggie glanced at Josh, who cocked an eyebrow. She nodded. He might have been a control freak all those years ago, but he seemed to have matured somewhat since then. Plus, there was stuff that she was certain Josh was going to say that would cause Jonathon to lose his temper. Even more so after what had happened in the basement.
“Take him back to the holding room,” Josh ordered, and the bears that had come with them dragged Jonathon out.
Leaving them alone. Maggie hadn’t drunk any of her drink and now she set it down. Josh had always been one to want sex, and he had that same look in his eye as Mike had. He smiled, the familiar grin that used to make her feel special whenever it was directed at her.
“Well. I can smell from Jonathon’s scent all over you that the two of you aren’t just friends anymore. When did you two decide to become a couple?”
Maggie flinched and looked away. “We’re not. I just… things got out of control last night. After your men kidnapped us.”
“You had to feed.” Josh’s voice was low, almost seductive. “I understand that. We’ve had vampires come around looking for shifter blood. It can get very… intense. But I see by the look on your face that it’s not something you wanted before you fed. So, you fucked your best friend. And nothing will ever be the same with him.”
Maggie glowered at him, clenching her hands. “What’s it to you?”
He leaned forward, his gaze dropping to her breasts. “You’re even curvier than you were back when we were dating, and I’ve come to enjoy a good rut with a vampire. How about one more time, for old time’s sake?”
Maggie shrank back into herself, her skin crawling. “You might enjoy that, but I wouldn’t.”
Josh’s eyes widened. “What?”
“You heard me.”
He stared a moment before he let out a harsh, grating laugh. “Now you told me! Is that why you never wanted to have sex? I always thought you enjoyed it. Now you’re telling me I was useless in bed? That’s a huge blow to a guy’s ego.”
“I did tell you,” Maggie shot back. “I told you I didn’t like your ‘technique’. I told you what I wanted. You always ignored me.”
Josh grunted. “You never told me anything.”
“I told you all the time.”
“Is that why you sent Jonathon to chase me off instead of breaking up with me yourself?”
Maggie was brought up short. She opened her mouth then closed it. What was he talking about? Her arms started to wrap around her middle.
“You don’t know,” Josh murmured. A light came to his eyes and he leaned forward. “Jonathon came to me and told me that you didn’t want anything to do with me. He said that you were tired of dealing with my shit, and if I ever came around you again, you’d call the cops on me. Given the way cops treat us shifters… But you didn’t know that, did you?”
She hadn’t. Maggie jumped to her feet and headed for the door, not answering Josh’s call after her. She had to talk to Jonathon—she had to know the truth.
***
Jonathon had just sagged onto the bed in the dark, enclosed basement room—why did Josh think he needed to have a dungeon in his apartment complex?—when the door banged open again. Maggie strode in, looking unhappy, tense, agitated. He jumped to his feet, already asking what was wrong when she lifted her hand to stop him. Her eyes narrowed.
“Did you tell Josh that I wanted nothing to do with him anymore?” she ground out through gritted teeth.
His stomach dropped. He’d forgotten about that… There had been so many of them, the details sometimes got lost. A chill ran down his spine as he stared into Maggie’s eyes. The betrayal in them was so deep his throat went dry.
“Maggie—”
“Did you do it?”
Jonathon reluctantly nodded. “I did. I’m sorry, Maggie, I’m sorry. But he was treating you so terribly, and I knew you were never going to leave him, not when you thought he was the only person who could get you away from your stepfather. But he was going to treat you the same way and you wouldn’t listen—”
“I didn’t listen? You never told me anything except that you didn’t like him!”
Jonathon moved forward, reaching for her. She had to understand. “I tried to tell you. Every time I brought him up, you shut me down. I had to get you away from him, and I didn’t know how else to do it. I’m sorry, I—”
Maggie shut the door sharply, leaving them in the room together. The bears were sniggering to each other, and Jonathon ground his teeth. How much about this story did they know? But that didn’t matter, not really. Not when Maggie was staring at him like she had never seen him before. As if what they did the previous night wasn’t bad enough, now there was this as well.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I was just trying to protect you. I know I shouldn’t’ have done it. But by the time I figured out how to get you to actually listen to me, it was too late. I’m sorry.”
Maggie dug her hands into her hair.
The door opened and Jonathon snarled to see Josh come in. The bear gave him a toothy grin as he hooked his thumbs into his belt. “As much as I would like to watch this conversation, I believe we have a quest to discuss. That island that you want to go to. Do you really think that it’ll be able to turn you back to a human?”
Maggie glared at Jonathon a moment longer. Slowly, she turned to Josh. Her voice was utterly flat when she spoke. “Yes. I do believe that. Unless it’s just going to direct me to another place. Whatever is there, I have to see.”
Josh stepped a little closer, that familiar manipulative smile on his face. He had always enjoyed toying with her. He’d string her along and break their plans and then demand she be available for him at every moment. He always did this. And this time was no different. He knew what Maggie wanted, and he was going to get what he wanted for the vaguest promise that she would get something in return.
From the look in his eye, Jonathon knew exactly what he wanted. He hadn’t changed at all.
“Well… as you know, it’s forbidden. There is only one rule that can allow me to let someone go out to that island.” Josh cupped his hand around her elbow. Jonathon wanted to punch him in the face for daring to touch her. Josh tugged Maggie closer to him. “However, this rule only allows for members of my clan to step foot on the island.”
“Josh, if I’m going to be human again—"
Maggie cut off as Josh put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. Jonathon growled and stepped forward, but a half-glare from Maggie stopped him. Josh didn’t even glance in his direction.
“Mags, an alpha’s mate counts as part of the clan, even if she’s
not a bear or a shifter herself.”
He was proposing? Jonathon’s jaw dropped.
“Of course,” Josh continued, “if I was going to make you my mate, I would have to be sure that you’re still what I want. After so many years apart… I’m sure both of us has changed. But we both know what it takes to find one’s mate, don’t we Maggie?”
So that’s what it was. Jonathon stepped forward, the growl bursting from him as his fires flickered higher in anger. “So, what you’re saying is that you’ll only let her see if the island can turn her back to human if she sleeps with you? How rapey of you.”
“It’s not rape if she agrees,” Josh snapped.
“It’s not an agreement if she’s being blackmailed!” Jonathon had never wanted to kill someone so much before. If it wasn’t for Maggie being in such close proximity to Josh, he might have attacked right here. “She deserves better than you.”
“Like you, you mean?” Josh shot back. “Tell me, did she agree to sex before or after she drank from you?”
It felt like a sucker punch to his stomach. His fires went cold and he backed up a step. The truth of those words were too strong for him to ignore.
“Stop it.” Maggie pulled away from Josh. “What happened between Jonathon and me is none of your business.” She cast a terrified look at him, guilt written over all her features. What did she have to feel guilty about? “And as for you, it’s not your concern if I accept these terms or not.”
“Not my—” Jonathon spluttered. “Of course, it’s my concern! You’re my best friend; I don’t want to see you getting hurt because of—”
“It’s not your concern who I sleep with.” Maggie’s voice went cold, though she didn’t look at him now. “You don’t know that I don’t want to sleep with Josh… you don’t know if I decided he was my mate back when we were teens or not. You never bothered asking me, did you?”
She flinched even as she spoke, and Jonathon knew none of that was real. Her words were a front. Trying to get him to back off so he wouldn’t get himself hurt if Josh decided that he didn’t like the situation. Jonathon reached for her arm, glaring at Josh as he did so.
“I know you, Maggie. And I know that you’ve never been one to just sleep around.”
“Unlike you, you mean?” Maggie’s voice shook. “Or maybe it’s just that you’ve been so busy sleeping around that you’ve never noticed when I do it. After all, I’m always busy watching the kids. Being left behind. Always.”
Jonathon turned his attention back to her. His brow furrowed. What was she saying? He opened his mouth, wanting to know. Did she resent him for it? Did she wish that he’d find another nanny to look after Summer, Ned, and Ronnie? Was there something she hadn’t been telling him, or was this because of what happened earlier? Had the sex torn everything open, or was there already an abscess here that he’d been too blind to see?
Whatever it was, there was one thing he knew and that was that Maggie did not want to sleep with Josh. So he said the only thing that came to mind, “If only a member of the bear clan can set foot on that island, then I challenge you as alpha of this clan.”
“What?” Maggie and Josh both exclaimed at the same time. The bears standing out in the hallway also had wide eyes.
Jonathon himself could hardly believe what he had just said, but he lifted his chin and stared with a grin down at Josh. “You heard me, Teddy. I’m challenging you. So, what’s the answer? Are you going to stand there like an idiot or are you going to refuse like a coward or are we going to do this thing?”
“What are you doing?” Maggie hissed at him.
“Finding a different way.”
“No, Jonathon—”
“Hold on, now,” Josh interrupted. He pushed Maggie roughly aside. “This dragon here has been screwing up my life for long enough. If he wants to fight, then let’s fight. You think that the clan will accept you as Alpha even if you beat me? We don’t like lizards here.”
Jonathon grinned. He cracked his knuckles and let out a stream of smoke. “Ready when you are.”
Josh snorted. He turned on his heel, gesturing with one hand. Maggie protested, but both men ignored her as they went outside. Josh’s cronies crowded around him, clearly trying to intimidate him. Jonathon ignored them, his gaze only on the alpha’s back.
They were outside soon enough. The apartment complex had a wide, open lawn with a tall fence that was built around it. Probably to keep out nosy neighbors.
The two of them faced off while Maggie stood on the sidelines, her face pale and her hands bunched in fists. Jonathon knew no matter what the outcome of this was, she was going to be furious with him. More so than she already was. His heart sank down into his toes; even if what he’d done the previous night hadn’t completely ruined their friendship, her finding out about him running off Josh and then this… well, it had. There would be no coming back from this.
I still promised to see this through, no matter what, he thought, bolstering himself. And I’m going to keep that promise. I’ll get her to that island—
Josh’s punch came flying at him before he was ready. It hit him squarely in the jaw, sending Jonathon stumbling backward. Jonathon threw both his hands up, shoving Josh back. The bear lunged again, and Jonathon sidestepped the attack. He pushed between Josh’s shoulder blades, but the bear regained his balance quickly enough. He whirled, sinking his fist into Jonathon’s stomach. Jonathon went down to one knee, gasping for breath.
“You made a mistake by challenging me, lizard,” Josh laughed. “I have no qualms about putting you in your place.”
“Leave him alone!” Maggie screamed. “Leave him!”
But Josh had made a mistake, too. Jonathon had no intention of really being the alpha of a bear clan. As he stumbled back to his feet, he lunged. But not at Josh. His arms wrapped around Maggie as the wings burst from his back. The bears shouted. He heard a roar. Claws dug into his tail, but he flicked it wildly, pulling it out of the bear’s grasp as he took to the sky. Maggie cried out, but Jonathon was already too high and going too fast to hear her. Beneath them, Josh screamed curses and threats.
Jonathon only laughed. Never give a dragon room to fly, Josh. You should have known that.
Chapter Nine
Jonathon flew out over the water many times before he finally landed on an island far from the coast. By that time, Maggie’s face was chill from the elevation and burned from the sun. Her head felt overly light and she stumbled a bit when he finally set her down. Jonathon bent beside her, mumbling something about water and trekked off. When he returned, he told her he found a spring and showed her the way.
Maggie drank her fill and then checked him over for injuries. He was a bit burnt, too, and there was a nasty-looking bruise on his jaw, but otherwise, he looked to be in good health.
“Was this your plan when you challenged Josh for the alphaship?”
Jonathon gave her a shy, chagrinned smile. “Wish I could say it was. It was a lot smarter than just thinking I could beat him up and get us to the island.”
She remembered Josh’s not-so-secret intentions and shivered. “Thank you. I didn’t want his hands on me.”
“I know.” Jonathon ran his hands through his hair. “And we have to talk. This... this between us. We have to settle things before we go any further. Right?”
Maggie swallowed hard. She hated to admit it, but he was right. If they didn’t talk about it now, they might never get it out there. The thing that she and Jonathon did best was talk about things before they had a chance to embed and fester. About most things, at least. There were things that she had never told him. And, apparently, things he had never told her.
All in all, this was the worst time for her to find out that Jonathon had scared off Josh. Whatever his reasons, it hurt that he would go behind her back like that. It hurt that he would do something like that, and it hurt that he wouldn’t trust her with her own life. She didn’t want to be angry with him. Not now. Not with everything that was happening.
And yet…
This was exactly the reason she didn’t want to sleep with him. Everything was more complicated now. Even something as simple as talking. It was made even worse because they’d only slept together because she’d drunk from him. She’d been as affected as he was, but she still shouldn’t have done what she did. She was the one who pushed. And even though she had apologized, she felt like there was more to say.
But how long did they need to process what had happened? And where was the line between processing and festering?
“There are more things you want to ask me,” Jonathon said. He sat beside the spring and ran his hand through his hair again. His shoulders were tense, and he didn’t look at her.
“There’s a lot I want to ask you.”
Jonathon nodded. “Then ask.”
Where to start? What she wanted most was to ask about last night, about why he’d slept with her. To know if they were good or if that was forever going to be between them, the initial rift that just kept getting bigger and bigger. She found she didn’t have the words for that, though, and so landed on the other huge thing that had just opened up between them.
“Is Josh the only one you chased off?”
Jonathon flinched. Was he hoping that she would ask him about their sex? Was it even sex? Or was it something else?
“Wait,” she blurted.
Jonathon met her eye.
“Before you answer that… I need to…” She shuddered. “Last night. It was the same as if I drugged you and—”
“What?” Jonathon rolled to his knees and had her hands in his in a moment. “No. No, that is not what happened.”
“But it is.” Maggie sobbed, hating herself. “It is exactly like that. I knew what drinking from you would do to me, and I know that you hate it, but I still… I still pushed you and—”
“Maggie.” Jonathon cut her off, his voice urgent. “Maggie, no. No. That’s not what it was like at all. I should have been stronger. I know what drinking does to you, but I just accepted what you were saying without a second thought. It’s not your fault.”
Maggie met his eye. “I saw how you instantly regretted it.”
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