Chapter Five
“Take a deep breath,” Eli said.
Sapphire was tense right now and he could sense and scent it. She was putting off all sorts of wild emotions that were sharp and bitter.
“I’m just anxious,” she said. “I want this done and over with.”
Meaning, she wanted her friends safe. “I know. But if any of those wolves watching your friend pick up on your anxiety it will trigger their suspicion. We’re just two shifters passing through, seeing an old friend.”
She snorted softly. “They’re going to smell the sex on us so we might as well be lovers. It makes more sense for a jaguar and wolf to be traveling together if they’re intimately involved anyway.”
He had no problem pretending to be lovers—and there was no pretending involved at this point. She seemed to be softening to him as well. Sooner or later, he’d tug those walls of hers down.
Nodding, he glanced in the side-view mirror. They were about an hour from their destination and he knew Sapphire could get her emotions under control by then. She just needed a distraction.
Since he didn’t know Luna or Leslie this wasn’t personal for him, and he was able to relax more than her. He could be more focused. And though he didn’t want to treat her friends like a job, he was going to think of them as one because it would help his objectivity in getting them to safety. In the end, that was all that mattered.
“Tell me about your family,” he said.
“I know what you’re doing.”
“Getting your mind off everything? Yes. I’m not trying to hide that. So come on.”
She sighed, but a small smile tugged at her lips. “Fine. My parents are still alive and still doing their own thing. We talk a few times a month when they take a break. They’re very nomadic.”
“And you’re not?”
She lifted a shoulder. “If I get the itch to travel, I go roaming for a while, but my wolf side definitely needs a pack. The two of them? They are each other’s pack. They are all they need. Growing up with them was amazing, so while I’m not completely like them in that sense, they’re great parents. I got really lucky.”
“How often do you see them?”
“Now that they’ve learned how to FaceTime, I see them fairly often. But if you mean in person, a couple times a year. They plan trips to come see me and I’ll go see them as well. But for logistical reasons, they usually come to me because they don’t stay in one place for very long.”
“How do they survive like that?” Shifters lived a long time and being part of a pack or pride offered a lot of financial stability. He made his money by tracking shifters who’d gone rogue, but his was a unique profession.
“My dad is a handyman and my mom makes jewelry.” She paused for a moment and then said her mom’s name. “Indigo Zappa.”
He turned to look at her, lifting an eyebrow. “She’s well-known.”
Sapphire grinned and nodded. “I know. Trust me, they’re not hurting for money. And they have very few needs so they just keep racking up money, letting it accumulate in a bank account they very rarely touch—other than to donate to various shifter causes. I tried to get them to talk to a financial planner but they just brushed me off.” She sounded exasperated but it was the kind of exasperation you feel when you truly love someone.
“My parents are like that too,” he said quietly. “As far as having a small pride. Jaguars are different though. Well, compared to wolves. I know there are larger prides all over the world but my parents just had my brother, my sister and me. I’m the youngest. We considered ourselves a pride. When the three of us moved out, my parents didn’t bother looking for another pride. They’re content with just the two of them.”
“Are your siblings mated?”
“One of them. My sister is happily mated with three cubs of her own. And my brother…I don’t actually know what my brother is doing right now. He’s very secretive about his jobs.”
“I’m officially intrigued,” she said.
Eli realized he’d let out a growling sound when her eyes widened slightly. “I didn’t mean I was interested in your brother like that. Holy crap, is this you being jealous?”
“You shouldn’t be intrigued by any male other than me.” He didn’t care if he sounded possessive of her. He was. After last night he was pretty certain he wasn’t going to be able to play it cool or pretend he wanted something casual. It wasn’t the way he was wired. He wanted Sapphire for more than a night or two. He wanted forever.
She didn’t say anything for a long moment, but he could feel the weight of her gaze on him as he continued driving down the highway.
“So…last night was nice,” she finally said, the tone of her voice changing slightly. They hadn’t actually talked about it since they’d gotten on the road. “Or I guess it was this morning. My sense of time is kind of screwed up right now.”
“It was nice. More than nice,” he tacked on.
“So…once we get my friends to safety, maybe we can take the long way back to my pack?” Her tone was careful, bordering on neutral.
He shot her a quick glance. “What does this mean for you? Is it still casual for you?”
She didn’t answer right away. Instead she glanced out the other window. “Look, I’m going to tell you something. And I know it sounds crazy but it’s not. So if you laugh at me or make light of it I will punch you in the throat. Not while you’re driving because I’m not going to put myself in danger, but it will happen when you are least expecting it.”
“I’m not going to laugh at you.”
“Fine. You want to know why I’m not into relationships? The first three relationships I had ended with my current lover at the time finding their intended mate right after me. And I’m talking immediately after. All of them basically wanted me to fix them. Like they were freaking projects I didn’t want to work on. And as soon as they got their shit together, they literally left me and went on to find their mate. I’m freaking cursed! So now I don’t do relationships.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. But he damn sure wasn’t going to laugh.
“Well?” she demanded.
“Well what?”
“Aren’t you going to say something?”
“You told me not to laugh,” he said dryly.
She punched him lightly in the thigh. “I told you you’d think it was dumb.”
“No, I don’t.” He reached across the center console. Something like that happening, three times in a row, was bound to make an impression on her psyche and put her off relationships. Especially if it happened when she was a younger wolf. But those males were stupid, and Eli wasn’t. They hadn’t seen what they’d had in Sapphire, but he did. “How old were you when this happened?”
“I was younger, in my thirties.”
And now she was in her seventies. Well, that explained her commitment-shy tendencies. “Did you love any of these guys?”
“No.” The answer was so quick, he believed her.
He’d have been able to scent a lie regardless and he was glad she’d finally told him the truth. This was something he could work with. If some shifter had broken her heart? It might have been harder to push past. But this…curse? Yeah, he could deal with that.
Because it was time to break this so-called curse.
Chapter Six
Sapphire kept her smile pasted on bright for her friend Luna. They’d met at a local place for brunch. It was one of those cute little mountainside towns with lots of downtown shops. About half were owned by shifters while the other half were human-owned. As far as Sapphire knew, humans didn’t know about the existence of shifters here, but they were very friendly with the pack. Well, some of them. Because Sapphire knew for a fact that Leslie’s mate was a jackass and not well-liked. But he didn’t work in town. Leslie used to…until her mate demanded she stay at home.
And if they had a better alpha—who was also a cousin to said jackass—Leslie would be safe right now. “We definitely need to
do mimosas,” Luna said, her smile just as bright and easy as Sapphire’s. She’d left her dark hair natural and curly around her shoulders today.
Leslie was smiling as well, but there was a certain amount of tension rolling off her.
Which was normal considering her mate was an abusive asshole, but it was also because it was almost time to leave.
For good.
They wouldn’t be staying the night or dragging out their time here. They were getting her friends out and leaving. Because the longer they stayed, the bigger chance that Leslie’s mate returned home early. There was no guarantee he would stay away the four days. As of right now Sapphire couldn’t even tell Leslie was pregnant so she must have just found out. Yep, now was the perfect time to get her out. While they still could. Because once her mate found out she was pregnant, he’d never let Leslie out of his sight.
Next to her, Eli was quiet but friendly as he leaned back in the chair at the outdoor table they’d chosen. Leslie had been insistent they sit outside, and though she hadn’t said why, Sapphire understood. She’d seen three wolves at a bar and grill across the street who weren’t doing a very good job of spying on Leslie and Luna.
According to Luna’s text to her earlier, Leslie’s mate was angry she was meeting with strangers while he was gone. Even though Sapphire wasn’t a stranger at all. But apparently the thought of Leslie meeting a friend who had a male companion was too much for his tiny brain to handle.
Which pretty much guaranteed he was already on his way back home.
“We’re also going to have to do a little shopping,” Leslie said, her voice surprisingly light. “I know how much you love to shop,” she said to Sapphire.
Sapphire had no feelings about shopping one way or another, but this was all part of the plan she’d set up with Luna. They needed to be on the move and get Leslie and Luna away from their watchers. Just for a little bit. Getting them out of their line of sight was what mattered.
And then the plan that Sapphire and Eli had put into action was officially on.
It was dangerous, but she’d relayed everything to her own alpha and Asher so they were well aware of what she and Eli were doing.
“Yes, definitely. I need to get gifts for my packmates. You know what wolves are like. They’ve all demanded I bring back food for them,” she said, laughing. Though the truth was, once she got her friends to safety, she probably would pick up some gifts for her packmates. All of the food variety.
The rest of brunch went by smoothly, and Sapphire noticed another wolf joined the three across the street. So there were four in total and one seemed to be moving around. Of course there could be more but this lined up well with what Luna had told her.
Once they were done and Eli paid the check—charming jaguar—they all stood. Sapphire linked arms with Leslie, leaving Luna to walk with Eli. Normally she’d be chatting Luna’s ear off about something or other, but this wasn’t a normal situation. The last thing they needed was Leslie getting close to a strange shifter male and those other wolves getting all crazy and intervening.
Because so far they seemed to be keeping a decent distance away. Sapphire didn’t want to tempt fate.
“This shop is my favorite,” Leslie said as they strolled down the sidewalk. Her light brown skin seemed paler than normal and Sapphire wondered if it was because her mate had been keeping her indoors more. She couldn’t ask now, but she would later. “It’s Christmas themed,” Leslie continued. “They have everything. Ornaments, decorations, you name it, they probably sell it. It’s three stories of awesomeness.”
“Sounds good to me,” she said as they entered the store. Once the four of them were inside, Sapphire said, “Are you sure about this? There’s no turning back once we take this next step.” The wolves outside wouldn’t be able to hear them, especially not over the Christmas music blasting in the store.
“I’m sure. Do we make the move now? Or later?”
“Now’s as good a time as any. We’ll stay in here for a while and you guys can go out the back door.” Luna had told her that all the stores on this strip exited into a back alley that led to a neighboring street, and that was perfect for what they planned. “Are you sure you want to?” she asked again. There would be no room for error now so Leslie had better be certain she was truly ready to leave town.
“I am. He was threatening my mom,” Leslie said. “It’s the only reason I didn’t try to leave before now. I trust you to get us out of here.”
Oh, hell. Sapphire hadn’t known that. It made sense why Leslie had stayed with him as long as she had though. “Okay, then. Now go before one of them gets the bright idea to check out the back of the stores. They were all across the street when we stepped inside.”
Luna gave Sapphire a brief hug before she and her daughter moved through the displays, with Eli and Sapphire following them. But instead of heading out the back like Luna and Leslie, they strode up to the second floor and were greeted by a pretty human woman wearing a Mrs. Claus-inspired outfit.
They both nodded politely, holding hands as they strolled through the displays, looking at the various themed Christmas trees. Leslie hadn’t been kidding, the store was kind of amazing.
“Oh, I’m definitely buying you this,” Eli said casually as he headed toward one of the windows overlooking the street. He picked up a small jaguar Christmas ornament.
“How many do you see?” she murmured.
“They’re all across the street. They didn’t split up. I say we’ve got maybe five minutes before one of them gets nosy and heads inside. Or around back.”
“That should be enough time for the girls to get away. At least for this phase of the operation.”
“Let’s wait until one of the tails gets nosy then start making a purchase. I don’t think they’ll approach us. They might, but we’ll see.”
Sapphire didn’t think that the wolves would approach them in the middle of town. No, she knew exactly what they’d do. They would wait until Sapphire and Eli left and were alone and then confront them.
It was what Sapphire and Eli were counting on for their plan to work.
So now they were going to shop and stop at a bunch of stores, stalling long enough for Luna and Leslie to get to a safe place.
Chapter Seven
“I think this is going to work,” Sapphire said, her heart rate slightly jacked up as they headed down the highway. They’d spent an hour in town “shopping” and the wolves following them had been very anxious. Two of them had disappeared for a while, then she’d seen all four of them reconvene near the parking lot where she and Eli had retrieved his truck and camper.
She was fairly certain the only reason the males hadn’t approached them was because there had been another family with a camper next to them and the teenagers had been in selfie-taking mode.
“I do too. We’ve had a tail for about three miles.” Eli’s voice was smooth and calm. “They’ll make their move soon.”
Oh yeah, she was preparing for it. Because even if they had a plan, there was no way to predict how these wolves would react to anything. If they reacted poorly, there was going to be a fight. And she had no problem taking on a bunch of jackass wolves. She-wolves were definitely vicious when necessary and she was no exception. Not when it came to protecting her friends.
Eli was an incredibly reassuring presence. Everything about him was in control and calming, making her wolf relax so she was ready for this confrontation.
“Here we go,” she murmured as an F-150 pulled in front of them and basically slammed on the brakes.
“Jackass,” Eli muttered, even as he slowed his truck.
Sapphire tensed slightly in her seat, all her muscles pulling taut. The stretch of highway was nearly deserted, with barren land spreading out for miles on either side. As they pulled to a stop on the shoulder, both of them got out, furious. She glanced behind them and sure enough another truck was parking behind them. Two wolves were in the front seat.
Two other wolves got
out of the truck in front of them.
“What the hell is this?” she shouted, facing down the wolves from the truck in front of them. She immediately recognized one as a wolf who had been tailing Leslie as they shopped and ate today.
“Where the hell are they?” the guy demanded, keeping his focus on her, though he watched Eli warily.
Eli leaned against the front of his own truck, his body language casual, but even Sapphire wasn’t fooled. His jaguar was in his eyes, his predator right beneath the surface. Unlike her, he didn’t answer to an alpha, so if he took out all of these shifters he wouldn’t be hurting a pack or pride. Of course that was a double-edged sword because he didn’t have a pack or pride to protect him from retribution.
“What the hell are you talking about?” she said.
“Luna and Leslie. Where are they?”
She frowned as if confused and glanced at Eli. “Back in town, I guess. Why are you doing this? Did something happen to them? Is she hurt?” She was careful to phrase everything as a question. When it came to shifter senses, they could scent lies easily.
“You know damn well where they are.” He nodded once behind her and she turned to see the two other wolves stalking toward the camper. One put his hand on the door, as if he was going to open it.
“Hey! That’s ours. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She placed her hands on her hips, completely embracing the role of the enraged she-wolf. She could do indignation well when warranted. Not that she had to stretch much to act here. She was pissed.
“That’s my camper so you better tread carefully,” Eli said, finally speaking for the first time, pushing up off the truck. He was all sharp, clean lines and muscle. The man really was a work of art.
“You’re in my alpha’s territory.” The wolf’s smile was smug.
“Technically we left that territory half a mile ago.”
Jaguar’s Mate Page 4