JaxThere were reasons I didn’t spend much time around Anna. Fucking important reasons.The security of my position as alpha was at stake. Just keeping her alive was enough to threaten it.I could kill her now and be done with it. I wouldn’t be the first wolf to live without a mate. It would be one of those rare instances where being alone made you stronger.For three years, I stayed away. When Parker told me she was covered in scars, I said good. When he said she was terrified of everyone and everything, I told him it was justice. And when he told me she was taking an interest in the bar, I told him to shut it down.He didn’t. For the first time ever, Parker defied me. And for the first time since his mate died, he took an interest in life.His reports changed in tune. He started berating me for ignoring her. When I finally snapped that she was lucky I didn’t break her neck, he stopped reporting at all.Damn it, he hadn’t been there when Cora dragged her broken body back to my territ
We took a few minutes to set up a clearing, and then everyone except Saul, Anna, and me shifted. My wolf also yearned to be out, to sidle up to her and comfort her, and for that reason alone, I stayed human.Saul went to Anna’s side and inflated the pillow for her knee. I settled just out of their sight and listened to them talk.“When Cora first went missing, we had our witch try and track her. Irene is a powerful white witch, and she couldn’t track my twin more than twenty feet from our boundary,” Saul said quietly.Anna inhaled sharply, and Saul murmured an apology. After a moment, he continued.“When Cora did return, she was in so much pain, she could barely speak. The only reason Jax found your father was because Cora had a strange map in her pocket. Step counts from a rock formation. It was lucky that Jax was familiar with the rock formation.”“Lucky,” Anna repeated flatly.“The only thing is that the map was not written in Cora’s hand.”I stiffened. Saul had never said that to
JaxWe were outnumbered by three. Just as my wolf managed to get to his feet, another wolf threw himself on top of me. Around me, wolves roared, and I felt the pain of my shifters through their bonds.My claws ripped through flesh, but they had the advantage. I needed to get to my feet.Distantly, I heard Anna scream again. There was a flash of orange, and fire seared my fur. Two of the wolves yelped and released their grip on me. I rose to see Anna standing with a flaming log in her hand. Twisting, she picked up another log and swung it like a damn baseball bat.Rising, I gripped the one wolf still attached to me and snapped its neck. It fell, lifeless, to the ground, and I launched myself at the other two. One jerked away just in time, and the other one and I rumbled to the ground. It was smaller and leaner but scrappy. It got in a few good blows before I tore its throat open.Turning to search for the one who got away, I watched, in horror, as Anna pulled out the flare gun from the
Instantly, the wolves moved out. My wolf leaned down and gently bit her nose. It was a sign of affection. One he hoped would be returned.Instead, she just stared at us, her eyes glassy with fear.Turning my head, I grumbled at Saul. “Don’t look at me. I’m not hurting her. The wound is already closed, so I’m almost done. I just want to see…” his voice trailed off. “My God.”My wolf rumbled at him again.“Anna, I’m going to turn you over to your stomach,” Saul said in a gentle but strained voice. “Please do not be afraid.”He tried to turn her, but she wiggled and tried to push away from him. She didn’t growl.There was no aggression in her at all.“Jax, a little help here. It’s important.”My wolf leaned down and nudged her with his head. With a whimper, she flipped over.Fury washed over me when I saw what Saul had felt.Scars. Her wolf was covered in scars.Instantly, I yanked the reigns back from my wolf and shifted. When I put my hands on her to part her fur, she yelped, rose, and
AnnaI was in and out of consciousness, surfacing only to feel the racing panic of someone carrying me and then succumbing to my weakness. When I woke up, I was on the ground under a thick patch of evergreens. It was cool and shaded, but I could see the sun shining brightly through the openings of the branches.I’d lost an entire night.“Don’t panic. You’re not alone,” Jax said, crouching in front of me. “Or maybe that will make you panic. Hard to know, but it’s just us.”Letting out a small moan, I struggled to sit up. Leaning over, he grabbed me and gently propped me up next to a trunk. “Water. Food. Saul said it was imperative you replenish your energy reserve as quickly as possible. You lost too much blood.”Eagerly, I accepted the water and energy bar. I drank so fast that I nearly coughed the water back up.“Easy. There’s no rush.”Balefully, I glared at him. Yesterday, he was totally in a rush, and now he was acting like we had all the time in the world.“Where are the others?”
JaxAnna slept until nightfall, and when she rose, there was more color in her cheeks. I watched carefully as she rose and stretched. Her steps were steady and confident, and her own relief was evident in her small smile.“Do you think we’re far enough from the boundary to shift and hunt?” I asked. I wasn’t stupid enough to blindly trust her again, but after that last attack, I knew I needed her input. I’d only been to Wisteria Wood once when I was a kid. We barely survived the first two days before we had to turn back and take the long way around.“Probably. I don’t really know where we are, but I don’t feel…I don’t think we’ll find trouble as long as we don’t get any closer while it’s still dark.”Feel? Why would she stumble over that word?“We?” I asked as I stood. “You’re not coming unless you shift.”I hadn’t meant to snarl at her. I’d never planned to leave her. Not because I thought she would run, but because she was a magnet for trouble. Still, giving her a challenge seemed to
AnnaWhether it was exhaustion or lack of blood, I did manage to get a couple of hours of sleep. Just as the sun started to creep over the horizon, we headed out. Like I asked, Jax pulled his power in, and even I was fooled. He wasn’t hiding his wolf. That wasn’t possible, but when I focused on him, he just seemed like an average wolf shifter.That would make things easier. My injuries were mostly healed, so I moved faster and easier on foot. Jax was never more than an arm’s length away from me, and I liked that even less.He was also in a chatty mood.“You didn’t respond to my order to shift,” he said casually as we walked. “Care to explain how that’s possible?”“Maybe I’m stronger than you.”His growl told me that it was the wrong thing to say. “As I’m sure you’ve already seen for yourself, my wolf is broken. It doesn’t function.”“Since when? Did something happen in my pack?”I snorted. “Worried that your edict to torment me has backfired? You can rest easy. I haven’t shifted since
He grunted again, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Don’t worry, if I thought you could do this yourself, I’d be more than happy to divulge my secret. I have no desire to spend any more time with you than necessary. Now that I’m here, trapped with you and facing what is probably my imminent death, why don’t you tell me who told you I was here to begin with.”“Emerson Triggs.”Now it was my turn to stumble. Emerson Triggs was a name I knew a little too well.Alpha of the Blood Moon Pass pack. Irked that my father had kidnapped his niece, Triggs had hunted my father down and nearly ended him six or seven years before Jax did.Unfortunately, my father offered something a little more desirable to Triggs.Me.“Strike a nerve?” Jax asked. “He knew all about your trip, but he didn’t know why.He did insinuate that the two of you were close.”“Jealous?” As soon as the word was out of my mouth, I desperately wished I could take it back. But since I’d come this far, I went ahead and threw my wh
“And now you need it to be a sanctuary again, away from Jax?”He was fishing. He already knew that Jax and I weren’t happily mated, but we were supposed to be changing that perception. For the pack, at least. That means him as well. I gave him a tight smile. “It’s just a good place for me to be while we figure everything out.”The back door opened, and I whipped my head around and went rigid. Finn didn’t move a muscle, but I could feel the wolf inside him ready himself.This was who TK wanted running messages for him? How could he not sense the power in him? Finn could be an alpha one day.“So how did those challenges go?” I asked dryly.Finn just chuckled softly.Two females walked in, and Finn relaxed a fraction. I didn’t. I only recognized one, and I still wasn’t sure how she felt about me.“Bridget,” I greeted calmly. “And Bridget’s friend.”Bridget looked to be in her thirties, where her friend was younger. Early twenties, maybe.Pretty with blonde hair and big blue eyes. She was
AnnaIt had only been a month, but The Fanged Smile was a disaster. Chairs had been smashed to bits. The inside and outside walls had graffiti. The liquor wall was completely empty. It broke my heart to see her like this. She’d been my prison. My chance at an identity. My torment.Now she was just mine, and she was a mess.“One of the guards told me that there was some rebellion while Jax was gone. One or two employees didn’t like it when Jax killed the manager,” Finn said as he walked up behind me.“What did he do anyway?”“Tried to rape me,” I said flatly as I turned around. The frustration in me eased a little. It was good to see him. “I’m not well-liked here.”He gave me a tight smile. “I gathered that, too. Turns out the happy couple you played in Wisteria Woods was a lie.”“Did you volunteer to guard me, or is this a shit assignment for the new guy?” If Finn hated me now, I wanted to know.“You and I are more alike than you think, Anna. I volunteered. I hope you don’t mind.”He
And sometimes, I met with people in the locker rooms of the gym.Jenson ran a towel over his face as he entered the room. “Finn kick your ass?”“I took on three others before him. Just to give him an edge,” Jenson said with a smirk. “He’s good. Real good. One day, I might worry about that.”“I’ve made some decisions without talking with you about it. This is your chance to give me your opinion.”“My opinion? Wow. This is a big moment for me. Where do I start? That girl, Callie, that you took out about seven years ago? I told you that she was probably a walking case of STDs? I want to tell you I told you so. And my God, when you promoted Derrick, and I tried to stop you?And that time you thought you could make your own wine?”I cleared my throat. “That is not what I meant, and you know it.”Jenson tossed the towel on the bench, crossed his arms, and leaned against the lockers. “Oh, you mean when I asked to guard Irene, and you said no. When you moved the most hated woman in the pack i
JaxHer body curled around mine automatically, like it remembered my touch in that cave and craved more. Ever since that night, she was never far from my mind.How could a woman have so much control over me when I had none over her? The crone had told me that as a null, Anna would never feel the mating bond the way that I did. It would never affect her. When I finally let her go, she could walk away and never think of me again.She might not even think of me now except that I was forcing her to live in my house.Forcing her to sleep in my bed.Except maybe I was the only one who was tortured.I could smell her arousal. Every whimper when I touched her went straight to my cock. God, I ached for her, but I couldn’t have her. Couldn’t take her.Slipping my hand down her panties, I curled my hands over her ass cheeks and pulled her hard against my cock. She whimpered and squirmed against me.“You want to come, baby?” With one hand anchored around her, I flipped on my back and took her wit
I wanted The Fanged Smile, and to my surprise, he agreed. Not just manage it but deeded it to me as well. I wasn’t sure how that was going to work. When this was over, really over, I wouldn’t be part of his pack anymore. How would I run The Fanged Smile then?For now, it was my lifeline. Something to focus on while the pack schemed on how to get rid of me. Reaching out, I snagged the keys. “Thank you,” I muttered.“You’re welcome.”I waited, but it wasn’t like he was going to thank me. After all, I was just doing what he ordered me to do. Or what he tried to order me to do. In the past three weeks, he’s tried to use the pack bonds to test me, as if he thought maybe my null abilities could turn on and off at will.“Is there something else you wanted?”“I’m assigning Finn as your bodyguard.”My head jerked up. “Excuse me?”“You’ll be at The Fanged Smile for most of your time, unless I need you. I won’t be able to watch you,” he said evenly.“Worried your little hands-off policy isn’t go
AnnaThree weeks laterHe was in my room again.Not my room. His room.Our room.The door closed quietly, and I could feel the air shift around him, trying to make room. I was in his bed, the sheets pulled all the way up to my chin. Underneath, I wore a pair of cotton shorts and a T-shirt. Nothing that would seem sexy, nothing that would give him the wrong impression, but clothes didn’t indicate intentions. I could have been bundled up in a parka jacket and snow pants, and he still would sense my needs.My desires.Damn it to hell and back, but it was hard not to want him. Especially here, in the middle of his room, in the middle of his bed. His scent was wrapped all around me, but then, that was the plan.Sleep in his bed. Smell like him. Play the role of the dutiful alpha mate and pretend we hadn’t been circling each other for weeks. Since he found out I was a null.Since he wanted to use me.“If you’re going to fuck me, then come here and fuck me. Otherwise, leave me alone. I’m try
The crone’s eyes blazed purple, and her head snapped back. “I see a darkness rising within the mountains, and it will consume all. The wolves will bind together, but it will matter none if the broken wolf does not find her shadow. Her gift will be his strength.”When she lifted her head, her eyes had returned to normal. I waited a beat, but only silence followed. “I was expecting a little bit more of a song and dance from a prophetic vision.”“You will respect our magic,” the crone rumbled, and the house shook. That was more like it.“Can you provide more details? What the darkness is? What I need strength for?”“I do not know.”I stared at Anna again. “Well, she found me, assuming that I’m her shadow. So everything will be fine. I promised Anna her freedom. Will she be all right?”The crone straightened. “Her freedom?”“Her price for bringing me here. She gets to live her life as a rogue.” My stomach twisted.“Maybe she can stay here with you.”Away from whatever darkness was rising.
Jax“Where is Anna?” I demanded as I looked down at my tea. It was a surreal moment. The small tea parlor had plenty of sun streaming through the windows despite the fact that there were no windows outside.Five minutes ago, I was fighting for Anna’s life. Then, I was here, in a fucking tea parlor, with a dainty little teacup in front of me.Witches. Whatever was in this cup of tea could kill me.Three strangers were in the room with me. A short and rounded older woman with long thinning gray hair set the rest of the cups of tea down and eyed me through thick glasses. A young woman who looked no more than twenty with long red hair and a beautiful smile accepted a cup of tea and sat across from me at the table. In the corner, on the bench where an unconscious Anna lay, a middle-aged woman with a blonde messy bun and a permanent scowl on her face sat next to her and waved her hands up and down Anna’s body.The maiden, mother, and crone. Were there really only three witches of Darkwyn co
AnnaIt was two days before Jax could walk on his own again. Two days of him swearing up and down that he was fine and collapsing not more than five minutes of trying to leave the cave.Two days of him demanding to know how I released him from the spell.Two days of him asking about my father.I couldn’t tell him about the spell, so I told him about Dirk. Everything he wanted to know. Every answer I could give him. Maybe I felt like it was my last chance at redemption.After we reached the coven, I would never see Jax again.I had a plan. If he didn’t tell me what he wanted with the witches, I would leave him there. He’d never get in without me. If he did tell me, maybe the witches would let him in. Either way, we’d go our separate ways.I’d stop being Dirk’s daughter. Adopt a new name and live my life alone. Lonely but peaceful.Away from Jax.When we walked the rest of the way, we did so in silence. If Jax was suspicious of my motives, he didn’t let on. If he was planning on going b