Jaz
“No scrubs allowed.”
My insides hummed. That was music to my ears.
He took my hand and led me silently down the hallway. He managed to get his door open without a sound, closing it and locking it behind us.
Perrin didn’t share a suite like the other rooms on this floor. The Alpha Dauphin’s door opened straight into his large bedroom. The top floor of his space gave him assured privacy despite the large floor-to-ceiling windows that covered an entire wall. The moon was full tonight, and no need for any lamps in the bedroom. On a night like this, it was as if we were outside in the cool evening air.
I didn’t realize but I had walked instinctively toward the window. The moon cast deep shadows over redwood trees that
EthanJustin took a deep breath before speaking. “Ethan, please meet…. My father.”I could see his back straighten, his muscles tensing under the sheets of the patient bed. I hadn’t met the Alpha of the Chiyad pack, but had heard whispers of him throughout my youth. He seemed always at odds with one pack or another, never totally at peace with any of the surrounding territories. He was also mysterious, often sending his Beta to represent him at formal functions. I guess he was as mysterious of an Alpha to the greater werewolf community than we had ever known.Justin’s reaction was defensive. I had no idea what his relationship was like with his father, but today it was tense. I stood, rising from the patient bed to meet him. I deferred my eyes; it was appropriate for any Beta. But my mind was racing. This w
JazI woke early the next morning, cheek pressed against the cool cheek of the pillow. I rolled over only to see the sheets empty beside me.Today was Sunday. Perrin got the day off from training. Well, it was really more of a pack-wide mandate. Sundays were for rest. He didn’t need to be at the Lodge.My eyes flitted to the bathroom, scanning for a light under the door. It was dark. I looked at the hazy film of sunrise appearing over the tops of the redwoods. My cheeks burned from the thought of those trees had seen last night, but the flop of dusty blond hair caught my eye.Perrin had slept in the big armchair by the window last night. He had come to bed with me eventually, but he had been restless. Our lovemaking had made me drift off. When had he moved to the window?
JazMy body was exhausted, but it seared with the exhilaration of intense shock. And hatred.“What are you doing here?” I hissed, closing the door behind me as if nervous Tom would see. “How did you get in here?”He didn’t seem ruffled, but rather bemused. “Do you really need to ask those questions?” He folded the paper and set it on the couch beside him.He was dressed in an immaculate suit, the same gray tailored suit he used to wear everywhere; pack meetings, family dinners--there was a rare memory that I could recall in which he didn’t seem to be wearing that uniform.I set the newspaper on the kitchen counter,
Ethan “Please. I need to speak with Perrin immediately.” “I’m sorry, Ethan,” Mark said. “The Alpha left strict instructions not to be interrupted. “Who else is in there?” My voice was pathetically desperate. “Who the Alpha and the Alpha Dauphin meet with are not for us to disclose. You can wait until they’re done.” Without giving him an option, I entered his office and sat down where Gamma Janas had been sitting just moments before. “Fine. I’ll wait.” ** Perrin I’ve never felt such power in a room before. Alpha Nael wasn’t challenging my father; but his posture, his stoicism, and his overall proper manner and tailored suit le
PerrinEthan seemed anxious.He had just sat down but was now pacing back and forth across my room. I watched as he ran his fingers through his hair, pausing momentarily as he brushed across the patch of stubble growing in over a thin scar on his scalp.How did Ethan know my dad and I had met with the Alpha of the Chiyad pack about him? I was still wrapping my head around what the Alpha had said--and what my dad hadn’t. Something wasn’t adding up. But it was as though he was looking to accuse my father of something, and I didn’t know what that was either. I needed time to think about it, but as I watched the agitated Beta in front of me, I knew this wasn’t the moment.“What’s going on?” I asked. Ethan wasn’t one to get nervous. While he of
Perrin “Does anyone else know?” I watched as Ethan turned pale, the apple in his throat taking a deep bob before he spoke. “His father.” “Justin’s father?” I asked incredulously. “As in, Alpha Nael?” Ethan slumped into the armchair by the window, his face in his hands. He spoke through his fingers. “He made an appearance at the infirmary last night to check on Justin. He walked in on us.” “Oh. OH!” I exclaimed. “I thought we weren’t kissing and telling?” “No, no, not like that!” He said, exasperated. “He walked in like, right after it happened.”
JazA soft knock sounded at the door.“Go away.”Silence. But no steps retreating down the hallway.The knock sounded again.“I mean it. Go away.”“Jaz?”Ethan’s voice was muffled but it was most definitely him.I rose from the couch where I had been stewing with my tea since my father had left earlier this morning. I opened the door.“What are you doing here?”“Can we talk?” His voice was honest. Disarming. It threw me off.
EthanI knew I was tired when I got back on my motorcycle. If I was ever this whipped I rarely rode. I hated feeling like I couldn’t keep my balance--even if it was just a few short miles back to the pack house.I wanted to sleep. I ached to see Justin. But I needed to talk to Kira.I sent him a text.ETHAN: I talked to Perrin and told him. It went better than expected. I also stopped by to talk to Jaz. I had a feeling she knew what was up last night so I went to ask her not to say anything until I’ve spoken to Kira. Going to see her now. See you later?I sent the text before I could self-sabotage and second-guess the sign off. I didn’t need to play games, I reminded myself. This was it. Justin was the end-game.
EPILOGUEMarge shuffled through the archive, her shoes making the only sound in the quiet stone building, echoing all the same through the high vaulted ceiling of the church building above. She raised a gnarled hand to the shelf and deposited the book after two tries, her hands shaking slightly with the cold. There were only a few books to return tonight. Far fewer than there had been when Leila had been here.So why had she waited until this late in the evening to do it? She just shrugged and pushed on, the slow creaking of the cart’s wheels punctuating the silence, her old watch on her pale wrist noting the time; 1:45 a.m.She really had no business being there so late. But she had gotten caught up in one of her research projects, spread out across her circulation desk and totally lost in thought until the rumble of her empty sto
Perrin“How long is it going to take?”I sat on Lo’s bed as she shoved clothes into her suitcase. “Maybe a week? I’m not sure.”“Why don’t you just leave all of that stuff here?” I pointed at the suitcase. “It’s not like you’re not going to bring it back.”She heaved a heavy sigh, full of fake exasperation. “I still have to pack it to move it down the hall. It’s just easier if I do it all at once.”“Nah. Let’s just throw it all in some garbage bags and unpack later.”She laughed. “Hand me those shoes?”I strode over and picked a pair
Perrin “Because I never want to create a monster like my father.” Silence hung in the room. I digested each word, the implications of it. “But you’re not…” I said, more for myself than for her. “No, I’m not. He never got his hands on me. My little brother made sure of that.” And even though she spoke in a viscous, quipping way; there was a hint of something grateful in her tone. “So he won’t be anything like him!” I said, assuring myself more than anything. “Does it matter?” She snapped, regaining her typical composure. “If my father’s insane lust for power is hereditary, then it’s best that the blood line ends with me. At least my brother won’t be breeding any offspring considering he’s gay–” sh
Perrin I glanced at my phone, then at Lo. We had made love for several hours, refusing to stop until we had our fill of each other. But each time hadn’t felt like enough, leaving us drained and happy but wanting more. After one particularly hot session in the middle of my bed involving whipped cream, I pulled her close to me, blissfully peaceful with her cradled in my arms. I felt her stomach growl against my hands. And apparently hungry. I swept my mouth to her ear and felt her shiver against me, goosebumps appearing up and down her body. I fought the impulse to warm her with every inch of mine. “Do you want me to get you a snack?” I said, and waved the small can of whipped cream in front of her face so she could see. She hummed lazily in my
PerrinAnd it had happened like that.I recalled the broad strokes for my friends.“You what?” Ethan said, shocked and nearly angry. “You can’t make that kind of promise!”Justin shook his head sagely. “That’s free reign, Perrin. And a dangerous move, backing out of every challenge. It puts you at a huge disadvantage if anyone trespasses on your territory.”“Or attacks on your land,” Ethan said.“Or poses a border dispute,” said Kira.“How will you expand?” Ethan asked, c
PerrinI tried to cover the nail marks she had left on my shoulder with a spare set of scrubs from Deidre’s office. It was no use. The scrubs were too small, tugging comically at my shoulders and Lo’s pink cheeks and ruffled hair couldn’t be fixed.We had retreated long enough to ourselves, and I pulled us back into the world of the living and down the hall, walking hand in hand as we rejoined our friends.Ethan smirked when he saw us. “Nice.”Kira rolled her eyes, glancing at her imaginary watch. “Couldn’t you two wait?”“At least get a shirt,” Ethan added, eyeing my bare chest. I had ditched the scrubs, unable to get them over my chest.
PerrinWe didn’t talk as much, even though that had been the plan.I had taken one of the chairs opposite Deidre’s desk, hoping to keep my brain thinking platonically for as long as possible. But part of me was still in shock. I could smell the smell of her coconut shampoo. See the glimmer of her earrings in the desk lap. And I had felt the tips of her fingernails as I held her hand; the short ones that she chewed on when she was reading and lost in thought.But I knew it was definitely her the moment I felt my head slightly dizzy with the draft of warm honeysuckle, intoxicatingly perfect.I wasn’t shy, needing to have her by my side. I pulled her easily into my lap, and she didn’t protest, as if still quite unsure that all of this was really happening either. She swun
PerrinAs soon as Mark dismissed the crowd, the crowd had begun to descend from the stands in droves. It hadn’t taken long for Lo to find me, fighting the current and pushing her way against the flow of teaming bodies and up to the platform.I sensed her, long before she ran up the platform stairs, Justin hot on her heels. I dove past my father, darted behind Mark and ran to meet her, not caring for any protocol or public indecency. I needed her.Her scent hit me first. It made my blood sing and my heart beat so fast I thought it would stop.And then there she was. The sight of my home and my heart, running and slipping across the wet platform towards me.My weight almost buckled beneath me, the unexpected reality of seeing her here st
Justin The arena was packed. I could hear an excited roar from the crowd from behind the Lodge, drifting over the top of the massive building and floating through the chill evening air. Lo parked illegally in front of the entrance to the building. Now was not the time to point it out. A series of battered and limp-hanging banners and signs showed the way around to the back. It had rained today, apparently, and we made progress towards the arena as quickly as we could, sludging through mud and the trampled pathway. A stadium had been erected, filled to the brim with stands of onlookers, cheering and applauding in a range of darkened colors, soaked from the rain. Despite the bad weather, it hadn’t dampened their spirits. The crowd had been here all night, awaiting the results. Colored tents for each challenging pack were spaced ou