Reese sighed unhappily. “What if she doesn’t want to be bred?” he asked. “You know about her past, Fiona. I can’t . . . I don’t want to hurt her.”
“You have to give her body what it needs,” Keller said, frowning. “It was the same with Samantha—she didn’t want it even though she was begging for it.” He shook his head. “I certainly found that out the hard way.”
“Yes, but everything came out right in the end, dear,” Fiona said to him. She pointed a finger at Reese. “But everything will not come out right for Jocasta if you don’t do as the Goddess commands.”
“Well . . .” Reese sighed. “She has been warming up to me lately. The, uh, ritual helped,” he murmured to Fiona in a low voice.
“It’s good if she’s gaining trust in you because I fear she is in very great danger—from this strange male as well as from her own unchecked breeding heat,” Fiona said. “But I’m afraid you might have forfeited some of Jocasta’s faith in you just now.”
“What?” Reese frowned and looked over at the patio furniture where the other women were sitting. Jo wasn’t there. “Where is she?” he asked Fiona. “What happened?”
“I don’t know, dear—only you can answer that,” the wise woman replied steadily. “And I think that Jocasta is inside the house right now, waiting for answers.” She nodded at the back door of Keller’s palatial home.
Reese shook his head. “I still don’t understand.”
“Apparently there was something on the news?” Fiona said delicately. “Something about an ex-convict who was out on parole getting his throat ripped out by some kind of very large beast? Perhaps . . . a very large Fox?” she added pointedly.
“Seriously?” Reese suddenly felt his stomach drop to his boots. “Fuck,” he growled.
“I saw that report,” Keller said, frowning. “You know something about it, Coop?”
Reese felt his blood start to boil.
“It was vengeance,” he said, his voice dropping down to a growl. “Righteous and well deserved.”
“Well, if somebody hurt your female—” Mathis began but Reese just shook his head.
“Excuse me—I’ve gotta go.”
Pushing past them all, he headed into the house, wondering what in the name of Lady Moon he was going to say to Jo.
Chapter Sixteen
But when Reese got in the house, Jo was nowhere to be found. He searched all over Keller’s palatial mansion of a home—damn, did the male really need four fireplaces?—but he couldn’t find her anywhere.
At last, he checked the burnished walnut key peg hanging in the entryway of Keller’s home. With a frown, he saw that the keys to his truck were gone. Not the wrecker—that one he kept mostly at the shop. His smaller two by four was the one he and Jo had driven over in and now its keys were missing.
Going out on the front porch, he saw that the truck itself was missing too. He wasn’t worried about the truck, though—Jo was his main concern. Damn it, had the little witch gone off by herself when it was almost dark?
With a low curse, he decided it must be so.
Damn it—should have told her. Should have come clean about the whole thing.
But he hadn’t wanted her to worry or be upset. She’d claimed that she had released her wish for vengeance along with all the pain of the rape to the Goddess, but how could that be true? Reese had seen for himself the pain she still carried inside her. And anyway, even if she didn’t want revenge, he and his Fox did.
It was part of the Shifter code of honor—an attack on a beloved female must be answered in kind. It didn’t matter that the rape had happened twenty years ago—there was no statute of limitations when it came to redressing harm done to one’s mate, which was how Reese saw her.
He had felt not an ounce of shame or remorse for ripping that asshole Drummond’s throat out. He’d relished the act, reveling in the act of vengeance. And of course, before he’d Shifted and done the deed, he had made certain the bastard knew what was coming to him and why.
“This is for Jo—Jocasta Ferrell,” he’d told Drummond. “For what you and your buddies did to her. It’s time to pay.”
“What?” The other man’s eyes had grown wide as Reese had Shifted into his largest form in the blink of an eye. Before the rapist could even begin to run, he’d shredded his throat with a single bite.
Drummond had died almost immediately—really, it was a much more merciful death than he deserved, at least in Reese’s opinion. But now he had to deal with the aftermath of his vengeance and he had a feeling it wasn’t going to be easy.
With a sigh, he stripped off his clothes—he could pick them up the next time he visited Keller—and opened the front door. Looking up at the nearly full moon, he took a deep breath and let the moonlight release his Fox. With a bound, he was off the front porch and headed home, hoping that Jo would be there, waiting.
* * *
Jo paced in her room, running her fingers through her hair. She’d gotten home and gone straight for the Internet to verify what she feared.
Unfortunately the story was true.
Someone with a cell phone had snapped a few photos of the crime scene and apparently had no problem putting them up. The bloody, gory images had gotten into Jo’s head and now she felt like she wanted to scrub her eyeballs out with soap. The horror was something she couldn’t unsee, no matter how hard she tried.
If she’d had anyplace else to go other than Reese’s house, she would have gone there. But she had no place of her own—no place she belonged.
And to think for a little while I was beginning to think I belonged here . . .
But no more.
For the first time in a while, she thought of Avalon with longing. The community of sister witches . . . the female-only environment . . . the freedom from fear and the absence of the lust and desire which had troubled her almost ceaselessly since she’d left . . . Goddess, but she missed it so much! But most of all, she missed Miranda. Her mentor’s calming presence was what was absent from her life.
For a time she’d thought that Reese might fill that hole in her heart. But he’d proven that he was not to be trusted. Now all Jo wanted was to go home . . . but she had no home to go to.
A scratching sound and a soft whining at her bedroom door drew her out of her troubled thoughts. Jo frowned . . . she knew who was out there. She ought to ignore him. But the scratching came again and she found she couldn’t.
Walking across the room, she flung open the door and frowned out into the hallway. Down by her feet was the Fox, but not in the huge, “holy shit” size, as Reese called it. No, the Fox was back to his teacup Chihuahua size—the one that had charmed her in the first place, comforted her, and helped ease her pain before she’d trusted Reese enough to let him touch her in his human form.
The little Fox looked up at her with big, sad eyes and whined softly in the back of his throat.
Jo crossed her arms over her breasts and glared down at him, determined not to be moved.
“You can stop the act, Reese,” she snapped. “I know what you did, and trying to manipulate me with your cutest form won’t make me any less angry.”
The Fox whined sadly and came forward to press his pointed nose against her calf.
“No!” Jo said, even though her heart was trying to melt. “No, absolutely not!”
The Fox took a step back, shook itself, and abruptly there was a very large, very naked man standing in her room instead.
“Fine,” Reese said. “You’re right—coming to you in my little form was low. I just . . .” He shrugged, his broad, bare shoulders rolling. “Wanted to soften you up some before we talked.”
“Well, it didn’t work. And there’s nothing to talk about.” Jo tried not to look at him—at his big, masculine body—or smell his spicy scent, which was always especially strong after he Shifted. It drew her like a magnet and reminded her that her headache was coming back, throbbing in her temples, demanding the touch of an Alpha to ease it. Grimly, she i
gnored the pain. “I mean it, Reese—just leave,” she said.
“Not until we talk—and there is something to talk about,” he said calmly. “The fact that I hunted down the man who hurt you and killed him.”
“Why?” Jo rounded on him. “Why did you do it? I told you I released my need for vengeance to the Goddess.”
“Well I didn’t, darlin’,” Reese growled. “I saw what he did to you. I couldn’t rest until I paid that debt. Now, I’m sorry if it upset you—”
“Upset me?” Jo cried. “Of course it upset me!”
“Why?” Reese ran a hand through his hair. “Make me understand this. The bastard had it coming. And I would have killed the other two and the lawyer as well, if they weren’t already dead.”
“They were?” Jo whispered.
Reese nodded. “One got shanked the first week he was in prison—the other died not too long after in an escape attempt—guards shot him. The lawyer had a heart attack.”
“You . . .” Jo put a hand to her mouth. “You researched all of them? You were going to go . . . go kill them all?”
“I told you—a debt like that can’t go unpaid.” There was a low, animalistic growl in Reese’s deep voice she hadn’t heard before and it scared her. He took a step towards her and Jo took a step back.
“Stay . . .” She licked her lips. “Stay away, Reese.”
A dark look came into his brown eyes, which had always seemed so mild and kind to her before. Now she knew differently.
“So now you’re scared of me again? Is that it? Just because I took vengeance for you?”
“You didn’t take vengeance for me—you took vengeance for you.” Jo shook her head. “I never asked you to do that—to hunt them down and kill them for me.”
“Darlin’, if you understood more about Shifters, you’d understand you didn’t have to.” Reese sighed heavily. “It’s a code for us—when someone hurts the female we love—” He stopped abruptly and Jo stared at him. Had he just said that he loved her?
“Reese,” she began but he cut her off.
“I had to do it,” he said harshly. “And to be honest, I don’t understand why you’re so Goddamned upset about it.”
Jo cupped her elbows in her hands, feeling cold and shaken.
“I told you I live by the rule of three. That whatever you put out into the world comes back to you—”
“Bullshit,” Reese growled. “You’re not the one that killed Drummond—I did and I’d do it again! His death isn’t on you—it’s on me and I take the blame willingly. So tell me, Jo, what is it really?”
Jo bit her lip, trying to frame the words, trying to say what was in her heart.
“It’s you, Reese,” she whispered at last. “You . . . you’re not who I thought you were.”
“What? Because I’m willing to kill?”
“Partly.” Jo took a step back from him. “It’s the same thing—the same deception—you pulled with your Shifted form. You pretended for the longest time your little Fox was the real you. The sweet, cuddly, harmless little animal who wouldn’t hurt a fly. And then I find out the big scary Fox is your true form—the one that’s bigger than a freaking lion and apparently willing and able to rip out someone’s throat!”
“Yes, I ripped out his throat and I’d fucking do it again!” Reese shouted. “He hurt you! He had to pay.” He seemed to grow bigger as he spoke, bigger and more menacing—terrifying.
Jo felt as though all the breath had been sucked out of her lungs. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her hands were icy. Reese was suddenly too big—too masculine—too naked. She felt her past crashing down around her and all she wanted was to get away. But there was no way out—his muscular bulk blocked her doorway. She was trapped.
Reese seemed to sense her distress because he raked a hand through his hair and took a step towards her, one hand out.
“Look, darlin’, I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to shout . . .”
Jo backed away from him. “You made me trust you, Reese,” she whispered. “And now I . . . I feel like I don’t even know you.”
“You know me, Jo,” he said earnestly. “I’m still the same guy I always was. I know I showed you the sweet, nice side to start with because I didn’t want to scare you away. But I never claimed that was all there was to me. I have a beast in me—all Shifters do.” He thumped his chest with his fist. “And that beast—my Fox—just wants to protect and avenge his mate.”
“I’m not your mate,” Jo said through numb lips. “I . . . I don’t know what I am right now but I’d really like to be alone.”
“Jo . . . honey . . .” Reese began appealingly but she shook her head.
“Please . . .” She shook her head, her throat tight with unshed tears. “Please, just go.”
Reese looked like he wanted to say more but finally he just shook his head.
“Fine,” he said in a low, toneless voice. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave you.”
“Please do.” Jo wanted him gone—she was going to cry and she didn’t want him to see her do it. “Please.”
Without another word, Reese turned and shut the door behind him, leaving her alone as she had requested.
Jo sank to the ground and buried her face in her hands, finally letting the sobs take her. Reese wasn’t who she’d thought he was at all. He’d presented himself as a kind and caring man who wouldn’t hurt a fly and now she saw the truth—he was a stone-cold killer as ruthless and bloodthirsty as any male out there. He, like almost every other man she’d ever known, was not to be trusted.
What was she going to do? Oh, Goddess, what was she going to do?
Chapter Seventeen
“Cougarville Chemist, how can I help you?” Jo asked automatically, speaking into the old fashioned, heavy black phone.
Fiona was out on a house call and had asked if Jo could answer the phone while she was gone. It was the day of the full moon and the wise woman apparently had much to do to help the Shifters of Cougarville prepare.
She had dropped a few delicate hints to Jo about how tonight would be especially important but Jo had pretended not to get them. She didn’t want to talk about her possible Shifter status—not when she felt she couldn’t trust Reese any more.
Speaking of Reese, his absence was conspicuous by lunchtime. Jo thought with longing of the day before, when he’d come over while Fiona was gone. The feel of his mouth on her . . . the look in his eyes as he’d told her to take what she needed . . .
No! Stop thinking like that! It’s just your hormones talking—that and the headache.
The pounding in her temples was back full force and worse than ever. Jo knew that if she just held Reese’s hand for a minute or two the pain would recede but she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to acknowledge that she needed the big Shifter for anything.
She still felt betrayed and hurt and frightened. She’d ridden to work with him as usual but they had barely spoken a word and Jo had made certain she sat on the far end of the truck cab to be sure there was no contact between them.
If her cautiousness around him had hurt Reese, he hadn’t shown it. In fact, he hadn’t shown much of anything at all. His face had been carefully blank and they had ridden in stony silence, with barely a word spoken between them.
It hurt Jo’s heart that the situation between them had deteriorated so quickly but she didn’t know what she could do to fix it—or even if she wanted to fix it. She still felt strongly that Reese had lied to her about what he was and what he stood for. She told herself he was just like every other male—and that was the worst thing she could say about him. Or anyone, for that matter.
She didn’t know if she could ever trust him again.
“Hello?” said a woman’s voice on the other end of the phone, pulling Jo out of her miserable thoughts.
“Hello? This is the Cougarville Chemist,” Jo repeated, trying to sound cheerful and failing. “How can I help you?”
“Oh, Jocasta, is that you?” the woman asked.
/> Jo felt a jolt go through her.
“Who—?” she began.
“It’s me—Bianca!” A soft, tinkling laugh on the other end of the phone sent a little shiver down Jo’s spine. “I heard you were working there but I didn’t expect to get you on the first try.”
“Hello, Bianca,” Jo said carefully.
She couldn’t believe the Elder witch who had been responsible for getting her kicked out of Avalon in the first place was speaking to her so cheerfully and casually. It was as though they were old friends and Bianca had never stood before the Council of Elders and accused her of dark magic at all. What was going on?
“Um . . . how can I help you?” she asked Bianca.
“Well, you can come back home, Jocasta!” Bianca exclaimed. “As soon as possible, in fact.”
“Come back home?” Jo repeated blankly. “You mean . . . home to Avalon?”
“Of course! Where else would you call home?” Bianca demanded.
“Well, I . . .” Jo thought again with longing of how, for a brief time, Reese’s lovely old Victorian house had begun to seem like a home to her. But she pushed her regret aside. “I can’t go back to Avalon,” she pointed out. “I was accused of dark magic and cast out.”
“A terrible oversight on our part, I’m afraid,” Bianca said breezily. “I’m calling to let you know that the Council has voted unanimously to bring you back to Avalon. In fact, I’m sending a car for you within the hour.”
“Within the hour?” Jo could scarcely believe it. “I don’t think . . . I mean, I don’t have my things with me here. And I can’t just leave the shop unattended.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to if you want to come back home.” There was a steely note in Bianca’s voice now. “We need to convene a council to reinstate you tonight while the stars are in alignment. So just put the CLOSED sign on the door and lock up. As for your things, we can send for them later.”