Jax shakes his head at Dash. “Why is everything a joke to you?”
Dash shrugs. “I thought I was doing you two a favor. You know, clearing the tension in the air or whatever.”
The two of them stare each other down. Their demeanor couldn’t be more night and day: Jax intense and brooding and Dash … Well, honestly, he looks kind of bored.
Their personalities aren’t the only things that are different. Even though they’re twins and have similar facial features, they’re fairly easy to tell apart. Jax’s hair is light brown and styled in a fauxhawk, while Dash’s is much darker and cut shorter. And, unlike Jax’s silver eyes, only one of Dash’s is silver, the other a vibrant shade of teal.
Dash finally raises his hands and steps back. “All right, you win this one.”
Jax won’t look me in the eye as he steps back and points at the door. “Thanks. You can go now.”
He rolls his eyes then turns to me. “Have fun with Mr. Moody.” He winks then heads for the doorway, stuffing his hand into his pocket, the same pocket he shoved my phone into earlier.
“Wait a second.” I skitter in front of him and stick out my hand. “My phone, please.”
“Phone?” His face contorts with confusion, but his eyes glitter with hilarity. “I don’t remember this so-called phone. Are you sure you had one?”
“Dash, knock it off and give her the phone back,” Jax warns. “Now.”
“Relax. I’m just messing with her.” He retrieves my phone from his pocket. “You need to chill out.”
“You’re chill enough for the both of us,” Jax tells him with his arms crossed. “Now hand over the phone.”
Dash glowers at Jax, but the look hastily fades as he moves to hand me my phone. But Jax snatches the phone from him before I can get to it.
“Hey,” I protest, lunging for my phone, but he easily dodges out of the way. Frowning, I fold my arms and scowl at him. “What’s up with all the phone stealing?”
Ignoring me, Jax shoves my phone into the back pocket of his jeans. “Thanks for keeping an eye on her,” he tells Dash with a drop of sincerity.
“It’s not like it was that big of a deal.” He throws me another wink. “I mean, I did get to spend the night with a pretty girl.”
I make a gagging face. “So cheesy.”
He grins back before strolling out of the room with a swagger. Thad gives me a small, unsure wave before hurrying after him.
Once they’re gone, Jax releases a stressed breath and pushes the door shut. “Goddammit, he can be such a pain in the ass.”
I tug on the hem of my plaid shorts, feeling way under dressed in my pajamas compared to his black button-down shirt and dark denim jeans.
“He’s not that bad. And it was nice of him to come keep an eye on me.”
He cocks a brow at me. “Not that bad? Really? Did you hear anything he said?”
“What? He didn’t do anything wrong. He was just joking around with the whole spin the bottle thing and the remark about the kissing … But yeah, anyway, I think it was pretty cool that he stopped whatever he was doing and came here to keep an eye on me.”
“But the question is, what was he doing before he came here?” He rubs his jawline, staring out the window. “Did you notice the mud on his boots?”
“I did.” I track his gaze to the forest. “Maybe he was doing something out there.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Jax mutters, worry creasing his brows.
“Why?” I ask. “Is there something weird in that forest?”
He nods. “As of yesterday, there is.”
“What happened yesterday?”
“The morgue got moved to somewhere out there.”
“Into the forest?”
“Yeah. It’s not that strange. We move the location all the time.” He looks away from the window, focusing on me. “Look, I know Dash is the fun, funny one, but he also does a lot of questionable stuff. You need to be careful what you do and say around him. I’m hoping you didn’t tell him too much already, like about what was really going on tonight.”
“I didn’t. But I thought he already knew about the Electi? He was in the room when I …” I stop myself. Now is probably not the greatest time to bring that up.
He looks me dead in the eye. “When you stabbed me in the back and used truth serum on me.”
Okay, so we’re doing this now.
“I’m really sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
“You didn’t mean to use the truth serum on me?” he asks, doubtful. “How is that even possible?”
“No, I did mean to use it,” I admit, feeling like an asshole. “I just didn’t mean for everything to go down like it did. I was planning on getting you alone and then using it on you so no one else was around and heard what we were talking about. But then I accidentally bumped you, and then you came into the office, and well …” I shrug, unsure what else to say. “You know the rest.”
“And just how were you planning to get me alone?”
“Huh?”
He takes a deliberate step toward me with his eyes on me. “You said you were planning on getting me alone. How were you going to do that?”
“I don’t know.” I resist the impulse to step back, even though his eyes are super intense right now, like way, way too much to handle intensity. “It wouldn’t be that hard. We’re alone a lot.”
“Not really.” The scents of his cologne, soap, and woodsy musk grace my nostrils as he inches closer. “We’ve been alone maybe twice since the first time I met you.”
“We were alone when we first met just outside the club bathroom, when you showed me the morgue”—I count down on my fingers—“in the hallways a couple of times, in the car when we drove to the morgue, when we were in the woods at that zombie’s crime scene, when we transported back to the academy …” I trail off, noticing how satisfied he appears. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s nothing.” He shrugs, but a smile threatens to shine through. “It’s just nice to know you’re keeping track of the time we’ve spent together.”
I grimace. “Is this payback for using the serum on you?”
He laughs darkly, peering out the window again. “Nope. When I do that, you’ll know.”
Goose bumps sprout across my arms. “Well, just a heads up, I’m going to be a hard target to take down. I’ve got a witch for an aunt; I know a ton of Foreseers and Keepers; and all of them have mad connections.”
He angles his head forward to get a better look outside. “Who said I was going to use anything magical on you?”
I squirm, feeling way out of my comfort zone. Nothing magical at all? What else is there?
“Well, good luck with that,” I say, feigning coolness. When he doesn’t say anything, my discomfort switches to frustration. “What’re you even looking at out there? Is someone out there?”
“Not anymore.” His forehead creases. “But there’s trace of fey fog coming out of the forest, and I’m wondering why.”
“Oh. I know what it’s from.”
His head whips in my direction. “You do?”
I nod and quickly tell him about the Empress of the Water Fey and Vivianne wandering out into the forest, which leads to another conversation about why the empress is out, roaming the human world. At first, I don’t want to tell him, but he manages to wiggle the truth out of me.
“So, your grandpa’s essence is missing, and he made some deal with the Queen of the Underworld to tell your grandma not to look for it?” He sinks onto the bed, the mattress squeaking beneath his weight. “I hate to say this, Alana, but your grandpa’s case is getting more complicated by the second. I’m worried it might get taken over by someone higher up. And I haven’t reported yet that we found his traveling crystal near a crime scene.”
I sit down on the bed beside him. “You’re not going to do that yet, right? You said I had a week to look into it.”
He runs his hand over his head, ma
king his hair go crazy wild, but in a sexy way. “I don’t know.” His hand drops to his side. “God, I can’t believe the water fey are out of the Underworld. We’re going to get calls left and right.”
“The Keepers know they’re out,” I remind him. “They’ll keep things in order.”
“They might try, but I guarantee there are going to be more murders. We’ll probably take on more cases than we can handle. I’m sure I’ll have to give some of my older cases to other investigators to take on the new cases coming in.” He shakes his head, his leg bouncing up and down with his jitteriness. “If anyone finds out I’ve been withholding evidence on your grandpa’s case …”
I place a hand on his bouncing leg, trying to calm him. “They won’t. If anyone questions you about the crystal ball, blame it on me. I’m the one who begged you not to turn it in.”
“They’d still blame it on me. I’m the one training you. You’re my responsibility.”
“All you have to do is go to Vivianne. That woman would be more than happy to put the blame on me.”
He frowns. “She does seem to hate you.”
“So, will you still give me that week, then?” I ask. “Please, please, pretty please. I’d greatly appreciate it.”
He dithers then heaves a defeated sigh. “You have six days left … I’m counting today as one.”
“Thank you. I owe you big time.” I relax a smidgen. “Seriously, whatever you want, just say the word, and I’ll do it for you.”
His gaze flits to my hand on his leg. “That’s a pretty risky thing to offer.”
Pulling my hand away, I give him a hardy-har-har look. “You know what? You and your brother are more alike than you think.”
Anger smolders in his eyes. “Dash and I are nothing alike.”
“Oh, yeah?” I arch my brows in insinuation. “Because that little pervy remark you just said sounds like something Dash would say.”
He grits his teeth. “What exactly did he say to you while he was here?”
“Not much. He joked around a lot and peeked in my underwear drawer. Other than that, we mostly just talked about what Vivianne could be up to. He tried to listen to their conversation, but he said he couldn’t hear anything and wondered if maybe Vivianne has a blocking spell. He said he had some sort of backup plan to find out what she was up to, but didn’t give me the deets.” I pause. “Jax, does Dash know about the Electi? I mean, I think he—”
“I need to keep an eye on him,” he talks over me, targeting a please-take-the-hint-and-shut-up look. “He has a knack for getting into trouble.”
“Yeah, I can tell.” I ravel a strand of hair around my finger. “But so do I.”
He exaggeratedly nods. “Yes, you definitely do.”
“Well, aren’t you just Mr. Funny Pants tonight?”
“I was having a pretty good night until I had to play the knight in shining armor for some crazy girl.”
“Why? Were you on a hot date or something?”
His gaze bores into me. “Would you be jealous if I was?”
I roll my eyes, like how absurd. “Nope. I don’t get jealous.”
“Everyone gets jealous, Alana, so I know you’re lying.” he says.
I point at myself. “Nope. This girl never gets jealous. I’m, like, the opposite of jealous.”
“You’re such a liar,” he says. “And one day, I’m going to prove it.”
“Oh, look, another threat.” I square my shoulders. “Just prepare yourself for an epic challenge, werewolf dude.”
“Oh, I am, and it’ll be half the fun.” He props his foot on his knee, seeming pretty confident. “And FYI, I was undercover tonight.”
“On a date undercover?” Why can’t I just let this go? I’m starting to sound more jealous by the second.
“Maybe.” His amusement intensifies, but then it fizzles as he goes back to one of our many problems. “You said you saw a wolf outside tonight?”
“Well, I’m not positive it was a wolf,” I say. “And I doubt it was a werewolf since it’s not a full moon.”
He rubs his fingers across his lips, thinking. “Some wolves can change when the moon isn’t full.”
“Really? How come I’ve never heard of that?”
“Because not a lot of people know about it.”
I chew on my bottom lip, studying his profile, the tension in his jaw. “Can you?”
He shakes his head. “No, but I know a few who can. I’ll ask around and see if anyone’s heard anything.” He won’t look me in the eye for some reason, and when he speaks again, he’s dropped the wolf subject. “I need to figure out what to do about this Electi problem. I don’t understand why they just painted a mark on the floor outside your room and didn’t come after you.”
He’s definitely hiding something. I think of the wolf I saw kill the vampire the day Jax and I first met. Who was the mysterious wolf with silver eyes just like Jax’s? He insists it wasn’t him, but I’m not convinced just yet. Why would he kill a vampire, though?
“Probably to let me know they’re aware I know about them,” I say.
He rubs his hand across his jawline. “I feel like there might be more to it than that.”
“Like they hid a message in the paint?” I joke.
He straightens, jumps to his feet, and hurries for the door.
“Where are you going?” I rush across the room after him.
“I want to see something.” He steps out into the dimly lit hallway and goes into investigator mode, crouching down in front of the mark on the floor.
I glance around at the shut doors lining the wall, making sure no one is around. “What are you looking for?”
He traces across the dry, flaking paint. “It seems strange that they’d just paint the floor and take off. They didn’t do that with me.”
“How long have you known about them?”
“A couple of months.” He aligns his palm to the tile, his brows furrowing.
My jaw nearly smacks the floor. “How have you managed to avoid them for a couple of months?”
His silver eyes sparkle as he glances up at me. “Alana, I’m a werewolf. I have heightened senses and speed. I can be lethal when I need to. It’s going to take a lot of manpower and planning to get ahold of me.”
“Are they strong? The Electi, I mean? Do they have any powers?”
“Honestly, I don’t know a lot about them other than they’re cold-blooded murderers.” He returns his attention to the painted mark on the floor. “I’m working on finding out more, though.” He studies the mark with his head slanted to the side. “Look at how the paint is peeling up. It almost looks like …” He squints at the floor.
I crouch down beside him. “Wait a second. There are patterns in the paint.”
He bobs his head up and down, tracing his fingertips along the paint. “They’re all over it.”
I sketch a symbol hidden in the paint and swear a spark of heat surges through me, like static shock. “They look like maybe a language, but I’ve never seen it before.”
“Me, neither.” He stands up, retrieves his phone from his pocket, and snaps a photo of the mark. “I might know someone who can translate this for us.”
“Really? Who?”
“A friend.”
I straighten my legs and stand. “Are you going to tell me who this friend is?”
He deliberates, tilting his head from side to side. “Eventually.”
“Speaking of phones, why the heck are you keeping mine hostage?”
“Not out here,” he hisses under his breath, ushering me back into my room.
Once we get inside, he drags the dresser across the room and shoves it front of the door. Then he sends a text and puts away his phone.
“There. No one should be able to get in now.” he says, dusting off his hands.
I flop down on my bed and roll onto my stomach. “That’s brilliant and everything, but how are you going to get out?”
He starts unbuttoning his shirt. “I’m n
ot.”
I prop up on my elbows. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why are you undressing?”
Instead of answering me, he undoes button after button then slips his shirt off, revealing a black T-shirt.
“Is that disappointment I sense?” he asks.
I roll my eyes and lie back down. “Nope.” My puzzlement increases when he kicks off his boots and removes his belt. “Okay, what’s up with the striptease?”
“I’m not giving you a striptease. I’m getting ready for bed.” He drops his belt to the floor then approaches the bed, motioning for me to scoot over.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” I aim a finger at my roommate’s bed. “If you want to stay, you can sleep there.”
He clenches his hands, the muscles of his lean, heavily inked arms rippling. “Would you stop being a pain in the ass and just scoot over? I want to try something.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that line before,” I say yet scoot over, anyway.
Once my back is against the wall, he lies down beside me. The mattress squeaks under his weight as he gets situated in the twin-sized bed, which seems very, very small at the moment. After he gets settled, he pulls the blankets all the way over our heads like a tent.
“Is this where you show me something? Just a warning, if you start undoing your zipper, I’m going to knee you in the balls.”
He lets out a frustrated growl. “Oh, my God, you’re driving me crazy.”
I give him a sugary sweet smile. “The feeling’s mutual.”
He shakes his head. “Look, I have to stick my hand in my pocket, but you’re going to want to see what I have in there.”
I decide to drop my awesome jokes for now and zip my mouth shut.
He reaches into his pocket, and what he pulls out causes my heart to leap in my chest.
“A whispering crystal.” I gape in awe at the palm-sized crystal crammed with fragments of glittering silver branches that once grew on the whispering tree hidden in the Hushing Forest.
“Impressive, huh?” The shimmering ring of pale purple glowing from the crystal illuminates the smug look on his face.
“Honestly, yeah.” I brush my fingers across it, and a spark of magic kisses my fingertips. It’s strange since I have no power in me. “These things are really rare … How did you get it?”