I groaned again. “Breathe, Mac,” I said, scrubbing at my face. “What’s going on?” My voice was thick and heavy with sleep. I blinked a few times, clearing my fuzzy eyes.
“I can’t breathe. Mr. Shaw is about to take off Jared’s head.” She sucked in a loud, shaky breath. “The team’s not here yet. Jade’s starting to freak out. Jared looks like he’s about to shift. He’s holding onto her, Aidan. He won’t let her go.”
Shit! I was out of bed and yanking on my jeans before she’d finished her tirade. This isn’t the plan! I launched out of my room, taking the stairs at a run. “Mac, go to your room, okay? Lock your door.” I grabbed my keys off the table and bolted out the door. “Don’t come out until I get there, no matter what. Call Dom. Call the team. Get them there. And call your mate.”
“Aidan, she needs ...”
“No,” I snapped, cutting her off. My chest squeezed tight. Shit! Shit! Shit! I got in my car, and started it up as I sucked in a steadying breath. “Jade can take care of herself. Stay in your room.” I thumbed my phone, and tossed it on the front seat, praying I was right.
~ JADE ~
Dad’s nostrils flared. He stood deathly still, his blazing gaze fixed on Jared. Where the heck was Aidan? It had to have been five minutes since Marcy had retreated, locking her door. I really didn’t know how much longer I could keep this up.
Dad’s lips thinned. He waved a hand, beckoning me to him, and I shook my head. He didn’t try to come closer. I figured he could see how close Jared was to losing control. As it was, he was just barely holding onto his human form. The tension in the room was suffocating, pressing against me from all sides. Right then I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to calm Jared down. I needed to act like an alpha.
I turned in Jared’s arms, reaching up, resting a hand on his cheek. I smirked and said, “No dogs allowed in the house.”
He growled. His eyes were completely gold, not a speck of the typical black-brown left. They were fixed on the doorway, on my dad. His claws dug into my back, sharp enough that I gasped as they shredded through my shirt. Any harder and he’d break the skin, too.
My imprint heated. I needed to get his attention, to calm him. My scent gathered, and I sent out a small short burst. Jared snapped his gaze to mine. He growled again. His muscles rippled. I grinned, rolled up on my toes, and pressed my lips to his. His claws dug deeper, and I bit back a screech as a sharp pain shot through my back. I looked up, my lips still against his, and whispered, “I said no dogs allowed in the house.”
Another growl sounded from behind me. Lower. Deeper. I stiffened. So did Jared. A familiar scent filled the air. My nostrils flared. Raw power trembled around me. Jared’s knees buckled. Another spasm raked through him, rippling against me. He stiffened and then gave his head a good, thorough shake, and he let his arm fall from me. His breathing evened out, and darn it, mine quickened.
A short burst of adrenaline rushed through me. “Aidan, stop!” The challenge was there, the command clear in my voice. He was going to ruin everything. My inner-wolf clawed through me, trying to rip free. His scent worked through me, stronger, pushing on my nerves, speaking to my inner-wolf in a way only he could. I spun around as another growl ripped through my room, and my gaze met his.
The alpha. I couldn’t breathe. The alpha. I’d never seen him like this before. My alpha. His presence filled the room. His broad shoulders rolled back, his chest puffed out. Corded muscles lined his neck, shoulders, arms. I licked my lips, and pulled in a breath. Home.
Aidan studied me for a few seconds, and the power and hunger and strength in that stare left me feeling dizzy. “Jade,” he whispered on a breath. He held out a hand and I reached for it. I saw my hand moving, my inner-wolf forcing me forward, and I couldn’t stop it.
Dad barked out a laugh. It slid through me like ice in my veins, and I stopped mid-step. He stepped toward me, grabbed my shirt, tugging the neckline down just enough to reveal the burning imprint on my chest. “So my daughter won the games.”
~ AIDAN ~
Rage pounded through me like a series of waves crashing against my skull. I couldn’t think. A growl worked its way out from my chest. There was another man, basically naked, pressed against my mate. Her lips on his. His claws raking along her back. The rational part of my brain told me this was okay. She was playing a part. She’d confirmed that last night, even if she didn’t know I knew it yet. The guy holding onto her wasn’t a real threat, but my inner-wolf growled anyway, I’ll kill him.
Jeff’s voice barely registered in my ears. I heard nothing but the rage. Saw nothing but her. I reached for her, whispered her name. She froze. A hand tugged at her shirt. A thin shine of sweat covered her forehead as she stared down at her imprint, flickering with a soft white glow.
And then a fist swung at me, it connected. My nose snapped and crunched, and blood rushed down my face.
“Dad!” Jade shouted. Her voice was panicked, scared.
The rage pounded again. Harder. Faster. Her fear fed it. I could taste my own blood seeping into my mouth. My scent thickened. I had to protect my mate. Nothing else mattered. My chest heaved with each breath. Right then, I was more animal than human. I grabbed Jeff, tossing him against the wall, the meaty palm of my hand pressed against his throat.
“Aidan, stop it!” Jade commanded. I felt her voice in my bones, vibrating through me. She growled. Her hand wrapped around my wrist, tugging, as she tried to dislodge my palm from her father’s neck. “Think!” she screamed. “You need to think!”
“Take her and get out,” I growled, shifting my gaze to the useless enforcer, standing off to the side of the room with his gaze cast to the floor. “You touch her, though, and I’ll kill you.” It was more than a threat; it was a promise.
“Screw off, Aidan,” Jared snarled. He lifted his head slightly and his face contorted with fury.
I got in his face, tight and fast, dropping my hand from Jeff’s neck. “You’ll do what I say.”
CHAPTER 9
~ AIDAN ~
My nose throbbed. Blood still flowed freely down my face. Jared squared his shoulders, dipped his chin, and let out a low growl. The look he gave me was pure challenge.
Every muscle in my body stiffened. I rolled my shoulders back, and puffed out my chest only an inch from his. A growl built in my throat, and in that moment, all I saw was red.
“Jared, you need to go,” Jade said, her tone a sweet melody of power and authority. She turned to me, jutting her arm between us, and placed a hand firmly on my heaving chest. She shoved, trying to push me back a step, and I let her. “Aidan, you need to calm down.”
My nostrils flared and my throat tightened. I wanted to rip him apart from limb to limb. No one touches my mate. No one. Not now. Not after hearing the truth of how she felt last night.
Jade shoved at me again. My nerves were on fire, searing within me. I fixed my gaze on her. Shivers chased down her shoulders and back. She was breathing hard and fast, in ragged bursts. The sight of her shivers broke through the murderous haze that was clouding my brain a little, and instead of launching at Jared and ending him, which yeah, was exactly what I wanted to do, I growled, “Get him out of here.” My scent ramped up and I hated to admit it, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching Jared shudder under its weight.
“Aidan, I’m serious,” she growled. Golden veins streaked through her eyes, and she gritted her teeth. “I can’t deal with all this testosterone. Everyone needs to calm down.”
I watched as another shiver rushed over her skin and then I forced my eyes closed and I took a long, long moment to breathe. It was the only thing I could think of doing, to try to calm myself down. Her hand stayed on my chest, shaking. I was exhausted and torn-up from the inside out. My self-control was cracking under the pressure of the rage that crashed through my veins, but for her, I would do just about anything. So I breathed and breathed, forcing my inner-wolf to stand down. When he finally receded to a far corner of my mind, I looked down at her
and my heart pulled and squeezed as if a hand had wrapped itself around it and was determined to rip it from my chest.
Her hand dropped from my chest. I almost reached out to grab it. I hated the disconnected feeling. Hated it. But I didn’t stop her. Her shivers increased and she shouted out a slew of obscenities that I’d never heard from her before. And as I listened, resolve tightened in my chest. Whatever game she was playing with Jared was going to stop. Now.
I watched her closely. Couldn’t pull my eyes away from her, actually. She looked up at me, really looked at me, and she whimpered, a deep, throaty whimper. Her swearing stopped and her eyes softened as she brought her fingers to her full lips. That small gesture almost did me in — almost — and again, I found myself fighting not to take her in my arms.
And then Jeff laughed, a deep rumbling sound. “You son of a bitch,” he said. I glanced at him over my shoulder before I turned to meet him straight on, ready to throw myself in front of Jade if I had to. Sharp clarity washed over me. Jeff — the monster who had been ready to take some of my wolves for his sick, twisted pleasure — stood in front of me laughing.
The blood still trickled down my face, but it was starting to slow. The pain was dull, just a small throb as my nose began to heal. The rage was starting to fade, and in its place, something cold settled in my bones. There goes the plan.
But as I watched him, if I hadn’t known any better, right then I would have thought he actually cared. Although he was still chuckling, his eyes were glassy as they shifted between me and Jade. His expression, a mix of shattered amusement. He pulled in a breath, shook his head, and said, “You made her fight. Tricked her into competing in the games and then you just let her go. You’ve been lying to me for days while I’ve been out there risking everything I have for you and your damn pack.” He laughed again, a shocked kind of sound, and his lips curved into a bemused smile.
“You broke my nose,” I said and grabbed the hem of my shirt, pulling it up to mop up some of the warm blood that was still dribbling down my chin. I kept my glare focused on him, as I tried to make sense out of his reaction. But, oh hell, I couldn’t. He had to understand that Jade being alpha female put a gaping hole in his plans to secure female wolves from Tiffany, but if it bothered him at all, he wasn’t showing it. But then, he wouldn’t know that we knew his plans.
I let my now bloody shirt drop and Jade whimpered again, her eyes fixed on my face. I smiled at her, just a small twitch of my lips. I couldn’t help it. Honestly, it was kind of nice to see that she cared for once. It was just too bad it took a broken nose for her to show it.
“You deserve more than a broken nose,” Jeff said with a chuckle. “You’re the sorriest excuse for an alpha this pack has ever had. She’s supposed to be your mate and you let Jared move in here.” His grin widened and he smacked me on the back as if we were old friends. “Why the hell haven’t you claimed her yet?”
Okay, so that wasn’t what I had expected. Jeff was grinning at me, all the tension he’d had moments ago was gone, and he looked ... happy? I looked him over. His eyes were bright with curiosity, not even a stitch of fear. His scent seemed … calm and way too human. I didn’t know if he could mask his emotions the same way he could hide the cougar smell. My gut was telling me that he didn’t have a clue how much we knew. If he did, he wouldn’t seem so relaxed, so I went with it. I shrugged, a lazy lift of my shoulders. “Jared was your idea,” I said, lifting a brow in question.
Jeff rolled his eyes and grunted. “Because you told me she lost. Mating her with one of the enforcers was the next best option.”
~ JADE ~
“Enough,” I hissed. “I’m not some darn prize. I’m not a piece of property you guys can just give away to any random guy you choose.” I spun on my dad, the back of my neck and face burning with a flush. “God, Dad, how can you even talk about this in front of me? I’m supposed to be your little girl, remember?”
Dad looked a little ashamed. He cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other. I threw my hands up in the air. This was so not cool. My dad chatting about me having sex was just not cool. I figured it shouldn’t surprise me. I knew what kind of animal he really was, but still, he was my dad. Blood rushed to my face. Talk about embarrassed. At some point, the entire team had crowded in the doorway. Dominic was there, smirking, so were Marcy and Trevor. Leave it to my best friends to enjoy this epically embarrassing situation.
Aidan turned to me, staring down at me. The hem and collar of his shirt was soaked with blood. I scanned him over, watching the muscles tick in his arms and his neck. His gaze went to Jared, hard and cold, before shifting back to me. The blood on his face was starting to dry, crusting up under his nose, down his chin.
And just like that, my humiliation shattered. I made a sound, a mix of a growl and whimper. I swallowed hard. He’d never looked so powerful before, so much like an alpha even with the blood and broken nose. His muscles were bunched, straining beneath his shirt. His chin, dipped. His broad shoulders, squared. Confidence. Authority. It emanated from him.
My lips parted, my jaw dropped. My alpha. My mate. The words echoed through my mind. Right then, I couldn’t remember why I had been so determined to stay away from him. My inner-wolf stirred as I deeply breathed in his scent. Mine, she agreed.
Something had changed with him. Something big. It was as if he were just now, in that very moment, finally stepping into his full authority as alpha male. I’d seen him do this before with the pack, but never with me. Never. He was soft with me. I made him weak. Even when he had tried to stand strong he always, always relented way before his point was made. But now he didn’t look weak, not at all.
The butterflies in my stomach awoke, flapping and fluttering with excitement. My alpha. In that moment all I saw was him. Everyone else faded, melted, until it was as if they were just gone. It was just us.
Jared’s hand settled on the small of my back, pulling me back to reality, and I quickly stepped away. If the plan hadn’t already been blown apart, that small step had done it. My dad, Aidan, Jared, the team, none of them missed that step. The step away from the man I claimed to want. I felt cold. Cold and drained and tired, as if every ounce of fight I had in me was just gone. Everything was ruined. Aidan’s plan. My plan. All of it ruined.
I needed to get out of the room.
My thoughts began to leap and jump, nothing making sense. I needed a new plan, that was for sure, but my brain wasn’t working. My dad looked so calm, caring even. It was wrong, everything that was happening was just completely wrong. I glanced around a little frantically. There were enough pack members here to make sure he didn’t go anywhere. I stepped toward the door. “Move,” I said, pushing at the wall of enforcers blocking my way out, but they didn’t budge. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one feeling the shift of power in our alpha male.
I shoved at Beck’s chest, none too gently, but he stood firm, blocking my exit. He wouldn’t look at me, his gaze fixed over my head, most likely on Aidan. He lifted a questioning brow, and after a long second, he stepped out of my way.
I glanced back at Aidan, waved a hand, beckoning him to follow me, and I headed into the bathroom.
CHAPTER 10
~ JADE ~
The bathroom door clicked shut behind me as I grabbed the washcloth from the towel rack. I didn’t have to look to know that it was in fact Aidan that had followed; his presence filled the room with waves of power. I took the cloth to the sink, turned on the hot water, and shoved it under the flow. My muscles bunched and rolled beneath my skin, my inner-wolf begging to come out.
I kept my eyes fixed on the porcelain top of the vanity and the bottom edge of the ornate, copper framed mirror, studying the swirls and twists of its floral design. The bathroom was large. My parents had renovated it a couple of years ago, pushing walls back and turning it into a spa-like retreat, with double sinks, a walk in shower, and a separate soaker tub, but with the door closed and Aidan’s heady scent filling the space
, it felt tight and small and airless.
Once the cloth was soaked, I turned off the tap, and slowly rung it out before finding enough nerve to turn to him. His expression was void of emotion, a blank slate. He leaned against the door, arms folded over his chest, his brown eyes watching my every move.
My hands were shaking, my heart, pounding. I closed the short distance between us. I looked back up at him and darn it, but I whimpered again. So much blood.
The sound softened him a little. He reached out, and caressed my cheek, but when I pressed into the touch, he let his hand drop, hanging loosely by his side. His eyes searched my face, looking for something, but what I didn’t have a clue. I felt the sting of tears welling up. I don’t know why. The last thing I wanted to do was cry. Not for the alpha that had destroyed my life and ripped out my heart. His nose had already healed. He was fine. But there’s just so much blood.
I blinked fast, banishing the tears. “Does it hurt?” I asked, and then swallowed hard. I lifted my trembling hand and dabbed at the blood, wiping it away as best I could. “I hope it does. You’ve ruined everything.” Even though I said the words, they held no real meaning. My voice was weak, straining against an onslaught of emotions blooming within my chest.
“No,” he grunted. “It’s already healed.” He grabbed my wrist, holding my shaking hand still. “I did what was needed. You’re not staying here any longer, Jade. This little game you’re playing ends now. I’m taking you home, where you belong.”
I clucked my tongue and dropped my gaze. More butterflies surfaced in my belly and I breathed, “This is where I belong.”
“Look me in the eyes and tell me that,” he said. When I didn’t lift my head, he chuckled, a deep rumble that turned my knees to mush. “You can’t, can you?”