“Hey, little girl,” Jared said, closing the distance between us and taking a seat beside me. “You in shit again?”
I shrugged my shoulders because I really didn’t know if I was or not. “How many times do I have to ask you to stop calling me little girl,” I said, and rolled my eyes, in an attempt to make him think that his closeness wasn’t at all nerve-racking. He had started calling me little girl back when I was in seventh grade. He had been in grade nine then, and I had a horribly stupid crush on him. Right then, I wished I was back in seventh grade when he didn’t scare the crap out of me.
He chuckled. “Will you relax,” he said. “I’m not here for you. I was at the gym.” He nudged me in the ribs playfully and winked.
I tried to relax, but with him beside me, it wasn’t an easy task. I hadn’t really spoken to him since seventh grade, and I had avoided him at all costs when he became the head of the enforcers. Just like when Dominic had joined the pack, Jared had turned cold. Heartless. Ruthless. But then, Jared had always been a little cold.
“Who’s he with?” Jared asked, nodding toward the closed door. He stretched his long legs out in front of him and draped an arm around the back of my chair.
“Dom and Mac,” I said, leaning forward a little so it didn’t feel like his arm was actually around me. After last night, I didn’t want to give him a single reason to think I was interested. “They’re in shit for helping me.”
My palms were starting to sweat, and I wiped them on my jeans roughly. A pulse of sugary sweet power hit me; not like Aidan’s scent which made me think of nothing else but ripping off his clothes, but it was strong enough to make my heart hammer against my ribs. My breath caught. I heard it, and so did he. His chuckle gave it away. The pulse turned into a trickle and then to a stream. “He’s not the only one who can speak to your inner-wolf, little girl,” Jared said. “You’re strong. What you crave is the power, not him. I can give you what you need.”
I sucked in breath after sweet, sweet breath. My inner-wolf clawed at my stomach like a crazed lunatic. It was a weird feeling, nothing like the passion that Aidan brought out in me. This was vicious. It filled me with something that resembled anger and made me feel like a savage beast. I fought against it. Hated it. Needed it. Wanted it. And really, really feared it.
My own scent changed, ramping up, and swirled around us. The stronger it got, the more stable I felt, and after a moment, my inner-beast settled — a little. “Jared, can I ask you something?” My voice was a throaty whisper. I looked over at him, meeting his glowing yellow eyes.
He arched an eyebrow, looking at me as if he was waiting for me to do something. When I didn’t do whatever he had expected, his scent slowly dissipated and his expression turned stony. “Shoot,” he said, coating the word with a growl.
I shivered. I didn’t know if it was his growl, or the lack of the mouthwatering smell, that made my insides freeze, but whichever it was, I didn’t like it. I opened my mouth, then closed it, and cleared the prickly lump in my throat before I asked, “Why did you give me a choice last night? I didn’t think you guys did that. Like ever.”
His hand clasped my arm, and he pulled me back into the chair, draping his arm securely and a little possessively around my shoulder. I fought the urge to jump away from him, terrified of what he might do if I did. “You’ll be more fun to me alive,” he said, his voice husky. “You ready to give up yet?”
“Give up what?” I asked, and a chill ran up my back, forcing my spine to jolt and straighten. He knows, a voice in my head hissed. He knew what Aidan was hiding. Everyone knew. My mom, Jared … Right then I bet the whole freakin’ pack knew. I didn’t know whether to freak out or feel hurt. Both seemed like a viable option right then.
He chuckled, and pulled me closer. “Step down from the games, little girl. I’ll be more entertaining than the alpha. Promise.”
“What games?” I asked. He ignored my question, leaned into me, and nuzzled at my neck. “Keep your hands off me,” I snarled. It burst out of my mouth before I could stop it. His touch felt wrong and cold and forceful. It made my skin crawl and heat up at the same time. My inner-wolf stirred again, and a low growl rumbled from my throat and I tried to wiggle free of his arms.
He didn’t let go. His arm wrapped tighter around me, pulling me closer. “Mmmm, love that fire, but I’ll have you purring like a kitten in no time,” he whispered in my ear, and his hot breath played with the fine hairs on my neck. “Give up. Let Tiff be his mate.”
All the hints and warnings that I had received over the last few days played through my mind in a blast, fighting over each other to be heard. Stay away from him. She’s treating you like an alpha. Don’t back down from him. I can’t live with my alpha hating me. Packs have alpha pairs. Two alphas. One male and one female. He’ll be mine. When you lose the alpha games …
“Tiff’s the last one fighting for him?” I asked. The frost I heard in my voice was bittersweet. He really is a jackass, I thought, as all the pieces slid together. My body began to shake, and I hardly felt Jared’s arm around me anymore. Red-hot fury blazed through me. The bastard had me fighting for him! He’d been playing me all along. Was I a werewolf because of him? Was it his idea to ruin my life and then sic his wolves on me? Would he have even cared if they killed me? I’d seen the murder in that dirty-gray wolf’s eyes. And because of a stupid crush, I had walked right into his games. At that moment, I thought I hated myself even more than I did him for letting myself care about a stupid dog.
Jared’s arm slipped to my waist, and he yanked, pulling me onto his lap. I gasped, and my hands flew to his chest, pushing him away. “Hands off, Jared,” I snapped, but he didn’t let go. He pulled me against his chest, placing a trail of hot kisses down my neck.
“Mmmhmm, it’s just you and Tiff,” he said against my neck. “You don’t want to be an alpha. With your fire, you’d make a great enforcer. We don’t have to play by the rules.” I pushed at him harder, and he pulled me closer, pinning my arms between our chests. “Jade,” he murmured into my ear, “I know you want me. I can smell it.” He flicked his tongue against my earlobe.
I gasped and every muscle in my body went rigid. Tight knots twisted in my stomach and a nervous laugh slipped out. I tilted my head back, trying to move away from his kisses. “This is not happening,” I snarled, pushing away as hard as I could.
CHAPTER 29
~ AIDAN ~
“Answer my question,” I said with a lethal note in my tone. I was on edge. Even with the door closed, I could smell her. That sweet scent slid through the crack under the door and wafted around me. Her inner-wolf was calling me, seeking me out, and begging me to claim her. I needed this to end. Now. Before I completely lost my mind.
And Beck wasn’t making it any easier. It had been just over three hours now, since I had him drag Marcy and Dominic in, more than enough time to make Jade believe that they were actually in deep shit. But for the last three hours, Beck had lounged in one of my leather chairs with his feet up and eyes closed, making comments about what pack member we should stick Jade with when she lost.
“Yeah, he called,” Beck said, keeping his eyes closed. “Talked to him last night while Jared was playing with your newbie.” He cracked one eye open and smirked at me.
“Beck,” I growled a clear warning. I leaned forward, placing my palms on the oak desk. Dominic gripped my shoulder before I could stand up, holding me in my chair. The enforcers had their own set of rules they played by. It was supposed to keep some balance in the pack and gave them the authority to deal with alphas that didn’t follow the rules, or punish those who needed it. And Beck seemed to be intent on reminding me at every turn.
He chuckled softly. “Easy alpha, I’m not your enemy.” He clasped his hands, lacing his fingers together, and stretched his arms over his head. “If she doesn’t win, Jared would be a good match for her. He’ll tame her. Or we could always do what we do best. Jade’s broken more than a few rules.”
I growled. It ripped out of me before I could stop it, and Beck laughed. He was toying with me. He had been since he came into the room, seeing how far he could push me before I snapped. I knew they had no plans to take Jade down for the rules she’d broken. While she was in the games, she had a free pass for most of them.
Beck was about my height and build, maybe slightly bulkier, but not by much. And he carried himself just like the enforcers from my father’s pack. They all had the same air about them. Confident. Cocky. They knew they could get away with pretty much anything. Without them to carry out and enforce the rules, most packs would crumble. They didn’t just keep the wolves in check, but they kept alphas from abusing their power.
“Beck, cut the shit,” Dominic snapped. He gave my shoulder another squeeze before letting go. “What did Jeff say?”
Beck chuckled, and I let my alpha scent trickle into the air. Enforcer or not, he still had to obey me to some extent, and right then, I was out of patience. As soon as I did, his eyes hardened and he fixed a burning glare on me. “Bruce is sending him out on a recruiting mission,” he said through gritted teeth. “There was an accident and they lost the last of their females. He says Bruce doesn’t know about you, and the cougars Trevor ran across were a fluke.”
“What kind of accident?” Marcy asked. She’d been sleeping, curled up on the leather couch for the past hour. I wished she had stayed asleep. She yawned loudly and then propped her head up with her elbow, looking at Beck groggily.
“You know what they’re used for,” Beck said coolly, before I had a chance to come up with a lie. “Do you really need to ask how they died?”
Marcy jolted upright and her hands flew to her mouth. She gasped. “Oh my God.” Her eyes widened and she started to shake.
Dominic squeezed my shoulder again, most likely trying to warn me not to flip out, and then he went to Marcy, pulling her into a tight hug. Heat rushed up my neck and my muscles tensed as she started to sob into Dominic’s sweater.