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7

The Red Devil Dress

Each throb of Jax’s head was synchronized with the steady beat of his heart rate and there didn’t appear to be an end in sight. Even max doses of ibuprofen didn’t dim the persistent ache, the med nothing more than a damn Tic Tac at this point.

It started the second his alarm blared and progressed through each meeting, and there’d been a hell of a lot of them. Meetings with the heads of the other Rocky Mountain Pack communities. Meetings with neighboring pack alphas. Meetings with… hell if he could remember. Halfway through the lineup, he did more passive listening than active, a coping mechanism that was more beneficial for the other involved parties. He was one But, Alpha Atwood away from snapping at someone.

Literally.

His inner mountain lion bristled, agitated and on edge as he’d been for the last fifty-seven hours and forty-seven minutes… not so roughly around the exact time they’d first laid eyes on a certain curvy witch.

Keeping his distance wasn’t working. Not that he thought it would be a piece of cake in a town like Fates Haven, and that was before he agreed to help Grace piece together her shifter puzzle.

The landline phone rang in the outer room and a second later, Sunny’s voice pierced his temporary quiet. “Line two, Alpha Atwood.”

“Whoever it is, I’m busy.”

A few seconds later, his cell vibrated on his desk with an incoming text.

Answer my phone call or I’ll be forced to take drastic measures.

“Exactly what today needed,” Jax grumbled to himself as the phone in his hands rang. “And to what do I owe this pleasure? Bored already? Because if you’re calling to tell me that you made a mistake in retiring, I’ll start cleaning out my desk now. It’s all yours.”

Not that he’d added a whole lot to it. Or anything. He glanced around the top, the only thing on it stacks and stacks of paperwork.

“Bored?” Patricia Atwood chuckled, her voice light and breezy and extremely happy sounding. “Not in the least. I just returned from swimming with the sharks, and can I say that it was life-changing.”

“What a coincidence… I just got off a virtual meeting with about six of them, but I don’t feel all that changed. Except if you count the increased pounding in my head,” Jax muttered.

His mother chuckled. “Oh, my sharks were certifiable teddy bears to that lot. I even fed one. From my hand.”

“So what I’m hearing is that you’re not ending your retirement?” He sat back in his chair and kicked his boots up on the desk, something his mother would’ve been horrified to see. “You sure there’s nothing I can say or do to lure you back?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, sweetheart, but I’m perfectly content—ecstatic even—to not see your face for quite a while.”

“Gee. That’s not difficult to take the wrong way or anything.” But he totally got it.

His mother had lived and breathed Rocky Mountain Pack business since before he could even walk, the job costing her more than her time and energy. It had also fueled the fires of his parents’ subsequent divorce.

“From what I hear, you’re doing great,” his mother stated approvingly. “Just keep doing what you’re doing and follow your gut. It’ll never steer you wrong.”

“Considering how far away you are, I’m surprised you’re hearing anything.”

His mother chuckled at his blatant attempt to figure out her mystery location. “I’m close enough to hear that a certain saucy witch with periwinkle eyes has come back to Fates Haven.”

“I’m not talking about her, Ma.” That damn pulse in his head worked overtime at the mention of Harry.

“Jaxon…”

“I’m a little old for you to Jaxon me, don’t you think? Besides, it’s not like she’s here permanently, or even of her own volition. She’s back because she needs something. Ironically, from you… who is now me.”

“Did she say she’s here temporarily?” Patricia asked innocently.

“Honestly? I have no idea. And it’s none of my business either. What is my concern is this pack, my business, and evidently Nora’s brilliant new idea to resurrect the Fates Festival.” A sharp flare of pain throbbed behind his eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose, willing the orbs to stay in his head.

“And a teenage shifter of unknown origin,” his mom added.

“Seriously. How are you getting Fates Haven gossip where you are? Is there some kind of newsletter that goes out weekly or something?”

She chuckled. “Oh, I have my ways, and no, I will never tell. But now that you brought up your teenage mystery, how is that going? Any progress in identifying her shifter potential?”

“I didn’t bring Grace up. You did.” Jax smirked, practically seeing his mother’s cogs turning. “And she hasn’t burned anything down since she set fire to my wheelbarrow, so I suppose you can count that as progress.”

“So she really does have fire capabilities?” Patricia hummed. “Interesting. Other than phoenixes, I’m not aware of any other shifter types that possess fire.”

“Not so sure we’re dealing with a phoenix. They’re typically about calm and peace and I guess it could be her age, but Grace is all snark, bite, and—”

“And fire,” his mom finished.

“And fire,” Jax agreed. “I’ve been meaning to talk to Harry about the possibility that the fire abilities aren’t coming from the father at all. She said Grace’s mother is human, but it wouldn’t be the first time that latent supernatural abilities manifest after sleeping a few generations.”

“Hm. I guess that’s another possibility. But I feel as if Harry—or Nora—would sense if Grace were developing some kind of elemental witchling powers. It’s definitely a mystery. Keep me posted, and if you need to bounce any ideas off someone, you know where I am.”

“Actually, I’m not entirely sure where you are right now, but I get what you’re saying, Ma. Thank you. Hope you keep having a good time.”

“Oh, I will, sweetheart. I definitely will.” She smooched into the phone. “Love you. Miss you. And, Jaxon?”

“Yeah?”

“She’s extremely lucky to have you in her life.”

“Pretty sure after I made her shovel horse shit, she’s not feeling the same way.” Jax chuckled. “But I hope I can help her out. If she can’t trust herself, she can’t fully trust others, and whether or not her shifter identity is a pack animal, she’ll need a community.”

“Absolutely… but that wasn’t who I was talking about.”

“Mom…”

“Love you! Don’t forget to play nice! Kisses!”

She hung up, leaving him with an abrupt silence and an even bigger headache.

“Let’s go!” Maddox burst into his office, a determined look on his face. “Come on. Chop-chop. The darts won’t fly themselves. Actually, in Fates Haven that’s kinda possible, but the beer won’t drink itself, so pack up and let’s go.”

“I told you I wasn’t up for tonight. I’m gonna go home and—”

“Sulk. Yeah, I got the message that you had Sunny deliver. Silas and I are in agreement. That reasoning sucks and we’re not accepting it.” Mads stood solidly, his beefy arms folded across his chest, ink on full display. “You’re in brood mode. And there is no place more dangerous to be when you’re in brood mode than alone with your thoughts.”

“I’m not in brood mode,” Jax denied half-heartedly.

Mads cocked up a pierced eyebrow. “A lot of shit has rained down on you over the last few months, and then throw in everything this past week? No one denies you have a good reason to brood. But we both know—whether you want to admit it or not—that holing up in that sad shack you call a cabin will only make it ten times worse.”

“Beer won’t magically make it all go away either.”

“No. But you wiping Silas’s ass at darts with one eye closed and one hand tied behind your back might make it all a little easier to deal with.” Sensing Jax’s resolve weakening, Maddox added with a smirk, “Seriously. Think about the pout when he loses. Again.”

“Fine. But I’m only sticking around for one beer and one dart game. Then I’m getting my brood on back at my sad little cabin.”

“That’s what I’m talking about!”

Jax grudgingly followed, regretting his choice before he even exited his office.

H ARRY STEPPED INTO her room, her comb stuck halfway through her hair, and came to a dead stop as she tried rationalizing what she was seeing. Through her exhaustion, she couldn’t really put it all together.

“You know what? I don’t have the energy for this,” Harry announced to the one-foot gnome currently playing dress-up with yet another set of her undergarments. She waved the creature off. “Take them. I don’t care. Have yourself a little fashion show with all your little gnome friends.”

It twittered insensibly before climbing onto the windowsill. With a final wave of its bra-clenching hand, it disappeared into the night. Harry closed the window behind it and contemplated diving into her bed and dealing with the aftermath later—both the wet bed head fallout and being a no-show for girls’ night out.

She almost talked herself into it when her phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, she picked the cell up immediately. “Please tell me you found him, got answers, and you’re coming home.”

Cassie’s tired sigh didn’t give her much hope. “That would be a big no, bigger no, and unfortunately no. I followed a promising lead to Alaska, but when I got here the trail went cold.”

“Gee, a cold trail in Alaska. Who would’ve thought?” Harry joked dryly.

“I was hoping you two were having better luck than I was.”

“That is yet to be determined.” Harry flung herself back on the mattress. “I’ve seen Gracie smile more since we’ve been in Fates Haven than I have in the last year, so that’s something. It’s been at my expense, but I’ll take it when I can get it. Moving her out here to Colorado definitely didn’t win me any popularity points, that’s for sure.”

“Smiles are good,” Cassie reassured. “I wish I was there with you two. If I don’t catch a lead soon, I guess I could—”

“Come back and then leave again when you catch another whiff that could be Mr. Mysterio?” Harry smiled wanly. “That didn’t go over too well the last time we tried that.”

“I know, but I feel bad knowing everything you’re going through and not being there to help with it.”

“Like Aunt Nora always says, we’ve got the entire town of Fates Haven behind us, so we’re not without help.”

“And you have a certain Alpha Hotwood behind you, too.” Cassie’s low voice dripped with mischief. “Or maybe he’s on top. Or—”

“Does Gracie really need a phone? It might do her some good to unplug for a bit.”

Cassie chuckled. “So it’s true? The Alpha helping figure things out is the same one who snuck you from your childhood bedroom for midnight rendezvous and a little hanky-panky in the witchy’s panty?”

“Please never say that again,” Harry begged. “But, yes. You’ll be unsurprised that my sucktastic luck continues and he is one and the same. And, no, there is no hanky-panky happening in this witch’s panties.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You’re thinking it.”

“Your descry magics have expanded to telepathy now?”

“No, but they have been a little wonky since we got here.”

“That’s probably because of Alpha Hotwood.”

“Seriously, Cass. No. I don’t fuck with Fate, and Fate already made it clear that Jax is meant for someone else.”

Cassie growled. “You’re a fucking kick-ass witch, an incredible best friend—when you’re properly caffeinated—and you’re a phenomenal aunt to my daughter. Not to mention loyal and dedicated and—”

“You make me sound like a service dog.”

“You know what I mean. Fuck Fate. Make your own. You tell it how things will be; and if Fate ends up being right in the end, at least you’ll have taken your path to get there. Not that I’ve ever been—except on this Alaskan excursion—but I hear off-roading can be pretty fun.”

Harry wished it were that simple, but Cass had a point. “I’m going out tonight with my childhood best friends. Or at least I was in the middle of convincing myself not to bail.”

“Do not bail.”

“But it’ll be awkward and—”

“Did you bring the red dress?” Cassie asked.

“It’s a girls’ night out, Cass. I’m not fishing for a bed partner tonight.”

“Why the hell not? The endorphins released with great sex have been proven to improve a person’s overall outlook and mindset. Not to mention blood pressure.”

“My outlook and mindset are just fine, and my blood pressure was normal until about five seconds ago.”

“FaceTime. Now,” Cassie ordered, the request popping up on Harry’s phone a second later. The instant she connected, her best friend’s face filled the screen, looking so much like her daughter with twenty additional years. “Look into my eyes.”

Harry snortled. “Are you trying to hypnotize me?”

“I love that you’re helping me take care of Gracie, Harry. I do. I hate to think where the two of us would be without you, but you have to take care of yourself, too.” Her friend studied her through the phone and smiled wanly. “Something tells me that Grace isn’t the only one who will benefit from being in Fates Hollow.”

“Fates Haven.”

“That’s what I said.” Cassie’s smile looked so much like her daughter’s. “Love you. Now take me to my crotch goblin and then go put on the red devil dress.”

“Fine.” Harry sighed, knowing she was beaten.

“And I’ll find out if you bail, both on the girls’ night and the dress.”

“Yeah, I know.” Harry shuffled down the hall and knocked on the teen’s door once, then twice. On the third rap, it flung open and there stood an annoyed sixteen-year-old. Harry held out the cell. “For you.”

“Is it Mom?” Grace looked hopeful.

“Unless your mom is some weird lady who likes giving out unsolicited relationship advice and ultimatums—Oh wait. Yeah, it’s her.”

Grace grabbed the phone and disappeared back into the teenage abyss that was her room.

With a heavy sigh, Harry returned to hers and yanked open her closet. With a plunging neckline, snug waistline, and short, flirty skirt, the aforementioned red dress had earned its own nickname after conjuring a record number of free drink offers as well as one-night-stand invitations.

She wasn’t looking for either of those things tonight, but the smallest bit of luck couldn’t hurt, right?