Page 13

Chapter

Thirteen

The next day, Alli came to visit and brought the clothes that Jade had picked out during one of their shopping trips since the pack was on relative lockdown with no unnecessary trips out of town.

They walked through the territory with Brick and Solan trailing behind them, the summer sunlight streaming through the branches and the oppressive heat making everything feel sticky.

“I was not built for hot weather,” she said, wiping her brow with the hem of her tank top.

“Oh, me either,” Alli said. “Air conditioning was one of the best inventions. That and refrigeration.”

Since Alli appeared so youthful, it was easy to forget that she was several hundred years old. “Is air conditioning your favorite modern convenience?”

“Well, television is pretty awesome, and indoor plumbing.”

She peeked at her friend. “You’ve definitely seen a lot, huh?”

“Yep.” She looked over her shoulder and then said with a low voice, “You didn’t mark each other?”

“We decided to wait until we get to know each other better.”

“That’s sweet. But doesn’t your wolf want that? He’s your truemate.”

“Yeah, she does.” It made her ache sometimes how much she wanted to truly belong to Brick.

He was everything she’d ever imagined for herself in a mate and more.

Sexy and protective and so damn sweet. But she wasn’t ready to pull the proverbial trigger on the mating because of that lurking fear in her subconscious that told her things were too easy right now.

“You’re waiting for the other shoe to drop? With your old pack or that arranged mate?”

“Yeah. I’m used to being on my own and keeping my defenses up. It’s hard to let someone into that because of how much I worry.”

Alli put her arm around Jade briefly in a hug. “You’ll do it when the time’s right and it will be amazing.”

“Do fallen angels get truemates?”

“I’m not sure. I feel like everyone has a truemate, but if I hadn’t fallen, I wouldn’t have feelings about finding a truemate. Angels aren’t mated, period. But fallen angels? The ones I know aren’t mated, and I’ve never heard of any who are.”

“What other fallen angels are around here?”

“Darien, who works for Mishka, the vampire master of Cleveland, and Paris. He runs Lykos.”

“The shifter bar?”

“Yep.”

“A fallen angel runs a shifter bar.”

Alli chuckled. “Sure, why not? He’s strong and fast so he can keep up with shifters, and people listen to him. Plus, he can kick ass and he’s easy on the peepers.”

It was Jade’s turn to laugh. “Maybe Brick and I can meet you at Lykos sometime.”

“To get a peek at a cute angel?”

She rolled her eyes. “To have a drink.”

“Sure, sure.” Alli giggled. Jade imagined that if she still had wings, they would shake with her laughter, rustling like tinkling bells.

“Anyway,” she said, giving Alli a nudge with her elbow, “how did your time at Lykos go? Did you dance with anyone?”

As Alli told her about her time at the bar, they wandered the territory. Jade liked having Brick watching her back so she could relax and enjoy the time with Alli, who had a funny take on pretty much everything she did.

They stopped near the edge of the creek that wove through the territory and Jade stared at the water that babbled along the bank. “You haven’t heard from Evelyn?”

“Not since the last message,” Alli said, shaking her head. “But it’s not unusual for her to go a while between emails. Before I helped Sadie get away from the pack, I hadn’t heard from her in a long time. Are you worried?”

“A little. I don’t want her to get hurt because she helped me.”

Alli hummed, twirling a leaf between her finger and thumb. “She’s smart and resourceful. We just have to trust that she’s okay. In her last message, she said the alpha was suspicious but didn’t have proof that she’d helped you. I’d say she’s in the clear.”

“Yeah, I hope so. I’m really glad she helped me. If she hadn’t gotten me out when she did, I wouldn’t be with Brick.”

“She’s a good female.”

She turned to tell Brick they were ready to head back to the house when something caught her eye. She paused and stared but didn’t see anything. Then she tilted her head and saw it again—the sunlight highlighted something dark on the ground.

“Brick?”

“Yeah, baby?” he called.

“There’s something on the ground there. It’s black.” She pointed and he jogged up to them, looking to where she indicated.

“I don’t… Hold on, okay, I see it. Stay put.” He walked forward slowly, scanning the area, and then bent and picked up a stick that he used to prod around. He squatted down, peered at whatever the black thing was, and then picked it up.

“What is it?” Solan asked as he joined the two of them.

“It’s black rubber. I’m pretty sure it’s the cover for a binocular lens.” Brick frowned as he looked at it and then walked over to show it to them.

Jade took it and gave it a squeeze and the rubber bent easily. It certainly looked like a binocular lens cover. “Does the security team use binoculars?”

“Not usually.”

He looked past her, his frown deepening. “The alphas’ house is that way.”

He and Solan moved to where the cover had been on the ground and searched the area. Jade shivered, but not from the cold. If the security team didn’t use binoculars, then someone was in the territory watching.

“It’ll be okay, babe,” Alli said.

“I feel exposed out here.” She looked around, wondering if someone was watching them right now.

Brick and Solan joined them. “Let’s get back to the alphas’ house.”

“Someone’s watching?” she asked.

Brick nodded. “It certainly seems so. The ground is flattened like someone was standing for a while, and it might be in a blind spot for the security cameras. Solan had the security office run the videos for this area. If it is a blind spot, we’ll add more cameras and motion detectors.”

“What about the protective wards the Wiccans set up last night?” Jade asked.

“They should have stopped someone from getting through,” Solan said.

“They’re not foolproof. They don’t stop everything,” Alli said.

“The wards would be strongest at the alphas’ house and would get progressively weaker the farther from that point they went.

If it’s Foley, he could have hired someone to watch and report back, so there wouldn’t be bad intentions or a bad aura that would stop someone from getting through the wards. ”

“Geez,” Jade said. “I thought it was bad enough to worry about my old alpha or that dangerous male coming for me, but that the anti-shifter group might have hired someone to spy? It’s creepy as hell.”

“You know what they say,” Alli said. “It’s not being paranoid if someone is out to get you, and Brent Foley and H. A. S. are definitely up to no good.”

“We’ll be careful,” Brick said. “Jade’s safety is paramount to me.”

When they reached the alphas’ house, she and Alli walked inside after parting ways with Brick and Solan at the security office.

After telling Cinder what was up, Jade told Alli about the pack meeting the night before, where Cinder and Adam announced the pregnancy and the Wiccans filling in with protection wards.

Alli leaned against the kitchen island and said, “It seems like you’ve got great systems in place to keep everyone safe, and as long as you’re noticing the small stuff—like someone watching the alphas’ house from the creek—you can alter the security measures and make things even safer.

It’s better to find the gaps in security now before something bad happens. ”

“Good point.”

A few moments later, a smiling older woman came into the kitchen carrying a paper sack.

Flowers peeked from the top. “Hello there.” She pulled the flowers out of the sack and handed them to Jade.

“I’m Brick’s mom, Sophie. I saw these at the market and wanted to give them to you for the bedroom.

Nothing takes the masculine vibe from a male’s bedroom quite like pretty flowers. ”

Jade grinned. Brick had a very masculine bedroom. The pink and yellow flowers would be the perfect pop of feminine color. “I love them, thank you so much. It’s so nice to meet you. Do you know Alli?”

“Of course, how are you?”

“Wonderful, Sophie, thanks. You?”

“I’m wonderful too, now that my son has found his truemate. I couldn’t be happier.”

His mom was so sweet. She’d instantly made her feel welcomed into the family even though she and Brick weren’t fully mated yet.

Adam rushed into the kitchen, skidding to a halt. “Where’s Brick?”

“In the security office,” Jade said. “Is everything okay?” Her stomach suddenly felt like it was filled with lead. Why did Adam look so upset? He was the alpha and they weren’t supposed to get rattled easily.

He paused, then said, “Jade, someone’s reached out to me. About you.”

Her heart felt like it stopped beating entirely.

“What? Who?” It had to be her alpha. Who else could it be?

“Dane Malrick.”

“Who’s that?” Alli asked.

“The male that Alpha Holloway was going to force me to mate.”