Page 9

J ace was hot. So fucking hot.

He groaned and thrashed on the couch. His belly was burning. But the heat seemed to have spread everywhere.

He turned onto his side and then onto his back again.

“No…Merry—”

He dragged a hand over his face—and was thrown back seven years into his worst nightmare.

Adric had finally tracked Merry and Silver to their latest address.

It had been over a year since Jace had last seen any of Takira’s family.

His sister had turned up dead, and Merry’s fifth birthday had come and gone while she was on the run with Silver.

The call from Adric came just after midnight. Jace rushed to the site—only to find a burned-out house. The bitter scent of ashes and death filled the air.

Adric had been waiting in the shadows. His throat worked. “I’m sorry, bro.”

Jace had backed away, shaking his head. “No. No. There must be some mistake.”

“No mistake. I tracked them both here.” Adric’s eyes were bronze holes in his face. “It burned down last night. The neighbors said no one got out alive.”

“Leron,” Jace had rasped. “I’ll kill him. I’ll fucking tear him to pieces.” He’d turned to stride off, but Adric’s hand clamped on his arm.

Jace tried to shake him off. “Let. Me. Go.”

“No. I won’t stand by and watch you commit suicide.”

Jace’s mouth had twisted. “What the fuck do I have to live for?”

His friend blew out a breath. “I can’t answer that for you, but I do know I need your help to take Leron down. And we will. We’re close, Jace. But if you go after him now, you could blow it all to hell.”

“You ask too damn much.”

“I know,” his friend returned quietly. “But it’s not for me. It’s for the clan.”

Jace had stared at the house’s charred remains, the desire for revenge raging through his veins. He’d fisted his hands, dropped back his head and roared his fury at the moon. The local dogs had joined in, an eerie, mournful howl.

When he’d turned back to Adric, he knew his eyes blazed a feral green. “Fine,” he bit out. “But promise me he’ll die. No mercy.”

“No mercy,” Adric had agreed.

Now Jace writhed on the couch, his soul as dark and bitter as that burned shell of a house that he’d believed had contained his niece’s remains.

An unfamiliar scent recalled him to the present—a female. It’s only a dream .

With an effort, he forced his eyes open and looked wildly around until he recalled he was in some human’s home in Grace Harbor.

Evie. He grabbed onto her name like a drowning man would a life preserver.

She’d left a pitcher of water on the table. He fumbled for it and, without bothering to pour the water into a glass, drank deeply. His cat was to the fore now. It wrinkled its nose at the chemical taste of the water. But it was cool and wet. The burning eased, but he was still too hot.

He had to shift; he’d heal faster in his cat form. He sat up and reached for his zipper.

The female was staring at him, eyes wide. He hesitated. He distantly recalled that he hadn’t shifted already because he didn’t want to frighten her. Humans tended to get edgy around a 250-pound black jaguar.

His cat rubbed at his skin, frantic to get out. He could feel his eyes had gone night-glow, signaling his animal was in control.

The female backed up and his chest rumbled. Didn’t she know he wouldn’t hurt her?

The hell with it. He dragged off his pants and let the shift take him—and almost didn’t make it. Energy danced over his skin, and for a few frightening seconds he thought he’d get stuck between man and cat and die, his organs unable to adjust to a half-shifted state.

His quartz. A quick check told him it had recharged to about forty percent. He drew deep, pulling energy from the slowly vibrating crystals, and completed the shift. He lay on his side, weak and trembling. So much for his big, scary cat.

But the female took another step back. The cat instinctively leapt off the couch to stop her. She froze and babbled something, and he scented fear, sharp and acrid.

No . He nudged her hand. It’s all right.

She sucked in a breath.

He rumbled low in his chest but held still.

“Okay,” she said in a strangled voice. “Okay. I’m the good guy, all right? The one who’s trying to help you.”

He huffed a breath and waited, his head against the back of her hand.

At last she understood. Her hand turned and she stroked his head.

Ah… He pushed back against her hand, rubbing his scent onto the skin. Then he got his head between her hand and hip and that was even better.

He breathed in her spicy feminine aroma and rubbed his head against her hip, taking her scent on him and marking her with his. His chest was rumbling again.

“Are you purring ?” She let out a high, nervous laugh. But to his satisfaction, she relaxed.

He pushed her hip, herding her toward the couch.

“You want me on the couch?”

He gave her another nudge.

“Okay, but you must be thirsty. Why don’t we get you some more water first?”

That seemed like a good idea, so he followed her to the kitchen and watched as she filled a large bowl with water and set it on the floor. When he lapped it up, she gave him some more.

Then he went to the back door and waited. He needed to keep voiding the iron in his system.

This time she guessed immediately what he wanted and unlocked the door.

He paused on the small concrete landing to test the air.

He could smell his own blood, but just a trace—the kid had done a thorough job.

There were other scents—a dog, a nearby car engine that had only recently been turned off—but he couldn’t pick up the noxious, graveyard odor of a night fae.

He padded down the stairs, pissed on a patch of grass next to the driveway, and then came back to where Evie waited in the doorway to let him in.

Back in the living room, Evie got the sheet from the easy chair and sat on the couch.

He figured she wouldn’t want him on the couch with her, so he lay down on the floor in front of it.

The jaguar wanted to stay close for two reasons—his animal liked how she smelled, and it feared the night fae would return.

Or another shifter might show up, one who’d scented Jace’s weakness.

This way, Jace would be between Evie and any danger.

Evie curled up, her head on the pillow he’d been using. He could see her watching him in the darkness, and then she sat up and patted the cushion on the other end. “That floor’s got to be hard.”

He didn’t need a second invitation. He heaved himself onto the couch, circled once and then settled on the cushions at her feet with a contented sigh.

Evie lay back down. He could tell from her breath that she was awake, and he felt a twinge of guilt at disturbing her sleep. Well, tomorrow he’d be gone and her life could get back to normal.

But he’d been right to shift. The fever had broken, and even though the shift had drained more energy from his quartz, he could hear the tiny crystals humming a healing song. The quartz had recovered enough energy to aid in his healing now, although he was still shaken from the nightmare.

Merry’s fine , he reminded himself. She’s safe at Rock Run .

But if he died, what would happen to her?

Sure, Rui and Valeria had given her the family Jace couldn’t, but they were river fada, not earth fada.

Someday Merry would probably want to return to the Baltimore clan, to be with her own people, and Jace wanted to be there to ease her way.

Not everyone in the clan would welcome a mixed-blood with open arms.

And only another earth fada could teach Merry the secrets of her quartz. Yes, Adric would instruct her if Jace died, but by tradition, it was Jace’s right as her only living family.

Evie nudged him with her knee. “It’s all right,” she murmured. “Go back to sleep.”

He edged closer, waiting until her breath smoothed out and she went boneless with sleep, then laid his head on her thigh. Even through the blanket and her jeans, he could smell her. Summer and lavender.

He inhaled deeply, imprinting her scent on his mind.

Someone was at the back door. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat.

Evie jolted upright, because it was barely dawn, and there was no good reason for someone to be knocking on her door so early.

Jace-the-panther was already off the couch and disappearing around the corner into the hall. She hurried after him into the kitchen to find him with his nose to the door.

She crept up next to him. He stepped back, indicating with a twitch of his head that she should open the door.

“You know who it is?” she whispered.

For answer, he nudged her hand in the direction of the doorknob.

“Okay, then. If you’re sure…” Sliding the bolt to the left, she cracked open the door.

A lean, good-looking man stared back at her. The tips of his spiked black hair were bleached blond, and he had a gold stud in one earlobe. She couldn’t see a chunk of quartz, but he had a telltale lump beneath his T-shirt.

A warning chill tightened the back of her neck as he looked her over with cool bronze eyes. But his words were polite enough.

“Peace to you and yours,” he said in the traditional fae/fada greeting. “Sorry to bother you this early, but I believe you have one of my men here.” His gaze flicked to Jace, who had edged the door wider so he was standing beside her.

Evie kept a firm grip on the doorknob, her every instinct screaming not to let this stranger inside. “Peace,” she returned. “And you are?”

“Adric. Jace’s alpha.”

“Lord Adric.” Her fingers clenched on the doorknob. Even in the human world, the Baltimore alpha’s reputation was known. People said he’d killed his own uncle and driven his cousins out of the clan. In Baltimore, he had as much power as the mayor, and even the gangs left him alone.

The alpha inclined his head.

Jace leaned into her. Not pressuring her, just reminding her he was there.