Page 16

Chapter

Twelve

LUST

T he sound cut through the garden like a blade–wine glasses, mason jars, every piece of glassware shattering in perfect unison. I didn't even realize I'd done it until Diana's sharp intake of breath drew my attention to the destruction spreading outward from where I stood.

Guests scattered, some screaming, others staring in shock at the glittering shards decorating the pathways.

I didn’t give a shit, because I just found out that fucking mongrel had killed her, then buried her.

"Be back in a tick," Envy said beside me, his usual lazy drawl sharpened to a lethal edge. "There's a rabid dog that needs putting down."

He melted into shadows before I could object, leaving me swaying on my feet. What the hell was wrong with me? I was Lust—I embodied desire, not...whatever this protective fury was.

"Lust." Diana's voice cut through the haze. "Control yourself."

"I...can't,” I whispered. The admission scraped my throat raw. I couldn't control a damn thing right now.

Juniper sat curled on herself like a broken bird, and that image sent another spike of rage through me that made the remaining glass in the fountain crack ominously.

"Marcus!" Diana called sharply to one of her security guards. "The situation is contained. Please ensure our guests that the threat has been removed and they're safe to continue. Get the catering staff to sweep up the glass and refresh the drinks."

Marcus's calm, professional voice addressing the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, the individual who caused the disturbance has been escorted off the premises.

You are all perfectly safe. We'll have the area cleaned up momentarily and fresh refreshments served.

Please, continue enjoying the evening... ."

Diana's magick wrapped around us, and suddenly we were in her living room. The spatial displacement should have made me nauseous, but all I could focus on was Juniper collapsing onto the settee like her strings had been cut.

I found myself sitting beside her without thinking. Close enough to catch the faint scent of her shampoo—something clean and floral.

"That was him, wasn't it?" Diana asked.

"My fiancé–" Juniper started, and the word hit me like a punch to the gut.

"Ex-fiancé," I corrected, harsher than I meant. "Once someone tries to kill you, they're automatically an ex."

She looked at me with wide, sad eyes.

"My ex-fiancé," she said softly, and I had to fight not to close my eyes in relief. "We were finally going to consummate the contract my family arranged when I was a child."

Contract marriage. Of course. I knew the practice—had seen it countless times over the centuries with the witch covens.

Magick was waning, so witches tried to set their daughters up like prize cattle, only going to powerful supernaturals to ensure any witch born would be magickal.

No human males for their precious witches.

And who was going to complain? The buyer got a power boost from deflowering a virgin witch, and the coven received funds, political connections and magickal enhancement.

But hearing Juniper describe it so matter-of-factly, like she'd simply accepted being treated as property her entire life...My hands clenched into fists.

"I'm thirty-five," she continued quietly. "You can imagine how long my mother has been pushing for me to complete this."

Thirty-five years of being groomed for this moment. Conditioned to believe her worth was tied to her virginity and whatever magickal benefit some bastard could extract from taking it.

"But I hoped it could be more than just a transaction," she whispered, and the pain in her voice cracked something inside my chest.

She'd hoped for love. Despite everything—the arrangement, the pressure, knowing she was essentially being sold—she'd still believed it could be beautiful.

"He called me Evangeline instead."

I shot to my feet. Evangeline. The Northern Range Alpha's sister. Even I knew the rumors about her affairs and one of those was with an Alpha of a wolf pack. Of course, it had to be her. And this bastard had been thinking about his mistress while preparing to claim Juniper.

"When I confronted him about it, he just...snapped." Her voice cracked. "His hands went around my throat. I fought, but he was so much stronger. Everything went black."

The image hit me of Juniper's throat in that monster's hands, a horrific picture of her struggling against his strength, the light fading from her eyes. I started pacing. The alternative was tearing Diana's living room apart.

That would be rude.

"I woke up underground," she continued. "Buried alive. I had to claw my way out through six feet of dirt."

Pride's briefing echoed in my memory: A virgin witch. Murdered by her prospective mate. Brought back through reanimation magick.

But Juniper was talking like Xavier had left her for dead, not like she'd actually died. Did she not realize she had actually died? Either way, now was definitely not the time to correct such a gross misunderstanding.

Souls didn’t just show up to the Underworld, after all.

"He's probably running back to check the grave right now," she added bitterly. "Making sure I'm still buried. It's only been a week since he tried to kill me."

Envy materialized from the shadows, frustration rolling off him.

"Lost the bastard in the woods. He knows the territory better than I expected."

"Wait," Diana said, her voice going deadly quiet. "Let me understand this correctly. He murdered his fiancée a week ago, has a mistress, and tonight he shows up at a matchmaking event looking for someone new?"

Envy's lazy grin vanished. "He what now?"

"The absolute audacity," Diana continued, snarling.

"A week," Envy said flatly. "One fucking week, and he's already shopping for a new victim?"

"No," Juniper said quietly, and something shifted in her voice. Her eyes lit up with a new fire that sent odd flutters racing through my veins.

"This is actually perfect,” she whispered.

"Perfect?" I asked, halting my pacing.

"I want him to keep thinking Hazel Blackwood is dead and buried," she said, standing straighter. "Because she is. I'm Juniper Grey now."

I didn't have the heart to tell her that if he was heading back to check the grave like she thought, he would know soon enough. Still, I was impressed. She wasn't cowering or falling apart. She was rebuilding herself from nothing, creating a new identity from the ashes.

"Yes," I said, my voice rough. "You are Juniper Grey. And Juniper Grey works for me."

The possessiveness in those words should have terrified me. But looking at her standing there, refusing to break...If this was the mate bond…

Oh.

Oh, fuck.

The mate bond. The one thing I'd always said was bullshit. Apparently fate had other plans and a twisted sense of humor.

"Which means you're under our protection now," Diana added firmly.

"Anyone who tries to hurt you will answer to all of us," Envy said.

Juniper looked between us. "I don't understand. You barely know me."

"Doesn't matter," I said. "You're not alone now."

She wiped her cheeks, and for a second she looked like she might shatter. Then her spine straightened, chin lifted, and that steel was back.

"I should get back out there. The mixer isn't going to host itself."

Diana raised an eyebrow. "After what just happened?—"

"Especially after what just happened." She smoothed her sweater with steady hands. "I have a job to finish and a bet to win."

Most people would be hiding in a corner right now. Instead, she was choosing to walk back out there and face a garden full of supernatural beings who'd just watched her nightmare come to life.

"A bet?" I asked.

"Your bet. The one where I prove I can make this mixer profitable." She straightened her shoulders. "I need that money to start over properly. A new life doesn't come cheap."

Right. Our wager about her ability to turn tonight into a success. My mind had focused so much on what just happened to her that I had almost forgotten.

"Think you can pull it together after all this?"

"Watch me." She headed toward the door, then paused. "Actually, help me. I need to make sure everyone's settled and the evening gets back on track. Think you can manage basic host duties without scaring anyone?"

"I'll try to dial down my natural intimidation factor,” I drawled.

"Your natural what now?" She shot back, raising one eyebrow. "You mean your tendency to lurk in corners looking like you're planning someone's demise?"

"I don't lurk,” I protested.

"You absolutely lurk,” she said. “It's very brooding and mysterious, which probably works on most people, but tonight I need to be charming and approachable."

I huffed. "I can be charming."

"Can you though? Because twenty minutes ago you shattered every piece of glass in a fifty-foot radius."

Her arms crossed her chest.

"That was an outlier,” I bit out.

"Was it?” She questioned. “Because your client's photos suggest otherwise." She was warming herself again now, using our banter like armor. "Half of them look like mugshots."

I grinned, settling into the role easily. "Those are artistic choices."

She snorted, opening the door. "That is why your success rate is terrible. Come on, Mr. Artistic Choices. Time to prove you can help instead of hinder."

I sighed, as if suffering.

"What exactly do you need me to do?"

Her grin was predatory. "Smile. Make small talk. Pretend you're not mentally cataloguing everyone's weaknesses."

Pretending to inspect my nails, I shot her a look. "I don't do that."

"You literally told me Mrs. Henderson's marriage was doomed within five minutes of meeting her,” she countered.

"It is,” I insisted. “Her husband's already cheating."

"See? That's what we're not doing tonight." She fixed her hair in Diana's hallway mirror. "Tonight we're being optimistic about love. I need you to be Lust."

Sounded suspiciously easily.

"Even after everything that just happened?" I asked.

She met my eyes in the reflection.

"Especially after everything that just happened. Because if I let him ruin this too, he wins. And I refuse to let that bastard take anything else from me."

One thought burned clear as we headed back to the garden: I would make sure she never had to start over with nothing again. Whatever it took.

And if Xavier ever came near her again, I'd show him exactly what happened when someone threatened what was mine.