Chapter 20

At a little after midnight,we lay on the bed in a tangle of arms and legs. Most of the bedding was on the floor, along with pretty much everything else in my room.

As it turned out, the rumors of werewolf stamina were not exaggerated. I was well past the point of exhaustion, but judging by the now-familiar glint in Sean's eyes, he was, almost unbelievably, thinking about another round, and I was thinking seriously about whether I would survive it.

Before either of us could do anything about that, however, my phone beeped. Sean had brought our phones upstairs in case he got a call from work, then abandoned them on top of the dresser. They were now somewhere on the floor.

When I groaned and started to move, he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close, removing all doubt as to whether he was recovering. "Leave it," he growled into my ear. "You're mine until the morning."

"It might be an emergency," I pointed out. "Nobody texts this late at night with good news."

He grumbled but let me go. I slid out of bed, wincing slightly, then started pawing through the debris on the floor. I finally found my phone under some clothes.

To my surprise, there was a text message from Adri. Mr. V would like to meet tonight to discuss a time-sensitive project that requires your expertise. Can you come to Hawthorne's?

I frowned and texted back. Busy tonight. Can it wait till tomorrow?

Adri: Mr. V believes it cannot.

I made a face. What time?

The response was immediate. As soon as possible. Mr. V awaits your arrival.

Well, that sounded serious—and potentially very lucrative. I mentally applied a multiplier to my usual Court rate and fired back a reply. ETA 1 hour.

Sean sat up. "What's going on?"

"Text from Adri. Charles has an urgent project and wants to meet." I tossed my phone on the bed and headed for the bathroom.

Sean was off the bed and in front of me in a blink. "Is this a trap?"

I shook my head. "I doubt it. He mentioned the other night that there was a project coming up." I was reasonably certain Charles had no plan to demand a meal or take one by force; my alliance with Sean's pack protected me, and beyond that, my abilities made me a valuable asset both to him personally and the Vampire Court. I doubted he would risk losing that resource by biting me.

"I don't like it. Not after what happened Saturday night."

I shrugged and continued into the bathroom, turning on the shower. "Come with me." I stepped into the tub and slid the curtain closed. "You can stay downstairs in the bar while I meet with Charles."

The curtain moved, and Sean stepped into the shower with me. I raised my eyebrows.

He gave me a toothy smile that brought back a rush of pleasant memories. "I can wash your back."

"Don't make me turn this shower on cold," I warned him.

He laughed and reached for my bottle of shower gel. "I'll be on my best behavior," he promised. "The sooner we get this meeting over with, the sooner we can come back to bed." His eyes gleamed, and I very much doubted he was thinking about sleeping. Truth be told, neither was I. I hoped this new project wouldn't take long to discuss. By the time we got back, I figured I'd have my second wind, and then we'd see exactly what it took to wear out an alpha werewolf.

Almost exactly an hour later, we parked down the street from Hawthorne's and strolled up the sidewalk to the door, where Bryan was checking IDs.

"Evening, Miss Alice," he boomed. "Here to see Mr. Vaughan?"

"Yes. Is he ready for me?"

"Adri will come get you in a few minutes." Bryan glanced at my companion. "Mr. Maclin should plan to wait for you in the bar. Vampire/shifter politics are touchy these days. The appearance of favoritism might cause problems." He stepped aside to let us pass.

Despite it being two a.m. on a Monday night, the bar was busy. I sent Sean to find us a table while I went to say hello to Pete.

Pete grinned when he saw me walking up, but the smile fell off when he spotted Sean behind me. What the hell is up with that? I wondered.

"Hey, Alice," he said. "How are you doing tonight?"

"Doing great, Pete. Just wanted to say hi. We're going to try to find a table."

"What are you drinking? I'll send it over."

I ordered two bottles of a craft beer I liked, and Pete said he had to get them out of the cooler in the back. I went to find Sean and finally spotted him at a standing table by the window.

As we stood together at the table, Sean rested his hand on my hip. I stepped away slightly to put a little distance between us, and Sean's hand fell away. Despite our physical intimacy and how content I was to be in his company, I wasn't anyone's territory. Sean looked frustrated, but he leaned down to kiss my temple and I let him.

When AC/DC came on the jukebox, Sean and I started talking about favorite rock albums. I was mounting a passionate defense of the Eagles' Hell Freezes Over when a server appeared with our beers.

"I guess I don't know much about recent developments in local vamp/shifter politics," I said, drinking my beer. "Is there something going on in particular, or is just the usual intrigues?"

"Nothing specific going on that I'm aware of. There are three large werewolf packs in the area—mine and two others—and a half dozen smaller packs, plus the cats, though they're more of a loose-knit clan. Everyone's looking to make alliances, and the vamps have more power and influence than any other group. Since Vaughan is on the Vampire Court, it would probably be prudent for him not to be seen meeting privately with any of the pack alphas. The other alphas might take offense, and who knows what the cats might do. They're weird."

I laughed at that. "Such a wolf thing to say, disparaging the cats," I teased.

"It's not disparaging if it's true," Sean griped. "They are weird."

We drank our beers and listened to the music. I caught Sean looking strangely at me a couple of times, but didn't have a chance to ask him about it before I saw Adri heading toward me, weaving through the crowd with a dancer's grace. She caught my eye.

"I'm heading up." I gave Sean a quick kiss. "I'll be back."

"I'll be here."

Adri seemed preoccupied and said little on our way upstairs. Despite my earlier certainty that Charles was not a threat, Adri's silence was making me uneasy. On the other hand, maybe her mood had nothing to do with me.

When we arrived at Charles's office, she knocked twice, then opened the door without waiting for a response.

Charles rose when we entered. For a moment, I thought I saw something—anger, maybe—in his eyes, but it was gone before I could figure it out. "Thank you for coming on such short notice," he said. "Can I offer you a drink?"

"I'm good for now." I settled into the guest chair while Adri stood off the side—not by the door as usual, which I thought was odd. "You said you had a project you needed to discuss right away."

Charles sat down behind his desk and looked at me silently. I raised my eyebrows.

Finally, he spoke. "I must confess that I have asked you to meet under false pretenses. There is no such project."

I stared at him, my stomach knotting. "Then why am I here?"

"I apologize for the subterfuge, but it was necessary, for reasons that will become apparent." He folded his hands on top of his desk. "In the past few hours, I have been made aware of information that concerns you. Despite our…disagreement…on Saturday evening, because we have known one another for some time, I felt it was imperative to pass it on to you immediately, hence the urgent summons."

My uneasiness gave way to full-blown apprehension. "Go on."

"I understand you are in the company of Sean Maclin of the Tomb Mountain Pack."

"Yes," I said.

"I believe you met him for the first time in the bar last week."

"That's true." Where was he going with this?

"Forgive me for noticing, but it would appear you have become lovers."

Incensed, I stood, forgetting in my shock that I needed to avoid making any abrupt movements. Adri was suddenly beside me. "How the hell—"

"I can smell him on you," Charles said matter-of-factly.

Goddamned vampire senses. I blushed and hated myself for it. "What of it?"

Charles rose from his desk and came around to stand in front of me. "Maclin leads a strong pack and has a good reputation, but he is unmated, which is unusual for an alpha at his age. Werewolf packs require an alpha pair to remain stable. His lack of a mate is causing dissension and insecurity in the pack, and the other packs sense the turmoil and are circling. Recently, Maclin's beta advised him that he must find a mate, or he risks losing his pack, either to infighting or opportunistic attacks from rivals."

I felt sick to my stomach.

"The beta suggested some possible mates for him, including a female from a smaller pack, which would bring about an alliance many believe would be advantageous. According to one of the pack members, who visited our bar this night and spoke to Pete, Maclin declined the offer to mate with this female, stating that he wishes instead to find a mage, preferably a strong one, and infect her with the werewolf virus. He believes such a woman would make an ideal alpha female for the pack, protecting it from possible attacks from other packs, and discouraging challengers from within."

Charles said something else, but I didn't hear him. I thought of Sean's face, his eyes, his smile. How he held me when I was hurting. The way he looked at me while we had sex. The heat of his touch. How he'd broken through house wards to get to me, and rearranged his entire work schedule to spend two days by my side.

"I need you so much, I can't even think,"he'd said.

The bastard. He'd sought me out in the bar and slept with me because he needed a mate to keep control of his pack. He planned to bite me, turn me into a werewolf, and make me his alpha female.

I felt a surge of fury so raw, so ferocious, that for a moment I went blind with rage. Blood magic sizzled on my skin, threatening to break loose and destroy Charles's office and everything in it. I closed my eyes so the vampire couldn't see them glow. With herculean effort, I pulled the magic back and regained control.

Charles moved toward me. "Alice?"

I took two deep breaths and waited until I knew my eyes were back to normal before opening them. "Thank you for telling me." My voice was so cold, it made Charles seem warm and fuzzy by comparison. Adri watched me warily. "I need to go downstairs and tell Sean that our…date…is over. We came together in his car. Is there someone who can give me a ride home?"

"Ms. Smith will take you." Charles glanced at Adri. Whatever instructions he gave her through their telepathic bond, her eyes hardened perceptibly.

He regarded me. "We will speak again."

I nodded, and Adri opened the door to the office. When we were down the hall, she said quietly, "There is a direct exit to the parking garage."

"I'm not going down the back stairs." I pushed open the door to the main staircase and it banged against the wall.

We returned to the bar. The music and cacophony of voices were almost painful after the silence of the upper floor. Weaving my way through the crowd, I spotted Sean before he saw me. He was still at the table, leaning against it, drinking a beer. Two empty bottles sat in front of him. As I watched, a cute blonde came up to him. He shook his head and said something, and she moved on.

Sean looked up. Our eyes met through the crowd, and for a heartbeat, the bar noise faded away. He set his beer down immediately and moved to intercept me, his eyes darkening. I was aware of Adri behind me, close enough to intervene if needed, but far enough away to give us the illusion of privacy.

Sean's gaze flicked to Adri and then back to me. "What's wrong?"

"I have to go." My voice could have cut glass. "Feel free to stay. Adri's going to give me a ride home."

Something shadowy and dangerous flashed in his eyes. "Just like that?"

Anger made my skin feel like it was on too tight. I wanted to confront him, but this was not the place. Not in public, not with so many witnesses—or potential collateral damage—around us. "I have business I need to take care of."

Sean's eyes narrowed. He looked at Adri again, this time with open suspicion. "What's going on?"

"I don't have time to do this with you right now. We'll talk later." I started to walk away.

He grabbed my arm. "Allie, wait." Magic crackled on my skin, and he flinched.

Adri took a step forward.

I met Sean's gaze. "Take your hand off me."

Sean let go. I felt a strange spike of something like hurt and anger that made me take an involuntary step back. I shook my head to clear it, then looked at Adri. "Let's go," I said.

I turned on my heel and walked out.

Adri took me home in a black Audi SUV. She seemed content to drive quietly, and I had no idea what to say. My fury had gone from red-hot to icy-cold, the glacial calm allowing me to think clearly. I knew now why Pete reacted the way he did to Sean being with me tonight.

Unbidden, images of the past few days, of Sean, tumbled through my brain. I felt like the world had been yanked out from under my feet and I was dangling over a long fall into nothing.

He wanted to turn me into a werewolf.My shoulder hurt where he'd bitten me.

Adri stopped for a red light. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." I turned away to look out the window.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay." A pause, then: "I'm sorry, Alice."

I said nothing. The light turned green. Adri drove on.

A few minutes later, she pulled into my driveway and parked. "Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine. Thank you for the ride home."

"Do you want me to come in?"

I shook my head. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

She squeezed my hand. "Call me if you need me. You've got my number."

"Have a good night."

"You too."

I got out of the SUV and headed for the front steps. Adri waited until I was inside before she started backing down the drive. I waved at her through the front window and watched as she drove away. I let the curtain fall back in place and stood in the foyer of my house.

I pulled my shirt off over my head to see the bite mark on my shoulder. What I'd regarded earlier as a souvenir of a passionate roll in the hay now looked more like a sinister brand. The light from the kitchen revealed a pizza box and two empty beer bottles on my coffee table, right where we'd left them. I knew if I went upstairs, my bed would smell like us. I might have been imagining it, but I thought I caught a hint of Sean's scent—aftershave and forest—in the air. He'd gotten past my defenses—not by much, but enough to become a presence in my home, all on a foundation of lies.

My fury erupted out of me like a volcano, and this time, I made no attempt to hold it back. My blood magic became a violent red, black, and purple storm with my body in the center. In seconds, the walls of the foyer were stripped bare of pictures, the small table by the door reduced to kindling, the curtain ripped from its rod and shredded. The overhead light fixture burst in a hailstorm of broken glass. The magic I'd accidentally unleashed in front of Malcolm when we'd first met was nothing compared to this. That had been a trickle from a faucet. This was Niagara Falls.

I roared inside while the magic tore through and around me. I wanted to burn down the world.

I realized I was angry less at Sean than at myself. This is what happens when you trust someone even a little bit, I raged in my head. You can trust no one, not ever, you brainless, fucking idiot. Furious at my own stupidity, I went to my knees and smashed my fists as hard as I could into the tile. My knuckles split. I did it again. Blood splattered across the floor, and I felt bones crunch.

I stayed on my knees, head hanging, eyes closed.

Through the fog, I heard a crash and realized the door to my coat closet had been ripped off its hinges. With enormous difficulty, I pulled the magic back into myself before I tore down my own house. My skin hummed like I was holding on to a high-voltage wire. I shuddered and bent over, resting my forehead on the tile, my head between my arms. For several long minutes, the only sound was the pounding of my heart and my ragged breathing.

I must have seemed like easy prey that night at Hawthorne's, alone and injured from my run-in with Betty's wards. I'd probably put up more of a fight than Sean had anticipated, but in the end, he'd almost suckered me into believing, if only for a moment, I could be worth something to someone for more than my magic—that I was deserving of kindness and caring for who I was, instead of what I could do.

You'd think I'd know better by now.

Out front, a car door slammed. I jerked upright with a sound that might have been a snarl. Moments later, heavy footsteps crossed the porch and a fist banged on the door, three loud booms that made it shake and the wards sizzle. "Alice!" Sean shouted. "Alice, are you hurt?"

At the sound of his voice, magic sparked on my fingertips as a cold wind blew over me.

I struggled to get my feet. My hands throbbed in time to my pulse, but the pain was distant, muted. I wrapped my shirt around my hands and staggered to the door in my bra and blood-spattered jeans. "Go away." I barely recognized my own voice. "Leave me alone and don't come back."

"I don't understand," Sean protested. "What the hell happened?"

"Someone told me some important information about your pack and how much you need a mate." I leaned my forehead against the door and the wards crackled on my skin. "Suddenly, these last few days, everything you said and did from the moment we met, it all made sense."

"It's not like that," Sean said. "I wasn't even thinking about that when I met you."

"Even if that's true, which I don't believe, I know you thought about it later, or you wouldn't have been so persistent. Don't lie to me, Sean."

"Allie—"

"Don't call me that!" I shouted, then lowered my voice. "You don't get to call me that ever again. You lied to me. You screwed me and you lied to me so you could turn me into a werewolf to be your mate."

A long silence. "Who told you that?" It was a growl.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is, it's not going to happen. Stay the hell away from me, or I will burn you."

Sean swore. "If you won't let me in, at least open the door so we can talk face-to-face. I'll stay on the porch and you can stay behind your wards, but I deserve the chance to explain."

"You don't ‘deserve' a damn thing," I told him. "I deserved the truth from the beginning, and all I got was lies. But I've learned—or relearned—some important lessons because of this, so I guess I owe you some kind of thanks for reminding me why I can't trust anyone."

"Alice, please." I heard a soft thump, like Sean was bumping his head or his fist against the door. "I would never have turned you into a werewolf against your will. If you lower your shields, you'll be able to feel I'm telling the truth."

Shock left me speechless for a several heartbeats. "What does that mean?"

Silence.

"Sean, tell me what the hell that means!" I demanded.

"We have a metaphysical link," Sean said finally, sounding resigned. "I can sense your emotions, and you can sense mine."

Suddenly, I remembered the odd looks he'd been giving me all night, and the strange feeling of hurt and anger I'd felt at the bar. I went ice-cold all over.

Sean must have created a link between us when we'd slept together tonight. It was the first step in establishing a mating bond, and he'd done it without my knowledge, or my consent. The violation made me physically sick.

Up until that moment, a part of me still wondered if Charles had been wrong about Sean's motivation for pursuing me. Now I felt those last bits of doubt vanish.

"What were you going to do, take me as your mate against my will? Hold me down and bite me if I wouldn't be turned voluntarily? Rape me?"

"Of course not. What kind of man do you think I am?"

I snorted. I couldn't believe he had the balls to sound outraged after all his lying and scheming. "I really don't know what kind of man you are. I thought I did, but clearly, I was wrong."

"I can feel that you're in pain. Who hurt you?"

I ignored him. "I fell right into your trap, but I've wised up. Now go. Don't call me, don't come looking for me. We're done. Go back to your pack and find yourself a werewolf female and leave me the hell alone."

"Goddammit, Alice, at least give me a chance to explain before you do this."

"Go. Away." I was getting tired of saying it.

Silence. Then: "What the hell are you doing here?" he snarled.

I frowned in confusion. Then I heard another voice outside, as cold as Sean's was hot with anger. "I am here to ensure Alice's safety."

Charles Vaughan had come to my house. A member of the Vampire Court had left the security of his office and crossed the city to protect me. A dozen emotions clashed inside me, fear strongest among them.

"Alice doesn't need any protection from me," Sean growled.

"We have good reason to think otherwise."

"Are you behind this?" Sean demanded. "What lies have you been telling her?"

Footsteps on the front steps. "I have told her no lies." It sounded like Charles had joined Sean on the porch.

"Someone has," Sean retorted. "I don't know what your game is, Vaughan, but I'm going to find out."

"Are you threatening me, wolf?" Charles's voice was low and very, very dangerous, the sound of a predator. It triggered something primal in some deep part of my brain, making me tremble. I had never heard Charles use that tone before, and hoped I never would again.

What was scaring me more, however, was the prospect of Charles and Sean coming to blows on my front porch. It could be war between the Vampire Court and Sean's pack, and I would be caught in the middle of a massive shitstorm. My anonymity would be blown in an instant. I had to get them away from each other and my home.

"Get out of here, Sean," I said through the door. "Just go."

"I'm not going anywhere," Sean said. "The vampire goes, and then you and I are going to talk."

I heard an inhuman hissing sound that I realized had come from Charles. Oh no.

"Sean, leave now," I said desperately. "I will talk to you later, but you need to go."

"I'm not leaving." Sean's voice was an octave lower than normal.

"You will vacate the premises or I will remove you," Charles told him. "I will not permit you to bite Alice."

Sean snarled. "For the last time, I never had any plans to turn her into a fucking werewolf!"

"You lie," Charles said.

Sean's growl made the hair stand up on my arms. A pulse of magic sizzled against my house wards, and the growl turned into a howl of fury. To my horror, I heard fighting erupt on the other side of the door.

With bloody, numb hands, I dropped my house wards and fumbled to unlock the deadbolt. Before I could open the door, the front window exploded as a vampire and a huge gray-and-black wolf smashed through it.