24. Anna

24

Anna

"Leave or die?" The figure snickered. "I heard the new guard member was a tight ass, but really, kid. You gotta relax. We're not here to hurt the alpha's mate. We just want to get to know her, that's all."

He was followed by two more people. Bridget cleared her throat, and he seemed to notice her for the first time and froze. "Bridget. Amaya," he said nervously. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping out. Now, so are you. Thanks for volunteering," she said with a smile. "You and your friends can start by hauling all this furniture out."

The new guy reddened, and one of his friends bolted. Amaya flashed a feral grin and bounded after him. Less than a minute later, she was dragging him back inside by the ear. It was a strange visual considering the man was at least a decade older than her.

"Get off me," he snarled. "I'm not here to clean up the whore's bar. This was Parker's bar. She doesn't have the right to touch it."

"She's been touching it for three years," Amaya reminded him. "Made it pretty profitable too."

"Parker killed himself because of her," one of them pointed out. "Doesn't that mean shit to Jax?"

"Are you questioning your alpha?" Bridget demanded.

Things were getting out of hand. I put a hand on Finn's arm and stepped around him.

"Excuse me, I'd like to just clear the air a little. Hello. I'm Anna. This is Finn. You already know Bridget and Amaya."

I waited a beat, but no one said anything.

"You're welcome to ask your questions and get to know me, but the polite thing to do is to give me your names," I said patiently. Amaya opened her mouth, but I shook my head. "No, don't tell me. Let them. They wanted to confront me themselves. It appears they were also willing to take on Finn to get it done, so they should at least be capable of telling me their names."

"Titus," the leader growled. "And this is Clay and Rex."

Rex was the one Amaya dragged back in by the ears.

"Titus is a guard," Bridget said helpfully. "A pretty low-ranked one, although I did hear you ask for a chance to prove yourself to Jax, didn't I, Titus?"

Oh, yeah. Titus definitely did not expect anyone to be here except Finn and me.

"Titus. Clay. Rex. Pleasure to meet you," I lied. "Since you'd like to get to know me better, you're welcome to ask me some questions."

"How did it feel, having Cora's blood on you?" Clay snapped eagerly as he stepped closer to me. Finn growled, but I didn't move an inch.

"About the same as you would feel having blood on you," I responded calmly. "Although, given the eagerness in which you came and the plan I assume you had for me, maybe you would have enjoyed it a little more. I got Cora's blood on my hands by trying to heal her."

"Liar," Tex hissed.

"I have lied to some people. I've lied to my father all the time. I'm not lying to you. Now I get to ask you a question. I've been here for three years. Why are you just now asking me this?"

No one said anything, so Amaya chuckled. "I can answer that. They didn't come before because Parker wouldn't allow it. The old man didn't look like much, but he could kick some ass if he wanted to. They obviously thought Finn wouldn't be a challenge. They don't know Jax's new favorite is a powerhouse."

"Powerhouse, my ass. I didn't get my chance to challenge him," Titus snapped.

"And now," Bridget stepped in. "You're not going to. Not until Jax allows it."

Clay spat a disgusting loogie on the floor. "Jax knows better. I don't care how hot you are between your legs. He'll come to his senses, mating bond or not, and snap your little neck. I can promise you that."

I just arched an eyebrow. "Any other questions?" No one said anything. "So maybe you don't want to get to know me after all. The Fanged Smile is, as of this morning, mine, so if you come barging in during off-hours again, I will assume it's for reasons other than friendly conversation. Now get out."

"They won't be around to protect you forever," Rex said darkly.

Bridget took a step forward. "Did you just threaten your alpha's mate?"

"No," I cut in. "They won't. One day, I won't need them."

They were escorted out, and nobody said anything about them or reminded me that this wouldn't be the last time I saw trouble. They didn't have to. I already knew it. Deep down, I couldn't help but wonder if Jax was hoping someone would take care of me, and then I wouldn't be his problem anymore.

Bridget and Amaya left after helping to haul out the broken furniture, and I cleared out the kitchen in a few hours. I wanted to go upstairs and take a shower, but that wasn't home anymore.

I certainly didn't want to see Jax at the moment, so I told Finn we were taking a detour.

If there was one person who might know what the hell had happened while I was unconscious, it was Irene. The witch had been weak on our journey back. Twice now I'd asked Jax if I could see her, and both times he said that she was still healing.

Today, I would make the visit myself. If she was still weak, I'd just give her my well wishes and continue on my way. If she was strong enough to hold a conversation, then I'd know that Jax was lying to me.

I half expected Finn to balk, but he agreed saying he wanted to meet Irene as well. There was a little bit of awe in his voice when he said it.

"You've heard of her?"

"Are you kidding? My father tried desperately to get his alpha to find her when she went missing five years ago. She's powerful. Like, Darkwyn coven powerful. It'll be a real shame for the pack if she doesn't recover her magic. "

"And for her," I reminded her. "It'll be a real shame for her."

Finn nodded. "Yeah. Right. Sorry."

Irene's little cottage was along the southern border of the territory. It was a faster walk from The Fanged Smile than from Jax's home. When we first returned, Jax insisted on moving her closer to the center of the pack, but she balked. After a few days in the infirmary, she went back to her cottage, probably with a few guards to keep watch. Finn drove. I was used to walking most places, but Black Diamond territory was vast. If you were moving on two legs, it was faster to take a car.

I didn't know how to drive one, so Jax had driven me to the restaurant to meet with Finn. The new guy was now both bodyguard and driver, I assumed.

"You've spent all of your adult life in Wisteria Woods. How do you know how to drive?" I grumbled.

"I wasn't always in Wisteria Woods, and as messenger, it meant that I was allowed to enter certain territories. Some of them, like your pack, have a hub for renting cars. I had someone from Snake Valley teach me a few years ago. I love it. One good thing about being here is that I can drive more. I can teach you, if you want."

"That would be great. Thanks."

With Finn at the wheel, we reached Irene's cottage in twenty minutes. When he stopped, I practically fell out of the car. I still wasn't used to it.

"Motion sick? It helps when you're behind the wheel. Gives you more control. I'll try taking those turns a little slower," Finn said, but there was a grin in his voice. He liked his speed.

A guard stood by Irene's door, one that I recognized. "Cassius," I said hesitantly. Another guard who didn't like me all that much.

"Alpha mate," he said stiffly. When he caught sight of Finn, he raised an eyebrow. "Have you already done something to be punished?"

"I volunteered," Finn laughed. "I like Anna."

Cassius just grunted.

"I wanted to see how Irene was doing. Do I need Jax's permission?" I asked.

To my surprise, the guard moved to the aside. "You are the alpha's mate. You do not need permission."

Well, wasn't that nice? Something I could do on my own. "Thank you. Finn, do you mind staying out here for a minute? I promise to let you meet her afterward."

Finn just shook his head. "Not until I make sure the house is safe for you. Sorry, Cassius. I hope you don't mind."

"I would have been pissed if you didn't. I'll be accompanying you, of course."

Wonderful. Two sets of ears to overhear what I had hoped would be a very private conversation. Opening the door, Cassius announced us. To my surprise, a very energetic witch greeted us in the kitchen. "You're here! I've been asking to talk to you every day for a week, but Jax said you were still adjusting to pack life."

Did he now? I grimaced. "I've been asking to see you as well, but he says you're healing. I guess he just didn't want us to meet."

"Can you blame him?" She laughed and winked. "Gentlemen, we're going to sit and chat in the living room. If we promise not to move a muscle, can we get some privacy?"

"After he's finished with his walk-through," Cassius said flatly. A few minutes later, with one guard at the front door and one guard at the back, we relaxed in the living room.

"The place is cheerier than I imagined, but then, the Darkwyn coven is the only witch den I've ever seen."

"All fake sunshine," Irene said as she rolled her eyes. "But they have more to protect than I do. Perhaps if I had been more cautious, I would not be attempting to recover my magic."

"How is that going?"

"Slowly. I've healed the witch wound, and now I work on replenishing." Irene studied me closely. "You should know that the first year I was here, Jax had me…observe you from afar."

"Observe me? What do you mean?" Realization hit me. "Use witch sight."

"Yes."

I waited a beat. "Did you try it?"

"Yes."

Well, damn. "I'd say I feel a little violated, but I guess we both knew that wasn't true. So Jax knew the whole time that I'm a…"

"Careful, Anna. That is not something you want to admit out loud," Irene warned me suddenly and glanced at the window. "No, he did not know. I did not tell him."

Surprised, I frowned. "Why not?"

"Because I came here for you," Irene said quietly. "The whole reason I came to Black Diamond was for you, and I knew then that you were not all that you seemed. I kept your secret."

I had no idea. Maybe Irene and I could have been friends. Maybe we could have helped each other. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You needed to heal in more ways than one, and I could not help you." She folded the palms of her hands in her lap. "You want to know what the Darkwyn witches said to Jax? I do not need magic to know that you came with intent."

Swallowing hard, I nodded. "I get why he doesn't want to let me go, but he hates me again. I thought we'd moved past it. I thought we were…trusting each other. Something changed while we were there. When he looks at me, it's with disgust. It has to be because of what I am."

"I doubt that. What you are is special. Even he knows that. I don't know any more than that.

I'm sorry."

It was a long shot anyway, but I could feel the disappointment welling up inside of me.

"Thank you for seeing me. Is there anything I can do to help you heal?"

"That's kind of you. There is a ritual that I am looking into. You might be able to help with that. I'll let you know."

"So you can help fight the rising darkness?" I laughed bitterly. "Have you ever considered that I'm the rising darkness?"

"Yes," Irene said without missing a beat. "I have."