27. Jax

27

Jax

I knew that nothing was happening here, but just like when we were in that cave, the idea of Finn and Anna made sense to me and drove me mad.

Unless I fucked Anna good, and soon, I very well could go mad.

"You have got to get a grip," Anna muttered as she stood. Finn just flashed me a smile and stood as well. "Where do you want my bodyguard to be? Miles away?"

Yes.

My gaze moved down to the hand flexing by her side. There was a crumpled note in. My note.

"What are you doing here?" Anna asked as she shoved the note in her pocket. "Besides apparently spying on your spy."

"Oh, he's not my spy. Yet. But I do need a word with him." I glanced around the apartment. I'd done all the clean-up work myself. It was only the second time I'd stepped into her apartment.

Both times, I'd hated every second of it. This was not where she belonged. She fucking belonged with me.

"Thank you," Anna said softly. "For the new paint job."

I raised an eyebrow. "Does it hurt to thank me?"

"Oh, fuck off. I guess I'll be downstairs while you talk to Finn."

"But," Finn started as she turned and disappeared down the steps. "I'm supposed to be guarding her."

"Bridget and Amaya are downstairs. They'll protect her."

Relaxing, Finn nodded. "What do you need, boss?"

Boss. Finn was mine. I knew that deep down in my bones. He might be my newest wolf, but he would not betray me. With Anna gone, my senses cleared, and I relaxed as well.

"I received an official call this morning. In five days' time, all the alphas of TK will convene here with their witches. What happened to Irene has happened to others, although they were not as lucky. Maeve Frost knows you're here. She'll want to see you."

Finn stiffened. "Think she'll try to execute me?"

"No. You're under my protection. She wouldn't dare, but Maeve likes to play head games, and she doesn't like that you're mine. I could send you away, at least until they're gone."

"No, I won't run."

I didn't think he would, but I had to extend the offer. "Anna will be in even more danger while they are here."

"I'll guard her, if you want."

I cut him a dark look. "She needs friends. I appreciate you being one of them."

Finn couldn't help but grin. "It doesn't matter if it's me or another man. Or woman. You're going to feel this way until you fix things with her. I know your role in Wisteria Woods was an act, but you are mated. Not many shifters turn their backs on their wolves."

"My relationship with Anna is none of your business," I growled.

"I'd say it is, because if you mated with her the way that you should, your pack wouldn't be trying to kill her."

"They know she's mine."

"Do they?" Finn crossed his arms. "Because I know that when an alpha chooses a mate, really chooses her, they become a partner. Another layer of protection of the pack, and a pack would never endanger that."

"Downstairs," I said softly. "Guard her."

With a nod, he turned and stopped. "Maeve Frost. Did she ever take a mate?"

"You're the messenger. Don't you know?"

"I never ran messages to Indigo Peak."

"Makes sense. Maeve's mated status has been debated for a long time. Most say she was mated before becoming an alpha but he died. Others said she mated and hid the bond somehow, from even her pack. Others think she probably executed her mate."

Finn snorted. "Probably the latter."

I was inclined to agree.

I spent the day prepping for the alpha's meeting and directing the guards. The council dogged my every move, and I was late to dinner. I half expected to find the table empty, but there Anna sat, drumming her fingers on the table with one hand and reading a book with another.

"I brought tacos," I said, hating the hesitation in my voice. In jeans and a T-shirt, she didn't look like she was playing games.

"Great. I'm starving." Putting the book down, she straightened.

She'd set the table and put out a couple of beers. Cautiously, I sat the bag down. "What are you reading?"

"A romance novel," she said with a dry laugh. "Amaya's little joke. Turns out it is enjoyable, though."

I wasn't about to touch that one with a ten-foot pole. "I gather you know that they're coming."

"Just a few days. Yeah, I hate waiting, so at least it's not a few weeks."

I sat down and she just stared at me. "If you pass the bag over, I can just serve myself."

"Shit. Sorry. Tired." Opening the bag, I doled out the tacos. "How is The Fanged Smile coming?"

"I've ordered new furniture and worked on the menu. And I placed an ad for employment."

"Don't bother with that. I'll assign some people to work for you."

"No." Eyes wide, Anna shook her head. "No, way. I don't want a bunch of people forced to work for me. They want to work for me, or The Fanged Smile doesn't open."

"You could have told me that before you spent the money to buy new furniture," I said grumpily.

She chuckled. "Worried about the bottom line? I thought this was the richest pack in the mountains?"

"It is, because I'm worried about the bottom line."

"Fair enough. I mean it, though, about the staff. I don't want them if they don't want to work for me, and I understand that might mean The Fanged Smile doesn't re-open. If that's the case, I'll turn it over to someone else. If I'm ever going to be safe here, really safe and accepted, then I'm going to have to stand on my own."

Stand on her own. Slowly, I relaxed. She'd decided to stay. "All right."

"I want transparency about when the alphas come. You don't hide anything from me."

"Or you from me." I lean on the table and study her. "Your father and Emerson were friends. Tell me what you know."

Anna paled a little and picked up her taco. She took a few bites and chewed while she collected her thoughts. "All right. I was a child the first time that I met Emerson. I don't think he was an alpha then because he was around far too much. Uncle Emerson, he forced me to call him until I got older. Then he told me to do away with the childish title. That's when I realized he was a disgusting pervert."

"Did he touch you?" I growled.

"No. My father wouldn't allow it. I told you, he wanted me pure," she laughed darkly.

"Anyway, that information doesn't help you. How long has Emerson been an alpha?"

"Eight years."

"That sounds about right. That was when my father promised me to him, and unlike Marsh, I think my father meant it. It was one of the reasons I ran to Wisteria Woods."

"Did Emerson kill anyone? Does he have a red wolf?"

Frowning, she shook her head. "No, he's grey, but I know who you're talking about."

"The red wolf? You know who that is?!" I nearly rose out of my seat. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Anna sipped from her beer and stared at me. "You didn't ask."

"That's the wolf that took Cora. You know that, right? You're still keeping so many secrets."

"Maybe, but not this time. I didn't tell you about the red wolf because I don't know who he is. He never spoke to me, and I don't know his name, but I have seen his wolf. Red like a fox and massive."

"How long did he hunt and kill for your father?"

Anna shrugged. "For as long as I can remember."

"And in all that time, you never learned his name? Never spoke a single word to him?"

Her hand shook. "No. He was the only wolf who scared me more than my father did."