Chapter 30

Chapter 30

LILITH

T he electric buzz coming from the fluorescent lights grated on Lilith's already foul mood. She sighed angrily, drumming her long fingernails on the restaurant counter and scowling at everyone who made the mistake of glancing her way.

The other Factions were smart enough to give Witches space in public, smart enough to treat them with the healthy combination of fear and respect they deserved. They were the Goddess's most cherished children, after all. But the patrons here were taking it to the next level, and Lilith was sure that when they looked into her eyes, they saw murder written there.

Fucking Fey , Lilith thought to herself. And then, after an uncomfortable level of guilt flushed under her skin, she tried to shake it off by refocusing her anger.

Fucking Alice .

This was all Alice's fault, after all. It was Alice who had left them with this stupid "mystery" that Joy and Fey couldn't seem to let go of. Alice, who had gotten herself killed. Alice, who should have known better. Done better.

Lilith didn't mourn. No, she fumed .

How could she have gone and gotten herself killed like that? How could she have been so stupid, so reckless? If she'd just reached out to them for help, if she'd just tried to talk to them…

And Joy . Everyone knew that she and Alice had been fucking, which was fine, whatever. It's not like Lilith cared or anything. But there was a big difference between fucking and feelings, and Lilith had tried to get her sisters to understand that, tried to stop them from falling so head over heels in love with each other…

Lilith gnashed her teeth together and snarled loudly enough the couple seated near her shot her a frightened glance. She narrowed her eyes back at them, giving them a sneering smile that had them both quickly looking back at their slices of pizza.

Good .

If Alice hadn't gotten herself killed, Fey wouldn't be caught up in this new obsession of hers. Wouldn't be trying to drag all of them down with her. And they wouldn't have argued then, would they? Lilith wouldn't have yelled at her, wouldn't have stormed off, and spent the night and half of the next day away from her sisters, would she? It's not like she needed to apologize or anything. She was only trying to help, trying to get her sister to see reason, to?—

"Order up," came a call from the counter, and the kid working the register at "Shifters' Best ‘Za" set her pizza boxes down at the pickup counter.

About damn time .

Lilith slapped a silver coin on the counter to cover the tip before grabbing the tower of pizza boxes and heading for the door.

She couldn't remember Fey's favorite pizza topping, so she'd ordered a large of everything that looked good. One of them had to be Fey's favorite, right? And judging by the smell of the place, and how packed it was this early in the evening, these pizzas just might be good enough that Fey would consider forgiving her.

Not that she needed forgiving. Not that she'd done anything wrong.

Lilith struggled with her armful of pizza boxes, trying to maneuver the exit door open with her hip. Before she could manage, though, the door opened from the other side, and she stumbled, nearly falling against the person standing there .

"Watch it, you—" Lilith hissed. But she paused, her lips parted slightly, as she looked at the male in front of her.

The Shifter who held the door open was all kinds of Fine , with a capital F. The guy had to be almost six and a half feet tall, all muscle, and just a hint of menace. Just her type.

And wouldn't you know it? He seemed to be thinking the same thing about her, judging from the way he looked her over. His green eyes flashed as he took her in, gaze traveling down her body in that slow, dangerous assessing stare she'd seen in Wolf Shifters before, and his nostrils flared as he took in her scent.

"Thanks," she said, her voice a little breathless.

His eyes snapped to hers when she spoke, and the predatory spark in them had her feeling like a cornered rabbit with nowhere to run. Her pulse quickened, and the tip of her tongue snaked out to lick her lips. Dangerous. Oh yes. He was just her type.

"No problem." He grinned down at her, showing a bit too many teeth. But he didn't move, didn't shift out of the doorway to let her by. "Do you need some help with those?"

The crooked smile accompanying that question made Lilith seriously consider tossing the pizzas in the trash and asking for his help locating the nearest bed. Hell, even a wall in the alley would work, for a face like that.

But… her sisters were waiting, and cold pizza wasn't much of an apology gift, was it?

"Not today, puppy," Lilith cooed, shouldering him aside and slipping out the door. Sure, maybe she brushed against him a bit more than was necessary, and maybe she lingered for just a moment to feel his hard chest pressed against her upper arm, but who could blame her? The guy was a snack. "I can take care of myself."

"Oh, I don't doubt it," he called after her.

Lilith shot him one last look over her shoulder, smiling at how intensely he watched her walk away.

Jasper watched Lilith until she turned the corner, disappearing around the block before he stepped away from the door and let it fall closed.

The street was swarming with scents tonight, but the wind was on his side. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the smell of pizza and the faint odor of jasmine and…

Leather. Huh.

He started after her, carefully tearing apart her scent piece by piece. When Alastair had told them all to keep an eye out for the red-haired Witch and her friends, he'd shown the Wolves who worked at his nightclub photos of each of the four of them, pulled from the security cameras. But photos gave such little information that they were almost useless to Shifters like him.

No, they had a much better way of identifying people.

Jasper had spent enough time with Fey to recognize her by scent. Fuck, Alastair had smelled so strongly of her the last time she'd come by the club all he'd wanted to do was bury his face in his boss's clothes and soak up every sweet trace of her. He'd spent that entire night constantly having to rearrange himself to hide his erection, and he hadn't been the only one that night. Even Ferus had been on edge, snapping at everyone who came near him, and drinking more than usual to keep his calm. Wolves were drawn to power, drawn to the safety of forming a pack centered around a strong leader. Fey's scent had them all practically drooling around her, and Alastair had no idea what it had done to his bar staff to walk around that night smelling so strongly of her, so strongly of sex…

And under that mouthwatering smell? Jasmine. And just a faint hint of leather.

The smell pulled at something deep in his chest, something he didn't fully understand. He swallowed down the questions it raised.

It was dumb luck he'd gone out tonight to grab a slice of pizza for his niece before work. Pure luck he'd managed to catch a whiff of that scent on the wind.

Jasper tipped his head back, taking a deep breath of the cold night air. Oh yeah, it was her alright. Under the other Witch's scent, there was Fey's smell, fresh and thick .

It didn't take much effort to follow her, not with the scent in his nose and the streets crowded enough to blend in easily. After all, there was a time in his life before Jasper had tended bar, a time before Alastair had convinced him to go straight, a time when stalking marks was all that kept him and his family eating. And that skill set did not fade, even after all these years.

The Witch led him a few blocks out of the main thoroughfare of his neighborhood, to a small apartment building. He paused, hidden well enough from view, and watched as Lilith fumbled with the building's door and key code before disappearing inside. Watched and listened.

The street was buzzing with noise, and the building Lilith had entered held several well-illuminated luxury apartments. But though the lights were on, the curtains were all closed, and as Jasper listened, his hearing nearly as well developed as his sense of smell, he knew one thing with certainty.

Only one of those apartments was occupied.

Curious .

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Jasper kept his eyes on the building as he dialed the number from memory and listened to it ring.

"Hey boss," he said into the phone when it picked up. "Guess who I just found."