Chapter 23

Anna

I stepped out of the shower and tossed a towel at James before wrapping on around myself. I couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction. I really enjoyed having the aloof and tightly wound James unravel at the touch of my hands. Giving a guy a hand job in the shower was a first for me, but let’s just say I figured it out quickly enough.

I don’t think James was used to anyone else being in control. It had thrown him off when I asked him to put his hands behind his back and let me explore his body. I had been hesitant at first, but once I realized the effects my kisses and touches had on him I had felt empowered. He had been helpless in front of me and I been in control of the situation. There was nothing for me to be afraid of but my own inexperience. Next time I would be able to go further, and eventually I knew I would be able to conquer my fears entirely.

I felt more confident in myself; I wasn’t as intimidated at the thought of intimacy as I had been before. We hadn’t actually done the deed, but I had proven to myself that the sight of a naked man in front of me would not cause me to run in terror. I could do this, I could become a normal person.

I stepped out of the steamy bathroom with James right behind me. I headed towards my closet but a pounding at the door stopped me. “Anna! Are you naked?” I rolled my eyes. Jason really needed to stop with that.

“Yes!” I yelled back.

“Excellent.” I heard him reply as he opened the door. His jaw dropped when he saw James standing by the bed in a towel and looking for his clothes.

James unwrapped the towel from his waist and used it to rub his hair dry, standing there completely naked with a challenge in his eyes.

Jason narrowed his eyes at James but didn’t back up or say a word. Tension gathered as the guys stared each other down. This is exactly what I was afraid would happen, I didn’t want to be the source of discord in the pack.

“Um, guys.” I said hesitantly.

Jason turned his gaze to me. I was relieved to see that he didn’t look hurt or angry, but he did look curious.

I let out a breath of relief. I think the best strategy here would be to act causal, even though this was anything but a normal situation. Or maybe it would become our normal? Would the guys really be able to handle this?

“Who’s our guest?” I asked Jason as if James wasn’t pulling on his pants next to the bed.

Jason flicked a glance at James but then just shrugged. “Not sure. I was just sent up here to see if you were ready.”

“I just need to get dressed.” I told him, but hesitated before going into the closet. I looked at Jason’s jeans. “Do I need to dress nice or anything?”

He shook his head. “The usual Anna wear is fine. We’re going back to the range to investigate with our mysterious guest.”

Now I was even more curious. “Anna.” James grumbled as he walked in my direction.

I turned to face him, and he gave me a surprisingly tender kiss. “I’ll see you downstairs.” He murmured. The softness in his eyes completely disappeared when he turned to give Jason a nod before heading out the door.

I gazed after him until the door clicked shut. Jason let out a breath. “It looks like you tamed the dragon.”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t want to see him tamed.”

Jason followed me into the closet looking even more curious. I shot him an annoyed look. “I need to get dressed, Jase.”

He rolled his eyes but turned his back on me to give me some privacy. “Hurry up, I want to get downstairs to see what’s going on.”

I didn’t argue because I was just as eager to get down there. I dressed hurriedly, but put some warm clothes on since we were going to be going outside.

Jason turned back to face me as I pulled on my boots. “Is it weird if I ask if the two of you…” Jason’s voice trailed off and he looked unsure.

I looked up at him. “I’ve never been in a situation like this before.” I told him honestly. “We are going to have to figure out what we want to talk about versus what we want to keep private. Honestly, if you started talking about being with another girl I would want to bite your face off.”

Jason laughed heartily. “It’s going to take some getting used to. But I see how much he cares about you. I never thought I would see James like that.”

“Naked?” I joked.

He rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen him naked more often than I’d like. Wolves, remember? But I never thought I’d see him…exposed.”

“It’s probably in your best interest if you never tell anyone else that.” I told him seriously.

Jason smirked at me. “I don’t have a death wish.”

I stood and smiled at him. “I’d offer to race you downstairs, but we should probably pretend to be serious adults if we have a guest.”

Jason bumped my shoulder with his. “I was going to aim more for ‘scary wolf’ than serious adult, but I don’t think you could pull it off.”

I growled at him playfully. “I could be scary if I wanted to.”

He tried to hide a laugh but the sparkle in his eye gave him away. “We’ll see.”

We started to walk out of the bedroom, but he grabbed my hand to pull me close. “In all seriousness, you did scare me earlier.”

I searched his eyes to find worry lurking there, so I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. “I’m sorry, Jase. I was out of line.”

He hugged me back tightly. “You know I’ll always have your back, but please don’t ever block me out like that again. I felt like I couldn’t reach you.”

I inhaled his scent deeply to settle my nerves. “Next time I have the overwhelming need to chase down Evelyn’s killers, I will clue you in on it instead of rushing off on my own.”

“That’s all I ask.” He murmured quietly into my ear. We held each other for a moment before he pulled back reluctantly. “You know I’m always down for a chase, Anna. Just let me know where and when.” Jason told me with a faint smile.

“I’m hoping I will need you sooner than later.” I told him grimly. I was hoping our mysterious guest downstairs was a lead on the killer that had gotten away earlier.

I reached out for Jason’s hand as we made our way down the stairs and he took it with a smile. I was incredibly lucky to have Jason in my life. How many guys out there would want to hunt down murderers with me on a Saturday night? I was guessing not that many.

Jason had stuck by my side during my earlier moments of insanity and made sure I was safe. I owed him for that. I blushed a little bit when I started of thinking our ways I could show him just how much I appreciated him, and my mind went into the gutter.

He caught my blush and raised an eyebrow with a smirk on his face. He probably guessed what I was thinking but thankfully didn’t call me out on it. I could hear voices coming from the office downstairs and Jason tugged me to him before we got to the door. “We can talk more later.” He murmured to me in a sexy voice that sent shivers down my spine.

I licked my lips but went through the door as Jason held it open for me. Austin, Cody, Trevor, and Mike were there with a female. I tried to get closer to her without seeming like a huge weirdo, so I could pick up on her scent.

“Anna.” Austin said with a frown. “I’d like to introduce you to Jade, she’s going to be helping us track down the assailant from earlier.”

“Nice to meet you.” I greeted her with a smile.

She just gave me a cool nod in return and turned to Austin. “Can we get started?”

“We just need James.” Austin frowned at Jason in question. I guess he must have been sent to get both of us, not just me.

“I’m here.” James strode into the room and eyed Jade warily.

Jade just ignored him. “We need to go back to where you last saw him. It looks like I won’t need all of you after all, the female has enough magic in her to suffice on her own.”

Everyone looked at me in surprise. I kept my eyes on Jade. Obviously, I was aware that magic is what made me able to shift into a wolf. But I had not really thought about what else magic could do. Clearly, I needed to learn more about that.

“Why would I have more magic?” I asked her curiously. I would have thought that all shifters had the same amount.

She gave a sigh of impatience. “I can sense that you have the amount I need. Do you want to do this or not?”

“Of course.” Austin reassured her. “Trevor, I need you to stay here and hold the fort.”

Trevor nodded in agreement. The rest of us followed Austin and Jade out to the cars. I was brimming with curiosity, but I didn’t want to piss Jade off. She was obviously not interested in being peppered with questions.

Mason was outside waiting next to James’s Range Rover and the twin’s jeep. I gave him a smile, I needed to apologize to him as soon as we had a moment alone.

Austin spoke up. “James and I will take Jade. Cody, Mason, and Jason, you have Anna.”

I frowned. I didn’t like us splitting up like this. I saw frowns on a couple of other faces around me so I wasn’t alone.

“We stay in sight of each other at all times.” Austin announced, and everyone gave a nod of understanding.

Mason went to the driver’s door to the Jeep and Cody motioned for me to take the front passenger seat.

“No thanks.”  I told him with a smile. “Your legs are longer than mine, you need the front seat more than I do.”

He smiled at me gratefully and didn’t argue. I settled into the backseat with Jason. Mason started up the vehicle to follow James.

I couldn’t contain my curiosity any longer. “So Jade’s a witch? Why would I have more magic? What kind of spell is she going to do?”

The guys chuckled. “I’m glad you are feeling better.”  Mason told me with a smile.

I blushed. “Yeah, about that. Mason, I’m really sorry for the way I acted and for putting the group at risk.”

Mason cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Sorry for giving the order to shoot you with a tranquilizer.”

I laughed, and he gave me a strange look. “You have to admit that this conversation is so weird it’s funny. How often do you apologize for shooting someone with a tranq?”

“I’m hoping that’s the last time I’ll ever have to say that to you?” He asked hopefully.

I nodded at him. “It is.”

He visibly relaxed. “Good.”

“Now that’s out of the way.” Cody said. “Yes, Anna, Jade is a witch. She’s doing a tracking spell and said she needed the magic in our blood to fuel it.” He frowned. “Initially she said she was going to need five of us if we were all alphas.”

There was silence in the car. “The blood of five alphas, or me?” I frowned at the twins. I knew James, Cody, and Austin were alphas, but had the twins pegged as betas.

“To her, an alpha just means the power level of a wolf, she’s not referring to our positions in the pack.” Jason told me.

“I guess I’m still pretty ignorant of that kind of stuff.” I said slowly. “Can you tell how much power another wolf has?”

Cody ran his hand through his hair. “You just need more practice sensing that. As you get more in touch with your wolf side you will get better at it. For most of us it’s just obvious, like how you notice if someone is shorter or taller than you.”

I leaned back, frustrated. It seemed like I was a magical dud. How could Jade think that I had more magic than five of my pack members? I couldn’t even manage to connect my wolf and human halves into a functional being.

“If you guys are more magical than the other wolves, what kinds of stuff can you do?” I asked curiously.

“We’re not magicians.” Mason said dryly.

Jason laughed at loud and then smirked at me. “I have magic fingers; would you like to see what they can do?”

Cody rolled his eyes. “It just means it’s easier for us to switch back and forth between our forms and we can do it more frequently. It’s also easier for us to use the pack bond and we can do it at greater distances.”

I thought about that. “I’ve never had a difficult time switching forms, just combining them.”

There was quiet in the Jeep as Mason parked next to James at the range. I stepped out of the vehicle and Cody slipped an arm around my waist as we walked to where Austin and James waited with Jade.

Jade gave us a disinterested look before turning to Austin. “This is where you last saw him?”

“I can show you.” Jason offered and led the way into the forest.

The rest of us followed quietly. There weren’t any lights nearby, so the forest was quite dark. Austin helped Jade navigate through the trees and held her arm to keep her from tripping. She was not happy to be traipsing through the forest on a cold fall night.

I breathed in the cool air as we walked. I thought it was refreshing to be out here, but I would rather be in my wolf form. Judging by the sighs coming from the other guys, they agreed.

Finally, Jason came to a stop and we huddled in a group. I watched Jade with rapt interest as she drew a fancy looking dagger out of the bag she had been carrying.

“What’s that for?” I asked curiously.

“This is what I’m going to use to stab you.” She told me with a glint in her eye.

I took half a step backwards in surprise and Cody stepped in front of me protectively. “I don’t think so.” He growled.

Jade laughed. “Relax. I just need a little of her blood to get the magic flowing. Which one of you am I putting the spell on?”

James stepped forward. “Me. I’m the best tracker and I can remain unseen if I need to pass by humans.”

Jade nodded. “I’m guessing you want to shift first?”

James didn’t answer, he just started to undress. I forced myself to turn away, I didn’t want to drool over him in front of everyone else here.

“How does it work?” I asked Jade.

Jade sighed with impatience but decided to answer. “I can manipulate magic to get the outcomes I want, that’s what makes me a witch. I usually use the magic from nature, but for something like this I need more. You wolves don’t use magic as much as you are magic. I’m going to give you a small cut and some of your magic is going to bleed out with the blood.”

Cody shifted, and I put a hand on his back to calm him.

“I’ll link your magic to the spell so that the spell will pull the magic it needs from you to run its course.”

“So can wolves become witches, then? Can we learn to manipulate our own magic?” I asked her.

She shrugged. “No idea. Are you ready?” She obviously couldn’t care less.

James was already in his wolf form, prowling around in a circle around us. I smiled and held out a hand to him as he came in my direction. He bumped my hand with his head before going to sit in front of Jade.

“Will this weaken Anna?” Austin asked.

“Well, yeah.” Jade answered with a frown. “It’s going to be burning up her magic, so she’ll need to rest and recharge when we are done here.”

“I don’t like this.” Cody told Austin. “She can have my blood instead.”

I rubbed Cody’s back soothingly. “We wouldn’t be able to carry you out of here, big guy. At least you know you can pick me up.”

The twins both chuckled. “I’d rather carry Anna than you.” Jason told him.

“Is there a way for us to break the spell?” Austin asked. “Just in case it’s too much for Anna.”

“I’m putting the spell on James. When he wants it to end he just has to will it so, and he will lose the trail.”

“I can do this.” I told them with determination. “If it’s too much I’ll let you know, but I need to do this.”

We were so close to finding whomever it was who had tormented and murdered Evelyn. There was no way I was going to walk away from this. Plus, now my enemy was trying to harm my new pack? They were not going to get away with this.

I stepped up to Jade and held out my arm, I was ready. She nodded and quickly lashed out with the dagger, slicing open the part of my arm that I had exposed to her. Cody let out a growl and stepped closer to me, but Jade just ignored him.

Jade moved my arm so that my blood dropped down onto James. She murmured under her breath, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying. I was expecting magic to burst out of me at any moment, but was disappointed when nothing really happened.

Jade opened her eyes and looked at me curiously.

“Did it work?” I asked anxiously. I didn’t feel any different, but I’ve never had magic drained out of me to fuel a spell before.  I had no idea what it was supposed to feel like.

Jade tapped a finger on the bloody dagger as she stared at me. “No. It did not work.”

“Uh… so what went wrong?” I asked.

“Your magic isn’t flowing out of you the way it should.” Jade told me. “You have some kind of barrier, holding your magic inside you.”

“Can you fix it?” I asked, chewing on my lip worriedly. Is this why I was having such a hard time integrating my two halves?

Jade tilted her head and stared at me. “Are you sure you’re a wolf?”

I laughed at how ridiculous that was. “I’m sure.” I said with a smile.

 “You have been having a difficult time with being a wolf and human at the same time.” Mason said slowly.

My smile started to fade when I saw the frowns all around me. “She changed right in front of me earlier today.” Jason volunteered.

Jade stepped forward and clasped my face in her hands. “Just relax.” She murmured as she closed her eyes.

The guys were all staring and making me nervous, so I closed my eyes and tried to relax. I breathed in the cool night air and listened to the sounds of the forest around me. James leaned his body against mine in a show of support and I ran my fingers through his thick coat.

“I’m going to try and get to the magic inside you.” Jade said quietly. “Try to reach deep down inside of yourself and feel it.

I tried my best to follow her directions, reaching down to where the energy that allowed me to change into a wolf resided. I stopped right before releasing it so I wouldn’t trigger my change.

“That’s good.” Jade told me. “But you need to go deeper than that.”

I frowned. Deeper? That was all I had.

Jade sensed my hesitation “I can sense a well of magic beyond here. Try to move past this.”

I tried to push past the energy that would allow me to shift. Sweat started to bead on my forehead. This felt like trying to burrow through quicksand without drowning. Finally, I reached a smooth surface that felt like glass.

Jade grunted, and I heard her start to breath more heavily. She must have hit the same wall that I did. “This is too strong for me to break.” Jade told me, her voice sounding strained.

“I’m going to try and….” Her voice trailed off and I felt a trickle of what felt like pure energy start to trickle into my reach.

Jade fell back with a gasp and would have fallen to the ground if Austin had not caught her. My exhaustion was completely washed away. I felt more alive and energized than I ever had before.

I had a huge grin on my face and I wanted nothing more than to shift and run through the forest, howling my joy at being alive. Cody touched my arm with a question in his eyes.

“You alright, Anna?” Mason said from behind me.

I nodded. “She’s right. There is something more inside me. I can feel it.”

Jade drew herself up. “That should do it for now. I bored a small hole through the block that’s placed on your magic.”

I rolled my shoulders back in contemplation. That was just a small amount? What would it be like if the block was gone completely?

“Where did the block come from?” Mason asked.

Jade shrugged. “Someone put it on her. What matters is I now have access to enough of her magic to do the spell.”

“Can you figure it out?” Austin asked.

“That’s not what we bargained for. Do you want the spell done or not?”

Austin clenched his jaw in frustration but gave a sharp nod.

This time when Jade cut my arm and murmured as my blood dripped over James, I could feel some of my life force bleeding out towards him. James stood and shook out his coat before prowling back in forth in front of us.

“I suggest you hurry.” Jade told us. “I can’t guarantee how long the spell will last.”

“Thank you.” Austin said politely. “Mason and Jason will take you back as per our agreement.”

“Make sure she stays relatively close to the black wolf so that the connection doesn’t break.” Jade warned.

The twins both gave me hugs before leading Jade out of the forest. I could see the glazed look in Austin’s eyes that told me that he was communicating with James. Cody stepped up and put his arm around me. “You’re with me.”

I smiled up at him. “I can’t change and stay with James?”

“Your white coat would give away our position.” Cody laughed. “We want to sneak up on these guys and get some reconnaissance on what we are up against.”

I sighed in disappointment. He was right. I would stand out in the night like a neon sign. James really was the best choice for the job.

“We’re going back to the car and will meet James where the trail goes out into the road. As long as I can hold contact with him through the pack bond the spell should also be able to pull magic from you to work, Anna.” Austin announced.

James headed off into the dark forest, blending into the shadows. I watched him go, then picked up the clothes he had discarded. I dangled his keys in my hand with a grin. “He’s lucky it’s not me and the twins left alone with these.”

Austin snatched them out of my hand. “I’ll take those.”

I laughed as the three of us made our way back to the Range Rover. I hopped in the back but leaned forward so I had a good view of what was happening. Austin drove us out of the range parking area and back out to the road.

He slowed near the spot where I had my mini mental breakdown earlier today. I saw a brief flash when the headlights hit James’s eyes where he was hiding in the brush waiting for us. “We’re going to be on the road for a little while.” Austin told us.

“Why did James switch to his wolf form?” I asked Austin. “Wouldn’t it have been easier if he was driving?”

“That was the original plan, but the witch told us James might have a difficult time picking up on the trail if he was in a car. The spell is linking him to his prey and enhancing his senses.” Austin answered.

We were lucky that it was a Saturday night and we were driving on a country road. The road was mostly empty except for an occasional passing car. Austin sped up to a normal pace when other cars were passing us, so we didn’t look too suspicious. Otherwise we kept pace with James as he ran.

After it became obvious this was going to be a long process Austin broke the silence in the vehicle. “Sorry, Anna. I’m guessing you would have preferred this to be a date night. We’ll have to reschedule.”

“Are you kidding?” I asked him with a grin. “This is the best date night ever. Not many guys would drop everything to help me track down my mortal enemies.”

Austin turned to grin at me. “Mortal enemies?”

“Arch nemesis implies more of an ongoing rivalry. I want to end this.” I informed him. I was kind of joking, but not really.

“So this is a date?” Cody teased me.

“Yup. Bonus points if we drink from the skulls of our enemies at the end.” I told him with a laugh.

“You better not tell James that.” Austin cautioned me with a sparkle in his eye. “He might actually present you with their heads.”

I laughed nervously. It was one thing to joke around about killing an enemy, but if I was face to face with an actual person what would I do? I had taken the pharmacist’s oath my first day of pharmacy school and pledged to never harm another person. I spent my days trying to save lives and improve quality of life for my patients.

I wasn’t a stranger to death. I’ve seen it in the hospital and I’ve seen it in my personal life. But even though I worked for the military, I’ve never even been close to a battle. I’ve never had to choose life or death for anyone; I’ve always done everything in my power to preserve life.

I had never been presented with an ethical or moral dilemma like this before. Angry would not begin to describe the emotions I felt when I thought about what those men did to Evelyn. But did I have enough hate and rage in my heart to override my hesitation to harm someone? Could I be judge, jury, and executioner? Could I kill in cold blood?

“What are we going to do when we find them?” I asked softly.

Cody looked back at me and Austin met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “That depends on what we find.” Austin told me gently.

I sat back in my seat and buckled my seatbelt. Now the closer we got to finding the murderers, the more nervous I was getting. Cody and Austin exchanged glances in the front seat and I could tell they were using the pack bond.

“This is just a recon mission, Anna. Right now, we are going to see what we are dealing with. We’re not going to engage until we put together a team that we know will win.” Cody told me.

“We may even be able to resolve this without violence.” Austin added, but he avoided looking me in the eye when he said it.

I really doubted we could avoid a violent situation. These were violent men we were after, we needed to be prepared for anything.