Chapter Three
Jade opened her eyes slowly as she began to wake up. She was having an amazing dream, but she couldn’t remember what it was now. What time was it? She yawned and stretched her arm out.
“Ouch!”
Jade was startled by the presence of another body next to her. “Lara?” She blinked twice. Her best friend was on the other side of her bed. “What are you doing here?”
The young witch was rubbing her arm. “Jeez, Jade, you don’t remember? Wait, aren’t you even hung over?”
She frowned. “Hmm…my head feels kinda…light.” She shrugged. “Was I drinking last night?”
“Argh!” Lara sat up, brushing her reddish-gold curls out of her face. “Must be that Lycan metabolism. You drank the rest of the tequila, got stupid drunk, and started dancing on top of the bar with Meredith.”
“I…what?” Jade’s eyes went wide. “I did not!”
Lara laughed. “Yes, you did! How far back do you remember?”
Jade searched her memories. “Well, we went to Blood Moon for your party…Meredith had me wearing ridiculous heels…and then there were shots…”
“And you told us wanted to lose your V-card.”
“I did not!” Jade’s face turned crimson as if someone had set fire to her cheeks. The conversation was slowly starting to come back to her.
“Don’t worry. It was just Meredith and me!” Lara assured her. “And how come you never told me about that before, huh?”
“Well, it’s not something I bring up in casual conversation!” She tossed a pillow at the other woman, who blocked it with a wave of her hand.
“Don’t be embarrassed, Jade. We were all virgins once!”
“Yeah, but to be one for over 24 years is pathetic!” She sighed, then looked over to her bedside table. “Mother Fluffer! It’s almost 10 a.m.!” She got to her feet. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier? We’re late!”
“Relax, Jade,” Lara said, lounging backward on the bed. “You’re the boss of the lab, right? And you don’t exactly have any other assistants working for you.”
“But I have too much work to do!” Jade exclaimed as she rushed into the bathroom. She came out 15 minutes later, a towel wrapped around her. Lara had left her room, so Jade quickly dressed, putting on a long-sleeved white shirt and a khaki skirt and swept her hair up into a neat bun. Grabbing her glasses from her nightstand, she put them on and went out to the living room.
“I borrowed a dress,” Lara said as Jade came out. She was wearing one of Jade’s long-sleeved floral dresses that came down below her knees. “And I’m meeting Liam at Fenrir.”
“Why aren’t you with your fiancé by the way?” Jade asked as they left her apartment.
“Well, you could hardly walk home. Liam came to Blood Moon and then brought us here. I told him I would stay here and take care of you.”
“I couldn’t walk?” Jade said incredulously.
“Yeah, you lush!” Lara laughed. “Don’t you remember what else happened last night? And Sebastian Creed?”
“Who?” Jade blinked in confusion. The name sounded familiar. Was he a famous rock star or something?
“Jesus, Jade!” The witch let out a sigh of exasperation. “Let me refresh your memory.” As they left Jade’s apartment building and walked to the Fenrir Corporation headquarters, Lara recounted the story of what happened the night before, including their run-in with Sebastian Creed.
“Wait,” Jade stopped and faced Lara, adjusting her glasses. “So, I’ve met this Mr. Creed twice now? And I don’t remember?”
Lara’s jaw dropped. “Jade, he literally saved you twice.”
“Well, apparently, I was drugged the first time and then drunk the second.” Jade shook her head. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I probably won’t be running into him. Can you imagine how embarrassing that would be? I don’t even remember what he looks like!”
They walked into the Fenrir Corporation lobby and headed straight to the private elevators that would take them to Jade’s lab on the 33rd floor. The doors were about to close as they approached the elevator.
“Hold the elevator!” Jade cried as she sprinted forward.
“Jade, we can wait!” Lara called after her friend.
But the Lycan scientist didn’t want to wait. She was already three hours late and was eager to get back to work. She slapped her palms against the doors to stop them from closing. Unfortunately, she tripped on the gap and went flying into the elevator. In vain, she tried to regain her balance, but ended up on the floor, her ass sticking up. As if it couldn’t get any worse, she saw two sets of shoes inches from her nose.
“Jade!” Lara gasped as she saw her friend flat on the floor. “What the he—llo, Mr. Creed. Liam?”
Jade kept her head down, banging her forehead once on the floor.
“Um, sweetie?” Lara bent down to check on Jade.
Jade closed her eyes. “Dear Lord,” she muttered. “If you strike me dead now, I promise in my next life I’ll devote myself to you. I’ll become a nun and do good deeds…”
“What are you doing?” Lara whispered.
“Shhh…I’m praying.”
Lara rolled her eyes. “Are you going to get up?”
Jade cracked an eye to see her friend. “No, thanks, I’m fine down here. Hey!” A large pair of hands settled on her waist and picked her up. “Put me down! Stop manhandling me, you brute!” She stumbled away from her attacker as soon as she steadied herself, and then brushed the dust off her outfit. Liam and Lara were standing to her right, their faces a mix of shock and amusement.
She turned her head left, ready to give a dirty look to whoever had pawed at her; however, she was faced with a massive chest. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she looked up at the gigantic man who was staring down at her. Jade held her breath. He was quite possibly one of the most handsome men she’d ever seen—good-looking; masculine features with an edge of roughness; short, dark blonde hair; high cheekbones; and a straight nose. His strong jaw and cheeks were covered with a reddish-blonde beard that was neatly trimmed. He was big, but not in the scary, roid rage way. The man was built like a lumberjack, his shoulders and arms straining against his navy suit. Jade was lost in the depths of the dark gray eyes that stared down at her.
A discreet cough jolted Jade, and she took a step back. Lara was biting her lip, trying to hide her smile. “Uh, Jade…this is…”
“Creed. Sebastian Creed.” The giant man offered his hand.
“Dr. Jade Cross,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t sound too breathy. She took his hand, surprised by its warmth. The touch of his skin sent electricity up her arm, making her shiver. His hand engulfed hers and his grip was firm, but she could tell he was holding back. A faint, familiar scent wafted to her nose. Something masculine. Like leather and musk and paper. It reminded her of when she was a child and spent hours reading books in her grandfather’s library. How strange.
His face broke into a lazy smile. “Nice to finally be formally introduced, darlin’.”
Sebastian Creed’s drawl sent heat pooling in Jade’s belly and the reminder that they had met previously heated her cheeks, as if someone had set them on fire. “Uh, yeah.” She nodded stupidly.
Thankfully, the elevator dinged, indicating they had reached the 33rd floor.
“Well, looks like we’re here,” Jade announced as she sprinted out of the elevator. She made her way to the entrance of the lab, using her code to bypass the retina scanner. It was too slow, and Jade wanted to get away from the elevator as quickly as possible. As soon as she entered the lab, she braced herself on the wall, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.
“What the heck was that?” Lara asked as she followed behind Jade. “Are you okay, hon?”
Jade swallowed a gulp. “Never better,” she murmured, brushing past her friend.
“Hey you, late birds!” Meredith called. She was sitting on one of the office chairs, spinning around while waving her arms. “Where have you guys been? I’ve been waiting for hours. Look!” She spun again, raising her feet off the ground. “I invented something new. I call it ‘Office Chair Ballet’.”
“How can you both still be standing after the amount of liquor you had?” Lara asked in an exasperated voice.
“Lycan metabolism,” Jade and Meredith answered in unison.
“Ugh, I wish I had one of those back when I was younger,” Lara sighed. “Anyway,” she turned back to Jade, who was creeping up to her inner lab. “Jade! Tell me what’s going on!”
“What’s going on?” Meredith asked, pushing herself closer to Jade.
“Ugh.” Jade put her hands up. “You are never taking me drinking again!”
“But you were such a fun drunk. We both were!” Meredith pouted. “I was hoping we’d have girls’ night all the time now.”
“Oh no.” Lara shook her head at Meredith. “You are never touching alcohol again! Where did you disappear to last night, after we couldn’t find Jade?”
“I checked the bathrooms and then went out front!” the blonde Lycan said defensively. “So, what happened anyway?”
Lara recounted all the events of last night and this morning. Jade’s face turned a crimson color as she relived all the memories of her most embarrassing moments in front of Sebastian Creed. Of course, last night didn’t compare to her humiliation of this morning, especially after he caught her obviously ogling him. She couldn’t help herself. The man was gorgeous, like a sexy lumberjack in a suit. Frankly, she always thought nerdy intellectuals were more her type, but this man who oozed sexuality through his pores set her body on fire. And that voice, that sexy drawl, was enough to make her panties wet. God, she was mortified. He must think she’s some spinster nerd who’d never seen a man before. All she needed were the cartoon eyes that popped out of her head.
“Shut the front door! Sebastian Creed is here, and you flashed him your undies?” Meredith howled with laughter. “Were you wearing sexy ones at least? Oh, please tell me you weren’t wearing your granny panties.”
“I didn’t flash him my pants!” Jade protested.
“Just your ass,” Lara said as she tried to keep from laughing.
“Shut up,” Jade growled and stomped up the stairs to her inner lab and office. She tossed her bag to the side, and sat at her desk in the corner, angrily tapping on the keyboard to boot up her computers.
“Jade,” Lara began as she and Meredith entered the inner lab. “We’re sorry for making fun of you.”
“Yeah, Jadey-girl,” Meredith continued, walking up to her. “I’m not being mean, you know. We were just teasing you.”
The scientist put her face in her hands. “God, I’m never drinking again.”
“Aww, Jade.” Meredith patted her back. “C’mon, you’re not a quitter, are you?”
Jade looked up at her, her eyes shooting daggers at the other Lycan.
“Now, now, Jade. Don’t worry about Sebastian Creed. I’m sure he’s seen lots of asses; he won’t remember yours.”
Jealousy dug into Jade’s chest, and then disappointment. Of course, a man like him has probably been with hundreds of women. She pushed away those thoughts.
“So, how’s the wedding planning?” Meredith asked Lara.
“We’re not doing a big ceremony,” the witch replied. “But we’ve decided on The Conservatory at the New York Botanical Gardens for the reception.”
“Oh, that’s lovely,” Jade said, her face softening. She was really happy her best friend had found happiness with Liam.
“Are we gonna be bridesmaids?”
“Who said you’re coming?” Lara teased.
“Aww, c’mon Lara. You need me there to get the party going. I’ll be saving up all my good behavior points.” She looked at Jade. “And Jade’s coming, right? So that means she’ll need me there.”
“I’m not having bridesmaids for the ceremony, but I supposed you could be unofficial bridesmaids.”
“Yay!” Meredith whooped. “We should go dress shopping!” When Jade paled at the mention of shopping, she shook her head. “Oh no, Jade, you’re not going to wear just any old thing to this wedding! We’re gonna go out at lunch and pick dresses with Lara. Something sexy that will show off your assets!” She motioned to Jade’s body.
“I don’t think—”
“Besides,” Meredith interrupted. “Weddings are the best places to get laid!”
Jade buried her face in her palms and let out a groan. “Oh no…”
“We’re on a mission, lady,” the other Lycan said. “Let’s call it…Operation: Pop That Cherry! PTC for short!”
“Meredith,” Lara warned.
“C’mon, Lara, be more helpful! Do you have any cute cousins? How about Liam? Any single friends coming to the wedding? We need to start making a list.”
“Can’t we forget what I said last night?” Jade groaned. “I don’t want my…cherry popped anymore!” At least not just by any man, she added silently. Images of a certain very large, very male body tangled up in hers flashed through her mind, and she felt her face go red again.
“But this is an important mission!”
“Look,” Jade sighed, massaging her temple. “I have a lot of work to do. If you guys leave me alone now, I promise, I’ll go dress shopping at lunch, OK?”
Meredith’s pretty face broke into a smile. “Yes!” she said, raising her fist in triumph. “Let’s leave the good doctor to her work then.” She grabbed Lara by the arm and dragged her out of the inner lab.
“Finally,” Jade muttered to herself. With a deep breath, she pushed aside all thoughts of Sebastian Creed and started her work.
***
Sebastian’s gaze followed Jade’s retreating form as she scampered away like a scared rabbit.
“Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on with her today!” Lara Chatraine exclaimed.
“Did she sleep okay, sweetheart?” Liam Henney asked the redhead.
“She wasn’t even hungover.” Lara pouted. Liam laughed, and they shared a look that conveyed a silent message.
Sebastian cleared his throat. “Ms. Chatraine, nice to see you again.”
Lara gave him a smirk. “You too, Mr. Creed.”
A heavy feeling suddenly filled the elevator, and Liam stepped closer to Lara, placing a protective arm around her. “You’ve met?” he asked, electric blue eyes trained on the other man.
“Don’t you remember, Liam?” Lara said. “When you picked us up last night, I told you someone scared away the douche bag who cornered Jade. Didn’t I mention it was Mr. Creed who saved her?”
“No,” Liam frowned. “You forgot to mention that. What else happened during this bachelorette party of yours?”
“I’ll tell you another time.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.” She left the elevator, the doors closing behind her.
Sebastian gave a sigh of relief as the tightness in his chest lightened. So Liam Henney was the fiancé Lara Chatraine was talking about. That at least answered one question—Jade was definitely not Liam’s woman. Since he’d been following her around, he knew she wasn’t seeing anyone else either. The thought that she was free sent his mind whirling. Seeing her today, with her pert little ass sticking up the air, made his dick hard as steel. Her outfit and those glasses made him think of dirty librarian fantasies. And to think, he’d already jerked himself off in the shower that morning when his morning wood hadn’t let up. He thought of Jade, of driving into her sweet body, and he didn’t last long. Fuck, he hadn’t blown his load that fast since he was a teenager, yet the image of Jade, naked in his bed, sent the cum shooting from his cock so hard he went dizzy.
“Sebastian? We’re here,” Liam said, interrupting his thoughts.
Sebastian adjusted his belt, glad he wore his suit jacket closed, or Liam would have noticed the erection he was sporting. He wondered if it was in poor taste to jerk off in a potential client’s bathroom.
The two men walked out of the elevator and into the penthouse offices of Fenrir Corporation. Sebastian was surprised to get a personal call from Grant Anderson himself, asking if he was available to meet today about a another possible job. Sebastian was glad he asked his assistant to cancel all his meetings so he could make it, especially since he was finally able to meet a conscious and more sober Jade Cross.
“Mr. Henney, Mr. Creed.” The young man waiting outside the main office doors greeted them. “I’m Jared, Mr. Anderson’s admin. He’s ready for you, but can I bring you some water or coffee?”
“No thank you, Jared,” Liam said, while Sebastian shook his head.
“Very well, please go right ahead.”
Liam opened the doors to Grant’s office. The room was enormous and had floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of Central Park. Sebastian didn’t pay attention to the view, though. Out of habit, he checked how secure the room was, how many possible exits there were, and the ways his enemies could sneak up on him or use any of the items in the room as weapons. Satisfied he had covered all the bases, he turned to the desk in the middle of the room, where Grant Anderson was sitting. The other man stood up and walked over to them.
“Sebastian, glad you could make it,” Grant said, offering his hand to the other man.
“I was intrigued,” Sebastian admitted, shaking his hand. “I wasn’t sure you’d want to work together again.”
Liam and Grant looked at each other, and Sebastian’s brows knitted. Did everyone at Fenrir have some secret language? He couldn’t help but feel like they all knew something he didn’t.
Grant motioned for them to sit on the chairs in front of his desk. “Well, Liam, Nick, and I were talking about it, and after our last operation, we realized we could use a firm like Creed Security, and someone like you, on our side.”
“Not getting into more trouble, are you?” Sebastian asked with a smile.
Grant let out a short laugh. “Oh no. We’re just short-handed, that’s all. And it’s just not feasible for us right now to invest in our own security force.”
“I see.” Sebastian leaned back and rubbed his jaw. “Well, we can sort out the details, I’m sure. I’m actually not too involved in the business side of things.”
“But you are very hands-on when it comes to the security part,” Grant said. “Which is what I like. It would be nice to know you’re personally taking care of any of our requests.”
Sebastian nodded. “Of course.”
“Great,” Liam said. “The first job we need you to do is help secure my wedding reception.”
“Sebastian’s not into weddings,” Grant quipped.
“It’s not the wedding, it’s the idea of marriage,” Sebastian corrected. “But I’m happy for you, Liam. Ms. Chatraine seems to be a lovely young woman.”
“She is,” Liam answered with a grin.
“Are you expecting any trouble at your wedding? Afraid of old boyfriends or girlfriends crashing it and stopping the ceremony?”
Liam laughed. “No, no, nothing of the sort. But we do have some VIPs. My family from San Francisco is coming, plus some business associates, partners, venture capitalists, you know. I’d like to feel confident they’ll all be safe and secure.”
“Simple enough job,” Sebastian said. “Nothing we haven’t handled before. In fact, we’ve done two celebrity weddings in the last year. My partner and I will oversee it personally. I’ll also have some of my guys blend in with the guests, if that’s okay?”
“You do whatever you need to do to keep us safe,” Liam agreed.
“I’ll have my lawyers contact yours, and my assistant can work out the other details.”
***
Jade tapped her fingers on her chin as she looked at the old, yellowed texts projected on her screen. Vivianne Chatraine, Lara’s mother and head of the New York coven of witches and warlocks, had sent over some books from their private library for her to study. However, most of the texts were so old and worn, Jade instead decided to scan all the contents and keep digital copies. It was also much easier to catalogue them, though it had taken weeks. Now that that the last of the volumes had been scanned, she could breathe easier knowing she could return them to Vivianne. The books, after all, didn’t just contain knowledge of magic, but were also heirlooms and historical artifacts of the New York coven.
She sat back in her chair, rubbing her tired eyes. Jade never thought she’d end up here. After finishing her two PhDs in biochemistry and bioengineering, she had been surprised to get a call from Grant Anderson, her Alpha. Technically, since she was born in New York, he was her Alpha, even though she moved to England with her mother after her parents divorced. She was twenty years old then, and Grant had an interesting proposition for her: come back to the States and help them study magic.
At first, she had been skeptical. As a Lycan shifter, she knew magic existed and it was not very different from science. However, she wasn’t sure where to begin to study magic. Witches were very secretive and everyone knew they would never share their knowledge, especially not with Lycans. While she didn’t say yes right away to Grant’s offer, she didn’t say no either. After all, she had just finished her PhDs and had never had any real-life working experience. So, she worked at a bioengineering firm in London for the next two years.
The whole time, however, the Alpha’s offer kept niggling at her, always at the back of her mind, until, one day, she decided to take it. She moved to New York and helped set up the 33rd floor lab dedicated to studying magic. At first, she was hitting walls. She collected as much knowledge as she could from just reading books, journals, old newspaper clippings, whatever she could get her hands on. But without any other sources, or any witches willing to talk to her, she couldn’t further her research.
All of that changed, however, when Alynna Westbrooke (or Chase, before she married Alex) came into the picture. It turned out Alynna was the secret love child of Michael Anderson, New York’s former Alpha, and his True Mate, Amanda Chase. The one downside to being a werewolf shifter was that their kind was not not very fertile. Most couples didn’t have any children, and if they did, few had more than one. Also, Lycans who mated with humans didn’t produce Lycan children.
The one exception was True Mates. When a Lycan found his or her True Mate, they were guaranteed a child the first time they had sex without any physical contraception. Alynna grew up not knowing she was a Lycan, seeing as Michael had died before he could introduce Alynna to the clan. Alynna suddenly showed up at Blood Moon one day where she met Alex, who also turned out to be her True Mate. After she got pregnant, they discovered on more interesting thing about True Mates: the unborn children protected their mothers, making them indestructible. Alynna survived a poisoning attempt by an assassin.
This also started the trouble with the mages. Mages were former witches who used Blood Magic. As much as witches did not like Lycans, the mages hated them even more. They plotted to destroy the Lycans and even stop True Mates from finding each other. When the mages kidnapped Cady Vrost, her aunt Vivianne and cousin Lara teamed up with the Lycans to rescue her. That was also when the Witch and Lycan alliance began. Jade’s research and study flourished, especially since she had Lara to help her with her experiments, as well as Vivianne’s knowledge. Her studies into magic were still a secret from the Lycan High Council and the Witch Assembly. The two governing bodies had a tenuous truce, but they were slowly starting to work together, especially with the mages now growing bolder. The mages now had figured out how to control humans and had recently built an army of human slaves to do their bidding.
Jade gave an involuntary shiver and immediately shut down the screen. She was the target of the mages, after all, and her time as their captive was still muddy in her mind. Her assistant had been feeding the mages information about her work, which is why their leader, Stefan, had her kidnapped. She was taken, put in a van, and then drugged. Actually, she didn’t remember a lot of her time in captivity, which was, perhaps, a small blessing. The Lycans worked to get her back, of course, and apparently, Grant has asked Sebastian Creed for help in rescuing her.
Sebastian Creed. She cringed, thinking of him. God, it was embarrassing and such awful luck on her part. Oh well, she shouldn’t dwell on it. It’s not like she’d ever see him again.
“Jade!” Meredith called.
“What?” she asked.
“You said we can go shopping at lunch! It’s now exactly 12 noon!”
“Ugh!” Jade exclaimed. “Fine. Let’s go.” Let the torture begin.