"It doesn't matter what she said. She was hurt. There's no way she'd … " Quintus glanced down to her limp body, and back up to Jake. "She shouldn't have come here."
"And why is that, Quint? Enlighten me, would you?"
"Thank you for not killing her. You could have easily done so. Or let the pack have at her. I will speak to her about this," Quintus said.
"Will you now? How about I speak to her myself? Because that's going to happen," Jake assured him.
"Despite our quarrel in New York, you have shown honorable qualities this evening. But you must leave this be. Forget you ever saw her."
"I have no fight with you, Quintus. But her, well, I'm afraid you can't take her. You see, whatever is going on with Ilsbeth, that's always my business."
"The witch is not here. Jax has taken care of … "
"Ah, so you know. I found Ilsbeth and gave her to Jax. Now what he did exactly, I don't know. To be honest, I kinda washed my hands of all of it. Until now. No, that girl there," Jake paused and nodded at the injured female, "she just became my business. She stays here until I'm satisfied she's not wrapped up in something with the witch."
"Sorry, mate. Say goodbye." Quintus bared his fangs and hissed. "Don't make me do something I'll regret."
"Really? Y'all think you're badass with your sharp teeth? Ohh … scary." Jake gave a sarcastic laugh. "And just when I thought we were becoming friends, ya gotta vamp out on me. You know, I really do owe you for the shit you put me through in New York. All right then, let's do this. I'm ready to throw down with your ass."
Jake shifted to wolf, and lunged for Quintus, aiming to latch onto his calf. As his jaws snapped shut, he caught nothing but air.
Fucking vampire. Jake snarled, aware it'd been a longshot. Only the oldest of vampires like Quintus had the capability to materialize to another location. Jake had no idea who the woman was but it had been obvious that Quintus knew exactly who and what she was. It also was apparent the vampire had no idea about her involvement with Ilsbeth.
Jake's attention was drawn to rustling leaves. Logan and Dimitri barked, alerting him to their presence. Forcing his beast to the recesses of his mind, Jake shifted to his human form, and they quickly followed his lead. As he pressed onto his feet, he spied a small chain curled into the mud. Jake reached for the ground and grasped the dull metal. The tarnished necklace appeared to be nothing special; a single flattened pendant dangled from the delicate cable. He rubbed his thumb over it, cleaning off the dirt. No lettering or initials were inscribed yet he suspected it belonged to the woman.
As his thoughts raced, Jake struggled to conceal his anger. Whatever this strange woman's connection to Ilsbeth, he needed to know. He told himself to let it go, but there was something about her that he couldn't shake. The damn vampire knew something but hadn't given him answers. Ablaze with curiosity, he grew determined to find out how she was tied up with Ilsbeth, why she'd come to him in New Orleans.
"I think it's about time we had a talk," Logan said, breaking his contemplation.
"I'm sorry, man." A sense of loss settled in his gut. He'd thought he'd have more time … more time to accept leaving New Orleans, leaving Acadian Wolves. But as he padded toward his home, sensing Logan and Dimitri on his heels, the end drew near.
Chapter Two
Concealing her true nature had driven Kai Beckett to exhaustion. Only eleven years old, she'd been the very reason her birth parents had been killed. Vampires had raided her village, seeking out the child whose luminescent charm would bring them good fortune.
When she'd immigrated to America with her sister, Shilan, in the early 1900s, they'd been attacked again and that's when she knew she'd have to forever hide or risk death. So rare a being, others would seek her out like an endangered animal, syphon her blood for the luck they believed it would bring.
Nearly a hundred years ago, she'd met the witch in New Orleans, and had paid Ilsbeth to glamour her powers. For decades after, Kai had successfully hidden in Wyoming with her sister. Shilan harbored distinctive gifts other than Kai's, but they'd both been at risk due to their relationship. Until recently, the only supernatural in the area to know of her existence had been the local Alpha, Hunter Livingston, who had agreed to allow her to live in his territory. On the barren outskirts of Yellowstone, she'd successfully worked as a geologist, studying and monitoring the caldera. Her sister, Shilan, a prominent seismologist, worked alongside her and the university team.