“Are you out of your mind?” Spinning away, she stomped across the room and grabbed her clothes off the floor. Too bad the blanket was wrapped around her, obscuring his view. “I’m getting a shower and then I’m out of here.” The bathroom door slammed behind her. Yup, she was more than a little peeved with him.

  She was too used to handling things on her own, but the real power of a wolf came from the pack. When the shower came on, he fished into his back pocket and pulled out his phone. It was answered on the first ring.

  “What’s wrong?” Jacque LaForge’s deep voice came over the line.

  “Why would you think something is wrong?” He left the bedroom and headed to the kitchen. He was hungry again, and Jesse needed to eat more. Bast was sitting by her empty bowl, glaring at him. Shit, he was going to pay for that. He went straight to the cupboard and grabbed a can of tuna.

  “You usually call your mother, and you’ve already spoken to your brother today.”

  Huh, he hadn’t realized he didn’t call his father that much. Since he was also alpha, was he subconsciously worried he might be ordered home? “I’ll do better,” he promised. It wasn’t fair to his father, who would never use his power to pressure his son.

  He opened the can and dumped the entire thing into the cat’s bowl. Bast flicked her tail at him before settling in to eat.

  “What do you know about a woman named Lottie Broussard?” He didn’t consider he was breaking a confidence since Jesse hadn’t asked him to keep it a secret. And if the Louisiana Pack knew about her existence, it was already common knowledge.

  There was a long silence. “Why are you asking about the witch of Black Bayou?”

  The cautious tone in his father’s voice, not to mention hearing him refer to her as a witch, raised the fine hairs on his body. Jacque LaForge feared no one, but it seemed he had a healthy respect for Lottie Broussard. “Did you ever hear about her raising a child? One born to an unmated female?”

  “Non. She was old when I was a boy. Smart people stayed away from her. Some who thought to give her trouble went into the swamp and never returned. If they were brave enough to seek a favor or ask for help, they went bearing gifts. If she refused, they thanked her and walked away. Few were that brave. Even my père kept his distance.”

  That confirmed what Jesse had told him. His grandfather had been a violent and brutal male. If he’d been afraid of Lottie, she was indeed a force to be reckoned with.

  “What is this about? Where did you hear that name?”

  The water was still running, but he didn’t have much time. “I met a woman who was raised by Lottie. When the old woman died, she lost her protection and ran. Her sire is chasing her and wants her dead. He’s even enlisted the help of human witch hunters to help him track her.”

  A low growl rumbled through his phone. It was rare Jacque LaForge lost his temper. When he did, smart folks got out of the way. “That pack never stops causing problems. What is the woman’s name and how old is she?”

  “Jesse Broussard. She said her mother’s name was Theriot. She didn’t mention a first name, and she won’t tell me who her sire was. I’d say she’s mid-twenties, born after you’d left Louisiana.”

  “I knew the Theriot family, but without her mother’s first name it is impossible to say. They are many, and I haven’t thought of them for many years. I will ask the others. You should come home.”

  “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. She doesn’t trust anyone with ties to her former pack. Well, they’re not really her pack since she never actually lived with them. I can’t say I blame her. Hell, I’m having a hard enough time trying to keep her from bolting.”

  “This woman, she means something to you?”

  Aaron rubbed his hand across his chest, letting it settle over his heart. This was his father, his alpha, the man he respected most in the world. “She is my destiny.” He stopped short of saying she was his mate. Some might think it too soon, but the males of his pack moved swiftly. Their instincts were keener than most. They knew when they’d met their mate. And Jesse was his.

  “I do not like the idea of you being on your own.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “You better be. Your mother will kill me if anything happens to you.” That was his father’s way of letting Aaron know he was worried. “Whatever you do, don’t let her get away.”

  His wolf stirred. A whisper of sound rose above the shower. Jesse was fully dressed, her eyes darkened with pain. Her face was pale. “I’ve got to go.” He abruptly ended the call. “How much did you hear?”

  She bolted for the door.

  ****

  Ding!

  Blaine Bishop, known online as BB, tossed aside his game controller and rolled his chair over to the bank of computers that sat along one wall of the space. “Gotcha, you bitch.” This chick had eluded him longer than any other ever had. Finding her had begun as a paying job with the promise of the fun of hunting her down at the end.

  Now it was personal.

  He loved how they all pleaded and begged at the end. They were witches. All women were, really, but some had real power and used it over men. When he took their lives, their power became his, made him stronger. This one was special. He could feel it in his bones.

  It wasn’t the first time he and his friends had been used to take care of a problem. They got to do what they loved and get paid for the privilege. Life didn’t get any better.

  His parents had thought him crazy, all his talk about witches and the occult a sign of a disturbed mind. He’d been in and out of treatment from the age of eight. The last one had been more jail than hospital, where he’d spent all his time locked in his room. But he was smarter than them, his IQ at genius level. It had been child’s play to manipulate the doctors and the system. He’d been released at eighteen and struck out on his own. But not before avenging himself first.

  The expressions on his parents’ faces when they’d come home from work one day to find him waiting had been priceless. Watching the blood drain from their lifeless bodies even better. They hadn’t been his first kills and certainly not his last. He’d found like souls online on the Dark Web, and they’d put their skills and resources together, staying in touch only by computer and keeping contact at a minimum.

  They all took turns on the hunt and kill. Those were the rules. You got one opportunity. If the victim lived, the contract was handed off to the next in line.

  Most clients just wanted the job done. This job was different. The client wanted to handle the killing personally and was paying them to hunt her down. Their job was to verify location and send the information.

  The money was good. The job unsatisfying.

  His buddy—code name Cobra, real name Cyril—known for his love of blades, had not only ignored the terms of the contract, but fucked up the job, letting the woman slip away. Another of their elite group had visited good old Cobra. Failure wasn’t an option. The woman had seen him, could identify him, making him a risk to the rest of them. Only the best survived and lived to kill another day.

  Fortunately, the client hadn’t been contacted about that sighting and knew nothing about the failed attempt.

  In their business, reputation was everything.

  He scanned through the data and smiled. There were cameras everywhere, even dinky little bars in West Virginia. Not to mention dash cams. Everyone thought their data was safe, but that was an illusion. There were people like him who no firewall could keep out. The facial recognition program he’d built had done its job.

  She knew someone was hunting her, but being forewarned wouldn’t save her. Not from him. This bitch owed him. He’d spent countless hours trying to track her down, time he’d never get back. Not to mention the slight to his reputation of being a fast and efficient hunter. Her time of eluding him was at an end.

  It was time to pack his weapons of choice and head out. And wasn’t it nice of her to visit his home state. He might not have been born here, but it was the place he’d chosen when he’d remade himself, taking a new name and creating an entirely new history.

  He contacted the client and sent the information, as per their agreement. After all, money was money and a deal was a deal. Too bad for the client if she was dead by the time he got there.

  Shoving up from his chair, Blaine stretched, feeling better than he had in weeks. The familiar adrenaline rush was better than any artificial drug. He cupped his erection and laughed, anticipating the final climax. Killing was better than sex. Combining the two? Well, that was his favorite thing.

  ****

  “We found her.”

  Alain stood at the edge of the burned-out cabin. Two of the walls remained standing. None dared bring them down. The swamp was quick to reclaim any abandoned home, but not even the vegetation dared to touch it. He’d hated the old woman, feared her power. She was gone—and good riddance to her—but his bastard still lived, a reminder of a time he wanted forgotten.

  “Where?” Turning his back on the ruins, he headed to the dock and climbed into the waiting boat.

  “Last sighting was a bar in West Virginia. One of those humans” he sneered “left word on their message board.”

  “Those humans are serving a purpose. When we are done with them, we will hunt them down.” It was up to him to decide what to do with this latest news. She might be a worthless female, but she had good survival skills. He blamed the witch for that.

  It still galled him that Marie had gotten away from him. Not only hadn’t she birthed the son he’d desperately wanted, she’d given birth to a girl. To add insult to injury, she’d then died, but not before making sure the child was out of reach.

  “They’re sure it’s her?” He didn’t want to waste time on a wild goose chase.

  His friend held out his phone. “Her picture was captured on some camera. I don’t know how they found it, but it’s her.”

  The image was blurry, but there was no mistaking her. Anticipation thrummed through him. “It’s time to go hunting.” He was restless. It had been months since he’d killed anyone. He was a wolf, an apex predator. It was his nature to kill. Not everyone thought that way. Certainly not the current alpha. He’d have challenged the bastard if he’d been sure he could win.

  He satisfied his bloodlust by taking several trips a year with his friends. The alpha might have suspicions, but as long as Alain kept his little hobby away from the pack, Jean Paul Dupointe turned a blind eye.

  “We leave as soon as we’re packed.”

  Chapter Seven

  Don’t let her get away.

  Some instinct had led her to leave the shower running and creep out to the kitchen. Even as she’d done it, she’d lectured herself, feeling foolish, but the habit of a lifetime was hard to silence. Lottie had taught her to take nothing at face value, to always test things. It was her nature to expect the worst, which was why Aaron confused her. He genuinely seemed to like her, to want to protect her. But it was clear that like everyone else in her life, he had his own agenda.

  The pain was almost crippling.

  “Jesse. Wait.”

  Ignoring his entreaty, she leaped off the porch, feet pounding toward her bike. She was through listening to anything he had to say. Like any wounded animal, she wanted to run away and hide somewhere safe. Alone was better. It hurt but not as much as this.

  Twenty feet. Ten feet. Almost there.

  I can make it.

  There was no other choice.

  “Jesse.” A heavy hand grabbed her arm.

  Letting the momentum carry her, she pivoted, then drove her fist into his face. His head snapped back. Pain radiated up her arm. The man had a concrete jaw.

  “Fuck! That hurt.”

  “It’s supposed to, you bastard.” Chest heaving, she tugged out of his grip. “Who were you talking to? Who did you tell about me?” Knowledge was power. Not that she could trust anything that came out of his lying mouth.

  He worked his jaw back and forth and wiped away the blood from his lip where his teeth had caught it. “My father,” he muttered. “I told him I was safe. I didn’t count on having to defend myself against an angry female.”

  She would not feel bad about hitting him. She was the one wronged, not him. “You had no right. I trusted you.” That’s what hurt the most.

  “Damn it, Jesse. It’s not a secret about your past if your pack knows. I called because of his connection to them, to see if he could give me any information or insight.”

  “You did?” His frustration, his annoyance, was all too real. Maybe he was telling the truth, but that didn’t explain what she’d heard. “What was that bit about not letting me get away, huh?”

  He gave a rough laugh. “I told him you were my destiny. He told me to bring you home. When I told him you wouldn’t go, he told me not to let you get away.”

  She was his destiny? Lightheaded, she leaned against her bike. “You really said that? To your father?”

  “Yes.” He took a cautious step closer and eyed her hand. “Did you hurt yourself?”

  Only he would ask her that. Most other males would have fought back or let her go and bid her good riddance. She flexed her fingers. “I’m fine.” Whatever damage she’d done was minimal and already healed.

  He motioned to her hand. “May I?”

  “For God’s sake.” She thrust her hand out. “I said I’m fine.”

  “I’m not sure you’d admit if you were hurt.” He brought it to his mouth, kissing each knuckle in turn before examining it closely. His concern was sweet and dissolved some of her anger, but not all.

  “You shouldn’t have called anyone without talking with me first.”

  “Not a mistake I’ll make again. In my defense, it’s my dad. I trust him and thought he might be able to help.” When he released her hand, she tucked it against her chest. “Ah, in the spirit of full disclosure, he’s going to talk to the older members of the pack, see if they might have any insights. It would really help if you’d tell me your mother and sire’s full names.”

  She shivered as icy rivulets of fear trickled through her. Her sire was the devil, the bogeyman who’d hunted her for her entire life, the demon that chased her in her dreams.

  “Jesse?” Aaron eased his arm around her waist and pulled her toward him. “I won’t let the bastard hurt you.”

  “You might not be able to stop him.” She snuggled close, needing his heat and reassurance. She’d been strong and alone for so long, it stunned her how fast she’d come to depend on him. Which is why it had hit her so hard when she’d thought he’d betrayed her. Her stomach was jittery and half-sick from the adrenaline dump. “He’s strong and has no honor. He’ll fight dirty, come at you from behind. And he won’t be alone.”

  The nightmare that had haunted her since Lottie’s death was that of being hunted and run to ground by her sire and his cronies. Now the fear was Aaron dying trying to protect her.

  He kissed the top of her head. “All the more reason for you to share every scrap of information. Forewarned is forearmed. One of my honorary uncles—who is really my dad’s cousin—is a wizard with computers. He might be able to find something if he knows what he’s looking for. Maybe even track their movements. It’s almost impossible not to leave some kind of electronic footprint these days, especially if your sire is dealing with full humans. They tend to share everything on social media.”

  Now there was a thought. One she’d never had, because it had never been an option for her. Her computer skills were rudimentary, at best, and she didn’t own a computer or a cell phone.

  “I do have a question,” he said.

  “What?”

  “Why is the shower running?”

  Crap. She was busted. “Ah, I wanted to see what you were up to without you knowing.”

  A grin flashed across his face. “Sneaky, I respect that.”

  Why wasn’t he angry and yelling accusations at her? “You’re the most unusual male.”

  He dropped a quick, hard kiss on her lips and released her. “I’m your male.”

  Distracted by the unexpected kiss, it took her a second for his reply to compute. Big and tough, barefoot and bare-chested, he was formidable. The wind teased his hair. His blue eyes were deadly serious.

  Her wolf whined and rubbed against her skin, wanting her to touch him. “You really mean that.” She said it slowly, testing the words. The rightness of them sent her heart racing and her blood pumping. “I suck at relationships.”

  A smile teased the corners of his lips. “You’ll learn.”

  “Maybe I don’t want to.” She wanted it more than her next breath, but he was too damn sure of himself for her liking.

  “Yeah, you do. A wolf isn’t meant to be alone, chère.”

  She trembled, hating the hope that jumped at his words, the way her body responded—nipples tightening, panties dampening. “And if I can’t?” What would happen a month from now? Six months? Eventually, he’d grow tired of her hang-ups, her problems, and leave.

  Everyone left.

  “You underestimate yourself. You’re the strongest female I’ve ever met. You can do anything you put your mind to.”

  “Your faith might be misplaced.” The ragged whisper was torn from her lips.

  He shook his head. “If you don’t have faith in yourself, have it in me. I can out stubborn a mule. Just ask my brother.” He caught her face in his hands and grazed his lips over hers, back and forth, until she was breathless. “I’ll never give up.”

  She grabbed his wrists and hung on, clinging to him and his promise. The sun beat down on them, eventually driving out the chill in her bones. Sweat made his chest gleam. The sweet scent of grass and wildflowers danced on the wind. Still, he held her, his patience seemingly limitless.

  “Ah, the water is still running,” she reminded him.

  “It can wait.”

  If she did this, if she went back inside, she was agreeing to tell him everything. And not only him but his family. Closing her eyes, she drew in a breath and grounded herself. With her senses open, she listened to the world around her and the one within. It was something Lottie had taught her.