Chapter 13 - Jasper
“How are we going to get started with all this?” Cillian asked. “Seems like searching for a needle in a haystack, and the needle looks like straw, and is gonna lie when you ask if it’s actually a needle, and—”
“We get it,” Camden said, his warning tone making whatever not-so-witty retort Cillian had planned die in his throat.
The four of them were strategizing about how to approach the news Donovan had given them, how to rout the shifters loyal to Lucas.
It was proving to be more of a hassle than they had anticipated.
“I actually have a lead on that,” Franco said.
“I went to speak with Donovan again today and asked if he had any suggestions on who might have been eager to join Lucas. At first, he couldn’t come up with any names.
Once I started suggesting a few parameters—like someone feeling snubbed after Camden took over, a bit power-hungry, someone who might be subtle enough to go unnoticed, he was able to come up with a name: Vincent Grayson. ”
Jasper’s head shot up. “Vincent?”
Franco checked his notes. “Yeah. Vincent. He used to work with your uncle, Camden. Since you took over, he’s been working over at Jameson’s Groceries. He—hey, Jasper, you all right?”
Jasper didn’t answer, still trying to process the name, as if it wouldn’t register for some reason. Vincent. Nikki’s friend. Who had wanted to go on a hike with her. God, she was going to be so unhappy. Vincent was one of the few people she trusted.
Sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair, trying to figure out how he could broach the subject without it coming out of the blue or sounding like he was trying to alienate her from a friend.
He had held off on warning her about the people in town, both to protect her and so she wouldn’t worry.
With this new development, he wouldn’t be able to hide it from her anymore. She needed to know about Vincent.
She was going to hate him, though. Jasper could already see her glaring at him, seeing him as no better than some of the other men who had controlled her life. But he had good reason, and if he explained it properly, she would understand.
“Jasper?”
Jasper blinked, pulling himself out of his thoughts. “Sorry,” he said. “Vincent is one of Nikki’s friends.”
“Shit,” Cillian said. That was about as apt a response as it was possible to get.
“I need you to pick him up and bring him in as soon as possible,” Jasper said.
He would have done it himself, but he wanted to be as by-the-book as it could be—and he wasn’t sure he would be able to refrain from decking Vincent.
The man was betraying Nikki by letting her trust him when in reality, he was in league with the man who wanted her under his thumb.
“Of course,” Franco said.
Jasper knew he would have to tell her. He should at least tell her first that he needed to talk to her. He’d warn her about Vincent in person, when it was easier to explain everything.
Already composing the brief text he wanted to send in his head, he pulled out his phone. He was about to unlock it when the top notification caught his eye: a text from Nikki.
Alarm bells began to clang in his ears, and he stiffened, staring down at the screen. There was no reason that he should be unsettled by seeing her name pop up. Except something screamed at him that this was different. Something had happened.
Slowly, uneasily, he pressed the notification, eyes locked on the screen, glued there until Nikki’s message came into full view.
On a hike with Vincent. Will be back before too long.
He read and reread the text, willing the words to change. They didn’t.
“Shit!”
Everyone else looked at him. “Jasper?” Camden asked.
But Jasper was already throwing on his jacket and shoving his phone into his pocket.
“Jasper!” one of the guys called out after him, trying to get his attention.
He didn’t acknowledge them. At the moment, they didn’t matter. The only thing he cared about was getting to Nikki.
The text was old, by at least a couple of hours.
He never checked his phone while in meetings, so there was every chance he was too late.
He gritted his teeth. He couldn’t think like that.
He wouldn’t let himself. Because if he was too late, that would mean Nikki was already in Lucas’s clutches.
It would mean that he had failed her. Had failed to protect her.
He wasn’t going to give up hope until he knew for certain it was too late.
The second he stepped out of the pack house, he shifted, transforming into a great wolf. He raced to the library, paws pounding on the pavement, hoping he’d be able to catch her scent. He charged through the crowd, earning bewildered looks from passersby. He didn’t care.
He came to a screeching halt in front of the library. Raising his snout, he sniffed, praying that he might be able to still catch her scent, that it wouldn’t be too faded.
Her scent was faint, but he managed to catch it. He didn’t even give himself time to be relieved. He sprinted, following her scent, desperately hoping he wasn’t too late.
The trail led him to the forest on the outskirts of town, then onto a barely perceptible trail, the kind he might not have noticed had it not been for the fact that Nikki’s scent lingered there, leading into the trees.
He charged through the woods, ignoring the branches snagging his fur and the stones digging into his paws with every other step.
The trail of her scent was growing stronger.
He kept waiting for a new scent to emerge, one seared into his memory from when he had shoved Lucas away from Nikki.
If Lucas’s scent appeared at any point, it would be too late to protect Nikki without an all-out assault on a hideout they still had yet to locate.
A shriek echoed through the woods. Nikki.
Jasper’s stomach sank even as rage coursed through him. He snarled, pivoting mid-stride and following the sound. He kept going, racing faster and faster every second until he came across a horrifying tableau.
Vincent had Nikki by the wrist and was dragging her through the woods.
She wasn’t making it easy on him, though—she was lashing out with her feet, her fists.
At one point, her foot hooked around the side of a tree trunk, and she tried to pull herself away.
Her eyes were burning with rage and hate, and determination.
A flash of savage pride shot through Jasper. She was a fighter, even if she didn’t realize it.
Being a fighter wasn’t always enough, though, and he could see her losing the battle. If he didn’t step in, it wouldn’t be long before she wore herself out, and Vincent could properly subdue her.
Vincent saw Jasper a second before Jasper pounced. Vincent’s eyes widened in surprise and horror, but it was too late for him to do anything. Jasper’s paws slammed into Vincent’s shoulders.
Vincent stumbled over, releasing Nikki from his grasp. Before he hit the ground, though, he transformed, shifting into a massive gray wolf. He snarled, lunging for Jasper.
But Jasper was already reacting. His claws swiped out, running across the other wolf’s snout. Stumbling back, Vincent bared his fangs. Jasper sprang forward again, claws lashing out and slashing across Vincent’s flank. The other wolf yelped, stumbling back and whimpering.
While Vincent was distracted, Jasper pushed Nikki back, away from Vincent.
Her eyes were wide with shock. He jerked his snout down the mountain, trying to tell her to run, but she stayed where she was, either from paralysis or because she didn’t want to leave him alone. It didn’t matter at the moment.
He rounded back toward Vincent, just in time to avoid the other wolf’s lunge.
Jasper barreled into him, shoving him to the ground.
He was just about to tear into Vincent’s throat when Vincent launched Jasper off him.
Jasper soared through the air, but landed safely while the other wolf hauled himself to his paws.
Vincent glanced behind him, sides heaving, then back to Jasper, who had planted himself between Jasper and Nikki.
Spreading blood matted his fur, plastering it to his side.
Jasper could see him calculating, wondering if it was better to retreat and come back some other time when he had reinforcements, or continue fighting Jasper.
Jasper knew which he’d prefer. Not only did he want to tear Vincent to shreds, but he’d also use the fight as a chance to distract him so she could get away.
He waited, half-crouched, preparing to strike the second Vincent made a move toward him.
Vincent stayed in place, eyes darting from side to side.
He seemed to come to the same conclusion: that fighting would only benefit Jasper at this point.
Growling, he spun around and darted into the woods.
Jasper watched him leave, bristling, still preparing to fight in case it was a bluff. Wind rushed through the trees. He could hear Nikki behind him, hear her shaking breaths and her rapid heartbeat. He could smell the lingering traces of fear on her scent, even as it ebbed.
He wanted to chase after Vincent and end him once and for all.
But he had no idea if Lucas was nearby, and he wasn’t going to risk Nikki falling into his clutches.
So once he was certain the other shifter wasn’t coming back, Jasper dashed to Nikki, crouching so she could clamber onto his back.
Once he knew she was secure, he took off, leaving the injured Vincent alone in the middle of the woods.
Sprinting through the woods, Jasper used the time to temper his rage.
He focused on Nikki, her weight, comforting simply because it meant she was safe, the way her thighs gripped his sides, her fingers grasping the fur between his shoulder blades.
He used the feel of her to soothe the fury racing through him.
Nikki was safe. That was all that mattered right now.