Chapter Twelve
Marcus
Only three things mattered the moment Joanna’s head whipped in our direction.
One: The instant I came into view, her body temperature spiked. I smiled, the memory of her bent over my desk flashing before my eyes.
Two: The moment lasted a mere second, for when Joanna’s gaze darted to her sister, the light in her eyes dimmed. I held back from strangling the rogue whose heady scent was making my head spin.
Three: I wasn’t the only one who noticed the sudden sag of Joanna’s shoulders. Her ex walked toward her until he stood directly in front of her. He blocked my view of her face, but I saw as he shoved his knife into her hand.
“Uh-oh,” Latoya sang from behind me. “Alpha doesn’t like a bit of caramel with his chocolate, I see.”
I spun around, Maya knowing well enough to pull the rogue back and away from my grasp. “I’m only going to tell you this once,” I growled, trying to limit my breaths. “Unless I tell you to speak, keep your fucking mouth shut.”
Latoya smiled innocently, lifting her shackled hands and sealing her lips with an imaginary lock and key.
Maya fixed her lead gloves and grabbed Latoya’s forearm, pushing the rogue forward.
Joanna, Jerome, and Malik met us halfway.
“Thanks for cutting your run short, J,” Maya said smoothly.
My eyes left Joanna’s frown in time to see Jerome nodding to his gamma, his gaze veering from her face.
Latoya let out a low purr. She leered at Jerome, licking her lips.
Maya released a slow, steady breath.
“Love the outfit.” We all turned to Malik, who was grinning as he regarded Latoya’s prisoner tunic. “The shit stains really bring out your eyes.”
Latoya sprung forward, but a yank from Maya reined her in.
“Malik, you’re not helping,” Joanna spat.
I hated hearing his name leave her lips. “He shouldn’t be here,” I stated calmly, fighting for control.
She tapped the blade of the knife rhythmically on her thigh. “I couldn’t do this alone.”
What did she mean, alone? If she didn’t want me, I could’ve entrusted Maya, Jerome, or Grace to help. Hell, I’d even command Lucas to get off his ass if that’s what Joanna wanted.
Joanna pointed to the shackles around Latoya’s wrists. “Is there a key for those?”
I pulled the small lead box from my pocket and tossed it to her.
Instinct forced Jerome to take a step away from her when she opened the box to examine the silver key.
“The magic feeding the silver is powerful. It can still burn us through fabric, so we have to be careful,” I said by way of explanation.
Joanna nodded. “We have something similar to this.”
A foul taste appeared in my mouth: the sour tang of crushed delusion. Of course I didn’t have to explain silver-infused shackles to the werewolf hunter.
“Did Grace figure out a way to get the list?”
I looked to Maya, allowing her the honor of speaking about her warrior’s capabilities.
“She’s making a cloning device,” Maya announced.
“As long as Silas has his cellphone, it will copy all its data. The problem is, it’ll be cloning all the phones in its proximity at once.
And there’s no way of knowing if the device has fully copied Silas’s until it confirms that it’s cloned every phone. ”
“So, we have to make sure we’re there long enough,” Joanna concluded, placing the box in Malik’s outstretched hand.
“Will they let me in if I arrive before you?” I asked Latoya.
The rogue pouted her lips, pointing to her mouth.
I flexed my fingers, fighting the urge to form a fist. “Answer the damn question.”
She smiled. “Oh, yay. I’ve received permission to speak.” She looked at Joanna. “Hey, little sis. You look… lethal.”
Joanna carried no visible weapon except for the knife from Malik, but she wore black leather from head to toe. She sighed. “Please answer his question, Latoya.”
Latoya flicked a hand in my direction. “You’ll be fine.”
Joanna grimaced. “Are you sure—”
“He’ll be fine, Joey.” The levity disappeared from her eyes as she cut her sister’s words short. “So, you can stop treating me like a fucking criminal and trust me.”
Joanna didn’t retort. “Maya, will you help my sister into the car?”
“Of course,” Maya replied, shoving her forward.
“Why couldn’t Idris over there be my bad cop, huh?” Latoya yelped as Maya tightened the grip on her arm.
Joanna gestured to Jerome. “Can you make sure Maya doesn’t kill her?”
I faced Malik as Jerome began following the two women. “You can go too—”
“I’m fine here,” he snapped before I could finish.
This was not how I wanted my last genuine moment with Joanna to be. But I shook off my irritation and asked the question I’d been dreading out loud. “When do you perform the spell?”
Joanna held the knife out for Malik, now that the threat was out of sight. She shoved her hands into her pockets and shrugged her shoulders. “Sometime tonight.”
Her answer burned like molten silver. “Is there anything you need from me?”
She shook her head. “I found a few strands of your hair on my pillow.”
Malik spun his knife, loathing burning in his eyes.
If I provoked him well enough to attack me, I could kill him and claim self-defense. And Joanna would understand; she despised him… which is why I still couldn’t believe he was with her, standing among my pack.
“Alpha.”
Fuck, Maya. Do not interfere, I warned.
But my gamma appeared by Malik’s side, removing her gloves. “I think a hunter should wait in the car with the rogue.” She faced Malik—an unspoken hint.
My wolf growled at Maya’s disobedience, but I said nothing as my gaze followed the dead man walking who cursed his way to the car.
“I’m sorry I interrupted,” Maya said, holding my glare. “But I’ll let you two—”
“It’s okay, Maya,” Joanna cut in. “I should leave now, anyway.”
Maya briefly studied Joanna’s face. Then my gamma did something neither I nor Joanna expected: she leaned in and hugged the hunter. The hug was one-handed, with an awkward pause going in and an even more awkward release.
“Good luck,” Maya whispered. She left for the building without another word, glancing back only to see if Jerome was behind her.
Jerome patted Joanna on the back as he walked past us.
Once Joanna’s face recovered from the shock, I inched closer to her. “We should talk.”
She shook her head. Her small step back failed to go unnoticed. “I’ll text you the address from the safe house.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “That’s it then? That’s the entire plan?”
“The plan is not to get caught. Drink. Mingle. Flirt with a werewolf who will make the time fly by.”
“Joanna.”
“Tomorrow, we don’t know each other, Blackwood. Until the three of us are safely out of that house, I’m a clueless human, and you are nothing more than my sister’s friend, interested in joining a revolution.”
“Now look who’s underestimating herself,” I declared, taking another step forward. “Thinking it’d be easy for me to ignore the fact we’re in the same fucking house.” My hand around her wrist stopped her from moving back again. I reached up, cupping her cheek.
She hesitated before brushing her lips against my palm. “I never said it would be easy.”
I closed the space between us, pulling her into my chest and dropping my head until my lips pressed against hers.
They were so soft and warm, and always what stopped my mind from racing when I thought about how wrong this all was—but how damn right it felt. Even my headache from earlier was gone.
The car horn blared. Joanna flinched, but I held her tightly, deepening the kiss, allowing her to melt in my arms until a small moan slipped from her parted mouth. One I greedily devoured.
The car screamed again, this time relentlessly. The asshole refused to take his hand off the horn until Joanna pulled away from me.
“See you later, Marcus,” she said quickly, rushing to the car.
I should’ve called after her. Instead, I watched her walk away.
Joanna hopped into the front passenger seat of the car, where Malik glowered at her, his mouth moving despite his clenched teeth.
If I’d listened closely and caught him berating her, I would’ve killed him. So, I turned away, peeling off my shirt to go for a run and clear my head…
And to try not to question why Joanna’s ‘see you later’ sounded like her swan song.
◆◆◆
Silas’s mansion sat on a massive estate, with acres of forest between the house and the noisy highway.
From Range Rovers to Toyotas, all types of vehicles filled the long, spiraling dirt path leading up to the driveway. I parked my Hummer behind a Nissan more beat up than Joanna’s old safehouse car and checked my pocket for Grace’s device one last time.
The cloner looked like an old-school pager, only thinner.
With the push of a button, the small LCD screen normally displaying phone numbers would instead reveal the progress of the device.
With my phone in its orbit, the cloner read a satisfying one hundred percent, but that no doubt changed as I approached the front door.
A group of werewolves stood by the water fountain, drinks in their hands and wide smiles on their faces. They waved when they saw me—even though I was a stranger.
I was relieved I’d chosen to wear a casual outfit, as I almost wore fucking dress pants. Joanna’s text contained only the address. And after the way she’d left the compound, I didn’t want to bother her with trivial questions. I’d liked her message and silenced my phone.
None of the wolves by the fountain were alphas. I slowed my pace, trying to determine whether I should introduce myself to them or enter the mansion through its arched, double-entry front doors.
A whistle from atop the massive stone staircase made my decision for me.
“Yo!” The shifter pointed to my head. “Did you dye your hair or is that natural?” I realized he was referring to my silver streak.
Climbing the stairs, I pulled at the lock of hair. “I was born with it. Have years of being picked on to prove it.”
A hint of a smile appeared on the man’s face. He was lighter than Jerome, with an orange-reddish tincture to his dark brown skin. “Can I touch it?”