Chapter 3

Chapter 2 - Jameson

“This is the life,” Klyte said, stretching and letting the warm sun hit every inch of his bare torso. “We should have skipped the whole special ops thing and gone straight to lounging at a giant mansion.”

“If it weren’t for the ‘special ops thing,’ we would be able to afford it,” Luke responded. “Hey, Jameson, pass me another beer.”

I nodded, reached into the cooler by my chair, and tossed a bottle over my head in Luke’s general direction without looking. He caught it easily and flicked the cap off with his thumb.

The afternoon sun felt great on my skin, and I reclined back in my chair. Around me, the rest of the Silver Wolves lounged around the patio, relishing the summer sun as much as I was. Oliver sat on the steps leading up to the massive mansion, Alek and Sam relaxed in the currently-off hot tub, and Luke, Klyte, and I had claimed three of the deck chairs.

“It feels a bit weird, though,” said Oliver. “Sitting around, doing nothing. I keep waiting for Malcolm to call and give us a new mission.”

“Nah,” Alek said, his red hair darkened by the water and plastered to his forehead. “If you ask me, we should destroy our cell phones and get new numbers so he can’t contact us. Five bucks says he calls in the next week to offer us a job.”

“I’ll take you on,” Klyte said. “It’ll be two.”

Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to see who was calling, then snorted before pressing “answer.”

“Hey, Malcolm,” I said, grinning. “We were just talking about you.”

Over in the hot tub, Alek pumped his fist in triumph while Klyte made a disgruntled face.

“All good things, I hope.” Malcolm’s deep, authoritative voice sounded amused.

“Terrible, actually. Alek was just talking about what a dictator you were.”

Alek stopped his triumphant dance and paled a little, shaking his head.

“He would say that,” Malcolm chuckled. “You guys bored of retirement yet? I’m willing to take you back and call your absence an extended vacation due to temporary insanity.”

“We’re not quite there yet,” I said. “It’s only been a month. Give it another and try again. We’ll see if we’ve murdered one another by then.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Malcolm said, and I could hear the amused smile in his voice.

“So, was this just a recruitment call?” I asked.

“Only partially,” he said. “I wanted to check in and see where you ended up, just in case there’s any trouble and I could help out.”

“We grabbed a cabin—well, it’s more like a mansion— out by the lake, near Brixton, Colorado.”

There was a long silence. “Brixton? That the home of the Obsidian Pack?”

“Yeah. Why?” Something about Malcolm’s tone caused me to sit up straighter. The others sensed the change, and in an instant, their bodies tensed, every inch of them alert and ready to spring into action if needed. They watched me intently.

“I know the alpha. His name’s Callum Hartwood. I don’t know him well, but I know his reputation. There have been some weird rumors about how he came to power in the

first place, though nothing’s been confirmed. I’d be careful around him, that’s all.”

Something prickled at the back of my head. Hartwood? Where did I know that name from?

I’d met with Callum when we’d first moved in to reassure him we didn’t want any trouble and make sure we weren’t on his territory. He’d struck me as a little oily, definitely arrogant, but not necessarily a threat. I’d have to reassess that.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” I promised.

“I’m not too worried about you guys. I know you can protect yourself plenty.”

“Still, I appreciate the heads up,” I said. “Talk to you later.”

I hung up. The rest of the pack was waiting to hear what had happened.

“You can relax,” I said. “Nothing major.”

The tension slowly ebbed out of their muscles until they were close to normal again.

“What was the problem?” Luke asked.

Luke had been my second-in-command during our time in the Silver Wolves. He was also the only other one from the Half Moon Pack. We’d grown up together; I trusted him with my life. His dark hair and olive skin shone in the sunlight as he waited to hear what the danger was. I knew that if he needed to, he would shift in an instant and let his wolf instincts take over, destroying whatever issue there might be.

“Nothing much,” I said. “He just said to be careful about the Obsidian Pack alpha. Callum Hartwood.”

Again, the name rang a bell. I hadn’t caught Callum’s last name when we’d met, but now it was stuck in my head like gristle in teeth.

“Do any of you know that name? Hartwood? I could have sworn I heard it before.”

The other five went silent for a moment as they thought. Finally, Luke spoke up.

“Wasn’t there a Hartwood in our old pack?” he asked. “A whole family? I don’t think they were particularly popular. But there was a girl our age—”

“Georgia.” I said it without thinking. It was like someone had slammed me in the gut as I remembered a young girl with strawberry-blond hair and intense green eyes staring down at me in the moonlight. “I remember now.”

How the hell could I have forgotten about Georgia Hartwood?

***

“Hey, Hartwood.”

Every inch of Georgia’s body tensed before she turned to face me. Her green eyes glared at me distrustfully, and I could see her wolf threatening to come out.

“Easy,” I said, holding up my hands. “I wanted to see if you needed a lift.” I looked upward. The skies were a steely gray and heavy with rain. A drop splashed on my face as if to prove my point.

Georgia stood rooted to the spot. And, god, she was gorgeous. Sometime in the last year, the awkward, scrawny girl had changed. Her clothes clung to her athletic but curvy body in a way that drew the eye to all the right places. She had cut her strawberry-blond hair, so now it framed her face, making her look less childish. And the way she held herself, as though she were either going to flee or fight me, showed a feisty side of her that I’d rarely seen. It was enticing, both to me and my wolf.

I couldn’t remember when I’d started noticing her, but over the last year or so, something had changed. Her body had filled out. She was no longer emaciated or scrawny-looking but looked feminine and fit. Her scent was more alluring—the smell of the forest mixed with spice—and my wolf stirred in approval every time I smelled it. I hadn’t been able to get it out of my mind, no matter how hard I tried.

“Thanks,” she said. “But I’d rather walk.” I shrugged. “Then can I join you?” She looked over her shoulder at the direction she was heading before turning back to me. Her eyes were calculating as they scrutinized me. The way she was staring at me, sizing me up with those emerald eyes, was more of a turn-on than I could describe. “Can I stop you?”

I gave a wolfish grin. “You can try.”

I got a reaction from that. A slight one, but a reaction, nonetheless. Her lips twitched upward even as her gaze held mine, studying me as though waiting to see the trap. Then she sighed irritatedly, turned around, and began walking. I trotted to catch up with her before falling into step beside her. I was taller than her, but her stride outpaced mine as though she were trying to leave me in the dust.

“Where are your friends?” she asked. “Waiting to jump out at me?”

I laughed. “Come on, we haven’t pulled that shit since we were kids. You can relax a bit.”

“Did you forget the time last year when you guys tried to ambush me in the woods while I was hunting?”

“I remember you getting away and managing to keep your kill at the same time. It was impressive.”

She snorted.

“No, seriously,” I said. “You jumped over Luke like it was nothing, and when we tried to track your scent, you led us on a wild goose chase. It was hilarious.”

That earned a smile, and her shoulders loosened slightly.

“You don’t have to worry about them,” I said. “They’re all off planning my and Luke’s surprise going away party.”

“Not much of a surprise, is it?”

“Jenna can’t keep a secret to save her life.”

The rain began to fall in steady drips, dappling my hair and Georgia’s face. We walked in silence for a few minutes. All I could think about was how her scent mixed with the rain and how pleasant it was.

Finally, Georgia asked, “What about you?” “What about me?” “Do I have to worry about you?”

We stopped and turned to face one another. “In what capacity?” She shrugged and leaned against a nearby tree, her green eyes never leaving mine.

“In any, I suppose.”

I took a step closer, half-expecting her to move away. But she remained where she was, watching me. We were underneath the shelter of the tree now, the rain tapping gently on the leaves but not reaching us.

“I guess that depends,” I said, moving closer. I could see every one of her freckles now. “Are you worried right now?”

She shook her head. “Surprisingly, no.”

We were so close that if either of us moved much, we would touch the other.

“Then I think you’ll be fine.” I reached out and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. When she didn’t flinch away, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers.

I’d wanted to do it for months, and from the way she responded by clutching my shirt and pulling me in closer, I guessed she felt the same way. There was an eager intensity and fervor. I gripped her tightly, holding her in place. One of my hands moved to her waist, waiting a moment before slipping beneath her shirt.

A second after my fingers touched bare skin, she broke off the kiss and pushed me away slightly. My hand went instantly back to my side, if a little reluctantly.

“Sorry,” I said.

“No, no,” she said, taking a deep breath. “It’s not you. It’s just…I really need to get home.”

There was genuine regret, mixed with anxiety, that I could tell wasn’t directed at me. There was something she was holding back. I almost asked her about it but held off. Instead, I said, “Will you come to the party tonight?”

She laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think I’d be welcome.”

“Then after,” I said. “Do you know that clearing on the creek?”

It was a rhetorical question; everyone in the pack knew about it. She nodded.

“Can you meet me there at ten?” I asked. When she hesitated, I said, “It would really suck if I didn’t get to spend a bit more time with you before I left.”

Georgia gave a soft snort and a shake of her head. I thought it was a refusal until she said, “Okay.”

I grinned. “Great.”

Then, before she could stop me, I leaned forward again and stole another kiss. She didn’t push me away.

***

Now that her name had come up again, I wondered what Georgia was up to. I hadn’t thought of her in years. She was probably still with our old pack, in that old house on the outskirts of town. It was weird thinking about her after all this time. I wondered how she was doing, even as I wondered what Malcolm could have meant by warning us about her uncle.

But then I thought about how things had ended that last night with her darting into the forest and my stomach clenched in guilt.