Shifter In Ascent (Louisiana Shifters) (10 page)

Jace ground his jaw angrily. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tessa slipping her fingers below the waist of the pajamas. Her breath was coming fast now, and Jace wondered if he ought to just mark her now and save her the trouble of going through that whole process. She would probably understand eventually. His wolf was very strong, and she would be in the top tiers of the pack if he mated her.

He’d already claimed her out loud, come to think of it.
No. This is wrong, and not just for the girl.
She was still a human. Humans were bad news, and Maddie would never forgive Jace. She

would remind Jace that humans were dangerous and hateful. She would bring their dead parents into the argument. She would cry. And she would win, as she always did. Jace had never been able to face down Maddie’s tears, and he wasn’t about to hurt her over some girl. Not even a luscious, unbearably tempting one like Tessa.

Jace reached out to Tessa, but instead of ripping her clothes off he restrained her. He slipped his huge hands around her small ones and pulled her into a tight embrace. She struggled, and Jace gripped her hips firmly. When her plush rear pressed against his groin, a moan escaped both of them. Jace thought he might lose the fight and be inside her within moments, but he summoned an image of his tear-stained little sister to keep his cool.

Jace melded her form against his hardened body and ignored her struggles until they ceased. Slowly she relaxed, and the mating scent diffused enough for Jace to breathe comfortably. He stroked her soft curls and waited for her to drop into a deeper sleep.

No answer, but the shower’s soft hiss let him know that she was safely occupied. Jace slumped back onto the mattress and tried to get his bearings. The sun slanted through the window boldly, which meant that Jace had slept hard into the day. That had to be something like ten hours of sleep.

It was a rare night when Jace got more than three or four hours in a row before waking covered in sweat. Normally in his dozing state fear and panic slipped their cold hands around his neck and squeezed until Jace was up out of his bed and racing out a couple miles west toward his sister’s house. Once he’d checked on Maddie, he usually did a few laps around the Den to release the chokehold of his anxiety. Jace knew the lay of the land surrounding the Den better than anyone else, but there was a price to be paid. On bad nights, the mindless panic pushed him for hours.

On any other day he would rise just after dawn; he usually stayed out until he was too On any other day he would rise just after dawn; he usually stayed out until he was too

exhausted to do anything but sleep. This late-to-bed-early-to-rise combination often left him a distempered cur for at least the first half of each day, if not the entirety. Cera, his second in command, refused to work with him until he’d at least had a cup of coffee first.

Today Jace felt well-rested, but just as sour as any other day. From the moment he opened his eyes he had a raging case of blue balls that just wouldn’t go away. He supposed he could take care of it by himself, but he felt that having Tessa just in the next room would make the experience somehow unsatisfying.

He could also seek out one of the females at the Den, but he’d have to leave the human here alone for a long stretch. Plus he was pretty sure he’d offended or otherwise disenfranchised almost all of them at some point. Just as well, probably.

The only other option was seducing Tessa. He could possibly have her once or twice without getting entangled. If he bedded the Ascendant girl repeatedly though, he’d have a hard time not bonding with her. Plus the other males in the pack might not approve of her bed hopping, although it wasn’t insurmountable in the race to find a mate. In any event, it didn’t all add up. The idea was too risky.

Not good options, really.
His smartphone beeped, telling him he had a new voicemail. Picking up the phone, he saw that it was from Cera. She probably had the results of Tessa’s background check, then. He dialed the voicemail, waiting to hear Cera’s message.
“Hey boss, it’s Cera. I ran your preliminary background check on one Tessa Anderson. If she is who she says she is, you’re in the company of a multi-millionaire heiress. Let’s see… rich family, tragic car crash killed the parents, she and her younger sister lived with a guardian until they were of age… no criminal history, no employment records, no parking tickets. She’s completely clean, except an APB in her file. Looks like the girl and the sister have both been missing for over a month. There’s a huge reward for them, posted by a Byron Lancaster. He claims to be a jilted groom. That’s all I got. Let me know if you need a deeper check, boss.”
Jace rolled out of bed with a grumble, heading for the kitchen. If anything, Cera’s message had given rise to more questions, which was not what Jace needed right now. He put on coffee as he listened absentmindedly to Tessa moving around the bathroom and then dressing in the bedroom. She finally came out into the kitchen and sat down on one of the stools surrounding the kitchen island.
“You look like hell,” Jace commented.
“Yeah, well. You snore. I got a really lousy night of sleep.”
Jace suppressed a knowing smirk, pouring two mugs of coffee. He got out sugar and creamer and put them on the marble table in front of Tessa, then sat a mug in front of her.
“I don’t snore, human. You were the one keeping me up last night. Rolling around, making noises.”
Tessa frowned, her forehead wrinkling. She poured tons of cream and sugar into her coffee, which amused Jace. Definitely a woman.
“I don’t remember anything. But my whole body is stiff and achy. I thought it was just from your spongy mattress.”
Jace pointed his coffee mug at her.
“Don’t talk about my mattress. I had that specially made to fit my needs.”
Tessa cocked her head, propping her chin in her hand.
“Your needs? I figured you had your orgies in that giant shower,” she said, deadpan. Jace choked on his coffee, his brows shooting up in question.
“Orgies?” he spluttered.
“Well, yeah. Why else would you need such a big shower?”
“Maybe because I’m six foot five? Now that you suggested it, though, I could arrange something. Lots of females in the pack. I’d even let you pick,” he said, only halfway joking.
“Don’t bother on my account,” Tessa said sourly.
Jace shrugged and went to the refrigerator to begin pulling out eggs, cheese, sausage, and other breakfast items. If he had to walk around all day with a hard-on, he could at least satisfy other appetites.
“You cook?” asked Tessa.
“When you eat 3000 calories a day, you learn. There’s a mess hall back at the Den, but I prefer my solitude. Sausage omelets okay with you?”
“That sounds amazing. I’m starving. I feel like I haven’t eaten in a decade.”
“That would be the Ascendant hormones,” he said noncommittally.
“Come again?”
“Your Ascendant hormones are increasing. Getting you ready for the change. Making you want what’s best for you. Like extra calories, and cute male Shifters,” he said, more deadpan humor.
Tessa rolled her eyes, but she found she didn’t mind the more relaxed Jace one bit. Humor went a long way in her book.
“I’m not so sure about this whole Ascendant thing.”
Jace began whisking eggs as he talked.
“I am. I can smell you a mile away. That’s how I knew to follow you in the first place,” he said.
“Whoa whoa whoa. Slow down. We’ll come back to this part about you following me around. I smell like one of your kind?”
Tessa frowned again, confused.
“Not like a Shifter, not exactly. Ascendants are meant to be brought into our world and mate with our kind. We can identify them by their scent. It’s like a magnet for us. Irresistible.”
Jace poured the eggs in the pan, and started adding the omelet ingredients. He wasn’t sure how much to tell Tessa about the change. He didn’t want to scare her.
“Explain the mating thing. Not my source’s version, the real thing.”
“Basically, bond and reproduce. Like marriage and kids, but waaay longer. And wolfier,” he said with a grin.
“How do you mate? Do I have to mate?” Tessa asked, her face heating uncomfortably.
“I doubt you’ll be able to resist the urge. It’s a strong pull for most adult shifters. When your wolf self meets another wolf who is compatible, you feel it. The stronger the match, the stronger the urge to mate.”
Tessa was quiet for a long moment, thinking.
“Is it- is it like a pulling sensation in your chest?” she asked, indicating a spot at the center of her chest.
Jace stilled, surprised. Apparently he wasn’t the only one feeling the magnetic pull between them, then.
“Yes. The more willing and compatible the couple, the stronger the pull will be. It helps us pick good candidates for our mates.”
“And that means getting married?”
Jace flipped the omelet out of the pan and onto a plate, and then turned to face Tessa. “There is a ceremony, but it’s secondary. Mating is pretty much exactly what it sounds like.”
Tessa blushed even harder, and looked down at her hands. Jace put the omelet in front of her with a fork, and she looked relieved.
“Thanks. This whole mating thing- it isn’t very romantic, is it?” she asked.
Jace shrugged, and turned back to make his own breakfast as he talked.
“I think that’s probably up to the couple. The whole lavish celebration and chapel thing, that’s definitely a human thing. But courting can be any way you like, I guess.”
Tessa wrinkled her nose and took another bite of the omelet.
“Are you making a face at my cooking or at mating?” he asked, amused.
“The omelet’s perfect. The mating thing… I guess every little girl imagines her white wedding, you know?”
Jace made a noncommittal noise and turned back to his omelet making. Silence reigned for another minute or so before Tessa spoke up again.
“So did you mean it when you said that you’re not going to take a mate? I mean, is it that horrible?”
“It’s not that. Several of the females in the Den would be a good match. I’m just not interested in taking a mate. It seems like a lot of hassle just to have sex. I can get that other places.”
Tessa gave him another look that said he’d overspoken, but it wasn’t Jace’s fault that she was an ice queen.
“Ugh. I don’t want to know about it. And I don’t want a mate, either. I have my own life.”
“You’ll change your mind.”
“I won’t. You’ve held out.”
“You’re not me,” he said, sliding onto the stool next to her with his omelet.
Tessa rolled her eyes, and they ate quietly. Jace finished his huge omelet before she was even halfway through her smaller one. When he stopped eating, so did she.
She’s going to need to learn to eat more than that if she’s staying with this pack
, Jace thought.
“What if that guy Jasper is my most compatible mate?” Tessa asked suddenly.
Jace stopped looking Tessa up and down and sighed.
“You’re going to stay right here. If you socialize with wolves from this pack, you’ll find your mate here. I could make a couple of guesses as to who it’ll be.”
“Are you seriously matchmaking for me right now?”
Jace shook his head, taken back by the idea.
“Not exactly. I can just guess who you’ll like. Probably Declan or Rhett. Hopefully not Cord or Jesse.”
“Uh huh. This is sounding less and less appealing.”
“They’re good guys, possibly excepting Jesse. I’ll take you around to the Den soon, and you’ll get along famously. Shifters males are tall and good looking, pretty much without exception. Plus, most of us make pretty decent money from our jobs within the pack. You’ll be happy enough here.”
“Sounds like you’ve got everything figured out, then,” she said, sipping her coffee demurely.
What the hell did that mean? Gods, Jace never had understood women. Taking a sip of his What the hell did that mean? Gods, Jace never had understood women. Taking a sip of his

coffee, he reclined as he looked her over speculatively. Tessa was looking around the kitchen and living room, soaking in all the details of the house.
“Did you build this house?” she asked curiously.
Jace shook his head, setting down his coffee cup.
“It doesn’t work like that here. Remember, I told you before that the Den is sentient. It creates what we need to live comfortably.”
Tessa’s eyebrows raised as she looked around again.
“It’s just… this place is very you. All the details are just right, down to the books,” she said, waving a hand at the crowded bookshelves in the living room area.
“What does that mean?” Jace asked.
“I just mean,
of course
your shelves are full of Dumas and Moore and Emerson and Hemingway. ‘Every man is an island’, indeed. I can’t believe the Den could understand you so well,” she said, a soft smile touching her lips.
“I brought the books in myself. The Den can’t create anything so personal. It can do beds and clothes and light fixtures and food, but that’s all powered by your own mind. A book is powered by the mind that wrote it,” he explained, for some reason feeling a bit embarrassed that she’d pegged him so well.
Tessa frowned but nodded.
“How did Shifters come to live here? It seems like an incredible stroke of luck,” she said.
“Shifters are originally from Europe, and when the Inquisition washed through Greece in the late 1700’s, our secret was discovered by a group of humans. It didn’t take long for our accusers to out many other supernatural species, especially the Fae and the vampires; we all lived much more openly before modern communications existed. We joined forces with the vampires to protect the weaker Fae species as much as possible, but it was a terrible loss. There was a wholesale slaughter of paranormals, and those who survived scattered across the globe.
“When the war ended, the Fae thanked the vampires and Shifters by giving us the ability to create a between-place in the event that we ever needed to hide again. And thus the Den was born.”
“You really are a great storyteller,” Tessa said, some secret amusement lighting her eyes.
“I have to admit, it’s because I spend a lot of my free time playing RPG video games. I think they’ve rubbed off on me,” he said, again feeling a bit shy. He wasn’t very comfortable revealing so much of himself to a female, especially an Ascendant.
“That’s right, you’re kind of an IT nerd at heart,” Tessa said with a grin.
“I’ll admit, I understand machines a lot better than people. You can learn dozens of languages to speak to a computer, but when it comes to people… you either know how to relate, or you don’t. I’ll bet you can guess which category I fall into,” he said mildly.
“You’re doing a fine job relating right now,” Tessa pointed out with a shrug.
“Most people don’t feel that way,” Jace said, darkly amused. Tessa narrowed her eyes but changed the subject.
“What about now? I know the Inquisition is long gone, but are the Shifters safe?” she asked, seeming genuinely concerned.
A little warm spot sparked in his chest at her question. He was glad that she cared about his people, even if it was only motivated by self-preservation. Shifters were her people now, too.
“We still have our enemies, but it’s been years since the last open attack. To be on the safe side, Shaw and I have agreed that you will stay here in the Den until we’ve sorted things out side, Shaw and I have agreed that you will stay here in the Den until we’ve sorted things out