Shifter In Ascent (Louisiana Shifters) (13 page)

needed to do raced through his mind. Rub. Fuck. Nuzzle. Bite. Mate.
Shit.
Jace froze as Tessa’s wet heat brushed his manhood.
Mate? No.
She was a fucking human.
It took everything Jace had to grab her by the hips again and stop her undulations. God, she

was so damned hot. He had to stop this, had to say something that would kill the lust. “Get off me, Tessa.”
Tessa went still, confused. After a moment of silence, she pulled down her skirt and pushed

Whatever she read there made Tessa blanch and look away. She got up and went down the hall, closing herself in the bedroom with a soft click.
Jace ran a bleary hand over his face. His mind was spinning.
I almost mated a human.
Jace dragged himself onto the couch, hitting the light switch as he lay down. He grabbed the quilt that hung over the back of the couch, and pulled it over himself.
I have to get her out of here. I can’t resist her otherwise. The pull is too strong.
Tomorrow,
he thought.
Tomorrow I hand her over to Declan. She deserves a mate who will respect her, not some wolf who cowers from his little sister.
Jace clenched his jaw, and closed his eyes against a thousand nattering thoughts about how he could keep Tessa.
He would do what was best for both of them while he still could.
TEN

Get off me, Tessa. Get off. Get off.
Tessa woke in the middle of the night with what had to be the worst hangover of her life. She wasn’t sure if it was Declan’s hooch or sheer humiliation that had her in agony just now, but she wasn’t ever taking a second helping of either one.
She waited until the worst of the nausea had passed, then dragged herself out of Jace’s bed and into the bathroom. If Jace noticed that she was staggering around in the wee hours of the morning, he certainly didn’t have anything to say about it.
Tessa turned on the water faucet and drank from her filled hands. The cool water was a balm to her hot, dry mouth. She splashed water on her face, then dug around in Jace’s medicine cabinet. No aspirin to be found. Of course, a shifter wouldn’t need aspirin.
Then Tessa remembered the first aid kit. She was rewarded by finding a stash of aspirin, which she took with more water from the faucet.
Finished with that, Tessa looked at herself in the mirror. An extremely bedraggled version of Tessa looked back. Not a pretty sight. Tessa willed herself to memorize this image lest she be tempted to repeat the previous night’s mistakes.
She tucked herself back into Jace’s bed, eventually finding a deep, healing sleep. When Tessa woke up again, she was famished and determined that today would be different. She’d been playing her cards all wrong yesterday. She ought to be playing to win Declan or Cord. Jace could stay here and be screwed up all he wanted; Tessa had things to do.
She peeked into the living room but saw no sign of Jace. After a quick shower, she fished the cell phone out of her purse and turned it on. One text message awaited:
Get info on everything. Get a headcount too. Ask about mcd.
Tessa wished she hadn’t called James from the parade. She should have lied, maybe come up with a story of holing up with some fake pack. Now the Legion would be expecting to her turn over all the Shifters she’d met. If she refused, they’d hurt Camilla.
When this was over, Tessa was going to make sure James suffered for the pain he’d put her through. The casual seduction, turning Tessa over to the Legion, and ensnaring Camilla.
And now Tessa was doing the same thing to this pack.
Tessa put the phone back in her purse and stuffed the whole purse in Jace’s closet. She pulled out the box of clothes she’d found yesterday, and sorted through all the assorted items. She picked out a lacy thong, a pair of skintight black jeans, and a sweetheart-cut ivory satin and lace shirt that was sort of a hybrid of Victorian lace and corsetry. The bodice was a matte piece of satin with light boning that clung to her natural curves. A thin layer of lace swept up from the bodice’s neckline and covered her cleavage, arms, and shoulders up to her neck.
Hot damn. I would have never picked this out for myself, but I have to say I kind of like it. I doubt anyone will be pushing me off their lap tonight.
All Tessa could have asked for was a killer pair of heels, but the Jace’s sister hadn’t left any footwear behind. Heels wouldn’t be practical walking around the Den, anyway. Nothing worse than a pretty woman who hobbled everywhere, no matter how good the shoes looked.
The final touch was a little blush and mascara she’d scrounged from her purse and Tessa was ready to go. She wasn’t entirely sure what her plan was, but she was going to do something differently.
When Tessa reached the Grass, there was a giant projection screen set up at one end. No one seemed to be paying it any attention, so it must be for later. A group of teen boys had stopped playing Frisbee in favor of staring at her. A group of females her age was staring at her from a cluster of picnic tables, but their expressions were much less friendly than the boys. Couples were scattered here and there, absorbed in their own conversations.
Tessa quailed momentarily, and thought about taking a brisk walk back to Jace’s house. Then she heard a familiar lilting voice.
“Tessa! Over here!” a tiny brunette hailed from the table of uninviting women. Tess looked over and spotted Kat, who was waving her over.
Groups of women are like groups of wolves,
she thought.
Show no fear and gain acceptance.
Tessa strolled up to the table, smiling at Kat but carefully ignoring the other women. In the back of her mind she couldn’t help but notice that they were all stunningly beautiful in different ways. Tough crowd to blend in with.
Kat looked like a textbook pixie, or maybe a sexy nymph. She was just over five feet, with long auburn hair and hazel eyes. Where Tessa was curvy, Kat was sleekly lithe. She was dressed in a stunningly short frock dress that contrasted sharply with the athletic gear she’d been wearing the day before.
“We were just talking about you,” Kat said. Kat’s Irish accent made it hard to read her tone and Tessa couldn’t tell much from Kat’s expression, so she just nodded.
“Only good things, I hope.”
“You look like you have something fun planned,” Kat teased.
“Not really. I’m staying out here for a few days, but I can’t sit in Jace’s house for the whole time. I just wanted to get out and move around a little. Find something fun to do,” Tessa replied.
“Consider it found. Tessa, meet Erin, Cera with a C, Emmy, Angel,” Kat said, pointing to her companions in turn. A hottie-next-door blonde, a vampy black-haired vixen with a smirk, a tall brunette who could easily be a runway model, and a Miss America lookalike nodded back to her in greeting.
“Girls, meet Tessa a.k.a. the new girl. Will you believe Jace Copeland brought back a human?” Kat said to the group.
“He must be confused,” shot back the Miss America candidate, Angel. She didn’t look very pleased that Jace had been brought up.
“Don’t mind her. Angel’s had designs on Jace for years,” Erin put in with a grin.
Angel sniffed and didn’t reply, but Tessa figured that was answer enough.
“Where is Jace, anyway? I thought he was supposed to be your bodyguard,” asked the runway model. She spoke with a crisp French accent that fit her so well Tessa would have been surprised if she’d been American.
“I’m not sure. We seem to have had a disagreement. I came up here looking for better company than him,” Tessa said, keeping her tone lighthearted.
“He’s already an asshole to you? That’s a new record,” the model replied, “but not surprising. I cannot remember Jacques ever keeping a petite amie.”
“Emmy’s right,” Kat chimed in, “He’s an asshole. But now you’ve got better prospects,” she smiled slyly.
Tessa followed Kat’s gaze to see Declan jogging toward their table. He was wearing crisply Tessa followed Kat’s gaze to see Declan jogging toward their table. He was wearing crisply

pressed khakis, an emerald-green tee, and white sneakers that looked fresh out of the box. He looked Tessa up and down appreciatively while she did the same to him.
“The lovely Tessa, back from Jace’s dungeon,” he said teasingly.

“Sister,” he greeted Kat with a nod, “and ladies,” he said to women lounging on the picnic table.
“Sister?” Tessa asked.
“Oh, but didn’t Declan tell you? I’m thinking he didn’t want to be shamed by his better half,” said Kat.
“That’s exactly it,” Declan replied gamely.
They all laughed, and the tension eased between Tessa and the other girls. Declan turned to Tessa.
“I was going to ask-“ he began.
“O’RILEY!” came Rhett’s voice across the Grass. The girls all turned to spot him near the Armory.
“Ah, yes. I’m running late. Raincheck?” Declan asked, jogging backwards toward Rhett.
“Go on before you get in trouble, then,” Kat said dismissively.
Declan grinned and turned around, loping over to meet the other Shifter. Cera sighed, tucking a strand of her dark hair back into place.
“Honestly, no one should be that good-looking. It’s just unfair to all the other men in the world,” she commented.
Tessa laughed, and tore her gaze from Declan. She could feel that invisible string tugging again, pulling her toward Declan. She’d best keep that to herself in this company, she thought.
In the corner of her eye, she saw Jace leave the mess hall and make a beeline for their table. No wonder the girls had chosen this table. It was a man magnet.
“Tessa. What are you doing out here?” Jace asked, his tone none too friendly.
“I-“ she started.
“Tessa was just agreeing to go out with us tonight,” Kat cut in. Kat gave Tessa a look that said
go along with it.
“Uh, yeah,” Tessa mumbled.
“Go out where?” Jace demanded.
“We’re going down to the French Quarter tonight. Hear some music, drink some girly drinks, do some dancing,” said Kat.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’ll be dangerous,” Jace argued.
“I’ll be-“ Tessa started in, only to be cut off by Kat again.
“Don’t worry yourself, Jace. Declan’s offered to come along just to protect Tessa. He’ll stick to her like glue all night, my friend. She’ll be right as rain.”
Jace’s eyes locked on Tessa’s face, but she looked away and shrugged.
“I don’t like it,” he said.
“Are you saying my brother isn’t a good protector, then?” Kat challenged.
“I didn’t say that, Kat.”
“Well, then. No problems after all. You can run along,” Kat snapped.
Jace turned to Tessa again.
“Can we talk?”
“What is there to talk about?” Tessa asked.
“In private?”
“We’re just leaving for the city,” Angel chimed in.
Tessa gave her a grateful smile, and then looked back at Jace.
“Yeah, we have to go. Maybe later,” she finished lamely.
Jace looked furious, but he just shook his head. Whatever he had to say was apparently not for mixed company, and Tessa wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it right now.
Get off me,
he’d said.
Tessa turned brightly and offered her arm to Kat, who immediately began towing her across the Grass.
Even as she moved away, Tessa could feel Jace’s eyes burning into her back.

Tessa took a second to soak in the bright neon lights, drunk revelry, and loud music that defined Bourbon St. in the French Quarter. It seemed as if the whole city was having a party, and everyone was invited. Also the party never ended, according to Kat.

Strip clubs and bars lined the street as far as Tessa could see; people were strolling slowly, packing into karaoke clubs, and observing the general goings on from balconies high above the street. The group of girls had already been wolf-whistled several times, and Declan kept having to scare off would-be suitors.

Tessa couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed; not just by the raucous crowd on Bourbon St. but really just from leaving the peacefulness of the Den. Without realizing it, she’d started to mentally settle in there, which of course was an incredibly bad idea for numerous reasons. Sure, she needed to
pretend
to plan on staying, but they’d never let her stay once she’d betrayed them to the Legion.

It was distressing, because there was a sense of rightness in being surrounded by Shifters. It reminded her of what Jace had said about how he enjoyed being around his pack members, and never had to hide his true self around them.

Tessa suddenly stumbled into another woman, nearly falling flat on her own face. Apologizing profusely, she looked up to the woman she’d nearly mowed over.
She immediately locked gazes with none other than Madeline Copeland, who was giving Tessa a scathing glare.
“Watch where you’re going, new girl,” Madeline spat, her throaty voice threatening. Tessa stepped back, trying not to overreact and make things worse.
“You must be Jace’s sister Maddie,” Tessa said slowly, as if addressing a maddened dog. Maddie’s sharp eyes gave her the once-over, and her expression said that she clearly found Tessa lacking in the extreme. Tessa held her temper in check. It wouldn’t do for her to get into it with someone who was obviously mental, not to mention a lot taller and meaner than Tessa.
Maddie bared her teeth in response, but before she could say anything Kat came up and put herself between Maddie and Tessa. Crossing her arms, Kat regarded Maddie mildly.
“What are you doing here, Copeland?” Kat asked.
“It’s a free country,
O’Riley
. I’m just introducing myself to the new blood. I heard whispers about another Ascendant in the pack, but y’all have done a great job of hiding her so far. Thought I’d come and see the competition for myself,” Maddie said, not taking her eyes off Tessa.
“Well, you’ve seen her. Now you can either play nice or get the hell out of here, your choice,” Kat said, her expression irritable.
“Whatever. Stay out of my way, human.”
With that Maddie was off, striding down a side street. Her photo hadn’t done her justice; she was really beautiful in person.
“Don’t worry about her, okay?” Kat said, eyeing Tessa. Tessa nodded, trying to appear unconcerned. Kat gave her a smile and skipped back to where Cera was waiting for her to lead the procession.
Angel came up next to Tessa, nudging her playfully with an elbow. She held an unspeakably tacky-looking drink and gave Tessa a devilish grin.
“That looks absolutely vile. I can’t believe you’re going to drink that!” Tessa accused Angel, looking at the neon green plastic cup full of mystery liquid.
“It’s kind of pineapple-y. Honestly it’s way better than it looks. Besides, it’s not for me, it’s for you!”
Angel flashed another perfect smile as she forced the drink into Tessa’s hand. Tessa opened her mouth to object, but the other blonde was already bouncing off to catch up with Kat and Cera, who led the procession.
“Don’t worry, they’re not as bad as they look,” came a sultry French voice. Tessa was surprised to see Emmy, looking runway-ready in a peachy chiffon micro-dress and nude heels, hanging back from the group to let Tessa catch up.
“I’ll try anything once, I guess,” Tessa said, giving the other girl a shy smile. Taking a sip of her drink, she tried not to be intimidated by Emmy’s incredible raven-haired beauty.
“Before you arrived, I was the new girl in the pack,” Emmy said casually, her eyes roving over the brightly lit signs and people wandering on Bourbon St.
“I can’t say I’m glad to have taken your position,” Tessa said nervously. Emmy gave Tessa a sympathetic smile and nodded.
“It wasn’t the easiest time for me. But being an outsider does have some advantages,” Emmy said thoughtfully.
“Such as?”
“I had a lot of opportunity to observe our pack members. I like to think that I have gained some insight in the last year of living with these people,” Emmy said, waving her hand to indicate their friends.
“Anything you want to pass on to me, I’d love to hear,” Tessa said, her curiosity growing by the second. What advice could a dreamy beauty like Emmy possibly have for down-to-earth Tessa?
“I learned a lot of things, but I was most strongly struck by Jacques and Madeline. There is, as they say, more than meets the eye. Jacques especially.”
“I agree with you, but I can’t really put my finger on what it is about him. He’s very compelling, I think.”
“He tries very much to be pleasant and normal on the outside, but I believe that is just his façade. Behind that, there is a lot of pain. He suffers greatly, but never tells anyone.”
“He doesn’t really like to answer any personal questions, so I don’t really know that much about him or his past,” Tessa said, her tone melancholy.
“I won’t be the one to tell you his story, but I will tell you this. When I first came here, I flirted with Jacques quite a bit,” Emmy said, her French accent making it sound like “fleuurrrflirted with Jacques quite a bit,” Emmy said, her French accent making it sound like “fleuurrr