A Taste for a Mate (14 page)

“Of course, Jasper. Willow is safe with us.” Kade stood and walked over then kneeled before him. “I vow to protect your mate with all I have in me.” The magic of his words snapped in place within Jasper. For Kade to vow this, while his own mate was pregnant, touched him deeply.

A binding vow and agreement through their wolves. They’d go to the grave to protect Willow and fight by his side.

“I, too, vow.” Adam took Kade’s place, and again, the magic washed over him.

“I vow, son, to protect your mate, my daughter.”

“Dad, what if this is a ruse? What then? What do they want from us?” Jasper asked, needed to ask the obvious question.

Edward sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe power? They’re the second ranked v dth Pack in the Americas below us. It’s the only thing I can think of.”

“Then we need to stop them. No matter what.” Jasper growled.

If only it were that easy.

Chapter 14

“Honesty, Wil, the smells emanating from this basket are killing me. Can’t we stop and eat before we go to the circle?” Jasper’s plea and boyish grin not only made Willow laugh but surprised her.

For the past few days, Jasper’s demeanor bordered on distant, if not cold. At first, she’d thought it was something she’d done, but his attitude wasn’t unique. The entire Jamenson family was on edge. Tension floated on the air, thickening as time passed. Something was coming. Willow didn’t know what, but she kept on alert.

“If you want to explain to a group of hungry wolves where their food went, go for it. But I’m not Little Red Riding Hood on the way to grandmother’s house. I will not ask ‘What big teeth you have’ and give you my food.”

Standing next to her, Jasper kissed the top of her head and held her close. “You know it’s not food I want, my Willow,” he murmured in her ear, sending goose bumps down her arms.

“You know we don’t have time for that.”

“That’s not what you said this morning when you took me in hand to teach me a lesson about laundry.” He quirked a brow, and Willow blushed.
Damn him.

“It isn’t my fault that you refuse to sort your laundry. For a wolf who is over a hundred years old, I’d think you’d actually know how to do it yourself.”

Jasper tickled her side, and she almost lost her basket.

“Hey, watch the food, baby. You do realize that if you’d just let me hold the damn thing, we wouldn’t have this problem.” At her defiant look he continued, “And I do know how to sort laundry. I just don’t sort it into twelve different piles. Lights and darks work well for me.”

Willow loved this playful side of him. She’d missed it this past week.

“Are we really going to start this conversation again? I mean really, it’s laundry. And if I remember clearly, you got your way. I sort, you do the folding.” Her teeth bit into her lip as she thought back to exactly how they came to that arrange v w>

The smug look on his face indicated his thoughts were on the same path.
Men.

“What can I say? This whole domestic bliss thing kinda fits.”

“That’s what you say now, but once I start having you do dishes, you’re gonna run in fear.”

“I don’t run in fear from anyone. And I’ve been doing my own dishes since before you were born. Just –” Jasper’s stopped and flared his nostrils.

Willow stopped behind him, her gaze on the woods surrounding them.

“Jasper, what–”

He held his finger to his lips and she shut up.
What’s going on?

“Willow, I want you to run back to the house and lock the doors,” he said, his voice low, angry, and laced with fear.

“Jasper, no. I’m not going to leave you.” Fear may have a hold on her, but she wouldn’t leave his side for anything. Not while he was alone.

He cursed under his breath, and glared. Gone was his joyful expression from earlier. The cold brutality of his Beta power settled in over his face like a stern mask.

“Now.” His voice low, threaded with anxiety.

“Jasper, I can help.”

“I can’t focus on you and whatever is out there. I need you to go. Now.”

Fear crept up her spine; danger lurked around the corner. She rose to her tip-toes and brushed his lips in a gentle kiss.

“Be safe.”
Please, I can’t lose you.

“Run, Willow. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The basket fell from her hands, the contents spilling to the ground, as Willow ran toward their home. Her chest burned from exhaustion as she climbed the hill. A howl split into the night, causing her to panic.

How far had they walked?

The hair on her arm prickled her skin and she stopped. Something was out there. In front of her, blocking her path? Or behind her?

Damn it, she didn’t want to be the dumb chick in the horror movie who ran into a trap. Why had she left Jasper?

Something tugged on her brain, and she looked toward where the path led to the forest. Why did she want to go ~ es in there? She bit her lip and took a step closer to the darkness. Another howl echoed in the air, and she took another step. She needed to see what was past the line of trees. Some sort of  magnetism drew her in, clouding her thoughts. Every time she tried to back away she only moved farther in.

Fear crawled up her spine, but she kept moving.

Great, now she really
was
the dumb chick who dies first in the horror movie.

Despite her uneasiness, Willow moved into dense forest, leaves rustling against her cheek and sides, as she walked. The large trees rose up toward the sky, reaching for the light, as  worshipers would their god. The canopy stopped the light almost fully in some places, making it hard to see. Damn it, she really missed Jasper.

Dead leaves crunched under her feet as she ventured farther. The thick trees muted the outside noises, creating a tomb like feeling. A large lump on the forest floor stood out against the fading light. Willow squinted her eyes, praying they would adjust to the darkness. In  times like these, she wished she were a werewolf. The disparity on the ground didn’t move as she walked toward it, holding her breath.

A twig dug into her knee as she knelt down beside it. Finally, her eyes adjusted so she could get a good look. And screamed.

****

The soil sifted between his paws as Jasper sniffed the ground. He shouldn’t have sent Willow off. Why had he done that? He shook his head, trying to clear out the cloudiness. Something dug into his brain, not letting him think.

When he’d first inhaled that tangy scent with Willow, he needed to get distance from her. Like in a trance, he yelled at her to leave him and not stay by his side where he could protect her. No, he had told her to run away alone, with no help. A command that he in his normal thinking self, he would never have made. Something urged him to let her go off on her own with a threat around them and run the opposite direction. When she ran, he’d shifted, bones rearranging, muscles tearing, and after that Jasper had followed the tangy scent into the forest, away from his mate. He howled at the power suppressing his mind

“
Magic.”

Finally. His wolf hadn’t spoken to him since he’d begun his walk with Willow. Someone had laid a magical trap for him and her, and they’d walked right into it. Damn it. He howled again, a pain=filled howl. Why the hell would someone try to trap them?

As a wolf, his senses were sharper, more attuned to the Earth. Though before he’d felt the need to be in this part of ~ ain, not the territory, he knew now that nothing would be found here. He’d been duped, and so had his wolf. By magic.

A scream pierced the silence.
Willow
.

On four paws, he ran through the overgrowth of the natural forest, not caring that branches tugged at his fur. His mate’s scream sent dread through him. Once he found her, oh and he would, he would kill the sick fuck that separated them.

Maddox might be the one who would kill quickly and effectively to avoid feeling the pain and fear. But, like Adam, Jasper would torture. Before he gutted them, they would suffer.

His heart thudded in his ears as he followed their mate-bond to his Willow. Thank God they’d completed the connections so he could always find her, barring outside forces.

Willow screamed again just as he jumped over a rotted log. She stood over a lifeless body, her face pale in shock. Her brown hair fell lank in her face, over her wide, frightened eyes. When she caught sight of his wolf, she visibly exhaled in relief. Jasper lowered his head and pulled his magic to turn back into a man. Though it hurt slightly, his age dampened the pain of transformation.

Naked, he knelt and took Willow into his arms. Her body felt cool against his overheated, sweat-slick chest.

“Shh, Wil, it’s okay. I’m here.” But he almost hadn’t been. Some outside force had pulled at them, edging them apart, trying to put chinks in their armor.

“Jasper.” A soft whisper. “Why did I leave? Why did I come here?”

“I don’t know exactly. But we’ll find out.” And those responsible would pay.

With Willow still in his arms, her breath still raspy against his chest, he finally looked down at the corpse at their feet.

A woman’s body lay perfectly on the floor, her hands clasped on her chest reminiscent of Snow White in the fairy tale. If it hadn’t been for the bruising, cuts, and blood, she would almost look peaceful. Light brown hair surrounded a pale, gray face with glassy, hazel eyes. Willow’s eyes.

Cold dread gripped its icy fingers around his heart as the implications of the body sank ink. A message. And not very subtle.

“Jasper, she looks like me.”

“Come on baby, let’s get out of here.” He stood up, unmindful of his nudity, and tried to walk Willow away from the sight he thought would haunt her nightmares. He knew they would haunt his.

“Wait.” She grabbed his hand in a surprisingly firm grip. “There’s a note.”

Jasper pushed her behind him. She’d seen enough already tonight. He knelt toward the body, trying not to look at the face ~ face="