Deciding Her Faete (Beyond the Veil Book 2) (3 page)

Chapter Four

Mate
. There was that word again. At first, April thought she had misheard Jason when he informed her that she was not only mate to him, but to his brother Donovan as well. Just hearing Donovan’s name on Jason’s lips stirred feelings in her she could not explain. And Jason … well, she’d had that unexplainable impulse to sniff the gorgeous man earlier, and now, sitting so close to him, she had other urges she had to fight to control, lest they would get her thrown out of the diner.

She couldn’t deny their immediate connection, but a huge part of her feared this would turn out be nothing more than a cruel joke. She had seen firsthand what it meant to have a mate, envied it in fact, so the fear that happiness, the kind that she would never have thought possible for herself, would be dangled in front of her here and now, only to be yanked back, terrified her. She immediately had to excuse herself on the pretense of having to use the ladies’ room.

“Deep breaths, April, deep breaths,” she had chanted in the mirror of the ladies’ room. “Great, now I’m talking to myself like a loon.”

“Honey, if I came here with a man as fine as that, I’d be all loony, too,” came an amused voice from one of the bathroom stalls. She heard a flush and then out stepped the waitress that had served her and Jason. “Hell, if I came here with a beauty like you, I’d also be hyperventilating,” she added with a wink.

April felt her cheeks redden, not only from being caught talking to herself but the compliment as well. She wasn’t used to it from anyone, even though she knew she wasn’t hard on the eyes. The waitress, however, seemed completely unabashed and comfortable in her own skin as she sauntered over to the sink to wash her hands. After drying them, she held out her hand and introduced herself.

“I’m Gina, just in case you were too lost in your hottie’s eyes earlier to catch my name when I took your order.”

The waitress hit the nail on the head, and it made her cheeks redden even more. Gina also sported a name tag that April hadn’t noticed either. April sheepishly took Gina’s hand and shook it. “April.”

“Well, now I already knew that, seeing as how you talked to yourself and all. What I don’t know is why you are in here talking to a mirror instead of that gorgeous specimen out there, who from my experience, and I have a lot of it, looks as if he is completely sweet on you.”

April huffed out a breath. She
was
being ridiculous. The man just confessed to being her mate and she ran away like a scared little girl. Well, she was done running away. Something brought her to Vancouver, and now she knew what.

“You’re absolutely right,” she told Gina.

Jason was on his cell when she reached the table, and the way he smiled at her when they locked gazes had the last of her doubts melting away. They had only just met, and already he looked at her like the sun and moon rose and set with her. She made up a lame excuse about a line in the bathroom, and then he stood up and let her slide back into her seat.

When he handed her the phone to speak with Donovan, her heart did that same beat skipping, heart fluttering action it had done at the club, as if it knew she was about to speak to the other half of her destiny.

“Hello, Donovan,” she breathed into the phone, hardly recognizing her own voice.

“Hello, mate.” Donovan’s voice sounded like smooth velvet in her ear, a mixture of wonder and confidence with a hint of swagger. She couldn’t wait to see the face that belonged to his sexy voice.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, and I … um, well, I … um, can’t wait to meet you in person.” Both Jason and Donovan chuckled at her clumsily delivered sentence, making her cheeks redden further.

“I can’t wait to meet you either, April. You sound lovely.”

“Her blush is even lovelier, brother,” Jason added. “It complements her beautiful red hair.” It didn’t surprise April that Jason could hear their conversation even though the phone wasn’t up to his ear. She knew that wolves had amazing hearing.

“It just so happens that my favorite color is red,” Donovan replied smoothly.

Now April felt the heat on her face for a far different reason other than embarrassment. She watched as Jason’s pupils dilated, his nostrils flared, and she heard his low rumbling growl. He knew … he knew exactly what he and his brother were doing to her, and by the slight quirk of his lips, she also knew he seemed pleased.

“What I wouldn’t give to be there right now.” The longing in Donovan’s voice matched her own longing to have them both beside her.

She heard him sigh and then she heard another sound, a fleeting one, but his slight growl from pain was unmistakable to her with her experience. “Are you hurt, Donovan?”

“No, I’m fine, angel,” he tried to reassure her, but she wasn’t buying it.

Jason held his hand out for the phone. “What happened?” Seconds later, Jason let out a booming laugh. “All right, all right. I won’t.” Turning to April, he held the phone out to her and said, “He’s fine. Don’t worry. He wants to say goodbye to you.”

She still wasn’t reassured, however. “I don’t know if Jason told you,” she began when she put the phone back up to her ear, “but I am a nurse. I have experience with shifter physiology as well. I could take a look at you.”

“You’re a sweetheart, and full of surprises, but really, I will be completely fine.” Donovan paused for a moment before adding, “Although, come to think of it, I think I’d like you playing nursemaid.”

“Oh … my…” She felt her heart race and the temperature in the room rising with the images his words produced. She couldn’t even look at Jason, despite how acutely aware she was of his presence, afraid that she might start removing her clothing right there in the diner.

“I’ll see you soon, April.”

After they ended the call, April took a few deep breaths to get a hold of herself, and then she passed Jason’s phone back to him. She managed to look at him and saw in his eyes what probably reflected in hers—longing and desire.

“Do you have a picture of Donovan?” she croaked out huskily.

Jason searched through his phone and quickly produced a photo of his brother, which only added fuel to her already blazing fire for them both. Donovan was just as gorgeous as his brother.

“I see the resemblance, especially your eyes,” she remarked while still admiring his photograph. They had the same cut and color of their eyes, complemented with thick long lashes. Donovan’s hair was dark, though, cropped short, in contrast to Jason’s lighter, longer locks.

“Smile,” Jason said when she finally gave him back his phone. He took her picture and immediately texted it to Donovan. They both laughed when Donovan texted back three identical emoticons—smiley faces with hearts for eyes. “I think he likes you,” Jason added with a wink.

“I like him, too,” she replied shyly. “I like you both very much.” She must have left her filter at home, she thought. Apparently, she could not contain the thoughts in her head, but fortunately, instead of scaring Jason away, it seemed to be bringing him closer, close enough where she could inch slightly forward and brush her lips against his.

“Will you come home with me, April?” She reveled in the feel of his warm breath against her skin. “Donovan and I will behave. I promise. I just don’t think I can bear the thought of saying goodnight to you yet.”

“I’m not so sure I could behave, though,” she mumbled, but of course, Jason heard her.

He growled low in the back of his throat, and then his lips were on her. Warm soft lips, demanding and hungry for her. She moaned embarrassingly into his mouth when his tongue finally touched hers, but she couldn’t care less. She wanted him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled herself closer to him and deepened their kiss with fervor. Then she felt something completely foreign to her, a tingling in her gums and teeth. Like the impulse she had earlier to inhale his scent, she suddenly wanted to bite. To mark him for the world to see that he belonged to her.

A throat clearing broke the spell and had them both reluctantly pulling apart. “I thought you might like this now,” Gina said with a big goofy grin on her face.

She placed the check in front of Jason, who immediately dug into his pocket for his wallet. He threw down some cash, leaving a very generous tip, and grabbed April’s hand to help her slide out of the booth.

He continued to hold her hand firmly entwined in his as he led her out of the diner, and they walked in silence toward what she assumed was his car. She couldn’t help but steal glances at him along the way, feeling spikes of desire shooting through her entire body. She thought about being wrapped in Jason’s arms again and finally coming face to face with Donovan, who she hoped would then wrap her in his arms as well. For the first time in her life, she felt giddy, alive, like she belonged to someone other than herself.

She felt her phone vibrate in her jacket but ignored it as Jason opened up the door to his SUV.

“I think someone really wants you,” Jason remarked as they both buckled themselves in and her phone continued to ring.

Dee’s number flashed across her screen. “What’s up, Dee?” April finally answered. Only it wasn’t Dee. It was one of her coworkers calling from Dee’s phone frantic and freaking out that Dee had been taken.

“What do you mean taken? Did you call the police?”

“What’s going on?” Jason asked. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

She listened as her coworker, Jessica, April learned her name was, explained. She knew that Jason was listening in as well. Jessica had watched as the man Dee had been dancing with, covered her mouth with some cloth, rendering Dee unconscious. Before Jessica could even react, the man that
she
had been dancing with restrained her. She said that it all happened so fast after that. Both men and Dee along with them had disappeared into the crowd and then out of sight. Dee had left her phone in Jessica’s purse since she left her bag at the hospital.

“Why haven’t you called the police?” April asked her.

Jessica seemed confused. “I’m not sure … I can’t remember why. I can’t even remember what they look like anymore.”

“Tell her to stay put,” Jason commanded. His enforcer side took charge now. “I’m taking you home, April. I need to keep you safe.”

“Why? What’s happening?”

“I’ll explain it all to you later. I promise. I think this has something to do with a case my pack and I are investigating.”

“I’m coming with you.” No way was she going to let him go back there alone, not when he could be putting himself in danger. And if someone was hurt, she could help.

He turned to face her, his eyes pleading, and he cupped her cheeks. “Please, April. I just found you. I need to keep you safe. Let me take you home.”

She looked into Jason’s face, trying to discern his intent, and after a moment nodded. It seemed she would not be able to refuse him anything. She directed him to her house located less than a ten-minute drive from the diner. He walked her up to her apartment, waited until she unlocked the door, and kissed her quickly but thoroughly.

“Promise me you won’t go back out tonight. Promise me, April.”

“Okay, I promise.”

He kissed her forehead before leaving her.

****

The next morning, after a completely sleepless night, she found herself sick with worry at the hospital. She couldn’t concentrate on anything and kept excusing herself, claiming that she wasn’t feeling well. Everyone assumed it was because of Dee. Word had spread that she had gone missing. April worried about Dee, but it was nothing compared to her fear that something must have happened to Jason. She kept berating herself all night that she hadn’t taken his or Donovan’s number before Jason had left.

“I’m so stupid,” she continued to chide herself. Everything just happened so fast. She didn’t think it through. With no idea where they lived and no wolf contacts in Vancouver to help her locate their Alpha, Gabe, she was at a loss for what to do.

By the time her shift had ended, she felt ready to crawl out of her skin. She’d only promised Jason to stay put last night. She made no such promises tonight. She quickly changed out of her scrubs, knowing that her plain looking clothes would make her stick out like a sore thumb at Wave, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. The club would be her starting point.

The place was fairly empty when she arrived, being that it was still early. She made a beeline for the bar, recognizing the bartender from the night before. Again, she berated herself for not thinking ahead. She wished that she had taken a photo of Jason on her phone right after he took one of her on his. Now she had no photo to show the bartender, only his description to give.

“Why are you looking for him?” the bartender asked suspiciously.

April felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as if in warning. She knew she felt something off about the bartender yesterday, but couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Oh, I just thought he was cute,” she lied. “Was hoping I’d run into him again.”

“Didn’t I see you leave with him last night?”

Shit
. “Um … never mind.”

She tried to back up slowly but found herself colliding with a hard muscular chest. When she turned around a tall, beefy man was sneering at her, like she was something distasteful to him. She felt the hairs on her neck stand again in warning. His almost black eyes peered at her, searching, for what, she did not know.