Ice Moon (10 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Jared

S
eeing Taryn and Charlie hugging lit something deep inside of me, waking a part of my heart I never knew existed. These two people were becoming the center of my world. I still had a werewolf hurdle to cross, but now that I knew Charlie’s twin wasn’t out there loose in the world, there was no rush to freak out his mother with the whole “by the way I’m a werewolf and so is your son” talk.

She had enough on her plate right now.

I’d shift with the Pack during the full moon later this week, and then Friday night I’d take Taryn to the Masquerade. And as long as the weather held out, I could probably have her deck project finished next week.

One day at a time. Werewolves could wait a little longer.

Charlie jogged over, beaming. “Jared. Did you see me score?”

“I sure did. You didn’t tell me you’re a soccer star.” I gave him a solid fist bump. “Can I offer you a shoulder ride back to the car?”

“Heck, yes!”

I laughed, boosting him up over my head. “Hang on up there.” Squatting down, I caught the backs of the chairs on my arm.

“You don’t have to carry everything.” Taryn smiled up at me.

“I’m not. You’ve got Tank.”

Charlie giggled as his mom nudged me and walked with us back to my truck. I wasn’t looking forward to dropping them off and heading home.

But I had a lot to sort out with Adam.

Taryn took the chairs and put them in the back of the pick-up while I lifted Charlie over my head to place his feet on the ground. He spun around and gave me a hug, whispering, “Can you stay with us again?”

My heart stuttered as I rubbed his back. I’d grown up with my twin brother and the security of my Pack. This little wolf had spent his life without either. I couldn’t imagine how lost he must feel with no real idea what he was looking for or why.

“I’ve got to get home, but I’ll be back. We have a deck to build remember?”

He pulled back meeting my eyes. “I hope you never finish.”

I chuckled. “I’m pretty sure your mom wouldn’t be too happy about that.”

He shook his head emphatically, whispering, “Nuh-uh. She wants you to stay, too. I can tell.”

“Even after it’s finished, I’m hoping you and your mom will still want me around.”

He gave me one more squeeze and took off to help Tank into the cab of the truck. Taryn came up behind me. I caught her scent before she ever touched me. Her hands trembled on my hips. I turned around and lost myself in the sea of emotion churning in her blue eyes.

“I don’t know how to thank you for today. I…”

I kissed her. Sometimes words just didn’t cut it. She wrapped her arms around my waist, her fingers sliding up my back. She tasted like winter, fresh and a little dangerous. Perfect. She tasted fucking perfect.

Forcing myself back, I whispered, “We should get out of here.”

My voice carried more of a growl than I intended. The full moon was getting close, and my wolf wanted to claim our mate in the most primal way. The parking lot of the soccer field might be trouble.

“Okay.” She nodded, her teeth tugging at her lower lip. I’d bet money she probably had no idea how damned sexy she was.

I
left Taryn and Charlie at their place after promising him I’d be over first thing Monday morning to work on the deck, and went home for a much needed shower. Tank was happy to have his familiar food and water dishes, but I had to admit the quiet of my little house gnawed at me. Usually Tank’s grunts and snorts were enough, but tonight…

Tonight, I missed her. Hell, I missed Charlie, too. He’d been something else on the soccer field. Although I had nothing to do with his abilities, pride still swelled in me with every goal he scored. And seeing him get a hug from his mom…

Enough. I grabbed my phone and called my brother.

“Hey, Jared. Where have you been?”

“At Taryn’s.”

“Nice.”

I chuckled. “Don’t get too excited. I still haven’t mentioned her son is a werewolf and oh by the way, I know that because I am, too.”

He sighed. “I didn’t want to tell Kilani either, but she came around. You can’t leave her in the dark.”

“Kilani couldn’t set you on fire.”

“True.” He paused. “So what’s up?”

“Can you and Kilani meet me at the ranch in the morning?”

“Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know yet, but your mate went to Brightwood, and I have questions. I’m pretty sure Adam and Aren need to hear this, too. Apparently Malcolm knew about Taryn. He helped her.”

“What?”

I nodded, pulling my hair back from my forehead. Why the hell did I feel like I was betraying her? I was protecting my Pack, wasn’t I? Rule number one.

“Just meet me there tomorrow morning at nine. I’m calling Adam.”

After a quick chat with Adam, I took a beer out of the fridge, staring at Tank. “What the hell am I doing, boy?”

Tank came closer, looking up at me.

“I have to tell them. What if Sylvia was Antonio Severino’s wife? What if she had more dealings with Malcolm that we don’t know about yet? And if she thought Taryn was in danger and Malcolm helped protect her, then what has been happening since Malcolm died?”

Tank snorted. I bent down to scratch the top of his wide head.

“It’s telling them without telling
her
that’s bugging me. But I can’t tell her yet. She’s finally starting to control the fire, boy. If I upset her and she loses it and something burns, I may never get another chance with her.”

I groaned and moved to the couch. Television didn’t distract me like I hoped. I stared at the screen, but in my mind, all I saw was Taryn.

T
he second Jason and Kilani got out of the car at the ranch, Adam’s attention was on my brother’s mate. He tilted his head slightly, staring at them both before he cleared his throat. “Good to see you guys.”

He clasped Jason’s forearms in the traditional Pack greeting and then hugged Kilani, carefully. Kilani stepped back and groaned. “You know, don’t you? How is that even possible?”

Adam chuckled. “I didn’t want to say anything in case you guys didn’t know yet.”

Kilani rolled her eyes. “We were waiting to tell everyone until we were sure there weren’t going to be any complications.”

Adam glanced at me. “You knew?”

I nodded. “Yeah, but I was sworn to secrecy.”

Kilani crossed her arms, smiling. “Still doesn’t explain how Adam knew. I’m not showing yet.”

“I heard two more hearts beating when you got out of the car, and when you came closer, your scent has changed a little.”

Jason took her hand. “Alphas have some extra senses when it comes to Pack members.”

“So much for keeping it on the down low for a couple more weeks.” She sighed.

“I won’t say anything.” Adam turned to Jason. “But I don’t think you need to worry about complications.”

“Good.” Jason came over and clasped my forearms before we all headed for the house. We had plenty to discuss.

Aren was waiting inside, talking to Lana, Adam’s mate. They didn’t seem to notice any change in Kilani, and Adam, true to his word, didn’t mention anything about it.

After we all said our hellos, Adam’s gaze locked on mine. “Did you find Taryn’s other son?”

I ground my teeth and forced the words out. “He passed away in his crib as an infant.”

Adam frowned, sighing. “That’s…I can’t even imagine how painful that must’ve been for her.”

I probably should’ve mentioned the fire, but I didn’t.

“Have you told her about you and Charlie?”

I shook my head. “No.”

He sighed. “You’ve got to tell her, Jared.” Adam looked at Jason and back to me. “We’ve been there. It sucks and it’s scary, but the longer you wait the worse it’s going to get.”

Kilani and Lana wisely remained silent.

“The point you all seem to be missing is that Taryn, my mate, just hugged her son for the first time in nine years. It wasn’t that her power didn’t kick in, she actually pulled it back on her own. This is huge.” I crossed my arms over my chest shaking my head slowly. “Who am I to yank the rug out from under her right now? Charlie’s twin is dead. There’s not a young werewolf on his own out there. I can look after Charlie, until she’s ready for the truth.”

Adam raised a brow. “And when exactly is she going to be
ready
? No one is ever ready to hear the guy they’re sleeping with is a werewolf.”

Before I could reply, Kilani spoke up. “I think Jared might be right.” Everyone turned her way. “Taryn’s got a psychic power that has owned her for years, and it’s destructive. If she loses control, people could die. This isn’t like when Jason told me and I thought he was kidding. If she doesn’t have much practice controlling it, getting angry or upset or scared…might get people hurt.”

She said it much better than I ever could. I wanted to kiss her. Instead, I stood tall, stoic, daring anyone in my Pack to deny the truth Kilani just laid out.

“Fuck.” Adam’s pacing began. “Fine. Okay, so for now, she works on controlling her power and you’ll help Charlie. What do we do about the Nero connection?”

Lana watched her husband wearing a hole in their floor and then looked up at me. “I’ll start researching Sylvia Severino and see what I can find. If she really died in a fire like Taryn says, there should be a news story of some kind. Maybe I can get some details.”

“Why would the details of her death matter?” Now that telling Taryn that her son was a werewolf was off the table, I could concentrate.

“Because if it was soon after Malcolm helped hide Taryn, then we have a motive, and maybe it wasn’t an accident.”

Kilani nodded. “If Nero somehow found out Taryn’s powers had manifested and become more powerful, they would’ve collected her and brought her back. She was a huge disappointment when she left, but she’d be a commodity if she could be used as a weapon.”

“And if that asshole who touched her is the jaguar I’ve been smelling, he could be from Nero.”

Adam stopped. “Why would they come for her now after nine years? How’d they figure out where she was?”

“That’s the part I’m missing.” I shook my head. “The Masquerade is this Friday night and she told me the guy is coming, so I should get a visual.”

Aren cleared his throat. “I’ll comb through the records at Sloan Consulting from nine years ago and see if I can find anything from our father that might give us a clue why our Alpha was helping the wife of the head of Nero.”

I glanced at Aren. He’d worked with his dad at Sloan Consulting since he graduated college and after Malcolm’s death, he became the CEO. If anyone could find some link to a money trail, it would be him.

Adam raked his fingers through his hair, shaking his head. “Full moon is Thursday night. I don’t like the Pack shifting up there if there’s a jaguar in our territory.”

Nadya came down the hallway. I forgot she’d been watching Adam’s twins. She was every bit the werewolf we were now. No doubt she heard everything we discussed.

“Pyramid Lake. We could shift there instead.”

Adam considered it for a second. “Only as a last resort. There’s not as much cover there. No forest, just boulders.”

“I’ll be back up in Tahoe to work on the deck tomorrow. I can scout around for his scent. Maybe I’ll get lucky.”

“Okay.” Adam nodded. “Anyone finds anything, let me know.” His gaze fell square on me. “Our Pack’s safety comes first.”

A twinge of guilt tugged heavy at my shoulders. When Adam ascended to Alpha, he’d also gained some kind of supernatural insight. Did he already sense my loyalty splitting?

I nodded, grinding my teeth to keep from revealing what was in my heart. “Pack first.”

But deep down the sand was shifting under my feet.

Chapter Fifteen

Taryn

I
opened the office Monday morning, and left a bag of donuts on Ray’s desk with a note of thanks for sticking around late last week. Funny how a couple days can change everything. Yesterday, I spent most of the day with Charlie. We played checkers, watched movies, and I even taught him to make mac and cheese. For the first time since the fire, I didn’t fear touching my little boy.

Having a relationship with him, beyond writing notes back and forth in a journal, made the days brighter. And I might not have any of it if it weren’t for Jared coming into our lives.

I glanced at the clock. He was probably already at my house working on the deck. Too bad I had to work. It was unsettling how much I missed him.

My computer hummed and burst to life, downloading my emails and snapping me back to reality. I clicked through, marking the messages to delete, when my cell beeped in my purse. I swiped the screen and laughed.

Jared and Tank’s faces filled my screen with a homemade sign that said simply, “Lunch?”

I’ll bring home a couple deli sandwiches at Noon. Sound good?
I waited.

My phone beeped.
See you then.

I smiled and started to put it away when it chimed one more time.

Can’t stop thinking about you.

My pulse thrummed. I wet my lips and texted back.
Same here.

“Ms. Goldstone?”

I fumbled, struggling to keep from dropping my phone. “Yes.” Once I got it back into my purse I glanced up to see Madison in my doorway.

She came into my office with a garment bag over her shoulder. “Your costumes came in for the Masquerade. You should probably try them on so we have time to find something else if they don’t fit.”

“Good idea. Can you leave them on my chair? I’m running home for lunch today, so I can take them then.”

“Perfect.” She did as I asked. “Anything else I can help with?”

I shook my head. “Not that I know of.”

“Let me know if that changes.”

She left my office as I clicked on an email. I smiled, skimming the contents. Damian Severino’s offer was accepted contingent on him producing the cash payment he’d promised. I leaned back in my chair, barely refraining from whooping and causing a scene.

No more showing properties with Mr. Severino. Thank God. I picked up the phone and punched in his number, anxious to move the deal forward. The sooner it was done, the sooner I could put the burn incident behind me.

“This is Damian.”

“Hi. This is Ms. Goldstone from Goldstone Properties. I’ve got great news, your offer on the lakefront property was accepted. Can you come in the office soon and sign the documents so escrow can get started?”

“You’ll have to overnight the documents to me. There were some pressing matters at my office that needed my attention.”

I frowned. “I hope everything’s all right. You’re out of state?”

“It will be fine. In fact, I should still be back in Lake Tahoe in time for the Masquerade. Can the documents wait until the end of the week?”

I flipped through the seller’s notes and shook my head. “We have seventy-two hours to get these into escrow. Can you email me the street address? I’ll FedEx the package with a return envelope inside. I’ll tab the spots I need you to sign, and you can overnight it back to me. We’ll also need a $5,000 check to open the escrow account.”

“Thank you for your work on this. I’ll send the address in a few minutes.”

“Perfect. Congratulations Mr. Severino.”

“Damian.”

“I’ll get everything moving on this end.”

“And I will see you at the Masquerade, Taryn. Goodbye.”

I bristled as I hung up. He’d called me by my first name. Unlike when Jared had used it, there was nothing pleasant in Damian’s voice. He reeked of power, money, and entitlement.

My computer chimed as his email came in. I printed the address and sank into double checking the terms on the documents and putting sticky tabs on all the places needing his signature or initials.

By the time I glanced at the clock again, it was 11:30 a.m. Lunch. I grabbed the costume hangers on my way out the door and almost smacked into Madison.

“Sorry, Ms. Goldstone!”

I shook my head. “My fault. I’ll be back soon.”

“Appointments?”

I almost smiled. “Lunch.”

She grinned. “You never leave for lunch.”

I shrugged. “Then I’m overdue, right?”

With my bag on my shoulder, the costumes draped on my arm, and my cell phone in the pocket of my coat, I signed out of the office and hurried to my SUV. The winter chill stung my cheeks. Snow would be here soon. We’d already had some frost and one light dusting, but the flakes melted on contact with the ground.

I texted Jared to get his sandwich order and laughed when I saw it. Not one, but two sandwiches, plus chips and a big bottle of water. He ate like Charlie, like the food was falling out of him someplace.

With the sandwiches on the passenger seat, I drove toward my house. The closer I got, the faster the butterflies fluttered in my stomach. It hadn’t occurred to me to ask why he wanted a lunch meeting. I’d been so distracted by his admission that he couldn’t stop thinking about me, that my brain had disengaged.

It was making up for it now.

Did he want to discuss the deck? Was the work finished already? Had he hit an unforeseen snag?

Jared was coming around the front of the house with Tank. His sidekick was sporting an orange and black sweater, and somehow Tank looked tough and masculine in spite of it. I turned off the SUV and grabbed the sandwiches and costumes.

He raised a brow, eyeing the X-Men uniforms. “I didn’t realize I needed a uniform for lunch with you.”

I nudged him and handed him the food. “I thought since we were both going to be here we could try them on to be sure they fit, just in case we need to find something else before Friday.”

“Not gonna lie, I’m looking forward to seeing you in yours.”

I laughed, and barely noticed the flare of heat in my cheeks. “Let’s get in the house, it’s freezing out here.”

He and Tank followed me inside. The house was quiet. “Where’s Sherri?”

“I told her we were having lunch and she suddenly remembered a few things she needed from the grocery store. She said she’d pick up Charlie after school on her way back, too.”

We were alone. I swallowed a lump of desire and grabbed paper plates. “You’re really going to eat a roast beef and cheddar
and
a turkey club for lunch?”

He leaned on the bar, watching me in the kitchen. “Planning to.”

“Impressive.” I put the wrapped sandwiches on plates and carried them out to the dining room table. He sat beside me as I unwrapped my ham and Swiss. “So why did you want to have lunch?”

His hand rested on my thigh, drawing my attention to his eyes. “I’ve been thinking, and I need to run something by you.”

I stopped messing with my sandwich, trying to focus on his words, and not the dominant way his hand claimed me. “Okay.”

“I had an amazing time with you last weekend, and if the weather holds out, I should get the deck finished by Friday.”

I nodded, without a clue where this conversation was headed.

He cleared his throat and almost looked…nervous. In the few weeks I’d known him, his confidence never wavered. “After the deck is done, I don’t want to say goodbye.”

My pulse kicked up a notch and my mouth went dry. “I don’t want that either.”

“Good.” He smiled and took a deep breath. “I wanted to ask Charlie for permission to court his mom, but I thought I’d better see if you were interested first.”

I laughed and leaned in to kiss him, shocked that it seemed so natural. “That’s sweet.”

He chuckled, bringing his hand up to cup my cheek. “You’re his world, his Pack. I’d never upset that without his consent.”

“His Pack?” I grinned and shook my head. “Are you calling us wolves?”

He paused and finally smiled. “A wolf pack is a tight family that depends on each member for survival. Regardless of the size, I think you and Charlie make a strong Pack.”

I’d never thought of wolves as being families, but I liked his analogy. I hoped Charlie knew I’d sacrifice everything for him and protect him with my life. Maybe I was more mama wolf than I realized.

I squeezed his hand. “Charlie’s crazy about you. He won’t be upset.”

“Either way, I’d feel better if he’s on board with my plan to sweep his mom off her feet.”

I was tempted to pinch myself. Jared accepted me, danger and all, and he welcomed my son into his heart, too. Where was the catch?

Trust wasn’t something that came naturally to me. After my parents abandoned me to boarding school, then disowned me for getting pregnant and refusing to “fix” it the way they saw fit; and when Noah found out we were having a baby, he left me too. Even though he knew what I’d given up to be with him.

Life had taught me to be cautious and wary. Maybe even a little cynical. The people you depended on most could hurt you worse than your sworn enemy.

Jared wasn’t perfect. He’d told me about his secret case of claustrophobia that changed the course of his life. He still drove himself places with the window down in spite of the cold. He worked with his hands, but not as a doctor like he’d intended. He wasn’t independently wealthy as far as I knew.

But none of that mattered to me.

So why was I still looking for a hidden imperfection?

He touched my hand. “Taryn? Are you all right?”

I nodded, pushing away the doubt. My fingers laced with his. “I’ve never been swept off my feet before. Sounds a little…terrifying.”

He laughed, and I drank in the sound. “Terrifying is
not
what I’m shooting for.” He kissed me, his lips caressing mine over and over until my pulse was thrumming, warming my whole body. He stared into my eyes. “Breathless maybe…”

I smiled. “I’m starting to like breathless.”

He glanced at the clock. “Charlie and Sherri will be back soon.”

“Plenty of time for feet sweeping.” I hummed as I tasted his lips again. His strong hands moved slowly up my back, a slow exploration of my body as our tongues tangled. One hand tightened in my hair while the other slid up my ribs, his fingertips lightly brushing the side of my breast.

Fire ignited inside in my core, desire and something more. I stood up, stepping away from him before anyone got hurt. Jason growled, running his hand down his face.

“Sorry.” I stared at my fingers, begging the heat to cool.

He came to me, but didn’t touch. “Hey, look at me.”

“This sucks.” I barely lifted my chin, peering up at him from under my lashes. “It doesn’t matter how much we want to be physical, it might not be possible. Not without hurting you.”

“Too soon to give up.” He shook his head. “Every day you’re getting better at pulling the fire back.”

I sighed. “I just don’t want you to mistake this for…” I tipped my head back, losing myself in his eyes and hoping he could see the desire in mine. “I
do
want you. I just don’t want my passion to cause you pain.”

He ran a finger down my cheek, his breath teasing my skin. “I’m a pretty patient guy when it’s something worth waiting for.”

I was sick of waiting. But I’d never forgive myself if Jared ended up with a burn like Charlie. “We should probably eat before Charlie comes home and finishes our food for us.”

After polishing off our lunch, I got up and handed Jared his X-Men uniform. “I’ll meet you back here.”

He took the hanger with a crooked smile. “Looking forward to seeing you in yours.”

“Likewise.” I chuckled and headed for my bedroom.

M
y black body suit fit like a second skin. I stared at my reflection from every angle. I kept myself in good shape, but this get-up was going to be tough not to be self-conscious in. Not to mention, I’d never been to a costume party before. Maybe this was modest compared to what the other women would be wearing? I brushed my hair and let it fall down my shoulders.

This would also be the first time my clients and employees saw me without my trademark messy bun.

Lots of firsts. Made me nervous, but it was thrilling at the same time.

I pulled up a picture of Dr. Jean Grey on my phone and compared. The form-fitting black suit was an amazing match to the movie version. Madison had done a great job finding it. Other than my blue eyes, I looked pretty close. People at the party should at least be able to recognize the costume.

Satisfied, I forced myself to walk out into the living room. If I couldn’t be Dr. Jean Grey in front of Jared, there was no way I’d be ready to parade around the Masquerade on Friday night. I came down the hall and turned to the right.

And practically choked on my tongue. Jared turned around in his body-hugging black uniform, a dead ringer for Wolverine. He’d been growing out his sideburns, and while I was back changing he even combed his hair up at the sides for Wolverine’s signature do.

Rugged and handsome didn’t really do him justice.

“Wow.” I was usually pretty articulate, but that was all I had.

His gaze ran slowly from my feet all the way up to meet my eyes, his sexy grin curving on his lips. “You look amazing, Taryn.”

And for the first time in years, that was exactly how I felt, too.