Moonlight Kin 2: Aidan's Mate (Mid-Length Novel) (16 page)

Jenna turned to run to the Gazette and slammed into Carl Rich. She bounced off Carl’s chest. He captured her wrist and squeezed, until Jenna whimpered in pain and dropped her car keys. He caught them before they hit the ground.

“That’s for kicking me in the balls,” he spat, then jerked her around to face Ethan. “I believe you have a date in Vancouver that you can’t miss.”

The bell on the door of the paper chimed. Jenna glanced back and saw Molly step out with a pink sweater in her hands. She waved when she saw Jenna, then her smile slowly faded.

Jenna tried to warn her away with a pointed gaze, but Molly wasn’t taking the hint.

“Thought you’d be long gone by now.” Molly glanced at her watch. “If I had a sexy beast waiting for me at home, I wouldn’t still be here in town.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jenna said.
Shut up. Please shut up.
There was a chance that Ethan and Carl didn’t know about Aidan. Jenna wanted to keep it that way.

Molly’s frown deepened.

Ethan pulled Jenna into his arms and stroked her back. “Smile for your little friend,” he whispered. “We wouldn’t want anything to happen to her.”

He was right. It was better to play along, until she could escape. Ethan had already proven that he’d ruin anyone who crossed him. Jenna didn’t think he’d blink an eye at dismantling Molly’s family’s newspaper business.

Jenna gave Molly a strained smile. “As you can see, I have a lot of friends.” She indicated to the men. “Too many to keep track of.”

“Here in town?” Molly asked, eyeing Carl and Ethan in bewilderment.

“Yes,” Ethan said. “If you don’t mind, we’d like to continue this reunion in private.” He winked at her. “I’m sure you understand.”

Molly didn’t say anything, but her disapproval was apparent.

“I’ll see you on Monday, Molly.” Jenna nudged Ethan to distance him from the woman. She had no idea what he’d do, if given half the chance.

“Yeah, see you then.” Molly nodded, then walked back the way she came.

Jenna watched her go. Her smile faltered, but did not fade.

Molly looked confused, when she glanced back.

Jenna waved goodbye.

Molly shrugged, then slipped inside the Gazette building.

“It appears Carl was right. You’ve found yourself a new friend,” Ethan said.

“Molly’s not my friend. She’s just a co-worker.” There was a chance he’d leave her alone, if Ethan believed Jenna really didn’t know her. He only liked hurting the people she cared about.

“I’m not talking about Molly,” he said. “What’s his name again, Carl?” Ethan snapped his fingers.

“Aidan Fortier.”

Jenna’s blood went cold. Molly hadn’t mentioned Aidan by name, so how had Carl found out about him? Aidan had only come to town with her one time.

“I knew it,” Jenna said. “You’ve been following me around Breakbend.”

“It’s my job.” Carl smirked.

“For how long?” she asked.

“Long enough,” Carl said.

She looked at Ethan. “Leave Aidan out of it. He doesn’t have anything to do with us. With this.” She waved her hand between them.

Ethan tilted his head and smiled at her.

A long time ago, she would’ve thought that expression was cute, but now it made Jenna’s skin crawl. She’d seen that same smile on Ethan’s face right before he’d thrown the legal documents on the table, showing her that he’d swindled her out of her garage.

“I’d love to leave Fortier out it. I really would.” He pressed his hand to his chest, feigning sincerity. “But you ran from me Jenna, which proves that I can’t trust you. There’s no way for me to know for sure that he isn’t helping you.”

“I told you he’s not.”

“Once again, I’m only left with your word.” Ethan rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “I suppose there is a way that you could prove to me that you’re telling the truth.”

She grit her teeth. “How?”

“Return to Vancouver with me willingly as a show of good faith, then I might consider giving your new
friend
a pass.” Ethan paused dramatically. “Of course, you’d have to do everything I asked once we got there, but that’s only fair considering what you’ve put me through.”

“For how long?” She braced for his answer.

Ethan’s smile widened. “Until I finish closing the deal. Shouldn’t take more than three months, once the papers are signed.”

Three months?

How was she supposed to explain to Aidan that she’d be gone for three months? The separation would destroy their burgeoning relationship before it ever got a chance to start, which was probably the reason Ethan had suggested it. He wanted to see her in pain. He wanted her to lose everything...again.

Jenna’s heart thundered in her chest, threatening cardiac arrest. She knew Ethan well. He’d never honor his word. The fact that he’d even brought Aidan’s name up meant that he’d been doing research into his background.

What had he found? Heaven help Aidan, if he’d already spoken to the people in town.

She thought about the wolves, Aidan’s unusual living arrangements, his odd behavior, and his obsession with privacy.

If Ethan exploited even one of those things, it could destroy Aidan’s reputation.

No doubt he’d pursue them all.

Jenna couldn’t let that happen. It was her fault Ethan was here. It was up to her to stop him. “I’ll do anything you want,” she said. “As long as you leave him alone.”

“I had no idea you’d grown so attached, so quickly. You’ve only been here for what, a week?” Ethan touched one of the loose curls hanging near her face. “Carl had suggested that you were sleeping with the man, but I assured him that you were too frigid to be a whore.” His gaze lingered on Aidan’s love bite, then he looked at the investigator and shrugged. “Guess I was wrong about that too, Carl. She is a slut.”

Jenna jerked her shirt over to cover the spot, then glared at Ethan’s flunky.

Carl sneered. “I call them like I see them.”

Ethan wound her hair around his finger and yanked hard to get her attention. “You know this changes things, don’t you?”

Jenna scowled at her ex. “It changes nothing.”

“Beg to differ,” Ethan said. “When this whole thing started, it was just between you and me. Now that I know you’ve been sleeping with Fortier, it makes me wonder how much you have told him.”

“We never had sex.” Jenna’s body shook with rage as she lied through her teeth. “I haven’t told Aidan anything about you. Not your name. Not where you’re from. Nothing. He has no idea who you are. He doesn’t even know that we
dated
.” She poured her contempt into the last word. “Hell, he doesn’t even know that you exist.”

Ethan tsked. “I wish I could believe you, but with your history of lying...”

“I never lied,” she ground out. “You on the other hand did nothing but.”

“Let’s agree to disagree.” Ethan led her down the street. Jenna had to jog to keep up with his long strides.

“It’s important for people like you to understand that it’s not okay to screw with people like me. It sets a bad precedence, if these things go unpunished,” he said. “That’s why I think I’m going to have to make an example out of your friend. You leave me no choice.”

“Then I’m not going with you.” Jenna struggled to break free. His punishing grip tightened, leaving finger marks on her arm. She cried out, catching the attention of a few people walking down the sidewalk.

He scowled at her, then smiled at the growing crowd, pouring on the charm. “She’s had a little too much to drink.” Ethan tipped an imaginary bottle to his lips.

The people’s reactions to the news varied. Some still looked concerned, while others appeared disgusted by her behavior.

Ethan lowered his voice. “The more you fight, the worse it’s going to be for him.”

Jenna stopped struggling. What was the use? He’d won. He always won. She thought she could challenge him. Get back what he’d taken. But seeing Ethan today made her realize that she’d been fooling herself. No matter how hard she worked, Jenna would never have enough resources to go toe-to-toe with him.

Ethan looked at Carl. “Let’s finish this conversation on the plane.” He put his arm around Jenna’s shoulders and led her toward a gray SUV. “Come along, darling. We have a lot to discuss.”

* * * * *

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Robert LaBeouf could not believe what he was seeing. A horn beeped and he jerked the wheel, narrowly avoiding a collision. He’d come to town to confront Jenna, but before he got the chance, he’d accidentally uncovered her treacherous secret.

He watched the man pull Jenna into his arms and hold her close. She didn’t try to get away. Instead, Jenna smiled and hugged him back, stopping only long enough to chat with a friend.

Once the woman departed, the man put his arm around Jenna’s shoulder and led her down the street. Robert seethed on the Moonlight Kin pack’s behalf. Aidan had been duped just like he’d suspected.

By a human no less.

Robert turned the car around and cruised by the loving couple once more. He watched Jenna and the men climb into a gray SUV and head out of town. On the way back to the estate, he spotted her car sitting near a coffee shop.

Why hadn’t she taken it?

Maybe she was coming back for it? Or maybe she’d gotten everything she wanted from Aidan and the pack and didn’t need it anymore. The thought filled him with righteous fury.

The Alpha had insisted that the vehicle be repaired for her. The pack had dropped what they were working on to accommodate his wishes. Josh had even made a special trip into the city to get the parts. And this was how she showed her gratitude.

The only thing that cooled Robert’s anger and kept it from becoming a murderous rage was the knowledge that he’d personally get to inform Aidan that his little human pet had run off with another man. He grinned.

Robert couldn’t wait to see the look on the Alpha’s face when he found out that he’d been deceived.

* * * * *

“Are you certain?” Aidan asked. “Two men, not one?”

His body trembled with barely contained rage. How could Jenna do this to him after what they’d shared last night? After everything he’d done for her?

His wolf couldn’t have been wrong about her, could he?

Thank
Freki
, he hadn’t told the pack yet that he’d marked her as his bondmate. Aidan had planned to do so this weekend. Now it was the last thing they needed to hear, especially if she’d run off with two men like Robert said.

What was he going to do? Aidan didn’t think he could live without her.

His wolf demanded that he go after her. Find her. Kill the men that she was with and bring her back.

It was tempting, but not the smartest plan, especially if Jenna chose to go with them. The idea that she’d picked another male over him wounded Aidan in a way he’d never experienced before.

The pain seared his soul, leaving him in agony. It was the kind of open wound that wouldn’t heal easily...if ever. She’d rejected him. His claws extended. With sheer force of will, Aidan forced them back inside. This situation called for logic, not emotion.

What if the men were the ones Jenna was frightened of? The ones she’d been running from? Fear replaced some of his anger.

But why would she go with them, if that were the case? There’d been people out. Enough witnesses around that she could’ve escaped had she wanted to. And why would she embrace one of them? It didn’t make sense.

“Tell me again exactly what you saw,” Aidan said.

Robert started from the beginning, repeating the story verbatim. “If you don’t believe me, you could ask the woman she was talking to.”

“Woman?” Aidan asked. “What woman? Why didn’t you mention her before?”

“I didn’t think about it until now. Seeing Ms. Dane in another man’s arms made me forget everything else.”

Aidan winced. He couldn’t get the picture of Jenna being held by another man out of his mind. His wolf struggled to break the tenuous grip he had on it.

Like a good little wolf, Robert kept his gaze trained on the floor. “I believe the woman works at the paper with Ms. Dane. They had a short conversation, then I saw her go into the building.”

Aidan had hoped that Robert was wrong. He knew the wolf wasn’t lying. That had been the first thing he’d checked, when he’d reported the news. He wouldn’t have put it past him since Robert hated all humans, but in this instance he was telling the truth.

He ran a hand through his hair and scrubbed it over his face. Aidan shouldn’t have let her out of his bed. He should’ve found a way to keep her in his room, until they got a chance to talk.

Jenna was his mate. Was his period. His mark proved it. Didn’t matter whether a human male could recognize such a thing. He knew the truth. Soon Jenna would, too.

“What do you want me to do?” Robert asked.

“Nothing,” Aidan growled. The last thing he needed was for Robert to involve himself any further. Jenna was his responsibility. He’d have to be the one to ferret out the truth. Even if that truth turned out to be something Aidan didn’t want to hear.

* * * * *

“Father, I was using the plane,” Ethan whined and gave the phone a petulant pout.

They’d driven to the small airport where Ethan had parked the jet, but it was gone by the time they got there. It was everything Jenna could do not to laugh at his first world problems.

“I realize it’s not mine, but I needed it to get back to Vancouver,” he said. “I have very important business to attend to. No, it’s not more important than yours. I didn’t say that.”

Jenna watched Ethan pace back and forth like a caged hyena. The dingy room he and Carl had brought her to didn’t strike Jenna as the kind of place Ethan would frequent, much less spend the night in. Its faded mauve comforters, cheap worn out furniture, and tissue thin towels did however suit Carl to a ‘T’.

“Fly commercial? Are you serious? Why would I do that, when there’s a perfectly good corporate jet available?” Ethan stopped walking. “Yes. I understand. When can I have it back?” He squeezed his cell phone until his knuckles cracked. “No chance of getting the plane any sooner?” He paused. “I see.”