JACE STORMED OUT of K9’s and into the street. His heart was pounding like a construction worker’s jackhammer, each blow heavy and fast.
Not just a boyfriend. A fiance. And no one got engaged unless they were in love.
“You gotta be fucking kidding me!” Jace yelled.
A woman passing by on the other side of the street clutched her purse tighter and sped up her pace.
Jace growled. “I don’t need this.” He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit up. The smoke filled his lungs but didn’t calm him down. How could he calm down with all the lying bullshit being flung at him? She was perfectly willing to screw him, even though she couldn’t even admit she wanted him, not to mention she was promised to someone else.
Adrenaline pumped through him, and he flexed his free hand into a fist at his side. He’d made a total idiot of himself, thinking for even two seconds that sexing up a werewolf was acceptable. Dumbest idea he’d ever had. What an idiot he’d been to think she had real emotions when she wasn’t even human.
He sighed and blew out a puff of smoke. “Of course neither am I.”
“You’re not what?” a male voice said from behind him.
He turned to find David leaning up against the building.
Jace ran his fingers through his hair. “Nothing.”
“Well, something’s up with you.”
Jace raised a brow. “You’re one to talk. You look like shit.”
“Thanks for the compliment, sugarplum.”
Jace shrugged. “Any time, baby. So what happened to you?”
David shook his head. “You saw. Allsun was here. What about you?”
Jace took another drag on his cigarette. “You go first.”
Jace watched as David stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared up into the dark sky. You could never see the stars in Rochester. Every night the lights from the city obscured them. That was one thing Jace missed about Honeoye Falls.
He threw his butt to the ground and stomped it out with the heel of his boot.
“David, how come you never told me Allsun’s a werewolf?”
David shook his head. “Because she’s not. She was just looking for the company of other supernaturals.”
“What do you mean ‘the company of other supernaturals’?”
David sighed. “She’s half faerie—pixie, specifically.”
Jace cleared his throat. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Pixies? You’re in love with a damn pixie?” He lit another cigarette and took a hard drag. “What is the world coming to?”
“Most of them still live on the Isle of Apples. You know, Avalon. It’s hidden off the coast of Scotland. So when her mother passed away a few years back—her mom was full-blooded—Allsun didn’t have any other faeries around. Your girl let her sort of join the pack, so she would have other supernaturals to be with, even if they’re werewolves.”
Jace raised his eyebrows. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “That’s wild.”
David rolled his eyes. “Tell me about it.”
A moment of silence passed before Jace cleared his throat. “She’s not my girl, David.”
David scoffed. “Oh, shove it, Jace. Just because she’s a werewolf, that doesn’t mean—”
“She’s engaged.”
David’s eyes widened. “What?”
Jace nodded. “You know that guy Alejandro? The one who gave her a hard time earlier? She was set to be mated to him. It’s like their equivalent of marriage. Bastard flat out said she was going to be his wife.”
David fiddled with the collar of his shirt, like he couldn’t find enough room for his neck. “I’m sorry, J. That’s rough.”
“Nothing to be sorry for. But I don’t know how I’m gonna work with her now.” Jace watched his smoke climb toward the sky.
David scanned him up and down as if he’d grown ten extra heads. “What do you mean, you can’t work with her?”
Jace paused. He glanced at David but didn’t respond. He didn’t want to get into this discussion.
“No. No.” David shook his head. “You still have the hots for her after all that?”
Silence stretched between them.
“That’s rough. But you can handle it, J. You didn’t know she had a fiance or a mate or whatever, but now you do. Just deal with her on a business level only. Hands off. Doesn’t matter if you’re attracted to her. You can think she’s the greatest piece of ass to walk this earth, just keep it in your pants and you’ll be fine.”
Jace rolled his eyes. “You always did have a way with words.”
He was about to go on when the door to K9’s burst open and Frankie raced out into the street. She glanced around frantically. Great, just as he was starting to calm down.
She spotted him and ran over. “Jace, you have to let me explain.”
“You don’t need to explain anything to me, Frankie. Believe me. I get it.”
“No, you don’t understand. Alejandro and I—”
“Just give it a rest already. You heard me in there. I don’t want a relationship with you anyway, so you’re all his.”
“Jace,” David hissed.
Frankie opened her mouth again, but Jace raised a hand. “I’m done with this drama. Unless you have something to tell me that will lead to catching Robert and then me getting the hell out of here, I don’t want to hear it.”
Even in the dark, he could see her swallow hard. Then she nodded. “The pack was impressed by your...well, your crazy anger in there, so they agreed to let me teach you to shift.”
A smile spread across David’s face. “That’s more like it.”
She forced a grin. “Uh, yeah, so we can start training tomorrow. But there’s one complication—David can’t come with you.”
Jace frowned.
“It will be just you and me.”
Looking completely unperturbed, David said, “Well, have fun, you two.” He clapped Jace on the shoulder. “Call me when you need a drink, J, or when you learn how to shift, whichever comes first.” Then he limped down the road to the garage where he’d parked his car, since he wasn’t going to be riding his motorcycle for a while with the condition his leg was in.
“Um...so I guess we’ll start tomorrow. Sleep would be good first. It won’t work if you’re tired,” she said. “At least ’til you get good at it.”
Jace stubbed out his last cigarette. “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He turned away from her, ready to follow David to the car.
“Jace, there’s another problem.”
He faced her again. “What now?”
“My apartment was ransacked. I was staying at the hotel with you. Remember?”
Apparently the universe wasn’t done sticking it to him just yet.
FRANKIE CHOKED ON the stale air in the hotel elevator. Standing next to Jace inside the cramped space made her claustrophobic. The lingering smell of his smoke and whiskey mixed with his own distinctive scent and
