let them take her.”
Jase took his shot. The liquor burned down his throat to slam into his gut, and a tight knot inside him started to unravel. His brothers would protect Brenna. He slapped his glass down. “Ready for round two?”
“I’m on round three,” Talen said, sputtering.
Several bottles later, the room started to tilt. Jase downed another shot. “We
“I know, right?” Conn wove on his seat. “Dage is all serious with the king-shit, and Kane, well . . . he’s Kane.”
Talen nodded in slow motion. “Yeah. Kane is Kane.”
“Aptly put.” Conn leaned forward and knocked his glass on the wooden floor. “Oops. But I gotta say, I like his mate.”
Talen snorted. “Amber’s a pistol. Exactly what Kane needed.”
“Yeah. A vegan.” Conn started laughing. “A vegan.”
Jase snorted. “I mated a witch.”
“Me, too.” Conn laughed harder.
“Mine was human,” Talen said softly, losing his smile.
Jase caught his breath. Talen’s mate had been infected with Virus-27 nearly twenty years ago. “How is Cara?”
Talen shrugged. “The virus is slow-moving, but it’s still moving. It could take decades to finally run its course, whatever that may be. She’s weaker lately and hides it, but not well.”
“She’s a strong woman. She’d have to be . . . to give birth to Garrett.” Jase forced a grin. Garrett Kayrs was everything Jase used to be. Tough, fun, charismatic. At nineteen years old, the kid had the world at his fingertips.
“I know. We just need to cure the damn bug.” Talen exhaled slowly.
“Witches are susceptible to the virus, too,” Conn said, his gaze on his shot glass.
“Yes.” Jase motioned for the waitress to bring another bottle. “Yet very few witches have been infected.”
“For now.” Talen tipped his glass, gaze on the swirling liquid. “Kane thinks the damn virus will go airborne at some point. Maybe.”
“No. Kane will find a cure before that happens.” Jase ignored a tendril of doubt. His brother was a genius, but not all bugs could be killed.
Conn wove to his feet. “I’m headed to the can, and then I want to go home and check on my witch.” He stumbled around several tables toward the restroom.
Talen coughed. “We should be sober in about fifteen minutes.”
Make that an hour. They’d drunk more bottles than Jase could count. His brother’s face blurred. “Maybe we should walk a bit before riding.”
“Good plan.” Talen nodded and shoved away from the table, sending it spiraling.
Jase grabbed the bottle before it could fly. “Hmph.”
“Keep it the fuck down over there,” someone bellowed.
Jase tilted his head toward his brother, as Talen narrowed his gaze. “We didn’t just hear that, did we?” Talen asked.
“Sure did, asshole. Now keep it down before I kick your ass,” the guy yelled.
Jase turned to spot four guys at the bar. Hulking and drunk, they stared. “I think they wanna fight,” Jase murmured.
Talen stood, swaying slightly. “Humans?”
Jase tried to focus. “Shifters. Wolf would be my bet.”
“Even better,” Talen muttered. “Hey, asshole. My five-foot-nuthin’ wife could kick your ass.” He snorted and mock-whispered to Jase, “She probably could, too. I’ve been training her.”
The wolf lunged across two tables and tackled Talen into the wall.
Jase saw red. Fists swinging, he met two of the charging shifters more than halfway. He kicked one guy in the throat, throwing him across the bar. Glass shattered, and tables broke. Two sidesteps and he had the other guy in a headlock. He tightened just enough to cut off the guy’s air.
The final wolf tried to shake him off his friend.
Jase held tight, waiting until the guy dropped unconscious to the floor before facing the remaining wolf. A quick glance toward the corner showed Talen knocking his attacker to the floor, waiting patiently for the guy to stand, and then beating him down again. A moronic smile lit Talen’s face.
A right cross to Jase’s jaw jerked his attention to the last shifter. He hissed, his fangs dropping.
The shifter’s eyes widened. “Vampire.” Dodging left and then right, he ran behind the bar.
Jase frowned. “You can’t run.” Damn it. He hurdled the bar and followed the guy down a narrow hallway to a flight of stairs leading down. He made it three steps down and into darkness.
Heat and panic rushed through him. His ears rang. A low growl rumbled up from his gut. Slowly, his hands shaking, he backed up the steps. Reaching the hallway, he took a deep breath and slammed the door. Sweat rolled down his back.
Smoothing his face, he turned and ran into his brother. The sympathy on Talen’s face almost broke him.
Talen smacked him on the shoulder. “Let’s go before they call the cops.”
Swallowing, Jase nodded and followed him back into the bar.
Conn emerged from the restroom and glanced around the demolished room. “What’d I miss?”
Chapter 12
Alone in the big bed, Brenna pushed her glasses up her nose as she read the latest report from the Coven Nine regarding witches misusing magic. The problem seemed to be getting worse. She sighed and glanced around the empty bedroom as dawn slipped under the shades. While she’d never really thought about mating, if she had, this wouldn’t have been her dream.
For several hours, she’d tried to sleep. Finally, she’d given up and decided to get some work done.
The front door swished, and something fell inside.
She stiffened.
A low, male curse echoed before lumbering steps came down the hallway. Jase staggered into the bedroom.
“Good lord,” she murmured.
His clothes were ripped, and blood dotted his shirt. A purple bruise spread under his right eye. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She frowned. “Who hit you?”
“Got in a bar fight with a bunch of shifters.” He flashed rare dimples and awkwardly kicked off his boots. Then he swayed. “Don’t worry—nobody died.”
“Good to know.” She set down the reports. “Do you need help?”
He sagged against the wall. “I need more help than is possible.” His lips turned down. “We stopped at several bars on the way home, or I’d be sober by now.” Inching forward, he fell to his knees by the bed. “You’re so pretty, Bren.”
“You’re drunk.” She slid from the bed and grasped under his arms. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
He stood, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “Sometimes I feel like I’ll never be clean.” Stumbling into the bathroom, he allowed her to pull his shirt off. “You’re pretty.”
“So you said.” Jase was an affectionate drunk. Brenna smiled, warmth spreading through her. What in the world was she going to do with him? “Um, take off your jeans.”
His eyes darkened. “We’re mated. You take them off.” A hiccup took the edge off the order.
Aye, they were mated, and he needed help. She’d always been a nurturer, and being able to assist him filled her with pleasure. Even so, her hands shook as she unsnapped his jeans and shoved off his clothes. A dark
