Declan nodded. “And, that’s about the time I caught it.”
“Of course,” Ace said. “I’m not thinking straight. I’ve heard demons talk about their hell hounds before. Almost all humanoid creatures keep some sort of pet.”
“We don’t,” Jasper said.
“Sure we do…” Declan said as he reached out and rubbed Chad’s head, “We have our pet wolf Chad over here—” Declan cut off in a laugh as Chad nipped his hand.
It was a quick bite that didn’t break the skin, not a challenge, but a less dominant wolf telling his superior to fuck off.
Ace covered his mouth and chuckled into his hand, which made Chad glower across the bed. “Honestly, that opens up a whole list of possibilities—I have to do some more research.”
Without saying another word, Ace rushed from the room. The other men all stayed, clearly deep in thought.
“You’re the local expert on magical animals, Lucas,” Jasper said as he leaned back against the wall. “How likely is it that Teagan can reason with one?”
Lucas sighed and set down my foot. “I hate to say this, but, unlikely. Magical animals are, in essence, animals with magical abilities. From what I’ve seen, domesticated animals can learn to follow commands, but that’s usually the limitation of communication. Even with feral wolves, whom we can communicate with in a base way, it would be difficult to communicate such a nuanced message.”
I nodded. “And, if I summoned the memory eater while I was with Oliver, and the memory eater wiped my mind, I’d be at Oliver’s mercy.”
“It was a good idea. We just need to come up with more of them,” Jasper said, and he sounded like he truly meant it rather than he was patronizing me. It didn’t stop the bitter edge of disappointment slicing through my hope.
With a sigh, Jasper kicked off the wall. “Alright, food is ready—it’s been an hour, so it should be. Hopefully, I didn’t burn the thing.”
Chad hopped up and dashed over Declan and me, racing for the kitchen.
“That’s two of you,” Jasper growled. “Deck, Lucas, get out of here. If you wouldn’t mind setting the table, it would be appreciated.”
Declan squeezed me tight, kissed my hair, and set me down on the mattress, and Lucas gave me a reassuring smile as they headed for the door.
“I guess a magical memory eater was too easy.” Feeling a little self-conscious, I crawled to the edge of the bed and crossed the room to Jasper. “Did you want to talk to me?”
His blue gaze fell to the floor and then rose to meet my eyes. “I wanted to ask you a question.”
“Okay.”
“When I decide that there is no other option but kill Oliver Hunt, do you want me to tell you, or do you want me to never mention it again?” Jasper asked.
The answer came automatically. “I’d rather know than wonder—always.”
It would probably inevitably come to that, but I was hoping that some other magical solution would present itself first.
Jasper kicked off the wall and came to stand over me. He inspected my face closely, and there was puzzlement in his blue gaze. “Sometimes… I have a hard time understanding why people act the way they do. Like now, I can’t understand why you’d want to keep this man alive while he’s a direct threat to you and the pack. Do you feel guilty?”
I shook my head.
“You broke a bottle and held it to my throat, and you carry a gun with silver ammo.”
“I did.”
The werewolf world was brutal. I had no delusions about that. Oliver had invaded Jasper’s territory and attempted to kidnap Jasper’s mate. No werewolf alive would deny that Jasper had every right to kill Oliver, and on top of all that, Oliver was a piece of shit asshole.
I gripped my hands into fists. And for just a moment, I wanted to tell Jasper the horrific truth. My hands would never come clean from all of the blood I was forced to spill. There was only one thing that I could say that was true, “There have been too many deaths in my life.”
Jasper didn’t look like he understood me any better, but he nodded. “I’m going to eat out there with the pack. Do you want to join us? I could bring you a plate in here if you want some time alone. Maybe we’ve been crowding you.”
I shook my head. “I’ve felt so desperately alone for so long that being with you guys… it’s wonderful. I’d much rather join you guys for dinner. Just give me a minute.”
Jasper's hands raised, and he cupped my cheeks. His thumb brushed over my chin. “Sometimes, I think more like a wolf than a human. I don’t want to frighten you.”
I licked my lips. “You don’t scare me, Jasper.”
I was the one who scared myself because it was so very easy to end a life—messy, but easy. The knife slips in, the screaming ends, and the spark of life flickers out. Then one was over, and one was forever shattered.
Chapter Seventeen
I threw myself into work for the next two days. There wasn’t much else to do in the firehouse while the men did their various jobs, and I knew that leaving my small fortress would be unnecessarily putting the men in danger.
Declan and Chad had appointed themselves my night guards, and for the third morning in a row, I woke sprawled across Declan’s chest, with our blankets thrown off. Even though the room was cool, sweat clung to my skin and that was one hundred percent because of the massive gray wolf leaning into my side.
“Even though it’s the last thing I want to do, I need to move you, my sexy
