Witch Undecided: The Thirteenth Sign Book 2 Read online

  “No way.” Poppy sat forward in her seat. “I was sure Lauter was the last of his kind. Didn’t he say that to you?” She looked to Jessie.

  Jessie sipped her Guinness. “He said his people are gone. Dunno what that means.”

  I needed to contact Leana and tell her about this. Did she know there were more fae like her out there?

  “Any sign of Jasper?” Sloane jolted me out of my thoughts.

  I took a gulp of whiskey. “Not since he told me he wasn’t going to be bailing my friends out any longer. He’s pissed. I don’t blame him.”

  Jessie ran her index finger around the rim of her pint glass. “I wouldn’t usually advocate a relationship with a malevolent spirit, but in this case I don’t see why you can’t go there. You obviously care about him and he obviously gives more than two shits about you.”

  * * *

  “She’s afraid she’ll fuck him,” Sloane said bluntly.

  “Ah.” Jessie shrugged. “Can’t help with that. I have zero self-control.”

  Poppy giggled, then sobered. “Does he know why you won’t be with him?”

  “He knows about the seal and the no-sex rule, but I don’t think he cares. I don’t know what he is, or where he came from. I can’t take the risk of taking off this amulet, no matter how badly I might want to.”

  Jessie’s mouth turned down. “You don’t trust him.”

  It wasn’t that. “I trust him with my life, just not with the fate of humanity, and…I don’t trust myself around him.”

  “But that amulet only stops him from banging you as long as you don’t agree to being banged,” Jessie pointed out. “You’ve managed to stay in control so far. Seems to me the amulet’s just a security blanket. You care about humanity and the seal or you wouldn’t be here. Trust yourself.” She took a gulp of her beer. “I say, fuck the angst. Make a deal with him to keep his cock to himself. If the wolves can do it, wolves that are mated to you, then why can’t he?”

  When she put it that way, it made sense. Was I overthinking things? I mean, the amulet muted his ability to draw from me, but according to him I radiated power, so the only thing the amulet was really doing was keeping him from getting sexy with me. Did I need it? Could I go there with Jasper? Could I trust myself?

  “No,” Sloane said. “Not till we know more about him. I’m with Tor on that one. I’m not saying Jasper’s hiding stuff—I believe he doesn’t know who or what he is—but we need to help him find out before you make any decisions that could jeopardize that seal.”

  But I needed to tell Jasper this. I needed to clear the air and just…tell him I cared. Oh, God. I needed to tell him… “Excuse me.” I pushed back my chair and headed toward the door that led to the restroom. The corridor beyond was empty.

  “Jasper. Jasper. I need you.”

  Nothing.

  “Jasper, please…” My chest was tight with the need to speak to him. To tell him what he meant to me, but there was no crackle in the air and no fizz.

  No Jasper.

  Fuck.

  I turned to head back to the bar just as the restroom door swung open and two giggling women spilled out.

  I recognized the silver-blonde hair and gray eyes that turned cold at the sight of me.

  Astrid’s smile fell. “What are you doing here?”

  “What people do at a bar. Drinking.”

  She’d leaped into a ring of varga and used her body as a shield to protect me from them, but I guess that didn’t mean we were friends.

  “Yeah? Well, you’re not invited to the pre-mating party.”

  “Astrid, what the hell?” Her companion looked at her in shock.

  Astrid rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” And then flounced off.

  The dark-haired shifter smiled tentatively at me. “Ignore Astrid. We’d love for you to join us if you like. I’m Selena, Holm Pack.”

  “Good to meet you. I’m so sorry I haven’t been to Holm yet.”

  Her expression clouded. “It’s all right. The alpha explained you wouldn’t be visiting. But Halle has said wonderful things about you.”

  Wait, what? “Rune said I couldn’t come?”

  She blinked rapidly. “Well, yes. He said you were busy.”

  Busy? Why would he do that? She was watching me with open curiosity now, and I needed to rein in the confusion, or I’d make Rune a liar.

  I composed my features. “I was busy, but I’ll be down to visit next week.”

  Her face lit up. “Oh, that would be awesome. We can have lunch.” She clasped her hands together. “I have to admit, we were a little jealous when you visited Vita and Mana but not us.”

  “I’m so sorry. I’ll make it up to you guys.”

  “You can meet a few of us now, if you like?” She looked at me expectantly.

  “Sure.”

  I followed her into the bar and caught Sloane’s eye as I passed our table. I mouthed, Be right back.

  She nodded, tracking me until I turned away and dove into the crowd with Selena. The shifter led me to a small group of dark-haired women who looked up in surprise at my approach.

  I chatted with them for a while, ignoring the burn between my shoulder blades from Astrid’s laser eyes. She was beginning to get on my nerves.

  I was making my excuses, eager to get back to Sloane and The Elites, when the spot at my solar plexus bloomed with heat and my nape prickled.

  Leif.

  I turned as he entered the bar. He was dressed casually in a long-sleeved black sweater and jeans, no coat despite the chill outside. But then he was a shifter, and they all ran a little hot. His crimson hair was tousled, silken strands kissing his cheeks and sweeping across his forehead. Our gazes locked and his face broke into a huge smile.

  “Leif!” Astrid threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You made it.”

  He frowned down at her and then reached up to grip her arms and tug them from around his neck, then his attention was back on me. He bridged the distance between us and wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me off my feet in a bear hug. It was my turn to wrap my arms around his neck, and I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up in my throat.

  “Hey, you.” I peered into his face.

  He looked at me with a soft smile. “I missed you.”

  “We’ve been apart for one day.”

  “So you didn’t miss me?”

  I leaned in to brush my nose with his, mouth tipping up teasingly. “Not one bit.”

  “Liar.”

  “Totally.”

  He lowered me slowly so our bodies kissed all the way until my boots touched the floor. Desire twisted and tugged in my lower abdomen. I squashed it and grinned up at him.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to see you.” He kept his arms around my waist, leaning back slightly, relaxed and at ease with me in his arms like we did this every day.

  I arched a brow.

  “Fine, so I’m checking in on the wolves too, but Rune told me you might be here tonight.”

  “Leif, you didn’t need to come.” A guy joined us. A tank with no neck.

  Leif smiled at him. “No offense, Danny. I know you’ve got this.” He slid a glance my way.

  Danny grinned. “Right, right, Boss. I see. Nice to meet you, anchor.”

  “Cora, please call me Cora.”

  “Danny. Vita beta.” He paused, then chuckled. “That rhymes.”

  “Where’s Trenton?” Leif asked.

  “By the bar,” Danny said. “We got this covered.”

  “Danny!” Poppy appeared and threw her arms around the tank. He lifted her off her feet in a bear hug similar to the one Leif had given me. “Missed you. You’ve been hiding.” She pouted up at him.

  Was that a blush on his cheeks? “Patrolling. I’d never hide from you.”

  She smiled sweetly at him. “So, you’ll dance with me?”

  He groaned. “You know I can’t dance.”

  “Then buy me a drink.” Poppy linked arms with him.

  Danny looked to Leif, and my mate lifted his chin slightly, as if to say go for it.

  Danny winked, then sauntered off.

  “He’s a tough bastard, but a softie too,” Leif said. “He seems to have a soft spot for Poppy. They’ve been flirting for months, but he knows not to overstep.”

  “Witches and wolves don’t get it on?”

  “Danny knows he’ll find his mate soon and he doesn’t want to hurt Poppy.” As soon as the words were out, he winced. “Fuck.”

  Yeah, there was no ignoring the parallels to our dynamic here.

  “Cora—"

  I swallowed the bitterness in my throat. “So, are the wolves staying in town?”

  Yeah, I needed to change the subject.

  For a moment it looked like he might resist the conversation shift, but then he sighed. “Yeah, they’re staying in town tonight, and the betas will drive them back to the pack houses tomorrow morning.”

  “Rune did say the town was the safest place for the female shifters right now.”

  The music grew louder, and the lights dimmed. Outliers was turning from a bar to a club. Must be midnight.

  Leif leaned in so his mouth brushed my ear. “Dance with me.”

  He led me to the tiny dance floor, and then bodies were pressing in on us and we were in our own little world. Just the beat of the music and the vibrations traveling through the soles of my feet to settle low in my abdomen. Leif moved closer, his thigh slipping between mine so I was straddling it. We moved together in an imitation of an act we both desperately wanted to do. I tipped my head up to find his mouth a hairbreadth from mine. His hands slid over my hips to cup my ass and haul me closer. My core pressed to his muscled thigh, rolling with each movement, rubbing and growing wetter. Our breath mingled, hot and needful.

  The connection between us throbbed, alive and hungry. My breath hitched and my hands flexed at his nape, wanting to grip him tighter, fingers wanting to dig in and take.

  His eyes darkened and the next thing I knew we were headed out the door into the cold night. I didn’t question, focused entirely on the heat thrumming through my veins and the firm, sure grip of his fingers around mine.

  The Rover came into view, parked with its butt in an alley. Leif unlocked it with his fob as we approached, then yanked open the back door.

  I crawled in and he joined me.

  We sat side by side, chests heaving.

  “We can control this, Cora.” Leif’s voice was tight and husky. “But we need to release a little steam.”

  He was right. I was burning up, and the longer I denied myself any kind of release, the more likely I was to fuck up and take too much. Total denial was no longer an option.

  I turned my head to look at him. “Just a taste, Leif. For us both.”

  His chest rumbled, then his lips were on mine. He kissed me hard, his mouth like a key tearing down my defenses. Our tongues wrestled, eager for dominance, hands tearing at clothes, eager for the sensation of skin. Fingers tugging at my jeans, fumbling with the zipper. I lifted my butt and then I was free of the denim, ass kissing leather, thighs parted enough to allow him access to the hot wet place that throbbed and begged, and oh, fuck, his fingers sliding and slipping and circling the nub that had me panting and gasping and lifting my hips like a greedy bitch.

  He pushed me back into the seat, body covering mine, mouth on my neck, licking and sucking while his hand worked me, fingers pushing into me, curling up to hit the spot that tore guttural, incoherent sounds from my throat. Yes. I worked my hand between us and into the waistband of his joggers. Precum, slick and warm, licked at my fingers.

  Leif sucked in a sharp breath, rearing up to lock gazes with me. “Easy, Cora. It’s been a while.”

  His fingers moved slow and deep inside me. I bit my lip and gripped his shaft, massaging it with the same rhythm he was using on me. He dropped his head, grunting as I worked him, fingers moving faster, thumb tapping my clit. I picked up the pace, groaning and grinding against his hand as the pressure built inside me. The twist and tightening that was the precursor to an epic release. Almost there. Oh, God, I was almost there.

  His cock swelled in my hand, and I swept my thumb over the tip every time I came up from a pump. I wanted him in my mouth. I wanted him inside me.

  Oh fuck.

  I came in a wave of heat and slick cream, and then Leif tensed, his moan tickling my ear as his seed decorated my hand in hot spurts.

  I continued to pump him, reveling in the shudder of his body and the tight arch of his spine as he rode the orgasm.

  He collapsed on top of me, his head buried in the crook of my neck.

  We lay in panting silence for long, aching seconds, and then Leif chuckled, soft and sexy.

  “I don’t know how we come back into friend zone after that.”

  I lay beneath him, heart pounding, body tingling and throbbing. “I don’t know if we can.”

  This changed everything. We were going to have to reassess our boundaries and—

  A phone buzzed angrily.

  “Shit.” Leif extricated himself and fumbled for his cell. “Hey.” His eyes grew wide. “Fuck. I’m on my way.” He cut the call and climbed off me, tucking himself away and buttoning his jeans.

  “What happened?”

  He reached between the front seats, popped open the dash, and handed me a box of tissues. “The female shifters have gone missing.” He wiped my hand clean. “We need to find them. Now.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Lauter was shutting down the bar, ushering everyone out. We’d searched the premises and found no trace of Astrid, Selena, or the other wolves. Eight female shifters gone.

  “So they went to the restroom?” Leif asked Trenton again.

  “Yeah, and they were ages, so Danny went to check on them. No one came back.”

  Sloane joined us. “The hotel says they haven’t come back.”

  “They wouldn’t just leave,” Trenton said.

  A cold gust of air blew in from the entrance and Jessie stood framed in the doorway. “Guys. We found… something.”

  Her eyes were huge, dark pits in her pale face.

  My gut twisted.

  We followed her out of the bar and down the street. Poppy stood at the mouth of an alley up ahead, bubble-gum hair billowing in the breeze. Her hands were fisted at her sides, gaze fixed straight ahead on whatever was hidden from us. Leif sniffed the air and then broke into a jog with Trenton close behind. The rest of us followed. We came to a halt at the foot of the alley where the coppery scent of blood hit me.

  Shit, this must be what Leif had…Oh fuck. What was that?

  A shadowy lump lay in the middle of the alley. I took a step forward and Leif grabbed my arm.

  “Stay back.”

  He and Trent walked into the alley, cautiously approached the form, and crouched to examine it.

  “Fuck. No, man. No.” Trent’s words drifted out to us.

  Poppy looked at me and shook her head, her eyes brimming.

  The moon chose that moment to peek out from behind the clouds, lighting up the scene. The lump morphed into a man, torn and bloody, bottom half of his body twisted at an odd angle.

  I couldn’t see his face. Leif was in the way. I couldn’t see, but I knew, and when Leif shifted position my suspicions were confirmed and my breath whooshed out of my lungs.

  Danny stared at me from dead eyes.

  Dead Danny. Torn to shreds.

  Several creatures could do this kind of damage, but only one we knew of had anything to gain by it.

  The varga had our women.

  “They tore him up,” Poppy sobbed. “He’s dead. Danny…Oh, God, sweet Danny.” She covered her face with her hands as wretched sobs wracked her frame.

  We’d returned to Outliers where Lauter poured a round of whiskeys and left the bottle on the table. The place was shrouded in darkness, the main lights and neon sign turned off.

  Jessie sat beside Poppy, an arm around her friend’s shoulders, face a mask of suppressed rage. “What’s the play, Leif?”

  Leif stood with his chin tucked in, his eyes dark with rage. “There are no rifts open. Tor and Rune both checked in. The patrols have scoped everywhere and no rifts.”

  “They came into town,” Sloane said. “There could be a rift in town.”

  Trenton shook his head. “They’ve never opened a rift in town. They can’t. Their world meets ours in specific areas, and we have those covered.”

  “You’re sure about that?”

  “Positive, but I had some wolves do a sweep of the surrounding area anyway. Nothing.”

  “What will you do?” Jessie asked again.

  Leif’s jaw ticked. “If they’ve taken the women through a rift, there’s nothing we can do.”

  “What?” Poppy raised her head and glared at him. “What the fuck do you mean?”

  “We aren’t permitted to go through the rifts,” Leif said. “Our ancestors took an oath never to cross over.”

  “And you’ve already broken that oath, because the female dire wolves have crossed over,” Sloane pointed out. “So fuck the rules.”

  She was right. “Leif, we have to go after them.”

  He closed his eyes. “We can’t. The oath prevents us from passing through willingly. The varga will have physically forced the wolves to pass, but unless we’re captured and forcefully taken through, there is no way for us to get through. We’ll be repelled.” His mouth twisted. “Trust me, I’ve tried chasing after the fuckers.”

  Fuck. There had to be a way… “What about witches?”

  Leif frowned at me.

  “Can we get through?”

  “It’s too dangerous.”

  “So that’s a yes.” I looked at Sloane, who nodded.

  “Dammit, Cora,” Leif snapped. “It’s unknown territory. If you get bitten or scratched, you’re fucked, not to mention you can’t fight them with magic. They can null you.”

  “Not if I’m around.” Jasper stepped out of the gloom, and my heart leaped into my throat. He didn’t look at me, though. He kept his attention on Leif. “I can help.”

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