I set off toward the building again, jogging across the empty road and past the husk of a car propped on bricks.
“She’s not inside,” he calls out.
I stop and stand, hands on hips. “I need to find her.” I hate the quiver in my voice. The weakness. “Hunter has her.”
“Her fated mate?”
“She doesn’t want him.”
“She might not want him, but maybe she needs him.”
“Urgh, enough with the cryptic bullshit, Jasper. If you’re here to help, then great; if not, then fuck off and let me get on with my search.”
He watches me with piercing eyes that make me feel like I’m naked. I fucking hate the way he looks at me as if he can see into my soul. I hate the way he can bring my body to life with his hands and his mouth and his cock. I fucking hate that I’m standing here waiting for him to give me a decision.
“She’s not in Necro,” he says. “I can’t sense her.”
“Of course you can’t. Vi put a muter on her. It blocks her reaper power and my connection to her. Why do you think I’m jumping all over the fucking city?”
He walks casually across the street until he’s standing so close I can smell his minty-fresh breath, and then his hand whips out to grab my throat, not too hard, just tight enough to let me know he means business.
“Extra nights between your thighs,” he says. “Extra hours with my cock deep inside you.”
His words make my head swim with carnal memories, and I fucking hate it. I grit my teeth. “If I agree, you’ll help?”
“Yes. If you agree to the price, I will find your Fee.”
I close my eyes to maintain my equilibrium. “I’ll pay.” My eyes snap open as something sharp scrapes my neck. My blood is on his nail and dribbling over his finger. “What did you do that for?”
“Your blood is her blood, and I can use it to find her.” He tips his head to the side. “I’m surprised your witch friend didn’t come up with this solution, she knows you’re Fee’s tulpa…”
Has Vi deliberately withheld information? My blood boils, and I almost forget about Jasper’s hold on me and his proximity, but he reminds me with his breath on my lips.
“You’ll stop jumping,” he says against my mouth. “You’ll go back to your Loup friends, and you’ll tell them you have eyes on the streets. You’ll rest and leave this to me. Do you understand?”
His thumb sweeps along the column of my throat, and my breath hitches traitorously.
He licks the seam of my mouth, and an unwanted moan rises between us as my mouth parts.
He sucks on my bottom lip, and I clench my fists to quell a groan of pleasure. “Do you understand?” he repeats.
“Yes.” My voice is a husky rasp, and I’m desperate for this ordeal to be over.
He obliges by releasing me, and then he’s gone.
My hand goes to my throat and then to my mouth, still tingling from his attentions. “Fuck you, Jasper.” I say it out loud, but not too loud, because he might hear and come back.
I make the jump back to the house and materialize in the kitchen of the Regency Pack house. My legs give out, but before I can grab hold of anything to brace myself, I’m swept off my feet.
“I got you,” Dean says, his smooth baritone a delight to my ears.
“Thanks, big guy.” I offer him a cheeky smile, and I swear his cheeks flush.
Dean sets me down on a high-backed stool carefully, and Bobby places a cup of coffee in front of me.
“Extra sugar,” he says shyly. “I figure the jumping-about thing takes energy.”
I give him a grateful smile. “Thanks. You figure right.”
“Did you find anything?” Grayson asks, straight to the point.
His hair is mussed, and he smells of the outdoors, plus he’s topless—all abs and shit—which means he’s only just come back from scouring the city himself.
“No. But Jasper’s on it now. He has eyes on the city. If she’s here, he says he’ll find her.”
“What kind of eyes?” Dean asks.
“I didn’t ask, because to be honest, the less I know about Jasper’s goings-on, the better.”
I gulp the coffee, not caring how hot it is. I need to get my energy levels up because when Jasper comes back with intel, I need to be able to make the jump.
The doors to the house swing open, and Azazel and Mal enter, looking pissed off.
They’ve been out scouring Necro and the surrounding areas ever since their meeting with Eldrick. That’s another thing that’s bothering me. Logan, the ex-Rising Pack member, is adamant his intel’s correct—that Eldrick and Hunter are about to make a move to take Necro, and Grayson’s inquiries over the last two weeks back it up.
It makes sense for Eldrick to be in on Hunter’s plan, but Azazel has a gift for reading people, and if he says Eldrick’s innocent, then he must be. So, what the fuck is going on?
I look up at Grayson. “Where’s Logan?”
Grayson’s brows snap together. “He’s not lying. I’d smell it if he was.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, yes. I get that. I just need to ask him a few questions. Maybe he knows something else that might be useful, something he might not even realize is crucial.”
“It’s obvious Hunter’s working alone on this,” Dean says. “If Eldrick is innocent, then it must be all Hunter’s idea.”
“And he spread the word that Eldrick was working with him, maybe to garner support…” Grayson ponders.
“Right, so then Hunter goes off and kidnaps his alpha’s daughter at the eleventh hour and blows up his own fucking plan?” I give them all incredulous looks. “Why would he do that? Why throw away all his hard work like that? If Eldrick isn’t on Hunter’s side, it would mean exile or some shit from the pack, right? I doubt Eldrick is going to pat Hunter on the back and forgive this.”
“Hunter wants Fee,” Grayson says. “And he knows once he has her, Eldrick won’t abandon him. He’ll have to keep him close to keep his daughter safe.”
“Dammit, hadn’t thought of that.”
Logan lopes into the house, his body slick with sweat. “We’ve searched the whole of Rising Pack territory and nothing,” he says.
I fix my gaze on him. “Who told you about Hunter and Eldrick’s plan?”
“Everyone in the pack knows. It’s all they whisper about.”
“A rumor. You left on a rumor?”
His expression hardens. “A rumor that’s been proven to be true.” His gaze flits to Grayson, who nods in agreement. “I want no part of a pack that would seek to crush the Loup’s spirit, and that’s what such a regime will do.”
I down my coffee. Pack business gives me a headache. “Jasper. Jasper!”
The air ripples and my personal malevolent spirit appears. “Impatience doesn’t suit you.”
“Any news?”
His smile is a warning, sharp and cold. “Summon me again, and I will increase my price, but maybe that’s what you want…”
My pulse quickens. “You wish.”
His brow flicks up slightly, calling my bluff. “I will come fetch you when I have a location; in the meantime, I can confirm Fee is not in Necro City.”