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  “You can’t. One, you were a gift from Josh to me for his safety.” He smirked as she stiffened, another lie revealed to her. Her breath caught at the idea of Josh using her. “Didn’t know that?” When she shook her head he continued. “Two, you step outside of my protection I can promise you that your father will kill you.”

  She digested the new information and glared at him. “I deserve some happiness, I shouldn’t be kept as a pet.” She snarled. “Work with me here.”

  “He’s not the type of mate you want.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Lucius closed his eyes for a moment and Kass imagined him counting in his head. “He’s a mercenary and I’m sure you have something to do with one of his assignments. If you don’t want to draw attention to yourself, than stay away from him.”

  A mercenary and she was only a job. She didn’t want to believe it and her cat didn’t care. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “You like him that much? He affects you and the beast to the point that you’re willing to risk your safety and your secret with him?”

  “Yes.” she said without hesitating.

  Lucius’ face went blank. “You remain my killer and help me hunt down this stone and I will let you mate.”

  “I’ll still be under your control, that’s not much of a deal.” She pulled the blanket tighter around her.

  He laughed. “Yes, and no. Remember, the more willing you are to work with me, the more control you gain back with your beast. That’s the only way I’m going to let you two be together. I can’t free you without putting you in danger and I’ve already invested too much into you to let you be killed.”

  She searched his face and eyes. He was blank, focused, betraying nothing of his thoughts. He wasn’t giving her anything to go on. Fear that she was making a mistake curled in the pit of her stomach. “How do I find this stone?”

  “I don’t know, all we know so far is that Tegan sent it away.”

  “Oh that’s a lot to go off of.” She rolled her eyes and sat on the floor. “Do we know who would want to send the stone away? Hell, what’s in the stone?”

  He sighed. “It’s a soul, a vampire soul.”

  “You guys don’t have souls.” She raised a brow. “Besides that, who would want to have a vampire soul?”

  Lucius narrowed his eyes at her. “It’s the soul of one of the Original Vampires. One blessed by the gods. And in order to wake him he must have his soul.”

  “Oh shit.” Stories of the Original Vampires floated around the supernatural world and told of horrors no one wanted to face. How their powers could devastate the world, driving it back to the time before the humans were the majority. “So who would actually want to revive this guy?”

  “Someone who wants to go against the Circle’s wishes. Tegan’s brother was the protector of the stone, but he slipped into slumber like many of his generation. Hibernation was the only way to survive; he passed the stone to Tegan and I to keep safe. The vampire that it belongs to ruled with cruelty-“ He paused when Kass pegged him with narrow eyes. “Oh no, kitty, much more cruel than I’ve ever been.”

  “I’ll see what I can do about the stone.” She said as she stood. “Now please, can I get dressed and go talk to Jaxon?”

  He snorted. “It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before.”

  “Not to mention you freaking mauled me when you got in here. Care to explain that one?” She tried again, but he just shook his head.

  “Get to work.” He snapped as he walked out.

  When the door clicked, Kass dropped the blanket and went to find her clothes. As she pulled the pieces on she wondered what the hell she was getting herself into.

  Chapter Eight

  Jax pushed off the wall when Lucius walked out of Kass’ room. “Oh, just you.” He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. His gaze traveled back to the door. The fact that he disobeyed Lucius and no longer worked for him felt irrelevant to the thought that he had gotten Kass in trouble. That hadn’t been his intention. No, he had thought it would be easier to get her to leave Lucius; until he realized they were mates.

  “You and I need to talk.” The vampire snarled and motioned for Jax to follow. “And don’t even think about arguing, because I will force your beast out.” He started down the hallway, expecting him to follow.

  Despite his naked state he swallowed his pride and followed the vampire down the hall. He glanced back at the door, hoping Kass would walk out to join him. When Lucius turned into a different room Jax realized that Kass wasn’t going to be able to smooth this over. “What do you want to talk to me about? You made it clear that you don’t need my services any longer.”

  “Who are you working for?”

  Jax’s heart skipped a beat. “What?”

  “Who are you working for, and don’t lie saying you don’t have a job, I know that you’ve been sneaking around my territories.”

  “A couple clients here and there, nothing that would be damaging to you.” Especially now that he knew the truth about Kass’ family. He wouldn’t put her in jeopardy and risk his mate.

  “What clan are you from, Jax? I normally don’t question my employees, but you being a panther risks Kassity’s safety.”

  “I don’t belong to a clan.” They’d already covered this, but Lucius pressed on.

  “Bullshit. There is only one clan in the U.S. left and that is the one that Kass came from. So do not fucking lie.”

  Jax closed his eyes and counted to ten. “You’re a vampire, you can tell if I’m lying. I do not come from the Black Moon clan. I’m a rogue and have been for a long time. I told you that my clan overseas had been wiped out.”

  Lucius froze. “Did Kass tell you the name of the clan?”

  “It’s not a secret, their history is common knowledge.” Jax kept his voice even and watched as Lucius paced the small room. “You knew this.”

  “I hadn’t considered that you could have came from Kass’ clan. You’re not their type and I thought you were an immortal.” He pegged Jax with a sharp glare. “But now that I’ve seen you naked, I know you’re not.”

  “You thought I was an immortal.” Jax snorted. “Well that’s a new one. Nope, good old kill-able panther here. Now if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to get back to Kass.”

  “I do mind, kitty. You need to stay the hell away from my cat. She needs a clear head to kill and she hasn’t had one since you showed up.” Lucius trapped him against the wall, a hand on each shoulder.

  Jax met the black eyes that stared down at him. “Couldn’t it have anything to do with the fact that she was attacked the other night?”

  “She told you about that?” He backed off, his brows drawn together.

  Jax nodded. “Said it was another panther.”

  “She tell you the rest of it?”

  “It was her half brother. She’s explained some of her past with her family and I know the history of the clan, but really, why would they hunt her down and kill her?”

  Lucius laughed. “She’s not pure, she’s only half their blood and a female. She isn’t fit in their eyes, and that’s all I’m saying.” He turned. “I mean it about staying away from her though, Jax.”

  Jax leaned his head back against the wall. The Black Moon clan was known for their dislikes of unclean and unfit females and their culling of cubs and the weak. He pushed off the wall and walked towards the front exit of the mansion. He would have to catch up with Kass when Lucius wasn’t around and apologize for the trouble he caused, though he still believed their one time together had been worth it.

  Kass leaned over the bar and placed a whiskey on the napkin, winking at the customer before pulling away. Her movements confident and her smile never wavering; she felt at peace in her own bar tonight. After making the deal with Lucius her panther remained calm as Kass served the customers around her. A woman walked in and made her way to the bar. The black hair and yellow flashing eyes caused Kass to freeze. “Sarah.”

  “
Hey, baby girl.” She smiled, her canines just a little more pointed.

  So many questions flooded through Kass’ mind, but only one came out. “How’d you find me?”

  “A little birdie told me that you’ve been working here under a vampire.” She leaned forward. “Cosmo please.”

  Kass turned to make the drink and delivered it to her sister. “Great, didn’t know there were such nosy little birdies that knew I worked here. When did you shift? Seems you’ve spent a lot of time in your new form.”

  “Just after you left us.” Her eyes flickered down and then back to Kass. “Dad’s doing, you know, control training.”

  Kass knew all too well. She took a deep breath. “So you’re still living with them.”

  “He wishes you’d come home, Kass, he’s changed. He understands that he was wrong.” Sarah folded her hands and put her chin on them. “He understands that you’re the most powerful female the clan has ever had.”

  Shaking her head, Kass tried to calm the fear crawling through her. Her beast paced below the surface and the familiar pain started in her chest. She closed her eyes and focused on Jax. How she felt when he calmed her beast helped the panther retreat. With a deep breath she opened her eyes. “No. I work under Lucius now and I’m protected by him.”

  “Heard you kill for him.” Sarah narrowed her eyes. “That you’ve lost all your control.”

  “Not true.” She looked up as she heard the door, but didn’t see anyone. “Are the others with you?”

  Sarah shook her head and slid into a seat. “They don’t know that I came. I wanted to talk to you alone.”

  Kass saw the subtle hitch in Sarah’s breathing and the small dilation in her eyes that betrayed her lie. “But they know where I am.” Kass made it a statement.

  Sarah met Kass’ eyes. “Of course. We’ve known for a few years.”

  “Impossible.”

  “You think so, little sister?” She sipped her drink and leaned back on her stool. “Why don’t you come home Kass, I’ve told you that things have changed.”

  Kass snorted. “You think I would believe that, after years of being force taught control? Just so they could try to kill me by starvation, fights, and whatever the hell else they threw at me?”

  “I thought you had been lying about all that, now I know, now I can protect you.” Sarah begged. “Don’t leave me there alone.”

  Kass searched Sarah’s yellow eyes for something, anything that would tell Kass she spoke the truth. Tears at the corner of her eyes made Kass sigh. “I’m bound here. I can’t.”

  “So much for family, dad always said you cared more for yourself. Clan means loyalty, and here you are bound to a fucking vampire.” Sara threw the Cosmo at Kass.

  Kass knocked the drink out of the air. The glass shattered as it hit the floor and the bar went silent. “Security,” she called.

  Two of Lucius’ vampires came up and each grabbed one of Sarah’s arms. “We’ll take care of her.”

  Kass watched Sarah be dragged out, but the woman smiled at Kass. Taking deep breaths, she went to get the broom to sweep up the glass. Mae came over and looked down at her. “Not like you to piss off customers.”

  “Yeah, well she wasn’t welcome here.” Kass swept up the little pieces of glass. “And I need to go.”

  “Your shift’s not over.” Mae raised a brow, “and we’re swamped.”

  “Well then, I need to call Lucius because that,” Kassity pointed to the door, “is something that puts me in danger.”

  Mae snorted. “Something that scares the big bad panther?”

  “Remember the attack the other night? Same group, fuck me.” Kass ran her hand through her hair trying not to panic. “I can’t believe this is happening.” Her beast stirred and she put a hand to her chest. “Not now cat, we have to figure this out. Lucius, I need to talk to him.”

  “Why?”

  “Because despite how much we both hate him he can actually protect me.” Kass sighed. “Just gonna call him and let him know what’s going on.”

  Mae let out a deep sigh. “Go, I’ll cover for you.”

  “Thanks.” Kass slipped into the back room and pulled out her phone. The vampire hated phones, but would pick up knowing it was an emergency. When it clicked to voicemail she growled.

  “You must be desperate to call me.” Lucius said from the corner. “Didn’t think it was going to be something you really wanted to tell me over the phone.”

  Kass tried not to jump when he appeared. “I need you to free my beast. Sarah showed up here and you know it’s only a matter of time before the others show up.”

  “I can’t free her right now, you’ll have to relearn some control and I can’t have a rampant panther in my territory. Strange that Sarah would be the one to show up, don’t you think?”

  Kass nodded and sat down. “Yes, I thought that. But she’s...changed; you can tell that she’s been forced to be in cat form too much when she didn’t have control. Her hair, her eyes, even her teeth have changed.”

  “You spend a lot of time in cat form, and none of your features have changed like that.”

  “Because I still have some control, I’m stronger than she is. I’ve always had better control over my cat than the boys, even as a cub. They’re weaker, because their mother wasn’t a strong shifter. Sarah hadn’t even shown a second form until I left.”

  Lucius nodded. “So your mother must have had stronger blood.”

  “Yes, but that’s neither here nor there. They are coming for me, they want me to come home. Sarah said that my father has changed and that she can protect me there.” She fidgeted with her fingers and looked down. “Part of me wants to believe it, because clan is everything.”

  Lucius shook his head. “Not to you though, clan only means pain and fear. Remember those days Kass, remember how they tried to kill you on hunts, how your food was limited, the cages, the collars, the forced shifts.”

  “And you’re much better?” She growled, looked up at him. “You’ve put me in cages and forced me to wear collars. You’ve stripped me of my control and limit my hunts.”

  Lucius raised a brow, a crackle of power forming around him. “You really want to bring that up right now? Because you know you are better off with me. Think about the agreement we just made. You wouldn’t be allowed that with your father. You are also still alive, remember that, Kassity. I took you in and yes I used you to control Josh and I control you with things such as the cage and the collar, but only because I am the leader of this territory and you are one of my people. I cannot be weak. I discipline my own human on lines that are just as harsh. I remind you of where you have been, but also bring you to your full potential. I’ve stripped you of your control, yes, but you are stronger for it.”

  Kass shivered at his power. “Josh never would have done that to me.”

  “Josh was weak and the only reason he rescued you was so he had a way into my territory and he had something that I needed. I had no use for a weak vampire like him, which is why I killed him. He couldn’t protect you, but he had a weak spot for you after, and only after, he realized that you had a human side.”

  She swallowed. “You lie, I was just like a sister to him, regardless of my beast.”

  “Remember back and really think about it.” He held up a hand. “When you have a chance to actually think on it. Right now you have to worry about the other panthers. I will release some of my control on your panther so you can shift at will because I know you can control that without my help, but I want your word.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “On?”

  “That you will not run. You will not run away from this, or me.”

  “My word. I’m done running.”

  A cruel smile formed on Lucius face. “How do you end a sentence like that?”

  “Master.” She whispered and he placed a hand on her head. She gasped as she felt something pull deep inside her, suddenly she and her cat could think together again instead of separately. She took a few
deep breaths as she tried to get ahold of herself again. There was one thing that came through clearly that her and her panther agreed on: fight. They must fight.

  Chapter Nine

  Jax walked into the hotel room that Garrett had invited him to. He looked around at the torn up carpet and shredded bed. Splinters of wood littered the floor from what once was a chair...possibly a desk, or both. “Trashing hotels for fun?”

  “Our sister doesn’t quite have the control we wish she did. She got upset over a situation at a bar and kind of lost it. You said you wanted to talk to us?” Garrett motioned to the man from before, sitting in the ruined chair in the corner. “You remember Stephan.”

  Jax nodded to him. “Nice to have a name to go with the face. Yes, I’m here to return half of the money you gave me. I’m done. She ain’t coming back by my hand.” He pulled a backpack off his shoulder filled with the cash he’d taken from them.

  “You think you can just walk away from this? You were hired to locate her and bring her to us. We know where she is, but Lucius makes it hard for us to get to her. She’s well protected from us.” Stephan stood. “You’re making a mistake.”

  Jax raised a brow. “I’m refusing the rest of the job. Don’t want the money, don’t want her hurt.” He threw the bag at their feet.

  Garret laughed. “Oh, you like her, do you? Think you can mate the bitch?”

  “Garret,” Stephen snapped. “Calm, certainly he hasn’t bowed to her charms. You know that she can’t mate, right?”

  “That’s a lie,” Jax chuckled and shook his head. He eyed Stephan. He was a bit taller than Garrett, but wouldn’t be hard to take down first, if need be.

  Garrett raised a brow. “Holy shit, your panther recognized her.” It was a statement. “You slept with her already.”

  “Not really your business.” Jax uncrossed his arms. Letting his hands fall to his side, he tried to take a non-threatening stance.

  “He’s right, and it doesn’t matter. You need to finish the job.” Stephan flexed his hands. “We need her, she’s the last powerful female of our clan.”

  Jax shifted so his feet were further apart. “And if I refuse?”