[Southern Arcana 3.0] Deadlock (9 page)

Another circuit, first to the table and his cell phone to see if he’d missed any calls, then to the guest room door to make sure Carmen still slept. He’d been doing the same thing over and over in the hour since Jackson had called to say he was on his way with Carmen’s brother. Not the young one, who was inconsequential, but Julio.

Another wolf.

His own wolf snarled softly, and Alec ignored the inner urging toward violence. Carmen might not have changed, but his instincts were so confused by the magic pulsing inside her that it didn’t matter. For primal urges nothing mattered but perception, and every sense told him Carmen Mendoza was another shapeshifter.

A beautiful, vibrant, hungry shapeshifter whose out-of-control power all but demanded his strength in return.

“Fuck.” He bit off the word and stalked away from the door, bypassing the clock completely this time as he moved toward the kitchen table. Two weeks’ worth of mail sat awaiting his attention, most of it catalogs stacked on top of the latest issue of
Guns & Ammo.
The catalogs were addressed to Heidi—proof that neither magic nor a psycho-shapeshifter reputation could convince a company to take a client off its damn mailing list.

Rifling through them gave him something to do other than check Carmen’s breathing for the seventeenth time that hour. He discarded sleek advertisements entreating him to buy beads, clay, fabric, power tools and yarn. Then he browsed through his magazine and pondered buying a new shotgun until the distant purr of an engine tickled at the edge of his senses.

The sound drew closer, turned into a too-familiar rattle. Jackson had reclaimed his rust-bucket truck from Mackenzie at some point, and the distinctive engine was impossible to mistake for any other vehicle.

Julio Mendoza was about to invade his territory.

Visit his sister,
he corrected viciously. The man had every right to be worried about his sister. Hell, Alec would have thought less of him if he hadn’t been ready to kill anyone who stood in his path.

It didn’t make it any easier to have another young, cocky interloper shoving his way into Alec’s battered territory, even if Andrew had apologized and already fixed his front door.

The rattle of Jackson’s truck became a rumble, and that inner uneasiness prodded Alec out to meet his guests on the porch.

Both men looked like hell. Of course, Julio had been traveling all day, and Jackson had been hitting every one of their contacts and resources hard, trying to figure out what the hell that witch had done to Carmen.

He waved a hand in Alec’s direction. “There he is. Alec Jacobson. Knock yourself out.”

Julio Mendoza studied Alec as he approached the porch steps. “Is she inside?”

“Yes.” Sizing him up as an opponent was inevitable. Julio wasn’t tall, but he was the sort of solid that came from adding muscles to an already strong frame. He wouldn’t be fast in a fight, but he’d be a wall you could pound yourself against without knocking him over. Youth and stamina would make him a frustrating—and dangerous—enemy.

He had power too, but the magic was more like Derek Gabriel’s. Dominant strength directed inward, a strong wolf with strong instincts, but not someone who felt like a threat. Julio Mendoza could rule if he had to, but he lacked the fire that made Andrew so deadly.

That changed in an instant as his dark eyes heated. “Stop looking at me like that. It makes me think you might be a threat.”

“That just makes you smart.”

“Smart, maybe,” he allowed, “but a lot less inclined to believe your friend there when he says Carmen would be better off staying here.”

Alec brought his aggressive instincts under control by willpower alone. “She’s better off staying here because I
am
a threat. I can keep her from hurting herself, and no one in this city can get past me to lay a finger on her.”

The kid didn’t guard his thoughts well. Alec could almost see him running through the possibilities and questions, analyzing his own resources in comparison. Finally, he nodded. “If she wants to stay, all right. All I can do is find someplace to hole up here or take her back to Charleston.”

It was a concession, and Alec accepted it. “Why don’t you come inside and check on her?”

“Thanks.” He headed through the open door.

Jackson drove his fingers through his hair and pitched his voice low. “I got nothing on the witch, even after calling everyone I know all afternoon, which is damn strange.”

It was damn
scary
. Alec stepped back into the house and gestured for Jackson to follow him. “What about Mahalia? Is she still in New York?”

Something odd flashed in Jackson’s eyes. “Actually, she’s out at Luciano’s ranch.”

John Peyton was in Wyoming too, celebrating the birth of his grandson. “With the Alpha? Or visiting Nicole and Michelle?”

“Not sure,” Jackson hedged. “Peyton could have asked her to be there in case Michelle’s magic went wonky during the delivery.”

It was a fair enough reason. “I suppose Michelle’s the first Seer to give birth since… Hell, probably since Zola was born.”

“Probably.” Jackson eased onto a stool at the kitchen island and braced his elbows on the counter. “Anyway, I called her. She’s looking into it.”

Mahalia had more magical connections than Jackson—as she should, since she’d been the one to train him—but it could take days for her to reach out. Days Carmen would be suffering. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on. She’s acting like a new wolf. Exactly like a new wolf—except she should have changed by now.”

“Magic’s a tricky thing.”

“Ain’t it just?” Alec leaned back against the sink and tilted his head toward Carmen’s room. “The brother gonna be trouble?”

Jackson shrugged. “I don’t think so. He hasn’t been bringing the alpha bullshit. He’s been pretty reasonable, considering the circumstances.”

Alec had already thumbed through his mental file on the man, sparse though it was. Most of the gossip surrounding Julio seemed to involve one of two things—the scandal his father had caused by bedding a psychic, or the scandals Julio had caused by bedding the daughters of far too many important men.

None of it hinted as to how he might react now, when the situation was serious. Frustrated, Alec changed the subject. “The Conclave sent a few men to pick up the bastard who attacked Kat. One headache gone, at least.”

“We’ve still got enough to go around.”

“Seems to be the way of things. Trouble follows supernaturals.”

“It follows us or we make it or something. All I know is—”

“She’ll barely wake up.” Julio stood in the doorway, his hands clenched into fists. “What did they do to her?”

The wrong word or move could trigger a fight. Alec eased upright, but kept his voice level. “We’re trying to figure that out. Maybe now that you’re here, we can divide and conquer.”

Jackson stayed perfectly still. “Could your family do something like this? Try to turn your sister into a wolf?”

It took the kid a moment to speak. “My uncle doesn’t trust spell casters, but he wouldn’t hesitate to use one.”

He hadn’t answered the question, and Alec felt the first tug of sympathy. It was hard to admit your family capable of evil, especially for a shapeshifter. Pack was supposed to matter.
Family
was supposed to matter.

Not for humans and halfbreeds, apparently. “I can’t take care of your sister and shake down your family for info.”

“Shakedowns don’t work on Cesar Mendoza.” Julio’s eyes glinted with anger and a hint of satisfaction. “But I know what will.”

Carmen woke in a bed, fully clothed, with only moonlight shining through the blinds. The bed creaked as she sat up and swung her bare feet over the edge of the mattress.

Her stomach growled angrily, and she bit her tongue to keep from echoing the sound as she rose and crept across the floor. Alec was probably sleeping, but she could rummage in the refrigerator and find something.

Except when she opened the door and stepped into the hallway, Alec stood at the end of it wearing a pair of beat-up jeans and nothing else. “Heard you moving around. Need some food?”

“I, uh…” Carmen shook herself and focused her eyes on his chin instead of his bare chest. “Food. I can get it.”

He studied her, then gestured toward the other end of the hall. “Kitchen’s down there. I’ll be right out.”

She walked to the kitchen, her face flaming. After the way she’d stared, he was undoubtedly going to put on a shirt to spare himself her drooling. Which was ridiculous, because she’d seen plenty of hot, naked men in her time.

Okay, she’d seen a few.

His voice came from behind her before she realized he’d returned, soft and amused. “I’m not much of a cook, unless you want me to fire up the grill, which I will. It’s never too late for steak.”

What he’d put on didn’t qualify as a shirt. A thin white cotton undershirt stretched across his chest and left his shoulders bare. “I can handle it, if you don’t mind me messing around in your kitchen.”

“You feel up to that? Your aura’s still…” He cleared his throat. “Fuck, I don’t know. You feel like a new wolf, but a new wolf as wound up as you were earlier would have shifted.”

“I feel all right.” Embarrassed and worried that she’d practically fallen asleep in his lap. Mortified that, even now, with her stomach rumbling and a million questions whirling in her mind, she couldn’t stop her gaze from tracing the lines of his body.

“It’s natural.” He caught her eyes and held them, an oddly compelling power in his gaze. “All of it. Whatever you’re feeling. New wolves sleep a lot, and when they’re not sleeping it’s pretty much an even split between food, fighting and fu—” His gaze jumped away, and flustered discomfort tickled over her skin. “Sex,” he said, voice a little choked. “The basic three.”

Oh God.
“I don’t feel different, not like I did earlier,” she explained, trying desperately to keep her carnal interest hidden. “The world’s not as loud or bright, just…” Smaller. It had shrunk to the size of his kitchen, to the scant space between them, and she had to distract herself. “What should I cook? What do you like?”

“Food.” He took a cautious step forward, as if she was a wild creature he was trying not to startle. “I’m not picky. Make something you like.”

His proximity made her want to run—not out of fear, but in anticipation of another chase. She turned abruptly and opened the refrigerator. “Maybe just sandwiches or something.” The sooner she got away from him, the better.

“I think I’ve got some bread. Want something to drink?”

“Please.” It came out huskier than she intended, almost suggestive.

The heavy anticipation in the kitchen sharpened. “Beer?”

It was the only beverage in the refrigerator besides an empty plastic jug that had once held milk. “I’ve got it.” She lifted two bottles and held them out.

He accepted them both, but tilted his head. “I think I have some Coke in the garage, if you want that instead. And a few cases of the shit Kat likes to drink that looks like antifreeze.”

Whatever that was, it didn’t sound appetizing. “Beer’s fine.”

Alec nodded and shifted both bottles to his left hand, holding them by the neck, then twisted off the tops without bothering to find a bottle opener. “Feel like talking, or does it make you nervous?”

Carmen blinked, taken aback by his words. She
should
have felt nervous around him. Instead, she found herself not wanting to lose his company. “I don’t mind.”

“Good.” He held out one of the beers. “Can I ask you some questions about what happened, or do you need some more time?”

Her mind shied away from the subject, and she focused on the bottle in his hand. “When I try to think of what happened…it’s like I can’t, but not because I don’t remember.”

“You might have a compulsion. Or the magic might have just shorted out your brain. Jackson may be able to help.” His voice was gentle. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

“Yeah.” She dropped cold cuts on the island and squeezed her eyes shut as a flash of memory assailed her. “My brother. I remember calling Julio, and I must have scared the hell out of him. I have to—”

Alec’s hand landed on her shoulder. “He’s been here. While you were sleeping. Jackson brought him so he could check on you, and we explained what we know.”

She stiffened under his touch, unsure if she wanted to shrug off the contact or invite something more intimate. “He could have driven me home. I can call him now, or Lily…”

“No.” His thumb slipped beneath the fall of her hair to brush along the back of her neck in a slow, soothing stroke. “You’re safe here. You need to be somewhere safe until we know for sure that you’re not going to change.”

The strange confusion clouding her mind gave way to lust. She twisted toward him, past the soft caress, until the back of her neck rested in his hand, testing its careful strength. The same tangled magic that had left her shaking and scared earlier now had her trembling in another way entirely. “You’re touching me like you own me.”

His body tensed, though his hand remained gentle. “I don’t own you. But you’re mine to take care of. Not the same thing.”

“Yours to take care of?” She leaned closer, inhaling his scent on a deep breath. “What does that mean?”

“No, Carmen.” Fingers tightened around the back of her neck in a warning pressure. “This isn’t you. It’s just instinct telling you I’m the strongest wolf in the room.”

“You’re the
only
wolf in the room.” Except that wasn’t quite right, not entirely. “You can let me go. I’m not going to climb you.”

He didn’t, not right away, and a sudden surge of empathy drowned her in a tightly leashed attraction that managed to be predatory and proprietary at once. The rough tips of his fingers dragged across the back of her neck as he pulled slowly away. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you, sweetheart.”

But he wanted to. “You couldn’t stop me.” Her own reaction to his emotions drove the words, challenging and seductive. “Not because I’d take you anyway, but because you’d want me to.”

Alec laughed, low and hoarse, and leaned down until his lips were just over hers. “You underestimate my capacity for masochism. I’d let you ride me into the sunset if you were thinking straight, but you’re not. And I’ll stop you.”