1 9

h e a r t

JED AND I decided to stay home the next day. Based on a text that Jade had sent me, Lorraine had returned to the diner but she was still ranting and railing at everyone who so much as crossed paths with her. Jed had no wish to be anywhere near her and, as much as I wanted to help her, I couldn't help but feel the same.

Just thinking about how she'd come so close to attacking me the other day was enough to backtrack on my impulses and send a message to Dimitri to stay home too. Putting the sardonic, sharp-tongued Dimitri and the emotionally-unstable Lorraine together was like adding fuel to the already-blazing fire.

Meanwhile, Jed had revoked his previous orders and simply moved the prisoners into a holding cell for the time being. He'd then retreated into his study to contact several other packs for reinforcements. There wasn't any time to lose because Prometheus still had Lance and Giles, if they were even alive. Based on what I understood of the situation, Titan had the distinct advantage of having several extremely well-trained fighters.

But Prometheus had nothing to lose. And that in itself gave Malthus Trevino the upper-hand.

Two upper-hands, in fact.

I was still mulling over the issue of the rogue within Titan. We needed to flush that rogue out before Titan made its next move, because Titan could very well get burnt if the rogue leaked our plans out to Prometheus. Finding the ring was imperative, as Dimitri had already said.

But what was even more important was convincing Jed.

Biting my lip thoughtfully, I started to contemplate the best way to go about it as I stood by the kitchen counter and began to prepare breakfast. Cooking, as always, was therapeutic, and I found myself beginning to calm down as I pulled out one ingredient after another out of the fridge. I was just about to push myself up on the counter so that I could retrieve a pot when I felt Jed step up behind me, his familiar scent washing over me like the best kind of aphrodisiac there ever was, his tanned arm reaching out to pull the pot off the shelf and set it down on the counter.

"Hi," I greeted brightly when I turned around, feeling rather surprised when I saw how close he was standing. The expression on his face was calm, the tiny smile flitting across his face almost relaxed, like we had all the time in a world that had, momentarily, stopped spinning on its axis. When he took a step closer still, his eyes darting down to my lips, I suddenly felt flustered as my heart began to race. "Are you hungry?" I blurted.

His eyes widened in visible surprise before a lazy smirk tugged at the corners of his lips.

Rapidly, I realised the ramifications of my statement and shut my eyes in brief embarrassment. "In retrospect, that might not have been the best question to ask."

Jed let out a low, husky laugh that sent thrills all the way down my spine and, without any warning, swiftly leaned down to capture my lips with his. He kissed me in a way that was wonderfully familiar, lips sliding against mine so smoothly that seemed like he'd done it a thousand times before, first nipping at the corner of my mouth and then on my lower lip to wrench a breathless whimper from me, before kissing me fully over and over again until I was almost numbingly devoid of all thoughts but him.

All too soon for my liking, he was pulling away in an action that was perfectly reminiscent of all the times he'd just kissed me with that vague curiosity, only to pull back in time before his irises went fully obsidian. Somehow, the thought of that thrilled me very much and I couldn't help but wonder how it would feel like, what Jed would do, when he was no longer in full control. And somehow, a part of me knew that this was a perfect time for it to happen.

So I reached up to lock my arms around his neck to keep him solidly in place. "Oh, no, you don't, big boy." I laughed when he stilled in surprise, his green eyes wide with confusion as he stared at me. "You don't get to kiss a girl and leave her hanging. Not this time. Now kiss me the way I know you've always wanted to."

He froze when he caught the implications of my request. Immediately, his eyes darkened to a fascinating shade of the darkest green and he swallowed, his Adam's apple sliding up and down his throat with the movement. And when he spoke, his voice was quiet, so low and rich with desire that I felt my toes curl at the delicious sound of it. "Are you sure?"

"Oh, I'm sure." I said, offering him a bright, reassuring smile and tilting my head so that I could tap two fingers against the left side of my neck, an inch or so beneath my ear. I'd memorised it perfectly from the moment he'd pointed it out to me, and I was certain I'd never forget it. "Here, right?"

A low growl wrenched itself from his throat when he saw my actions, his dark eyes fixing intensely on the spot where I was pointing. Before I could even blink, he was leaning in close, until I could feel every inch of him pressed up against me. 

It was nothing but uninhibited from the very beginning. He kissed me at the perfect angle, lips capturing mine in two sweet, mind-numbing kisses before nipping sharply on my lower lip, an unexpected action that surprised a startled gasp out of me and made my head spin. But when I hooked my legs around his waist, something in him seemed to snap and he let out a low growl, his fingers digging into my hips as he dragged me to the edge of the counter, pulling me so close to him that I could feel the my breasts pressed flushed against the hard planes of his chest and the length of his arousal grinding against me in a way that made my stomach tighten, a tight, hot wire of anticipation building within me as I sighed his name against his lips. With a muffled groan in response, he dragged his lips away from mine, only to press them strategically against the corner of my mouth, then sponging hot kisses across the line of my jaw.

It wasn't until Jed finally reached my neck and felt me still fleetingly under his touch that he paused. He pulled back, and I caught a glimpse of his elongated fangs as he struggled to rein himself in, his eyes obsidian with just the faintest glimmer of green. After a moment or two, he reached up to sweep my hair behind my ear, leaving the left side of my neck completely bare, before he met my gaze evenly. "Trust me."

I smiled, feeling my chest tighten when I realised how careful he was being despite the fact that he was probably warring with his wolf. "Oh, I do."

The expression on his face softened and he leaned in again, this time to capture my lips again. The kiss was hot, heavy and everything about it was so intense that I momentarily forgot about everything but him. It stole the air from my lungs and left me entirely breathless, but before I could reciprocate, he pulled away swiftly and pressed another scorching kiss to my neck. I let out a whimper when he gently bit and sucked on the skin there, but it wasn't just a love-bite, it wasn't just a mark that would stay on me for days to come. It was something more than that and I knew it, I craved it, because I was tightening my grip on him as I held him securely against me, an action that he seemed to like very much because he sponged another open-mouthed kiss across my skin and, with a muffled groan that was so low it was barely audible, swiftly sunk his teeth into my neck.

It was something entirely beautiful.

A sharp burst of pain that was swiftly dulled by pleasure, and for a moment or two, everything felt mindless, numbing, drifting like I was in a place where no dimensions or time or space existed, nothing but him. But it was followed by an unexpected jolt of awareness of him – his delicious scent that had by now seeped into my skin, his fingers rucking up my spine beneath my shirt with his other hand anchored around my waist to keep me in place, his teeth retracting just as swiftly before he laved his hot tongue across my skin to soothe the remnant sting of the bite.

Jed pressed his lips gently against the spot several more times before lifting his head. His dark eyes were still sated with desire but it quickly dissipated when he scanned my face, a hint of worry seeping into his expression when I stayed entirely still. "Did I hurt you?"

I blinked. It was like spiralling down from an adrenaline rush and I unconsciously reached a hand up to trace my fingers across the bite. Perforated marks embedded in my skin in a perfect curve, and my fingers lingered there for a moment or two before I met his gaze. "No," I murmured, still blinking as I tried to adjust.

Something was different.

I couldn't quite place a finger on it. "No, you didn't," I repeated, still feeling that strange pulse rush through me. I blinked a few more times, staring dazedly around at the kitchen. Jed was still holding me tightly and I instinctively leaned in closer to him. I was just about to rest my cheek against his shoulder when it suddenly hit me, and I veered back sharply, glancing up to meet his gaze in fascination. "You're worried."

It was his turn to blink. Slowly, he nodded, still looking entirely unsure, but I hastily cut in, feeling a surge of intrigue rush through me.

"No, you're worried," I repeated, a smile of disbelief flitting across my face as I shook my head. "You're worried and confused but entirely sated and I can feel all that."

Realisation flickered in his eyes and he immediately relaxed, a satisfied grin tugging at the corners of his lips as he nodded. He didn't look surprised at all and I realised he must've already known that. But I hadn't, and I shut my eyes for a few moments, leaning my head against his shoulder as I tried to sense him.

It was like feeling two sets of emotions within me, not warring with each other but blending, merging, balancing – because he was sated as he traced arbitrary patterns across the small of my back and now I was feeling the same way too; and now I was fascinated and I knew that he must've felt it too.

"This is amazing," I murmured at last, my lips brushing his neck as I spoke and I smiled when I felt him shiver involuntarily at the contact, his arms tightening around me. "Okay, that was hot and I had a lot of fun," I added, in amusement. "We should really do it again. That and any other kinky tricks you werewolves can do."

Jed laughed, and I felt a surge of happiness that wasn't mine but his, which in turn made me feel absolutely thrilled and on and on and on. Like a ripple effect. I was right. This wasn't a love-bite or a mark, it was more than that – it was a connection.

I was just about to voice my observations to Jed when a sudden knock on the front door startled the both of us. Reluctantly, I began to unwind my legs from around his waist just as the person outside spoke.

"Alpha?"

I froze. My hands tightened on Jed's shoulders and I held him in place, my eyes darting up to his. The expression on his face was surprised, and I already knew he'd felt the horror I'd felt mere seconds ago.

"Adrian?" I mouthed the word, staring up at him questioningly. Jed nodded unsurely, his eyes darting over to the front door and then back to me again in clear confusion. The knock sounded again and I dug my fingers into Jed's shoulders, hardly aware that I was probably hurting him because my heart was racing so erratically that I could barely think about anything else. Pulling him closer to me, I leaned forward until my lips were a hairsbreadth away from his ear. "Don't trust him."

Jed stilled.

Then he jerked back, the action so swift and sharp that it almost seemed like I had slapped him right in the face. I caught a fleeting glimpse of hurt flash across his eyes before he was pinning me with his shrewd, calculating gaze. There was an unspoken question in his eyes but I could almost hear him say it –

Are you sure?

I gave a subtle nod and involuntarily jumped when the knock sounded again. His fingers immediately tightened around my waist in a subconscious effort to calm me. "Don't leave him anywhere near the prisoners from Prometheus," I whispered, because walls had ears and I didn't know how much of our conversation could be heard from outside. I didn't want to risk it. "Get Brutus or Katya or even Bianca – just not him. Don't give him any additional ammunition or reinforcement he may already have against you."

He nodded, his features slipping into an indifferent one I saw often on him when he wasn't looking at me, and strode out of the kitchen.

I remained where I was, mindlessly wiping down the counter and then unwrapping the food. In the distance, I could hear vague, familiar voices but I couldn't quite decipher to content of their conversation. I was midway through preparing lunch and had just finished setting the timer for the oven when the front door shut and Jed re-entered the kitchen.

"Noticed anything?" I asked, when I saw him hovering by the doorway. When he shook his head, uncertainty flitting across his face, I smiled reassuringly at him. "That's because he's one hell of an actor in human form." After sticking the tray of chicken in the oven and washing my hands, wiping them down on the cloth, I headed over to him and grabbed his hand. "Come on. I'll show you."

On the way to the library, I quietly told him about the night of Spike's funeral. How Dimitri had noticed the outlier, how no other wolf had quite stood the same way that brown wolf had, how it was unmistakable once we noticed it.

Adrian was the rogue.

And I knew it from the moment Dimitri had pointed him out to me. That brown coat of fur was unmistakable and he was sitting next to Jed the night of Spike's funeral. Jed's right hand man. His best friend. The one who'd stuck with him throughout the years. It was the latter thought that triggered something in me, because when I first met Adrian and Spike and Lance, Spike had told me an interesting fact that had somehow stuck.

I've never heard him say a word for as long as I've known him, Spike had said, when I asked about Jed. Nor has Lance. Adrian hasn't either, and he's known our Alpha for even longer.

And what had Adrian said again? He used to speak, but he hasn't for a long time.

So Adrian had known Jed long before, which could easily mean that he'd known Jed's family long before. And it was that which prompted me to head back home the night of Spike's funeral and do some cross-referencing through the photographs.

"Look at these," I told Jed, once we were in the library with the door bolted shut behind us and I'd finished laying out the photographs on the carpeted floor in front of him. Pointing to a particular picture, I looked up at Jed. "That's him, right?"

Jed followed the direction my finger was pointing to and, for a moment or two, he hesitated. Looked at that picture of an Adrian who was barely ten years old, all wide smiles and bright eyes with an arm slung around Jed's shoulders. The shade of vulnerability that glimpsed across Jed's face was unmistakable, but it was gone in a flash and he finally nodded.

"He's in a lot of pictures." I sat back down and pulled my knees to my chest. "Always with you or Malthus or both. I know you think of him as your best friend because you've known him since you were kids. But so has Malthus," I added, pointing to several other pictures where it was just Adrian and Malthus in the photographs. "Adrian's the Beta, but considering there was no initiation during your reign, because you automatically took over as Alpha from Claudius, we don't actually know if Adrian was ever properly initiated during Claudius's reign. Dimitri says that if we can find a ring somewhere in Adrian's home or about his person then it might be a definitive clue. But even if he's not working with or for Malthus, you should be careful because his loyalties may have never been with you in the first place."

Jed paused as he mentally warred with some internal conflict within him. Then he pulled out his phone to type a quick message across the screen before showing it to me.

Adrian has a chain around his neck that he's worn for a long time now.

The ring might be on it.

My heart began to pound in my chest as I read his words. "So if we can find a way to get a look at it, maybe – " I trailed off when Jed set his phone back down and picked up one of the pictures that had only Adrian and Malthus in it. When I saw the conflicted look on Jed's face, I swallowed and felt my heart twist. "I know you're torn between trusting me and trusting Adrian – "

"I trust you," He said unexpectedly, his voice quiet. He was no longer looking at the photograph and instead held my gaze squarely.

" – which means you don't trust him," I murmured, wondering why I didn't feel any better about it now knowing that Jed didn't. I loved that he trusted me without a doubt. Hated that I had to ruin the trust he had in the few people he actually trusted to begin with.

Jed made no response, except to reach over and pick up another picture that had him and Adrian in it this time. For a while, he simply stared at the photographs, hesitation and anger and sadness and disappointment warring in his expression. He looked so lost, felt so lost that my heart clenched.

He'd already lost Spike. Lance was captured. And now Adrian had most likely been working against him the whole time.

Without thinking much about it, I closed the gap between us and wound my arms around his neck. He instinctively leaned into me, burying his face against my neck and shutting his eyes as I threaded my fingertips through his hair. "I'm sorry I told you this," I said softly, shifting so that I could press my lips fleetingly to his forehead before continuing, "I know I planted that seed of doubt against your best friend and I know how difficult it must be for you to hear this. But I just don't want you to get hurt again."

Jed simply wound his arms around me in response and held on tight.

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Walking to the diner had never felt so tiresome before.

A part of me still wondered, still wanted to give Adrian the benefit of the doubt, still wanted my eyes to un-see what I already had seen. But Jed was adamant on sifting out the rogue from the pack because everyone's lives were in danger the longer he stayed here. Finding out the truth once and for all would put things to an end.

So he was heading to the diner where he knew Adrian was, his strides long and purposeful, a grim look on his face until he realised that I was lagging some way behind. I was still nervously wringing my hands when he snagged me by the wrist with his long fingers and gently tugged me forward so that I was beside him.

"Will you be safe?" I blurted, when he waited for me expectantly to voice my thoughts. He quirked an eyebrow in evident amusement, a ghost of a smirk twitching on his lips, and I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm just worried for you. You know I can feel your emotions, right? I know how worried you are."

His expression softened and he took a quick step forward to press his lips to my forehead. I felt my heart stutter, the heat of his lips both scorching and comforting all at once, but it was gone all too soon. He seemed to sense that his gesture had reassured me, because he tugged gently on my hand again to urge me forward, and I didn't hesitate to follow him.

When we reached the doorway, he cast a quick glance at me and I swiftly schooled my expression into the most normal one I could muster. His lips tilted up in a faint, approving smile before he stepped into the diner, propping one hand against the glass door to hold it open for me. Stepping into the diner was no different from the other times we'd entered the place together – greetings from the other pack members, a blend of 'Alpha' and 'Luna' thrown into the mix that Jed simply gave several nods in acknowledgement to, while I went along with my usual and greeted them with a sunny smile on my face.

True enough, Adrian was seated in one of the usual booths that he and Jed and the rest of the best fighters of the pack generally occupied. After waving an arbitrary greeting our way, he went back to the discussion he was having with Brutus and Vaughn. Katya, Jade, and about five others were at that table too, but Bianca, to my surprise, was not there.

Instead, she was seated at the counter, sipping on a strawberry milkshake and tapping her red nails against the tabletop in arbitrary beats as she blissfully ignored the stink-eye that Lorraine was giving her. She noticed us entering the diner and her lips curled up in a slow smirk when she saw me. I smiled back at her, but Jed simply shot her a stony glare, which she reciprocated by smirking even wider.

"You found my brother yet?" Asked Lorraine sharply, her voice slicing through the general chatter of the place. She was staring at Jed through narrowed eyes as she stood behind the counter, her arms folded across her chest.

"So now you realise he's your brother," drawled Bianca, as everyone else fell silent. "Where was this wonderful sense of awareness when you were charging through the foray last night?"

"Go to hell," snarled Lorraine, almost lunging at Bianca were it not for the warning hand that one of the customers held out to stop her.

"Oh, I will," Bianca returned serenely, taking a deliberately long sip of her milkshake before continuing. "I'm sure there's a place there for me, although judging by the way you've been acting I'm beginning to think we might very well be neighbours down there."

Lorraine was seething and she was looking this close to snapping altogether. Deciding that we already had enough on our hands, Jed nudged me towards the counter. I knew he had a plan in mind – he wanted to observe Adrian for awhile to see if he could pick up on any abnormalities in his behaviour; so I didn't question it. So I went to the counter, while he headed to the booth. That gesture alone was enough for everyone else to turn back to whatever they were doing, and the overall chatter resumed.

Lorraine was glaring mutinously at me when I reached the counter, her features defiant, but I met her gaze squarely. "I'm very sorry Spike died," I said quietly. "And I'm sorry that Lance was captured. But Jed will do everything he can to get him back. You have my word."

For a moment or two, I could've sworn I saw a flicker of guilt and utter sadness in her eyes. But it was over in a flash and she pressed her lips down in a tight line before pushing past me to head into the kitchen, letting the door swing shut behind her.

Several people had clearly overheard us, but only Bianca dared to meet my gaze, her lips lifted in an audacious smirk. "Well, well, well, seems like someone's finally having the spine to put on that metaphorical tiara and act like a proper Luna."

"Hello to you too," I said wryly and stepped behind the counter so that I could refill the coffee for the other customers. Then I finally got to her and held up the pot. "Coffee?"

"No, thanks." Bianca waved a dismissive hand at me and took another long sip of her milkshake. Her eyes were still fixed on me in an inquisitive gleam. "There's something different about you today – "

I stared at her in confusion, but her gaze swiftly narrowed, her eyes suddenly fixing on my neck.

" – I'm guessing that sickening little love-bite has everything to do with it." She shot me a disgusted look when I began to blush. I'd already made sure that my hair covered the most of the mark, but Bianca's gaze was sharp and she didn't seem to miss anything. "You're positively glowing. It's quite repulsive, honestly."

Without so much as a warning, she leaned forward and pinched me swiftly on the arm. I let out a yelp that was more from surprise than pain, and almost dropped the coffee pot. But Bianca didn't even notice. Instead, she threw a quick glance over her shoulder to where Jed was. He was already looking our way; the expression on his face dark as he glared at her furiously, and if looks could kill, Bianca would've been six-feet under by now.

Instead, being Bianca, she didn't turn a hair and simply smirked as she turned back to face me. "Ah, so the connection works."

I rolled my eyes at her, even though I was vaguely amused by what she'd done. That was definitely one way to test the connection. "That's why you pinched me?"

"I mean, I could've killed you but I don't think Jedediah would ever let that slide."

I was about to respond when my phone vibrated with a new text and I slipped it out of my pocket. Jed had sent me a message; it was brief, short and had absolutely nothing to do with Bianca but everything to do with Adrian.

Do it.

I glanced up to look at him from across the diner, only to realise that he was already looking right at me. He gave the barest hint of a nod before turning back to the conversation, one that seemed dominated by Brutus and Adrian.

Right then, I thought as I dragged in a deep breath, my fingers tightening on the coffee pot. Time to test a theory.

Stepping away from the counter and leaving Bianca still seated there, I went back around it and made a swift beeline for Jed's table, the coffee pot still in my hand. Nothing suspicious about that. Lorraine and I always went round refilling cups for the customers and I'd always made it a point to serve Jed's table during my shifts.

There were far too many people seated at the small booth and Adrian and Brutus had dragged chairs over to sit at the table. Jed was in the seat next to Adrian, and he looked entirely calm, listening in to the conversation with the perfect mask of indifference he'd always assumed around them. All I could see, however, was that gleam of metal around Adrian's neck – a chain that I'd never noticed on him before, but only because I was never looking for it.

Katya was the first to notice me, and she immediately raised her mug. "Luna," She greeted cheerfully; while Vaughn, ever the gentleman that he was, took the pot from me to help with the refilling.

With the coffee safely out of reach, I didn't hesitate. Reaching out, I grabbed the back of Adrian's chain and tugged.

In the blink of an eye, Adrian's hand had clamped around my wrist in a vice-like grip and he'd turned his head to face me, a frightening calmness in his eyes. "Luna." His voice was pleasant, but it was impossible to miss the knife's edge in it. "What're you doing?"

I caught a movement from the corner of my eye and simply smiled. "Just letting Jed get a look at your ring."

"What – "

But the rest of his sentence never left his lips, because Jed had reached forward, caught the other end of his chain and yanked roughly on it. Adrian quickly spun back around, but Jed had already caught it between his fingers.

A silver ring with two green stripes.

It was one thing to suspect it. Another to confirm it altogether. The latter actually hurt, because I knew Adrian, I trusted him as Jed's Beta and liked him as one of my closest friends, only to find out that our trust had been misplaced from the very beginning.

For a split second, the entire place was deathly silent. Then Jed reacted, swiftly twisting his hand around the chain so that the metal was tightened around Adrian's neck, before yanking the man up by the chain and shoving him roughly against the nearest wall.

Everyone else was stunned by Jed's actions, but Brutus and Katya and several others at the table were already getting up, the looks on their faces guarded and wary. I blocked them all out and focused instead on Adrian, who was blinking rapidly from the collision, seemingly thrown for a loop by Jed's actions.

I exchanged a quick glance with Jed, and it was impossible to miss the flicker of hurt that glimpsed his eyes now that Adrian's betrayal had been confirmed. Taking a deep breath, I looked at Adrian, who now seemed to have come to grasp with the situation and was looking at us with a deadly gleam in his eyes, a ghost of a grin playing on his lips.

"We knew you were one of them," I said quietly, forcing myself to meet his gaze. It was a difficult thing to do – the Adrian I knew was always warm and loyal; this one was a cold, calculating traitor. "Which one are you?"

Adrian was entirely still for a moment, but when Jed's hand tightened around his chain, he finally spoke. "Azazel," He drawled, his smirk widening as his gaze travelled from me to Jed. "At your service."