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  “He’s called and texted... Jason,” Shane said his name with disdain, “so far there’s been no reply. Same for Alicia.”

  “This is Micah’s old home,” Jess looked at Alicia, “you have access to it now, meaning she no longer lives here. Where is she? As her best friend you must know where she lives.”

  I’ve already tried that. She refuses to tell me where she’s staying. She moved away a year-and-a-half ago after she found him cheating on her.

  Another roar. Partly for Alicia denying them their Mate, and partly for Shane’s brother cheating on their Mate. Jess took a step toward Alicia who leaned into Trey for reassurance. Any other time that motion may have brought Jess back to himself but not tonight, not when they finally found their Mate and she was with another male. He took another step toward Alicia as he released Alpha vibes. He would get the answer he sought regardless of how he had to do it. Trey went to open his mouth--no doubt to protect his female--when a phone rang.

  Alicia snagged it off the armrest where it had been laying. “It’s her,” she said stopping Jess mid-motion. She answered it, but before Alicia was able to greet her everyone heard Micah’s, “Seriously what did I do to piss Fate off? Oh yeah, I was born.”

  “Uh, Micah...”

  “No seriously, I really need to know. Here I am a year-and-a-half later after finding I was Mated to the only cheating Ever Mate, about to sex up a panther...”

  Two roars sounded in the room.

  “Fuck. He’s there isn’t he?” Micah sounded resigned.

  “Yes they are,” Alicia said trying to get her hint across. She was met with silence. It lasted long enough that she pulled the phone away from her ears to see if the counter was still going up or if the call dropped.

  “They?” Micah asked quietly.

  “Yes.”

  “As in more than one. Of course. Why not? Fate hates me so she sends me not one but two deranged males who think I’m their Mate. Wait make that three, let’s throw Cal into the mix, after all I wasted nineteen years of my life with him as my Ever Mate to find him giving it to a skinny blond,” her voice dropped. “This is not happening.” It was said more to herself than Alicia, but heard none-the-less.

  “Oh it’s happening darlin’,” Shane said knowing she’d be able to hear him. “No point trying to fight Fate.”

  Wrong answer.

  “Fuck Fate,” Micah said. Then the call ended.

  Time for plan B, Jess said to Shane.

  The Alpha vibes filled the room nearly choking even Shane. Jess knelt before Alicia and Trey then using one of his gifts, one that the SIA-Supernatural Intelligence Agency-valued and used whenever needed, his voice dropped to a soft purr lulling them until he saw their eyes dilated confirming their minds were open. Compelling Alicia was the easier of the two. All he had to do was dangle Micah’s happiness before her and she jumped at the chance to help. Trey followed suit, anything to make Alicia happy.

  Jess smiled to himself. Plan B step one was in motion. Now for step two.

  Once again Micah was leaving the last town she called home like a bat out of hell. Last time she left in mourning, this time it was in... fear? Fear of Fate possibly getting it right this time. She thought back to not-Cal and how he reacted to just her sight and scent, how both her beasts reacted when she saw him a living god of pure hotness and muscle. She groaned. She was running, something she never did. She usually faced everything head on. She had many skills that made her irreplaceable in the SIA, ones that were so deadly, even she had to keep them hidden.

  She wasn’t afraid of anything, not spiders, not snakes, not guns, not swords or anyone wielding them, not war, not torture, not imprisonment. But Fate possibly getting it right, having to open up her heart again; becoming vulnerable to love? That scared the shit out of her. So with her tails between her legs (and both her beasts pissed with her,) Micah was hauling ass out of town and into the city where she could do what she did best and blend into the mass population surrounded by everyone and yet... no one at all.

  Back to being lonely, back to solitude.

  Micah’s beasts went into an uproar, lashing out at their invisible cages. They needed out and as soon as she got home, she’d allow them their freedom.

  Micah released a pent up breath and forced her shame under the surface. She told her beasts--as she tried to convince herself--this was for the best. She couldn’t stand another heartache, another rejection. In order to avoid that pain again, she had to avoid Fate.

  Chapter 6

  Micah cursed under her breath and with her eyes still closed she reached for the phone on the table next to her bed. She opened her left eye to peer at the number. It was Alicia and judging by the time it must be important. She answered it. “Alicia what’s wrong?” her voice was still in sleepy mode.

  “Micah?”

  Crap. That’s not Alicia’s voice. That’s...

  “It’s Cal. I wouldn’t be calling you except Alicia’s missing.”

  “What do you mean missing?”

  “She hasn’t returned home since you were here.”

  “That was four days ago. Where did you find her phone?”

  “In, um, our old place.”

  “I’m on my way,” she ended the call and dressed in a frenzy. Alicia missing? This didn’t sit right with her. She’s never been in any sort of trouble, so off the bat Micah decided this was not an abduction. But it wasn’t like Alicia to up and leave without notifying anyone, especially Micah. So she could say that she didn’t leave of her own accord. Which left the obvious. The last few people to see her alive--her supposed Mates.

  The Mates that she had no information about except that one of them looked like Cal if Cal was on steroids and was a Roman gladiator--better looking and muscular. Yum. Wait. No not yum. She berated herself. Now is not the time to become wanton. Now was the time for action. And answers to questions like, “What are they playing at?” She just knew they were involved. Sneaky buggers. She would never leave Alicia to fend for herself even if she knew that Alicia wasn’t in any danger of being hurt by them. They wanted their Mate. Plain and simple.

  She repeated herself. “Sneaky buggers.”

  “Ugh,” she said as she pulled into her old driveway. She already a few enforcers from her old Pack. When she entered the house both her beasts woke up at the four-day-old scent of her Mates that lingered in the air. She inhaled deeply and sifted through the scent of others until she had theirs pure and unadulterated in her senses. Oh god. They smelled good, too good. They played their hand well she admitted to herself. And if she had to think about what she’d do in their position, she knew what their end game was.

  God, she hoped she was wrong.

  She entered the house uninvited ignoring all the untouched photos and the memories they conjured. The instant she entered the sitting room she felt Cal’s eyes on her. Ignoring the greetings she asked him, “What do you have?”

  “Aside from her phone? Nothing.”

  It took Micah from the time she walked in the sitting room to... Well that was it, immediately she noticed something was skewed. She wondered if Cal was ever in their relationship; if he was how didn’t he recognize the blatant change in the room? “Have you checked upstairs?”

  He shook his head but as expected he headed in that direction giving the enforcers some direction. Once she was alone she walked to the mantle and grabbed the picture of her and Alicia that used to be in the hallway but was purposely moved to the sitting room. As she expected there was a note stuck behind the frame. Ok, so a note was a stretch, it was actually an address she recognized as she lived a few blocks from there. It was a warehouse district turned apartments for the hoity-toity or artsy types. For some reason she found that interesting, feeling as though it added some depth to them. She’d been trying not to think about them, but knowing they lived there seemed to make them more real. Something she was not happy with, but her beasts were stoked about.

  Benedict Arnold’s.

  T
he paper also had a phone number beneath the address so she took her phone out and dialed the number. Alicia picked up.

  “About bloody time,” Alicia said. “What took so long?”

  “You can thank your almighty Alpha for that one. I was notified of your timely disappearance about an hour ago. Maybe if your captors requested a ransom I would’ve gotten here sooner,” Micah responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

  The response came from a deep, smooth, baritone voice that sent shivers down her spine, “We did. You. See you soon, Micah.” The call disconnected just as Cal’s footsteps sounded.

  “Sorry to call you out here, it seems as if Alicia went on a mini vacation with her boyfriend, Trey,” he said.

  “How do you figure?” Micah asked, curious to know how they pulled this off.

  “Someone named Jason just called me. He’s Trey’s best friend and was asked to pass on the message for Alicia.”

  Hmm, it didn’t sound as if Cal was convinced. A moment later his phone rang and Micah was sure she knew who was on the line.

  “Alicia, no, no, it’s ok. Really, I’m just glad to hear you’re ok,” he paused and Micah heard Alicia’s voice. “No, of course I understand how easy it is to get carried away,” Micah scoffed. Of course he did, she wondered if he got ‘carried away’ in any other part of the house or if he was adamant that they get ‘carried away’ on their bed. “Alright, I’ll see you soon. Have fun.”

  Micah began walking toward the door when Cal’s voiced his thanks making her pause. “Sorry for disturbing you, but thank you for coming.” She began walking toward the door again. “Micah,” his tone was beckoning and she knew he wanted to have the talk. But now was not the right time.

  “Not tonight Cal,” she said and left.

  She knew there would come a time that she needed to understand the only word she voiced when she had found him--Why? And closure was owed to her, but she didn’t have it in her that night. And if she was honest with herself, she wasn’t sure when she would. He’d really crushed her. She had loved him. Sure only one of her beasts was into him and even the site of notCal had surpassed any level the wolf had for her ex-Mate, but still she had given him her heart. All of it. Trusted him with it, trusted Fate. And the outcome was less than stellar.

  She slammed her car door close and her forehead found the cold leather of the steering wheel comforting. After a few deep breaths she started the engine and pulled out the driveway heading back into the city; into the unknown. Back into Fate’s clutches.

  Nearly an hour later she circled the block for the seventh time prolonging the inevitable. Her phone chimed. A text. It said: Bite the bullet, Micah. Come on up.

  Busted. Fan-freaking-tastic.

  She parallel parked behind a huge SUV, squared her shoulders and her mind then walked across the street to her destination. Destination... Destiny. Fate you bitch.

  Micah kept her eyes alert, thankful for the training the SIA gave her, and for her unnatural supernatural abilities. She saw several army grade cameras about the building, in fact they were the exact same the SIA used. Expensive as hell and only government issued. Who the hell are these guys? She sensed she was being watched even through the technology. Without breaking stride she gave the camera her very best and swore she sensed notCal laughing at her. God she hoped she was wrong. If she was right that meant that Fate may have gotten it right this time.

  She wasn’t able to sense or connect with Cal until after they Mated, which wasn’t abnormal, but there were tales of Ever Mates that could sense, connect, even link to their intended prior to the Mating ritual, the Mate bite. What caused Micah to take pause was the fact that she could feel another male aside from not-Cal. Feline.

  Tiger-Mate.

  That was from her tiger. Holy shit!! Never had she actually heard her beasts speak before. It was crude, almost as if she was trying to utilize unused muscles, and hell that was exactly what her tiger had done.

  She was inside the building now heading to an old fashion elevator. She pulled the caged door closed and as the lift started with a shudder she felt the tigers mind trying to penetrate hers. Crap! She should relax her mental shield, behave as a normal shifter, but the fear overrode her sensibility. What would he find if she did let him in? Hell, as powerful as his mind was she had more to worry about then him realizing she was now a commitment-phobe. She needed to worry about all her secrets coming out, ones that could mean life and death.

  Damn the tiger was strong. And subtle. A lesser mind, a weaker mind, wouldn’t have even felt his soft probing. He’d have slipped in by now and visited the darkest recesses of their mind. Shoot! She sensed his intrigue, his interest in not being able to get past her shields. Damn it. Micah now knew she’d have to be on guard at all times. She also knew there was more to this tiger and wolf duo than met the eyes. Perhaps the three of them would share more than a Mate Bond.

  God, imagine that! If she could actually let herself go, not have to think about the secrets she always had to tuck deep in the back of her mind. The lift stopped. She was surprised there was no one to greet her. Opening the gate she stepped out then halted. What if they work for the opposite side? What if they’re Shank’s? She knew the Shank’s had people on the inside of the SIA, her boss knew as well. Good ones too, ones that so far had eluded him. She’d asked to be put on the task force to locate them, but so far Warbucks had denied her that privilege.

  The name wasn’t the brightest, but it was fitting. The Shank’s behaved just like a shank would in prison. They were usually crude utensils that stuck someone out of the blue. If you wanted to get technical then they were actually part of the Syntac Pharmaceutical Company, or the illegal portion of it. The part that the SIA was sure were using supernatural’s especially shifters, as guinea pigs. The problem was they didn’t have any leads whatsoever. They had sent agents on missions to a location Micah didn’t have a high enough security level to know about, and they never came back. Ever.

  Something clacked off to her right, her head jerked towards the sound. Looking around she found herself impressed at the space. It was colorful, maroons, blues, greens, and golds. Very open and spacious. One room flowed into the next nicely without any barriers except for what she expected was a bathroom. There were a few floors, staircases that went high up. In fact looking around, she felt as if a floor had been taken away so they could have a three story loft. Another clack. She recognized that sound. Cue balls. Following the sound she found Alicia playing pool with Trey.

  Trey nudged Alicia and she looked in Micah’s direction. With a wide grin she rushed over to her and hugged her. “About time you got here.”

  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re a Judas,” Micah said. “But I know my friend would never set me up so there is something else at play here. Something even you aren’t aware of.” Her eyes narrowed on Alicia as she held her friend at arm’s length. Searching, probing. Yes, there was definitely something alien going on with her.

  “Beautiful and astute,” a deep gravelly voice cut in, “my kind of Mate.”

  Micah cringed inwardly then turned toward the source. Her beasts clawed at her, tried to make her muscles move in his direction. “Had many Mates, have you?” she said to notCal. He was moving closer, stalking her. Predator and prey. She began stepping backwards, unsure of where she was heading, but knowing she needed to be anywhere but there. Close to him.

  Her beasts were so riled up, they nearly overthrew her and took over. It was enough for her to lose concentration and not notice another truly enticing scent. She took one more step back and hit a wall. Wait, walls don’t have erections pressing into people’s backs. “Oh no,” she murmured. Larger than normal hands curled around her biceps and the heat of an exhale tickled her skin as the tiger bent and inhaled her scent. He purred long, hard, and loud.

  “Oh yes,” he responded in his baritone voice.

  Micah took three steps back in the direction that she came from and twirled. Her eyes met his
lower chest, and traveled downward first, pausing at his erection that was frankly intimidating, then to his thick-as-tree-trunk thighs, his calves that seemed to be giving his jeans a run for their money, then back up to his wide, tight abs, his chest that seemed as if they should’ve belonged to two males, not solely one, his arms that seemed to be a threat just because they existed, his corded neck, chiseled jaw, sensuous lips, aristocratic nose, and... Gulp!

  “I’m screwed,” she mumbled when her dusky blue eyes met his. One sapphire blue, the other emerald green. “Heterochromia,” she whispered. “Gorgeous,” yes she was so screwed.

  Her breath hitched. It was overwhelming, she had a Roman gladiator behind her closing in fast--yup, it was over; he dipped his nose into the crook of her neck and not only did he inhale, but he slipped his tongue into the curve of her neck and tasted her--and a Greek god in front of her.

  “Mine,” her voice wasn’t her own. No it was an echoed combination of both her beasts. Damn them. They were uprising, revolting. Taking over.

  The tiger smiled at her. “Yes, yours.” Micah shook her head and tried to force her beasts back into submission. She closed her eyes and it took all her mental strength to take back the reins of control. And when her eyes reopened it was confirmed. She was screwed. Screwed with a capitol S. There he was staring down at her, his onyx hair wild, untamed, hanging over his forehead just begging to be touched.

  And notCal? His hips were pressed into her back, his erection could challenge Bright eyes. Yes that is what she’d call him since she didn’t know his name.

  “Jessiah Edison Thomas,” he said burying her last thought. “Behind you is Shane Elliot Thakkar. Welcome home.”

  “Your names are JET, SET?” she asked.

  With a mumbled confirmation his lips were on her shoulder and notCal, Shane’s were beneath her ear.

  Her eyes closed she purred and growled at the same time as she began voicing the word ‘screwed’ in each language she knew. Jessiah smiled. Oh he was going to have fun with her. When she actually said ‘screwed’ in Pig-Latin, he chuckled. Yes. He’d be having a lot of fun with her.