“I have to go meet someone, a lone wolf. He says he has some information we need to help keep Roxie safe. There’s a man named Miles, and if he ever got his hands on Roxie, he would use her so he could rule over all the werewolf packs in her stead. As her Protectors, we can’t allow that to happen.”
“Wait a second. Werewolf packs?”
“I’m a werewolf, Jaden. So are Roxie and the rest of my family.”
“How can you be a werewolf? It’s not possible.”
“Yes, it is.”
Hating that he could no longer ease Jaden into this, Leif let go of her and took a step back. Reaching inside himself for the spark of magic that would allow him to make the change, he shifted into his wolf form. Jaden let out a small shriek and took a step back as she stared back at him. He knew what she saw. Even in his wolf form, he was big. His fur was the same auburn color as his hair. Leif gave her a chance to take him all in then he shifted back to human form.
Before she could take another step away, he took Jaden by the arms again. “I know you’re probably having a hard time accepting what I am, but you have to listen to me. It’s important. I’ve claimed you as my mate. The first time we made love our souls joined.
Being mated to a werewolf is very different from taking a mortal as a husband. With our souls joined, we won’t be able to stand to be apart from each other for very long, which means after I leave, you’re going to feel as if you haven’t seen me in months even though it has only been an hour. It could get so bad you’ll feel like climbing the walls. You’ll also think something bad has happened to me. Just try to remember I’m going to come back. I’ll feel it as well, but I don’t have much choice. Until Roxie turns you into a werewolf, you’re too vulnerable as a mortal. I won’t take the risk that something will happen to you.”
Jaden’s eyes had gone round behind her glasses. “Claimed me as your mate…turn me into a werewolf…Leif, I can’t—”
He cut her off with a kiss. “The others will be home soon. Tell them I went to meet the lone wolf about Miles. They’ll understand.” Leif dropped his hands and started to walk backwards toward the front door. “And tell them I didn’t get to explain much about us. Saskia and the others will help you understand. I promise I won’t be away any longer than I have to.”
Knowing he was about to put them both through hell, Leif turned and walked out the door without a backward glance.
Chapter Ten
She was going crazy. Jaden had never experienced anything like this before, and quite frankly, she never wanted to again. Her nerves were stretched thin. All she could do was pace back and forth across the large foyer. Leif had been gone for an hour, and it felt as if she hadn’t seen him in almost a year. Every fiber in her being wanted, no, needed to be with him.
Along with feeling as if she was slowly losing her mind, what he’d told her about his being a werewolf and being her mate kept swirling around inside her head. After watching him shift into a wolf, there was no doubt that what he said was true. At first, she had been scared, but as the minutes ticked by after he’d left, she hadn’t been able to hold onto her fear. Her anxiousness to be with him again kind of overrode any other emotion she felt. God, she missed him. She didn’t care what he was. She just needed to have him hold her again.
Finally, some of the other couples of the house started to return. Saskia, Eli, Roan and Ansley arrived back at the mansion at the same time. Saskia took one look at Jaden and rushed over to her, worry clearly showing on her face.
“Jaden? Where’s Leif?”
She stopped pacing, but she couldn’t seem to stop wringing her hands. “He got a call on his cell. A lone wolf called that supposedly had information about Miles. He went to see him. Leif said you would know what that meant.”
Saskia’s look of worry increased. “I do. Did he get a chance to explain—?”
“About you all being werewolves and that I’m his mate? Yes, but I don’t think as well as he wanted to. He was in a bit of a rush. But he did take the time to shift into his wolf form to make me believe what he’d told me.”
“How long has he been gone?”
“About an hour. He told me it would get bad, but I wasn’t expecting this. I don’t know if I can take much more of this.” Jaden crossed her arms over her stomach and rubbed her arms.
“We’ll help you get through it,” Saskia reassured her as she rubbed her back. “We’ve all experienced this since we became mated. Once Leif comes home, it’ll end.”
A cell phone ringing had Saskia reaching into her jeans’ pocket. She pulled it out and looked at who was calling. She smiled at Jaden. “It’s Leif. I’ll put it on hands-free.
Hearing his voice should help a little.”
Saskia flipped the phone open. “Leif, you’d better be on your way back.”
A male voice, that wasn’t Leif’s, said, “I’m sorry, sister dear, but Leif is a little…indisposed at the moment.”
“Miles, what have you done to Leif?” Saskia asked with a snarl.
“The nosy bastard got what he deserved.”
“You better not have harmed him. Or I’ll—”
“You’ll do nothing. I didn’t harm your precious brother-in-arms. He’s taking a forced nap right now. No harm will come to him so long as you agree to a trade.”
“A trade?”
“Yes, sister dear, a trade. The foretold one for Leif.”
“We are her Protectors. We aren’t going to just hand her over to you.”
“You will or Leif won’t live to see another thousand years. I’ll give you until dawn to think about it, then I’ll call you again to tell you where to make the trade. For Leif’s sake, you’d better make the right decision, because if you don’t bring me the foretold one, I’ll take my disappointment out on him before I put him out of his misery.”
Miles disconnected, and silence reigned for a few seconds before the others started to argue about what to do.
“We can’t hand Roxie over to Miles,” Saskia said.
“No,” Roan agreed, “but we can’t leave Leif with Miles, either.”
“What if we made the trade with a decoy?” Eli asked. “You know, find another female that Miles wouldn’t know, one who would be able to hold her own against him and be able to get away.”
“Hmm, that could be an idea,” Saskia said, but then she shook her head. “The only female I know who would be strong enough to take Miles down, besides myself, is Billie and she and Royce are away on holiday.”
Eli chuckled. “My sister will be upset that she missed the opportunity to kick some butt.”
“We’ll just have to come up with something else,” Roan said.
Feeling even more desperate than she had before, Jaden said not very loudly, “What about me?” When she got no response, she said louder, “Use me instead of Roxie. I’ll go.”
The others stopped talking. Saskia then gave her a sad look. “Jaden, you can’t. For one thing, you smell like a mortal. Miles would get one whiff of you from a distance, and he’d know. And being that you are mortal, it would be twice as risky as sending in an untrained female werewolf. At least she would have the ability to shift.”
“Then do it,” Jaden blurted.
“Do what?”
“Leif said something about Roxie being able to turn me into a werewolf. Then get her to turn me. That way I won’t smell like a mortal.”
“I don’t know, Jaden. Once you’re turned, it can’t be undone. You have to know that we live a very long time. You would be living as a werewolf for at least a couple of thousand years.”