Shifter In Ascent (Louisiana Shifters) (17 page)

lived in.
“Sit,” Jasper ordered.
Tessa shot him an angry glare as she brushed off the seat of one of the aging wicker chairs,

and then sat down. Jasper drew his own chair up close to hers, and Tessa shrank back. Jasper hesitated, and then sighed. He pulled his chair back a little before sitting down.
Tessa’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Still, she wrapped her arms around herself and dropped her
gaze to the floor. She shivered, and was surprised again when Jasper got up and grabbed a musty
blanket off the bed. He tossed it to her before sitting down again.
“Why are you trying to be nice to me?” she asked as she pulled the blanket over her body. “I’m going to be your mate,” he said, as if amazed that she didn’t already know. “In what universe does courtship involve abduction and rape?” she snapped, aghast at his
assumptions.
“No one’s raping anyone unless it’s you to me, and in that case you can’t rape the willing.” Jasper sat back, folding his arms with a cocky grin.
“You’re crazy. You pointed a gun at me and made me come to some creepy cabin in the
middle of nowhere. What exactly am I supposed to think is going to happen?” “Not that. I brought you here as bait.”
“Bait? For what?”
“I intend to challenge Copeland again. That bastard won’t get you without a fair fight,”
Jasper said grimly.
“A fair fight? How is he even supposed to know where we are?”
“I figure he’ll know to come to where we used to live together. It’s all very logical,” Jasper
explained, sounding a bit exasperated.
Tessa opened her mouth to speak, but a distant howl filled the air. It was mournful, and
somehow familiar. The hairs on her neck and arms raised in warning.
“See? That’s probably him figuring out you’ve gone. It won’t be long now.” “You said you lived here together. Are you… brothers?” Tessa asked, unable to contain her
curiosity.
Jasper laughed, seeming genuinely amused.
“He hasn’t told you anything, has he? No, we’re not brothers. But we were from the same
pack before it was destroyed. Initially I was brought here. I lived with Jace and Maddie and a
foster family, but it didn’t work out,” Jasper said.
“What do you mean, didn’t work out?” Tessa asked.
“The Mobile pack felt slighted because none of the survivors were placed there. They made
a fuss, and the only way to placate them was to place a kid with them. Jace and Maddie couldn’t
be separated, and women don’t fare well in the Mobile pack, so…” Jasper spread his hands in
explanation.
“So they sent you away,” Tessa said, frowning.
“I volunteered,” he corrected.
“And then raised you to be… like them,” she said softly.
Jasper’s head snapped up.
“I don’t know what Copeland’s been telling you, but it’s not what you think,” Jasper said. “He told me that you have a history of abducting and abusing women. That was all I needed
to hear,” Tessa said, huddling under the blanket.
“His information is a little inaccurate. My foster father was the alpha of our pack, and he “His information is a little inaccurate. My foster father was the alpha of our pack, and he

believed in the old ways. Shifter females were once so rare that they were shared openly amongst the packs, and the offspring raised communally. My father just took that to an extreme,” Jasper said.

“Like kidnapping?” Tessa offered sarcastically.
“He didn’t really see it like that. He felt that going out and finding Ascendant females was the only way to keep his pack going. As he got older, he started to lose his grounding, mentally. That’s when it started to get bad.”
“You’re speaking in the past tense. Is he-?” Tessa trailed off.
“Dead, yes. He finally lost control completely and nearly killed one of the females. I had to intervene,” Jasper said stiffly.
“I didn’t mean-“ Tessa started, actually feeling guilty.
Jasper stood up abruptly, heading for the door.
“I’m going out to wait for Copleand. Don’t bother trying to run,” he said over his shoulder. The door slammed behind him, leaving Tessa alone once again.
Biting her lip, Tessa traced his footsteps to the door. Hesitating, she tried to decide whether to wait or to run. If she waited…
Shaking her head, Tessa sighed. Who was she kidding? It wasn’t in her to wait for anyone, much less some incredibly misguided stranger to come back and… it didn’t bear thinking about.
Suddenly her wolf stirred, giving Tessa an idea. Kat had said Ascedants could shift when they were comfortable with their wolf… maybe it was time to find out exactly what her wolf could do. She could at least run faster, and she thought Kat had mentioned something about Shifters mates being able to call out to one another. If she and Jace were close enough to being mated, perhaps she could reach out to him.
Slipping out the cabin door, Tessa couldn’t suppress a grin despite the circumstances. It was definitely time for a Shifter test drive.
“I guess it can’t hurt to try,” Tessa said aloud, as if that would make her first Shift easier. Closing her eyes, she turned her thoughts inward to seek her wolf. Immediately the wolf was there, wrapping herself around Tessa comfortingly. Tessa could almost feel warm fur against her skin, feel herself stretching to bury herself in the wolf’s welcome presence.
Tessa showed her wolf what she felt, showed her that she needed to find Jace. The wolf understood her need, and gave a short howl. Then she was quiet for a beat before releasing another howl, longer this time. This time Tessa could hear the faintest response, far off in the distance. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on listening as her wolf howled again.
Another response, and chills ran down Tessa’s spine. It was definitely Jace, and he sounded distressed. She could feel him in the distance, like a lighthouse beacon. He wanted her to stay put, until he found her. She should hide until he was closer.
Then Tessa’s wolf whined at her. She wanted something from Tessa, sending Tessa an image of Tessa hugging the wolf tightly. As Tessa watched, she and the wolf stretched out together and melded together.
Tessa imagined the same scene. In it, she flung her arms around the wolf as she had in the image. Then she was caught up in a languid stretch, feeling as if she’d woken from the most pleasant nap. It was incredible.
Opening her eyes, Tessa wobbled as she found herself on all fours on the damp forest floor. She tried walking, but only managed to land her butt on the ground with a thump.
Confused, she looked down. Sleek tawny fur was the first thing she saw. She was looking at Confused, she looked down. Sleek tawny fur was the first thing she saw. She was looking at

No. She
was
the wolf. Tessa stood up, watching her own hands… paws, whatever, to test her theory. Surely enough, she was inside the wolf and the wolf was in there, too. The wolf was telling her to get a move on. She just had to figure out how to walk with four feet instead of two.

After a few attempts, Tessa was up and moving with ease. She took off at an easy lope, moving at incredible speed with no real effort.
Concentrating, she honed in on the growing beacon of Jace’s wolf. She slowed, the sheer sensation of running with her wolf almost intoxicating. She couldn’t believe she’d ever thought that this was unnatural; it was the opposite. Looking around, she spotted nice bit of brush to hide in.
Tessa dropped to her belly and crawled into the concealment, laying her head on her paws to wait for Jace.
THIRTEEN

“Your mate seems to have left you,” Maddie said, her disapproval evident. She went in through Jace’s front doorway to do a visual check even though she didn’t sense Tessa’s presence. She looked over at her brother, who was frowning.

“She never seems to stay where I tell her to stay,” he grumbled, checking the bedroom and bathroom.
“Funny thing, apparently women don’t like to be ordered around. Have you truly learned nothing from having a sister?” Maddie sassed back.
“It’s just… I need to know that she’s safe,” Jace replied, subconsciously rubbing a hand over his heart.
“And for that she needs to stay locked up in your house every minute of the day. Makes perfect sense,” Maddie said mockingly. Jace sighed, trying to explain.
“It’s like… when she’s standing next to me, I feel fine. Great, even. But if she’s out of my line of sight, I can’t think about anything else. How am I supposed to do my job and live my life if she won’t stay where I tell her to stay?”
“Jesus, you are such a dude. Your personal anxieties aren’t her problem, Jay. You’re just going to have to learn to work around it.”
“I’d rather just skip the whole-“
Jace trailed off, his brow creasing as he ran a hand over his face. He felt wrong, almost ill. His wolf had been making all kinds of racket for the last few minutes, but Jace was fastidiously blocking out his other half. The wolf was probably just going nuts over Tessa’s scent, which seemed to have soaked into every inch of Jace’s house.
“What’s wrong with you?” Maddie asked, crossing her arms as she eyed her brother skeptically. “You look like you’re about to puke.”
Jace thought he actually might if his wolf didn’t tone it down. With a sigh, Jace let down his barriers so that the wolf could have its’ say. The instant he did, every hair on his body raised to stand on end, and his heart started pumping like crazy.
Suddenly Jace was sensing Tessa, but not exactly Tessa. Tessa’s wolf was sending out a distress call, flooded with panic and fear. Jace took a deep breath, willing Tessa to show him what was wrong. He got a flash of Tessa’s scared face, then one of Jasper leaning close. He got a flash of a place he’d spent years trying to forget, and then Tessa was gone.
A rush of adrenaline surged through his veins. Tessa was in danger, and that was unacceptable.
Before Jace even realized it he was running, and Maddie had to sprint just to keep him in sight. As they made it into the forest Maddie was harried by the dense brush and trees, whereas Jace just went through everything like a steamroller.
Minutes or hours or years streamed by as Jace full-out toward the cabin Tessa had shown him. He wasn’t conscious of anything but the slam of his heart in his chest, the harsh rasp of his breathing as he barreled toward his destination.
When they reached a clearing surrounding the cabin, Jace skidded to a halt. Lifting his face, he scanned the area cautiously. Of course Jasper would lure him here.
“Come out, Jasper,” Jace’s voice rang out commandingly.
A rustle, and then a huge blonde man dropped from a tree on the opposite side of the A rustle, and then a huge blonde man dropped from a tree on the opposite side of the

clearing.
“Are you ready to accept my challenge?” the other man asked, his tone surly. “I will fight you, Jasper, but not until I’ve seen to Tessa,” Jace responded threateningly. “She’s run off into the woods, if you can imagine. I figure we fight and the winner gets to

chase her down and talk her into the bite,” Jasper said, seeming almost amused. “That sounds great. Unfortunately, I’ve already claimed her. She’s made her decision,” Jace
said, trying for smug but failing.
“I don’t believe you, Copeland. If you’d bit her you’d be doing a victory dance right now,
crowing about it. You always were proud of yourself,” Jasper retorted.
“Jesus, Jasper. It’s been nearly fifteen years since we’ve laid eyes on one another. You don’t
know me from Adam,” Jace growled back.
“That doesn’t make me wrong about you,” Jasper said with a sneer. Both men looked up as
Maddie crashed awkwardly into the circle in her human form.
“Maddie, go find Tessa,” Jace snapped.
Jasper had gone still, staring at Maddie. She stared right back, challenging him. They both
bristled, tensing to attack.
“Leave my sister out of this, Jasper. She’s got nothing to do with this,” Jace growled, his
voice dropping so deep it grated.
Maddie’s eyes widened just a fraction.
“You?” she said to Jasper, “You are here for her too?”
Jasper stayed silent, not daring to drop his gaze.
“Tessa. It’s all about Tessa. Well I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the golden girl
already belongs to my brother,” Maddie hissed.
Jasper laughed coldly.
“My father was right. I should have taken you before you grew such a strong will. Too bad
he’ll never know he was right. He would have loved to lord that over me.”
“Was?” Jace asked, looking up at the other man.
“I put him down two years ago,” Jasper said, making no effort to hide the pain in his voice. “Why didn’t you come to me? I would have helped,” Jace said, the anger bleeding away
from his voice.
“It doesn’t matter. I have to find Tessa,” Jasper responded, his voice thickened with old
emotions.
Suddenly they both turned to look at a spot on the edge of the clearing, and the soft rustle of
leaves announced that they were not alone. A gorgeous white wolf ducked into view, trotting a
few feet into the circle before stopping to take in the scene. She was breathtaking, marked on her
forepaws and behind her ears with a luscious chocolate brown.
Jace’s heart stopped, then began pounding out of control. The second he saw Tessa, a dual
waves of relief and possessiveness swept through him. She wasn’t just some random Ascendant
anymore, Jace realized. Somewhere along the way he’d stopped hating her smart mouth and
stormy eyes; now he couldn’t even imagine her with anyone else. She was Jace’s female and
he’d die before he saw her with anyone else. He couldn’t live with that.
Swallowing, Jace pushed back the tide of emotion that threatened to overtake him. He didn’t
have time to examine the exact nature of his feelings, but they felt frighteningly like love. He started to take a step toward her, only to be stopped by the click of a gun being cocked.
Jace glanced up to find Jasper aiming a gun at Tessa, looking apologetic.
“I’m sorry, Jace. I can’t let her go until I’ve got what I came for. I won’t leave here without a
mate,” he said miserably.
“You can’t have her, she’s already mine,” Jace said, tensing for a fight. If Jasper shot at
Tessa, Jace wouldn’t pull any punches. He’d kill his childhood friend on the spot without a
second thought.
“Just let them go, Jasper,” Maddie demanded furiously.
“And what good will that do me?” Jasper rasped, his eyes glued to Maddie’s face as if
soaking in every detail.
“Let them go, and I give you my word that we will exchange bites,” Maddie said. The gorgeous white wolf let out a snarl, voicing her disapproval at the same time that Jace
did. Jasper was quiet for a long moment, studying Maddie’s face as if to discover her intentions.
He lowered the gun slightly, not looking away from Maddie.
“Not good enough. If I let them go, we exchange bites now and figure the rest out later,”
Jasper demanded.
“No!” Jace shouted.
“Fine,” Maddie agreed, licking her lips nervously as she eyed Jasper.
“It’s a deal,” Jasper said, his eyes trained on Maddie.
“Fine.”
Jasper lowered his weapon and beckoned Maddie over. She walked purposefully over to
Jasper and turned around, baring her neck.
Jasper ran two fingers along the curve where her neck and shoulder met, eliciting a shiver
from Maddie. The next second he struck, sinking his teeth deep until she cried out. Jace and Tessa both released guttural snarls, both moving in as if to attack. Maddie simply
held up a hand, gesturing for them to stay back. Jasper released her and pulled back, examining
his work.
“I’m fine,” she croaked, wincing. “It’s done.”
She turned to Jasper, who threw the gun to the ground. He had eyes for no one but Maddie,
and when she stepped close to him his whole body shuddered with anticipation. Maddie didn’t flinch from slipping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. Her bite
was incredibly fast, almost over before it began. She pulled back from Jasper a little bit, looking
up into his face.
The air was saturated with things unsaid, and Jace swallowed bile as he watched his beloved
Maddie in the arms of a man he’d come to loathe. True, she certainly seemed fine with the
whole thing, but he’d had much higher hopes for his sister. A red mist began to haze his vision as
he realized the whole problem could be solved if Jace just killed Jasper.
Jace moved again to strike, but Maddie turned to him and let out a deep growl. Just like that,
she took Jasper’s hand and they were pushing out of the clearing. Jace stood openmouthed,
watching the last fifteen years of his life go up in flames, a complete waste.
FOURTEEN