The Wolf Who Fought for His Soul Mate (10 page)

Thankfully, his concerns were at least in part swept aside when a

familiar figure headed his way. Derek hugged him tightly, and Jace

embraced his brother back. “I was wondering when you’d finally

show up,” he said. “I missed you.”

“So did I.” They broke apart, and Jace ushered Paris closer. “You

remember Paris, my mate?”

Impossibly, Derek’s expression grew even brighter. “So you

finally took the leap, huh? That’s great. Congratulations to both of

you.”

Paris smiled shyly. “Thank you,” he replied. “I’m very happy that

we found each other.”

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61

Truth be told, Derek had been surprised when Jace had first told

him he wanted to wait before mating Paris. Jace tended to go with his

impulses, so it wasn’t really a shock that he hadn’t succeeded in

sticking to his resolve for too long. The knowing smile on Derek’s

face would have irritated Jace had it come from anyone else.

At any rate, they hadn’t come here to talk about himself and his

mate. Paris might be his favorite subject of conversation, but Jace

would have to wait a little before he could tell his brother all about his

relationship with Paris. Their first priority right now was to get

acquainted with the task force meant to find Tyrell and Aria. Jace had

many questions, the first of which being why in the world Derek had

come to a town in an area that had been involved in a nuclear

accident.

As if guessing his thoughts, Derek thanked Kaname’s staff,

politely dismissing them. During the brief conversation, the vampires

had unloaded the luggage Jace and his companions had brought. A

couple of quiet servants appeared, whisking the bags away, while

Kaname’s people got back inside their cars and drove off. Once they

were gone, Derek gestured Jace and the others into the house. “Come

in. We have a lot to talk about.”

The five shifters entered the building, with Derek leading the way.

It was constructed in a traditional Japanese style, something Jace was

growing to admire more and more. Derek pushed open a sliding door,

revealing two people sitting together on a tatami mat.

A man Jace had never met was rubbing his temples, as if plagued

by a migraine he couldn’t escape. Rhys Whitaker watched over him,

his entire demeanor screaming concern.

Both men looked up when Derek stepped into the room. “Oh,

good,” the stranger said with a smile. “They’re here.”

He got up, ignoring Rhys’s efforts to help him. “I’m Noah Hall.

Thank you for your kind offers to help.”

Noah Hall. The warlock’s son, and the same one who had helped

rescue Jace’s uncles from imminent death. “No, thank you,” he

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replied. “You jumped to our aid even if we were only strangers to

you.” Remembering the man probably had no idea who he was, he

quickly introduced himself, “I’m Jace, Derek’s brother, and this is my

mate, Paris.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I suspected you must be Derek’s

brother. The resemblance is quite impressive.” The warlock turned his

attention toward. “Paris. You’re Aria’s son.”

Jace felt apprehension flow through his mate. Paris didn’t want to

be judged by what his mother had done, and too many people already

put him in that position.

“I am,” he replied. “I want to help you find her.”

“You have my thanks.” A small, weak smile. “Believe me, I

understand how hard it must be for you. I appreciate your courage.”

Paris’s anxiety turned to surprise. Jace supposed he shouldn’t

really be shocked at this development. After all, Noah would be the

first one to understand that a child shouldn’t have to pay for his

parents’ sins.

Anson greeted Noah and Rhys as well, introducing Reed to the

warlock. Noah congratulated Anson on his mating. Jace recalled that

the duo had met briefly during the first expedition to find Tyrell, the

same one which had nearly killed Derek and Jace’s uncles, Brody and

Isaac.

“Now that we have the formalities out of the way,” Derek piped

up, “we should get to the matter at hand. We have some other people

here who are helping us, but most of them are vampires and are

sleeping now. Until then, we’ll inform you a little on what’s been

going on, if that’s all right with you.”

“That would be perfect,” Anson said. The older wolf seemed even

more eager than Jace to catch their enemies, which was

understandable given the circumstances.

Noah sat back down, and Jace noted the increasing strain on his

face. Derek and Rhys took over the conversation. “We’ve reached the

conclusion that Tyrell Hall might be here due to the lingering energies

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63

in the area,” Rhys said. “Preliminary investigation at the power plant

told us that we might be on the right track, but it’s very difficult to

pursue it further.”

“While most of the damage from the nuclear emissions has

dwindled by now, magical beings, especially witches, are influenced

by it,” Derek added.

That explained the obvious difficulties Noah seemed to have for

no apparent reason. “But if it’s hard for you to be here, wouldn’t the

same thing apply to Tyrell?” he asked the warlock.

“The energy in itself isn’t painful,” Noah replied. “It is, first and

foremost, a fuel. But as its core is unstable and dangerous, it isn’t

recommended for anyone with strong magical abilities of our

alignment to use it. I expect my father couldn’t care less about reason.

He’s probably thrilled about the potentially destructive

consequences.”

Paris hummed thoughtfully. “So, you’re certain that he came

here?” When Noah nodded, Paris continued, “But at this point, he

must have left, right? Why stay in this area?”

“I don’t know if he got what he was looking for,” Noah replied

tightly. “I can’t be inside the power plant without feeling like my

mind will explode. If not for Rhys…” He shook his head, as if

discarding what he’d meant to say. “But we can’t go yet. We don’t

know in what direction we should be heading.”

Jace could easily understand their predicament, especially since

they didn’t have any further clues. His mind whirled as he sought

solutions, a blur of Paris’s busy thoughts lingering at the edge of his

consciousness.

“I’ll try once again today,” Noah said at last. “But even if I

succeed, it’s likely that we won’t know where he went.”

“Not necessarily,” Paris replied. “Just the fact that he came here

tells us something very important. What is he looking for? More

power. His magic was already very strong. Why did he need this

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boost? And why do so after he allied himself with my mother? There

has to be a connection.”

Noah blinked at him, as if considering the words. “Tyrell is

always trying to find more and more power. I’m not sure if it’s

necessarily linked to her.”

“I don’t know,” Reed offered. “If he’d wanted to tap into it, he

would have done so before releasing Aria.”

“There’s one thing that’s certain,” Anson said. “Tyrell hates

shifters. He thinks we are weak, enslaved by our emotions. Like many

others, he blames us for the fact that humans are now aware of the

existence of paranormal beings. He wants to eliminate us. And yet, he

freed Aria from her imprisonment. It all comes down to why he did

that.”

“Aria is anything but weak,” Paris said. Through their bond, Jace

caught flashes of memory as the other wolf remembered distant

episodes from the past. “She wouldn’t have minded killing me if it

meant furthering her own ambitions. She’s always pursued her own

purposes at the expense of others. I lied to myself for a very long

time, trying to believe that she meant well, but the truth is that she is

ruthless.”

“Tyrell would respect that, to a certain extent,” Noah mused. “He

is the same way, and she would be an asset since she knows all there

is to know about the shape-shifter world. As I understand it, she was

the wife of an Alpha, so she has information regarding the inner

workings of your people. Many of the people in our coven are loyal to

him, but they lack the ruthlessness you mentioned. He would want—”

Noah’s eyes suddenly widened in realization. For a few seconds, he

hesitated, as if afraid to speak, to share whatever idea he had come up

with.

Jace needed to know what was on his mind. “What is it?” he

asked. “What would Tyrell want to do in these circumstances?”

“He went to a lot of trouble for Aria,” Noah replied. “He wouldn’t

do it if he didn’t have an important plan in place involving her. Even

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65

so, she is still a shifter, something he cannot and does not like.

Therefore, he might attempt to give her some magical abilities of her

own.”

Jace gaped at Noah. “But that’s not possible, is it? We’re shifters.

We were born this way, and we’ll die this way. We can’t just change

what we are.”

Noah shared a look with Rhys, and Jace noted the incubus’s grim

look. Out of all of Jace’s close acquaintances, Rhys knew most about

Tyrell. He had gone on a mission to find the warlock’s whereabouts

and had nearly been killed in the process. Jace was awed at the extent

of the incubus’s dedication, and at his fearlessness. To a certain

extent, it made him aware of how serious the situation must be, for

Rhys to look so put out.

“Have you heard of the concept of familiar?” Rhys inquired.

“Of course,” Reed replied, sounding puzzled. “It’s in all the

legends and stories regarding witches. They’re spirit companions that

can often appear in the guise of animals.”

“Many witches attempted to summon various creatures for their

own purposes,” Noah explained. “Naturally, some of the darker

beings didn’t take kindly to being bound to a master. As such, another

solution came up. It was suggested to conjure actual animals, but the

idea was discarded, as having a mere pet cat wasn’t what witches

were looking for. They…We needed creatures of intelligence, but that

would bend to our will.”

Noah seemed to be having some trouble in placing himself in the

same category as his father or others of his kind, something that

reassured Jace. However, he was increasingly unsettled by what the

young warlock was saying. “You mean witches can enslave shifters?

But if they’d had that ability, wouldn’t they have done it to more of

us?”

“To answer your question, yes, shifters can be made into

familiars. The shifter in question needs to agree, though, and must

have a propensity toward whatever goals the witch might have,” Noah

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explained. “There is a contract of sorts between the two, an exchange

of power, which can only take place if both of them have powerful

incentive.”

“Well, Aria certainly has both those things,” Paris murmured. “So

how can we be certain if she did become his familiar?”

“I’ll need your assistance on that,” Noah replied. “If she was

indeed involved in a magical ceremony, it’s likely that your blood

connection with her can give us valuable clues.”

“Of course I’m willing to help,” Paris answered automatically.

“Whatever you need.”

Alarm bells rang in Jace’s mind. “Not so fast. It’s not dangerous,

is it?”

“Normally, no.” Noah grimaced, rubbing his temples once again.

“But the truth is, I don’t really know. Essentially, what I’d try to do is

use Paris’s genetic link with Aria to glimpse into her memories. But if

she is Tyrell’s familiar, they might feel us and strike back.”

“I’m not afraid,” Paris said, just like Jace had known he would.

He gave Jace a pleading look.
“Don’t, Jace,”
he sent through their

bond.
“I really want to do this. I knew there must be some way I could

help, and I was right.”

“We could try something different,” Rhys suggested. “We could

go to the power plant and scan its energies.”

Noah nodded, looking a bit more enthusiastic. “That would be

perfect. It would tell us exactly what went on there.”

Derek cleared his throat. “For those of us who aren’t versatile in

magic, what would that entail? Isn’t it the same with what you