Search (The Empire Chronicles #2) (24 page)

“You’re amazing.” He broke the kiss first, and it brought me back to reality.

“Do you think Vera and Jared are okay?”

Toby pulled me against him. “Please don’t ever tell anyone I’m saying this, but if I had to trust anyone with my life or yours, it would probably be Jared. Not to mention that your sister is a pretty bad ass bear.”

I smiled. “She is, isn’t she? And I agree with you about Jared. Despite our, uh, history, he’s the kind of guy you want on your side.”

“He’s into your sister.”

I laughed, realizing I didn’t care nearly as much as I should have. “Yeah, well, can you blame him? The Bates girls are pretty hard to resist.”

Caves have to be one of my least favorite places in the world. Cramped and dark even for a Pteron, they’re the worst place for a bird. You’d think one trip inside the place would have been enough, but I wasn’t ready to give up. If I didn’t find the boss, we’d just have to go through this again. I choked down my discomfort and prepared to go back inside the cold and dank space. Vera tried to follow me in, but I had her keep lookout. I knew there was no telling when the rest of the bears would be back, and considering we’d only taken out four, that left over twenty. I hoped I’d be out of the area before they came back.

The only guarantee I had that the boss was inside came from the bear Casey had dated, Fin. Vera insisted we could trust him, and from our brief meeting in the cave earlier, he seemed willing, although reluctant, to help. More than his promise, I had faith in Vera. I trusted her more than I should have trusted a girl I’d just met. I also couldn’t get the image of her naked body out of my head. I shook myself. I was not allowed to have those kinds of thoughts about a bear, especially not when I had work to do.

I remembered the basic layout of the cave and headed back around to the area where Fin planned to meet me. His job was to take care of any bears that came back early, but I hoped I wouldn’t need him. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I met with the boss, but I’d find a way to take him down. No one was stronger than a Pteron.

“Hello, Jared.”

My head snapped up when I heard the sweet female voice. There was something familiar about it, but I couldn’t quite place it. I didn’t answer. I just kept moving in the right direction.

“I’m over here.”

The voice was coming from behind me. I turned in the tight space and tried to stand. The ceiling was so low that I had to keep my head bent over.

“I’m so glad you’re here. I was scared you wouldn’t come back for me.”

It wasn’t Vera or Casey. Who was it? Before I could wonder for long, my eyes were blinded by a bright light.

“Tiffany?” I stepped back in shock when I took in the sight of Allie’s friend. She was wearing all black leather. Her blonde hair was perfectly done in curls cascading down her back.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“What are you doing here?” Alarm bells went off. Something was wrong. Tiffany shouldn’t be here in a cave. She should still be in Hawaii or back in New Orleans.

“I’m here to see you.” She stepped toward me. “Isn’t that why you’re here? You’re looking for me?”

“For you… wait are you?” I’d assumed the leader was male, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe the boss had been right in front of me the whole time.

“The boss? That’s right.” Her lips quirked into a smile.

“How? You’re just a human.” I searched around me for an exit but there was none. The room was so cramped there was no way I could transform.

She stepped even closer. “Really? Do you really think I’m just a human?”

“What are you?” My eyes went to her chest. Her low cut top left her breasts nearly tumbling out. She was dressed as unTiffany-like as you could get.

“Oh, Jared. Can’t you figure it out?” Her voice was teasing and sexy, and all wrong. Everything about her screamed magic.

“A witch. You’re a witch. The bears are working for you?”

“That’s right, big boy.” She ran a finger down my chest. “I’m the boss.”

“What? How? Why?”

She laughed. “Cat caught your tongue?”

I lifted my head up and smacked it into the ceiling. The physical pain was nothing compared to the panic setting in. “But you’re nineteen.”

“Oh, isn’t that sweet?” She stepped even closer, pushing me against the cave wall. I couldn’t move. My body felt like lead. “Tell me something, Jared. Have you ever been with an older woman?”

“How old are we talking?” Things were getting weirder by the second.

“Older.” She leaned in. “But now what are we going to do? You’ve seen me.”

My heart raced. What the hell?

“Funny how easy it was to get you here.”

“Get me here?” Then things started to fall into place. “You wanted me to come looking for Casey.”

“It wasn’t planned from the beginning, but it’s nice to get you out of the way.”

My chest clenched. “Out of the way? What do you mean?”

“The Laurents have publicly claimed Casey now. You know what that means?” She didn’t wait for me to answer. “I’ll tell you.” She touched my chest again. “It means that if something were to happen to Levi before he has an heir, Casey would take the throne.”

“So? Casey’s a good person. She wouldn’t get mixed up with you.”

She laughed. It was a frightening laugh that didn’t fit her at all. “You’re forgetting something, Jared honey. Casey isn’t pure Pteron. Her head is like an open book to me.”

“What? You can mess with Casey’s mind?” Was that why we weren’t supposed to mate with shifters? Maybe the combination of genes somehow created Pterons whose minds weren’t immune to all magic. And if that was the case, did the same thing apply to Pterons mating with Pterons? I didn’t have time to think about it for long.

She grinned. “But of course. Whether she knows it or not, she’s no longer in control of her decisions.”

“But Allie and Levi are fine.”

“Are they?” Her lips brushed against my ear. “I like Allie so I decided to let her have her honeymoon. They won’t be coming home from it though.”

My heart sunk. I wanted to vomit. Levi and Allie were in trouble, Casey had a witch controlling her, and no one else knew. I had to get out of the damn cave. I had to get to Allie and Levi.

“I bet we can find some good uses for you.” She grabbed my crotch. “I’ve always wondered what the famous Jared Florence was like. I’ve already experienced your brother.” She blew out her candle, and my heart about stopped. I hoped with everything I had that both of the Bates sisters were safe. I knew I couldn’t hope the same thing for myself.

If you missed the beginning of the Pteron story, be sure to check out Flight, Book 1 of the Crescent Chronicles!

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Keep reading for a preview of The Hazards of a One Night Stand, a New Adult Contemporary Romance/Romantic Comedy by Alyssa Rose Ivy.

Book Description:

One small town boy, one girl who wants more, one roll in the hay…

Hooking up with your high school crush is a bad idea, a really bad idea. It was only supposed to be one night, one brief departure from my real life, but nothing ever works out exactly the way you plan.

Colton Waters was everything from my past that didn't fit into my present, so why did he have to show up at my college and pledge the one frat I couldn't avoid?

Because nothing is ever meant to happen just once. At least not the life changing things that mean the difference between falling apart and falling in love.

Field parties are about as much fun as they sound. It’s just a bunch of kids getting wasted in the middle of nowhere as a way to pass the time. They were lame in high school and even lamer after a year spent away at college. Yet there I was, drinking my third Smirnoff (it was that or crappy beer) waiting for my friend to finish messing around with her boyfriend so she could drive me home.

I sighed, turning my back on the line of cars illuminating the pasture that was, thankfully, devoid of cows at the moment. Someone was blaring really bad music that I knew would be stuck in my head for a week.

“Hey, sorry!” Annie, my best friend since childhood, grabbed my arm. “I didn’t mean to run off on you like that.” Her face was flushed, and I knew my earlier assumption about her whereabouts was spot on. She and her boyfriend still lived with their parents, so they used whatever alone time they could find.

Annie had made plenty of time for me while I was home, but I sensed that I was getting in the way of the new life she’d created since I’d left the previous fall. I never planned to go back to Gasden that summer. I wanted to find something to do in Charleston, but it didn’t happen. I needed a paycheck and a roof over my head, so I took my old job lifeguarding at the town pool for the fourth summer in a row.

“It’s fine. Where’s Greg?” I searched around the dense crowd for her boyfriend. Generally, he stayed pretty close to Annie when there were other men around. If Greg had a major fault, it was his over protectiveness.

“He ran into Jason.” She brushed some of her long light brown hair behind her ear. My hair was about three shades darker, the darkest brown you could get before you called it black.

I groaned. “He’s not going to bring him over here, is he?”

“I don’t think so. But he’s really not so bad. Didn’t you guys have fun at the movies?” Her tone was light but excited. She was still on a high from her stolen time with Greg.

“No. I already told you he spent the whole time bragging about how cool his frat was.” And going on about how many girls he’d been with. Why would that have made him seem more appealing to me?

“Maybe he’s just intimidated by you. Guys sometimes brag like that when they feel insecure. ” Annie smiled sweetly. That was the problem. It was impossible to be angry with a girl who smiled that way. Her whole personality was sweet as sugar. I tried to come off that way, but generally my true colors shone through. They weren’t as sparkly as hers. “And you’re in a sorority. Maybe he thought talking about his frat would impress you.”

“It didn’t work.” All his talk did was make me miss college more. I’d almost survived the summer, only one week remained before I got to go back to campus for rush. I was dying to move into my sorority house.

“He’s Greg’s friend, and I got to know him much better this—” She stopped suddenly.

I sighed, taking another huge swig of my drink.

“Hey, girls!” The president of our graduating class, Becky, hugged us like she hadn’t just seen us a few days before. She was just one of many people present at the party that I’d had no desire to see again after graduation. “How are you?”

“We’re doing well.” Annie smiled. Once again, she was the polite one.

“Have you heard from Jack at all?” Becky turned her attention to me, bringing up my ex-boyfriend like she was discussing the weather. Her low cut top left little to the imagination, and I wasn’t sure why she felt the need to annoy us.

I fought down the real answer I wanted to give and put on the biggest smile I could muster. I’d found that the more enthusiastic you were, the less likely a mean person was to strike against you again. You took away their fun that way. “No. Not recently.”

“Oh that’s too bad. He was always such a cutie.” She fluttered her eyelashes. I’m not kidding, she actually did that. “Ta ta, ladies. See you later.”

Annie put a hand on my arm as soon as Becky walked away. “Don’t let her get to you.”

“I’m trying not to.” I ignored the tightness in my chest that always developed when someone mentioned Jack’s name. Despite all the good times we had, those memories were overshadowed by the way he dumped me. Being told you aren’t good enough is the kind of experience you never forget.

Annie smiled sympathetically. “She’s just jealous, and you know it.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” I said the words Annie wanted to hear. After a year and a half, she was probably getting tired of me reacting so infantile every time Jack’s name came up in conversation. Too bad time didn’t seem to make the hurt and humiliation go away.

“Okay, and keep that positive thinking right now.”

“Why?” I followed her gaze. Greg and Jason were on their way over. Thankfully, at the last moment, Becky grabbed Jason’s arm and Greg continued on without him. The triumphant smile Becky shot us made me grin. She thought she was stealing a guy I liked. Too bad she was actually doing me a favor.

Greg put his arm around Annie. “Some of the guys are setting up a bonfire down on the other side of the property. We should probably make sure it doesn’t get out of hand, babe.”

“Yeah, sounds like a good idea.” She kissed him on the cheek.

“I think I’ll stay here.” I assumed the bonfire wasn’t just cover to go hook up again, but either way, I was tired of being a third wheel.

“Really?” Annie asked me skeptically.

“Yeah. I might try to find a ride home.”

“No. You can’t leave yet! I can’t have a party without you here.” Annie’s uncle owned the farm we were on, so in theory she was throwing the party. In reality, Greg was doing it all.

“All right. I’ll hang out for a while.”

“Yay! Text me if you need me.” She squeezed my hand before walking away.

“Fantastic.” I stood there by myself once again. The crowd had thinned down some, thanks to the bonfire, but luckily everyone was too drunk or too busy to notice me.

“Hey, pumpkin,” a low and warm voice whispered in my ear.

I jumped, spilling my Smirnoff down the front of my navy tank top. “Damn it, Colton!”

“Good to see you too, babe.” He picked me up and swung me around like I was a little kid or something.

I stepped back from him, taking in his muscular form. He was bigger than I remembered, but that sun tanned face and those killer blue eyes were exactly the same. Other than running into him over the holidays once, I hadn’t seen him since graduating. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be staying with your cousins this summer?”