The motor to the elevator clunked ominously, and Raven nearly bolted into London as she put distance between her and the walls.

"That's odd." The guide pushed a button but seemed appeased when the ride smoothed out.

London didn't say a word, though a wrinkle creased between his eyes. He hadn't once removed his stare from their guide, and she wondered if he expected the man to hijack the elevator.

Raven studied the man as well. Nothing appeared out of normal. Benign even. But a tickle scratched at the back of her mind. She closed her eyes and twisted a strand of energy around his shields, shaking at the tremendous amount of control it took not to breach his control and touch his wolf.

And nearly strangled at what she found.

The man's aura was pure animal lust, his beast raging to get out. He all but panted at her nearness, desperately begging for her touch. The man's restraint was extraordinary, but if she so much as brushed against him, he'd have her up against the wall in seconds.

And she'd pay the price for poaching on another pack.

Another damn test.

She couldn't afford any transgressions before the conclave.

The machine stopped seamlessly, the doors gliding open. The guide stepped to the side, indicating they could leave. The wolf stared at Raven, hunger burning in his eyes, as if she were lunch and dessert all rolled up in one. He practically licked his lips when she took a step forward, but didn't move in her direction in any way.

It took a lot of will for her not to bolt. She stepped carefully between the men in what felt like a dangerous game of Operation. If she touched anything, game over.

Anger at the cheap trick burned away her nerves, and she entered the penthouse suite.

Her feet sank in lush white carpeting. Wide-open space greeted her. Fresh air filled her lungs and cleared her head. Raven and London fanned out to give themselves room, falling into the relaxed, lazy fighting pose London had taught her. With no sign of her beasts, the energy at her core took advantage of the opportunity and teamed around her. The tangled strands settling under her skin, just waiting to flare up at any hint of a threat.

Raven didn't know if she should be grateful or not. Any signs of the moon madness had been erased, but no one could be allowed to know how she'd managed the feat.

Kevin and a tall blonde woman entered the room. Both looked toward the elevator, and Raven turned in time to see the guide shake his head, his eyes locked on her ass.

When she turned back, Kevin was smiling and the blonde had her pinned with a scowl. Raven didn't need to be told she was the alpha bitch of the pack. It was written all over her attitude.

The perfect coiffure of fake curls and silk clothes screamed money. Too bad it didn't purchase taste. Cold blue eyes trailed over her person and the blonde snorted inelegantly. "So this is your idea of a solution?" She laughed, ran a finger down Kevin's face hard enough to leave a small bead of blood, marking him in front of her like Raven was a rival, and then left the way she'd come.

Kevin didn't once lose his smile as he brushed away the blood. He waited for the woman to vanish before he gestured back toward the elevator. "How about we go to my rooms for a little privacy?"

Raven crossed her arms. "How about we take the stairs?" No one was going to get her in that elevator with another male.

"Of course." He didn't have the grace to blush, but since he was doing what she asked, she didn't push the issue.

Two flights of stairs down, they entered a much more muted room, still expensive, but understated and lived in. "Please, take a seat."

Raven raised a brow.

"No more games, I promise."

"What do you want?" Raven ignored his suggestion, grateful to have London at her back. She didn't care if she was blunt. She just wanted to find out what the hell he wanted and leave.

"Your help. I couldn't ask for it until Vivian gave her approval." Anger clouded his eyes, but it was there and gone before she could be sure.

"My help with what?" Suspicions crammed into her mind.

"My son."

That was the last thing she expected him to say. Raven stilled, disliking being taken off guard. "What about him?"

"He's going to die unless you help." The man met her stare dead in the eye, worry stealing the confidence that seemed so much a part of him.

His comment baffled her. "What help could I give that you don't already have at your fingertips?"

Whatever she saw hardened, and the father disappeared in place of the businessman. "You want Jackson returned to you, yes?"

Raven remained mute, her eyes narrowing, not liking the way this conversation was going. His expression was almost feverish. "If you agree to my terms, he's yours."

Chapter Eight.

"You can't do this." London paced behind her, showing his agitation for the first time since they'd arrived. She would've said he lumbered, but his footsteps were too light.

Raven gazed out the window, down at the streets so many stories below. Kevin went to fetch Jackson, leaving them alone. Trepidation froze her feet to the carpeting. Hell, half her body refused to move, and only part of it had to do with seeing Jackson again.

No, most of the dread stealing over her was because London was right. "What choice do I have? If I don't agree, he'll make it a point to never allow Jackson to leave."

"You don't even know what he wants, and you're already agreeing." London didn't sound angry but more resigned.

The elevator warned them of their host's return. The doors opened. The only thing she saw was Jackson's whiskey colored gaze. She didn't know what she envisioned, but his bitterly cold expression wasn't it.

Kevin walked in the room, his son trailing behind him. "I want to hire you to guard my son."

Raven blinked and eyed Jackson. He looked fit. If anything, he appeared broader, stronger than she'd remembered. "And what you have isn't sufficient?"

Kevin didn't deny it, his expression unchanging. "You want Jackson. They come as a package deal."

The feeling of being played hardened her resolve to get to the bottom of this visit. "What would I be able to do that you can't?"

"I believe he means my mother." The boy stepped forward, his dimple flashing. "I'm nearing my maturity. Since I'm an alpha, that means I could take over the pack and displace her rule. She won't give up her power willingly, especially since I'm not so easily controlled." He didn't offer his hand, but gave her a good-humored smile as if his mother trying to kill him was an inside joke. "I'm Aaron."

"And this is something you want?"

Intelligence sharpened his pale blue gaze, but she had no sense of his wolf. Absolutely none, which was odd since he claimed to be an alpha. "I want to live. Jackson said you could help."

Jackson flinched imperceptibly. Raven's heart bottomed out, pumping hard. She didn't allow herself the luxury of imagining what secrets he'd divulged for fear she would crack.

They had a type of truce between them, but now that he was whole and healthy again, he could be one of her biggest threats.

He knew too many of her secrets.

Energy wavered around her, dread threatening to topple her control. She turned away to preserve what was left of her composure. "Help you with what?"

Aaron cocked his head, his stare unnerving in its intensity. The discord around the boy increased, threatening to make her head explode under the weight. She rubbed her temple. "What are you doing?"

The teenager couldn't disguise his shock. The pressure immediately stopped. "You felt that?"

His question caused her mouth to snap shut. Neither of them said anything else, both unwilling to give away more of their secrets. Each eyed each other up, uncertain what to expect. Then he whispered a plea only she heard.

"Say yes." Genuine turmoil radiated from him.

Her gaze flicked suspiciously to Jackson, but his stoic expression gave nothing away.

Damned stubborn bastard.

"For how long?" London grunted at the question, clearly not pleased she was still thinking about their offer. It wasn't a yes, but it wasn't the no he demanded either.

Aaron gave a casual shrug that she didn't buy. "Until I crest and can be presented to the conclave. No one would question it as shifters sometimes foster their kids out to other packs as a type of learning tool."

Raven wasn't buying it. "No one would believe your parents would let you out of their sight, especially as you near your cresting. They wouldn't risk someone contaminating you."

"But they might if they thought there was a way to snag one of the few unclaimed alpha females in the area." There was something in his phrasing that put her back up.

"You have no romantic interest in me." Raven was too relieved to be offended. "Why do you wish to leave?"

Another shrug. "Is it not enough that my mother is trying to kill me? Does there have to be something more?"

No, there didn't, but she'd bet her life that there was something he held back. But was this wild gamble worth the risk to her fledgling pack? Yes, if it meant that she could get Jackson back where he belonged.

She couldn't let him go without a fight.

Not this time.

She owed it to him to at least try.

She faced Keith and took a deep breath. "What are your terms?"

Raven parked the car in front of her house and waited for the second vehicle to pull up behind her. The air pressed heavily against her, and she tipped her head back. A storm brewed on the horizon, the dark thunderclouds rolling ever closer as if drawn to her turmoil.

The pull of the storm was incredible. Like a living lightning rod, all the hair on her body stood on end. There was nowhere to go that it wouldn't reach her. She resisted the wild urge to draw down all that beautiful power waiting for her and just wallow in it.

Even now, her skin felt alive. Energy danced in the air, current pulsed around her, urging her to come out and play. She turned the key, heard to the engine die, but she didn't move as she battled to rein in her volatile mood.

London casted her a look, then left without a word, never once glancing back.

Smart man.

From the rearview mirror, she watched Jackson unfold himself from his black diesel.

For a fleeting moment, his shoulders relaxed.

Then it was gone.

Cold fury covered his expression, and she found herself faced with the imposing pack enforcer who would kill anyone that got in his way of doing his job.

She exited the car, her own anger burning bright. When he came closer, she gathered the agitated blue strands whipping around her core and wrapped them over her clenched fist. Without speaking, she swung as hard as she could.

Jackson didn't just go down, he flew back a few feet and landed flat on his ass. He lifted his head to peer up at her, but didn't do anything stupid, like try to get up. "Don't you dare disappear on me like that again. Do you understand me?"

She stalked closer to stand over his body. "And if I find out that you put anyone in my pack in danger with what you told them, you'll wish we'd never met."

The air around her throbbed with her fury, and his eyes splintered yellow under the influence. But instead of shifting, he meekly offered his throat in supplication. She didn't know what pissed her off more, that he just rolled over without a fight or that he didn't deny her accusation.

Weariness dragged away her anger. She had to leave before she did something she would regret. "Take the kid and find a room. We'll talk about our next course of action in the morning." Without waiting for a response, she stalked toward the house.

"Wait." Aaron loped to her side. "Jackson told my father very little about you and my mother even less. Only enough so as not to raise their suspicions. He risked his life to protect your secrets."

Dying light hallowed him, illuminating the earnestness on his face as he trotted to her side. She saw a glimpse of the type of man he would become. "But he told you more."

Though his expression didn't change, the static hum around him increased. "He did what he could to protect you even knowing that you would never forgive him."

Something about the way he phrased his words raised her bullshit antenna. "What do you mean?"

They stepped inside the house, the shadows half covering his face. "He never expected you to come for him. He doesn't know how to react."

Behind them, Jackson picked himself off the ground, not even bothering to dust himself off as he trudged toward the house.

"If you were any other alpha, the punishment for betrayal would be death." Raven met Aaron's pensive gaze. "Please tell me from everything I've heard that I haven't misjudged you."

His words were not quite a plea or demand. Raven turned away from Aaron, unwilling to have him see her reaction.

Though Jackson might have tried to protect her, he had violated her privacy knowing it would destroy her. She felt exposed down to her soul. She tried to rationalize that she would rather have him alive, but her hurt wouldn't be forgotten so easily.

"I gave my word. You're both safe here."

Aaron didn't seem pleased by her answer, but didn't say anything more when Jackson stepped into the house. Jackson's whiskey brown eyes had thawed, leaving behind a hesitant, hungry expression as his gaze roved over her body. But he never lifted his eyes to hers, as if afraid of what he would find.

"Grab an empty room upstairs and make yourselves comfortable." She needed to get away from Jackson and the yearning to give him a hug.

She clutched her hurt in her chest, not ready to forgive.

Not sure if she could ever completely trust him again.

The situation threatened to break heart.

She took the stairs two at a time, eager to hide from their prying eyes and organize her scattered thoughts. By the time she hit the hallway, she was panting, having practically run to get away.