“But youknow, don’t you? This is a play of some sort. You know that she’s Kieran’s mate.”
Natalya had kept her composure throughout the meeting, but that last word made her stiffen. When Diana did the same, eyes widening, Maya leaned closer to her.
“What’s she talking about?”
“Ancient laws,” Jackie said, not looking at them. “Upon turning, fangers become infertile. Vampires are stuck like that, but therians are different. Under rare circumstances, a wolf canform a unique bond with a human. One that lets us feed on them without needing to kill them and without risk of infecting them with lycanthropy.” Jackie’s eyes were like molten steel. “One that lets us have children.”
Maya’s eyes returned to Kieran. Seeing his puffed-up chest and bared teeth. Based on how tense he was, he was ready to shift from man to monster if it meant protecting the woman he believed to be his.
Tension formed along her incisors. She had already seen his version ofprotection.
“And this woman returns his… affection?” Natalya asked, eyeing Kieran. Jackie leaned forward, teeth gritted.
“Doesn’t matter. With time, she’ll learn her place. A mate is everything to the shifter they belong to. It’s something most of us accept we will never have, and no wolf alive would stand in the way of it. You wouldn’t understand the significance of a bond like that,fiend, but know this. It goes far deeper than reason.”
Natalya’s eyes went scarlet, the snow around her transforming into steam.
“Trust me. I know exactly what such a bond feels like.”
“Then I’m sure you won’t mind that Kieran fetches his propertybeforeyou handle whatever business you have in St. Louis.”
“I do mind. Someone going missing brings attention that we need to avoid.” Natalya nodded at Jackie’s sheriff’s badge. “You may be able to manipulate the paperwork in your own county, but I doubt you have the same access in St. Louis.”
“You fucking—” Kieran stepped forward, but one glance from Natalya made him freeze in place. When she looked at Jackie again, her gaze was pure ice.
“You’re direct, so I’ll speak in terms you may better understand. We have no wish to start a conflict with you, Ms. Mayfield. Do you wish to start a conflict with us?”
Jackie’s eyes glinted fiery yellow. But she kept them right on Natalya’s, maintaining a gaze that would make most other creatures crumble to the ground.
Then she stepped back. “Kieran. Get back in the car.”
The man gaped. “Are you serious? This fucking bitch is just trying to—”
“Get back in the car.”
Jackie glared at him, her stare as unwavering as Natalya’s had just been. Kieran looked dumbfounded for another long moment before letting out a huff and returning to the car, closing the door so hard the glass should have shattered.
“It is as you said. St. Louis is a neutral zone. Anyone can have business there,” Jackie said. “For now, I’ll tell my people to steer clear of that club you’re so interested in. But I need something in return.”
“I didn’t come here to make deals.”
“Too fucking bad. You get the privacy you want, and we keep our distance until you leave. In return, you don’t send any more Chains into the city. And you pull out any wolves you have working on this.”
Diana stiffened. Natalya didn’t even glance her way.
“It’ll only beonewolf.”
“And that’s one too many. This is going to raise hackles on my side, and I don’t want to deal with a cross-Court pissing match on top of all the other bullshit this is causing.” Jackie’s eyes blazed again. “Don’t test me. You fucked over a lot of people when you expanded your territory. Wolf, Winter, even the fucking covenshate your guts. It wouldn’t take much effort to make your life a living hell.”
Natalya’s eyes were the same bright scarlet as before, but other than standing eerily still, she showed no reaction to Jackie’s harsh tone.
“Alright. No wolves. And you leave the Lucky Penny and the people within alone until we’re done with it. Agreed?”
Jackie’s smile was a little too pleasant, though it tensed when she shot Maya a glance.
“Yeah. Agreed.”
Jackie returned to her car, settling into the driver’s seat and giving Kieran a pat on the chest before putting the car in reverse. When the rumble of the engine was gone, Natalya turned towards Maya, the red in her irises changing to violet.
