JUDE (Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (A Wood Haven Novella Book 1) Read online

  I tossed my cell aside after putting it on vibrate and headed toward the bathroom for a long, hot bath. I needed to clear my head and wipe away the memory of Jude’s touch. His scent still clung to my skin and I needed it to be gone. Tightness squeezed at my chest at the thought of him.

  Jude had no idea why I’d stepped into his life. God, and now that I knew there was something between us, something undeniable, I hated myself for having deceived him.

  Sending him away earlier had been for the best.

  I slipped my sundress over my head, inhaling the lingering scent of Jude’s cologne in the process. My heart fluttered at the memory of what we’d shared not even an hour ago and how beautiful it had felt. Tears built in my eyes. I felt as though I was giving up on something worth fighting for, but what else was I supposed to do? I needed a solution. One that didn’t involve Stephen or Jude dying.

  Mitch’s evil laugh floated through my mind, along with an image of Stephen’s bloody finger. My heart broke, because deep down I knew I was destined to lose one of them.

  Water rushing from the spigot on my tub echoed through my small bathroom. I fiddled with the water until it was the right temperature while my thoughts raced. There had to be a solution I was missing. There had to. When the tub was nearly full, I slipped in. The water was too warm, causing chill bumps to erupt across my skin. I hugged my knees to my chest and rested my chin along the tops of them. A hollow sense shifted through my core as my mind continued to circle for a solution. Mitch had already said money wasn’t an answer. He’d made it clear only a life would suffice.

  What if I gave mine?

  I could tell Mitch to take me in exchange for my brother and Jude’s lives, or to kill me in place of them. No matter which option he chose, it would be better than losing one of them, because without Jude or Stephen in my life I was a living dead girl anyway.

  I pulled the plug on my tub without even wetting my hair and grabbed my towel in a rush to dry off. That was my answer. That was my solution. My life in exchange for theirs. Mitch couldn’t tell me no, because in the end that was all he wanted anyway—a life to clear my brother’s debt.

  I wrapped my towel around my waist and jogged down the hall toward the living room. My wet feet slipped on the hardwood floors as I rounded the corner, but I caught myself before I fell. I scooped my cell off my couch and scrolled through my text messages, looking for the one where Mitch had given me directions. While I wasn’t one-hundred percent sure it was his personal number, it still had to be a way to get in contact with him. Whoever it belonged to could relay the message, and if they didn’t I’d pay another visit to his gambling hothouse and request another meeting with him in person.

  My thumbs flew across the screen of my cell as I tapped out a message.

  I have a new offer to place on the table.

  I hit send and waited. My phone vibrated minutes later as an unknown number flashed across my screen. I released a shaky breath before answering it.

  “Hello?”

  “And just what sort of offer would you like to place on the table, doll face?” Mitch’s familiar voice filtered through the phone, sending chills along my spine.

  “Me.”

  “You?” Amusement shifted through his tone and I imagined him kicking back on the leather couch in his lounge, crossing his legs as a slow smirk spread across his face and cigar smoke billowed around him. “What exactly are you offering?”

  “I’m offering me.” My body. My mind. My soul. My life. Whatever he’d take I would give, as long as it kept Jude and Stephen alive.

  A rough laugh filtered through the phone and my heart thudded forcefully in my chest. “While you are a pretty little thing, a night with you isn’t going to be enough to wipe away your brother’s debt.”

  “Then take my life,” I said without hesitation. “You said his debt was the kind that could only be cleared by a life being taken. Take mine. Leave Stephen and Jude alone.” My heart pounded in my throat as silence crackled through the phone.

  “No.”

  “No?” I prayed I hadn’t heard him right.

  “You heard me, doll face, I said no. The terms and conditions of our original deal still stand. You either end Jude Wilder … or I’ll end your brother.” The phone went dead in my ear and I swore my entire world broke apart.

  I melted into the couch, tucking my legs beneath me, and brought my knees to my chest. My arms wrapped around them as I formed a tiny ball.

  Mitch had denied my request. I was out of options and nearly out of time. My muscles tightened as bile rose up the back of my throat. I swallowed hard. I would lose one of them, and it was my decision as to who. A wail crawled up my throat and my eyes snapped shut. I drown in my emotions for what felt like a lifetime before sleep gripped hold.

  ***

  I woke to the sound of banging. Someone was at my front door. I didn’t move to see who it was. They could come back another time, one when I wasn’t so shattered. My front door cracked open seconds later. Someone had let themselves in. Either they had a key or they’d discovered my spare beneath the elephant statue.

  “Hello?” a familiar voice floated to my ears. “Sophia? I know you’re here. I saw your car outside.”

  My front door clicked closed and the sound of Liz’s high heels against my hardwood floors met my ears. I wrapped my arms around myself tighter and pulled in a shaky breath. Was it too much to pray to be invisible so she would leave? I didn’t want to answer her questions. I didn’t want to be around anyone.

  Her footsteps grew closer. When a gasp worked its way past her lips I knew she’d spotted me. “What happened? Are you okay?”

  I didn’t respond. Instead, I kept my eyes closed tight and my lips pressed together.

  “Sophia, honey? Tell me what happened.” The couch cushion beside my head shifted with the weight of my friend. Her cool hands touched my bare shoulder. “Sophia?”

  I opened my eyes. There was no sense in dragging out the inevitable. She wasn’t going anywhere.

  Liz’s brows were pulled together and her blue eyes were wide and bright with concern.

  “Hey, I tried to call you a couple of times. I even tried to text. Why aren’t you answering your phone? Did something happen?”

  “No, nothing.”

  “Bullshit. You’re lying on your couch wrapped in a towel and not answering your phone. Something happened.” Her eyes softened. “Please tell me what. Did something happen when you went to that shifter’s house today for the taste testing? Did he do something to you?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. Did something happen to me when I went to Jude’s house today? Yes. Did he do something to me? Yes. Multiple times. He even had me walking away as a different person than when I came. Liz couldn’t know any of this though, she wouldn’t understand. Not because she had anything against shifters, but because she didn’t know the details of my situation. If I left out all the crap about Mitch and my brother’s life hanging in the balance and only told her about what happened between Jude and me today, she’d see it as a step in the right direction. She would only see me putting the past behind me like she’d always said I should.

  If she knew all the tiny details of the situation, she’d have a much different view.

  “No, Jude didn’t do anything.” At least not like what she was thinking.

  “Then what’s the matter?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Honey, life is complicated. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about it,” Liz sighed “Tell me what happened. Is Stephen okay?”

  “Yeah, he’s fine.” For now.

  “What happened then?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  I’d hoped that she would leave it at that, but I knew better.

  “I don’t mean to pester you, Sophia. I’m just concerned.” She smoothed her hair away from her face. “If you don’t want to talk about it, then we don’t have to, but I want you to know I’m here for you if you decide o
therwise.”

  I shifted into a sitting position, clasping my towel to my chest. Raw guilt ate away at my insides while I listened to her pretend she didn’t care enough to press me for answers. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip and she began to nibble away. I couldn’t keep this from her. She was my best friend, and I desperately needed a friend right now. I was in over my head. Having another person’s opinion might help me find a solution.

  “Remember when I told you about the meeting with Stephen?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Well, I lied about what he wanted.” I held her stare. “He didn’t want money, he’s in too deep for that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s gotten mixed up even more with the coyotes.” I swallowed hard. “Mitch, the ringleader of it all, threatened to kill him if I don’t do him a favor to wipe out Stephen’s debt.”

  “What’s type of favor?” Her voice shook. She knew of the horrible reputation the coyotes had, just like everyone else in town.

  I opened my mouth and let everything spill out—the car ride, the deal, the horrible building I went to on the other side of town, the finger, the wolfsbane, sleeping with Jude, and even my feelings for him. I left nothing out. When I was finished, my shoulders lightened and my muscles grew slack.

  “After that moment with him,” I said, releasing the breath I’d been holding. Liz had yet to speak. She’d listened to me in utter silence. “I knew something had changed inside me. There’s something between us, Liz. He feels it. I feel it. It’s scary and exhilarating all at once, unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. And yet, I’m so afraid.”

  She grabbed my hand and gave it a tight squeeze. “What are you afraid of?”

  “What am I not afraid of is the better question.” I pulled in a deep breath. “I’m scared that Jude will hate me when he finds out I deceived him. I’m scared of what Mitch will do to Stephen when I don’t go through with killing Jude. I’m scared of what Mitch might do to me…”

  Liz’s grip tightened on my hand as she leaned back against my couch cushions.

  “Okay, there’s only one thing you can do in this situation. You have to come clean to Jude. You have to tell him what’s going on.”

  My mouth grew slack. What was she saying? That was the last thing I should do. “I can’t. Not only will Jude hate me, but it would expose everything Mitch wanted me to do, botching his entire plan. It might get back to him, and if it did, Stephen would die and it would be all my fault.”

  “Hear me out, okay? From what you’ve told me, the two of you care for each other. I doubt Jude would do anything that would jeopardize your brother’s life.”

  Her words settled over me. Even if Jude’s feelings for me weren’t as strong as mine were for him, I knew he wouldn’t rat me out. He wouldn’t. He would try to help.

  “You have to remember shifters have different laws than humans do. You might be surprised how much help he can offer, given the situation,” Liz insisted. “And that unexplainable feeling you have for him fluttering in your chest is because the two of you are bonded now.” Her lips quirked up into a tiny smile. “Congratulations.”

  “Bonded?” The meaning of the word rested on the edge of my thoughts, just out of reach.

  “It’s like a shifter version of marriage, only much stronger.”

  My throat closed. “And how do you know about all this?”

  I’d known Liz for years. She’d never come close to dating a shifter in her life. Not for lack of trying though.

  “I’ve done my fair share of research.” She winked.

  Was she holding out on me? Had she been dating someone all along and denied me the juicy details?

  “Seriously though, you need to tell Jude. Like now,” Liz insisted, her words pulling me back to the present. “The party is coming up quick. If Jude isn’t dead the next day, Mitch will know something went wrong with the plan. He might kill Stephen or he might come for you instead. You need to give Jude time to craft a plan.”

  “I know,”

  I forced myself to stand. Time was running out. I needed to get myself together and come clean to Jude in person. He deserved that much from me, at least. Even if he never wanted to look at me again, my conscience would be clean and he would still be alive.

  So would Stephen.

  I had all the faith in the world Jude would help me out of this mess somehow. No one would die and I would be safe. Everything would work out. It had to.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  JUDE

  My ears pricked to attention as the sound of gravel crunching beneath tires floated to them. I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was after seven P.M. While it wasn’t unusual for a member of the pack to come to me at any given hour without notice, I was on the edge having left things between Sophia and I the way they were.

  When a car door slammed, I set the book I’d been reading on my coffee table and headed to greet whoever it was. A soft knock sounded before I could get there. Whoever it was must have something important to discuss; they’d been in a hurry to knock. When I swung the door open, I was surprised to see Sophia. Her hair fell past her shoulders in messy waves and her face was devoid of makeup. She wore cutoff shorts and a pale pink tank top with sandals.

  She was absolutely breathtaking.

  A warm breeze kicked up behind her, sending her sweet strawberry sent straight to my nose. I inhaled, finally feeling content for the first time since she’d rushed out of my arms yesterday.

  “Jude, hi,” she whispered. Her brown eyes trailed across my exposed chest. I’d taken my shirt off hours ago, hoping to get some relief from the sticky heat, leaving me in a pair of black jogging shorts. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything. I probably should have called first. I know you’re a busy guy.”

  “No, it’s fine. I’m not doing anything. Come on in.” I shifted to give her more space to slip through. When she did, I inhaled her sweet scent, and was tossed back to being entangled within one another’s limbs.

  “I don’t want to take up too much of your time.” She stepped toward my living room and I followed like a lost puppy.

  “It’s fine. Like I said, I’m not doing anything.”

  I didn’t know why she was here, but it was obvious from her demeanor she was nervous as hell. Even if I couldn’t smell the scent of her nerves or hear the racing of her heart I would’ve been able to tell from the worried way she nibbled her bottom lip.

  “There’s no easy way to say what I need to so I’m just going to flat-out say it. If I don’t, I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold onto the confidence I’ve somehow gathered.” Her eyes locked with mine as she situated herself on my couch. Her pupils dilated as she fidgeted with her fingers. Whatever she was about to tell me was serious, and it had her scared shitless.

  My wolf jerked to attention as alarm buzzed through me. I sat beside her, but remained on the edge of the seat. Her energy was making me uneasy. Unease led to lack of control, and lack of control was not something I wanted to have around Sophia.

  “I’m listening.” I held her stare.

  “I know your pack is fairly new to Wood Haven, but I’m sure you’ve heard of a man named Mitch. A coyote. He runs the local underground gambling ring. Or at least one of them. The main one.”

  “Yeah, I’m familiar with him.” Tension filled my body as I thought of the coyotes and Sophia having anything to do with one another.

  While my pack and his hadn’t butted heads, he had made it well known he wasn’t happy about another pack of wolves moving to town. Especially ones with an alpha who was neutral when it came to human and shifter relations and who got along with the bears.

  “My twin brother, Stephen, has always had a bit of a gambling problem. Mitch’s houses were his go-to places to play. He’s always getting himself into debt. I’ve spent the last few years bailing him out of smaller debts with Mitch, and—if you ask my friend Liz—supplying his drug habits and enabling his lifestyle. A couple months ago my brothe
r asked for a hefty sum of money. I gave it to him and made myself a promise that I’d never help him in that way again. But about a week ago he contacted me. I couldn’t ignore him, he’s my family. I met up with him and learned he’s in way over his head this time. He’d also let me know he’d somehow dragged me into it as well.” She dropped her gaze to her hands and inhaled a shaky breath. It did nothing to calm her frantic heart.

  While I didn’t know her brother, I instantly hated him for dragging her into his mess. Family was a sacred bond, not something to be taken advantage of. Didn’t humans understand that?

  “Mitch was at the meeting with my brother. He told me I had a choice to make, that I could do a favor for him to clear my brother’s debt, or I could live with the guilt of his death on my hands.” She swallowed hard before continuing. “I chose the favor. What else could I do?” There was a pleading tone embedded within her voice.

  “What was the favor?”

  My stomach twisted as my wolf threatened to release himself so he could go after Mitch. He shouldn’t have added an innocent into whatever mess her brother had created for himself.

  Sophia hesitated in answering me. Her scent had shifted from nerves to fear. What had this bastard wanted her to do? I grabbed her hand and pulled it into my lap, giving it a gentle squeeze. It was in an effort to calm me, but also to encourage her to tell me what the coyote wanted. I needed to know. My wolf needed to know.

  Whatever it was, I would move hell or high water to see to it that no one was harmed. Not her brother, and damn sure not her. I’d kill Mitch with my bare hands if I had to. He wasn’t going to touch Sophia.

  “He wanted me to kill you, Jude,” she whispered. Her words were shaky as tears slipped from her eyes. “To poison you at your party. He gave me this.” She released my hand and reached into her pocket. When she pulled out a small vial of liquid, I knew exactly what it was without her having to say—wolfsbane. It was the only thing that could kill a werewolf and not leave behind a trail for anyone to follow. It caused the death to look like natural causes.