Power Unleashed (2 page)

obviously keeping his distance.

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Savannah Stuart

She nodded politely and took the glass her sister handed her. “Hello.”

“You got a sec to talk?” he asked.

“Ah—” Marisol interrupted.

“Yes.” Paz dropped a kiss on her sister’s cheek. “I finished the trifle. I think you can

handle the eggplant parmesan by yourself.” Without giving her a chance to protest, Paz

followed Thomas through the back door onto the lanai.

“So what’s up?” She collapsed on one of the wicker armchairs.

He sat next to her on an ottoman and leaned forward. His dark eyes flashed with

unease and that surprised her. “Adam Tucker is here.”

“I figured as much. So why are you worried?” She narrowed her gaze at him. Paz

had been staying with Marisol and her new mate Stephan, and for the past couple days

Thomas had been stopping by for obviously made up reasons. Not that she minded the

company, just the opposite. But now she wanted to know why he kept making excuses

to see her.

He shook his head. “I’m not. As long as we stick to the story, we’ll be fine.”

She took a sip of her wine and regarded him carefully. They’d been over the story

only a hundred times. The Lazos pack had broken into Perez’s home and saved her. She

hadn’t used her “wicked blue-juice” powers, as Marisol liked to call them, to blast

everyone away. Or at least that’s what they were telling The Council’s enforcer. If

anyone found out she was half fae, half-werewolf and that it had been she who’d killed

Perez’s men by herself, they’d sentence her to death simply because of the magic that

flowed through her veins. It was a barbaric and antiquated law, but there wasn’t much

she could do about it. Well, except hide her true heritage and she’d been doing that

since birth.

“That’s not why you’re here. You’ve been acting weird since yesterday so spill it.”

The truth was, out of everyone—excluding her sister—she felt more comfortable

around Thomas than anyone. Not in an I’d-like-to-get-you-between-the-sheets kind of

way but more brotherly.

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Power Unleashed

“I want to ask you something, but it might be too personal.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “What?”

“Do you know other…faeries? Or half faes like yourself?”

Her eyebrows pulled down. “Why?”

He cleared his throat, but he held her gaze. “I just wanted to know if you knew

anyone by the name of Nissa?”

There weren’t many faeries living in the United States, but she had heard of
a
Nissa

who lived somewhere in the United Kingdom. She was part of some royal line or

something. It was bad, but Paz knew little of that piece of her heritage. Her entire life

she’d been so worried about hiding the magic in herself, sometimes it was easy to

pretend she was full-blooded werewolf. If she believed it, others would too. “I have

heard the name whispered. Why?”

To her surprise, a faint stain of crimson crept up his neck. “No reason.”

“Oh. My.
God.
You fell in love with a faerie.” It wasn’t a question. She could smell

the truth roll off him when she said it. And that surprised her. As next in line to be

Alpha, he’d have learned to hide his emotions as a pup.

She took a sip of her wine and shook her head. “No wonder you didn’t have a

problem with me.”

“The Council needs to rethink their laws. Those wars were over long before any of

us were even born. It’s—”

“Archaic. I agree. But don’t think you get off that easy. What happened with her?”

Thomas’ spine straightened at her question, but surprisingly he answered. “I

fucked up.”

“How long ago?”

“A century.”

“Shit.”

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His dark eyes flashed briefly with pain, but just as quickly that mask was back in

place. “That about sums it up.”

Her heart twisted for him. A century was a long time to pine over someone. In the

hundred plus years she’d been alive, she’d never met a man or wolf who held her

interest for very long. She decided to change the subject. “So tell me who’s going to be

at this party. Any cute wolves?”

To her surprise, a bark of laughter escaped him. “How the hell am I supposed to

answer that?”

“Hey, you’ve got cousins, right. How old are they?”

He rolled his eyes and stood. “Too young for you. You’d probably eat them alive.”

“I’ve literally been under lockdown for a year, so you’re probably right.” It felt

weird but refreshing to joke about it. When she was around Marisol, it was hard to joke

because her little sister had been through her own version of hell the past year.

“I’ve got to get out of here, but I’ll see you tonight.”

She nodded and started to follow him inside.

“Paz…” He paused, his hand on the door. “No matter what happens, even if The

Council finds out about you, our pack will protect you.”

Her throat seized at his words and unexpected tears stung her eyes. Thankfully, he

must have sensed her discomfort because he muttered a quick goodbye and was gone

before she’d taken two steps into the kitchen.

Marisol looked up from the stove. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, he just wanted to let me know that Adam Tucker has officially arrived. Hey,

does Thomas remind you of anyone?”

A funny smile played across her sister’s face. “Dad?”

“Yes! It’s weird, right?”

Marisol shook her head and dipped a finger in the top whipped cream layer of the

trifle. “Not the way he looks or anything, but yeah, I’ve thought that since I met him.”

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Power Unleashed

Paz grabbed the big bowl and slid it away from her sister. “Hey! I want to make a

good impression and that’s not going to happen if your paw prints are all over my

dessert.”

Marisol just grinned and turned back to the stove.

After putting the desert in the refrigerator, Paz made her way to the guestroom.

Marisol and Stephan had set up the room as hers and she savored having her own

private haven. It had been so long since she’d done anything social, she wasn’t sure

what to wear. Especially since the enforcer was going to be there. That was such a

dumb name too. She was pretty curious what he looked like though. Probably a big,

jackass Neanderthal-type werewolf who was alpha to the bone. Sighing, she trudged up

the stairs. If she had to deal with the inquisition tonight, she was going to take a bubble

bath beforehand.

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Savannah Stuart

Adam parked his rented truck behind an older muscle car near the end of the

winding, private driveway. When Thomas said they were having a party Adam hadn’t

realized he meant the entire pack. And from the looks of it, half of Miami.

As he walked up the stone drive he took in the vehicles. They were all a little older

but in good shape. The family obviously didn’t like to show off. He started to knock on

the intricate—probably custom carved—wood door when it flew open and two younger

she-wolves nearly ran him over.

“Sorry!” one of them yelled over her shoulder as they raced toward one of the cars.

Something foreign twinged deep in his chest. He might work for The Council but

he didn’t consider any of them his family. He had no pack, no real friends, no real

home. Not anymore. His life was fucking lonely and something told him that spending

time with the Lazos pack would only remind him of what he was missing and would

never have again.

Shaking his head, he stepped farther into the foyer. To the right was a giant dining

room with a huge spread of food. A cake sat in the middle and there was a

smorgasbord of other food surrounding it.

“Hungry?” Thomas asked as he joined him.

“I’m okay for now. Could go for a beer though.”

Thomas grabbed his shoulder in a light, almost brotherly grip. “Come on, we’ll get

you settled.” The action was unexpected and it also reminded him that he couldn’t get

too close to these wolves. He was there to do a job and if anyone had acted against The

Council’s code, he’d have to turn them over for judgement.

The dining room connected to an even larger kitchen. A sea of mainly dark-haired

wolves mingled around in groups of two and three. Only a few stood out. A tall, pretty

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Power Unleashed

redheaded human. From his files, he knew she was Nick Lazos’ mate and new wife.

And of course Marisol, Stephan’s mate. She was a brunette like most of the Lazoses but

she was Spanish, not Greek. When he met Shea Hart’s gaze, the tall blonde wolf he

needed to question, she quickly averted her eyes and said something to the much

shorter brunette she-wolf she was talking to.

The petite wolf whipped around and when their gazes locked, his heart stuttered. It

was Paz Cabrera. He’d recognize those midnight eyes anywhere. The dossier he had on

her didn’t do her justice though. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from those intoxicating

eyes. She was pretty, yes, but it was those damn eyes that drew him in. Dark, exotic and

full of passion and life. After what she’d been through, the fire he saw there surprised

him.

When she turned away from him, all his senses mourned the loss. It seemed as if

he’d been staring an eternity, but in reality only seconds had passed.

“Here ya go.” Thomas handed him a beer and nodded toward Paz and Shea who

stood by themselves near a glass door that lead to a back patio. “I’m sure you already

know, but those are the she-wolves we rescued. I’ve spoken to them and they’re ready

to talk to you when you want.”

“Now’s as good a time as any.” The truth was, he could have waited. Would

normally have preferred to wait and acclimate to his surroundings, but the wolf inside

him was desperate to be alone with and talk to Paz. Hear her voice. Something.

Anything. He spoke low enough for only Thomas to hear him as they approached the

women. “I’ll speak to Paz first.”

A burst of primal protectiveness rolled off Thomas and nearly bowled Adam over

with its intensity. He had to stop the growl that started in the back of his throat. He had

no claim over Paz and even the thought was ludicrous enough that he almost laughed

at himself.

“Shea, Paz, this is Adam Tucker,” Thomas said.

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Savannah Stuart

Both she-wolves nodded politely, but he didn’t miss the light sheen of sweat that

had formed on the blonde’s brow.

He pulled the sliding glass door open and kept his attention on Paz. “If you don’t

mind, I’d like to ask you a few questions and just get them out of the way now.”

She shot a quick, guarded look at Shea before returning his gaze. “Of course.”

Adam slid the door shut behind them. He’d never been in Florida in the fall and the

weather was mild and perfect. A light breeze pushed up from the Atlantic. The salty

smell rolled over him with a subtle freshness and he realized why they’d chosen to

settle in Miami.

Before he’d taken two steps, she blurted, “I thought you’d be taller.”

He couldn’t help himself. A sharp bark of laughter escaped at her words.

Horror immediately covered her pretty face and her very full lips formed a perfect

O. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I said that. I…I haven’t been out in public in a year.

That’s my only excuse.”

Grinning, he motioned toward two of the Adirondack chairs near the pool. “It’s

okay. I think you just said what most people usually think when they meet me.” At five

foot ten, he was probably the shortest out of all the male wolves in the house, but in a

fight, he had no doubt he could take any of them. Thomas and his Alpha included. Size

didn’t mean shit to him. He was older, faster and stronger than all of them. A reason

he’d held his job for so long.

“Still, I’m sorry.” She perched on the edge of the elongated chair so he sat across

from her. She shifted against her seat. When she did, her yellow dress slid up to reveal

smooth, perfectly bronzed skin. She cleared her throat and he realized he was staring.

Averting his gaze to her face was worse. He felt as if he was falling when he stared into

her dark eyes.

Mentally shaking himself, he got down to business. “For the record, I just need to

know what happened with Preston Morales and Antonio Perez. When you were taken,

where you were held, any little details you can think of.”

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Power Unleashed

Paz stared into the greenest eyes she’d ever seen and tried to concentrate on his

words instead of his sinfully sexy voice. There was the slightest trace of an accent, but

she couldn’t place it. No, Adam Tucker most certainly wasn’t a jackass Neanderthal. He

was approachable and sexy to boot. And that little dimple that appeared in his left

cheek every time he spoke was going to drive her crazy. Not to mention the sleek,

muscular lines of his forearms and broad shoulders straining against his shirt. Things

she should
not
be noticing. She needed to keep her distance. And more importantly,

keep her cool.

“My pack lived in a very tight community, but I’m sure you’re already aware of

that. Somehow Morales poisoned our water system with silver. Not with copious

amounts at first. I think he must have started small to weaken us. I don’t really know

much after that though. I’ve been informed that he killed most of the pack and only