“The pup from that tiny pack down in Arizona? He’s still in town? And you’re going out with him?”

Talley’s fingers went to her hair. “Don’t have an aneurysm. It’s just coffee.”

“You were supposed to tell him to leave.”

She snagged a strand of shiny black hair and began twirling it around her finger. Jase had known Talley his entire life and could clearly remember her doing the exact same thing when she would get nervous as a five year old. It looked odd now, though, since she’d had nearly a foot of hair cut off at the beginning of the semester. The shorter style suited her, framing her face in a way that made it impossible not to notice how her red lips and blue eyes contrasted with its dark color.

“Was he mean to you?” Jase asked when the urge to dig his own hands into those silky tresses became too much. “Did he bully you into agreeing to have coffee with him?” The thought of someone forcing themselves on her made his hands curl into fists. “Damn it, Tal, I’ll take care of him. You don’t have to take this shit.”

He was already making a move to get up, although he didn’t actually have any clue where he was going. All he knew was he needed to punch someone in the face.

“The only person bullying anyone around here is you, Jase. I’m the one who made the date.” Talley gave a very un-Talley-like growl before continuing on. “And I don’t understand why we’re talking about my love life when there are more important things to discuss. Are you going to tell me about Sarvarna’s phone call or not?”

To hell with Sarvarna. Talley said “love life”. Did that mean she was planning on taking this further than coffee? Was she going to date him? Sleep with him?

No. Absolutely not. That couldn’t happen. Talley wasn’t allowed to have sex. He was probably going to go to hell for even thinking about taking advantage of her like that, and the thought of some other guy touching her…

Toby’s idea of Baptist nuns was sounding better and better all the time. He would volunteer his sisters and Talley to be part of the first convent.

“I won’t tell you about the call unless you cancel your date.” Ha. That’s a check and a mate, Tal.

“What did you say?” Red crept up her neck and onto her face, and possibly for the first time in her life, it wasn’t from embarrassment.

Jase, however, didn’t care if she was pissed. He knew her well enough to know she would put her friends and duty above some stupid date. “Cancel your date, and I’ll tell you about my conversation with our queen. Go, and well…” He shrugged as if the consequences were beyond him.

“You’re not serious.” Jase crossed his hands behind his head and leaned against the wall. “Jase, you can’t possibly be serious. This is important.”

“You’re right. It is. So, I suggest you stay.”

Scout once said it was impossible to piss off Talley. She said you could throw mud in Talley’s face while questioning her parentage and Talley would wipe the grime from her face and ask if you’re having a bad day. Scout hadn’t meant it as a personal challenge, but Jase took it as one. He knew it was messed up, but he liked knowing he was the only person who could get under her skin. He supposed if they were still in grade school he would be pulling on her braids and throwing a frog down her shirt. It was pathetic and stupid, but it didn’t stop the feeling of satisfaction he got when her lips narrowed and her nostrils flared.

“Charlie is lying in a hospital bed he may never leave; Scout is God only knows where, on the run because the Alpha Pack wants to see her dead; and someone ratted out Toby’s location to Sarvarna. Our entire world has gone insane, and you’re going to freak out because I’m going on a date?” She was shaking so hard he could see it from across the room. “What is wrong with you?”

Somewhere during her speech, Jase stopped finding the situation funny. It was probably right around the time she started detailing the way the people he loved were royally screwed thanks to him.

“What’s wrong with me?” he asked, pulling himself off the wall. “What about you, Talley? What is your problem? Why are you going out on dates when Charlie is in the hospital, Scout is on the run, and Toby could be tried for treason at any moment? Huh?” He grabbed the edge of the mattress to keep himself from launching across the room to get in her face. “And don’t get all ‘I’m just going on a date’ with me. You and I both know it’s not a real date. He doesn’t really want you. The only reason he’s paying attention to you at all is because he thinks you’ll give him a power-boost.”    

He realized it was the wrong thing to say even before the first tear slid down her cheek.

“Jesus, Tal, don’t cry. I’m s—”

She cut him off with a fierce shake of her head. “I’m going on my date now,” she said, and because he was starting to feel like a perfect ass, he didn’t argue the point. “I’ll be back here in an hour, and then we can discuss your call with Sarvarna.”

She didn’t say goodbye. She just turned on her pointy heel and walked out the door. Jase went and stood by the window, watching until she exited the front of the building and turned left onto the sidewalk. He considered following her, but quickly realized how little she would appreciate the act. Plus, it wasn’t exactly like he would go unnoticed with another Shifter around. So instead, he flopped back onto his bed, and wished, not for the first time, that he had a nice alcohol or drug habit to dull the aching in his chest.

Chapter 6

Talley ducked into the bathroom as soon as she got to the coffee shop. The walk from Jase’s dorm to downtown had taken a little over ten minutes, which was just enough time for her to get herself back under control. She shouldn’t have stopped by his room in the first place. She knew how he was going to react. What had she been thinking?

Of course, she knew exactly what she was thinking. It was Jase, and he had asked her to come by at six with a pepperoni pizza, so she had.

And you wanted to see him flip out over you having a date, the Scout voice in her head added.

“I am so stupid,” Talley said to her reflection as she used some lotion and tissues to tame the mascara now painting her cheeks instead of her eyelashes. She had wanted Jase to flip out when she announced she had a date, but not for the reason he actually did. The part of her that was still six years old and believed in white knights and ugly ducklings dreamed of him magically realizing what a wonderful person she was and being overcome with jealousy. Instead, he had pointed out just how undesirable she was and accused her of being selfishly focused on her own life instead of their mission and the lives of their friends. She could have cleared that right up by telling him the real reason she was meeting Walker tonight, but she didn’t want him interfering. No, Walker was her mystery to solve, and she wasn’t getting Jase involved. At least, not yet.