“… Wow.”
“I know.” Jasper grimaced. “Not only did his mate forsake him for a leech, he humiliated himself on her way out. I don’t think he’s gotten over it yet.”
Based on how Zeke spoke about vampires in general, she was inclined to agree with Jasper. “How long has it been since this happened?”
“Five years, I think.”
Fiveyears? And Zeke still held such deep-seated resentment for vampires? “I’m surprised he’s going with you then.”
The bell chimed as a customer entered.
“Me, too—” Jasper broke off abruptly, pushing to his feet so quickly Nessa didn’t even see him move. One second, he was relaxed behind the counter, and the next, he was on the other side of it, standing between Nessa and her customer, positively vibrating with menace.
“Leave,” he commanded, the muscles along his back tensing. “You’re not welcome here.”
“Jasper!” Nessa berated, stepping around the counter and smiling apologetically at the young woman standing just on the other side of Murphy’s brother. She looked vaguely familiar, but Nessa couldn’t quite place her. Had they met before?
“I want to talk to her,” the woman said to Jasper before glancing over his shoulder.
Her gaze settled on Nessa, and for a moment, Nessa felt like she was staring into a mirror; as if she’d spotted the ghost of the woman she’d been so long ago. She’d looked into those same haunted eyes a thousand times before, had seen that tired, traumatized expression on her own face for years after she’d escaped Tony.
Jasper growled in warning. “No—”
“Enough,” Nessa demanded quietly, moving closer to the woman. “Who are you?”
The woman looked down and away from her, her shoulders hunching in on herself as if in shame. “I’m Angela. Dante’s mate.”
Chapter 39
Dante’s mate.
Nessa cleared her throat, ignoring the irate rumble emanating from Jasper. Pointing toward the empty tables in the main room, she said, “Please, come have a seat, Angela.”
Maybe she should have turned the other woman away, cursed her name for ever allying herself with Jason in the first place. But she couldn’t. Shewouldn’t.
There was a familiarity to Angela that unsettled Nessa. It made her heart ache. She didn’t know the woman, but that unmasked fear in her eyes, the kind of fear that took years to fully vanish, was enough to cause Nessa’s protective instincts to rise to the forefront.
Throwing a distrustful glower toward Jasper, Angela pivoted toward the next room, her steps quick and light, reminding Nessa of exactly who she was dealing with.
Not a human, but a shifter. A wolf shifter. A potential threat and a former enemy.
A brief flare of unease rang through Nessa’s head, but she steeled her resolve, determined to keep calm and collected. Jasper was here to protect her, if necessary, but she didn’t think it would come to that.
Hopefully.
Taking a seat across from the wolf, Nessa shooed Japer away when he attempted to sit at the table with them. “If you’re going to be snarly and grumpy, you can go over there.” She nodded to another table a few feet away.
Jasper hesitated, and then he curled his upper lip into a sneer as he focused on Angela. “You tryanything—you so much as move one toe out of line—there’s nothing I won’t do to protect that human.” He gestured to Nessa before snarling at the wolf. “Are we clear?”
If Angela was taken aback by the threat, she didn’t act on it. She didn’t even flinch at the icy venom in his tone. “Crystal.”
Huffing in frustration, Jasper stalked across the room, dropping down into a nearby seat. He pivoted, facing them both, his back ramrod straight and his body coiled tight. It was reminiscent of a cobra just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Angela leaned forward in her seat, rubbing her palms over the tops of her thighs.
“I know I have no right to ask this,” she began, her voice wavering as she looked into Nessa’s eyes, her own full of worry. “But please, I’m begging you, please spare Dante’s life. He’s a good male. He’s my mate, and I—” Her voice broke off.
She looked down at the table, the tip of her nose turning red as she clenched her jaw.
