Page 79 of Jake

“My guess is she took Shilan to smoke you out. You know how it is with us supernaturals. We may be a few hundred years old but this is a long game. Hell, Alphas have a history of waiting it out for a battle when territory is involved.”

“We need the book,” she said. “I should have read it. I skimmed it a few times as a teenager but it was scary shit. And when you don’t have your parents…all I wanted to do was hide.”

“This isn’t your fault, Kai.” Jake’s expression softened.

“No. That’s the thing,” she interrupted. She shook her head, her lips pursed. “It is my fault. I am the pixiu. I chose to hide. I chose to isolate us. Shilan? She just wanted for once in a fucking hundred years to go somewhere, somewhere else besides Wyoming. So she went somewhere that brought her comfort. She went to the only other place she called home. She’d kept in touch with childhood friends who were supernatural. But she never got to see any of them because something that wants me took her. No, this? What’s happening here is nothing but my fault.”

“If there is one thing I know sweetheart, our destiny is exactly what it is. It doesn’t mean you’re responsible. Look at me. I didn’t choose to be wolf. I didn’t choose to be Alpha. I’m going to leave my home and it’s no one’s fault. It’s just life.” Jake pressed to his feet and went to her. As he approached, her eyes glistened with the tears that threatened to fall. Jake knelt before her, gently cupping her cheek with his hand. She leaned into him and his heart ached. “You see Quintus over there?”

Kai gave a subtle nod, her eyes darting to the vampire.

“We’ve all got a history. Quint has his. It’s not like he asked to be a vampire. He went through hell with his sire. It’s not about deserving or not deserving. He didn’t cause it to happen. It was just meant to be. And you,” Jake gave a small smile as she gazed into his eyes, “this isn’t your fault either. You’re a very special creature. You’re meant to be in this world, and I’m sure your sister would agree that this is not your fault. It’s not hers either. I know you’ve been sequestered out there in Yellowstone, but the fact is that there is evil in all corners of this great blue planet. Maybe it was meant to be that it’s us who deal with Kasdeya?”

“What do you mean?”

“This bitch has been torturing people for centuries. Maybe this is how it’s all supposed to go down. You. Me. Quint. Together we are stronger. We’re the ones who will destroy her, make some room in this universe for something positive.”

“He’s correct,” Quintus agreed. “I know it’s harsh. As for your sister? I’m certain she’s alive. They will keep her to get to you. Or maybe the Kris?”

“Do you think Ilsbeth is somehow tied to Kasdeya?” Kai asked.

“It’s hard to say. I was there that day when Jax went after Mick. That demon…it’s sealed away. But Ilsbeth, when I found her in the woods…there’s no explanation for her condition. It’s my guess that Mick did it to her, that he fucked with her head, maybe somehow used the demon to destroy her spirit. It’s not unreasonable that he used the demon’s dark magick on her,” Jake theorized.

“It’s even possible that there’s a remnant of dark magick inside her. The demon itself could have hitched a ride and is lying dormant. These demons, they feed off each other,” Quintus told them. “Maybe one of them promised the other one something very special. A certain Kris. A certain pixiu. And to be perfectly honest, and I don’t want to scare you, Kai, you’ve already said that you don’t know what powers your sister harbors. She might not be like you but she could be something equally desirable to them. We just don’t know yet.” Quintus sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head on the back of his seat.

“If Shilan isn’t in San Francisco, I will find her, but Kasdeya? I’m going to kill her myself. She’s a dead woman.”

“That’s a girl. Get mad. Because you’re going to need that rage to transform.” Jake pressed to his feet and took her hand in his, helping her to stand. He wrapped his arms around his mate, once again sensing her emotions as her walls fell. “We’ve got this, Kai. We’ll find your sister, and send that demon bitch back to hell where she belongs.”

Jake closed his eyes and focused, pouring his calming energy into his mate. In the deep recesses of his mind, he hid his apprehensions. Although Quintus was surely lethal, her spectra had successfully attacked the vampire. They needed to get their hands on Kai’s book. He prayed it had a clue as to the significance of the Kris and how to defeat Kasdeya.

Jake held Kai’s hand as they ascended in the high speed elevator. He’d been thankful Cassandra hadn’t been at the front desk to greet them. Kai hadn’t marked him yet, and he suspected her primal instincts would surge. Having already shifted once in New Orleans, her beast would demand its mate. And although Cassandra was human, Kai classed her as a threat.

As the elevator doors opened to the penthouse suite, he breathed a sigh of relief. Tonight they’d go to the Elders. He’d been tempted to go during daylight, but Quintus would not be at full strength, and he couldn’t be sure if Kai needed to draw on the power of the moon to shift. While most shifters could transform any time, day or night, juvenile wolves often had difficulty doing so without a lunar influence.

Sunlight poured into the ultra-modern suite. Its stark white design gave a clean but sterile appearance to the trendy room. Through the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows he could see the sparkling bay in the distance. Spying a remote control on a glass end table, he pecked away at the keys. Room darkening shades automatically dispensed from above, blocking all the sunlight. This was exactly why he’d chosen Cassandra’s hotel. In addition to having wards, she had amenities that suited supernaturals well.

“How about I order us some food? I’m starving.” Jake turned to Kai who glided her fingertips over the crimson crushed velvet sofa. “You hungry?”

“Hmm?” she asked.

“Do you want something to eat? I know we ate dinner last night but…do you want breakfast?”

“Yeah, yeah. Pancakes?” she replied, her focus drawn to a large wall mural depicting angels. “I…maybe something else?”

“I’ll get steak and eggs too.” Jake addressed Quintus who was rummaging through several silver paper shopping bags.

“Your girl likes Nordstrom?” Quintus smiled.

“She’s not my girl. And yeah, everyone likes Nordstrom. You want something to eat?”

“Dim sum. Your friend.” Quintus drew out the word several seconds longer than needed, annoying Jake. “Does she have donors in the building? I want to make sure I’m fueled up for later.”

“I think they’ve got you covered.” Jake crossed the room to a glass desk and slid open the drawer, retrieving a hotel book. He flipped open the pages and gave a chuckle at the bottle list, blood available from different regions of the world as if he were reading a wine menu. At the very bottom, he spied an item simply labeled donor. “Yeah, you’re good. I’ll order you one. I assume you want a woman, yeah?”

“Either sex will do. I’m still buzzing from both of you. This’ll serve to top me off, if you will.” Quintus laughed and walked out of the room.

“I want to take a shower,” Kai stated, her voice soft. “I hate this.”