The Wolf's Surrender

CHAPTER 10



“Ha! Take that, you lying bastard!”

Mia grinned, pressed a button, and watched as her character, a badass elven warrior chick who carried a sword as tall as she was, spun gracefully and made a traitorous enemy explode onscreen. The euphoria, however, was short-lived. For as delighted as she’d been to discover that Jenner had stashed a copy of Reckoning of Kings behind his sports and racing games, nothing could distract her from her present situation for long. She was in an unfamiliar house, facing an uncertain future...and playing a video game.

It was something to do, but it didn’t feel all that productive, exploding bad guys notwithstanding. Of course, she didn’t exactly know what she should be doing, since her self-proclaimed protector was AWOL. Again.

Mia shut off the game and the television, then wandered to the front windows to look out, wondering what Jenner did in his garage that was so incredibly interesting. It certainly kept him occupied. He’d been out there all morning.

He’d been as good as his word about keeping her safe. A quick phone call to Bane from the restaurant had spared her having to try and link to Jeff again last night. Considering what had happened in the truck, Jenner figured that was enough for one night, and he’d been right, even though she hadn’t wanted to admit it. It had sounded like the Silverback arriving were causing Bane enough headaches anyway.

So she’d had a pleasant evening instead of a terrifying one. But Jenner had been as good as his word on another important count too—he hadn’t tried to touch her again.

And the more he kept his hands to himself, the more she wished he wouldn’t. No amount of slaying virtual bad guys seemed to make that any better.

Mia paced the room and fiddled with her phone, which remained obstinately silent. The few friends she’d allowed into her life thought she was away on a romantic weekend, and she was in-between design jobs so there was no one to pester her on that count, either. Her sick call-in for work would wait for morning to make it (hopefully) more convincing. After a moment of consideration, Mia frowned at the little device and then turned off her cell completely. She’d pick up any messages later. Not that there would be any.

She tossed the phone on the counter, tipped her head back with a resigned groan, and gave in. Mia grabbed her jacket and headed outside shrugging into it as she went. Shortly thereafter she was blinking in the early afternoon sunshine. It felt so good to be out in it that she found herself silently grateful that she’d been bitten by a werewolf and not a vampire. She loved the moonlight, but there was nothing for a tired soul like sunshine.

The wind was crisp and smelled fantastic, and Mia was struck again by the beauty of Jenner’s land as she walked. She had no memory of driving up to it Friday night, and in any case, it had been dark. But she’d gotten a good look at it when they’d returned from dinner last night, and now Mia stepped out into the yard far enough to drink in the sight of the large two-story log home, chalet style with a peaked roof and a large front porch. The lawn that rolled up to it, though no longer vibrant at this time of year, was obviously well-kept, and there were a couple of large pots of copper-colored mums at the foot of the porch steps that had made her smile on the way out yesterday, and did again now. Jenner fussing over flowers was tough to picture, but there were enough plantings out front to suggest it was something he did.

He had made a home, Mia thought with a pang of longing that for once had nothing to do with sex. It was something she’d been searching for ever since heading out on her own. And not just any home. She’d daydreamed about places so very like this that the reality of it gave her chills.

With a sigh, Mia headed around the house toward the detached garage, a big, three stall structure that was painted a deep forest green. It was as immaculate as the rest of Jenner’s place on the outside, and she imagined it was the same inside. In fact, now that she thought about it, the whole house was surprisingly uncluttered for a bachelor pad.

Mia grinned at the thought that she was dealing with a werewolf who was not only a gardener, but also a neat freak. If the latter were actually true, he might throw her out before the full moon. She wasn’t a slob, but she tended to make herself comfortable.

She entered through a small door on the side and was immediately greeted by the sound of Guns N’ Roses echoing loudly throughout the space. Mia stepped inside, shut the door, and looked around her. It was, as she expected, immaculate. The floors were coated with a special paint to protect them. Tools were hung neatly from pegboard, work tables were ruthlessly organized. Even the messy things he had out and was working on managed to look like there was some sort of order to them. It amazed her that a big, tough-looking guy like Jenner could be so meticulous about his stuff. But then, he seemed to take care of the things that were important to him.

Mia took a few steps in, her eyes riveted on the scene in the center of the garage. There was a beautiful old muscle car, black with dual white stripes that went from hood to trunk. The hood was open, and Jenner was leaning over messing with something beneath it. The sight of his butt encased in jeans that were just snug enough to give her a good view had Mia’s mouth watering immediately.

Wanting him might be one of the world’s worst ideas. But even the most practical part of her couldn’t deny that Jenner was just so...hot.

She had a sudden urge to sneak up behind him and wrap her arms around him. Fortunately, she had enough willpower not to. Barely.

Instead, she sauntered over to where he was obliviously tinkering away and leaned down to have a look at what he was up to. His eyes were totally focused on what he was doing, which seemed to involve screwing a piece of metal to another piece of metal. She wasn’t mechanically inclined...it all looked the same to her. The car, though, was a beauty.

“Hey,” she said. “What’cha doing?”

Jenner’s eyes flicked to her, he dropped his wrench somewhere inside the hood, and then cursed at it before returning his attention to her and straightening.

“Um. Hey,” he said. Mia smiled, both because he looked ridiculously cute covered in grease and because he seemed nervous that she’d showed up in a place he probably considered his man sanctuary. She’d discovered a few things about him since last night. Or more specifically, since she’d tried to grow fur and fangs in his truck. For all of Jenner’s gruffness, there was a sweetness about him that lurked just beneath the surface. With a little prodding, he’d even managed to hold up his end of a conversation all the way through dinner, telling her about the town, introducing her to some of the other diners as if they were friends of his.

She still knew very little about Jenner himself. But this seemed like a good time to start finding out.

“Your car?” Mia asked. “It’s a lot prettier than the truck.”

Jenner grinned. “The truck is a workhorse. This is a thing of beauty.”

Mia walked slowly around it, taking in the black leather interior, the gleaming chrome. “It really is. Chevelle?”

His eyes lit with pleasure. “Yeah. ’70 SS 396. You know cars?”

His boyish excitement made her wish, very much that she did. “No,” she admitted. “I read the bumper. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a hot car.”

“Obviously a woman of discerning tastes, then,” Jenner replied. His smile softened as he looked at her, and Mia could feel those invisible threads between them pulling at her, pulling her toward him. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, but there was a tension in it. Just like there was every time they were anywhere near each other. It was the first time on record that she’d smelled motor oil and actually gotten turned on.

“What’s up?” he asked. “Can I do something for you?”

Oh, you have no idea, Mia thought.

“I just wondered what you were doing out here,” Mia said with a shrug. “Your house is great, but I’m getting a little stir crazy. Played Reckoning of Kings on your Playstation for about an hour, but I’ve won it like three times at home, so...the challenge isn’t really there anymore.”

Jenner raised his eyebrows. “I still have that? I thought I’d tossed it.”

Mia nodded and leaned her hip against the car. She didn’t miss the way Jenner’s eyes traveled the length of her. She loved the way he made her feel when he did that. How often had a man really made her feel beautiful?

“Huh. Well, I’m glad someone enjoyed playing it. Sure as hell wasn’t me.” Jenner reached into the engine compartment, fished around, and came out with the wrench he’d dropped. Then he carried it over to replace it on the pegboard, and wiped his hands on a grungy towel that looked like it would never come clean no matter how many times it was washed.

He returned, motioned for Mia to back up a little, and closed the hood.

“You call your family? In case you’ve got the kind of family that worries.”

Mia shrugged uncomfortably. “My grandmother raised me. But she’s gone now. I’ve got no one else.”

She didn’t mean for it to sound pathetic, just matter-of-fact. When Mia had left, so had Ada, packing up the little house and vanishing into what seemed like thin air. Her obligation, which was all the woman had ever thought of her granddaughter as, Mia knew, was done. Maybe Ada was still alive, maybe she wasn’t. But she was gone, and Mia had no interest in finding her again. That truth no longer hurt the way it once had, but the words sounded pitiable to her own ears. Still, there was no reason to hide this. She was surprised when Jenner simply shrugged.

“Sorry to hear that, but it might make this easier. I’ve got only my father, at least nominally, but I’ve never told him what I am. Works out better for both of us.”

“You lost your mother, then. I’m sorry,” Mia said, and immediately wished she hadn’t. Jenner’s eyes darkened, and he looked away.

“Don’t be. I don’t know if she’s dead or alive, and I don’t much care. She took off when I was pretty young. My father’s all right, but he found somebody else eventually, had a few more kids. I was always kind of the odd man out.” He smiled, but Mia saw the sadness in it.

“Turning into a werewolf just gave me a more interesting reason to be a loner. It’s not angry or anything. They just don’t quite know what to do with me. Never have.” He shrugged again, seemed to realize he had spoken several complete sentences about himself, and closed the subject with a wicked grin that made Mia feel like melting into a puddle at his feet.

“At least here no one’s going to mistake me for a potential house pet.”

Mia laughed, though the little Jenner had revealed about himself played over and over again in her mind. No mother and what sounded like an indifferent father...but Jenner seemed to have made the best of it. It said a lot about his strength.

Wonderful...another thing to be attracted to. Flustered, and irritated with herself for her inability to get past this stupid infatuation, Mia sought to switch topics. “So why did you think you had tossed Reckoning of Kings? It’s only, like, four months old.”

“Oh,” he said, and this time his smile was more self-effacing than wicked. “Well, you probably noticed it doesn’t really match the kind of stuff I usually go for. I wanted something new and that was the only thing that looked interesting. Turns out that if the game doesn’t involve car chases, guns, or zombies, I suck at it. Lesson learned. How the hell have you beaten that game three times?”

Mia grinned. “A lethal combination of mad skills and no life. If you’re bored later, I can show you how not to die at whatever part you’re stuck at, I guess.”

“Pass. I’ll stick to zombies.” He paused, considering her with those intense eyes of his. “You know, I wouldn’t have pegged you as a web-designing gamer girl,” Jenner said. “Maybe just because I’ve never met one of you before. Are you all this good-looking?”

The flattery, which Jenner immediately looked embarrassed for voicing, released what felt like a fusillade of butterflies in her stomach. That he seemed surprised he’d said it made it even nicer. She knew it was shallow to want him to find her attractive...but what was she supposed to do? Hope he was drawn in by her witty banter and superior gaming skills? Actually, she did hope that...she just wanted it supplemented with animal lust.

“We are,” she said seriously. “We’re just hard to catch outside of darkened rooms with glowing screens.”

He watched her, looking as though he’d found some sort of new and fascinating creature. Mia felt herself flush. She’d gone through plenty of years of being the quirky geek girl back in school, attractive enough to be a curiosity, with interests unusual enough to be considered unworthy of dating. Her odd upbringing and constant fear of being found out as truly different had only compounded the problem. Finding a few like-minded friends in college, plus a lot of just growing into herself, had made a huge difference in her life. But plenty of self-consciousness had lingered, especially when it came to men.

Rattled, Mia sought to steer the conversation back into more comfortable territory. Maybe he thought she was cool, she had no idea. But that might not hold if he ever saw the pictures of her at DragonCon dressed as an elf.

“So you’re a mechanic?” she asked. Tools like his, in this number and apparent quality, probably weren’t just for a hobby. And he had mentioned “the shop” a few times last night in passing, though he’d never really clarified what that was. It made a lot more sense now...though she had to admit, his profession was as much a surprise to her as hers had been to him. He hadn’t struck her at all as a motorhead, and she’d known a few. Though he certainly looked at ease leaning over that gorgeous car.

Her question seemed to snap Jenner out of it. “Yeah. Yes. I am.” He looked down at his grease-stained hands, then back up at her. The innocence in his expression was utterly disarming. “Is it that obvious?”

Mia laughed, and he joined her. Even after the laughter died, the warm feeling it had created lingered.

“I own the garage and body shop in town,” Jenner explained.

Mia regarded him with new interest. “I don’t know what I expected, but that wasn’t it.”

“Oh? Why not?”

She saw the hint of wariness in his expression, wondered if he would think she was looking down her nose at him. She sought to clear that up as quickly as she could.

“You have your video games arranged alphabetically,” she explained. “And your wood floors are spotless. I don’t usually associate that with a guy who likes getting his hands dirty under the hood of a car, but maybe that’s just me.”

Jenner relaxed immediately. “Trust me, there’s plenty to be meticulous about under the hood of a car. And before I came to the Hollow, doing this for a living was the last thing on my radar. Come on. Let’s go on in, and I’ll tell you about it if you’re that curious.”

Mia nodded, and watched as he put a couple of things away and turned off the lights. The Chevelle gleamed softly in the semi-darkness. “It really is pretty,” she said a little wistfully. “Does it run?”

“Sort of. And thanks,” Jenner said, walking toward her. “I’ve been restoring it for a few years now. A little here, a little there. It’s almost done now.”

“I want a ride in it when it’s done,” Mia said. “Whatever else happens, I demand a ride in the car. It’s too cool.”

“We’ll see what we can do about that,” Jenner said. His smile faded a little, and Mia wondered why. But he was quickly at her side, leading her out of the garage and back into the light. He was quiet as he locked the door, and Mia thought he might have used up his daily talking allowance; he did seem to have one, and it wasn’t very large. So she was surprised when Jenner continued their conversation without a word from her.

“So let me see, the mechanic thing. Well, I always liked taking things apart and putting them back together, I guess. Loved the shop class in high school, and I was interested enough to take some auto classes at the tech center in high school. But it was a hobby at best. I figured I should go get the business degree my father was so big on. Actually, if I wanted the degree paid for, I didn’t have much choice. And since I’d been such a pain in the ass as a teenager, I figured I owed him one.”

“So where’d you get the degree?”

“Penn State,” Jenner said as they headed up onto the porch. “Settled on a dual Economics/Business major. Landed a big deal of a job shortly thereafter, which made my bank account happy and me miserable. Sometimes I took little road trips on the weekends to make myself feel better. This turned out to be the eventual destination.”

Mia tried to picture big, rough-around-the-edges Nick Jenner in a suit and tie and smiled. No, somehow it didn’t fit him.

“Should I ask how you settled on Ferry’s Hollow? I mean, it’s pretty, but it’s a little...remote.”

Jenner gave her a lopsided grin. “It was more like the car decided to settle here. An old Camaro I was working on at the time, very cool and not at all reliable. Even then I was more into tinkering than just buying something all shiny and perfect from the get-go. It landed me here one day, in the Hollow, broken down again and at a garage run by the oldest guy I’d ever seen. He worked at his own speed, which could generously be called glacial.”

Mia angled her head, skeptical, passing Jenner as he opened the door for her. “Hmm. He took so long you decided to just live here?”

There was a twinkle in his eye when he glanced at her. “Well. Not exactly.”

Mia made a face. “A girl?”

“Nope. A guy.”

Mia chuckled, enjoying Jenner’s playful mood. He’d seemed so serious since she met him; it was nice to see this side of him.

“Do tell,” she said.

“It was the mechanic. Guy who owned the garage. Jim Gibbons was his name. Crusty as hell and man was he slow, but he turned out to be an excellent teacher once I wore him down by hanging around so much and pestering about the car.” Jenner smiled at the memory. He headed for the fridge and grabbed a soda for himself. Mia was surprised when he pressed her favored kind into her hand, too. He’d been paying attention.

“Thanks,” she said, feeling like a lovestruck teenager. Jenner nodded, and continued.

“Jim knew I belonged here before I did. And I never had to ask him for a job. He offered it, once he watched my impromptu week’s vacation get longer. I learned just about everything I know from him. And I never stopped enjoying the work, so I kept on doing it. Now the place is mine.”

Mia enjoyed hearing the story, but she knew there were pieces missing...in particular, whoever the woman was who’d initiated him. Jenner’s version sounded far too neat. There had been a woman, she was sure of it. Jenner had fallen hard for one of the Blackpaw women. And that had been the one who’d messed him up so much that he didn’t want to try again. The idea provoked a surprising hot surge of jealousy that Mia had to quickly tamp down as her skin began to prickle uncomfortably.

“Is he still here?” Mia asked, more to distract herself from the questions she really wanted to ask than anything. Though it would be interesting to meet the man who’d obviously had such an influence on Jenner.

“He and his wife packed up an RV a few years ago and headed out West,” Jenner replied, then took a sip of his soda. “He sold me the business, and I expanded it. It’s kind of a work in progress. For instance, we now do some restoration work, which is probably my favorite part. Something I really think we could grow, despite being in a small town. We’re good, and word gets around. I have this one project...” Again, he stopped himself just as Mia was getting comfortable in the conversation. He didn’t want to get too close, that was obvious. But she couldn’t say he hadn’t been honest about that.

“Never mind. Boring stuff,” he said with a dismissive wave. “But there you have it. The story of how I went from a stiff in a suit to werewolf mechanic.”

“And Lunari,” Mia said. She saw the instant wariness on his face, but it didn’t stop her. She wanted, needed, to understand this part of his life. “What, exactly, does a Lunari do? It’s obviously an important position. You said you hunt?”

Jenner shifted uncomfortably. “I protect the pack. I hunt creatures who hunt us. Pretty simple.”

Mia hesitated. “And what if these...whatever you hunt...have something to do with Jeff? My being here might be more of a threat to your pack than anything. I don’t want anyone hurt on my account.”

Jenner looked sharply at her. “Why would you think your being here would hurt anyone? We’re more than capable of defending ourselves against the Shadowkin.”

The word, finally spoken, filled Mia with a strange combination of relief and dread. He even knew the proper name for them—Shadowkin. Which meant it was likely he would know what she was, too. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him...all of it. The desire to share that part of herself with him went against every instinct. But her need for him went even deeper than that.

The realization, and the shock it gave her, was all that kept her silent. For the first time in years, she was letting herself need someone. A someone who had already been very clear that he meant to walk away.

Knowing what she’d done, what she’d let herself do, took her breath away. She had to make it stop. She didn’t know how to make it stop.

Jenner’s expression indicated he hadn’t meant to tell her as much as he had, and Mia tried to refocus on the conversation. Her feelings were her own problem. Still, her voice sounded strange to her own ears.

“Shadowkin. Supernatural creatures that hunt supernatural creatures, I guess. Makes sense.”

“You don’t sound too surprised,” Jenner said slowly. “Mia, if there’s anything more to tell me about what happened with you and Jeff, now would be the time.”

She opened her mouth, expecting the usual denial to come out. Instead, she found herself giving him pieces of the truth.

“He had some kind of strange-looking knife,” Mia admitted. “And he was ranting about blood, and doorways. Maybe he’s crazy.” She dropped her eyes, sure she would begin to see revulsion in his. “Or maybe it has something to do with your Shadowkin. Can they...get at people? Make them do things?”

When she chanced a look at his face, Jenner’s expression was grim, but there was none of the disgust she’d expected. Darkness called to darkness...it was what she’d always been told. That her blood, full of dark magic, would repel every good thing. Part of her knew it was her grandmother’s prejudice talking, lingering even now. But another part of her had always believed it.

And yet here was Jenner, big and strong and unquestionably good, and his only disgust was for Jeff Gaines and the Shadowkin. Relief flooded her. He had no idea what a chance she’d just taken on him. And he could have no idea what it meant that he was proving so much of what she’d feared wrong.

“The Shadowkin can definitely get at people,” Jenner said flatly. “If they’re weak...or just hungry for power. Some even invite them in.” He looked away, his shoulders rigid. “Thanks for telling me that. Getting Gaines is even more important now. There are ways the Shadowkin can manifest fully in our world...it happened once, hundreds of years ago, and it was a disaster.” He sighed and shook his head. “What a damn mess.”

“It is,” Mia agreed softly, staying still even though she wanted to wrap her arms around him and soothe away his thunderous frown. Foolish thoughts but impossible to stop. “I’m...I’m sorry for bringing this down on all of you.”

“You didn’t. Don’t ever think that,” Jenner said quickly. “Different things get us all here. It’ll work out. You didn’t make the psycho who’s chasing you around. Just like you didn’t ask to have somebody way back in your family who made a bad relationship decision.”

Mia blinked. “What?”

Jenner just shook his head. “You’d have to have a little dark fae blood in you for Gaines to be this determined. That’s what opens the floodgates.” His look was all concern. He had no idea the wounds his words reopened inside.

“Dark fae blood,” Mia said softly. “And that’s...bad?”

“I’ve never seen an Unseelie,” Jenner replied. “They may be gone from this world, I don’t know. But from the stories, even I’d head in the other direction if I saw one coming. It’s a different kind of power than anything my kind knows. Even the Shadowkin covet it.” He finally seemed to notice that his words had upset her. Mia was silent, but she felt drained, cold. Here she was again, being thought of as something dangerous, something tainted. And Jenner didn’t even know that he’d just told her he’d run from her without a moment’s hesitation if he knew just how strong her blood was.

“It’s not your fault, Mia,” Jenner said with a frown. Mia found that she took a little solace in the soothing rumble of his voice. No, this wasn’t her fault. Or his. It simply was. The thought was wearying, but familiar. She pushed it away. This was nothing unexpected, nothing new.

The only new thing was the sharp bite of the pain he’d caused her, which had long been dull.

“What the Shadowkin sense in you is probably so far back you’d never have any idea it was there. Don’t worry, okay? When you’re fully a wolf, fully a part of a pack, that should cancel out whatever the Shadowkin sense in you. Wolf blood is strong as hell.” He looked away. “Just another reason we need to get Gaines and make sure you’re safe for good.”

Mia managed a smile and a nod. Inside, she was numb. So that was her only hope...to sleep with a stranger so that the strength of her wolf blood would make the Shadowkin leave her alone.

But the chances of it canceling her power out...she thought those were slim at best. She would always be part Unseelie. A thing Jenner considered a monster.

But not now. Right now, he only saw Mia, she thought. An unlucky woman who was doing the best she could with a bad situation. And he was right about that.

There was that slow burning fire in his eyes again when he looked at her, and she tried to imprint it on her memory so that she could take it out later and treasure it once all this was over. He might never be hers, but she already knew she would never be able to forget him.

“Look, I’m going to go grab a shower. We’ve got to be at Bane’s this evening, and I want some time to fire up that game before we go,” he said. “I won’t believe you’re a master until I see it.”

Amused despite herself, Mia chuckled, though nothing could fully obscure the sick, nervous feeling she got every time she thought of going to Bane’s, meeting a bunch of werewolves from a pack Jenner didn’t seem to like much, and trying to get back in touch with Jeff. She fought it back. The worst was over. They would know what ran in her veins, and they weren’t going to throw her out for it. Just how much magic she possessed was now a meaningless technicality. She should feel relieved, Mia told herself.

Not like she wanted to sit down and cry.

“You’ve got it,” she said, hoping her cheerful tone wasn’t overdone.

Jenner gave her a brief smile before disappearing into his room, and she saw that they were okay, for now.

It was going to have to be enough, Mia decided.

Because when it came to Jenner, it looked like now was all they had.