“I think I’m looking at a dead woman,” he said.
But she laughed. “Not yet, you aren’t.
Why was he hesitating? “You sold me out once already.”
“And I’ll do it again.” Sounded like a promise. “That’s why you need me.”
Footsteps raced toward them. Jade and Tanner. Not taking aim at one another any longer. Instead—
“Don’t hurt her,” Tanner ordered. “That witch is our ticket into the pack.”
“Witch?” Jade staggered to a stop beside them. Az’s focus shifted to Jade even as he kept his grip on the witch.
Jade’s gaze flew between Az and the woman. “No one mentioned anything about a witch—”
“I told you that every Other in the city would be after your guardian.” Sweat trickled down Tanner’s temple. “Well, Heather here has a certain . . . reputation.”
“For selling out everyone she meets?” Az demanded. He hadn’t let the witch go yet, but he hadn’t killed her, either.
He thought he was showing pretty good restraint.
“Almost everyone,” the witch said.
“Heather . . .” A warning tone entered Tanner’s voice.
But Heather didn’t heed that warning. “I was trying to do the world a favor.” She held Az’s gaze. “Some Other are too dangerous to live.”
“Wait a minute!” Jade grabbed Az’s arm and hauled him away from the witch. Only because Az let her haul him. “You’re the one who found Az?” She asked the other woman.
Heather’s lips curved. “The world is smaller than we like to think.”
Jade nodded. “Right. Okay. I’ll take that as a yes.” Then she drove her fist right at the witch. Heather took the hit in the jaw and tumbled back. “You freaking sold out an angel, you crazy bitch!”
Heather blinked, then rubbed her jaw. “My, my, aren’t you the feisty human.”
Az rather thought she was. She’d just . . . fought for him. Or at least punched for him. No one had ever—
“We’re out of here, Az.” Now Jade was yanking his arm. “Whatever game this shifter is working, we don’t want to be a part of it.”
Not if the witch was involved.
But he wasn’t ready to walk just yet. Vengeance. Right there, so close.
“Will you be strong enough to kill him . . .” The witch’s voice was different now. Heavy with power and magic. Az looked at her and saw that the bright gold of her eyes had faded as she continued, “when the time comes?”
Her faded gaze wasn’t on him. It was on Jade.
“Will you sacrifice?” Heather continued, and a light breeze blew against Az’s flesh. “Will you make the choice to save the others and face death?”
The witch was pushing his self-control and seriously getting on his nerves.
“What in the hell are you talking about?” Jade wanted to know. She didn’t sound shaken or worried, just pissed.
“Love has a price.” That same, weird rumble that wasn’t a human’s voice. Not quite. “Sacrifice is the payment. The choice of life or death. You have to kill what you love.”
Jade’s eyes narrowed. “Let’s be clear, here, alright, witchy woman? I don’t love Brandt. I hate him. He has taken everything away from me. My home. My family.” Her chin lifted. “So when the time comes, oh yeah, I’ll do what I have to do. If the choice is my life or his, then he’ll be the one dying.”
Heather’s eyes brightened once more as the fog seemed to fade from her gaze. She smiled at Jade. “You’re going to be tested soon.”
“Why are we still here?” Jade muttered, tugging on Az. “Let’s—”
But Tanner stepped forward. “The pack won’t welcome me back. Not unless I bring them . . .” His gaze fell on Az. “Something.”
“You mean someone,” Jade charged. “You want to take Az to them? Are you—”
“Actually, I want to take you to Brandt. If I bring back his lost mate, there’s no way he will turn me away.”
Mate. Why did that one word have Az tensing as a white-hot fury rose within him? “She’s not his mate.” Shifters and their mates. So possessive. So territorial.
Not. His.
Tanner held up his hands. “Easy there, big guy. This is just about what Brandt thinks, not about what actually is. Didn’t mean to step into any . . . uh, personal business there.”
“Tanner takes the human,” Heather came to stand by the shifter’s side. “And I take you in,” she told Az.