Choices: Alpha City, Book 3 (11 page)

Maggie shrugged. “Maybe. And don’t say you won’t do it again, because I know you will.”

Judd leaned in closer and licked her ear. “Do you know how much I want you?” He could feel her shiver as her eyes closed.

“Uh hu-” Maggie’s eyes opened and narrowed in on him. Yeah, maybe he went a little too far this time. “You—” she pointed her finger at him “—are trying to use sex to get me to change my mind. It’s not going to work.” Oh yeah, she was so sexy when she was angry. He really had no clue what she was saying, because all he could see was the way her lips moved and the way the fire lit up her eyes, making them dance around. Man, this woman did it for him, and he hadn’t even had sex with her.

“How about we get MJ to help us find out where the address is, and then we can go see them after the funeral tomorrow.” Judd offered. She stood there and blinked a couple of times. “I did say
we
.”

“I know. I thought maybe you said it by mistake, so say it again,” Maggie asked without cracking a smile. The woman had a great poker face, and all he wanted to do was kiss it, bite it, and then suck on it; and that’s what he did. Judd leaned down and licked her lips so they would open. Lightly, he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, tasting her lips as his tongue eased its way inside. He loved everything about this woman. Even when she was angry, she did things that no other woman could. The woman could kiss like nothing else, and her taste was blasting in his mouth.

“We have to stop.” Maggie pulled away, putting her hand up against her mouth.

“I’m sorry, but you taste so good.” Judd licked his lips, tasting her still on his tongue. “We have got to find these people.”

“I know, but first we have to have the funeral.” He smiled, hoping that she wasn’t mad at him anymore. “Besides, you’re not out of hot water yet. Just because I let you kiss me doesn’t mean I’m not mad. You could’ve gotten killed, or gotten Brody killed. It doesn’t matter that you both came out of it okay, I should have been there, Judd. I should have been there.”

Judd hated to admit that she was right and he was wrong. Maggie had already shown that she could handle herself, but the fear was still there, after losing a member of his pride. And not just any member, but a best friend and family member. Penn had lived with him, and he had yet to grieve for him. He couldn’t afford to right now if he wanted to stay sharp. Judd needed to stay vigilant, or something else bad would happen. That’s how he handled everything. If he didn’t he would fall apart, and Maggie needed him.

“I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you behind.” That was all he could say. The only way to keep Maggie safe was to have her with him at all times. Nobody would protect her like he would.

Judd watched as her eyes widened. “I just can’t believe you said that. I never thought you would apologize.”

Judd smiled and put his hand up to her face. “I do apologize, sometimes.”

They both laughed. “Like you said, sometimes. I’ve just never seen it.” Judd heard his phone beeping. He hated to pull away from her, but this was probably important. The meeting was going to be on Malone pack land. He figured that Me-Len and the coven members had probably gotten some information from the wizard they caught earlier.

“Let’s get MJ and her stuff. We need to go meet the others. I hope they got some information out of this last guy. We need something that will help us for a change.”

J
udd could tell
that Maggie missed her cousin Judith and was excited to see her again as they pulled up at Ryder Malone’s residence. “You said that Ryder’s mate is a witch?” MJ asked.

“Yes she is, and a very powerful one, but she’s also a nerd like yourself. Zoey, Ryder’s sister, is her partner. They own a computer business; you should see some of their designs. That’s why I’m excited about you three getting together with them. God only knows what sci-fi things you girls are going to come up with.”

“All I want to do is help—and of course annihilate that bitch into a million pieces and send that dragon back to Hell,” MJ answered. Maggie listened to how confident MJ was. Not just confident, but determined. Maybe that was how they needed to keep seeing this. They had to believe that they were going to win no matter what happened.

Judd pulled up at Ryder’s house. There were guards all over the place. The memory of Penn was still fresh, and nobody was taking any chances.

“Beautiful cabin,” Maggie stated. It
was
a beautiful log cabin. All the columns were made of stones. The homes were all built similarly, but Ryder’s had been the first in Alpha City to be built. The porch wrapped around the house. It had rocking chairs on it, and a built-in fireplace off to the side. Flowerpots sat all around the porch. Some type of vine with beautiful flowers hanging off was crawling up the entrance. Plants were growing everywhere.

“I see a lot of camera systems. Nice job on them, too. I doubt that anyone who didn’t know what they were looking at would notice them,” MJ announced as she peered out the window.

“Where?” Judd and Maggie both said.

“When you get out, check out the flowers,” MJ said, opening the door and getting out.

Judd smiled as he looked around and found flowers everywhere. There were some in potted plants and some growing around the driveway. He couldn’t tell the difference between the real flowers and the camera flowers. But if MJ said there were cameras in the flowers, then there were cameras in the flowers. He grabbed Maggie’s hand as they walked up the steps.

London and Ryder met them at the door. Immediately London hugged Judd to her. “I’m sorry about Pennson, Judd. He was a—”

Judd cut her off mid-sentence. “London, I want you to meet MJ. She’s Pennson’s sister.”

London’s eyes widened. “Sorry. I didn’t know Penn had a sister, but hello and I’m…”

“I love the camera flowers,” MJ interrupted. “Best ones I’ve seen yet.”

London just stared at MJ. At first he thought she was mad, but then he saw the smile on her face. “You’re a nerd. Dear God.” London grabbed Ryder, pulling her to MJ. “She’s a nerd, baby. She could actually tell the difference.” She grabbed hold of MJ, put her arm around her, and pulled her into the house.

Judd and the others leaned forward as they watched London talking about camera things and using this type of shading. What surprised him was when MJ answered her. They walked into the house, talking like long lost friends. Nerd talk.

At first they were all silent on the porch, until London and MJ disappeared into London’s office. “So that’s MJ?” Ryder asked.

“Yep.” Judd answered. He figured that MJ would get along with London, but not this fast. He thought he was going to have to work her into the group, but this was great. At least he hoped it was great.

“She seems nice,” Ryder said as they all stood on the front porch, peering in through the screen door. “She actually saw all the cameras?”

“Yep.”

“Did you two see them?” Ryder asked, looking around at all the potted plants.

“Not a one,” Judd answered. “MJ is different. You wouldn’t believe what she has invented to help us find Claudia and the others. Of course she plans to rip Claudia’s head off too, but I’ll save that story for another day.”

“Let’s go inside. The others should be here in a few.” Ryder held the door open. “Maggie, I’m glad you’re better.” Ryder hugged Maggie before she went inside.

“Thanks, Alpha. I feel pretty good. Will Ransom be here today? I’d like to thank him for helping me.”

“Yes. He’ll be here, with Kayden, Zoey, and Knox,” Ryder answered.

“Good,” Maggie said and walked into the house.

“Ryder.” Judd stopped him before he could go inside. “Did Brody tell you what happened yesterday at Mick Vanguard’s house?”

“Yeah, so we won’t be getting any help from them, it looks like. At least not until she sets her sights on them too.” Ryder let the door close and sat in the rocking chair. “Me-Len will be here in a few to tell us what information they got out of the wizard. Apparently, it’s something good.”

“We need something good to happen for a change,” Judd said, looking out toward the trees.

“Judd, I’m sorry about Penn. He was a good man and—”

He had to look away. He didn’t want to talk about Penn. “Nothing else to say, except we have to stop her before the humans find out, because then we’ll have worse problems. Right now, she hasn’t done anything outside of Alpha City, but if she gets into Valceria she’ll want to take over the world. There’ll be no stopping her.”

“I know, that’s why we need to start making some headway on the plan.” Ryder got up and leaned against the post. Turning around, he said, “You know you can tell us how you feel. We’re your best friends, Judd. You just lost a member of your pride. Your best friend was just killed. It’s okay to show your emotions.”

“I can’t.” Judd shook his head. “I have to stay strong or I will…I’m fine.” Judd just wanted Ryder to stop talking about it.

“When are you going to see the people on the piece of paper?”

“Tomorrow, after the funeral. Penn didn’t want anything formal. Just the pride and his sister. Then he wanted his ashes to be thrown into the wind at Pier’s Point.”

“I think more of us need to come with you when you go. I know you think it will be alright, but after yesterday, we should always go in pairs from now on. Okay?”

“I think so too, but when we go to the house, I think it should be Maggie and me. I don’t want to spook these people off and make them want to run. I need for them to help us. They have to be real, and everything has to be…”

Ryder got up and put his hand on his shoulder. “It will be, Judd. I promise it will be okay.”

Judd’s expression hardened. “I’m scared I’m going to lose her.” He pounded his fist against the column. “I can’t lose her.”

“You’re not. Just be careful and watch your back. I think Brody and Nolan plan on going with you tomorrow. I know Maggie trusts Mick Vanguard, but right now I don’t know if it was him who told the witch you were coming, or if they’re just following us everywhere.”

“From now on, we need to do a shell game with the trucks to keep them from knowing where you’re going. The less they know the better, especially now. I don’t want them to know about these people. Apparently, Vanguard didn’t want them to know either, or he wouldn’t have been so secretive about it. The man has traitors in his own home. Makes me wonder how far Claudia’s treachery reaches. What if she has spies even with the vampires? Her black magic seeps out far and wide. She’s had a long time to get her spies in place, Ryder. We’re coming to this game late. Maggie said that the vampires believe that mating with a shifter is an abomination, so we have that against us too. What if they come out against us because of Maggie and me?”

They both turned as Brody and Nolan pulled up with their guards. “They won’t. It’s time for them to see how successful you two will be together.” Ryder waved. “Let’s go in the house and get this started.”

Judd couldn’t help but worry about the ramifications of his mating with Maggie. He was afraid for her and the others. He’d already lost his mother and Penn. Who else was he going to lose?

E
veryone stared
, speechless, as MJ activated the bees. She turned her laptop around so they could see what the robotic insects were actually doing. The bees not only videoed everything, they picked up their conversations too. Maggie giggled at the expressions around the table as they watched the bees fly around the rooms. Some even flew up the stairs.

She had an antenna sitting on the table to make sure the bees had a good signal. That was going to be the problem. They needed to find someone who could guide them to where Claudia and Jamal were hiding out and then have a powerful enough antenna so the bees could pick up the signal. It could give them an advantage in seeing who was coming and going from their hideouts. If they could get this to work, it would be a great resource in their arsenal.

“Those are amazing, MJ,” Nolan said, astonished.

“Thanks. I think with the flowers we can cover a lot of area in Alpha City and get a lot of information. This means we should be able to find out who’s coming in and out of the city. Then we can put trackers on their cars and hopefully one of them can take us to where Claudia is hiding out.”

They all turned toward the door when Me-Len and her mate, Meryl Pierson, came in. “Sorry we’re late, but I had to get as much information as I could before we left.”

“Did he give you anything worthwhile?” London asked.

“He did. I think you need to sit down, London, for what I’m going to tell you.”

Me-Len sat down beside London and held her hand. “A long time ago, before I met your grandfather… I was only fifteen years old, and I was working at the Council of Covens as an apprentice. I was so young, and well, I had an affair with Jameson Wingate. I knew it was wrong, but I was so young and stupid and I thought I was in love; he said he was going to leave his wife. At least, that was the way he told it. I believed him, but I got pregnant, and when I told him about the baby, he told me if I told anyone he’d ruin me. The day before I told him, he got voted in as the leader over the council. I had already seen how much power the council leader had, and I figured out real quick what would happen to me if I told someone. He came to my house and gave me money to have an abortion. He said that if I spoke one word of this, he’d ruin my family and me. I believed him. He would have done it too; he had a reputation to protect. He was a
Wingate
. Their family had been in and out of the council for generations. This would have ruined him, having a baby with another woman, especially one as young as me.”

“But what happened to the baby?” London asked.

“I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill my baby. So I left the area and gave birth to a baby girl, and since I couldn’t let him know about her, I gave her up for adoption. I regretted it the moment I did it. Then I met your grandfather. I didn’t want him to think badly of me, so I kept it from him until I had your mother. The day she was born I confessed it to him.” Me-Len laughed and looked away. “That man told me that it didn’t matter and we needed to find that baby. He wanted to raise her just like your mother. He was such a great man. But what I didn’t know was that Marci Wingate knew about the affair and about my baby. You see, she couldn’t have children, so she told her husband that she had already picked out a baby for them. It was my baby she adopted. At least she was a good mother from everything I heard.”

“Are you saying that Jessica Wingate is your daughter?” Kayden asked.

“Yes she is, and Sage Wingate is my granddaughter, and they’re your aunt and cousin, London. They’re also part of a secret society called the Archon Society.”

“I’ve heard that name before, but from where?” Brody asked.

“Two years ago, a secret society was formed; Jessica and Sage both volunteered. They are powerful witches, but Sage is different. Magic seems to grow around her. She is very powerful and very smart—just like you, London. They’ve been our eyes and ears inside the coven. They came to Claudia, asking to be part of her coven. So far it has worked, and Claudia has them doing research for her.”

“What if they get caught? What if Claudia finds out about them? She will kill them, Me-Len. They have to leave now, before it’s too late,” London argued.

She placed her hand on the side of London’s face. “They both know that sweetie, but this is their choice. I want them both here with us, but right now they believe they are making a difference. We need to wait this out. Let them do what they have been chosen to do.”

“I find out that I have family, and you expect me to just sit here and wait this out? I don’t get it. I want to meet them. Penn and Thorn were killed because of her. If she finds out, she’ll kill them too. I want them safe,” London demanded.

“London, it’s their choice, not yours. Listen to what you’re saying. If you had a chance to make a difference and end this for your family, you would do it too. Like Me-Len said, it’s their decision. We have to accept their choice.”

Judd grabbed hold of Maggie’s hand as Ryder tried to calm down his mate. He knew all the emotions in the room were pretty intense at the moment, and he could tell that she was starting to feel the negative emotions floating around. She was very antsy as she took everything in. Maggie hadn’t been around the group for a while, and even she could feel the strong emotions coming from everyone.