Jax: Mating Fever (Rocked by the Bear Book 6) Read Free Page A

led to a room that reminds me of a traditional study, and a tall girl approaches us. She’s about our age and dressed in nice slacks with a purple silk blouse.
    She embraces Jax quickly as she says, “So good to see you again, Jax.”
    “You too, Tori. You look fabulous.”
    Tori turns her attention to me, and I gaze into her vibrant green eyes that I’m beginning to realize must be a werebear trait. Whoa. I’m reminded of my own eyes that are a toned-down version of the same shade. She says, “Sasha,” as if it’s an order and not a greeting.
    I take her hand and exchange a firm shake as if I’m not afraid, and I say, “Hi. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Veilleux.”
    Tori says, “You can call me Tori. Let’s sit. Can I get either of you something to drink?”
    I shake my head, but Jax says, “Two waters would be nice.”
    Jax and I sit on a leather sofa across from the overstuffed chair where Tori places herself. She says, “Keith is up with the children, but he’ll be down shortly.”
    An older woman appears out of nowhere to hand me a glass, and ice rattles as I take it from her. “Thank you,” I say.
    Jax says to me, “I’ve told Tori most of what I know.”
    I imagine he called her when I was asleep, and I gaze at the young girl who is the alpha of a clan as I wonder how she became the leader. She says, “Jax says you’re part of a group that hunts werebear. Tell me about them.”
    I clear my throat and say, “The Eradicators are a group of concerned individuals whose sole purpose is to keep the human race safe from werebear by doing whatever is necessary.”
    “That sounds like a mission statement,” says Tori. “Did you memorize it?”
    A flush rises to my cheeks because I did when I was twelve years old. I shrug. “That’s what we do.”
    “So you kill werebear.” Tori’s gaze is so intense I feel naked, and I no longer wonder how she can be a leader.
    My cowardly streak comes forward, and I say, “The group does. I’ve never killed anyone.”
    Tori scans me with her gaze before she asks, “Why not?”
    “I’m on my first assignment.” I flash to the image of Jared in my scope. All I had to do was pull the trigger, and I would have shot him in the head. But I didn’t. And now Rand is dead because of it.
    Jax says, “Since she didn’t kill anyone, there shouldn’t be a reason to punish her.”
    Tori ignores Jax and asks, “What do you want tonight’s outcome to be, Sasha?”
    “I want you to let me go so I can return home.” Jax stiffens next to me, and Tori’s gaze darts to him before it returns to me.
    She says, “I can’t let you do that yet. Explain to me how the Eradicators work.”
    While I want to be let go, I’m not about to give up secrets, so I decide to give her the broad strokes of our organization. “We’re based in the mountains of Pennsylvania. When we get reports of werebear, a team is sent to take care of them.” What I don’t tell her is that there’s a network of groups like ours that fly under the radar to protect the human population that is too foolish to do it for themselves. When people hear what we do, they think we’re like a crazy cult that chases fictitious beings. I was chosen as a young girl to protect them anyway.
    Tori’s voice cuts through me as she says, “Courtney was human when your partner tried to kill her. Sounds like you could use better intel.”
    I prickle at her words and blink to hide my anger, because while Courtney wasn’t our target, she became one for saving Jared. I assumed it was because she was a werebear, but now that I think about it, there was nothing graceful about her takedown. She didn’t have the speed of a werebear, and Rand was seasoned enough to know it. He went to kill someone he knew was human. Ice runs through my veins as I protect my mentor. “I’m sure she gave Rand a good reason.”
    Tori nods once and asks, “If I let you go, would you go back to the Eradicators?”
    That’s the only place I can go.