34

Jackson looked down at the phone ringing in his hand and then back to the set where Mara was being coached on using a fake gun.

That morning had been the same as the last few mornings: him barely sleeping for a few hours after taking care of a hard-on the size of a tree and her casually acting as if she hadn't drenched the house in arousal. The scent of her was starting to cling to him, and throughout the day, he caught hints of her sex-drenched scent that went straight to his head... then lower.

It wasn't sustainable, but he couldn't think of another solution yet. His wolf snarled and bit at the internal cage he was keeping him in. Yeah, obviously, he could seal the bond, and that would settle things down, but this wasn't the time.

And why was he even thinking of it in the first place? His teeth ached from the thought of sinking into her delicate neck, and his wolf howled.

He needed to let the damn thing out. With the moon this close, his wolf would only get more cagey. Would she want to see him shift?

A pulse of his own arousal must've spread the area because several of his Deltas were casting curious looks in his direction. Again... not sustainable. He needed to sort this shit out.

Colton snickered beside him. "You going to answer her, or just pretend you're too busy?"

"I am too busy," Jackson sighed, rolling his neck.

"Yeah, thinking of your mate. I got to say, it's a little weird getting hot for a woman covered in blood."

Jackson jerked his head up, noticing the set tech who was splattering fake blood over Mara's white t-shirt. He swallowed, groaning at the pulse of lust that kicked out against his will. She was the epitome of every desire he'd ever had. Everything he found attractive, she had in spades. Exhaling, Jackson forced himself to look away, pretending to scan for threats even though there were half a dozen of his best wolves scouting the site.

The phone rang again, reminding him of the elephant in the room. How long had it been since he last talked to Sheila? A week? Longer? He hardly noticed the distance. He and Mara had fallen into a routine that didn't lend itself to him having a girlfriend. They ate breakfast together, spent ten-hour days on set, and then ran errands and had dinner. By the time Mara was asleep and Jackson had a spare minute to speak to his girlfriend, he was fighting against the raging lust his mate caused. And... it didn't seem like he was the only one affected.

This morning, Mara smelled better than ever; it was like something wet and needy had taken up residence in her body. Fuck, all that body heat only made her smell more potent with something so subtly arousing he almost ran to the bathroom. It was only the open patio door and the morning breeze that saved him. Was her scent changing, or was it just his imagination? He inhaled carefully and sorted through the room of strange smells to find hers.

And it was so damn delicious... so honeyed and warm he almost dropped his phone.

Not. Fucking. Sustainable.

He shook the thought away. They were adjusting to the new security measures now that the stalker had found the movie set. And with Colt signed on to assist, Jackson's wolf was handling the threat to Mara's safety much better. Her assistant Althea had arrived earlier in the week, but they had yet to cross paths. Then there was the investigation. He'd had a handful of telephone conferences with his media experts back in L.A., and the cops made it a point to email him for updates daily. And the studio was breathing down his neck to make this problem go away. He had a million things on his plate at any minute, but one look, one touch, and one passing smell of her could derail his entire body.

The time spent together was making the mate bond worse.

He hardly heard the phone stop ringing and go to voicemail.

"Maybe it's time to admit you're avoiding your girlfriend...?" Colt said casually, though Jackson could feel the subtle judgment simmering in the air.

"It's not as simple as you seem to believe."

"No? You're not being gift-wrapped a stunning mate who knows about the supernatural and isn't afraid? You're not spending every day mediating between your wolf and the mate he craves because... you made a relationship decision before you'd even met her?"

"That's not... that's not fair. Sheila's... she's great."

Colton stifled a gag behind his suit jacket. "Jackson, buddy, come on. I get the drive to do your duty to your pack. I probably get it better than most, right? I know about expectations and trying to do the right thing for yourself as well as your pack. But... you can't be trying to convince me that you love Sheila. You're settling for her. We all knew it. This is different."

The phone started ringing again, and Jackson studied the photo covering his phone screen. Was he settling? The photo of Sheila wasn't inspiring anything profound. It was like staring at a stranger. The sound drew the eyes of Mara and her costars, so he sighed and nodded toward the exit. "Keep an eye on her while I take this."

He swiped to answer the call, and her immediate high-pitched voice shot through the speaker. "JAXY! Baby, it's been so long! How're you?"

Jackson was already halfway out of the door, but he still heard Colton cough into a mocking "Jaxy," imitating Sheila.

"Jackson Croft, are you there?" she snapped. He pinched his eyes closed as the warehouse door slammed shut.

Mara was on set filming a scene where her stalking love interest was teaching her to defend herself against the bad guys. He rolled his eyes. It was corny, yes, but it was also painfully close to what he and Mara were doing. He'd mentioned training her on his packlands a few days ago and was waiting to hear about her regular filming schedule. At the moment, they were waiting to shoot the majority of her scenes when Aaron was free. Supposedly, he was shooting all the scenes that required long hair before they cut it short again. Jackson had never realized how strange movie sets were but now he wouldn't be able to un-see it.

Schedule or not, it was only a matter of time before the stalker escalated again, and she needed to be ready. He'd train her at night if he had to.

"Jaxy?" Sheila whined, snapping his attention back from his job.

"Don't call me that, Sheila, come on," he said, "Sorry I was distracted, but I'm working right now."

He couldn't hear her pouting, but he could sense it through the phone. "You've been working so much you couldn't call?"

"This is a 24-7 job, Sheila, you know that."

"So you couldn't even text?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He had always found time to call and text when he was working with the Senator. This was different. "I can't put you first right now, Sheila. This is work. My reputation. And it's also life or death right now."

She made some dismissive sounds. "Yeah, yeah, I just think it's weird that you're hired on 24-7 with a movie star. Doesn't she have other staff?"

"Please tell me what that has to do with anything. You knew the situation from the beginning. You were fine with it. What changed?"

"You did. I mean, it's been almost two weeks without a phone call or a single text! What the hell, Jackson? You didn't even reply to my text about the fundraiser!"

Jackson cursed. "Right. Sorry. Look, honestly, I just don't have the mental space for this, Sheila. I mean, if you're going to make my job an issue, then maybe we need to table this until I finish this one?"

"What?" she gasped, "Table what, exactly? Us?"

Jackson paused. He hadn't meant their whole relationship, but now that she was mentioning it... "Maybe. I can't split my focus right now. You've always understood that my legacy comes first."

"Fine, we can take a breather. But will you still come to the fundraiser and invite your pack? When I'm Luna, we'll look back on these moments as missed opportunities for me to bond with your pack... As it is, I have already spent so little time with them..."

"Yeah, alright, fine. I'll make it happen, okay?" He promised, regretting the words as soon as they were out. Colton exited the warehouse with a pinched expression. As he neared, he held out Mara's phone for Jackson to look at.

"I have to go, Sheila," he said abruptly, ending the call before she had a chance to say anything else.

"When the hell did this come through?" he demanded, snatching the phone from Colt.

"The timestamp says five minutes ago, but Mara only just noticed it during the set break."

Jackson studied the photo of himself on the phone outside the warehouse and scanned the area. "Treeline?"

"Your Deltas are already on it, and I've called in a few of my men to search as well. If there's anything left behind, we'll find it."

Jackson nodded, looking back at the phone. It wasn't the picture of himself that bothered him. He didn't care if the stalker targeted him. No, it was the accompanying words.

"Be careful before I put your mutt down, Amara. Be a good girl and reply to me."

Jackson handed the phone back. "Scrub it and get her a new number."

Colt nodded. "What about you?"

"Me? I hope he does come for me. I'll have time for twenty questions before I dump his body somewhere no one will ever find."