Half-breed’s Bargain by Samantha Wolfe
23
VAN
“God, I fucking love these tacos,” Harlow says around a mouthful of food. Then she makes these little happy noises as she continues snarfing down the taco in her hand. It’s sexy and adorable. “You sure you don’t want one?” she asks after swallowing the last bite.
She insisted we stop off at a local food truck to order a ridiculous amount of tacos to bring to our meeting with Anson Hale and the boys. I think she considers them a peace offering for Ethan and Mercer, since I forced her to narc on them last night. I don’t think they’ll be too upset with her, though. I imagine they’ll be too busy groveling pointlessly to me. I can’t find it in myself to be angry at them any more than I’m angry with Harlow now that the initial shock of finding out has worn off. I would do the same for any of them.
“It’s a little hard to drive and eat a taco, querida,” I say with a smile, though the reality is I wouldn’t take one if my hands were free. I’m nauseous, and the very idea of eating anything right now turns my stomach. It’s disconcerting and makes me wonder if it’s some sort of physical manifestation of me plotting against my mother. If that’s the case, then I’m really going to be fucked when I actually act against her, but that won’t stop me. I may not think I’m worth anyone’s sacrifice, but I’m certain that Harlow is. I won’t let her be a slave to Móira for the rest of her life, no matter the cost to myself.
I reach for the knob that controls the air conditioning and turn it down, feeling oddly chilled, then flex my fingers and frown at them. The joints feel a little achy. I roll my shoulders. Actually, all my joints do. Maybe it’s from all the enthusiastic sex Harlow and I had last night. I’ve never fucked anyone so many times in one night in my life. Dios mío, nothing’s ever felt so good. It was like I couldn’t stop, couldn’t get enough of her, and even now, I’d do it again if I could. And now a different part of my anatomy is aching. I surreptitiously lower a hand to adjust my hardening cock in my slacks. But Harlow doesn’t notice, already busy inhaling another taco with a string of low, sexy moans that aren’t helping my situation. Lucky for me, we reach our destination before she can pull another taco out of the bag at her feet to torture me with.
“Pull into the back alley,” she says as we approach the front entrance to Haven Hall. “Let’s not press your luck again with your Mercedes.” We were both shocked to find my car untouched outside her building when we left.
I turn into the narrow alley and notice that Ethan’s truck is parked a few yards from the back door to the club. I pull to a stop behind it and kill the engine.
“Go easy on them,” Harlow says in an oddly vulnerable voice.
I glance over to see a deep frown on her face. She’s worried about my boys, and I find it endearing, even if it’s needless.
“I’m not angry at them,” I tell her, reaching over to grip her hand and letting her feel the validity of my words through our bound auras.
She smiles in relief. “Good,” she says. “Because I’d hate to shoot you again.”
I snort out a laugh, amused at how her threats always seem to involve a bullet in one of my body parts and how unbothered I am by them. If Ameera had done the same, I wouldn’t have found it adorable. But with Harlow, I like it.
“I don’t know about that, querida,” I reply with a grin. “You seemed to enjoy doing it at the time.”
“That was different.”
“How so?” I ask with an arched brow.
She smirks. “You weren’t mine yet.” Her eyes skate down my body with a possessive heat in them, and my cock reacts accordingly.
I give her an equally heated stare. “If you keep looking at me like that, we won’t make it out of this car anytime soon.”
She sighs and frowns. “True,” she says as her shoulders slump and disappointment flutters across her aura. I hate it when she moves her hand out from under mine to grab the bag of tacos. “Let’s go.” She reaches for the door handle to get out of the car, and I follow suit.
We exit the car, then approach the door, and I can sense Anson Hale’s magical wards embedded in the doorway. They’re strong and well-crafted, as expected from a mage of Hale’s caliber. I can’t cross them without feeling their full effect. I expect Harlow to knock on the door, but instead she grabs the knob, pulls it open, then walks right through the ward like it doesn’t exist. Even more shocking is that the magic isn’t even fazed when she crosses it. It’s as if she never even touched it. I stand there in slack-jawed shock.
“You coming?” she asks as she turns around to look at me. “Oh, shit. Sorry. I forgot about the wards.”
She hurries back over to me and grabs my hand, then tugs me toward the door. I don’t move, too stunned to react.
“How… how did you do that?” I ask as I stare at her. “You walked through that ward like it wasn’t even there.”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” she says. “I’ve always been immune to wards and binding spells, and I have no idea how or why.” She shakes her head. “Too bad that didn’t include the black magic shit Viktor used on me,” she adds in a bitter tone, her aura darkening with pain and anger as she mentions Bravas’ name.
I rub a gentle thumb across the back of her hand as I try to do the same with my aura, reaching out to cast a bit of tranquility her way. It’s hard, since any mention of the black mage pisses me off on her behalf. Strangely, my anger seems to soothe her more than my calmness. She gives me a grateful smile.
“Come on,” she says, pulling me toward the door again. “I can walk you through the ward. Just don’t let go of my hand until we’re clear of it.”
I nod and follow her, holding my breath as I pass through the open doorway. Hale’s powerful magic prickles across my skin, but has no effect on me. I’m impressed as much as I’m mystified by Harlow’s ability. I’ve never heard of such a thing. I’m also suddenly cognizant of the fact that I’m in the very place I first met Harlow. I’m in wonder at the changes that have happened in my life in the mere handful of days that have passed since that night.
Harlow leads me down the hall to the same office that Móira met with Hale. The door is closed, but I can make out low voices inside. I’m unsurprised when Harlow doesn’t knock and just waltzes right in with me on her heels. We enter and three pairs of eyes stare at me in shock. Hale sits behind his desk, looking merely surprised to see me, and Ethan and Mercer are in the two chairs in front of his desk with guilt and fear plastered across their faces.
Ethan jumps to his feet and Mercer opens his mouth to speak, but I lift a hand to interrupt him. “No need to say anything,” I tell them in an even tone. “I’m not angry or upset with either of you. So skip the groveling and apologizing. We have more important things to worry about.”
They both look relieved, though still guilty, then turn their attention to Harlow with accusing glares.
“And don’t be angry with Harlow, either. I could tell she was hiding something from me and insisted that she tell me.” I give them a stern stare. “So save the glares for someone other than my mate.”
The two men’s eyes widen as I claim Harlow for the first time with that last sentence. I don’t care who knows. I want everyone to know that she’s mine for however short a time I might have with her, and from the way my body is aching, I fear it will be shorter than I hoped for.
“You and her?” Mercer asks in a stunned voice as he points between Harlow and me. “But I thought you weren’t…”
“Circumstances have changed,” I say. “Móira knew about our soul bond all along, and was already planning on using it to control Harlow. There’s nothing to be gained by denying it anymore.”
“So you’re here to stop us then,” Ethan says with a frown, his shoulders slumping. “And Móira is going to get away with fucking you over again.”
“No,” I reply. “Not this time.” Or ever again, most likely, but I won’t tell them that. They’ll just try to stop me from doing what has to be done. It doesn’t matter to me if I survive anymore, as long as Harlow is free and the ring is destroyed.
“But what about the bargain,” Ethan says with furrowed brows.
“It won’t be violated when we steal the ring,” I tell him. “She told me to do whatever it takes to win Lynch’s trust, so I’m taking that as her blessing.”
“So what?” Mercer asks next. “We just hand it over to Lynch afterwards?”
“No,” I say. “We’re still going to destroy it.”
“But-” Mercer begins, but I cut him off.
“Enough,” I tell him with a hard look, holding his gaze until he averts his eyes and shows me his throat. Ethan does the same. I rarely use my Alpha status over them, but in this instance, I feel I have no choice. It pains me to do it, but I can’t have them questioning every little thing. Not if I want to succeed and make sure they survive the coming dangers. “We’re stealing the ring and then destroying it, and that’s final. No more discussion.”
“Yes, sir,” they reply with stony faces.
I glance over at Hale to see him watching me with narrowed eyes. I can almost see the gears turning in the shrewd man’s head. He’s the only one here besides me who could even come close to fully understanding the bargain I made with Móira. He knows just as much as I do that there’s no gray area in the bargain’s magic like I alluded to with Harlow last night. Does he suspect I plan on sacrificing myself for Harlow and my boys, hell for the entire world, by making sure the ring never gets used? If so, what if he tells Harlow? I can’t risk that, not if I want my plan to work.
I throw a quick glance at Harlow, who’s thankfully looking at Ethan and Harlow with a frown, then give Hale a brief pleading expression. He presses his lips together, his eyes pensive for a moment, before he nods almost imperceptibly. Relief sweeps through me over one less obstacle to my plan.
“Well, now that we’ve gotten that bit of unpleasantness out of the way, we can get to the fun part,” Harlow announces with a hint of a smirk as she lifts the bag up. “Eating tacos and planning a heist.”
Ethan and Mercer stare at her like she’s crazy. They’re not wrong, and I wouldn’t want her any other way. Her irreverence is just the thing to defuse the uncomfortable tension in the room.
“Well, I’m sure as fuck not turning down a free meal,” Hale says with a wide grin as he rises to his feet.
He rounds his desk and snatches the bag from Harlow, then heads over to the sitting area. He plops down on one of the two black leather sofas and sets the bag of food on the glass coffee table. The rest of us wander over after him and take a seat, Ethan and Mercer next to Hale on one sofa, and Harlow and me on the other. Hale opens the bag and hands out tacos to everyone, though I leave mine untouched on the coffee table while the others dig in.
“Alright,” Hale says. “Let’s figure out our game plan.”
And so it goes for the next few hours. I draw out the layout of Móira’s mansion on paper since I’m the most familiar with it, and then Hale studies it closely. He’ll need to know it well if he’s going to pinpoint the ring’s location. Ethan and Mercer help Harlow identify all the likely entry points into the house, and I fill her in on the areas my mother has guards on watch. I’m still not happy about Harlow going in alone to get the ring, but there’s no other choice since she’s the only one who can cross the wards undetected.
When we finally have everything hammered out, we spend the few hours left until nightfall resting up for the coming sleepless night. Harlow and I even manage a little time alone in one of Hale’s storage rooms while Hale and the boys nap. I’d rather make love to her in a bed, but considering it might be our last time together, I can’t afford to be picky, so quick and dirty up against a wall will have to do.
By the time we finish enjoying each other’s bodies and return to Hale’s office, night has fallen, and it’s time to head out. Hale grabs a large duffel bag that I assume has whatever supplies he needs for the spell he’ll use to locate the ring. We file out into the darkened alley where our vehicles are, and I’m halfway to my car when the breeze shifts, bringing me the familiar scent of narcissus flowers, freshly turned earth, and blood. I whirl toward Ameera just as she emerges from the shadows.
“Well, I suppose this means you decided to do the right thing after all,” Ameera says, her fangs flashing in the light from the streetlight above. “Though it would’ve been nice to be invited along.”
I’m stunned just as much as I’m annoyed by the vampire’s appearance, but before I can even react, let alone say a word, Hale shouts a single word in Latin behind me. I turn to see a brilliant ball of white fire flare to life in his outstretched palm just before he flings it forward, sending it streaking across the alley, straight towards Ameera’s chest.