of her original glory.
He scrubbed his hands over his face, and found the scent of her still lingering on his hands. Her peppermint kiss on his skin, the intimate spice of her body on his fingers. Gods. He was screwed. Well and truly screwed. The Mesmer had to be stopped now before it got any stronger. Otherwise he’d never have a chance at building a decent pack.
If a Mesmer fully formed, he’d never want another mate and would chase every female away from the pack territory out of instinct alone. And a pack full of bachelors didn’t last long—if it lasted at all. Eventually order broke down. Brother turned against brother. All hell broke loose.
He needed a mate who would handle who and what he was. And Jessica Brierly was too damn complicated to fit that bill. Besides, she hadn’t even given him her damn phone number. All he’d been to her was a one-night stand. Maybe she was the smarter one.
It was time to get back to work. He pushed his recruits hard, himself harder. He did what they did, all day long. They did a rock climb and hiked ten miles with their full gear packs, then they built shelters from whatever they found in the woods until sweat poured into his eyes and his muscles twitched with fatigue. But not even the physical effort could erase the image of Jess seared into his brain.
“Commander, can I have a word with you?”
Ty glanced at Riley and gave one quick nod. The kid’s face was streaked with grime, his hair plastered to his head with sweat. He needed to remember these recruits weren’t Weres. Their bodies wouldn’t repair and recover as quickly as his did.
“This about the workout or your sister?”
Riley looked nervous. Sister. Definitely.
“Do you think you’ll see her again?”
“Doubt it. Your sister didn’t even give me her phone number.” Not that there weren’t a dozen ways of getting it.
Riley had a devious spark in his eyes. “Not that hard to get if you know the right people.”
Ty bit back a smile. “Not the point, kid. If your sister wanted to see me again, she’d have made it clear.” He pulled his canteen from his hip and took a long drink, then offered it to Riley.
Riley took it, slugging down a drink, and rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth. “My brothers do this all the time, you know. She hasn’t dated a guy longer than a month before they start picking him apart and warning him off of her.”
Ty took back the canteen and placed his hand on Riley’s shoulder. “Got to respect them for protecting your sister. They just want somebody good enough for her.”
Riley let out an irritated sigh. “Problem is, in their opinion, nobody’s good enough for her. It’s not fair to Jess.”
“When you’re the youngest in the family, kid, nothing’s fair.”
Riley nodded. “Ain’t that the truth.”
“If we’re going to eat tonight, blue team needs to get firewood.”
Riley saluted him. “Yes, sir.”
Ty watched the kid jog back to his team. A few days out in the wilderness and a good hunt would do Ty good.
* * *
Monday came and went. So did Tuesday, followed by Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in a boring, predictable order that made Jess feel as though she were walking around with weights tied to her feet all week. She found herself daydreaming in the middle of class—more typical for one of her sixth graders than her.
She’d felt off all week, had a low-grade fever. Maybe she was just coming down with the crud that always seemed to circulate around the school this time of year. Maybe she was just heartsick.
“Miss Brierly, Evan won’t give me back my calculator.” Jess glanced at her student Mila. Evan did everything he could to get the girl’s attention, in the most irritating, stupid fashion. Pulling on her hair. Putting used chewing gum on her desk. Taking her things or shoving into her at recess. Boys really had no clue. Too bad most men didn’t, either.
She’d waited for Ty to call. Something, anything to indicate he’d found their night together, well, more than just a fling. How hard could it be to get her number from Riley and find five minutes to call her?
Obviously too hard, she answered herself. “Tell Evan to come see me.”
Mila strode confidently back to the small collection of desks she had to share with Evan and four other students. Evan had a hangdog expression. He wasn’t a bad kid, he was just immature and the hormones had only just begun to make him stupid about girls.
“Yes, Miss Brierly?”
“Evan, did you take Mila’s calculator?”
“I borrowed it.”
Jess nodded, twisting her hair back on her head and shoving a pencil in it to hold the messy bun in place. “Here’s the thing, Evan. Borrow implies you mean to give it back. Are you going to?”
He nodded, his hand brushing absently over the pocket of his jeans, as he glanced back over at Mila. Poor kid.
“Look, I know it’s cool to have something of hers, but all it’s doing is making her angry and I don’t think that’s what you want, is it?”
Evan shook his head.
“Give it back to her. Next time, why don’t you try giving her something instead of taking it?” The kid shuffled back to the table and handed Mila back her calculator. Mila barely glanced at him.
Jess knew that feeling and wondered if relationships ever got any easier. They sure didn’t seem to. She reassured herself she was being silly for expecting anything from Ty. She’d wanted a hot night to be free, without it impacting the rest of her life. She’d gotten exactly what she’d wanted. She should be happy. But if it had been just what she wanted, why did thinking about him still make her heart beat harder?
Jess took a deep breath. Time to move on and quit daydreaming about what if. What if he really liked her? What if she wanted to get to know him better? She glanced at the clock and realized recess was in two minutes. “Okay everyone, put your math books away, please. I’m waiting to see which table will line up first for recess.”
The minute she’d seen the last student out the door, she grabbed a can of air freshener and sprayed it around the room, replacing the odor of boy with that of Wildflower Spring. It was a saving grace when it came to keeping the air in the room breathable with so many boys. A trick she’d learned at home when she was younger.
She plopped down at her desk, and her gaze flicked to the neat squares on her desk calendar, garbled with messy notations in several different colors of ink. Friday. Good.
Wait.
Jess frowned. It was the middle of the month? Already? She started counting. Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two. All the blood left her head in a rush, leaving her skin cold and clammy. She braced her hand on the desk, feeling numb from head to toe as she stared at the dates in horror.
Damn. She
