Page 41 of Wings and Shadowthief

Jack felt the presence approach before his cousin had a chance to knock. He opened the door. “Tristan.”

Tris glided inside, giving him a tight smile.

“You smell of Gwen,” Jack noted.

“Don’t sweat it, cousin. I’m not moving in on your girl yet. Of course, that may change if you keep messing it up.”

“You know, I can officially kick your ass and not feel any amount of guilt now that you’ve officially transitioned.” He’d known his cousin wanted to take the jump since their teens, but Tris had had the hardest time opening up to their parents.

Jack wasn’t sure what had changed this time in New York, but he sure as fuck was glad there was no more pretense in the family.

“I mean, you could try.” Tris shrugged, cocky as ever. “Gwen told me about Atlantis. You know I can’t go. I may not be the face of the Drakes, but I’m still too recognizable.”

Everyone in the vampire world knew most of the members of the seven royal families on sight. Jack was equally recognizable in certain circles, but at least he didn’t have the presence of a vampire. He could disguise himself on a surface level.

“I don’t want you on the island. I want you on the boat, watching Gwen’s back.” Jack didn’t trust anyone else for the job. Bash might have done, once upon a time, but not anymore. Not because he was now equipped with fangs, but because Bash’s priority was and would always be Cat.

Tris nodded, like he’d expected that. “You got it. Now let me know what’s going on with you. Is the spell holding on?”

“I haven’t slept,” he confirmed. “Physically, I’m fine, but my brain’s a fucking mess. It’s like…” Jack didn’t want to say it out loud. Voicing fears made them real.

“Like the barrier between the two of you is fraying,” Tris guessed.

Jack’s jaw tightened. He couldn’t imagine giving way to the darkness inside him, the thing that had done nothing but instinctively kill his enemies since it had surfaced.

And fucked Gwen. He wasn’t about to forget that little detail.

His inner demon was all wants and base needs, and Jack couldn’t imagine becoming that thing.

“I thought it might,” Tris said. “Maybe it’s not the worst thing, Jack. You can’t keep a leash on yourself and expect to remain sane.”

He sure as fuck could try. “So, what, you self-actualize and now you’re a wise old man ready to give me lectures? I’m still older than you, kid.”

“You’re also dumber,” Tris pointed out.

He proceeded to prove it, kicking Jack’s ass at a game of chess.

“Don’t you need to sleep?” Jack asked as his cousin put the white pieces back on the board to prepare another game.

“That’s my line.” Tris grinned. “I don’t need much sleep anymore. I’ll crash tomorrow night to ensure I’m in optimal condition for guarding your girl, though.”

“She’s not my girl,” Jack replied.

Gwen might have let him close without hissing this week, but they were far from any form of relationship—even friendship.

“But you’d like her to be.”

Jack raised his king on the board. “Your move.”

“Is it?” Tris asked. “Fine. Don’t hate me for this.”

He saw his cousin move with all the swiftness of his new vampire nature, and Jack could have countered him in time, had he guessed his intent. But it was too late. He’d snatched the pendant around his throat and snapped the chain.

Hunter stared at his cousin with a mixture of mistrust and amusement. He wasn’t sure why Tris had wanted him to surface, but he was certainly the only person who could have gotten away with tricking Jack like this.

Jack trusted Tris implicitly.

Hunter? Not so much.

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