Read Online [Southern Arcana 1] Crux by Moira Rogers - Free Book Online Page B

when it’s the easiest thing to pull together on short notice.” Jackson glanced back over his shoulder to make sure Mackenzie hadn’t walked in. “Oh, why am I explaining myself to you? Shut up and go check on Nick.”
    “Sure thing, Casanova. Call me if anything comes up.” Jackson grumbled as he ended the call and began chopping tomatoes. Calling Nick wouldn’t be necessary; Alec would tell Mackenzie’s boss exactly where she was. Hell, he’d probably mention the marinara too, and they’d both have a jolly laugh at his expense.
    Which was absurd. Just because she happened to be the most beautiful woman he’d seen in a while—okay, ever —
    didn’t mean he had designs on her. She was a job. He’d protect her, keep her safe and find out why in hell some lunatic had chased her through five cities. He’d resolve the situation, she’d be free to go and Jackson could get on with his life.
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    Except that his chest felt tight when he thought about Mackenzie going home, wherever that happened to be.
    Dammit.
    He should have ordered Chinese food.

    It took twenty minutes of soaking in the bathtub before Mackenzie came to the conclusion that perhaps— perhaps —
    she needed to consider the possibility she might not be crazy.
    It wasn’t Jackson’s spontaneous case of invisibility that had decided her. It wasn’t even the altercation in the alley, though that had been showy in and of itself.
    If she was going to be completely honest with herself, she’d have to admit she’d been wondering since the very first day. Since Marcus had knocked on her door knowing the one thing she hadn’t told anyone.
    “Do you have the dreams, Jessie? Do you run at night, feel the wind in your face and know you’re not like them?” She’d had the dreams all of her life, but never remembered the details upon waking. Bits and pieces, the sound of the wind, the smell of the forest, the feeling of freedom. They’d been peaceful dreams that she’d awoken from renewed, but always with a sense of longing. As if something was missing.
    The minute she’d opened the door and set eyes on Marcus, she’d found that something. She recognized him even www.samhainpublishing.com 81

    Moira Rogers
    though she’d never seen him before. He’d felt right , like someone who would understand her. Between that and his charming smile, she’d let him into her home and listened to his insane ranting for far longer than she should have.
    He’d left eventually, and that night she’d dreamt again.
    Only that time she’d remembered every detail, every scent, every sound. She didn’t forget running across an open field, feeling the grass beneath her feet.
    Beneath her paws .
    She’d blamed it on stress and the crazy things Marcus had said, ignoring the fact that the dreams made her ache with longing, and that waking was like being thrust back into a world where she didn’t quite fit.
    The world had always been like that, until Marcus. Until Nick.
    Until Jackson.
    He was different. Not in the same way as Marcus, not in a familiar way, but different nonetheless. As if maybe he didn’t quite fit, either.
    But he fit with Nick and Alec and Kat, who, for all Mackenzie knew, was another werewolf, or a witch, or God knew what. He fit with them, and for the first time in her life she’d found people she might be able to belong with.
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    Yesterday it hadn’t made any sense to her. But today…
    Today she wondered if maybe the reason she fit was because she, too, was something other than human.
    She soaked in the tub until the water cooled, struggling to accept the possibility there might very well be a world beyond the one she knew. Giving Jackson the benefit of the doubt was the only choice she had.
    Besides which, my sole alternative involves checking myself into a nuthouse.
    Mackenzie rose from the tub and wrapped herself in a thick towel she’d pulled out of the small wooden