Wolf Bait (Perry and Jonas)
Bait Novel 159

Chapter 159

Jonas

I keep glancing over at her. Her hand is firmly in mine and when I go to shift she keeps her hand over mine not wanting to break contact, I had been informed that she was practicing shifting and exercising properly. It was one of my biggest concerns because she was so

scared and upset when it finally happened.

To say she looks different is an understatement. She's wearing an outfit the twins picked out from her wardrobe. A black pleated skirt with a silky red button-up. The vest over her top matches the skirt and the boots she's wearing. Her pale white hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail and the length is braided resting over her shoulder. I can't get over her not wanting to let go of my hand as she strategically goes through everything she missed these past three months on her phone. "How is Andromeda?" she asks setting the phone down to give me her undivided attention.

Her eyes roam my body and having been so far from her so long and early in our mating it feels like velvet on my skin. She asked me something and all I can think about is touching her. Taking her in. Getting reacquainted with all of her like before. "She's going through a phase," I try to keep my eyes on the road.

"Are we going straight to Nova?" she asks.

"Yes, I know it's a long drive. We can stop for food in a bit so you can stretch your legs and start getting familiar with your nose again,"

"They tell you about that?" she grins.

"No, it's a conditioning thing they teach us to help us improve our hunting skills. My dad had my room sanitized every morning. Another reason why we don't keep our things in our rooms and why we need new clothes each day,"

"That makes sense actually. Once I got all the scents cleared it was easier to focus on one thing," she looks out the window.

"I was preparing myself to argue how barbaric it is," I admit.

Her smile turns into a full grin and I have to fight the urge to stare at her teeth-the teeth of a fully blooded lycan. I mean I know. I've known, she just rejected it badly, the idea refused to etch itself into my head. And here it is. Plain as day. Perry is now one of us. "I've learned a lot about Lycans," she shrugs. "Now that I am one and that I'm coming to terms with it. I see the need for certain extremities,"

"Is that really Perry?" Mackenzie snaps me back to reality. I see Perry's attention snap to me. Not to me but to the spot in my neck where Mackenzie injected me with the communications device.

"I forgot she was here with us," Perry smiles. "Tell her I said, hey,"

"Tell her I said, sup,"

"Sup," I repeat.

"How are you two getting along?"

"Tell her you are literally the most boring client I've ever had and that you suck,"

"She said fine. Whatever," I lie.

"Sounds like her," she tilts her head toward me. "And you?"

16:15 Fri, Nov 29 B BO

Chapter 159

"Fine, whatever," I shrug making her laugh.

"Tread lightly, Lycan King. That's not Perry. You have no fucking idea what they did to her in there," Mackenzie whispers.

In no way do I feel threatened by her. Her aura is calm almost soothing. Her scent is neutral. I can't get enough of it. It's something floral and dark. It's been cold out and turning on the AC only serves to intensify it.

"You weren't hurt, right?" I ask her. Her attention snaps to me. "Nothing too strange happened?"

"Other than Ed hyping me up, no,"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. I mean he took the things I was ashamed of and now they're strengths. Things that brought me to this point. If that makes sense. It's just the way he went about explaining things I've been trying to bury for too long," "That sounds a lot like she was brainwashed," Mackenzie scoffs.

"I'm glad you've got a new perspective,"

"Thank you," she says politely.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Lycan King. Pernicious Nelson does not do polite and pretty," Mackenzie adds. "She's a monster More than you want to admit,"

"Shut up," I growl lowly.

"Hmm?" Perry glances up at me.

"Nothing. Mack's just being cynical,"

The smile she gifts me is sincere. She doesn't comment or ask what she said. She just continues to watch the scenery pass us by. I stop near Redwood City. I should have taken Alpha Scofield's offer to use the helicopter, but the way Perry's eyes lit up when I stopped in front of the burger stand we ate just before her buddy Tyler chased us out tells me I did the right thing.

The boy from before greets us, but he doesn't recognize her. I see the disappointment in her eyes but also the way she smiles when she sees the picture she autographed for him. There's a veranda decorated with little wood carvings of wolves and candles. Behind them, there's a newspaper clipping of the Local Lunatic and another of Darren Phurry.

As we eat, her eyes scan the room, and she inhales taking in the scents around us before she leans in and sniffs her burgers. The wolves around us watched her devour all three burgers and the large order of fries she had gotten as if she hadn't eaten in days. "Foods not going anywhere, Perry," I grin.

"I am starving. I've been starving for the last three months,"

"I hear Ed has the best cooks for his institution,"

"Someone lied to him or they've never been given the Wolf Bait treatment," she smirks popping another fry in her mouth.

The compliment is regarded with a pinch of guilt. It did the moment she realized that, I was making her food from the start, but this is different. I always figured she was just trying to soften the blow of me having to kill her. I don't know how to react to how calm she is. Where is the girl that wanted to burn the world down?

Thank you for

your reports, Mackenzie. I'm going to be taking the pearl out of the King's neck," she says after a moment.

"You're not back yet," Mackenzie tries to refuse.

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"Do I get a say in this?" ask Perry.

"Did you get one when I sent her your way?" she asks. Her eyes change. They get darker. Not dark enough for a challenge but dark enough to show me she doesn't like my resistance. When she sees my hesitation, she sits back. "I just want some privacy. She doesn't need to be listening to what we're doing," "I'm not gonna argue that, Lycan King. I'll see you around," Mackenzie clears her throat.

"Fine," I agree.

She comes around releasing her claws. I don't flinch when she cuts into my neck and then scoops the device out. She wipes the area with a napkin and licks the wound shut. I tilt my head to look back at her. Her eyes are filled with emotion. She places the small white pearl on the table in front of us and slams her hand down. It shatters.

"Tell me what you're thinking," she whispers gently.

"I never expected this much of a change," I admit. Her arm comes around me and she presses her forehead to my shoulder.

"I did this for us," she says after a while. "Reformation starts with this," she holds up a little blue pill and crushes it in her hand. It looked like liquid but it turned into dust in the palm of her hand. It's only then that I see what's happened. The blue monkhood she got for James was used on her to reprogram the self-hatred she harbored. "It

Works"