Chapter ONE-MAX

This had to be the worst day in the history of days,

My asshole cousin stood there, grinning at me like he had dirt on me and was about to tattle to Grandmother.

Our relationship had only recently become close, moving beyond the normal Christmas card exchange and nod hello should we happen to be frequenting the same establishment at the same time.

Not that he did that anymore. Lucky bastard was too busy with his family.

Grrr.

The Devil inside me growled his envy. It was a vice I did not relish, nor did I care to admit I was feeling jealous of Avail and his mate, Stephanie. The former human was now a Jersey Devil herself, and it was a wonder to us all.

The claiming bite rarely inspired a creature in the promised of one such as us. But in their case, well, they say only the truest of fated mates can conjure magic where least expected.

Like I said. Avail was a lucky bastard.

“Might as well spit it out, Avail,” I said, increasingly bored with this game of parading my own failures out and about for me to inspect with unerring scrutiny.

Fuck this.

“Oh, I shall, I shall. Coffee first?” Avail asked, holding out a travel mug of some delicious smelling brew.

There was a grin teasing the corner of his lips, and foolish though I might be, I did not exactly trust my cousin.

“What is it? I know you have something up your sleeve,” I grunted, taking the coffee hesitantly.

“Just so happens I have a vested interest in this project. And Grandmother isn’t wrong. It needs managing.”

“What is this project? And what could I possibly do about it?”

“It’s a piece of property⁠—”

“I’m not a property manager, for fuck’s sake.”

I walked to my closet and pulled out a pair of my custom tailored slacks before I opened the bathroom door.

I left it wide as I showered, leaving Avail to sit in the armchair by the window.

“You know, cousin, the pine barrens have long since been the home of our family. It’s important to us, to our beasts,” Avail said.

I ducked under the spray of hot water and tried to drown him out. Of course, I knew all about our family history.

With a Grandmother like ours, how could I not?

Did you have any idea what it was like to be a goddamn cult figure? I mean, even other supernaturals thought we were fucking mysterious.

As for normals, well, every fucking where you looked in the state there was a Jersey Devil this or that. Of course, they didn’t know we actually existed.

But the point was, with this super status we held, it was bloody hard to take anyone seriously whilst dating. I mean, sure, plenty of females were attracted to me. I’d just bedded two willing Witches last night.

But it couldn’t last. I felt restless and empty after each encounter. My inner Devil wanted a mate, and I knew I was not up to snuff to find one.

Shit.

When did I become such a negative fucking Nancy?

I listened to Avail opening the window, and I sucked in the familiar scent of the damp morning earth and the forest surrounding the estate.

Ever since our grandmother lost our granddad, she’s been hounding me and all my cousins to continue the family line.

Nothing is as important as family.

That’s what she always said. I knew that. Sorta. I just didn’t feel all that connected, seeing as how my parents weren’t really in my life for very long. They passed away when I was a teenager, but really, I lost them years before that.

I’d been sent away to boarding schools as soon as I could walk. Sure, Mrs. O’Hare was there for me for holidays and breaks, and the schools were the best, of course.

But I admit I did not excel. I was something of a rapscallion. Always causing mischief and trouble, whether it was a supernatural school or a normal one. Didn’t matter to me.

But Grandmother was always a harsh taskmaster. She expected her grandchildren to behave as befit our lineage.

But just what did that mean?

I never understood it. I mean, Jersey Devils came into existence hundreds of years ago. A mixture of magic, luck, destiny, and sheer will had brought us into this multiverse, and we’d claimed the pine barrens as ours ever since.

We were bound to it. To the whole bloody state. Tethered by a connection that transcended my understanding of the supernatural. Mediocre as it was.

But, as much as I loved the pine barrens, I wondered sometimes if it might actually be suffocating me. Or my devilish soul, at the very least.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? I never tire of these old estates or the barrens themselves. But I’m self-aware enough to understand it’s not for everyone. Protecting it though, that’s become my focus just lately. But it’s not just the pine barrens that need our help, cousin,” Avail murmured.

It was loud enough for me to hear with my preternatural senses as I turned off the water and dried myself with a towel.

“What are you on about? Just spit it out, man,” I said as I slipped on my pants and marched over to the mini fridge to grab a bottle of water.

“How much do you know about New Jersey’s role in the world’s produce? Or better yet, what do you know about cowboy culture in the Garden State?”

I almost spit out the large sip of water I’d just taken.

Cowboy culture? In New Jersey?

“Avail, have you been drinking? What’s in that coffee your gorgeous wife made for you?” he asked.

“Easy with the compliments. Cousin or not, my Devil will have me slitting your throat if you mention Stephanie.”

“Easy, I meant no disrespect.”

Sheesh. If that was what mating did to you, you could keep it, I thought as I shrugged on the rest of my clothes.

“And the answer is no, I have not been drinking anything other than dark roast,” Avail replied with a grin. “I have, however, been going over our assets, and this little project Grandmother wants you to take on is a good one.”

“Is it? And where does she want to send me, exactly?”

“Yes, it is. Funny you should ask. It’s called Barren County.”

“Barren? Like the Pine Barrens?” I scoffed.

Obviously, it was no coincidence.

“Exactly. The family has a bit of land up there. Although, technically, you would buy this traction of land with your trust fund,” he added.

“What? Wait. Why would I spend my trust fund on land I never even saw? What kind of land?” I sputtered, hardly believing his ears.

“A ranch. Or a farm. Well, maybe it’s both. I’m not really sure,” Avail replied with a shockingly loud laugh.

“But that’s up to you, I guess. Anyway, you stand to lose the whole trust if you don’t buy it, Max. It’s all spelled out for you in the papers I just emailed you. Oh, Grandmother is wily, I will give her that.” Avail spoke fondly of the woman who sought to ruin my life.

I snarled and grabbed my phone, checking my email. Fucker had highlighted the paragraph and everything. It was all true. I didn’t bother questioning the validity of the iron clad document.

Avail was a dick, but he was an honest dick.

“Okay. So say I buy this farm or ranch. What then?” I asked.

“Well, my sweet Stephanie has gotten an idea in her head that you could do something with it to improve the community and give back. Make it a working ranch, er, farm. Whatever.”

“Okay, so why can’t you do that?” I replied, not knowing what the hell any of this had to do with me.

“I would, but with Nicholas and Christabel in grade school, I’m afraid that’s impossible. Besides, Grandmother is worried about you, what with your still being single and all.”

“For fuck’s sake, Avail, I have plenty of women in my life. One too many, in fact,” I growled.

“Max, you know what I am talking about. The beast is getting harder to manage, isn’t he?”

“Our Devils aren’t separate from us,” I began, quoting our grandmother’s favorite line.

“And yet, he is. See, I don’t think Grandmother, or the other females know how it is for us. You can feel him, though, can’t you? The snarling and scratching?”

Avail’s tone held no humor, and I stilled.

Shit. Maybe he did understand.

The darkness inside me pulsed and throbbed, my ire rising. The Devil inside me only seemed to know anger and dissatisfaction these days.

But how did Avail know?

“I can see it, cousin. I can recognize the signs. You’re almost forty. The beast is through waiting. He wants his promised.”

How does he know? How the fuck does he know that I wrestle with my Devil daily?

“Whatever, cousin,” I growled, shaking off the discomfiture of feeling seen.

“Max, you aren’t the only one. There is a whole community of male supes, Shifters, all of them alone and looking for their mates. Their beasts are uncontrollable without their fated ones⁠—”

“What the fuck does that have to do with me?”

“Well—”

“Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Look, I can’t do this,” I retorted.

“Avail, as much as I love your visits, what can I possibly do to help with this project? If Grandmother wants my money, she can have it. But how am I, Max Leeds, supposed to fix some abandoned ranch? Where would I even start?” I shouted.

“That part’s easy. Have you ever ridden a horse, Max?”