by Petra Landon
It would take a lot to rattle this particular man.
“We’ve since found out that the mercenaries put out a hit on Miss Armstrong and contracted it out to the vampires. The vampires claim that they didn’t recognize the Pack when we went in to free the young lady and that is why they put up such a fierce fight.”
“Riiiight” a handsome olive-skinned man with an accent drawled out sarcastically. “The thought that they’d been handed a golden opportunity to humiliate the five to one out-numbered Shifters had nothing to do with their decision to fight.”
“They miscalculated spectacularly though, didn’t they? They weren’t counting on Raoul to personally lead the rescue” English Accent stated with a fleeting glance at the man to his right. Tasia detected a note of almost paternal pride in the quiet words.
“Has our debt to the witch been repaid now or are we to babysit her some more?’ the red-haired O’Brien inquired sarcastically.
“I decide when the debt is paid” drawled out a cold voice, the tone barely hiding the hint of a threat.
The room straightened up collectively as the atmosphere changed to one of quiet watchfulness. Tasia shivered imperceptibly at the renewed sense of danger. Her eyes were drawn in reluctant fascination to the man by the fireplace who had turned to face the room. He now leant indolently by the mantel as he stared down O’Brien with a rather dangerous look on his face. The room stayed silent as if on the brink of an imminent conflagration. Tasia watched O’Brien take a deep breath before lowering his gaze to back down from an unseen challenge. The Alpha Protector glared aggressively at him for a second more as the room heaved a collective sigh of relief.
“All right then. Everything seems to be in order. If we’re done here, Alpha, I’d like to go get my dinner” a pleasantly plump lady ensconced comfortably in one of the cushy chairs spoke up. A little old lady in her early sixties with snow-white hair plaited on her head in a manner reminiscent of a bygone era. The older man with the flowing white braid, who’d slapped O’Brien down with such dignity before, helped her to her feet with old-fashioned courtesy. The lady stared directly at the man by the fireplace, forcing the Alpha to meet her gaze. Tasia wondered if this was the older lady’s way of helping to diffuse the tension in the room by demanding the Alpha’s attention.
“You tell Mistress Franciszka when you see her that the next time her minions pull a stunt like this, Maartje will take great pleasure in ripping out a few Undead hearts personally until they get the message.”
Raoul’s coldly furious expression lightened at her words.
“I will, Maartje. The mood I’m in, she might not have to wait for the next time.”
Maartje chuckled softly before being escorted out by the older gentleman who’d helped her to her feet.
As the gathering broke up and the Shifters got off their chairs and couches, Tasia chanced a glance at the man by the fireplace, only to catch his gold-colored eyes on her. Caught unawares, she gazed straight into the glittering eyes for a long minute before remembering to lower her gaze. An important lesson to remember when dealing with Shifters – any aggressive body language would be taken as a challenge. And meeting a gaze so directly definitely constituted a challenge in the Shifter world. That much, she knew. So, the Alpha Protector was called Raoul. This was no ordinary Were-Alpha, a powerful creature in his own right. This one commanded the Pack – one filled with fractious, ambitious and aggressive Shifters from the various were-packs that comprised it. This man had given orders last night in a cold emotionless voice and commanded Hawk to guard her while he threw himself into the fray against the vampires. Some of the Shifters had fought in their beast form but not him. Tasia shook off a sudden flash of memory - the Alpha trying desperately to stem the blood flowing from her reopened wrist wound as his own blood dripped from cuts and gouges on his exposed chest and arms. She glanced surreptitiously at the muscled arms left bare by the short sleeved tee he wore. The wounds had healed as if they’d never been. Not surprising, for the Shifters were known to heal very quickly. We have that trait in common, she mused in amusement. Though it was not something they could ever know. Not if she could help it, anyway.
The room cleared up gradually as the Shifters made their exit. A few exchanged some quiet words with Hawk on their way out and one or two gave her a polite nod.
Tasia turned to Hawk hopefully.
“Are we done?” she inquired.
There was a lot for Tasia to contemplate. And a lot about this evening’s interactions between the Shifters that she wanted to ask Hawk about.
“The Alpha wants to talk to you” he responded.
Tasia glanced across the room to where the Alpha stood listening impassively to the beautiful woman in the green dress who managed to look even more gorgeous standing up. Hawk escorted Tasia to an armchair closer to the fireplace where the Alpha stood in conversation.
“I need a few words with Duncan” he gestured at the enormous man with the posh English accent in the chair.
Aah, so English Accent is called Duncan.
As Hawk made his way to Duncan, Tasia noted that the English Shifter, unlike the rest of the Council, had made no move to exit the room. He remained in his chair by the Alpha’s side. Tasia leant back to survey the room leisurely. She wondered who had amassed this vast collection of books. Shifters were not exactly known for their intellectual curiosity. They were more primal with their emotions and actions. Yet someone had filled this room lovingly with books of all kinds - paperbacks, hardcovers and swathes of old-fashioned leather bound tomes. And from the spotless nature of the bookshelves, someone obviously took very good care of their contents.
The soft hush of the massive steel door closing shut drew Tasia’s attention back to the remaining inhabitants of the room. Hawk and Duncan carried on a quiet conversation where Hawk did most of the talking while Duncan listened impassively. The Alpha, however, had his attention focused squarely on her. His lovely Shifter companion must have been the one exiting the room, Tasia realized.
Damn, I wonder what I’m supposed to do. Do I look at him or will that be taken as a challenge?
Hawk’s voice whispered a warning in her mind.
Show no fear.
Damn it, he’s an Alpha Protector and I’m an L2. There’s no way he would ever consider me a threat. Plus, I’m done with cowering. Been there, done that and just last night too.
Tasia straightened in her chair to meet the Alpha’s gold eyes. The sleeve of the shirt she’d borrowed from Sara, a little big on her, rode up her arm to expose the white bandages on her left wrist. The Alpha’s eyes rested on the bandages for an instant before moving back to her face.
“Doc tells me that you’re going to be fine” he noted softly.
“Yes, thank you” Tasia responded a tad shyly.
“He also tells me that he’s never seen a non-Shifter heal this fast except possibly a leech.”
This time her eyes reflected more than a hint of wariness for she could sense the danger in the seemingly casual words.
“I’ve always healed very quickly since I was a little girl.”
“Indeed” he retorted. “No one looking at you would know that you nearly bled to death last night.”
“In that case, I owe my life to you and the Pack” she said steadily.
His eyes took on even more of a glitter at her words, those cold eyes seemingly searing into her. Tasia tried to quiet the pounding of her heart as she attempted to hold his gaze without flinching. Her right hand which had a grip on the arm of the chair tightened imperceptibly, evidence of her growing tension. Raoul’s expression hardened as he flicked a glance at the hand clenched on the chair.
“That you do, witchling!”
He straightened up where he stood by the mantel to cross one ankle over the other deliberately as he contemplated her. Tasia continued to watch him warily. This must be how helpless prey felt when being played with by a powerful cobra, she realized grimly. She was not to know that the man bef
ore her fought the silent tide of powerful memories. A vivid flashback from a to-be-forgotten past assailed Raoul. Another powerful witch watching him relentlessly for any sign of weakness, like a deadly coiled snake waiting to strike! The gold eyes blazed for a moment, haunted by a painful reminder of his past. In his memories, implacable bright blue eyes watched him try to cope with the pain wracking his young body as he fought to regain control of his beast. As the memories poured through him, Raoul stared into the eyes of the young witch before him, fighting to clear his mind of the past. He tried to remind himself that the eyes before him were gray and wary, not blue and relentless like the ones in his nightmares.
“How much do you remember of last night?” he inquired abruptly.
Tasia stared back at the Alpha in surprise. She could’ve sworn that those emotionless eyes had clouded over with pain for just a minute there. In fact, they’d appeared almost haunted until his heavy eyelids had dropped down to hide their expression from her. When he met her gaze again, the gold eyes were back to their usual coldly blank expression.
“Not very much” she admitted slowly. “I remember Hawk and you coming to my aid in the room with the vampire. I remember parts of the fight in the long hall and then nothing until I woke up here.”
He subjected her to an intent and searching glance.
“You might experience some side effects from last night. Let Hawk know if you do and Doc might be able to help you.”
“You mean because of the va … vampire bite?” Tasia asked, stumbling over the word as she fingered the bandages that covered the wound on her left wrist. She shuddered visibly as the implications of the bite sank home to her. Even though no Blutsauger’s bite could ever infect her, it was not an experience that she intended to repeat again.
“Possibly although Doc is fairly sure we got you out in time. It’s been almost twenty-four hours since the bite. If you were infected, you’d have felt the signs by now. Any hankering for blood or the urge to bite?”
Hah, that’s a joke. Or I think it is. Who knew the big bad Alpha could crack jokes.
“I’m a vegetarian” Tasia responded with a tentative smile.
The Alpha’s eyes narrowed on her face to study her intently for a moment.
“Hawk tells me that you’re Level 2” he remarked.
“Yes” Tasia acknowledged succinctly, her smile vanishing abruptly as the wariness returned to her eyes.
“When were you last tested?”
“I was tested as a teenager.”
A tawny eyebrow went up fluidly, somehow managing to convey both surprise and disbelief. It had the overall effect of making the Alpha look even more dangerous to the tense girl in the chair.
“You sure are going to be popular once you get tested again, witchling.”
“Why would I do that?” Tasia’s voice was steady, breathing evenly in an attempt to hide the thumping of her heart. She knew that the Shifters’ extraordinary senses could pick up on such signs and reminded herself frantically to calm down.
“You managed to plaster leeches all over the hall ceiling last night while bleeding out on the floor, little girl. That’s not L2 magic. That kind of power is off the Wizard Level Scale.”
Damn, damn, damn! This is not going well at all. Dammit to hell.
“If there was magic used last night, it certainly wasn’t me” Tasia countered steadily. She’d been left with no choice but to brazen it out.
The Alpha waited silently, his expression daring her to continue.
“You said it yourself. I almost passed out with the blood loss. I was in no shape to work any magic.”
Tasia had never seen anyone move that fast in her life. One second, he stood casually by the mantel gazing down at her and the next second, the Alpha towered over her where she sat in her chair. He leant down towards her, the powerful forearms flexing as he grasped the arms of her chair to cage her in her seat. Tasia shrank back into her chair, away from the furious blazing eyes of the Shifter.
“Don’t f--k with me, witchling” he bit out furiously, the cold voice sending shivers down the terrified girl trembling in her chair. “Better witches than you have tried and failed.”
He drew forward a fraction more for emphasis, now so close to her that Tasia could see the darker flakes in those remarkable eyes.
“I know old magic when I see it and there was a lot of it in that room last night.”
The arms tightened on the chair, muscles flexing as if he were restraining himself from grabbing her throat.
“A word of warning, little girl. If you ever lie to me again, being taken by the leeches will seem like a walk in the park.”
Terrified out of her wits and desperate to escape, Tasia glanced instinctively at Hawk. Both Hawk and Duncan had stopped their conversation to stare at the tableau before them.
“Raoul” Duncan called out softly, a note of warning in his voice as he noted the frightened girl in the chair, clearly shrinking back from the hulking Alpha who bore threateningly down on her.
There was a pregnant pause interrupted only when the door to the room swished open after a mild rattling to warn them. A stocky young man peered into the room to zero in on the Alpha.
“Boss” the man called out, seemingly impervious to the tension in the room.
“What?” Raoul bit out impatiently, not taking his eyes off the girl in the chair.
Too fearful to look away from the furious eyes, Tasia waited with bated breath hoping the young man would succeed in diverting the Alpha’s attention away from her. It would give her a few minutes of breathing space and perhaps help her to figure out how to handle the situation.
“Jon’s here and wants a minute with you. Says the meeting is set for tonight.”
Raoul took a deep breath before deliberately drawing away from her to stand tall. He towered over Tasia, his feet splayed apart and hands by his body, his stance still palpably aggressive. He gazed down at her furiously for a moment before turning to address the waiting Shifter by the door.
“Give me ten minutes and send Jon in.”
“Okay, Boss” the young man said amiably.
Tasia felt rather than saw the curious glance the young man shot at her before he closed the door on his way back out.
When Raoul turned to look at her again, his face was impassive once more. Gone was the furious anger and menace. And yet, Tasia could sense it buried just under the surface apt to explode again at any moment. The danger was not over yet – not by a long shot! She attempted to pull herself together. The Alpha was not done with his questions – that she’d bet on.
“I’m going to ask you one question now and this time I want the truth” he warned softly.
If I can! God, only if I can.
Tasia looked up bravely into the cold implacable eyes.
“We know the leeches had a contract on you. Is there any other reason for them to come after you?”
“No” Tasia responded promptly, clearly taken aback by his question. This was something that she could answer without any prevarication!
“I’ve done nothing to the vampires. They have no reason to come after me.”
She had absolutely no doubt that the Clan would hunt her down if they even suspected her existence but Tasia was confident that they didn’t – they had no reason to. So this particular query from the Alpha, she could answer truthfully.
Raoul glanced at her earnest expression that failed to hide her clear relief at his question.
“Okay. This is what we’re going to do. I’m meeting the local leech head honcho tonight. You’re going to come with me.”
Leech head honcho? Oh no! No, No, No!
His eyes narrowed with intent.
“Listen carefully, witchling. You will stick close to Duncan and Hawk at all times. You will not open your mouth without my explicit say so and you will not do any magic under any circumstances. Do we understand each other?”
Understand each other? I cannot afford to parade under the noses of the C
lan. If they get even a whiff of what I am …
The Alpha’s expression tightened at the look of blind terror that flashed across Tasia’s face for an instant. Perhaps he needed to be clearer about the stakes here, he thought angrily, for she didn’t seem to comprehend the danger that she’d placed herself in! And dragged the Pack into willy-nilly, were he to be honest.
“You’d better hope that I can convince them that I single-handedly managed to take out half their lot last night. If not, they’ll come at you with everything they’ve got. Then the Pack will have no option but to go to war with the leech army over you. If that happens, this city will be awash in both leech and Pack blood. Have I made myself clear?” he bit out furiously.
“Crystal” Tasia managed to mutter.
Shit. This whole thing seems to be spiraling into a deeper mess every time I look up! Could the Alpha be right about this – would the vampires assume that magic had been used against them by the only wizard in the hall last night?
Tasia had to reluctantly concede that perhaps she had unknowingly betrayed not only her secret last night but also put the Pack in jeopardy over it. In her delirium, she’d only intended to help the Shifters who had come to her rescue. However, in the cold light of day, it struck her that someone needed to take responsibility for the magic last night. For it had been very obvious that magic had been used against the vampires in the hall. And Shifters had very different magic flowing through their veins. How would the Alpha convince the Clan that it had been him last night, she wondered in renewed alarm.
Tasia stood up slowly, willing the Alpha to back away from her. The full implication of his words hit her like a stone. He couldn’t know that nothing would ever convince her to walk willingly into any abode of vampires. But Tasia had to concede that his words made sense. She’d been so off her game last night due to blood loss and Blutsauger poison that she’d used her powers to aid the Pack without thinking through the consequences of doing so!