Stain of Midnight

by Cassandra Moore

  Once, he’d wondered who she had lost. Now he wondered if the answer was everyone, even herself.

  “So, that was the demon I heard?”

  They walked across her property to the big outbuilding that sat several hundred yards from the main house. Sunlight felt good on his skin. He’d left his jacket off despite the autumn chill in favor of warming his skin with the rays. Beside them, Charlie bounded over the ground with a stick in his mouth, full of a dog’s simple joy. Cameron wanted to ignore his lupine dignity and join the dog. Better than seeing my friends stuck in cages.

  “That’s my guess,” Sonja said as she walked next to Cameron. “It fits with what I learned from Pirelli.”

  “But I’ve been immune to that shadow shit up until now. Why did it get to me then?”

  “Could have been proximity to the source. If all this shadow mess is Espina’s doing, then it will be stronger around her. She might also have had the Heart with her. That’s not something I’d leave back in my hotel.”

  “Pretty sure they don’t insure for magical artifacts, no.” He frowned. “So, last night bought us some information, a look at Teresa Espina, and a whole shitload of injuries.”

  Sonja glanced at him sidelong. “And Kiplinger dead. That’s not a small thing. He wasn’t going to turn into sweetness and light. You stopped a dangerous enemy.”

  “And traded him for a worse one, but at least that’s one down.”

  “She’s going to have to get herself some new lackeys.” Sonja’s lips pursed. “You know what else I noticed last night? She didn’t manage another one of those rituals. If she’s trying to corrupt the ley lines in the area, she hasn’t finished yet. There’s at least one more main line from the mountain.”

  “So we stalled her. Small progress, but I’ll take it. We need all the time we can buy to stop her.”

  “Cameron...” She hesitated.

  He turned his head to look at her. “Spit it out, Sunny.”

  “You aren’t going to like it.”

  “It’s all right. Charlie’s over there playing. I can’t get upset when he’s so happy, can I?”

  She chuckled wryly. “Maybe I should throw another stick. Is trying to stop her the best idea?”

  “How do you mean? Because I’m pretty sure you don’t want her running around here.”

  “No, I’d like to kick her in the face just before I light her on fire.” Sonja shook her head. “What I mean is, it’s just the three of us. You, me, and Peter. The rest of the pack is down for the count. We’re badly outgunned.”

  Cameron sighed. The playing dog didn’t help that statement at all. “I can’t deny that. Do you have a better idea? If we don’t stop her, who will?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Pirelli, maybe. The local vampires. If there were more of us, if we had any help, it would be different. For now? If she corrupts more of the local power, it might make the others worse. Fixing them is your priority, I know. The best way to do that may not be to beat Teresa Espina.”

  “Is there another way?”

  Sonja gusted a breath. “Leaving.”

  He couldn’t explain the surge of emotion that jolted through him. Anger, hopelessness, dread, all chased by a fear he didn’t recognize. All abstract, almost disembodied, but that it prickled the hairs on the backs of his arms and sent adrenaline coursing through his limbs. “Would that work?” he asked, careful to keep his voice even.

  Sonja stared at him, but answered after a moment. “I think so. From what you’ve said, I don’t think Teresa cares about the pack at all. She won’t waste energy to keep the magic tied to any of them. You’re the obstruction she has to deal with. If we get out of here, head for somewhere with friendly witches to help us clear out the lingering effects...”

  The rest of the thought went unspoken, but he didn’t need to hear it. They had a potential way to fix their friends without another drop of blood spilled. He’d be out of Teresa’s reach, and so would they. If they left their territory in the hands of the local vampires and ran away with tails tucked up to their bellies. Exactly what I said I wouldn’t do.

  “Let’s keep that idea in reserve,” he said at last. “If it comes down to that, can we get everyone out?”

  “I’ll have to burn some favors, but I can arrange it.”

  “All right.” Charlie brought Cameron the stick, and he threw it without much gusto. The thought of taking off had sapped the fun right out. “Let’s see what we can come up with. Do a little investigating. We come up dry, then we’ll think about it again. That sound all right?”

  “That sounds just fine. Fleeing may not be the best idea, but if it is, I wanted to make sure it was said.” She sounded apologetic.

  He gave her a smile. “And I appreciate it. I won’t lie and say it doesn’t bother me to even think about. This is my territory. My home. Apparently, I’m protecting it from whatever that undead hag has in mind. And there’s innocent people here who don’t deserve to get caught up in this.”

  “I know. I don’t like it, either.” She reached out to take his hand as they walked. “Let’s do everything we can to keep those people safe. That bitch doesn’t get to win.”

  At this point, I’d take an honest draw. He didn’t say it. Just nodded and walked on across the dying grass.

  Chapter Twelve

  He’d seen his wounded packmates in the guest rooms before they left the house. Blackened bites and lacerations, like those Noah had garnered in the morgue, had been difficult enough for Cameron to look at. But the sight of his alpha locked in a cage tore at Cameron’s heart and left him gutted.

  Kayla and Derek still crouched in the corners of their kennels, as sullen and reclusive as Cameron would expect of any caged wolf. But Noah paced, half-shifted, with a feral restlessness. He’d torn off the vestiges of his clothes and left the shreds of cloth loose on the floor. Angry gashes marred his grey fur, which had begun to fall out in places. Other spots turned an unnatural black that did not look healthy at all. He threw himself against the bars when Cameron walked into the kennel.

  Noah’s wrathful snarl set the other wolves off. Howls filled the enclosed space, too loud to even think over the noise, punctuated by growls and the whine of steel bars. Cameron stared in horrified sorrow at the rows of hateful golden eyes that glared out at him from the dimness of the unlit building. Noah, front and center. Dani three cages back, leaving bloody footprints with each paced step. Matt, covered in matted wounds but too far gone to his beast to keep in the house. Leann, who threw herself against the bars again and again in a futile attempt to break them.

  Vengeance against Kiplinger cost way more than we wanted to pay. And it wasn’t enough. Because now, I want Teresa Espina. Will that price be more than I have?

  Sonja touched Cameron’s arm. “You all right?”

  “No,” he said, voice rough. “And I won’t be until they are.”

  She nodded and drew him back outside. Maybe because his presence had agitated their restrained guests. Maybe because his presence had agitated him more. Hot, fiery anger chased through his mind, a desire for revenge and for justice and for the safety of his friends. But in its wake followed cold dread, and an icy doubt chill enough to burn. His heart wanted to write a check he wasn’t sure the rest of him could cover.

  Before she could say anything else, rapid footsteps thudded around the side of the kennel building. Peter called out. “Sonja? Are you out here? We have a problem!”

  “We’re over here, Peter,” Cameron called.

  The former alpha came around the corner. Relief washed over his expression. “Cam, you’re up! Are you okay?”

  “As good as the next guy who got chewed up and spit out by a bloodsucker,” Cameron said. “What’s up?”

  Peter held out a familiar cell phone. “Noah’s. I don’t have his passcode, but I didn’t need it to see the latest text.”

  Cameron took the offered phone and clicked the power button. The screen lit to display a text message from Russ L
ehmann. What the fuck does the alpha of Seattle want?

  One glance at the message, and Cameron regretted wondering. “I’m taking your silence as surrender. You can’t keep your territory under control, and you won’t defend it. As of moonrise, I’m claiming it. Sorry it had to happen this way. You know where I’ll be.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Cameron muttered. “This asshole has the worst timing. Russ Lehmann is threatening to take Tacoma.”

  Sonja looked confused. “So let him do what he’s going to do while we...”

  She trailed off as Cameron shook his head. “If he takes Tacoma, Noah doesn’t control it. He won’t be the alpha anymore. If he isn’t the alpha anymore, I’m not the enforcer. You want to count on Belt Buckle Man to protect Tacoma from Teresa Espina?”

  Comprehension dawned, followed by a dark scowl. “Oh, son of a bitch.”

  “I’m pretty sure someone who looks a lot like me said that,” Cameron said.

  “Russ used to talk about uniting the Seattle and Tacoma territories when I was alpha. Nothing more than conversation over drinks, though. I never thought he would resort to this.”

  They’d adjourned back to the kitchen so Peter could get breakfast. He sat at the table with Cameron while Sonja scrambled a bowl of eggs. Peter scrubbed a hand over his face, trying to rub off the rueful, pained expression he wore. “Then again, I never knew Regina would resort to what she did, either.”

  Cameron shook his head. “People do what they’re going to, Peter. They change over time. Even they don’t realize it sometimes. And Russ’s got a good reason to step up his game.”

  “The corruption of the ley lines has probably leaked at least as far as Seattle by now. Not seriously, but enough to notice,” Sonja added. “I’m more worried about that visit I got from his packmates. I told Noah and Cameron about it, but so much has happened since then.”

  “We all had other things to worry about. No one could have anticipated Russ would up and annex the territory.” Cameron scrolled through the text messages on Noah’s cell. Noah had given Cameron the passcode in case of emergency when the alpha position had changed hands. Cameron blessed his alpha’s foresight now. “He came out strong in this string of texts, without much room for talking. I wouldn’t call him ‘rude’, but he didn’t leave a lot of space for conversation.”

  Peter frowned. “That’s out of character, for him. He has always wanted to talk before he contemplated action. Even when he claimed the alpha position, he took the former alpha out for drinks to declare his intentions. They ended up talking for hours about the direction they both hoped the pack would go in.”

  “This all smells like week-old fish, to me,” Cameron said. “One day, members of the pack are showing up to tell Sonja lone wolves aren’t welcome. Now? We’re one day out from the full moon, and their alpha’s coming down to issue a fuck-you-very-much proclamation. One that’s not his usual style. Guess he could be extra worried, with the shit happening down here...”

  “Or someone could be egging him on,” Sonja finished for him. She set a plate down in front of Peter, then turned a chair around backwards to sit on.

  Cameron tried not to overtly appreciate the way the chair back opened her legs, or the flattering posture leaning her arms and chin on the top encouraged. Neither of them had time to do anything about it. No harm thinking she’s gorgeous if I’m not an obnoxious dick about it. “Let’s find out, shall we? If he’s a reasonable man, could be we can use this to our advantage.”

  “Bet you a blow job he doesn’t budge on it,” Sonja said.

  Peter choked on his scrambled eggs and started coughing.

  With a wince, Sonja reached over to thump him on the back. “Ah. Sorry, Peter. Guess that was a TMI.”

  “No problem,” he wheezed. “Glad someone’s getting some.”

  “If Russ knocks this shit off, I might eventually have time to collect,” Cameron said. “Not only are he and Teresa Espina dangerous assholes, but they’re big fucking cockblocks.”

  Peter’s coughing got worse as Sonja burst into laughter.

  It felt good to hear her laugh. Peter, too, even if he had gotten there by aspirating his breakfast. Cameron could smell the tension in the air. Feel it knotted between his shoulderblades. Laughter gave them a line to walk over the chasm of insanity that yawned beneath them. And she admitted we’re together in front of someone else. She’d saved his life. Leading that life without her seemed more wrong with every moment that passed. If she’ll let me.

  Cameron pulled his own phone out of his pocket. Russ’s number had been there since Peter had chosen Cameron as enforcer, but he’d never needed to call it. The line rang a couple times before it connected. “Cameron Roswell. Are you still the enforcer for the Tacoma pack?”

  “Hello, Russ. I am still enforcer, yes. We just now got your messages. There was a bit of a situation last night.” Cameron kept his voice casual and calm. He hoped it would set the tone for the rest of the conversation.

  Hope is a fragile thing. “So I’ve heard. Did Noah ask you to call? Or are the rumors about his condition true?”

  Cameron’s brow furrowed. “I wasn’t aware there were rumors about Noah’s condition going around.” Silently, he mouthed Did you tell anyone about Noah? to Sonja and Peter.

  Sonja shook her head and glanced at Peter. Peter mirrored the head-shake.

  “I make it a point to find out about important events in neighboring territories, Cameron. That way I’m not caught off-guard when trouble bleeds over.” Russ’s tone was hard, accusatory. “I admit, I’m put out that Noah didn’t see fit to let me know he had a line on Kiplinger, let alone that your pack intended to move on him.”

  The hairs on the back of Cameron’s neck bristled. “I’m sorry you feel that way. Noah didn’t mean to offend you by not letting you know what he intended to do. He did as he felt best.”

  Peter’s eyes widened. His fist clenched hard enough on his fork to bend the metal. Alpha werewolves had no obligation to check their plans with other alphas. To intimate that should have happened was tantamount to implying dominance over another pack leader. Privately, Cameron found the display of anger reassuring. It meant the old Peter had started to emerge from the terrible events of the prior months.

  “Are you aware of the state of the ley lines in this city? The state of everything in this city? This is what he felt best? This territory has gotten entirely out of hand. And now, he is apparently out of commission as well. Because of the very vampires he either made a deal with, or allowed to escape.” Russ paused to take a deep breath. When he continued, he sounded calmer. “I’m sorry. He’s out of his depth. Someone needs to deal with Tacoma. Before it gets any worse.”

  Cameron bit back a growl. “There’s more to it than that. This goes much deeper than we realized before last night. Tell you what. Can we meet up? You should hear what we’ve found out, and over the phone’s no way to go about it. I think you’ll agree that now isn’t the time to shake up this snowglobe.”

  Quiet on the other end of the line. Enough quiet that Cameron decided he’d ended up on mute while Russ conferred with whoever else had come with him. That nagged at Cameron’s instincts as a dubious sign. “All right. Meet me at the Wooden Nickle in an hour. Drinks are on me.”

  “Thanks. See you in sixty.” Cameron killed the connection. “He wants to meet me at the Wooden Nickle in an hour.”

  Peter set his twisted fork down with a murmured apology. “So, what do you think?”

  Cameron sighed. “I don’t think I’m going to get my blow job.”

  Sonja looked at the mangled flatware. “Well, maybe I can get Peter to fork me, if you can’t...”

  Peter turned beet red and tried not to die of mortification.

  “Do you want me to drive by your place while I’m waiting?”

  Sonja sat behind the wheel of the Humvee a block up from the Wooden Nickle. Cameron had gotten used to riding shotgun and found it didn’t bother him as much as it had a couple days ago.
They’d decided not to make it obvious that Sonja had thrown in with the Tacoma pack, given the visit to her studio a couple days before. He could walk the distance from here to there, and they wouldn’t see her vehicle. A wildcard was no bad thing to keep in one’s sleeve.

  “If you don’t mind. No one’s called me to say it burned down, but who knows what happened after last night.” Maybe nothing. But maybe he’d pissed in a vampire’s breakfast cereal, and they’d taken it out on his property. He couldn’t shake the memory of an unknown presence when he’d let Charlie out for his morning pee. “We can go after I’m done, if you figure it’s better for us both to go.”

  Sonja shook her head. “I’ve got it. Give me your key. Call me when you’re ready for me to pick you up.”

  “Thanks, Sunny.” He passed his key to her. As she reached for it, he nabbed her hand to hold in both of his. “Thanks for more than checking on my place. Neither of us is the sappy sort, but... Look, I really like having you around. Not just because you saved my ass.”

  The little smile flashed across her lips before she thought about it, he could tell. She protected herself too well for that kind of happy, genuine expression, and the unguarded joy behind her eyes couldn’t have shone through her usual emotional armor. His heart skipped a beat to see it. “Maybe I saved your ass because I like having you around, too. I’d kind of like to keep it that way.”

  “Let’s do that, then. Keep it that way.” Those words didn’t mean a quarter of what he wanted to say. Let’s keep it this way. Maybe until we get old. Let’s make promises that would be stupid after only two days, then keep them. Let’s forget we’ve had shitty luck in the past and believe in love stories. Let’s live through this.

  Her smile grew, slow and hesitant but real. Trust didn’t come easily to her; he’d discovered that early on. Given what he knew about her family life, those pictures in her hall all worth more than their allotted thousand words, he couldn’t even blame her. No one stays in her life. When they would, she has to leave herself. Fuck, no wonder she wouldn’t join the pack. She’d always be waiting for when she had to leave that, too.