by Holly Hook
No.
“Remember how you held back the curse when Earl was shooting at you?” I ask. “You could do that again, couldn’t you? That would help us both. You can hold off whatever Brett's doing. I felt it, too. Even Leonora said she felt horrible around him.”
“Becoming a Noble Wolf might not change him much. We Nobles aren’t ones to bring people like him into our ranks. He might stay just as dangerous.”
“But we need him if we’re going to help Callie.” I'm digging the hole even deeper. Ouch.
Cayden rushes me, takes my arms, and moves his hands up to my shoulders, sliding his palms along my exposed skin. Tingles spread from his touch only to vanish again. “I know we need him. And that scares me. That guy is poison even without magic.”
I force a nod. My chin quivers. Brett’s taking the Savage King’s approach to fighting us. He wants to sit back and let us destroy ourselves. Even in the Russells’ home, he has power.
“Only one of us should face Brett at a time,” I say. But the words fall to the ground. We need to take more precautions than that. Brett’s poison goes deeper than that, and even now I feel the darkness lurking in Cayden’s chest and spreading over to me. Every bad emotion he’s felt in all his life is rising to the surface. “Until we’ve helped Callie, we have one defense against him and that's to stay away from each other.”
* * * * *
Ordering Cayden away from me is the hardest thing I’ve done in a while. I watch him go. No longer can he help me to fight off the Savage King and all the darkness that acts as his food. His newfound, positive attitude is gone, destroyed by Brett in a matter of minutes.
Cayden walks through the trees, not looking back, and as he goes, I listen to his footsteps fade. The lingering pressure in my chest releases. I hadn’t realized it was still waiting there, ready to crack my armor. Brett’s done more than just throw more tension into our mix.
He’s ripping us apart, and as the thought hits me, I think I hear him laughing. His sister must have taught him some ropes.
I can’t breathe or hear Cayden anymore. Even the bond we share fades the more distance we put between us. Brett wants it this way. But he also wants it the other way, too. He wants to use Cayden as a weapon against me.
And I’ve left Brett with Edwin and Leonora. Once he’s turned, he’ll be stronger than them both.
Turning my focus back to them, I run back to the cabin. By now, I smell Leonora’s parents, who have just come back from the store. I also hear Brett’s grunts and shouts of pain echoing through the trees. Despite that, I want to kill him. I want to wrap my hands around his throat and—
I will not think of that. Already he's affecting me again.
The door’s still open when I get to the front yard. Running through overgrown grass, I enter the house again to find Brett, unconscious, rolling on the living room floor while Leonora, her parents, and Edwin stand over him with wide eyes. Edwin looks up at me and looks over my shoulder, perhaps making sure Cayden hasn’t come back to kill him. He breathes a sigh only I can detect when he sees I’m alone.
I’m in very dangerous territory.
Brett shouts an F-bomb as he turns over, hands curling into impossible shapes as his muscles spasm. Memories surge back. The pain is getting to him even though his eyes are closed and he seems to be out. But pain, I know, can stab through sleep.
I won’t think of that, either. Already dark pulses race under my skin despite the light spirits that brighten this place. It feels as if Brett’s sucking the life out of me, piece by piece, and leaving room for the Savage King to take over. And he's not even trying.
“We need the pack,” Leonora shouts at me. “Once Brett’s done turning he’s going to attack us. I’m sure.”
“I’m calling them right now,” I say. “I’ll get Remo and Everly over—“
“I already called him. He’s on his way.”
“Thanks.” At least something’s going right.
Edwin sits in his rocking chair like he owns the place and glares at me again. He still carries that silver dagger that can end me if the darkness wins. Though the Russells can't see it, I'm sure, I make out a tiny fleck of my dried blood on the tip.
I ignore him. “Brett's doing something. Whenever I’m near him I feel like all the light’s going out of me. And that’s not a good thing. Even while he’s out he’s doing it.” I ball my fists.
Leonora’s chin quivers. “I still feel awful, too.”
“Step away from him,” Mr. Russell says, grabbing his daughter's shoulder. “Let Edwin deal with this. Right, Edwin? You don’t need her help.” He pulls Leonora back.
Edwin balks. He’s not used to his nephew standing up to him like this. Then he speaks like Mr. Russell is an idiot. “This young man has learned the art of sucking energy from others. You must learn to protect yourselves.”
Mr. and Mrs. Russell look at each other in shock. Leonora's eyes widen.
“He draws energy from others?” I ask.
The front door opens and Remo steps into the house. Leonora rushes over and hugs him, despite the tension on his face. But Remo doesn't put up with her hug for long and strides over to Brett. “Everly and I will make sure he goes nowhere,” he says, confident and strong. “We’ll take him to our cabin and--“
“You don’t want him in the house,” I say. “Take him to a shed somewhere and don’t stay around him too long. We’ll rotate pack members. Brett here is more dangerous than we thought, even if I’ll have some power over him within hours.”
Brett rolls over again and groans.
Remo frowns. “I took about six hours to turn.”
“Then we have to secure him before then,” I order. “The faster we get information out of him after that, the better.” I try to think of where we could take him. I don’t want him near any of the pack members for too long, or near anyone else, for that matter. “Does anyone know of a good makeshift prison cell?”
“I don't want him here,” Mr. Russell adds.
“Neither do I,” his wife adds. “Edwin, you know this town better than we do. Where's a good place to keep him?”
Edwin scratches his chin. “My landlord never comes around to my rental. We can store him there, as I'm not there most of the time. Can you handle it?” He faces Leonora's parents. This is a test. The air in the room thickens as I realize that.
Brett curses and rolls over again. I hear his muscles pulling at his bones. The sound is maddening. I doubt Remo and Everly can even hear it.
“Then we take him there. In a car,” I say. “We need more silver chains that Brett's going to use as a fasion statement.”
“What about the pair Callie was wearing?” Edwin glares at me.
Uh, oh. “They're out in the woods, secured to the cement we poured. We can't get them out.” Everly still doesn't know about Callie's problem. Edwin needs to shut up.
“Unless you have some pickaxes?” Leonora adds. I could thank her.
We don't have time for this. My rage grows, making my pulse roar in my ears. It might be Brett's presence. Can he really take my lifeforce?
“Then I will spare some,” Edwin says. “These are chains that took me years to obtain from the Hunters even though we were always good friends.”
I don't miss the threat. Edwin's told me many times he has longstanding ties with the Hunters of the Noble Order.
We gather Brett, which is no easy feat since he's still thrashing and cursing every second. But at least they're regular curses and not the ones designed to do harm. But the more I hold Brett's shoulders, the more I think about having to order Cayden away. I reach for him, but I can't feel him anymore. He's nowhere within a few miles.
Was that a smile from Brett?
Before I can tell, he lifts his head away from my view. He wants us torn apart. He wants me to face loss and go into the night, as Cayden says. Maybe this is it. I might have to choose between him and saving the Nobles.
We load Brett into the Lowes' minivan. Everly a
nd I sit in the back with him. Remo gets in the drivers' seat and Leonora sits in the passenger. Brett still thrashes in the backseat, so we have to put him on the floor in a laying position. I force myself to breathe and ignore the mild pressure in my chest, but with Cayden gone, it's not as intense. Cayden's darkness is no longer flowing into me. We're not hurting each other.
Edwin gets into the minivan with us and instructs us to drive to the other side of Breckenridge. While we do that, I text a couple other pack members—Don and Nan—and order them to meet us at Edwin's address. I hate throwing myself around like this, but right now it's necessary.
“We'll do guard duty,” I say. “No Wolf or even human will be around Brett for more than a couple hours at a time. If he's in silver chains, he shouldn't be able to break out of them like the Savage King can. And no, the Savage King can't possess him. Brett bragged one time about not having his blood.”
“That's now to our advantage,” Edwin admits. At least there's not that I'm going to kill you undertone to his voice anymore. But the killer will return if he needs to. And Brett will help that, too.
“I agree with the plan,” Everly says. “I feel terrible when I'm around him. Like I want to lash out at everybody.” As she speaks, she balls her fists.
“Isn't that normal?” Remo asks. And he's not joking.
“Remo, you're always picking on me.”
“Stop,” I say. “Brett's bringing out the worst in us. The two hour limit. And that might even be too much.”
Chaining Brett up in Edwin's basement isn't easy. He kicks me twice in his throes and nails Remo, who has to do most of the work. We leave him under the stairs to seethe and swear, and when Don and Nan arrive at the old house, the rest of us leave as fast as we can.
Chapter Seven
“I've been reading about vampires.”
Leonora pours herself some tea once we drop Edwin off and go to my house. I suggested coming back here for two reasons: one, Edwin wanted to go back home and two, Cayden just might come here. But he's a no show, leaving me filled with disappointment. I'm away from Brett now and starting to feel better. Twenty minutes ago, I sent him a text saying he's clear to come back. For now.
“Vampires? Are you kidding?” I ask. I wonder what Everly would say, but she and Remo have run back to their house to check for Cayden.
Aunt May walks into the kitchen, just home from her shift at the store, and eyes the kettle on the stove. It's been an hour since we chained Brett up and left him with Don and Nan, who have texted me, saying they're staying upstairs.
“Not the kind that suck blood. I don't even know if they're real.” Leonora sips the steaming tea and walks across the kitchen to the table. “I've been reading about psychic vampires. When you practice magic, you learn a lot about, well, energy and spirits and stuff. That includes the energy living things have around them. And some books I've read says there are people who suck the lifeforce from other people. Some of them don't know they do it, but others train to suck energy from people on purpose. I think we just got proof of that concept.”
“You're saying Brett's a psychic vampire?” I'm not shocked.
“When I was around him, I felt drained. There was nothing good inside me. These people make you want to get away from them. I know my parents felt it, too. If anyone would train to do something like that, it's Romulus's cult.”
“This is all very interesting,” Aunt May says. She leans against the counter and sips her own tea. “Leonora, is there any way to guard against this?”
“There could be,” Leonora says. “It involves magic, of course. I've been texting my parents and it might be a good idea for the whole pack to meet at the cabin so we can do a rite that will protect us all. My mother says there are ways to put up barriers around ourselves. Edwin says so.”
My stomach turns over. Edwin's showed his true colors. “No offense, but our sessions haven't even contacted Remus again,” I say. I've been trying every other night for the past two weeks, meditating in a circle with the Russell Coven, but that warm, altruistic feeling hasn't returned. Only pulling Alex out of the pond did it. Helping my enemy. What am I supposed to do? Help Brett?
“This is different and something anyone can learn to do. I think.” Leonora looks at me and Aunt May. “It might even be a good idea for Noah and Olivia to come, too, just in case Brett goes after them.”
“Cayden needs to show up, too,” I say. “If I can find out where he is.” I send him yet another text and tell him the deal in as many abbreviations as I can manage. Putting up a barrier around ourselves will help and we might not have to work apart anymore.
Cayden texts me back. Guarding Brett.
He's gone to Edwin's house. I should have known and not told him that part. And I know why he's done it. Cayden, despite no longer being alpha, still wants to be the protector. That's the last thing I need. Even while we're apart, Brett will do a number on him. Cayden and I are the most vulnerable to his ability to drain.
What are you doing there?
I saw what he did to you. Don and Nan are with me.
“Is that Cayden?” Aunt May asks.
“Yeah. We had to separate because when Brett was draining us, we were affecting each other since we're mates, you know. He made Cayden go back to where he was mentally when he first lost his parents. And that almost made things go really bad for me.”
“Well, mates always affect each other's moods,” Aunt May says, “and you and Cayden are very close.”
“I don't feel anything at this distance, but I want Cayden away from Brett,” I say, texting him again. Step away from Brett. “At least it'll be hard for him to resist that.”
Leonora peeks at my phone. “I'm not super close to Cayden, but I know he doesn't like being told what to do.”
I can't win ao I pace around the kitchen. “Brett's making him act like a child.”
“Brie, you need to breathe,” Aunt May says. “Some people know how to get under your skin, and Brett's one of them. I haven't seen him before and even I know that.”
Fine, Cayden texts.
And that's it. I wait for an update from Cayden, but the phone stays quiet. “Well, it's too late to do anything else today,” I say. “Brett will probably finish turning by morning. And...I forgot about Callie!” Panic sweeps over me as I fiddle with the phone again and find the answers I need.
At hotel, Callie says. Staying away from the other Hunters. Staying away from Earl too.
Is it working? I ask.
Seems to be. Felt funny around Earl once I got home. Left.
Callie's tougher than what I give her, despite being human. It's as if she's prepared for the idea of getting possessed since I told her about it. I just hate that now she has to deal with it alone.
But I can't let the Savage King take me. He wants me to feel bad for Callie and take the burden on myself.
Callie gives me the address to her hotel, but I can't go and visit her now. I resume pacing around the kitchen. “Callie's pretty much exiled.”
“Brie, breathe,” Aunt May says. Her bright blue eyes are dulling with sadness. She never wanted this fate for me.
“I am breathing. Or I'd pass out.”
She walks over to me and wraps her arm around me. I eye her blue sweater and take in her comfort. She's the last person I have to lean on right now. Until we tame Brett, that is.
Cayden and I can't truly be together until we win.
“You need to sit down. You can't solve everyone's problems no matter how hard you try,” she says.
“I don't really have a choice, do I?”
“Well, things are complicated. If I could be alpha, I would do it,” Aunt May says.
She's not fit for the role. Aunt May spent most of her life suppressing her real nature, just as my father did. “Then we gather tomorrow,” I say. She's right that I need rest or I'm going to make a stupid decision. And maybe Cayden, having spent time away from Brett, will feel better by then.
What if I have to be
cruel to Brett? What if I can't order him around even after he turns?
I don't know if I'm good or evil anymore and that scares me.
* * * * *
“I did some calling around for you,” Leonora says through the dark beyond my eyelids. “And I brought a surprise.”
I force my eyelids to open. I'm in my bed. It's morning. Leonora stands right there in my room. She's changed her clothes back to her old checkered skirt, as if she, too, has reverted back to her old, suppressed life. I sit up, blankets wrapped around me, and blink in the pink morning light.
“How did you get in?” I ask.
“Your aunt? She made me coffee and after I got done peeing from it, I called around to set up another meditation session. This time, we're going to protect ourselves from Brett. We all saw how he made everyone terrible yesterday.”
“Leonora, you're awesome. I owe you more coffee,” I say.
“No,” she says, holding up a hand and turning her freckles down.
At least we seem to be in better moods today. “Brett?” I ask. “He's still in Edwin's basement?”
“Well, maybe I should let you get dressed and not watch you before I talk, because that's creepy,” Leonora says. “I feel better after not being around him, but I took hours to get normal again. I agree with your plan about not being around him for too long at a time. Your pack members are all snapping at each other.”
“No pun intended?” I have to call Cayden. Maybe the episode has passed for him, too, and he feels better.
“None intended.” She leaves me to dress.
I do and shower in a hurry. Once downstairs, Aunt May and Leonora, who are sitting at the kitchen table, give me the deal.
“We meet at eleven this morning,” Leonora says.
“But it's Monday,” I point out.
Aunt May sips her coffee. The whole kitchen smells of it. “I think you can skip school for one day. I'll write an excuse for you.”