by M H Soars
“Okay, so what do we do now?”
“I have to go back in or my absence will be noticed. You three should come with me.” Brian looks pointedly at my brothers and me.
“Hell no. I’m not leaving Red alone.” I hold her tighter.
“It’s best if you’re not around when Red attempts to connect with the stone,” Mrs. Redford says, immediately pissing me off. I don’t even try to conceal my snarl.
Red steps away from my embrace, then looks at the house. “I’ll be okay.” She turns to me. “Don’t worry, Sam.”
“We just got you back.” I step into her personal space again, capturing her face with my hands.
“The entire property is protected by wards. No enemy will break through,” Brian says.
Ignoring the druid, I kiss Red hard, sensing the same protective vibe coming from my brothers. Not wanting to be a selfish cad and monopolize Red, I step away, giving Tristan and Dante a chance to do what they must.
Dante kisses Red as well, then hugs her tight and whispers something in her ear. When he steps away, Red turns to Tristan. He simply stares without uttering a word. Seconds pass without either of them moving, turning the atmosphere heavy with tension. He’s been acting like an asshole since we left the Montgomery mansion, and I swear to God if he doesn’t get his act straight, I’m going to kick his ass.
He finally moves, stopping in front of Red. Touching a strand of her hair, he doesn’t make eye contact with her when he speaks, his words so low they’re almost a whisper.
“I do love you. More than you know.”
A gale of relief whooshes out of my lungs. For a second, I was afraid he was going to say something mean to her. Red’s expression softens as she parts her lips to reply, but Tristan turns around and heads for Brian’s house without a backward glance. Fuck. Here I was thinking he was over his jerk ways.
I’m glowering at his retreating back when I feel Dante’s presence at the edge of my conscience.
“What?” I ask.
“Don’t bite Tristan’s head off yet. I sensed great turmoil within him. Whatever it is he learned when he and Red visited their past memories disturbed him profoundly.”
Grumbling, I reply, “Fine. As long as he doesn’t say or do anything stupid, I’ll give him a wide berth.”
Red turns to her grandmother. “What should I do?”
“Come with me. The further away we are from the energies of the other supernaturals, the better. You need to connect with the powers of the four elements without disruptions.”
I watch Shady Grandma, barely containing my glower. “You’d better not be leading Red to another trap, witch. If anything happens to her, you’ll have to deal with me.”
Mrs. Redford rolls her eyes. “I’m quivering in fear.”
Taking a step in her direction, I snarl viciously. Dante holds my arm, pulling me back. “Settle down, Sam.”
“Jesus Christ, Sam. Are you trying to jump Grandma to defend Red? That’s an odd twist to Little Red Riding Hood.” Nina stands casually on the front porch of the house, smart mouth having no problem reaching us. Billy and Nina’s brother Leo flank either side of her.
“Usually the wolf is trying to eat Little Red, not save her.” Billy turns to Nina in a conspiring manner, and I have to do a double take. What the hell happened to him? That’s not an omega talking.
To my surprise, the fox laughs at the kid’s comment before slyly saying, “Well, I suppose he did eat the girl.”
Red makes a disgruntled sound in the back of her throat. When I turn to her, I find her cheeks tinged pink.
“Are you coming in or not? Tristan is already in a piss-poor mood, no surprise there, and I’m afraid he’ll punch someone in the next minute or so if you don’t come rein him in.”
Dante and I lock gazes. Without a word, we head for the house. Something is definitely wrong with our brother if he can’t be civil for a minute without our intervention. This feels like déjà vu, but I shake the feeling aside. Tristan is not Dad. He can’t be.
The moment we enter Brian’s living room, all eyes turn to us. I immediately spot Mom sitting on the couch, sandwiched between Zaya and Carol, Brian’s wife. The bruises on her face are already fading, but she still has her leg bandaged. She gives Dante and me a small smile, before her gaze shifts to the three alphas standing together on her left.
I recognize two of them. Francois Boucher, a dark man with long dreadlocks and the best-dressed shifter I’ve ever met is from the Montreal pack. He’s standing next to his counterpart, the alpha of the Vancouver pack, Blake Prescott, a short ginger with freckles on his face who looks like he’s fifteen, not thirty. Blake just became the alpha of his pack recently, last year to be precise, when his father died in a car crash. Dad and his father were tight. Understandably, Dad maintained a close relationship with the son as well. The third man is the most intriguing one, and I can only assume he’s Simon Riddle, the London pack’s alpha.
Simon breaks away from the group, striding in our direction. He shakes hands with Dante first, then me, before offering his condolences. Tristan is at the opposite end of the room, observing the interaction with visible distrust. Would it kill him to pretend we don’t suspect these alphas?
The British alpha is the only one who took the trouble to address Dante and me. The other two remained where they were, just watching. I don’t like this. Why are they keeping their distance? Unless they have something to hide. All this time, we’ve only been hunting for one traitor, but what if there are more?
Jared comes up to me, clapping my shoulder. “Everything all right?”
“Not even close.” I search the room, noticing someone I didn’t expect to see here. Riku Ogata, Nina and Leo’s father.
“What is he doing here?” I ask.
“I convinced him to step out of his hiding cave,” Leo replies next to me, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“You did?”
Leo shrugs. “He can’t expect to stay on the fringe forever. Eventually, every supernatural being must take a stand.”
“Why are you surprised?” Nina chimes in. “Dad will do anything for Leo. It has always been this way.”
“That’s not true, Nina,” Leo counters.
Brian strides to the middle of the room, deliberately making eye contact with every single supe there before he addresses us.
“I don’t believe we’re expecting anyone else, so we can start the meeting.”
“Wait a second. Aren’t we missing the girl responsible for this mess?” Blake says, earning angry snarls from my brothers and me.
“Red is not responsible for anything,” Dante replies through clenched teeth. “Valerius has been plotting to take over Crimson Hollow before she ever entered the picture. She was just an excuse.”
“Do we know how many wolves Valerius has in his army? And how about the human hunters?” Simon steps in, veering the conversation to a less volatile topic.
“We do not have an exact count of the wolves Valerius has under his control, but it’s safe to say his numbers are at least double what we have,” Tristan answers.
“I brought ten of my best enforcers with me.” Simon turns to Francois and Blake, expecting them to speak next.
“I’m afraid I can’t match Simon’s numbers,” Blake says. “My pack is small, and I can’t afford to lose any wolves to a war that’s not mine.”
“So why the hell did you come here, then?” Tristan growls.
“To learn firsthand how royally your pack fucked up.”
Ah, shit. I sense it before it happens; Tristan readies to jump Blake here in the middle of Brian’s living room. I can’t blame him for wanting to. I’m almost there, too.
Xander holds Tristan back, and there’s no escaping from the bear’s strong hold.
Mom stands up, then takes a few steps in Blake’s direction, her eyes flashing with anger. “If you came here to create discord, I’d suggest you leave now.”
Francois touches Blake’s shoulder, pushing him back, be
fore he offers an apologetic glance at my mother.
“Blake is concerned about how Valerius was able to gain so much advantage without anyone being the wiser.”
“We have our illustrious mayor to thank for that,” I say, unable to hold my tongue any longer. “Until a few days ago, she was siding with Valerius. She has since changed her tune now that the shit has hit the fan.”
“Do you have proof Georgina was conniving with Valerius?” Riku asks.
“Not concrete evidence, but we all know that bitch has a vendetta against our pack,” Tristan replies.
“Forget the mayor. Right now, she’s the least of our worries. We know Valerius has several wolves in his army, and an unknown number of humans with guns that can kill us. Plus, he also has an archdemon at his disposal,” Dante says.
Francois and Blake seem to blanch at the mention of the archdemon, and I wonder if their reaction is genuine or fake. Right now, those two clowns are on my list of suspects. I trust neither. Simon rubs his chin as he digests the information, a slightly uneasy expression briefly crossing his features.
“We need to act now. We can’t just sit around and wait for Valerius to bring all his might here to Crimson Hollow. His war will not only affect the supernatural community, but also all inhabitants,” I add, tired of this inaction.
“You’re asking us to bring the fight to his territory? A place he has the advantage? That’s insane.” Rick counters.
“Not if we catch him by surprise,” Nina intervenes, earning a glare of disdain from her father. She doesn’t seem to notice or maybe she has an excellent poker face. “I suggest we blow up the building where his lab of horrors is.”
Nina’s comment catches me by surprise. How does she know about the lab? Maybe she acquired more intel since the last time we spoke.
“I’m all for blowing shit up,” Jared’s brother says.
Francois scoffs, crossing his arms. “How do you suggest we blow up a building? With druid magic?”
Nina shrugs. “If not with magic, we can always go the traditional route, TNT.”
Blake lets out a humorless laugh. “And where are you going to get your hands on that, little fox?”
Billy growls low in his throat, the sound surprisingly vicious as he takes a menacing step toward the alpha. “You’d better watch your tongue, buddy.”
The Canadian alpha looks Billy up and down, as if he is an insignificant insect. “And who the fuck are you?”
“He’s one of our best enforcers, and very much capable of going against a brand-new alpha,” Tristan replies, his eyes crackling with fury.
Faster than I can blink, Nina crosses the distance between her and Blake, shoving him against the wall and jerking him up by his neck. “What are you truly doing here?”
The alpha begins to shift, but Nina slams something into his neck, stopping the shift and somehow rendering the alpha paralyzed. No one breathes.
“Let go of me, bitch.”
Nina flicks her wrist, and the alpha begins to convulse. What the fuck? Francois finally snaps out of his paralyses, making a motion to help his friend. But Dante and I block his way. Nina wouldn’t attack someone without reason.
“Answer me!” she says.
“Fuck you,” Blake replies.
Nina zaps him again, not stopping until his eyes roll back into his sockets. She steps away, letting him drop to the floor like a bag of trash.
“Nina Ogata. What in the world did you do?” her father asks, gaping at her.
Ignoring everyone, the fox crouches next to Blake and begins to search his clothes. A moment later, she pulls a folded manila envelope from his jacket pocket.
“What’s that?” I ask.
She glances inside. With a victorious smirk, she throws the envelope to me. After opening it and figuring out what’s inside, I have to count to ten in my head so I don’t fucking kill that son of bitch while he’s passed out.
“Motherfucker,” I say, handing the envelope to Dante. “Chips. Blake had chips with him.”
“Shit,” Dante hisses.
“Can someone explain what the hell just happened here?” Francois glances at me, then at his fallen comrade.
“Valerius is using chips to control his wolves,” Mom says. “Anthony had such an implant that eventually made him turn against his pack. That’s why my sons fought him.”
Francois seems distraught as he stares at Mom without blinking. “Do you think Blake was responsible for Anthony’s chip?”
“We suspected someone betrayed him during the Vancouver trip. We just didn’t know who. Now we do.”
I turn to Nina, the question burning in my mind. “How did you know it was Blake?”
She pulls a ring from his finger before she stands up. “I saw him playing with this, and I immediately recognized it for it was. A magical object forged by fae that has the ability to disrupt wards.”
I want to ask how she’d known what it was from where she stood, but the question gets lodged in my throat when all members of the Kane family let out a simultaneous loud gasp.
“What is it?” Tristan asks.
“The wards have been breached,” Brian replies, his eyes wide in disbelief.
I lock gazes with my brothers, and we all have the same thought. Red.
Chapter 46
Red
I follow Grandma deeper into the woods surrounding Brian Kane’s property, keenly aware that the farther we get from the house, the warmer the stone in my hand becomes. My heart is beating staccato; my tongue is dry. I have no idea what to expect. I’ve barely gotten used to the idea that I’m a wolf shifter; now I must embrace some hidden witch powers, too?
We must have walked a couple of minutes before Grandma stops by a creek. Lifting her chin, she takes a deep breath, then exhales loudly with a contented sigh.
Turning around, she smiles. “Ready?”
“No.” I cross my arms in front of my chest, pouting.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. A witch’s initiation is painless, natural.”
“I’m not afraid. I’m just not sure I want to awaken my powers.”
“Are you worried about Tristan’s feelings?”
Her question gives me pause, and I frown. “Why do you say that?”
“He’s never made any secret he doesn’t like witchcraft.”
“He’s my mate, not my keeper. I can make my own decisions.” I lift my chin stubbornly.
“That’s good to hear. Now, place the stone on the ground in front of you. Then close your eyes, open up your channels, and let the energy from nature run through you.”
“That’s sound like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to me.” I drop the stone to the ground. When I straighten my back, I find Grandma glaring.
“You’ve experienced the power you had in a previous life. You know what you’re capable of, so I can only assume you’re being sassy because you’re angry with me.”
“I’m not angry. I’m furious. But I’m not here to hear you say—for the thousandth time, I might add—that you did what had to be done.”
“Very well. I won’t speak a word about that again, and since my presence is getting you frazzled, I’ll leave you alone.”
“What? That’s it? You’re just going to bail?”
“I already told you what to do. You don’t need me.”
Good to her word, she walks away, leaving me completely alone in the forest. A shiver runs down my spine, making me rub my arms up and down. I have no reason to be afraid of being alone. Brian said the property is protected by wards. It takes a few minutes for the anxiety to leave my body, though. When I finally feel ready to connect with nature, I close my eyes, attempting to empty my mind of everything else. It’s almost impossible to accomplish that considering everything I’ve been through.
Damn it. This is not working. I’m tempted to call upon the great wolf apparition for help, but if the property is protected, I’m not sure the guardians would be able to come. Besides, I instinctively realize I must do t
his on my own.
Instead of attempting to force all my thoughts out of my head, I pay attention to the noises in my surroundings. The first distinct sound is of the creek rushing by. Then I pick up the sound of birds, chirping as they fly above. I take a deep breath, inhaling the sweet smell of earth and green leaves. A soft breeze brushes over my skin. With that comes a new awareness. A soft humming around me, almost like a crackling energy shield. My legs and arms turn a little numb for a second, before heat spreads through them. Inside, my wolf’s essence makes its presence known, but it’s not trying to break free. It seems to be greeting this new power that’s flowing freely through my veins and my mind. A rush of energy converges to my core suddenly, mixing with the wolf there. It brightens the world around me, despite the fact that my eyes are still closed. It expands until it’s all I can feel, an indescribable feeling that makes me whole.
Finally, the surge of power ebbs away, not leaving me completely. It’s now contained, next to my wolf’s energy, ready to be called upon when I need it. Blinking my eyes open, I stare at the forest. Everything is still the same, but somehow different. Remembering the sacred stone, I glance down, relieved it’s still there. When I bend to pick it up, it flares with a bright light. Little tendrils of electricity escape from inside, wrapping around my hand. It’s painless, but when the stone returns to its dormant state, it has a different color. It’s now green. Does that mean it’s linked to me?
My spine goes rigid when I sense a disturbance in the air. Turning around, I search for the source.
“Grandma?”
I hear a grunt, but it’s not coming from her. It’s a man’s voice. The smell of blood reaches my nose, making my entire body tense. I don’t know if I should run, shift, or wait where I stand.
A familiar shape breaks through the shrubbery. I haven’t thought about him since my new life as wolf turned upside down, but Peter is here, badly hurt, and clutching at his middle. Without hesitation, I run to him.
“Pete. Oh my God. What happened to you?”
He falls on his knees before I can reach him, his face scrunched in pain. His hand is bloody.