Wolf Pack (Wolf Ridge Book 3)

by Jayne Hawke

  “It’s your dual situation, isn’t it?” Amy asked.

  “Yes.”

  Briar and Adam looked between each other.

  “It is becoming difficult,” Sky said softly.

  “Why do you deny him?” Amy asked.

  “Because she is all I know. All that I am.”

  Amy nodded, satisfied.

  “We’ll go and get some of those brownies everyone loves,” Adam said with a smile.

  I had to admit a sugar hit sounded really good, particularly given we had some long nights ahead of us.

  Rolling my shoulders, I opened up a document and waited for the witches to tell me exactly what I was looking for. We were one step closer to getting Cole.

  “Open air. Lots of space. The ground floor of this house or bigger. Sand. Blood. Supernatural blood,” Sky said.

  “Close to population or far away?” I asked.

  “Far away. He’s ballsy, but this is a long ritual. I think it’ll take a couple of hours. It’s incredibly difficult becoming the avatar of a god.”

  Well, that narrowed it down to abandoned barns and old houses. That was good. I could work with that.

  I lost myself to the work of finding suitable places. Beginning in my territory, I slowly spiralled out, finding more and more potential places as I went. We had no idea how far they’d travelled, but we would.

  “He’ll have chosen somewhere with meaning,” Amy said.

  “Rituals are very personal. He’ll be somewhere he’s familiar with, somewhere safe,” Sky added.

  Chewing on my bottom lip, I widened my search into Liam. We were going to crack this. He had to have left some thread somewhere. We just needed to yank on it.

  15

  Adam and Briar were at their work. Briar had tried to call in sick, but Amy had sent her packing. I’d been serious about not letting this mess interfere with their long-term prospects.

  I handed Sky the last of the Pop-Tarts and a cup of coffee strong enough to stand a spoon in. She gave me a wan smile, and I took the seat opposite her and waited. She had gradually lost her spark and shrunk back into herself. Never before had I seen her quite so run down and quiet. She was a force to be reckoned with, a raging inferno. Yet there she was hunched over as she nibbled on the Pop-Tarts. I was worried about my friend. Something was clearly eating at her.

  “Set and the Morrigan are both trying to stake a claim on me. That means that my magic is spotty where the Morrigan doesn’t have a full grip on me. It also means that my head is a swirling mess because I have two gods trying to push their thoughts in there, and I barely have enough space for my own thoughts most of the time.” Sky sighed. “This is almost unheard of. I think I’m supposed to be honoured, but I’m just exhausted and irritated that I’m not at my best. The Morrigan is all I’ve ever known. Set is a huge risk; he would mean going solitary, and there would be a black mark against me. He feels right, though. All I’ve ever known is the Morrigan. What if I’m just looking for a change?”

  She looked up at me.

  “You don’t have to make the decision yet, right? So you can get a feel for Set and think through the pros and cons?”

  Sky nodded.

  “Don’t rush into this,” Amy said, coming to squeeze Sky’s shoulder.

  “We’ll be here for you. Whatever you decide,” I said.

  Sky relaxed a little and looked more like her usual vibrant self.

  “This will be an awesome story to tell in a few days no matter the outcome, right? Just think of all the free drinks I’ll get,” Sky said with a smile.

  We laughed. It lacked the energy of a real laugh, but it was something.

  I couldn’t imagine being caught between two gods the way Sky was. It sounded agonising and difficult. From what I understood, the gods had a huge impact on how a witch lived their life and on their magic. They crept into every facet of their being.

  Sky knocked back her coffee, and I winced. It was still very hot.

  “I need to pull myself together and focus. I’m going to bang some heads together and find out which coven Liam came from,” she said as she stood.

  “She means literally banging heads together, doesn’t she?” Amy asked.

  “She does,” I confirmed.

  “We don’t have time to play nice and, you have to admit, it feels really good to hear their skulls connect and crunch like that.”

  “I’m more of a throat-tearing kind of girl,” I said.

  Sky nodded.

  “I can understand that.”

  With that, she turned and left the kitchen. Amy shook her head and pushed her notebook in front of me.

  “Try and focus on these symbols. I think they’ll help you dig deep and find more of your guardian magic. Enough to break through the stolen book’s protections.”

  I looked down at the feathery sketches and frowned. When I looked at them, something shifted within me. It was as though my magic writhed and woke up a little, somewhere between my spine and my heart. I’d thought of it as being less physical and more spiritual before.

  “So, I just look at them?”

  “Focus on them. Meditate on them.”

  “Have I mentioned how bad I am at meditation?”

  Amy smiled.

  “Now you’re going to learn.”

  I groaned.

  16

  I glared at those symbols until my head felt as though it were splitting in two. Amy hadn’t told me what I was waiting for, but to me it felt as though it hadn’t happened. I leaned back in my chair and dragged my fingers through my hair trying to think of something more practical to be doing with my time.

  Amy dropped the stolen book in front of me. Her expression was one of a mother with her eyes full of expectation. I opened the book to a random page and looked at the ever-moving squiggles.

  Something changed within me. The writhing sensation turned into something less concerning. Slowly the squiggles transformed into words. Real English words that I could understand.

  I looked up to tell Amy, but they were back to dancing lines when I looked down again.

  “It takes effort and practise,” Amy said.

  I ground my teeth and tried to dig out whatever I’d done the time before. This book could be the clue and information that we really needed.

  “Oh!” Amy said

  “Oh?”

  “The Apophis witch can probably maybe turn into a dragon,” Amy said casually.

  Of course he could.

  The gods were taunting me. They were sending me off to fight a dragon.

  “What’s the next step? Any word from Sky?” Adam asked.

  “Not yet. We haven’t been summoned to retrieve her from a cell either, so I assume she’s doing ok.”

  We were quickly running out of threads to pull. The feeling of failure loomed over me. Shoving it aside, I focused on what we could be doing. Someone had to know Liam and therefore where he’d be.

  Sighing, I re-opened my laptop and was surprised to find an email from a temporary address. There was no name attached, just a set of letters and symbols.

  Rosalyn.

  I have heard that you’re looking for Liam due to his being the Apophis witch. There aren’t many people on your side. You should know that he started in the Epona coven.

  Take him down.

  I re-read the email a couple of times, unsure what to make of it. The information could be fantastic, but what if they were leading us astray again? Could I risk ignoring the email?

  I handed it to Amy who pursed her lips and read it again.

  “I don’t feel any deception,” she finally said.

  “We look into the Epona coven. There’s only one in the state that I know of. An anonymous contact has stated Liam was a member there before he turned to Apophis,” I said firmly.

  The kitchen became a bustle of activity as Adam started making coffee, and the others gathered up the laptops ready to start digging. This could be exactly what we needed.

  I had to
believe that we still had allies in this fight. We couldn’t afford to be led down another useless path.

  The Epona coven was surprising open about what they were and what they did. Epona was a small Celtic goddess who mostly watched over horses. That meant they had a large horse ranch and all members competed in at least one discipline.

  “So, we’re looking for something horse related?” I asked the pack.

  “I think so. It looks like Liam competed in reining and cutting,” Amy said.

  I wasn’t really familiar with horses, but there couldn’t be too much tied into them.

  “Briar, start looking for abandoned barns or barns he could be renting. Adam, look into an old competition ring. Amy, check on pastures, and I’ll continue looking into Liam’s past for something specific.”

  Everyone gave a noise of confirmation, and I took a sip of my revoltingly cold coffee.

  Sky came in bearing copious amounts of Thai food and sushi.

  “So, I banged a lot of heads together.” She placed the food down in the middle of the table. “And it looks as though he started in the Epona coven. Although, what I really got from it is that he has far more connections than we first realised. Half, maybe more of the council is in his pocket. There are at least two entire covens, and multiple groups of fae. There are rumours that he’s gotten some humans involved, too. We’re up against far more than a single witch here.”

  I rubbed my temples while Amy dished out the food.

  “What does this mean for our getting Cole back?” I asked.

  “It means we’re going to have a lot of people getting in our way,” Sky said wearily.

  “And you’re worried your magic won’t be enough to help us,” Amy said softly.

  Sky nodded.

  “Can you still summon your swords?” I asked.

  Sky held out her hand, and a pitch-black sword appeared.

  “Then we’re good,” I said.

  “Agreed. We’re fighting with tooth and nail. We’ll take this witch down with whatever we have. He’s pack. There is no failing,” Briar said.

  Sky smiled and stole a California roll off Amy’s plate. Amy glared at her before she stole two pieces of sushi back.

  “Don’t you dare start a food fight,” I growled at them.

  “Food’s precious to wolves,” Briar said softly.

  The witches quietly put the rest of the food out, and everyone began eating.

  “So how do we deal with the allies?” Adam asked.

  “We need to find out which witches so we know their magical potential,” Amy said.

  “And which council members. That’ll tell us who and what they roped in,” I added.

  If shifters were involved then we could potentially be up against entire packs of cougars or bears. I felt safe in thinking no garou were involved. My instincts told me they had more sense than to join something as insidious as the Apophis witch.

  “We need more allies of our own,” Sky said.

  Amy turned her laptop to face me. A long list of names and magical types sat before me.

  “That’s the number of people I’ve managed to find so far.”

  “Working for the Apophis witch?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  I cursed under my breath. There were at least forty names. Sky was right. We needed to build our own small army.

  “We start with the local garou. Sky, do you have anyone you can call on?” I asked.

  “I have a couple of favours I can call in.”

  “Briar? Adam?” I asked.

  “Same. There are a couple of people who owe us.”

  “I have a few people too,” Amy said.

  “The more people we have, the more chance we have of finding Cole, too,” Adam said.

  He was right. We’d be able to cover more ground and have a better chance at finding the right connection. We were getting so close now. I had to believe that.

  17

  The Epona coven was surprisingly open about what they were and what they did. Epona was a small Celtic goddess who mostly watched over horses. That meant they had a large horse ranch and all members competed in at least one discipline.

  “So we’re looking for something horse related?” I asked the pack.

  “I think so. It looks like Liam competed in reining and cutting,” Amy said.

  I wasn’t really familiar with horses, but there couldn’t be too much tied into them.

  “Briar, start looking for abandoned barns or barns he could be renting. Adam, look into an old competition ring. Amy check on pastures, and I’ll continue looking into Liam’s past for something specific.”

  Everyone gave a noise of confirmation and I took a sip of my revoltingly cold coffee.

  Sky came in bearing copious amounts of Thai food and sushi.

  “So I banged a lot of heads together,” she placed the food down in the middle of the table, “and it looks as though he started in the Epona coven. Although, what I really got from it is that he has far more connections than we first realised. Half, maybe more, of the council is in his pocket. There are at least two entire covens, and multiple groups of fae. There are rumours that he’s gotten some humans involved too. We’re up against far more than a single witch here.”

  I rubbed my temples while Amy dished out the food.

  “What does this mean for our getting Cole back?” I asked.

  “It means we’re going to have a lot of people getting in our way,” Sky said wearily.

  “And you’re worried your magic won’t be enough to help us,” Amy said softly.

  Sky nodded.

  “Can you still summon your swords?” I asked.

  Sky held out her hand and a pitch-black sword appeared.

  “Then we’re good,” I said.

  “Agreed. We’re fighting with tooth and nail. We’ll take this witch down with whatever we have. He’s pack. There is no failing,” Briar said.

  Sky smiled and stole a California roll off Amy’s plate. Amy glared at her before she stole two pieces of sushi back.

  “Don’t you dare start a food fight,” I growled at them.

  “Food’s precious to wolves,” Briar said softly.

  The witches quietly put out the rest of the food and everyone began eating.

  “So how do we deal with the allies?” Adam asked.

  “We need to find out which witches so we know their magical potential,” Amy said.

  “And which council members. That’ll tell us who and what they roped in,” I added.

  If shifters were involved, then we could potentially be up against entire packs of cougars or bears. I felt safe in thinking no garou were involved. My instincts told me they had more sense than to join something as insidious as the Apophis witch.

  “We need more allies of our own,” Sky said.

  Amy turned her laptop to face me. A long list of names and magical types sat before me.

  “That’s the number of people I’ve managed to find so far.”

  “Working for the Apophis witch?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  I cursed under my breath. There were at least forty names. Sky was right. We needed to build our own small army.

  “We start with the local garou. Sky, do you have anyone you can call on?” I asked.

  “I have a couple of favours I can call in.”

  “Briar? Adam?” I asked.

  “Same. There are a couple of people who owe us.”

  “I have a few people too,” Amy said.

  “The more people we have, the more chance we have of finding Cole too,” Adam said.

  He was right. We’d be able to cover more ground and have a better chance at finding the right connection. We were getting so close now. I had to believe that.

  18

  The Blue Dagger pack was the closest one to my territory. I hadn’t made any attempt to contact them before, but needs must. They should feel that I was a guardian and make this nice and easy. Of course, there were no guarantees.
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  A pair of wolves ran alongside my old Mustang as I drove down the well-worn dirt track to what I’d been told was the pack house. It was buried deep within the forest and looked to be well maintained when it came into view.

  It wasn’t as flashy as Cole’s house, as my home, but was still a pretty house with plenty of room for a good-sized pack. The pale grey stone gave strong walls and an imposing feel as the house sprawled out before me. Three stories - each looked to hold a good ten or more rooms, meaning there could be forty or more in this pack.

  I hadn’t done much research into them before I started driving. There wasn’t time. The clock was ticking, and I had to take risks, for Cole’s sake. A part of me hoped he’d be proud of me, but I could hear him grumbling in the back of my mind. There was protocol to be followed, and etiquette. How would I feel if a strange garou drove right up to my front door?

  Two more wolves joined the original two when I pulled up behind a brand-new Mustang. The newer car was pristine with a beautiful deep blue paint job. I patted the hood of my old car and reassured myself that it was the better car. The wolves growled at me and moved in close with their hackles raised. They were intimidating up close, each with powerful muscles beneath their short grey coat.

  Allowing my instincts to rise, I bared my teeth and growled at the largest of the group with the smudge of red running down his spine. His ears flattened to his head, and I growled more as I stepped forward. The others echoed my growl, but I ignored them. He was the beta, and the one I needed to push so I could speak with the alpha.

  Something clicked within the beta, and he lowered his head, bowing a little. The other three dropped to their stomachs and looked away from me. Smiling, I walked around them to the front door, where a tall brunette woman stood glaring at me.

  “Who do you think you are to make my guards submit!?”

  “I am the garou guardian,” I growled.

  She narrowed her eyes and looked deep into my eyes. A small gasp confirmed that she saw or felt something within me.

  “What brings a guardian to our door?”