by Kaye Draper
I opened my mouth, but Drake poked me in the ribs. "Leave it," he whispered in my ear, crowding close to my back. "It's a dominance thing." I snapped my mouth closed. I still hated feeling like property. But if it helped Luna make an idiot out of this asshole, fine.
"I gave you a chance to leave," Luna said, pulling her shirt off over her head and shimmying out of her pants. "Now you either challenge me—the alpha you've offended—or you get the hell out of my territory. You don't get to toss aside protocol just because I'm a woman."
The guy with the gun lifted his weapon to take aim. Then he fell to the ground, clutching his temples and moaning. Toma's eyes were glowing, and his lips were pulled into a grim line as he did something to the guy's spirit. "Play fair," he said sweetly.
Drake let his fangs down and his claws out, staring down the other wolves around us. "That goes for you furry fuckers, too."
Awan hefted his ever-present stolen rifle. "Just because we can't shift doesn't mean we aren't a pack."
One of the wolves growled in challenge. The others were silent, watching. They had an almost hesitant air to them.
The trespassing alpha sank to his hands and knees, bones crunching as he shifted. "I'll drag you back by your scruff, bitch," he promised as his mouth distorted into a muzzle.
Luna shifted to her wolf form in half the time it took him, shaking out her long, gold and gray fur as if saying she was waiting for him to get on with it.
I almost had a heart attack when the other alpha lunged at Luna. But I shouldn't have worried. She danced aside, much faster and lighter on her feet. And when he did manage to plow into her, she shook it off like it was nothing. It was pretty obvious that this guy was going to get his ass handed to him. But he just wouldn't stop.
One of the surrounding wolves slunk closer. Drake sped around the circle in a blur and punched the beast right between the eyes. He must have been holding back, since the thing's head didn't explode. But the wolf did sink to the ground, shaking its head, eyes glazed and unfocused, tongue lolling.
When the vampire arched a brow at the other wolves, they all crouched low, haunches in the air and ears flat.
The werewolf fight was anti-climactic, really. Not that the big, scary monsters weren't impressive, but it was just over so fast. Luna pinned the male wolf to the ground and growled, her meaning clear. Stop struggling, you've lost.
But he was an idiot, so of course the minute she let him go and started to turn away, he lunged for her again. Luna wasn't an idiot, though, so clearly she'd expected that kind of shit. She spun away and knocked him down. A wash of power rippled through the clearing and the attacking wolf went still, sitting like a good dog and baring his throat under the pressure of Luna's alpha presence.
Luna went for the jugular. It was messy and horrible. Particularly because the wolf didn't even move. He just sat there, under whatever magical hold Luna had on him.
It was over pretty fast after that. My wolf shifted back to human form, her lush curves and rippling honey-colored waves splattered in blood. She cast her glowing eyes over the assembled wolves. "Any other challengers?"
The wolf who had been trying to sneak up on Luna earlier turned tail and ran off. The guy with the dart gun had managed to sit up. He glanced around, held up his hands, and muttered, "I was just following orders, alpha."
Luna narrowed her eyes at him. "You have ten seconds to get out of my sight."
He scurried off after the first wolf.
The remaining four wolves stayed frozen where they were. Luna crossed her arms over her voluptuous breasts and stared them down, as if she was completely unaware she was buck-assed naked. Power was emanating from her like some sort of pagan goddess. Even I wanted to cower a little under the force of that stare.
"Shift," she demanded.
Four wolves turned into human men, but they stayed kneeling, naked on the frosty ground, their heads bent. One of them swallowed hard, the motion making his prominent Adam's apple bob in his long throat. "May I speak, alpha? Please?"
She sighed. "I recognize you. Your father was pack beta. What is it you want to say?"
He nodded his head, looking up, but not quite meeting Luna's eyes. "We never wanted to come on this mission, Alpha. Our pack is corrupt, but you know a subordinate wolf has very little chance of breaking free. I know we have no right to ask it but…please keep us, alpha."
He went back to looking at the ground, his shoulders straight, but his head bowed. Strong and proud, but begging.
Luna turned to me. "Esper?"
I stepped closer to her, not understanding what was going on. "Yeah?"
She took my hand and gestured at the naked men kneeling in my front lawn. I was so glad we hardly got any traffic out here. "Hellsfork is your territory. I'd like to grant their request, but only if you approve."
I looked at her earnest face. "I don't understand exactly what you're asking."
She smiled slightly, then put her serious face back on. "They want me to make them part of my pack. They don't want to go back to the nightmare they came from. Most likely, the alpha forced them to come with him using his dominance over them. And whoever takes over next will probably punish them severely."
I blinked at her. "Oh. And since you freaking insist on making me boss of the town, you think you need my permission?"
She lifted my hand to her lips, brushing a soft kiss over the knuckles. "That, and I would like my mate's input about building a pack here."
I stared into her glittering green eyes. Wow. Luna in alpha mode was…intense. I felt absolutely ridiculous, like something out of a bad werewolf romance novel. "Um. Sure. Whatever you think is best."
She laughed silently over my hand, then straightened and turned to the wolves. "You may swear allegiance to me. But only if you truly wish to stay. Otherwise, you are free to go with no retribution demanded of you, since you were under the control of your alpha when you were ordered to come here."
All four wolves stood. For a minute, I thought they were leaving. Then they paced closer, forming a line in front of Luna. She smiled and her mouth distorted, her werewolf fangs descending. I watched in horror as she pressed her forehead to the first guy's forehead, then tilted his head to the side and savaged his damned neck, leaving him dripping with blood. When she lifted her head, he clapped a hand to his wound, blood seeping through his fingers as he smiled shyly and whispered, "thank you, alpha."
They repeated this process three more times on the remaining guys. Then Luna directed them to her old apartment. The four new Hellsfork wolves shifted back to beast form and took off into the night.
"Well," I said, my voice overly loud in the silence that followed. "That was fun. Where should we bury this thing?" I pointed at the dead werewolf in my front lawn.
Luna huffed. "We don't bury them, we burn them."
I rolled my eyes and sent out a tendril of power, my abilities uncoiling with ease. The dead wolf rolled to its feet and trotted over to sit at my feet like a good doggie—a good doggie who was waist-high, with massive teeth and claws. "Nope," I said firmly. "I'm not wasting this. If any more of the fuckers come here looking for you, they can see firsthand what happens to mutts who misbehave in my town."
Jet appeared at my side, sliding a long arm around my shoulders. "I am so proud of you, stupid magic user. Look at you…spoken just like a real necromancer!"
I shrugged him off. "Let's go find a place to bury fluffy," I said, bringing my dead wolf to heel at as I turned toward the backyard.
I glanced back to find Luna staring at me with a mixture of horror and awe. "You're…terrible, E."
I shrugged. Yeah. I kind of was. But I was also sick to fucking death of assholes attacking us every five fucking minutes. "What?" I said, arching a brow. "Regretting that whole mate thing now?"
She sighed and bent to pick up her clothes. "Absolutely not. But I am regretting ever encouraging you to embrace your powers. I think I've created a monster."
I grinned at her. "No.
I have."
Then I turned and walked my dog puppet out back to his new dirt home. Drake ruffled my hair and went to get a shovel out of the shed. I glanced around to find Toma having a hushed conversation with an invisible person. Probably the alpha's ghost.
I couldn't find it in me to really feel too bad for the guy. He had tried to drug Luna and make her a slave again. And he had been warned.
Apparently, my murder didn't fuck around.
Chapter 6
A couple of days passed, and I found myself getting more and more twitchy and on-edge. I sat in the living room, trying to focus on a book about magic the creepy black witch had loaned me. Toma had been in contact with his coven, and it turned out they hadn't found the collector yet. My murder was up in arms because they insisted that he was probably just biding his time before he came for me again. Especially now he knew that the others in my murder were equally unique and valuable. But all I could think was that my dad, the man I'd thought was dead for the last thirty years—the one who had given me my magic—was still in the clutches of that sadistic asshole while I played with wolves, and worried over my love life, and sat here doing absolutely nothing to save him.
There was a loud bang, and I startled, dropping the musty old book to stare at Awan in surprise. "What the heck?"
She huffed and walked away, then returned with a roll of paper towel to clean up the mug of tea she'd just dropped on the floor. I stood and went to help, picking up the pieces of shattered earthenware so she could get at the tea puddles. I noticed her movements were a bit clumsy. "Was this for me?"
Awan could and did eat and drink—she said it helped to provide some energy for her borrowed body—but she didn't absolutely have to. And she hated herbal tea. She gave me a wry smile. "Well, it was, puppeteer. I'm sorry. This body is…fading."
I reached out and covered one of her hands with my own, noticing it was a touch colder than my skin. "Thank you. I know…I'm sorry I haven't kept my promise to find you a permanent body, but I will. I swear."
She stood and dumped the soggy mess of towels into the small trashcan in the corner. Then she returned to me. "You've had more pressing concerns of late," she said with a shrug. "And besides, I knew when I asked for your help that you would need to grow into your powers before you could do anything." She squeezed my shoulder. "Don't worry, necromancer. I'll be here when everything else is sorted. I literally cannot die. For the most part."
I sighed. "Thanks. But I feel terrible. You're going to have to find a new host soon, aren't you?"
She nodded. "This is nothing new, puppeteer."
I grimaced. No, it wasn't new for her. But it was something she had come to hate. And every day I spent worrying about something else, was another day she spent as a kind of…half person, with no real life of her own. I knew she was tired of living this way, of being on the outside looking in on people's lives.
The eyes that met mine were glassy, taking on an almost foggy sheen. For a minute there, I'd almost forgotten Awan was wearing a corpse. I shuddered.
The hand at my shoulder fell away and she stepped back, her face shuttering. "I'm sorry. I forget, sometimes, that my touch is…disturbing."
My heart ached for her. What must it be like, to know everyone thought you were a disgusting monster, but to have no other way to exist? I swallowed hard and reached out to take her cold hand again, giving it a squeeze. She glanced up at me, startled.
"Thank you for sticking around," I said, meaning it. "You might want me to fix your little problem, but that doesn't mean you're obligated to help me with all my own weird problems. It doesn't mean you have to protect me and the others. But you do it anyway. You're a good woman. Don't go thinking anything else, okay?"
She looked down, but nodded her head. "I…thank you."
I tilted my head and studied her matronly form. "And on a completely different subject," I said with a grin. "Are you a guy or a girl? I mean…you were in a male body when I met you. But are you technically 'she' now? Are you a good woman or a good guy?"
One corner of her mouth lifted, and she shook her head. "Mortals worry about the strangest things. I am…me. Technically, I don't have a physical form. So…I'm neither, really."
I pressed my lips together. "Huh."
She—they?—pulled away, cold hand slipping from mine. "I'll get you another cup of tea. You looked like you needed something warm and caffeinated to get through that tome you're reading."
I snorted. "It's fascinating. Learning about all kinds of magic—I feel like that's a good thing to know. But it's also really disappointing. Because none of it pertains to me. That's witch magic. And I can't do those things."
Awan nodded. "I must admit, I haven't upheld my part of the bargain either, puppeteer. I was supposed to impart my wisdom on you."
I rolled my eyes at their wording. But still. "You've seen necromancers in action before, haven't you?"
They nodded. "I have. Several times. Some of them quite terrible and powerful. I can't tell you how to use your magic. But, much like with that book—it might help to know what is even possible." They turned away. "I'll get your tea and we can talk. Perhaps that will help scratch your itch for knowledge, at least for a time."
By late afternoon, when the sun outside the window started to sink and the shadows started creeping in, my head was about to burst with everything I'd heard. Not only was Awan ancient, they were also a born storyteller. They told me about fleeting encounters they'd had with maybe half a dozen necromancers over their long life. Some of the stories were amusing, like the one about the little necromancer who made an army of ants and marched them about proudly for Awan. But others were terrifying. They'd seen a necromancer raise an army of undead and use it in a war in the middle ages. They'd also seen a necromancer burned at the stake for accidentally using her power where someone could see.
But the ways they'd used their dark power. While it could be a weapon, a tool to terrify and conquer, it could also be used to save lives. To send an animated corpse into a situation to prevent further deaths. To save people. To protect loved ones. I saw Awan come alive as they talked of their past lives and all the places they'd seen and people they'd been. It was like looking into the past through their eyes.
"I even knew a necromancer once," they said with a wink, "who was afraid of the dark! Can you believe it?"
I shoved them, nearly toppling them over into the fire, since we were sitting by the fireplace.
They just continued on. "It's true! She hated using her powers. She was afraid of them, silly girl. Even though everyone around her could see that with a heart as big as hers, she would only use them for good."
I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Now you're just being ridiculous."
They laughed, but the woman's face softened as they looked at me. "Your way of being who you are is just fine, Esper. You don't have to--"
Jet jumped up from his place on the hearth, his fur standing on end. He raced to the window, then morphed into person form. "Stupid necromancer," he said breathlessly. "Danger is coming!"
I stood, not understanding what the hell was going on. Was it more wolves? The collector?
A black SUV came flying down the road, skidded when it tried to stop too fast, and slid into my yard, crushing the old trellis over my front walkway before rocking to a stop.
I gaped through the window into the fading daylight as a tall, gangly teenager jumped out from behind the wheel and pumped his fist in the air. "We fucking made it!" he whooped. He turned toward the house with his hands on his hips, and I saw he had glowing red eyes.
"What the fuck now?" I demanded.
Jet gripped my arm and dragged me out of the room and toward the back of the house. "Vampires. Quite a few of them. And…." He tilted his head and I felt him reaching out his magic. "A vampire hunter? Yes. That's a vampire hunter, I feel. A strong one."
I looked into his gold eyes. "The shit is about to hit the fan again, isn't it?"
He blinked at me. "I'
m not sure I understand. This is just the way your life is, stupid necromancer. The shit hitting the fan would imply that things are suddenly worse somehow."
I sighed. Because…well, he wasn't wrong.
Chapter 7
I stood on the sagging front porch, a pair of yellow rain boots and a jean jacket hastily pulled over my rumpled sweatpants and my "save the sasquatch" t-shirt. Crossing my arms, I glared as menacingly as I could at the group of vampires who had just crashed their damned suburban into my yard.
Okay, so I probably didn't look menacing, what with my frumpy clothes and my frizzy red curls standing up around my head like a demented ginger Medusa. But the alpha werewolf they'd just woken up, and the pretty as sin spirit mage who was currently glowing like a lightning rod…that probably had the desired effect. Awan also stood at my side, their favorite automatic weapon in tow.
"What the hell do you want?" I said through clenched teeth. It had taken me several years to get that rose bush to flourish on the antique trellis that was currently sitting somewhere in the undercarriage of their car.
Their apparent leader, a tall, skinny blond wearing designer label skinny jeans and a suit jacket that screamed "daddy's money," stepped forward. I only recognized his clothes for the excess they were because Jazz had the same brand logo on her stuff. He held up his hands, his mouth stretched into an easygoing smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He was jittery as fuck. And I really didn't want to know what made a vampire nervous. "Hi. Um…hello. I'm Ashton." He ran a hand through his hair and glanced back at the wreckage. "Uh…sorry about that. Dirt roads. Fun huh? Especially when you haven't even driven your own car until five days ago." He laughed nervously.
Another vamp had stepped out of the car, and he came to stand beside the yammering yuppie. Dark eyes took in our weird group standing on the porch of my crumbling Victorian monstrosity of a house. "Apologies," the second man said, inclining his head slightly. He didn't look much older than the first guy, but who knew with vampires, he could be ancient. He had dark brown hair and reddish-brown skin. His mannerisms and his stick-straight spine said he was a rule follower, the grounded one of the bunch. "What he means to say is, we are sorry for barging into your territory in such a manner."