Lost Little Wolf

by N. K. Vir

  “Ask him?” he hissed accusingly.

  “Wills did mention that the only witch stronger than you is him,” she calmly replied.

  He could feel his mouth opening and closing but no words would come out. She stood up and took a few steps towards him. He, in turn, took a few steps back. They continued to move like a skittish dancing couple until the wall stopped his retreat.

  “It’s said that with practice the Sinclair Witch can become as powerful as any member of the Trinity.”

  “And you think he is going to help me achieve that goal?” he asked dumfounded.

  “If he cares about his own daughter well-being?” she questioned with a shrug of her tiny shoulders. “I’ve never met a daddy that hasn’t always put the interests of his own daughter above his own.”

  He searched for the right words to use but was saved from having to answer by a loud, angry screech as Wills, cursing as she flew past them, nearly ripped the screen door of its hinges as she ran out of the house cursing the very man they had been discussing. He paused a moment; a triumphant smile cursing his face as he stared down at Daisy.

  “Adam may be many things but a ‘daddy’ is not one of them Daisy,” he explained as his eyes scanned for any signs of the man they had just been discussing. His palms were itchy and perhaps Daisy had been right about one thing, he could use some practice. If only the bastard would show his face.

  “Why do I have the feeling that my help was not received with the level of gratitude one should expect?”

  Oh, that voice sent steel shooting through his spine. He laid his overheated palms on Daisy’s shoulders and carefully moved her out of the line of fire. He rolled his shoulders and neck enjoying the popping sounds of his vertebrae as he stared down the man whose name had all but been outlawed in recent weeks.

  “Adam,” he acknowledged with a toothy, condescending grin.

  “I am warning you baby witch this shirt is expensive,” he said pointing a manicured finger in his direction. “I gave you the first one for free. I will expect payment if you were to damage this one.” The mocking tilt of his head had him seeing red but it was the sound of tires squealing and Wills’ terrified voice that drew his attention quickly away from the man who constantly brought trouble to their door.

  “The little changeling may not be a good cook but she is right about one thing baby witch,” he said with an air of modesty. “I do care what happens to Rosemary. Seeing as it is your job to protect her.”

  The screaming intensified and he felt himself torn.

  “No!”

  Wills’ voice…

  A pleading scream…

  That was all it took to completely rip Marian’s screen door completely off its hinges.

  Adam had barely finished relaying his message and her feet were in motion. She had at least planned ahead for this possible outcome. She had researched every archaic record she could find concerning the attacks against the Historian in the past. None of them had ended with the Historian surviving. None of the attackers had survived either save one…Kane. In a way she thought herself lucky. She had survived one assassination attempt. No one else had been so lucky.

  Marian had warned her.

  Most of what she had uncovered had been buried under layers of dust. In modern times most Historians died in their beds. Magick, it seemed, had been tamed by the union of the Trinity. The title of Historian had been passed down for generations with little more than a hiccup as the right of power shifted from one of the ordained to the next. Then the lines of genealogy crossed.

  She had not thought out her decision to accept the mantle and the title that had been forced upon her. In the heat of the moment she saw it only as a means to protect not only herself but her friends as well. She never once thought that any of them would be in danger after the fact. Kane had been playing a long game. The moment she took her eyes of the game board he had struck.

  This time he wasn’t going directly after her.

  He was going after Tanith.

  The little orphaned wolf had become a different girl after that night. She had heard her prowling the edges of the property that surrounded the house she had inherited from her late aunt. She had not grown restless but was instead trying hard to make amends for a sin that had not been hers. Kane had been responsible. They all knew it. Though proof in the magickal world was harder to come by. Daily Tanith carried a scar that was not hers to carry. The physical side she would always wear. It was the emotional one that Wills was currently trying to erase.

  Her mind raced navigating the lengthy halls as she dug her way out of the underground library and clamored for the surface. She had to get to Tanith before they found her. For all of her forward thinking in the heat of the moment she found she could not think. When she hit the kitchen and blew past Kieran and Daisy, she nearly ran through the screen door, she had no idea what she would do if confronted with Kane. When she felt the warmth of the sun on her face she hesitated, unsure of what to do or where to go. Luck happened to be on her side as she saw Lucas’ beat up pickup pull down the long gravel driveway.

  Her lungs exhaled a grateful breath as her hands fell on her knees in an attempt to regain her breath. A relieved chuckle escaped her as she thanked a dozen deities for their assistance. Her eyes fluttered closed as her breathing slowly returned to normal but her heart refused to settle in her chest as she realized that they were not alone and Lucas was driving faster than usual.

  Her brain emptied as panic set in.

  Lucas had barely thrown the car into park before he jumped out. The hair on his arms was thickening as the length and girth of his massive biceps stretched the fragile skin that housed them. His change was riding him hard and only years of willpower were keeping him in his human form. She laid an unsure hand on his back and was greeted with a sudden sharp snarl as his head snapped to see who had snuck up on him from the rear. Tears of fright filled her eyes as she met Lucas’ feral ones but she did not flinch; instead she pressed the palm of her hand firmly against his back in an attempt to soothe and show power. She felt the taunt musculature of his deltoids relax under her hands as she inhaled a shaky breath.

  “Lucas,” she managed to sound in control even though the racing beat of her heart had her fearing an early death due to cardiac arrest.

  His own massive chest heaved as he fought to control the angry change that had over taken him when the unknown vehicle skidded to a stop in front of the well-worn pickup. His soft brown eyes filled with tears and she forced herself to smile up at him. His elongated fangs began to recede into the soft pink of his gums but she did not miss the slight quiver of his lips.

  He was afraid.

  Her eyes flicked into the cab of his truck but her hand never lost contact with the thick expanse of his back. She knew she had two beasts to ease. She had one under control; it was the second that concerned her most.

  “Tanith,” she whispered gently afraid that she might spook the restless girl. Her eyes remained downcast as if she hadn’t heard her name called. “Tanith,” she repeated.

  “They’re coming for me,” she softly replied her voice even and steady not betraying the fear that should be racing through her.

  “I know,” she sadly replied.

  Lucas’ growl of anger caused her to flinch but she kept a firm hand on his back hoping that it would keep him in his human form and give her less of a fight. No fight meant that maybe they could escape the confrontation with their numbers not whittled away.

  “I am not going to let that happen today,” she said with more conviction than she felt. “Stay in the truck no matter what happens.” Tanith did not acknowledge her. “Tanith!” she barked. The girls head snapped to her and Wills could not help but smile at the fight she saw blazing behind those usual eyes. “No matter what happens stay in the truck,” she repeated. “It’s about to get heavy and hard,” she warned them both.

  She saw Tanith nod in agreement; Lucas was proving more difficult to convince.


  She allowed her eyes to slip away from Tanith as she focused on Lucas. The sweet hulk with the brain of a scholar and the heart of a loyal lion was going to be more difficult to talk down. The urge to change kept shifting; she could feel the slight ripple in the taught muscles beneath her hand. He knew he had to stay human to avoid an unbalanced fight, but he wanted to shift to protect Tanith. She kept firm, even contact with him never allowing her hands to drift away from his tense frame as she slid around to face him. His eyes were focused on the danger that was approaching over her shoulder. For the moment she chose to ignore it and focus on her friend who was having a hard time controlling the urge to protect.

  “Lucas, I know who and what is coming and I promise you I won’t let him take her.” Her soft words broke through the wall of red that was blocking him from seeing anything besides the approaching danger.

  She felt the rumble of his whimper vibrate the palms of her hands. When his eyes finally met hers she knew she had reached the small part of him that still fought to remain human. If the wolf had been any closer to the surface she would not have been able to convince him.

  “If he so much as twitches in this direction wolf out baby,” she said with a grin.

  Looking back she would claim every action she took after speaking those words was done unconsciously. A strange form of muscle memory had taken over every step and gesture; but the mind had never been classified as a muscle, and her mind was working sharply all on its own. Her eyes fluttered closed and when she opened them Kane was standing a few feet in front of her.

  He was close enough to see the fine specks of green in his hazel eyes and the rage and anger that lay barely hidden beneath the surface. Lucas’ soft, menacing growl behind her barely registered as she took another brave step towards the man, the being, this was the demigod that had sought her death from the instant he had learned of her existence; in that moment she felt fear bubble up in her stomach.

  “Kane,” she managed to put the single syllable together without betraying the fear that she felt.

  Had she been watching herself from the outside she would have been impressed by the proud stance she had taken. Her legs held her weight comfortably. Her feet were balanced beneath the weight of her shoulders as her spine stretched from the base of her skull to the tip of her spine. Her head was tilted back at a challenging angle as the tip of her chin pointed towards her adversary. Her hands were resting comfortably on her hips as a cool, crooked smile curved her full mouth upwards and her eyes defiantly stared the demigod down as if she held the power in the situation.

  “Historian,” he growled back with a curt nod of his head. “Give us the shifter and we will be on our way.”

  She felt as well as heard the rumble of Lucas’ next growl as she stepped in front of him. Kane’s eyes flicked over her head to meet Lucas’ and a smile stretched his face turning an angry man into a handsome one. The transformation shocked her. Hidden beneath the hair and glares was a face that would woo women and, probably men, alike. The light laugh lines that bracketed his hazel eyes showed that at one time the man had carried warmth in his heart instead of the raw anger he now constantly projected. Her aunt’s file on Lucas remained where she had left it, a thin layer of dust covering the notes she had put off reading. A lost thought began to tingle at the back of her brain. The sensation began to grow, warning her; there was something important she had missed.

  The smile dropped from Kane’s face as she continued to stare at him and she realized it had somehow been transformed to her face.

  “Moira,” her lips whispered. The scene in front of her began to fade and was replaced by strange glowing symbols not unlike the ones she had been studying earlier before Kieran had almost set the book on fire.

  She felt more than saw Kane’s advance towards her in response to the word she had uttered. His face lacked the anger it usually carried and even his earlier mirth had been replaced by a sense of sadness that looked out of place on the king of the wolves. The look evaporated almost as quickly as it had appeared and had she not been sure that it had been there she would have thought she was hallucinating. The sound of Tanith’s light feet hitting the gravel beneath them ripped their attention away.

  She heard someone scream “NO!” and belatedly recognized her voice.

  The air around the truck began to heat up; it was a sensation she had gotten used to. She could feel him surrounding her. There was a sense of warmth and safety. Then there was a flash of brilliant white light followed by a loud pop and sizzle. Her eyes blinded, her ears ringing and the smell of ozone still clung to her nostrils, but stranger still she was on the ground.

  Hell, it seemed, had erupted from the ground beneath them.

  Chapter Three

  Inspiration and Lightning

  Indecision had her chewing on her bottom lip until the salty tang of blood coated her tongue. The terrifying scene unfolding in front of her was her fault. Her loneliness had led her, had led them all, to this point. A woman she hardly knew was protecting her from a fate she deserved. Her bare feet kicked the battered dash of the truck she had been cowering in. Her skin pricked and tingled with the urge to change and flee like she had done for most of her life. It was an itch she desperately wanted to scratch raw. She had not crawled out of her human skin since the night she had tried to murder the woman who now stood between two giants in an attempt to protect her.

  She wasn’t worth it.

  No one knew that better than her.

  Her eyes flicked to the only person who saw her differently. The skin of his deeply scarred arms rippled as the thick muscles it encased twitched and bulged as it sought to maintain its weaker form. She had always envied his natural self-control. He had often battled in human form; his mind had always been his best attribute. He had been old by the time he had learned to use his strength. Many of the scars on his body were a testament to his greatest strength of all; his will.

  Born a runt and subjugated to the bullying of his brothers that were born stronger and faster than him he had endured many of his wounds from a family that did not understand him. For years she too had taken advantage of him; her eyes always set upon what she could never be.

  Her watery gaze shifted towards the paragon she had only heard about until recently.

  The woman looked like a child wedged between two giants yet she commanded them both with ease. Her short cropped midnight colored hair whipped about her face like a goddess calling upon the elements to defend her. Her petite frame rigidly stood in defiance as she faced down the shadow that had hunted them all for weeks. The pale blush of her skin did not redden with anger; nor did it blanch in fear. She held fast and hard to a power that was invisible but palpable.

  She found herself sucked in by the regal trance of the dark haired beauty that held the field captive with only her presence. She possessed no magick yet the world outside the small cab that offered her shelter was enthralled by the woman’s spell. A strange sense of familiarity drew her to scoot forward as she too felt the pull of power this woman was radiating. Flashes of something akin to memories raced through her mind. Her inhuman ears heard the woman’s whispered word. Her hand drifted down to the chipped handle of the thin barrier of steel that cocooned her inside a false cage of security. Her ears registered the soft click as the door latch released and freed her to step out into the late afternoon warmth of a planet, a place, which had always felt like a refuge instead of a home.

  Names, friend and foe raced through her human mind; names of those who had shown compassion and understanding.

  Lucas…The alpha Were born a runt but destined by birth to lead. He would make a fantastic leader one day. Her watery eyes further blurred her vision as her bare feet met the gravel of the earth below her. She would not live, she realized, to see him obtain the honor of alpha.

  Wills…The beautiful librarian who had been sucked into a world she was still struggling to understand. She sniffed back the tears as they threatened to spill over and run down he
r cheeks as she realized they shared more common ground than falling in love with the same man.

  Kane…The handsome king of wolves who relentlessly haunted them. He was the feared beast of the Trinity; who had developed a morbid fascination with her and seemed to constantly search for her death.

  Daisy…The tiny pixie who surrounded herself with rocks and stones in an attempt to keep up with the magickal creatures she had adopted as friends.

  Kieran…The man, the witch, who had pulled her away from wandering the world alone, lost and afraid; and became the first man she had fallen in love with. Her eyes reached towards the distance; scanning for his face one last time. Death had come for her and she was willing to step into its embrace; her heart wanted one last glimpse of him. A beautiful piece of life before she was ripped from this deadly world and the light left her eyes.

  She heard Wills scream a scant second before a brilliant flash of light erupted in front of her. Her reflexes alone saved her sensitive eyes from becoming blinded as she was just able to shield her eyes from the lightning bolt that struck the ground a few feet in front of Wills. The violent blast sent her flying backwards into Lucas whose arms extended and caught her before they both hit the ground. The shockwave of lightning shattered the windshield of Lucas’ truck and sent pieces of gravel flying through the air like shrapnel. Several pieces flew into her tearing the thin cotton tee shirt and lacerating the fragile skin beneath.

  The pain barely registered.

  She welcomed it; the ability to feel. Something long lost and dormant awoke inside her. She pried herself free of Lucas’ grasp and pushed herself onto the bare soles of her feet. The muscles in her legs coiled and she pounced protectively in front of Lucas and Wills.