by Sammie Joyce
It was just another thing I appreciated about him. He didn’t push me for information. He respected boundaries.
“We discussed what happened at the restaurant,” I informed him. “It was a heavy talk.”
“I imagine so.”
There was a slight pause and I could tell he wanted me to elaborate but I felt slightly disloyal discussing Council issues with a human.
“So are you free for dinner?” he asked, changing the subject when he gleaned my position. Again, my heart swelled.
“I want to,” I said slowly, choosing my words carefully. “But—”
I cut myself off, my head rising in alarm.
“But what?” Wes asked. I heard the note of hurt in his voice but I didn’t have time to address it. My head whipped around, sensing that someone was nearby.
Instantly, I was on my feet, my head jerking around for signs of someone else, but there was nothing along the beach but endless sand.
“Amity? Are you there?”
My instincts were rarely wrong and despite the fact that my eyes were showing nothing, I could feel him—no, them—in close proximity.
“Amity?”
The phone dropped from my hand and I whipped about, shifting into my panther form without hesitation. I was being attacked.
Falling onto all fours, I bared my teeth, a low growl escaping my lips as I bounded upward, landing on the roof of my cottage. From there, I had a good view of the perimeter and that was when I saw the first one.
I snarled, my claws digging into the shingles of the house, my eyes glowing silver against the fading light of the evening.
Anticlaw had my house surrounded.
How the hell did they find me?
It wasn’t a query I could openly entertain at the moment. They hadn’t seen me on the roof but I could clearly see them, rushing the house with their weapons. This time, they had guns, not just the bats and blades they’d carried the previous night.
My intensified ears could pick up Wes still calling out to me through the phone. I needed to get out of there before I was shot and I didn’t have much time to move.
I desperately wanted to go on the attack, to show those bastards that they couldn’t do this to me or any other shifter, but my sensible side told me I was no match for their bullets. I would be killed if I tried.
“She’s up there!” one of them shouted. They took aim and I leapt through the air, my long, sleek legs aiming to land in a Douglas fir at the property line. A hail of bullets rang out after me and I felt the swoosh of my tail narrowly miss the assault. Padded feet landed easily in the trees, claws digging in for support as a headiness overtook me.
Again I snarled, teeth bared as I tried to take note of my attackers. There were four of them this time, among them, a woman. They couldn’t see me clearly at that height but I could see them.
“Are you sure that’s her?” I heard the woman demand.
“That Veronica chick said it’s her, a hundred percent,” one of the men replied. “Amity Jackson.”
My heart was in my throat. Someone had told them my name and where to find me.
“She lives here alone?”
“Do you see anyone else?” another man barked back.
“Well, that’s the thing with shifters, isn’t it?” the woman retorted. “You never see them until it’s too late!”
“Get her then and let’s get out of here!” the third man insisted. “Where the hell did she go?”
I could tell they were losing their nerve, the strain in their words working to my advantage. They had separated, eyes trained upward, guns cocked, but they were looking in the wrong spot. I had an out but only through the treetops. If I stayed high enough, they would never see me with my dark fur and knowledge of the area.
I saw my opportunity and seized it, jumping stealthily through until I was safely away from my property line and Anticlaw.
Soon I was sprinting on the cold ground, my paws running me fast and furiously away from the danger I’d so narrowly missed. I didn’t stop until I got to Mapleton, following Hollenbeck Creek to the Siuslaw River. It was only there that I shifted back into my mortal form, struggling to catch my breath.
I had nothing on me—no purse, no phone, no keys or car. I couldn’t go back home, not until I was sure the coast was clear, but Anticlaw knew who I was and where I lived now. I needed to find a safe place to hide out if only for a short while, but where was it safe?
Who told them about me? Who is this Veronica?
I wracked my brain for anyone I knew by that name but I couldn’t put it together. I had enemies in places I wasn’t even aware of and the thought unsettled me. How could I possibly be sure I was safe when I didn’t even know who was after me?
I can go to Wes, I realized. He’s a safe place to be.
Yet I didn’t immediately shift back and make the run to Veneta. It wasn’t because I was wary about Wes but I was worried about putting him in a perilous situation. If Anticlaw had somehow found me, they might be looking for him too, knowing that he helped me and the others escape the previous night.
I needed to go to Jackal’s and tell him the truth about what happened at the restaurant. He would help me sort this out and when my mind was on right, I’d contact Wes.
Things were getting far more complicated than I could have ever anticipated. Did I really need to drag Wes into this mess too?
15
Wes
I had to have heard wrong. Whatever I thought was going on was just in my head.
I stared at the phone, nothing but dead air meeting my ears now. The strange noises I’d heard abruptly in the middle of my conversation with Amity had died out and the voices that followed had gone too. The minutes continued to tick by, the call still connected as the timer counted, but I knew in my heart that Amity was long gone.
The last thing I’d heard the strangers on the line say was, “Dammit! We lost her!”
It was barely enough to keep me optimistic but I had faith in Amity escaping whatever attack had befallen her. I had seen her in action, after all. She was more than capable of taking care of herself.
Yet I had also heard the sound of gunfire, the noise making my stomach drop. Even shifters weren’t impervious to lead bullets. From what I’d gathered, it had been an ambush, four distinctive voices I had made out, possibly more, and all of them armed. I had no doubt what it meant, no matter how much I wished I was delusional.
That was Anticlaw and Veronica sent them after Amity.
It didn’t make sense and yet I knew my ears weren’t lying to me. I had distinctly heard what they’d said.
How? How could she possibly have known about Amity?
With trembling hands, I left the phone on speaker and set it down on the coffee table, silently willing Amity to return and pick it up, but it was foolish. She knew she was being hunted. She wasn’t going to return to the scene until the coast was clear.
I realized I should hang up, lest she try to call me.
Torn, I stared at the moving timer, unsure of what to do. As I glanced at it, I saw another call coming in from Dan.
My breath quickened as I had a thought. Instantly, I answered the call.
“Have you spoken to Brigit today?” I asked without so much as a greeting. Dan paused.
“Uh… yeah,” he said slowly. “Why?”
“I’m looking for Amity,” I rasped. “Can you tell Brigit to have Amity call me if she shows up there?”
The silence was longer now.
“I-I don’t think that Amity is going to show up at Brigit’s,” Dan replied.
“Why not?” I demanded, wracking my brain for where else Amity might have gone.
“Well…” Dan cleared his throat. “Brigit is a little freaked out about what happened last night and…”
“And what?” I snapped, not in the mood for my cousin’s passive/aggressive talks.
“She didn’t know that Amity was a shifter, you know?”
I ground my teet
h together.
“So what if she is?” I growled. “Does that change who she is to Brigit?”
“Wes, don’t be foolish,” Dan barked. “You saw firsthand how dangerous those beasts can be. I haven’t heard much about what happened but I can guess.”
“Those beasts were the ones being attacked!” I shouted, my blood pressure rising. “They were only protecting themselves!”
I regretted answering the phone.
“I can’t talk any sense into you, can I?” Dan sighed. “I’m sure Amity is perfectly nice when she can control herself but—”
“I’ve gotta go,” I hissed, aiming to drop the call before Dan could finish his patronizing spiel, but he called out to me before I could.
“Wes!”
“What?” I snapped.
“Cat’s looking for you.”
I stifled a groan. That was all I needed—my sister up in my business.
“What did you tell her, Dan?”
“Nothing! What was I going to say? ‘Wes is hooking up with a creature these days and can’t be bothered to answer his calls’? Nah, you can explain it yourself.”
This time I did hang up, not bothering to say goodbye. Dan didn’t know Amity or any of the other shifters like I did. They didn’t deserve to be alienated and picked off by those Anticlaw thugs.
I need to get Veronica to call off this hit, I realized but the thought only made me more nauseous. Dealing with Vero was a whole other kind of hell.
She’s the only beast here. Who would endorse a killing like this? How could I have dated her for so long without realizing what a monster she is?
I would deal with Veronica but after I figured out where Amity had gone.
Vero better pray that nothing happened to Amity, I thought grimly, snatching my keys off the counter. Because my wrath is going to be ten times worse than anything Anticlaw could do.
* * *
I didn’t know where Amity lived in Heceta Beach but it wasn’t hard to find her address in town. The locals knew each other and an old-timer at the gas station/diner was happy to point me in the right direction.
“She havin’ a party or somethin’?” Henry McGain asked, shaking his snow-white head.
“A party?” I echoed. He chortled.
“You’re the second person t’day ta ask about Ms. Jackson. She ain’t much one for company usually.”
My blood ran cold, knowing that the first to ask had been one of the members of Anticlaw.
“She’s just having some people over,” I lied and Henry smiled, drawing me a map to the property with arthritic hands.
“I ain’t want to draw this a third time today,” he chuckled and I smiled weakly but gratefully at him.
As I expected, when I arrived at the quaint beachside property, Amity was nowhere to be seen.
The back door to her cottage was open and I found her cell phone on the floor of the back deck. Inside the house, I located her purse and keys, my head pounding with the understanding that she was off somewhere without anything.
I decided to do a quick sweep of the property but I didn’t have high hopes of finding her and after almost an hour of looking around, I knew I had no choice but to either return home or wait at the cottage for her to come back.
Or for Anticlaw to come back, I reminded myself. I didn’t want to be there unarmed against a bunch of bat-crazy vigilantes. For all I knew, Veronica had directed them at me too.
She didn’t. She just wanted to get Amity out of the picture.
I didn’t know that with any real certainty but I did know Vero well enough to know how her immature mind worked.
With a resigned sigh, I closed up Amity’s house securely and climbed back into my car. There was nothing else I could do there but Vero still needed to be dealt with.
* * *
To my absolute shock, Veronica was elated to see me.
“Hi!” she chirped, throwing her arms around me and kissing my cheek before I could react. “How are you?”
I shook my head in disbelief.
“How am I?” I echoed. “You set up Amity to be killed.”
The smile died on her face and a pout replaced it as she shook her her head in denial.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied, not even bothering to do it well. “Who is this Amity.”
“Have you no conscience?” I hissed, fury overtaking my face. Vero’s eyes widened and she stepped back over the threshold of her apartment.
“Wessy, you’re scaring me,” she murmured.
“If you think I’m scary now, you have no idea what I’m going to be if something actually happened to Amity!” I roared, pushing the door open with my hand. She balked, her face paling as I advanced. Suddenly, a look of indignation crossed over her face.
“You’re threatening me over some beast?” she yelled, red overtaking her waxen complexion. “I was doing you a favor by getting her out of your life!”
Disbelief fell over my face.
“Are you out of your mind?” I snarled but I paused where I was. I was becoming afraid of myself, unsure of what I was going to do to Veronica.
“Are you?” she shot back, folding her arms under her ample chest. “You seriously think that you’re a good match with a-a monster?”
I scoffed.
“A monster?” I repeated slowly, shaking my head. “A monster is someone who would consciously and willingly set up another person to be hurt or killed.”
“She’s not a person!” Vero howled. “And just because you refuse to see it doesn’t make it any less true!”
I gaped at Vero, watching a smug smirk fall over her lips.
“I’m not the only one who thinks these animals ought to be put down,” Veronica went on and I felt anger surging through me. “If I hadn’t told Anticlaw where to find her, someone would have eventually. All you’re doing is prolonging the inevitable by trying to keep her, Wes. Sooner or later, all the shifters are going to be obsolete. You’d be smart to let her go now before you make things worse for everyone involved. Humans and shifters don’t mix, Wes. The faster you figure that out, the happier you’ll be.”
I struggled to find words but fell short as my brow knit into a vee.
There was a stunning, humiliating truth to her words and while I didn’t want to hear them because they were coming from Vero’s mouth, I knew they were honest.
We’ll always have problems, Amity and I, I realized. Amity is only being hunted by Anticlaw because of me, even if indirectly. I brought this onto her doorstep.
A pang of bitter hurt shot through my heart as I began to back over the doorframe, the urge to turn and run away suddenly overcoming me.
“See?” Veronica laughed. “You know I’m right, Wes. Come on back when you’ve finally taken full control of your senses again.”
I spun to stride out of Vero’s apartment building.
I would never come back to Veronica but I was beginning to see the picture with more clarity now than ever. I needed to leave Amity in peace before something terrible happened.
16
Amity
Jackal was not impressed with any of it, despite his desire to keep his face neutral. I could read the displeasure in his eyes and I hadn’t even mentioned the way I felt about Wes.
“You were there.” It wasn’t a question but a statement and I nodded, guilt flooding me under his scrutiny. “You led the attack.”
“I didn’t!” I retorted hotly. “Anticlaw led an attack and we defended ourselves.”
“Dear gods, Amity, why didn’t you tell the Council?”
I stared balefully at him and he nodded understandingly.
“Okay, fair enough,” he conceded even without me saying anything. “But Amity, you need to tell them now. If Anticlaw is coming after you, if they know where you live…”
“Why do you think I’m here now?” I demanded, folding my arms over my chest. “I’m out of options, don’t you think?”
Jackal sighed and shook hi
s head.
“You know I’m on your side,” he said quietly. “But you’re not telling me the whole story, are you?”
I hesitated, not wanting to bring Wes into this.
Wes shouldn’t be a part of this at all.
The realization pained me in the worst possible way but I couldn’t let my emotions get the best of me. My life was on the line. I had to do what was best for everyone.
“Your date,” Jackal continued. “Who was he?”
“He’s not important to this,” I insisted but even as I spoke, I could feel my resolve slipping away.
“I can’t help you if you won’t give me the full story,” Jackal reminded me. I chewed on the insides of my cheeks and nodded.
“It was a blind date, set up by a co-worker,” I explained. “His name is Wes Huffman and he was aware of the shifters already.”
I conveniently left out the part where I’d seen him at Fern Ridge Lake.
“And you say he stayed to help the other shifters when Anticlaw would have let him go?”
I nodded, my pulse quickening at the memory.
That was brave and stupid, I thought admiringly. I wished I wasn’t so conflicted about what had happened. This was such new territory for me.
“How did Anticlaw know who the shifters were? Oh.”
He blinked and looked at me.
“What?”
“He was the one you were talking about at the meeting,” Jackal realized. “The one who could tell who the shifters were.”
Again, I bobbed my head.
“Was there someone like him among Anticlaw?” Jackal asked. “Someone who could tell us apart from humans?”
“No. There was a shifter working with Anticlaw,” I remembered. Jackal’s mouth parted in shock.
“What?! Are you sure?”
“Yes. Gavin Boyle. He was standing at the front, gauging the humans as he let them pass.”
“Who is he? Please tell me he’s not a panther.”
I had to laugh.
“No. He’s a leopard.”