by Leia Stone
Shhh, we’re safe, I told her, and luckily the guy jumped forward two feet and I was given an opening. I shot out of the crowd panting and finally made it to the bar. I stood there a second, just letting myself calm down, not letting the fear overwhelm me. If my time with Logan and the pack had taught my anything, it was that when my dragon felt I was safe, she stayed in her cage—the cage being my human skin. The problem was I didn’t feel safe without Logan, without the pack.
Dammit, why did I always run from my problems? It was a horrible character trait of mine. If I couldn’t see a way out of something, I ran. My college boyfriend broke up with me sophomore year and I totally changed classes, and nearly majors, to avoid him and his new perfect girlfriend. Mom died and I abandoned our lease that I could no longer afford, left our house, sold all of our possessions but for a few sentimental pieces, and I ran.
I was a runner.
Maybe I should at least turn on my phone and see if by miracle of miracles Logan had texted me saying he didn’t care I was part monster and I was still “family”—and that, P.S., Dom didn’t want to behead me.
“Are you the pretty little redhead looking for me?” a powerful, gritty feminine voice called from behind me.
I spun around with wide eyes and my gaze fell on a woman who was tall enough to be a basketball player and thin enough to be a model. The combination was a bit unsettling—not so much her body type but the crooked nose and beady-eyed glare.
“I’m Jeanine.” She nodded, as if I had asked. Her hair was blond and curly, cropped short at the back of the neck. I liked to think I was a good judge of character, and this woman was giving off a major creeper vibe. Great.
“Hey. I’m S-Stacey,” I stuttered, deciding at the last minute to change my name. If I was going to start over, I might as well start now.
She raised a well-manicured eyebrow as if she didn’t buy my name bit and nodded.
“Well, Stacey, my consultation fee is two hundred, and then whatever else you need on top of that…” She held out a hand.
Damn. I tried not to gape. Two hundred just to talk with her? Reluctantly, I reached in my clutch and pulled out two one hundred-dollar bills. I had a feeling this thousand dollars cash wasn’t going to last me as long as I hoped. I noticed two large males standing just beyond Jeanine; one of them was talking into his wrist cuff like CIA agents did in the movies. Something told me Jeanine was a well-connected woman.
She pocketed the two hundred and then ticked her head at the far wall, asking me to follow. I gave a shaky breath and headed after her. While we walked, I concocted a story in my head about leaving an abusive boyfriend and pack. That I was in need of hiding and that my old pack had a powerful sorcerer, so I needed some type of cloaking spell so that no one searching for me could find me. I was making my way through the crowd that seemed to part for Jeanine and her two henchmen, when I saw a man that made panic rise up fresh within me. The druid. Steven. He was here, and he was combing the place as if looking for someone.
Oh. Shit.
In one quick maneuver, I pulled my red hair to one side and popped up the hood on my jacket. Then I twisted my hair back so that it was all covered and kept my head down. What were the freaking odds that this bastard was in California at the same club as me? My dragon was positively swirling, gliding across my skin, threatening to break free.
Maybe I should just forget this whole sorcerer spell thing and get the hell out of here? I was about two seconds from doing just that when Jeanine flicked her wrist and the heavily-guarded double doors swung open on their own, nearly knocking the two guards out of the way. Only a faint trail of yellow announced that she had used magic. This woman was powerful.
Her henchmen walked into the dimly-lit hallway and she followed, turning back for the first time to look at me. “Keep up,” she growled, and I had a decision to make. Leave this place or go through with it quickly and then get my butt to Colorado? After two seconds of internal freaking out, I ran to catch up before the doors closed behind me and my decision was made. The second they sealed shut, I realized that what I was doing was completely stupid.
Like epic levels of stupidity.
What the hell was I thinking, coming to a supernatural bar, in a different town, with no one to make sure I didn’t get chopped up into pieces or descaled? Ahead of me, Jeanine stopped short of a large ornate wooden door. One flick of her wrist and it flew open. I gulped. The doors opened to reveal a neat and sparse office, nothing like Eva’s cluttered mix of bottle and jars. Hers held a large wooden desk in the center, with two chairs, one behind and one in front of it. Then it had wall-to-ceiling shelves with black, closed-lidded boxes and no labels.
Jeanine gestured for me to sit, and when I did she simply leaned on the edge of her desk, towering over me rather than taking her seat.
“Alright, pretty thing. What can I do you for?” Her eyes were gleaming as I gathered my thoughts.
“I’m in some trouble. Left an abusive boyfriend in another pack. I’m afraid they will look for me so I need a spell that … makes me invisible?” I didn’t actually know if that was possible. I very well could be wasting my time and my two hundred dollars.
She leaned forward, her lips turning up to sneer. “Anything’s possible with magic, dear.”
She held out her hand and gestured for me to take it, I reluctantly did. The moment we touched, I felt my dragon clench and freeze. Jeanine’s eyes flashed yellow and her mouth popped open slightly.
“You’ve already got a complex spell on you,” she stated in an airy voice. “I know this work.” Then her voice went deadly. “Eva,” she declared with malice.
I ripped my hand back and held it to my chest. How the hell did she know Eva? Oh God. Leave it to me to pick the one place that had ties to the people I was trying to run from.
She waved a hand. “Relax, I’m not going to call her. I despise that woman and will gladly do any spell that will piss her off.” She grinned, showcasing a full set of teeth.
“Okay,” I said in a nervous squeak. Something about the feeling she gave me when she touched me made me wonder if not all sorcerers were created alike. It made me wonder if maybe this sorcerer dabbled in the dark forces … if there was such a thing.
She stood and began to rummage through some of the boxes. “Normally this type of complex spell would cost you, but I’m going to give you a discount because it will enrage my nemesis.”
Shit. I liked Eva. She’d gone out of her way to help me, and now I was unknowingly siding with her sworn enemy? Fail. Fail on so many levels. This rabbit hole was getting deeper and deeper, and now I was afraid I just had to go through with it because I couldn’t crawl out. I just needed to get to the other side.
“So … how much?” Because she hadn’t stated a price yet.
She waved her hand. “Five hundred is fine.”
My eyes bugged. Five hundred freaking dollars. That, plus the two hundred, was nearly all of my gas and food money to get me to the Colorado Mountains. But going to the mountains would be useless if I was found.
“Okay,” I muttered, and pulled out five hundred, leaving it on the edge of her desk.
She scurried around the office, grabbing a dash of this and a pinch of that. At one point I saw her throw an unused match into the jar she held. Man, sorcery was weird. I couldn’t wait to be miles from here and on my way to a secluded mountain retreat to live out eternity without any of this bizarre crap.
“Ready,” she crooned. “I just need a little drop of your blood.”
My eyes widened and a small whimper escaped my throat.
Jeanine rolled her eyes. “Yes, it’s tragic. Come on…” She waved my hand forward in frustration.
Logan said never to give a sorcerer my blood. Eva had agreed that I should never give a sorcerer my blood—other than her of course. Yet here I was, giving a sorcerer my blood.
Listening and following rules were not my best character traits.
Without really thinking it throug
h, I extended my finger, and the gleam in her eyes reminded me of Gollum as he caressed the one ring and called it “my precious.” I was a diehard Lord of the Rings fan who was strongly considering getting a tattoo in Elvish. So, seeing this clear sign of evil on her face should have deterred me, but I just turned my head to the side as she pricked my finger quickly and squeezed it into the jar.
She released my hand and I pulled it back swiftly, bringing my finger up to my mouth to suck it clean. Jeanine’s nostrils were flaring; her eyes had rolled back into her head.
“Umm, are you oka—” I began, but her throat humming cut me off.
She was in a full-on trance and I was officially freaked the hell out. The hairs on my arms were sticking up; the curtains on the windows had started moving to an invisible wind.
Oh shit. What had I done? I was just figuring out whether I should cut my losses and run when the match inside of the cup burst into flame of its own accord, causing me to jump backward with a startled shriek.
Jeanine’s eyes focused again; she stopped her humming chant as the curtains went dead still. She approached me, the flame burning in the cup illuminating her eyes in a ghastly glow. “Blow it out and breathe in the smoke,” she ordered.
“What?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“Do it!” she roared, and I could see the match was going to blow out soon if I didn’t. It was all or nothing. I was all in on this running away thing. I took in one deep breath, and in that moment I was reminded of when my dragon was in heat and Logan had put me in the deep sleep. The way his breath felt on my neck, the way he smelled…
I pushed the past down and blew; a puff of bright yellow smoke wafted up to my face. Against every instinct I had, against my dragon’s cries from within me, I inhaled the smoke. The second it hit my lungs, I broke into a fit of coughing as it burned my throat with its acrid scent. With a grin, Jeanine pulled her cup back and I felt a tingling working down my arms.
Jeanine walked over to the phone on her desk and picked it up. “I’m ready for my next client.” Her eyes stayed on me the entire time she spoke.
I finally got my coughing under control and asked her in a raspy voice if it was done.
She nodded and scooped up the five hundred bucks. “Yes. You may go now.”
She didn’t have to tell me twice. I wanted to get in my car and get the hell out of here. I nodded to her and grabbed my purse, walking briskly to the door. As I was reaching out, with my hand on the knob, her voice came from behind me.
“Oh, Stacey?” she called out. I froze, not bothering to look back, everything within me telling me to run.
“Hmm?” I replied.
Her response made terror flush through my system faster than a bullet train. “I know what you are,” she crooned.
My legs went weak with adrenaline and I spun the knob, ready to run my out-of-shape ass out of there. But the second I threw the door wide, I came face to face with Steven, the powerful druid who had chucked Keegan across the room. Gone were his minions; it was just him and his greedy gaze staring down at me.
I shrieked as he reached for me. I threw my right arm out, pushing with everything I had, pushing my magic, my dragon, my sense of self preservation. I just pushed. It felt like electricity had ignited along my spine, and then a blinding purple fire shot out of my palm and threw Steven back into the wall. The druid crashed halfway through the drywall, getting stuck inside. Holy shit. I heard Jeanine gasp behind me and then I ran. Instinct pushed me to run left, away from the club entrance and the guards.
“Get her!” the druid roared to Jeanine from his place in the wall.
Oh hell no. I ran a few more feet and was then relieved when I looked up and saw an emergency exit sign hanging over a dark metal door. I risked a glance behind me and saw Jeanine running rather slowly after me, yellow magic crackling in her hands.
Bitch, I want my money back.
I reached the door in record time and with one kick it burst open. I jumped through and took a quick scan of my surroundings. I was in a side alley; there was a heavy metal dumpster to my right. With all the adrenaline running through me, and the fact that I was in fact part dragon, and part druid for that matter, I decided to try and move the trash can over the door, trapping these assholes inside.
“Ahhhhh!” I screamed as I used every ounce of strength I had. The moment it slid over the door, I heard a loud thwack as Jeanine flew against it.
“Quick thinking,” the Irish druid’s voice came from behind me.
I paled and probably peed myself a little as I turned around and faced Steven.
“How did you…?” I was in shock, and he was blocking the damn street opening, so I was against a brick wall. Trapped. My dragon was smashing against my restraints and I let my guard down. Screw it. Let her come. Maybe I could fight him and fly my way out of here.
I felt the familiar tingle and saw a few scales push up on my skin, but then they went flat. What the...?
The druid smiled, rolling out his neck. “Can’t have you flying off now, can we?”
My dragon fell like a stone in my stomach as dread came over me. That sorcerer … she did something to my dragon.
Oh, Sloane, of all the stupid things you’ve done, this tops it.
Steven pulled a red glowing blade from behind his back and I knew this was it. I couldn’t fly or fight my way out of this. The last thing I had in my arsenal was talking my way out.
“Do you know what I am? Really know? I’m half druid. I’m part you. I can join your side.”
I was lying about joining his side obviously but desperate times called for desperate lies.
I was expecting him to be surprised or to show some consideration of my terms. Instead he just tipped his head back and laughed. “You’re pollution on the bloodline of my people, and I will wipe you out and take your power as an offering to the great Ardan.”
Well, if I was going down, I might as well do so with gusto. “That douchebag? I heard he was too lazy to kill dragons himself. Makes all of his bitches do the dirty work.”
That’s right, bud. I just called you a bitch. I grinned for effect. Screw these racist jerks.
In one blinding move he jumped forward, face contorted in rage, arm raised high. And that’s when I heard the cry of a falcon overheard. I covered my face and looked to the ground to protect my neck, preparing for the slice of a knife on my skin. But the pain never came.
I saw the druid’s feet lift up in the air and I dropped my arms, craning my neck to see that he was airborne, flying across the alley, before slamming into a wall.
My heart pinched at the sight of Logan, one fist clenched at his side, the other holding a Glock to the druid’s head. But his eyes, those green eyes, were pinned on me, swimming with … relief. Sophie was in her human form, holding her beloved harpoon gun, while the rest of the pack was in their animal forms. I wanted to cry seeing Nadine’s black wolf at the end of the alley, sitting next to Coop’s red fox. And my breath caught in my throat seeing two large brown bears and lion, but…
They came for me.
Keegan’s large grey wolf crouched in front of the druid and launched himself right at Steven’s neck just as Logan pulled the trigger. But it was no use. One loud crack and the druid was gone—there against the brick wall one second and gone the next. Like magic. Crazy, freaky, unheard-of magic.
At the end of the alley, I noticed another human form, Eva, doing some wild spell work; a yellowish gauze was creeping up the two walls, closing us in from the open street like a spider web. Closing us off from whom? I wondered. Probably Jeanine. Danny stood at her side, adding his own magic to strengthen hers.
I stood there stupidly, unsure of what to say or do, fighting the tears that wanted to spill down my cheeks. I nearly got killed—nearly got them killed. I was an idiot and I never should have left, but … If they knew…
“Sloane Murphy!” Logan roared from his place halfway down the alley.
I paled, clenching my arms to my sides. He
re it came. He knew. He knew I was a monster, I could feel it. All of them peered at me then. Aside from the anger and hurt on Logan’s face, it was Nadine’s wide, painful wolf eyes that killed me the most. Betrayal. I had betrayed them all and the feeling sank in my stomach like a stone. I stepped forward, ready for whatever they threw at me.
Logan was stalking forward with all of the grace and speed of a large cat and I was trying not to be terrified. What would he do? What would he say?
“Don’t. You. Ever. Leave me again,” Logan said through gritted teeth. His eyes were flaring green and my dragon was roaring inside of me. Again, it was as if she was trying to tell me something but couldn’t speak.
I sighed, trying to keep the tears at bay. “You don’t understand!” I yelled at all of them, making sure that even Eva could hear me. “I’m one of him, okay?” I gestured to the space in the wall where the Irish asshat had teleported or whatever. “I’m half druid. Part monster.”
It was Sophie who answered first. Logan was almost to me and didn’t seem to be able to find his words. He was just a raging ball of anger coming at me full force.
“No shit. Eva told us. We don’t care,” Sophie said in her exceptionally bitchy tone.
Confusion and relief poured through me, and the tears I had been holding leaked from my eyes. “But you talk about all the ways you want to kill druids. Beheading them is your favorite, right, Logan?” My voice was soft now, only meant for him. Logan had reached me and without hesitation his hands came out and cupped the bottom of my face, forcing me to look up at him.
“Was I shocked? Yes,” he stated, letting his thumbs stroke my cheek in a way that made my dragon melt. “Does it change the way I feel about you? No way.”
The way he felt about me? Suddenly I was an insecure little girl. “But…” I didn’t know what to say, what to do. I’d messed up. I never should have left, never should have doubted them.
“But nothing. Sloane Murphy, you’re stuck with me. For life.” Logan’s eyes flared green.