by Jayne Hawke
“You’re the little turned garou,” the woman said with a bright smile.
“Rosalyn,” I said.
“And how did Cole come to possess you?” she asked in such a light tone it threw me.
“I’m in his territory.”
She nodded and went to ask something else, but it was unwise to give too much information away freely.
“Did you happen to know a Callie O’Connor?” I asked.
The man’s gaze intensified, and I was pretty sure I felt him looking into the very depths of my soul.
“I knew of her, and what happened to her,” the puka said with a shrug.
She took a sip of her pale green drink and looked at me, assessing.
“Are you aware of what you are?”
I raised an eyebrow. It was pretty hard to not know that I was a garou. Her smile twisted into something triumphant, and I realised I’d missed something.
“Be careful,” she said as she touched my arm.
With that, she left me standing there feeling lost and confused. I watched her walk away and strike up a conversation with a bear shifter. I wandered over to the edge of the balcony and looked out over the view. Neat lawns lined the long pale gravel driveway. Tidy little flower beds with perfectly formed flowers each the exact same size and shape as those around them were dotted nearer the house. The rose beds were carved into the grass in long sweeping lines that slid around the main house. It must have taken forever to look after and maintain.
What could I have missed?
A large hand pressed against my lower back, and I fought to keep my teeth covered.
“You must be the new girl,” a deep gruff voice said.
I turned and moved away from the contact to look up into pale blue eyes surrounded by choppily cut dark blond hair. He felt like a garou.
“I prefer Rosalyn,” I said sweetly as I stared him down.
New girl or not, I wasn’t going to back down and show weakness. He held my gaze, growing increasingly tense as he did so.
“Have you been taught nothing of our world?” he growled.
I stepped into his space, maintaining my challenge as I did so.
“I know that I will not bow to a weak alpha.”
The words just slipped out of my mouth.
His lips curled back, revealing sharp canine teeth. He was losing control, and I could taste the sweet taste of victory blooming.
“You should respect your superiors,” he snarled.
“I don’t see any superiors here,” I said, sugary sweet.
“You should know better than to touch my shadow,” Cole said coldly.
The blond garou immediately stepped back and lowered his eyes.
“My apologies, Alpha Loxwood.”
Cole put his arm possessively around my waist.
“You were perfectly aware of her ties to me. My mark is on her skin for all to see. I could easily take your gesture as a challenge.”
“No. I didn’t intend that.” The blond garou took a step back.
Cole’s gaze intensified, and the other garou slipped away into the crowd. It seemed that Cole had more sway that I’d initially realised.
“You said I could find out more about my mom’s death here,” I said pointedly to Cole.
He frowned at me before he looked around the gathered supernaturals.
“The people I had been expecting didn’t show up tonight.”
“So, this is all a waste of time?”
He exhaled slowly.
“It would appear so.”
I bit back my sigh of frustration. At least I could say that I’d been to a ball now. We made our way around the edge of the gathering back to the main house. A woman in a knee-length gossamer dress that appeared to have been woven from spiders’ webs and moon beams caught my eye. Her skin was so pale it almost glowed. Her hair was the purest silver, and her eyes were only a shade darker.
Cole paused when he saw her attention turn to us.
“Leaving without a dance?” she asked, her voice feeling as though it cut into my skin like icy shards.
“I don’t know how to dance,” I said.
She pursed her lips and looked us up and down.
“Well, now, that is a shame.”
She started to walk towards us, and Cole pushed me slightly behind him.
“Are you worried I’ll steal her away from you?” she asked Cole.
“She bears my mark.”
She tsked.
“You really should have told us of her nature.”
“It was irrelevant.”
The temperature around us plummeted, and I shivered.
“Control yourself,” Cole said coldly.
The temperature rose once more, and Cole entwined his fingers with mine, leading me back out to the sanctuary of the car. I had the distinct feeling that I’d been lucky to walk out of there with my life.
46
Once we were a safe distance from the mansion, I had to ask.
“What was all that about my nature?”
“Fae like to be obtuse and difficult.”
Cole had been distant and aloof since we’d met the ice fae.
“She clearly got under your skin,” I pushed.
“She’s dangerous, and I have no desire to put my shadow in danger.”
I was definitely missing something there. Cole kept his eyes glued on the dark road ahead, and his previously relaxed, verging on cocky driving style had become far more uptight.
“And what sort of danger would I be in?”
He ground his teeth and glanced at me.
“You should have been a feline shifter.”
I laughed.
“Nine lives do sound handy.”
A flicker of a smile ghosted across his face.
“You do realise I’m not going to drop this, right?”
He exhaled slowly and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.
“You should.”
“And you should smile more often, but it doesn’t appear we’re getting either of those things.”
He rolled his eyes and relaxed back into his seat.
“The situation is complicated. We need to find the rogue.”
I wrinkled my nose at the blatant change in topic. It looked like I wasn’t going to get anywhere, and I really hated being kept in the dark.
“Any leads?” I asked.
“Potentially one. Did you say that Valentin didn’t heal after the bar fight?”
A defensive urge rose in me.
“Yea, he’s my primary suspect right now.”
Cole growled.
“And yet you still willingly spend time with him.”
“I’m trying to gather evidence against him. What have you been doing?” I snapped.
“Do you feel comfortable around him? Lustful, even?”
I growled at him.
“Why?”
“That’s your evidence. Do not fall for that Rosalyn. He will hurt you, and despite what you believe about me, I want you safe and happy.”
His touch was completely unlike what I’d come to expect from the grumpy scowling alpha. I looked over at him to see genuine concern filling his eyes.
Valentin had to be the rogue, and he was doing his best to play me. He was trying to make me a fool, and there was little more I hated in this world than being made to look a fool.
47
Cole insisted on walking me to my apartment door.
“Now that Jake’s unbound his magic, there is a far higher risk of fae assassins,” he reminded me in the elevator.
“If you’d have let me take my knife, that wouldn’t be a problem...”
He shook his head and said nothing.
I unlocked the door and he went to speak. I pressed my finger to his lips.
“I’m not moving in with you.”
His mouth twisted into a smile that lit up his eyes.
“You could at least invite me in for coffee.”
“You mean to check th
ere are no sneaky assassins hiding in wait.”
His smile broadened, and he looked handsome as his features relaxed.
“You really should smile more,” I said as I opened the door.
The moment I was through the front door, I slipped the satin pumps off my feet and sighed in relief. I was not made to walk in shoes like that. We padded down the hallway into the kitchen, where no one was waiting for us. There was, however, a note on the kitchen table. Notes weren’t really Jake’s style. We had phones, after all.
Cole went to the coffee machine and gave me some space to read the note.
Rosalyn,
I have to go away for a while. I don’t know how long this will take, it could be a couple of months.
I’ve deposited enough money into your account to cover you for two months. Take care of yourself.
Love, Jake.
I snarled. How dare he just walk out of my life without bothering to say goodbye in person? I slammed the letter down on the table. He was throwing away years of friendship for some crap that he refused to tell me about. He’d taken the coward’s way out, and I hated him for it.
“He vanished. No idea where, why, or when he’ll be back. And he had the gall to say he loves me,” I spat.
Cole cupped my face in his hand. His touch took the edge off my fury and pain.
“He could have a good reason,” he said gently.
I never expected Cole to be on Jake’s side.
“He could have told me what was going on! We never used to have secrets.”
I felt the anger turning to sadness. He’d been my rock for my entire life. I didn’t know how to exist without him to lean on.
“He’s going to be a fae prince,” Cole said softly.
I’d known nearly my entire life. I knew what the fae were, and the royalty were the worst of them. He was my Jake, though. It had never crossed my mind that he would be like that.
I squeezed my eyes closed.
“We came as a pair. We did everything together. Including kick fae ass.”
“Sometimes hurting the people we love is the best thing we can do for them.”
I looked up into Cole’s eyes. There was a ring of experience to his words. He stroked my hair before he turned away to deal with the coffee.
Closing my eyes, I dug deep inside of myself and calmed my breathing. This was my opportunity to rebuild myself, to start fresh like the phoenix. I was a garou, a bounty hunter. Maybe this was the push I needed to really embrace my new identity and life.
48
Cole crashed on the couch and plied me with doughnuts in the morning. He didn’t really speak, but I saw the concern etched into his face. I pushed aside the weakness that came with the true emptiness of the apartment. It was different when I knew that he might not be coming back. The silence was more intense, almost suffocating. Even with Cole’s big presence there. I refused to feel the weakness and the crushing sadness that came with Jake’s decision. That wasn’t who or what I was any more.
A quick check on the Grim gave me no new leads on the rogue. I began digging for more general information on rogues and found something about their reduced healing ability. Rogues weren’t entirely connected to their wolves or their magic anymore; no one quite understood the full mechanics there. I sighed and dragged my fingers through my hair. It was looking more and more like Valentin had been playing me from the start. That made me very angry.
Anger was good. It felt more concrete than the other emotions. It gave me something to wrap myself in and protect myself from the other feelings.
I needed proof. That was where Amy came in. I’d arranged to meet her in Toil and Trouble for some lunch. Thanks to Jake, I could afford things like that now. It didn’t feel right spending his money, but I resolved to pay back every penny when I was paid for bringing in the rogue.
I’d worn my favourite jeans and a nice shirt that helped hide the numerous knives I was carrying. Thankfully, the stabbing needle sensation in the doorway of Toil and Trouble hadn’t returned, leaving me free to walk into the dark and moody bar pain free. I glanced around for Amy and didn’t spot her. The space was surprisingly busy with every booth and table bar one occupied. They seemed to mostly be fae with a few witches.
I took the last table in the middle of the room and tried to relax. Having my back exposed like that made me twitchy, but I wasn’t going to let everyone else see that. I ordered myself a nice coffee and the food menu while I waited for Amy to arrive.
She showed up five minutes later looking very flustered.
“I’m sorry! I got caught up in something. How’re you?”
“I’ve been worse.” I gave a tight smile. “Do you know if the burgers are any good here?”
“Oh, they’re amazing. Probably the best in the state.”
“Is everything ok?” I asked while she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Yea, I think so. I just got wrapped up in a casting and completely lost track of time. You look out of balance, though.”
I shrugged.
“Jake abandoned me with just a note.”
“Ah. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I’ll live.”
“You’re looking for some money, right?”
“Yea, why?”
“Someone stole a hex breaker from a local Hecate coven. They’re livid, and there’s a good reward for whoever returns it.”
My interest had been piqued. I was itching to earn some money and start building a good reputation for myself.
“Do you have any leads?”
“Maybe. Does that mean you’re interested? We can look into it together.”
“Sounds great,” I said.
“What did you really want to talk about?”
“I need a definitive way to tell if a garou is rogue.”
“Oh, I have a spell for that. It’ll take a couple of days to brew.”
She said it so casually. I bit my tongue and stopped myself from asking why she hadn’t told me that sooner. I hadn’t thought to ask; it wasn’t her fault.
“Seriously?”
“Yea.”
“How much?”
“We’ll call it payment for you helping me find the hex breaker.”
“Deal!” I said.
My day was already looking up.
I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with extra bacon. Amy was a little more restrained and ordered a BBQ burger.
“How’ve you been?” I asked.
I didn’t want her to feel as though I was using her. She was nice, and there was a chance of a real friendship that I didn’t want to screw up.
“Busy. The local covens aren’t happy about me being a solitary witch. I’ve had to dodge a few small attacks, and the politics can be exhausting.”
“I don’t envy you,” I said with a laugh.
Amy scooted her chair around closer to me and pulled out her tablet.
“So, this is the hex breaker.” She showed me an image of a small wooden box with intricate carvings. “Like the name suggests, it’s used to break hexes. These artifacts are incredibly rare, and only a few covens in the world can make them. No one quite knows how the Hecate coven got this one - there are rumours they stole it. There are always rumours, though. Covens are really bitchy towards each other.”
I took a sip of my coffee, enjoying the rich flavour with a hint of caramel aftertaste. I could get used to this.
“Ok, so someone stole it because they can sell it for a lot of money, or break a hex, right?”
“Exactly. Selling it would be difficult, though, because they’re so rare that it’ll be easy to spot if it’s the stolen one. The real issue is, who stole it from the coven? Hecate witches are excellent at protecting their things, because Hecate is tied into magic.”
I hadn’t really studied up on witches and deities, but I realised that I was going to need to if I was going to be serious about this bounty hunter gig.
“However!” Amy paused and took a big gulp of her lemonade
. “Hecate is a complicated goddess and sometimes a coven will be guided onto one particular path. She can push covens into necromancy. If that’s the case here, then their protections might have been weaker. It could also mean that this is a political move, as a lot of people have been trying to outlaw necromancy.”
“Wait, by necromancy do you mean raising zombies?”
Amy laughed.
“That’s a possibility. However, that is completely illegal. It usually means speaking with the dead to gain knowledge that can be sold.”
That did sound pretty useful. I made a mental note about that.
“Oh, and sometimes they can form shades - they’re like vicious ghosts - which can be sent to attack someone.”
“How do you defend against that?”
“With great difficulty,” Amy said gravely.
Well, this coven was sounding delightful.
Our burgers arrived. I bit into mine, finding it to be perfectly cooked with good quality juicy beef and divine crispy bacon. The thick layer of cheese wrapped around the main burger encasing it in creamy goodness. I devoured my burger without a word.
Amy was far more dignified and took her time eating her burger like a lady.
“Oh!” she said, holding up her tablet.
“Our lead came through! A girl left the Hecate coven recently, we’re meeting her in Flame.”
“Flame? We are?” I said.
“The wine bar on the far side of town. And yes, in thirty minutes. The actual coven won’t talk to lowly beings like us, so we have to dig around and get a little more creative,” she said before she knocked back the last of her lemonade.
It felt really good to be pulled into a job like this. Exhilaration filled me as I allowed Amy’s contagious excitement to wash over me. We left cash on the table and left Toil and Trouble to go and meet the lead.
49
Amy drove us over to Flame, which was in the trendy young part of town. The buildings had a lot more glass in them and less of the simple wood that I liked about my part of town. She pulled up her little Ford, and we crossed the quiet street towards the wine bar. Large windows spanned the front of the building, allowing passers-by to see everything that went on inside. The space had been split down the centre by dark wooden shelves covered in tiny succulent plants. Everything about it felt forced and contrived.