The Only Witness: The Center City Series: Book One

by Shannon Flagg

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  Vera couldn't help but have a good time with Houdini. His obvious relief that she hadn't taken him to see a weep fest of a chick flick had put him in a really great mood. Still, it was obvious that he was on high alert, paying close attention to everyone around them. Vera nearly asked a dozen times what the danger was but doubted he would tell her.

  Deacon hadn't mentioned danger, was that the real reason why he'd wanted her to stay in the house tonight? It had never occurred to her that there was any reason but keeping her away from Adelaide's party.

  “I really thought you were going to make me see a chick flick. That was good. Let's call ahead for food and head back to your place. Let's see if you know what to do with the PS3 I saw at the shop.”

  “You sure that you don't want to eat here?” Vera eyed the two restaurants within walking distance of the theater and in her line of sight where they stood at the car.

  “The food will be stone cold when we get home,” Vera pointed out. “Why can't we just...” she stopped as they walked towards her car, her eyes drawn to a shadow at the edge of the lot. Immediately she was reminded of the night before, of being scared as she entered the shop. No, being scared as she entered her home. She slowed down, eyes still locked to the spot.

  “Vera, what's the holdup?” Houdini turned, followed her gaze. “Motherfucker,” he muttered as he moved in front of Vera, hand going underneath the dark hooded sweatshirt he wore. She knew that he was reaching for his gun. It should have freaked her out, but instead it brought an odd sense of comfort to her. “Hurry up and get in the car, now. We've got to move. Don't stop for anything! I'm going to be right behind you.” The words were clearly an order.

  “Seriously?” Vera's gaze darted back towards the shadow. Unless she was mistaken, the shadow had actually gotten closer. “On second thought, you don't have to ask me twice! Tell me that I'm not seeing shit, Houdini.” The more she focused on the shadow, the more that she was certain she wasn't looking at a human but an animal, a large one.

  “You're not seeing shit, Vera. Get in the car. Drive back to New to You. I will be right behind you.”

  Vera's hands shook almost too much to get the key in the ignition once she got in the car. There were a million questions running through her mind. Nothing made sense, especially how badly she wanted Deacon to be there. Tears stung her eyes; she blinked them away and started the car and pulled on her seat belt.

  Once she'd backed out of the space and was sure that Houdini was behind her, Vera left the lot as quickly as she could. There were two ways back to Center City; one involved the highway which had construction going on, so they'd sit in traffic, and the other was a back way which went through the woods and would get there at least fifteen minutes quicker.

  Vera concentrated on the road and the rear view mirror. She couldn't see back very far or very well, but she didn't think they were being followed. Even so, she set her foot down harder on the gas pedal. Everything inside of her was screaming that they needed to get out of the woods, back in town and locked inside of New to You. Damn it, why hadn't she chosen the highway route? It would have been well lit and there would have been other people around. What had she been thinking?

  The answer was clear, she hadn't been thinking. She'd been under the influence of fear. In the middle of a relatively well lit parking lot with a beast of a man beside her, she'd been scared. She was still scared even with the car moving at nearly seventy miles an hour and Houdini right on her bumper.

  “Oh, almost home!” Vera gasped the words as she sped past the sign welcoming her to Center City. A minute later she was driving over the bridge. She was able to feel a bit more relaxed knowing they were officially only about a mile away from being home. Vera sat up straighter, paid closer attention as the road began to twist and wind. After one particularly sharp bend an animal darted in front of the car.

  “Shit!” Vera swerved and felt the tires slip ever so slightly as the car dipped down on the grass at the side of the road. Panic flared, but she remained calm enough to keep the car from going fully off the road. She did, however, come to a complete stop, her hands gripped tight on the wheel. All she needed was a moment to catch her breath, slow her pounding heart and she'd be fine. She leaned back in the seat as Houdini started towards the car, her eyes on the woods.

  “That was one big dog,” Vera had to say it out loud because her mind was screaming that it wasn't a dog, it had been a wolf. A fucking wolf. All her life she'd heard rumors of wolves in the forest, she'd heard their howls late at night, but she'd certainly never seen one before. “Shit.” She jumped as Houdini knocked on the window.

  “You good?”

  “An animal ran in front of me,” Vera explained. “It was a... really big dog or...”

  “A wolf?” Houdini finished the sentence for her. “Yeah, I saw that. You good to keep driving or do you want to ride with me?”

  “I'm good, I can drive.” Vera was reasonably certain that she could manage the simple task. “Have you seen wolves up here before?”

  “Yeah,” he replied. “It's probably far away from here by now. Come on, let's get going.”

  Vera nodded. He walked away and she scanned the woods. Houdini had to be right, the wolf was long gone. Once Houdini was back on his bike she started the car again and got back on the road.

  There were no more surprises, at least not until they were just about to pull into the New to You lot. Blue and red lights flashed as Will came up behind them. Vera let out a loud sigh at the sight of him. Houdini brought the bike to a stop behind her and she got out of the car. “What's going on, Will?” The lights were bright enough that she needed to shield her eyes from them.

  “It's nothing that concerns you, Vera. Why don't you just head on home?” Will had a flashlight in one hand; the other hovered over his unstrapped holster.

  “You were flashing your lights behind me, Chief. Least you can do is tell me what's going on here? We weren't speeding, and I'm wearing my seat belt.” Vera had no doubt that this was part of the pissing contest Will seemed to be intent on having with Deacon, hassling her and/or Houdini was a way to irritate him. And she also knew that part of it was because of what Will had walked in on, her in her robe in Deacon's arms. The police chief hadn't exactly been subtle with his interest in her. She'd been pretty diplomatic about not accepting his invitations but obviously he'd needed a firmer handling.

  “The lights were for him, not you. Now, you best head on before I arrest you for interfering with a police investigation. See, I've got some questions for your buddy here so he's going to have to come with me.”

  “I'm not going anywhere with you unless I'm under arrest.”

  “Is that how you really want to play it Mr. Steele?”

  Vera looked over at Houdini, she'd never heard his given name before. He didn't look pleased that Will had used it. “Will, can't this at least wait until the morning? It's late.”

  “It is, which is all the more reason that you should go because if you're still here in thirty seconds, I'm going to haul your ass in for interfering with my work.”

  Vera realized that he wasn't bluffing. He'd arrest her right then and there. Houdini cleared his throat. “Head home, Vera. Make sure you put the alarm on. You got questions, Will? Go on, ask them. I don't have shit to hide.”

  Will let out a laugh at that. “Oh, you got more than a few skeletons Mr. Steele. Might make people look at you differently.”

  Reluctantly Vera got back into the car. She didn't like leaving Houdini with Will while the chief had a bug up his ass, but she liked the idea of being out in the open even less. There was a feeling rolling along her spine, it was a dark confusing feeling. Every nerve in her body was on high alert when she finally reached the lot and parked the car. Her mind flashed back to the distinct feeling of being watched.

  Truth was she hadn't felt any relief from that feeling. Will had distracted her from it but the longer that she'd stood out there in the open, the
more she was sure there was something in the woods watching and waiting.

  With determination Vera got out of the car, keys clenched between her fingers as a weapon. It was something she'd learned in a self defense class, she could only hope if push came to shove it actually worked. A quick scan of the area didn't reveal anyone or anything lurking in the shadows. She took one step forward and nothing changed so she took another, she'd make it to the door, even if the quiet of the night was making her skin crawl and her emotions go haywire. Tears stung her eyes but she refused to let them fall. There would be plenty of time for that once she was inside.

  A howl shattered the silence of the night. Vera dropped the keys, cursed as she wasted precious seconds to scoop them back up. Then she started to run, run like her life depended on it, and maybe it did. She heard branches and bushes rustle, something was coming out of the woods.

  It was coming for her! Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest, it was impossible to breathe but she kept running as fast as she could, too fast for the stairs that led up to New to You; she tripped up those. “Fuck me.” She hissed as her knee scraped painfully but she scrambled back up.

  The key slid into the lock. Vera turned the handle and darted inside. She turned, slammed the door, locked the lock and looked outside. Through the glass she had a clear view of the wolf approaching, which meant that it had a clear view of her, but even knowing that she couldn't move.

  It was massive. The coat was gray peppered with black, it was shiny enough to practically glow in the light of the full moon. The eyes were yellow and as crazy as it sounded they were looking right at her. As it drew closer, Vera knew that it could come straight through the window.

  Her apartment upstairs seemed like the only place that would be safe. She could lock herself in, call someone to come deal with wolf that was following her. Hysterical laughter escaped her lips as she imagined saying it to Sherrie who would be answering the phone down at the police station. She couldn't call the police. Animal control?

  She laughed again as she pushed open the apartment door, shut and locked it behind her. Finally she was safe. “Breathe, just breathe. It's going to be alright. It's fine.” Vera inhaled and exhaled deeply.

  Vera slid her hand along the wall, flipped the switch up and screamed. She wasn't alone in the room, there was something halfway between a man and an animal. It was staring at her with the same intelligence she'd seen in the eyes of the wolf following her. It didn't make sense. None of it made sense.

  She threw herself towards the bathroom, desperate to get in and close the door. There was a window, she could go out the window and then shimmy down to the porch. Escape was all that was on her mind, but she didn't get far. The creature hit her from the side, on all fours like a dog but still human somehow.

  Fear was too mild a word. Her mind screamed for her to get up, her body didn't seem to agree. Vera was frozen, the beat of her heart a wild rhythm in her ears. It was all she could hear and the thing was all she could see. It had blue eyes, beautiful blue eyes but there was nothing else even close to beautiful about it.

  “Please!” Vera stammered out the word, gasped for breath because of the putrid scent of the thing as it came closer to her. It had claws instead of fingers, something out of a horror movie or nightmare. A claw hooked on the hem of her dress, dragged the material up.

  There was no way she couldn't scream, her throat immediately felt sore from the effort. Tears poured from her eyes. She didn't want to die but she couldn't move to fight. Even when she was flipped roughly on her stomach. Vera screamed louder, her fingers dug into the rug.

  She continued to scream, her voice cracked from the effort. Soon it would be gone altogether, just like her hope. Vera felt her face press against the floor. She willed herself to pass out so she wouldn't know what happened next.

  “Stop screaming,” the voice was guttural, hard to understand through the distorted lips but clearly male. “There is no point in fighting it, in fighting me.” Warm breath fluttered over the back of Vera's neck, she heard the sound of fabric ripping and felt cool air over her back. “It almost makes me sad it has to be this way. I'd have liked to keep you as my own. I've always wanted a human for a pet.”

  Vera had no response for that; even if she had the words would have been lost when her head was yanked back and slammed forward. Everything just went black.

  Chapter TEN

  The Old Man's place was packed with people, more people than would have normally shown up for a wedding on the night of the moon. Sure, other generations had done it, but during different times. It was a risk to gather so many on the verge of change in one place, especially with town only a few miles away as the crow flew.

  “Fancy seeing you here,” Deacon stopped at the sound of a familiar voice. He turned, a frown on his face.

  “What are you doing here, Susan?” It didn't make sense that she would be, as she was a shifter. Shifters didn't typically attend Were weddings.

  “Celebrating Adelaide's special day,” she stepped forward, lowered her voice so no one else would hear. “What the fuck is going on? I was all set to head to the mountains when I got the call that I needed to be here. Needed.”

  “It's not good, whatever it is.”

  “This place is a powder keg waiting to explode.”

  “No shit,” Deacon sighed.

  “Heard that there's supposed to be some sort of announcement,” she continued to stare at him. “You've really got no idea what that's about?”

  “No, but it looks like we're going to find out.” Deacon motioned to the porch where The Old Man had stepped out. There was an air of ceremony about him, but he wasn't wearing the white robe which was to be expected at a wedding.

  Silence fell over the crowd. The Old Man waited until it was total and all eyes were on him before he spoke. “You will all remember this night, it is a night that you will tell your children and grandchildren about around kitchen tables and on car trips. They will memorize it, tell it to their children. This night will become one of legend! Under this moon, we become one. One pack under one Leader.”

  Murmurs began to spread through the tense crowd. Deacon clenched his hands into fists, willed himself to remain in control. The wolf wanted out in the worst possible way and not because of the moon. No, it had been close to the surface all night. In the past few minutes, even before seeing Susan, it had pushed higher, fueled by a feeling he couldn't quite place.

  The moment that Josiah Callen stepped out onto the back porch Deacon knew who the new Leader was in a moment of blinding clarity, just as he knew that Josiah and Adelaide had already been wed.

  The crowd was still mumbling. All eyes were on Josiah and no one knew what to expect. Deacon checked to make sure Jake and Bug were where he'd last seen them, if something kicked off he wanted to be sure that he knew where they were. He also looked for Susan. She looked several inches shorter, and it puzzled him for a moment until he realized that she'd taken off her heels. She was prepared for a fight as well.

  “Quiet!” Josiah ordered, the crowd complied immediately. “This is unexpected for all of us. It has been a day of unexpected events. Adelaide, join me.” He turned to the door and Adelaide stepped out to stand at his side. “I am humbled to accept what Ezekial has offered me. It is an honor I probably don't deserve. That said, I will do my very best for this pack with my wife at my side. Most of you have known Adelaide for years, you know her and love her. And she loves me, so I'll ask you to trust her judgment.”

  Deacon didn't hear another word that Josiah said, he couldn't hear anything but the roaring of his own boiling blood in his ears. In that moment, he saw red. He saw Josiah through the wolf's eyes, felt hunger unlike anything he'd ever known. He wanted to taste Josiah's blood and watch the life fade from his eyes. Adelaide had joined Josiah on the porch; they shared a kiss.

  “Take it easy,” Susan stepped in front of Deacon.

  “Move,” he growled the word.

  “Don't do it. N
ot now. Not in front of Adelaide. Look at her, Deke. She does love him, they're...”

  Deacon didn't want to look at his sister. He didn't want to see the way she looked at Josiah or the way she was smiling. Or the fact that she looked completely at ease with his hands all over her. “I don't believe in that shit. Love at first sight? Being meant to be? Bullshit.” Even as he said the words, his mind went to Vera. The feeling from earlier returned, this time he had a name for it. It was fear. Cold, dark fear.

  “Deke?”

  “I'm fine,” Deacon tried to shake off the feeling. Josiah had finished speaking; the crowd was dispersing towards the woods or the makeshift bar. There was no way in hell Deacon was letting himself change. No, he was going to need his wits about him. “I need a drink.”

  He didn't wait to see if Susan followed him. Deacon hoped that she didn't. He needed a minute to pull his shit together or it was going to get ugly. There were coolers with beer, he grabbed two and walked alongside the house where it was quieter.

  The feeling was still just beneath the surface, it was an itch he couldn't scratch. As angry as he was, he wasn't afraid, so why was fear picking away at the base of his neck? Deacon downed one of the beers in several long swallows, popped the top on the second bottle. His mind went to Vera.

  He dropped the bottle as things connected in his mind, it was like a flash, and he knew that the fear he felt had nothing to do with him. It had to do with Vera. She was scared, scared out of her mind. Where the fuck was Houdini and why wasn't he watching her?

  Deke!” He looked over as Adelaide came rushing around the side of the house. She was holding up her long white dress. “It's Vera! She's...”