“Gray,” I said urgently. “We have a lamia here who says the pack is being summoned.”
He stood from where he had been leaning against the tool chest and nodded. “Grab your coat, it’s starting to get cold in the evenings.” I was surprised that Grayson was so nonchalant about the news, but Wyatt had probably already told them with the bond.
Kannon had already beat me to it because he handed me the coat as he came out of the kitchen. Corey didn’t say a word, he just followed Gray back to the waiting room. I shrugged the coat on and didn’t complain when Gray, Wyatt, and Corey all stood in front of me protectively when we faced Pierce. Kannon stood by my side and held my hand.
“That was fast,” Pierce commented. “I expected more of a fight.”
“Would you like one?” Grayson growled in a deep voice.
Pierce chuckled. “I’ll save it for the ring.” He smiled at Grayson and it was definitely more friendly than the way that he had looked at me or Wyatt. Of course, Grayson had most likely worked with Pierce during the fights.
I followed the guys out front to where a bright red Maserati was parked illegally in front of our shop. “This is new,” Gray commented as he ran his hand reverently over the hood.
Pierce nodded. “Grand Turismo MC. I had them make some modifications, of course.”
“Of course,” Gray murmured.
My gaze met Corey’s at the same time and we both rolled our eyes. I didn’t know much about cars, but from hanging out with the other guys I knew this one was expensive. Certainly nothing one of us could ever have. A pang of sorrow hit me when Grayson shut off his look of admiration and put on a hard look. Sure, this was just a stupidly expensive car, but these guys had given up so much in their lives. And with the way our finances ran, we wouldn’t be able to have anything except necessities for a very long time.
“Lori,” Pierce called as he opened the front passenger seat for me. “Hop in.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him a glare. There was no way that was happening. Pierce gave a soft chuckle and shrugged. “It was worth a try. I do need at least two of you to come with me. The others can follow.”
“Lori’s with me,” Grayson ordered before tossing his keys to Wyatt. A meaningful look passed between them and I knew they were using the pack bond. Kannon gave my hand a squeeze before he let go to follow Wyatt to the SUV.
I was surprised when Corey hesitated for a moment and met my eyes. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. I gave him a nod to let him know I would be fine. “I’ll take the back,” I announced.
No one argued and Grayson held the door so I could climb in. I ran my hand over the buttery leather seats. Yup, definitely expensive. There was a moment of tension when Gray and Pierce both got in the car and Pierce looked at me through the rearview mirror. But that tension quickly eased when Gray asked him a question about the car. I tuned out as they discussed engines but I was irritated that Grayson didn’t even ask why this dude came and demanded we come with him.
“Ask him what’s going on,” I prompted Gray through the bond.
Grayson waited until Pierce launched into a diatribe about something car-related that I really didn’t care about. “This is part of the game, Lori. They want us off-balance and unsure but don’t give them the satisfaction.”
I huffed and sat back in my seat. This was not the way I had pictured our Saturday going. We got more than a few stares when Pierce drove through town and a couple people even stopped to take out their phone to snap a pic before we passed. I had no doubt that this was going to be the talk of the town for a while. The windows were all tinted dark, but I’m sure people could still see who was in here through the front windshield.
Pierce drove like an asshole the second we were out of town and onto the road that led out to the college. He only slowed once the security gate was in sight and the guard had the gate open and ready for us to speed through. There wasn’t any stopping or inspections necessary for him, unlike when me and Gray came here.
“Was all this really necessary?” I piped up as we drove into the parking garage. “You’ve never had a problem with us not showing up before.”
Pierce laughed and met my gaze through the rearview mirror. “We’ve never had a problem with you and Gray. Has he never mentioned why the rest of the pack doesn’t join the two of you on your visits?”
I avoided his gaze and shrugged as if I didn’t care, unwilling to let him know that my pack was apparently keeping secrets from me. I was guessing that this had something to do with Corey’s anger management issues. When I had first met the pack, they had told me that the reason they had a tranq gun and cage in the basement was for one of them. I hadn’t ever witnessed an incident that required them to use either one with Corey, but what had happened to warrant it in the past? It had to be bad if the lamia were willing to give up a lab rat.
We waited for the other guys to catch up to us in the garage before we followed Pierce into the building. I could see Corey gritting his teeth so hard that his jaw was flexing so I tentatively reached out to touch his shoulder. He flinched initially, but relaxed when he realized it was me. I stood close to him in the elevator and touched his pinky with mine. I thought we were discreet, but Pierce noticed. He cocked his head to study me a little closer but never said a word.
Instead of bringing us to Dr. Green’s office, Pierce brought us to a floor that I had never been on. “This is your stop,” Pierce announced. One side of his mouth lifted up in a sardonic grin. “The witches have been whining non-stop about needing you for a spell. This will cover Winston’s debt to me.”
I blinked at hearing Corey being called Winston again. I glanced up at Corey, but his face was hard. There was probably a story behind it, but this wasn’t the time.
“Finally,” a woman complained as she sauntered up to us. She looked to be in her forties, with grey streaks in her dark hair and a severe look on her face. “You took your sweet time, Pierce, we’ve been set up for hours.”
Pierce shrugged at her with a mocking grin. “I never agreed to a specific time, Wysteria.” The elevator closed behind him and Wysteria watched him stand in the hallway with us as if he had no intention of leaving. He shrugged at her hostile stare. “I’m going to see this through, regardless of anything you say.” Wysteria whirled around without another word to him and marched away, expecting us to follow.
My stomach sank as we followed Wysteria down a hallway. With every step, it felt like we were walking further into our doom. Kannon sensed my unease and put an arm around me as we walked. “Don’t be nervous,” he assured with me with the pack bond. “This is going to be over soon.”
I couldn’t help thinking that none of this was worth it. Wolves weren’t meant to live in captivity like this. We couldn’t be slaves to the lamia and the witches every time they called for us. Why were we walking towards danger like a herd of sheep? We should be calling our own shots.
When I stepped into a large room filled with more witches and smoky with incense I made up my mind. I was going to find some way to get the guys away from here. I didn’t care where we were going to go, or how I was going to make it happen but I could figure that out later. The wooden floor was covered in chalk drawings of strange symbols that formed a circle around an altar in the middle.
“Get in your places!” Wysteria yelled at the other witches. They scurried to get in place without a sound, so she must be like the head witch or something. “Ilyanna, I’m going to let you lead the chant for the first one. Jade will take over for the second.”
A younger blond girl stepped forward and picked up an amulet off the altar. I grimaced when she picked up an ornate knife and gestured towards us. Images ran through my mind of them sacrificing us over the altar, but I knew Grayson would never allow something like that to happen. I needed to stay calm and cool. I glanced over at Pierce to see him watching everything with a bored expression. I wasn’t confident that he would be any help to us, and I didn’t think
he came along out of the goodness of his heart.
I wasn’t the only one on edge. Corey had narrowed his eyes at a dark-haired witch in the circle and looked like he wanted to murder her. Grayson put a hand on his shoulder and murmured something to him as Wysteria screamed directions out at her cronies. Corey took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to relax. “I need two of you,” Ilyanna called to us. “The twins will work just fine.”
Wyatt and Corey glanced at each other before stepping forward and making their way into the center of the circle where Ilyanna stood waiting with the creepy knife. The witches closed ranks around them and I had to stand on my toes to keep the guys in sight. “They’re using our magic,” Kannon whispered to me. “They need it to power their spell. It’ll make the guys tired but won’t hurt them.”
I nodded nervously but I could smell the blood when Ilyanna used her knife to cut both twins on the forearm. They dripped blood on the amulet as the witches chanted around them. I wasn’t very strong at sensing magic, but I could feel it flowing from the guys and into the amulet. “What are they going to do with the amulet?” I asked Kannon.
Kannon just shrugged at me as Grayson hushed both of us. I could have used the pack bond to keep pestering them about what was happening but I kept quiet since I knew they didn’t have any more answers than I did. There was a sudden pop as if they had been slowing filling a balloon with magic until it finally burst. The witches stopped chanting and looked happy with the results as they examined the amulet, so whatever they did must have been successful.
Wysteria dismissed the twins. “I need the rest of you for this one.” She waved us forward but Grayson held out his arm to stop me in my tracks.
“Not Lori,” he growled. “She’s not a full wolf.”
I flushed with embarrassment as they all stared at me and then tittered. Wysteria rolled her eyes before striding forward and examining me like I was spoiled produce. “Fine,” she hissed. “You’re useless anyway.”
Grayson stiffened so I used the pack bond to soothe him. “The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can leave.” He searched my eyes before nodding and stepping away.
Corey surprised me by taking Kannon’s place at my side. We kept our arms around each other both for comfort and support. I could feel Corey’s exhaustion and his struggle to keep standing. Whatever they had taken out of him had been too much. Anger flashed through me and I hated that we had to stand here and be a part of this. I despised them for what they were doing to us.
The witches repeated what they had done to the first amulet but I could tell that the chants were different. They were doing a different spell on this one. The process was the same and soon Grayson and Kannon were weakening. I did my best to lend my strength to the guys, but I could feel our bond draining me. As much as I hated to admit it, Grayson was right. I didn’t have a lot to give.
I felt myself growing dizzy and staggered away from Corey. If I was going down I didn’t want to take him with me. I decided that sitting on the floor was the safest place for me. I fell on my ass more than I actually sat, but the result was the same. I could hear Corey’s and Wyatt’s voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying. They sounded far away even though I could see Wyatt lean over right in front of me. My vision started to go blurry and I curled up on the floor. Sitting up was too difficult.
My eyes started to close and Pierce knelt down next to me. His dark eyes were the last thing that I saw before mine closed completely. I heard shouting in the distance but didn’t have the strength to open my eyes to see what was happening. I just wanted to go to sleep. My breathing slowed and darkness brought silence with it. Finally. Peace.
I floated in the darkness, feeling myself starting to drift away into nothing until a bolt of lightning hit me. I jolted awake and blinked at the sight around me. All of my guys had their hands on me, worry in their eyes.
“Lori,” Grayson murmured. “Relax and don’t try to move just yet. You need a little more.” Another jolt hit me and I realized it was Jade with the rock she had used on Grayson and I before to steal our magic. Was she giving it back?
Jade scowled when she saw me watching her and pulled away. “That’s enough,” she said haughtily. “She’s fine.”
“She’s not fine,” Pierce growled. I looked up in surprise to see that he had grabbed Jade by the arm and was furious. “You almost killed her.”
Jade shrugged carelessly. “How were we supposed to know she was so weak?”
“You’re done with her,” Pierce ordered. “She’s never coming near another spell again.”
Grayson helped me to sit up and I knew the only reason why he wasn’t going after the witches was that he was worried about me. He wanted to be by my side to take care of me. “I’m okay,” I whispered before clearing my throat and speaking a little louder. “I think that rock thing helped.”
Corey and Wyatt each grabbed one of my hands to pull me up to a standing position but Kannon was the first to wrap his arms around me. “I was so scared,” he murmured into my hair.
I wrapped my arms around him and let him take some of my weight even though I knew he was just as exhausted as I was.
The witches huddled around the amulets that they had used us to make but Wysteria noticed us standing there. “Well? Get out of here, we’re done.”
“Go,” Pierce ground out. “I’ll take care of this.” He stalked over to Wysteria and got in her face, speaking in a low voice.
Corey tensed and Grayson stepped in front of him to forcibly moved him toward the door. “This isn’t the time for a fight,” Grayson said quietly to all of us. “We won’t win if we can’t even keep our feet.” I don’t think Corey had the strength to resist because he went along with it. I took a deep breath and then followed them to the door. Wyatt and Kannon stayed close to me and Kannon never took his hand off of me.
I closed my eyes in the elevator and tried to make sense of what just happened. “Did they really try to kill us?”
“I don’t think that’s what they were trying to do,” Grayson said in a low tone. “But I don’t think they would have stopped if Pierce hadn’t been there.”
“We can’t be put in that position again,” Wyatt said quietly. “Not if we are all going to be too weak to protect Lori. At least one of us needs to stay strong.”
“We were lucky Pierce stepped in,” Kannon told me with sad eyes.
“I’m surprised he did,” Corey added bitterly. “But I guess he didn’t want to lose the University’s lab rats on his watch.”
“Pierce isn’t a bad guy,” Grayson told us with his eyes closed as he leaned against the wall of the elevator. It bothered me to see Grayson this affected by the spell. He was always the strongest of us all.
“But he isn’t a friend,” Wyatt corrected him.
A cold hand squeezed my heart. What if no one was there to stop them next time? “You guys can’t go back,” I whispered with tears in my eyes.
When that elevator brought us back to the lobby we walked down the hall to get to the next one to bring us back to the parking garage. “You’re looking better,” Corey told me as he examined me with a critical eye. I was the only one easily walking, the rest of the pack was slowly staggering.
I gave him a weak smile. “I think I might have ended up with a little more juice than the rest of you after Jade gave me the magical shocks.”
Grayson quietly chuckled, but there was no humor in it.
In the elevator, Wyatt pulled out the keys. “Would you mind, Lori?” He frowned at my hesitation. “If you’re feeling well enough?”
I turned bright red and looked down at the ground. “I don’t know how to drive,” I mumbled. The males in my last pack hadn’t allowed females to drive, easier to keep us all compliant prisoners that way.
“No,” Wyatt’s eyes widened, and he looked over to Grayson. “Uh, we should probably teach you then,” he suggested with forced cheerfulness. I had told the guys that my last pack had been terrible,
but every time they found out a new detail about my past they still seemed surprised.
“I got it,” Grayson grumbled as he took the keys from Wyatt.
I felt terrible. I should be taking care of my pack. Instead, I was just standing here like a useless idiot. I climbed into the back of the SUV and huddled down in my seat in shame. Kannon laid down across the seats and put his head in my lap. I stroked his soft hair as we drove back home. There had to be something I could do to get us all out of this god-forsaken town.
When Grayson pulled up at the firehouse, none of us moved from the parked car. “Do you think anyone would notice if we just slept here?” Kannon asked tiredly.
“We’re going inside,” Grayson grumbled. “That’s where the food is.”
Corey groaned. “Let’s go, then.”
No one moved.
I nudged Kannon to sit up so that I could climb out first. “C’mon,” I urged them. “You know you guys are too big for me to pick up and carry.” It took some prodding, but I got them moving.
I took the keys from Wyatt so I could open the door, but the moment I did, panic set in.
I grabbed Grayson’s arm and tried to pull him away from the firehouse, but he didn’t budge. He had caught the same scent that I had.
“Is that him?” he growled, every muscle in his body tense.
I was too terrified to say a word, so I just gave him a sharp nod.
“Who?” Corey asked as he pushed his way up to us. “Shit!” he said with wide eyes. His surprise only lasted a second before it turned to rage. “No,” he spat out. “Your old pack master does not get to come into our home. That’s who it is, right?”
I nodded, almost paralyzed with fear. I snapped out of it when Corey tried to go past me and through the door. “No!” I shouted at him. “We can’t do this right now.”
The guys all ignored me. “We stick together,” Grayson told them. “We search the house starting with the kitchen. If he’s still here, we bring him to the garage to get some answers.”
I tugged at Gray’s arm. “This is stupid. None of us are up to a fight right now.”
The Struggle: Hollow Crest Wolf Pack Book 2 Page 14