by Meg Ripley
Drake approached the house, very aware of his men all around him moving stealthily through the woods. They still had so much ahead of them, but saving Nikki and Lindy was the first step.
Still in bear form, Drake padded up the porch stairs. They creaked under the weight of his muscles, but that was all right. He didn’t mind calling attention to himself. He craved a fight at this point.
Clint came bursting out the front door, a pistol in his hand and rage in his eyes. “What the—”
Drake didn’t give him a chance. He barreled forward, leaping on the man and sending him backwards with the heavy weight of his bear. “One of you assholes killed Piper; admit it.”
“That stupid bitch?” Clint narrowed his eyes. “She was just getting in the way. Why do you care, anyway?”
He locked his paws on his head and twisted, feeling the satisfying snap of Clint’s spine as it broke. One down.
The man had left the door open, and Drake charged inside as the other two came out of their bedrooms, having heard the commotion.
“Get them!” Max called. “They’re here for the girl!” He pointed at Drake.
But he never had a chance to do anything more than that. Garrison burst through the living room window in full dragon form, sending shards of glass flying in his wake. His deep green scales were black in the dark house as his clawed fingers sunk into Max’s back and brought him to the ground. With his teeth glistening, he chomped down. Seconds later, the shifter was lifeless beneath him.
That only left Neal. He started to shift, knowing he had more strength in his animal form. His muzzled popped out of the front of his face as he dropped to the floor, his hide bursting with dark fur.
Hudson had come around the front, hearing this. He was at Drake’s side, and the two of them sprang forward together. Neal fought back, but he didn’t have much of a chance with a bear and a lion after him. He fell to the floor in a wash of fresh blood.
With the three men dead, Drake could focus on the real aspect of their mission. Find them! Quickly! We don’t know if there’s anyone else they’re working with.
The others immediately followed orders, spreading throughout the home. Nikki’s place wasn’t as big as the clubhouse, but there were plenty of rooms to search.
Looks like someone might’ve been in the basement, Hudson reported. Not now, though.
Drake headed for the back of the house, knowing Nikki’s bedroom was there. He shouldered through the door, expecting to find her lying in her bed, sick and scared. But her bed was empty, the covers cast aside. His stomach sank as he saw the open window. They were gone.
Flint, they’re gone. Probably outside somewhere, but I have no idea how long they’ve been gone. We need your nose to find them. Drake turned and headed for the door.
Sure, call in the dog, came Flint’s sarcastic reply. Just kidding. I’m on it.
Drake soon joined up with him in the field behind the house. Any luck?
Flint was far bigger than any normal wolf. His shaggy fur gleamed in the moonlight as he pressed his long nose to the ground. In the woods, I’d guess, and not all that long ago.
Without waiting for his friend to make any further findings, Drake pounded toward the woods. He summoned a deep breath, feeling the desperate need to have his daughter back. The howl that he let forth from his lungs was a special one, one that he’d taught Lindy a long time ago. It was the kind of signal that was only reserved for emergency, a siren in the night to join them. He wasn’t sure she would remember it, and of course it would only work if she were still close enough. Drake let it out again as he continued forward.
Lindy’s tiny bear nose emerged from the woods, the moonlight shining off it as it sniffed the air. Another shadow moved nearby, but Lindy shot forward in all her ursine glory, running on all fours without stopping until she slammed into her father’s arms.
They shifted back into their human forms, dropping the protection that their bear forms afforded them and holding each other tight. “Oh, Lindy. Baby, are you all right? Are you hurt?”
She shoved her face into his chest, trying to get as close to him as possible. “No, Daddy. Nikki was with me. She saved me.”
On cue, Nikki emerged from the woods. Drake had the idea she’d been in her other form as well, but she’d already shifted back. Her eyes were dark in the dim light, and she watched him with curiosity. “Drake?”
He kept Lindy tight under one arm as she approached. “You know who I am now?” The relief that rushed through his system was heady.
Nikki shook her head. Her steps faltered as her eyes rolled back in her head. Drake caught her with his free arm as she passed out.
19
“Get her in the bathtub. Keep the water cold and fill it up all the way. It’s good for breaking spells.” Nikki heard a familiar voice somewhere in the ether of her mind. She tried to push her way toward it, but she felt like she was swimming through a fog.
Something cold washed over her. She tensed, resisting it.
“She’s fighting me,” a different—and yet still familiar voice—grunted.
“Yes, she’s going to,” the first voice responded. “She doesn’t understand what we’re doing for her.” Though the tone was urgent, the voice itself was comforting. Nikki liked it.
“Okay, now what?” came the gruffer voice.
“I’ve got to gather some herbs and supplies. Whatever Raven did to her, it’s powerful. Give me a minute.”
“Is she going to be okay?”
This was a new voice that Nikki hadn’t heard yet, a young one, soft and sweet. Nikki tried to focus on it because it made her feel like there was something she was supposed to do. But her body wasn’t in her control. It was a distant form that she was only vaguely aware of as she floated through the dark fog.
“I hope so, sweetheart. You can help by going in the kitchen. There’s a big canister of salt right on the counter, and we’re going to need a lot of it.”
Nikki hadn’t been able to judge the passing of time for…well, she didn’t know how long. Everything was so ethereal and abstract. She couldn’t tell if those voices had surrounded her a second ago or an hour ago. She now smelled something burning.
“What are you doing?” the deep voice asked.
“These are for protection. Sage and frankincense.”
“You’re just burning this stuff?”
“There’s much more to it than that, Drake. Now you need to be patient, or else this isn’t going to work at all. Now tell me what else Raven said.”
Drake? Nikki knew that name. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but she aligned the name and the gruff voice together and liked the results. She leaned toward it, inasmuch as she could lean toward something when she had no physical body.
Drake huffed impatiently. “Something about a deepest curse and a greatest treasure. A stone of the heart? I don’t know. She was speaking in riddles; she wasn’t interested in helping at all.”
But a sharp snap sounded near the gentler voice. “No, that changes everything! Don’t you see, Drake? You’re fated to Nikki. Raven took away her ‘greatest treasure’ by making her believe she was fated to someone else. The way to heal her is through her heart chakra.”
“How? Like a kiss or something?”
Nikki couldn’t understand why, but she wanted to smile. Warmth was starting to wash through the inside of her body, even though it felt deathly cold on the outside. Things were still strange and obscure, but she didn’t mind so much anymore.
“Not quite. Hang on.”
Something touched the palm of Nikki’s hand, and she felt herself being suddenly yanked through this gloomy mist she’d found herself in and slammed into her body. She couldn’t breathe. Forces yanked and tugged at her, and she opened her eyes.
Nikki gasped as ice cold water ran down her face. She swiped at her eyes, finding herself in a pale pink bathroom. A man, a woman, and a girl were all in there with her, staring at her with wide eyes. “Shit that hurt,” Nikki moan
ed as she reeled. “What happened?”
Fern gave a gentle laugh. “You were under a horrific spell cast by Raven. We managed to bring you back.”
“Bringing me back sounds about right. I was in the strangest place…” Nikki pressed a hand to her forehead as fading visions of the strange fog came back to her. “How did you do it?”
Drake, who was kneeling next to the tub, opened his hand. He held one half of a pink rock. “Look in your hand.”
She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding anything. But when Nikki unfolded her fingers, she found the other half of the rock in her own palm. “I don’t get it.”
“Rose quartz is the crystal of love and healing. The water, salt, and herbs were all extremely helpful, but we had to get you back to the person you’re fated to be with. That meant aligning you and Drake again,” the witch explained.
Nikki still didn’t understand completely, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t need to know all the details about how magic worked in order to know she was better, if still weak. “Can I get out of here now?”
Drake pulled her out of the tub but left the room as Fern stripped her of her wet clothing, dried her off, and wrapped her in a soft robe. She was escorted out to the living room, where a hot cup of tea was waiting for her.
Lindy snuggled up next to her. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“So, what happens now?”
Watching her with concern, Drake ran one hand through his dark hair. “I’d love to say it’s all over and we can start our lives again, but I think it’s important we understand why Raven would do this to you.”
Nikki frowned. “I haven’t heard that name in a long time. I didn’t even realize Raven was still in town.”
“Oh, she is,” Fern assured her, “and she must have one hell of a vendetta on you.”
Knowing who was behind all this only made Nikki feel more guilty. “That’s crazy, after all this time.” She shifted, pulling the robe tighter around herself. “You see, Raven and I went to high school together. Nobody knew about me being a shifter; that sort of thing isn’t really acceptable. But being a witch is a different thing. There are lots of teenage girls who’re intrigued by that sort of stuff. Raven was desperate to build up a coven of her own, and she asked me to join. I did, at first. I didn’t really know what we were doing. Most of Raven’s ‘spells’ were actually pranks on the teaching staff or giving the other girls stones and pendants that were supposed to serve certain purposes. I was fine with all that until she started doing black magic and controlling the girls to get whatever she wanted. Even then, she was manipulating boys into falling for girls, using students to steal test grades, things like that. I exposed her for what she really was, and everyone left her coven. She was so angry, but I was foolish enough to believe she couldn’t do anything to me.” Nikki closed her eyes, still feeling feeble from her ordeal.
“Until she was a strong enough witch to actually get to you,” Fern finished for her. “Sounds like she was trying to take your clan from you as revenge for taking her coven away from her.”
“She’s dangerous. We’ve got to stop her,” Drake growled.
“No.” Nikki put her hand on his arm, feeling the heat from his skin radiate through her. “I have to stop her. She did all this because she wanted to get to me. Too many people have died, been injured, or been put in harm’s way because of this scheme, and I’ve been standing by.”
“Whoa. Hey.” Drake put his hand over the top of hers. “Just because she wanted to get revenge on you doesn’t mean this is your fault. We know where she is now. My guys and I can go take her down.”
“Your guys?” Nikki looked at Drake. Her body and soul were still recovering from everything she’d just been through, and already she felt the world tipping underneath her again. “I don’t understand. You just moved here.”
His mouth was a thin line as he glanced down at his hands and then back up at her. “I wasn’t completely honest with you about that. Hudson, Garrison, and Flint aren’t merely my coworkers. I’m with the Special Ops Shifter Force. You may have heard of us.”
“Yeah,” she replied hesitantly. “I think so. Kind of like the A-Team of the shifter world, right?”
“Basically,” he shrugged. “We solve the problems that the clans and conclaves either can’t or won’t take care of. Piper called us because she was so concerned about you, and that’s what brought me here.”
“I see.” Nikki felt another pang of regret over Piper. If she’d only listened to her…But she couldn’t fuss over that now, nor could she focus on the fact that Drake had been misrepresenting himself to her this entire time. At least it’d been for a good reason, even if it made a small part of her feel betrayed.
“Like I said, I have a small contingent of men here in California with me. We can head to Raven’s and get her taken care of once and for all.”
Nikki took a deep breath as she looked up at him, falling into those gorgeous eyes of his. “Drake, I know there’s something strong between us, and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. But this is my fight, and I’m going to take her down.”
He looked like he was about to argue further, but then he nodded. “All right. But we’re coming with you.”
“Fair enough.” She liked the idea of having Drake and his friends at her back, even if she didn’t quite understand their connection with each other yet.
“Hold on.” Fern jumped up from the armchair she’d been perched in and trotted out of the room. She returned a minute later with a black box, which she set on the coffee table. Inside was the slimmest dagger Nikki had ever seen. The complex handle looked to be an array of metals in various colors and designs, each of them fitted together perfectly. The tiny blade looked more like a letter opener than any kind of knife.
“Don’t let its appearance fool you,” Fern cautioned. “This stiletto dagger has very strong abilities. It’s been passed down through my family for many generations, and it’s said this knife can kill a witch with one slice.”
“Then why haven’t you used it before now?” Drake questioned. “You knew Raven was bad.”
“Yes,” she replied, tipping her head to one side. “But for a witch to kill another of her kind is one of the greatest sins of our people. I’d also have to be able to get close enough to her to do it, and she wouldn’t let that happen in a million years. I think we’ve been saving it for the right time. I think that time is now.” Fern produced a small scabbard, slipped the dagger inside, and handed it to Nikki.
She took it, feeling both honored and exhilarated. This was her best chance at getting vengeance on the woman who would’ve completely decimated her life.
Drake and Nikki were coming in on foot and in human form, not wanting to be recognized or set off any alarms until they absolutely had to. It felt good to have him at her side, a man who knew how to fight and was willing to do it for a noble cause. She didn’t mind having Garrison, Hudson, and Flint working their way in on the backside of the trailer park, either. She’d only known them for a very short time, but already she knew she could trust them.
Her heart thundered as they approached Raven’s door. Nikki was fairly certain she’d never been there before, and yet there was something eerily familiar about the place. Maybe she’d dreamed it when Raven had attempted to separate her soul from her body. She shuddered, not wanting to think about it any longer, and touched the dagger at her side.
She charged in front of Drake to be the first one at the door and Raven opened it before she could knock. “Well, well, well,” the witch said with a smile. “If it isn’t the little bear bitch. And you’ve brought your henchman with you. I was wondering how long it would take you to come back here.”
Drake shouldered up next to her, and Nikki could feel the anger rolling off of him. “You nearly killed her.”
Raven shrugged her shoulders. “Better luck next time, then.”
This was exactly what Nikki needed to hear. She already knew Raven would try to
kill her again or find some way to go after those she loved. It was all the justification she needed. But there was something they needed to talk about first. “Why did you do it, Raven? Why let people suffer just because you’re still pissed at me from something that happened almost ten years ago?”
The witch’s face soured. “You think it’s as simple as that? Listen, I haven’t been sitting here plotting revenge every day of my life since graduation. Sure, I’d thought about it every now and then. I thought it’d be nice to put you in your place. But you really should’ve been more careful about who you allowed in your clan. It was Clint, Max, and Neal who came to me, looking for a way to climb the ladder, if you will. They knew they weren’t powerful enough to ever run a clan of their own, but they still craved that power.”
Nikki was blown away. Before she’d believed they were her mates, the three men had been her trusted guards. “So they paid you to cast a spell on me?”
“That’s simplifying things a bit too much,” Raven said. “That was how it started out, but I also convinced those idiots they could do magic of their own. They wanted to play you, but I played them to get to you. It’s all linked together in a chain like the rest of the universe. There’s no such thing as an isolated incident.”
The only saving grace from that story was that the three men had deserved the fates they’d met.
Without hesitating, Nikki lunged at the witch. Her hands reached for Raven’s throat. The witch flung her back with little more than a sweep of her wrist. Nikki forced her body to relax as she flew over the porch railing and her body crunched into the gravel.
Blackness crept in around the edges of her vision as she watched Drake’s body change. He was glorious as a human, tall and strong and handsome. But he was completely something else when he let himself free as a bear. All that strength and his protective nature was evident in the spark in his deep eyes and the width of his shoulders. Drake put his head down and charged, shoving Raven forcibly into the trailer.