Determination burned through me. “Clearly, a powerful witch worthy of respect.”
“You’ve got that right.” Azure flung some of her hair behind her shoulder. “Hand it over.”
I took a deep breath. “I want a trade.”
“How about I don’t wipe out your entire species? Sound fair?” Her nostrils flared.
“This stone controls two curses—I want them removed. Should be easy enough for a witch of your stature.”
Her brows came together. “What are the curses, wolf?”
“First, our kind can only shift at the full moon—we want to change at will like all the other shifters.”
Azure sighed dramatically. “And the other curse?”
“Everyone I come in contact with practically worships me. I want that to stop.”
She tilted her head. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Trust me. It is. Will you do it?”
Azure huffed. “You want me to destroy two curses?”
I opened my palm, exposing the wolf essence stone. “Then it’s all yours. You’ll never have to deal with us ever again.”
She scratched her chin, appearing in deep thought. “Or, I could just take it.” She stepped closer to me, but I jumped back and covered the stone again.
Her mouth formed a straight line. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“I’m not asking much. This stone is behind all of it. We’ll be out of your hair forever.”
“Right. Or I could kill you all now and have the same happy ending.”
Toby put a hand on my arm and brought his mouth to my ear. “Remember, Gessilyn said Azure would kill anyone who gets in her way. Maybe we should give it to her and find another way around the curses.”
“Where did you come from? You were frozen.”
“The magic faded. Come on. We should get out of here.”
“Not without a fight.” I glared at the witch. “What do you say? We could be powerful allies.”
She snorted. “A bunch of wolf shifters? I don’t think so.”
“We’re good friends with the high witch.”
Azure burst into laughter. “That’s supposed to convince me? Last I heard, the new high witch got stuck inside a tree while performing one of my spells.”
My mouth dropped. “Your spells are in her books?”
“You really have no idea who you’re dealing with, do you? My mother was a high witch, and she taught me everything she knew.”
I sized her up, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. “Then why didn’t you become the next high witch?”
“That’s not the way it works. Nature’s magic chooses—it’s not in the blood.” She stepped forward, grasping for the stone as I backed away. My body froze, every joint cemented in place.
Soleil appeared beside me. “Just give the lady what she wants.”
Azure arched a brow. “A valkyrie? I didn’t realize your kind still came to the earth.”
“That’s your first mistake. Don’t make the gaffe of underestimating me again. You’ll regret it.”
“Your strength is sapped, valkyrie. I’m not worried about it.” The witch lunged for me.
I still couldn’t move.
Soleil’s wings spread out behind her and her dark green eyes lightened as she opened her mouth. Azure turned to Soleil, her mouth widening. A purple mist swirled out of the witch’s mouth and into Soleil’s. The more Soleil drank of the essence, the brighter green her eyes turned until they glowed. Finally, she closed her mouth and the purple essence snapped back into Azure’s mouth. She stumbled backward and glared at Soleil, her entire face contorting. Soleil’s wings retracted and her eyes faded.
“What did you do?” Azure demanded.
Soleil wiped her mouth and grinned. “I just drank some of your essence. I really needed that after teleporting twice.” She lunged at Azure, thrusting her against the giant oak tree. A burst of colors and electricity appeared between the two of them.
My movement returned. I gasped for air and shook out my arms and legs.
“Attack!” Toby yelled.
The ground shook as our pack ran toward them, bearing knives, guns, and other weapons.
Soleil flew through the air and crashed into the group, knocking them over. Azure stood tall, her arms raised high and her eyes glowing bright blue. Small bolts of electricity shot out from head to foot. “Hand over the stone. Now!”
I ran at her, a bubble of energy growing inside of me near where the stone rested against my chest. She held out her manicured hands and the air squeezed out of my lungs. I fell to the ground, gasping and choking.
The other pack members rose and ran toward her. Soleil helped me up, opened her mouth, and fed me some essence. My breath and energy both returned. The others surrounded Azure, aiming their weapons at her. Her face paled upon seeing them, and she held out her hands. Several guys flew backward, but over half jumped on the witch, knocking her to the ground. She screamed, the noise so piercing I had to cover my ears. Soleil cried out and fell to the forest floor.
I tried to help her up, but she struggled against me.
“It’s an anti-valkyrie call!”
“A what?” I exclaimed.
“Just run! Make sure she doesn’t get near the stone.” Soleil turned away from me, curling into a ball and crawling under a bush.
Run? When my pack was risking their lives for me? Never. I cried out and hurled myself toward them all. A burst of electricity shot through the air and Bobby, Sal, and Jet all flew back behind me.
Who was Azure? What witch could fight off an entire pack of werewolves and a valkyrie? Maybe she really had been raised by a high witch.
Four more members of our pack flew through the air, crashing into the others Azure had just sent flying.
I cupped the stone. “Help me. You’ve been calling me. Do this!” I ran toward the witch and pushed myself through the remaining guys fighting her.
Azure rose, shoving aside her attackers. Blood dripped from her nose, ears, and right eye. Her pants had a tear on one side from her hip to past the knee. She spoke in a foreign language, and all of her wounds healed instantly. Her eyes glowed bright blue again and she glowered at me. “I’m done playing games. Hand it over!”
“Games? My deal still stands, witch. Free us of the curses, and it’s yours.”
“Don’t!” Toby ran over to me. “Who knows what she’ll do with it—or even if it ever was hers. Look at her. She’s unlike any other ancient witch I’ve ever seen—and I’ve seen more than you’d think.”
Azure spread her palm toward Toby, and he fell to the ground. “It’s a family heirloom. The stone belonged to my great-grandfather, and now that it doesn’t house that murderous werewolf, I want it back.”
I ran toward her and jumped into the air, eager to knock her over.
She extended a hand toward me, and I froze a foot above ground. I should’ve seen that coming. I struggled to move, but couldn’t. Azure kept her hand aimed at me and she pointed her other one at Toby again, who crashed to the ground.
Soleil ran over, her wings out and her eyes electric-green. “Let them go.”
“You again?” Azure grumbled. “If I let go of Victoria, she’s going to fall on the ground. Ouch, don’t you think?”
I tried to tell Soleil to suck the witch dry, but my mouth wouldn’t cooperate.
“The witch is tough.” The valkyrie opened her mouth and pulled more purple essence from her. She kept her hold on Toby and me for a few seconds, before her eyes closed and her arms fell limp against her sides.
Chapter 15
Toby
I stared in horror as Victoria flailed in the air. My movement hadn’t returned, and I had no way to run over and catch her before she fell onto a pile of rocks.
Just as Victoria fell—seemingly in slow motion—my leg muscles twitched. I ran for her, stumbling over a root but not falling. Elsie appeared out of nowhere and we crashed into each other as Victoria landed on bo
th of us.
“Are you okay?” Victoria jumped up.
We both scrambled to our feet and said yes.
I glared at the witch, who now leaned against the oak tree, gasping for air. “Let’s just take her down while we have the chance.”
Everyone else had the same idea. All members of the pack ran at Azure as she struggled to breathe. I made it to her first and dug my blade into her arm, slicing from shoulder to elbow. She cried out, her eyes turning a pale blue.
The others also injured her, stabbing and striking her. She crumbled to the ground, whispering in an ancient Icelandic dialect I barely understood. All I was certain of was that she was calling out curses. Like we needed more of those.
A bright blue light shone all around her. She grabbed onto the tree trunk and pulled herself up. “You haven’t seen the last of me. Once my essence is restored, watch out.”
Azure glared around at us and stumbled away.
“Should we try to stop her?” Jet asked.
I watched as the witch struggled to walk. “No. We might need her alive to fix our curses. After this and some time to think, she might change her mind.”
Jet crossed his arms. “I severely doubt that.”
I had my doubts, too, but I wasn’t going to voice them. “We do know she won’t be so quick to go after us again.”
“No, she’ll bring some of her friends. They might be even more powerful than she is.”
“We’ll be ready for her. Just think of what we could’ve done with Gessilyn’s coven here.”
“True.”
I went over to Victoria and wrapped my arms around her. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I think so. But she might’ve done something to the stone.”
It wasn’t glowing. I held my breath and reached for it. It rested in my palm without zapping me or sending me through the air. “Is it broken?”
“I don’t know, but at least it finally stopped calling my name.”
Sal came over. “What’s going on?”
I raised the stone. “Look.”
He tilted his head and studied it before turning to Victoria. “Can you take it off?”
Her eyes widened. “I don’t know.”
I silently begged for it to work as I lifted the chain over her head and the length of her hair. It didn’t so much as release a zap of static electricity—it may as well have been an ordinary necklace.
Victoria’s mouth dropped. Her hand went to her neck. “It’s actually off.”
I turned to Jet. “Take off your ring. See if her admiration curse is broken.”
“Of course you pick me.” He slid off the ring and handed it to me before turning to her.
“Insult me,” Victoria said.
Jet’s eyes widened and he glanced over at me. “No.”
I shoved him. “You heard the woman.”
“If you say so.” He turned back to Victoria.
I held my breath. If he could say something rude to her, did that mean we could shift at will, too? “Hurry up, Jet.”
“You’re mean and ugly.” His tone wasn’t convincing, but at least he’d managed to say it.
Excitement buzzed through me. I slid the stone into my pocket. “Now try shifting.”
“That’ll be easier than saying rude things to someone as nice as Victoria.” Jet closed his eyes and contorted his face. The rest of us released a collective gasp as we waited.
And waited.
Jet grunted and groaned until sweat broke out along his hairline and his face turned bright red.
He opened his eyes. “Doesn’t look like we broke the curse.”
“At least we have the necklace.” I patted the outside of my pocket. “We’ll figure something out. In the meantime, let’s head back home. I don’t know about you, but I can use some rest after all that.”
Everyone agreed, and we made our way back to Moonhaven. Once we reached the property, my back tingled and the hairs on my neck stood on end.
I stopped and scanned the property. “Something isn’t right.”
“What is it?” Sal asked.
“Can’t you feel that?” My skin continued to tingle. It was as though we were being watched.
He shook his head. Everyone else seemed just as confused by my stopping as he did.
“We’re going to approach the house slowly,” I instructed. “Keep all your senses on high alert. I don’t know what’s wrong, but something most certainly is off.”
We crept toward the building. Nothing appeared out of place, and that only served to make me more nervous. As we neared the house, all my skin felt afire. The wolfborns came around the mansion, all tilting their heads.
“Is someone here?” I asked.
Alex, our first and oldest wolfborn, twitched his ears, not seeming bothered.
It was only me who felt anything at all. Why couldn’t anyone else sense the danger?
I rushed past the wolfborns and jogged around the building. Though I found nothing unusual, it didn’t ease the feeling of something being wrong. After circling the mansion twice, I threw my hands into the air. Either my senses were off or someone was in the house.
Chills ran down my back in waves and more hairs on my neck stood on end. But how could anyone get inside? Between the wolfborns guarding the property and the new security system, our home should’ve been a fortress of safety.
“What do you want to do, sir?” Sal asked. “Would you like me to check the outer edges of the property?”
“Yeah. Take Bobby with you.”
“Certainly. Do you think it was Azure?”
“No, she wandered away in the other direction, injured and slow. This is something else entirely.”
Jet came over. “What are you thinking?”
I closed my eyes and took in all feelings ravaging my senses. Nothing stood out as being the cause. “I have no idea what’s behind this beyond the fact that I can feel something is off.”
“I’ll go inside with you,” Jet said.
“Okay.” I opened my eyes.
Soleil stepped over. “So will I. I’m feeling especially powerful after drinking witch essence.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I turned to the rest of the pack and told them to keep a lookout from where they were.
Sal and Bobby marched toward the outer edges of our property while Jet, Soleil, and I made our way to the front door. I scanned everything on the porch. Again, nothing appeared out of place, but my skin felt like it could actually catch fire.
“It looks just like we left it.” Jet ran his hand along a wooden beam.
“That’s the problem,” I muttered. “Not even a stray footprint. Neither of you feel anything at all?”
They both shook their heads.
“Weird that it’s just me.” I absentmindedly rubbed my pocket which held the stone. Then I dug out my keys, unlocked the door, and typed in the code once we were inside. Silence rang in the air after the security system’s warning beeps stopped. Just like outside, nothing appeared out of place but everything felt as wrong as could be.
Jet arched a brow at me.
I mouthed, “Check the whole house.”
He and Soleil nodded, and we all went in separate directions. I went to my office. Despite everything looking exactly as I’d left it, chills ran down my back so quickly it made it hard for me to move. I pushed past it and crept around. The intensity of my skin grew tenfold as I neared my desk. My breathing grew labored.
Everything was exactly how I left it, but somehow I knew that was a lie. The necklace warmed in my pocket. I pressed my palm against it. The wolf essence stone had to be why I was the only one who sensed the danger. I knelt down and studied the rug, not seeing even a stray speck of dirt.
Then I saw it.
Taped underneath one of my drawers was a tiny microphone. I crawled underneath the desk and studied it. That was definitely what it was. I only had two questions. Who put it there, and how long ago?
Anger tore through me. I ran ou
t of my office and stood in the hallway, trying to sense if any others had been planted. My left arm tingled. Clenching my fists, I headed in that direction, straight for the kitchen. My skin grew hotter and the stone warmed in my pocket.
I lowered to all fours and looked underneath the table. Another bug planted, this time right in the middle of the massive table.
Fury ran through me. Who had not only broken into our home but was now spying on us? And why? I spun around and stormed out of the room, nearly crashing into Jet. He opened his mouth, but then snapped it shut after making eye contact with me. I gestured outside.
We went out to the middle of the yard, and Soleil followed us. The rest of the pack circled around us, asking what we’d found.
I turned to Sal. “You and Bobby stay here and keep an eye on the place. The rest of us are going to the Faeble.”
“What are we looking for?” Bobby asked.
“Anything out of place. Oh, and for now, no conversation inside.”
“Sir?” Sal asked.
“I’ll fill you in once I know more. Just promise me you won’t talk in the house.”
“You have my word.” Sal stood taller.
“Same here,” Bobby said.
Victoria grabbed my arm. “What’s going on, Toby? You’re scaring me.”
“We should be scared—alert and ready to fight.”
“Who?” Her eyes widened.
“That’s what I intend to find out.”
Chapter 16
Victoria
My heart raced as we approached the Faeble. It wasn’t like Toby to keep something from the rest of the pack, and from me. But based on the determined intensity of his expression, it had to be bad.
Once inside, he stormed over to the bar and glared at Tap. My stomach tightened. What could Toby have found in our home to have him so furious at our good friend?
Tap’s expression tightened and he leaned over the counter, glowering back at Toby. “You have a problem with me, old chum?”
I cleared my throat. “Toby, are you okay?”
Toby leaned closer to our friend. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me about the werewolf society? Something major you left out, perhaps?”
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