by Christa Wick
"The last thing the man said before Oscar pulled back from the memory was that it was time for Oscar to meet his baby brother."
Chapter Thirteen
"Le sang du bébé..."
Esme's hands curled around the edge of the cushion beneath her. She swayed, her body remaining upright only because of her mate's quick response. Folding his arms around Esme, Dana closed his eyes as he curled his wolf protectively against her.
Across from them, Iris and Cade waited for Esme to recover and explain the term.
"It's the worst kind of magic," she whispered after a few seconds. Tears flowed freely down her rounded cheeks and her hands slid across her stomach to protectively clutch at her sides. "A sacrifice of absolute purity is needed. But the magic produced is nearly unbreakable, if it can even be detected."
"So whatever Quentin was going to do to Oscar, he needed a sacrifice." Iris said, her memory straining for any other information Oscar's mind might have imparted before the revived trauma forced his first shift into a were-state. "What about the crystals?"
Esme shook her head. "Witches have been using crystals containing silver or iron for millennia. They act as magnifiers and I think my mother may have found a way to use them almost like a radio."
"You need to examine Oscar--" Iris started.
Surprisingly, Esme objected first. "He won't let me touch him since the interview."
Thick tears spilled from the witch's eyes. The strain in her relationship with the cub had been slowly building, starting with Oscar's first encounter with Iris, when he had responded to her wolf even as she denied her nature. From that point on, he had gravitated toward the pregnant latents and she-wolves while squirming away from Esme's embrace.
"It's because of the woman on the table," Iris suggested.
"Not all of it," Esme whispered. "And I've had nine months to find something wrong with..."
Still mindful of her mate's fierce affection for the cub, she trailed off, her eyes darting to the side for a moment before she met Iris's gaze once more. "You'll need to examine him. If he'll let you. You have the best chance of detecting anything. You already smelled the magic on him and the other cubs before."
Dana moved restlessly where he sat. Iris expected him to veto the idea, but he rose after a few seconds and gestured that she should follow him. He passed through a door opposite the hall through which they had entered the living room, Iris close on his heels and Cade and Esme behind her.
A few doors later and Dana entered Oscar's bedroom. The cub was on the bed, a red fire truck centered on his lap. Two other cubs flanked the side of the mattress, each of the three boys holding one of the hands of the other so that their arms formed a loose pyramid.
Seeing Iris, Oscar slid his hands onto the fire truck, one finger absently flicking at the toy's ladder. More vehicles were scattered on the bed and the other cubs started playing with them.
Esme gestured at the visiting children. "Micah, Adam...help me make lunch."
"Up," Dana ordered when the boys didn't budge. "You can play some more after you eat."
Micah and Adam rose, their feet shuffling along the carpet in unwilling obedience. Before they could reach the door, Cade stopped them. Lifting one brow as he stared at Iris, Cade poked his chin in the smaller cub's direction.
Smiling at the boy despite the smell of dark magic on him and his playmate, Iris ran a hand against his spine as she asked, "What's your name, sweetie?"
"Adam," he mumbled. "Did you send Oscar back to the bad man?"
Guilt clouding her eyes, she shook her head. "Oscar hasn't gone anywhere, he just had a very bad dream."
She turned to the other boy and rested her palm between his shoulder blades. "You must be Micah."
A frown pulled at the corners of her mouth and she sucked a deep breath in. Glancing at Esme, she offered a discreet nod before breaking contact with Micah. "You two run along and help Esme with lunch."
She waited for them to leave before she turned to Oscar. He had climbed up into Dana's arms, his small hands clasped behind the big wolf's neck. Seeing Iris approach, he buried his face against Dana's chest.
"Honey, I just want to make sure you are okay." She placed her hand on his back, watched him arch his spine in an attempt to avoid contact. "Maybe we can talk after lunch?"
Face still buried against Dana, Oscar shook his head.
"Okay, baby." She rubbed her hand against his back, pushing a sleepy magic through her fingertips to calm him. "We'll wait until you're ready."
Iris retreated into the hall, Cade by her side. He closed the door to Oscar's room, hesitated a second then wrapped his arms around her.
"All of them?" he asked.
She nodded, the sob breaking from her throat muffled by his clothes and chest. Her arms around his waist, she squeezed hard, trying not to think about the number of cubs that might have crystals in them, the terrible but unknown "why" of it fading in importance as she tallied the number of infants Quentin might have slaughtered.
Bile rose in her throat, acidic and uncontrollable. Cade guided her into a bathroom and stood beside her, holding her hair as Iris spilled her guts into the toilet. When she finished, he filled a rinse cup with water from the sink and handed it to her. He sat on the edge of the tub, waiting until she finished before he pulled her onto his lap and held her once more.
"Shh..." he soothed. "It's done. We need to focus on stopping it from ever happening again."
She nodded, unable to stop the tears and wishing like hell she could reach through Oscar's memories and shred the black haired man.
Chapter Fourteen
"Did you notice the way the cubs were holding hands when we entered the room?" Cade asked as the adults regrouped after Dana finished comforting Oscar.
"They hold hands like that a lot," Esme answered. "We figured they were all bonding so very closely because they sensed how much their circumstances were alike."
Magic leaked from the witch, her tears tinged blue after she had verified Iris's findings on Adam and Micah once she knew what to search for. A nervous energy vibrated in the air around her, humming soft but deadly in its intensity.
"I think I know," Cade said. His chest tightened, cutting off the air he needed to explain. Meeting Dana's hard stare, he saw understanding slowly dawn in the other man's gaze.
"It's a signal boost," Dana answered, all the blood draining from his face so that the topaz eyes burned against his pale skin like the sun at high noon. "They're using the cubs to find the clan. That's why the cubs are still safe when we find them and why the Hunters never ambushed us while we retrieved the boys. They want them with us and watch over them until we arrive to take the boys away."
Iris sagged against Cade. Feeling his arm circle her shoulders and the soft nuzzle of his wolf, she closed her eyes and pressed her face against his neck.
"Can we take the crystals out?" Dana asked.
Everyone looked at Esme for the answer. Aware of the attention focused on her, she stared at the ground and slowly shook her head.
"I don't think so," she went on after a long moment. "Especially in the cubs who haven't shifted yet -- their healing isn't as accelerated. We need more healers than we have and we could paralyze them. Hit the wrong spot on their spinal cord and their body will shut down."
Her hands twisted against one another, magic sparking from the tips.
"And that is without addressing what protective spells Quentin has placed on the crystals. If he sacrificed pure magic to place the crystals and keep them undetected, it may take an equal sacrifice to get them out."
Esme stopped talking, her lips remaining slightly parted as she took shallow breaths and her skin turned milky white.
"Baby..." Dana cradled his mate's face, his lips lightly dusting one cheek before he forced her gaze up to meet his. "I need you to hold it together, love. You have to feel a little less. Can you do that? For Oscar and all the other boys?"
He kissed her lips, kissed her tears. She n
odded but her expression remained unconvinced.
"We have to disperse the cubs," Dana said, still holding Esme but directing his words at Cade. "Off clan lands, no cubs together and as many wolves and charms protecting each boy as we can spare."
Standing, Cade pulled his cellphone out. "I'll call Oram and get the West Virginia wolves mobilized."
Pausing, he looked at Iris, his gaze asking permission to leave her alone for a few minutes or longer despite the grief visible on her face.
She nodded. "I'll stay with Esme while you and Dana make your calls."
Slower to leave his mate, Dana stood, his hands lingering around Esme's tear-stained face.
"I'm okay," the witch sniffed. She pointed her chin in Iris's direction. "We can try to come up with some solutions while you're on the phone with the other clan leaders."
She drew a breath in, her hesitation stalling Dana a few more seconds before she added, "The Witches Council must be notified."
Iris watched as Dana's expression slowly changed from tender to something less pliant than steel. "After I've talked to the other clan leaders."
Esme offered a small blink of acquiescence, the downward curve of her mouth indicating that she would only keep the information from the council for a short time.
Satisfied, Dana followed Cade from the room. Esme immediately moved from the couch to sit by Iris. She wrapped her fingers around those of the she-wolf and gazed into Iris's eyes.
"I need you to do something for me before they get back."
Iris swallowed a small lump in her throat, relatively certain what Esme wanted her to do. "Check for crystals?"
"Yes," Esme whispered. Releasing her grip on Iris, she turned and presented her back to the she-wolf. "If they've been with me since childhood..."
"Right, you might not sense them. And your mother would have been involved in placing them, refreshing the anti-detection spells." Iris ran her hands down Esme's spine, starting high and working toward the waist. Reaching the middle, she hesitated.
"Anything?"
Iris felt the quiver in Esme's voice stab at her own chest. The witch was afraid of being betrayed by her own body -- a feeling Iris knew all too well. For Esme, it was a new fear, its grip tighter than any vise because of the novelty.
"Not on your spine," Iris answered. Her hands spread further apart, encompassing the witch's broad hips for a moment before Iris leaned closer and placed her palms against Esme's lower stomach.
"No," Esme said, her voice so soft that only Iris's wolf could make sense of the sound. "Not there--"
"I'm sorry, sweetie." Iris choked the words out. "I wish--"
Esme shook her head, the thick wavy strands bouncing violently. She placed her hands over Iris's, her energy seeking out the objects the she-wolf had detected. "Why would they do that?"
"Maybe because you're the most powerful witch--"
Another hard shake, blonde curls flying in every direction. "Not anymore. You are."
Moving down the couch, Esme wiped at her tears and drew a ragged breath in. "I have to get this under control, I can't have Dana distracted by my feelings."
Iris closed the distance between them and wrapped an arm around Esme. "He's your mate," she whispered in the witch's ear. "You're never going to be able to hide your feelings from him. And you shouldn't try. He loves you on a deeply crazy level..."
A small hiccup interrupted the smile forming on Esme's lips. She gave another sniff and nodded before peeking at Iris from beneath lashes still wet with tears.
"Just like Cade is crazy about you."
Iris held her hand up, the fingers splayed for emphasis.
"Slow down, witch," she said with a lighthearted tenderness that stretched Esme's smile a little wider. "Maybe when we have a handle on this cub situation--"
"Nuh-uh." Capturing Iris's hand, Esme wove her fingers through the she-wolf's and softly tugged. "Mates draw strength from one another. We're stronger together. That's one thing I don't think the Hunters have counted on because they turn on each other at the first sign of danger. And with all the latents we've discovered, there are more mates now than..."
Esme tightened her grip on Iris. The witch's lips and brows moved as if she hadn't stopped talking. Her head tilted to the side, and then she gave it a slight shake before her brows knitted.
"What's going on in that head of yours?" Iris asked. "Because it appears to be really entertaining and I could use a laugh right about now."
Esme chewed at her bottom lip a few more seconds before she nodded. "We need to check some of the other latents to make sure they aren't carrying any crystals, but I don't think they will be. They don't come to us at all like the cubs. They remember their families and childhood."
"Okay, I agree we need to check them, but what..." Iris stopped and twirled a few circles with one finger in front of Esme's face. "Was that all about?"
"Maybe nothing," Esme admitted. "But I feel like it's really important the Hunters haven't picked up on how much strength we gain every time we find another latent. Both from having mated pairs and the extra magic the women bring. Leah took straight to casting and healing and so have some of the others. A few even worked carnivals as psychics."
Releasing her hold on Iris, the witch stood and stared at the door through which Dana and Cade had left. Her hands found her ample hips and her right foot stamped the ground once as she blew a hot puff of air.
"I really need to talk to the Witches Council."
"We need a little more time," Iris said, patting the cushion next to her to draw Esme back to the couch.
"We?" Esme asked, one dark blond brow arching toward the ceiling.
"You and me," Iris snorted. "Not the clan, if you thought that's what I meant. I know wolves have a hard time trusting anyone who can wield magic, more so now that we've learned that the Hunters have been using it against us."
"Okay." Esme plopped down next to Iris. "Why do 'we' need more time before I talk to the Witches Council?"
"For starters, to check a few of the latents, like you suggested." Iris twisted her hands together, the motion audible from how roughly she rubbed. Fighting the urge to light up one of her fingertips with witch light and carve a fresh ward into her skin, she shoved a hand under each armpit.
"Okay," Esme joked, one finger twirling a circle just as Iris had done a few minutes before. "You want to tell me what that's all about? And, for the record, it's not entertaining. I'm stressed as hell!"
Trying to shape an explanation, Iris bounced lightly against the back cushion. "I've been gone twelve years..."
Flooded with the threat of tears, she buried her face in her hands, her elbows propped against the top of her thighs. She felt the soft drape of Esme's arm across her back and then the warm push of the witch's breath against her hair.
She lifted her head for a second, but the room was a blur of tears and she retreated. "I have a few weeks, starting with the attack, that I can barely remember. I would say I can't remember any of it at all, but there are these little flashes, bits and bobs of nightmares that are always the same."
Her hands dropped to her stomach, her arms protectively curling around her flesh. Her chest ached as if a fiery blade had been buried deep inside and still smoldered.
"I've tried to see into your memories," Esme confessed. "But your walls are too thick for a gentle poking around."
Iris turned toward the witch and allowed Esme to wrap her in a gentle embrace. The image of little Oscar in Dana's arms flashed through her head and then she buried her face against Esme's shoulder.
Voice muffled by the witch's flesh, Iris finally found the strength to make the request that had weighed on her mind since she interviewed the cubs.
"I need you to poke harder, to find out exactly what happened the day I left the clan and those few weeks after," she whispered as Esme soothingly stroked her hair and cooed comforting words of nonsense.
With her body knotting even tighter, she pushed the last words out, uncertain
which way they would fall until they passed her lips.
"And I want Cade there when you do it."
Chapter Fifteen
"When I said I wanted someplace private to talk," Iris protested, half jokingly, as Cade guided her onto the corner edge of the mattress, "I didn't mean your bedroom."
He didn't follow her onto the bed. Instead he rested his ass against the dresser, his strong hands curled around its top lip as he patiently waited for her to start. She would have preferred the diversion of an argument, especially given the location. She could smell two weeks' worth of Cade's scent layered around Dana's guest bedroom. While the mint and pine odors that clung to his presence usually made her crisp minded, a third odor, one of fresh grass dipped in dew, seemed to inhabit his sleeping area.
Right where her body perched, the scent, like fingertips, curling over her thighs.
Keep it together, North!
Cade leaned forward, his ass still against the dresser, but his height sufficient that he loomed over her from two feet away. "Dana needs all the other rooms, baby. It's about to turn into mobilization central out there."
He stopped, one ear perking toward the ceiling as the sound of a vehicle in the drive became audible. "So what did you want to tell me?"
Her mouth flattened. His time was important. Oram, his clan leader, needed him ready to take orders. Dana needed him as much as any of the Tennessee pack leaders at his disposal. She should just cut to the chase and tell him what he wanted, not deflect the issue by talking about things he already knew -- Esme's crystals, how the handful of other latents she and Iris had checked were clear, or Leah making the rounds to check the other women on Dana's lands.
Or maybe she shouldn't say anything at all. Maybe she shouldn't have him present when Leah returned and she and Esme worked on restoring Iris's lost weeks.
"Iris..." Cade eased his way onto the bed next to her, his tone a jumble of frustration, tenderness and impatience.