by Petra Landon
“Hawk is leaning towards going” she said slowly. “Sara not so much, but she’ll follow Hawk’s lead on this.”
“I see.”
“They’d like me to go” she admitted. “And Duncan says I should. Something about keeping up my enigma for Maartje.”
Raoul smiled to himself. Duncan was a canny old bastard, all right.
“You’re not going to ignore Duncan’s excellent advice, I hope?”
Tasia’s eyes flashed to him. His expression remained bland, but she thought he was teasing.
“I wouldn’t dare” she remarked lightly. “Besides, I’d rather not disappoint Evgeny.”
He stopped abruptly, forcing her to come to a stop.
“Disappoint Evgeny” he repeated slowly, his amusement disappearing in a hurry.
“I asked him to the party” she explained, clearly puzzled by his reaction. He’d been similarly shocked when she had first blurted it out to Hawk and Duncan, she remembered now. “Although, if I’d known that Sara plans to go alone, I’d never have invited him. But I don’t want to rescind it now. He’s kind of excited about the party.”
He studied her silently.
Tasia wondered what had changed when a moment ago, he had been more at ease with her.
“I won’t take any chances, if that’s what concerns you. Duncan has offered to escort Sara and me.”
“Good” he said brusquely. “You’ll be in safe hands with Duncan.”
They resumed walking again, but this time Tasia could feel the undercurrents between them, when there had been none before. Their conversations had been getting easier lately, she realized in some surprise. The sense of constantly being on tenterhooks with him was abating slowly. Perhaps, they were finally starting to understand and appreciate the differences between them.
“Is Sara still unable to find her place in the Pack?” he asked abruptly, drawing Tasia’s astonished gaze to him.
“You implied that she’s not keen to attend Atsá’s party” he explained.
“I don’t believe Sara’s ever keen to socialize with the Pack” Tasia said slowly. She was reluctant to share more about her friend with Sara’s Alpha.
“I’m not asking as Sara’s Alpha” he said brusquely. “If there’s a way to ease her life in the Pack …” He trailed off. The way Packs were structured, his intervening on her behalf would only bring down more trouble on Sara’s head. The other Shifters would not take kindly to any hint of Sara’s burgeoning importance in their Alpha’s eyes. Shifter Packs were all about dominance, not favoritism. There was only one Shifter who could help Sara’s cause — her Were-Alpha. Duncan kept a close eye on his most vulnerable Shifter, Raoul knew, but Sara was proud. She would not go to Duncan with her troubles. She’d attempt to soldier on, no matter what.
Tasia glanced at the shuttered expression on the Alpha’s face. She was keen to aid her friend if she could, and the Alpha was asking. Now that she understood Pack dynamics better, she could appreciate the untenable position both Sara and Hawk found themselves in.
“Sara’s not happy” she acknowledged quietly.
He sighed. “Sara is tied to Hawk. Will always be tied to her twin. And that’s a problem, because Hawk is very dominant and she’s not. No matter where she goes, she’ll always be a target for Shifters that have it in for Hawk.”
“Unless, she lives away from a Pack” Tasia ventured.
“Possibly, but that’s not really an option for her. Shifters don’t handle being on their own very well.”
You did. Came out of the wilderness without a Pack, to command the Northern California Pack.
“My situation was very different. I had Duncan to keep an eye on me. Without him, I’d never have made it.”
“What do you mean?” Tasia was too astonished by the cryptic words to even ponder his uncanny ability to read her. He’d always had that.
“I’d be dead” he said bluntly, the gold eyes curiously blank as they seared her.
The shock on Tasia’s face seemed to recall him to the subject at hand.
“Sara’s a different soul in a Shifter’s body” he said. “She’ll struggle all her life to reconcile that, but it’s not something she can change. I understand her situation” he said, as she remained silent. “I was once in that boat myself.”
“You” Tasia exclaimed, stunned by the implication. “You struggled with being a Shifter?”
He was the quintessential Shifter, embodying the very qualities the Chosen associated with his brethren. In fact, she’d be hard-pressed to find a more uber Shifter than this man.
“No, I had trouble coming to terms with my Wizard heritage. For a while, I thought I’d be able to reconcile my two identities, Wizard and Shifter. But it was not to be.”
“You tried being a Wizard?” Tasia found herself reeling from the revelations coming fast and thick from him. A small voice at the back of her head called out a warning. In another man, this would be the equivalent of spilling his guts.
“Very briefly, before concluding that it wasn’t for me. I feel comfortable in my skin as a Shifter, something I never did as a Wizard.”
Tasia pondered his words, a little on her guard. “Is that …” she hesitated, before taking the plunge. “Is that why you dislike Wizards?”
Her naïve query eased his dark mood. “No, I’d like to think I’m more mature than that.”
The gold eyes seared her once more. There was an expression in them that reminded her of the time he had bitterly accused her of lying to him, and followed it up by stating that all Wizards lie.
“I was done great wrong by a Wizard once. If Duncan hadn’t come along, I wouldn’t be standing here today.”
“This is why you disappeared into the wilderness” she murmured wonderingly, suddenly putting two and two together.
“Yes” he admitted. “But enough about me. If there’s a way to ease Sara’s life in the Pack, I’d like to help.
“Duncan would take care of it in a jiffy but I doubt Sara would go to him for assistance” he added, as Tasia hesitated.
“I … I have to think about this.” She knew his word was gold. Once he gave it, he would do everything in his power. But perhaps Sara would not forgive her for revealing to her Alpha what she had confessed to her friend in confidence.
“Do.” He shot a glance at her subdued face.
She had much to contemplate. But for now, Tasia directed the conversation to other subjects. “Were you surprised by Sienna’s revelation of the relationship between the First Wizard and Lady Bethesda?”
The revelation of the tangled relationship between Sienna, the First Wizard, and Lady Bethesda had completely floored Tasia. Since the news, she’d spent a fair amount of time thinking about it. For as long as she could remember, Tasia had always wished for family, someone to call her own, now that her father was gone. Yet now, she found herself wondering how she’d have reacted if her own sibling had tried to sabotage her at every turn. The First Wizard had dealt with, and continued to deal with, a very difficult and emotionally tough situation, with a lot of grace. And from what Sienna had shared, Lady Esmeralda had never allowed her sister’s betrayal to bleed over into her relationship with her niece.
“I was taken aback, yes. Although, nothing the Wizards do ever truly surprises me. For once, I’m glad Elisabetta made her feelings clear. She spoke for us all. The First Wizard should have shared this with us when she first asked Faoladh for assistance with the investigation.”
Though his words lacked rancor, Tasia could appreciate how bitter the Shifters felt at being kept in the dark while they investigated her sister at the First Wizard’s request.
“You didn’t seem to hold it against either Wizard last night” she remarked after a short silence.
“It was neither Jason’s nor Sienna’s job to tell us about the relationship.”
Tasia glanced at his face. There was a hard expression on the usually expressionless face. The First Wizard would hear about this when she graced t
he Lair with her presence, Tasia realized. Perhaps, she’d been living with the Shifters for too long, she mused.
“What?” he asked.
“I find myself agreeing with you on this” she smiled. “Perhaps, I’ve been living with the Pack too long.”
His lips quirked. “Perhaps. A few more weeks with us and who knows what else you’ll agree with me about.”
Raoul glanced up as the heavy sound-proof door rattled in warning, before it was slid open. The young Shifter on sentry duty whipped his head around the partly open door to look directly at him, his expression a mix of apology and urgency.
“Hawk wants to have a word, Alpha” the young Shifter stated simply. “He says it’s urgent.”
The Alpha exchanged a quick glance with Duncan as the room fell silent.
“Send him in” he directed.
Faoladh and the First Wizard displayed genteel curiosity. Jason and Sienna, also present, merely glanced at the Alpha.
Hawk strode in urgently, accompanied by a Tasia whose expression reflected enormous strain.
Raoul stiffened at the sight. Something had happened, he knew instantly. For the witchling to brave the top floor today, especially after he had explicitly warned her away, signaled bad news.
“Apologies for the interruption.” Hawk’s words encompassed everyone. “We need a few minutes urgently, Alph.”
“Excuse me” Raoul murmured to his guests, directing Hawk and Tasia to the Alpha’s Room with a crook of his fingers.
Tasia directed a wan smile at Sienna, in response to her greeting, before following Hawk into the Alpha’s Room.
Raoul shut the door behind him and turned to face the other two. “What is it?”
“Tasia believes that Caroline Hamilton has been taken by Bianchi” Hawk stated baldly, without preamble or warning. Alph had never been one to beat around the bush. And this was too serious a matter to waffle over. Moments before, Tasia had tracked Hawk down in the Lair to urgently gasp out, in great distress, a garbled tale of Caro and Bianchi. Fortunately, Hawk had managed to grasp the situation quickly. He had correctly guessed that Alph had warned Tasia away from his illustrious guests for her own protection. But the moment he’d grasped the enormity of the crisis, Hawk had convinced her to run the gauntlet of the top floor. Alph needed to know about this and the sooner, the better. There was no time to be lost, if Caroline was to be recovered safely. Since the only rooms that allowed confidential communication at the Lair were the two on the top floor, there was nothing to do but take Tasia up to see the Alpha.
The Alpha turned to Tasia. “What happened?”
Tasia took a deep breath. “I was on the phone with Caro when I heard her exclaim about seeing the Vampire from lunch. She sounded surprised. Then, I heard a crack like that of shattering glass and Caro said, ‘what the hell’ angrily before she hung up. I tried calling her back, with no success. So, I ran to get Hawk. You asked me to stay away from the Pack Room today but …” She stopped, wilting as concern for her friend overpowered her.
Hawk put his arm around her, comforting her wordlessly.
“Caroline was on her way home from the Lair, Alph” he explained. “By my estimate, she left the Lair fifteen minutes ago.”
His explanation bought Tasia the few seconds she needed to regain her composure. She straightened to flash Hawk a grateful smile.
For a moment, the Alpha watched them, his face impassive, before he whipped out his cell.
“Luis, send a messenger to the leeches. Tell Franciszka I want to meet her in one hour.”
“Yes, one hour. Then, organize search parties to look for Caroline Hamilton. She left the Lair fifteen minutes ago, and we think she was taken by Bianchi’s leeches on her way home. Scour every inch of the city and use every resource we have. I want to know where she’s being held, but no one is to approach her. I’ll handle the extraction personally.”
He listened intently to Luis.
“Send someone to recover her car. It shouldn’t be too far from the Lair.”
He cut the call and put away his cell before directing his attention to Tasia. She was now seated in the chair across his desk. Hawk hovered beside her, his own face grave.
“You’re sure it was Bianchi she saw?” Raoul asked.
Tasia nodded confidently. “When Caro exclaimed about seeing the Vampire from lunch, I was so surprised that I blurted out Bianchi’s name inadvertently. She affirmed it, right before the call was cut.”
“Then, she’s not in any immediate danger. Bianchi will not harm Caroline in any way.” The words were brusque but meant to reassure.
“I thought …” Tasia stopped. “He did give the order to kill me in Chicago because I was of no use to him.”
“This is different” the Alpha reiterated, his voice less brusque this time. “You were taken by mistake. He had no further use for you once he had Sienna. This is no mistake. Caroline was Bianchi’s target. It’s a smart move for him, I’ll give him that. I warned him to stay away from my Pack, so he’s using the daughter of the ranking Wizard in the city to force my hand. He won’t touch your friend — harming even a single hair on Caroline’s head will have the Wizards in this city baying for his blood. Bianchi doesn’t want to go to war with the local Wizards any more than he wants to go to war with me. She’s just leverage to force me to give Sienna up.”
His words served to relieve Tasia. Some of the anxiety drained away from her.
“That’s what I told Tas, Alph” Hawk piped up. He had, of course, been hampered by having to whisper his reassurances to Tasia. “Caroline is too well connected. Bianchi would never dare harm her.”
While his assurances hadn’t had much effect on Tasia, the Alpha’s brusque words seemed to have gotten through to her, Hawk was pleased to see.
“He’s using Caroline to drive a wedge between the Shifters and Wizards in this city” Raoul muttered. “He knows how unhappy the Guardians are that Sienna’s protection has been entrusted to us, and thinks to exploit that to get access to Sienna.”
“He’s not going to get away with it, Alph, is he?” Hawk asked, the question rhetorical but the confidence in his Alpha evident.
“No, he’s not” Raoul said confidently. “David Hamilton is a different kettle of fish from the Wizards Bianchi is used to, and I won’t allow him to play Shifters against other Chosen, not in my city.
“Sit tight” he directed at Tasia and Hawk. “I’m going to give David a heads-up before I break the news to everyone else.” He crooked his thumb in the direction of the Pack Room.
While he dialed, Raoul took note of the glance that Tasia directed at Hawk. The witchling was trying to be strong for Hawk, he realized.
“David” he spoke into the phone. “This is Raoul Merceau. I have some bad news for you. Rafaelo Bianchi has Caroline.”
“What?” The older Wizard’s shock came clearly through.
“She was on her way home from the Lair when we believe she was snatched by Bianchi and his henchmen.”
“Bianchi is the Lombardi Vampire you told me about, Raoul?”
“Yes.”
There was silence on the other end as David Hamilton grappled with the news.
“He won’t dare harm her, David” Raoul attempted to reassure the older Wizard.
“No, he won’t” David agreed composedly. “She’s leverage to get him access to Sienna.”
“I’m afraid so” Raoul concurred. “I should have seen it coming.”
“No, Raoul” David responded, much more fiercely this time. “This is not your fault. Bianchi is simply taking advantage of the disarray amongst us Wizards. It’s time we got our own house in order, so that no two-bit Vampire dares use my daughter as leverage to force your hand.”
Raoul sighed softly. What a shit storm this was.
“My Shifters are already scouring the city for Caroline. I will find out where he’s holding her, David. In the meantime, I’m going to pay Franciszka a visit.”
“The Mistress?” Da
vid exclaimed.
“If anyone can get us information on where Bianchi has her, it’s Franciszka. Bianchi is an out-of-towner and leeches are like fish out of water, away from their little patch of land. He’s getting plenty of assistance from the local leeches here in San Francisco. They’ll know where he has her tucked away.”
“Will they be willing to share that information, though?” David was skeptical.
“They will if they know what’s good for them.” Raoul’s voice hardened. He would make sure Franciszka knew which side she should support on this matter. “I’m pretty sure Bianchi will call you soon to bargain for access to Sienna.”
“I’ll stall him while we look for Caroline.”
“This might be a good opportunity to test the local alliance, David” Raoul suggested.
“Yes, I agree. I’ll give DiZeyla a call. With Shifters, Ancients and Wizards combing the city, Bianchi won’t be able to hide for long.”
“Call me when you have any information. And David, if you’re willing, I’d like to help get Caroline back once we know where she’s being held. My Shifters and I have some experience with this — I don’t want her to get hurt when this goes down.”
“Agreed” David assented tersely before signing off.
Raoul turned to the two watching him silently. “Time to put your game face on, witchling. An introduction is now inevitable. But make yourself scarce as soon as you can, without raising any suspicions. And Hawk, stick by her side until this thing is over. No matter what happens, you do not leave her. Stay here at the Lair tonight, until we have this wrapped up.”
“Got it, Alph.”
Raoul gestured them towards the door, only to stand back as Hawk strode to it. Tasia followed Hawk after a quick glance at the Alpha’s face.
As she brushed past him, he spoke softly. “Don’t worry about your friend.”
Her eyes flashed to his face. He looked his usual implacable and distant self but he had taken the time to reassure her.