But we hadn’t been back since after the war. When my parents died and Grams got sick, my old life went up in flames.
Dorian edged the car down the main street, past rows upon rows of old-timey shops. An ice cream parlor, a butcher, a barber with the yellow and red sign spinning just outside the window. When we reached the boardwalk where the signature red barn cast eerie shadows on the rippling water, we took a hard right into the woodland that lined the coast. Deeper and deeper into the brush we went until the bright moon was blotted out by towering trees.
My skin skittered with unease the further we drove down the dirt path. Werewolves didn’t like it when people intruded on their property. Humans were one thing, but two witches and a vampire? They weren’t going to be particularly pleased. And they’d know we were coming far sooner than we’d see them ourselves. In fact, I thought as I turned to gaze out the window at the flash of trees blurring by the windows, we’re probably being watched right now…
In what felt like hours later, the dirt path came to a sudden stop in a small clearing. Dorian shifted the car into park and cut the engine. Silence rose up around us, punctuated by the occasional rustle of leaves and the chirp of a nearby bird.
Laura leaned forward and peered out the front windshield. “Where’s their house?”
“In the trees somewhere nearby,” Dorian said in a low voice. Like vampires, werewolves had enhanced hearing, and they’d be able to hear anything we said if they were within shouting distance. “It will be off the main path where random hikers can’t stumble on them accidentally. They value their privacy.”
I reached for my dagger, feeling the need to have my weapon in my hands, just in case. Even though werewolves and mages had kept peace for decades, much longer than the peace with vampires, things were shifting in the supernatural world. I no longer knew what to expect. If this pack was home to the werewolf who had attacked us, no telling what would happen when they found us on their property.
“Don’t.” Dorian grabbed my hand and pulled it away from my sheath. His touch was electric, even if cold, causing my adrenaline to spike up another notch. “We can’t do anything they’ll translate as aggressive. The alpha will take your weapon as a sign you want to question his authority.”
“Well, if he’s sending one of his pack into the city to kill blood mages, then I sure as hell want to question his fucking authority.” I narrowed my eyes but didn’t try to force my hand out of Dorian’s grip. I knew from experience that I’d never be able to break free.
“Should I have left you in Boston?” he snapped. “Because if you go in with an attitude like that, you’ll get us all killed.”
“Or maybe it would get us the answers we need. Sometimes you have to fight aggression with aggression.”
“You’re impossible.” He shook his head and scowled. “Why do I even bother trying to train you?”
“Um, guys. I don’t think this is the time for your bickering,” Laura piped up from the backseat. Heat filled my cheeks as I glanced away from Dorian’s face. I’d almost forgotten that Laura was here with us, too caught up in my volatile feelings toward Dorian Kostas. But I couldn’t help it. The man drove me crazy. One minute, he had his arm slung over my shoulder. The next, he acted like he wanted nothing more than to toss me to the curb.
“Sorry, Laura,” I said, rolling my eyes at the clench of Dorian’s strong jaw. “You’re right. We need to figure out what we’re going to do when we confront these asshole werewolves.”
“Sure,” she said, swallowing hard. “But also, they’re standing right outside the car.”
Shit. Heart lurching, I twisted toward the window to find a cluster of scowling werewolves staring us down. They were all in human form, thank the goddess, but that didn’t do much to squelch the fear rolling through my gut. They looked pissed as hell, all stern faces and fisted hands. Probably because they heard me calling them assholes.
“You two stay in the car.” Dorian reached for his door handle. “I’m going to go talk to them.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he was out of the car before I could speak. Talking about assholes…I frowned at his back, irritation masking my fear. Of course, he’d regulate me to sitting-in-the-car-and-waiting duty. Despite the fact I was his partner, he treated me like a minion when it counted the most.
Laura leaned forward and dropped her voice to a whisper. “They look so normal. I thought they’d have like massive beards and hairy hands or something.”
“Same,” I said, feeling a slight smile creep onto my face. Just like Laura, I’d never actually met a werewolf in person, not until today. Well, at least I thought so. Because, as she’d pointed out, they looked startlingly normal. The five werewolves who stood in the clearing were all men, save for one, wearing jeans and flannel shirts. They were clean cut and physically fit, and the girl wore her hair in beautiful waves. The only odd thing about them was their bare feet.
If I’d passed them on the street, I’d never know what they were. I’d just assume they were regular humans like anyone else.
Dorian stood talking to them, the intensity of his gesturing arms increasing with every passing beat. The werewolves looked angry but they didn’t look particularly aggressive. Just annoyed. After several moments, the man who stood in the front of the pack shook his head and stepped back, clearly putting an end to their conversation.
With tense shoulders, Dorian turned and stalked toward the car. But instead of climbing back into the driver’s side, he ripped open my door. “They’re refusing to talk to me. Said they’ll only talk to the mouthy witch. That’s you, I’m assuming, since you decided to call them assholes on their property.”
My heart throbbed, and I licked my lips. “Do you think they’re angry about that?”
“Just don’t do it again, Zoe.” He sighed and motioned me out of the car. “Come on. I know you’ve been dying to barrel into something like this, so here’s your chance.”
Translation: if you screw this up, I won’t ever let you do it again.
This was my now or never moment. A way to prove that I could do more behind the wheel than in the passenger seat.
With a deep breath, I stepped out of the car and took slow and determined steps toward the waiting werewolf pack, brittle leaves crunching underneath my boots. The wolves watched me with the same amount of intensity as I watched them, their light yellow eyes burning bright even in the darkest part of the night.
“Hi, I’m Zoe,” I said when I reached them, glad to hear my voice come out clear and strong. “My partner said you preferred to speak to me instead of him.”
“We don’t like vampires,” the man at the front of the pack said, crossing his lean arms across his chest. He quirked his lips. “Besides, we figured you wouldn’t bullshit us.”
“Anyone who calls a pack of werewolves assholes on their own territory has no need for lies and manipulation,” the girl said, brushing her curls over slender shoulders. “But don’t be mistaken, any aggressive move on your part will be met with aggression.”
“Totally understood,” I said with a nod. “The thing is, a werewolf has been killing mages in Boston, and you’re the closest pack by a long shot. We figured if anyone had answers, it would be you.”
Even though they weren’t in wolf form, I swore the hackles rose on each and every werewolf in that clearing. The man in front spoke up again. He must be the alpha. He held himself with a certain kind of authority that commanded respect, and his body was ripped in ways the other men in the group could only dream of. He was older, tougher, and his eyes gleamed with a ferocity that hinted at the wolf within.
“I hope you aren’t insinuating that we were involved in these deaths,” the alpha said. “That’s a pretty serious accusation to be lobbing at a werewolf on his own territory.”
“Agreed.” I glanced behind me and caught Dorian’s gaze from where he watched from the car. He gave me a slight nod, the small move giving me the courage to move forward. “But two mages are dead,
and the wolf came after me in the middle of a city street. I’d say that’s pretty serious as well.”
The man frowned, glancing at each of his pack mates in turn. From what I knew about how the whole werewolf thing worked, I understood that a pack’s minds were one and the same. They were bonded, able to share thoughts and emotions without speaking a single word aloud. Whatever they were communicating to each other now, they didn’t want me to know.
After several long, tense moments like this, the alpha finally turned to face me once again. “We don’t attack humans, and we certainly don’t kill them. Whoever this werewolf is, he is not one of ours.”
I frowned. “Would you mind if we talked to all your pack mates to confirm? Or see if they know anything that can help us?”
“Talking to me is talking to the pack. When I say that none of my pack mates killed your mages, then that is the final word on the matter,” the alpha said. “However, I may have some information that could be useful in your investigation.”
My heart lifted in hope. For a moment there, it had felt like we’d hit another dead end and that we’d wasted our entire night on a wild goose chase through the woods. “Yeah, of course. Any information would be great.”
“Not so fast.” The alpha lifted his finger. “There’s an object we’ve been seeking for decades, and rumor has it that a blood mage has come into possession of it. Agree to find it and bring it back to us, and I can give you some information that might help you find this rogue werewolf who is killing your kind.”
“An object?” Mouth dry, I glanced behind me at Dorian. I had a sneaking suspicion where this was going, and I doubted Dorian would go along with it in a million years. But we didn’t have any other leads in this case, and if we didn’t move fast, then another mage could end up dead.
“It’s a ring.” The alpha turned to one of his wolves, who passed him an open book. He flicked his fingers for me to come closer, and I stepped to his side, smelling the musky scent of wood and grass. “See here. There are diamonds lining the sides and a dark blue stone in the center.”
Yep, just like I’d thought. The pack wanted the ring we’d found in the blood mage’s apartment. The one that gave the wearer immunity from any damage the wolves could do. If they wanted that, I couldn’t help but wonder why. Were they trying to prevent the blood mages from gaining immunity from them? Or someone else?
“This says,” I said, tapping my finger against the page, “that it grants the wearer immunity from werewolves. Mind explaining why you want that out of circulation?”
The alpha frowned. “You’re capable of reading Latin?”
The truth was, I couldn’t, but he didn’t have to know that.
“Dorian often says people underestimate me,” I said. “Thought your pack here was different.”
“Dorian.” The wolf’s scowled deepened. “You mean your vampire partner. If I were you, I’d be careful. Vampires are notoriously deceitful, just like shadow mages. His partnership is not one I would trust. You would do better working with another bone witch like yourself.”
Interesting. So werewolves couldn’t smell coven loyalties after all. Then, why the hell had the werewolf run from me?
More questions that had no answers. It was like we were trapped in a web that was impossible to unravel.
“This is coming from the werewolf who wants to prevent people from having access to an immunity ring.” I raised my eyebrows.
“Hmm. I’m not sure I made the right decision in choosing you to speak with,” he said, though I swore I saw a glint of amusement in his yellow eyes. “But yes, the ring gifts werewolf immunity to the wearer, but it does far more than that.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“I think we’ve answered enough of your questions.” The alpha snapped the book shut and passed it to one of his wolves. “Is it a deal? You’ll get the ring from whichever blood mage has it and bring it to us?”
For a moment, I wasn’t sure how to respond. We had the ring in our possession now, but was it smart to give it up? Immunity was a pretty powerful kind of magic that could come in handy if we were going to go up against a murderous wolf raging through the city streets. Plus, the pack was clearly hiding something about the ring’s powers, making me wonder just how safe it was in their hands. The ring had obviously been meant to counteract the strength of werewolves. How could I knowingly put something like that right into their claws?
The only thing that stopped me from saying no was the knowledge that many more could die before this was over. And I couldn’t let that happen. Besides, we didn’t have to hand it over to them now. They didn’t know we had it just yet.
“Alright,” I finally said. “We’ll bring you your ring. Now, tell me what you know.”
“There’s a stray,” the alpha said, looking far too pleased for my comfort. “A wolf without a pack. According to what I’ve heard, he’d taken to roaming around Boston. That was months ago. He was dating a human girl, and they had a fight. After that, he moved on. I think he’s on the west coast now, so he won’t be the wolf you’re looking for.”
“That’s a pretty shitty piece of information to get in exchange for your ring,” I said with a frown. “Some stray was there, but now he’s moved on? It’s obviously not him then.”
“No, but he may have left behind a mess that led to this situation with your blood mages,” the wolf girl spoke up. “He likes to scratch people and watch them turn. Gets some kind of twisted kick out of it. He doesn’t want to be part of a pack, and he doesn’t want to create his own. He just wants to turn people when he’s bored.”
“Anna here would know,” the alpha said, jerking his thumb in her direction. “That’s how she got turned. Two years ago, she was human. Now, she’s one of ours. We don’t usually take in stray wolves, but what Caleb did was impossible to ignore.”
I nodded, finally understanding where they were going with this. “And if he turned you, then he probably turned some people while he lived in Boston.”
“Most likely the girlfriend.” Anna pressed her hands to her cheek where a light scar stood out from her pale skin. “That’s how he got me.”
“You said this murderer is male,” the alpha said. “But are you certain of that? If you’ve only seen him in wolf form, are you sure you were able to tell?”
I nibbled on my bottom lip, thinking back to Dorian’s battle with the wolf on top of his car. Everything had been a blur, and it had all happened so fast. There’d only been a split second where he—or she—had been standing still, and then he’d been off. I’d just assumed the wolf was male, partly because female wolves were so uncommon. But assumptions had gotten me into trouble before, and there’d been nothing to confirm this was the case.
“No, I’m not certain,” I said with a quick shake of my head. “The wolf could have been female.”
“I bet you anything it’s that ex-girlfriend of his,” Anna said. “New wolves don’t know what they’re doing. They haven’t been taught to control their fury, so they end up rampaging during their full moon turns.”
Rampaging? That certainly wasn’t what these kills had looked like. They had been methodical, planned, ritualistic. While I’d never witnessed a rampaging kill streak myself, I suspected it looked a hell of a lot different. Still, it was the only lead we had, and we needed something. And the coincidences were far too much to ignore.
“Do you know her name? Where she lives?” I asked. “Any way at all that we could find her and check things out?”
“Her name is Juno. And she lives in an apartment above a bar called Blue Moon Tavern.”
Chapter 12
“We’ve got a problem,” I said when I hopped back into the car and slammed the door. With a flick of my finger, I jabbed Dorian’s stereo, and heavy metal music blasted through the speakers. Dropping my voice to a whisper, I said, “But we need to talk privately, and they can hear every word we say.”
With a nod, Dorian cranked the engine and U-turned in the woodland
clearing, aiming the nose of the car back toward civilisation. As soon as I was certain we were out of earshot, I filled Laura and Dorian in on what I’d learned. Juno, the girl who lived in the apartment above the bar, the girl who had asked us to take care of her non-banishable demon situation in her shop, was a werewolf.
“Are you fucking serious?” Laura leaned forward and gasped, her hand pressed tight against her chest. “Nathan’s girlfriend is a rampaging werewolf?”
My lungs shuddered as I tried to force down the panic. All this time, Nathan had been in far more danger than any of us had realized. I’d thought that Juno had been helping him, pulling him out of his depression from the realization that the entire world operated over a dark layer of supernatural activity. When in fact, he’d been thrust even further into danger without even realizing. And if Juno was in fact the one killing blood mages? And she now knew we were investigating? We needed to get to Nathan fast.
Dorian nodded and pushed his foot to the gas pedal, reading my mind before I’d even said a word. He could tell by the tense clench of my jaw and the way I clutched at my sheath just how worried I truly was. Nathan was kind, sweet, and generous. He organized charity runs and volunteered at the local animal shelter in his spare time, in between acing every single one of his courses in his senior year of college. Three months ago, he’d risked his own neck to help me and Laura, and he’d never asked for anything in return.
“This explains that fucking dog howling at all hours of the night. And her trashed apartment. The table legs being chewed. All of it. She’s a werewolf. No wonder the blood mage was killed outside the bar. That’s where she lives.” I pulled my phone from my pocket and pressed Nathan’s contact info, listening to the ringer on speaker phone. Each passing moment compounded my fear as the ringing continued on and on until Nathan’s voicemail picked up.
“Nathan, it’s me.” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, hoping my voice didn’t reflect the panic in my gut. I didn’t want to scare him, though it was probably inevitable at this point. His girlfriend was a rampaging werewolf who might very well end up trying to kill him. “Listen, call me back as soon as you get this. Something’s happened, and you need to get somewhere safe. Go to my apartment if you can. The wards there are strong enough to protect you. And for goddess’s sake, go alone. Seriously. Don’t even take Juno, no matter what. I’ll explain when I see you.”
Witch's Storm (The Bone Coven Chronicles Book 2) Page 8