Chosen Wolf

by Stacy Claflin

  Soleil grabbed my arm.

  “Thanks,” I called to Tap.

  “Are we going to teleport?” I asked once we were outside.

  “Not to town. It takes too much out of me, and I already used that magic getting here.”

  “Hold on. Is Ziamara going to be okay? How long have you been away?”

  “She promised me she’d stay with the girls.”

  “Can you call her?” I asked. “I’m going to keep trying Victoria.”

  “Sure.” She pulled out her phone. “Oh, looky. Tap already texted me the address.”

  “Good. How close to campus?”

  “Maybe a mile away.”

  I dialed Victoria again. No answer.

  “Why won’t she pick up? She just called.”

  “Maybe someone found her phone and is going through her contacts.”

  “But why not answer?” I exclaimed.

  “Who knows? Or the battery could be dead.”

  “Let’s just get over to that shop. I hope they sell restorative tea—then I won’t have to drink anyone’s essence.”

  “I thought you liked doing that,” I said.

  “Tea’s a lot simpler. Let’s pick up our speed, wolfy.”

  I stuck my phone back in my pocket and jogged through the woods with Soleil barely keeping up. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” She gasped for air.

  “No, you’re not.” I stopped. “Drink my essence—just enough to give you energy, but not enough to hurt me.”

  She leaned against a tree. “I never take too much. Not unless I mean to.”

  “Just hurry. Tap said that place closes soon.” I closed my eyes and let my mouth gape open. A breeze rustled my hair as her enormous wings sprung out. Then it felt like she was pulling something silky from deep within me. My mouth opened wider on its own, and the silkiness came out with more force. I forgot where we were and why we were there. My body relaxed to the point of feeling like my bones had turned to rubber.

  With a jolt, everything stopped. My body slunk toward the ground, but I caught myself and steadied my legs. Once I felt in complete control over myself, I opened my eyes. Soleil’s eyes were an electric green and she appeared in a daze—much like I felt.

  She blinked a few times and turned to me. “Thanks. I needed that.”

  “No problem. Let’s get to that apothecary.”

  “Right.” She shook her head and burst into a run.

  “Hey!” I ran after her. We made it out of the woods before long.

  “We should’ve gone to Moonhaven,” I said, feeling like an idiot. “Then we could’ve taken the Hummer.”

  She pulled out her phone. “We’re not far, anyway. Tap just texted me again. His buddy closes shop in fifteen minutes.”

  My eyes widened. “Can we make it in time?”

  “There’s only one way to find out.”

  Of course there was. My muscles were already growing tired, but this was for Victoria, so they would have to deal with it.

  Soleil stepped toward the street and waved. A yellow cab pulled up to the curb.

  We climbed in and Soleil gave the cabbie the address.

  He grinned. “Old Willy’s Spice Shop, right?”

  I exchanged a curious glance with Soleil.

  The cabbie pulled back into the street. “Old Willy and my pops go way back. Wow, the stories he would tell me.” He chuckled.

  Soleil arched a brow at me. I shrugged.

  A few minutes later, the cab screeched to a halt. “The fare’s on me. Just tell them Eamon says hi.”

  “Sure,” I said. “Thanks so much.”

  We climbed out and hurried to the door. The short, stocky man in overalls inside the shop was turning a sign over from Open to Closed.

  “Wait!” Soleil and I cried in unison.

  Chapter 11

  Toby

  The shop door opened just a crack. “We’re closed. Come back tomorrow.”

  I shoved my foot in the door’s gap. “Tap sent us!”

  Squinty eyes narrowed.

  “We have a note.” Soleil handed him the piece of paper.

  Old Willy—who actually only appeared to be in his thirties—snatched the paper and read it over. He pushed open the door and an odd mixture of scents tickled my nose. “I owe Tap big time, so you’re in luck. Come on in.”

  Soleil and I came inside. Old Willy slammed the door shut and slid five locks into place.

  “Are you that worried about thieves?” Soleil asked.

  “Yes,” he said quickly. “I don’t want anyone thinking I’m here. People have to respect my hours. Follow me upstairs.”

  He led us around shelves filled with bottles of every shape, size, and color until we reached a narrow, winding staircase. Each step creaked and moaned as we went up. Finally, we reached the top. It was a living area. It had a long table, a bed, a dresser, and a few shelves.

  Old Willy motioned toward the table. “Have a seat. Do you want some tea? I have some freshly brewed Assam Tonganagoan Estate—black, of course.”

  “Of course.” Soleil smiled. “I’d love some, thank you.”

  “You?” Old Willy looked at me.

  “Sure.”

  “Be right back.” He disappeared down the stairs.

  “What do you make of this?” I whispered.

  Soleil shrugged. “If Tap trusts him, then so do I.”

  “I just hope he can help us.”

  “This guy could come in handy. I hate relying on witches, anyway. If Old Willy can do even some of what Gessilyn can, we’re in luck.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  Old Willy returned, balancing three delicate tea cups. He set one in front of each of us and then sat down. “What do you two need? It’s not every day I get a werewolf and a valkyrie walking in together. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, actually.” He cracked a smile.

  I didn’t. “Look, Old Willy, we—”

  “Oh, I’m not Old Willy. That’s my dad. I’m Darrell.” He held out a hand.

  “Toby.” I shook his hand.

  “Soleil.” She shook it, too.

  “Tap says you can run locator spells,” I said.

  Darrell sipped his tea and nodded. “I can. I assume you have something belonging to the missing person.”

  My stomach sank. “Will a picture work?”

  “You don’t have anything else?”

  “Not on me. I wasn’t expecting her to go missing.”

  Darrell set his cup down. “Tell me one of you is related to her.”

  Soleil and I shook our heads.

  “Is she in love with either of you?”

  “Me,” I said.

  “Okay, I can throw a love potion in the mix. That’ll help. Tell me what you know about where she could be. Who she might be with.” He sipped his tea again.

  “Seattle,” Soleil said. “We were out shopping with a vampire and some humans when another werewolf showed up. Victoria ran, and we haven’t been able to find her.”

  “Might she be in danger?” Darrell continued sipping.

  “That’s why we’re here,” I said. “Her family pack is extremely dangerous, as is mine. If any of them get their hands on her—” Anger pulsated through me. “They’ll regret ever returning from the other side.”

  Darrell nodded. “So, they came back from the other side with the mass exodus?”

  “Even she did,” Soleil said.

  “That was the strangest thing I’ve ever seen,” Darrell said. “Ain’t never seen anything like that. So many supernatural creatures stepping out from a giant rip in the earth. Even creatures you thought were nothin’ more than tales—they were real. The fog, too. More colors than a flipping rainbow. It shone like a—”

  “Yeah, I was there, too. We need to find Victoria. Those wolves won’t hesitate to kill her.”

  His eyes bulged. “Okay, let me gather my ingredients. Get her picture out and think all the lovey-dovey thoughts you can about her. The potion
is going to draw from your feelings.”

  “What can I do?” Soleil asked.

  “Help me gather what we need.” Darrell rose from his seat.

  Soleil followed him down the stairs.

  I pulled out my wallet and slid the old picture out of the plastic sleeve and put it on the table. My heart ached, looking at her beautiful face. “We’ll find you,” I promised her.

  Downstairs, I could hear footsteps and shuffling around.

  “Third shelf, bottom right,” Darrell said. “Tall, blue container.”

  I took a deep breath and focused on the picture. The last thing I wanted was to be apart from her for a long time again. I wasn’t sure I could take it. Sure, I’d managed during her death. I’d focused on bringing peace between werewolves and vampires. It had lasted until the mass exodus of the dead, as Darrell had put it. Now, there was nothing to show for all my efforts.

  But as long as I had Victoria, none of that mattered. She was all I cared about—and she was gone again.

  My heart constricted as I stared at the photo. It was fading, despite how well I’d tried to take care of it. I pulled out my phone and gave her number another call. That time, it went straight to voicemail. I sighed and went over to my pictures.

  I scrolled through recent pictures. I’d taken so many, some of the pack teased me—not that I cared. I knew the value of having pictures of her. There was no way I could get enough of her beautiful, smiling face. She could light up a room at midnight with that grin.

  The images scrolled by, and I stopped at one of the two us. A selfie I’d taken on my porch shortly after her memories of us had returned—not that it had been all that long yet.

  My head snapped up. Darrell and Soleil were downstairs, still hunting down ingredients. Glass clinked. Chairs rubbed against the wood floor. Soleil asked questions and Darrell answered.

  My stomach grew tighter by the moment. It felt like we were using valuable time, but what other option did we have? Going to Seattle would be useless unless we knew exactly where she was.

  I went back to my contacts and called her again.

  Nothing.

  “Where are you?” I whispered.

  The stairs creaked and groaned as they made their way up. Soleil and Darrell both came up, their arms loaded with glass bottles. Darrell even balanced a couple bowls over the back of his head.

  I arched a brow. “Do you need help?”

  “Just focus on your love for the girl,” Darrell grunted.

  They set the bowls and jars on the table.

  “I’m serious.” Darrell frowned.

  I turned my attention back to my phone.

  “You better not be texting,” he complained.

  “I’m looking at our recent pictures together.”

  “Oh, I want to see,” Soleil exclaimed.

  “Focus,” Darrell snapped. “You guys want to find her, and I want to get home.”

  “This isn’t your home?” she asked.

  From the corner of my eye, I watched him shove three bottles toward her. “Mix two teaspoons of the pink powder with an eighth of a cup of the green and six ounces of the red liquid.” He turned to me, with beads of sweat forming around his hairline. “Focus on your love!”

  I turned away from them and continued through the images of Victoria and me, trying to put everything else out of my mind—especially the fact that we didn’t know where she was.

  My heart warmed at a selfie of us snuggling in the living room, while watching a movie with the pack. That embrace had led to a series of sneaky kisses until Dillon noticed us. He and the pack had teased us until we took it out to the porch.

  “Okay, we’re ready.” Darrell’s voice broke my concentration.

  I jumped and turned back to them.

  “Ready?” He stirred a bubbling concoction. It smelled like tree bark and daisies.

  “Sure. I suppose I have to drink that.”

  Darrell shook his head. “Nope. I have to smear it on your skin.”

  I gave him a double-take.

  “You and her, both. She saw the girl last, and you love her. Roll up your sleeves.”

  Soleil and I exchanged a worried glance.

  “You want to find her or not?” Darrell snapped.

  I slid off my jacket and rolled my sleeves as far as they would go. Darrell continued stirring for a moment and then brought the bowl over to me. Without a word, he scooped some of the liquid in the spoon, and it slathered on my skin. It was startlingly cold and it yet it bubbled, even on my skin. Once that forearm was covered, he covered my other one.

  Soleil touched the skin on her arm and arched a brow as she watched me.

  Darrell put the spoon back and stirred again. He turned back to me and put the concoction on my face.

  I gasped in surprise.

  “Hold still,” he muttered, still smearing. Then he turned to Soleil and repeated the process.

  “Don’t get that on my shirt,” she said.

  “Quiet. This is an important part of the process.” He turned to me. “Continue focusing on the loving feelings. Think about everything you love about her.”

  I closed my eyes and thought about our last kiss.

  “Don’t close your eyes yet!”

  My eyes flew open. “I didn’t mean to.”

  “Don’t talk,” he snapped.

  I exchanged an annoyed glance with Soleil as Darrell smeared the gunk on her face. When he was done, he moved back to where he’d been sitting.

  “Don’t you have to wear that?” Soleil asked.

  “I’m not connected to her.” He stirred what was left in the bowl. “Now you guys can close your eyes. Just think about her—especially everything you can about your most recent interaction with her. Did you tell me her name?”

  “Victoria,” I said.

  “Okay, just focus on Victoria. I’ll do the rest.” It sounded like he moved the bowl back and forth.

  My thoughts returned to our last kiss. It had been more rushed than I would have liked, given that our nerves were on edge over the dead body and I was headed to the poker game.

  Darrell whispered in a foreign language that I wasn’t familiar with.

  I wanted to focus on other times we’d spent together—times not rushed. We’d had some wonderful shared moments, appreciating being with each other, especially after her memories of me had returned.

  Darrell’s voice rose, and it became clear that he was speaking German.

  I’d learned several languages over the years, but that hadn’t been one of them. It was too bad, because I wanted to know what he said.

  “Do either of you see anything?” Darrell asked.

  “Like what?” Soleil asked.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” he muttered. “Think as hard as you can about your most recent interactions with Victoria.” He spoke in German again, this time, practically shouting.

  It was hard to think about anything over the sound of his voice, but I managed to pull up some memories of Victoria. They were all old memories, from before her death. We’d run off for secret dates in the woods as often as possible. It had been extremely risky, given that we were both children of rival alphas.

  “Got it!” Darrell shouted.

  My eyes flew open. “What?”

  Darrell stared into the bowl. “She’s right there. Look.”

  Soleil was closer, and looked in. Her face paled.

  My heart plummeted.

  Chapter 12

  Victoria

  A beeping noise woke me. I struggled to open my eyes. I was in a hospital room and the noise came from behind a curtain.

  My friends rested in the chairs by a window, only Soleil was missing. Sasha, Jacey, and Cheyenne were all sleeping. Ziamara flipped through a magazine. She rarely ever slept—apparently, that was typical among vampires.

  Zia glanced over at me, her eyes wide. “You’re awake! How do you feel?”

  “Sore, but otherwise okay.”

  She set the magaz
ine down and scooted the chair closer to the bed. “What happened?”

  “Long story. How did you know I was here?”

  “The cop who found your purse called the emergency numbers you set. Toby didn’t answer, so he called Sasha next.”

  “Toby didn’t pick up? Is he okay?”

  “Probably busy trying to figure out what’s going on with the bod—” She cleared her throat. “You know.”

  “Yeah.” I ached all over, so I closed my eyes. “Where’s Soleil?”

  “She went back to Moonhaven to find Toby.”

  “I want to talk to him.” I opened my eyes again and tried to sit up. “Can I borrow your phone?”

  “Sorry. Mine runs off unicorn horn flakes and faerie dust. I didn’t bring extra, thinking we’d be home by now.”

  “What about one of their phones?” I glanced over at the other girls.

  “You want to use one of their phones to call Toby?”

  My heart sank. They only knew him as the professor. I couldn’t even risk calling him while they slept, just in case they woke while I was on the phone. “Did the doctors say when I can leave?”

  Ziamara frowned. “Not now. You’re dehydrated.” She glanced toward my IV. “They couldn’t tell us much—privacy laws or something—but I read their minds to figure out that’s their main concern. Everything else looks good. “

  “Can’t you use your other powers to get me out of here?”

  She arched a brow. “Which one, exactly.”

  I glanced around to make sure no nurses were around and mouthed, “Mind Control.”

  Ziamara shook her head. “You need to be hydrated.” She scooted closer and whispered, “But I did use it to convince the nurse to let all of us sleep in here. She wanted all of us to rest in that noisy waiting room. I’d be fine, of course, but I couldn’t do that to them.”

  “That was nice of you.” I sighed. “This whole thing sucks. Franklin ruined everything.” But at least I’d kicked him in the ‘nads. Hopefully, it still hurt.

  “Is that the guy you ran from?” Her expression softened.

  “Yeah.” I clenched my fists. “I hate him more than ever now.”

  “Who is he?”

  A nurse came in. “Oh, good. Our patient is awake. How do you feel?”