Talon skidded into the alley and saw a ruffian holding a little old lady at knifepoint. “I said, give me your purse!” the thug snarled, pressing the blade against the old woman’s throat.
Talon moved forward but the petite, elderly woman shot him a shrewd glance and shook her head subtly. Talon stopped and stood silently at the entrance of the alleyway to block the thug’s escape.
Talon almost pitied the foolish young man. The rogue didn’t know who he was dealing with. The rogue was probably just passing through Wolves Hollow, and when he saw a little old lady walking alone, he decided that such an easy target was just too good to give up.
But the old woman was no defenseless prey.
Yaya was a very old and powerful witch, one of the oldest witches in Wolves Hollow.
She was also one of Talon’s most loyal customers. Yaya liked to design her own furniture and she would get Talon to make them. Talon had never been inside Yaya’s house, but over the years, he had delivered a bed, some tables and countless chairs and benches to Yaya. It was rumored that no one had ever stepped foot inside Yaya’s house. The thorny, twisting shrubs and vines in Yaya’s overgrown garden would slither into position to stop anyone from going too near the house. Talon usually unloaded all the furniture onto the sidewalk in front of Yaya’s house and left it to Boris to cart everything into the house.
Talon scanned the alley. Where was Boris anyway?
Yaya and Boris were inseparable.
The thug turned and saw Talon. “Stay out of this,” he warned Talon. “This is none of your business. You didn’t see anything.”
Talon didn’t bother responding. He simply folded his arms and waited.
The thug smirked and turned back to Yaya. “He’s not going to help you. So just do as you’re told, and there won’t be any trouble.” He waved the knife in Yaya’s face to emphasize his point.
“Do you want to be turned into a frog?” Yaya asked.
“What?” The thug narrowed his eyes at Yaya. “Are you trying to be funny? Just shut up and...”
“If you don’t want to be turned into a frog—” Yaya spoke slowly, as if explaining something to a small child. “—then put the knife down. Otherwise...”
“I told you to shut up, you stupid old woman!” the thug yelled in frustration and confusion.
“Okay. You made your choice.” Yaya turned to Talon and said defensively, “You heard him. He made the choice of his own free will.”
Talon wisely said nothing.
As the ruffian raised his knife to strike Yaya, the witch muttered something under her breath.
The thug’s face contorted as his rage turned to incomprehension and fear. His eyes bugged.
“Wha...what’s happening to me? I...I can’t move...” he stammered.
The knife clattered to the ground.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Talon stared at the strange, almost surreal scene before him. The young ruffian was gaping at his hand in disbelief and horror. It no longer looked like a hand. His fingers were now webbed, and his skin was turning a sickly shade of green.
“You...” he spluttered, staring at Yaya with bulging eyes. “You’re a witch! What...”
Yaya rolled her eyes. “See the cloak? The broomstick?” She gestured animatedly towards a dumpster. “Now where’s that broomstick?” she huffed. “Boris!”
“I thought...” the man croaked, his eyes growing bigger and rounder until they popped out of his sockets.
“You thought I was just an eccentric, fashion-challenged grandmother,” Yaya finished for him. She didn’t look offended at all. Instead, she seemed to have lost all interest in him. She was busy looking for her broomstick.
“Boris,” Yaya yelled. “Come out right now! Get your lazy ass over here, Boris!”
Her broomstick emerged from behind the dumpster and scuttled over to her. Yaya snatched her pointed hat off the ground and dusted it off while admonishing her cheeky broomstick. ““Fine help you are, Boris,” Yaya grumbled. “You could have saved him, you know. Now look what you made me do.”
Boris nimbly danced out of reach when Yaya tried to grab his handle. “Come back here, Boris!” Yaya shouted. “Don’t you dare...”
Yaya and Boris carried on as if nothing unusual was happening. Boris wasn’t just Yaya’s preferred mode of transport. He was a flying broomstick, but he was also Yaya’s assistant, bodyguard and companion. Talon had often seen the playful broomstick shaking with silent laughter and glee whenever he managed to pull a prank on Yaya. For a broomstick, Boris was quite a character.
Seeing that Yaya and Boris were paying him no mind at all, the ruffian turned helplessly to Talon. The man opened his mouth and a long, thin tongue flew out and almost slapped Talon in the face. Talon scowled and stepped back.
The thug’s eyes were now much too big for his face, and his nose, ears and lips were disappearing. All his hair had fallen off and his skin was now bright green, smooth and slippery. He continued shrinking, deflating until he vanished into his baggy clothes.
The dirty sweatshirt and jeans fell in a heap in front of Talon.
Talon looked up with a frown. “Yaya,” he said sternly.
Yaya pouted. “I didn’t make him disappear, if that’s what you’re asking. He’s very much alive.”
“Right. So where is he?” Talon demanded.
Yaya pointed to the heap of clothes. “Right there.”
There was a movement under the heap and Talon swore he heard a croak. The clothes began to jiggle until finally, a small green frog hopped out of the pile.
“You turned him into a frog!” Talon exclaimed.
“I did tell him that if he didn’t want to be turned into a frog, he should put the knife down,” Yaya said reasonably. “You saw what happened. By his actions, he chose to be a frog.”
The witch smiled slyly as she removed a glass jar from the folds of her cloak. “You know,” she began casually. “I’ve not been able to brew some of my potions because, you know, there are one or two ingredients that are getting so difficult to procure these days.”
The frog let out a croak of alarm and hopped away from Yaya as fast as he could. Talon didn’t blame him.
“Boris!” Yaya yelled. “Sweep him up for me, will ya?”
Boris abruptly stopped chasing some birds at the end of the alley and flew into action. Spreading his bristles out, Boris jumped in front of the frog to block his escape. As instructed, Boris started sweeping the frog towards Yaya, pushing the frog right into the opened glass jar.
Yaya pounced on the jar and screwed the lid on tight. She pocketed the jar and tried to pat her wild, wiry silver hair into place.
“I was already having a bad hair day,” Yaya huffed. “That kid picked a lousy day to mug me.”
“What are you going to do to him?” Talon said slowly.
“As I said, I could use toe of frog for my potions,” Yaya deadpanned.
Talon sucked in a breath and put out a hand to stop her. “No, Yaya, I can’t let you...”
The witch let out a cackling laugh. “I was just joshing you! Oh my, you shifters take things so seriously. I’ll turn him out into the street, intact, by the end of the day. You’ll be delivering my cabinet this evening, right? I’ll release him then and you can check that he has all his digits.”
Straightening her pointed hat, she sniffed. “Boris would never let me dabble in dark magic. Boris may be mischievous and cantankerous, but he’s a straight arrow.”
Yaya tipped her hat at him as she flounced out of the alley with her broomstick. As Talon watched Boris scuttle after Yaya on his bristles, he replayed Yaya’s words in his mind.
He grimaced as a question dislodged itself from his reeling thoughts.
He really didn’t want to know, but...he had to know.
“Yaya,” he called after her. “Was Boris ever...” A person?
Yaya turned to look him straight in the eye. “Boris is a witch’s broomstick. That’s all he is.”
; After a pause, she added dryly, “You don’t think very highly of us witches, do you?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Bianca finished wiping down the tables and took the tray to the back. The lunch crowd had left and the diner was empty. Bianca heard her stomach rumble. She had been so busy she hadn’t stopped to have lunch.
Carly was at the sink, helping Nelson wash the dishes.
“Let me help you,” Bianca said, rolling up her sleeves.
“Nah. I’m all done,” Carly said, drying her hands. “Come on. Let’s go out and sit down. It’s usually pretty quiet in the afternoon. We’ll have around two hours to unwind and catch our breaths before the dinner crowd comes in.”
“Here, I made these for my girls,” Nelson said, passing Bianca a big plate of sandwiches and fries. “Go on,” he said, shooing her out. “I’ll tidy up the kitchen. You go have a cup of coffee outside with Carly. You’ve been working non-stop for hours.”
“But...”
Carly linked her arm through Bianca’s and pulled her out of the kitchen. “Let’s eat! I’m famished!”
The two women sat down at the counter and Bianca poured two big cups of coffee. They chatted as they ate.
“So you just arrived in Wolves Hollow, eh?” Carly said.
Bianca nodded and averted her gaze. She wasn’t sure how much to tell Carly. She didn’t really want to talk about her past, and she didn’t want to relive her harrowing ordeal. Running blindly from a burning car and ferocious wolves was an experience she would rather forget.
When Bianca remained silent, Carly went on amiably, “Nelson and I are relatively newcomers to Wolves Hollow too. We moved here just five years ago. Most of the residents of Wolves Hollow have been here all their lives.”
“Oh. I thought...”
“We’ve always wanted to run our own business,” Carly went on. “So we bought over this small diner from the previous owner and moved here. But...we almost gave up.”
“Why? You’re doing so well,” Bianca said. “From what I’ve seen today, business is great!”
“Well, the first two years were really rough. We humans often got caught in the middle of some turf war or other. I’ve lost count of the times our diner got vandalized and trashed. I told Nelson, maybe we should just cut our losses and get out of this crazy town.”
“Wait,” Bianca held up a hand and frowned. “You said, turf war. What exactly are you talking about?”
“The shifter packs are always fighting over territory,” Carly replied with a shrug. “Every pack wants to be the biggest, baddest pack in town.”
Bianca nodded slowly and muttered, “Wolves Hollow is a shifter town.”
Carly eyed her curiously. “How well do you know Talon Wyld?” Carly asked.
“I just met him last night. He, um, he saved me. My car caught fire,” Bianca stammered.
Carly nodded and chewed the inside of her cheek. When she didn’t say anything more, Bianca swallowed and asked, “Are you and Nelson...shifters?”
“Oh no, we’re human,” Carly said with a short laugh. “There are a few humans in Wolves Hollow.”
“You said you were thinking of leaving Wolves Hollow,” Bianca prompted. “What made you decide to stay?”
“Things got better,” Carly said simply. “Ever since the Sentinels took over some of the packs and became the biggest pack in town, the situation improved. The Sentinels Alpha, Grayson Edge, is a decent guy. He runs his pack well and keeps his eye on the other packs. Shifter politics is a bloody dirty business.”
After a pause, Bianca asked, “How did you get to know Talon? He lives so far away from the rest of the town, in the middle of the forest.”
“Talon happened to witness a shifter brawl in our diner. He saw the other shifters trashing the place, destroying all the tables and chairs. Talon came up to us after those hooligans left and offered to help us with the furniture.”
Carly gestured round the diner. “He built all these beautiful tables and chairs, and he only allowed us to pay for the raw materials. He wouldn’t let us pay him for his labor and skill. I guess he wanted to show us that not all shifters were violent troublemakers.” Carly smiled. “Talon is one of the good guys. And he’s a damn good carpenter. He did all my kitchen cabinets, and I recommended him to my neighbors. Talon does a lot of business in town even though he prefers to keep away from the packs.”
Bianca mulled over the information that Carly had just shared with her. “So there are shifters and humans in Wolves Hollow,” she muttered.
Carly finished her coffee and smirked. “Witches too.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Talon loaded the finished cabinet into the back of his truck and locked up his shed. He had been working in his shed the whole afternoon, but he kept thinking of Bianca. He’d called the diner twice and Carly had assured him that Bianca was doing well. “She’s awesome!” Carly had enthused. “You should have found her earlier, Talon!”
He told Carly that he would pick Bianca up at closing time and tried to focus on his work. He just couldn’t wait to see Bianca at the end of the day. He wanted to hear her voice and see the smile on her face. Already the house felt so empty without her.
Talon drove to town and made his way to Yaya’s house. He parked right in front of Yaya’s overgrown yard and began to unload the cabinet from his truck. The thorny branches and vines quivered and seemed to be moving even though the air was perfectly still. The lengthening shadows made those twisting vines look ominous and forbidding.
The tall, gnarled plants hid Yaya’s house from view but Talon heard a door creak open. The next instant, Boris came bounding over the wall of spiky branches in a single leap.
“Here’s the cabinet,” Talon said.
Boris leaned over and Talon took the envelope that was tied to his handle. He counted the cash in the envelope and nodded. Yaya always paid promptly and in full upon delivery.
Talon watched Boris balance the cabinet on his handle. Boris waggled his bristles at Talon and flew over the tall, twisting plants. The broomstick would get the cabinet indoors to Yaya.
Talon was about to get back in his truck when he saw the plants in Yaya’s garden pull apart. Boris was furiously sweeping something round and green towards the curb.
Talon held his breath when he saw the small green frog rolling towards him. The frog was curled into a tight ball and was rolling and bouncing down the sidewalk.
The broomstick jiggled and took aim. Boris swung himself like a golf club and smacked the hapless frog right at Talon.
Talon’s reflexes were quick. He stretched out his huge hand like a catcher’s mitt and gasped when his fingers closed around a scrawny arm.
The frog had turned back into the wild-eyed ruffian.
The thug yelped and tugged himself free from Talon’s grasp. He glanced fearfully over his shoulder at Boris. “Get that broomstick away from me!” he shrieked.
“Calm down,” Talon said. Boris had already disappeared back into the house. “What’s your name?”
“Lucien Wickam.”
Talon glanced at Lucien’s bare feet and saw that he had all his toes. He looked the young man over and didn’t see any injuries.
“What happened in there, Lucien?” Talon asked. Lucien seemed to have all his body parts with him, but…
“It was awful!” Lucien wailed.
“What was awful?”
“Karaoke!”
“What?” Talon wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly.
“I was locked in a soundproof room with that witch and her broomstick. The witch sang karaoke non-stop and that broomstick wouldn’t let me hide in a corner. That devilish, evil broom kept sweeping me towards the speakers. It was...horrible!” Lucien sobbed.
“That’s all?”
“Isn’t that enough?” Lucien screamed. “I’ll do anything not to go through that again. I’ll turn over a new leaf. I promise!”
“Go get yourself a job,” Talon said. “A big wolf like you shoul
d be protecting little old ladies, not preying on them.”
“Y-yes, sir,” Lucien stammered.
Talon watched the traumatized young man scamper away as fast as he could.
As he started the engine, he could hear a terrible noise coming from Yaya’s house. It was Yaya singing karaoke. Outside of her soundproof room.
Talon grimaced.
No wonder Lucien was reduced to a blubbering mess.
Putting the truck into gear, Talon sped away from Yaya’s house and headed towards Sunset Diner.
He couldn’t wait to get Bianca home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Bianca untied her apron and hung it on the hook. “All done. I’m off now,” she called to Carly and Nelson. The diner was empty and everything had been cleaned and put in place, ready for tomorrow. Carly was at the cash register, tallying up the day’s takings.
“Wait,” Carly said. She hurried to unlock the door and peeped out. “Okay, Talon’s waiting outside.” She grinned. “Off you go!”
Bianca laughed. “See you tomorrow!”
She saw Talon leaning against his truck and almost ran to him. She was so happy and excited to see him. They’d only been apart for a few hours, yet she missed him already.
“Hey,” she said breathlessly.
Talon beamed at her. “Hey, how’s work?”
“Great!” she said, hopping into the truck. “I met so many of the townspeople, and they’re really nice!”
Talon raised a brow as he drove.
She noted his reaction and asked, “Are there some people in town who are...not so nice?”
After a while, he said, “I just want you to be careful, Bianca.”
She pursed her lips, refusing to let him dampen her mood. “I know that Wolves Hollow is a shifter town,” she said. “But the shifters I met seem nice.”
Talon tensed. “How’d you know they’re shifters?”
“Carly told me. And Ari introduced her friends as her pack mates.”
Savage Wolf_Paranormal Shifter Romance Page 5