Psyche Shield

by Chrissie Buhr

  “Then he’s dead.” Graham condemned the Mage easily, and Goosebumps rose on my arms. I couldn’t be so casual about it, no matter what he’d done. The Alpha noticed and snarled derisively. “That bothers you?”

  I snapped at him, tired of his distrust. “I’ll make sure you get your shot, and we’ll get your Wolf back. But don’t ask me to be happy about killing someone.”

  “Do you know how powerful he is?” Matthew interrupted us, not knowing it didn’t matter. He wasn’t Kratos, and he didn’t stand a chance against me. Going after him felt like shooting fish in a barrel.

  I gave him the basics. “He’s more powerful than Cassandra. Or at least more skilled at leaving a Wolf’s outer mind intact. But nothing I can’t handle.”

  Graham looked sideways at me, still uncertain about my motives. He kept doing that, eyeing me as if he wanted to rip my windpipe out with his teeth. It made me nervous, and he was too close. I didn’t know if I could react quickly enough to stop him if he attacked me. I hoped Matthew could. “You’re a Mage. Why would you want to help me get my Wolf back?” Graham finally asked an intelligent question.

  “I’m not helping you. You threatened to kill me after I went out of my way to help your injured Wolf. You invaded our territory and attacked Amy, Nathan, Phil, and Sierra. By the way, if you intended to make this personal, you did a great job of it. You targeted my closest friends. I don’t give a shit what you want. But I won’t leave someone collared even if their Alpha is a jackass. I’ve looked into the mind of a collared Wolf. It is beyond cruel. I’ll free anyone from that.”

  He scrutinized me uncomfortably again. “You’re a blunt one. I’ll return the favor. I don’t trust Mages. Now that I’ve met you, I don’t like you. You sound like you mean it and I’m not convinced you’ve collared anyone just now. I still don’t trust you. A leopard doesn’t change its spots. A Mage lies and twists everything that’s good in us. It’s who you are. If I decide you’re not a threat, I’ll leave you be. If I see that you are, I will find a way to kill you.”

  Matthew listened to him while watching my reaction. I didn’t flinch away from Graham’s threat, and Matthew let us verbally duke it out. He seemed to enjoy it, and he definitely respected me for it. I snorted at Graham’s threat. “You think I can’t?” He turned to try and stare me down.

  “You haven’t heard anything I’ve said so far. But I will tell you this, and you can believe it or not. Wolves don’t want me in their heads at all, so I don’t do it. Billie’s my mate, and it’s different between us. The rest of you think it’s repulsive, and I’m starting to understand why. I’ll bend over backwards to respect that, in my pack or anyone else’s. But I won’t let you kill me. If you back me into a corner, I will stop you. I don’t have to kill you or collar you to do it. But I make no promises for what my mate will do to you if you try. ”

  “I don’t suggest trying,” Matthew advised, and I smirked despite the intense atmosphere.

  Graham scrutinized my unflappable packmate. “You would let her attack me?”

  “No. I will stop you first.” He was growing on me.

  Graham didn’t seem to know what to think about that. We rode in silence for a while, and I directed us towards the far side of Caldwell. Finally the abrasive Alpha broke the silence. “Who’s Cassandra?”

  “Cassandra and two others tried to take the whole Pack. I stopped them.”

  “You killed them?” Graham asked.

  “They’re dead.” I deliberately didn’t answer his direct question.

  The small city gave way to suburbs, and as we approached one of the nicer areas, I knew I’d found him. I directed Matthew into an upscale subdivision with manicured lawns and gave Graham instructions. “Let me take the lead and do the talking. I’ll keep him out of your minds entirely. There’s no risk of being collared.”

  “Promise me you’re who you say you are,” Graham insisted, coming as close to a promise as I could hope.

  “I’m exactly who I say I am. Turn left. He’s in the second house on the right, the tan one. Pull in like you own the place. I sense a Wolf and two Humans with him. Not yours, someone else. They’re all collared.”

  Matthew and Graham assessed the area as we stepped out of the Jeep. They fell into a flanking position behind me, much as I’d seen the Wolves do with Jason or Billie. It surprised me that an Alpha would take a less dominant position, but he let me take point. It should have felt powerful. Instead I felt like a kid playing dress up.

  The front door opened as we reached the threshold. Hard eyes behind thick glasses greeted me. He towered over me, and I had to crane my neck to meet his gaze. “Your manners are appalling. Don’t you know it’s rude to meddle in a pet’s mind?” he said by way of greeting.

  “Look who’s talking. Your pet was in my backyard uninvited, and you tried to read me.” I shot right back.

  He crossed his arms over his skinny frame and looked me up and down, clearly trying to figure me out. Assuming I’d claimed any Wolf in my presence, he didn’t even spare them a glance. “My name’s Lief. Come in. Would you like tea?”

  “Tea would be nice. I’m Sadie.” I decided to play along with the false courtesy, especially if it got us in the house. Matthew and Graham followed me silently. Neither expressed much, and I wondered what they thought of the situation. He started a teapot already sitting on the stove, and I made myself comfortable on a barstool at the counter. The Wolves took a position several feet behind me and simply watched. I didn’t beat around the bush. “Why are you here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing.” He evaded my question with a sly expression.

  “I live here. You don’t. This isn’t even your home.” I pointed at our immaculate surroundings. Family pictures filled the walls, none of which included him.

  “Touché. It’s a borrowed home. Comfortable, though. I didn’t think any Mages lived around here.”

  “I do. You didn’t answer my question. Why are you here?”

  “I’m looking for my mother. She took something of mine. I want him back.”

  Him, not it. I confirmed my suspicions. “She stole your pet.”

  “Her manners are appalling, too. They always have been, but she’s my mother. The last time I talked to her she was headed here. Now she’s missing.” He pulled out two mugs and dropped a tea bag in each.

  My skin crawled as I saw where this conversation would take us. “Why here? This is Wolf territory.”

  “It’s the best place to find Wolves. She made sure the pet would land in this pack. When I heard about you through my pet, I thought you were my mother. I found you instead.”

  “Is your mother’s name Cassandra?” I asked blankly.

  “So you did meet her.” His face brightened. “Where is she?”

  “Can’t you contact her?” He didn’t know, and I didn’t want to tell him.

  He grew serious again. “I hope she’s blocking me. Or too far away.”

  “She’s not. She’s dead.” I told him flatly.

  His whole body reacted and he had difficulty catching his breath. Grief emanated from him in waves. “What happened?” he demanded softly.

  “She tried to claim the pack. I stopped her.” I let some of my regret show in the statement.

  “Why would she do that if it was already yours?” He didn’t understand, and I could sense his mind still coming to terms with his mother’s death. He wouldn’t live long enough to mourn her, and I regretted that too.

  “This pack isn’t mine. I’m one of them.” He understood, sort of, eyes lifting to the two Wolves watching him intently from behind me. Continuing our false courtesy, I introduced them. “Lief, I’d like you to meet Graham. You probably recognize him now that you’re paying attention. He’s your pet’s Alpha. And this is my packmate Matthew.” Neither Wolf bothered saying hello.

  His fear filled the room and he looked at me with utter bewilderment. “Packmate?”

  “Packmate,” I affirmed. “You’re in our terri
tory and you’ve claimed Graham’s Wolf. I’m here to set things right.”

  I sensed when he called his pets to him but didn’t interfere. “Don’t bother. One Wolf and two Humans are no match against these two.” I jutted a thumb behind me. He called them anyway but left them standing at the other side of the kitchen, waiting for instructions.

  “What are you doing in a Wolf Pack?” He asked the most obvious question and the one I considered least relevant.

  “Sleeping with the enemy, according to most people,” I replied blandly.

  “No, really,” he asked earnestly, and I answered my cousin honestly.

  “I fell in love with a Wolf.”

  “Why didn’t you claim him?” He didn’t talk down to me like his mother had, which I appreciated. Cassandra’s condescending attitude had infuriated me. Lief simply didn’t understand.

  “Why would I claim her? I want to be with her, not own her.” He still didn’t get it, and I didn’t have the desire to explain something that should be obvious.

  He no longer dismissed the Wolves, but he couldn’t bring himself to address them. “What do you want from me?” he asked weakly.

  “I want information.” I didn’t tell him what Graham wanted. He’d have to be stupid to not know. “Is anyone else here? Any other Mages?”

  “Why are you doing this? This is ridiculous.” He refused to answer the question.

  “Have you claimed anyone else from Graham’s Pack?”

  His voice began to rise in both pitch and volume. “Let’s claim these beasts and get out of here. You don’t belong here.”

  I smiled at him sadly. One more question. “How do I find other Mages?” He looked at me blankly, his mouth tight as he refused to respond. My patience dissolved even further, and I lost the will to play nice. “Answer my questions or I’ll dig them out of your head.”

  He responded snidely and set his jaw as he went on the defense. “You blocked me earlier, but that doesn’t mean I’m weak. I’m not.”

  “Neither am I. I can get anything I want from you.”

  “You’re bluffing,” he persisted, convincing himself I posed no real threat. He gathered magepower, and I reacted instantly. Power flowed into me, filling me. It crackled across my skin and pulsed through my mind until I felt larger than life. I could do anything.

  He didn’t bother attacking me but pushed at the Wolves behind me instead. He didn’t have enough power to harm a Mage. He wasn’t Kratos. I didn’t have the same limitation. As promised, I countered his mental attack before he reached the Wolves who flanked me. Without moving from my seat, I knocked him backwards against the stove. The teapot crashed to the floor, and even I could smell burning flesh from his hand.

  All color drained from his face as he felt the power of Kratos, and he knew he had no chance against me. He held his hand close to his chest and refused to give up. He spoke to his pets aloud, his voice wavering. “Kill her.”

  The Wolf and two Humans took a step towards us, and I stopped them easily. Reaching into my cousin’s mind, I found the information I desired. He resisted the onslaught, fighting me with everything he had, but it made no difference. Finally I let him go, and he looked at me fearfully, eyes wide and panting heavily.

  Who are you? he demanded. I know every Kratos, but I don’t know you.

  I answered the question even though it didn’t matter. I’m Sadie, Beatrice’s granddaughter. My mate is Beta of the Boise Pack, and I am Pack. I freed Nathan, the Wolf you made and claimed and lost in a single day. I am highest of all Kratos. Your mother couldn’t stop me and neither can you, Cousin.

  “This isn’t happening,” he protested aloud. “Don’t kill me.”

  Wrapped in volatile magepower and feeling godlike, I looked at the Mage, my cousin, like a bug. I didn’t care that I planned on turning him over to his executioner. “I’m not going to kill you. You claimed a Wolf, and you will answer to them for it. I have what I want. He’s all yours.”

  Graham walked up to the Mage, and Lief tried to reach out to the Wolf’s mind to defend himself. I stopped his thoughts, and he battered at the Wolf wildly with his hands. Undeterred by the weak resistance, Graham snapped the man’s neck.

  I didn’t release the power yet. With a thought, I sent the collared Wolf to the living room. Matthew watched with obvious interest, and I told him my plan. “I’m going to free him. If he’s like Nathan, he’ll come out of it fighting hard. Will you restrain him?”

  “Finally,” Matthew replied blandly, pretending boredom. I stepped to the other side of the room and waited for Matthew and Graham to take position.

  “I have to concentrate. Don’t let him near me.” I showed them my vulnerable spot, trusting that Matthew would do his part. He nodded, and I focused. The Wolf’s mind, much more damaged than any of Cassandra’s pets, took immense concentration. He’d been collared a very long time, and untangling the mess required more effort than expected. I don’t know how long I worked at it, but eventually I finished. The Wolf, damaged beyond my ability to repair, would never recover. But he had his autonomy back. I retreated out of his mind gently and heard a distant roar gaining in volume as if he drew closer.

  Upon opening my eyes, I felt sweat trickling down my forehead. The former pet fought Matthew and Graham mercilessly, and I could do nothing more for him. Together they held him down and finally Graham growled like a thunderclap through the room. The Wolf met the Alpha’s gaze. He didn’t submit, but he no longer fought.

  Confident they had the situation under control, I reached my mind outward to Graham’s packmate. He ran towards his owner in wolf form through farmlands, circumventing the more populated areas. I ordered him to turn around and return to my home. Obey Jason and Billie.

  The strange Wolf looked at me with utter rage in his eyes. I had more pressing matters to attend to and ignored him, addressing Matthew instead. “What do you want to do with the body?”

  “That depends on what those two will tell the police,” he nodded at the Humans still standing in the kitchen. They watched us in terror, unable to move or act on their own.

  “They won’t remember any of us,” I assured him. “They won’t remember the last few days at all.”

  “We’ll take the body with us. I’ll get rid of it.”

  Raising an illusion around us, I informed him. “No one will see you take it out to the Jeep.”

  He set to work and easily carried the dead Mage out the front door. When he returned, he announced his intention to gather Lief’s belongings.

  “Can you tell what’s his? I can make them help if you need them.” I gave him the option of utilizing the Human couple.

  He disliked the idea even more than I did. “I’ll sniff it out myself.”

  I waited while Graham and the other Wolf watched me carefully, their faces harsh. The strange Wolf wanted to attack me, and I sensed him calculating how he could successfully kill me. “You can’t, Winston. If you try I’ll stop you. And anyway I’m not your enemy.” He didn’t respond, but he didn’t quit thinking about killing me. Graham considered it too, but only as a backup plan. “I’m not your enemy, either,” I told the Montana Alpha. He might have been more prone to believing it if he couldn’t smell magepower coursing through me.

  “No one can see us out front?” Graham confirmed.

  “Not if you stay in the yard. Take him outside if you want,” I replied, sensing his desire to get far away from me and take the strange Wolf with him. They left, which made the room more comfortable. I waited for Matthew to return, carrying a large suitcase in one hand.

  “I didn’t find his car,” Matthew stated when he returned.

  “He doesn’t own one. Is that everything?”

  He nodded and inquired about the Humans. “Will they react the same way as the Wolf?”

  “Probably not, and I can control them if they do.” I faced the Humans and released each one, repairing the damage and removing their memories as I went. They’d had it easy compared to many I’d
uncollared. Lief only wanted use of their home and car. In no time at all, I’d finished. Holding the connection with their minds a little longer, Matthew and I walked out the front door. I let them go with no memories of Mages and Wolves. They wouldn’t even question the days lost.

  “It’s done. Let’s get out of here,” I advised Graham who stood on the lawn with the strange Wolf. They climbed in the back seat while Matthew and I took the front. As we pulled away from the house, I let the illusion dissolve.

  Releasing the power that ran through me, I felt the world crash in on me. Without its benefit, I remembered everything with horror. The void spared me, but my body began to shake uncontrollably. I felt like I would split in two, and I wanted to scream. Instead I leaned against the window, tears running down my face.

  Distantly I noticed Matthew reach across and buckle my seatbelt for me. He didn’t speak, but pulled out his phone and sent a text while he drove. I felt two pairs of eyes from the backseat watching me and studiously ignored them. The strange Wolf spoke. I heard his spiteful words but they barely registered. “She’s coming with us?”

  Matthew answered him warningly. “She is Pack.”

  “Impossible,” he spat.

  “A Mage can’t be Pack.” Graham agreed with the newly freed Wolf.

  “This one can.” Matthew watched them both carefully, ready for any move against me.

  Graham ignored Matthew. He didn’t like me before, and after watching me in action, he loathed me. His hatred hung thick in the air as he challenged me once again. “What about my Wolf? You gave me your word, Mage.”

  I didn’t have the strength to bicker and answered him quietly. “I sent him back to my home. I’ll free him when we get there.”

  “You’re stalling,” he accused.

  “I could have brought him to us or sent him back. It’s the same either way for him. I can’t free him without a Wolf around to control him. But using magepower is ... I need to go home to my mate and packmates. So I sent him there.” My hands wouldn’t quit shaking, so I tried to bury them in my lap. I watched the scenery pass and thought about Lief.