Romani Witch (Shifter Blood: Romani Curse Book 2)

by Frances Trilone

  Kaleb nodded. “I don’t know who called them, but they’ve convinced the biologist they’ll be an asset in the search. They’ve agreed to stay away from us.”

  My stomach churned as I realized Kaleb might end up coming back late or canceling our plans tonight. “Do you have to go?”

  “Yes. We’ll be back before you know it.” He clasped my hands, glancing at Mom’s ring on my index finger. The ring that hid my blood oath reminder. “Is that new?”

  “It’s Mom’s ring. She gave it to me for luck.”

  “Cool.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “I better go.”

  “Please be careful.” I squeezed his hands as an uneasy feeling settled in my chest. Something about those vampire hunters didn’t feel right to me, and I was reluctant to let him go.

  “Always.” He kissed me goodbye. “Stay near the café.”

  “I will,” I said.

  Kaleb walked to the town square and spoke briefly to the biologist, then the scouting party walked away from Main Street and headed into the woods. The vampire hunters followed last, holding their guns and crossbows.

  I took a deep breath, glancing over at Garrett as he put a plastic bag into his car. “I guess you’re ready to hit the road then.”

  “Yep.” Garrett’s gaze drifted from the town square to me. “What did Kaleb say about the vampire hunters?”

  “They’re helping the scouting party. One of the wolf trackers thinks he saw a wolf with red eyes, but he was drunk at the time. Kaleb says it’s nothing, but the biologist wanted to do a quick sweep of the woods.”

  “Did the Norwood Pack invite the vampire hunters to Woodlake?”

  “No. Kaleb doesn’t know who invited them.” I stared at Garrett, noticing he avoided my gaze. “Why?”

  “If no one invited them, there’s a good chance they tracked a vampire here.”

  I said nothing as I stared at the woods, where Kaleb and the others had disappeared, hoping Garrett was wrong.

  “I’m sure Kaleb’s right, and there’s nothing to worry about.” Garrett folded his arms. “How’s your mom?”

  “She’s good.”

  “I’m glad things worked out.” He glanced around, lowering his voice. “Did you make peace with Calandra?”

  “Well, we talked a bit. I guess that’s a start.” I looked away. Garrett still believed Calandra was my biological mom. He had no idea how wrong we’d both been. “Hey, thanks again for having my back that night. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

  “No problem.” He sighed. “I hate leaving you here alone. Are you sure you won’t come with me? I could take you home right now and help you pack your stuff. We’d be halfway to Dover before anyone knew you’d left town.”

  “I can’t. I know you don’t understand what—”

  “You’re right. I don’t understand.” He unfolded his arms. “You can’t keep hiding who you are. It’ll catch up with you eventually, and when it does, nothing good will come of it. Leaving town is the only smart option.”

  I could think of no response to give Garrett because deep down, I knew he was right. Even if Kaleb was okay with Marie being my biological mother, the Norwood Pack would never accept it. I had no idea how they’d react, and I couldn’t imagine Kaleb’s father being happy about him marrying a witch.

  “I’m sorry,” Garrett said. “I wanted to say goodbye, not give you a lecture. No doubt Calandra’s already given you hell or tried to work the situation to her advantage. Where’s your cell phone?”

  “I had to get a new one.” I pulled my phone out of my pants pocket. Luckily, Uncle Henry had been fine about getting me a new phone. I didn’t even need to beg or explain how my old phone got damaged.

  He took the cell phone from me and pressed the contacts icon. “I’m putting my number in here. Promise me you’ll stay in touch. Call me anytime.”

  “I promise.” I tucked my cell phone back into my pocket. “Well, I guess this is goodbye.”

  “It’s not goodbye.” Garrett pulled me into a hug. He kissed my cheek, then moved his mouth closer to my ear. “We’ll see each other again, Wolf Girl.”

  Garrett got into his car, and we waved to each other one last time before going our separate ways. While I walked to the café to wait for Kaleb, Garrett headed home to a life without the Norwood wolves.

  Chapter 24

  “Thanks again for helping out,” Bill said as he packed another takeout order. “It’s never been this busy before.”

  With the fourth of July celebrations going on outside, the café was swamped with takeout orders. Although Bill had three teenagers helping out, I’d volunteered to answer the phone and take care of the register while I waited for Kaleb.

  I glanced at the clock on the far wall again. Forty-five minutes and still no sign of the scouting party.

  “Did you hear the good news? I’m interviewing five people tomorrow.” Bill handed a customer their plastic bag as I gave them their change. “I’m hiring at least two more people. Maybe even three to reduce how much time you and I have to spend here.”

  “That sounds great,” I mumbled. When the front door opened, I looked up, hoping it was Kaleb. But no such luck.

  “I bet they’re heading back right now.” Bill gave me a gentle smile as a young couple entered the café. “Why don’t you go enjoy the fireworks? They should be starting soon, and I’ll tell Kaleb where to find you.”

  “If you’re sure you don’t need me.”

  “Go. Have fun,” Bill urged. “I can handle the rest of the orders.”

  “Text me if you change your mind.” I removed my apron and tucked it back under the front counter.

  After walking out of the café, I looked over at the square. Still no sign of Kaleb or anyone else from the scouting party. The police cars and trucks were still parked along the road, they weren’t back yet.

  A loud boom sounded from the dock area. Within seconds, the night sky above Lake Sweeney lit up with a bright, red firework. As it fizzled away, there was another loud boom, and a blue firework erupted. A chorus of oohs and ahhs filled the night air as I made my way to a small group across the street. Standing behind them, I stared up at the spectacular fireworks show organized by the Woodlake Fire Department. Definitely better than I’d expected for such a small town.

  “Sienna?”

  I turned around, surprised to see one of the wolf trackers. “Yes?”

  “It’s…” He sucked in air, trying to catch his breath.

  “What’s happened?” My heart racing, I hurried toward the town square. An ambulance with its lights flashing had parked behind one of the police cars on the side of the road. With the fireworks lighting up the night sky, no one had noticed an ambulance at the other end of Main Street.

  “There were two wolves.” The wolf tracker walked beside me, keeping up with my fast pace. “The men fired a whole lot of shots, and then another wolf showed up. It was chaotic for a while, and when the smoke cleared, we found him bleeding on the ground.”

  “Who was shot?” I snapped, pissed I hadn’t insisted Kaleb stay with me.

  “A guy from Norwood Isle.”

  My chest tightened. “What’s his name?”

  “I don’t know. Some guy told me to come find you. He said—”

  “Was his name Kaleb?” I ran toward the ambulance, not waiting to hear the wolf tracker’s response. I needed to know Kaleb was okay.

  He’s fine, he’s fine, he’s fine—the mantra repeated in my head.

  The ambulance’s lights were still flashing, and a small crowd of Norwood staff had gathered by the woods, near the entrance to the hiking trail. Three policemen carrying shotguns walked to their cars, while the wolf trackers and biologist walked to the trucks. There was no sign of the vampire hunters.

  As I approached, I scanned the crowd, searching for Kaleb. Two more Norwood staff members came out of the woods, carrying someone on a stretcher. A paramedic followed them, talking into a walkie-talkie as they hurried t
o the back of the ambulance.

  I sucked in air, hurrying toward them as I muttered under my breath, “Please don’t be Kaleb. Please, God, I can’t lose him. I can’t—”

  “Sienna!”

  I spun around at the sound of Markus’ voice.

  He stood near the trailhead, surrounded by five other Norwood staff members. They looked worried, but it wasn’t until one of them moved away from Markus that I realized why.

  Clearly exhausted, Kaleb leaned against a tree; his attention focused on the stretcher they were loading into the ambulance. One of the paramedics placed a stethoscope on the guy’s chest, nodded at Kaleb, and then closed the doors. The ambulance’s siren came on as they sped off in the direction of the hospital.

  I rushed to Kaleb, not liking the winded look on his face. I hoped he was just tired from running through the woods with the scouting party. Maybe the Norwood wolves had searched a larger area than the rest of the group. Or maybe Kaleb hadn’t eaten any dinner, and the search had taken its toll on him.

  One of the pack members walked over to the policemen from the scouting party. They were putting their shotguns away, and one of them was on the car radio. Probably giving the sheriff an update.

  “I heard someone from Norwood Isle got shot. Is he okay?” I ran my hand down Kaleb’s arm. He felt cold.

  “Yes.” Kaleb let out a shaky breath and looked at the Norwood staff. “I need one of you to go to the hospital and stay there. The rest of you are to go home unless I’ve already ordered you to stay until the end of the fireworks show.”

  Most of the Norwood staff reluctantly left except for two guys. One of them rubbed the back of his neck, looking up at the fireworks as he said, “I think it’s better if we stay with you and Markus. Your father will be pissed when he finds out you were—”

  “Are you questioning my orders?” Kaleb snapped. He coughed and spat onto the ground.

  “No, sir,” the guy replied. They headed off toward the fireworks.

  “You know they’re right,” Markus said, sounding stern. “You should go to Norwood Isle. Your mom can—”

  Kaleb growled. “We already talked about this.”

  “What’s going on?” I touched Kaleb’s chest and looked him over, trying to figure out what was wrong. Because something was wrong. Terribly wrong. “Are you hurt?”

  “I’ll be fine.” Kaleb’s voice sounded raspy and strained. “Where’s your car?”

  I pointed to the store, next to the café. “It’s parked over there, but we’re not going anywhere until one of you tells me what happened.”

  “He’s been shot,” Markus said.

  “What?” I touched Kaleb’s chest, feeling for a bullet wound as it was difficult to see anything on his black shirt. “How bad is it?”

  “It’s not that bad.” Kaleb’s gaze met mine as he straightened up and winced, giving me a half-grin. “I just need to get to your house and rest.”

  I ran my hand down his side and slowly back up. His shirt felt damp under my touch, and as my hand moved closer to his heart, it became wetter.

  “Don’t.” Kaleb grabbed my wrist, stopping me from going any farther.

  I lifted his shirt. A broken arrow protruded from his chest. I chewed my bottom lip, trying to remain calm. “A vampire hunter shot you?”

  Kaleb didn’t look at me or reply.

  “Yes,” Markus said. “They ran off, so we don’t know if it was intentional.”

  “You need to go after Garrett,” I pleaded with Markus. “He only left town an hour ago. You can still catch him. He can—”

  “No.” Kaleb coughed again, spitting blood onto the ground. “No witches.”

  I lowered his shirt. “He’ll help you if—”

  “I’ll be fine. Just get me to your house.” Kaleb limped forward and collapsed into Markus’ arms.

  “Kaleb.” I gasped as I touched his shoulder where the arrow’s tip protruded from his back. “Shouldn’t we pull the arrow out?”

  “Not yet and don’t touch the tip. There might be wolfsbane on it.” Markus slipped an arm underneath Kaleb’s armpits and headed toward the jeep. “Hurry up. We don’t have much time.”

  I ran to the jeep, opened the back door for Markus, and jumped into the driver’s seat. As I started the engine, Markus laid Kaleb face down on the backseat. He climbed into the front passenger seat and placed a hand on Kaleb, holding him still.

  I turned the jeep around and sped toward home, praying Markus was wrong. We’d learned about wolfsbane in biology class and vaguely remembered people joking about the poisonous plant that could kill werewolves. Judging by the worried expression on Markus’ face, it seemed the oldens weren’t immune.

  “Markus, how bad is this?” I asked.

  “It couldn’t be much worse,” he replied, his tone filled with a sadness I’d never heard from him before, which scared me even more.

  Chapter 25

  Markus carried an unconscious Kaleb into the house, carefully avoiding the arrow tip protruding from his back. Little drops of blood dripped onto the hallway carpet as we walked to my bedroom.

  “Grab the first aid kit, plastic gloves, towels, and bed sheets,” Markus said.

  I placed my purse on the dresser and hurried to the kitchen to grab the plastic gloves from under the sink. After finding the first aid kit, towels, and sheets from the hallway closet, I rushed back to my room.

  Markus stood next to the bed with his arm still under Kaleb’s armpits, holding him upright. “Pull your comforter off and lay the sheets on the bed.”

  I did as told and got out of the way. Markus set Kaleb on the bed, placing him on his left side.

  “Put on the gloves and hand me those towels,” Markus said.

  I handed him the towels and slipped on the gloves as he placed the towels on the bed. One in front of Kaleb’s chest, near the wound, and one behind him, where the arrow’s tip stuck out.

  “Now what?”

  “I’ll hold him while you pull out the arrow. Do it fast.”

  “No. No. No…” I shook my head. “I can’t do it. What if I—”

  “You can do this,” Markus reassured me.

  Taking a deep breath, I told myself Markus was right. I could do this. I had to. If I was going to be with Kaleb, I needed to get used to things like this happening. Avoiding the arrow’s tip, I wrapped my fingers around the shaft and slowly pulled it toward me. When I felt it shift, I yanked it out, and blood gushed onto the sheets.

  Markus pressed a towel against the wound on Kaleb’s chest with one hand and another to his back. “I need you to sniff the arrow tip and tell me what it smells like. Do it quickly and be careful. Smelling wolfsbane can knock you out.”

  I took a quick whiff. “It smells spicy and woodsy.”

  “Damn.” His lips twisted into a grimace.

  I placed the broken arrow on my dresser and pulled off the gloves. “So, it has wolfsbane on it?”

  “Yes. Can you get me a pair of scissors?”

  I ran to the kitchen and grabbed scissors from the junk drawer, then rushed back to my bedroom and handed them to Markus. “Can’t his body fight off the wolfsbane?”

  “Maybe.” He stood, keeping an arm around Kaleb’s shoulders. “I need you to hold him, so I can get his clothes off.”

  I placed a hand on Kaleb’s shoulder and another on his hip. His body pressed against my hands, and I struggled to keep him in place. “I can’t hold him very long.”

  Markus cut Kaleb’s shirt in half and pulled it off. Then he left the room and returned with the couch cushions from the living room. After placing them behind Kaleb’s head and hips, he propped him against them, holding him on his side. Next, he unzipped Kaleb’s jeans and pulled them from the bottom. When they finally came off, Markus tossed them aside, and a small black velvet box fell from a pocket.

  Tears stung my eyes as I realized the box was small enough to hold an engagement ring. “Is that what I think it is?”

  “He’s been carrying
that ring around for weeks, waiting for the right moment.” Markus picked up the box from the floor and placed it on the nightstand. “You can let go of him now.”

  I released my hold on Kaleb, letting my gaze drift to the black velvet box. I couldn’t believe he’d been carrying around my engagement ring all this time. He probably had it the evening I said I needed space. The same evening Garrett asked me to leave town with him.

  Although I was tempted to open the box, to see what the ring looked like, I knew I wanted to see it for the first time when Kaleb proposed. Not now as he lay bleeding on my bed.

  Placing a hand on Kaleb’s forehead, I choked back a sob. He was burning up. “Markus, what happened in the woods?”

  “One of the vampire hunters shouted that he’d seen a wolf with red eyes. Everyone ran in the direction of his voice, and Kaleb ordered two of the wolves to shift and run ahead. It was chaos: there was yelling, screaming, and growling. No one knew what was going on. Shots had fired from all directions, and Kaleb used his body to shield the wolf biologist. Everything was fine until Kaleb stood up, and an arrow struck him in the chest. He broke off the end, so only the wolves knew he’d been shot.”

  “What about the guy they loaded into the ambulance?” I asked.

  “He’s fine. Kaleb told him to fake an injury so the biologist would agree to us heading back.”

  “And the vampire hunters? What did they say?” I stared at Kaleb, watching his eyelids flutter.

  “They took off.” Markus shook his head, fuming. “I told Kaleb the scouting party was a bad idea. I should have made him listen to me.”

  “This isn’t your fault. You didn’t know this would happen.” I touched Markus’ shoulder, trying to comfort him. “You said his body can fight this off. What can we do to help?”

  “I need you to clean and bandage the wound and lay him on his back. Stay by his side and let no one near him.” Markus went to the bathroom to wash his hands. “I’m going to hunt down those vampire hunters. They must have an elixir. It’ll help him heal faster.”

  “What about the Norwood Pack? Is there anything his parents can do?”