by T. F. Walsh
“Satisfied?” My clipped words elevated in pitch, and my gaze stapled both wulfkin to the wall alongside the costumes. The situation had turned in my favor.
While I’d had no initial intention of bringing my Varlac family allegiance into the situation, it might buy me time. From what I’d heard from my ex-alpha, Sandulf, the Bulgarian leader was ruthless, bloodthirsty, and had sworn to personally tear out the throats of every wulfkin in the Transylvanian pack, including me, in order to claim our land. Apparently, this pack had outgrown the circus and planned to relocate. The Bulgarian alpha was also accused of killing wulfkin from other packs each time their circus stopped in different territories. Of course, I suspected Sandulf’s stories were stretches of the truth, but I intended to check them out for myself and set things straight. No one would touch my family or take our home, and I was ready to start a war to protect them.
“Girl, fetch him some pants. Where are his shoes?” the older man asked.
Alena inched closer and retrieved an object from behind the sofa. My boots. Perfect.
“Thank you,” I said.
Lifting her face, she glanced at me for the briefest moment, revealing the fierceness in her expression.
My insides lit. They shouldn’t have, of course, but she drove me insane, even when she appeared ready to claw my heart out. I’d forgotten how much wulfkin detested and feared the Varlac.
She tossed the boots at my feet.
“Alena,” the older wulfkin snapped.
Blackie scurried toward me and set the boots upright.
Alena twirled around in place and dashed out of the trailer, slamming the door behind her.
“Girls.” The older wulfkin almost choked on his fake laughter. “Please excuse her. I’m sure you must be famished. Damir, get him some food.” He flicked a hand at Blackie, who scrambled outside. This wulfkin held power in the pack. Then reality hit me like a ton of bricks. I knew who stood before me.
“Now, what brings a Varlac to our home?” he asked.
The words I yearned to say went something like, “I’d personally love to show Alena some discipline alone,” but donning the Varlac hat meant I needed to act the part, and politics came into play. I took a seat on the bed, glad to be off my leg, which had thankfully stopped seeping blood.
The wulfkin set a chair in front of me. He sat, one leg folded across the other, arms over his chest. “I’m Maxim, alpha of this pack. And the impertinent girl is my daughter, Alena.”
I swallowed past the knot forming in my throat. Making out with the alpha’s daughter was definitely a sure and quick way to get killed.
CHAPTER THREE
ALENA
I stumbled out from behind the huge Moonlight Circus tent, mud splattering my boots as I marched back and forth, unable to cool off. Fairy lights illuminated the place into a wonderland of excitement—far from the truth today.
Enre’s kiss still sizzled on my lips. Wiping them didn’t help. The tingling refused to leave.
Since the age of five, I’d lived with the memory of my mother’s death, along with the many ways I’d get revenge if the killer crossed my path.
Mother’s face twisted in tortured agony, her eyes wide. A silent scream hung from her gaping mouth as the disgusting old Varlac from the Ulf family tore her throat out. Goose bumps raked down my arms. His snarly words never left me: “No one denies me.”
Now a coward from their clan had returned. What did he want? To take my father from me too? My body trembled.
Thinking back to the way my wolf had taken charge, the way I’d lusted over Enre, made me sick to my stomach. I had never jumped a wulfkin. And definitely not a Varlac wulfkin. The mere mention of the word Varlac had my insides driving the air out of my lungs. No matter how much I responded to Enre, or how much my wolf pleaded to connect with him, it would never happen again. Next time, I’d thrust a knife into his neck.
It wasn’t as if we needed another reason, but we had to get Nicolai out of prison, and fast. The closer the full moon drew, the more likely the Varlac could accuse us of breaking one of their rules: revealing our kind to humans.
Every part of me shuddered with anger, making the decision to uncover Enre’s secrets an easy one.
Thunder crashed overhead. Large raindrops fell, pinging on the metal trailers. I picked up my pace and headed toward the main tent.
“Alena.”
I turned around, and Father approached, his spine rigid and hands cramped into his armpits. His wide shoulders hunched forward while water dripped from his short, black hair. For those few seconds, the usual strong statue that was my father appeared smaller, more fragile somehow.
We ducked under an RV’s awning, out of the storm. My clothes clung to my body, and a clammy sensation settled over my skin. I caught my breath and stared out into the distance at the red and white stripes of the big top. Numbness crawled over me. Crimson flags tied to the tips of the dome popped in the wind, ropes bounced against metal supports, and clangs resonated in the night as the wind’s speed intensified.
“You must have more self-control,” Father said. “That Varlac’s watching our every move, and I can’t have you romping like a teenager. Especially since you didn’t seem to have a problem with him before I arrived.” He wiped the rain off his face with a palm.
Releasing a long huff, I lowered my gaze as heat flushed my cheeks. “I didn’t know what he was.” My wolf desired Enre, and I had offered myself eagerly. Fool. “You have to get rid of him.”
Father’s attention snagged on the marquee momentarily, his mouth thinning, and his strong chin reminded me of Nicolai. What was he doing right now?
“The show will go on tonight as normal.”
“What?” I pushed off the RV. “You can’t. Not with Nic caught by the police and a Varlac snooping around. Everyone in the pack is in shock.”
“Nicolai’s the last moonwulf in our pack. Still a baby. But there’s only so much I can do if he insists on disobeying our rules and throwing himself under a bus.” Father refused to call him Nic, insisting that if parents wanted their kids’ names shortened, they would have named them that way.
I frowned. “And yet, if lightning strikes Nic, I’ll receive the deathblow too.” I remembered Mother telling us that Nicolai and I were mortally linked. She realized it when Nicolai got hit by a car at the age of eight. He was close to death, and I had felt every sting of his pain rising through me. A couple of days later, I fell unconscious when Nicolai had done the same. For three days, we teetered on death’s doorstep, and when we finally woke up, our mother said I saved him with my healing. From that moment, I knew I was different, but I refused to let it define me. I healed anyone in the pack that needed it and grew up with a normal life. It was for my own safety, not anyone else’s, and sure, after the Lunar Eutine a few pack members went out of their way to avoid touching me, but I’d accepted that not everyone was going to be open-minded to what they didn’t understand. And that was fine by me.
Now, Nic and I were bound forever. I learned later this was due to a curse on our family line that had skipped a generation. So I couldn’t let anything happen to my brother if I intended to stay alive.
Father embraced me, his chin on top of my head and my hands cradled between our chests. I inhaled the scent of his wolf mixed with perspiration.
“Get him back. Tomorrow. It’s my fault he’s caught.” I hated how much my words quivered.
“We bide our time.” Father’s hands rubbed my back in a soothing motion, which had worked when I was younger, but now, it only irritated me. I nudged him away.
Cross my father and he’d turn brutal, but always for the right reason. Over the past year, he’d been trying to find us a permanent home since our pack had grown too large for the circus. Three to four wulfkin were sharing each trailer now, and the city was no place to transform into wolves and run free. Plus, the councils frequently denied us permits to set up the circus in their towns. Traveling was such a drag. How I’d love us to o
ccupy a forest instead. A perfect place, protected from humans.
“Nic didn’t kill the human,” I said. “It was Mila.”
Father’s brown eyes squinted. “Police are swarming the circus, asking questions. With the victim’s blood on Nicolai and him at the scene of the crime, he’s facing a murder charge. I hope once they test the victim, they’ll see his death was caused by animal bites and clear Nicolai. But that might take months in the system.” Father couldn’t hide the anguish clouding his hooded eyes.
We were in deep shit. My posture softened. “He has to be free before the next—”
“I know.” Father shook his head.
The drenching rain increased in speed and ferocity, sheets of water closing us in under the awning. Father leaned nearer. “The police are also searching for two others who were at the scene.”
His raised eyebrow sent a twinge of guilt plunging to the base of my stomach, but it was too late. I couldn’t take back the situation or Nicolai’s capture.
“The Varlac split us up,” I said. “He should be the one to pay for this.”
Replaying Enre’s insolent smirk and what his father took from us only burned me up with rage. I’d get my revenge, somehow.
“We have enough crap to deal with. Cops in our home, Nicolai charged with murder, Interpol snooping around the circus, looking for Mila.”
Mila! Silent shivers climbed up my spine. “Has anyone found her?”
“Yes, Ivan discovered her wandering behind the circus, and she’s now locked up.”
I released the breath I’d been holding. “Thank the moon goddess.”
Father stared at his mud-coated boots for a long moment. “Anyway, apparently the Varlac is here to observe us. A regular check-in. I don’t buy it. The last time they visited was eighteen years ago. Why now? Especially a member of the Ulf family.” He rubbed my arms, a weak smile forcing itself onto his lips. “But I know someone who can help us with Nicolai. We’ve gotten through worse, and we’ll manage this as well. But you need to keep your emotions under control.”
I couldn’t bring myself to respond. It appeared we were treading water with weights chained to our ankles. Often we’d been chased out of towns, labeled as thieving gypsies, but this was far worse.
“I’ll do what I can.”
“I’m counting on it. I need you to stay with Enre.”
“What? No.”
His grasp tightened on my arms, his eyes half closed. “And use your healing ability to get him fixed up so he can leave. See if you can find out what he’s up to. And remember who he is.”
I hated the notion of spending another second with Enre, and with that, my wolf stretched and prodded against my insides in protest of my thoughts. Why did she respond to him? Traitor.
“I know you won’t let me down.” Father kissed my forehead and stepped out into the rain, darting toward the main tent. He glanced over his shoulder and called out, “I told Enre you’d give him a tour.”
A sickness stirred in my belly, and I dropped my gaze to my gloved hands. Father knew I avoided healing anyone. Last time, I had passed out and woke up two days later. A transformation would help me take the edge off, alleviate the tension. Except, the pack had been forbidden from transforming into our wolves for the past few weeks to avoid being seen by the police and Interpol, who now watched us around the clock. My wolf crawled beneath my skin constantly, whimpering for release. I ignored her.
Father was right. We’d get through this. We had to. The night’s first performance would kick off in a few hours, and a lot of preparation remained. Behind me, the dark passage between two trailers led to my home, but in Enre’s presence, I worried I’d never make it to the show. Though, I wasn’t sure if this would be from me trying to kill him or kiss him.
I decided I’d only spend time with him in other people’s company. Not alone, whatsoever, and I’d find another wulfkin to house him. I didn’t need his scent stinking up my trailer and bringing my wolf into heat.
I sprinted toward the communal dressing room even though the last thing I wanted to do tonight was perform.
• • •
Dressed up in my outfit, I stood backstage, behind the main curtain, and slid the heavy fabric open slightly to peek out. I inhaled the intoxicating nightly mix of fresh popcorn and peanuts. Voices and laughter filled the area as people moved around, finding their spots in the semicircle of tiered seating. The dimly lit tent added to the mystery of the oversized golden ball balanced on a lofty red-and-white striped pedestal positioned in the center of the ring. It was all part of the first act, but leaving this prop in full view made the audience extra curious, meaning they sat down quickly.
On the opposite side, two clowns bounced along an aisle, fighting to hold a monstrous umbrella made of balloons. Those two wulfkin adored kids and suited the role of clowns perfectly. Children around them laughed and pointed. An acrobat waving glow sticks rolled the hot-dog cart in front of the ring. Their sales brought in more money than the tickets some nights.
The rain beat against the tent. Terrible weather rarely stopped people from attending the circus. Along the top platform, several uniformed policemen lingered, studying the area. One of them spent time questioning one of our trampolinists. Another officer was speaking to Damir, Father’s muscle. My belly ached at the notion of more police watching our every move. Tonight’s show should have been canceled.
I released the curtains and joined the rest of the pack backstage. It was organized chaos: wulfkin in every direction, stretching, practicing, or setting up props. Two clowns fitted in blown-up muscle outfits were bumping and bouncing off each other, and I swore one of them would roll out under the curtains and into the ring. Behind them, our twin contortionists scurried in tiny circles on all fours while doing backbends as casually as if they were in wolf form. Our knife-thrower hurled four blades in unison at a wooden board positioned above the male acrobats stretching in the far corner. A backstage crew member who didn’t perform was scurrying up a metal ladder to adjust or replace a light.
Several of the male performers released a low burring sound, picked up by the others, and my chest swelled with pride.
We were one family, one team, strong and loyal to each other. We’d get through anything.
Then my sight landed on Enre, and the communal sound ended abruptly, replaced by a few rolling snarls.
His gaze caught on my fishnet bodysuit with a small black strip of fabric across my bust and matching skimpy shorts. My costume always impressed the boys, but I didn’t need that kind of leering attention from Enre. He wore his jeans, the ones I had patched up, and his hair was slicked back from the rain.
My wolf clawed within my chest. Control yourself.
“I like this side of you.” He cleared his throat.
“Best if you stayed in the trailer.” I edged behind a small, round trampoline, eager for space between us, though I reminded myself to pretend and be nice to get dirt on him. “Allow the wound to heal.” The words tasted bitter on my tongue. In truth, I prayed the injury festered and spread.
“And miss out on seeing you dressed like this?” One of his eyebrows arched slightly.
I sidestepped Enre and retrieved an unoccupied chair from the dressing area in the right wing fitted out with seats and mirrored desks. Offering him a half smile, I pushed the chair toward him. It was all the positive energy I could muster. “Here, take this out into the crowd and enjoy the show.”
He set the chair beside him, one hand leaning against the back for support. “Was hoping to stay backstage and experience behind-the-scenes action.” His gaze roamed to the stage around us, then landed on me.
My muscles tensed as my tone dipped. “Really not a wonderful idea.”
“Why not?” His head cocked to the side, and his lips pinched. The memory of his mouth on mine sent shivers down my spine. Remember who he is.
“Look. We run a legit business here. There’s nothing for the Varlac to concern themselves with. Anyway, I�
��ve got to go.” I strolled to the dressing area, the sensation of his eyes heavy on my back. Moving to stand behind Sonia, our trampolinist, fortune-teller, and my best friend, I grabbed a hairbrush and started combing her dark-blonde curls. Enre remained in the right-wing dressing area.
“He fancies you,” Sonia said, staring at my reflection in the mirror in front of us. A slight smirk tugged the edges of her mouth upward. Her eyes were green and huge, reminding me of crystal balls. Even at thirty-eight, she looked ten years younger than her age.
I brushed her locks into a tight ponytail. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
I glanced at Enre again. Every wulfkin kept stealing peeks in his direction. Father had cautioned everyone from engaging with him, which, of course, made them extra curious.
The solution was for me to drag Enre outside and tell him to get lost. He affected me in the worst possible way. How could I desire and detest someone at the same time?
Sonia craned her neck and leaned past the bodies practicing their routines to better view Enre. “He stares at you as if he’s deciding whether you’re prey or his mate. That’s provocative, Alena. Wish a wulfkin would look at me that way.”
Another glance and his eyes were all over me, scanning up and down. Then he turned and limped toward one of our acrobats.
“He’s a Varlac,” I said. “A viper.”
Sonia shrugged. “Imagine getting into his clan. The power you’d have to change life for all wulfkin.” Sonia had never been power-hungry but knew my real intention was to help all wulfkin.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Yeah, the power to push wulfkin around and mingle with aristocrats who had their noses up their butts. No, thanks.
A chorus of trumpets blared from the speakers, a beat Nicolai had put together. Then the lights dimmed. What was Nicolai doing tonight? Instead of pushing forward with the show, I should have gone to the police station, tried to … I wasn’t sure what I could do, but it was better than pretending everything was fine.