"Vanessa, what the hell?" I rounded on her but she kept a tight hold of my wrist, clutching her chest at the same time.
"You can't just open that. It could be cursed or worse. What were you thinking?" Her eyes spent a brief moment as yellow slits before shifting back to normal.
"Scared the shit out of me, you did," Mal said, setting the flask back down on the towel.
"I... I didn't think about that." I glanced between them, returning my gaze to Vanessa. "I'm going to need that wrist intact if you ever want me to grab both of your boobs at the same time again."
Mal chuckled but Vanessa's worry continued. "Sorry," she said, releasing me. "Don't open it."
"We need to open it if we're going to get to her heart." I shook out my wrist a bit.
"You two stand back and I'll open it," offered Mal.
"None of us can afford a curse right now," Vanessa said. "Maybe we should wait for Ana."
"A curse is magic just like any other. I'll open it slowly and if you sense the magic changing, I'll stop." Mal picked up the flash and nodded to Vanessa.
"All right but stop if I say so," she said.
"Mal, I think Vanessa's right. Maybe we should wait," I said, worry for him mounting.
"You said it yourself, love. We need to open it, waiting or not. A giant unbeatable monster isn't going to spill from this thing." He kissed my cheek. "Step back."
Vanessa moved me backward away from Mal as she slipped her arms around my middle. I couldn't tell if the gesture belonged to worry or restraint.
"Okay, go," she said, her eyes on Mal.
He gripped the stopper and slowly began to twist. The sealant crumbled on the towel beneath the flask. I gnawed my lip and squeezed Vanessa's arms.
"Any change?" I asked.
"It's the same."
"It's coming off now, get ready," Mal warned and a soft pop echoed in the room. Instinctively I winced and Vanessa gripped my middle. Nothing happened.
"No change," Vanessa said.
"Well, that was anticlimactic." Mal scrunched his nose a bit, then shook his head. "It stinks a bit."
"That's the magic you smell, and decay." Vanessa released me and I joined Mal at the counter. He handed me the flask and I picked up an exam flashlight to peer inside. I couldn't see much save for a few wrinkles that looked like it belonged to a prune.
"There's definitely something in there," I said. "I have an idea." I nudged my way past Mal to the small refrigerator and removed the false bottom, hopefully, without alerting my mates. I removed one of the smallest vials of Ileana's blood and hid the rest again.
"We should just stake it and get it over with," said Mal.
"Go whittle a pencil stake," Vanessa teased Mal. He lifted his lip at her then chuckled.
"Blood." Vanessa's attention shot to me as I opened the vial.
"Just a little," I said. With an eyedropper, I removed a single drop of blood.
"Shawnee, what are you doing?" Mal's sudden fear flicked through me like a sharp intake of breath.
"Experimenting." I let the droplet fall into the flask, reuniting the leech blood with its maker. At first, nothing happened. I shined the flashlight down the flask again and instead of a dried black wrinkle, something slithered across the beam of light. Mal cringed as he looked over my shoulder.
"What'd you do?" Vanessa frowned, once again grabbing my wrist. "The magic changed."
"How?" I asked. "You with your grabby hands today, Ness. Let me go."
"It dimmed," she said, though continued holding on to me. She froze and so did Mal. "What?"
"Can you hear it?" Mal asked, his eyes fixed on the flask.
"No," I said as Vanessa said, "Yes."
"I don't hear anything," I said, snatching my stethoscope from the countertop and tossing it on. I set the chest piece against the flask. A heartbeat thrummed steadily in my ears. It sounded healthy and strong. I looked between my mates with widened eyes. "Shit."
"What'd you do?" Vanessa's breathless voice added to my worry.
"I don't know. I didn't think anything would happen," I admitted.
"Is the magic still there?" Mal asked.
"Yes, just less," she answered. "Do you think she knows we have it?"
"I'm not sure. But I think it's time to find out. She can't come to us, so we have to go to her," I said, removing the stethoscope and replacing the stopper on the flask.
"We're not going to that house again. She's probably got every room rigged with silver at this point," Mal said and Vanessa nodded her agreement.
"I think I know another place to find her."
Chapter Thirty-One
"Will you two stop having eye sex for like two minutes so we can focus please? Thank you." Xany huffed and puffed as we sat around the kitchen table filling in the rest of the pack. Caden laughed and my mother shook her head. Adia sat cross-legged by the fire while we awaited the arrival of Hank.
"We're not having eye sex." Vanessa frowned at Xany as I took a seat in her lap. She draped her arms around my middle.
"I think we were having a little bit of eye sex, baby." I kissed her cheek and set the flask down on the table. I hadn't let it out of my sight since its arrival.
"Where's Mal anyway? We need to get a move on here." Xany dropped her elbows down on the table and sulked.
"Whittling tiny stakes." Vanessa snickered.
"A job for a fine wolf, if I do say so myself," Mal said as he joined us in the kitchen with what looked like a handful of pencils without erasers.
"Is that for jabbing in the heart jar?" Xany asked, pointing at the flask.
"Yep," Mal said.
My mother's eyes lingered on the flask, a frown curving her lips. The way she looked at it, with such ill-disposed anger, had me shuddering a bit.
"Mom?" I called out to her. She tore her gaze away, her expression softening when she looked at me.
"Yes, Dodi?"
"Does it have a spirit attached to it?" I asked.
"Tla, it has nothing but darkness," she said, her voice trembling with something else. Her hands tensed in her lap in a way I'd never seen before.
"Is Dakota still here?" I asked.
"He is tending to the horses which have been taken to Imogene's," she said rather flatly.
"So he's protected, too," Xany chimed in.
"Yes," Mom said.
Just then, Hank appeared by the doorway with Henry, June and her mate, Vincent. June's hair was a crisp turquoise today. Vincent's multiple facial piercings matched the color.
"Evenin' everyone," Hank said.
"What's rude mouth doing here?" Xany pointed at June who growled.
"Xany." Mal frowned at her.
"Ah, it's best to have a good backup plan, in times like these." Hank clapped Caden on the shoulder. "So, Miss Shawnee, I hear you've got another plan."
"And a leech heart." Henry pointed at the flask, his mouth hanging open a bit. "A beating leech heart."
"Let me see." June stepped closer, examining the flask as I held it up to her. She crouched in front of me, sniffing around the stopper. Her hand fell to my knee and immediately I felt Vanessa bristle behind me. Mal's bond tightened and, over June's shoulder, I saw Caden sit forward. "It smells like her, that leech."
"Anything else you can pick up from it?" I asked, hoping to hell that keeping the focus on the task at hand would de-escalate Vanessa. June's hand remained on my knee as she drew her gaze from the flask to me. She should know better than to touch me. Her gesture was a clear challenge to Vanessa's dominance. Vanessa's grip on my hip tightened and our bond gave a great yank.
"Nothing other than that. And it's old." Something flashed in June's eyes. "I bet the heart is soft in there." She drew a circle around my kneecap.
"She'll kill you in a heartbeat," I whispered to June, jerking my head in Vanessa's direction. My words sounded even direr than I intended. Immediately, I sensed Mal relax and Caden's shoulders dropped.
"I'd like to see her try," June murmured, d
rawing her eyes dangerously over my shoulder to Vanessa. Wrong move, really really wrong move. Vanessa's breathing quickened and her rage boiled through our bond. Don't rise to her, Ness, please. Mal appeared beside us, his hand on Vanessa's shoulder. He understood June's dominance games. It had nothing to do with him or me, and everything to do with goading the only cat in the room. I imagined she'd been planning it for a while.
"No. You don't. Trust me." I grabbed June's hand and shoved her off my leg.
"Stand down, June," Hank's angry voice tore through the cabin like a shot of ice water.
June rose from her spot on the floor. Vanessa's legs twitched as if she were about to rise with her, but with me in her lap and Mal gripping her shoulder, she remained.
"Better listen to him," Caden said, his warning, although softer, scared me more than Hank's.
"Hmm, everyone seems to protect this one," June said, her eyes on Vanessa still. Vincent moved beside her, running his fingers over his mate's arm in what looked like an attempt to get her to back down.
"That's where you're wrong, crazy. They're trying to protect you. What's she doing here anyway, Hank?" Xany grumbled. "Other than starting trouble."
"Miss Shawnee's idea will take us ter where June an' her mate know best," Hank answered though his eyes never left the scene. Adia ignored all of us and my mother looked distracted or bored, I couldn't tell which.
Vanessa nearly vibrated beneath me. Mal took my hand in his, guiding me cautiously out of Vanessa's lap. I went with him reluctantly, knowing Vanessa wouldn't attack if I was the only barrier between her and war. Caden stood up now and Hank moved behind June and Vincent.
"Challenging another Sept member for what reason, June?" Hank said, his voice a bit rumbly.
"It's fun," she said, leaning back slightly when Vanessa stood from her chair. They met, eye to eye, with Vanessa only slightly taller than June. Her lips pursed into thin lines. Caden grabbed Vincent and yanked him away from June in a not very gentle way. He shot a warning glare at Xany who lifted her hands in a "don't look at me, I'm not getting involved" gesture. Mal backed me away with his arm around my middle.
"Don't interfere," he warned.
"I don't like this, Mal." I hugged on to his arm with one hand and gripped the flask in the other.
"Is something bothering you?" June taunted Vanessa, her voice an awful singsong. "Your mate's so soft. No wonder you chose her."
That did it. Vanessa's brows narrowed, her eyes flashing yellow and red as the wild fight took over. Our bond thrashed inside me, choking me up and holding me in place.
"You're an asshole, June," Caden said. "You want this fight. It's yours." I'd never heard him sound so angry and permissive at the same time. He and Hank both stepped back. Vincent frowned but he too, let it go on.
Vanessa took a step toward June, their noses an inch apart. Energy rose in the room like the tremors of an earthquake. Vincent hit the ground, bent on one knee as the first to fall under Vanessa's dominance. The floor trembled and my mom looked on, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Adia leaned back on her elbows, watching. June's legs began to shudder as Vanessa bore down on her. The stony expression on the turquoise wolf waivered only slightly at first. One by one, people started dropping. Xany next, then Henry. Mal shuddered behind me until he, too, slid downward, resting his cheek against my hip. Adia, already on the floor, didn't move.
Not a sound escaped from Vanessa as she raised one hand, palm up, and in a graceful gesture, turned it over and moved it down toward the floor. June's reaction was immediate. Her body jerked, cracked, and collapsed. She slammed into the floor so hard that the boards splintered around her knees and she cried out. Vanessa's dominance pressed down on her like an asteroid destroying the Earth's surface. Caden and Hank lowered themselves at the same time. Only my mother remained unfazed. And me.
Everyone else knelt down on one knee, in a rather casual or humbled manner, with one arm bent across their leg. Vincent's head bowed but the others remained watching. Vanessa forced June down further as June fought the pressure. On all fours, she struggled in what looked like a painful pushup. Vanessa cracked her shoulders and with one final downward gesture, June's faced slammed into the floor. Blood seeped from her nose as her bones continued to crack and pop.
Unaffected by Vanessa's dominance, I broke away from Mal and took a step toward her. She reached back, holding her hand out to me. I took it and the moment our skin touched, the energy lifted and everyone, except June, rose from the floor.
"Well, for shits sake," Xany said, dusting off her knee. Henry stuck somewhat close to her as the others returned to their seats.
Mal moved beside me and Vanessa, looking down at the bloodied woman at our feet.
“You were warned," disgust laced his gruff words.
"I think this one needs to be neutered. Oh wait…" Xany knelt down next to June. "She just was." She stood up then turned her back on June. "Hank this one has been nothing but trouble since our pack joined with the Sept. Making a challenge for rank is one thing but just to get her rocks off while in the middle of a crisis is another. I recommend she be demoted to janitor."
Everyone, except June and Vincent, laughed.
"I second that," Caden said, yanking Xany into his lap as he sat.
"Get up, ya out of control brute." Hank frowned as he stood over June.
I turned Vanessa to face me, stroking her cheek as her hands fell to my waist. Distress furrowed her brow until I ran my thumb over her lip.
"So that's how you feel about me, hmm?" I offered her a soft smile and her whole body seemed to soften. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hank grab June by the back of the neck and shove her into a chair.
"She broke my damn knees," she coughed out her words as she wiped the blood off her already healed nose.
“Lucky that's all she did.” Xany huffed.
"Damn right about that. And you broke my floor." Mal kicked around the splintered wood.
"They'll heal in a minute. Serves ya right," Hank said, continuing to frown. "Challenging our alleys is no way to run a pack. Janitor it is." He thwapped June upside the head.
I kept Vanessa's attention on me, cupping her face and leaning her forehead against mine.
"Good kitty," I whispered and a smile melted over her lips. "All right now?"
"Yeah," she said, though her hands began moving all over me, reclaiming me as hers in the only way she could right now.
"Why are they here anyway?" Xany asked again.
"Shawnee knows," Caden said, and the attention in the room shifted to me.
I glanced at them but continued to focus on Vanessa. She closed her eyes, breathing me in and eventually our bond settled to a gentler thrum. She wouldn't settle completely until we were truly able to be together, that much I knew for sure.
"C'mon." I took her hand and guided her to a chair furthest away from June, who continued to nurse her knees. My mother looked on with a spirited smirk. Adia went back to her fumbling by the fire. Vanessa sat and tugged me into her lap, her arms around me possessively as she tucked one hand between my legs, gripping my inner thigh. Yeah, this was going to take some time, but time that we didn't have right now.
“Can someone please get to what's goin' on here?" Xany pressed.
"We have to end this with Ileana before something worse happens. There's only one way to do that. I want her to know that we solved her riddles and that we have her heart." I lifted the flask that I refused to let out of my sight. Mal took a seat beside us, his hand on my knee where June had touched previously. Vanessa seemed oddly comforted by the gesture. "We have to get a message to her and I have to deliver it."
"What? Why you?" Xany said.
Hank leaned on his elbows, a thoughtful expression smoothing his normally wrinkled forehead. Vincent knelt beside June rubbing her knees as she extended her legs. Ten minutes and her Changer kneecaps returned to pristine condition.
"This started with me, Xee. And it has to end with me. You saw how sh
e's treating this. Only addressing me, attacking people I care about. We'll go to where this all started. At that club downtown where Izzy played. The other leeches go there, too. One of them will know how to get a message to her," I said, glancing over the Sept.
“That still doesn’t explain why pissy pants is here.” Xany points at June.
"Yeah it does. She and her mate were the ones scoping the place out when we were hunting for Izzy. They have a presence there and know the layout the best," I explained. "We can't all go rushing in there together. I'll go in with June, find someone to give her the message and we get out."
“I don't trust her with you... hell I don't trust her period.” Xany glared over at June.
"We don't have much of a choice, Xee," I said, Vanessa tensed beneath me and I stroked her arm. She didn't like this either, considering the events of the last few minutes, it wasn't unexpected.
June remained quiet as if she already knew this plan ahead of time. I was pretty sure Hank filled her in somehow. My only question was how Hank predicted my next move. That was a question for later.
"I'll go in with them," Henry offered. "My scent is the weakest."
"He's right about that." Mal nodded.
"Why is it the weakest?" I asked.
"Everyone else carries your scent. June and I don't." He looked to his father who nodded.
“You make sure you keep her safe from the princess and that metal headed wanna be. You promise me, Henry.” Xany looked up at the young wolf, determination narrowed her brow.
"Scouts honor." He saluted her.
Caden and Hank nodded to each other as they mind talked. They were still so awful at it. Mom remained silent. I turned my attention to Mal and Vanessa, awaiting their opinions. Vanessa's nails digging into my thigh told me hers. I caressed her arm and looked to Mal.
"You know I never like you being away from us," he said. “I trust Henry, if anything happens run to him and he’ll keep you safe.”
I nodded him and squeezed his hand.
"Ness?" I said. At first, she didn't look at me.
Bound (Legacy Series Book 4) Page 31