Charmed Wolf

by Aimee Easterling

  I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED siblings to be glad to see each other. I would have been very wrong. Still, the electric whatever-it-was reverberating between the duo gave me breathing room to check on my little buddy.

  While I’d been watching the brothers’ interchange, Kale had bent down to check on a plant then wandered off to poke around inside the circle. His body moved fluidly, as if he was succumbing to his usual scientific curiosity rather than being driven by fae compulsion. As I watched, he stopped in front of....

  I cocked my head. “Is that a door?”

  Male eyes that—yes—looked eerily similar turned in unison to take in Kale. I was certain the walls had been unbroken rock one moment earlier, but now there was a human-sized door smack dab in the middle of one massive stone barrier. Beautifully crafted out of three kinds of wood with a copper knob and hinges, it was too perfect to have been created by human hands.

  “Don’t turn that!” Rune and I yelled at the exact same instant. No wonder Kale leapt backward as if he’d been burned.

  Meanwhile, Rune took two long strides toward the door then turned back to face his brother. As if he couldn’t decide which presented the greater danger—sibling or possible portal to another realm.

  To simplify the matter, I followed Rune’s aborted trajectory and gathered Kale into my arms again. Sure enough, that unstuck Rune’s words.

  “You’re the one responsible,” he growled, his humanity fading until he was just shy of lupine. Reaching forward, he shoved Erskine’s chest in what was clearly an invitation to get physical.

  Erskine didn’t bite. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, brother.” The slimmer man sidled away from Rune, gave me and Kale a wide berth, then reached out to rattle the door knob. I held my breath then released it as nothing happened.

  “You can stop worrying,” Erskine continued. “The door won’t open—I’m stuck here—until a decision has been made.”

  Mention of a decision was ominous. But Rune wasn’t thinking straight enough to pay attention to subtleties. Instead, he demanded: “Was it you?”

  Erskine’s perfect face puckered. “Was what me?”

  “Don’t play innocent.” Rune took three long steps forward until he was back in his brother’s personal space. He was enough taller that he managed to loom as he added. “You’re trying to tell me it’s a coincidence that you’ve become a Betweener and a Betweener is threatening Tara’s pack?”

  “Is that what has you riled?” Erskine raised his eyebrows and I got the distinct impression he was about to say something incendiary. But then his tone turned mischievous. “Are you sure the problem isn’t this?”

  He moved so fast I didn’t see him coming. One moment Erskine was by the door. The next, he was reaching down to stroke the wound on my neck.

  “Don’t touch her,” Rune growled.

  “But we’re brothers.” Erskine’s eyes widened, a mockery of childlike innocence. “Don’t you think it’s appropriate that we share?”

  “Tara and I,” Rune gritted out, “have an exclusive contract.”

  My brows shot up. “We do?” Then it dawned on me what he was talking about. “You’re accepting the job of Consort?”

  Rune’s face was devoid of emotion, but something lingered beneath the marble. Something warm and promising.

  His words showed none of that. “I’ll need to run the paperwork by my lawyer. But, if there are no red flags—then, yes, I’m accepting the job.”

  Decidedly unromantic...and my whole body flushed anyway. My hand rose to my collarbone as the throbbing in my throat intensified.

  Or maybe that was my heart pounding overtime. Regardless, Erskine’s gaze followed my hand as if it had been an invitation. “What’s this, kitten?” he purred. “Are you paying big brother to be your gigolo? Because, if so, I’d be glad to offer my services for free....”

  Suiting actions to words, Erskine thrust out his chest and raised his chin, looking for all the world like a poodle at Westminster. Which, thankfully, gave me the perfect opening to change the subject.

  “Is that what you were doing when you laid your head in my lap without letting me know you were a shifter?” It had been our introduction. Me, crying in the forest soon after my father’s death. A unicorn prancing out from between the trees and kneeling down to comfort me.

  Or so I’d thought. Given what I knew now.... “You perv.”

  Erskine huffed, ignoring my insult and focusing on the actual question. “I’m not a shifter. The unicorn is a spiritual casting. It’s barely physical and is nothing like your wolf form. All of my senses are muted while I’m stuck Between.”

  His reason for feeling me up moments earlier became clearer. I softened. “Am I the first person you’ve touched since ending up here?”

  Erskine’s eyes slid sideways. “Maybe.”

  “And how long has that been?”

  His voice grew smaller. “Months.”

  As a wolf, I understood how hard it was to go days, let alone months, without hugging someone. So I forgave this brother Rune didn’t want to admit to. Forgave him...even as I resolved not to turn my back on him until Kale, Rune, and I were all safely home.

  “The door,” Rune interrupted, “will open when a decision is made. What decision?”

  It was almost as if Erskine had been waiting for that question. Because his chest puffed right back up and he purred in a manner than sounded more feline than equine.

  “The Queen of the Unseelie Court, our mother, has sent me to find you. She’s bored. It’s time for you to come home and amuse her. The door will open for no one other than you.”

  Chapter 19

  “Not my problem,” Rune shot back while I blinked, trying to take in the new information.

  Rune was the son of the Queen of the Unseelie Court? And the Queen in question wanted him back?

  That didn’t sound good.

  Erskine’s answer was even less good. “I believe I have a boon coming to me and I’m not picky about who provides it,” he declared, the weakness he’d shown earlier now totally invisible as he threw my recent mistake back in my face. “Either I can offer your kitten to the Queen and see if that’s enough collateral to free me from this prison, or you can save us all some trouble and open the door yourself.”

  “You want me to save you,” Rune countered. “Again. But that didn’t work out so well last time.”

  “Last time was a gift,” Erskine countered. “This is the repayment of a boon. Do you really want to do this the hard way?”

  “For old times’ sake,” Rune said, words as rough as sandpaper, “I would have thought you’d warn me about the Queen then let the matter go.”

  Erskine’s eyes widened. “And be stuck Between? For an eternity? You want me to sacrifice myself so you can play in the mud?”

  “Which,” Rune observed, “brings me back to my original point. You haven’t changed a bit.”

  Their bickering rolled over me as I assessed the situation. Erskine had taken us Between at my bidding, to save Kale from the magical wind. Unfortunately, it appeared he wasn’t about to carry us back out again.

  Luckily, I had another fae on call.

  Kale must have come to the same conclusion. Because his eyes met mine as we sank down to the ground together. Then we started to dig.

  The first layers were easy to push through. Moss then fluffy soil. The trouble was, even when my finger stubbed up against a root, the being didn’t bite.

  So perhaps the standing stones kept the Guardian out just like they kept Erskine in, at least in his human form? I swallowed. I didn’t really know the laws of Faery. Didn’t know if calling on the Guardian had any chance of working here.

  Meanwhile, Erskine’s voice had turned sweetly seductive. “Remember the pleasures of Faery? Haven’t you missed it, living in your cold, gray world? The cakes. The nectar. Beautiful bodies, ready and willing.”

  Rune, to the best of my knowledge, possessed no such hedonistic urges. Still, the boon I’
d tossed at Erskine must have weighed heavily upon him. Because my Consort started to bargain.

  “Before I consider opening this door, I’d require proof of Lupe and Ryder’s safety. Plus, Tara”—his voice caught on my name—“Tara’s pack must be protected against all fae intrusion.”

  “You ask more than I promised,” his brother countered. “I drew the danger away from the ones Tara asked me to. I’ll pop your kitten and her pet over into the mud world before you and I head home. But that’s the entirety of my offer. Take it or leave it.”

  Kale was digging sideways along the root now. He hadn’t given up, so I couldn’t either. I brushed his hand aside and followed the route he’d suggested.

  The instant I did so, the harsh greeting of the Guardian bit through my skin.

  “I NEED YOUR HELP.” I murmured my request aloud, hoping Erskine wouldn’t hear me. But I trusted Rune to prevent anything from happening while I knelt, eyes closed, communing with our family ally.

  To my surprise, I received an answer in words rather than sensations. “Why should I help you?” The voice in my head was female, throaty. I could almost see a silhouette of the Guardian against the insides of my closed eyelids.

  Did that mean this stone circle was closer to Faery than the grove where the Guardian and I usually met? Did that even matter? Clenching my eyes closed more tightly, I muttered my reply.

  “Because of our family Bargain. We provide you with a foothold in the human world and you protect our pack.”

  She snorted. “But you haven’t lived up to your side of that Bargain. No Heir. No Beta. I don’t make deals with power-hungry wannabes. I make deals with sworn Alphas.”

  “So that’s why you let strange wolves trespass on our territory? Why you allowed fae to invade our factory?”

  The Guardian was silent. Her root slid away from me, but I grabbed it between my thumb and forefinger before it could fully retreat. Ripping at the soil just like Kale had done, I soon had enough length to wrap around my wrist.

  This time the root wriggled harder, trying to evade me. But I knotted it with my other hand, pulling the loose end tight with my teeth.

  Spitting out grit, I continued. “I will uphold my end of the Bargain. I have a full week left until Beltane.” The traditional date when a new Alpha proved to the Guardian that she’d followed all rules to the letter. It would take luck to conceive before then. But Rune had promised to be my Consort and I could select a Beta as early as tonight.

  The Guardian was less sanguine. “I want it done sooner. There’s danger to the pack.”

  This was far more words than the Guardian had ever offered previously. I bit down on the inside of my cheek, drawing blood then spitting it over the root in gratitude.

  “I’ll move up my timeline,” I promised. “But I need your help now. To take myself, Butch, and Kale back to the human world. To remove whatever spell is on our glitter.”

  Because that must have been what impacted Kale. He wasn’t furious enough to run off on his own or he wouldn’t be helping me now. No, he’d been impacted by the charmed glitter and we’d only barely fended off terrible consequences.

  The Guardian didn’t appear to care, or at least she didn’t answer. Not for one long moment, during which time the brothers’ argument flowed over me like bird song.

  “You’re receiving far more from me in exchange for the boon than you would have received from Tara,” Rune observed, and I got the distinct impression he’d raised his voice to block out my muttering. “So I expect more in exchange as well.”

  Erskine breathed out through his nose, sounding very much like his unicorn self. “Alright. I’ll give you a fragment of Faery. Your beloved can use it to build a force fire and remove any pesky charms from her glitter.”

  Rune’s frustration, for once, was palpable. Or maybe he was only feigning emotion to buy me time to come up with another solution. “I don’t know what a force fire is.”

  “Should’ve stuck around a little longer to learn your own heritage, shouldn’t you? Never mind. You can find the relevant details on Wikipedia.”

  “Wikipedia? You’re telling me you logged onto a computer using hooves and a horn.”

  Erskine’s rejoinder was airy. “I have my ways.”

  “Guardian,” I murmured, “is that your final answer? You refuse to help me until the Bargain is complete?”

  Silence was the only response. So I opened my eyes and broke into the brothers’ conversation. “The boon is none of Butch’s business. It’s mine to repay.”

  They turned to face me together. “Tara,” Rune started.

  “Kitten,” his brother added.

  “I want to protect you.”

  “Best let the big kids handle this. I only have enough magic on hand to start one fire and if you waste it....”

  I cut Erskine off. “No.” As I spoke, I stood and let the root rip away from me. I had one week to fix this issue with the Guardian, but I wasn’t about to toss Rune back to some Unseelie Court in the meantime.

  “Erskine, give me the fragment of Faery, take us back to our world, and I promise that I personally will prevent you from being stuck Between forever.”

  Somehow. Eventually. I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.

  Then, before Erskine could consider reeling in favors from two of us instead of one, I added, “But Rune owes you nothing. I do.”

  Chapter 20

  Rune tried to talk me out of it. Erskine strutted like a peacock, as if I’d chosen him rather than doing my Alpha duty with a small side of compassion. Ignoring the crowing from one brother and the disappointment from the other, I accepted the fragment of Faery—what looked to me like a hunk of fool’s gold, but one that shone with rainbow sparkles when I looked at it out of the corner of my eye. Then I clambered onto Erskine’s human back with Kale on mine and Rune’s hand wrapped around my ankle.

  We could only hold the position for half a second, but that’s all we needed. Erskine burst through an invisible wall, hair turning to mane and arms to hooved forelegs as he drew us back to the human world. There, he ditched us atop a pile of sticks that was far less comfy than the mossy sward we’d landed on the last time. Still, I would have been glad of thorns for the smell that surrounded us—my familiar forest, not far from pack central.

  Meanwhile, Erskine’s tail flicked in my face. “Yes, I remember what I owe you,” I called after his retreating butt, only to have my promise strangled by dozens of pings overwhelming my brain.

  They needed me. Not just one pack mate but everyone. They were desperate. They were fighting. I was Alpha and I needed to fix this. Now.

  “Take care of Kale,” I told Rune, words garbling in my mouth as I thrust the chunk of Faery into his hand while shedding clothing. Then I fell to the ground on four paws.

  For his part, Rune’s face twisted, his eyes averting. Something about my wolf disturbed him, or maybe something about wolves in general? Either way, he nodded. And that was all the reassurance I craved.

  So I turned away from my Consort and my buddy and back to the pack who’d floundered in my absence. More information flowed in as I ran between familiar trees, my pack mates fighting beings so strong that the word fighting didn’t really apply.

  Instead, in my mind’s eye, our enemies’ dominance froze my pack mates one by one. The reason the invaders hadn’t just slapped down everyone in the first place became clear as a scarred and twisted visage pressed into Willa’s face, our bond allowing me to see and hear as the enemy spat out: “I want my mate returned to me. Where is she?”

  His pure rage knocked Willa back a step, but she managed to force out words that only slightly quivered. “Your mate trespassed on Whelan land just as you are trespassing. If you don’t remove yourself, you will be removed.”

  Moss and flowers tore loose beneath my claws, but I didn’t pause to placate the Guardian. Instead, I arrowed for the edge of pack central. Arrowed for the source of danger to my family and friends.

 
There, I wiggled between pack mates, frozen and otherwise. Leapt for the invaders...only to fall onto my nose as someone more dominant than I was barked out a command.

  No, not someone. Lupe. I recognized the frigid strength of her voice, even in wolf form. Clawing my way back to my feet, I peered up at our enemies, the ones I’d assumed were unknown invaders.

  They weren’t. It was the Samhain Shifters—Lupe, Ryder, and a scar-faced stranger. The ones Rune trusted with his true name.

  And I trusted Rune’s judgement, which meant words rather than claws were called for. So, even though the gesture seemed counterintuitive, I shifted upward into my naked human skin.

  Now I was weaponless, defenseless, and facing down werewolves who’d proven their superior dominance. Still, my voice was even as I told them:

  “I am this pack’s Alpha. Whatever happened, I will make it right.”

  “MY MATE....” THE TWISTED-face shifter lunged at me.

  Lupe’s voice, now human, froze him just like she’d frozen me. “Tank, stop.”

  He stopped, although he didn’t fall onto his face the way I had. Instead, we eyed each other, two naked Alphas. Then Tank spoke again, this time without moving. “I want Athena returned to me.”

  Athena? The name rang a bell. Wasn’t she...?

  Sure enough, Caitlyn’s voice pinged in my head, desperate yet focused. “Alpha! I tried to tell Willa that Athena had your permission to be here, but she wouldn’t listen.”

  So that’s why the situation had gone south so fast. “Where is Athena?”

  “Locked in the holding cells.”

  Where we put out-of-control werewolves. The walls were embedded with metal bars.

  Alright. So this would require groveling. I was willing to grovel, but better to do so without the entire pack watching.

  “Willa,” I snapped, “lead a full retreat then tend to injuries.”

  Her nostrils flared. For a split second I thought she’d argue. After all, before my father’s death, she’d been stronger than everyone but the Alpha. She’d been easily able to bark me into line.