Aurora had felt the less than subtle pull on the energies around them when Dr. Nesbitt had healed Rose. She had been fascinated by the quick speed and the intense power it took to heal her. Aurora had tried a few healing spells, but she cast circles, like her magick books said, and invoked the elements to do so. It took her about half an hour to set one up to perform a spell, but Dr. Nesbitt had done it without any formal start. It was amazing and Aurora had wanted to ask her about it, but became afraid to once the doctor's gaze met hers, so she shied away.
On second thought, it was probably best she didn't mention it. She wasn't ready to let everyone know of her desire to learn magickal workings. That was something she wanted to keep to herself, for as long as she could. The others would freak if they knew. Rose had seemed a bit understanding, but still Aurora felt the tension there. She hoped neither Rose, nor Dr. Nesbitt, would tell anyone else about it.
Aurora came out of her thoughts when she heard the door click shut. Cheyenne's boots clomped loudly on the hardwood, her scent growing stronger as she neared. She smelled of the outside, of nature and earth. It was a comforting scent.
"Hey kid.” Cheyenne stopped beside her, fingers hooked in the belt loops of her jeans. “Dr. Nesbitt needed your help for something, but you lit out of there pretty fast. You all right?"
"Yeah,” Aurora answered quickly with a half shrug, feeling a slight surge of panic at the prospect of a tête-à-tête with Dr. Nesbitt. “Just a little shook up."
Cheyenne smiled and softly touched Aurora's shoulder. Her first instinct was to back away from her touch, but she found she couldn't move. The book within her back pack began to throb again, powerfully and she froze. Her gaze met Cheyenne's, eyes widening.
Her smile faltered and concern moved over her face. “What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost."
The book was literally buzzing with power. Aurora felt it penetrate her and she sucked in a breath, exhaling shakily. It hadn't done that until Cheyenne touched her.
Aurora stepped back, shaking Cheyenne's hand from her shoulder.
"What is it?” she asked again. “Aurora?"
"It's nothing.” She shook her head, clearly freaked out. The book pulsed with a heartbeat like rhythm. She swallowed hard. “Nothing."
Cheyenne opened her mouth to say something but stopped. Her gaze left Aurora's face, looking beyond her. That's when she realized it wasn't Cheyenne the book was buzzing about.
Aurora smelled the scent of something citrus combined with a changed-blood scent. It wasn't Cheyenne's signature smell. It was muskier, but definitely female, covered in the thick orange-scented perfume. The scent grew stronger, as did the emanations from her back pack. Aurora's entire body began to tingle.
She felt the presence behind her as surely as she felt the power within, pulling to get out. She turned quickly.
The woman was tall, her dark hair pulled back at the base of her neck and secured with a flowered clip. Her brown eyes surveyed Cheyenne first, her face blank of all emotion. This was Nola, Aurora was sure. She quickly understood why Rose had sounded so reserved about the new arrival. There was coolness about her stare and it suggested distrust.
Nola's gaze shifted from Cheyenne to Aurora and a small smile pulled at her lips. Aurora instinctively took a step back, if only to stop the incessant buzzing of power at Nola's presence.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you,” she said, her voice pleasant and warm, unlike her eyes. “You must be Cheyenne."
"No, that's me,” Cheyenne answered and slowly Nola's stare turned back to her. The smile faded.
"I'm sorry. There are so many people here. You must be Aurora, then?” She looked back down at her.
She was having difficulty breathing. It was almost as if the power was smothering her. Aurora fought for a deep breath, snagged it and exhaled quickly.
"How did you know our names?” Cheyenne asked.
Nola's cheeks reddened slightly. “I'm sorry. I am such an idiot sometimes. I should've explained myself. Rose and Glen, they told me you were a part of their pack. When I saw you guys with them earlier, I just kinda assumed...” She trailed off, her gaze following the path Glen had taken. “What happened to Rose? I was looking for Glen. I heard a noise, and smelled blood."
"Rose had a near fall. The spokes in the staircase snapped and she almost fell. Davis was there to catch her,” Cheyenne answered.
"Oh, no.” Nola's face went ashen, the color draining from it quickly. “Is she all right?"
"She's fine. Dr. Nesbitt was able to heal her. There wasn't a lot of damage, but a piece of jagged wood did cut her side.” Aurora forced her gaze up to Nola's. Though the new arrival's face looked stricken, there was a sparkle in her eyes. Aurora couldn't ignore the uneasy feeling the book in her bag was forcing her to take note of it.
"As much as I am enjoying the conversation,” Cheyenne began, drawing the discussion away from Rose. “Who are you?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Nola."
Cheyenne nodded, looking Nola over carefully. “It's nice to meet you Nola.” She cast a glance toward Aurora. “If you don't mind, I'm going to head on. Despite what the good doctor says, I'm still concerned about Rose. I'm going to see her settled in. I might check out that banister, too. Maybe this place has termites or something."
"All right.” Aurora nodded, glancing nervously at Nola.
Cheyenne's brow furrowed. “You gonna be all right, ‘Rora?"
"Yeah.” Aurora found it hard to break her stare with Nola. She looked away briefly enough to see the concern on Cheyenne's face. “Ryan is picking me up. He should be here pretty soon.” Her gaze flickered back to Nola. There was something about her that demanded constant watch. She didn't want to let her guard down. She knew better.
"Okay, I'll see you later on. I'll be here all weekend if you need me, all right?"
"All right."
With that, Cheyenne waved her goodbye and left, boots stomping down the hallway. Aurora was suddenly aware she was alone with Nola and she really didn't want to be. She turned away from her, watching Cheyenne disappear around the corner. Had she noticed anything unusual about her or was Aurora just being paranoid?
Her feelings and the undeniable power around her told her otherwise. She was not paranoid. Something was up.
She returned her gaze to Nola, to find that the woman still stared at her. There was a smirk on her face, replacing her stricken look from before.
"You're a cute kid,” she said, her voice even and dark. “How long have you been hanging out with Rose?"
Aurora didn't like Nola's tone and she swallowed, praying that the changed-blood couldn't smell the stink of fear as her uneasiness progressed.
"A few years, I guess. Four years."
"You guys pretty close then?"
"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I kinda admired her before I met her. She's one of my favorite authors."
"Author, huh?” Nola lifted her eyebrows in surprise at that piece of information.
"Yeah, she had a couple books published. They're pretty good."
"What are they about?"
"Werewolves."
"Ah, a topic she knows a lot about."
Aurora felt more uneasy by Nola's comments and questions. She took another step back, but Nola stepped forward, toward her. She paused and sniffed the air. Her smirk spread into a grin. “Are you afraid of me?"
"No,” Aurora said quickly, feeling her heart jump and start to pound quickly.
Nola laughed the sound echoing in the hallway. “You don't have to lie, little girl. I can be pretty intimidating. Some say I have the qualities of an alpha female.” She looked at Aurora, her smile fading as she waited for an answer. When Aurora didn't give her one, she fielded the question herself.
"Is Rose the alpha female?"
Aurora gripped her book bag tighter to her, the straps cutting into her sweaty palms. She thought of edging down the hall, away from her, but she realized Nola had blocked her path. The only way she could
get away from her was to return to Dr. Nesbitt's office and Aurora wasn't about to do that.
"Is Rose the alpha female?” Nola demanded. Her arm shot out. Slender fingers wrapped around Aurora's wrist like a vice.
Aurora had been around werewolves her entire life and she knew the dangerous signs of dominance. Her first instinct was to pull her arm away, but for a changed-blood, Nola was incredibly strong.
"Yes.” Aurora managed to choke the words out. She kept her eyes locked on Nola. If she looked away, she knew it meant showing submissiveness.
A triumphant look moved over Nola's face. “I knew it.” She released Aurora's arm and the girl pulled it close to her, massaging her hurt flesh. “I knew Rose was the alpha female."
"Yeah, she's the alpha.” Aurora eyed Nola carefully. What's the big deal, she asked silently.
"So that would make her mate the alpha male?” Nola looked away from Aurora, staring off into space. Her slender eyebrows came together as the wheels in her head obviously began to turn. “What's his name? Jason?"
"Yeah."
"It makes sense,” Nola said, more to herself than to Aurora. A look of concentration overcame her face and her smile faded. Aurora sucked in a breath and watched as her face turned ugly. It was like a shadow crossed over her face and replaced her grinning, wild-eyed look with something dark and angry. “It makes so much fucking sense."
Aurora knew better than to ask what made sense, though curiosity gnawed at her. She took a step back, finding herself almost pressed against the wall. She didn't want that.
The look on Nola's face was scary, even more so because of the unpredictability behind it. Aurora didn't know her very well and the strange pulsing power unsettled her.
There was no telling what might happen.
The young were let out a breath and pushed away from the wall. She didn't want to be here any more. “I have to go.” She felt sick when she said the words.
Nola's citrus smell was strong. “Wait a minute.” Nola caught her arm as Aurora moved past her, drawing her face close to hers. “Where is he?"
"What?” Aurora whispered.
Nola's eyes were different from any other were Aurora had ever noticed. Instead of being speckled with gold or even changing completely, Nola's eyes were dark, rimmed in wolfen yellow. “Where is he? Jason, the alpha male."
Aurora swallowed hard. Nola's grip tightened on her arm. She felt her backpack slip and hit the floor with a hard thud. It didn't stop the vibrations from consuming her. She felt it pull at her, like it had earlier in the library. She tried to channel the energy away from her, as she had before, but found she couldn't gain enough concentration.
Nola's breath was hot on her face. Aurora couldn't help it; she had to look away and admit defeat. “I don't know,” she finally answered.
"What?” Nola's voice cut like glass. “What do you mean you don't know?"
"I don't know where he is,” Aurora answered, focusing her gaze on a spot on the wall. “None of us do."
"Bullshit. Someone has to know. Glen? Davis? Rose?"
"No, they don't know. Jason left. He's gone."
"Fuck.” Nola pushed her away and Aurora nearly toppled with the force. She braced herself, forearms coming in contact with the walls first.
"Someone has to know!"
"Know what?” another voice spoke.
Aurora pulled herself away from the wall and turned to see Dr. Nesbitt standing in the doorway to her office. Nola spun quickly to view her as well, a look of fury on her face.
Aurora took advantage of Nola's averted head to slip away. Her gaze met Dr. Nesbitt's knowing stare before she turned away completely and hurried down the hall.
As she crossed the foyer, past the staircase where Davis stood, examining the break in the banister, she heard the familiar roar of a motorcycle as it neared the PRDI. She hurried out the door, passing Davis without saying a word.
Rebel had just pulled his Honda Interceptor to the curb and was about to cut the engine when he saw her at the front door. She waved at him even as she secured her backpack firmly on her back and tightened the straps. She hurried across the lawn and grabbed the helmet he held out for her.
"What's the rush, ‘Rora?” he asked, but she didn't answer. She secured the helmet over her head, tucking her hair back from her neck. She climbed on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Let's go,” she said, feeling the powerful vibrations of the motorcycle beneath her. She could barely feel the emanations from the book in her bag. She was glad for that.
There was something about Nola that was creepy. It was dominating and dangerous. The power that coursed around Aurora pointed toward it. She had never felt anything like it before. And Dr. Nesbitt. She knew. That knowing glance she gave Aurora as she left had said it all.
"What's wrong, Aurora?” Rebel asked again. He looked over his shoulder at her, his bright eyes shielded by the visor on his helmet.
She shook her head. She really didn't want to talk about it, not now, especially not over the roar of the engine.
Her brother stared at her for a moment then shrugged. He gunned the engine loudly and pulled away from the curb.
Aurora looked back, over her shoulder at the PRDI as the distance grew between them. She didn't know what the deal was with Nola, but she couldn't deny it and turn the other way. Just like she couldn't deny the power her pilfered book possessed.
She drew one arm away from her brother to adjust her backpack strap. It was still secure. There was something about this book, too, something intriguing and dangerous. Aurora had a terrible feeling the book and Nola were somehow connected, but she couldn't put her finger on it just yet.
She had a feeling that things would come together. She just didn't know when, or how.
* * * *
* * * *
Davis sat on the step next to the broken banister, inspecting the fractured wood. Rose's blood had begun to dry on the jagged piece that still jutted out. He didn't touch it, didn't move it. He wanted Glen to see it.
The break was too clean. On closer inspection, they looked as if they had been cut, sawed. This set Davis's mind at work. Over the scent of blood, he smelled a faint touch of the raw wood. Like sawdust.
He bent closer, touching the step around the spoke. He looked at his fingers when he withdrew them. Faint shavings of sawdust dirtied his fingertips. His nose had been right.
Immediately, Davis rose, staring at the wood shavings on his fingers. He didn't have to be genius to figure out what it meant.
Sabotage.
His suspicious mind branched out, trying to remember. He couldn't recall seeing anyone on the stairs, anyone out of the ordinary. He couldn't remember any suspicious behavior lately. He furrowed his brow as he dusted his fingers off and looked over the banister's edge. The broken pieces of wood still lay there.
This was definite sabotage. Someone had broken the banisters, waiting for someone to lean against it. It had been planned.
Someone had wanted to hurt someone else and was being sneaky as hell about it.
Footsteps echoed and he sank back down behind the banister. He peered through the spokes and watched as Nola stormed from the hall and into the foyer. She looked livid, her hands clenched tightly together. Her lips were a colorless straight line.
He wondered what she was so pissed about as he watched her walk across the floor and pause at the mess. She muttered something heatedly under her breath and kicked one of the broken pieces of wood. It flew across the floor and hit the wall, clattering loudly.
Then she lifted her head and saw him there. She froze, the livid look on her face melting away into shock. Davis narrowed his eyes at her.
"What?” she barked, tossing a piece of stray hair out of her eyes as she tilted her head back at him. “I can't get pissed when a fellow were almost gets killed?"
Davis said nothing and just stared at her. Nola blinked several times. Realizing Davis wasn't going to say anything, she reluctantly to
re her eyes away from him with an annoyed sigh. She looked down at the mess and muttered something he once again didn't catch.
He continued to watch as she nonchalantly turned away and sauntered down the hall, toward her room. He kept his eyes narrowed. He knew he would have to keep an eye on Nola. There was just something about her...
And he had a growing suspicion she wasn't pissed about Rose's near fall, but for another reason entirely.
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Chapter Eight
The darkened room spun out of control when Jason opened his eyes. He had never been tranquilized before, so he wasn't sure if the dizziness was a side effect of the drugs or not. It could've been a remnant of his reeling psychic impulses, but something warned him better of it. He just couldn't be sure.
He sat up, rubbing his head. He had a slight headache, but nothing he couldn't deal with. He was alive and that's all that really mattered.
His half-blood eyes took a moment to adjust to the dim light. The room blissfully stopped moving and he was able to get a good look around.
The room was empty, save for the small cot he sat on and a small toilet in the corner. Jason wrinkled his nose. It smelled as unclean as it looked.
It looked like a fucking prison cell.
Where the hell am I? He wondered, still disoriented as he stood. He remembered the sting of the dart and touched his arm where it had hit. His arm still felt sore. He rubbed it a moment then looked down at it.
The wound had not healed yet and Jason was sure he had been in this place for a while. Either he was mistaken or there was something in that damn tranquilizer that delayed his werewolf healing. He was pretty sure he wasn't wrong. He reached for his gun, but it was gone.
Dark Moon Magick [The Moon Series: Book 4] Page 9