by Martha Woods
“No,” he’d said, simply, attempting to close the door.
Somehow, she’d managed to slip right by him and into the house. She was looking around disdainfully, and Liam had to admit that he hadn’t done the best job of keeping it neat and tidy.
“This won’t do, darling, that asthma of yours will come back if you don’t keep that dust taken care of.”
Liam had been so shocked; he had taken a step back. When he was younger, he’d had exercise-induced asthma. It had disappeared as he’d gotten older, but nobody but his family knew about it.
“I…” he’d said, his mouth hanging open.
“I’ll take fifteen an hour and weekends off unless I choose to work or there’s a special occasion,” she was saying turning and looking around the house.
Liam had shaken his head and gone to his office, thinking he would just call the police and have them come remove her. Then, a few hours later, he’d forgotten to eat supper and Farah had brought some delicious French dish to him.
From that moment, she had been there, night and day for him, in more ways than one. Michael’s sharp voice tugged Liam away from his reverie and
“You have to face it, Liam. Your house is destroyed, she goes missing, then an attack on the pack? God knows she would have no problem knowing where we are. You’re just going to have to accept that she left the first time a better offer came along.”
Liam went silent and turned, looking out the window again. He hated to admit it, but part of him agreed with Michael, even as another part of him screamed that Farah would never, never do something like this.
Chapter 5
“We’re almost home now.”
Skylar sighed on the other side of the line. “I just wish you would’ve brought me with you. Is Cayden really doing as badly as you said?”
“Would I lie to you?” Liam asked, closing his eyes and trying to push down the feeling of jealousy that took up in his chest every time he thought about the time Skylar had spent with Cayden.
“I suppose not,” Skylar laughed. “Hey,” she said, her voice softening, “hurry home, okay?”
Liam licked his lips and smiled, the thought of Skylar in their bed, thinking of him almost too much for him. “Oh, trust me, I will.”
Liam stepped out of the gas station and ripped off a piece of his beef jerky. He stared out into the parking lot, something about the darkness just not seeming right to him. A moment later, Michael appeared, letting out a long sigh.
Liam laughed, “Have you relieved your tiny bladder, brother?”
Michael scoffed, “My bladder is not tiny. I just drank a lot of coffee today. Not to mention the soda I had on the way here.”
“Yeah, sure,” Liam laughed, as the two of them neared the truck. They both paused, realizing there was something seriously wrong.
“Hello, boys,” a woman’s voice said, and their gazes swung up to see a sleek woman casually lounging atop the cab of Michael’s truck. She was wearing dark jeans and a tight leather jacket, her stark black hair falling over her shoulder. “Would it kill you to stay in one place? I had a hard-enough time following you.”
Liam sniffed the air, the hair on the back of his neck standing as his wolf tore inside, him, begging to tear this woman apart. There was something about her that he inherently didn’t like, but he couldn’t place it.
“Who are you?” Michael demanded, his voice deep and threatening. Liam glanced at his brother, not used to seeing him so bothered. “And what the hell are you doing on my truck?”
“I’ve been watching you, gentlemen… sniff around. And I think it would be best if we work together. You see I’m in need of your assistance.”
Liam realized it a second before Michael did. “Witch,” he growled, barely keeping himself from shifting as he grabbed the black boot on the witch’s ankle and attempted to pull her down from the truck.
She seemed to sigh. “It’s such a shame you gentlemen seemed to have forgotten your manners. Is this any way to treat a lady?” Then Liam was rocking back, holding his nose as his face ricocheted with the pain of her heel connecting with his nose. It felt slightly crooked, and he could feel blood trickling over his lip.
Michael lost it at the sight of his brother’s blood. The witch slipped back over the side of the truck and Michael leapt over, meaning to land on her and rip her jugular out. But she was too fast, catching him around the waist with her legs and flipping her over the side.
Liam glanced back at the shop, wondering if it was worth it for him and Michael to shift into their wolf forms. On one hand, they were enough in the shadows that nobody had seemed to have noticed their little skirmish. On the other hand, if somebody saw them in their wolf forms, it would set off a panic that wouldn’t be easy to get away from.
Liam snapped to his senses and ran around the side of the car, stopping when he saw Michael and the witch wrestling, their match seemingly rather even. The witch flipped Michael over, making him knock his head back against the concrete, and straddled him, reaching for something in her belt.
Before she could stab Michael in the heart with something lethal, Liam lunged forward and grabbed her by her hair, hoisting her in the air.
“Frigidum,” the witch whispered, before blowing gently into Liam’s face.
He almost laughed at her, until he felt the sharp pain and dropped her abruptly. He put his hands to his face, finding it freezing to the touch. Gasping, he touched his nose, not feeling the pain that had previously coursed through it. Everything was numb and stinging.
Suddenly, Liam felt himself rearing backwards, an invisible force holding him until he slammed against the side of Michael’s truck. He could feel Michael struggling uselessly against the force.
The witch clapped her hands as though she was brushing away the dirt, then she brushed her dark hair over her shoulder and appraised the two shifters. “I have to give it to you, you really put up a good fight. And you,” she said, gesturing to Liam, “you must be an Alpha, right? That chilling spell would have knocked anyone else out, so you must be.”
“I’m going to kill you,” Michael said, his voice cold and calculated.
The woman laughed, shaking her head.
“You shifters always get so worked up. Listen, I didn’t want to fight you guys, but I know we won’t get anything down until you’ve got it out of your systems, right? Listen up, and listen good. I know you know about the evil coven, but I’m not one of them.
“You know that all shifters aren’t evil, you know that not all humans are evil. Well, not all witches are evil either. We’re just as terrified at the idea of what these crazy bitches are doing.”
“Witch bitch,” Michael said, spitting on the pavement in front of them.
The woman stepped over the spit daintily, shaking her head at Michael. She brought her head closer to his and whispered, “I’d prefer if you called me Hayley. Witch bitch is just a bit offensive, you see. What if I called you a smelly dog? See, even if it’s true, you just shouldn’t say it.”
She pulled her head away from Michael’s and looked at the two of them again. “I want to help you guys. I know everything that’s been going on with you – the house, the attack on your pack, everything,” reaching into her belt, she pulled out a white card. She leaned forward and tucked it into Michael’s pocket as he squirmed against the invisible arms wedged under his neck.
“There’s my card,” she said, smiling sweetly at them. “If you change your minds, come to your senses, give me a call and we can talk like sensible human beings.”
Michael and Liam struggled for another minute, and when they finally dropped to the ground, the witch and every trace of her was gone.
“God damn it,” Michael cursed, kicking the tire of his truck in anger. He climbed into the driver’s seat and angrily started the engine. “I can’t fucking believe a witch managed to get the best of us,” he said, slamming his hands against the steering wheel.
“Hey,” Liam said, shaking his head, “what
are we supposed to do against that kind of magic?”
Michael glanced at his brother, not sure what he meant by that, then shifted his truck into gear and roared into the night. They weren’t very far down the highway when Liam said, “It can’t hurt to consider what she said.”
Michael turned to him, his eyes wide and disbelieving, “Are you kidding me? Liam, she’s a witch. We can’t trust her, no way.”
“She’s the closest thing he has to some sort of idea about what’s going on, Mikey.” Michael scowled at the nickname and Liam sighed. “Besides, I have to do what’s best for the pack, and if this witch bitch can help me in some way, then I’m going to talk to her.”
“I can’t believe this, Liam. A little trouble and you start siding with witches. Dad would never have done something like this.”
“You’re right,” Liam snapped, throwing the card on the dash of the car, “you’re absolutely right. Dad would’ve sat back and let every single member of the pack die before he sacrificed even a shred of his dignity. Maybe we should to that. We should let whoever this is, become more and more powerful until they finally destroy us instead of sucking it up and talking to this woman.”
“How do you know she even knows anything? She could just be another of the evil witches, trying to weasel her way in.”
“You saw what she did back there, how she stopped us in our tracks without even using her hands. I have a feeling they would not need to weasel their way in.”
“Fine, Liam, side with the witches. Whatever.”
Liam shook his head, unable to contain a chuckle. “You’re just pissed because she whipped your ass.”
Michael cut a glance at his brother, turning the music up. “Shut up. She whipped your ass, too.”
* * *
“Sky?” Liam opened the door to the cabin and stepped inside, looking around the spotless living room. The lights were off and the blankets were folded on the couch neatly.
Liam crept through the house quietly hoping to find Skylar still awake. It was late at night, but they had gone almost all day without seeing each other, and he wanted nothing more than to see her face, hold her in his arms.
He went to the doorway to his mother’s room and stopped when he heard Skylar’s hushed voice. They were talking, and because Liam didn’t want to eavesdrop on their conversation, he smiled and said, “Sky?”
Skylar turned to the doorway, then smiled back at him and gave Leah’s hand a pat before standing and going to the door, where she wrapped Liam in a hug. Liam hugged her hard then pulled away and looked back at his mother.
“Let’s go for a walk,” he said, taking Skylar’s hand and tugging on it.
Liam watched as she put her coat on and threaded her scarf under her hair. He took her hand and they left the cabin, walking through the woods.
The moonlight was filtering through the branches, casting a multitude of stripes over the ground. Skylar leaned into Liam and giggled a bit under her breath.
“Aren’t you supposed to shift tonight? It’s a full moon.”
“No, I’ve already told you, it’s-”
“Werewolves, I know,” Skylar stopped and leaned against one of the trees, biting her lip and looking at Liam under her eyelashes. “You know, we haven’t really had much alone time since we moved in with your mother. It’s beginning to drive me crazy.”
Liam stepped into her, dipping his head down to catch her lips in a kiss. No matter how many times he was near her, no matter how many times he captured her lips with his, his heart always started to beat faster, his head always spun, and he couldn’t help the incessant whining from inside.
Skylar moaned and he angled her head so he could delve his tongue deeper into his mouth. Skylar wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her hands deep in his hair, wrapping her fingers around it and tugging at the roots, making Liam growl with desire.
Skylar could feel him pressed against her already, hard through the pajama shorts she was wearing. Liam grabbed them and yanked them down, wrapping his hands under her ass and lifting her up, pressing her against the tree.
“Is this what we’ve been reduced to?” Skylar laughed, as Liam deftly undid his buckle and let his jeans fall to the ground. “Having sex in the woods?”
“I don’t care where we have sex,” Liam said, kissing her neck and making her gasp. “As long as I’m having sex with you-” Liam stopped, pulling back to look at her. “Unless you want to-”
Skylar shook her head, grabbing him by his jacket and pulling him closer. She leaned forward until her lips were on his ear.
“Fuck me, Liam.”
Those words took him over and he gripped her hips, slipping into her and pressing her against the tree. Skylar whimpered in his ear, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck and gasping at the feeling of the tree bark against her back.
He rocked into her, thrusting harder and deeper each time, her gasps and whimpers on spurring her on.
“Liam,” she said, burying her head in his shoulder as she came, her body shuddering as he held her up.
He thrust twice more then came inside of her, his muscles relaxing as the sexual tension released. He smiled and set her down, pulling her pajama shorts up for her.
“I love you, Sky,” he said, wrapping her up and kissing the side of her neck. “I love you so much.”
She shook her head at him like he was acting crazy.
“I love you, too, Liam,” she whispered, kissing his cheek. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have sex with you in the woods.”
Liam laughed and twirled her around putting his arm over her shoulder and walking them in the direction of the pack grounds.
“So what else happened today?” Skylar asked. “What did Cayden tell you? I can tell there’s something on your mind.”
Liam sighed.
“We talked to Cayden, and he said that he ran into some witches after the run in with us. They really did a number on him, apparently. The house, Farah, and Lucas… it wasn’t him or any of the hunters, they were so busy with the witches they wouldn’t have spared the time or energy to have done any of this.
“Then we ran into a witch on the way home who told us that she wanted to help us, wanted to team up with us to fight the evil witch coven.”
“So, you think it was the witches that took Farah?”
Liam stopped and turned to Skylar, putting his hands on her biceps.
“Skylar… the witches, they’re building up this evil force. It’s nothing like I’ve ever heard of, and Farah’s a pretty powerful witch.”
Skylar took a step back from him and crossed her arms, frowning.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m not trying to say anything, Skylar. It’s just that… I don’t see Farah going anywhere she doesn’t want to.”
“Farah is a good woman!” Skylar shook her head and backed away from Liam. “You’ve known her far longer than I have, and I would trust her with my life. I practically did, Liam. Or have you forgotten that she saved me?”
“I know, Skylar! I know, but…”
“You know nothing, Liam. What if it was me? Would you just believe that I would betray you that easily?”
It took Liam a moment too long to reply, because Skylar shook her head again, uncrossing her arms and letting them swing at her sides. Then she stalked past him, already to the lawn behind the cabin when Liam turned around to call her back.
Liam cursed and kicked the ground, letting his wolf take over. He sprinted through the woods, killing squirrels and rabbits and a deer before he turned around and headed back to the cabin.
He walked into the bedroom, but when he saw that the bed was empty, he looked through the rest of the house. Skylar was curled up next to Leah, her eyes red from crying. Her chest was rising and falling steadily, and Leah was running her hand through her hair.
Leah met Liam’s eyes and shook her head once, as though she was telling him to go back to his bed. Liam did, begrudgingly, wishing he could kiss Skylar
on the forehead before he went to sleep, but thinking better of it. He just hoped that Skylar would be more willing to talk to him in the morning.
Chapter 6
Liam rolled over in bed and snaked his arm out, seeking the feel of Skylar’s warm body. However, cool crisp sheets greeted him instead. He opened his eyes and the memory of his crying mate curled up beside his mother flooded his mind. A groan escaped him, and he closed his eyes and rubbed his hands against his face.
Go get her. Bring her to us.
“No, we’re giving her space. We’ll—“
Leah’s screams filled the cabin, and he jumped from bed and sprinted out the bedroom door and to his mother’s room. When he crashed through the opening, he skidded to a stop next to the bed where Leah was leaning over Skylar’s convulsing body.
“What happened?” Liam asked, dropping to his knees and grasping Sky’s face between his hands. Fear filled him.
“I don’t know. I fell asleep not too long after you came in last night, and I woke to a shaking bed. When I rolled over, Skylar was seizing. I thought it was a nightmare, but after I shook her shoulders a few times without a response, I screamed for you.” Leah scooted closer to the opposite side of the bed.
“Skylar? Please, baby? Wake up.” Liam moved his hands from her smooth face and grasped her shoulders, giving her a firm shake. When she didn’t respond, his panic rose and his fingers curled tighter against her shoulders. He couldn’t lose her. Not now.
“Is everything okay? I heard mom screaming.” Michael stood in the doorway.
Liam turned to his baby brother, his eyes blurring. “Something’s wrong with Sky. Mom and I have tried waking her, but there’s no response. She just keeps shaking.”
Michael crossed the room in a couple of strides and kneeled beside Liam. “Do you mind if I try something?” Michael asked, his brows furrowed. Liam knew whatever it was, he wouldn’t like it, but if it provoked a response from Sky, he was game.