“That might be true, but they’re not expecting you at the meeting.”
“But I knew Jenny,” I pleaded. “What if they want to know more about the guys she dated? I can answer their questions.”
He said nothing for fifteen long seconds. “Is it true you talk to the Norwood wolves when they come by the café?”
Crap. Did he have spies watching me?
“Yes. I told Kaleb I’d stay away from them.”
One of his eyebrows shot up. “You talked to Kaleb?”
Crap. Crap. Crap.
“A few times, but he usually ignores me. We’re not friends or anything.”
“Of course not.” He glanced at his phone and then rubbed his chin. “You can come to the meeting, but you say nothing, unless you’re asked a question. Are we clear?”
“Yes.” I stood. “Thank you, Uncle Henry.”
He lowered his gaze to his cell phone as it chirped. “Go get ready.”
I hurried out of his office and went straight to my bedroom. For the next few hours, I stayed in my room and read a book. If Uncle Henry didn’t see me, he couldn’t change his mind.
* * *
Ethan came to the house for lunch. After we finished eating, we got into his car and drove out of the Romani Community. I sat in the back while Ethan and Uncle Henry sat in front, discussing the town meeting. They got along extremely well, considering Ethan was furious when he heard I was on the invite list.
“I don’t understand why you trust them. The Norwood wolves are dangerous. They don’t follow the rules.” Ethan turned onto Main Street and drove away from town.
“They follow the agreement,” Uncle Henry said.
“Killing those girls wasn’t following the agreement,” Ethan muttered.
“We don’t know who did it yet.” Uncle Henry gestured to turn left onto a dirt road. “Asher’s agreed to let the witches bind their shapeshifting.”
“You don’t find that strange?” Ethan shook his head. “The wolves hate witches.”
“Asher understands what needs to happen. He knows we need to find who’s done this,” Uncle Henry said. “The agreement—”
“The agreement is meaningless,” Ethan insisted. “Our ancestors made a deal with the Norwood pack a long time ago. Nothing was written down. Nothing—”
“How do you think we coexisted all these years?” Uncle Henry asked. “You’re too young to remember. Ask your grandfather about his parents. Ask him how many friends they lost to the wolves. You have no idea how bad it was. Wolves were everywhere in Woodlake, and the witches ruled us with an iron fist. They treated us like slaves. If it wasn’t for Tobias—”
“I’ve heard the stories,” Ethan said. “The Elders are wasting their time. Kaleb will never sign an agreement.”
“He’ll come around,” Uncle Henry replied. “They always do.”
“Not Kaleb. You saw how he tried to hurt Sienna. I bet he killed those girls.” Ethan glanced at me in the rearview mirror.
Uncle Henry said nothing and Ethan didn’t push the discussion any further. Instead, he turned on the radio and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as one song played after another.
Fifteen minutes later, we stopped in front of a wrought iron gate where three men dressed in camouflage stood. Two of the men held shotguns while the third carried a crossbow. Their belts held a multitude of weapons, including a large hunting knife, three grenades, and a small handgun. None of their faces looked familiar.
Ethan pushed a button to open the windows and held an envelope out. “How’s it going?”
“Good,” one of the men said as he grabbed the envelope. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I’m visiting family,” Ethan replied.
One of the other men approached Uncle Henry’s side of the vehicle. The third man, who held the crossbow, swung it over his shoulder and poked his head through the back window. He gave me a friendly smile as sounds emitted from his earpiece.
“I trust there won’t be any trouble.” The man shook Uncle Henry’s hand.
“Not from us.” Uncle Henry motioned his thumb toward me. “I brought my niece.”
“Remember the rules,” the man said. “No weapons inside.”
Ethan laughed. “You realize how absurd that sounds? The wolves themselves are weapons.”
“That’s why we’re here. They wouldn’t dare try anything,” the man closest to Ethan replied. He held up a controller, pushed a button, and the gate slid open. “I heard something about witches being on-site. They’ll keep the wolves in line.”
All three men stepped away from the car as Ethan rolled the windows up.
“You guys trust these wolves too much,” Ethan muttered under his breath.
Ethan drove past the gate, followed the gravel road, and parked near a large factory. This building stood five stories tall, with broken windows on every floor. A man in camouflage stood smoking a cigarette near two oversized metal doors.
As we got out of the car, another vehicle, filled with men, parked to the left of us. They gave me strange looks. It took me a second to realize why. I was the only female here. Victor had said this meeting wasn’t a place for women, but I’d expected at least one or two to show up.
Uncle Henry walked to the factory with the other men as more cars arrived. Local men from town got out and hurried toward the meeting without looking our way.
I lingered behind with Ethan, hoping to see Kaleb or another familiar face from Norwood Isle. “Where are the wolves?”
“They’ll be here.” Ethan shoved his car keys into his pants pocket. “We can go home if you’re scared.”
“I’m fine,” I said. “Those names Uncle Henry said—Asher and Tobias. Who are they?”
“Asher is Kaleb’s father, the Norwood pack leader, and Tobias is Kaleb’s grandfather. The Norwood wolf who made peace with us.”
“What’s this about an agreement? I thought they already had one with the Norwood wolves. Why do they need another one?”
“The Elders want a written agreement. Something they should’ve done with Tobias. Asher’s agreed, but Kaleb’s the next pack leader. He needs to sign, but he hates the Romanies. He wants nothing to do with us.” He glanced over his shoulder toward the woods. “We should get inside.”
Kaleb had never mentioned signing an agreement. Why hadn’t he said anything?
We headed toward the large metal doors, where several men stood holding rifles. One of the men nodded at me and smiled. It was the same man who’d come into the café with Bill after they’d found the bodies.
Unlike the outside of the factory, the interior was bright and clean. The freshly painted walls and stained cement floors shone brightly under the brass light fixtures that hung from the ceiling. Several men, wrapped in conversation, stood in the hallway.
I smiled at familiar faces from the café and glanced toward the front doors, expecting the wolves to walk in at any minute, but only men with guns entered the building.
Finally, one of the men closed the doors. A bell rang, and everyone headed toward a pair of wooden doors at the end of the hallway.
A large room with folding chairs in neat rows welcomed us. On the right side sat the local town people while the Romanies sat on the left. Despite the flow of people entering the room, many of the chairs remained empty.
Two long white tables with chairs were set up in the middle of the room. The Elders sat on one side while the Town Council, including Bill, sat on the other. None of them talked as they stared straight ahead, to a space where there were no tables or chairs.
Ethan and I made our way toward the front, to sit with Uncle Henry, who had saved two chairs at the end of the front row. As we sat, Ethan’s cell phone vibrated. He scrambled for it and excused himself to talk to his father.
The bell rang again, and silence descended on the room. While everyone else focused on a pair of wooden doors on the other side of the room, something else had caught my attention.
Ten f
eet in front of the Town Council and the Elders stood a steel podium, with several dangling chain cuffs. To the left and right of the podium, two large red pentagrams covered the cement floor along with strange symbols.
Unlike the Town Council side, where two men held tranquilizer guns, five Romanies stood along the wall on our side, with no weapons. Two of the Romanies were women. At least, I assumed they were Romanies, since they stood on our side of the room. They looked relaxed, their backs against the wall and their arms crossed, except for the last one in line.
It was a teenage boy, engrossed in his cell phone. Something about him seemed familiar, but it wasn’t until our gazes met that I recognized him. It was the Queen Bee’s brother from the Spring Bash, who’d given me his handkerchief for luck.
“Witches,” I muttered. He must be a powerful witch if he stood among the adults.
“Where are they?” someone shouted.
Bill held up his hand. “They’ll be here.”
“They’re not coming,” a man yelled as whispers filled the room. “It’s a trap!”
The large wooden doors on the other side of the room opened and then slammed shut. Silence fell as a tall, husky man dressed in black walked toward the podium. His huge muscles bulged against his clothes as he held his head high. Two men holding shotguns followed him.
Empty folding chairs rattled with each step this man took. As he stopped at the podium, one of the men aimed his shotgun directly at the man’s heart.
A wolf from Norwood Isle. Why did this man look familiar?
Then it came to me—the man in the black suit at Drina’s reception. He’d talked to Uncle Henry and the Elders on the patio. This same man had spoken to me in Uncle Henry’s backyard. He’d asked me about the café and said he hoped the wolves were behaving.
Something about him looked different. He looked taller, stronger, and more alert. What had Kaleb said? The shapeshifters became stronger after they ate.
The husky man grabbed one of the chain cuffs and tossed it up, catching it in his hand as it fell. “Is this necessary? Your witches have already bound me.”
I swallowed hard, glancing at the witches again. The pentagrams and symbols must be their binding spell. Ethan had said they used olden blood. If that was true, whose blood was on the floor?
One of the Elders cleared his throat. “It’s a safety precaution.”
The man laughed and locked the cuff around his right wrist. He forcefully pulled his arm back several times, showing the cuff locked in place. “Don’t trust the witches either?”
The two men with shotguns returned to the other side of the room.
“We’re glad you could make it, Asher,” Bill said.
My heart faltered. Kaleb’s father?
I’d already met Kaleb’s father. How had I not seen the similarities in their faces? They had the same green eyes, prominent cheekbones, and wavy black hair but there were subtle differences. Asher’s hair was peppered gray and his eyes showed no signs of gentleness.
Asher stepped forward, and gasps came from the back of the room. The chained cuff only allowed him to move five feet from the podium, but his mere presence intimidated everyone. He surveyed the room, looking carefully at each person.
“Are more pack members joining us?” one of the Elders asked.
“They’re checking the perimeter,” Asher replied. “Let’s get started.”
Bill got up and stood near the podium. “I spoke to the coroner this morning. He confirmed that a wolf killed the girls. We’re trying to keep this off the news, but Jenny’s parents aren’t from Woodlake and they want answers.”
One of the Elders stood. “Has Norwood heard anything?”
“No,” Asher replied. “There must be a lone wolf in the area.”
“How do we know it’s not a Norwood wolf?” the witch closest to the Elders asked.
Asher’s head whipped around. “How dare you accuse us when we agreed to your binding spell? My pack didn’t do this.”
“Kaleb’s been stirring up trouble.” The witch didn’t bat an eye.
“My son follows orders,” snapped Asher.
“Why haven’t you tracked down the wolf?” another Elder asked.
“We’re having problems catching its scent,” Asher said. “We could ask the Kingsley wolves for help. They’re familiar with Woodlake.”
Bill shook his head. “No more wolves. I’ve already invited the wolf trackers, but when this hits the news, the hunters will come. Maybe your pack should stay on Norwood Isle.”
“You don’t want our help?” Asher looked surprised, but not upset.
“That’s not what we’re saying.” The Elder still standing waved his hand in the air. “Keep your pack presence to a minimum. We don’t need accidental shifting. You know the hunters are trigger-happy.”
“We know what we’re doing,” Asher grunted.
“Then why do we have two dead bodies?” The witch crossed her arms. “The Kingsley wolves are better equipped to handle this. Woodlake should extend an invitation.”
Asher grinned. “Bring the Kingsley wolves. They have no agreement with the Romanies.”
“No.” One of the Elders glared at the witch. “The Norwood wolves can handle this.”
“The Town Council agrees,” Bill said. “We don’t want the Kingsley wolves in town. Maybe if Norwood—”
The back doors swung open, slamming hard against the walls. Several Norwood wolves in human form entered, but they didn’t cross the room. They stood against the back wall, except for Kaleb.
He slowly walked toward the podium. Like his father, Kaleb appeared taller and stronger as he looked around.
When his gaze drifted toward me, I tried to push my thoughts onto him even though we didn’t share a transference link. I needed to tell him about the bracelet, and I needed to know why he’d lied about talking to Jenny at the party.
I finally looked away and found Asher staring at me. A shiver ran down my back when his eyes darkened and his head jerked toward Kaleb. He and his dad were having a conversation right now using transference. No one else seemed to notice.
“Kaleb, put the cuff on and lock it,” one of the Elders said, his voice wavering.
“I won’t be treated like an animal.” Kaleb glared at the Elders.
“We don’t want trouble.” Bill returned to his seat, alongside the other Town Council members. “You agreed to follow the rules.”
Kaleb’s eyes flashed with anger. “My father agreed.”
“Remember what your grandfather told you.” Asher held out the chained cuff. “Put it on.”
Kaleb ignored his father as he looked at the red symbols on the floor. “Whose blood is this? It smells fresh.”
“Don’t worry. The olden gave his blood willingly. Some wolves love the witches,” the witch who spoke earlier said. The corners of her mouth curled up as she stepped closer to Kaleb and looked him over. “You’re looking much stronger.”
“I wouldn’t get that close.” Kaleb parted his lips, exposing his sharp canine teeth. “I can still bite.”
“Maybe you need some witch blood in that body?” The witch held her arm out, daring Kaleb to touch her. “We heard you tried to hurt one of us. Do you—”
“He didn’t hurt anyone,” Bill insisted.
“Of course you’d say that. If you don’t side with Kaleb, he’ll rip your throat out.” The witch lowered her arm. “Isn’t it an eye for an eye in Woodlake? I demand the right to punish him for what he’s done. A wolf like Kaleb can’t—”
“Kaleb has already been punished,” Asher said. “He got twenty lashes.”
Tears stung my eyes as I glanced at Kaleb. Why hadn’t he told me?
“That’s not enough.” The witch glared at Asher. “It should’ve been fifty. As head witch in this room, I challenge Kaleb to—”
“He didn’t hurt me!” I jumped to my feet, surprising everyone, including myself. This witch wanted to punish Kaleb. No way could I let that happen. Why didn’
t he listen and put the cuff on his wrist?
The witch looked at me curiously. “You’re the Romani that works at the café?”
“Yes.” I rubbed my neck as a pricking sensation hit the back of my head. The sensation turned into a sharp pain, then faded. I glared at the witch, wondering if she’d caused the pain in my head. There was something about her I didn’t like. My gaze moved to Kaleb. He was staring at me, like everyone else. Why was he acting this way? He was just as bad as the witch, wasting time when we needed to talk about the dead girls. “Kaleb, put the cuff on. We need to—”
“Who’s this girl ordering my son around?” Asher yanked at the cuff around his wrist.
“I’m sorry, Asher. My niece hasn’t learned her place yet.” Uncle Henry pulled on my arm. “Sienna, sit down.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled as I sat.
“What was that?” whispered Uncle Henry. He released my arm. “You never tell Kaleb what to do.”
“I was trying to help,” I muttered under my breath. I didn’t dare look in Kaleb’s direction or check to see if Asher was still pissed. Instead, I glanced toward Bill. He didn’t look upset with my outburst.
“He needs to put the cuff on. It’s the rule,” the witch said as she flung her hand, and one of the cuffs magically floated in the air next to Kaleb.
I covered my mouth, gasping.
“No witchcraft in Woodlake,” Asher snapped. “Keep this up, and I won’t stop my wolves from coming after you. They’re already pissed about the olden blood.”
The cuff dropped, clanging against the side of the podium.
“That might be true, but things will change in Woodlake,” the witch said. “The prophecy tells of a powerful witch who—”
“We don’t care about your prophecy.” Kaleb sneered at the witch. “Any witch who steps foot in Woodlake without the permission of the Town Council will be killed.”
“Silly wolf. You have no idea what you’re up against.” The witch laughed, and then returned to her position along the wall. She folded her arms and looked at me.
I held my breath, expecting to feel a pricking sensation again, but nothing happened.
“Can you visit the Kingsley wolves and see if they know anything?” One of the Town Council members asked Asher. “They may have encountered lone wolves coming from Woodlake.”
Romani Blood (Shifter Blood: Romani Curse Book 1) Page 17