No Crones About It

by Amanda M. Lee

  “Good evening,” he called out, offering a half-wave. “It looks like you’re enjoying your dinner.”

  “We are,” Gunner agreed. “It’s a private meal, though.”

  Drake ignored his warning tone and crossed over to us. “That looks good, but there will be food at the gathering tonight. I was under the impression you were attending.”

  “We haven’t decided yet,” Gunner countered, taking me by surprise. He clearly wanted to keep Drake on his toes. “It depends on if we want to do something else or not. There’s talk of going to bed early, but we’ll see.”

  I kept my face placid, but just barely. Gunner’s insistence on playing Testosterone King in front of an audience — especially a wolf audience — was mildly entertaining. It was often annoying, too. I didn’t want him getting too comfortable with the “free love” thing, although I enjoyed watching Drake’s obvious discomfort.

  “You should come,” he insisted. “You’ll miss out if you don’t. Cyrus puts on the best gatherings.”

  “Have you been to other gatherings?” I asked, legitimately curious. I popped a fry into my mouth and regarded him. “I mean ... have you been a member of different packs?”

  Drake shrugged, noncommittal. “I’m a wanderer at heart. I’m sure you understand something about that. I’ve found my place with Cyrus’s pack, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to travel. I’m guessing Hawthorne Hollow, while nice, doesn’t sate your wanderlust either.”

  “Actually, I’m pretty comfortable here,” I countered. “I like the town ... when innocent men aren’t being strung up and branded with my name, that is. Are you still maintaining you don’t know anything about that?”

  Gunner arched an eyebrow at my direct question, but said nothing. Obviously he was ceding the floor to me.

  “Of course we didn’t have anything to do with that.” Drake’s response was smooth. “Why would we? I think you’re being overly suspicious ... and I don’t have to guess why.” His gaze was heavy when it landed on Gunner. “You really shouldn’t fill her head with nonsense. It’s unnecessary and she’s going to get the wrong idea about us.”

  “I think she’s fully capable of formulating her own opinions,” Gunner countered. “You’ll find that there’s very little she can’t decide for herself ... other than whether or not she wants to play with Lincoln Logs. That’s the only thing she’s hesitant about.”

  I wanted to kill him. Instead, I kept my gaze trained on Drake. “Your arrival in town is suspect. The other thing that’s suspect is your interest in me. Right from the start, you guys have been on me. Why is that?”

  “You mean that day at the lake? That was a coincidence.”

  I didn’t believe that for a second. “No, I think you were there for a specific reason. I also think you were on the beach outside the restaurant that night for a reason ... and in the woods the following day ... and again later. You might think you’re smooth — or maybe you don’t care — but nobody is falling for your act.”

  Drake’s expression didn’t change, but his shoulders slouched a bit. “I don’t think I like what you’re insinuating.”

  “And I don’t think I care.”

  “You want to watch how much attitude you sling around,” he warned. “That won’t go over well in wolf circles. Well ... in circles with real wolves who aren’t neutered, I mean.” The derisive look he shot in Gunner’s direction was enough to make me bare my teeth. “Not everyone will find that mouth of yours entertaining.”

  “I guess it’s good I have more than a mouth, huh?” On a whim, I sent out a bolt of magic. It was visible as it escaped from my fingertips, a green lash that barreled toward Drake, gaining speed as it moved.

  He saw it at the last second. Perhaps he wasn’t expecting it, which is how he overlooked it at the start. It didn’t matter, though. The magic was on him before he could react, smacking into his chest with enough force that he was thrown off the sidewalk and slammed into the road.

  For his part, Gunner continued eating his fish and chips rather than reacting. He seemed blasé, although I could feel the mirth rolling off him.

  “What the ... ?” Drake sputtered as he struggled to a sitting position in the middle of the street. Thankfully, Hawthorne Hollow is a small town and there was very little traffic. “Why did you do that?” He was incensed.

  “Why not?”

  “Because ... because ... .”

  Gunner nipped a fry from my takeout container and dunked it in ketchup. “We’ll see you at the gathering tonight. I can’t wait to tell this story, by the way.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  Gunner’s eyes were narrowed to slits. “Try me.”

  The testosterone show was officially back on. Something told me it was going to be worse at the gathering.

  Ah, well, at least I had something to look forward to.

  Twenty-Two

  I wasn’t sure what to wear to a gathering. Ultimately, I settled on jeans and a simple black shirt. I liked the vee in the neck that made it appear I had more cleavage than I really did. Apparently Gunner agreed, because when he met me on the porch at our designated pickup time his eyes took an appreciative roam before locking with mine.

  “Is this okay?” Oddly, I felt nervous, an emotion to which I rarely fell victim.

  “You look perfect.” He smiled and then shook his head. “I’ll have to beat the other wolves off with a really big stick.”

  “I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

  “I know. You can take care of yourself.” He rolled his eyes when he said the words. “You don’t have to keep repeating yourself.”

  “Oh, not that. I mean ... I can take care of myself. But that’s not what I was talking about. There’s a curse on my jeans.”

  He furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand.”

  “I know how my butt looks in these jeans. That’s why I bought them.”

  His smile turned sly. “You do look really good in the jeans.”

  “You’re not the first to think so. I’ve received several errant grabs.” His expression fell and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. “The thing is, I don’t believe I should have to change my wardrobe because a few people can’t keep their hands to themselves. With that in mind, I cast a curse on the jeans. Anyone who does a little reaching and grabbing without being invited gets a nasty shock ... and a little something else.”

  He tilted his head to the side, considering. “What’s the ‘something else’?”

  “You’ll only find out if your hands wander.”

  “What if you want my hands to wander?”

  “There’s a failsafe built in ... but I haven’t given you permission for wandering hands, so until that happens watch yourself.”

  His smile only widened. “Have I mentioned how much I like it when you’re stern?”

  I shook my head. “You’re kind of a pig.”

  “Well, we’re going to be hanging out with a lot of wolves this evening. I know you don’t want to hear it, but it would be better if you stick close to my side. I may be a pig … but I’m a pig you happen to like, which is better than you’ll be getting from them. Do you think you can manage that?”

  “Yes, but not because you need to protect me. I want to be close in case you need me to protect you.”

  “I’m fine with that.” He held out his hand to me. “It will be a fun experiment, watching the others take you in. I think the protection bit will occur naturally.”

  Something told me he was right.

  IT MADE SENSE FOR US TO ride our bikes. The gathering was in the woods, about three miles as the crow flies from the cabin. It took us almost ten minutes to drive by road, though, and I found my nerves were back when we landed.

  “What is this place?” I asked, glancing around as I removed my helmet.

  “We used to have gatherings here ourselves,” Gunner explained, following suit. It was warm enough that he stripped out of his jacket and stashe
d it in the storage compartment under his seat. I followed suit because I didn’t want to keep track of my coat, but my eyes never left his face.

  “There has to be more to the story than that,” I prodded.

  He sighed and nodded. “I told you about when Cyrus split from the pack, how he took some people with him?”

  I had no idea where he was going with this but I nodded. “You told me the basics.”

  “Well, as part of that split, there was a fight.” He turned grim. “Wolves aren’t allowed to just abandon their packs. It can lead to death ... and in this case it led to a fight.”

  “Obviously Cyrus didn’t die.”

  “No, but several others did — on both sides — and it happened right here.”

  I swallowed hard. “Oh.” I glanced around the space, which was open and pleasant. The setting sun cast an ominous red glow over the clearing now that I knew what really happened here. “They couldn’t have picked this location by accident.”

  “Not even a little.”

  “So ... why?” I was genuinely curious.

  “He wants to send a message.” Gunner kept his eyes on the curious faces as he slid his arm around my waist. It wasn’t a proprietary move as much as a protective one. “He plans to stick around and challenge the other pack, my former pack, for dominance.”

  “You said you basically had nothing to do with your pack. Will you get involved?”

  “I won’t have a choice. Cyrus isn’t a good man. You’ve seen that for yourself. While I’m not particularly fond of pack politics, sometimes you really do have to pick the lesser evil.”

  Sadly, that made sense. “He won’t pick a fight with you tonight, will he?”

  “He shouldn’t. It would be stupid. He will be laying out the hard sell, though ... for both of us.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m never going to join a pack regardless. It’s not my thing.”

  “You’ve already joined a pack. What do you think our group is?”

  “I ... .” It wasn’t the first time he’d brought it up, and the more I thought about it the more I realized he was right. “I guess it’s a pack of a different sort.”

  “Without a doubt.” He squeezed my hand. “Come on. I’ll show you around. Try to ignore all the stares. I guarantee we’re the main event here tonight.”

  THE TOUR DIDN’T TAKE VERY long. In fact, other than the bonfire and the river, there wasn’t much to look at.

  “This is directly behind my cabin, right?” We took a break from walking around to toss stones into the river and have a quiet conversation without having to worry about other wolves eavesdropping. The rushing water was enough to drown us out.

  “About three miles that way,” Gunner noted, pointing.

  I looked in that direction and nodded. “Right. That’s not very far.”

  “No, especially when there’s running involved.”

  “Can you run faster in your wolf form?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Have you not spent a lot of time around shifters?”

  That was an interesting question. “Not as much as you might think. I know this is going to sound weird, but when I first started with Spells Angels I was irrationally afraid of wolf shifters.”

  His eyebrows drew together. “Just wolf shifters? What about the other shifter varieties?”

  “I don’t remember thinking about them as much. It was the wolves I feared.”

  “Why? You’re stronger than most shifters.”

  “I ... .” There was no easy answer to that question. “I’m not sure. I said it was an irrational fear. All I knew is that my palms got sweaty and my heart started pounding when I was near them.”

  “You weren’t that way with me when we first met.”

  “That’s because I cast a spell over myself years ago so I would stop acting like a crazy person. It was getting embarrassing.”

  Gunner shifted from one foot to the other, his expression hard to read. “Do you think that’s a good idea? I mean ... your instincts are usually pretty good. Do you want to shut them off that way?”

  “I get what you’re saying, but I couldn’t operate when I was overcome with fear like that. Besides, I’m pretty sure I know why I reacted that way.”

  “Why?”

  “I told you about the dream. Er, memory. Maybe it’s both, I don’t know. I’ve been plagued by similar dreams my entire life. In all of them, wolves are chasing me and they’re painted as bad.”

  He swallowed hard. “Yeah, but ... maybe from your perspective wolves are bad people. You might not be safe dampening your natural instincts this way.”

  I couldn’t hide my surprise. “Are you saying you want me to fear you?”

  “Absolutely not.” He vehemently shook his head. “I want you to trust me. It’s just ... now I’m a little worried. You said that Drake and Flint managed to sneak up on you twice, that your senses let you down. Maybe this is why.”

  “Or maybe I was amped up because I was fighting a siren and spending time with you.”

  He flashed a quick grin. “As much as I would like to believe I have that sort of power with you, I’m not sure it’s true. I just ... I’m a little concerned.”

  “You mean you’re a worrywart,” I countered, smirking despite the serious nature of the discussion. “You don’t have to be. I did this years ago. I’ve been fine ever since. It’s not as if I killed my instincts. I simply muted the fear.”

  “Because the woman in your dream told you to be afraid of shifters.” He didn’t look thrilled at the prospect. “I wonder why she was so terrified of shifters getting their hands on you.”

  “I don’t know.” That was the truth. “She said not all shifters were bad. I have a feeling she planned on eventually teaching me a way to suss out the difference. She never got the chance.”

  “And you can’t remember what happened right before?”

  “No.”

  He was silent for a beat and then cracked a smile. “Maybe one day when you least expect it the memories will come roaring back.”

  That was a nice thought, but I wasn’t sure I should hold out hope. “Maybe.”

  We went back to our stone tossing. It was a way for us to stand close and still isolate ourselves from the others. After several minutes, I felt a presence move in behind us, and when I turned around I wasn’t surprised to find Cyrus watching us with unveiled interest.

  “Can we help you?” Gunner drawled. From all outward appearances he seemed calm. But I knew better. He was poised and ready for action. With that in mind, I took to scanning the other wolves in case they decided to move on us while Cyrus served as a distraction.

  “I simply came over to offer my thanks,” Cyrus replied, an amiable if empty smile on his face. “I wasn’t sure you would attend tonight’s festivities. I’m glad you saw past your personal bias, the untrue stories I’m sure you’ve heard, and decided to give us a chance.”

  Gunner’s eyes narrowed. “A chance for what?”

  “To change your direction. I mean ... you’ve always been a smart boy, Gunner. I remember when you were competing against the other kids in your age group at gatherings. You excelled ... and not just on the physical front.

  “Given your size, we all expected you to be a tremendous athlete,” he continued. “That meant you’d become a solid warrior, even though your father seemed horrified by the thought. Did you ever ask yourself why he didn’t want you using the gifts you were given?”

  I was confused, out of my depth. It was obvious that Cyrus was trying to drive home a point. To me, the manner in which he chose to do it felt awkward and rude. A quick glimpse at Gunner’s face told me he felt the same way.

  “It would probably be best if you didn’t speak poorly about my father,” he warned, choosing his words carefully. “You don’t know him.”

  “Are you sure? I bet I know him better than you. We grew up together.”

  “That doesn’t mean you know him.”

  “He was always a rule-follower,” Cyrus
continued, either oblivious to Gunner’s growing annoyance or purposely ignoring it. I was leaning toward the latter. “He didn’t understand that rules are made to be broken. That’s what I did when I split from the pack. And look at us now.” He extended his arms to encompass the individuals milling about the clearing. “We’re thriving.”

  I knew I should keep my mouth shut. This was Gunner’s show, after all. I couldn’t quite will myself to follow the rules I’d set before leaving the cabin, though. “If you’re doing so well, why are you here?” I demanded, curiosity getting the better of me. “You set up shop in mid-Michigan. Why wouldn’t you stay there after spending so much time setting up a new home base?”

  Cyrus’s eyes flashed with something I couldn’t identify. It felt like malice. “I missed home. No matter what happened here, this is still my home.”

  He was a terrible liar. I couldn’t understand how he maintained control of his pack when he was so bad at spinning a story. “So ... it had nothing to do with Covenant College falling?” I decided to go for broke. The worst he could do was verbally slap me back. Even if he tried to physically attack, Gunner and I could take him. I had no doubt about that. When you added in the rest of the pack, though, I was less certain. There were a lot of them.

  “Covenant College?” Cyrus let loose a hollow laugh. “Why would I care about Covenant College?”

  I risked a glance to my left and found Drake loitering by the trees. He seemed agitated, as if my magical showing earlier in the afternoon had left him with serious anger issues, but he kept his distance. The look on his face told me I was on the right track.

  “The college was known to be a hotbed of paranormal activity,” Gunner replied for me. “There was a wolf pack there — bitten wolves who had superiority complexes — and they tried to take over several times.”

  “I believe they were swatted back several times,” I offered. “A mage was involved each time the wolves suffered a defeat. Were those wolves part of your pack?”

  “Why would I care about having a presence on a college campus?”