by Holly Hook
Noah says nothing to us for the rest of lunch. Olivia helps Noah write down the answers to his homework questions. It's cute, and she's been nothing but good to him since he got hurt by that falling beam, but Noah keeps his shoulders hiked with the bottled-up tension. Cayden probably has some words about that, too.
Lunch passes without incident, and the tension remains high at my normal table across the room. Ellie, though she's starting to warm up to me again, still isn't talking to me a whole lot. My senses tell me the anger she has won't cool for another month or so. Or until she finds another boyfriend. I take back Brett's book once Noah is finished and Cayden and I take our trays over to Everly and Remo's table.
Cayden and I push our chairs together so our hips are touching. We draw stares from some of the girls, but I don't mind them anymore. Our bond is so strong I don't see anything tearing us apart.
With one possible exception, but he might be gone. I might have defeated him. And that makes this moment so much better.
“So far, Lawrence hasn't come back,” I say, sniffing the air. The familiar scent of students and the lunches they're eating fills the space.
“That guy needs to get a life,” Everly says.
Cayden's jaw drops. “You're the one saying that?”
I'm not in the mood to joke. I spot Leonora coming out of the lunch line, and she heads over to our table with a tray in hand. For once, she's eating cafeteria food instead of the organic stuff her parents used to force her to bring. I wave her over, because I want to talk about Callie, regardless of whether Remo's sitting here.
With a glance at Everly (did she pass the note?) Leonora sits down. “So, how is Callie?”
“So far, I've heard that she's still fine,” I say. “Makeup came to the rescue. And I'll cut right to it. I overheard you and Remo talking about a cure for being a werewolf a long time ago. I didn't mean to do it, but you know how my hearing is.”
Cayden snaps his gaze from me to Leonora. “A cure?”
I hate to put her on the spot, but Callie might need our help. Both Remo and Leonora blush. They make such a great couple.
“Really. I didn't mean to intrude.”
“It's okay,” Remo says. “I'm adjusting to this. Finally. Things are better than they used to be. I hated being a Wolf at first because of a lot of other things. Moving away. Losing my family. All that stuff. But now that things have settled down—”
“It's fine, man,” Cayden says, gripping the table. “I'm glad things are working out for you.”
I sense Leonora is a big reason Remo's happier than he used to be. He scoots closer to her.
“Are you sure?” Cayden asks.
“If you hadn't bit me,” Remo says, “I would have died in that car. There wouldn't be a chance at all of me going to uni.”
I swallow. We still haven't worked out a way he can ever get relieved of pack duties and be free to go to college. But a girlfriend is a good step.
Cayden drops his shoulders in relief. “Glad to hear it.”
I beam until I remember Callie. “Okay. Callie has a ten percent chance of infection. Well, according to the Hunters' guides I haven't seen yet. I'm sure she's read everything cover to cover.” Callie's even more eager than Noah and on the same level as Wyatt. “Is there a way we can help her? Leonora? Those spirits your family is working on?”
“Uncle Edwin says they're just meant to hold back the dark spirits,” she says. “An infection is different. I was looking up magical ways to remove one before, for Remo, and all I could find was some old guides on herbs to cure regular sicknesses.”
I grab the table. Callie might be okay, might—but a ten percent risk is too much. The fierce protectiveness rises in me again, and not just for the pack, but for everyone in town and even in Colling. Callie could become dangerous. "We have two weeks to figure it out.”
I can't kill her. I just can't. But it's my decision on what we're going to do about her. That makes me want to throw my tray at the wall, but I sigh and hold it together. This is what Cayden had to do while alpha, when we thought Olivia might be in danger.
“We have two weeks,” Cayden repeats. “Callie will understand that we'll need to keep an eye on her.”
“How deep was the scratch? If it's still open, I can try a few things,” Leonora says. “But I'm not sure if they'll work.”
“Like what?” I ask.
“Wolfsbane would be dangerous to put in her wound. It was used to tip arrows and take down bears. All that would do is poison her. Other herbs might do the same thing. And I don't think it would cure anyone, anyway.”
“Then what could? Plain old hydrogen peroxide? We did that already.”
“Healing herbs, maybe.” Leonora pushes her food around her tray like she doesn't know what to do with it. “Remo and I talked about using some of those to fix him, but we were really just grasping at nothing. It would take very advanced magic to fix Callie, if it would even work at all. And not the type that Uncle Edwin and the rest of the family use. A witch would have to work for a whole lifetime to come up with something that could even remotely help.”
“Did you ask your Uncle Edwin?” I ask.
“I did. He told me not to let my imagination get away with me. I really don't like the guy. He still treats my parents like they're second-class family members. They made a mistake years ago. Sheesh.”
“He's incredibly stuck up. That was a stupid reason for the Noble Order to break apart.”
“Well, to be fair, everyone thought all the Nobles were dead,” Leonora says. She takes a bite of the mystery meat, which smells like pork.
“True.” Cayden wraps his arm around me and pulls me close. I rest against his perfect body and listen to his breaths. My heart races and I know what I want to do with him again, if only we could steal some privacy for once. It's a hot commodity I'd pay for, but with Romulus gone, I'm willing to find a way to bribe the whole pack. If they could just go away for a whole night—
“Wait,” Remo says. “Your family has been trying to summon the spirit of Remus. So the cult attached Romulus to Brie for a while, and even though she got rid of him, we know it can work. Maybe Remus could protect Callie?”
“She's not descended from him. My Hunter family fights Savages because they're ashamed of coming from the other guy,” I say. “Or at least, that was their reason at first.”
“It might be worth a shot?” Leonora asks.
“If you guys can find Remus,” I add.
“Well, since he hasn't had a cult feeding him for centuries, it's taking a while,” she says. “Uncle Edwin has the family meet five times a week in the woods. They meditate and work on new rites to summon Remus. Uncle Edwin has spent a lot of money—”
“Magic needs money?” Cayden asks.
“Well, he ordered a small statue of the wolf twins from Amazon—”
“From Amazon!” Cayden bursts out laughing.
“Hey. Let her talk,” Everly says.
“Edwin says it was a concentration aid. We use those in rituals to get in the right state of mind. He's also bought tons of mythology books because we lost a lot of our old ones. Roman style swords. Anything to get us closer to what Remus would have been.”
“Makes sense,” I say, trying to cover for Cayden.
“And we're still having trouble,” Leonora says. “Edwin thinks Remus might still be out there, but he might have moved on to some other spirit world or he's weakened so much he's dormant. Something's not connecting.”
I swallow. “Idea. Maybe you need something that's actually connected to Remus?” I hold up my hand, flexing my fingers. Though I'm not sure how Remus would save Callie from infection, or at least give her peace of mind, it's worth a shot.
Leonora's jaw drops. “Why hasn't Edwin thought of that?”
Tension gathers in my gut, so I rest my head on Cayden's shoulder.
He speaks for me. “Is it because he knows Brie came from two families that shouldn't have come together?” Unlike Alex and the
Guardian Wolves, he would know about my real parents.
Leonora doesn't answer at first. She pales and picks at her food instead, which just makes the tension river in my stomach turn to a raging river. “Maybe,” she admits. “Edwin doesn't talk about it much. He's kept it quiet and I haven't heard him calling the Hunters or anything.”
“Are you sure?” This is why my nerves are exploding. Edwin could reveal everything and I don't have the power to stop him.
“If he was going to tell Alex and the Guardian Wolves about your real parents, he would have by now,” Leonora says.
“In other words,” Cayden whispers in my ear, “he doesn't think you're a threat they can't deal with.”
“When is your next meeting?” I ask. “I'm supposed to work at the store tonight since we're still hanging on, but only for a couple of hours. I'm sure Aunt May would take my place if she understands.”
“Or she could go?” Leonora asks. “I have to work, too.”
I forgot. “Oh. So the next session is tonight?” I'm beginning to wonder if Edwin left town years ago for reasons other than the Russells' mistake. Maybe he's not the jerk I thought he was.
Maybe he was trying to protect me from the rest of the Order?
“Yeah. We're going to meet at seven.”
“That gives me time to go home and have dinner,” I say.
“No dinner,” Leonora says. “If you're going to participate in magic, it's best you don't eat beforehand. Afterwards is better. You need to have your energy freed up before you come and digesting food takes a lot of it. Oh, and take a bath beforehand, too. When you do, focus on clearing any bad energy you might have.”
“Should be able to. Aunt May mans the store from five to nine, so I'll have the house to myself.”
Next to me, Cayden grins. My heart races even faster. Electricity pulses under my skin. I know what he's thinking.
My throat goes dry. “Is there anything else that might interfere with magic?”
“Come in a good mood,” she says with a wink.
Chapter Seventeen
I man the counter in Sterling Grocery, and as expected, the time creeps down slower than it ever has. I'm looking forward to that coveted alone time with Cayden, now that I know we won't have any unpleasant interruptions. Aunt May's still at home, taking a much-needed break, and she'll be here at five to relieve me and Leonora. I rock on the stool, listening as she rearranges the display of fresh tomatoes for the second time. Business is still slow, but at least the older ladies keep coming in. We're staying afloat so far.
Especially since I'm still working for free.
Cayden sweeps into the store, walking across the old boards with grace as I ring up Mrs. Fogerty. She smells of cats and heavy perfume and has now taken to feeding her pets organic meat with supplements.
“...and Mr. Whiskers has lost his belly since I started feeding him this way,” she finishes. “Their coats are incredibly shiny...”
Cayden waves from behind her and I struggle to hold back a smile. He has something behind his back, and I smell chocolate. Milk chocolate, a forbidden substance in Sterling Grocery.
Mrs. Fogerty keeps me occupied, talking about cat health for the next five minutes, and at last, she takes her paper bags of groceries and leaves. Cayden sweeps into her place with a perfect smile. “I figured that as a way to keep all the dark spirits away from us and to keep ourselves from getting possessed, I'd use a new weapon.”
“Just show me the candy bar,” I say.
He does. He's brought me a bar the size of Montana.
“Cayden!” I leap over the counter and give him a hug.
“I figured we could share,” he says.
“Sounds great. I have thirty more minutes before I get out. Leonora said I shouldn't eat, though—”
“Just not a big meal,” she says from deep within the store.
Cayden plops onto the stool beside me, the flowery one, and we take turns biting out of the bar. Everything's perfect for once. It's as if the universe is rewarding me for casting out Romulus. And it wasn't even that hard to do.
He has no right to call me weak.
By the time Cayden and I finish, Aunt May sweeps through the door. “I've brought relief,” she says with a wink. “Here you go."
I love her. She's not dumb and knows Cayden and I will be having fun when we get to the house, but she also trusts me not to be stupid. Besides, things are different after turning. Maybe Aunt May would have been more uptight as a regular human. I don't know.
We depart together, and Leonora leaves the store with us. "See you at seven?"
"See you at seven." I can't contain my grin.
Hand in hand, Cayden and I run back to my house, taking a trail we've taken many times. My heart races with anticipation and the minutes stretch out as we take the two-mile trip back. We bolt past the back of the school and cross the paved trail leading to the park. At last, we reach the woods behind my house.
And I freeze, still holding Cayden's hand. Dread explodes as a familiar scent washes over me.
"Lawrence was here."
I sniff as my guts turn over. The musky, salty scent is almost overpowering. And it gets worse as I step out of the woods and into the field behind my house.
"I smell it now," Cayden says. "Please don't go inside by yourself."
My house is dark and quiet. I don't hear anyone shuffling around inside, but I do hear the back door swinging on a squeaky hinge. It's open slightly, waving in the wind. Like someone broke the lock.
Aunt May left maybe half an hour ago. She walked to work. That left ample time for someone to have come in and out.
"Lawrence. We're driving him out," I say, breaking into a run. I crash weeds as I lose all grace.
"Brie!" Cayden follows.
We reach the back door at the same time. Though it looks shut right now, a pull confirms the broken lock. How else could another Wolf have gotten in here? I sniff the doorknob. Yes. Lawrence for sure. "I thought he was a smart guy, but I guess not. He could have worn gloves." Quaking anger fills me.
"I agree," Cayden says, stepping into the house behind me.
My heart aches as I eye the bookshelf and the ten thousand old books thrown on the floor. Some have landed on their backs while others lie open, displaying pictures of ships, drawn houses, and fancy letters. Drawers lie open in the kitchen. Lawrence has thrown silverware and old appliance manuals on the floor.
"I'm going to kill him!" I shout. "He's definitely breaking pack law!"
"No kidding." Cayden follows me as I storm up the stairs to my bedroom. "I'll help."
"What is he doing?" I ask, hating the high pitch of my voice. "Does he think he's going to find some dirt or proof I cheated—"
I freeze at the top of the stairs.
The attic door lies open, with the ladder drawn. Ice fills me at the sight. It's as if Lawrence was looking for private things, family secrets...
Does Lawrence know I'm from a forbidden union?
Cayden wraps his arms around me from behind and pulls me close. He knows, too. "Your box of your mom's things. We need to check it."
"That's under my bed. Not the attic." I put the stairs up and close the attic door. Rage pumps through me, at both my ruined fun with Cayden and with the violation of privacy. So much for going to Leonora's in a good mood.
As I walk to my room, Cayden keeps his arms around me, so we move as a unit. That's the closest we're getting to intimacy today. Sad. The thought makes me want to throttle Lawrence even more.
But not as much as the fact that my bedroom is trashed. Trashed as in, my mattress is halfway off my bed and my bed sheets are thrown over my computer desk. My closet lies open like it's vomited the contents into my room. Clothes. Underwear.
In shock, Cayden releases me. "Lawrence dies."
I whirl to face him. My throat hurts with my racing pulse. "Why make this obvious?"
"He was in a hurry," Cayden says, kneeling on the floor and peeking under the bed. He
throws the mattress back onto my bed in one swipe. "The box. It's gone."
"Shit!" I pace around the room, mind spinning. All Lawrence has to do is take the box to Alex and then the truth will come out. Alex will come for me, and there's not much Callie can do to stop it. Lawrence will unseat me with a single move, and worse, the new pack members won't question it. Not if Alex does the deed.
Cayden straightens up. "He can't be far. He has miles between him and Colling. Maybe we can catch him if we can hop on the quad. Even as a Wolf he wouldn't outrun that."
"How does pack law work on this?" I ask.
"Lawrence stepped out of line, and you have the right to kill him."
I swallow as a chill flows through my limbs and settles in my chest. He's still a Noble Wolf, and I fear hurting him will bring Romulus back. What if the Savage King is still bound to me? Or worse—what if I have to fight Alex? I will if Lawrence reaches the Hunter in time.
"The quad," I say, running down the stairs.
Cayden left it parked in the back. We have to go for it. I tear open the back door, letting it swing in the wind. The house is already ransacked. Why bother to secure it?
The quad waits, and as I approach it, Cayden pulls the key out and shouts a terrifying sentence:
"We're on fumes."
We never filled the quad back up. That's why Lawrence didn't take it back. Though I know we don't have any gas cans lying around, I scan the back of our house, anyway. Or do we? The lawnmower would have to—
"Where are you going?" Cayden shouts as I bolt around to the garage.
I'm not sure if it's the right kind of gas, but I sigh in relief when I spot the red can lying next to the mower. I thank Aunt May for not hiring the mowing out and for being cheap this year. Gas sloshes in the can as I run back to the quad. "We're saved."
"Great!" He takes the can and pours it into the quad. Tossing it down, he hops on. "Ready for the most insane driving I've ever done?"
I hop on behind him and wrap my arms around his torso. "Mow him down if you have to," I say.