by Jayne Hawke
Elijah handed me a plate which was half as full as his. Liam gave Castor a plate which was stacked as high as Liam’s own.
“I know witches don’t eat the way we do,” Elijah said with a smile.
It was a weirdly sweet gesture.
The food they’d ordered was incredible. I loved Indian food, and they’d somehow managed to pick out all of my favourite things. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Liam did a little spying.
The pasanda was beautifully balanced with a soft almond taste and tender chicken. It was a nice mild curry, which went fantastically with the na’an bread. Elijah had ensured that I had a good helping of Bombay potatoes, which crumbled in my mouth. The chunks of potato took the edge off the spicy sauce. I watched with horror as Jess stuffed her na’an bread with Bombay potatoes, vindaloo, and pasanda. The flat bread was bursting with curried meat and potatoes. The flavours must have been awful together.
She bit into it and moaned in pleasure, and that was it. That was the moment I knew that she had no taste buds.
Thirty-Six
The evening with pack was far more relaxed than I’d been expected. I spent most of the evening curled up with Elijah with my head resting on his chest. Every now and again, Jess or Liam would ask a random question about being a witch. It was nothing rude or probing, just idle curiosity.
“What does magic feel like? I’ve heard talk of threads.”
“It’s different for each witch. A lot of witches do experience it as threads. It’s broader for me. Some magic is heavy broad sensations, others are more ethereal and mist like.”
Jess’s brows scrunched together in thought.
“I thought witches couldn’t function outside of a coven,” Liam said.
I shrugged.
“Covens are a family and business entity. Most witches like being a part of that; it brings comfort and financial security. I like being out on my own.”
“Not entirely alone. And you don’t have to be, not always,” Elijah said softly.
Rex had slowly relaxed over the course of the evening. He even stopped glaring when Liam stood up. I wasn’t quite ready to hope that he’d come around to the idea of my hanging out with his alpha just yet, though. Still, it was exactly what I’d needed. I was feeling refreshed and happier than I had done in a long time. I’d craved a tight-knit group like that my entire life, and now it was within my grasp.
Assuming the stalker or whatever the other person was didn’t fuck it up for me.
“Why don’t you come and run with us, Castor?” Liam asked.
Castor sat up a little straighter. I didn’t know if he’d ever run with other shifters before. He refused to speak on his life before he’d joined me.
“I’d love to,” Castor said with a grin.
Jess bounced over to him.
“We’d love to have you.”
“Try to keep up, short legs,” Rex said.
Castor looked over to Elijah and me.
“Have fun,” I said with a smile.
He needed that run. There was a shine in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before. I’d tried to ensure that Castor had a good life, but I’d never be a shifter. There were some things I just couldn’t provide for him.
Once the others had gone out the back door, Elijah turned to me.
“You and I need to talk,” he growled.
That was not how I’d expected this to go.
“Excuse me?”
“I know you’re special. I just don’t know quite how. I suspect it relates to that coven in Inverness. Now, you’ve put my pack into danger, and I need to know why. I care about you, Lily, but I am still an alpha. The time for lies and secrets has come to an end.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” I said as I stood.
“Am I?”
“Yes. I’m a witch. Yes, I’m a damn good witch, but still just a witch.”
“You know, it’s interesting. Liam’s been digging into the Inverness coven, and he said some people think that a deity was involved in the massacre. There’s an entire group devoted to finding the witch that survived, as they think she herself might be a goddess.”
I rolled my eyes.
“People will invent all sorts of stories to make themselves feel good.”
Elijah stood up and towered over me. He gave me his full alpha glare.
“Lily, I really want to bring you into this pack, but I can’t do that if you’re holding something back.”
I stared him down and tried to decide what I was supposed to do next. Did I turn and walk away from this amazing pack and the opportunity they represented? Or did I take the risk on giving him the truth? What if I was wrong about him? What if Rex sold me out to the myriad of people who would hunt me down just for being what the goddess had turned me into? Shadow weavers were considered too dangerous, too powerful to be allowed to live. People believed that our ability to pull on the shadow and the beings that lived there gave us too much power. They feared that we would use that shadow and those beings to establish ourselves as rulers.
Shadow weavers had been driven out of existence at the same time as the planes walking witches. People were terrified of anything other than the fae who could deal with the magic outside of the earth plane. It was ridiculous. The fact that I’d hidden in plain sight and done nothing of the sort should have been enough, but I knew it wouldn’t be.
My heart was pounding against my ribs. I so desperately wanted to have the sanctuary, the ability to switch off and have real friends. It was unfair to drag them into that, though.
“I’m a witch, I could never be part of your pack. I’d appreciate if you extended that privilege to Castor, though. He’s been away from his own kind for too long.”
Elijah closed his eyes and sighed.
“You know where to find me when you’re ready. We’ll make sure Castor gets home ok later.”
And just like that, the feeling of happiness evaporated. I hoped I’d made the right decision.
Thirty-Seven
Castor was like a new person. He bounced around the kitchen that morning and couldn’t keep the grin off his face. Even a week with a pair of stunning nymphs hadn’t made him that happy.
“We’re making it a regular thing. We’re going to run together twice a week,” he had exclaimed.
I was happy for him, truly I was.
The weight that had formed when I’d left the pack house had only grown as I ate the crepes for breakfast. I didn’t want to go to the office and face Elijah. Still, I needed to be a professional and find those missing items. The sensation of losing something special wasn’t going to stop the fact that I had a stalker to deal with. Maybe Liam had found something that morning that would finally rid me of them.
Castor shouted after me as I got into my car.
“A new client just came in. Elijah has the details.”
I ground my teeth. He could have just passed me the details and let me handle it.
“Thanks!”
I drove more aggressively than I should have. That morning was going to be difficult and unpleasant. I wanted to get out into the city and do things alone for a while. That was what I’d grown accustomed to over the years, and I needed it for a little while.
“This new client is interesting. Apparently, a note was left behind where the stolen item had been. It said they should hire Lily Harper, because no one else would be able to find the item,” Elijah said.
I groaned. That wasn’t going to do my reputation any good. It made it look like I’d stolen the damn thing.
“So, the stalker struck again,” I said.
“It would appear so. Miss Taylor is expecting us in half an hour,” Elijah said.
“What was stolen this time?”
“A piece of a dagger that’s reputed to cut through any veil, to any plane.”
My eyes went wide. I’d always thought that dagger was nothing more than a myth. I’d read about it growing up. It had been forged by one of the first fallen gods. They’d planned o
n using it to return to the god plane. The gods were pissed and broke the dagger into six pieces. Of course, it could just be a little kid’s story, but the fact that someone had what was supposed to be a shard still seemed huge to me.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Liam said with a grin.
“It’s only a shard,” Rex said.
“Yea but if you had the whole dagger, just think of the adventures! You could explore any plane,” Liam said.
“Sounds dangerous. There are supposed to be dangerous things on the shadow plane. And the Wilds on Fae are supposed to be savage. Think about what’s hiding on the other planes we don’t know anything about,” Rex said.
Liam rolled his eyes.
Elijah was still and didn’t pay me any more attention than was absolutely necessary as we went through the routine of making coffee. The drive over to this Miss Taylor’s place was going to be agonising.
Elijah had turned the radio up loud and kept his eyes forward. There was no easy banter, no snarky commentary, just an unpleasant silence.
Halfway across the city, I decided I’d had enough of it. I jabbed at the radio to turn it off.
“What’s the problem? So, I didn’t spit out whatever secret you think I have, now you’re giving me the cold shoulder?”
“Lily, I know that you were lying to me. I could hear it. I smelled the panic rolling off you. If you want to keep your secret, so be it. That’s your prerogative. As an alpha, I have to keep my pack safe. Allowing someone with a big secret close is not going to do that.”
I rolled my jaw. I should have let it go. He was right. I was being selfish and putting the pack at risk.
“Why can’t you accept that sometimes things just need to remain hidden?”
“Because that isn’t how packs work, and you have a stalker who murders people.”
He had me there.
“Come on, it’s not as if I put an ad up asking for murderous stalkers!”
“No, but the fact that you attracted one makes me think that you’re not good for my pack.”
Why was I trying to fight so hard for this? For him?
Because his kiss set my body on fire, and I felt real happiness while I was with him.
“I can’t help if some crazy decides to get some weird fantasy into their head. You cannot blame me for that.”
He sighed.
“I can’t trust you while you’re so obviously keeping a big secret. I’m sorry.”
I needed to either let him go entirely or trust him with Castor’s life and mine. Fuck.
Thirty-Eight
Miss Taylor’s house was smaller than I’d expected. It was a blocky little stone affair set at the end of a short road near the edge of the city. She had hired someone to put up a rather impressive security system around her little plot. It felt as though it would fry any of the fae creatures that hid in the forest, should they try and come into her garden or home. I didn’t blame her. There were all sorts of dangerous things in there.
Castor had insisted that I go into the forest to practise my combat, especially with shadow weapons. The first thing I’d come up against was a pride of brilliant blue and yellow lions. Their shoulders were almost level with my own. They had fought with remarkable intelligence, changing tactics as they learnt from my own approaches. I’d only killed one of them, and it had taken an hour. Nothing had ever made me work as hard as that lion had. Castor’s point had been proven.
The forest creatures soon came to know me and stayed away from my vicious blades, which could cut through even the dragon’s protective runes. Now I could walk through there without seeing so much as a shred of life. It was a shame, really.
“You must be Miss Harper, come in,” Miss Taylor said.
She wasn’t much older than me with her dark hair up in a simple bun. Her home was industrial on the inside with exposed brick walls, polished concrete floors, and pipes running across the ceiling that I was pretty sure weren’t actually connected to anything.
“This is where the shard was,” she said as she directed us to a room overlooking the large garden.
A small round glass table stood in the middle of the room that was a study in greys. I glanced around and saw a pair of earrings made from a fae bird that was exceptionally rare. A stone formed from phoenix fire sat in the far left corner. She had real money.
Elijah huffed and muttered about sea salt. So, the stalker was responsible. That didn’t make me feel much better. At that point, I’d have rather it was a rival trying to set me up.
Reaching out with my witch senses, I prepared to feel the usual magical void that the stalker left behind. It wasn’t there. Instead, a single piece of magic lay flush with the table. I knew the magic. It came from a tree that I sat beneath when I needed somewhere quiet to just be. It was a message. It had to be.
“Thank you, Miss Taylor, we have everything we need,” I said.
“What did you get?” Elijah asked when we were safely back in the car.
I looked out of the window and debated whether to tell him. If I did, there was a good chance he’d insist on going with me. I didn’t want to risk his pack any more than I already had.
“Nothing of use. Just some broken magic,” I said.
“Lies,” he growled.
“Fine. You want to keep your pack safe, so do I. Let me deal with this alone. You’ve already had this stalker try and kill you once, what if they go after Liam next time?” I snarled.
He flashed his teeth at me.
“I care about you, Lily. I will not let you walk into whatever this is alone.”
“That is not your decision to make.”
Elijah pulled the car over and turned to me with a deep growl.
“You are an incredibly infuriating woman. I care about you. How can you possibly think that I might let you stroll into whatever disaster this is?”
“And I care about you and your pack, which is why I need to keep you out of it.”
“My pack can look after themselves.”
“You were snarling at me about having to keep your pack safe last night,” I said, throwing my hands in the air.
Elijah huffed.
“I hate seeing the weight looming over you like a wraith. I want to help.”
I looked into his eyes expecting to see a challenge, lies, something. All that lay there was genuine concern. My resolve and anger slipped away.
“Fine. He left behind some magic from a tree that I like sitting beneath, up on the cliffs. It’s secluded, there could easily be a big trap there.”
“And what really happened when you returned home soaking wet and filthy?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. Being open and answering honestly wasn’t something I was used to, but I didn’t want to lose him.
“I can’t tell you that. Not yet.”
He rolled his jaw.
“As I said. I know you’re no ordinary witch,” he said as he pulled back onto the road.
“Is that a threat?”
He rolled his eyes at me.
“No. I’m telling you that I already know something’s different, and I haven’t run for the hills or tried to sell you out.”
He’d certainly had plenty of opportunities to do both. I wanted to believe that I could tell him, that I could finally have a real family. Maybe once this stalker bullshit was over I’d sit down and tell him everything.
Of course, I’d have a pair of plane tickets ready to go should it go wrong. I wasn’t an idiot.
Thirty-Nine
We headed to Elijah’s office, and I braced myself for the potential fight.
“What happened?” Rex said with a growl.
Elijah looked to me expectantly.
“The stalker took a shard of a dagger that can rip open the veils. Elijah caught his scent, and I found a piece of magic from a tree that I like to sit under.”
“You’re not going...” Liam said.
“Of course I am. This needs to be finished,” I said.
“She’s not goi
ng along. Grab everything you need,” Elijah commanded.
“Don’t be an idiot,” I snapped.
Elijah flashed his teeth at me.
“I get it, wolves aren’t exactly tacticians when it comes to hunting. Your hunting style can best be summed up as, ‘Come on, boys! Let’s chase it!’ But there’s the potential for this guy to wield a great deal of magic, so we need to scope the place out first.”
Jess burst out laughing.
“’Come on boys let’s chase it,’ I love it,” she said, wiping a tear away.
Rex’s wolf was throwing itself against his human skin and felt as though it was baying for my blood. It apparently didn’t like my description as much as Jess had.
“At least we hunt rather than lying around somewhere hoping prey stumbles in front of us so we can jump on it,” Rex snapped at Jess.
That only encouraged her to laugh more.
“Where’s this tree? I’ll see if I can find any cameras or anything around there,” Liam said.
He was so attached to his computer and his technological methods. I didn’t want him in the field where he’d be hurt.
“Why don’t you see if you can stay here and give us support while we tackle this thing?” I said to the fox.
He smiled and began typing furiously.
“Jess, pull yourself together. It’s time to remind us why we keep you around,” Elijah said.
“You keep me around because I’m a delight,” Jess said.
“Rex, settle the fuck down,” Elijah snapped.
Rex looked down and pushed his wolf back within its cage.
“Lily, tell us where we’re going and what we’re walking into.”
I crossed my arms at his sharp commanding tone. I wasn’t one of his underlings.
“Please,” Elijah added.