Sticks & Stones Spell Werewolf Bones: A Why Choose Academy Romance

by Rae Stapleton

  She shrugged free, “I’m afraid not.”

  “What do you mean? I thought you were friends with them.”

  Grand-mère nodded. “Allies, dear. It’s not quite the same thing. I still need an invite to go there. Besides, I hardly think I’m in the Alpha’s good graces now that I’ve broken our deal and his daughter is decaying. We’ll have no more talk of visiting pack territory. Let’s get you back to the New York house before the trackers find us.”

  She picked up her wand and re-cast the portal opening spell.

  36

  Despite the crowd of big and burly types this place seemed to attract, they parted like the red sea when my broad-shouldered, leather-clad bad-boy moved through them. “There he is. See, told you,” I said to Grimm.

  Grimm rolled his eyes and I continued to watch Colten as he strode in, big black motorcycle boots stomping across the scarred wooded floor of the motorcycle bar near campus. The waitress, a brunette in a white crop top and jean skirt approached him and practically drooled. “What can I get you, handsome?”

  “Bourbon, please, ma’am.”

  When he spotted me, he stopped in his tracks as though wondering if he was in the right place, then he rolled his eyes and came to sit across the small table from me.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Midnight?” He turned to Grimm, “What the hell are you thinking, bringing her somewhere like this.”

  “Hey!” I slapped my hand down on the table. “Don’t say that to him. Nobody controls me, thank you very much.”

  “Right. Sorry, Evie. What’s happened?” he demanded.

  “Could I buy you a drink?”

  “I’ve got one on the way. Out with it, already. We both know you’re not here for the ambiance.”

  “I need a favor . . .”

  He snorted. “And you couldn’t wait ‘til I got back to the house? I take it you didn’t run this by the boss?”

  “You’re the only one besides Grimm who doesn’t baby me, Colten. I like that about you.”

  Colten rolled his eyes, “Fine. Stop with the manipulation already. What do you want?”

  “I want you to take me into the woods.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay?” I gave a bitter laugh.

  “Is this a kinky request, ‘cause after the ride I just had, I’m down.”

  “Maybe after,” I winked, “No, I need you to take me into Howl’s territory.”

  “Are you crazy?”

  Two of the tables around them stopped talking and looked over. Wolves.

  Colten glared back and they started talking again.

  Colten lowered his voice, “And just how do you propose to do that?”

  “I don’t know. I was hoping you’d know of a way.”

  He gave me a disbelieving look.

  “Sure, I know a way, but it involves a hell of a lot of violence and a huge risk. Can I ask why?”

  “We found Grand-mère.”

  “You did! Why didn’t Bodhi call me?”

  “He doesn’t know yet.”

  Colten blew through his nostrils like a Chinese dragon in a parade. “Start talking. You have two minutes before I use this and,” he picked up his cell, “alert the team.”

  Evie nodded. “Grand-mère caught Grimm and I snooping in her room.”

  “Her room?”

  “Well, the maid’s room. She’s been disguising herself as the cleaning lady.”

  “What? That nice Lane lady is Grand-mère? Lane. That makes sense.”

  “You found something out on your trip?”

  Colten nodded. “That deceitful bitch! I’m gonna rip her apart.”

  “No, you’re not. She’s innocent. Just listen. So, anyway, after she caught us, she sort of whisked me away to her house through a portal.”

  “She kidnapped you?”

  I shrugged. “She wanted to tell me about her friendship with Maggie. She knew she couldn’t approach me directly. She says she was watching over me and that she was set up.”

  “Wait just a damned second,” he said. “Does this have something to do with the Fae Court?”

  “No, what about it?”

  “Oh, nothing. It’s just something this exotic dancer said…”

  “Exotic dancer? You were out perusing strip clubs in the midst of this chaos?”

  “No, well, yes, but I was working, and she wasn’t really an exotic dancer, I guess—more of a Dominatrix. Her friend was, anyway. The woman whipped me.”

  “Dominatrix? Friend? Keep talking.”

  “Oh, shit. This doesn’t sound good, does it?”

  I squirmed, trying to tamp down my silly green-eyed monster. I knew I was being a bit of a hypocrite since I had multiple boyfriends but that was different. They were sort of like one supernatural being and, anyway, they were the ones who proposed the idea. The only part that bothered them was my relationship with Grimm since he hadn’t been part of the Hellhound. Still, there was no hiding my feelings right now—maybe if I’d had time to process alone.

  “Listen, Evie. I can see you’re mad but honestly it was work. I had to visit this club where apparently Grand-mère hangs out.”

  I leaned back and crossed my arms. “Is that so?”

  “Seriously.” Colten looked to Grimm for help but he just smiled, clearly happy to see someone else struggle for once.

  “Colten.” I forced a smile. “I’m just being silly. Ignore me and carry on.”

  “Well, that was it, really. I couldn’t get much information out of her because I wasn’t willing to seduce her, you know, out of respect for you.”

  “How chivalrous of you,” Grimm teased.

  “Anyway,” I said, redirecting the conversation, “I’m sure you’re starting to understand why I want to verify what Grand-mère told me about being set up.”

  He nodded and kept listening.

  “So, Grand-mère already knew Maggie’s family because Razor hired Grand-mère to do a stasis spell on the body of Maggie’s sister, Chloe, when she died in May.”

  “Since when do witches work for shifters?”

  “That’s what I said! Anyway, she claims that she and Maggie grew close and that Maggie told her about the Fate Clique. How they were torturing us and how according to her sister’s diary, they also tortured her. She asked Grand-mère to help her devise a plan to pay the Fae back. So, Grand-mère spelled Remy to help steal Chloe’s corpse and plant it at the school, making it look like Lennon and her gang had murdered Maggie.”

  “So, Maggie’s alive?”

  I nodded. “She’s hiding out in her father’s territory, and I want to confront her. So, will you help me?”

  He held my eyes for a long moment. Cynicism was edged out, just barely, by something very rare for Colten: hope.

  He blew out a loud breath. “I think it’s dangerous, but it’s worth a shot.”

  “Thanks.”

  “But we need to tell the rest of the unit what we’re doing.”

  “Colten! No! They’ll never agree.”

  “Just wait here. I’ll be back. I mean it, Evie. I need to take a leak and then I’ll call them. Wait here!” He walked down the hall that led to the restrooms.

  As soon as he disappeared from sight, I snatched up my satchel and his bike keys, and ran out of the bar. I was pulling the helmet he kept for me from the pannier, when an iron manacle, in the form of Grimm’s hand, prevented me.

  “You don’t steal a man’s bike, Evie, ever. What’s the matter with you?”

  “Grimm, you know how everyone’s been treating me lately like a damn porcelain doll. I need answers. This is my family we’re talking about. I can finally figure out who’s been lying to me.” Angry tears burned at the back of my eyes but there was no way I’d release them.

  “Do you know what will happen if anything happens to you? They won’t just kill me. They’ll exorcise me out of existence, and I’ll beg them to do it.”

  “She’s my friend. She won’t hurt me.” I said, swinging my leg o
ver the big machine.

  “No, Evie. I’m sorry.”

  “Well, have fun explaining how you lost me because I’m going, with, or without you.”

  He reached for the keys and I pulled them away. “Grimm! Don’t make me encase you in ice”

  He glared. “I can’t believe you would threaten me. My balls are frostbitten.”

  “Now, slide back.” He said, swinging his leg up and over in front of me. “Might as well drive a motorcycle one last time before the team banishes me.”

  “Oh, they will not, you big baby,” I said, handing him the keys.

  “Where are we going?” He asked, flipping up the kickstand and revving the bike to life.

  “Lookout State Forest. It’s about an hour due south as the crow flies.”

  “Hang on.”

  I wrapped my arms around Grimm’s waist. “Once we get to Watertown, take 12 to 194 to Grant.” He nodded. I leaned my cheek against his back and watched the trees fly by. They looked like black giants cutting us off from the world.

  Once we were on Grant, Grimm slowed the bike. The road wound around almost in a large circle. I needed to keep my eyes open as we closed in on Howl’s territory.

  Motorcycle clubs and shacks with wolf symbols and scowling members in club jackets flanked the road. The idea was probably meant to discourage people from delving deeper into the trees but we weren’t so easily intimidated. We continued following the road and passed a few cabins. Many had a dull golden light, like a lantern, emanating from their windows. Did they not have power out here? Did they live like pioneers? As we drew nearer, it became obvious the cabins needed major renovations. Porches tilted at odd angles. Tin roofs were rusted.

  At an overgrown path, Grimm turned.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I can smell her. She’s down here.”

  Uh, okay. That was disturbing. Since when could demons smell things. Werewolves sure but demons? I sniffed my underarms hoping my deodorant always worked.

  Grimm rolled to a stop and killed the engine. My goodness, I talked Grimm into this. The boys might never forgive me or him—and they’d just repaired their relationships. I had to make sure that no matter what happened, they didn’t blame him. He was my protector, not my co-conspirator. Through the trees, a light was visible to my left. Grimm hopped off the bike and headed in that same direction. I’d barely climbed off the bike myself and he’d transformed, leaving me with my thoughts as well as his clothes. I stuffed them in my satchel and we walked about a mile before some mean looking dude stepped in front of me.

  “I’m looking for Maggie Howl,” I said with a smile.

  “Ain’t no Maggie around here. And you shouldn’t be here either. Clear off if’n you know what’s good for you.”

  I jabbed the shifter in the shoulder, briefly noticing how hard his muscles were. “Where is she? Is she here somewhere?”

  “Maggie’s dead.”

  “Don’t lie to me. Do you know where she is or not?”

  He snarled, “Jab me once more, and you can join her.”

  I called up some witch wind to blow him back an inch, “Oh yeah? Just try it.” The sensible part of my brain was trying to tell me to stop the pissing contest with the big werewolf, but I couldn’t help myself.

  Grimm curled around my legs and I glanced down at him. His gaze was focused off to my right. Following his lead, I looked and saw Maggie entering a cabin not far away. I turned back to the man in front of me and attempted to give him a disparaging look. “Luckily for you, I have to go now.”

  He sneered, “Yeah, lucky for me.”

  With Grimm at my side, I walked over to the cabin Maggie had entered and knocked on the door. She answered it, and I blurted out, “You lied to me. You conspired with Grand-mère Delphine and you let me think you were dead.”

  Maggie blanched, and her hands shot to her chest. In a quiet voice, she said, “You’d better come in. I can explain everything.”

  I picked Grimm up and followed her into the cabin, where nothing was pink and everything was carved out of wood. A log fire was burning in a hearth at the far side of the room. It was all very homey and welcoming. But I wasn’t in the mood to feel welcomed; I was in the mood to vent my anger and betrayal.

  Maggie indicated for us to take a seat. We went over to the large sofa and sat down. It was incredibly soft, and I felt myself sinking into the cushions.

  Maggie took a seat opposite us, and before I could say a word, she broke down and started to cry. My eyes narrowed. She’d cried in front of me before. I wasn’t going to be fooled by her crocodile tears again.

  She said, “Yes, I lied to you. But I didn’t want to hurt you. I promise. I would never have done that on purpose. Never. Please, you have to believe me.”

  I studied her for a moment. I could feel the genuine remorse coming from her. All my anger vanished, and I scooted to the edge of the sofa until I was able to pat her on the arm.

  When Maggie had composed herself, she said, “It was hard for me to open up. My sister was the only person I ever truly opened up to and I wanted to tell you my plan so bad but I couldn’t risk it. I mean, what if you didn’t go along with it? I needed—still need—revenge on those girls.” She gave me an empty look. “They killed my sister.”

  “They killed your sister? How do you know?”

  “The verbal and mental torture, threats, intimidation. There’s no doubt in my mind they’re guilty. You know how they are, and it wasn’t good enough that they killed her but they started in on us as well. It was all in her diary.”

  “I found her diary, you know, but I couldn’t read it. It was spelled shut.”

  “I asked your Grand-mère to spell it shut after I read it three times and nearly lost my mind. You’re so lucky to have family that love you.”

  “Yeah, well, I thought I had a friend that I was torn up about. So, you planted your sister’s body in your room and what, left clues in there? I wasted my tears and you wasted our time.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I admit it, but you know how they were abusing us. I had to make it obvious so that Barnabus would be forced to act. I’m sorry for the voodoo doll.”

  “That was you threatening me?”

  “I wasn’t threatening you, just making it look like they were threatening you. There’s a difference.”

  “How?” Then it dawned on me. “You were the one using the passage—not the other way around. How did you even know about it?”

  “My room was Chloe’s last year, so I requested it.”

  “What about the drugs you supplied them with? Why on earth would you do that?”

  “God, you found out about that? They were so terrible but the only time I got peace was when I smuggled magic mushrooms to them.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about your sister, at least?”

  “You’re part of the tracker team.” She gave me a searching look. “Would you have really wanted to know about my revenge scheme? Honestly? It’s a little outside of the sort of superhero work you and your guys do.”

  I sighed. “How far do you plan to take this?”

  Maggie’s face hardened. “As far as I have to until I expose those hideous monsters for what they are.”

  Grimm and I nodded at the same time. “You need to come with us. We need to take you back to the tracker team.”

  “She’s not goin’ nowhere!” Remy stormed into the room and jabbed his finger in my direction. “Nobody touches her.”

  Maggie shot to her feet and yelled, “Remy, how many times have I told you? You do not enter my home uninvited. Stop shouting at my guests and get out immediately.” Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides.

  Remy took a step back and said, “You need protectin’, Mags. You need me. When are you goin’ to admit it?”

  A yellow fire flashed in Maggie’s eyes and her hands clenched even more. In a low voice she said, “Remy, this is the last time I’m going to tell you. I do not need you in my life. I do not want yo
u hanging around me. And I certainly don’t want you barging into my home. One more incident like this and I might have to take drastic action concerning your future. Am I making myself clear?”

  Remy swallowed and took another step back. In a subdued tone he said, “Yeah, I’m sorry. I understand.” His shoulders dropped and he looked in my direction. “Maggie doesn’t deserve to be punished.”

  I nodded, but I wasn’t sure I agreed with him.

  Maggie turned her blazing eyes in my direction and said, “I think it’s time you left. I’m not going with you, so don’t bother asking. And before you think about turning me in, just know that no matter what, I’m not letting that Fae Bitch, Lennon, get away with murder.”

  I wanted to ask more questions, but my attention was drawn to her hands which were dangling at her sides. Was it my imagination or were her fingernails slowly growing into claws? Was she changing into a werewolf in front of me?

  Perhaps Maggie wasn’t the friend I thought she was.

  I quickly stood up. I wasn’t staying here to find out. Placing Grimm under my arm, I swiftly left the cabin.

  As we quickly made our way back toward the bike, Grimm whispered in my mind, “Evie, did you see her fingernails?”

  I gave him a brief nod. “We have to get away from here.”

  We continued to hasten forward. I could have sworn I heard growling behind me, but that could have been my imagination going into overdrive.

  As soon as we hit the path, I broke into a jog.

  “Evie, there’s someone following us. I can smell them. They smell like a wet dog.”

  I heard someone behind us too and started to run when there was a sudden loud growl.

  Grimm turned around to face whatever was following us. “I’ll deal with it. Run!”

  I slowly turned around to face the creature. I couldn’t leave Grimm to cope with a wild beast on his own.

  The huge wolf walked towards us with its bright yellow eyes. Its lips pulled back to reveal large, sharp teeth.

  Grimm darted forward.

  I shouted, “Back off! We’re leaving!”

  The wolf leapt forward, lashed out at Grimm with a paw and sent him flying into the bushes.

  “Grimm!” I cried out.