Majka muttered something in Croatian that roughly translated to … something not printable on paper, and then shifted, taking off in the direction of the big house.
I watched her go, shaking as I thought of Coven Triad and Montgomery Graves.
You do not steal a mate from Zara Wolf, not unless you're willing to die for the privilege.
I thought it would be impossible to sleep, but Tidus mixed a little of the valerian root tea his mother gave him and waited while I sat at the counter and sipped it, my mind a million miles away. The next thing I knew, I was blinking myself awake in the morning sunshine.
Some of my mates were still asleep, but I could smell food cooking downstairs. My thoughts immediately went to Monty, but I could tell by scent alone that he wasn't here.
Carefully, I crawled out of bed in such a way that Che, Nic, and Silas stayed sleeping, and then I headed downstairs in the same robe from last night. Faith was in the kitchen, showing Tidus how to make eggs benedict.
“Believe it or not, you can actually break the sauce,” she told him, giggling in such a way that might actually upset me if I didn't have other things to worry about. I tried not to let it bother me. She didn't choose to be turned, and she most certainly didn't choose the natural attraction she was feeling toward my mate, but … he was mine.
They were all mine.
Nature liked balance, but it also enjoyed excess. My wolf liked having plenty of virile males to mate with. My human side liked having a bunch of hot guy friends to hang out with. Win-win, right?
“We're going to get Montgomery back today,” I announced, and Anubis, Jax, Tidus, and Faith all turned to look at me.
“Where is he?” Jax asked, sitting on one of the stools at the counter in a long blue t-shirt and nothing else. Pretty sure he was naked underneath. Anubis was sitting on the counter in his usual spot, but I noticed that even though he had his notebook beside him, he wasn't drawing.
Everything seemed normal, but it wasn't.
Nothing was normal.
“I don't know, but that's what we're going to find out. First, I'm going to pay a visit to Nikolina.” I needed to know exactly what'd happened after we'd been tossed into Faerie with the cauldron. Looking down, I studied the interlocking moon tattoos on my wrist and thought of Whitney. Maybe she and Harlem would be easier to talk to first? Confronting my mother after she'd seen the Forest Spirit slaughtered … that wasn't going to be easy.
“Eat first?” Tidus asked, coming over to stand beside me. He put his sun-kissed hands on either side of my face, and I swear, I could feel the anxiety being pulled straight from my body. There was just something about him that I liked, this natural cheeriness that seemed to infuse a room like sweet sunshine. My wolf side wanted to bathe in it. “We haven't had a proper meal in days.”
“I sort of expected you guys to have donuts,” I murmured, and Tidus grinned, pointing in the direction of the table. There, beside our rolled-up vampire maps and tomes written in Seraphim was a pink box with the lid half-open.
“We do have donuts,” he said, kissing me on the lips in a tentative sort of way, like this was all just too new to believe. Because I was feeling just the tiniest bit lost in that moment, I leaned into him and felt those strong surfer arms of his curl around me, tucking me close and holding me tight. “I saved you one of the maple ones with the bacon on top. I tried to set aside three, but Jax ate them all.”
“You never said they were for our alpha,” he growled, baring his teeth. Faith looked at him for a moment with one brow raised and then glanced back at me and Tidus. There was a brief flitter of darkness across her gaze, almost like she was … jealous? But I just kept reminding myself of the spell. She'd get over her attraction eventually. Faith and I were too close, and she believed in girl code far too much to ever actually pursue something with a guy I liked. “And you should know better. You can't leave three of the best sort of donuts on a plate at nose-height and expect them not to get eaten.”
“I stashed them in the lower cabinet,” Tidus said, and then his body shook with a soft chuckle. “But I guess that is nose-height. You're right. I'll remember that next time and put up one of Zara's magic vine shields to protect the stash.”
“See that you do,” Jax murmured, pushing blond hair from his forehead and looking at me in a way that said he wanted to help, but didn't know how. It just wasn't in his nature to ask. He was wolf, first and foremost, and he needed me, his Alpha, to tell him what to do next.
“Zara,” Faith started, nibbling on the end of her braid. “We really, really need to talk.”
“I know,” I told her as Tidus stepped back, and I met her gaze. “I promise you that we'll get there. But I have other things I have to do first. Can you stay here until I get back?”
“I was thinking of heading to campus and trying to see if we couldn’t get some make-up work for the days we missed. I've already called Dad and let him know I might be staying over for a while …” I nodded and swept my hands over my hair, loose strands of red sticking up all over the place. Just another reminder that Montgomery wasn't here.
Nothing was as simple or easy as eggs benedict in the morning.
“I'll send some guards with you, and you can go to campus. But nowhere else, okay? Not until I explain things.”
“After the shit I've seen these last few days, you can count on that.” Faith served me up a plate, and I sat down to eat, smiling as Anubis delivered my coffee.
“We'll find him,” he told me, and I found comfort in his words.
I had the feeling Anubis Rothburg was not the type to say things he didn't mean.
Nikolina would see no one. She'd locked herself in her room at the big house and was refusing to come out. Instead, I was forced to get my information from Whitney and Harlem.
The former was slightly less than helpful, stricken at her exile from Coven Triad, upset over Aeron's disappearance, and just angry at the world in general. Her familiar hissed at me and took a swipe before she gathered him up and disappeared into the Hallett's guestroom.
Harlem was so eager to please, her non-existent tail practically wagged.
After we'd left, there'd been chaos, bloodshed, fighting between the coven and the pack. But with the Crone dead, the cauldron gone, and the magic of the Forest Spirit throbbing through pack lands, it hadn't been quite the easy slaughter the witches had hoped for.
They'd retreated, but not before Montgomery had freed his parents from their chains, and then been cursed with a spell the Mother had snapped off of her hat. She'd shoved it down his throat, and he'd turned on his own people, cutting a path through them with that silver knife I'd remarked on so long ago.
Montgomery Graves had killed his own people.
The thought made me sick to my stomach.
“The Mother changed after that. It was like … watching her image get distorted in a funhouse mirror. One minute, she was a beautiful middle-aged woman, and the next, she was monstrous.” Harlem shivered and pushed white-blond hair back from her pale face.
We were sitting outside near the creek that ran through Nic's family's backyard. Levi, his brother, was hovering nearby, clearing interested in more alone time with the vampire princess.
“It takes an act of cruelty to turn a Mother into a Crone,” Anubis said, exhaling. “Her fate was written in the stars the moment she commanded Monty to start killing wolves.” He paced the edge of the stream, his unlaced boot strings dragging in the water. Anubis was wearing tight black denim, a V-neck blue t-shirt that matched his midnight hair, and a pair of thick-framed black eyeglasses with the lenses popped out. “The entire coven will be in disarray right now, after a power shift like that. They've just lost their Maiden, their Crone, and now they'll need to fill the position of Mother as well.”
“Don't just list facts, give practical advice,” Jax snapped, wearing blue and white shorts, flip-flops, and a loose white tank. He was actually sitting in the cool water, running his fingers through it as he stare
d at the Alpha-Son of Pack Crimson Dusk with eyes the color of ice chips. “What do we do with all of that?”
“We challenge the coven on neutral territory,” Tidus said, speaking up. I was sitting on his lap, perched on a rock next to Harlem. Not only did Tidus' touch give me comfort, but I think he really did love the idea of having a mate of his own, someone he could cuddle and kiss and stroke (in this case, in a non-pervy way). It made me feel good to be that person for him. “See, I do listen on occasion.”
“But where?” I asked, looking up at the beautiful blue sky. The pack was still burying bodies from that tussle with the witches, and here I was staring at clouds and coming up at a loss.
“Blood territory,” Harlem suggested, adjusting her sunglasses, and lifting her parasol up to block the sun. She might be part werewolf, but all I could see was her vampire side. “Call them out in one of the neighborhoods that Kingdom Ironbound used to own, but doesn't anymore. They'll come to you if you bring them something they want.”
“Which is?” I asked, and Harlem slowly turned to look at me, forgetting for a moment to breathe, just like a proper Blood. It was creepy as hell.
“Perhaps … their missing witch?” she suggested, and we both turned just in time to see a puff of green smoke go up inside the upstairs bedroom.
Whitney threw open the window, coughing and choking, her familiar curled around her neck. Her witch hat tilted to one side, the bones and charms in her hair clicking like wind chimes as she edged herself out of the room to sit on the gentle slope of the roof.
She really did look like a witch in a blue denim jumper, ankle socks with scalloped edges, and shiny Mary Janes. Of course, she had this edgy look to her with the purple lipstick and silver shadow that I could never pull off.
“Spell gone awry?” Harlem purred, and I could tell she teasing in an entirely amicable sort of way. I'd left the girls the Beta House to clean up before we'd left, but it was nowhere near done, and there'd been too much going on for them to get back to it just yet.
I was quite sure Leslie and Lana wanted them out of their house though, even if they were too polite to say it.
“None of your damn business,” Whitney snapped, closing her eyes and leaning her body back against the wall next to the window. Would she be our bait if I asked? Would I force her if she said no?
“We need your help,” I said, but she was barely listening to me. Maybe like wolves, witches also had selective hearing at times. “Please. You'd do anything to get Aeron back, wouldn't you?”
“Aeron left of her own damn accord,” Whitney snapped, adjusting her hat. She glared down at me with dark eyes, a frown tracing her purple-painted lips.
“She left to keep the cauldron safe,” I said softly. Even if I didn't know the whole story, I knew that. “Montgomery was taken.”
“What the fuck do you want me to do about it?” Whitney continued, her voice laced with agitation.
“All you have to do is come with us, and help lure him out. I can't imagine Coven Triad would miss an opportunity to sic my own mate on me.” My words were calm, but my body trembled when I spoke, and Tidus noticed, nuzzling his face in that warm spot between my neck and shoulder.
“Be the bait for the coven? Are you serious right about now? Hell to the fuck no.” Whitney stood up to go back inside, but I wasn't done yet.
“What do you want? I'll give you anything, if it's in my power to give.” The witch girl paused and glanced back at me, brows raised slightly in suspicion.
“Really? Like you handled the cauldron with care? You broke our bargain without actually breaking our bargain.” She shook her tattooed wrist in my direction. “Why the hell would I trust you again? You want me to lure my own people out, so they can get slaughtered the way they did here the other day?”
“That was their choice,” I said, and Whitney's entire face shut down on me.
“Maybe. But it's not going to be mine.”
She climbed back in the window and slammed it shut, making me cringe.
“You need a witch?” Lana asked, pausing respectfully at the edge of the yard. I glanced over at her, and found her usually cheerful face dark with worry. “Because we have one … Well, a few actually.”
Almost a half-dozen Coven Triad witches were bound in the Hall, locked in a room with etched steer skulls hung above each entrance. Essentially, it was impossible for them to get out using magic. As silver was to werewolves, so was bone to witches. They could use brute force to escape, but nobody did brute force quite like a werewolf.
We took one of the girls—bound, gagged, and blindfolded—and then loaded her up into the back of the Yukon.
“Zara,” Nic said, panting as he came up the hill to the assembly hall, Che and Silas close behind him. “They're calling a Convocation.”
I paused, one hand on the back of the SUV, ready to close the hatch. The three boys barely glanced at my cargo before turning back to me. Witch tied up in the back of a car? No big thing. Not in our world.
“I figured as much. We were attacked on pack property. Our wards are down. What did you expect?”
“Not just the North American Convocation, Alpha,” Silas said, lighting up a cigarette. I noticed his hands were shaking. He glanced sidelong at me, gold eyes dark with worry. “The whole shebang. They're bringing in everyone.”
They're going to fry Allister Vetter, punish Pack Obsidian Gold … they're going to demand results from the Contribution that I'm not ready to give, and they're going to take the reins away from me.
It all made sense then, like pieces of a puzzle coming together.
Our enemies were going to create dissent in the packs—to create dissent surrounding me and my mates.
I wasn't naive enough to think I was all-important, or that I was the chosen one, but for now, I knew I was better equipped to save our people than the Convocation was. That was simple fact.
We now knew where at least some of the other missing wolves were: in Faerie. In the fucking Seelie Court.
Vampire … witch … faerie war.
Things were not looking good for us.
Angels were trying to kill me, the Sluagh were hunting us, and somewhere out there, a pair of demonic twins were wreaking havoc.
And that was all on the backside of my to-do list.
First things first: get Montgomery back.
“Get in the car,” I said, tossing Nic the keys. He caught them, but he gave me a look.
“You know I only speak up when I have something really important to say,” he began, as Che yanked open the rear passenger door on the SUV and gave him a look.
“Coulda fooled me,” he said before climbing in. I noticed he didn't bother to close the door though; he really did want to hear what Nic had to say, whether he felt comfortable admitting it or not.
“Go ahead.” I crossed my arms over my chest and waited as Nic cursed and mussed up his dark red hair with his fingers.
“Zara, I know we're supposed to put the pack first and individuals second, but …” He trailed off, and ran his tongue along his lower lip in just such a way that it caught my attention and held it. I forced myself to flick my eyes up to his. “I'm glad we're going after Monty. I … if I were out there, I'd want to know you were coming for me, too.”
I tried to hold back a smile, but I couldn't. Instead, I ran over and threw my arms around his neck, hugging him tight before I pulled back and looked him dead in the face.
“I will always come for you,” I promised. And remember: the Silver Wolf always keeps her promises.
Nic drove us to a street that used to have old ranch homes on one side, and a field of wildflowers on the other. But the recent influx of people moving from out of state had destroyed some of the charm and integrity of the city. The ranch homes had been leveled, and new construction McMansions had been put in their place. They were practically on top of each other, flags waving in the wind, advertising New Homes for Sale! and Visit our Office and Sign Today!
“No wonder F
aith's mom had that sticker on her car with the red circle around California, the one with a slash through it.” Nic glared at all the California license plates as we drove down the quiet street, looking for a place to prepare for battle.
That field of wildflowers would've been nice …
But we had to work with what we had.
“Hey, come on, Californians aren't so bad,” Tidus supplied, leaning over the seat and grinning. When I said lightening the mood was his specialty, I wasn't kidding. We lived in almost constant daily stress. It was liable to kill us all. Having someone around to make me smile was crucial. Sometimes I wondered if I'd completely forgotten how.
“Don't Californicate Oregon,” Jax drawled, yawning. His people were from … well, sort of everywhere. They migrated a lot. And besides that, human-drawn lines of demarcation meant nothing to him. He could care less about the entire conversation.
“She also has a sticker that says Be Nice ... You're in Oregon,” I chastised them as we turned the corner and found a giant cul-de-sac with a bunch of half-finished houses.
This would have to do.
Half of the plots already had Sold signs stuck in the dirt. I felt sort of sorry for them, knowing we might be making a mess back here.
“And another sticker that says Welcome to Oregon … now go home!” Nic drove the SUV over the curb and as far into what was left of the wildflower field as he could.
“Oh come on, you'd miss me if I left,” Tidus added with a smile, opening the door and hopping out. We were fully prepared this time with, you know, clothing. That, and weapons. I had my badass toolkit on me, and that same red dress with the bear fur that I'd worn to the challenge.
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