Pack Witch (Captured Souls Book 1)

by Brenna Clarke

  I remembered the way Noah had looked at me. With wonder. He’d smiled at me in a way that I could have easily become addicted to. It was a real, true smile, one I knew came from somewhere deep inside of him. I’d never seen him smile that way before. Not ever. There was always a hint of sadness to him. But when he looked at me then, I saw myself through his eyes. I wasn’t a freak or a danger. My magic hadn’t hurt someone, but helped. I was special. For a moment, I’d believed it.

  “Even if I could figure out how to heal on command, I can’t help people cheat death. That’s not up to me,” I told him.

  “No spells for that?”

  I approached one of the porch pillars. I leaned against it, still watching him closely. “Maybe. But not that I know of, and even if I knew a spell, I could never pull that off. I can’t imagine the price that would have to be paid to balance the scales for something like that.”

  He gave me a look I couldn’t decipher so I kept talking. “Nature wants balance. In this case, it would be a life for a life.”

  “Hmm. I got lots of suggestions for people to sacrifice if nature is open to them.”

  I ignored his comment. “Did you want to go in…maybe say goodbye?”

  “Why? He’s already dead.”

  “I’m sorry you lost your cousin. He was nice. Talkative, but sweet. Last time I saw him he was excited about moving in with a girl. A human girl.”

  “Jessie. Yeah, that didn’t work out.”

  “That’s too bad. I think he really liked her.”

  He hitched a shoulder. “That was a long time ago.”

  “It feels like it, doesn’t it? A lifetime ago.”

  He rocked back and forth and the floorboards creaked from the strain.

  “Did you figure out what killed him?” Noah asked, his voice emotionless, almost to the point of sounding robotic.

  I couldn’t get upset that he switched topics. I expected it. Did it make me sad? Sure. But what could I do? I resolved myself to who he was a long time ago.

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out the golden ball. When the moonlight hit it, it seemed to glow brighter. And it made it pulse. Interesting.

  “What is it?” Noah asked.

  I shrugged and put it back in my pocket. “Beats me. I didn’t grow up around witches, remember? I grew up around wolves.”

  “Yes, you did. But look how you turned out. A nice job at a hospital. A doctor boyfriend old enough to be your father. Helping the world one patient at a time.” I heard contempt in his sour voice. I didn’t like it.

  Old enough to be my father? I wasn’t going to get into that. Not tonight. “We try,” I said with a forced smile.

  He scoffed at me. Branches snapped off to the left of the cabin, and his head spun in its direction. I held my breath, worried something hid in the bushes. I waited for him to respond or to say something, but then he continued rocking.

  “It was just a bird,” he said, decidedly.

  I let go of a breath I was holding, and the tension in my shoulders eased. “Don’t scare me like that.”

  He pushed out of his chair and approached me. I went rigid. He stood next to me, shoulder to shoulder. We were so close I could feel the heat radiating from his body. He always ran so warm. But I couldn’t be next to him and not think of him in ways I used to. I took a step back.

  “Did you find anything else out?”

  “There’s some writing on the object I can’t understand. I’ll take it home with me and try to figure out what it means and where it came from.” And I would. At home. I had to get back there before Mason realized I’d left. The longer I stayed, the more lies I’d have to tell him. I didn’t want to lie to him. I’d already lied to him so much.

  “You’re a smart girl. You’ll figure it out.” He hopped off the porch, and his boots splashed in a puddle before he sauntered away. With his back to me, he raised his hand and waved me forward to follow him. “Come on. I fixed your tire.”

  Did he just say he fixed my tire? “Where did you get the tire? And when? I wasn’t in the cabin long.”

  “I’m resourceful.”

  “You stole it?”

  He chuckled, the melodic noise breaking through the still night. He was far enough ahead that he became nothing more than a black shadow.

  “Shit.” I hurried after him, stumbling down the barely passable dirt road, and Noah refused to slow down. Even after I tripped and fell on my hands and knees. Tiny rocks cut into my hands and tore at my leggings. It stung, but compared to what Marco had been through, I felt like a baby to acknowledge it.

  At my car, Noah leaned back against the hood and folded his arms over his middle. I checked the tire, kicked it for good measure. Fixed, like he said it would be. Should I have thanked him? For a stolen tire?

  “Well, I’d say it was fun, but…” I began. “I’ll call you when I have something. Do you still have the same number?” Probably not.

  His white teeth glowed under the moonlight. “Is it so bad here?” His gaze dipped to the patchwork ground of dirt and grass.

  He knew my answer, but I almost felt mean to say yes so quickly when he looked vulnerable. This was his home, and he loved it here. Like me, he’d lost a parent when he was young. Actually, he’d lost both of them. But this place had become his home because there had been members of the Clover pack willing to take him in. It was different for me. Moving here had taken me from the life and the home that I’d loved, that had held so many wonderful memories of my father. But that’s not why I hated it here so much, and Noah knew that. He knew why I had to leave and why I’d never wanted to come back.

  “I’m sorry, Noah. You know that it has nothing to do with you. I like my life. Just the way that it is.”

  “Even though it’s a lie?”

  “You don’t know anything about me or my life. Not anymore.”

  “You’re right. But you’re the same. Lie to yourself all you want. But you are. I see you, Maisie.”

  “I have to go.” I took a step back.

  “You’re not going anywhere. Not yet.” His eyes blazed at me. He unfolded his arms and stood tall, his fingers twitching at his sides.

  I started for the driver’s side door of my car. His body blurred as he darted in front of me. He moved so damn fast my head ached from trying to process the haze of his body. Suddenly, he was in front of me. In my personal space. Making me take two steps back to remove myself from his orbit. Oh, no. He would not do this to me.

  “Laird wants to see you.”

  “I did what you asked of me. I came here to see Marco, and I helped retrieve the ball. Or the bullet, or whatever the hell it is. I can find out more about it at home. I don’t need to be here to help you.” I tapped my watch, and the display read one quarter to midnight. “No.” I tossed my hands up and sliced them through the air to punctuate my point “I’m not going to see Laird. I can’t.”

  Casually, he strode over to my stolen wheel. He crouched down and laid his hand on the top of the black rubber. “I can remove the tire if you like.”

  I pointed a finger at him. “That’s why you fixed it? Not because you wanted to do something nice for me.”

  “Your indignation is noted.”

  I refused to look at him. He could go ahead and rip off that damn tire. I didn’t want it anyway. Or I could have just gotten in the car and drove away. Call his bluff. That’s what I decided. But when I got into the car, I reached down to turn to key in the ignition and realized my keys were no longer there.

  He came around to my door and opened it. He propped a hand on the hood and leaned forward. He smiled as he showed me my keys. They dangled from his left index finger as he gently shook them. “It’s a long walk back to Gravewood.”

  “Don’t make me see him, Noah. Please.”

  He stared at me, unblinking. I watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed. He was conflicted. That much I knew. But he wouldn’t give into his concern for me. As the enforcer, he’d do what had to be done. What his Alpha told h
im to do.

  And it hurt. I closed my eyes and took a breath.

  “You can’t run from him forever.”

  I leaned back in my seat and folded my arms over my chest. I met his eyes and dared him to make me. Was it childish? Perhaps. I didn’t care.

  He growled at me. Then he shoved my keys in his pocket and snatched me out of my seat. He swooped me up in his arms so quickly it nearly made me dizzy. I swam in his earthy scent: cedar and cut grass and peppermint.

  “Put me down! Now!” I pounded on his firm chest, likely hurting my hand more than I hurt him.

  “Don’t be a child. You’re going to do what I say whether you want to or not. So stop frustrating me. I don’t want to hurt you, but I swear to God I will tie you up and put you in the damn trunk with a gag over your mouth if you say one more damn word.”

  I opened my mouth, but he cut me off.

  “One!”

  Slowly, I closed my mouth, thinking better of it, though I threw daggers at him with my eyes. I could be stubborn, but I wasn’t stupid, and I knew he meant what he said. Always. I couldn’t fight him, and it was pointless to even try.

  It took a total of twelve minutes to get to the gravel road that led to the collection of houses the pack lived in. The road traveled a good two miles into the forest before opening up to a couple acres of cleared land surrounding Lake Loon. The land now belonged to the grandchildren of the founding pack members: Douglas, Laird, Rex, Agatha, and Jordan Marshall. Those founders had built their own homes on the lot, and as their children grew, they’d built more. There were almost a dozen houses there now.

  Two more than there had been before I’d left. All of them were two-stories tall and shaped like boxes with wraparound decks. Though simple, they were well made and beautiful. Many had carvings in the wood above their doors or to the sides of them.

  Laird had a black bear carved above his red door. All of those carvings were new. I wished the sun were out so I could have a better look at them. While I never loved Clover, I had to admit I’d loved Laird’s home and the view of the lake from my bedroom. I’d spent many nights sitting in my window seat looking out at the water at the ducks and geese bobbing in the water. It had given me peace whenever I was anxious or upset.

  Samuel Marshall, Jordan’s kid, pulled out of his driveway, and we passed him as we headed for Laird’s house, just two houses to the right. He nodded to us. He was younger than me by maybe four or five years. Did he even remember me?

  Noah rolled the car to a stop along the edge of the grass at Laird’s. He didn’t immediately turn the car off. Instead, he thrummed his fingers on the wheel. He looked as if he wanted to say something, and I waited for him to say whatever was on his mind. I was still upset at him for bringing me here, but I doubted he wanted to apologize. I don’t think I’d ever heard him apologize, even when he was clearly wrong.

  The door to Laird’s home opened, and he stepped out on the porch. Long legs, broad shoulders, and a full black beard with intense, big golden eyes that cut through the dark. He stared at us sitting in the car. I read his face easily. He’d been waiting for me, and he didn’t want to wait any longer.

  “It’s been swell, Noah.”

  “Be mindful of him, Maisie,” Noah said. “He’s Alpha now.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I can try.” I opened the door to step out, and his hand clamped around my wrist.

  “Try hard.”

  He held my eyes. I couldn’t read his expression. Worry? Irritation? I wished I knew. I glanced at Noah’s tan hand on my wrist, and he slowly released me. I climbed out of the car and faced my stepfather. I could still see glimpses of my stepbrother in his face, from his narrow lips to his wide nose and strong chin. The resemblance killed me. I still hated him for what happened to Seth.

  I blamed others, too, but I blamed him most. And now he was Alpha, and I had to mind my manners and control my uncontrollable magic. Hatred is a tough pill to swallow. But so is your resentment and pride. I would overcome them to get out of here faster, even if that meant biting my tongue and being mindful of my wicked stepfather. I curled my fingers into fists, shoved them into pockets, and strode toward him.

  Four

  I took a deep breath and marched forward. Laird watched me closely, a sour look on his face. I would have hurt him if I could. I would have made him pay for his actions—or inactions. My anger grew the closer I got to him. When we stood a few feet apart, he towered over me. He outweighed me by at least eighty or ninety pounds. I swallowed hard. I feared him still. I also feared what my unpredictable magic could do to him if I slipped, and what would inevitably follow. My hands sparked, and I closed my fists tighter until the warm wetness of my blood squeezed between my clenched fingers.

  “Maisie,” he said.

  The car door slammed, and I glanced over my shoulder. Noah leaned against the car that stood between us. He rested his elbows on the hood.

  I refocused on Laird.

  “Come inside.” It was more order than invitation.

  I didn’t move.

  “I said, come inside.” His tone became more forceful.

  Noah walked toward the house, but one look from Laird stopped him dead in his tracks.

  “You wait here. I need to talk to my daughter.”

  He had no right to call me that, but I didn’t correct him. Angering him would not help me.

  I stepped inside the house, and he closed the door after me. He stood too close for me to be comfortable. Though I could never have felt comfortable next to him.

  “It’s late, and we have a lot to discuss. Did you need coffee? Humans seem to focus better when they consume that wretched stuff.”

  “Werewolves drink it too. And you’re human, Laird. Just with a bit of cursed magic.”

  His nostrils flared when he glanced my way. I ducked my head and told myself to keep my mouth shut if I wanted to live through the night. He led me into the kitchen. It looked exactly the same as when I left. Same green floral wallpaper and dark cabinets. And the same old appliances in a shade of cream that stores had stopped selling years before. I took a seat at a new wooden table that looked handmade. It was finished in a light stain and had live wood edges. Rustic and beautiful. The floorboards creaked as I took a seat on the wooden bench.

  “I think I’ll take that coffee,” I said finally.

  A kettle already boiled on the stove. White smoke swirled from its spout. He removed it and poured the water into two cups before adding a scoop of instant coffee into each. Apparently, he still liked coffee too. He set one cup down in front of me. I didn’t really care about the coffee; I just wanted something to calm my nerves. I could count on one hand how many times I’d had a conversation with him since my stepbrother had died. I’d left a few months later, just before I’d started my nursing aide course. I took a slow, delicate sip of the coffee, peering at him from over the rim of the chipped mug.

  “I hear you shacked up with a doctor.”

  “Good news travels fast,” I muttered. Noah must have reported to Laird while I was examining Marco. Or when he was fixing my tire. He moved faster than I remembered.

  “I’m surprised you haven’t been home before now. I’m surprised we had to summon you.”

  “Are you really?” I said.

  He cleared his throat. “Rex called. You’ve seen Marco.”

  That made more sense. Rex had called. I nodded and was grateful our catch-up was over quickly. There was no point in him pretending to care about my life.

  “Let me see the object.” He held out one of his wide, calloused hands.

  I pulled the golden circle from my pocket. I offered it to him, but he scoffed instead.

  “I suppose you’d like it if I took it from you, wouldn’t you? Then you could watch my flesh burn.”

  I held my poker face while I leaned back to sit tall. I turned the object over in my fingers, taking another long look at it.

  “I need to know what it says.”

  “I’ll do my
best,” I said.

  “No. There’s no ‘doing your best.’ Get it done.” His nostrils flared.

  “You’d be better off finding another witch to help you, one that knows more about this kind of thing,” I suggested. “You know Mom tried hard to keep me from magic.” I’d wanted to keep practicing after my father died. It had made me feel closer to him because it was something I’d inherited from him. That part of him still lived on inside of me. My mother’s worries were just another reason I tried so hard to keep my magic to myself. That, and the fact that whenever I’d used it, it had often come at a cost. It was dangerous, especially since I hadn’t had anyone to teach me how to use it properly.

  “Keeping you from magic was a mistake. She thought she was protecting you. Instead, she deprived you of becoming who you were supposed to be. You would have been an incredible asset to this pack. Now, we have to accept what we have.”

  I blew air out through pursed lips. Wow, tiptoe around my feelings. Once upon a time, he’d been kind to me. He’d been a father figure. Though I’d learned quickly he could be nice and kind when you were nice to him and did as he said, but when you challenged him, he was every bit the monster he morphed into when the mood and the moon hit him right. He didn’t see me as a daughter, and he probably never had. When he’d found out I was a witch, he’d only wanted me to learn about witchcraft. He’d wanted to use me.

  “I can’t change the past. I am what I am.”

  “Well, I can’t just go asking random witches for help. Trust isn’t easy between our kinds. But you can. So, you figure out what those words say on that shiny little ball, and you figure out how to stop it from killing one of us the next time someone takes one to the chest.”