Pack Witch (Captured Souls Book 1)

by Brenna Clarke

  When she opened the door, she had fresh red lipstick on her full lips. Or, at least, it looked shiny and freshly drawn on. She beamed at Noah and then frowned at me in the most obvious way.

  “What can I do for you?” Her tone sounded suggestive. I resisted the urge to giggle. Poor lady, she didn’t stand a chance.

  Noah slowly licked his lips and then smiled at her. Oh, brother. I bit my lip to keep a straight face. “I hate to bother you while you’re working. But Shawn thought you might be able to help me. You see, that man in there? Marco? He’s my cousin. I…uh…I was wondering if I could have a minute to say goodbye.”

  “Shawn said it was okay?”

  He nodded. “Just for a minute.”

  “Who are you?” Her voice sounded a touch stern when she gawked at me.

  “I’m Maisie Lewis.”

  “Lewis? Hmm. Grace’s kid?”

  “That would be me.” I shifted my weight on my feet as she appraised me. Slowly. Fully. Wow, she didn’t even try to hide it.

  “I suppose that would be okay. But no touching, okay? The body—I mean, Marco—was processed by the police, but I haven’t finished my work yet. There may still be evidence on him.”

  “I promise. I just want to see him,” Noah said.

  “All right. I suppose if you’re quick.”

  “Thank you. You’re an angel, Anita. But I suppose you hear that all the time.” He flashed a wink.

  She beamed. I wanted to vomit. While they locked eyes, I gently nudged him. She stepped aside and we past her. Mrs. Kennedy had the temperature set somewhere around zero degrees. It felt like I might get frostbite if I stayed here too long. I curled my shoulders and folded my arms over my chest.

  While they chatted, I nonchalantly looked around the room. No cameras. Thank God. Just white walls, some counters and cabinets and two metal tables in the middle of the room with big metal buckets underneath on either end. My face screwed up. What were they supposed to catch? Ugh. My stomach twisted.

  “Could we have a minute?” Noah asked.

  “Oh, no. I can’t leave.”

  “Of course.” He walked over to his cousin and she pulled the sheet down over his head to reveal his pale, lifeless face. Poor, poor Marco. Noah stood by the table, muttered some words under his breath. I wished I could have heard what he said. I laid a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded.

  Mrs. Kennedy’s phone rang on her desk. She walked over to pick it up. Though distracted, we didn’t have the time we needed to give Marco a good once over. No. We had to do something. I touched my necklace and prayed for an answer. Then I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I had a thought. No. It was a whisper. Like a voice inside of me guiding me.

  She hung up the phone and tapped out a text.

  “What happened to him?” I asked her.

  She looked up from her phone. “Oh. Well, I can’t talk about that. You’ll have to speak with Shawn.”

  “Did he suffer?” Noah said quickly.

  She sauntered over to Noah and reached out to touch his forearm.

  I didn’t like it.

  She slid her hand up his arm to rub his bicep, consolingly. While she did, she gave him bedroom eyes. She had no idea what Noah and I were to each other, and apparently, she didn’t care.

  “Thank you,” he said to her.

  “Of course. I often have families come here. If I can offer comfort, isn’t it my duty to do so? As a neighbor? And public servant?” She opened her arms to him. At that, I had to chew on my lip to keep from grinning. Noah would hate to let a stranger hug him. In fact, I wasn’t sure he’d let her. His jaw ticked just a touch. Then he nodded and let her wrap her arms around his middle. His body blocked Marco and me from her view. I lifted the sheet to peek underneath at Marco’s legs and groin. Nothing. I hadn’t expected there to be. It would be on his back, like Noah’s mark and the one in the book.

  How long could Noah keep this hug going? I couldn’t lift Marco with them there. I needed too much time, and there would be noise. And he was too heavy for me alone to hold up.

  Anita’s hands lowered from his waist to his hips and then lower still to graze over the top of his ass. Well, I had to give the woman credit. If she wanted something she went for it, regardless of how inappropriate or badly timed it was.

  I cleared my throat and Noah held her shoulders and stepped back.

  I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I needed to turn on the waterworks. It was the only thing I could think of. I thought about something sad. I sniffled, then thought about my dad, about Marco, about Noah, about them all suffering. Not just on this Earth, but in the afterlife, and that was all it took for tears to fall. Real, honest tears, born of fear and pain.

  Noah’s face was steel but when he saw my face, he wiped it away, and replaced his stoney face with frown lines and hooded eyes. “Maisie?”

  I nodded. “Do you have any tissues?” I asked Mrs. Kennedy.

  When I’d scanned the room after we’d walked in, I’d noticed an empty tissue box on the counter. I crossed my fingers that it was the only one in the room.

  She walked to the box and then reached for one but found it empty. “Just a second.” She scoured the cabinets. We needed more time. She could still see us. Then she finally said, “I’ll have to grab one from the supply closet. Please, just stay there. Remember, don’t touch.”

  “Of course. I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble,” Noah said sweetly.

  She stepped through an archway to a backroom.

  “Quick!” I whispered.

  He pulled the sheet down. “You scan bottom, I’ll get his top.” We had maybe thirty seconds.

  “No, it’ll be on his back.”

  “I think we might be all out!” she called.

  “Lift him quick!”

  Noah lifted his shoulders and my eyes roamed over his back. I saw the scar immediately, pale white lines, healed like a raised tattoo. Noah nodded somberly and gently laid down his cousin. I tossed the sheet over him quickly just as she reappeared.

  “I’m sorry.” She narrowed her eyes as her gaze moved to the table. “You didn’t touch him, did you?”

  We shook our heads in unison. “No. We would never. We want whoever did this to be brought to justice. So our family can have peace.”

  She chewed in her lip. She didn’t believe us. Something was off, but I couldn’t say what that something was. Perhaps she was a neat freak like Mason. Perhaps something was moved slightly to the left or the right. Maybe the sheet hung lower in the front than in the back. I hadn’t paid attention before we moved it. Truthfully, we didn’t have the time to do any more than what we’d done. How we’d managed to roll him over was a miracle.

  I had a fistful of tissues in my hand when we walked out of the police station. “She knew,” I said as I dried my eyes.

  “Yep. Doesn’t matter though. She left us alone with evidence. She’s not going to talk to Shawn about that.”

  He had a point. “Are you okay?”

  He shrugged as he climbed into the car. “Sure.”

  I got inside and turned a little to half-face him. “Really? It seemed as if you might have had a moment in there.”

  He leaned back and ran a hand over his mouth. His hands fell to his thighs. They made a slapping sound against his jeans. As if I could feel his emotions, like he was sharing them with me subconsciously, a crushing pain began in my chest. The urge to cry came back, only it didn’t feel like my body needed it, but his.

  I swallowed hard and without warning, I reached out to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. I drew him in tight and refused to let go. He didn’t hug me back. Not at first. But as the seconds ticked away, I finally felt the warmth of his hands on my back.

  “I almost forgot how affectionate you can be,” he said.

  “Do you want me to stop?”

  When he shook his head, the stubble on his cheeks scratched me. I didn’t mind one bit. We stayed that way a few mo
re minutes. As we finally broke apart, my hand trailed down his arm until my fingers met his. Then he threaded his through mine, tightly. His face was pinched, his expression strained.

  “You’re not okay…are you?” I said.

  “It just hit me now. He’s in hell, Maise.”

  I sighed as I slumped back in my seat. “I wish that weren’t true.”

  “You’re so determined to help me, but I’d much rather you focus your energy on helping him.”

  “You know I’ll do what I can. Those witches I met were the real deal. One was even a shape shifter and a witch. I’m sure they’ll be able to point me in the right direction.” I hoped.

  “Is that wise? You barely know them.”

  “If my dad were alive, I would trust him with my life and with yours. If he trusted them, then that’s good enough for me. And to be quite honest, they’re all I have right now to help me navigate through this.”

  A phone rang, and I checked my pocket. So did Noah. It was his, not mine. He held it up to his ear. “Yep.” He watched me from his peripheral. “She’s right beside me.” To me, he said, “Just a sec.” He opened his door and sauntered away from the car. He didn’t stop until he reached the end of the row in the parking lot. I watched him with curiosity, wondering why he had to leave to talk to the person on the phone. I assumed it was Laird, but why the extra secrecy? It wasn’t as if I could have heard their conversation. My ears were normal.

  He shook his head and his eyes went heavenward. Then he turned his back to me. A few moments later he rejoined me in the car. He still held his phone in his hand, but then he tossed it on the dash and growled.

  “Who was that?”

  “One guess.”

  “What did he want?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Clearly it does. You look more upset than before.”

  “It’s fine. You hungry?”

  “Noah.”

  “I’m hungry. I’ll take you to my favorite place.” He started the car. “It’s a little early for supper, but…”

  “I could eat,” I said finally, knowing he needed me. Whether or not he shared, was something else entirely.

  He smiled at me. The sadness I often saw reappeared. He touched my face with his hand. Then he started the car and took me to the same place we’d always eaten as kids: him, me, Marco, and Seth. I swear I could feel them sitting there with us the whole time.

  Fifteen

  At Moby’s Diner, I tried to find out more about his phone call, but he kept changing the subject. Instead, we found ourselves reminiscing about Marco and Seth. At first, it was sad. I may have fought a tear or two and then it suddenly changed. We were laughing. I felt like the seventeen-year-old girl I’d been, totally enamored with a boy who I also considered one of my best friends. We stayed at Moby’s Diner for nearly three hours. When we left, I think he felt better. I know I did.

  We went for a long drive along the coast, with the windows down and the cool air blowing through our hair. It was a perfect day. Until he dropped me off. Like a switched had flipped inside of him, his smile fell, and he became somber. Our perfect day darkened.

  “Did you want to come with me tomorrow when I go back to Milford?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Sure. You’ll have to ask Laird, though.”

  “You can’t just tell him yourself?” I preferred to talk to Laird as little as possible.

  He cleared his throat. “You could. But I think you should ask him.”

  “You’re not telling me something. Something important. What did he say to you on that phone call?”

  He turned the music off. “Give him a call. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” I sat quietly, not wanting to leave, but he left the car idle and it seemed as if he wanted me to go. So I did. He drove down the driveway and raced down the highway before I could get inside the house. Something was really wrong. I felt sick. Like an illness spread through me, weakening me. I touched my necklace. I’d never felt that way before. Feeling the smooth gem on the necklace seemed to calm me, enough for the sickness to retreat to nothing more than a dull ache. It was so weird. And also a little similar to how I’d felt earlier when I’d felt Noah’s emotions as if they were mine. Was I channeling them now? Could I do that?

  I sat on the sofa watching a show when Mom came home that night. I didn’t even know what I was watching. I’d left it on more for background noise than anything else. My spell book laid in my lap. I’d flipped through it earlier, wondering if the answers to my problems were in there. If only I could understand it.

  Mom kicked off her shoes and joined me on the sofa. “What a day,” she said. “I have no idea why it was so busy. We sold out an hour before close.”

  “That’s great, Mom.”

  She studied me. “How’re you doing?”

  “I’m good.”

  Her gaze flickered to the spell book. I saw a twitch in her cheek. I wanted to talk to her about everything. How scared I was for Noah, Marco and Rex. How I wished I could do magic. How I wanted to learn so I could protect the people I loved. Instead, I said nothing.

  “Has Mason called?” she asked me.

  I shook my head. “It’s over, Mom.”

  “I know. I just thought maybe if you gave it more thought, you might change your mind.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Okay. That’s fine. As long as leaving him doesn’t leave a window open for Noah.

  “Why do you dislike him so much?”

  She frowned at me and settled back on the sofa. “I don’t dislike him. He’s been through a lot, and I think he was there for you when you were younger in a way other people couldn’t be. You understood each other because you’d both lost a parent.”

  “He was there for me.”

  “I know. But I also know what it’s like to be married to a werewolf. How you think you’re number one, and then you quickly realize that you rate much lower. Well below the rest of the pack. Laird had his moments, but I did love him. It’s hard loving someone who doesn’t love you the way you love them. That’s what your life would look like with Noah. And as enforcer, it would be more so. He would be at Laird’s beck and call, day and night. Like Laird was to Douglas.”

  “I thought you left him because of Seth.”

  She sighed. “He was a big part of it. I think turning his back on Seth made me realize where his priorities were. How they would never change. If he could do that to his son, what would he do to me? Or you? Look at you now? Elbow deep in their bullshit. No. I don’t want that life for you. You want honesty, there it is. Run, don’t walk, away from Noah, or you’ll find yourself in the same place as I am right now.”

  “Noah isn’t Laird. Not even close.”

  “No, he’s not. But don’t think the situation would be different.”

  I sighed and picked at some fluff on the afghan over the back of the couch. “I don’t know what will happen between Noah and me. But nothing you’re telling me is new to me.”

  “Then I hope you’re also smarter and stronger than me. Maybe you’ll walk away much sooner than I did.” She leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. Then she left me on the couch to think about what she said.

  Like Noah suggested, I called Laird before going to Milford the next day. I debated going myself just so I didn’t have to call him, but his words rang in my ear. I might not have been with Mason anymore, but I didn’t want him hurt because I was stubborn.

  Laird wasn’t as receptive to my plans as I’d hoped. Heavy machinery stopped and started in the background until he moved to a quiet space where I could hear him better.

  “No,” he told me. “You’re not going anywhere.”

  I almost went through the phone. “You don’t understand. Did Noah fill you in on everything?”

  “Yes.”

  Quietly, I added, “Then you know he’s marked?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you also know I need to go back to Milford and f
igure out how long he has and how to remove the mark. Or find a way to stop the hunters. They could be coming for him right now. And don’t forget about Rex. He was burned by the Dosifine like Noah was.”

  His sigh made a static noise in the phone. “I’ll send Rex. You don’t leave town alone anymore. Period.”

  “What about Noah?”

  “What about him?”

  “Can’t he take me? He said he was going to.”

  “He’s busy. Rex can take you.”

  My head started to hurt. Why couldn’t anything ever be easy with him? Why did he have to control every single, damn situation. “Those witches might not be as willing to help me if I show up with a werewolf. Maybe I should just go alone.”

  “Rex. Is. Coming.”

  “This is ridiculous. I’m trying to help you, and you’re treating me like I’m a prisoner. Where is the trust? You call me family, and then you treat me like an outsider. Which is it, Laird? You can’t have it both ways.”

  “Twenty minutes good for you? I just texted Rex on my cell.”

  I hated him so much. He was damn lucky he wasn’t standing in front of me right now, or I’d have set him on fire.

  As promised, Rex showed up in my drive way almost twenty minutes later. He shut off the engine, and I jogged outside before he had the chance to get out and knock on my door.

  I flung myself into the car and put my seat belt on. It smelled of cigars and mints.

  “Morning,” he said.

  I didn’t say it back. Yes, it was juvenile, but Laird had pissed me off, and I couldn’t help myself. I gave him a nod instead.

  He let out a quiet whistle and backed out onto the road.

  “This should be a fun drive,” he said with a grin.

  “This is so ridiculous. He treats me like a child.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  “You, babysitting me like this.”

  “You’re important to the pack. We need to make sure you’re safe.”

  I scoffed at that. “No, Laird wants to make sure I don’t bolt and go back to the city or hop on a plane so I never have to see him again.”