On the Prowl by Kate Rudolph

35

"It's going to work,I promise," Vi said with the kind of confidence that Em wanted to believe in.

But her hands were shaking as she clutched the two vials that Vi had prepared. She still couldn't quite wrap her mind around everything that had happened. She thought she had experienced eventful days before. They had nothing on this.

She wanted to run her fingers over the scar on her throat and take comfort in what it meant, but the vials in her hands prevented that. It didn't matter. She still knew the scar was there.

Claimed.

Mate.

Andre was just out of her sight, but she could sense him, smell him, feel him inside her heart. It was going to take some adjusting, but the best kind. Em didn't know how to have a partner, but when it came to Andre, she was happy to figure it out. And she got the feeling he was right there with her.

"Why couldn't we do this before?" she asked. The wolf had been stalking her for nearly two weeks. And Vi had known about the issue for over a week. She had a plan now. But Em was a little bit confused about the timing. Em's newly formed wolf was prowling under her skin and desperate to take action.

Vi pursed her lips and cast her eyes skyward for a moment. Whatever it was, she didn't want to say it.

"Spit it out," Andre demanded. He stood behind her, and his authoritative tone made her shiver. But there would be time for that later.

Vi heaved a huge sigh. "I'm not sure that Em would've survived if she was completely human."

Andre growled and charged at Vi, ready to pounce.

But the witch did a bit of magic and the air thickened in front of her. Andre ran into it like it was a wall. Em reached out and placed a hand on Andre's back to balance him.

"Explain." Em wasn't angry, not yet. But she had a feeling Andre needed to hear this.

Vi stared at Andre for several seconds, a challenging look on her face. She quirked up an eyebrow. He nodded. She let the magic fall and he didn't charge anymore. "We saw what the beast could do to you. When it wasn't being violent towards you, I thought we had time. But things have escalated now. And now you should be strong enough to withstand the spell and any potential attack."

"I thought you said it wouldn't attack this time." Andre vibrated with angry energy.

"I said it shouldn't." She put extra emphasis on the word. "This is all new to me too. Have faith. Another couple hours, and this will all be over."

Did Em have faith? She wasn't sure. But she definitely wanted it to be over, and Vi was their only option. "And you're certain that no one's going to be there?" They had taken time to study the layout of the hotel, and they had identified a spot to corner the beast. But Em didn't want to risk civilians.

Vi grimaced. "I can't risk putting up any magic to keep them away. That might tip off the beast. But I think we're good. I reserved the room for you to have a quiet meditation time. And I let the staff know that you're not to be disturbed. It's the best we can do."

"Why can't we just summon it back here to the hotel room?" It had attacked her once. She could still remember the feel of claws ripping into her.

"Because I think it got lucky the first time. It saw an opportunity and took it. And it's much more likely to run into people up here. Everyone's milling around since the concert was canceled." Vi's expression softened. "We don't have to do this today. I can put the protections on your room like normal and we can find a better spot. Maybe outside. It's your call."

But if they didn't do this today, the wolf could attack again. And maybe it would begin to attack people that weren't just Em. Andre had already taken damage, and she didn't want him hurt again. And if this went right, they wouldn't have to worry anymore.

That settled it for Em. "Let's get this done."

She shoved one potion in her pocket and squeezed her hand around the second vial, grimacing as she got a whiff of it.

Vi scrunched up her nose in sympathy. "Sorry. I can't exactly add flavorings. Throws off the chemistry."

Em threw it back like a shot and wished she had a chaser. "Let's get this done."

She rushed across the hotel to the room that Vi had reserved; there wasn't much time before the potion took effect. It was a little bit out of the way, a small ballroom that would normally be used for corporate meetings or something like that. There were no tables in it right now and the lights were low. It would've been a good room for quiet meditation. But that wasn't why Em was there.

She started to feel something, the potion kicking in. It was supposed to make her a beacon for the shadow beast, to summon it towards her and pull it from whoever was in charge of its control.

Em felt exposed. Andre and Vi were nearby. If she concentrated on Andre, she could almost pinpoint him through their mate bond. But she had to focus on calling the shadow beast to her. It needed to get close.

She didn't want it to hurt her. She never wanted to feel pain like that again.

Her heart beat faster, and she was sure it was close. Who was controlling it? Why?

She would know soon enough. Or at least she hoped she would.

Em took a deep breath, and then she saw the wolf pad through the door.

It didn't charge at her quickly this time. It walked with a thoughtful pace, stalking halfway into the room and then pausing to look at her.

Did it know something was wrong? Was it capable of those kinds of thoughts?

Come on. Come on.She needed it to get closer. Vi had given her very specific instructions, and she couldn't do anything until the wolf was within touching distance.

The second potion was heavy in her pocket. Em's fingers were curled around it. She couldn't pull it out yet. She didn't know what the wolf would think, and she didn't want to give away that she had a trick up her sleeve.

The wolf took a few more steps towards her. But still not close enough.

Almost there. Em wanted to step towards it. But she didn't want it to spook and run away.

One more step. Then another. Then another.

It was almost there.

And then the wolf took a final step and it was close enough.

Em jerked the potion out of her pocket and threw the vial down onto the ground. The glass burst and a plume of red smoke billowed all around them.

The shadow beast howled as the potion surrounded it.

The howl grew louder and then cut off abruptly, leaving her ears ringing.

That was it then. The beast was gone.

But the smoke wasn't gone. And once it had dissolved the beast, the smoke billowed her way.

Vi hadn't said anything about this.

Em waved at it like she was trying to wave away campfire smoke, but that did nothing.

And then she was breathing it in. It burned. Her lungs ached as she swallowed it down, but there was nothing she could do to avoid it. She sucked it all down, and once there was not any red smoke left, she collapsed to the floor.