On the Prowl by Kate Rudolph
38
After another weekand a half on tour, Andre and Em had managed to sneak in a three day break, and it was the first time they were heading back to see the pack. Gibson had called them all out to the farm in Pennsylvania, and the house was starting to feel more than a little crowded.
"How long do you think it’ll be before he starts building a second cottage?" Owen asked him. He and Stasia had arrived only a few minutes after Andre and Em. Em and Stasia had immediately gone off to catch up, leaving him and his friend alone.
"You think we’re getting a cottage? We’d be lucky enough if he built us barracks." Andre shuddered. That was definitely not something he missed about military life.
Owen gave him a playful shove as they headed into the house. "Did you know Andre could smile?" Vega asked Jackson as he and Owen settled in.
Andre glared. The kid still hadn't made up for what he had done to Stasia several months before, and judging by the smile that had been knocked off of Owen's face, Owen hadn't forgotten either.
The kid put his hands up. "Sorry. Sorry." He took a few steps back, as if he expected Andre to lash out.
Andre had to bite back a grin. It was good to know that he could still scare the youngsters.
But before he could celebrate too much, Gibson called him and Rowe back to his office.
Rowe might not have been there to deal with the shadow beast, but he had been Andre's backup and Andre had been sending him updates since the very beginning. And with Andre now preoccupied with Em, it was Rowe who would be taking on most of the assignments.
He and Rowe sat in the guest chairs opposite Gibson's desk, and Gibson ignored his own chair to sit on the edge of the desk. "Have you had any more trouble since the witch helped you out?" He managed to say that all with a straight face, and if he had been anyone else, Andre might've congratulated him on that.
But he didn't have a death wish.
"No issues," Andre confirmed. Maybe he should have told Gibson and Rowe about the magic that Em had inhaled. Neither of them were sure exactly what it meant, but it wasn't his secret to tell. And he owed his loyalty to his mate. She could tell them if she wanted.
"Witches…" Rowe shook his head as he said it.
"Is that really so hard to believe?" Gibson asked. "After all, it was magic that made us what we are."
That night wasn't one Andre liked to remember. It was all hazy, but he remembered smoke and chanting and pain.
And then confusion. Confusion that was only amplified when he and the others were essentially kicked out of the military with what amounted to a giant payoff to buy their silence.
At first, Andre had thought they were trying to avoid an international incident. But weeks later, when they all changed into werewolves, he had wondered if the government knew what was coming.
"To be honest, I don't know what to think," Rowe admitted, steepling his fingers together. "One crazy wizard man, sure. But witches who are just regular people? Like accountants? That's weird."
"What do accountants have to do with anything?" Andre failed to see the connection.
Rowe rolled his eyes. "Nothing. I'm just saying that, like, accountants are normal and could be anyone. And apparently so are witches." Apparently, this made sense in Rowe's head.
Andre just stared at him.
So did Gibson.
Rowe slouched back in his seat, his point failing to land.
"Has the witch contacted you again?" Gibson asked.
"Not yet," said Andre. "But she said to give it a couple weeks." They needed Vi's knowledge, and Andre wasn't sure what Gibson would do if she didn't give it willingly.
"I want you on this, Rowe. This is a real lead. And maybe she can't get us information on who made us or why. But maybe she can give us more information on what we are. We need to know about witches. Are they friend? Foe? What other kind of mythological creatures exist? And we need to be subtle. They might not want to part with the information."
Vi had been happy to tell him and Em everything they wanted to know, but she had kept plenty to herself. At the end of the day, they had been more concerned about the shadow beast than anything else. And when he thought about it, Vi hadn't told him much outside of that.
Maybe she was keeping secrets. And maybe he had been too focused on keeping Em safe to notice.
But he couldn't regret that. She was safe now. And she was his.
What more could he want?