Blood Magic by Laken Cane

Chapter Thirty-Eight

I stared down at the demon blade that lay across my palm, marveling at the warmth that spread through my hand, my arm, and then my entire body. I was so possessive of that blade. It was part of me and I loved it, but it was a hindrance as well because I couldn’t take it with me when I shifted. And I was a wolf. Shifting was what I did.

Which meant I constantly worried about losing it.

I sighed, then slid it into the special box I’d ordered. It was lined and leatherbound and came with a silver lock and key, which I’d taken to Jared’s seer. The beyond beautiful witchwolf had spelled it for me. A lock wouldn’t keep a thief from opening it or taking the box, but the spell that Lennon had used to secure it would.

I put the box on the shelf in my closet, along with my most beloved kill kit, and then I locked the closet door. I couldn’t take the blade with me tonight. Tonight was Halloween. Tonight was the first full moon since I’d been freed by the alpha.

Tonight, I would shift with the Gray Shadow Pack. My pack.

When I walked into the living room Max and Lucy were curled up on the couch, a huge bowl of popcorn between them, watching a movie. They seemed to have become besties while I wasn’t looking. Ash lay sleeping on the rug and continued snoring, unconcerned with the fact that I was going out.

“Poor Emily,” Lucy said, wiping her eyes. “I love this movie.” Then she spotted me. “Kait! Wow. You look hot. I mean…really, really hot.”

Max craned his neck to get a look at me. “Is that a dress?”

I glared. “I can wear a dress once in a damn while.”

“And heels,” Lucy said. “Heels.”

“Lucy’s right.” Max grinned. “You look beautiful, Ms. Silver.”

“Thank you both,” I said crisply. “Lucy, remind me to ask you how things are going with your new guy.”

She waved a hand. “Oh, he’s not my new guy, at least not yet. Just someone I can have fun with occasionally. You know.”

I nodded. Lucy had commitment issues. I went into the kitchen for a bottle of water, then stood at the sink and pulled my phone from my pocket.

How are you doing, Detective?

It took him a minute to reply. Better. Starting to remember a little.

My stomach tightened and I took a deep breath before I answered him.

I’m glad you’re doing better. I’m heading to Shadowfield. Call me if you need anything.

Happy Halloween, Kait.

Thanks, Detective.

So formal, so polite, so careful.

He had no idea what had happened to him, but I had a feeling he was going to start remembering things, and when he did, he would remember being tortured by a fucking vampire. He would remember me pulling him down that tunnel. And then…who knew what would happen.

Ben had fixed him up. For three days Rick stayed at Shadowfield as he recovered, telling anyone who called that he was up north at his cabin. He called Beth every night to check on her. She’d told him she thought she might come home soon. Lennon had helped him, using her ability as a healer to speed up the process.

The detective was home now, taking it easy and, he’d told me, sleeping. A lot. Whoever had attacked him and left him for dead had actually done him a favor. He’d laughed when he’d said that. Yesterday he’d told me he believed it was the serial killer he’d been hunting. He’d deliberately said things on the news to piss the guy off. Next time, he’d be ready. That was what he said. That was what he thought.

I worried about him.

When the doorbell rang, I wasn’t surprised, not really.

“Have fun, Kait,” Lucy called, as I strode by the living room doorway. “I won’t wait up.” She giggled, Max smirked, and even Ash came out of his stupor to give a cheery bark. I stopped and stared in at them, truly happy. It was good to have friends. I barely remembered what it had been like to feel alone in the world.

I opened the door and Jared smiled at me. “You look beautiful, Wolf.”

I might have blushed. “Thank you, Alpha. But you know I was going to drive over.”

He shrugged. “I wanted to pick you up.”

I stepped out, closed the door, and took a moment to run an admiring eye over his suit. “Fancy,” I said, when what I wanted to say was “sexy.” He was crisp and clean and smelled so good. My stomach clenched and the longer I stood there staring at him, the more intense my feelings became.

He took my arm and led me toward his car, his fingers warming my entire body. I hadn’t bothered with a coat. Wolves ran hot, and anyway, soon I would be dressed in fur.

He opened the door and started to hand me in, but I looked up at the evening sky, and for a little while, I was frozen. Mesmerized. I could feel the moon coming. Calling me.

My wolf shivered through me, and her need grew stronger with each second that I stood there. “I can feel her,” I murmured. “Already I want to shift.”

“She is hard to resist.” But his stare was on me and his voice was caressing.

My mouth dry, I climbed inside his car. Soon, we would arrive in Shadowfield, the day would fade, and I would get my first moon shift. Tonight, she was irresistible. Much like the alpha.

He stood there without closing my door for a good twenty seconds. “Kait,” he murmured. “Why are you afraid?”

But I simply didn’t know—not really. “Tonight is a big deal,” I said, finally. “Before you freed my wolf, the full moon, in her power, called my shift. When I couldn’t give it to her, she hurt me.” I swallowed hard and stared down at my fingers. “That pain…”

“Is over,” he said firmly. “There will be no pain tonight. Only joy.” He shut my door and when he was inside the dark closeness of the car, he spoke again. “When you give yourself to the moon and she brings your shift, it will be like nothing you’ve ever experienced. Remember when I first freed you?”

My heart was thumping against my ribs, hard and fast. I was scared. Anxious. Nervous. “I will never forget. That night was…huge.”

He nodded. “This night will be even bigger. For your wolf, this night is everything. This time, the moon will call, and your wolf will answer.” He took my hand, squeezing gently as he ran his thumb over my knuckles. “Don’t be afraid, little wolf. I will be with you.”

It was what an alpha was supposed to do. He would protect, reassure, calm, support. But there was something more in his eyes and we both knew it.

But tonight…

Tonight I would belong to the moon.