Broken Bonds by Keri Arthur
Chapter Six
Ahush fell over the café, and it felt like the gaze of every person in the room pinned the two of us. It was a weight that made me tremble. Or maybe that was caused by the thick mix of anger and despair boiling through me.
The bitch has some cheek, Belle growled. Coming in here, as bold as brass, when she has to know you’re in a relationship with Aiden.
I’m not so sure she does. Remember who invited her to the reservation.
Of course, she might also be a very good actor, and I might be reading her completely wrong. Especially given she’d strung Aiden along so very easily the first time she’d come into the reservation.
More than happy to read her mind and find out, Belle said. Or, better yet, force her ass out back into the storm.
It was tempting. So very tempting. I drew in a breath and resisted. No. I need to handle it.
After all, I’d have to do exactly that. Not just today, but every other minute, hour, and day in my life, for the rest of my life, if she and Aiden married.
I hugged the tray close to my chest and walked over to the door. “A table for one?”
She hesitated. “I was told that Aiden O’Connor might be here.”
Her voice was smooth and mellow; definitely not the harpy tones I’d been half expecting.
“He’s not here at the moment, but usually comes in after his shift. Would you like to wait?”
She hesitated again and then nodded. She obviously hadn’t talked to Aiden as yet, otherwise she would have known he’d taken time off from work.
Maybe it wasn’t just me he left in the dark.
“This way.”
I led her across to the table we kept reserved for whenever Monty, Ashworth, or Eli decided to call in. A soft murmuring trailed behind us, a wave of surprise and expectation. I wasn’t going to give them their show; not here, not now, not ever.
“What can I get you?” I said once she was seated.
She picked up the menu and, after a moment, said, “A long black and the lemon meringue pie, thanks.”
“Won’t be long.”
“Thank you.”
I headed back to the counter. Belle was already making her coffee. You sure you don’t want me to force her ass and too-perfect hair out into the storm?
I smiled, even though all I wanted to do was scream and shout and weep. I can’t talk to her if you force her ass out into the rain.
Belle’s eyebrows rose. Why the hell do you want to talk to her? She’s the opposition.
That doesn’t alter the fact we need to talk. I walked around the counter and pulled the pie from the cake fridge. Gut instinct is telling me all is not as it seems—at least when it comes to her appearance here.
Your gut instinct is crazy.
Could be.I cut a slice of pie, plated it up, and then decorated it with cream and strawberries. I still need to talk to her.
The gossips are going to have a field day.
Which will happen no matter what I do.
True.
I put Mia’s order onto the tray, grabbed a green tea for myself, and then walked over. Once I’d placed everything on the table, I raised a shield to prevent our watchers from hearing anything we said, and then sat down opposite her.
She raised an eyebrow. It was an elegant gesture. “Is there a problem?”
“I suspect there will be.”
Curiosity and perhaps a touch of wariness crossed her pretty features, but her golden eyes showed little in the way of emotion. It just reinforced my suspicion she had no idea who I was.
“And why is that?”
“Because of who I am, and who you are.”
She studied me for a second. “You’re a witch. I’ve been told that much.”
“By Karleen O’Connor, no doubt. Did she also send you here?”
She hesitated and then nodded. “She said Aiden generally drops by for a coffee after an early shift.”
I am so going to rain curses down on that bitch the next time I see her,Belle growled.
She’s hardly worth the karma blowback. To Mia, I added, “Which is extremely interesting, considering she’s well aware he’s taken leave from work and is currently at the hospital by his injured brother’s bedside.”
“I did know about Dillon.” Mia picked up her coffee cup and studied me over its rim. “But why on earth would Karleen lie like that?”
A smile tugged at my lips, though it held little in the way of humor. “For the exact same reason that she invited you back into the reservation.”
“And why is that?”
“Because she wants me out of Aiden’s life and has become so desperate to achieve that aim that she’d invite the woman who broke his heart back into his life without informing him.”
Surprise flitted across her face, but there was very little else in the way of reaction. After a few moments, she put her coffee down, crossed her arms on the table, and leaned forward. “You and Aiden are in a relationship?”
“Have been for a few months now.”
“But you’re a witch. Surely you’re aware it could amount to nothing.”
Anger boiled down the mental lines, a force so fierce I winced. Belle, you need to control it.
Oh, I am. If I wasn’t, she’d be naked and walking barefoot out of the reservation right now.
The whole naked thing is a bit extreme, methinks.
Not given she’s thinking you’re a little too well rounded for Aiden’s tastes.
I snorted and said, “He appreciates the bigger tits, Mia.”
Her gaze widened even as pink flushed through her cheeks. “You heard what I was thinking?”
“I didn’t. My friend and co-owner did. I take it Karleen didn’t warn you about that, either?”
She drew in a breath and placed her hands on the table, obviously intending to leave. Belle’s mental energy surged; a heartbeat later, she was in Mia’s mind and preventing her from moving.
“What the hell …?” Mia said, a mix of anger and fear flickering through her eyes.
“As I said earlier, we need to talk. You’ll be free to go after that.” I motioned to her coffee and pie. “Consider those on the house as a means of compensation.”
She glared at me. I picked up the teapot and poured myself a cup, maintaining appearances for all those watching so avidly.
“Look,” I said. “I mean you no harm. But you need to know what the situation is.”
“I think I can guess what the situation is.” Her mellow tones held a bite. “You’re in a relationship destined to go nowhere, but it’s one you’re very desperate to hold on to. You no doubt intend to warn me off.”
I picked up my cup and took a sip. “Actually, no. I’m well aware that my relationship with Aiden will end. What you and I need to talk about is the means through which that happens.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Meaning what, exactly?”
“That until Aiden tells me himself it’s over, you won’t do anything to undermine us. You will not come on to him or bad-mouth me to him.”
Frost touched her golden eyes. “I have no idea what you’ve heard about me, but I’m not the type to ever willingly sleep with a man in a committed relationship—be it with a wolf, human, or witch.”
“The key word there is ‘willingly.’”
Her gaze widened a fraction. “He told you about that?”
“He did. There are no secrets between us, Mia.” Not now, at any rate.
She digested this for a few moments, then picked up her spoon and scooped up some pie. “I could promise you the world, then walk out of this café and do the exact opposite. You’d never know, because you’re not wolf and will never be party to what happens in the compounds.”
“Except I would. Remember my friend? The telepathic one? The gossip brigade in this town has nothing on her when it comes to information gathering.” I took another sip of tea. “Of course, we could enforce the agreement mentally, but that could lead to bad karma, and I’d really rather make this a friendly arrangement.”
Horror and perhaps a touch of fear flitted through her expression. She hastily scooped up more pie. “What happens to me if he does decide our relationship should renew?”
“Absolutely nothing. You and he would be welcome here anytime you wish.”
She half laughed. “That would be rather awkward, wouldn’t it?”
“No, because I’m also one half of the reservation witch team, so he and I will be working together on a regular basis.”
She frowned. “Why on earth would the reservation need two witches?”
A smile tugged at my lips. This time, it actually did hold some amusement. “Because we have an ongoing demon and spirit infestation problem.”
One eyebrow rose again. “Seriously?”
“Very.”
“They didn’t when I was last here.”
“Lots of things have happened since you left, Mia.” I paused. “Do you still have a common law husband?”
“I wouldn’t have come back here if I did.”
There was an edge in her voice that made me believe her, but nevertheless I reached out for Belle.
It’s true, Belle said. They split up not long after she returned to her pack.
So she lost both the men in her life?
Yes.Belle paused. Can’t say which one she regrets more, though. She definitely cared for Aiden, but I’m not sensing any great degree of love.
Caring can develop into love, given enough time together.
Belle didn’t reply to that, but her emotions swirled down the link, a warm and caring telepathic hug that had me briefly blinking back tears. I dropped my gaze and drank some tea until I got them under control.
“If you know the story,” she continued, anger evident, though I suspected it was aimed more at the situation she’d been forced into rather than at me. “Then you know I had very little control over all that.”
Because her parents were at the bottom of the wolf rung, and she was bound to obey her alphas’ ruling or see them suffer. “You could have told Aiden what was going on, Mia.”
A smile twisted her lips. “A comment that shows how little you understand pack structure and life.”
“No doubt.” I studied her for a second. “So, do we have an agreement?”
She hesitated, and then nodded. “We do.”
I held out my hand and quickly but silently raised a binding spell. “Shake to agree. But be warned, an agreement shaken on is an agreement that is best upheld when dealing with a witch.”
She smiled. “As I said, I am no relationship breaker. I’m all too aware of the pain it causes.”
Because her common law husband had another on the side, Belle said.
Damn it, Belle, I don’t want to feel sorry for her. And yet there was a tiny piece of me that was starting to.
Probably because she isn’t the ogre we’d painted in our minds.
No. In fact, her pack’s alphas had treated her as badly as my father had me. Which wasn’t news—Aiden had mentioned she’d been forced into it—but my reactions to the situation had been clouded by his obvious pain and hurt. I hadn’t actually thought about what it must have been like for her.
Which didn’t at all mean she was completely exonerated of guilt. She had a voice, and she’d been far enough away from her pack’s influence to have said something. I might not understand pack politics, but I knew Aiden well enough now to know he would have confronted her alphas on her behalf.
“Do we have a deal?” I repeated.
She reached out and gripped my hand. The spell activated, a binding that would ensure she held to her word.
I might feel sorry for her, I might be inclined to believe her, but I wasn’t a fool. If Aiden did break up with me, it wouldn’t be because of any undue influence on her part.
“Deal,” she said. “And may the best woman win.”
“This isn’t a game, Mia.”
The amusement fell from her features. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so glib.”
I dismantled the silencing spell from around the table and then rose. “I’d better get back to work. Please feel free to stay and finish your coffee and pie.”
“Thank you,” she said. “It is rather good pie.”
“Good coffee and cake is the reason this place is always so full.”
That, and the thrilling prospect of a confrontation between rivals, apparently.
Belle squeezed my arm as I walked around the counter, but didn’t say anything. Of course, she didn’t need to. Her empathy and love washed through my mind, a wave that offered courage and strength.
I’d need both before the next few days were over.
Mia finished her coffee and pie and left about ten minutes later. The crowd quickly thinned out after that, leaving only a few stragglers left by the time closing time came around.
I was locking the door when my phone rang, the tone telling me it was Aiden. I sucked in a breath, gathering courage, and then answered it.
“Hey,” I said. “Everything okay?”
“I’ve been at the hospital all day with Dillon. They told him yesterday he’ll have a limp for life, and he’s not coping well at the moment.”
Tired frustration swirled through his voice, and my heart went out to him. “He’s a teenager, Aiden. They’re all about appearances at that age. He’ll be fine in the long run.”
“I hope you’re right.” A soft scraping came down the line, and I had a mental image of his rubbing a hand across his bristly chin. “Are you right to find your own way home tonight? My parents have demanded I make an appearance at some goddamn dinner they’re throwing. Heaven only knows why.”
To welcome Mia, I thought. To reintroduce her in the safe surroundings of the compound, where there was absolutely no hint or reminder of my presence. It was tempting, so very tempting, to warn him, but it wouldn’t change anything and only serve to get Karleen more offside.
Maybe I needed to rethink letting Belle rain curses down on the bitch’s head.
“Are you coming home afterward? Or will you stay up there the night?”
“I’ll probably stay. It’ll be safer than driving home when I’m bone tired.”
I swallowed and found myself nodding, even though he wouldn’t see the movement.
“Breakfast at the café, then? Or are you going straight back to the hospital?”
“Breakfast would be lovely.” He paused. “I’ll see you in the morning, hon.”
He hung up before I could reply. I sucked in air, trying to control the thick rise of fear and hurt, anger and love, then turned and ran across the room, straight into Belle’s waiting arms.
And sobbed for a relationship that hadn’t yet ended.
I was of two minds as to whether I should stay at the café or go back to Aiden’s, but in the end decided that if I was going to spend the night alone, it’d be better to do so in a place where there weren’t so many happy memories to tear at my still fragile emotions.
Belle came out of her bedroom, an overnight bag slung over her shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay and keep you company?”
“Positive.” I gestured at the extra-large slice of black forest cake sitting on my lap. “I have all the company I need right here on this plate.”
A smile tugged at her lips, though it didn’t really lift the concern swirling through her thoughts. “A mountain of chocolate cake is the perfect cure for a sore heart.”
“Indeed.” And it was a cure we’d both used more than a couple of times over the years—though I did have more of a tendency to fall for the wrong man than she did. “Can you remind Monty that if he gets that tracker spell working, he has to call me? If this bitch is capable of magic, it might take the three of us to bring her down.”
“Is that precognition speaking? Or common old sense?”
“According to some, I haven’t got a whole lot of the latter, so it has to be the former.”
She laughed, but before she could say anything, a horn tooted outside. “That would be Monty.”
“What, he’s too lazy to get out of the car now?”
Her smile flashed. “He was given a friendly warning to stop parking in no-standing zones, so now he just keeps the engine running.”
“He could go a little further down the road where parking is allowed and come get you like a gentleman, rather than just tooting the damn horn.”
She laughed. “This is Monty, remember.”
I smiled. “Is he in the Mustang?”
“From the sound of that rumble, yes.”
“That explains it then.” Monty wouldn’t dare leave his precious pony parked out in the street where uncaring strangers could fling open their doors and dent it. Not unless he absolutely had to.
“Yes, I think he cares about that Mustang more than he will ever care about me.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far.”
A wry smile tugged at her lips. “I would. You haven’t witnessed him polishing her. He croons at her. It’s seriously disturbing.”
“Only if he doesn’t croon at you as well.”
“Also true.”
She waggled a goodbye with her fingers, then disappeared down the stairs. A few seconds later, the front door slammed and thick silence fell. It was the sort of silence where bad thoughts lurked, ready to be picked and amplified. I’d already had one crying bout. I was not going to have another. Not until the end, and that wasn’t here yet.
Enjoy what you have, while you can, I told myself fiercely. And then move on.
Except there was no moving on. Not for me. Not now.
I frowned at the thought, but whatever precognitive insight it had come from fled before I could pin it. I swore softly, put on some happy music, and then picked up the top book from the stack Belle had collected from our storage unit and read through it while munching on my ginormous bit of cake.
Time drifted, and the late afternoon moved on to night. The only thing I found in the book was a vague mention of something called a Baigujing, which was apparently a shape-shifting demoness with a fondness for eating flesh. It wasn’t our spirit, but could have been related, if the side notes were to be believed. There was nothing on how to kill it, however, which was annoying.
I put the book down, then picked up my empty plate and walked over to the small kitchenette to wash it. As I filled up the kettle, my phone rang.
Aiden.
My heart leapt into my throat and, just for a second, I couldn’t breathe. I dragged the phone out of my pocket and hit the answer button. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you tonight—is everything okay?”
“No. Where are you?”
The words were little more than a deep growl. He was angry. Truly angry. Obviously, the meeting with Mia had not gone well. And while a part of me wanted to dance in utter delight, I knew it was far too soon for that. Karleen had extended the invitation to Mia, which meant only she could rescind it.
“I’m at the café—”
“I’ll be over to pick you up in five,” he cut in brusquely.
“Where are we going?”
“Home.”
With that, he hung up.
I stared at the phone and wondered just how far awry things had gone. And whether in the long run it would make any damn difference. If it wasn’t Mia who broke us up, it would be someone else.
I shoved my phone back into my pocket, then turned and raced down the stairs to grab my coat and purse. I was waiting out the front when his truck pulled up.
He leaned across the seat to open the door for me, but didn’t say anything. His aura was a turbulent mix of red and black—the former centered around his heart and the latter representing unresolved emotions and grief. It was the black that was dangerous—not physically, because there was no way in this world that Aiden would ever lash out at me with his fists, but rather emotionally. Hurt people hurt people, an old psychic had once told me. If I didn’t step carefully, all that anger might unintentionally be unleashed on me.
He waited until I pulled on the seat belt and then took off, taking the corner so fast the tires squealed. For too many minutes, heavy silence reigned, but the wash of his anger continued to burn across my senses and my skin.
We were well out of Castle Rock when he finally slowed down. After a deep breath, he looked across to me, his blue eyes bright in the shadows of the night.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be such an uncommunicative bastard, but my mother sprang a rather unexpected surprise on me this evening.”
“I know.”
His gaze sharpened. “You do? How?”
I half smiled, though tension rose, twisting my stomach into knots. “Remember the confrontation I had with her at your birthday party?”
He nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Well, she told me then that she’d invited Mia—”
“Why the fuck didn’t you say anything? I could have stopped her—”
“No, you couldn’t have, and we both know it.”
His breath hissed through clenched teeth. An admission I was right, even if he didn’t come out and say it. “At least I would have been forewarned. Walking in there tonight and seeing her again … well, it was a shock.”
I couldn’t help but note he hadn’t said it was an unpleasant shock. He might be utterly furious about being caught so off guard, but all those unresolved feelings still swirled through his aura, and no doubt his mind, and who knew exactly where they would lead.
“I take it you walked out of the dinner?”
“Yes.”
I hesitated. “You can’t leave it there, Aiden.”
He glanced at me sharply again. “Are you advising me to talk to her?”
“Oh, trust me, it’s really the last thing I actually want you to do.”
“Then why say something like that?”
“Because you’ve never really confronted what she did and what you felt for her, and you need to do both if you’re to have any future—be it with her or with another wolf.”
“I don’t want that future. I want you.”
My heart twisted. Ached. “Through sickness and in health, kids and old age?”
Silence.
He knew, like I knew, that he was thinking only about the present. His future lay with his pack, as their alpha, and he couldn’t—wouldn’t—jeopardize that.
We rode in silence for a while. As we swept into the outskirts of Argyle, I said softly, “Why didn’t you tell me you’d taken time off work?”
He slowed for the roundabout. “It just slipped my mind. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Would you have mentioned it if I had been a wolf?”
Again, silence.
Again, we both knew that the answer would have been yes. And no matter how much he cared for or wanted me, he would continue to compartmentalize our relationship as separate to his “wolf” life.
He drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. “I’m sorry. I should have said something.”
“Yes. We did agree to the whole ‘no more secrets’ thing, remember?”
“We did—and yet you kept the whole Mia thing secret.”
“Guilty as charged, but I just … didn’t want to upset your already strained relationship with your mother.” Which was true enough, even if cowardice was in fact the real reason.
He flicked on the indicator and turned into the driveway that led around the lake to his house. “My mother can go to hell, as far as I’m concerned. I have no idea what she was thinking—”
“Oh, I think we both know precisely what she was thinking.”
“Wanting you out of my life is no excuse for inviting back the woman I’ve already rejected.”
He might have rejected her, but he hadn’t entirely gotten over her. “She’s your alpha and your mother. A rather deadly combination.”
“That still doesn’t excuse her behavior.”
He pulled up in front of his house and turned off the headlights. Thunder cracked overhead, and the already heavy rain became an absolute torrent. Even though the door was only ten feet away, we were absolutely soaked before we got inside.
I stripped off my coat and slung it over the hook. “I think a nice hot shower is called for.”
“Oh,” he said, scooping me up into his arms. “I can think of a far better way to warm up.”
I laughed. “You wouldn’t be using sex to avoid any more discussions about a certain wolf, would you?”
“Discussions about that wolf are likely to kill my libido, not increase it. There’s only one woman I want to think about and lose myself in right now, and she’s right here in my arms.”
“So that would be a yes, then.”
“You can take that comment any way you please.”
“And you, dear wolf, can take me any way you please.”
He laughed, low and sexy, and a delicious heat stirred through my body. “Be sure that I will. Multiple times.”
“Multiples are always good.”
He laughed again, then raced up the stairs and got down to the serious business of lovemaking.
The wind rattled the windows, and the rain pelted against the tin roof, creating a deafening chorus of sound.
And yet, that wasn’t what had woken me.
I frowned and flipped the sheet away from my face. Aiden stirred lightly at the movement; his arm slipped around my waist and pulled me just a little bit closer. I smiled, even as I wondered if he was subconsciously holding on to something he knew was already slipping away.
I ignored the stab of pain and reached for my phone to check the time. It was just after four, which meant we’d only been asleep for a couple of hours. Aiden had very definitely followed through with his “multiples” promise.
With a very contented smile, I scanned the shadows clinging to the room. There was nothing out of place, and nothing to hear other than the cacophony of the storm, and yet … unease stirred.
Something was out there in the deeper darkness of the night.
Something foul.
I pulled away from Aiden’s grip and climbed out of bed.
“Is something wrong?” he immediately asked.
“Maybe. I don’t know.” I walked across to the huge wall of glass and stared out into the storm. Though the windows were double glazed, a chill caressed my skin. I suspected its cause wasn’t the cold that still seeped through the glass but rather the stirring of something unnatural. Something I could feel rather than see.
“That generally means yes.” The bed squeaked lightly as he rose and padded across the room. He stopped behind me, his big body radiating heat, warming my spine and chasing away some of the cold. “Is it our killer?”
“I don’t really know.”
“But you think it’s headed this way?”
I hesitated and reached out with my psi senses. They briefly snagged a sliver of darkness but were quickly spun away—whether by the wind or magic, I couldn’t say, because the sensation was simply too far away.
“I can’t tell.” I crossed my arms and lightly rubbed them. “But given the specter has come after me before, it might be wise to get Monty out here.”
“Why?” Aiden asked, surprise evident. “He surely won’t be able to do anything more than you.”
“Actually, in this case, he can. He gained an insight into our spirit’s magic when we went after her yesterday morning and was working on using that to form a tracking spell. If she is out there, we might be able to find her.”
“It would seem I missed a fair bit when I was sitting in the hospital.”
“Your brother is more important than a hunt for a murderer, Aiden.”
“Yes, but—”
“You’re an alpha wolf and head ranger, and you hate not being on top of all things.”
He laughed softly. “That is bitingly true. You want me to ring Monty?”
“Yes, though he isn’t going to be happy about the hour.”
“Tough. He’s the reservation witch, not you.” Aiden walked back to the bed to grab his phone and then made the call.
It almost rang out before Monty answered, and his voice held a decidedly grumpy note. “Do you know what fucking time it is?”
“Well, yes, because I’m at the other end of the phone making the call,” Aiden said dryly. “Do you want to get your ass out of bed and over to my place as soon as possible?”
“Has there been another murder?” Monty’s tone showed a whole lot more interest.
“No, but Liz has a sense of darkness stirring and—”
“She’s very rarely wrong about these things.” There was a scuff of movement followed by a muttered curse. The latter had come from Belle, though the vague stirrings along the mental lines suggested she remained more asleep than awake. “How far away is it?”
“Far enough that I can’t sense whether it’s actually our skeleton spirit or something else,” I said, raising my voice to ensure he could hear me.
“I’ll be there in twenty,” Monty said. “In the meantime, activate your muting spell, Liz. It’ll stop this thing from sensing your presence if she is using your link to the wild magic to track you.”
Something I should have thought about doing earlier. “She might not be here for me, Monty. It might be just a coincidence.”
“It might, but it’s not a risk we dare take. And please don’t go after her until I get there. Belle won’t be happy if something happens to you on my watch.”
No, Belle silently muttered, she definitely won’t. So look after each other, please.
Rest assured, I won’t let anything happen to your man.
Well, good, because I’ve only just started playing with him, and I’m far from finished yet.
I think it’s safe to say he will never be finished with you.
Will you just give it a rest?
Not until you admit the inevitable.
Never.
Not even when you’re wearing white and walking down the aisle?
Even then.
I chuckled softly and walked back to Aiden. “I might grab a shower while we’re waiting for Monty to arrive. I don’t suppose you want to make the coffee?”
He snagged my fingers and drew me close. “I might even stretch my culinary skills to making some toast. I didn’t have any dinner and I’ve expended a fair bit of energy since then.”
“And I appreciated your effort. Multiple times.”
I rose on my toes and kissed him, long and leisurely. Desire rose, a thick and heady scent that made my pulse race and body ache.
“We have at least twenty minutes before Monty gets here,” he murmured eventually, his breath hot against my lips. “What say we make full use of it?”
“Tempting, but I need a coffee and a shower, and not necessarily in that order.”
“You smell perfectly fine to me.”
“You would say that, given it’s your scent all over me.”
His hand slipped down to my rump and pressed me against his erection. “What if I promised to be quick?”
“Tempting, but given the way my luck has been running of late, evil would strike just as we reached an interesting stage of proceedings.”
He sighed. The sorrowful sound was spoiled by the glitter of amusement in his eyes. “My woman has a will of iron.”
I wish that were true … I forced a smile and kissed him again. “No, she’s just being cautious. You know, that thing you keep urging me to be.”
He laughed and released me. “Never thought those words would come back and bite me.”
I stepped back and pointed toward the door. “Begone, wolf. Your woman needs sustenance.”
He made a flourishing bow. “Your wish is my command.”
“I will remind you of that at an opportune time.”
He laughed and headed out. By the time I’d taken a shower and gotten dressed, the rich aroma of coffee and toast rode the air. I quickly raised the muting spell Monty had taught me and then drew it back into my flesh. We knew it worked, because it had been tested against the best in the business—my father and ex.
Once I’d shoved on my boots, I headed out and clattered down the stairs, but stopped abruptly near the bottom step, my head snapping toward the wall of windows.
Evil was close.
Far too close.
Magic flickered across my fingertips, a repelling spell so fierce its sparks spun through the shadows, firefly bright. I scanned the wall of black beyond the windows, but I had no sense she was hunting us.
But she was hunting someone.
“Do you want vegemite or walnut toffee spread on your—” Aiden stopped abruptly. “She’s out there?”
“Yes.” I swallowed heavily and glanced at him. “How well do you know your neighbors?”
He frowned. “As well as anyone does these days. Why?”
“Is there a divorced single man among them?”
“I don’t think they were married, but Jo and Mal recently split up, and I think Mal is still living in their rental. It’s the second house back from the main road.”
“I think that’s where our spirit might be heading.”
“Meaning she hasn’t attacked yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Then let’s go.” He moved across to the gun safe in the corner and unlocked it. “You haven’t got your backpack with you—will that be problematic?”
“Only in that I can’t hit her with either holy water or my silver knife.”
“Either require you getting entirely too close, in my opinion.”
“In that, we agree. So I’ll just cast a cage around her and hope it holds until Monty gets here.”
“Will that actually work, given she’s capable of magic?”
I shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out.”
“So much for being cautious,” he muttered.
I smiled, despite the gathering tension. “Hard to be cautious when there’s a life on the line.”
“A truth I cannot deny. Lead the way.” He must have seen my surprise, because he added, with a somewhat wry smile, “You’ll sense this thing before me, and you’re better equipped to handle it. I may be an alpha, but I’m also more than willing to cede the lead in a situation such as this. Doesn’t mean I’m happy about it, of course.”
“Oh, I think that goes without saying.”
I pulled on my coat and headed outside. The wind hit hard, forcing me back several steps before I managed to catch my balance. I tugged the hood down to keep the rain out of my face and then went right, heading for the path that led around the lake.
Evil didn’t need a path. She was coming straight across the water.
I clenched my fingers against the press of energy. The last thing I needed was for this thing to sense the presence of my regular magic now that I’d concealed the inner wild stuff.
I ran past several houses before cutting across the grass toward the man’s rental. The place was shrouded in darkness, though that wasn’t entirely surprising given the hour. I stepped onto the porch and strode toward the door. A sensor light clicked on, the sudden brightness making me blink rapidly.
“Is our specter close enough to see that?” Aiden asked.
“She’ll probably see the glow, but I don’t think she’s close enough to actually see us. Too many trees along the shoreline.” I motioned to the door. “You want to employ some muscle and force that open?”
“Why not just knock? Or magic it open?”
“Our spirit might sense the latter and, well, if I can smell the booze, surely you can.”
His nostrils flared briefly, and his gaze narrowed. Though I could see the questions in his eyes about the sharpness of my olfactory senses, he didn’t give them voice; he just stepped back, raised his foot, and kicked the door as hard as he could. It sprang open with little resistance, crashing back against the wall with enough noise to wake the dead.
But not, apparently, the drunk.
Mal lay on the sofa, one leg on the floor and his arms wrapped around a large bottle of Jack Daniels. If he’d gone through that entire thing tonight, he was damn lucky to be alive. Aside from the whole alcohol poisoning prospect, he was on his back and could have very easily choked on his own vomit.
“Bloody fool.” Aiden plucked the empty bottle from the man’s grasp, then quickly shifted him onto his side.
A staggeringly loud snore was the only response.
I shut the door as best I could, given the lock was broken, then walked down to the kitchen area. After a quick check through several cupboards, I found the salt container and raced upstairs, pouring a thin line along the edges of the bedroom and bathroom windows. Thankfully, the rental was smaller than Aiden’s and only had the one bedroom up here. It at least meant there weren’t as many avenues for our spirit to enter. Not that she’d shown any tendency so far to enter via windows—apparently all she had to do was knock on the front door, and her victims let her straight in.
Either her illusionary form was absolutely stunning, or her magic made her victims as horny as hell and willing to forgo all common sense.
I clattered back down the stairs. Aiden was on the phone, but hung up as I walked over to our target. He was still out to it.
“Monty is still ten or so minutes away. How do you want to play this?”
I hesitated. “I’m thinking this could be the perfect opportunity to attempt a trap of our own.”
“With me as the bait, I take it?”
A smile tugged at my lips. “Well, you are a potential heartbreaker, so it’s rather apt.”
He snorted. “There will be no heartbreak for you when it comes to Mia, trust me on that.”
Which wasn’t a denial that heartache did lie in my future where he was concerned. “Let’s get Mal upstairs, out of the way.”
“Will he be safe up there?”
“I’ve laid salt along all the windows—”
“Will that be protection enough, given she’s capable of magic? Salt doesn’t stop witches, does it?”
“No, but she’s a spirit capable of magic rather than a witch; salt will stop her, if only for the few seconds it would take to create a spell to get rid of it.”
“And in those few minutes, we could have her.”
I nodded. “I doubt she’ll come in through the upstairs windows, though, and given what’s been said about the awkwardness of her gait, it’s unlikely she’ll climb to the balcony.”
“In this reservation, ‘unlikely’ isn’t a word we should be putting faith in. We’ll shove him in the shower—he’ll be out of immediate sight, and if he vomits, it’ll be easier to wash off.”
I nodded, but my gaze was drawn to the darkness beyond the wall of windows. She was almost at the shoreline. We needed to hurry if we wanted to set our trap.
Aiden hauled Mal upright, then shifted his position so that his back was against the man’s chest. After grabbing Mal’s arms to hold him in place, Aiden bent and hauled him up. It very much looked like he was giving the unconscious man a piggyback.
We quickly went up the stairs and into the bathroom. Aiden sat him in the shower and propped him against the rear wall while I grabbed a couple of pillows to break his fall should he flop the wrong way. Thankfully, the shower was one of those large walk-in ones, and there weren’t any large sheets of glass to fall against and smash.
“Right,” Aiden said once Mal was secure. “What’s the plan?”
I hesitated. “You take up position on the sofa. The minute you let her inside, I’ll grab her.”
“Things are rarely that simple. Not lately.”
A truth that could apply to more than just the supernatural. “You’re wearing your protection charm. You’ll be all right.”
The charm in question was little more than multiple strands of intertwined leather and copper worn around the neck. Each strand represented a different type of protection spell, and while the whole thing looked rather innocuous, it was probably the most powerful thing Belle and I had ever created. Only silver would have made it any stronger, but that wasn’t really practical in a werewolf reservation, let alone for a werewolf to wear.
Warmth gleamed in his eyes. “It wasn’t me I was worried about.”
A statement that warmed my foolish heart. He turned and led the way back downstairs. While he walked over to the sofa and settled down, I went through the kitchen and into the small laundry room. It gave me a good line of sight down the entire length of the room but was far enough away that she shouldn’t be able to see me. Unless, of course, she had eyes as sharp as a wolf.
I half closed the door, then hunkered down and reached out with my senses. Her presence was sharp and close, and she was heading straight for the door. I sucked in a breath, drawing Aiden’s gaze, and held up two fingers.
He nodded, then crossed his arms, leaned back against the sofa, and pretended to sleep. My gaze went to the door. For several seconds, nothing happened. The rain continued to lash the night, and riverlets of water raced down the glass, providing a silvery curtain through which little could be seen.
Then a face appeared from the gloom. It was gaunt and white, with sunken eye sockets, sharp bony cheeks, and no hair. Though there was no discernable body, the light from the fire gleamed off what looked to be the upper part of a hip.
A skeletal hip.
Her face returned to the darkness, but her magic rose. I recognized the spell, though it wasn’t one I’d used all that much, thanks to the fact my psi senses could generally do a better job of probing spaces. Threads of evil slipped into the room and gently spread out across the shadows, searching the room in a methodical manner until they reached the sofa and Aiden.
They immediately stopped.
Tension wound through me, and it was all I could do to remain still and not warn Aiden. But if I moved or did anything to counter the probe spell, she’d run. The only way I had any hope of catching her was to wait until she stepped into the room.
Two of the spell’s threads unraveled from the mass and reached out, lightly touching Aiden’s face. The charm reacted, instantly and violently smacking the probe away. There was a screech of fury, and the probing spell disintegrated. The dark presence that was our skeleton spirit fled.
I swore, leapt up, and raced for the door. Aiden was by my side in an instant. “Problem?”
“The charm reacted to her magic and scared her off.”
“I can’t say I’m sad about that.”
“Me neither.” Even if it wrecked our capture plans, it at least confirmed my magic would hold against an entity this strong.
I threw open the door, and the wind blasted in, chilling me to the core. “Stay here and protect Mal. I’ll see if I can get close enough to throw a tracker at her.”
“And if it’s a trap?”
“I’ll deal with it.”
Aiden shoved my coat into my hand. “Please be careful.”
“Always.”
I thrust my arms into the coat’s sleeves, zipped up the front, and headed out. I didn’t bother drawing on the hood, simply because it restricted side vision. But the wind and rain was so fierce, it slapped long wet strands of hair across my face and made it almost impossible to see anyway.
But I didn’t need to see to track our spirit.
I could feel her. Feel her power and her foulness.
She hadn’t headed back to the lake, instead going right, toward the road. Perhaps she thought it’d be easier to lose me—or any magic I might send after her—in Argyle’s more densely populated area.
I broke into a run, weaving a tracking spell around the fingers of one hand while sparks of energy danced around the other. The latter was purely defensive—if the bitch came at me, I was going to hit her with everything I could. I couldn’t kill her with the inner wild magic simply because we had no idea just how connected it was to the reservation’s magic. If there was a deeper connection than what was currently presumed, then using my inner wild magic to kill might forever stain the reservation’s.
But stop her in her tracks? I sure as hell could do that.
Especially when the small but luminous threads of true wild magic were now visible. They were keeping pace with me but, rather weirdly, I had no sense that Katie had sent them. In fact, these particular threads seemed to have come from the bigger of the two wellsprings—the “wilder” one.
It was something that seemed to be happening more and more, and made me wonder if, in protecting the wellspring with my magic in those early months of our arrival—well before Monty and Ashworth had gotten here—some sort of connection had formed.
Which should have been impossible, but in this reservation? Who knew?
Up ahead, streetlights shone, but they were little more than pale yellow spots that did little to lift the overall darkness. A figure moved across the outer reaches of one of those light spots and for the first time, I saw her—though it was undoubtedly an illusion rather than the reality, because she very much reminded me of the old-style movie stars from the forties and fifties: blonde and buxom.
She disappeared into the storm-clad darkness. I swung out onto the driveway and raced after her. She was now on the far side of the road, heading toward a construction site consisting of half-built two-story apartment houses.
I raced after her, splashing through the puddles and sending muddy water flying. As I crossed the road, lights swept around the long corner to my left, pinning me in sudden brightness.
A car, coming straight at me.