“If her mother was born human, that means Moona could really just be a plain human despite her belief that she’s a wolf.”
“No.” Willa shook her head. “Moona was not born human. Her wolf is being stifled. Because of her unusual parentage, Rick and Leah wanted Moona to have every advantage over the other wolves in the pack. Before Moona’s first shift could happen, I cast another spell. This one was significantly safer. In fact, it ends tomorrow.”
“It ends tomorrow?” Elenora asked. It wasn’t often she was so surprised in a conversation, but the elder witch was full of secrets.
Nodding, Willa brought the fresh herb tea back to the table and filled two cups. “Moona turns sixty tomorrow. Werewolf legends say that wolves who wait that long for their first shift can become very powerful.”
“And you spelled her as a child to force Moona’s destiny in that direction?” Elenora snorted. “Don’t you think she’s going to be angry enough to rip out your throat when she finds out you’ve been her problem all these years? That’s if the spell even worked like you think it did. And if it did work, hasn’t it occurred to you that Moona may have missed her shifting window anyway? That happens as well, you know. If a wolf doesn’t shift as a teenager, they have problems forever—or that’s what I’ve seen.”
“None of that will be Moona’s story,” Willa said with confidence. “And even if she stays human, I’ve taught her enough magic to protect herself and to heal most hurts. My little wolf may not call herself a healer witch, but she’s a witch too—and a pretty damn good one. She just doesn’t take spell casting seriously enough to become great.”
“A wolf-witch,” Elenora said aloud as she thought about it. “Here I thought as a dragon-witch, I had cornered the magical market on weird.”
“Her mother was unique. I saw no reason Moona shouldn’t be just as special.” Willa’s teacup moved from her mouth to rest on the table. “Moona’s real problem is that some of those in her pack want her dead. The harassment has been getting worse lately. She’s all the time having to fight one of those furry bastards. That little altercation between her and Beth that you said you interrupted is just a sample. Then there’s the other problem with her trigger not being possible because of her damn stubbornness.”
“Trigger? Explain this to me.”
Willa snorted. “This late in the game there’s really only one physical trigger strong enough to call out her animal. Mating with the right wolf is never going to happen if Moona keeps pushing him away. Jared has always been the wolf for her.”
“Mating?” Elenora chuckled at the high hopes Willa had hung on things falling together all at once in Moona’s up-to-now disappointing life. “May the Ancients help us all if that’s the case. That’s how I became a dragon and I was not happy when it came about. I’d stayed away from dragons all my life until Damien Smoke came along.”
“Same for Moona,” Willa said. “There have been all kinds of males, but no wolves. She’s always wanted Jared but hasn’t let herself have him yet. That kind of attraction is inevitable though.”
“Maybe Moona’s not ready for her life to change as much as Jared would change it.”
“Maybe she isn’t,” Willa admitted. “I’d be alright either way, but she’s losing faith in herself. Being a werewolf is all she’s ever wanted.”
“Are you planning to tell her the truth no matter what happens tomorrow?”
Willa snorted and shrugged. “Well, I wasn’t going to until you showed up. There’s always the chance that she’ll morph without any prompting at some point in her life once the spell is broken.”
Elenora grinned when Willa sighed in resignation.
“I’m only spilling my guts to you with the truth because I knew once you’d looked close enough, you’d see the remnants of the spell. The trail was always going to lead back to me. I know how you work. I followed the last hundred years of your career. You’ve been my idol.”
Elenora snorted because she hadn’t bothered to look for a spell yet. She really had lost some of her sleuthing skills. “Now I suppose you want me to keep your secrets.”
Willa nodded. “That… and I want you to talk Jared into coming and making her pay attention to him—since you’re here to help. If Moona gets mad at me, I don’t want her running away from everyone who loves her. She’s going to need her pack once she’s a wolf.”
“I’m not a matchmaker, and I refuse to spell either of them to be attracted to each other. Those spells end eventually and that’s awful for the couple. I came here to help Moona discover the truth she seeks.” Elenora lifted her hand and swept it toward Willa. “I didn’t expect to hear a confession during the first hour I arrived, but you obviously have all the answers she’s looking for. Why haven’t you told her? She’s in agony.”
“I know. Look… Moona’s parents were…,” Willa stopped and sighed. “Leah wasn’t just my best friend. She was my mother. I called her Leah so no one would guess the truth.”
Elenora’s mouth dropped. “You saved your mother from dying with the metamorphosis spell? You spent your life on hers?”
“What can I say? I loved my mother above all other creatures back then. She didn’t flinch when I woke up with my powers. We truly were the best of friends and close as only a mother and daughter can be.”
“What happened to your father?”
“Leah always said my father was just some guy she picked up in a tavern in Prague or Copenhagen or somewhere—I never got that part of the story right. Neither of us knows who he was and he never came around. We can only guess he was a mage or warlock unless Gaia decided to just make me a witch for her own reasons.”
“Or your mother lied to you and never told you she was actually a witch,” Elenora said.
“Impossible,” Willa said.
Elenora lifted an eyebrow. “Not just possible, but probable, since magic typically passes through a maternal line. I haven’t seen many exceptions. However, it is possible your father was magical as well. But Moona’s definitely part werewolf. I knew Rick.”
Willa shrugged again. “Whatever the origin of my magic, I was a natural healer. When I woke up with witch powers on my thirtieth birthday, the first thing I did was start looking for a way to cure with my magic what I hadn’t been able to fix in Leah in any other way. My mother could have chosen any form. She chose to be a werewolf.”
“I can appreciate the allure. They live very passionate lives,” Elenora said.
“The only person who knew the whole truth about the situation was Rick, because Leah didn’t want to keep anything from him. He took care of both of us and included me in his pack the only way he could. Moona was an unexpected gift to all of us. I was forty when Moona was born. I’ve been taking care of her all my life as if she was my own child. She’s so much like Rick that it’s like he’s still around.”
Elenora studied the witch whose nostalgic wanderings kept getting their conversation off-topic. “Werewolves and magic are like oil and water though, Willa. This brings me back to concluding that Moona is a magical human, not a real wolf.”
“I know she’s a wolf. She was born a wolf. Moona’s got magic because she’s been looking for answers all her life and that’s taken her into learning about all kinds of magicals. She may not cast spells with a flourish and flair, but her will alone is strong enough to heal. She made that serum for the new fairy queen without any help from me at all.”
“Wolf. Witch. Enigma is more like it,” Elenora grumbled.
Willa nodded and slid a plate of cookies across the table. “She’s a hell of a good baker when she’s in the mood too.”
Elenora took a cookie, bit into it, and sighed as she nodded in agreement. “Moona’s just full of surprises, isn’t she?”
“And hopefully tomorrow all of them are going to come popping out of her,” Willa said.
4
Tired of pack politics, Jared intended to spend the afternoon brooding about how bad his life had become when a red-haired tempt
ress suddenly appeared in his room. He was too stunned at first to react or to grab a shirt. Then he recognized the female from all the descriptions he’d heard of her. All wolves knew the Jezibaba.
“Great. More problems. That’s exactly what I don’t need today. Didn’t you retire?” Jared asked the witch, forcing himself to be as calm as he could be.
Elenora smiled at the now bristling male. She had a fondness for all wolves—mostly because they provoked easily, which always amused her. Sometimes she thought the time she spent in their company was the closest she’d ever come to having a pet. Of course, she didn’t dare voice that sentiment aloud.
“I’m not here to report a rogue wolf from your pack.” She stopped and laughed. “Well, actually, I guess I am here about a rogue wolf, but this is more of a social call than a business one. I’ve come to be a special friend to you.”
Jared snorted. “A special friend? Though you’re every bit as beautiful as I’ve heard, I’m in no need of a female to warm my bed. Thank you for the offer but I’m just not interested.”
Elenora snickered. “You do look good, but I’m not here to seduce you, Wolf. Just how in the world did I earn a reputation of being a rampant seductress of all creatures? I assure you I never seduced that many wolves in my lifetime. Besides, I’m mated to a dragon now. Damien is very possessive, as in being a roast-other-males-alive kind of guy.”
“Mated to a dragon—of course, you are,” Jared said, his mouth twisting into a sneer. “I’d heard you were aligned with them these days. It’s hard to know what rumors to believe.”
“Indeed it is. Many things in our world are changing all at once. I bet you’ve heard a lot of bad things about dragons. After living as one for a while now, I’ve discovered they’re just like all other creatures,” Elenora said, looking around. She smiled as she looked back at him. “Is Moona the reason you’re not interested in bedding other females?”
“With all due respect, special friend, my relationship to Moona is no one’s business but mine.”
Elenora sighed. Arrogant to the end. It was a werewolf flaw and all alphas had it in spades. Actually, most males she knew suffered from it. The only reason she tolerated it as much as she did was that she was not much better. Arrogance was her flaw as well.
“Well, I’m making your business my business. I’m here because Moona needs you, Wolf. Tomorrow is going to be an incredibly important day for her. You need to be there by her side as she starts what could be the most adventurous time of her life. Besides… it’s her birthday.”
Jared looked away from his uninvited guest and glared at the wall. “Moona doesn’t want me by her side. Which is just as well, since I can’t leave the pack right now anyway.”
Elenora frowned. “Rubbish. You know Moona wants you. She just doesn’t feel worthy of you because she can’t shift. And why can’t you leave the pack for a day or two?”
“My reasons are pack business, not witch or dragon business. Why do you care?”
“Because I always keep my word. Moona helped save the new fairy queen. In exchange, I promised to help her find answers to her problems,” Elenora said tightly.
Jared crossed his arms to keep from showing his anger. “My alpha position is being challenged day after tomorrow. I can’t just leave. Harkin would take over the pack by default. That dark wolf will have us at war with other packs as soon as he can arrange it.”
“Is this Harkin fellow Beth’s father?”
“Yes. What do you know of Beth?”
Elenora tilted her head to stare. “I interrupted her latest attack on Moona this morning, but Willa the Healer says your pack comes to attack Moona all the time. She said it’s been increasing the last few months. She fears they will soon succeed.”
Jared paced around his room. His fingers threatened to turn to claws at the thought of anyone trying to harm Moona. “The attacks have to be Harkin’s doing. He hated her parents. Now he wants Moona dead. He’s the real reason I accepted the alpha role. It was the only way I could stop him outside of killing him.”
“No doubt.” Elenora fought off the grin as she tucked her hands behind her back and crossed her fingers. “It was inevitable that Moona’s enemies would eventually conspire to kill you because you’re obviously standing in the way of their goals. To fight them effectively, you need a strong alpha female at your side to help you stomp out that resistance once and for all. I suggest you make your own—alpha female, that is.”
“Make my own female?” Jared stared, sure he’d heard wrong.
Elenora laughed at the confused look on the wolf’s face. She shouldn’t be enjoying this so much. “Assuming Moona is actually a wolf like she thinks, I may have found a way to release her inner animal.”
Jared’s arms uncrossed. Hope bloomed despite the past. “Did she send you here to get me?”
Elenora giggled. “No, of course not. She’s protecting her heart by staying away from you. Plus, Moona’s cynical about everything because she’s tried so often to fix her shifting problem and failed. And well, I can’t get her hopes up again by revealing my discovery. It needs to just happen naturally so she’ll have faith in the cure.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“That you seduce her. If I’m right, your wolf will call hers out.”
Jared closed his eyes at the thought of seducing Moona, of making her his at last. It was his most treasured wish to be with her. “What about the pack challenge?” he asked, his voice hoarse with desire for a stubborn, resistant female who wasn’t even there.
Elenora looked away from the partially aroused wolf. She had to be careful around him now. “Which challenge matters most to you, Jared? Solving Moona’s shifting problem or thwarting those plotting to take over a pack you’re only leading because of her?”
“Helping Moona is my first priority either way,” Jared answered. He dropped his gaze. “She is my mate. There is no other for me. Human, wolf, or whatever the Great Mother chooses to make her. I want her, just her, and I will have her one day.”
“As long you both have waited for each other, that’s what I thought was the case. Now we just need a legitimate reason for you to leave the pack for a few days, but one the bad guys can’t use against you. I can’t solve your pack challenge problem completely, but perhaps I can buy you some time to work on your strategy.”
Jared glared at the red-haired female for raising his hopes. What did she know of such things? The Jezibaba had never been a wolf. “How exactly will you do that, Dragon-Witch?”
Elenora grinned. “Oh, that’s the fun part. Leave it all to me.”
5
Thirty black dragons landing all at once rumbled the ground enough to send the wolf youngsters squealing and running to alert their parents. When the two red dragons landed in the middle of the square, the adults stepped out of their houses to guard their families.
Zenos looked around and rolled his eyes. “Why are we here as dragons? Was it just to scare these poor creatures? There are better things ya can be doing with yer time if yar bored, Elenora.”
“I’m helping Moona. Just play along,” Elenora ordered in a whisper. “Shift to human now.”
Zenos snorted and did as she asked. Elenora smoothed the front of her favorite red dress and then looked up to see a naked man standing next to her. “Put on some damn clothes. You’ve got the males all growling over the females staring at your dangling parts.”
“All it takes is one thought of my sweet Celeste to fix any dangling problem.”
“That’s disgusting. These poor wolves don’t deserve to deal with your warped sense of humor.” Elenora waved a hand and dressed him herself.
Zenos looked down at his dull brown robe. “How could ya do this to me? Even Nathaniel doesn’t wear these sad sack clothes anymore.”
“No. Nathaniel dresses like a king—as he should. I warned you what would happen if you shifted naked in front of me again.”
Zenos chanted and exchanged his robe for a suit of clot
hes that fit his spectacular physique. “Are ya challenging me to a magic battle, lass? Because if ya are, I’m ready anytime ya want.”
“No,” Elenora hissed. “I’m here to retrieve a freaking wolf and you’re going to help me.”
“There will be no retrieving today,” Jared said firmly.
Elenora and Zenos both turned to stare at the wolf who now stood boldly in front of them—alone.
“Where is the alpha of your pack, Wolf?” Elenora demanded loudly.
“I’m the alpha, Dragon,” Jared said, showing his canines at the challenge. “What do you want with my pack?”
“The Dragon Council needs to speak with you about a matter of importance,” Elenora said. “Come with me.”
“No,” Jared answered flatly. “No one in my pack is leaving with dragons.”
Elenora called on her dragon until her eyes flamed. “Are the lives of your people worth so little to you then? Either you come and speak for your people, or we can bring the entire council here. Of course, I can’t really control any dragon but myself,” she said, lifting a hand. Around the pack village, thirty dragons sent up fire into the air. “Until things are resolved to our satisfaction, your pack will be denied their freedom to roam. How dragons handle this situation is now your choice, Alpha. Make your decision.”
She watched as several male wolves rushed forward to speak to him. His beta glared but said nothing. Jared held up a hand to stifle all the complaining and suggestions. He looked around and then glanced over his shoulder.
“Harkin, come forward.”
Elenora saw the older man’s mouth drop open in shock as he pushed through the crowd. She smiled at Jared who was behaving brilliantly. Jared glared at the man.
“You were quick to challenge me for my role, Harkin. Let’s see how well you hold up in my absence. I cannot let the dragons threaten the entire pack, which means I have to go with them. Will you guard and protect the pack until my return? Swear to me your fidelity.”
Howl About It Page 3
