by R L Medina
“Just turn him in. To the GRIMMs.”
Rafael scoffed. “The GRIMMs? They’d do much worse.”
Chills crawled along my skin. The words from the vampire came back to me. My body will join the millions that you’ve mutilated and tossed aside. Is that really what the GRIMM did? Is that why my mom had left?
“What do you want us to do, Raf?” Lucian’s voice broke through my thoughts.
I turned as he strode forward. His eyes flicked to me, making my heart leap into my throat. They were bright yellow like the others, but the red rings shone brighter. He flashed his canines at me and growled.
“Control it, Lucian. Or you’ll find yourself strapped down like the cub,” Rafael snapped.
An icy rush of fear filled me. Control it? What did he mean?
Lucian turned away from me and stared at Rafael.
The alpha sniffed. “Leave the cub. We have company and he can wait.”
One by one, the wolves obeyed, leaving me alone with Rafael and the shifter.
“Come, Rose. Let’s finish our conversation.” He waved a hand to the door.
Ignoring my instincts, which begged me to run, I stalked up the stairs, sword still in hand. The metal was warm in my sweaty grip, but I refused to set it down. Who knew when I would need it to protect myself against the wolves?
The door slammed behind us as Rafael led me back to the sitting area. I glanced out the sliding, glass door at the crashing, blue waves and sparkling sand. Such a stark difference to the horrifying scene I’d just witnessed.
“You can excuse yourself, Lucian.” Rafael’s sharp voice cut through my thoughts.
I turned to see Lucian stiffen, his face morphing from human to wolf. My heart slammed against my chest. What was happening to him?
He fled the room, not wasting another second.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“Had a taste of something that didn’t agree with him,” one of the wolves answered.
Apart from the shaved head and chin stubble, he looked exactly like Mateo. I blinked in surprise as they stood side by side.
“Twins,” Rafael explained, noticing my stare. “Mateo and Leo.”
My eyebrow arched. “Rafael. Lucian. Mateo and Leo. Are those your real names?”
They frowned at me.
“Of course,” Rafael answered.
I shook my head. “Sorry, it’s just… never mind.”
No way was I going to tell them their names were a cliché of every paranormal romance I’d read before.
“And Ángel. You might meet him later,” Leo replied.
Mateo frowned. “Michael is his real name.”
I wasn’t sure what to think of their nickname for him. Ángel? These wolves were far from angelic.
“What do you want, Rose? You mentioned something about a wizard?” Rafael interrupted.
All eyes turned to me, making me wish I could sink into the floor. Fighting the urge to run or hide, I steeled myself.
“Yes. I was told to find you. That you could help me find a wizard.”
They continued staring at me, revealing nothing. Did they know anything? I couldn’t help but wonder if my mom had gotten it wrong. It wouldn’t have been her first mistake.
“And who told you this?” Rafael’s voice was calm and measured.
I met his eyes. “My mother. Rosa Vasquez Ruiz.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw. The twins stilled, eyes widening. So, they did know who I was.
“Did you know her? Do you remember her?”
Rafael sniffed and moved toward me. “Oh, yes. I remember your mother. She was a whore.”
My eyes widened.
Fury rolled through me and my face flamed. “Don’t call her that.”
He scoffed. “Don’t you want to know who she was? Who she really was?”
The front door opened, breaking the tension. Rafael and the others looked up as someone strode in. Unlike the other wolves, this guy had blue eyes, blonde wavy hair, and lighter skin. Ángel. I could see it now.
His gaze darted between us. “Raf.” A slight frown appeared on his face.
Rafael smirked. “What’s wrong, Michael? Are you scared I’m going to hurt this little girl?”
I bristled at the insult. Asshat.
The man turned to me and offered a tentative smile. “Trust me, whatever you’re looking for, you’re not going to find it here.”
My eyebrow arched. “What?”
Rafael chuckled. “She’s not here for the drugs, Michael.”
I gaped at them. Is that what they did? Werewolf drug dealers? Is that what Lucian was talking about when he mentioned a demo?
Michael frowned. “What are you doing here?” His eyes dipped to my sword, which was starting to get heavy.
“Now don’t be rude. You haven’t even made introductions,” Rafael drawled. “Michael, this is Rose. Rose, Michael.”
“What is she doing here, Raf?” The wolf’s eyes narrowed on his alpha.
The twins continued to watch with blank faces.
“Ask her yourself,” Rafael answered with a shrug.
Michael turned back to me, forehead wrinkled. Concerned about me? The fact a complete stranger was worried for me made me shudder. He knew these wolves better than I did.
“I’m here because I was told you could help me find a wizard.” How many more times were they going to make me say the words?
He blinked at me and glanced at the others as if to see what the joke was. My cheeks flushed. The sword brought me there, so they had to know something. I’d never have come on my own.
“A wizard?”
“Yes. Can you help me or not?”
I lowered my sword, arms growing weak. Frustration welled inside me. I was tired. I needed sleep, a shower, and time to process all the events that led me there. Everything was moving too fast.
“There are no wizards here in Malibu. Whoever told you to come here was wrong. What do you need a wizard for?” Michael answered.
My eyes shot to Rafael. “So, you’re not going to help me?”
He smiled. A small, triumphant smile. “Help you? Even if I knew where this wizard was, I wouldn’t help you. Do you want to know what your mother did? How she betrayed my family?”
Without waiting for an answer, he continued. “She came to my father, looking for help. Just like you. Pretended to love him so that he’d do her bidding.”
My chest tightened. “No. That’s not true.”
He laughed, the sound humorless. “It is. She got what she wanted and left him to die at the hands of those bitches.”
I glanced at the others. They watched with stony faces. It couldn’t be true. My ears rang, and a numbness spread through me. No. No. No. She loved Papi.
“But… why did she tell me to come here? Why did she think you would help me find the wizard? She told me to find Los Reyes.”
Rafael sneered. “I am alpha now and I will not make the same mistake as my father. You GRIMMs cannot be trusted. Tell me, why do you need a wizard’s help, Rose?”
Silence filled the room. All eyes watched me as I stood, reeling at the revelation. My mom betrayed so many people. Anger swirled inside me. She’d left her mess for me to clean up and now because of her actions, I was the one suffering.
“Well?”
“If you’re not going to help me, what does it matter to you?”
He shrugged. “It doesn’t. But I’m not a complete monster. We’ll take you back to your school. As far as finding this wizard, you’re on your own.”
“What? No. I’m not going back to the academy.”
He snorted. “Fine. Then see yourself out.”
“Raf…” Michael interrupted.
He spun toward him. “Show her to the door.”
Michael stiffened. “Are you sure, Raf? I think…”
“I don’t care what you think, Michael. Get her out of my sight. Take her to the beach if you want but leave her.”
The wolf straightened.
“Yes, Raf.”
I glared at them, holding my sword between us. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He sighed. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
I didn’t budge.
“Get out of my house, GRIMM. Before you regret it.” Rafael’s eyes drilled into me.
Backing up slowly, I kept my weapon trained on them as I made my way to the front door. Michael followed. My heart sped up, as I made it outside.
Hot tears pricked my eyes. I blinked them back, refusing to let him see me cry. They were my only clue in finding the wizard, but it had all been a game. Rafael was never going to help me.
The sun shone warmly, the sky bright and blue. In the distance the rush of the ocean waves sounded. Weariness filled me. What was I supposed to do now?
Michael stood, watching me.
“What?” I snapped.
His eyes widened at my outburst. “Are you in some kind of trouble? What are you doing looking for a wizard? I thought the GRIMM wiped out all of them.”
Dread unfurled inside me. Did that mean the wizard my mom had meant was dead? Along with my only chance at freedom?
“It’s a long story.”
“Why can’t you go back to the academy? Did something happen?”
I frowned at him. “What do you care?”
He flinched. “I’m just trying to help you.”
“Well, you can’t. No one can.” I swallowed the lump in my throat.
His face softened. “Except this wizard?”
“Yeah. I don’t know. He was supposed to be my only hope of getting out of a blood promise.”
Michael stilled. “Blood promise?”
I sucked in a breath and nodded. “Yeah. To some witches.”
“Luna Negra?”
My eyes snapped to his. “How did you know?”
His face was grim. “That’s the coven that killed Raf’s father. It was the price of initiation. Your mother had to bring them the heart of a true king.”
Nausea rolled through me. I stared at him, stunned. His words shook me to the core. I glanced at the sword. Was it with that same weapon she’d done it?
Why, Mom?
“Get in the car. I’ll take you somewhere safe.” Michael’s voice broke my thoughts.
“I don’t even know you.”
He gave me a hesitant smile. “You can trust me.”
I stared at him, unsure what to do. Without the wizard, I didn’t know where I was supposed to go or what I was supposed to do next, but I couldn’t go back to the academy.
They’d find me. Or more likely, Tio would lock me right back up.
Nodding to him, I followed as he led me to a shiny, silver car parked behind Lucian’s car. I opened the door and set the sword in carefully, tip down before sliding in. A palm tree shaped car freshener hung from the rearview mirror, its coconutty pineapple scent strong.
Michael sank into the driver’s seat and closed the door. He smiled at me. “Don’t worry, Rose. Everything’s going to be okay.”
I grunted and turned to face the window. No. It’s not. It’s really not.
3
Doubt filled me as Michael took off, the mansion growing smaller behind us. He said he was taking me somewhere safe, but where was safe? I tried to fight the hopelessness that shrouded me. The words in my mom’s letter replayed in my mind.
Find the wizard. He’s your only hope.
I wanted to scream. Why didn’t she leave more information? Why didn’t my parents tell me the truth and prepare me? What did the witches even want with me?
A yawn escaped, catching Michael’s attention. He lowered the radio, the pop song I suspected he’d been playing for me, going silent. Thank God.
“You need sleep.”
I snorted. “Yeah.” My stomach rumbled.
His eyebrow arched. “When was the last time you ate?”
Shrugging, I turned back to face the window. Food was the least of my worries, though the thought of the gourmet buffet back at the academy made me groan.
“There’s a bar in the dash.” He pointed to the dashboard in front of me.
“I’m fine.”
“Eat it. Please. I don’t need it.”
Giving in, I opened the door and grabbed the packaged protein bar. “Thanks.”
He shrugged. “Sure. There’s a bottled water under your seat too. Unopened. If you want it.”
I reached down to get it. Water was definitely what I needed after that treacherous walk. The half-drunk cup of water I’d left at Rafael’s was hardly enough to keep dehydration at bay.
After gulping most of it down, I closed it and turned to thank him again. His face was covered in fur, a short snout and enlarged canines. Werewolf. I gasped.
He slammed on the breaks and looked at me, face returning to human. “What? What is it?”
I shook the image out of my head. “I… sorry. I’m just not used to seeing… werewolves.”
“Sorry. I have a hard time keeping up the glamour when I’m lost in thought.”
“Glamour? I thought that was just for fae?”
He nodded. “Yes. But all the shifters are issued glamour by the GRIMM. To help us blend in in case there are any ordinaire with a dormant sight.”
His words surprised me. There was still a lot I didn’t know, and now I’d probably never learn. At least not at the academy. My stomach clenched as I thought about Javi and the others. What were they doing now? How would my cousin explain my disappearance? Grayson’s face flashed in my mind. What would he think of me now?
Pushing away the thoughts, I turned to Michael. “Is it true? About my mom and Rafael’s dad… being together?” Even as I said it, a sour taste filled my mouth. I hated the idea that Papi wasn’t my mom’s only love. How many had there been?
Michael glanced at me. “From what he and the others say, I think so.”
“And she killed him.”
“Luna Negra killed him.”
“Yeah, but she was one of them. I don’t get it though. Why would she write in her letter telling me that Los Reyes would help? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Nobody knows exactly how it happened, Rose. Only the witches know the truth now.”
I shuddered. “I wish they’d leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with them.”
“Why haven’t they collected you already? I thought the blood promise was for all firstborn.”
“They couldn’t find me. But now that my sight is coming…”
“No offense, but aren’t you a little old to just be getting your sight?”
I shrugged. “I guess my mom put a spell that kept me from getting it, but after my dad died…” I couldn’t finish the words.
Michael’s blue eyes filled with sympathy. “I’m sorry. I lost my family too.”
“I thought Los Reyes was your family. Isn’t that your pack?”
“They are now. My pack was destroyed by vampires. Raf welcomed me into Los Reyes.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “It’s the way the world is sometimes.”
“Yeah. Shitty.”
He smiled. “Very.”
I finished the last of the bar and water and turned to face the window once more. “Where are we going?”
“Somewhere safe. You’ll see.”
Too tired to argue, I shrugged it off and rested my head against the window. Lush greenery and gorgeous coastline zoomed by, the sound of the road soothing. My eyelids drooped as I gave in to sleep.
Michael slowed the car, taking a turn. I opened my eyes and sat up to look around. We were closer to the coast now. Ahead, a small dark object stood on the beach. As we got closer, I recognized it.
The beach shack.
I whipped toward him. “Where are you taking me, Michael?”
“It’s your school. I think you’ll be safest here.”
Anger unfurled inside me. “No. I can’t go back there. I have to find the wizard.”
He pulled off to the s
ide of the road and turned to look at me. “Rose, there is no wizard. I don’t know what your mom told you, but if there was a wizard the others would know. They would remember.”
“Not if he erased their memories or something.”
Why hadn’t I thought of that earlier? If my tío could do it to Grayson surely a wizard would know how.
Michael frowned. “He’d have to be a pretty powerful wizard to erase the memory of the whole pack.”
“I’m not going back there.”
He rubbed his forehead and sighed. “This is why I will never have kids.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “I’m seventeen. I’m old enough to make my own decision and I’m not going back there.”
“You don’t have a choice, Rose. Only the GRIMMs can keep you safe from Luna Negra. Do you want them to claim you?”
“No, you don’t understand. That shifter was there for me. They already know where I am.”
Michael glanced at me. “Shifter?
The gruesome memory made me shudder. “The one Rafael has locked in his basement.”
His hands tightened on the wheel. “You saw that?”
I nodded.
He rubbed a hand across his face and sighed. “Isn’t there somewhere you can go? Any family? Friends?”
My heart twisted. I didn’t answer. The only family left couldn’t help me and as much as I wanted to run back to Javi, I knew I couldn’t. There was no way I could face my friends either.
Before he could ask me anything else, a loud thump sounded. What the? Something large landed on the roof of the car. A snarl echoed above us.
“What was that?”
Michael’s face hardened. “Vampires.”
My eyes bulged. “Here? In the daylight? I thought they didn’t like the sun.”
“The new sirelings don’t, but the older ones have no problem with daylight.”
“But what are they doing here? So close to the school?”
His jaw clenched. “Good question.”
Another body landed on the roof of the car, the metal groaning under the weight. I grabbed the hilt of my sword as the vampires jumped down and surrounded us. Where did they come from? An icy fear spread through my veins. What did they want?
