The Burning Claw

by Quinn Loftis

  “This,” Jericho murmured against her lips before pressing his to hers. The kiss started off slow but, true to the tension that ran tightly between them, grew heated very fast. Their display earned them catcalls from their audience and Sally quickly pulled away. Her face felt as though she’d stuck it in an oven and pressed the broil button.

  “Break’s over.” He grinned as he winked at her and then stepped away to help a man who’d just walked up to the bar. Sally quietly excused herself, mumbling something about needing to use the ladies room and hurried off.

  As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, Sally felt as though she was looking at a stranger. Who was the woman before her and when did she become one of those girls who swooned over the first guy who showed her some affection—even if he was an extremely hot bartender? Jericho had her in knots. Part of her wanted him, wanted what they were slowly building. But then there was this voice in the back of her mind screaming at her to run. Run where? she asked herself. But there was no answer, just the resounding feeling that she was in danger, that something was seriously wrong.

  Sally turned on the faucet and splashed her face with cold water. It cleared her mind and cooled the heat that was perpetually flaring up on her face. After drying her hands and face off she turned to the door and took a deep breath. “You’ve got this,” she pepped herself. “He’s just a guy. It’s not like he’s some supernatural being with powers that warp my emotions and make me uncontrollably desire him.” Although, she thought, that seemed a more likely scenario than Sally, herself, feeling so desperate.

  “Everything okay?” Jericho asked her once she’d resurfaced to the bar.

  “Peachy,” she told him with a grin. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead before walking over to a customer who’d called out his name. Must be a regular, she thought.

  About an hour later, Jericho had his arm wrapped around Sally’s waist, pulling her back against him as he whispered in her ear. Two women walked in and headed straight for the bar. They took one look at Sally and the man holding on to her and both of their faces broke out into grins.

  “Is this her then?” the redhead asked, a slight Irish accent rolling off her tongue.

  “She’s prettier than you described,” the other woman, who had strawberry blonde hair, said. She too had an Irish accent, but it wasn’t even as pronounced at the first woman’s.

  “Sally, I’d like you to meet two of my pa—” He paused midsentence and the two girls’ eyes widened. Jericho cleared his throat. “My two cousins,” he continued, sounding a little less sure of himself. “Evie and Isa.”

  Sally held her hand out to each of them and shook theirs as she smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Both Evie and Isa took seats at the bar and struck up a conversation with Sally as Jericho moved away to take care of customers. He’d whispered in her ear before he’d left. “Stay and get to know them. I’ll handle the bar.”

  She thought that perhaps it was a little, okay a lot, too soon to be meeting family, but what was she going to tell him? No? Sally couldn’t do that. She didn’t have it in her to be rude. So she smiled and leaned against the bar as the girls began their inquisition.

  “So, Sally,” Evie, the redhead, began. “Tell me, how do you feel about wolves?”

  Alina knocked on the door of the suite that had been given to Zara. It had been several days since she’d left the young woman to get adjusted to having her own space, and the Alpha felt that it was time to see how she was doing. Zara seemed to be a very private person, but Alina knew what being alone could do to someone, especially someone who’d undergone something as horrific as Zara had.

  When the door finally opens, Alina’s heart hurt at the sight before her. “Have you been eating?” she asked gently.

  Zara pulled the door open further, making room for her to enter. “A little,” she answered in a tired, broken voice.

  Alina was at a loss for what to do for the girl. Zara had been uprooted from one life and thrown into hell and now she’s been uprooted from hell and thrown into a wolf den. How does someone cope with that?

  “I hate to ask how you’re doing because that feels like a stupid question, but I’m not really sure what else to ask.”

  Zara’s lips twitched so quickly that Alina was not sure that she really saw it.

  “I don’t really know how I’m doing,” Zara admitted. “Vampires exist, werewolves exist, and my life will never be the same. In some way that’s good because I honestly thought I was going to die down there with those monsters. So it’s great to know that I’m not going to die, but I have no idea what I’m supposed to do now.”

  Alina rested her hand on the girl’s arm, hoping the touch would help ease her mind. “You don’t have to know what you need to do or want to do. All you have to do right now, in this moment, is survive. That’s step one. You eat, you drink, you rest, and you do whatever it is you need to do to survive.”

  “What if I never get to step two?” Zara asked.

  “Then you can remain at step one and live here, or at the Romania pack mansion, for as long as you want,” Alina assured her. She could tell that the girl wanted to heal; she just didn’t know where to begin. “You will soon find out that we are not like the vampires. We care for our own. I know it may seem overwhelming right now, but you are one of us. And, believe it or not, you’re safe here.”

  Finally, she nodded. “Okay, I’ll do step one. But” —she paused— “I’m not ready to be around others. Not yet. I don’t know when I’ll be ready.”

  Alina nodded. “Of course. Will you allow me to come visit you at least a few times a week? Nothing long, just a few minutes to say hello?”

  “Sure, I can handle that.”

  Alina closed the door behind her but she didn’t walk away. She felt as though she was abandoning Zara, even though the girl didn’t want her to stay.

  “She’s safe, Mina. She’s sheltered, fed, and protected. That’s all she needs right now.”

  Alina knew that what her mate said was true, but the mother in her wanted to wrap Zara in her arms and hold her. She wanted to give her all of the hugs that she had been deprived over the years. She wanted to sing to her all the songs a mother sings to her child. Alina wanted to give back to Zara everything that the vampires had taken from her.

  Alina turned and placed her forehead against the door with one hand pressed against it as if she could reach through the barrier and offer comfort to the young woman. Maybe Zara didn’t want that comfort now, but there would come a day when she would not only want it but need it. Until then, Alina would be waiting.

  “Whatever you’ve got for me, history boy, it had better be as awesome as that shirt,” Peri said as she pointed to the t-shirt Wadim was wearing.

  Wadim looked down as if he didn’t even remember what he was wearing. That did not bode well for Peri.

  “You’re the one that called this meeting,” Wadim pointed out. “Do you think if I had uncovered anything useful I wouldn’t have called you straightaway?”

  Well that’s just peachy, Peri thought to herself.

  Having decided that Peri’s bark wasn’t as big as her bite, Wadim was now attempting to read his shirt upside down and it looked painful. She decided to help him out. It says, ‘Freak out and stand still,’ she snapped. “Loving the play on words of the original Keep Calm fad. Although I was around when that saying was more than just a cute phrase on a t-shirt or coffee mug.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Jen huffed as she entered the room. “You’re so old your panties are crusty and turn to dust at the slightest touch. We got it.”

  Peri started to respond but stopped short as she watched the line of people follow the mouthy blonde into the archives. First came Decebel, cradling Thia closely to his chest, then followed Fane, Jacque, who was holding Slate, Alina, Vasile, Lilly, and finally Cypher.

  “I think you forgot a few pack members, Jen. Perhaps, you should go back and gather them,” Peri said dryly.
>
  Jen shrugged. “You said to meet you here, well, actually…” Jen smiled wickedly. “Your exact words were ‘Get your butt over to the Romania pack den and meet me in history wolf’s dungeon. I have news. Do not bring Costin. I do not have the patience to coddle his broken heart.’ That was a little harsh,” Jen pointed out. “You didn’t tell me not to bring anyone else. Not to mention” —Jen narrowed her eyes on the fae— “you could have flashed us instead of making us travel the old fashioned way.”

  “I am not your damn taxi service. Besides, a little exercise might do you some good. Have you looked at your behind lately? That pregnancy weight isn’t going to lose itself.” Peri’s smile was positively wicked. She could almost hear Jen clenching her fists and grinding her teeth.

  “What’s the news?” Vasile spoke up, getting down to business, as usual, and silencing the scathing retort Jen was formulating in her mind.

  Peri had planned on telling Vasile her theory, but she’d wanted to first get Jen’s thoughts on the rumors she’d heard. Her suspicions weren’t something she was ready to share with the others—not yet.

  “One of my loyal pixies has heard something of interest. You know that the high fae monitor the number of wolves alive at any given time. Obviously, a few of you might sometimes manage to slip through the cracks.”

  Jen coughed and it sounded an awful lot like Coldspring.

  Peri glanced at the female Alpha. “You should be thanking me that the rogue Coldspring pack went unnoticed. The events that transpired there led you to your very own fleabag. Your welcome.” She turned back to Vasile. “What are the known packs currently operating in the United States?”

  “Thought you said,” Jacque began but Peri shut her up with a snap of her fingers.

  “Denver, Colorado, Springfield, Missouri, and Coldspring, Texas,” he answered without having to think about it.

  “And lone wolves?” Peri asked him.

  Vasile shook his head. “None have been brought to my attention. It’s been years since I’ve had to deal with one”

  Peri let out a resigned sigh. “That’s what I thought.”

  “Please tell me you are going somewhere with this and you didn’t just call us down here to verify something we already knew,” Decebel growled out.

  She glanced at the Serbia Alpha—surprised at the comment, which sounded more like something that should have come from Jen’s mouth.

  “He’s cranky,” Jen said by way of apology.

  “Please don’t tell us why he’s cranky,” Jacque said quickly.

  Jen rolled her eyes. “Get your head out of my gutter, Red. It’s nothing that interesting. He’s cranky because—”

  “Jennifer,” Decebel growled.

  She looked at her mate. “I should make that my ringtone. ‘Jennifer,’ ” she mimicked in a sing-songy growl, attempting to imitate her mate’s deep voice. There were several coughs of laughter around the room. Peri had to admit, Jen’s impression of her mate was freaking hilarious.

  “He’s pissy because one of the doghouses fell apart.” She started laughing before she could even finish the sentence. “One second—” She paused, gasping for her air between laughs. “It was there and then…plop.” She slapped her hand on the table she was standing next to. “It was no more. Perhaps, it didn’t help his mood that I busted out my phone and found a sound bite of the bugle song they play at funerals. I had it wailing as Dec picked through the crumbled remains of his first doghouse.”

  Peri’s shoulders shook as she tried to keep her laughter from joining the others. Decebel had his head bowed and his hand was pinching the bridge of his nose. He was holding it together by a thread, which only made Peri laugh harder.

  Apparently, the Alpha was done being laughed at because a surge of his power rushed the room. Fane, Jacque, and Wadim were the only ones affected to the point of stumbling. Decebel outranked them. But Vasile, Alina, Cypher, Lilly, the fae, and his mate, simply stood still under its assault.

  Peri narrowed her eyes at him. “Done?”

  “Are you?” he snapped back.

  “Touché,” she conceded. “Now, back to the why behind the questions. The pixies have found more wolves.” She paused and watched as her words sunk in. “Wolves that we believe do not belong to any of the known packs. I’ll know for sure after I’ve investigated further, but we are fairly certain that they are rogues.”

  “Where?” Cypher spoke for the first time. As a supernatural leader, he could understand the dangers of having supernaturals running about unpoliced.

  “A quaint town in South Carolina called Oceanside.”

  “Let me guess,” Jacque said. “It’s by the ocean.”

  Peri shook her head. “Actually, no, it’s inland, closer to the mountains.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “No, not really. Of course, it’s by the ocean. Just because you nearly died does not give you a license to make stupid statements that waste oxygen.”

  “Damn,” Jen muttered. “Did your doghouse fall apart too?”

  Jacque snorted. “Good one,” she said as she high-fived her blonde friend.

  “Do you know how many there are? Alina asked.

  “Doghouses? Just the one now,” Jen continued.

  Now it was the female Alpha’s turn to growl. “You know what I mean,” she barked.

  The high fae cleared her throat. “So far my little spies have counted four—two males and two females.”

  “Mated pairs?” Fane asked from his spot, leaning up against the wall behind his mate.

  Peri huffed. “They’re spies, not dogs. They can’t smell the lingering scent of hanky panky.”

  “Wait, is that a thing?” Jacque’s head pulled back and her eyes darted around the room. “Can dogs really do that?”

  Peri looked over at Lilly, who’d been quietly observing. “You do realize that she came forth from your loins, right?”

  “Can you please refrain from talking about my mother-in-law’s loins,” Fane groaned.

  “Ugh.” Jacque turned and handed Slate to Fane. “It’s even creepier when you say it. Never say my mother-in-law’s loins again. Ever.” She pointed a finger in Fane’s face.

  “Things are getting awkward,” Jen sung and grinned. “I love it.”

  Peri didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Getting this bunch together was like putting a flame in the middle of a room full of dynamite. Once one fuse was lit, they all caught fire until someone finally blew.

  “What’s our next move?” Cypher asked, drawing the waning attention of the others.

  “Wadim,” Vasile said and motioned to the wolf. “You find out everything you can about Oceanside. I want population, demographics, layout of the city. I also want any information on new driver’s license registrations. That might tell us if these wolves are just passing through the town, or if they claim it as their permanent territory. Get me numbers on any brutal animal attacks in the area, regardless whether the victims are human or animal. We need to find out where they’re hunting. “Peri,” Vasile said and looked at the high fae. “I know you have other things going on with your new healers and that whole messy situation but—”

  “I’m not going anywhere, Alpha. My pixies won’t do business with you overgrown hairballs without my intervention, so you sort of need me.”

  “And it’s good to know her ego is thoroughly intact,” Jacque murmured.

  “Hey, you ungrateful little redhead ass, she totally held you and your furry prince to this realm all by herself. Without her you’d be pushing up daisies right now, so I think she’s allowed a little ego stroking,” Jen pointed out.

  “Jen, as thoughtful as it is for you to defend me, I can handle it.” Peri crossed her arms in front of her and shot Jacque an annoyed look.

  “I wasn’t doing it for your benefit, Peri Fairy. I was just dying for the chance to call Jacque an ass and talk about you stroking something.” Jen high-fived herself. “Mission accomplished.”

  “Decebel, put a
muzzle on your she-wolf before I turn her into a coat for little Thia. Now,” Peri breathed out. “As I was saying, if you want the continued help of the pixies, then you will need my assistance.”

  Vasile nodded. “Then do what you do. Get us as much information about these wolves as you can.”

  “Maybe we should send some wolves there too, you know, to get a good look at these rogues,” Jen suggested.

  Decebel shook his head and answered before Vasile. “They would smell us from a mile away. It might spook them if there are suddenly new wolves in the area.”

  “Point,” Jen said as she patted Thia, who was now asleep on her shoulder.

  The room was quiet, which Peri found to be amusing considering the occupants that filled it. She knew it wouldn’t last long. It didn’t.

  “I wish there was more we could do,” Lilly said, taking Cypher’s hand in hers. “I feel useless.”

  “You haven’t seen anything?” Jacque asked her mom.

  Lilly shook her head. “All’s quiet.”

  “On the wolf front,” Jen said softly and snickered to herself. She looked over at Jacque, “See what I did there? On the wolf front instead of—”

  “The Western front,” Jacque interrupted. “Yes, Jen. I acknowledge that you are clever and funny.”

  “Just as long as we’re clear,’’ Jen nodded.

  Peri turned to Lilly, deciding that attempting to reign the two girls in was simply an impossibility. “You will be helping soon enough watching your grandson. I suspect that if we find Sally in this Oceanside town, Jacque will be one of the first to force me to take her there.”

  Jacque held her fist in the air. “You totally get me. P, we are like this.” Jacque opened her fist and then twisted her forefinger and middle finger together. She ended with, “Fairy dust is thicker than water.”

  Decebel glanced over at Peri. “Did you drop her when she was unconscious, maybe bumped her head a little too hard when you were moving her from one place to another?”