by Cheree Alsop
I thought of the witches who shot me, helping to fight his dad twice, and the demon battles we had just survived. “My life was pretty crazy in the Lair, but I think you’ve managed to top it.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Virgo said.
A fox barked from within the trees.
Virgo glanced around. “Do you think they’ll hurry? I’m also at my quota of leaves and dirt.”
“Do you have a spell for that?”
The warlock thought for a moment, then smiled and rubbed his hands together. When he spoke the strange words, the blue runes on the backs of his hands started to glow.
I held up my hands in alarm. “I’m was just kidding. Leaves and dirt are good for the soul. You shouldn’t—”
Virgo started to laugh. He closed his hands and the glow receded. “You should have seen your face. You’re the one who suggested magic.”
Embarrassed, I shook my head. “I just don’t want you to waste your powers.”
He grinned. “Leaves and dirt are good for the soul,” he mimicked.
I spun on my heels and limped back toward the cave.
“Where are you going?” Virgo called out. “It was just a joke!”
I ignored him and pushed through the trees. The scent of blood and lizards still lingered strongly in the air.
“I know you don’t like magic, so I thought—”
The warlock’s voice cut off when he reached me.
We both stared at the form in the darkening clearing before the cave.
The giant bear snuffled at the blood-strewn ground. At Virgo’s words, the massive animal lifted his head.
“T-think he’s seen us?” Virgo whispered.
The animal snorted. I could smell the hunger wafting from him. He had come in search of an easy meal and found nothing; we had just given him another option.
The bear rose up on his hind legs and let out an angry roar.
“I think he’s seen us!” Virgo’s words ended in a squeak of fear.
I took a step forward.
“What are you doing?” the warlock demanded.
The bear dropped to all fours with enough weight that I felt the ground shake through my feet. He snorted, then charged.
“Stay there!” I told Virgo over my shoulder.
“Are you insane?” he shouted.
I took another step forward and held up my hands.
The bear slid to a stop a few feet from me. I stretched up my hands as high as I could, keeping the cane tight in my right one. Before the bear could take another step, I let out a bloodcurdling yell.
“Yep, you’re insane,” Virgo muttered from behind me.
The bear snorted, then peered at me through his small eyes. He shuffled his front feet, putting weight on one and then the other in uncertainty.
I didn’t give him the chance to decide in his favor. I stumbled forward and let out a half-yell half-growl that would have done any demon proud.
The bear snorted and turned away. He ambled out of the clearing at a trot. I stood there until the sound of his trudging through the underbrush faded in the distance, then I allowed my knees to give out and sank to the ground.
“Zev, that was crazy,” Virgo said in a rush as he collapsed beside me. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I told him. “It’s been a long day.”
I stretched my left leg out in front of me. Dark patches colored the brace.
“Is that blood?” Virgo asked.
“Probably,” I replied.
He stared at me. “From what, Zev? Why is there blood on your brace? You’re not supposed to do anything with that leg!”
“A lizard bit it, but I don’t think it got very deep. I’m leaving the brace on until I can get it to some moonlight. The brace should help the blood clot.” I avoided his gaze until I couldn’t any longer. I sighed and faced him. “It chased me up the tree and bullets wouldn’t go through its skull. What else was I supposed to do?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Virgo replied with heavy sarcasm. “Maybe call for your friend who happens to be a warlock?”
“As I recall, you were busy entertaining your own horde of them. I figured I could handle one.”
He gestured toward my brace. “Apparently not.”
I speared him with a glare that didn’t have any anger behind it. “I could use a break.”
“Why, because you saved the world?” he shot back.
I stretched out on the grass and looked up at the faint light that filtered down beneath the trees. “We saved the world.”
He snorted. “I was barely holding my own with my dad.”
I pushed up to one elbow and looked at him. “I couldn’t have done it without you. You were very brave facing down your father like that.”
He lowered his gaze. It was a moment before he said, “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.” He shook his head. “But that wasn’t my dad.”
I nodded in understanding. The dark warlock might have looked like his father, but was nothing like the man who had taught his son so much and been such a good husband to Virgo’s mom.
Thinking of Rosalinda Stein made me smile. “But you brought your mother back.”
My grin spread to the warlock. “I didn’t know I could, but I looked at you and thought of what you would do if you could.”
I shook my head. “I could never do anything like that.”
“Yeah,” he replied. “But you would have gone into that door after her. You would have jumped into the fire for her. You would have fought for her like anyone in your pack, and you would have found a way to bring her back; so I tried and it worked.”
I blinked at the unexpected description of my loyalty. His words were true. I had wanted to do all those things. But the truth was still there; he had saved his mother and pulled her back from the demon side after throwing his father into it.
“You destroyed the door; you saved the world,” I said. I lowered to my back in the grass.
He looked at me for a moment before settling on his back as well. “We’ve gone from saving the world to saving one person.”
Save that one person and we save my world.
I didn’t say the thought aloud. I wanted to, maybe. But to hear the words in my own voice would make them real. I knew what I felt for Fray; I also knew we had to first find a cure and then find her and free her before she was shot in some Hunter battlefield. It was a slim chance at best; the good thing was that I thrived on slim chances.
I allowed myself to say, “She needs us.”
The sound of Virgo’s hair catching the dried leaves when he turned to look at me was loud. I kept my gaze on the branches that waved gently above us. I didn’t know how much the warlock guessed. If I was lucky, he wouldn’t tell me; but he wasn’t exactly known for keeping his opinions to himself.
“You have a thing for Fray.”
I sighed inwardly.
At my silence, the warlock gave a little chuckle. “I knew it.” He paused, then said, “But a dhampir? She hated you!”
That brought a wry smile to my face. “The feeling was mutual.”
He stared at me. “What changed?”
I shrugged, wondering the same thing myself. “I’m not sure.” I turned to look at him. “Would it make any sense to say that something in me was drawn to her from the start? I was terrified and intrigued at the same time.” I shook my head. “I didn’t know how to deal with it.”
A huge smile spread across his face. “I wouldn’t have taken you for a love at first sight kind of guy, but it suits you.”
I let my head fall back to the grass. “But she’s dying.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him shake his head. “Not if I can help it. You have my word, Zev. I will do everything in my power to bring her back safe.”
“Thank you,” I told him sincerely.
He looked at the trees above us. After a few minutes of silence, he asked, “Do you think there’s someone out there for me?
I mean, after Safira died in that car accident, I had a hard time believing I could love anyone that way again.” He was quiet, then said, “But I find myself hoping there may be someone out there looking for the same kind of bizarre that I am. Someone who will understand me.” He gave a small laugh. “That may be asking too much.”
I could hear the self-deprecation in his tone. I refused to laugh with him. “I do think there’s someone out there for you. You just can’t give up.”
Virgo’s eyebrows pulled together. “You really think so?”
I nodded. “Absolutely.”
This time, he turned to face upward as well and didn’t say anything. We stayed like that until the sound of a helicopter met my ears.
“They’re coming,” I said.
“Finally.” Virgo pushed to his feet and held out a hand. “I thought maybe they’d forgotten us.”
I grabbed his hand and he hauled me up. He picked up the cane before I could reach for it and held it out to me. I shoved down my wolfish pride and accepted the cane. My leg throbbed with each step as if yelling at me for letting it get bitten. I was happy enough to climb into the helicopter and stretch it out in the light of the moon that spilled through the window.
“Did the team make it back to the Division?” Virgo asked the pilot.
“Yes, and they said to tell you both thank you,” the pilot replied over the headset as he maneuvered the machine into the air. “We had already flown the rest of their team home. They were separated during the attack. I don’t know how you found them.”
“That was Swift and Gunnison,” Virgo told him. “We were just backup.”
The pilot nodded. “Swift’s a good soldier to have on your side, and Gunnison’s a beast. You did good.”
A slight tremor ran down my spine at the pilot’s words. I pictured Gunnison as a real beast, as a shifter like me. How cool would it be to have a team of werewolves working together to fight demons?
I shoved the thought aside. I had finally been able to take the Division’s interest away from my pack. There was no way I would put them right back in the middle of danger. With all the suspicion I had faced, enough was enough. It would be good to go home.
A pang of uncertainty ran through me as the helicopter lowered into a field about a half mile from the Willards’ house. Several soldiers detached from the forest and made their way toward the chopper. Virgo and I thanked the pilot, then exchanged places with the team.
The fact that they were the ones who had supplied Captain Roarsh with the pictures he had used to blackmail me made me want to say a few choice words, but I ignored the impulse. They were following orders. I knew very well what it meant to obey the wishes of those in charge.
Traitor.
The Master’s voice hissed through my mind as the helicopter rose into the air. I cringed against the sensation of claws cutting through my brain as though he was inside of it, shredding what made me who I was, filling me with lies and guilt, and driving me to make him proud.
“Zev, are you alright?” Virgo asked.
I realized I had allowed the horror I felt to show on my face. I immediately schooled my expression to reveal nothing and nodded.
“Yeah, fine.” I lifted my cane meaningfully. “We’d better get walking.”
He eyed me with doubt, but chose not to press it. “At least the moon’s up.” He glanced at me. “Need to phase?”
I shook my head. “It’s not too bad right now. I think my body knows what will happen if I do.”
We started wordlessly into the forest. The cane and my stiff leg made for a slow journey, but anticipation ran along my limbs the closer we got. I finally couldn’t help myself and put my hands up to my mouth.
A low, reverberating howl came out. They were my notes, telling my pack that we were home.
“Geesh,” Virgo said when I lowered my hands and gripped the cane again. “You should warn somebody when you’re about to do that. I nearly jumped out of my skin!”
“Why?” I asked with a teasing grin. “Afraid of werewolves?
“Terrified,” he shot back. “I’m allergic to dog hair.”
He danced out of the way before I could whack him with my cane. We joked and meandered toward the Willard’s house until black shadows flanked us through the trees on either side. I couldn’t help the smile that lifted my lips.
“Ah!” Virgo shouted when the shadows turned into full grown wolves.
I laughed at the true fear on his face and knelt awkwardly to hug Safira, the werewolf Virgo had given the honor of his girlfriend’s name. The pale wolf licked my face and then gave a wolfish snort of laughter as I wiped the slobber away. Striker, the huge dark gray wolf, and Frost, the young brown and black one, touched foreheads with me in a wolfish gesture of welcome.
One wolf was missing. A shard of worry tingled in the back of my mind until I saw Frost’s eyes lift in the briefest warning. Relief filled me. I ducked and rolled to the right in time to avoid the attack by the last werewolf. He landed on all fours and spun with a toothy grin.
“Hey, Mitch,” I said by way of welcome.
He stretched out with a bow, then tipped his head to the right and barked.
“I know,” I replied. “I’ll explain later. I’m just glad to see you guys.”
It felt right to have the wolves around us as we walked through the trees. I wanted to join them so badly my joints ached. I had lied to Virgo just a little bit. My body needed to be in wolf form. Not phasing under the light of the full moon the other night had been the hardest thing I had ever had to do, and my wolf side still resented me for it.
Each step beneath the trees lit by the fluttering shadows of leaves dancing in the midnight breeze beckoned me to join them. Every brush of the night wind teased me with scents of deer and rabbits, and the familiarity of a forest that I knew as well as the wolves around us. My hands longed to turn into paws made for running across the loamy ground. My skin shivered at the want to be covered in thick fur. My ears strained for the call of the owl and the rustle of mice within the wild grasses.
Not phasing was killing me.
I told myself I was being dramatic, but deep down, I felt stretched way too thin. Phasing wasn’t just responding to the call of the moon; it allowed the other part of me to take over, to push down the needs of human life, to embrace being an animal. Asking me not to phase had been asking me to act against my entire nature. It affirmed just how much of the wolf was really me. I felt the tension in my muscles and it made me wonder just how far I could go before I snapped.
I stumbled but righted myself before Virgo could help me. The ache in my leg reminded me that I might have to push myself even further if I didn’t want to be crippled for the rest of my life. If I lost control for even a minute and allowed my wolf self to take over the way I so desperately needed, I might seal my own fate. It was an unsettling and terrifying thought.
Chapter Three
Everyone was standing in the yard when we left the forest.
“How did they know we were coming?” Virgo whispered to me.
My gaze landed on Frost. The young werewolf had phased back to human form and stood waiting with an excited expression on his face. The youngest of us to have escaped the Lair, Frost was as loyal as he was full of enthusiasm. I couldn’t help sharing the grin he carried.
A few months ago, such an expression would have been foreign on my face. Since my time outside of the Lair, smiles came more readily, and with the tickle of relief running across my skin at finally being back to a place I considered home, I couldn’t fight down the grin.
“Zev, Virgo!” Alia called out.
“They’re back,” Mrs. Willard said with a sigh of motherly relief that I caught even at our distance.
Aspen and her brother Ian took off at a run to meet us; Frost joined them. Alia and James followed at a more leisurely pace. Mrs. Willard waited with Rosalinda and Virgo’s sister Jemmy. It felt right to see everyone together. The thought of how close we had been to nev
er seeing Virgo’s mom in this world again made me even more grateful for her presence. The mothers of this wonderful, strange, mismatched family watched their children proudly. I felt honored to be numbered among them.
“Zev!”
I stuck my leg out to the side and lowered to one knee so I could catch Aspen up in a hug. The little girl, far smaller than her eight-year-old body should have been, wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.
“I missed you,” she said. “Where have you been?”
“I’ll tell you when we’re all together,” I promised.
She nodded and let me go. Ian ducked under my arm to help me to my feet.
“You look a little worse for the wear,” he noted. A touch of chagrin colored his voice when he said, “Well, at least as bad as when I hit you with my car.”
I chuckled at that. “It was an accident, but I don’t regret it.”
He grinned. “Me, neither.”
“I regret the dent you put in my fender,” James told his brother when he caught up to us. “I still haven’t gotten it out.” He held out his hand to me. “Good to see you again.”
“You, too,” I told him. “I have a bit of research for you to do.”
His eyes lit up at the implication. “Great! I found some new sites that might help.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Just don’t tell Mom.”
I nodded at the familiar phrase. “Don’t worry. It’ll be our secret.”
“What secret?” Aspen asked rather loudly.
Everyone laughed. I caught Mrs. Willard’s warm smile over the heads of her children.
“It’s good to have you home. I’m sure you’ll fill us in on where you’ve been?”
Her tone let me know that Rosalinda had told her at least some of our story. But there was a lot neither of them knew. I looked at Virgo.
“As much as we can,” he replied.
“Oh, now you’re trying to be mysterious,” Jemmy scolded her brother. “Acting like you’re part of some government CIA or something.” She shook her head. “Warlocks and their egos.”
That nearly made me laugh out loud.
