by Lily Webb
The other growled and lunged and the two tumbled to the ground. They rolled together in a blur of limbs and by the time they came to a stop, they’d both turned into their animal forms. The larger of the two had changed into a massive Saint Bernard, and the smaller had become a Great Dane. They paced in circles around each other, growling and snapping their jaws when their opponent got too close.
An ear-splitting roar swept through the air and I whipped around to find the largest black bear I’d ever seen in my life lumbering out of the bar on all fours. It barely fit through the double doors, and each stomp of its colossal paws seemed to rattle everything around. The two squabbling shifters lost all interest in each other as the bear approached bearing its fangs and growling low in its throat. Slobber dripped from the bear’s jaws, making it look feral and unpredictable.
The bear stood up on its hind legs, sucked in a tremendous breath of air, and let out another roar that rumbled my heart in my chest and made my ears ring. When the bear crashed back down onto its front legs, the whole bar seemed to shake, and a few nearby motorcycles crashed over their kickstands onto their sides. The scrapping shifters, all their bravado vanished, turned tail and ran. I watched them until they were nothing more than specks dashing into the woods.
When I turned back around, a beautiful woman in a sleeveless leather top stood where the bear had before. Flowing, shining black hair flowed down her back and shoulders and bulging muscles rippled along her tattooed arms as she crossed them over her chest. If I’d passed the woman out on the street, I never would’ve believed she could turn into such a fearsome beast, but I’d seen it with my own two eyes.
She shook her head at the cowardly shifters. When her haunting olive eyes locked on mine, it dawned on me: the woman was Marissa Knight, and all at once the joke that Katelyn made about her being “a real bear” clicked. She was literally a bear.
“Some tough guys, huh?” Marissa asked, and it took me a second to realize she was asking me. For whatever reason, I didn’t expect her to recognize me, much less speak to me like I was somebody on her level. I looked around to make sure and Marissa laughed. “Yeah, I’m talking to you.”
“Oh. Well, it’s always the ones with the loudest bark who run the fastest, isn’t it?” I said and Marissa burst out laughing. Beautifully drawn skulls and flames snaked their way up her arms, and I found it impossible to believe she’d dated both Beau and Mitch. I could see her interest in Mitch — turning into a dangerous werewolf once a month seemed like it would be up her adrenaline-seeking alley — but what did she ever see in Beau? They were polar opposites.
“You know, I expected you to be impressive, but I didn’t expect you to be funny,” Marissa said as she stepped forward and offered me a gloved hand to shake. I stared at it hanging in the air in front of me, unable to understand how a fully clothed, lithe woman could turn into a mammoth bear and back again without ruining her wardrobe.
I gripped her hand in mine, as confidently as I could. “If you want to talk about being impressive, let’s talk about you. That was downright terrifying.”
Marissa shrugged and smiled at me, revealing perfect white teeth hiding behind the black lipstick on her luscious lips. “You have to be a little scary sometimes to keep these boys in line. If you let them walk all over you, they will. Anyway, I’ve been meaning to talk to you so I’m glad you’re here. Come on in, but leave the gargoyles and the dog outside.”
Sam’s face fell. “But I’m here with her, we wanted to—”
“Let’s not make things awkward, Mr. Duncan,” Marissa interrupted. “I’m sure you don’t really want to talk to me any more than I want to talk to you, so let’s not force it. Besides, the Head Witch and I have some private things to discuss. It’ll be quicker this way, so just wait outside with your little gargoyle friends.”
Without waiting, she turned on her heel and the gravel crunched under her heavy leather boots as she stomped toward the bar.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” I said to the gargoyles before they could object. “I’ll make it quick, but if I’m not back in twenty minutes, send the cavalry.”
“I don’t think the Head Warlock would appro—”
“Good thing he’s not here,” I interrupted. “I’m a big witch. I can take care of myself.” The only thing I had to worry about in the bar was Marissa herself, but she didn’t seem like the type to turn on me — and if anyone else tried, she’d be there to swat them down like a fly.
The overwhelming stench of stale smoke and dried alcohol swept over me as I entered the building. I’d never been inside a biker bar before, not even in my life outside Moon Grove, but as far as I could tell it looked like any other. A series of pool tables lined the left side of the room, illuminated by candles that magically dangled in the air above them — the only hint of magic in the whole place — and classic rock music squealed from a jukebox in the far right corner.
“Come on, my office is back here,” Marissa shouted over the music, beckoning me forward. We crossed the bar with countless numbers of eyes following us, each of them no doubt wondering why the Head Witch had paid a visit to the Shifty Saloon. Frankly, as we worked our way deeper into the bar, I wondered the same thing. I passed a line of barstools where Olivia sat sipping a cocktail like it was the most natural thing in the world for her to do. When she saw me with Marissa, white-hot jealousy flashed across her face.
The main room narrowed into a slim hallway. Marissa charged down it, dodging a werewolf who’d just come out of the kitchen door on the left with an overloaded tray of food and beer bottles. The waiter scowled at me as he held the tray higher to avoid hitting me in the head with it on his way out.
At the very end of the hallway, a tiny broom closet of a room sat to the right. Marissa pulled a ring of keys from the carabiner hanging on her waist and unlocked the door. Inside, she flipped on a light that hummed and flickered to life, casting the room in a harsh glow. The space was barely large enough to hold a small desk and two battered chairs, all of which looked plucked from a dumpster or a shuttered business. Huge chunks of the desk were missing, and I couldn’t help wondering if it was Marissa’s handiwork when she wasn’t happy.
“Don’t let the damage fool you, the furniture is as sturdy as can be. Trust me, I’ve tested it. Have a seat,” Marissa said. I lowered myself into the less damaged of the two chairs in the room and breathed a sigh of relief when the door closed and blocked out the obnoxious music.
“I have to say, you’re the last person I expected to see here tonight,” Marissa said as she sat down in the other chair with her legs spread far apart and her arms crossed over her chest. “I assume you didn’t come for the ambience.”
I laughed and shook my head. “No, definitely not. I heard you were making an announcement tonight, so I thought I should be here for it.”
“Really? Doesn’t the Head Witch have better things to do than hang out in dive bars?”
“Normally, yeah, but I wanted to talk to you about something personal, so when I heard you were making a statement, it seemed like a good time.”
Marissa raised an eyebrow. “Something personal, huh?”
“Look, like you said to Sam, I don’t want to make things awkward so I’ll just spill it: Beau is trapped in his dog form.”
Marissa chuckled. “Well, I guess that means the bear is out of its cave, right? I wish I could’ve been in the room when you learned about Beau and me. There’s nothing going on between us, in case that’s what you’re wondering.”
“No, that’s not it,” I lied, though the redness blooming on my cheeks betrayed me. “The only thing I care about is figuring out what happened to Beau and how to reverse it.”
“And what makes you think I’d know?”
“I heard you were the last person to see him.”
“So?”
She wasn’t making this easy, not that I’d expected her to. While I sputtered and tried to think of something to say that didn’t sound like a stretch, he
r smile widened. “Since you were honest with me, I’ll return the favor: I don’t know anything about whatever happened to him.”
“Then why did you pay him a visit this morning?”
“It was political, nothing more. He’s about to become the president of Channel 666 and, by extension, a powerful shifter. I wanted to make sure that, despite all our past baggage, he and I could work together.”
My chair squeaked as I leaned forward. “But you don’t have any real power over the shifters, so why would that matter to you?”
“Because I don’t care who people voted for, I’m still running the show,” she said, her friendliness gone. So that was the truth of it then. It wasn’t about Beau personally, it was about how she could use their connection to help her undercut Sam and Jackie on the Council.
“That doesn’t sound like something an innocent person would say.”
Marissa smirked. “I never claimed to be innocent. I just said I didn’t do anything to Beau, and that’s the truth.”
“What did you two talk about?”
“Don’t worry, you never came up,” Marissa said, her smile widening. I tried my best not to let her bother me; it was obvious she was trying to get under my skin — and it was working. “It was a short conversation. I wanted him to do something about Olivia Starr’s totally biased coverage of me on her show, but he refused and said she could say what she wanted. That was it. I couldn’t have been in his office for more than five minutes.”
I didn’t know what to make of that, but I was glad Beau hadn’t caved. “Did you notice any chocolates?”
Marissa laughed. “I’m sorry, what?”
“A box of chocolates on his desk. Did you see them?”
“Uh, no. Why?”
“Someone’s been sending Beau creepy, threatening poems. He got a box of chocolates today with another poem and I think the candy has something to do with him getting stuck in his dog form.”
She scoffed and waved a hand over herself. “Do I look like the kind of person who writes poetry or sends people chocolate?”
“No, not really,” I admitted. She seemed more likely to smash the head of someone who wronged her than to send them cursed candy, which made me realize how silly it was to think she was Beau’s admirer. To save face, I changed the subject. “What was Olivia saying about you?”
“The list of things she hasn’t said would be shorter. She’s called me power hungry, unstable, and destined to lead the shifters to ruin if someone doesn’t take control away from me.”
“Is she right?”
Marissa burst out laughing. “Good question. Maybe, but it’s more likely she’s bitter.”
I decided that I didn’t like or trust Marissa. “What would Olivia have to be bitter about?”
“That’s another long list. She’s obviously not happy about the shakeup at Channel 666, and I think she’s taking it out on everyone else. If anyone would be crazy enough to send Beau poems and cursed chocolate, it’s her. She wants power, real power, and she’ll do anything for it. Maybe she’s trying to prove that through Beau.”
My heart tumbled down into my stomach, bouncing off the sides along the way. Olivia definitely had a reason to want to harm Beau and I knew from personal experience that reporters rarely hesitated to step on each other on their way up the corporate ladder, but would she really curse Beau? And if so, how in Lilith’s name had she done it?
“Think about it: Beau can’t run a company if he’s stuck as a dog, and if he can’t run it, then Sam will either have to go back to running the company himself or find someone else. Maybe Olivia thinks he’ll tap her to take the job if it comes down to it,” Marissa said, pulling me out of my spiral. It wasn’t impossible. She would’ve had access to Beau’s office and the company mailroom too. “If I were you, I’d get to her before she gets away from you,” she said, but I’d already stood.
“What about your announcement?”
“What about it? I bought a new building and I’m moving the bar to the south side of town by The Blood Moon.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. “You made a big media fuss over that?”
Marissa chuckled. “No one would’ve covered it if I hadn’t. You know what they say, all press is good press, and business has been slow lately. It got you and Olivia to show up, didn’t it?”
“Thanks for your time, Marissa,” I snapped and made for the door.
“Tell Beau I said hi,” she called after me and I practically ran back into the bar so she couldn’t see the blush on my face. Olivia wasn’t where I’d last seen her, so I forced my way through the burly patrons to the door and sucked down the cool evening air outside while I tried to gather my thoughts.
Sam came running to my side. “Zoe! Are you okay?”
“Where’s Olivia?”
“I dunno, she went back to the office not long after you went inside. She said she’d seen all she needed to see. Why?”
Or, more likely, she knew what Marissa would tell me about her and needed to get as much distance between us as possible.
“I need to talk to her, so that’s where we’re going too. Come on,” I ordered and stomped down Fang Street back toward Channel 666.
Chapter Five
The elevator seemed to take forever as it crawled up the Channel 666 tower. Sam stood across from me and glanced up nervously every few seconds, but said nothing to convince me not to talk to Olivia.
As much as I didn’t want to believe that Olivia could have slipped Beau the chocolates and all the letters. She didn’t seem dedicated enough to put in that much work, but all the pieces fit. She had the perfect motive of missing out on a promotion, and she had access to Beau’s office and the company’s mailroom. Marissa only had a motive.
The elevator dinged as it came to a stop on the twentieth floor, and I strolled out into the hallway. I stormed around the corner and past the dozen offices that lined the hall until I arrived at Olivia’s. Her door was open, but she sat with her back to me, hunched over a laptop hammering away at her latest piece.
“Olivia, do you have a minute to talk?” I asked. Alarmed, she slammed her laptop closed and whirled around in her rolling chair. Her eyes widened when she saw Sam standing with me.
“Dear Lilith, you scared the heck out of me,” she breathed, holding one hand over her chest. “But yeah, sure, please, come on in. Is everything okay?” I entered the office without answering, but Sam hung back, seemingly afraid to get tangled up in all this. Unfortunately for him, he already was, but I didn’t force him to join me. He’d only interrupt.
Instead, I kicked Olivia’s office door shut with my foot and stood with my arms crossed. She laughed nervously and brushed her hair out of her face and I couldn’t help noticing how beautiful she was. Her large, brown doe eyes fluttered up at me trying to project innocence, but I wasn’t buying.
“Is everything okay?” she repeated.
“I’m not sure, you tell me. You left the Shifty Saloon in a hurry,” I said, and fought back a smirk when I noticed a muscle twitching in her jaw.
“I left because it was a complete waste of my time, just like it usually is with Marissa,” she said with a scowl. “I thought she might announce something newsworthy for once, but as soon as I saw her leading you back to her office, I figured it was all just a stunt.”
“Why?”
Olivia narrowed her eyes at me and a corner of her mouth rose slightly. “You don’t know her very well, do you?”
“No, I don’t know her at all.”
Olivia chuckled. “I guess you wouldn’t. The thing is, Marissa is a bit of a drama queen. Obviously, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to cover one of her little events, so I was skeptical from the beginning, but as soon as I walked into the bar and saw nothing suggesting an announcement, I wondered if she’d duped me again.”
“What about her speaking with me tipped you off?”
“Marissa is about as opportunistic as they come. I’m sure the whole reason she made an exam
ple out of those two loser shifters fighting in the parking lot was to impress you. She’s really no better than the muscle headed shifters and werewolves she hangs out with; she always has to assert her dominance, especially when other powerful women are around.”
“Then why did you go? You had to have had known at some level that her ‘announcement’ wouldn’t be a blockbuster.”
Olivia shrugged. “Marissa is like the little girl who cried bear. She makes mountains out of molehills so often that it’s impossible to tell when she’s exaggerating.”
“So it’s better to be there in case she’s got something interesting to report?”
“Yeah, exactly. What did she weasel out of you, anyway? Or did she just want to rub her history with Beau in your face?”
My body tensed, but I kept myself under control. For all her criticism of Marissa, Olivia wasn’t much different in her behavior. Maybe that’s why they hated each other so much. I didn’t know whose side I should take, or if I should take one at all.
When I didn’t respond, Olivia laughed. “I take it that means she went with the latter.”
“It doesn’t matter what we talked about. It was just as much a waste of my time as it was yours, but I’m glad you brought up Beau. Do you know what happened to him today?”
Olivia furrowed her brows and stared me in the face like she didn’t have a clue. The act might’ve worked on her audience, but I’d been around media personalities long enough to know when somebody was performing, and she had all the earmarks. “No, I haven’t heard anything. What happened?”
“I can’t say how yet, but it looks like something trapped Beau in his dog form,” I said, watching every nook and cranny on Olivia’s face for a hint of a lie. To her credit, her face remained as smooth as plaster, betraying nothing.
“What? How? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Neither have I, but then again I haven’t been around very long.”
“And you’re sure he’s trapped?”
“Yes, I’m sure. He spent the whole day locked in his office because he couldn’t open the door. I doubt he’d do that to himself.”
