Toby reached for a little bowl that held some magical rings that Gessilyn had spelled so people wouldn’t fall under my adoration curse. “Here, wear one of these.”
Elsie arched a brow. “Why?”
“It’s a long story. We’ll fill you in after you tell us about the threats.”
“Okay.” Elsie took one and slid it on her middle finger, next to a tiara-shaped ring.
Mom led us to the kitchen, of course, and pulled out some leftover pie. Toby followed us and several others lingered around the doorway.
“Mind if they come in?” I asked.
Elsie shrugged. “I guess you trust them?”
“With my life.”
“It’s fine.”
They piled in and sat around the table. I made introductions, and Elsie reminded me that she goes by El now.
“That’s really going to take some getting used to.”
“We have enough going on for me to worry about something so petty. Call me Elsie if you want—just not in front of my friends.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s fine. I’d have a hard time if you wanted me to call you Vicki or something.”
Mom passed out plates of pie and then sat on the other side of Elsie.
“Who’s threatening you, sweetie? You did the right thing coming here, by the way.”
Elsie nodded. “At first it was a couple emails, which I promptly deleted. Then the texts started. I blocked the number.”
“What did they say?” Mom asked.
“They said they knew I had knowledge about some stone, and they demanded I tell them everything. They threatened Tray and some of our other friends. Honestly, I thought it was a joke. Some of our friends are practical jokers. But then Tray got attacked leaving a store—they beat him up real bad. I almost couldn’t recognize him. I nursed him back to health, but then the threats started again, and they called it a wolf essence stone. That’s when I realized it had to do with being a shifter. So, I told my friends that I had some family business to deal with, and I headed right over. Do you know anything about the stone?”
I exchanged nervous glances with Toby and my mother.
“What?” Elsie exclaimed.
“It’s right here.” I pulled the chain and brought the stone out from under my shirt.
My sister stared at it. “That is what got Tray beat within an inch of his life?”
“It’s done a lot more than that.”
Between Toby, my mother, and me, we explained everything we knew about the stone. Elsie raked her fingers through her hair. “You really think the witches can use it to break the moon’s curse?”
“Eventually.” I sighed, not wanting to point out that the high witch had been on it for months and still hadn’t made any progress.
Elsie tapped her fingers on the table. “So, it was probably the secret society that’s been threatening me?”
Toby nodded. “More than likely.”
“They suck at intel.” Elsie narrowed her eyes. “If they knew anything, they’d know I haven’t had any contact with any shifters in ages.”
I put my hand on top of hers. “But they’ve probably figured out that you’re connected to us.”
“Do they know you have it?”
“Not that we know of. They haven’t tried contacting us.”
“Have you considered just giving it to them?” Elsie held my gaze.
“Why?” I exclaimed. “Not that I could get it off to give it to them.”
“Maybe all the curses would just go away if they had it. Did you think of that?” Elsie’s brows furrowed. “They’ve been studying for centuries. You guys didn’t even know about it until recently. Maybe they should have it.”
I cupped the stone. “It doesn’t want them. They couldn’t even find one piece of the map, yet the stone led me to it without the map. It called to me. In fact, it still calls to me.”
She arched a brow. “What do you mean?”
“It leads me into the woods to this one particular spot. I never have any memories of it after I leave, and time goes by differently there than it does here.”
“You do have some memories,” Toby pointed out. “Every time you return, you recall what happened for a minute or so. We’ve been able to piece together a little bit about the place.”
Elsie’s expression softened. “Like what?”
Toby held my hand. “It seems to be a place where different time periods meet. There’s a mysterious graveyard, and she meets with people long dead or not even born yet.”
Elsie turned to me, her eyes wide. “What’s that like? Have you met with anyone from our old life? Friends from school or nice werewolves?”
I frowned. “I can’t remember a thing. We only know what we do because of what I’ve told others when I come back—but I don’t even remember those conversations. Sometimes I get the start of what feels like a flashback, but it’s only enough to tease and torment me.”
“Can someone go with you?”
“Only me.” I rubbed the stone. “For whatever reason, it seems to prefer me.”
“We’re sisters—the same blood. Maybe you could take me with you. Between the two of us, we might be able to figure this out.” Her eyes lit up with excitement. “That place could hold the key to breaking the stone’s hold on you. Let’s try. What do you say?”
My heart thundered wildly. If it even worked, who was to say the stone would bring her back?
She frowned. “You never wanted to let me do anything I want to do.”
“What?” I exclaimed. “First of all, that’s not true. Second, I’m more concerned about your safety. What if you got stuck there? There’s no way to predict what this stone will do.”
We stared each other down.
“We have a problem.” Toby stared at his phone’s screen.
“What?” With any luck, the problem would be enough of a distraction for my sister to forget about going to the stone’s secret place.
“Tap just texted me. Several weapon-bearing society members are at the Faeble right now.”
Soleil raised her phone. “We have another problem.”
“Worse than the society being so close to our property?” I exclaimed.
“Maybe. Gessilyn says the ancient, evil witch who imprisoned Fen wants the stone back. She’s in the area now, determined to kill anyone who gets in her way.”
Chapter 13
Toby
I stared at Soleil. “The witch is headed our way, too?”
“Determined to kill anyone who gets between her and the stone.” She glanced over at Victoria, who had no way of removing the stone.
Fury tore through me and my inner wolf howled inside, trying to get out despite being incapable until the full moon.
“They’ve been silent for months, and then they decide to go after us on the same day? What’s the likelihood of that being a coincidence?”
“I’ll let Gessilyn know what’s going on with the society. You should probably tell Tap about this witch.” Soleil turned to her phone and slid her finger around the screen.
I sent Tap a quick text. He replied, saying we should deal with the witch and he would keep an eye on the werewolves.
“What are we going to do?” Stella asked, her eyes wide and face pale. The new werewolf was still getting used to her supernatural life as a shifter.
“That’s what I need to figure out.” I turned to Laura. “Can you whip up something to eat? We’re probably going to have to leave to fight someone, and we’re going to need our strength.”
“I’m on it.” She jumped up from her chair. Ziamara and Stella helped her pull out food.
“And I’m going to call the other alphas and let them know what’s going on.” I hurried into my office and sent a quick group text. Once I was seated at my desk, I set up a conference call on my computer and filled everyone in. The local pack leaders agreed to prepare to help us immediately, while the ones farther away put other plans into place.
“What’s going on with the pack leaders?” Jet asked.
“Everyone’s on high alert, and the locals are going to head our way.” I turned to Soleil. “Does Gessilyn know where the witch is? More specifically than she’s ‘in the area’?”
“She’s working on it, but locator spells are a lot tougher if you don’t have anything that belongs to the person.”
“We have the stone! She’s the one who spelled it, and she thinks it’s hers, right? Use that.”
“It’s on Victoria.”
“Does that mean she can’t use it?” I exclaimed. “Victoria’s in danger! Don’t you get that? A powerful witch and a secret werewolf society want that thing—and we can’t get it off her.”
“Deep breaths,” Soleil said.
I glared at her.
“The werewolves won’t be able to hurt me,” Victoria said. “Remember? Without Gessilyn’s spell, they’ll be begging to serve me.”
A small amount of relief washed through me. “That is true, but I don’t think we should rely on that. Who knows what they have up their sleeves? They might have a way around the stone’s magic—we can’t assume anything.”
“We should find them first,” Jet said. “Get them on our side, then go fight that witch. We need all the manpower we can get.”
My mind raced. “That makes sense. What do you all think?” I glanced around the table, making eye contact with each member. They all agreed. “In that case, let’s hurry and finish eating so we can grab weapons and head over to the Faeble.”
Everyone remained quiet and rushed through the rest of the meal. Before long, everyone other than Ziamara and Sebastian had gathered in the entryway, hiding knives, guns, and other weapons underneath clothing.
I turned to Ziamara. “I don’t want you and the baby staying here alone—there are too many potential threats to the pack. You should head back to the castle and let the vampires take care of you.”
She frowned. “I’d rather fight with you guys, but you’re probably right.”
“If that’s what you want to do. Just don’t stay here alone. I can only imagine what would happen if members of the werewolf society show up.”
“You can take my car,” Victoria said.
“No,” Soleil said. “I’ll teleport her.”
“Won’t that take all your energy?” I asked.
“I drank some essence a few days ago. I’ll be fine. Just head out and text me where you are. I’ll teleport Zia and me back there.” She turned to Ziamara. “Let’s make like a banana and split.”
“If you don’t hear from me,” I said, “text someone else to find out where we are. The plan is the Faeble and then to find the ancient witch.”
“Got it.” She, Zia, and Sebastian went up the stairs.
“Everyone ready?” I asked.
They all spoke their agreements at once.
“Good. Gessilyn’s still working on locating the witch. Some or all of her coven is going to meet us at the Faeble.” Apparently, they had placed travel runes just about everywhere they’d ever been.
Once everyone piled outside, I set the new alarm system. It would send me a text if anyone attempted to enter or disable the system. I wasn’t taking any chances after the fiasco with the jaguar shifters.
I hurried out the front door and locked it while the security box beeped. Then I explained the situation to the wolfborns, though it was anyone’s guess how much they could actually understand given how much time they spent in wolf form.
Halfway to the Faeble, I received a text.
“Soleil, already?” I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
It was Tap, telling me he hadn’t been able to keep the werewolves any longer. He’d sent a guy to tail them, and they were headed away from Moonhaven.
Victoria peeked at the screen. “What does that mean?”
“We’re going to have to pick up our pace.” I texted Tap back and told him to let Soleil and the witches know where we were headed when they arrived. As I finished sending the text, I filled the rest of the pack in, then we all burst into a run.
Tap replied, letting me know he’d keep me updated on his guy tailing the society members.
Victoria slowed as we neared the place the wolf essence stone kept leading her to. “It’s calling me.”
“You have to fight it,” I urged. “What if that evil witch is the one calling you?”
She grabbed onto my arm. “Keep me with you.”
I put my hand over hers. “I will.”
The nearer we came, the more she veered toward it. “I can’t seem to help myself.”
“I won’t let you, and besides, most of the pack is here to help me. Come on.” I picked up my pace even more, pulling her away. Her body was rigid as she fought against both the pull and me.
Jet came over and grabbed onto Victoria’s other arm. “You can do this.”
Together, we pulled her away. The farther we made it past the area, the harder she had to fight. She tried yanking herself away from our hold, flailing around. Jet and I exchanged concerned glances as we held onto her, both of us grunting until finally, the pull lost its hold on her.
“Thanks,” she gasped. “That was… I didn’t think I’d be able to resist it.”
“We’ve got your back.” Jet patted her shoulder and ran over to some of the other werewolves.
I wrapped my arms around her. “It’s okay. We’re all here. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
“The stone—it’s so strong.”
“And together, we’re stronger.”
We continued heading to the Faeble. Shortly before we reached it, I got another text.
“Soleil?” Victoria asked.
I glanced down at my screen and nodded. “She’s already at the Faeble, waiting for us.”
“Zia and Sebastian are okay? She’s supposed to be with her.”
“She didn’t say either way.”
“Uh-oh.”
I turned to her, confused. “What do you mean?” But as soon as the words escaped my mouth, I knew. The stone glowed brighter than before. “What’s going on?”
“It’s pulling me this way.” Her expression pinched as though she were pained and she pointed west, away from the Faeble.
“Away from the place it usually takes you?”
She squeezed the chain and nodded.
“Do you know where?”
“I can’t hear you over it calling my name!”
It glowed bright, but I couldn’t hear anything.
“Where?” I shouted.
“I don’t know what you’re saying!” She yanked on the necklace and cringed. “But I can’t fight it.”
“You have to!” I grabbed onto her arm, refusing to let the stone take her away from us. I whistled, and the others turned. “The stone is trying to force her somewhere else. We have to get her to the Faeble!”
The pack ran over to us and held onto Victoria. She cried out before yanking out of the hold of more than a dozen werewolves.
“Stop her,” I cried.
We raced after her, but the force behind the stone kept her out of our reach.
I turned to Sal. “Contact Gessilyn and Soleil!”
“On it, sir.” He slowed and took out his phone.
Victoria’s pace quickened. My muscles burned trying to keep up with the speed. She stumbled but didn’t fall. The stone lifted away from her and led the way.
“We’re right behind you!” I called to her.
She slowed. Had she heard me? I caught up with her, and the others followed just steps behind me. Victoria still followed the outstretched necklace, stopping in front of a massive oak tree. The stone’s glow swirled brighter, then it fell against her chest. I wrapped my arms around her, but a
n invisible force threw me back into a nearby tree. My head hit the trunk, but I recovered quickly and headed straight for Victoria.
Someone stepped out from behind the oak tree.
Chapter 14
Victoria
The woman in front of me destroyed every image I had of an ancient witch. Instead of wild, crazy gray hair, she had long, flowing light brown hair with eyes the same color and perfectly smooth skin. Rather than a long, flowing dress she wore form-fitting black pants and a satin, sequined V-neck. My necklace tugged toward her.
I planted my feet into the ground and stared her down. “Who are you?”
She stood taller, her eyes narrowing. “My name is Azure, and I’ll be the one asking questions.”
“Where—?”
Azure arched a brow, and without warning, I found myself on the ground.
“I said, I’ll be the one asking questions.”
Toby ran over to me, but he froze mid-stride.
The witch turned back to me. “Hand over the stone. Are you the one who freed that horrible wolf?”
I sat up and dusted off my shirt. “I… the stone… It was calling to me.”
Azure crossed her arms. “Correction. I was calling it.”
“It’s been calling me all this time.”
She glared at me. “Who are you?”
“Victoria.”
“Doesn’t sound familiar. Hand over my stone.” She extended her arm toward me and opened her palm, showing long, perfectly manicured nails with glittery black polish. “What are you waiting for?”
I rose to my feet and stepped closer to her, cupping the stone.
“Victoria!” Toby called.
“Hand it over,” the witch demanded.
“What do you want with it?” I pressed the necklace against my chest.
“It belongs to me.”
“Seems to me you’ve done just fine without it for the last thousand years or so.”
Azure stepped closer, her brown eyes turning bright blue. “I had no choice but to bury it with that brute. Now hand it over.”
I shook my head. “If you want it back, you need to give me something.”
She threw her head back. “Do you realize who you’re talking to?”
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