Cursed Wolf

by Stacy Claflin

  The two old friends stared each other down.

  What was going on to put them at such odds? My mind raced until I figured it out.

  The wolf essence stone. Toby had it now, and it had to be influencing his emotions.

  “Toby isn’t himself, Tap. The stone is making him angry.”

  Tap glanced back and forth between Toby and me before crossing his arms. “Okay. To answer your question, Toby, nothing comes to mind. If you’re going to accuse me of something, be straight about it. I’ll let it go because of the stone—for now.”

  Toby leaned against the bar. “You said you were tailing them, right?”

  “I have someone on it. Someone trustworthy. Just try to relax.”

  A pained expression covered Toby’s face. “How did your guys let someone slip away? Are they loyal? Are you putting everything into this or don’t your care enough about Victoria? We’re just werewolves so we’re not important enough?”

  “Of course we care. I do, and my guys did the best they could. We’re dealing with some insanely clever supernaturals. It’s going to take some patience.”

  A flash of anger crossed Toby’s face. He pulled the necklace out of his pocket and handed it to Jet. “I can’t afford to shift now. Or to be under this thing’s influence.”

  Jet stared back and forth between the stone and Toby. “It’s making you shift?”

  “I think allowing is the more appropriate term, but yes. And my wolf is clawing to get out.” He turned back to Tap. “I apologize for going off on you. It wasn’t fair. Someone has bugged Moonhaven, and the only group that makes sense is the society. We have what they want—the wolf essence stone.”

  I gasped. “They bugged our home?”

  Tap’s brows furrowed as he stared at Toby. “I assure you my men are on the society members that were just here. In fact, I just spoke with one of them. They’re on the opposite side of the forest as Moonhaven, and they haven’t gone near your property.”

  “Then who broke into our home, undetected by our wolfborns and able to get through our high-tech security system?”

  “A witch you pissed off?” Tap asked.

  “You mean a wounded, essence-drained witch?” Toby countered. “Doubtful.”

  They stared each other down, and then Tap turned to me. “Wait. What happened to your spell?”

  I shrugged. “It disappeared when the stone lost its energy.”

  “Clearly, it still has energy,” Toby retorted. “It led me to the microphones in my office and in the kitchen. It’ll probably lead me to more when we get back.”

  “Quit looking at me like that.” Tap slapped a dishtowel on the counter. “Especially if you want more help from me. Stone or no stone.”

  “Are you on our side?”

  “You think I’d be against you?” the troll exclaimed. “I thought you knew me better than that.”

  I stepped between them and looked directly at Tap. “I’m really sorry about the way Toby was talking to you. The stone… you know how it is. It’s not him. It may be making Toby paranoid and suspicious of even his friends.”

  Tap nodded. “I understand. Look at all the things it did to you.”

  “Thanks for the reminder. Maybe we should all just have a seat and talk this over.”

  “Sure.” Tap gestured toward the largest booth which was empty. “Sit, talk. I’ll bring over drinks.”

  We settled in at the booth, but with so many of us, we had to push a table and chairs up to it to fit everyone. Toby glanced around the mostly-quiet bar and then filled us in on the microphones he’d found in the house.

  “What do they want?” Jet asked.

  “Obviously to know what we know. The question is how did the society find us?”

  I rested my hand on Toby’s arm. “If it was even them.”

  “Oh, it was. I can feel it.”

  My sister cleared her throat. “I think this might be my fault.”

  We all turned our attention to her.

  “How?” Mom asked.

  Elsie glanced around. “Remember what I told you when I arrived. I think I led them right to you guys. I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize,” Toby said. “You came to us for protection—and you have my word that we’ll keep you safe. We want to talk with these people, so it may be to our advantage. Now we know they’re interested in us, as well.”

  Jet frowned. “Now that they know we have the stone.”

  “We have their attention,” Toby said. “We need to figure out how to use that to our advantage, then we’ll be golden.”

  Tap and Quinn brought over drinks and took food orders.

  “Did you talk to your guys?” Toby asked.

  “Yep. They’ve tailed the society members to an abandoned factory just outside the forest.”

  Toby grimaced. “An abandoned factory?”

  Tap shrugged. “I don’t judge.”

  “They must know they’re being followed.” Toby pressed his palms on the table. “That’s the only explanation.”

  “No clue,” Tap said. “I’ll let you know if anything new progresses.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

  “I’ll be back with the appetizers.” Tap wandered to another table.

  Carter sauntered over and took a seat. “What’d I miss? You guys look like you just came from a funeral.”

  “Where’ve you been?” Soleil asked.

  “Hot on the trail of that female jaguar in the area.”

  “Did you find her?” I asked.

  Carter shook his head. “Not yet, but I’m getting close. There’s some kind of block. Maybe she’s using magic to hide from her pack, and being a jaguar, I’m blocked, too. That’s the only thing I can figure.”

  “Can we focus?” Jet snapped. “We have a freaking secret society spying on us.”

  “What?” Carter exclaimed.

  “Yeah.” Jet’s nostrils flared. “You’d know that if you’d been helping your pack rather than out on a goose chase after some girl.”

  Carter leaned forward. “What’s with you, man?”

  I held my palm out toward Jet. “How about I hold the stone? It seems to be making you and Toby edgy. I’m at least used to it.”

  “No!” Toby looked at me like I was crazy. “I’m not letting you near that thing.”

  “You’re not letting me?” I arched a brow.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I need some space. Excuse me.”

  “You’re not going anywhere alone.” My mom shot me a look only a mom can.

  “I’ll go with her,” Elsie said. “I could use some air, too.”

  Jet and Mom scooted out of the booth to let us by.

  “Would someone tell me what’s going on?” Carter asked.

  Elsie and I went outside.

  Quinn was smoking a few feet from the door. He turned to me. “You okay?”

  “Just need some space.” I leaned against the building and crossed one foot over the other. “It’s getting pretty intense in there.”

  “That’s putting it mildly.” Elsie rested against the wall next to me.

  Quinn blew a smoke ring. “I gathered as much. Everything all right?”

  I sighed. “I’m sure it will be. I just wish we could have some downtime, you know? Do we really need a diabolical enemy attacking us at every turn?”

  “Welcome to supernatural life.” He blew another smoke ring.

  I glared at him. “I don’t see people trying to take you down.”

  “You don’t see everything.” He dropped his cigarette and stepped on it. “Gotta get back to work.”

  “Wait. Is there anything else you can tell us about the society? Anything we haven’t heard before?”

  “Just what I told you before.” Quinn went inside. A delicious mixture of food aromas wafted out.

  My mouth watered, but I wasn’t ready to go inside and eat just yet. Elsie and I walked around the perimeter of the building a couple times. I tried to make
sense of everything. I’d been so eager to find the society before the stone brought me to it. Now they wanted me—or us. They had to have figured out that we had the stone. It was hardly a secret with the release and re-imprisonment of Fen.

  It seemed that nearly all werewolves knew, especially with Toby being in such close contact with the other alphas throughout the whole ordeal. That led to an interesting and concerning question. Was the society a pack of its own, or were the members actually part of other packs, but nobody knew?

  Could anyone from our pack be in the society?

  My stomach lurched at the thought. Surely none of our members would hide something so monumental from us. But if Elsie hadn’t led the society to Moonhaven, had someone else? I leaned against the building and tried to push the thought out of my head. There wasn’t one pack member I could think of who would betray us like that.

  Sounds of conversation drifted through the window, but I couldn’t make out anything anyone said. The tones sounded like those of the pack, and they were growing heated.

  “Glad we came out for air.” Elsie sighed. “Is it always like this?”

  “The stone makes everyone act crazy. You ready to head back in?”

  She frowned. “No, but we can’t stay out forever.”

  Elsie rounded the corner before me and cried out.

  “What?” I ran around the corner and nearly ran into a tall, slender brunette woman dressed in a fancy blue pantsuit. Elsie lay on the ground at her feet.

  “What did you do?” I yelled and lunged for my sister.

  The woman stepped in front of me.

  I looked into her hazel eyes. “Out of my way!”

  “Are you Victoria?”

  My blood ran cold. “What did you do to Elsie?”

  “You’ve seen the wolf essence stone, haven’t you?” Her voice was as smooth as honey.

  I shoved her, but she threw me to the ground.

  “She’ll be fine… once she wakes.” She whipped out a syringe full of yellow liquid from her jacket pocket and stabbed it into my neck.

  Everything faded to black.

  Chapter 17

  Toby

  I froze mid-sentence and glanced behind the pack to Tap’s wall clock. Victoria and Elsie had been gone for nearly half an hour. How much air did they need?

  Everyone around the table gave me confused and concerned glances.

  “Are you okay?” Laura asked.

  “Where are Victoria and Elsie? They should’ve had enough air by now. I need to find them.”

  People piled out of the booth to let me by. I scrambled out and raced for the door. Elsie’s scent was strong, but Victoria’s was faint, like it was weak or she had left. Her sweet aroma led me around the building, but nowhere else. It was as though she’d walked around the Faeble and then disappeared into the thin air.

  Elsie lay on the ground. I knelt and shook her. “Elsie! Elsie, are you okay?”

  She sat up and blinked her eyes a few times. “How did I get here?”

  I took a deep breath to clear my head. “You don’t remember?”

  “The last thing I remember was being back at Moonhaven.”

  “Great,” I muttered. What was the most logical thing that could’ve happened? What could’ve made Victoria’s trail disappear? Clearly, she hadn’t dematerialized.

  I helped Elsie up and guided her to the door so she could sit inside.

  The door opened before we reached it, and Laura came out. “Where’s Victoria?”

  “I don’t know, and Elsie has no memories of what happened. Victoria’s scent is really weak.”

  Laura wrapped her arms around Elsie but looked up at me. “Where does Victoria’s scent lead?”

  “Just around the building.” I frowned. “To where I found Elsie.”

  “But Victoria isn’t there?”

  “No. The trail doesn’t lead away, either. I don’t suppose your family has a way of teleporting?”

  “I wish.” She sniffed the air in all directions. “What are we going to do?”

  “That’s the question of the hour, isn’t it?” I drew in another deep breath. It wasn’t helping to clear my mind. My inner wolf clawed to get out. “Probably going to have to run a locator spell. Soleil or the witches are going to have to do that.” One of my ribs popped.

  Elsie arched a brow. “Are you going to shift?”

  I patted the stone in my pocket just as my shoulder snapped. “Ugh! Looks that way. Maybe my sensitive wolf nose will give me an advantage. Tell the others to run the locator spell. I’m going to search as a wolf. Maybe even call the wolfborns to help out.”

  My hip popped, followed by some ribs.

  Her eyes widened. “I’ll get on that. Hurry back.”

  “I will.” I doubled over in pain as a series of cracks ran down my back.

  Elsie stumbled inside. I stumbled over to the cubbies with our clothes and pulled mine off before the shift shredded them. Between painful pops, I slid the wolf essence stone over my neck so I could change back to human when ready. The necklace would adapt to fit no matter what form I was in. I hoped. That’s what it had done for Victoria.

  “Help me find her,” I whispered both to it and my wolf.

  A wave of pain seared through me. I closed my eyes and gave into it. When I opened my eyes, I was curled up in wolf form.

  Victoria’s scent lingered in the air, more noticeable now. I slid into the background and let my wolf take the lead. He sniffed the air and crept around the building. The aroma now appeared strongest on the other side of the building. It was like she had stopped there, or maybe it was the last place she’d been. But what had happened next?

  My wolf sniffed the ground and the building, then howled toward the sky. There were no clues beyond the dead trail. He backed up and burst into a run. I went along for the ride, drifting further into the background and blending with my wolf.

  After running tirelessly for what had to be hours, he returned to the Faeble and we shifted back into human form. Sounds of conversation drifted my way before I had a chance to dress, so I ran behind some trees and waited for the group of mesmers to make their way inside. Once I was sure no one else was around, I rushed to the cubbies and pulled my clothes back on.

  Inside, a group of djinn sat at the booth where my pack had been.

  Quinn walked by, carrying a tray of broken glass. “They went back to Moonhaven. Something about a locator spell?”

  “Thanks.” I ran through the woods, sniffing the air for clues and keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Wherever Victoria had gone, someone had covered her trail well. I shuddered at the thought, but it was the only option. Victoria wouldn’t have taken off without a word to us. Not without the stone, which had made her act without thinking.

  As I approached the Moonhaven property, a chill ran through me and the hairs on my neck stood on end. Was I being watched? Nothing looked out of place, but then again, the forest offered plenty of hiding places.

  The wolfborns paced in front of the mansion and a few lights shone from inside.

  I shook off the feeling of being watched and jogged across the property, rubbing the wolfborns as I passed them. Inside, everything was quiet, and a light electric feeling hung in the air. I followed it to the living room, where everyone sat in a circle with their eyes closed. Gessilyn stood in the center, speaking in Icelandic, her hands raised. I crept over and sat behind Jet.

  Gessilyn finished, and everyone opened their eyes.

  “Don’t tell us anything,” I said.

  She arched a brow. “Why not?”

  I mouthed, “This place is bugged.”

  “This room is safe. I blessed it first. But you’re right. You’re going to need to be careful about what’s spoken outside of this room. Until you remove the microphones, that is.”

  “At least that’s something. So, did you find Victoria?” I asked.

  “She’s not far, but there’s a block.”

  My heart sank. “Of course th
ere is. But she’s close?”

  Gessilyn nodded. “Let me see a map.”

  I pulled out my phone, found a local map, and handed it to her. She slid her finger around the screen and stared at it, her expression growing more concerned by the moment.

  “What’s wrong?” Laura jumped up and looked at the screen.

  “Gessilyn?” I rose. We all crowded around her.

  She cleared her throat. “It appears to be a long-abandoned factory. Sounds like the secret society, don’t you think?”

  Fury tore through me. “Of course it is.”

  “Did the stone take her there?” Laura asked.

  I pulled the necklace out from underneath my shirt. “No. We need to get there immediately.”

  Gessilyn shook her head. “We need to look into why there’s a block.”

  “Probably because she’s in danger!” I stuffed the stone back under my shirt. “We need to get over there now.”

  “It could be a trap.”

  I clenched my fists. “I don’t care. If Victoria’s there, nothing is going to keep me away!”

  Jet stepped forward. “I’m with you.”

  The others stepped closer, also.

  I turned to Gessilyn. “We’ll head over. Let me know as soon as you find something useful.”

  “Will do. Do you want me to take the stone from you? I can study it while you’re out.”

  “No thanks. It’s linked with Victoria. Maybe it can help me find her.”

  “What if it won’t come off?”

  “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

  “Be careful, Toby.”

  “I’ll do what I have to in order to find Victoria.”

  Chapter 18

  Victoria

  Pain squeezed my head, but I almost didn’t notice it because of the searing sting in my arm. Blackness shrouded me. I struggled to open my eyes, but my lids fought against me, refusing to comply. I tried to move, but couldn’t budge.

  A constant beeping sounded nearby. Quiet conversation came from somewhere. Something clicked near my head.

  Was I in a hospital bed? What happened before I ended up here?

  I tried to call for Toby, but my mouth wouldn’t cooperate any more than the rest of my body.

  “She should wake soon.” The feminine voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it.