Magic in my Bones (Lesser Magicks Book 1)

by Kellie Sheridan

  My feet froze in place as I did my best to look as unthreatening as possible, turning toward the noise as an enormous silver wolf came around the corner from the back of the property. I wouldn't have needed to see the magick surrounding him to know this was no ordinary wolf. The beast stood several inches taller than the largest wolf I'd ever imagined. It had a powerful body and jaws that I was certain could rip me in half with little trouble at all.

  "I come in peace," I whispered, my voice failing me. The wolf would be able to hear and understand me all the same.

  A moment later, a second form, this one human, came through the front door. This man was blond, with short-cropped, coarse hair and menacing dark eyes. "Peace or not, you are not supposed to be here. Or I'll have my dog here rip you apart."

  I forced myself to take a breath. "That's no dog. I'm here to talk to Ethan."

  The wolf snarled, showing unnaturally large teeth.

  "What the hell are you doing in our territory?" The man asked, not taking his eyes off me.

  "I was here earlier. To fix the internet. From there ... well, I'll talk to Ethan and that's it." I already knew I'd cave if I had to, but Ethan was the Alpha, and the faster I got to him, the faster I could put all this behind me.

  Both the man and the wolf took a step toward me at once, forcing me to shift my weight if I wanted any chance of keeping both of them in my line of site. "You don't just get to walk in here and demand to see anyone, little girl."

  Ugh. Okay. How confident was I that these two wouldn't just out-and-out murder me where any passerby on the street could see the mayhem as it unfolded? Maybe not perfectly, but comfortable enough. They thought I was human, it was enough to offer me some protection.

  At least, that was what I hoped.

  "Oh, so you're the big bad wolf now? That's the way you want to do this? Listen, Ethan will want to talk to me. It's important."

  "Then tell us, and we'll pass along the message."

  "It's about Katie."

  Apparently, those were the magick words. The low rumbling coming from the wolf stopped cold.

  "What about her?"

  "Ethan. Please." I squared my shoulders, trying to fake a level of toughness I wasn't currently feeling, all while carefully avoiding locking eyes with either of the werewolves. Sure, we were in a power play of sorts, but I still needed their human minds to prevail rather than getting pulled into a challenge that could only result in getting me hurt.

  "Come inside." The human-looking wolf on the step cocked his head toward the open door. "Cillian, go get the boss."

  Stepping inside, I did my best to ignore the wolf at my heels until he passed me, trotting up the stairs to the second floor with ease.

  "You can wait in here. Don't move."

  Instead of playing the statue game all by myself, I opted to take don't move as an invitation to sit down on the dark leather couch and make myself at least somewhat comfortable. I very much doubted it was even possible for me to be comfortable here, surrounded by the very creatures I'd lived my life trying to avoid. But the more I acted like prey, the more they'd treat me like someone to eat rather than listen to.

  And for Katie's sake, these people needed to start taking me seriously.

  It took less than a minute for Ethan to make it downstairs, sending me springing off the couch cushion.

  "It's you."

  "Surprise," I said, taking a moment to steady myself. If I'd been intimidated by the version of Ethan I'd met earlier that night, the man in front of me had thrown me for a loop in a whole new way.

  His hair disheveled from sleep, Ethan was dressed in red plaid pajama pants and a white cotton shirt that hung loose from his shoulders, too thin to hide the hard edge of the muscles hidden beneath.

  Ethan Murphy was probably the deadliest person I'd ever met, at least since the day I was born, and there I was wondering what it would feel like to press my ...

  No. I stopped myself from going down that path. My body may have been rejuvenated earlier that night, but my mind was still reeling, still going places it had no business being.

  The wolves were my enemy, and here in Ireland, Ethan was their leader. I could never forget that.

  "You know what we are?" Ethan asked before I could find a way to ease myself into the conversation we were about to have to have.

  "Werewolves, yes. It's hard to miss."

  Ethan's nostrils flared as he came further into the room, stopping at the edge of the couch where I'd been seated just a minute before. "You smell human."

  "Well, thanks for that. But there's a little more to me than meets the eye. Or nose. Not much, but a little. My parents were lesser magicks." That was oversimplifying things a bit, sure. But it seemed to do the trick.

  "Fine. Now what exactly are you doing back at my house." As Ethan spoke, there was the slightest undercurrent of an edge to his voice, almost a growl.

  "When I took that job tonight, I wasn't expecting wolves. I just wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible. I did what you asked," with a little help from YouTube, "and got out of here. It was only after I got back home that things got messy."

  Over the next ten minutes I did my best to give Ethan all the details he would need about what had happened to me Who took me. What they looked and sounded like. Everything I could remember them saying.

  Anything that could help.

  Since only a few hours had passed, reliving the experience wasn't exactly pleasant for me. But Ethan never pushed, letting me get through it however I could. The only time we had to stop, was when Katie's name was brought into my story, eliciting a rumbling growl from the back of his throat.

  Right away, from somewhere outside, a wolf howled their response. Whatever Ethan was feeling in that moment, the wolves in his pack felt it too. As his body began to quiver with rage, I couldn’t help but imagine a wolf pack charging in to come to Ethan's aid, seeing me as the only possible enemy.

  I'd meet the same fate my family had.

  But the moment passed, and Ethan started pacing across the room, every muscle in his body tensing as he moved.

  I took a breath and continued, going on until the last moment when my captors had told me anything that might be useful. "By the time I got away, it's possible I'd convinced them I wasn't the person they were looking for. I don't know. Thinking about it now, I wish I hadn't ..."

  Ethan stopped moving long enough to look at me. I dropped my gaze the moment his eyes met mine, though all I really wanted to do was watch him, read his every expression.

  "I can't fault you for doing what you needed to get yourself out alive. But what I want to know is how you managed to escape from four attackers."

  "I've learned to take care of myself," I said, any hesitation I'd been feeling quickly replaced with annoyance. No one had made me come here. Yes, I'd been careful to leave out any information he didn't need, information that would hurt me more than it could help him, and all without lying. A thank you would have been a decent response. "And more importantly, I'm not your enemy. I didn't want anything to do with this, but I couldn't just walk away if there was any chance these people were going to make another play for Katie."

  Ethan leaned toward me, clenching his fists into the side of the couch until his knuckles turned white, before finally easing back as I remembered to take a breath. "You're right. I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting this. She's fourteen for God's sake. This was supposed to be a quick trip out of town for a few days. But if even one thing had gone differently tonight ..."

  He could have lost her. Lost everything.

  "But it didn't. She's here. She's safe. Probably tucked in bed, with no idea about any of this."

  Surprising me, Ethan chuckled, rubbing at his jawline as his head tilted up toward the ceiling. "I can hear her snoring."

  "Weird." Ethan looked over at me, amusement shining behind his eyes. "I didn't mean to say that out loud. It's been a long day."

  A quick nod from Ethan conceded my point. "That's underst
andable. But I do have to ask. For someone who has been through everything you claim—" I cleared my throat, cutting off whatever he'd been about to say. "Everything you've been through. You don't have a scratch on you."

  That damn werewolf nose.

  "My roommate is a witch."

  "Ahh." I couldn't tell whether Ethan believed me or not. He'd be able to sense any telltale shifts if I'd been lying. But my roommate was a witch, even if she hadn't had anything to do with my miraculous recovery. If he was willing to let it go, so was I.

  "Anyway, I really need to get going." And get far, far away from here. "But good luck finding whoever did this. If you find them, please feel free to give any of those guys a solid kick in the groin from me."

  "You're leaving?"

  "Sure am." Except for the small matter of the werewolf standing between me and the door, blocking my path. Ethan didn't move, but I stepped forward anyway. I'd make my own path if I had to. "I've told you everything I know. Now, I'm going to be taking off for a few days. It's time for me to go."

  "No," Ethan said immediately. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I won't force you to stay," Ethan said, lowering his voice. "I wouldn't. But is there any way you could give me twenty-four hours?" Ethan asked, watching me. "This is my kid we're talking about. She's already lost so much, and if there's something I'm not seeing right now, something more I need to be doing to keep her safe ... just one day."

  In twenty-four hours, I could be long gone, forgetting this mess. "I'm not sure what help I could really be."

  "It could be possible for you to identify one of the people who took you, should we find them. Or maybe there will be something else that triggers your memory. Or there could be something else entirely. Please."

  I should say no. This arrangement definitely isn't in my best interest. But Ethan's emerald green eyes weren't looking away, weren't giving me any chance to refuse.

  "Twenty-four hours."

  Chapter 7

  When I'd agreed to twenty-four hours, I thought we'd been talking about me not leaving town for the next day. But since Ethan had no way of knowing I'd been planning on packing up all my belongings and taking off, not stopping until I got to my parent's farm, he'd figured I'd meant to hang out in his temporary home.

  But when he offered to make pancakes, I decided to postpone my official complaint.

  "Can I help?" I asked. Ireland's Alpha started sifting through the kitchen cupboards like a man on a mission, reaching far above his head, extending his muscles to the absolute end of their reach.

  "No, you sit. Cooking calms me down. I just don't know where anything is in this house. Cooper did the shopping and then tossed everything in here without any thought toward logic. Or sanity."

  "How long have you been in town?" I asked, already wondering if I was pushing my luck by trying to get more information while literally in the wolf's den.

  "Only two days now. And I had been hoping to get back to Dublin by the weekend. But we'll see."

  Finally, he found the box he had been looking for, pulling the pancake mixture down and leaving it on the counter before moving on to assault the fridge.

  "And you're here for the summit?"

  Did that sound too casual? Too forced? I did my best to look innocent. Yes, I was totally a person who was in the loop on all these things. The supernatural committee let me in on all their secrets.

  But Ethan didn't seem to think anything of my question. "Just getting the lay of the land. We still have more than a month before I expect any of the out-of-towners will start to arrive. But Europe's wolves wanted a more thorough assessment of the situation, Galway, and sending our pack made the most sense. It was supposed to be a fun trip."

  "Who's not having fun?" Another voice asked right before the blond man I'd met earlier entered the kitchen through the backdoor. "I know I'm having a great time," he deadpanned. I wasn't sure I completely understood how the wolves’ connection worked, but since this guy had no questions about what I was doing the kitchen, I had to assume that somehow Ethan had filled him in on what I was doing there. And the threat to Katie.

  The newcomer gave me a quick nod.

  "Speak of the world's worst shopper, and he shall appear," Ethan said, keeping his back to me. "You did get bacon, right?"

  "Come on, boss. You should know me better than that. I'm pretty sure it's under the eggs. Or maybe behind the orange juice."

  A quick peek at the fridge explained exactly why anyone would have trouble finding a specific item. It was packed too full.

  "How many people are here with you?" I asked, somewhat incredulous. It would've taken Taya and I months to eat all that food.

  "I brought five wolves with me, and Katie." He then turned and saw what I was looking at. "We get hungry."

  "No judgement from me."

  I sat back in my chair. As a second man, this time one I didn't recognize, came in through the same door that Cooper had. This one had chestnut brown hair and a stern expression that took over what otherwise might have been a handsome face. Without a word, he sat down across from me, not bothering to hide the way his gaze moved from the top of my head down to my waist. It was the look of a predator, sexual or aggressive, I couldn't say. Maybe both. I clenched my jaw and stared straight ahead. Ethan had invited me here as his guest, or maybe as his pseudo-prisoner. But whoever this guy was, I had to believe he couldn't risk hurting me.

  But I couldn't shake the feeling that he wanted to.

  "John, Cooper. This is Melanie ... I didn't catch your last name."

  I wanted to say something about how last names were important, but that would only draw more unwanted attention. "Sinclair."

  "I'm sorry about what happened to you tonight," John, the wolf, sitting across from me said, surprising me, not just with his deep Scottish accent. He sounded sincere.

  "Thank you." That sounded more like a question, but I couldn't help but appreciate the sentiment. I just wished I could be a little better at reading this guy. At any of these guys.

  In a matter of minutes, a plate stacked full of golden-brown pancakes was placed in the center of the table. I waited, even as my stomach caught itself with hunger, not sure if there was some sort of protocol. How was I supposed to know?

  John glowered at me from across the table. "Ladies first."

  "Don't mind if I do." I forced a smile as I stabbed my fork into the closest pancake I could reach. Following it up a second later with the scrambled eggs that were placed down right in front of me.

  Ethan didn't even bother delivering them to the table before all three men in the room went for the still hot pan, crowding in around the stove to take their fill.

  I tried not to be too disappointed when I looked up to see that everything was gone.

  A moment later, Ethan stared toward me before depositing three large sausages wrapped in a paper towel beside my plate.

  "There will be more later, too. For the guys patrolling the property. Eat as much as you want. I can't thank you enough."

  I was saved from an awkward you're welcome, or any other kind of follow-up by the greedy bite of sausage I had already taken.

  "This is delicious," I mumbled a minute later, my mouth still a little full.

  "I know, it's incredibly unfair," Cooper said. "He looks like that, he can cook, and he's the boss."

  I cocked an eyebrow in surprise.

  "What? You've never met a gay werewolf before?"

  I choked on my eggs, coughing a little as heat rushed to my face. "I've never met any werewolves before, to be fair." But I hadn't heard exactly wonderful things about tolerance and the wolf community, at least not for anyone other than big and strong, straight men. Strong was strong, dominant was dominant. But there was still prejudice. And I had never imagined that Ireland would be any better off than the rest of the world.

  If anything, I silently assumed they were a little worse. But I suppose I never really considered the implications of Ireland's long and turbulent religious his
tory on the supernatural community.

  And today was not the day to get into any of that.

  I barely managed not to comment. Just as I moved to take another bite, all three men surrounding me froze in place. I barely had time to consider that they were preparing to attack when they all relaxed again.

  Catching my expression, Ethan explained. "Katie is awake."

  He stood to start the next round of food as the sound of footsteps floating down the stairs toward us, filled the silence.

  Katie stopped in place at the door, surveying the scene.

  "Did you sleep with my dad?" The repulsion taking over her petite features made it perfectly clear what Katie thought of that idea.

  I made a face back. "No." But how exactly to explain my presence. I looked to Ethan, not willing to make the wrong call. She was his kid.

  In the corner of the room, her father stood silently for a moment until Katie's gaze shifted from me to him. Would he tell her what had happened, or would he try to shield her from anything that might wish for harm? I honestly couldn't say. "Something happened last night. Everything's okay, but we need to have a conversation." His eyes flicked between everyone else in the room. "After you eat breakfast."

  Katie shrugged like she was perfectly used to her dad making ominous statements whenever she walked into a room. Over the next twenty minutes, that one tiny girl managed to eat almost as much as any of the men before she and her dad slipped away.

  "She'll be fine," I said, more to myself than to the two wolves who had stayed in the spacious kitchen with me, both snacking on their fourth course of the breakfast buffet Ethan had created for them.

  "She's a tough kid," Cooper said. John nodded his approval.

  "Where's her mom?" A comment Ethan had made earlier about Katie already having been through so much had been nipping at the back of my mind. It was none of my business, but I couldn't help but be curious.

  Like my mother, I'd always asked too many questions.

  "She died," John said, matter of fact. “Six years ago. Vampires."