“I’ve seen a little bit of that.”
Gemma continued past the door that led to her room. She held up a key for the neighboring room. “This is Annie, Huck, and Bradley’s room,” she said. She shifted on her feet uncomfortably. “I don’t think they’ll be using it tonight. I want the boys to stay with us, so we can keep an eye on them.” She shook her head slightly, but regained her composure. “You can stay here until we get things sorted out.”
Eva stepped into the room and looked around. It felt weird being in someone else’s hotel room, especially when that person had been kidnapped. Everywhere she looked, there was makeup or clothes that were someone else’s.
“Will you be alright here?” Gemma asked quietly.
Eva looked at her and gave a small smile. “I’ll be okay. I have a lot to think about, like being a werewolf.”
Gemma laughed. “It’s not as bad as some people make it out to be. I would have never met Adam without it. I even tried shedding it for a while, but you are what you are.” She stood there for a few more moments. “I’m going to go back to my room. We’ll come by in the morning.”
Eva nodded. “Sure.”
Gemma shut the door, leaving Eva by herself. Alone, for the first time since she we woke up, everything that had happened weighed down on her. Maybe being by herself wasn’t such a good idea. She felt dirty and unclean and almost unsure about what was going to be underneath her clothes, but she would have to check sometime, right?
She stood in front of the mirror and slowly took off her torn-up sweater and her jeans. Her body was bruised, but her faster metabolism had healed most of the worst things. Her various stitches and wounds had been able to hold up remarkably well when she Turned – probably because Dr. Martinez was a werewolf and knew how to stitch her up appropriately. Her eyes were fine, except for a slight purpling underneath. Naked, she looked at herself in the mirror. Other than the bruising and the stitches, she appeared to be otherwise human.
It was a weird thought.
She bit her lip and turned on the shower. She couldn’t help but feel the significance of the water coursing down her skin. It felt like she was washing away her human life, replacing it with something completely alien and foreign to her. She showered quickly, scared to be alone in her thoughts. Maybe she should have had someone stay with her, like Jon.
No, she thought, panicked at why she thought of him. Not Jon, although she couldn’t help the acceleration of her heartbeat at the thought of him.
She stepped out and towel-dried her mass of hair. Through her tired haze, she pulled back the covers and slipped into the bed, curling up her knees to her chest. She couldn’t stop thinking about Jon. It felt like she had a sudden infatuation that she couldn’t get rid of. She tried telling herself that it was because everything was happening so quickly and he was her only source of support for the past twenty-four hours.
She blinked a few times in the darkness, her mind rolling through all of the events. She’d nearly died. She’d been brutalized. She should have felt more terror than that. Instead, there was just the thought of Jon that kept her through everything, Jon who had protected her from the worst of her post-traumatic stress. She knew that someday, it would affect her worse.
But for now, she was just grateful that the thought of him shielded her.
She fell asleep, curled up in bed, his name on her lips, thankful for his help.
***
Jon lay awake in bed, and it wasn’t just because Carmichael was snoring. The old man had spent all day with the Council trying to swing some of the leaders on the fence to their cause. Jon had gathered that the Dallas pack leader hadn’t been very successful.
He kept thinking about Eva and everything that had happened in the past day. He just wished there was something more he could do, something he could do to help her through this. But nothing came to mind, and he was at a loss.
He’d felt something when she cried into his shoulder outside the diner, when she had transformed for the first time. It wasn’t a sense of kinship for her being Turned into a werewolf the same way as him. It wasn’t because he’d been babysitting an otherwise lost pup of a werewolf.
It was a feeling that he’d never allowed himself to feel before. His duty was his first love. As a bodyguard, his job was dangerous. He couldn’t commit himself fully to someone else when he had to be committed to his charges. He couldn’t risk falling in love because there was always the risk that he would have to take a bullet for someone.
Oh shit, he thought. Was that what it was? Love? Did he really think he had fallen in love, even though it had only been a day?
Her face swam in his mind, her high cheekbones, her caramel skin. She was beautiful, he had to admit, but there was something else, a vulnerability he wanted to protect.
And all this after only a day? He’d heard how strong the werewolf instinct to find a mate was, but he never expected it to be like this.
He lay on his back, thinking of her. He shouldn’t have been thinking about the way her skin glistened, how kind her smile was, how she had quickly argued with him. He had to banish the thoughts of what that skin would feel like under his touch, what her lips would feel like against his.
He rolled onto his side. Facing the window he wondered what he was going to do.
Oh Jon, he chided to himself. What did you do?
CHAPTER 5
Gemma came by Eva’s room early the next morning.
Eva had experienced horrible nightmares the night before of teeth tearing into her flesh. Her screams didn’t help and the female voice kept echoing those same words into her mind. And curiously, she heard her brother’s voice, as well.
She’s no sister of mine.
She had woken up in tears, shivering from the horror she couldn’t quite see in her dreams. Thankfully, that was a half-hour before Gemma stopped by so Eva took another shower to calm herself.
There was also the question of how she was going to face Jon today. His face haunted her even in the morning. Why? Why was that happening?
Gemma came in, carrying a change of clothes. “I forgot you didn’t have anything to wear,” she said. “These are mine, but I think you’re one of the few people who is smaller than me.”
Eva chuckled. “It sucks to be little.”
Gemma shrugged with a wicked smile. “Not always,” she said enigmatically, making Eva wonder what she meant.
She quickly put her clothes on in the bathroom while the older woman sat on the edge of the bed.
“Do you think this will work?” Gemma asked.
Eva sensed it was a rare moment of vulnerability from the pack leader. “It has to,” Eva said.
She was worried that the lady with the voice wouldn’t be there. However, she was sure she would recognize it when the time came, whether it was in that crowd or another.
She stepped out, wearing a loose-fitting t-shirt tucked into a skirt. “Your clothes fit me pretty well,” she said with a soft laugh.
Gemma quirked an eyebrow. “Yeah, they’re pretty cute. And with your hair... You’ll strike a few of our single wolves with an arrow when they see you.”
Eva had to fight the blush back again. She wasn’t going to wonder if Jon would be one of them. They went out where a group of men and women were convened in the hallway. She recognized Adam and Mark and a few others from the day before. She also saw Jon, but she avoided his intense gaze as Gemma explained to the group why Eva was accompanying them to the Council of Wolves.
Downstairs in the Suburban she found herself sitting next to Jon. He regarded her in silence for a few moments. “Nervous?” he asked.
Eva looked at him in shock.
He pointed to his chest. “Your heart rate is accelerated and you’re slightly sweating. One of those werewolf tricks you get used to. You’re a biological lie detector. Don’t worry. You’ll be able to identify the voice if you hear it.”
Eva wished she was as confident.
The pack leader from Dallas named
Carmichael grunted as he got into the driver’s seat “E’erbody buckled in?” he asked in his Cajun accent. “Not that it matters,” he added as an afterthought.
With that, he threw the car into drive and headed to the Bellagio. Eva had always loved the hotel for the fountains and the flowers, but now she felt a certain sense of dread.
Without warning, Jon grabbed her hand and gave it a quick squeeze. He didn’t say anything or even look her way, but just the gesture was enough. Had he been thinking about her too? Eva felt her heartbeat increase by another notch.
From the passenger’s seat, Gemma turned around to look at Eva. “There’s something else you need to know,” she said. “The wolves that will be there are...pretty set in their old ways. That means that they might view you as inferior to them.”
Eva gulped. “Why?” she asked hoarsely.
“There are levels within our community based on strength and experience,” Gemma explained. “Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Omega. Most of the wolves there will be either Alpha or Beta – the highest levels. But since you were just Turned and don’t have a mate, you’re still classified Omega. And they will hold it against you,” Gemma added softly.
“Why?” Eva asked. She remembered Jon mentioning something like that when she had first woken up in the hospital. It hadn’t made sense then. Now she was nervous.
“Because they’re still stuck in their ways. We know better,” Gemma said, gesturing to everyone in the Suburban. “Omegas are capable of anything.”
Adam chuckled. “Yeah they are.” There must have been an inside joke that Eva didn’t understand.
As it was, she was now terrified.
Finally the car pulled into park and they were on their way to one of the ballrooms. When Eva entered, her wolf senses went crazy with all the different smells. Yesterday, when she had met Gemma and the others, she had smelled that they were superior. But here, there were so many other different smells and levels. Instinctively, she knew where she was on the food chain here.
This sucked.
Their group sat down at a table, ready for the meeting to start. Even though she had tried avoiding him, Jon had ended up sitting next to her again. She could feel his eyes bore into her while she was careful to look only towards the stage. Gemma sat on her other side, as if trying to protect her from the rest of the pack leaders.
So far no success. She’d been listening ever since they’d shown up, and so far she hadn’t been able to hear the voice that matched the one in her memory. She needed to go to the other side of the room, but there was no way to do it now that everyone was sitting down.
An old woman with leathery skin and deep sunken eyes that glowed like liquid gold stepped onto the stage. There was something so ethereal and so regal about her, it took Eva’s breath away momentarily.
“That’s the Great Wolf,” Gemma explained under her breath. “She’s the leader of all the wolves in the country.”
Eva nodded, transfixed by the old woman. She watched as the Great Wolf sniffed the air curiously. Her gaze swept the crowd. Time slowed for Eva as their eyes met. It was as if the Great Wolf was peering into her soul.
Hello, young one.
An elderly woman’s voice spoke directly in her head. The hair on the back of Eva’s neck stood up.
“Wolves,” the Great Wolf proclaimed, beginning the day’s proceedings, “we are continuing our meeting from yesterday.”
“Let’s keep Gemma from speaking this time, right?” someone piped up.
Eva felt the immediate disappointment that it wasn’t a woman who had spoken. There were other wolves that agreed, throwing their voices into the mix. Eva tried hard picking out each one of them, but it felt like she was trying to shuffle cards that were scattered all over the table. Gemma eyed her to watch for some recognition, so Eva just shook her head.
“Order!” the Great Wolf roared. “ORDER! Or I will cast each and every one of you out! Austin pack leader Gemma and Los Angeles pack leader Robert have the floor as per yesterday.”
Gemma pleaded once more with her eyes as she stood. Eva was left wondering what to do. She glanced around the table. Bradley seemed ill at ease. After all, these proceedings were about his future. Huck seemed like he was in a daze. All of the others were watching intently.
“Your grace, I think there’s nothing more to be said,” Robert declared. “The Dallas and the Austin packs have betrayed our laws and our way of life that has been in place for thousands of years.”
“Women were not granted the right to vote until the turn of the last century,” Gemma countered. “If we followed traditions, we’d still be in caves.”
Robert turned his head to glare at Gemma. “Sometimes, I think it would have been better if some women were still seen and not heard,” he growled.
All of the women yelled in protests, along with many of the men. Despite the fact that she was angry at the comment, Eva forced herself to focus on the voices. No. None of them were right.
“Order! Order!” the Great Wolf cried. “I swear to God, it is like herding werecats with you all.”
“Your grace, if I may speak,” Gemma said. The Great Wolf watched her for a beat, as if debating it would be worth granting her the right to speak. Then the old woman nodded. “We’re still looking for one of our own who was kidnapped during my wedding. Last night, I was sent one of her hands. Without the rest of her body. Whoever has her is trying to send a message to me. And I’m not saying it’s any of us here,” she added quickly. “But I would appreciate your help in trying to find the kidnappers and retrieving our friend.” She swallowed, visibly uncomfortable. “Whether she’s alive or dead. We just want her back.”
Eva watched as Huck stiffened at the phrase. He paled and then looked down at the space in front of him.
There was silence in the room.
“Please,” Gemma added.
The Great Wolf opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by another voice.
“NOW!”
Eva’s ears perked up at the sounded. That was it! That was the woman who had ordered them to torture her.
Just as she was about to stand up, the lights went out in the ballroom. Many of the wolves shrieked in surprise. Thuds on the carpet announced the arrival of tear gas canisters. Eva stood up as a reflex, trying to get away from the smoke that rose out of them. Her chair toppled behind her and she stumbled over it. She couldn’t see as well, and the tear gas stifled her sense of smell. She couldn’t stop coughing, and she didn’t know who or where anyone was around her.
“Eva!” It was Jon. He grabbed onto her shoulders, pulling her to him. “Eva, stay with me!”
She wondered why he was so worried about her when Gemma and Mark were in as much – if not more – danger than she was. But that didn’t matter as the man next to her transformed into a wolf.
No, she thought. I’m not transforming. Not again. The thought of her bones rearranging again nearly made her sick. Even though she was in danger, she didn’t want to give into the wolf.
Jon seemed to sense her distress. Stay close to me, he said. His voice entered her head, as if his voice were one of her thoughts.
“Okay,” she said. She couldn’t stop her hands from trembling. The very thought of being in so much pain again was enough to send her into near-hysterics.
Pandemonium was breaking out around them—the crash of dishes, the splintering of tables and chairs. Screams, both in human and wolf voices rang out. Snarls, growls, and yelps all filled her ears. The situation was escalating. Wolves were fighting. There was blood on the ballroom floor. She suddenly picked up a new scent. These wolves were not affiliated with any pack, but only themselves.
Rogue wolves were ambushing them.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
Jon stood in front of her, snarling as he fought off anyone that tried attacking her. Eva had her back to the table, her heart pounding in her head. The room was slowly spinning, and she knew that her post-traumatic stress was coming back
to haunt her. She was unable to move from the fear.
Then, as if in a dream, the smoke from the tear gas swirled, allowing her to see further into the ballroom to someone she had never expected to see in this context. He looked different, his eyes glowing with that eerie golden yellow that all werewolves had, and although he looked mostly human at that point, he still had bits of fur on his arms and face. He smelled different, like he was superior.
Alpha.
As if sensing her gaze, he turned his head and their eyes connected. She gasped.
“Luis?” How was he an Alpha werewolf without her knowing?
The pieces connected, why it always seemed that her brother was running with a strange crowd. But that didn’t explain why he had always been on the wrong side of the law, and that certainly didn’t explain why he was attacking a meeting of all the pack leaders in the country.
Why was he here?
Reflexes spurred her to move. She ran after him. “Luis! What are you doing here?”
“You were dead!” he yelled back in disbelief.
“Why?” she screamed. “Why?!”
“Because you saw too much!”
As she closed the gap between them, he snarled, gesturing for other wolves to attack her. She watched as he joined the three wolves running towards her, transforming fully into his wolf form as he did so.
Why would he do this? She had always been there for him. She had only wanted to help him.
Now, he was trying to kill her.
EVA!
Jon intercepted the wolves. With a growl, he flung them away, making an imposing figure as he faced her attackers. Get the fuck back! he yelled in his werewolf voice.
A sob escaped her throat. Luis had betrayed her. Was he the one who had Turned her?
And here she was helpless, seized by fear, and greatly outmatched by nearly all of the enemy wolves. Jon was all that stood between her and her brother finishing the job.
Paranormal Magic (Shades of Prey Book 1) Page 91
