by Lila Kane
He laughed, an animal laugh that had her cringing inwardly. Not a vampire, probably not a shapeshifter. Werewolf? But he was nothing like Cheyenne. None of the class, none of the tact, and she felt nothing but repulsion for him.
When he walked closer, she folded her arms, making him think she was relaxed. A victim. Then she could attack.
“I suggest you leave.”
He shook his head. “Not interested in leaving. Kane talks about you, you know?”
“He hasn’t said anything about you. You’re just one of the pack.” She smiled when he winced at the word. “He’s using you, like all the rest.”
“Shut up,” he hissed, lunging at her.
Myra sidestepped and he slammed into the counter. He grabbed for her arm, fingers like a vice around her wrist. He might be stronger than her, but she was faster than him. She darted away, going for the door, but his grip was too tight.
She swung around, aiming for his face. She still had the keys in her hand, and dragged one down his cheek.
He howled in pain and launched himself on top of her. The air left her lungs when he pinned himself against her. She hiked her knee up between his legs and made contact.
He grunted and rolled over as she scrambled to her feet. When someone grabbed her arm, she gasped, and then saw Logan.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded and barely saw him move before he dove at the werewolf. Chest heaving, she backed to the door in time to see Ryan sprinting from his truck across the street. He hauled the door open and took in the scene before him.
“What the hell did he do to you?” Ryan growled.
“I’m fine–help Logan.”
He didn’t question her, just ran into the mix and pinned the werewolf just after Logan got in a punch to the jaw. “What did you do?” he shouted.
The werewolf gurgled out a curse. Logan would have gone for him again if Myra hadn’t grabbed his arm. “Come on–not like this.”
“Fuck that,” Ryan hissed. “He wants to come in here where he’s not welcome, he can deal with the consequences.”
“I swear I’m going to kill Kane,” Logan said.
“I don’t think he sent this one in here.”
“Bullshit.”
“Ryan.” Myra touched his shoulder. “Let him up.”
“What? No. This piece of–”
“Stop. Logan, please. We can’t start a fight here–not like this. We’re not ready for it.”
She saw the flicker of understanding in Logan’s eyes. He gave a short nod before reaching down haul the werewolf to his feet. Together, he and Ryan jerked him to the door and tossed him out on the sidewalk.
“You ever come back here again, you’re dead,” Ryan told him. “Tell Kane he’s not going to get away with this.”
The werewolf scrambled to his feet and ran down the street, disappearing around the corner.
Myra pocketed her keys again, squinting from the light of the bright sun. Thankfully, that was one of the things that hadn’t changed for her. She could still enjoy the sun. She wondered if it would even affect her if she became a full vampire.
“Myra.”
She gazed around the rest of the street. There had to be more of them out there. More of them waiting.
“Myra.”
Ryan stepped in front of her and she focused on his face. “Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she grumbled, turning for the store again. “What an asshole.”
Logan stopped her just inside the door. “Myra, sweetheart.”
She cringed at the word, the same one the werewolf had called her. “Don’t call me that,” she whispered.
His eyes narrowed on her face. “Tell me what happened.”
“Nothing. He stopped in, talked some shit, and then attacked me. I–” She broke off when Ryan took her hand, turning her to face him so he could check her over. “I’m fine. You know he can’t hurt me.”
Logan’s jaw clenched. “He tried. That’s enough.”
Ryan’s hands cupped her cheeks. “Can you just focus on me for a second?”
Myra lifted her chin to look him in the eye. “Yes.”
“He didn’t…do anything, did he?”
“No.” Her gaze flicked to Logan and he looked away, dropping his chin.
Ryan kissed her lips, then brushed another kiss at her temple. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m sure.”
“I want you to stay at my house tonight,” he said.
“But Cheyenne–”
“She can come to. But I want–I need to have you close by.” Ryan wouldn’t release her, and she closed her eyes, leaning into him.
“Okay.” She opened her eyes and met Logan’s gaze. He nodded.
They were in this together. And if they stuck together, maybe they could figure it out.
Chapter 12
Ryan let Myra continue to sleep the next morning, and went downstairs to start coffee. He wasn’t going to work today. He couldn’t let Myra out of his sight. And it was the full moon tonight. Willow had to choose–to put the spell back in place, or try to reverse it so the paranormals could get full power.
He found Cheyenne and Logan already in the kitchen. Cheyenne poured coffee for him and nodded to the stove. “I made eggs. Probably not as good as Myra could have done, but I’m glad you’re letting her sleep.”
“I’m not happy about this, you know,” Ryan said, sitting at the table, but folding his arms.
“What’s that?” Cheyenne asked.
“You getting on board with ending this spell. You two keep talking about the bigger picture but if Myra gets sick, there might not be anything she can do. And what about Willow?”
“What about her?” Cheyenne’s eyes narrowed, taking on the challenge in that familiar way of hers.
“She came to me last night,” Logan said before they could argue anymore.
Ryan and Cheyenne both looked at him.
He stared at his hands. “She said he killed someone yesterday.”
Ryan squeezed his mug of coffee, glad Myra was still upstairs. “You think it was the werewolf?”
Logan nodded. “That’d be my guess. His sick and twisted way of taking care of Myra.”
Ryan gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to think about what might have happened yesterday. And if it hadn’t been for Kane, the werewolf wouldn’t be here in the first place.
“He locked Willow in the basement,” Logan continued.
“That asshole!” Cheyenne said. Seemingly unable to sit still, she stood and started scooping eggs onto a plate. She set it in front of Ryan. “He knows what she’s up to.”
“It’s dangerous for her to be there,” Logan said.
“But there isn’t anything we can do about it right now.” Ryan shook his head when Logan started to argue. “There isn’t. We can’t get onto the property–at least not into the house. We can’t help her that way.”
“She’s going to try to put the spell back in place. Instead of doing the spell Kane wants her to do, she’s going to do the opposite,” Logan said. “I’m pretty sure.”
“Good,” Myra said from the entryway to the kitchen.
Ryan stood from the table when he saw her. Her eyes still looked tired, but they were clear. Certain.
“Now we just need to make sure we can help her out of there when the time comes.”
“How long have you been listening?” Logan asked, a grumble to his voice that said he was irritated with her words.
“Long enough to know you’re in a bad mood and we don’t have time for that.” Myra touched Ryan’s shoulder when she passed, but he captured her hand before she could sit.
“Can we talk about this for a minute?” Ryan asked.
She smiled up at him. “Talk about what?”
“Woman,” he growled, pulling her to him for a hug. “You’re driving me crazy.”
He couldn’t help but smile at the sound of her laughter. “It’s my jo
b,” she said, voice muffled against his shirt.
“Seriously, though.” He pulled out a chair for her and sat next to her when she settled at the table. “Let me just get this out.”
Myra accepted the plate of eggs Cheyenne gave her and turned to Ryan.
He took her hand and tried to keep his voice calm. “I know you want Willow to do this spell. But–”
“No buts,” she said.
Logan frowned. “Hear him out.”
She sighed. “Sorry. Go ahead.”
“I think we should be close by,” Ryan said. “Close to her as she’s doing the spell.”
“We don’t know when or where–”
“In the clearing by the house,” Logan said. “I went and checked it out last night after Willow came.”
“And they’ll do it when the moon starts to rise,” Cheyenne said. “It’ll give her the most power. Her and the rest of the circle.”
Myra opened her mouth, but Ryan squeezed her hand. “Listen. We’ll be close by. That way if anything goes wrong, we can stop it.”
He felt her tense. “Stop the spell? Ryan–”
“And,” he continued, “then Kane won’t retaliate against Willow.”
“If she doesn’t do the spell for him,” Logan said softly from next to her, “I don’t know what Kane will do.”
Myra pressed her lips together for a long moment before saying, “I don’t want Willow to get hurt, I really don’t, but it’s her decision. If she thinks putting the spell back in place is the right thing to do, I agree with her.”
Ryan pulled her hand to his chest. “Myra, please–”
“I don’t want to fight.” She met his eyes with steady ones of her own. “Let’s not do this. We should eat and then make sure we have a plan for tonight. We need to be there for Willow no matter what she chooses. Let’s prepare for that.”
Ryan wanted to argue. He wanted to drag Myra away from all this and stop anything from happening tonight. He wanted what he couldn’t have. Control was slipping from his fingers, and it was Myra who was at risk. Myra and Willow.
In front of Cheyenne and Logan, Myra leaned in and pressed a long kiss to his lips. “Eat. And then we’ll plan.”
He cast a look at Logan before settling back in his seat. Neither of them said a word but he knew they were thinking the same thing. If Myra started to feel different in any way, they were stopping Willow from doing the spell.
They gathered in Myra’s store as night grew closer. Cheyenne stopped by home first to grab one of her spell books and Myra tried to distract Logan and Ryan as they waited.
“I’m thinking a few tables over here,” Myra said, standing in the corner of the building. “And maybe pictures–watercolors? I’m not sure, but something hanging here.”
She paced to the front window and held out her arms. “And maybe some bistro tables here, with–”
She froze when she turned and saw Willow. She was about to say something but saw the look on Willow’s face and hurried over. She looked so real, it was hard to remember this was another version of her. A ghostly copy.
“Willow, what’s wrong?” Logan asked.
She went straight to Ryan, appealing to him. “You have to listen to me, okay? They have Cheyenne‒”
“What?” Logan reached for her, but his hand went through her arm. “Willow‒”
“No time. They have Cheyenne to complete the circle but once Kane finds out I’m not doing the spell for him‒”
“You’re still not going to do it?” Logan asked.
Myra shot him a glare, trying to keep calm. “No, she’s not.” She took Willow’s hand in hers, pleased when they made contact. “You’re doing the right thing, Willow. And we’ll be there to help you.”
“Thank you.”
Logan started to say something else, but she disappeared.
“We have to go now,” Myra said. She hurried to the door and the others followed, straight to Ryan’s truck.
As they drove, the sky dimmed further. Clouds darkened the night and thunder started to grumble.
“Hurry.” Myra leaned forward in her seat. “Hurry, Ryan, I think she’s preparing to do the spell. Something’s happening.”
“How do you know?” Logan asked.
“The thunder. The clouds. It’s not supposed to be cloudy or stormy tonight. Something’s going on.”
When they reached the house, Logan pointed to the main road. “Park down here. They’ve made a perimeter and they’ll know if we get too close.”
Myra hopped out on Logan’s side.
“Stay close to me,” he said. “I know where the perimeter starts.”
They ran, all three of them as fast and silent as panthers, racing through the forest to reach the clearing. When Logan stopped, Myra paused next to him, barely out of breath.
The thunder grumbled again and through the trees, she saw fire. Myra could hear a few voices, and then Willow’s, rising in a soft chant.
A sharp pain shot through her stomach. She doubled over, her arm around her waist.
“Myra,” Ryan whispered. “What is it?”
She waited for the blinding pain to pass before trying to reassure him. “Nothing. It’s–”
The pain raced through her again. Willow’s voice rose and then someone else joined in with her. The sky started to clear, and she realized it was swirling above them. She fell to her knees with Logan and Ryan peering down.
“It’s making her sick,” Logan said. “It’s hurting her–”
“No.” Myra gripped Ryan’s arm. “It’s fine. Just…”
“Damn it!” Ryan touched her cheek. “Myra, just breathe…”
She tried to, but she could hardly focus. She turned onto her side, afraid she was going to be sick.
“We have to stop this,” Logan said.
“No, no,” Myra moaned. “You–can’t–”
But Ryan jumped to his feet. He was too fast for her, gone in a blur and running straight for the circle of paranormals.
Chapter 13
Ryan didn’t have a plan–all he knew was that he had to stop Willow from doing the spell. His first step through the perimeter made him fumble. Pain flared in his whole body. But he gritted his teeth and continued on until he saw Willow.
He grasped her shoulders. “Stop the spell‒it’s hurting her.”
“What?” Her eyes were wide. Scared and worried.
Before she could answer, he heard Kane’s voice behind him. “Shifter.” He addressed the rest of the group. “Kill him.”
The group merged around him, and at the same time he saw Logan burst through the circle and face Kane.
Ryan lunged at one of the members of the group, knocking him to the ground. Someone aimed a kicked at his side, but it barely hurt, and he realized it was a vampire. The vampire winced and sank to his knees as Ryan turned to fight someone else.
He saw Myra from the corner of his eye, losing his focus when he noticed how pale she was.
“Stop,” she rasped out at him, her knees buckling. Then she spoke to Willow. “Finish the spell.”
Even when she collapsed, there were people running at her. Kane’s people.
Ryan turned just in time to see one of Kane’s group pull out a knife and come in his direction.
“Stop!” he heard someone scream, just as the man with the knife lunged at him.
People stopped moving around him.
“Stop!” Willow screamed again. Fire exploded from the fire in the center of the circle, and the heat was so intense, Ryan stumbled back. A line of flames formed between Kane and Logan, and everyone froze.
“You stay away from him,” Willow told Kane.
Ryan searched for Myra, his gaze sweeping the forest floor.
“Get back into the circle,” Willow said. “Now!”
Everyone started moving, like they were all afraid of what the witch might do to them. Ryan spotted Myra on the ground, propped up by one elbow. He rushed to her, kneeling in the leaves and taking her hand
.
He caught Willow’s gaze. “She’s sick.”
“Put that fire down now, Willow, so we can end this,” Kane said.
He scowled at Willow through the flames, looking deadly and pissed off.
Willow nodded. “I will if you get back to your place in the circle.”
“Don’t test me, witch. You’ve already lost my trust. It’s time to finish this.”
“Yes,” she said. “I’ll do the spell.”
Ryan felt Myra tense. He saw Cheyenne on the other side of the circle, and she was shaking her head.
“What?” Kane asked.
“What?” Logan repeated.
“I’ll do it.”
“Willow, no‒” one of their witches started. He shut up when Kane glared at him.
Myra tried to push herself into a sitting position. Ryan gripped her arms. “Myra, no. She can fix this.”
She ignored him, appealing to Willow. “Don’t, Willow. No.”
As he held Myra in his arms, he watched Willow’s resolve crumble. And then watched determination build on her face.
“Don’t touch them, don’t hurt anyone,” she told Kane. “Stay where you are, all of you, and I’ll do the spell. James.” He frowned at Willow’s command. “The words. You have to say them with me.”
He didn’t look like he wanted to, but he didn’t argue.
“Stay where you are,” she said to Kane.
“This is your last chance.”
“I know.”
Willow cupped her hands together and flames burned from within, glowing to a large ball as she started the spell. James spoke with her and the ball of fire grew until it consumed Willow’s hands and rose into the sky. The forest turned blue.
“It’s working!” Kane shouted.
Ryan could feel it, too. His senses sharpened. He could see more clearly. He could feel the wind on his face and the heat from the fire. And then Myra stood next to him. Her cheeks weren’t as pale, though she looked completely terrified. Ryan pulled her to him.
Then the sphere of fire burst, sending light spearing through the clearing. Ryan and Myra were knocked off their feet as the light vanished.
Then he heard howling.
