by Petra Landon
“You’ve met her before, Hawk?” Caro exclaimed, her astonishment clear. Caroline had assumed that, like her, Hawk had few opportunities to mingle with other Chosen.
“A few times” Hawk acknowledged.
Caro stared at him, rendered speechless by his answer. In response, Hawk gave her one of his singularly attractive smiles.
“What about the jewelry?” Sienna asked curiously. “Is it real?”
Hawk shrugged. He had little interest in and absolutely no clue about jewelry.
“Very likely” Duncan answered the question. “She likes the finer things in life, like most of her kind.”
“Hmm.” Sienna turned around to direct a thoughtful glance at the Mistress.
Tasia, who had met the Vampire Mistress before in a rather terrifying encounter, tried to ignore her presence to take in the spread before her in awe. Sienna had done a fantastic job. A vegetarian, Tasia’s daily attempts to configure meals from the mostly meat options available at the Lair Café were always a challenge. Tonight, she realized joyfully, offered her a feast with the plethora of available options.
“They won’t venture here” Duncan remarked in a low voice to her, gesturing at the tables laden with food. The leeches got their sustenance from other sources, as Tasia knew.
Tasia glanced at up at the English Shifter. “I know that I’m in safe hands, Duncan.”
“Enjoy yourself tonight” he said softly. Duncan, who spent a lot of his time in the library he had created lovingly in the Pack Room, knew how much the forced isolation at the Lair chafed at Tasia. He’d taken note of her restlessness while she worked long hours perusing and making notes from the reports that the First Wizard had released to them.
Forty minutes later, Tasia was back at the table, perusing dessert options carefully after a fantastic meal. Engrossed in making the difficult decision between tiramisu and a bright passion fruit mousse, she failed to observe the man striding towards her.
Duncan, ever watchful, took note of the Alpha’s approach with sharp eyes that missed nothing. Directing his attention back to the plate of food in his hands, he relaxed his vigil for a few minutes.
“Enjoying yourself?” the Alpha inquired softly from beside her.
Startled, Tasia jumped, losing her grip on the plate in her hand. Quick as a flash, his hand shot out to grasp the plate, steadying it as a mini chocolate cup teetered at the edge.
Tasia glanced from the upright plate in his hands to the inscrutable face, her expression awed.
“You’re fast” she whispered.
“I’m a Shifter” he quipped impassively. “Didn’t mean to startle you” he said as she continued to stare up at him mutely.
Tasia’s eyes fell to the plate in his hands. She held out her hand for it, unthinkingly. The Alpha’s gold eyes snapped to the hand she held out to him before he placed the plate carefully on the table, his movements deliberate. He held her gaze, his eyes glinting with amusement.
“If you’re not willing in private, I think it’s safe to assume that you don’t intend to do so with the eyes of the world on you” he reminded her.
For one stupefied moment, Tasia stared at him in confusion, before the import of his words hit her. She flushed scarlet, snatching her hand back, reminded of the night in the Alpha’s Room when he’d offered her a sip from his glass.
With more hindsight now, Tasia understood that he had been attempting to distract her from her fears that night. In his own way, he had been rather kind.
Watch yourself, Tasia. He’s right about the eyes of the world on you. This is no time to make missteps with Shifter traditions. Especially when the Pack is already gossiping about you, if Markham’s to be believed.
Tasia reached for the plate on the table, playing for time to compose herself.
“Thank you for the timely reminder” she said with remarkable composure to the man who watched her with hooded eyes.
Those hooded gold eyes skimmed over her from head to toe, taking in the upswept hair, the dangling earrings and the simple knee-length rust-colored dress. The big gray eyes had been highlighted with subtle makeup that made them the focus of her fine-boned features.
“Witchling” he said softly, conscious of the Shifters listening in, and possibly the two leeches.
Tasia glanced up to meet his gaze, a question in the gray eyes as they met his. For the first time, Raoul allowed a hint of his interest to show, for just a moment. It was deliberately done. Tasia stared at the light in the depths of the gold eyes, bewildered and confused by it.
Whaaat? Is he …? No, it cannot be. This is the cold and aloof man who doesn’t allow even his Pack to get close. Get a grip on yourself.
The gold eyes, now back to their inscrutable depths, searched her face.
Had she imagined that look in his eyes, Tasia wondered uncertainly.
He’s probably checking out the smudge on my face.
“Enjoy your chocolate and the party” he said. “And, don’t worry” he added as she remained silent, his lightning glance directed at the Mistress who mingled with the other guests, in company with her Vampire, Maartje, and two of Luis’s Shifters. “I’ve got this.”
The next morning, Jason LaRue asked for an audience with the Alpha.
“You’re not going to like this” Jason warned bluntly as the Alpha closed the door to his sound-proofed private room.
Raoul studied the Guardian’s candid brown eyes. “Out with it, LaRue” he said mildly. “I’m in a good mood. Let’s have it.”
Jason lost his somber expression as his eyes lit up with amusement. No wonder Merceau was in a good mood. Why wouldn’t he be after successfully pulling off a coup of sorts last night, Jason mused. All without expending much of an effort to keep the peace, from what Jason had seen.
“I told you that the First Wizard had approached ElThor for assistance” Jason reminded him.
“Yes, to extract Sienna’s locket.”
“In return for his assistance, ElThor is asking more questions about the locket and its origins than the First Wizard is comfortable answering.” Jason relayed the information tactfully.
Raoul studied the Guardian for a moment, his gold eyes glinting with unholy enjoyment. “So, the Ancients are giving the Wizards an uncomfortable time as the price for their assistance. Couldn’t have happened to more deserving folks, if you ask me. You’re wrong, LaRue. This is highly entertaining. What’s not to like?”
Jason sighed silently. He didn’t know where the Alpha’s animosity for Wizards stemmed from, but this particular opinion was hard to rebut. Much as he would’ve liked to, Jason couldn’t deny that the Wizards wanted to keep Lady Bethesda’s crimes and machinations a secret from the other Chosen, and even their own people. It would bring down too many recriminations on their leadership and its decisions, past and present.
“It’s what comes next that you won’t like” Jason remarked. “The First Wizard would like a contingent of Guardians to take a stab at removing Sienna’s locket before she’s forced to divulge secrets to ElThor’s people.”
“That’s Wizard business. Why would I have an opinion on it?” Raoul countered.
“You know how I feel about entrusting Sienna’s protection to the GCW. After Chicago, I’m not sure which Guardians to trust. The First Wizard agrees with me on this.”
Raoul’s eyes searched Jason’s face. Now he understood where this was going.
“No” he stated unequivocally, the gold eyes blanked of all expression. “Before I extended the invitation to Sienna, I told you that no Guardians would ever step foot in my Lair.”
Jason’s chocolate-colored eyes remained steady on him, but he said nothing.
“I made an exception for you, Guardian” Raoul said softly. “But therein ends my dealings with Wizards. No other Guardian will set foot here and I’ll stop this joint investigation if the First Wizard insists on involving any other Guardians in it.”
Jason said nothing. There was nothing to say. This was exactly t
he reaction he’d anticipated from the Alpha. Merceau had been crystal clear about the parameters of his co-operation with Wizards before. Although, to be honest, Jason was taken aback by the Alpha’s additional threat to put a stop to the Lady Bethesda investigation at the first sign of more Wizard involvement in the matter. While the Alpha had accepted this assignment at the behest of Faoladh, he seemed now to be drawing a line in the sand — there was only so far he would go, even for Faoladh. Jason knew that it would only be to the Wizards’ detriment if the Alpha followed through on his threat. Merceau’s team had gotten much further in their two weeks of investigation than the multiple Wizard investigations over the course of twenty-five years, ever since the first allegations against Lady Bethesda.
“Alright” Jason countered mildly. “Would you be willing to consider a compromise, in that case?”
“I won’t compromise when it comes to Wizards” the Alpha declared with absolute conviction, his voice hard.
“I only ask that you hear me out, Merceau. Haven’t I earned that right?” Jason asked evenly, the brown eyes meeting Raoul’s gaze directly.
There was a moment of silence before Raoul nodded.
“The First Wizard is a powerful Magick in her own right. Would you be willing to host her at the Lair if she’s escorted by Faoladh?” Jason asked. “If she’s unable to undo the locket, she’ll be more amenable to giving the Ancients what they want.”
Taken aback, Raoul contemplated the Guardian thoughtfully. The First Wizard represented her brethren on the Council of Chosen. Her seeking any Shifter’s hospitality could only bring prestige to the Pack. He knew the news would be tough to keep hush-hush, no matter how hard the Wizards attempted to do so.
“Your First Wizard is welcome here, but no others may accompany her to the Lair.”
“I’ll convey the invitation to her, along with your conditions, Alpha” Jason said. “And thank you. Again” he added after a short pause.
There was a short silence as the two men, so very different but united in a temporary alliance for a common cause, contemplated each other.
“You’re an unusual man, Raoul Merceau” Jason remarked with a wry smile. “You surprise me constantly, an ability that few people in the world possess anymore. You dislike our kind and yet, you offer Tasia the protection of your Pack, and Sienna the sanctuary of your Lair. And you don’t do anything by half measures, either. I’ve seen how you protect Tasia. You have your Shifters watch over her like hawks all the time.”
“Shifters take our debts very seriously. The Pack owes Tasia, and this is our way of returning the favor” Raoul said impassively. There were other reasons why the Pack protected the witchling, but the Guardian didn’t need to know them.
“You didn’t turn away the Vampire Mistress last night either, something everyone in the hall expected. Don’t tell me the Pack owes her, too.”
“No, the Pack owes nothing to the leeches. Franciszka is what she is because she’s a leech.” Raoul shrugged. “She knows no other way to be. I’ve met many Chosen much worse than her. She was humiliated at being excluded from our celebration last night, when every other local Chosen leader had been invited. I wasn’t going to throw her out for the simple crime of being a leech. I’m a Shifter, you’re a Wizard, and she’s a leech. Not one of us had any choice in the matter. The only factor in our control is what we do with the power bestowed upon us. Isn’t that why we call ourselves the Chosen? All we can do is be true to ourselves.”
Jason stared at the Alpha, astonished by the simple and yet profound words. This man had more depths to him than what his Chosen brethren credited him with. His reputation did not do him justice. It was a thought that had occurred multiple times to Jason in the past two weeks while he observed the Alpha operate closely. He’d chosen well, Jason realized with relief. Entrusting Sienna’s safety to this man had been the best decision he’d made in a long time.
More than ever, Jason was determined to convince Sienna to talk to her Aunt Minnie. The Alpha and his team needed to hear the original prophecy to make further progress on the investigation. Sienna’s aunt could make that happen, one way or another. This investigation was crucial. Without it, Jason was afraid the Wizards would split apart at the seams, a danger Sienna’s aunt had realized before everyone else. There was also the personal component to it. He wanted answers about the past.
“Speaking of leeches” Raoul remarked abruptly. “I made sure they were escorted every second they spent inside the Lair, but I’d feel better if we swept this place for traces of leech magic.”
“I can do that” Jason offered.
“You’re sure, LaRue? A lot of Guardians might consider this type of work beneath them.”
“I don’t” Jason assured him in his easy-going manner. “I live here now. You might as well put me to good use” he added with a smile. “I also have some news on Azevedo.”
The Alpha looked inquiring.
“Azevedo fell out with the Lombardis over a prisoner. The rumor is he helped her escape the Clan.”
“The leeches can hold grudges with the best of us” Raoul acknowledged. “Perhaps, it was a matter of loyalty for them.” Loyalty to the nest and the Master was prized very highly by the Clan, he knew. Much like a Pack, in that respect.
“Perhaps. But I believe the Vampires considered Azevedo’s transgression more serious than disloyalty to the nest. The woman he helped free was no ordinary prisoner. She was to be bride to the Master.”
“What!” Raoul exclaimed, gobsmacked by this piece of information.
“Yup” Jason reiterated succinctly.
Azevedo had stolen the woman intended for the Master away from under the leeches’ noses. Suddenly, their animosity towards Gabriel Azevedo made more sense to Raoul. He had wondered idly, his interest more academic than anything else, why the leeches had chased after the Guardian with such single-minded animosity. So much so, that the man had resorted to faking his own death to escape them, as well as hiding the birth of his daughter to free her from the Vampire’s grudge against him. This would certainly qualify as a blood feud for the leeches.
“Not only did the ex-Guardian dare to walk away from them, he helped the Master’s intended to escape. From all accounts, the Vampires went after him with everything they had, hunting him for six months until they caught up with him” Jason continued. “He died in the ensuing attempt to escape them.”
This part, Raoul knew from the witchling. Her father had faked his own death, and that of the woman he had assisted in escaping the leeches, to throw those hunting him off their scent. What the hell, Raoul wondered silently in consternation. Every bit of information that dripped out slowly about Azevedo only seemed to increase the danger to the witchling, if any leech ever suspected her heritage. The leeches made for deadly enemies that stopped at nothing. They had, after all, elevated exacting vengeance to an art form. Her father’s sins would be taken out on his daughter if they ever caught up with the witchling. This was in addition to the danger she courted by the nature of the extraordinary magic that flowed in her veins.
Chapter 3
Tasia finds herself a target of Pack gossip
“Hey, Tas.” Hawk flopped onto the couch beside her. “Not done for the day yet?”
“Almost done, Hawk. I just need to go over some of these witness accounts one more time.”
“Sienna.” Hawk greeted the other Wizard busy perusing the documents with Tasia.
Sienna glanced up from the report in her hand, her blue eyes full of speculation as she glanced at the couple on the couch across from her. Tasia had her bare feet comfortably tucked under her while she pored over the papers with a pencil in her hand and a notepad beside her. Hawk sat indolently on the couch beside her. This was the girl from her vision, Sienna reminded herself, and the Shifter who was never far from her side. The vision that had single-handedly guided and influenced Sienna into making the major decisions of her life since she was a teenager. If the Pack stood at Tasia’s side when
she was summoned to face the collective accusations of Chosen, as her vision seemed to hint, Tasia’s odds of surviving that unscathed would increase tremendously. This Pack and its Alpha packed quite a punch, as Sienna was slowly discovering.
Tasia’s relationship with the Pack had brought Sienna solace. She had assumed that the association was entrenched. All evidence so far had pointed to that. But the Shifter’s insinuations at the party last night of Tasia’s tenuous position in the Pack had sowed the first seeds of doubt in Sienna’s mind. If Tasia fell afoul of the Pack, then they would not come to her aid when she needed them the most. That would leave Tasia defenseless to face her Chosen accusers alone. The possibility made Sienna sick with anxiety. This loyal and tenacious boy, always by Tasia’s side, was clearly smitten with the Wizard. From what Sienna knew of Pack code, they would rush to the aid of a Pack Shifter’s beloved. As she watched the two, Sienna decided impulsively to give the boy a little push into declaring himself.
“So Hawk” Sienna inquired with a twinkle in her eyes. “What do you make of Tasia’s sudden popularity with your Pack mates?”
Tasia, busy making notes, stiffened imperceptively at Sienna’s words, and directed a warning glance at her friend that Sienna chose to ignore.
“What do you mean?” Hawk asked, clearly puzzled by Sienna’s comment.
“We had not one, not two, but three of your Pack mates ask Tasia out today, and that was only at lunch. She’s probably had other invitations since then.”
Hawk’s eyes flashed to Tasia, an arrested expression in their dark depths. “Seriously, Tas?”
Tasia nodded, somewhat sheepishly. She wished fervently that Sienna had not brought this up now. The door to the Pack Room stood open, with plenty of Shifters in the room. Right now, no conversation here was confidential — it could potentially be heard by any Shifter present in the Lair.
Hawk’s dark eyes looked troubled as they met her gray ones. He opened his mouth to say something, just as Jason LaRue strode up to them.
