"What?"
Henry's face twisted into a snarl, and I couldn’t help the feeling of horror that swept through me. Suddenly, his expression shifted to a small smile, and it was enough to make the fear melt away—at least a little. That face belonged to someone who wasn’t human. It didn’t matter what he looked on the outside. On the inside he was a wolf. A snarling and scary wolf.
"Can you come here?"
I lowered my voice, even though I knew, the boy could still hear me because of the supernaturally enhanced hearing Henry had told me about. "He's had enough."
Henry snorted. "I didn't know you knew how much punishment a wolf can take."
"I’m worried that you do.” I snapped back at him, hopping off the crate.
As we talked, I watched the boy over Henry's shoulder. Where we stood, I had a good view of him struggling against his ropes.
Come on. Hurry up and escape.
"He's a lower wolf. A drone. His body can take a great deal of punishment before it breaks," He replied coldly. It was supposed to be an act but I wondered how big a divide it was between ‘drones’ and alphas.
"So this is the world you dragged my brother into? A place where it's okay to hurt people?"
His eyes went wide as if I'd slapped him. "I'm not a monster, Rachel. I'm doing this to find your brother."
“He wouldn’t want this.” However much my brother had changed I had to believe that.
The boy finally got one arm free, and the other one quickly followed. He bent over to work on checking his legs.
Henry stepped toward me, and I held my breath. There was something about him, something that held me in place. I couldn’t look away from him, and for a second, I didn’t want to.
" Aren't you willing to do whatever it takes to find your brother?"
He reached out and picked up my hand. The gesture was unexpected, and I briefly glanced down at the fingers that held mine and then back up to the deep brown eyes in front of me.
"How can you say that? Of course I want to find him."
With one, quick, final look at us, the boy dropped his blankets and started scrambling up some discarded boxes that had been pushed up next to open window. Like before, the change started slowly and picked up speed as he climbed—the transformation finishing into a sandy colored wolf as he jumped through the window.
I brought my attention back to Henry, letting go of the breath I’d held as the boy made his escape. "You might want to follow him."
Hopefully, we’d scared him enough he'd go straight to Jonas's hideout. "You might want to follow him."
Henry peered over his shoulder quickly. The wolf was already gone. He turned to face me, a smile on his face. Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against my forehead, and my cheeks burnt.
"You did great. Now, go back to Rose's. I'll be back soon." He moved away quickly, stripping out of the clothes he’d recently donned. He leapt to the top of the boxes, silently switching to his wolf form in midair and jumping out the window a second later.
I tried to bury the memories of what Henry had done to the boy by I focusing on the unexpected kiss instead. It had all happened so quickly. It was our first real lead in finding my brother. He’d been caught up in the moment. I smiled to myself. How many girls could say they’d received their first kiss from a werewolf?
The streets were deserted, except for the cars parked at the side of the pavements. I knew Henry didn’t want me to go after him when he went to find Michael. He wanted to keep me safe, but I knew it would be better if I went along. There was no telling if Michael would even remember Henry, especially if he'd been brainwashed. Seeing me might change all that. Henry hadn't told me what he planned to do. I assumed he'd get in contact with his Alpha, they'd go in all guns a blazing, and I’d tag along.
If the pack said no, it meant it would just be me and Henry going after Michael. One wolf and a young girl against a whole clan of slightly psychotic wolves. Can you say suicide mission?
Hard to believe I’d only been there for little under a week. I walked up the garden path and let myself in through the front door. I could hear the faint hum of the television in Rose's room. The familiar sound of a soap opera reached my ears.
"Is that you, Rachel?"
"Yeah, I'm waiting for Henry to get back."
A pause. "Can you put the kettle on?"
"I'll make it." I really wanted to trust her, but it wasn’t easy.
Rose's door opened a crack. I noticed her glasses before I saw her clearly. "Did you get want you needed?"
I nodded as I walked to the kitchen. "Do you know the wolves in London?"
She shuffles after me. "In my younger days, I used to help heal the wolves. There was even a time I was involved with one of the pack."
"Really?" Wow, I really didn't need that mental image.
"It was a different time. I haven't always been old enough to create my own dust cloud."
"So what happened?"
For a second, I don't think she's going to tell me.
"I met Tomas, Colin's dad. You can be with a wolf, but unless you are one of them, you can never be any more."
She sat down at the table as I made two cups of tea.
My gaze drifted to the clock on the wall. Where the hell is Henry? I shouldn't have been worried. I mean he'd trained for that kind of thing. I only had to think how he’d handled the interrogation of the other wolf to know that he was much more suited to that world than I was. I sat opposite Rose, and we passed the time in silence—too nervous to talk.
After a while, I got back to my feet. This waiting is going to kill me. Maybe I should find him. What if he's been captured or hurt? Damnit, I knew the plan sucked. I paced the floor.
"Sit down, Rachel."
I did as Rose said. "I'm just a little worried. I mean shouldn't he be back by now?"
She rolled her eyes, which was quite impressive. I wondered if it sounded like a rattle when she shook her head.
"He knows what he’s doing. He will be back as soon as he can, and he doesn’t need you worrying about him,"
I knew that, but that didn’t stop me. I started to tap my fingernails against the hard table. A cough brought my attention back to Rose, and she raised her eyebrows in a silent gesture of disapproval. I glared back at her. Nervous energy flooded through me, and I didn’t know how else to release it. I could have started smashing plates, but she probably wouldn’t have appreciated that either.
"Fine." She got back to her feet. "I'm going to watch the rest of my programs. Call me when Henry gets back. Don’t break anything."
Rose left me to my thoughts. So much had happened over such a short period of time. There was a lot to think about. If we survived the night, I'd have to think about my future. Did I want it to include the werewolf pack? I couldn’t imagine the conversation I'd end up having with my parents. Could I tell them the truth, or would it end up with me being locked up in a padded cell?
My dad wasn’t an easy person to talk to, and my mum wasn’t much better. One of them had to carry the wolf gene, but maybe they didn’t know. I could just see how it would go. Hey, Dad, when I went to find Michael, well, I found out I'm a werewolf. Actually, it's a funny story. What's with the straitjacket? God, I only wished I was exaggerating.
I heard the softest click from the direction of the front door. Leaving my coffee, I got to my feet and half-ran, half-walked towards the noise. I got there in time to see Henry closing the door. He turned around and smiled.
"You found him?"
I held my breath, but when he nodded and opened his arm, I ran to him.
Everything is going to be okay.
***
We ended up crowding into Rose's room. Despite the lack of space, it was surprisingly well kept—even with a jam-packed bookcase covering one complete wall. A small footstool stood in front of it. Colin must’ve helped her collect the books she wanted because I couldn’t imagine her getting onto the stool without help.
The first
time my path crossed with Henry’s, he’d called her Auntie Rosie, but as I looked at the photographs on the wall, I suspected that was more a title than any real relation. There were a lot of pictures. A few of them showed a much younger Rose holding a baby, probably Colin. In another, she stood with a handsome man. In the rest, she stood with groups of people, but none of them were young enough to be Henry. Rose knew a lot of people.
I tapped my foot restlessly.
Something seemed off but I couldn’t put my finger on what it.
Henry looked torn. A few minutes before, he'd been happy he'd finally found my brother. I tried very hard not to linger on the thought that the boy opposite me hadn’t stopped my brother from putting himself into more danger. At least he hadn’t been the one to bite him. That had been Jonas, and Henry had broken the hold that monster had had over my brother. A strong hold, strong enough for my brother to leave his friends and family without a word.
"Why are we waiting around? Do we need to wait for your Alpha?"
He didn’t answer me. Instead, he played with a small device, rolling it in his hands, but I couldn’t get a clear look at what it was. A loud ringtone erupted from it. The tension was thick in the air as my heart jumped into my throat. A phone. He glanced down at the screen, flipped it open, and vanished into the hallway.
He spoke in hushed tones, which made it impossible to hear what was happening, but he didn’t sound happy.
"But, sir… No, of course I'm not questioning you… It might be too late. Okay… Yes, sir, we'll wait."
I could feel all the blood leave my face. What the hell?
Henry closed his phone with an audible click. After a few moments, he walked back into the small room. His body radiated barely concealed rage. A few feet in, he threw his phone against the fireplace. I flinched as the destroyed phone hit the ground in pieces. Rose watched him with quiet eyes as her fingers twitched.
I glanced from the phone to the angry wolf. I didn’t know what to say. There was something really familiar about the situation. A rage that brewed just under the surface, like you had to walk on eggshells. A deep set worry that whatever you said might set someone off. It was like the situation with Michael before he left. Very carefully, I let go of the breath I’d been holding. We don’t have time for this.
"When do we leave?"
Henry snapped his attention to me, and I fought against the urge to step back.
"We’re not."
"What do you mean we can't?"
"That was Arturo on the phone. He wants to wait until all of his forces are here to stop any unnecessary bloodshed.”
Jonas recruited kids, and Arturo didn’t want their deaths on his conscience, I could understand that. "So how long will it take them to get here?"
Henry ran his fingers through his hair. "A couple of days. Arturo is calling in a few favors. Jonas picked a heavily populated town. There are rules. The world can’t know about us."
"A few days?" I didn’t bother to hide the disbelief in my voice. After years of not knowing if my brother was alive or dead, I needed to wait longer before I got the chance to see him?
"He also can't risk you. You're a genetic wolf, and a girl. You’re rare."
I didn’t even bother to think about the risks or about what he’d said. “So he wants me to stay here when you guys go in? That’s not happening.”
“Rachel, please—”
"What about my brother?” I rushed on, interrupting him. “You can't tell me we’re leaving him there, not when we know where he is."
All the time we'd been arguing, he hadn’t looked at me once.
"What aren’t you telling me?"
He crossed his arms, took a deep breath, and looked at me. The pain in his eyes was almost tangible. "I saw him. They have him in a cage deep in the underground system. It isn't going to be easy to get him out."
"Why would he be in a cage if he's working with Jonas again?
"I don't know."
"Wow, you sure don't know a lot," I snapped.
"There's more. They've somehow trapped him in his wolf form."
Rose suddenly perked up. "I wonder how they managed that." As if reacting to my blank expression, she continued. "You've seen Henry shift. For a genetic wolf, it's a little like breathing. There shouldn't be any way a wolf, especially one as powerful as Michael, can be trapped in his animal form. Are you sure that it was him?"
Henry nodded. “He was the right coloring, but I couldn’t talk to him without raising suspicion.”
"So how can you know?"
Henry smiled, and it was small and a little sad. "No one other than your brother can look that pissed off at me, even in wolf form."
"So where is this hideout?" It was an innocent enough question but Henry’s eyes narrowed.
"You're not going to try anything stupid, are you?"
It hadn’t even occurred to me. The idea had been to go in with werewolves. Not by myself. A very soft human girl. A person that Jonas could use and manipulate if he got his hands on me. “Of course not.”
Henry studied me for a moment before he spoke up again. "There's an abandoned cinema near Trafalgar Square. The boy mostly kept to the shadows, away from the heavily populated areas, and approached it from the alleyway behind it. There's a storm drain, which is going to be the best way in. I ended going through one of the windows. I know you don't want to wait. I don’t want to either, but Arturo is my Alpha. His course of action, however much it annoys us, is the safest plan. Don't leave here, Rachel." He glanced at Rose who sat next to me. "Make sure she doesn't leave." He tugged his jacket back on, not waiting for either of us to reply—or in my case, argue.
"Where are you going?"
"Arturo asked me to go back to the pack. He needs me to talk to the other members." He walked up to me, awkwardly reached out, and briefly touched my shoulder.
He seemed different from the boy who’d kissed me in the heat of the moment.
"I know you want to run out there, Rachel, but please give it a couple more days."
We might not have that long.
As he walked out, I slumped back into the chair. It felt as if all the air had left the room. What the hell had just happened? How could he ask me to wait and leave me there? I couldn’t even find the energy to get up and walk up to my room when I heard the door close. I didn’t notice Rose had left the room until she walked back into it.
"Why are you still here?"
"Arturo doesn't want me going after Michael until we get more backup. I have to wait"
"I don't think that's a good idea." In her hands, she carried a large book—so worn and dusty it was probably slightly older than she was.
"Well, I wish you'd told Henry that before he left."
She nodded at the door. "Come into the kitchen. There's something I want to show you, and the lighting is terrible in here."
Chapter Thirteen
The harsh light in the kitchen made my eyes hurt. I sat down opposite Rose, who’d opened the very large book. Next to her were two capped bottles. I really wanted to go to bed. I couldn’t believe how much of an anticlimax it had all turned out to be after escaping Scotland and breaking a spell the crone in front of me had placed on me. Now all I could do was wait.
"When Henry told you they trapped Michael in wolf form, it reminded me of something I've read in the books."
Her words confused me. "What kind of books can help with a situation like this?"
"All witches keep books filled with the knowledge we’ve collected over the years. In my case, I’ve made a habit of collecting them. Anyway, I believe Jonas has a specific ritual in mind for your brother."
"What do you think it is?"
"The ritual is about taking the power of an Alpha wolf and distributing it between normal wolves. I thought it was just a theory, the musings of an overzealous witch, but now I'm not so sure."
"What will happen to Michael?"
Rose glanced back at the book in front of her and ran the tips of he
r fingers over the worn paper. The fact she can’t meet my eyes doesn't fill me with any hope.
"He'll die."
I closed my eyes and rested my head on my hands. "Please tell me you're joking."
Rose snorted. "I wouldn't joke about this, Rachel. Being an Alpha wolf is deeply ingrained in who you are. For a person to have it removed…for it to be ripped from his very soul, divides it. No one can live through it. An alpha wouldn’t want to go through it."
Her words slowly sank in. I didn’t want to believe it, but I couldn’t afford not to. "We need to tell Henry."
"There isn't time. Anyway, Henry’s travelling in wolf form to get to Arturo, and you saw what he did with the phone." She nudged the tiny bottles toward me. "There's one way to save your brother. It's going to be hard and dangerous, but if you don't get to him tonight…Well, he'll be dead by morning."
***
Something about this doesn't feel right.
Rose pointed me in the right direction. Henry hadn't been kidding when he’d said it was close to Trafalgar Square. My brother had only been a few meters away from me as I’d handed out his picture. The thought made me feel ill. It was late, and the moon hung heavy in the sky. The streets were deserted, and the usually busy town was empty besides the odd car on the road. Rose had lent me a bunch of dark clothes that she’d borrowed from one of the residents of the motel. Thankfully, my hair was still dark as well. I hadn't fancied wearing the very fetching woolen hat the old woman had offered me. With large eye holes cut into the front, and I wondered why someone had one in their wardrobe. Did she rob houses on the weekends? In my backpack, I had some bolt cutters, and I'd put the two potion bottles into the pockets of the jacket.
"You have to make sure he drinks this. Both of you need to. As soon as you do, you'll be able to melt into the shadows and get out. Not even a wolf with the keenest nose will be able to track you."
If Rose was right, the makeshift clan of young boys and homeless would be in the midst of preparing for the ritual. I needed to be quiet. I really wished the last time I'd talked to Henry hadn't resulted in an argument. If it all went horribly wrong, I wanted to say good-bye at least.
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