Being Alpha

by Aileen Erin

My stomach twisted into a tight ball of anxiety. “God, I hate this place.” Not counting my visions, I’d been here twice in the last couple of days, and that was two times more than I wanted. Even though it was daylight, this place was still way too creepy. The burned remains of the houses and the abandoned cars parked in front of them reminded me of everything that had been lost here. It felt starker in the daylight, and I wanted to get gone. Fast.

  Agreed. Let’s keep this quick.

  Yes, please. Even if I’d had a nice time getting to know my cousins, I wouldn’t say that the short time I’d lived here had been good. I’d been here against my will, and only because Luciana wanted to drain me of my power.

  I shook myself free of the past and focused on what I needed today: to find whatever magic was still active here and take anything I could use to forge a bond across supernatural lines. That was the only reason I was here. To detect the magic and counter it if I could.

  “In two of my visions, we were digging through the remains of Luciana’s house, and that’s when he came. Which means somewhere in that mess—” I pointed to what was left of Luciana’s house. “There’s an active circle.”

  “What happened the third time?” Chris asked.

  “You don’t want to know, but there’s a reason demons keep showing up in those woods.” We were lucky nothing worse had happened when we’d met Eli, but I assumed that was because the archon was there.

  Dastien stopped the car in front of the burned down remains. The chimney was left, as well as a couple support beams, but the rest was ash. When the pack torched a place, they didn’t leave much behind.

  “How the hell is it possible for a circle to be active in there?” Chris said as we got out of the car. “There’s nothing left but some tile floors and the slab foundation.”

  I shivered as I got out of the car. It was so much colder here than LA. I was glad I’d brought a change of clothes with me on the plane. I was still in my Uggs and leggings, but I switched my T-shirt for a cozy plaid button-down and sweater. I reached back into the car for my hoodie and zipped it all the way up.

  I shoved my hands in the pockets and looked at the house in question. “I’m not saying it makes sense, but that’s what happened. So, I have to assume that there’s an active circle inside that mess. The craft room was over there somewhere to the left of where the front door was, but it’s gone. Which means any circle left in the craft room should also be gone.” This was going to suck. “Something in there is still doing its thing, and we’ve got to find it.”

  “Well, at least we know it’s not safe for you to go in there,” Chris said. “And to be extra cautious, I don’t think Dastien should step anywhere near this house. I don’t know anything about demon ties, but if you’re tied to a demon and Dastien is tied to you, then I can’t be certain that Astaroth doesn’t have at least a weak link to Dastien. But I should be able to go in there without an issue. I don’t have a tie to the demon and Luciana’s magic never touched me. If I step into the circle accidentally, I don’t think it’ll have the same effect, but be ready to run.”

  “We’ll be ready,” Dastien said.

  Chris started forward, but I grabbed his arm. There was a lot I wanted to say to him—most importantly that he shouldn’t go in there, but someone had to and he was the best choice. It was smart, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. “Be careful.” It was all I could come up with, and it was all that really mattered.

  He nodded and then started forward again.

  Dastien got back in the car and turned it around, ready for a quick exit. Just in case, he sent to me through the bond as I watched Chris step into the burnt-down house.

  I placed a shaking hand over my stomach and reminded myself that this was different than the two times we’d gone in there in my visions. Everyone had been with me. I’d led the charge through the compound. Just because I was here didn’t mean that Astaroth was about to show up.

  Chris grabbed a pipe from the ground and pushed the mess around.

  He’ll be fine, Dastien said as he came around the car to stand with me.

  He has to be. If something happened to him because I was too scared to go first, I’d never forgive myself.

  My eyes started to burn, but I couldn’t look away. I was too afraid to blink. I didn’t want to miss anything. If something happened, if we were wrong and Astaroth showed, we weren’t going to have a second before we needed to run.

  Chris dropped the pipe with a clang as he squatted down, clearing a space on the floor. “Are there basements in these houses?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t think so. I mean, I don’t think Claudia and Raphael’s house had one.” At least not that I remembered. I started toward the house. “What’d you find?”

  “I don’t know, but I thought this solid cement was the foundation.” He looked at me, and I could see a glow in his eyes. His wolf was near and I knew he had to be freaked out, but other than the electric blue light from his eyes, I wouldn’t have known. “There’s a trapdoor here.” He was standing in the middle of the living room. I didn’t remember that many details from Luciana’s house, but I thought there was a rug in the middle of the room, which would’ve covered a trap door.

  I grabbed my cell, dialing Claudia. “What do you know about basements on the compound?” I asked as soon as she picked up.

  “We don’t have any.”

  “Luciana’s house did. Chris found a trapdoor where her living room used to be.”

  “I…” She was quiet for a second. “The compound was built when Luciana was a kid, but it makes sense that there would be a place for the coven leader to store information. I never thought about it, but besides the schoolhouse, we didn’t really have a library or even a central place to practice together, unless we were outdoors. I just assumed nothing like that existed there, and I never questioned it.”

  “Why would you? You weren’t alive when this place was built. Who knows what this place is hiding, even now.”

  “I guess. I just...” Her exhale hissed across the line. “If it runs under her craft room, I wouldn’t doubt that her circle was both on top and under. Which would make sense for it to still be active. Astaroth was the demon she was dealing with, and he’d want to leave a way in and out of this plane.”

  I nearly dropped the phone. “Shit.”

  “Exactly. Be very, very careful, prima.”

  “I’ll do my best.” I hung up and slid the phone into my pocket. “The circle is probably under the craft room. I can’t tell exactly what was where in this mess without the walls, but probably about five to seven feet to the right of where you’re standing.”

  Chris looked around the rubble. “If it’s that big, then the basement might even be as big or bigger than the footprint of the house. I bet she’s got all kinds of shit down there.”

  I didn’t want to think about what she’d been hiding, which meant one thing. “I should go down—”

  “No!” Chris and Dastien yelled at the same time.

  I held up my hands. “Fine.” But I was going to have to check it out eventually.

  “Let me see what’s down there,” Chris said. “If it’s cool, I’ll get you to come down, okay?”

  “That works.” I wasn’t sure what qualified as “cool,” but I was reasonably certain I was going to have to see what Luciana had stocked her lair with.

  “Here goes nothing.” He crouched and the metal groaned as he pried the trapdoor open. “Oh man. It smells like something died down there.” He made a face, and then jumped down, disappearing from sight.

  Instinctively, I stepped toward the house, but Dastien held me back. “Just wait, chérie. We can trust him.”

  I trusted Chris with my life, but I didn’t like the idea of him going down there alone. Not even a little bit.

  Me, either. If he’s not back soon, I’ll go down after him.

  I wasn’t sure what good that would do. Dastien wasn’t going to disappear down that hole without me.

  W
hat felt like hours later but was probably only a minute or two, Chris popped back up. I grabbed Dastien’s hand. Thank God. Maybe he found something, but even as I said that through the bond, I noticed that Chris wasn’t carrying anything with him as he walked toward us, except for a noxious odor. The closer he got, the worse the stench got.

  “The circle is there—on the ceiling and a mirror of it on the floor. Don’t know what that means, but it can’t be good. And the room is filled with stuff and—” He ran his hand over his beard. His skin looked a little green as he stopped to stare up at the sky. “I don’t want you to go down there, but I don’t know what to take and what to leave alone. The thing is…” He swallowed. “The thing is, I was right. It smells like something died down there because they did. There are bodies in pieces piled up against one of the walls. Must’ve been witches, since there haven’t been any missing persons reports around here that we haven’t already looked into, but kind of seems like what was done to Muraco. At least from what I’ve heard and the quick peek that I saw. I don’t know what Luciana was doing down there or if it was Astaroth or what, but whatever happened down there…it’s bad.”

  “Son of a bitch.” I closed my eyes, saying a silent prayer for whoever had been killed down there. This was so much worse than I’d imagined. “I should see if I can break the circle.”

  Dastien’s fear pounded at me. “That sounds like a terrible idea, chérie.”

  “I don’t like it either, but I like the fact that Astaroth could come through here anytime even less.”

  Dastien muttered something in French, but he knew I was right. “Fine. We all go.”

  “Let me go first,” Chris said. “I’m going to need a tarp from the car. I can’t do a damned thing about the smell, but I can cover the bodies for you.”

  I nodded. “Thanks.” That was appreciated. I didn’t really want to see them.

  I moved away from the SUV as Dastien opened the trunk and started rummaging through the supply bag. “You wouldn’t happen to have some tote bags or anything we could use to stash whatever we want to take with us in there, would you?”

  Dastien looked over his shoulder at me. “Of course I do.” He gave me a wink.

  I was always impressed with how much crap the Weres kept in the back of their cars. From extra clothes to protein bars to first aid supplies, and now Dastien was pulling out two folded up tarps and three black reusable shopping totes.

  Jesus Christ. The bag wasn’t big enough to fit all of that stuff. “Who hooks you guys up with these magical bottomless supply bags? Because I could totally use one.”

  “JK Rowling. Obvi,” Chris said with a look of complete seriousness on his face.

  It took me a second to process his words, and then I snorted I was laughing so hard.

  I bent over, trying to catch my breath. “Oh, shit. That was not what I was expecting.”

  Chris smiled, but it wasn’t his full smile. “Figured you needed a laugh. You gotta be even more exhausted and stressed out than I am, and that’s saying something.”

  I huffed as I straightened up. “Funny enough, I’m not that tired. I don’t have time for it and the fear really helps keep the exhaustion at bay.” If we got through this, I was going to take one hell of a nap, though. I might not get out of bed for days.

  “The duffels are just well packed, and honed from years of use. The Cazadores know what’s typically needed, but the totes are a newer addition. They’re those reusable grocery sacks. They fold up smaller than my wallet and can carry up to fifty pounds of crap. Suckers come in handy.”

  “I’ve got four in here,” Dastien said, handing me two of the tightly folded nylon bags. “Hopefully that’s enough.”

  “I hope so, too.”

  Chris took the tarps from Dastien. “You ready?”

  “No,” I laughed again, but this time it was a lot more desperate. “But let’s do this anyway.”

  The dirt and debris crunched under our feet as we made our way to the trapdoor. The smell got worse and worse the closer we got, and I tucked my nose under my shirt. It didn’t do anything for the smell, but it made me feel like it helped.

  I looked down into the hole. The basement wasn’t tall, but it was still a six foot drop to the floor. “How did Luciana get in and out of here?” I could make it back up here with a jump now that I was a werewolf, but before? No way. Not a chance.

  “There must’ve been a ladder or something that she stashed here that burned.” Chris shrugged. “Give me a sec.” He jumped down the open door, landing with barely a sound. After a little rustling, he yelled up to us. “All set.”

  I took one look at Dastien to gain the strength, and then jumped. The ground was cement. I’d been expecting dirt for some reason. I squinted as I looked around the darkened room. “Any lamps down here?” I asked as Dastien landed next to me.

  “I tried some, but none of them work,” Chris said. “We could light one of the candles—”

  “No!” There was no way I’d burn any candle that Luciana had down here. A little bit of sun came through the trap door, shedding a ray of light and shadows across the closest parts of the room. The rest of it was pitch black. “I can see. Sort of.” And the parts that I couldn’t see I could avoid.

  There was a massive spell on the ground written in white chalk and something brown, which I assumed was dried blood. Black lines criss-crossed through the circle. The candles on each point of the inverted pentagram had died out a long time ago—only puddles of hard black wax remained—but that didn’t mean that the spell had burnt out. I could feel it tingling along my skin.

  In the center of the inverted pentagram was a short altar—only six inches off the ground and three feet long. Rotting bodies of a black chicken and a black goat lay on the stone. They were mostly gone. What flesh was left was swarming with maggots.

  At least nothing on the altar was human. It was gross, but it wouldn’t give me nightmares.

  A few items in the circle caught my eye. A goblet. A dagger. A quart-sized jar that had a few different things in it—the biggest of which was a feather. My fingers itched to hold them, but there was no way I was going to chance crossing the circle to get them just because I was drawn to them. Astaroth hadn’t shown up yet, so he didn’t know we were here. But if I crossed the circle? I had no doubt that he’d be here within minutes.

  But why was I drawn to them?

  I forced myself to look away and take in the rest of the room. I tried not to look at the waist-high, tarp-covered pile beside me, but my gaze kept darting toward it. “We’re going to have to do something about them.”

  “We’ll get a team here and burn everything once you get what you need,” Dastien said. “It’s the best we can do.”

  I nodded. If they had any attachments to Astaroth, it really was better than burying them. They were already dead. I was reasonably certain they wouldn’t care what happened to their bodies now.

  As my eyes adjusted to the darkened room, I noticed that it was a little bigger than the house. A few support beams ran through the area, but besides that, it was a wide open room. I still couldn’t see the back wall—it was too dark—but on two of the closer walls, there were bookshelves. They were loaded to the point where I wasn’t sure how they hadn’t broken yet. A black, intricately carved armoire took up the middle portion of one of the walls, and my gut told me that there was going to be some key stuff in there.

  I turned to the guys. “Grab anything on magic about stealing powers. Calling up demons. Anything that mentions Astaroth in the title or table of contents or looks like it will help us make the spell we need or close off the magic Luciana did—including spell ingredients. Any books or ingredients that looks unfamiliar—take it. Even if it’s evil. We can burn it later. But this house was someone else’s before it was Luciana’s. Could be that not everything down here was evil before she took over. So we’re taking everything we can, and I want to be out of here in the next five.” I’d only been down here for a minute, bu
t my skin was crawling.

  “Let’s do this,” said Chris.

  With that, we all got to work.

  I started looking at the books. Anything that had demon in the title went into my bag. After the eighth book went in, I started moving faster. Nearly every title had something in it that freaked me out. Black Magic for the Discerning Craftworker. Channeling Demons: A Survey Study. Spells of Blood and Ash. What the hell. “Nix my last. Just take everything.”

  “We’re going to need some boxes,” Chris said.

  “Any chance you have some in your bag?” I asked Dastien.

  He raised a brow. “What do you think?”

  “Yes?”

  He walked under the trapdoor and leapt up. A few seconds later he was back with bankers boxes. “I only have three,” he said as he started making them. “It’ll have to do for now. We’ll get this stuff. What do you think about the circle?”

  “I was hoping not to think about it.”

  If we can break it safely, then we have to do it. I don’t think either of us will sleep tonight if it’s here.

  He was right. I knew he was, but that didn’t mean I wanted to get any closer to it.

  “Any chance you have salt or—”

  Dastien shook his head. “I really only have the traditional Cazadores bag. Spare clothes, first aid, food supplies, things to cover up something supernatural…” He shrugged. “Before all this stuff started with Luciana, if there was something magical going on, we’d just call a witch. We should probably update the bags.”

  “For sure, but that doesn’t help us right now.”

  “Found it!” Chris said. “Here. Sage, too.”

  He held out a glass jar along with a bundle of dried sage. I took the jar and glanced at the label. “It says salt, but…” The metal lid sang as I turned until it opened. I gave it a big sniff, and it smelled like salt alright. I grabbed a little pinch and tasted it. “Seems like normal salt and I’m not feeling anything magical with it.” I wasn’t sure I could really cleanse anything with the pile of dead bodies in the corner, but I could try to at least break the circle. Dastien was right. I wasn’t going to be able to sleep knowing that it was here.