The Empath

by Bonnie Vanak

  Baylor frowned. Maggie could understand his doubts, and the unrest among the pack.

  Maggie reached out with her mind, touched Nicolas’s thoughts. She found a swirling mass of emotions he struggled to contain. Fear the pack would discover his secret. Worry for her. Anger and disdain for Baylor.

  She slid off the stool, thinking fast. There must be a way out of appointing Nicolas to dispatch his uncle without making anyone suspicious. She began pacing, thinking aloud.

  “Look, eliminating Kane alone isn’t the answer. Nicolas is right. He’s studied them, knows their patterns just like I’ve studied animals and know their behavioral patterns. You don’t use a sledgehammer to kill a single queen bee. That won’t kill the hive. You smoke them out so they become docile and…”

  She ground to an abrupt halt. Excitement poured through her. “That’s it, yes, has to be.”

  “What, Mags?” Nicolas jumped off the counter.

  Maggie’s mind raced over the knowledge she’d gained in her practice. “Animals, they’re animals, so you deal with them as animals. They’re hard to kill because they shift so quickly. But there has to be a life-form they prefer when they target a particular individual.”

  Nicolas began pacing behind her. “Yes. The easiest way for them to kill is their wolf form, the original Draicon form. Takes less energy, so if they can attack as a wolf pack, they will. It’s only when they’re presented with a situation that they need to breach a target’s defenses that they shift.”

  “Like my home, when they invaded as ants,” Maggie said, remembering.

  “Or when they sneak up on a victim and cloak their numbers.”

  Maggie halted so fast Nicolas almost collided with her. “So if a situation presented itself that they could attack easily as wolves…then we could form a plan.”

  She swung toward Nicolas, forgetting Baylor, the other males, everything else. All her attention was focused on her mate. His strength. His knowledge. His cunning.

  Nicolas always thought his only value and purpose lay in killing Morphs. He failed to see what she did—his resolve, deep loyalty and intelligence. He could strategize and shift plans while others were still arguing about what to hunt for dinner.

  “Tell me everything you know about the Morphs and how they shift. What about how they feed? Do they have to remain in wolf form to feed?”

  Nicolas shook his head. “They must reshift back to their original form to feed.”

  “And if they couldn’t, if they remained, say in their wolf form, and couldn’t shift, what would happen?”

  Baylor and the others looked impatient, but understanding flashed on her mate’s face. A slow smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

  “They would die, eventually. The more energy they had expended in shifting to different forms, the more they’d need to feed, so they’d die faster.”

  “That’s the answer. We don’t kill them one by one. We lure them into a trap, making them shift. Then when they’re in their wolf form, we neutralize them.”

  Baylor scoffed. “With what? An atomic death ray?”

  “Anesthetic,” she replied calmly. “Applied in a contained room, dispersed evenly, it would immobilize them and prevent them from shifting to their true forms. They would quickly starve to death. Diazepam is what we used with the wolves out West, but I’m thinking nitrous oxide. It’s a gas.”

  Nicolas went very still. “And what exactly do you use to lure them into the trap?”

  “Bait,” Maggie replied serenely. “What they want the most. Me.”

  ———

  Every protective instinct surged in Nicolas. Maggie, using herself as bait? Putting herself in danger?

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Baylor mused. “You’re the one Kane wants the most and the best way to lay a trap.”

  “No,” he interjected tightly. “Maggie, stay out of this.”

  “Nicolas…”

  “Not you. Never.” He fisted his hands. Baylor, who threatened to challenge him over Maggie, was ready to hand her over like a sacrificial lamb…or in this case, the sacrificial wolf.

  “There’s no other way.”

  “There must be. I won’t allow you to endanger yourself.” He dragged in a deep breath. “I’ll dispatch Kane myself, if it means keeping you out of this.”

  Her eyes went soft with emotion. Maggie laid a gentle hand on his arm. Nicolas felt his wolf ready to explode, howl with fury. Grimly he leashed it.

  “Nicolas, luring them en masse into a trap will work. Your killing Kane isn’t an option.”

  “I’ll make it an option.” He closed his eyes, filled with anguish. His destiny became clear, as if a fog suddenly lifted. He’d kill Kane, eliminate the threat to Maggie and the pack, and then before he became too dark, would sacrifice himself.

  Better that than watch Maggie be torn to pieces by his triumphant uncle if something went wrong.

  His eyes snapped open. Resolve filled him.

  Damian shot them both a troubled look. “Using yourself as bait may not work, Maggie. It’s too risky and they also may sense a trap.”

  “Then do you have other suggestions?” She lifted her chin in challenge.

  Damian looked thoughtful. “We could use Jamie. I sense she’s…regretful. She may be able to lure them into a trap instead of you without arousing suspicion and then rescue herself at the last minute.”

  Nicolas saw his logic. Using Jamie not only made sense, but would be a first step toward lessening the pack’s hostility toward her.

  “Regretful? She tried to kill you. You can’t trust her,” Baylor snorted. “Do you want to invite her in and have her attack all of us? Another intruder who lived with Morphs and might turn, just like Nicolas?”

  Damian whirled around, his green eyes snapping with fire. “Silence,” he snarled.

  A deadly quiet draped the room. Even Nicolas drew back.

  The pack leader’s low growl commanded respect. He stood and threw back his shoulders, his stance aggressive and bold. “Did I ask for your opinion?”

  Baylor lowered his gaze respectfully.

  “No, I didn’t. Keep your muzzle shut and stop spreading dissension among our family.”

  Baylor’s mouth opened.

  “Close it or I’ll close it myself with my fist,” Damian ordered silkily.

  Baylor shut his mouth, his eyes wide.

  Damian faced them all, looking every inch the confident leader. He went to Nicolas and rested a hand on his shoulder. “When I took Nicolas in, I didn’t do so out of pity. Nicolas saved my life from Morphs. He put himself in danger to do so for a stranger. He had nothing to gain and asked for nothing. I asked him to join us because I knew he was good for our family. I trusted him. Time and again he’s proven himself and yet some of you still feel he will betray us.”

  He paused. “I trust him and that should be good enough for all of you. Nicolas is my second. I’d place my life into his hands over and over. He’s shown his loyalty to me and all of you. He deserves respect, not haranguing.

  “And any member who does otherwise, can leave.” His icy green gaze swept over all of them. “I’d rather have Nicolas at my side than a legion of pack members who disrespect him. Because when you show contempt for Nicolas, you show contempt for me. I accepted Nicolas as my brother. Anyone who doesn’t want to do the same, leave now.”

  The pack leader’s hard glare challenged each member. No one looked him in the face, but all dropped their gazes. All except Nicolas, whose look of gratitude said more than words. Maggie sidled up to him and took his hand. He squeezed it and she relished the simple contact between them.

  Nicolas had left his people, but never abandoned them. Loyal to the core, devoted to protecting them and keeping them safe. Just like he’d done to her. Even when they’d turned on him, he’d gone on doing his job, keeping the pack safe, protecting his leader. She’d never known anyone more capable of trust and deserving of love. Through all he’d put her through, forcing her to acknowledge wh
o she really was, he’d never let go of his own fidelity.

  His love.

  Her life since her parents’ deaths had been a series of farces. Playacting the role of a normal human when inside her true self screamed to be heard. For too long she’d denied herself. Nicolas forced her to turn inward, examine that which frightened her the most. In turn, Maggie learned to let go of fear and find peace at last. She couldn’t hide any long from her true nature.

  She, Maggie Sinclair, veterinarian, woman, taxpayer, was Draicon. Wolf. A powerful creature born to manipulate magick and heal injuries. No longer could she ignore her skills, or the driving need inside her to hunt, roam free and run with the moon.

  She belonged. To a people, her pack. To someone. Nicolas, her mate.

  Just as Nicolas belonged, and Damian made that perfectly clear.

  “All right then. Let’s move on.” Damian dropped his hand and paced to the room’s center. “Forget about using Jamie. I will not risk her life and she’s too…flighty.”

  Maggie stifled a smirk behind her hand as Damian winked at her.

  “What Maggie proposes makes excellent sense—however, the Morphs aren’t stupid. In their zeal to eliminate her, they may become careless but we can’t risk that. They could tear her to ribbons before we could storm in and save her,” the pack leader continued.

  She swallowed hard, seeing the scene as he laid it out. Her logical mind raced over possible alternatives.

  “Scent,” Nicolas spoke up. “We could use her scent instead as the bait. They would detect it, think she’s there and enter the room. Less risk to Maggie and they won’t get as agitated or violent. Or sense a trap.”

  “Makes sense,” she agreed. “But we’ll need a lot of nitrous.”

  Damian gestured to a tall Draicon with graying hair sitting by the fire. “Owen is a dentist. He has access to plenty of it. But we need to plan the trap carefully. Let’s get started.”

  ———

  The best-laid plans looked like they would backfire before they even got started.

  Damian spread the outline of a plan out on the table in the basement. Nicolas’s workshop was a perfect place to lure the Morphs. Once the Morphs assembled in the room, Nicolas would shut the door, locking them inside. Using the ventilation system, they’d pump in the nitrous oxide.

  However, they all realized Maggie would have to be used as bait after all to lure them to the shack.

  “The problem is, we have to use her to attract them to the building.” Damian tapped the crude map. “Her scent won’t be strong enough. Even if we cloak one of our males with it and disguise him as Maggie, the Morphs will see through it.”

  “You can go into the shop and there’s a back door where you can slip outside, Maggie,” Baylor pointed out. “We’ll place clothing with your scent in the workshop so the Morphs still think you’re inside.”

  “A tricky plan requiring careful coordination,” Damian mused.

  Nicolas didn’t like it one bit. “I don’t want to use Maggie.”

  “You have to, Nicolas.” Maggie placed a gentle hand on his arm. “I’m the only one they want, and their senses are sharp. You can’t disguise another male, or even a female, as me. My scent is too strong and they’ll suspect. I’ll carry a tranquilizer gun, and if I’m in danger, I can fire it. I won’t be in any danger.”

  Damian shot him a questioning look. Nicolas sighed and rubbed his tattoo. “All right. But I’m with you right outside. If I even suspect you’re in one iota of trouble, I’m coming in.”

  Too many factors existed for them to control. Nicolas didn’t like it. Jamie was a loose canon who could ruin things at the last minute, Kane was far too clever and the Morphs knew how to work together as an army.

  He only wished he could rid himself of this nagging feeling that something would go terribly wrong.

  Chapter 17

  Maggie kept assuring herself all would go well as she watched the males set up the canisters of nitrous oxide that would be pumped into Nicolas’s wood shop. Around the shop, Nicolas hid articles of her clothing. Like bloodhounds following a trail, the Morphs would pick up her scent and be lured inside.

  She had already laid a scent trail through the woods for the enemy to follow straight to the wood shop. The trap would surely work for most of the Morphs, but Kane was clever and elusive. At least the nitrous would prove harmless to Jamie if she arrived with the Morphs to attack. Damian remained tightlipped about any possibility of her involvement.

  Maggie stepped outside the shop to draw in a lungful of cool autumn air. Dusk approached, heralding the promise of a cool, clear night. A perfect night to hunt. Her wolf craved to be free. It scented danger riding on the light breeze. Nicolas shut the wood shop door and joined her.

  “I wish you would return to the lodge where it’s safe.” He slid an arm around her, nuzzling her hair.

  “I wish you would quit worrying.”

  “The day I die,” he muttered.

  His concern warmed her, calmed her wolf that clawed to be free.

  “Do you smell it?” Nicolas asked suddenly. “They’re coming.”

  She stiffened, fighting the urge to set the stronger wolf free to fight. Seeming to sense her anxiety, Nicolas kissed her temple. “Remember, you control your wolf,” he soothed.

  Damian appeared, dusting off his hands. He searched Maggie’s face. “Are you ready, Maggie?”

  Nicolas turned and gripped Maggie’s arms.

  “I’ll be safe.” She gave him a quick kiss. “Trust me.”

  She ran to her hiding place behind a cluster of nearby scrub brush as Nicolas, Damian, Baylor and the other males climbed the trees to wait. They had dusted their clothing liberally with Maggie’s scent to cloak their own. Wind rustled through the pines. Maggie swallowed hard and waited. Tucked into the waistband of her jeans was a tranquilizer dart gun.

  The swarm landed nearby and the Morphs shifted. In the growing twilight she watched, revulsion filling her as they shifted into their human forms. Maggie shuddered, imagining Nicolas turning into a Morph, his face reflecting the same twisted ugliness and greed for inflicting pain.

  One lifted his long, thin nose and sniffed the air. Which was Kane? She craned her neck to search the crowd, but didn’t risk peering out beyond the sparsely covered brush.

  They started toward the wood shop, then halted. They glanced at each other uncertainly. A pack of about fifty, with sallow flesh and sunken features. Dead, black, soulless eyes.

  Her scent alone wasn’t luring them into the wood shop. Ignoring Nicolas shouting a warning inside her head, she darted out. Whirling, she faced them.

  Seeing her, the Morphs growled. Maggie raced toward the wood shop. She pulled open the door to the building and ran inside. Opened the door to the wood shop, and stood there, waiting. Dry-mouthed, she shivered, cold fear piercing her bones.

  The Morphs slowly filed into the shop, shifting as they did so. Wolves greeted her, fangs dripping with saliva. Eager for the kill, they loped toward her.

  “Now!” Maggie screamed.

  A door slammed. The pack turned, but it was too late. She saw the gas begin to fill the room. The pack howled and started for her.

  Giggling from the heady intoxication, Maggie ran toward the back door, fumbled with the latch. She raced outside as Nicolas rushed up and threw a sturdy wood bar against the door, bolting it.

  His fierce scowl didn’t stop her from laughing. She leaned against the building.

  “You look like you want to eat me alive,” she gasped. “Big Bad Wolf.”

  His scowl turned into a worried look. Gently, he touched her cheek. “You could have been killed,” he muttered.

  “Doubtful. They didn’t act very clever. Not like they had before. I wonder why.” She gulped down lungfuls of fresh, chilled air, trying to clear her head.

  Damian rounded the corner, concern lining his brow. “Something’s not right. I think Kane sent this group as decoys.”

  A rustling noise over
head turned their attention to the leaden sky. Expecting another swarm of bees, Maggie braced herself. Instead, she saw a small, pixyish woman. Clad in ordinary jeans, and a heavy gray sweatshirt and white sneakers, Jamie descended before them.

  “I escaped to warn you. They tried locking me up, but I got away. Kane isn’t inside,” Jamie said breathlessly, her feet hovering two feet off the ground. “He smelled a trap and went to the lodge. He’s going to kill them all, Damian. Including the women and children.”

  Damian cursed, and turned to the other males. “All of you, to the lodge. I’ll be along shortly. Nicolas and Baylor, stay here a minute. I need your help.”

  As the other males ran off, the Draicon leader nodded toward Nicolas and Baylor. “Hold her.”

  They grabbed Jamie, holding her arms fast. Maggie’s heart raced as Damian circled the mortal, waving his hands.

  Ancient words filled the air in Damian’s rich, deep voice. Maggie slowly understood.

  “I bind you Jamie, with the power against doing magick and the power against flight. I bind you Jamie, with the power against doing magick and the power against flight.”

  Iridescent sparks swirled around Jamie. Her body began slowly drifting back to earth.

  Horrified shock spread on the mortal’s face. Jamie thrust up her hands, beating the air as if trying to climb upward. “No, no, no!” she cried out.

  Something like pity twisted Damian’s features, but he grimly continued chanting. Jamie fell to earth, collapsing. Very gently, Damian helped her stand.

  “Why?” she wailed.

  “You’re safe now. The Morphs won’t want you now that you have no powers,” he said, brushing back a tendril of dark hair as he gazed at her with a tender look. Jamie jerked out of his embrace.

  She shot him a daggered look and began stalking up the hill toward the lodge. Damian jerked a thumb in her direction. “Go with her, Nicolas, Baylor. Guard her and keep her safe until my return. I’m going hunting for Kane.”

  Maggie watched the Draicon leader vanish into the forest. Nicolas and Baylor guarded Jamie’s front and back. Maggie flanked the sullen girl. Jamie threw her baleful looks.