Savage Wolf

by Natalie Kristen

  “Enjoy your lunch!” she said cheerfully.

  Yaya grinned. “Here you go, Boris.” She placed the hamburger on the floor, and Boris bounded over happily.

  Bianca watched in utter fascination as Boris pounced on the burger and his bristles began to move furiously. In less than a minute, Boris finished his burger and let out a satisfied burp. All that was left of the burger were a few crumbs on the floor. Boris propped himself against the booth and waited for Yaya to finish her lunch.

  “Would you like another burger, Boris?” Bianca asked. She wanted to see him do that again. She had never seen a broomstick eat before.

  Yaya clucked her tongue. “No, no. He’ll get too heavy to fly if he keeps eating like that.”

  “Must be fun to fly around on a broomstick,” Bianca remarked.

  “Most witches don’t go around on flying broomsticks these days,” Yaya answered with her mouth full. “But flying around on my own broomstick beats taking public transport! Boris and I have been to so many places and gone on so many adventures together,” Yaya said wistfully.

  Bianca was about to reply when the tinkling door chime signaled another customer.

  A stunning, statuesque blond woman waltzed in and headed towards a table at the back of the diner.

  Yaya glanced over her shoulder and sighed. “That’s the price you have to pay, Sariah,” Yaya mumbled.

  Bianca didn’t know what Yaya was talking about but she didn’t have time to ask. She had to attend to the new customer.

  She went to the woman’s table with the menu and greeted her breathlessly.

  Bianca simply couldn’t take her eyes off the woman. She was dazzling, seemingly aglow with light. Her golden hair gleamed and moved as if stirred by a gentle breeze. Every feature on her smooth, flawless face was perfect. Arched brows, expertly drawn eyes and glossy lipstick completed the look.

  The woman looked like she had just walked off a movie screen or the pages of a magazine. There was an unreal quality about her.

  As Bianca stared at the woman, she began to notice that the air around the woman seemed rather hazy. Bianca rubbed her eyes and blinked. The outline of the woman looked blurry and fuzzy, as if someone had colored outside the lines.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Bianca poured the woman a glass of water and stood transfixed by the woman’s beauty until someone cleared her throat loudly. It was Yaya. The witch was drumming her fingers on the counter, waiting to pay.

  There was no one at the counter. Carly must have gone to the back to grab some new cups. There were some cups that were chipped and needed to be replaced.

  Bianca excused herself and hurried to the counter.

  As Yaya poured the coins out from her pouch and counted them, Boris amused himself by twirling round the diner. The playful broomstick was pretending that he was in the middle of a dance floor, impressing all the ladies with his groovy moves.

  Boris spun and swayed to music only he could hear. He pirouetted across the floor, whirling towards the back of the diner. Bianca gasped when she saw Boris lose his balance and spin uncontrollably towards the woman’s table.

  “Look out!” she cried. “Boris...”

  There was a loud crash, followed by a piercing scream as Boris toppled and upended the glass of water on the table. Water splashed all over the woman’s dress. To make matters worse, the salt and pepper shakers rolled and smashed to the floor. Salt flew all over the place and sprinkled over the woman’s fashionable shoes.

  “Argh!” The woman jumped up with a shrill, blood-curdling scream. “No! No! What have you done?”

  Bianca grabbed some paper towels and ran over. The woman was shrieking and shaking as if someone had just poured scalding hot coffee on her. But the glass hadn’t contained hot coffee. Just plain, cool water. She was understandably upset but she couldn’t have been hurt. The glass wasn’t even broken. It was just lying on its side on the table.

  But from the woman’s agonized screams, it sounded as though she had been burned.

  Bianca tried to dry the woman’s dress but the woman shoved her back and screeched, “Don’t touch me!”

  Bianca stumbled back, her eyes rounding in shock. The woman was changing before her very eyes, transforming from a tall, beautiful, blond woman into...something else entirely.

  Bianca backed away as she watched the blond woman morph into a bald, hunched, skeletal female with patchy, mottled skin.

  “Who...what…?” Bianca stuttered in horror.

  The woman glared at Boris with eyes that looked like swirling pits of blood. “You! You did this! You stupid, clumsy broomstick!”

  She pointed a gnarled, crooked finger at Boris. A lightning bolt zapped from her finger and Bianca heard a loud, sickening crack.

  Boris dropped to the floor, his handle broken in two.

  A howl of pain and rage erupted from Yaya. “Sariah! Stop! What the hell have you done, Sariah?” Yaya bellowed.

  Yaya flew at Sariah and Bianca scrambled to drag poor Boris away from the two screaming women. The hapless broomstick was lying in pieces on the floor, his bristles twitching and shivering.

  Yaya and Sariah yelled and hurled curses and spells at each other. Carly and Nelson came rushing out of the kitchen, and they skidded to a stop when they saw smoke and sparks spewing from the witches’ hands.

  “Please, ladies...” Nelson said, approaching the two witches cautiously. “We don’t want any trouble.”

  “If you want to fight, take it outside,” Carly said, pointing to the door. “This diner has seen everything. Fights between wolf packs, witches, humans...” She marched to the door and held it open. “We’ve seen enough. Take it outside. Please.”

  Yaya rolled up her sleeves and shook her fists at Sariah. “Come on then. Let’s settle this outside. I’m going to beat you to a bloody pulp. You call yourself a witch? You’re nothing but a coward, picking on a poor defenseless broomstick! Shame on you, Sariah!”

  Sariah muttered an incantation and the air shimmered around her. The bald, hunched witch became that beautiful, blond woman once again. But only for an instant.

  Sariah cursed viciously as the magic fizzled. She shrieked when she saw her smooth, manicured hand turn back into a wrinkled, skeletal claw.

  “Water and salt will neutralize your glamour. Just drop the glamour, Sariah,” Yaya sneered. “You are what you are. You reap what you sow.”

  “Shut up!” Sariah screamed. “If not for your stupid broomstick, no one would see me...like this!”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Yaya snorted. “Most of us can see through your glamour. We see you for who and what you are, Sariah. Dark magic exacts a terrible price. You knew what you were getting into when you chose to dabble in the dark arts,” Yaya said gravely.

  Her words seemed to enrage Sariah further. With a screech, Sariah hurled a crackling ball of energy at Yaya. Yaya ducked and the ball of angry energy slammed into the window.

  All the windows shattered at once. Bianca covered her head with her arms and tried to shield Boris.

  Carly and Nelson yelled for the witches to stop fighting, but Sariah paid them no heed. She continued casting her destructive spells around the diner. All the cups and glass bottles exploded. Ketchup splashed onto the tabletops and splattered on the walls like blood.

  Bianca jumped to her feet. “Hey! That’s enough!” she shouted. “Stop it, I say. Stop it right now!”

  Sariah whirled round to snarl at her. “You stay out of this!”

  “No, I won’t just stand by and do nothing” Bianca snapped. “I won’t let you do this, to them.” She pointed at Carly and Nelson who were looking around their damaged diner with horrified, stricken expressions.

  “Look around, Sariah. Are you going to pay for all this damage?” Bianca gestured around the messy diner. “Carly and Nelson are running an honest business here. They serve good food, and they’ve never turned anyone away or thrown anyone out. Everyone is welcome to eat here. Even you, Sariah. And Yay
a is right. Why hide behind your glamour? Just walk in here as you are, and we’ll serve you, like we serve everyone else.”

  “Shut up!” Sariah screeched. “Who are you to talk to me like that! I...”

  “No, I won’t shut up. I won’t be afraid to speak up. By not speaking up, I’m letting bullies like you win. I’m not afraid, not anymore.” Bianca balled her fists and stepped forward. “I’ve seen and learned a lot since I started working at Sunset Diner. Some people are nice. Some are rude and unreasonable. But Carly and Nelson treat them all with kindness and respect. Who are you to destroy their diner, their livelihood? Who do you think you are, Sariah? Why should others suffer while you throw a tantrum?”

  Carly was staring at Bianca with eyes that were showing too much white. She shook her head and gestured frantically, trying to get Bianca to stop talking. But Bianca was too angry to stop. All her pent-up anger, frustration and regret boiled to the surface and overflowed.

  She had been bullied and victimized before, and she could remember how helpless, ashamed and miserable she felt. No one had stood up for her. No one even believed her when she told them what she was going through. And the collective silence gave her abuser more power.

  She wasn’t going to let anyone take away her power. She had found her voice, her courage, and she would not stay silent while a bully went on a rampage.

  She would speak up and stand up for the people she loved. Carly and Nelson weren’t just her bosses. They were her friends, the first true friends she had made in this town.

  It was Talon who had showed her what true love was. He showed her that love could give you the strength and courage you never knew you had. Talon had fearlessly faced off against the three black wolves to protect her. He’d risked his life and stood firm even though he was outnumbered. He wasn’t afraid to stand up and fight for her.

  Carly and Nelson were good, kind, loving people. Carly always checked to make sure that Talon was waiting outside the diner every evening before she would let Bianca step out the door. She was like a worrywart big sister, fussing over Bianca and making sure she got home safely every night. And Nelson always took the effort to whip up something hearty and nutritious for Bianca’s lunch and dinner. They cared for her. In a strange new town, they had welcomed her with open arms, given her a job and looked out for her.

  How dare this witch come in and destroy everything that Carly and Nelson had worked so hard for?

  “Get out, Sariah,” Bianca said, her voice low and deceptively calm. “Get out right now. Or I’ll kick you out myself.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Bianca kept her eyes on the seething witch. There was no telling what Sariah would do, but Bianca wasn’t afraid. She braced herself and held Boris’s broken handle out in front of her like a sword.

  Carly disentangled herself from her husband’s protective arms and scurried over to Bianca.

  “Come on, Bianca,” Carly hissed urgently and tried to tug Bianca away. “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not okay.” Bianca shook Carly’s hand away. “Look what she did to your diner! And to Boris.” Boris’s bristles twitched and Bianca released a shaky breath. She didn’t know if broomsticks could die but she prayed that Boris would survive this dastardly attack.

  There would always be bad people who tried to knock them down, but they had to stand up and fight. Bianca wished she had learned this lesson earlier. Her ex had tried to keep her down and trample on her pride and self-esteem. She could see clearly now how insecure people tried to drag others down so they could prop up their fragile egos.

  Sariah, that sad, disfigured witch, tried to hide behind her glamour and her rage to make herself feel powerful.

  “Well, are you going to clean up the mess you made?” Bianca demanded, glaring at Sariah.

  “You...” Sariah’s face twisted. “You will regret this, foolish human. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

  Sariah raised her hand and spat a spell at Bianca. Before Bianca could move, Yaya was already in front of her.

  “Yaya! Look out!”

  But Yaya only shrugged and effortlessly dissipated Sariah’s magic into harmless dust motes.

  “Leave the humans alone, Sariah,” Yaya said sternly. “But Bianca is right, you know. You should clean up your own mess. Are you going to make good all this damage?” Yaya waved at the broken windows and spattered walls.

  “All this is your fault!” Sariah shrieked. “Your bloody broomstick caused all the trouble, and you’re blaming me?”

  Yaya’s eyes flashed with pain and anger. “You broke my broomstick. You’ve gone too far, Sariah. You didn’t have to break him. Boris didn’t knock into your table on purpose. It was an accident.”

  “Accident?” Sariah sneered. “Easy for you to say. You don’t look like...this.” She pointed at herself. “You don’t know what it’s like...”

  Yaya sighed. “Sariah, you’ve always known that black magic demands a price. The Rule of Three applies to all branches of magic. Whatever energy you put out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to you threefold. So if you do harm unto others with your spells, you will have to pay the price, threefold.” Yaya’s voice softened and she sounded sad. “Is it worth it, Sariah?”

  For a moment, Sariah’s red eyes glimmered and she looked away. With her head down, Sariah swore at them and slammed out of the diner.

  Yaya watched Sariah go and shook her head slowly. “She’s gotten a lot worse over the years. Sariah...used to be a beautiful woman. She had lush golden hair, lively eyes and a ready, happy laugh. But look at her now. Even her flesh is slowly rotting away. She uses a different glamour every time, but most of the witches and shifters in town can see through her glamour. Some witches think there’s no harm dabbling in dark magic. There are people who are willing to pay a lot of money for a hex or a potion to bring down their enemies. But everything always comes back to the source. Always.”

  Carly and Nelson were shuffling around, attempting to clean up the place.

  “Leave it,” Yaya told them. “Let me do it.”

  It took Yaya less than a minute. She simply spread out her arms and muttered a spell. All the items flew back to their original positions. Tables and chairs were mended and righted, and the windows fixed themselves. The splatters on the walls disappeared, and a small tornado spun round the diner, sucking up all the spills and broken glasses, leaving the place clean and sparkling.

  “Can you fix him too? With that spell you just used?” Bianca asked hopefully as she handed Boris over to Yaya.

  “That spell only fixes inanimate objects,” Yaya replied, picking Boris up gently. “Boris is not an inanimate object.” Her voice trembled ever so slightly. “He’s...Boris.”

  Without looking back, Yaya left the diner, cradling her broken broomstick in her arms.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Bianca ran to Talon once she saw his truck pull up in front of the diner. He was early but they were done for the day. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight.

  Talon chuckled and kissed her. “I missed you too, babe,” he said. He looked up and saw Nelson flip the sign to “Closed” and lock the door.

  “They’re closing early today?” Talon asked, surprised.

  “Yeah,” Bianca answered as she got in the truck. “Nelson wants us all to go home early and forget about this whole shitty day.”

  Talon tensed. “What happened?”

  Bianca told him about the fight between Yaya and Sariah as he drove them home. “Yaya left with Boris, in pieces,” Bianca finished. “His handle’s all broken.”

  Talon’s brows were deeply furrowed. “I can make Boris a new handle,” he said. “I’ll work on it tonight and pass it to Yaya first thing tomorrow.”

  “You’ll do that?” Bianca said earnestly. “For Yaya?”

  “I’m doing it for you,” Talon answered. “I can see you’re upset about Boris.”

  Bianca nodded. “Yeah. I feel bad. It’s
not his fault...”

  “It’s not your fault either.” After a pause, Talon said, “I don’t want you to go to work tomorrow, Bianca.”

  “What?” Bianca started. “But why...?”

  “You were in danger today,” he snapped. “I don’t want you putting yourself...”

  “I’m not hurt,” Bianca insisted. “I have to go to work. Carly and Nelson are counting on me. I won’t leave them in the lurch...”

  “I’m not asking you to quit. You can go back when it’s safe. I want to check that...”

  “No.” Bianca folded her arms. “I’m going in tomorrow.”

  “No you’re not.”

  She glared at him. “If you won’t give me a ride, I’ll walk to town.”

  Talon scowled and scrubbed a hand down his face. He knew when he was defeated. “You—are one stubborn woman.”

  “There’s nothing to worry about,” Bianca assured him. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

  Once they got home, Talon grabbed some leftover meatloaf from the fridge and made them meatloaf sandwiches. Bianca heated up the soup and they sat down to eat.

  It was a simple meal but Bianca enjoyed it immensely. Talon didn’t talk much during dinner but when he finished, he said gruffly, “The soup’s great.”

  Bianca smiled. Fights, squabbles and disagreements were inevitable, but they would always make up. They loved each other too much to stay mad at each other. “It’s just soup from a can,” she replied with a laugh.

  When they finished eating, Bianca insisted on washing up. “Go get started on Boris’s handle,” she urged. “Yaya was really upset.”

  At the door, Talon turned and said, “Keep all the doors and windows locked. I’ll keep my phone on my work table, so you can message or call me if you need anything. I won’t take long.”

  “I’ll be waiting for you in bed,” Bianca said huskily and winked.

  Talon’s eyes glowed and she danced away just before he grabbed her. “Go,” she said. “If we get naked now, you’ll never get any work done. We have all night.”