by Bryce Evans
“Can I catch a ride into the office with you?” she asked as he stepped out of the car. “Pop your trunk okay?”
Donnie glanced at Zoey who nodded her head telling him to do it.
“Look, don’t start looking to them for your answers. Either you will or you won’t so make up your damn mind.” London smarted off to him. His face paled at her tone. She had never said a cross word to him, ever, and she knew she should apologize to him, but for now, she wanted off the Alpha’s land. Moving into this cabin was a mistake of epic proportions, but she was going to rectify it today before it ruined her relationship with Zoey.
London hiked one of her suitcases up into the trunk as they all watched. She marched back to the house and pick up the others putting them in the trunk. Before she got into the car she walked over to Jamie and held the cabin keys out to him. Jamie shook his head and turned around refusing to accept them. London glanced back at Ryder who was watching her with a frown on his face. She didn’t care anymore. She pitched the keys to Ryder, but before they could hit him in the face he caught them in the air.
“Drama free now, boys.” London smirked, getting into Donnie’s car.
They didn’t speak on the way to the office, but she could tell he wanted to ask what was going on. London didn’t want to talk about it yet. Her mind was still reeling from them calling her a drama queen. Well not actually, but pretty damn close. She still found it hard to believe that they didn’t scent the woman. She was on their land for God sakes. How could they not?
Donnie pulled up in front of the office, and before he could ask her anything she grabbed her pocketbook and marched up to the doors. Pulling out her keys, she let them inside, turning off the alarm, and turning on the lights without a word.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?” Donnie asked sharply.
“Not right now. I’m still pissed and I haven’t had any caffeine. Let me get some in me and settle my stomach then I will explain it all to you,” she replied, attempting a smile for him.
Donnie nodded then went into his office, but London felt bad for shutting him out. He looked like she took his favorite play toy away from him.
She marched into her office and over to the mini fridge and grabbed a Mountain Dew. She needed the big guns right now. Her head was still pounding and thinking about everything was only making it worse. Sitting down on the couch, she groaned as she started to think about what had happened. Opening the Mountain Dew, she didn’t waste any time, and drank the whole drink at one time. “Brain freeze,” she moaned as she stretched out on the couch.
“Serves you right,” Zoey muttered as she strolled into her office.
She didn’t open her eyes but she felt Zoey pull up a chair and sit beside the couch.
“Look London. You’re my best friend. If you say you saw a woman and she threw some type of energy ball at you then, I believe you. If it would have been someone else who said it, maybe not, but not you,” Zoey explained.
London smiled without opening her eyes. She was glad Zoey believed her, especially since it looked like the woman on the hill was trying to kill her.
“Zoey, the woman looked like she wanted to kill me. Why would someone want to kill me? I don’t know anyone here and I don’t have anything for her to want. So why would she be trying to hurt me and better yet why couldn’t the wolves smell her scent?” London asked as she stared at her best friend. If she believed her, then these are important questions she needed answered.
“I don’t know, but if she’s masking her scent somehow, then that means she could come up on the property and kill any of us and no one would know she was even there,” Zoey whispered startled. Knowing her best friend, she could see how upset Zoey was. She had good reason to be. London decided that if the woman were after her then she wouldn’t bring this on the pack or to Zoey. She wouldn’t risk any of them to hide from this mysterious stranger.
“I will stay here at the office, Zoey. I won’t take a chance on this woman hurting you or anyone from the pack. I think it would be better for me to stay off Pack land until we figure out who this woman is and what she wants with me.” London’s mind was jumping with ideas, so she jumped up and went to her computer.
“I know that look and you’re working on something that will help find her correct?” Zoey said, moving to her side.
“Yes ma’am. I need a map of the city limits and of where pack land is located. Also, I need a list of the Sanders Pack and this woman the Alpha is married too. I bet money that Jamie has their pictures too. Can you get that for me while I start this program? I feel like he would give it to you quicker than me,” London asked.
“Jamie is really a good guy, London. He is just the type, that if he can’t smell it, cook it, hear it, or kill it then it is hard for him to accept. He feels bad for how he acted.”
“Maybe, but he can turn into a werewolf, Zoey. If he can accept that and witches, then maybe he needs to open up that narrow mind of his.” Zoey nodded and got up and left the room to search for the map and to call her brother.
Chapter 23
Later in the day, London heard the bell go off to the front door. She could hear Donnie talking to someone as she typed in the information she needed to get the program running. She needed information from Me-Len to make the program work and only a witch would know this type of information. It was easy to think of a program like this but working with magic was something different. She had no clue if this would even work.
She looked toward the door as Nolan walked into her office smiling. He was holding the biggest fruit basket she had ever seen. Piled high in the basket were apples, oranges, plums, and nuts. It had to be expensive for a basket that big.
“I came bearing gifts to the newest business and best looking owners on the block,” Nolan laughed, as he put the basket on the table in front of her.
“Thank you. That was sweet of you, Nolan,” she replied opening the basket up and taking a plum out. She offered him a seat then sat back down.
“So how are you?” she asked sweetly. She felt like Nolan was playing with her, but she planned to enjoy it while it last. Ryder surely didn’t care what she did or with who.
“I’ve been thinking about you all day. Counting down the time I get to take you out for our date,” he answered. He looked more amused than anything.
“You sure are a sweet talker Nolan Banks.” London grinned back at him. He could probably talk the underwear off a woman in three minutes flat. However, that didn’t help her at the moment. She already had one man trying to get into her pants.
“Are you excited about tomorrow night?” he asked leaning forward. If anyone looked real close they could see the yellow glow to his eyes. Zoey explained that Nolan was beautiful when he changed into his tiger form and freaking huge. She said that his powerful jaws could bite your head right off your head. London had already decided to stay away from him if he changed.
“Well of course. Where do you planning on taking me?” She laid it on thick, putting her feet up on the table while eating her plum.
“Well I want to take you to Saint Peers for dinner then dancing at the Rusty Nail Pub,” Nolan suggested.
London busted out giggling then it turned into a full laugh. “The Rusty Nail Pub? What kind of name is that?” she asked, thinking that she would have to actually dance. Nolan arched a brow as he smiled.
“Don’t let the name fool you. Rusty Blair has a great place. Plus, he is a member of my clan and I try to support his business whenever I can. Everyone will be there and I want to show you off.” London smiled even though she was nervous about all the people being at the Pub, she’d promised herself that she would start dating and enjoy her life.
She began thinking about the different shifters being at the Pub. “When you say that everyone will be there, do you mean other packs, shifters, and witches?”
“Yes ma’am. We have a great time getting together with the others. That’s the beauty of Alpha City. We all get along. Now we
have our disputes here and there but nothing major. If someone gets into a fight we take them down to the local gym and let them punch it out. Most of the time, they let it go and keep drinking.” Nolan explained.
London smiled and nodded, but an idea was formulating in her head. If she could get the product here in time then she may be able to apply it to the program she is writing to help find the woman on the mountain.
“I will be ready with bells on. You can pick me up here,” she suggested.
Nolan frowned. “Why can’t I pick you up at the cabin?”
“I don’t live at the cabin anymore. I will stay here temporarily. Until I find an apartment or another house to stay in,” she replied. She tried to act like it was nothing but she could see Nolan becoming agitated the longer she explained.
“What happened?” he asked.
London got up and put her hand on Nolan’s shoulder. “Nothing for you to worry your pretty big head about.” Nolan’s lips twisted up.
“We will have time to talk tomorrow on our date. You can explain then.” He got up and hugged her, “I always get my way. You will explain what the stubborn ass did.” Nolan added, as he walked out the door.
London sat for a few minutes staring at the door, deep in thought, before Zoey walked in.
“Hey,” Zoey said as she sauntered in her room and sat down on the couch.
“Hey. Listen I’ve been working on this program that could help the pack out with the wards. However, I was thinking about the woman on the hill and trying to figure out a way we could find out who she was. A while back I was doing an internet search for the AS 2000 and I saw an article on spy stuff. I thought it was fascinating and started researching it. The article said that there was an easy way to covertly track a vehicle, package, or person. It is used with some type of invisible tracking powder or liquid. They said that the Soviets did this back in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s by using a substance called "spy dust."” London explained. She could tell that Zoey was already interested.
“Spy dust? You mean this kind of stuff really exists?” Zoey asked.
“Yep and we are going to have it shipped here and use it on people we suspect of tampering with the wards and try to pick out who the woman is. I think this might really work,” London suggested.
“How does it work? Has it ever been tested on humans or animals?” Zoey asked concerned.
“It’s a combination of nitro phenyl, pentadien, and luminal, and it comes in a powder. What makes this great is that it is odorless and it will glow when illuminated with the right wavelength of ultraviolet light. The KGB used it. The articles said that they would sprinkle some of the spy dust on a person and then monitor their movements by setting up certain “check points” while performing routine foot surveillances. We can do this, Zoey.” London explained. She couldn’t help how excited she was getting. It felt like this when she came up with the AS 2000 program.
“What do you think?” she asked Zoey.
“How are we going to get it on the right people?”
“Tomorrow I have a date with Nolan, and he is taking me to the Rusty Nail Pub. He said all the shifters show up there to let loose. I figure with Nolan and you introducing Donnie and me we can tell people that we hug when we meet someone and rub it on them. They won’t be able to smell it or see it so we should be okay. It says it doesn’t take much.”
“Sounds good. You have the number to call and order the spy dust?” Zoey asked. London got online and gave Zoey the number.
“Tell them that if they can get it here before lunch tomorrow we will pay double. I think we could rig something that shoots the powder out when someone tampers with the wards. Hopefully, this will happen at night and they want be able to see anything as it shoots out. We will set up some infrared cameras and watch whoever is messing with the wards and who the lady in white is. If luck was on their hand, the dust was so light in color that you would only think it was dust particles floating in the air.” London explained how she hoped they were going to accomplish this. She prayed it would be that easy.
Zoey left the office so she could go place a rush order. London figured she needed to go and talk to Donnie. She needed to explain to him what happened at the cabin and about shifters and super naturals. He needed to know what was going on around him. She was going to need his help if this plan was going to work. Donnie was like family to her and she didn’t like keeping secrets from him. She got up and went into his office. He looked up and smiled, but his smile faded when she closed the door.
Chapter 24
“Are you sure you will be okay here by yourself?” Donnie asked his voice was still emotional from their talk earlier. London nodded.
“Yes I will be fine. As soon as you leave, I will turn on the alarm. I have my cell phone. The police department is just around the corner. I will even lock my office door and put something against it,” she said amused.
“I don’t like this London. You can come and stay with me at my cabin. Please don’t stay here.” Donnie pleaded, but she had already made her mind up and he would have to understand. She needed to be alone.
London watched Donnie’s shoulder’s slumped with defeat before she walked with him to the door and waved good-bye, turned the alarm on, and turned the lights off. Walking back to her office, London realized that she had forgotten to call Me-Len for the information she needed.
Dialing the number, London waited for her grandmother to pick up. “Hello baby girl.” Me-Len answered.
“Hey Me-Len,” London answered as she put her feet up on the table. “I have some questions about magic.”
London pulled out her notebook and started writing down her answers. She spoke to her grandmother for over an hour asking a ton of questions. London finally got off the phone then went into her bathroom and took a shower. She was putting her brush up when she heard a noise. London knew that the alarm didn’t go off or she would have heard it. The power hadn’t been cut so the alarm was still on, but Me-Len had said that witches could mess with electronics so they could have gotten in if they broke the lock.
It started again, and the fear of the unknown grasped her body and she started sweating, thinking that someone or the woman on the hill was in her office. She didn’t have any weapons in the office with her or anything except her cell phone. Shit, she had her cell phone. London ran to her office door and made sure the lock was turned then she pulled her chair over to the door and put it underneath the doorknob.
She heard another noise and this sounded like it was outside her door. London backed up and called 911. She was shaking now, and she could hear the sirens coming, but now she had a real problem. How were they going to get in if the door was locked? She’d watched every horror movie ever made and she wasn’t about to unlock the door and go open it for the police. They could break it down for all she cared. She would have it replaced.
London called 911 again and told the operator to let her know if the front door was open. She also gave them permission to break it and let themselves in if it wasn't, because she wasn’t going to leave from her locked room to do it. The 911 operator instructed her to stay in the room until officers told her to open the door.
London waited but didn’t hear anything for a few minutes. She looked down at her necklace but nothing was glowing so she figured it was a false alarm and just her imagination, but she still jumped when she heard the crash of glass hitting the floor.
“Ma’am this is the police. You can open the door now.” She sighed, conceding that living in her office by herself was a huge mistake. She couldn’t take it anymore. She slowly opened the door to the concerned faces of two police officers.
“Are you okay ma’am?” The officer asked. “I contacted the Alpha, and he should be here in a few minutes to pick you up.”
“What? Why would you do that? He has nothing to do with this. Did you find anything?” London fired off the questions.
“Nothing, ma’am. We didn’t find anything. The Alpha gave us
strict instructions about you. If you needed anything then we were to make sure you got it. Plus, we were supposed to keep watch on your door and keep you safe. We left for a few minutes to get some dinner. It was only ten minutes, but the Alpha is going to kill us.” London blew out the breath she was holding. Why was Ryder doing this to her? Why did he care enough to do this?
London heard tires squealing to a stop. The officer hurried out the door to go and meet Ryder. London shook her head then sat down hard on the couch. She had her head in her hands when she heard footsteps stop in front of her. She glanced up to the worried face of Ryder Malone.
He grabbed her up and hugged her to him. “Are you okay?” He started rubbing her hair and back, and she could feel him inhaling her scent like he was having difficulty catching his breath.
She pulled back and looked at him. “Hey, are you okay Ryder?” London could see the struggle he used to control his emotions.
“You are coming home with me. This was a mistake.” he demanded without answering her question.
“No Ryder. I’m not. I will go stay with Zoey or Donnie.” London offered calmly.
“NO! You’re coming home with me. Get your stuff London.” Jamie came striding in the room before she could respond to Ryder’s demand.
“It looks like someone tried to jimmy the locks on the front door, but couldn’t get in that way, but I found a ladder in back. They came in through the roof, and they must have left when they heard the police. They had to have heard you in here, London. I guess what I’m trying to say is, they knew you were alone. You need to go to Ryder’s house. We have plenty of rooms so you won’t have to see us much,” Jamie said with a smile. She could tell he was trying to make up for what happened.
“Did you pick up any scent?” she asked, recalling that the lack of scent was the main reason Jamie and Ryder didn’t believe her before.
