Beast Within (Loup-Garou Series Book 3)

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  A bony hand reached out and flipped the switch on the wall, bathing the store in patches of light from the can lights above. It was only then that Katey noticed something peculiar about the woman. Her eyes were completely clouded over with white cataracts, and her gaze was static. There was a silent, but intense power about her and Katey shrank back as the magic in the room strengthened with her presence.

  “What can I do for you?” she asked, her voice weathered with age just like her body. Her accent nearly matched Marie’s perfectly, if not a little thicker.

  Darren stepped forward, leaving Dustin to keep Katey at bay. “Are you Marie?” he asked.

  The woman smiled. “No. I am Madame Celestine, the proprietor of this shop. Marie is my apprentice, but she has gone home for the night.”

  The alpha lifted his chin, even though he must have known Celestine wouldn’t see his show of dominance. “She gave something to one of my pack, and we need an antidote. He’s running wild around Louisiana, and no one can stop him.”

  Katey couldn’t help but appreciate his candor with Celeste and his willingness to admit he was out at a disadvantage. An alpha was supposed to be in control of his pack at all times, and he openly stated that one of his wolves had gone rogue. It was not an easy thing, and she could sense the strand of humility in his words.

  The thin lips that were once smiling drooped into a frown. “I see. What did Marie give him?”

  “Something to make him change,” Katey answered. No one reprimanded her for speaking out of turn.

  Celestine folded her hands in front of her and turned contemplative. “I can create an antidote if I believe he drank what I think he did.”

  Dustin’s hand squeezed on Katey’s shoulder. “Can’t you call Marie and ask?”

  Celestine gave a dismissive wave. “That will not be necessary.” She turned to hobble into the back room. “Come with me, child.”

  Darren peered over his shoulder at Katey and jerked his head, telling her to follow as the voodoo priestess suggested. Katey hurried past them and stepped into the room, the aroma of a thousand spices and ingredients like a brick wall that she had run headlong into.

  After giving a quick snort to clear her head, she stood by the worktable in the middle of the room. The others followed and did the same, all eyes turned to the old woman who appeared to be searching through the shelves and racks of bottles and satchels.

  Katey didn’t question Celestine’s ability to tell which bottles were which. If she knew they were loups-garous without the benefit of sight, she was sure to pick out the right materials without sight as well.

  “What your wolf took was something we’ve given to many who walk through the shop. They’re usually the unconfident, the shy, the doubtful. They don’t know their own potential and seek it here when motivational speakers and therapy have failed them.” Celestine brought two vials, two sachets, and the black feather of a crow.

  “Logan isn’t shy,” Ben stated.

  Celestine gave a soft, bubbly laugh. “No, but he was at war with himself.”

  “How do you know that?” Katey asked, her fingertips resting on the splintered edge of the table where Celestine began mixing the antidote in a blackened pot set on top of a burner.

  “The spirits tell me things, cher,” she replied. “He and his beast had been at war for a long time. So long that neither of them knows anything different. The tonic only brings out what is hidden within the person. For some, that is the courage to proclaim their unrequited love. For others, it’s the confidence to apply for a job promotion. For your wolf, it was the beast within him that would not take orders from anyone, not even his human host. We have had many wolves come through these doors looking for such a quick solution, and it rarely ends well.”

  Darren stepped up, and Katey edged away from the fuming alpha. “If you know it doesn’t end well, then why would Marie give it to him?”

  Celestine took a flask and poured a clear liquid into the pot to mix everything well. “Marie is young and might not have known why your wolf needed the tonic, to begin with, only that he needed it.” The old woman smiled. “She is a sweet, girl, but misguided in some ways.”

  The priestess closed her eyes and stirred the feather into the concoction and mumbled a chant in a foreign tongue. The cadence sent shivers down Katey’s back, and her wolf bristled.

  Katey looked to her alpha and the way his brows shadowed over his gleaming, golden eyes that had appeared as soon as the woman began her chant. It was clear he didn’t trust Celestine. None of them did, and it was a wonder Logan trusted Marie at all.

  She understood that Logan longed to change at will like the other loups-garous, but Katey never suspected he would be so desperate. He even told her that he had sworn off the use of magic and didn’t want to return to the shop. What happened between the time they first met Marie and tonight to make him change his mind?

  Only one thing came to mind, and the very notion knocked the wind out of her lungs.

  Just like the deaths of the hunters, the Devians, and the vampires, his rash decision to see Marie was her own fault, but it was all unintended. How could she have known her monthly change would come at such a terrible time? How could she have known that it would spur Logan’s envy into the driving force to go to Marie for aid?

  Katey wrapped her arms around herself and turned away from the table, finding the air in the room unbearable. Ben blocked her path and held her in place by her quivering elbows. She lowered her gaze, refusing to meet his, lest he saw the guilt in them.

  Behind her, Celestine stopped chanting and poured a portion of the mixture into a vial similar to what Logan had been given.

  “Make him drink this,” she said. “And the beast will be weakened long enough for his human consciousness to regain control.”

  Darren snatched the vial from the woman and stormed out, followed by Dustin, without so much as a word of thanks. Katey regarded the old, blind Celestine as she gazed vacantly at the wall. There was no hint of offense at Darren’s brusque departure, but Katey sensed something of worry in her.

  “Is the antidote really going to help?” Katey asked, breaking free from Ben’s gentle hold just long enough to address Celestine.

  The old woman closed her eyes. “It will give your lover the ability to change back if he can take control again.”

  That didn’t satisfy Katey. “What if he can’t?”

  Celestine’s lips set in a firm line. “I can’t say what will happen then. You must be his strength. I’m sure you know by now that, without you, he is lost.”

  Yes, Katey understood all too well. It was one of Logan’s greatest faults, the way he depended on Katey, to need her love and acceptance every moment of the day. Katey didn’t count it that way. She saw a man trying to find his place and keep the only good thing he ever had. Perhaps after this, Logan would realize he was worth far more to all of them than he ever realized.

  It never mattered that he couldn’t change, not even for the ceremony. They would find a way to work around his disability. Katey understood that now, but she hated herself for never telling him that enough. If she had, maybe they could have avoided this conflict altogether.

  “Thank you,” she whispered as Ben guided her out of the voodoo store and into the bustling streets of riotous laughter and jazz music.

  By the time Katey and Ben shut the doors to the shop and made sure the closed sign was back in place, Darren was on the phone with Michael. Over the racket of the crowd, Katey couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation but waited patiently some distance off with Ben and Dustin.

  “He’s mad at me,” she remarked, knowing it must have been common knowledge to all of them by now.

  Dustin sighed and watched a stilted street performer pass them by, tossing candy down on the heads of the passersby. “Of course he is,” he replied. “But it will pass.”

  “Only when he’s rid of me,” Katey mumbled, looking to the cobblestones of the street covered in glitter a
nd confetti.

  Both men looked at her in confusion. “Get rid of you?” Ben questioned. “You can’t possibly believe he’d do something like that.”

  Katey shrugged. “Maybe he’ll hand me over to Gregory, so I won’t be his problem anymore.” The idea of submitting to the rougarou alpha made her innards churn until she wanted to hide in a corner and barf.

  Dustin stepped closer to Katey. “You know that’s crazy-talk, Katey. Darren would never do that to you, and if he did, he’d have me to deal with.”

  “And Logan,” Ben added.

  Katey cringed. “Not if Logan doesn’t come back from this.”

  “There’s no reason he won’t. Logan’s stubborn. Who knows? Maybe he’s changed back already, and everything is fine.”

  Katey glanced to Dustin and snorted. “Wishful thinking. You didn’t see what he did at the compound.”

  That’s all their talk was; wishful thinking and mindless encouragement. Katey didn’t believe words until Darren proved it. After this was all over, she would be kicked out and alone again. Just like in her previous foster homes, she acted out until the adults had enough and she moved onto the next family. This time, she wanted to stay and be part of something greater than a simple family. At least there was the hope that Michael would take her in.

  Before Darren strode up to them, Katey tried to reason through how a loup-garou and a vampire would coexist in the same house with such differing schedules. She set aside her plans and preparations for a rocky future as Darren addressed Dustin.

  “They found him about fifty miles west of here near South Vacherie, and he’s still in his loup-garou form,” he told them. “That’s an hour’s drive away, but the vamps can’t hold him there for that long. He’s still moving west, and he’ll find a civilization soon. Gregory and Forrest are still with them, but they don’t think they can handle Logan either.”

  “Can we run that distance?” Ben asked as they began making the trek back to Canal Street.

  “Once we get out of New Orleans, there’s nothing but swamps and forest all the way there along Route 3127.”

  “Let’s do it,” Dustin said with a clap as if he were ready to take off right there.

  Katey slipped behind her alpha and beta, once more accompanied by Ben in the back.

  “It’s still going to take time to get out of New Orleans, and if the sun comes up before we get there, we won’t have the vamp back up,” Ben offered. “Can we pull this off without them?”

  “Michael said that Logan was running out of steam. Once we get there, as long as the vamps don’t antagonize him, we should be able to pull him back. Gregory and Forrest can also help. We just need to strike quickly before he knows what’s going on.” Darren held up the vial for them to see. The maroon liquid sloshed against the glass walls of its container as he shook it a bit.

  Katey steeled herself and reached for it, but Darren was too quick and snatched it back. The group came to an all-stop as Darren turned to face her down with such fervency that Katey couldn’t have crouched into submission fast enough.

  “You will have no part in this, Katey,” he growled.

  Dustin stepped between them and took the brunt of Darren’s aggression before it could cascade toward Katey in a pulse of dominance that might have reduced her to tears. The beta stood strong against his alpha.

  Darren eased back and looked to Katey, a bit of his fire squelched by Dustin’s calm composure. “I can’t allow you to get hurt. You brought us to the shop, and that’s all.”

  Katey straightened. “What am I supposed to do then?” she asked a note of diffidence in her voice. “Are you going to leave me at the plantation alone?”

  “No,” he replied. “You’ll come with us, but you’re not to go near Logan. If the vamps are still there by the time we get to him, Michael and Anton will take care of you.”

  Katey gritted her teeth and summoned the last of her defiance, speaking from the convictions she felt so strongly in her soul. “This is my mistake. It’s my fault Logan did this. Let me fix it?”

  No amount of puppy-dog eyes or pouting would sway Darren. All she could do was speak her mind and hope that somehow he understood her need to clean up the mess she had thrown them all into.

  She and Darren locked eyes for an indeterminate amount of time, the humans moving around them on the sidewalk as if the four of them were a rock in the middle of a torrent river.

  Finally, he offered out the vial to her. “I’m giving you one chance… You may be the only one who can reach Logan. We’ll back you up, but if things get bad, we’re pulling you out.”

  Katey took the vial from his palm and clutched it to her chest, nodding a silent thank you. It may have not saved her position in the pack, but it might be the cure to her guilt for the decades or centuries to come. At least she would know she tried, even if Logan was truly lost to the beast.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  After centuries of waiting in the darkness, he was finally free and able to quench his lust for blood and destruction. The humans and night-dwellers proved to him that the world was a weak place. They were no match for him, and they were the first to fall. Their flesh sat in his belly, nourishing his body just enough to begin his reign, and how the world would feel the wrath that burned in him.

  Padding through this unfamiliar land, he knew it was not suitable. The ground was soft and water-logged, an unstable place to call his own. The beasts that inhabited this land were hardly impressive. The scaly creatures that swam through the swamps may have been vicious, but once he found their soft underbelly, their taste repulsed him. There was nothing here that would benefit him. He had to find a territory, someplace dry and desolate where he could pile the bones of his enemies to make his bed.

  All the while he traveled through the marshes, he could smell the noxious stench of the night-dwellers and beasts on his tail. Let them come after me, he thought. They can do nothing.

  Another presence was far more bothersome. The human, the one he had been paired with over a century ago, lurked in the recesses of the dark he had come from. He screamed, he wailed like a child to be given control.

  Never again, he proclaimed. The human will not have this body as long as I can breathe with its lungs and use these fangs to kill.

  The human’s pleas for release made little sense to him. After so many years of the doubt and feelings of inadequacy, he thought the human would have been thankful. He made them powerful and fearsome. He had the strength that the human had dreamed of and longed for. This should have been the luckiest day of the human's life, but why did he cry out so pitifully? This is what he wanted, after all.

  He found himself in forested land, rich with flora and the air was full of spices and song. Humans were some distance away, an entire village perhaps, in the throes of a celebration. They would be more than enough to fuel the rest of his journey to claim a home.

  He picked up the pace, weaving through the trees like a black ghost. The night-dwellers did not pursue, but he sensed another group closing in. They were not quiet in their advance, their paws snapping dried leaves and twigs beneath them and their mouths gaped open as they panted in the pursuit.

  Not once in his existence had he run from a fight and he could smell their intent to battle was as deep as his own. He turned to face them.

  Three beasts, such as himself. The human knew these beasts, but he did not see friends. He saw enemies in everything, even these beasts who must have come to take back one of their pack.

  He roared, proclaiming his challenge. They circled, growling and snapping their jowls to entice him to strike first. Whoever made the first blow would make no difference. They would all die, and he would eat their flesh.

  He lunged at the smallest of the three, a black beast with amber eyes. As he did, the beast that was the color of soil and sand leaped upon his back and bit into his throat. He thrashed and rolled to release his enemy’s hold, only to be knocked off his feet by the silver elder.

  With
one swing of his powerful claws, the brown beast was sent rolling. He pounced upon the elder and tore into his shoulder. The victorious taste of blood ran down his throat and gave him strength. The black beast tackled him around the waist and threw him off the alpha.

  When he regained his footing to charge, the brown beast attacked again and bit into his leg. Back and forth this went, as he battled against the three, dealing out pain and receiving it in harsh succession.

  Another scent, something foreign and yet familiar met his nostrils, and in the heat of the fight, he turned to the trees. A woman stood there, waiting and watching with an anxious look in her green, penetrating eyes. It was no ordinary woman.

  The beast recognized the glow around her soul, as white as freshly fallen snow. He thundered in rage at the presence that contradicted his own, opposing him with its mere existence. As long as he was in the world, she could not exist.

  A time came when his three enemies did not surround him, and the beast hurdled himself toward the woman. She gasped and dodged behind a tree, but that would not stop him. The silver wolf intercepted, and the battle continued. The others tried to hold him at bay, but the light of peace drove him into a frenzied madness.

  All the while, the human in him continued his useless beseeching cries for mercy and leniency for his family, especially for the woman. He should have known she would be their undoing. She was the one who would upset his perfect balance and control over the world. She had to die.

  In the midst of the battle, he felt the pulsating light draw toward him, though his opponents kept him from seeing her approach. With her advance came a weakness that made him fight all the more vehemently. Slowly, he felt the grip on his monstrous body slipping.

  The beasts descended on him, taking advantage of his vulnerable state since they could not feel the terrible power of the woman they defended. He struggled and bucked beneath them, but he could not throw them so easily anymore.