by Lexi Blake
“Is he going to be okay?” Lee asked from the door.
I frowned his way. “I’m not happy with you.”
He stepped in and gave me big puppy eyes. “I was trying to help. I didn’t know if you were under his power, too. You have a she-wolf. I was the only one there he couldn’t control. I’m sorry, but when you think about it, if we hadn’t been on the outside, Gray and Trent would have had a much harder time rescuing us.”
I didn’t care that he was making excellent points. “I’m telling your mom.”
He winced. “I wish you wouldn’t.”
“And you’re not going anywhere with me again until I’m sure you’ll follow my orders.” I turned back to Meredith. “Why hasn’t he woken up?”
Meredith moved the silver piece to a tray she’d set to the side. “The pain, probably. Werecreatures can handle a lot of pain, but this must have been excruciating. I suspect that using those powers you talked about is likely draining on him. I also don’t know if the silver got into his bloodstream. If it did, he won’t wake up at all.”
I get it. Doctors can’t be touchy-feely about every single patient, but I didn’t like the way Meredith was talking. Her voice was a flat monotone, like Fen was just a subject to be studied and she couldn’t care less whether or not he survived.
Lee’s eyes filled with tears and I didn’t have the heart to yell at him more. “He has to wake up.”
Trent walked in, pulling a T-shirt over his head. “We need to get him to change. He’ll heal better in wolf form.” Trent stared down at the kid. “Is he really the wolf we saw in the woods the other night?”
“Yes.” I put a hand on Fen’s forehead. He was still warm. He hadn’t lost his body temperature, so I thought we still had a chance. If we could get him to change.
“That little kid is the massive wolf we saw?” Gray followed close behind. “That’s the thing that turned Trent into a statue?”
I glared up at him. “He’s got a name.”
Gray had the grace to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry. Fenrir. Baby, you have to know something’s wrong with that kid. He’s dangerous. We got to the compound and Trent couldn’t move. He physically couldn’t get out of the Navigator. How did you break the hold?”
Trent looked down at Fen, taking Meredith’s place when she moved out of the way. He put a hand on the kid’s head, smoothing his shaggy hair back. “He lost control when he took his human form. Poor kid. He was scared. I could feel that coming off him. He was calling to the women.”
Gray’s eyes closed briefly and when he opened them I could see he was turning sympathetic. “He was looking for his mother.” He sighed. “Well, we’ve got problems now that we need to figure out how we’re going to deal with. For one, there are now about fifty wolves circling the tent. They aren’t being aggressive, but Liv can’t make them go away. She’s put up some impressive wards to keep out anyone we don’t want in here. She’s included your new friend in the welcome category, so we should be safe for now, but you have to know Lupus Solum is going to find us. Those wolves are a dead giveaway.”
“The pack will be out here as quickly as they can,” Trent agreed. “They might not be able to get in, but they’ll be able to ensure we can’t get out.”
“I think we’re going to have to call for help if that happens,” I said. “Is anyone keeping Donovan informed about the situation? And if you are, could you possibly leave out the part where his son is here and I nearly got him killed this afternoon?”
“I wasn’t in trouble,” Lee insisted. “He wouldn’t have let me get hurt. And I think we should call Hugo. Fen is like you, Kelsey. He’s special. He should be protected. Can’t we do that?”
I wasn’t about to point out to him all the implications of a wolf that strong coming under the Council’s protection. Especially one who could control other wolves. “I’ll talk to him about it.”
But Trent and Gray had grim looks on their faces.
“He’s dehydrated, and I suspect he’s been starving,” Meredith said, staring at her computer screen. She took off her glasses. “Why is he starving if he’s killing people? I thought that was the point of him killing. Also, this kid shows no signs of a pathogen. Other than his body weight being under normal, dehydration, and the damage from the bullet, he’s perfectly healthy. It’s what I would expect if he’d been out in the woods as a human kid for a week and he’s foraging for food.”
I groaned. “I think there’s something else out there. Nesta talked about something being wrong with Fen’s father. We’re sure he’s not a wolf.”
Trent sat back. “I’m still struggling with the idea that my mother is alive.”
I gave him a grin that had nothing to do with humor. I’d brought him up to date on his family situation during the ride, too. “And your brother. I’ve been told Lupus Solum is very interested in any child we might produce.”
“Fuckers,” Gray said under his breath. “So how do we get the kid to change? I say we heal him up and go back to Dallas as soon as possible. We get to the Council and drop the problem in their lap.”
I didn’t want to drop anything, but I agreed it might be best to be somewhere safer than the middle of the woods. I could hide Lee in my condo for the rest of the week and the queen and I would figure out what to do from there.
Fen’s eyes fluttered open and then flared when he saw Trent.
“He’s a friend.” I leaned over, catching his gaze. “He’s not here to hurt you, sweetie.”
“Trent’s a good guy.” Lee moved in. “He’s been protecting me since I was a baby. He’ll protect you, too. And don’t be afraid of Gray. He’s a demon, but he’s one of the good ones.”
“Not supposed to let people see me. Mama said if anyone showed up I should hide.” Tears squeezed from his eyes. “It hurts. It hurts a lot.”
Trent looked down at him. “It will hurt a lot less if you change, Fenrir. You don’t have anything to worry about. We’re going to protect you and we’ll figure out what’s going on. Do you remember what happened?”
Gray was at my side. “He can tell us later. Fen, all you need to worry about is healing up. We’ll ask questions later.”
“Daddy got hurt. Can you find him?” It was easy to tell he was in pain, but he fought through it.
“I will do everything I can to find out what happened to your dad.” He’d said his dad had been hurt. Was it possible Christopher was still alive out there somewhere? “Please change for me, Fen. Change and heal and when you’re ready we have cookies and candy and I’ll have Eddie make your favorite dinner.”
“And ice cream?”
I nodded.
Fen rolled over on his belly with a low groan. He closed his eyes and he was suddenly a massive wolf, barely able to stay on the table. That big body shuddered as though he’d found relief and his eyes closed.
Trent was shaking his head. “I can’t believe it. That’s impossible. And I can’t smell him. I mean there’s nothing there.” He closed his eyes. “I can’t hear him breathing. I can’t smell him. I don’t understand. Meredith, is there anything odd in his bloodwork?”
She shrugged. “Beyond the fact that he’s a werewolf? Nope. I don’t think there would be anything in his bloodwork. I would like to take a look at his DNA. You could also have Liv check him for spells. But I warn you there are some spells that go so deep not even a witch can find them. Black magic can sometimes become a part of the person the magic was worked on, but Liv could explain it better than I can.”
I wasn’t so sure it was a spell. There was something special about Fen.
There was something special about Fen and Lee. It whispered along my brain. Jacob had been in my dreams the night before, and now I had to think that the man who’d stood beside Lee had been a grown-up Fen.
“Has Jacob ever mentioned the new world beginning to you?” I asked Gray.
Gray frowned. “No, but I haven’t talked to him in a couple of months. When he goes off the grid, he’s not exactly
going to call me and give me a heads-up. Why do you ask?”
I shook my head. “I had a dream, that’s all.”
He put a hand to his head. “I’ll see what I can find.”
Meredith wagged a finger his way. “That’s how you get sick. I’ll make sure I’ve got the tonic Henri sent.”
I reached out to stop him. “Gray, don’t force it. Please. You know it wipes you out.”
“If I can’t see anything that helps the people I love, I’m utterly useless. I’m going to lay down. I’m not feeling well.” He turned and walked out.
I followed after him, but Trent caught me before I turned down the hallway that led to our bedroom.
“Let him go,” he said.
They seemed awfully eager to leave each other behind. I thought we’d pushed through that. “I can’t.”
He pulled me away from the door to Meredith’s lab. I could see Lee dragging a stool to the bed. He was going to watch over his new friend. Meredith had gone back to her computer.
“Something is wrong with Gray. Have you not noticed how angry he gets lately?” Trent asked.
“He hasn’t dealt with his brother’s death.”
“It’s more than that.” Trent glanced around as though worried we would be overheard. “Maybe you haven’t noticed because you’re with him every day, but he’s different. He says all the right things and sometimes he’s exactly the man I’ve known for years, but then he’ll pull shit I know he would never do if things were normal. We went out to the site where Jensen set that trap. We found clear markers of blood and a trail to follow, and do you know what he did? He started a fight with me about all the ways I could have saved you without killing his brother.”
“I told you he’s still processing it.” I had to hope that was what was happening. “Believe it or not, he doesn’t talk about it a lot. He’s been fine. He’s not happy when I go out to see you, but he drives me out there every single time.”
“He’s a cop. He’s always been a cop and he takes it seriously, Kelsey. I’ve known him longer than you. We might not have been friends but I’m the one who worked up the report on him before Daniel first sent Marcus to make a connection. That man always puts his job first with the singular exception of you. We had a trail to follow. We had a mystery to solve and if Liv hadn’t called, he would have pushed that fight to get physical.”
I couldn’t help but think about how easily he’d left Trent behind. If I hadn’t fought him, I wasn’t sure Trent wouldn’t have been left alone to face down all of Lupus Solum. “He’ll come around.”
Trent put his head to mine and sighed. “I don’t think so, baby. I think we need to talk about this, and not with Felix. We need to talk to Henri or Meredith. She’s the one who’s managing his trouble with the prophecies. He’s changed since he became a prophet.”
And we were going to have to figure it out, but now wasn’t the time. “We’ll talk about it. I promise. But we have to talk about something else. You know I can’t kill Fen.”
His head came up and his eyes flared. “Of course you can’t kill that boy. Don’t think for a second that I would trade that kid’s life for my freedom. We have to figure out if he’s killing people.”
“Why would he kill people and not eat them? If he’s disturbed, you would think he would feed. If he was running on instinct he would eat his kills, but he’s starving, Trent.”
“Liv found a dead brownie.”
I nodded. “Fen was standing over her when we first saw him. There was no blood on him. Whoever killed that brownie had to have gotten blood on him. She was torn apart. I can’t see Fen doing that.”
“The other murders all occurred at night. We know Racha was alive this morning. It doesn’t fit the pattern.” He stepped away and groaned. “I don’t think we’re going to solve this today. I’m going to stay here. You need to get the boys back to Dallas.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m not leaving you. They know you’re here.”
“And that’s another problem. They know too much. Someone is talking to Lupus Solum. I have to figure that out, too.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead. “I’ll be careful and hey, Dan will leave Eddie with me and I’ll get fed better than I would in my cabin. We’re going to work this out. Have you thought about what happens to Fen? He needs parents. He needs someone to take care of him. We can keep him at the Council headquarters, but from what I can tell, he’s been very isolated. It could be overwhelming for him.”
I had an idea, but now wasn’t the time to bring it up. I’d only seen two children in the vision I’d had, but I’d also known that those brief flashes didn’t necessarily tell the whole story. “We’ll work it out, but I don’t think leaving you behind is the answer.”
Trent opened his mouth to reply, but before he could an alarm went off.
Someone was invading our safety zone and I meant to find out who it was.
Chapter Fourteen
Eddie was running my way as Trent and I strode down the hall, the alarm bells going off in a way that kind of made me sick. The little demon had a genuine look of panic on his face as though he was the one who’d done something wrong. I didn’t get it. When we’d brought Fen in, the alarm had been lovely chiming bells. This was like the last alarm right before the clock gave up because you’re too stupid to make it on time to whatever appointment you have scheduled.
“Mistress, I think you should all get to the safe rooms,” Eddie implored.
We had safe rooms? “What’s going on? Why is it so loud?”
Liv grimaced as she walked from the bedroom into the foyer hall we were all in. “I set it to let us know how much of a threat whatever it is outside poses. Fen was knocked out when you brought him in. He wasn’t a threat. The wolves are natural creatures. They don’t even set the thing off. Whatever is out there is truly awful.”
“Which is why you should all get into the safe rooms,” Eddie insisted. “I will meet whatever is outside our doors.”
Yeah, I was going to send the cherubic outcast demon to deal with the big bad on our doorstep.
Trent looked down at the demon. “Do we have an escape route?”
Eddie nodded. “Of course, Master Trent. There is a tunnel that leads from the pocket universe to a spot right outside of Cleveland. It’s where the magical line leads. It was either there or a plane where the earth is still ruled by dinosaurs. They were the only two choices I had.”
Despite what Lee would say, I was with Eddie on this one. “Take the brownies and the trolls and get them ready to evacuate.”
“I want to see the dinosaurs,” Lee yelled.
I was shocked to see Fen sitting beside him. He was in his massive wolf form and he barked in a way that let me know he would like to see the dinosaurs, too.
Lee pointed at his new friend. “He wants to see the dinosaurs, too.”
Meredith was standing behind the boys shaking her head even as she put her hands over her ears. “I have no idea how he’s up and walking around. His powers of healing are incredible. I want to run some tests. I don’t think I can do that in primeval world.”
I was deeply grateful Eddie was a practical demon or we might be living la vida dino with two overly curious tweens. “Get the staff together. I’ll go get Gray. We’re leaving.”
Lupus Solum could find an empty pocket mansion. We would hit Cleveland, grab a beer, maybe see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and hop a plane to Dallas where we would sort everything out.
Casey walked in, his tablet in hand. He yawned, turning it toward me. It looked like he had hooked up a small camera to watch the outside. “It’s Sloane’s dad and some chick with a bunch of piercings.”
Well, that explained the high-pitched wail. No one was more dangerous than Lord Sloane, but he also wasn’t here to horribly murder us all. That would be far too easy. I was certain he had nasty plans down the line, but we were also kind of here because of him, so the trip to Ohio would have to wait.
Liv rolled her eyes and waved a
hand. The alarm went silent.
I could breathe again. I wasn’t happy about the intrusion, but I was betting the woman with him was a witch, and if they had any information about the killings, I had to talk to them. If there was a chance Fen hadn’t been behind the murders, I needed to know. I wasn’t sure Donovan would be able to declare Fen protected if he’d killed a bunch of witches.
Then there were the problems with Gray. I wanted answers about those and that meant dealing with his dad.
“Eddie, we’re going to need some booze. We have company.”
* * * *
“Is there a reason the place is surrounded by wolves?” Lord Sloane asked, his eyes going to the place where Fen was bouncing on the couch. He jumped up and down as though he’d never seen a couch before and thought it was some kind of toy.
I’d managed to get him into some of Lee’s clothes, though they were a bit too big for him. A safety pin had worked some magic on that problem. Eddie swore he would have proper “raiments” for the boy this evening. I wasn’t sure what he would consider proper for a nine-year-old but he was pretty damn good at his job. I was happy to leave it in his hands.
“They’re his friends,” Lee explained.
I’d asked Lee to take his new massive wolf friend and hide away somewhere, but Fen was a handful. He’d changed back to his human form despite the fact that Meredith had told me he would need hours to heal, and I’d caught him running through the halls, giggling like mad as Lee tried to track him down. He’d run smack into the Hell lord, so I was brazening my way through. Maybe he wouldn’t mention it to Donovan. Maybe he would. It wasn’t like the two were BFFs.
It was a problem for another day.
“We’ve come up with some odd turns during this investigation,” I admitted.
“Is that why you’ve got a tiny werewolf jumping on the furniture?” Sloane asked.
Trent sat back. “He’s a friend of Lee’s.”
