Outcast (Moonlight Wolves Book 4)

by Jasmine B. Waters

  I’m coming for you, Prudence, I thought, picturing Andrea’s sickly sweet smile. And this time, you won’t be able to escape.

  ---

  As soon as I got back to Jaffrey, I knew that I had to work fast. I waited all day, hiding in a crouched position outside of the D’Amicos, for Andrea to return. Knowing that she was forcing David to beg forgiveness angered me more than almost anything that had happened so far. She’s a little self-righteous bitch, I thought from my hiding place. And I’m going to make sure that this stops.

  Soon.

  I waited for hours, pinching myself to stay awake. Finally, Andrea appeared in the driveway. Thankfully, she was alone. She skipped and sang under her breath—some kind of ancient-sounding nursery rhyme that sent me into a cold panic. Suddenly, I wondered if I’d be able to do it. When the time came, would I actually be able to take a life?

  Andrea skipped up the drive and onto the porch. I waited for a few seconds as I listened to the sound of her fumbling with her own keys to let herself inside. As soon as I heard the swing of the door, I leapt up and ran onto the porch.

  Andrea turned and gasped when she saw me. Her smile faded and she pressed her lips into an angry, thin line.

  “What are you doing here?” Andrea growled.

  I swallowed hard. Her voice sounded at least twice as deep as normal, and it was uncanny to hear such a low sound coming from such a petite body.

  “You know,” I said. I stepped forward and reached into my bag. As soon as my fingers closed around my athame, I dropped the bag and brandished the blade.

  “You think you’re going to kill me?” Andrea laughed. “Nice try. You can’t.”

  “I can,” I growled, advancing and holding my blade high. “And I will.”

  Monica’s eyes flashed with an ancient fire. “You won’t,” she said. “You won’t get away with this.”

  Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I moved forward for the attack. As soon as I leapt into the air and tried to plunge the knife towards Andrea, she grabbed my wrists with surprising strength. We landed on the floor together in a heap of tangled limbs, and I could barely breathe before Andrea swung a hard punch at my jaw.

  Andrea’s fist connected with the side of my face and I cried out in pain. My heart thumped and for the first time in what felt like weeks, I felt very real fear stinging me. This could be it. This could be the end.

  “You… can’t… kill… me,” Andrea growled. She made a mad swipe for my throat and I knocked her away, sending her frail body crashing to the floor. But before I could get up, Andrea pounced on me again and pinned me down. She glared at me with triumph as she reached for my athame and held it in one hand.

  “You think you’re so fast,” Andrea said, her eyes glittering. “But you don’t know anything, Monica. You don’t know anything about how strong I really am.”

  I reached for my knife but Andrea put her hand around my throat and squeezed. Spots of black and yellow flashed in front of my vision and I cried out as she tightened her grip, trying to squeeze the air out of my body.

  “Gah,” I gurgled, frantically swinging my arms and trying to attack. I could barely form words, and I felt lightheaded. This is the end, I realized with a frantic kind of clarity. This is it. I’m going to die. I can’t take her over—I’m not strong enough.

  Andrea leaned over me and glared, narrowing her eyes. Her childlike face suddenly took on sinister shadowing, and she curled her lips into a demonic smile. Just as I felt the last breath leave my body, Andrea released her grip and leapt to her feet.

  “I’ll let you live,” she sneered. “This time.”

  Coughing and hacking, I rolled onto my side and covered my mouth with my hands. My face burned bright red and I was still weak, but I got to my feet and made a grab for the athame. Andrea kicked it out of the way and my heart sank as I saw it sliding under her living room couch.

  “No more knife for you,” Andrea said. She snickered. “You weren’t even strong enough to use it, Monica. You’re pathetic,” she sneered.

  I scrambled to my feet.

  “Go on,” Andrea said. “You can leave.” She smiled smugly and I felt a surge of hatred stronger than anything else I’d ever felt. “Just know that next time, you won’t be so lucky.”

  “There won’t be a next time,” I growled under my breath as I walked to the front door. Because the next time, you’ll be dead, I added in my head.

  Andrea burst out laughing. Her shrill cackles made my eardrums ache. Even after I’d left her house and started running to Elizabeth’s, I could still hear her voice in my ears.

  “Monica…”

  A ghastly voice surrounded me and I stopped, gazing in every direction.

  “Monica… Monica… You must act quickly…”

  “Henrik?” I called loudly, feeling like a complete idiot for speaking to thin air. “Is that you?”

  “Monica… she will triumph…”

  I shuddered and broke into an achingly fast run, all the way to Elizabeth’s. When I got there, I burst inside without even knocking.

  Elizabeth was sitting on the couch. She gave me a startled look before leaping up and pulling me into a tight hug.

  “What the hell?” Elizabeth demanded as she hugged me tightly. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  I grabbed Elizabeth’s hand and pulled her up the stairs. As soon as we were in her room, with the door locked safely behind us, I turned to her and burst into tears.

  Elizabeth gazed at me with alarm. “Oh, my God,” she said. She handed me a box of tissues. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cry before. What happened? Something with David?”

  “Are your parents home?”

  “No, not for hours,” Elizabeth said. “Neither is Aidan.”

  In fits and starts and gasps, I told her the whole story. Henrik, the humiliating way Andrea had defeated me so easily… even Mrs. D’Amico and her creepy, glassy eyes.

  “She’s manipulating everyone,” I said. “And it must be bad, because Henrik broke the veil to tell me. He’s never done that before—it’s too risky.”

  Elizabeth nodded slowly. She made a sour face. “We have to cut her heart out?”

  “Yeah.” I wrinkled my nose. “I know, it sounds hateful. Henrik says it’s the only way.”

  “Henrik’s creepy.”

  I laughed. “You… you get used to him after a while.”

  “And Ligeia is so intense. She doesn’t answer any questions,” Elizabeth added, shrugging dramatically. “She just acts the way she thinks is best.”

  I sighed. “I know.” I bit my lip. “Elizabeth… how the hell are we supposed to do this?”

  Elizabeth sighed. She furrowed her brow and ran her hands through her long hair, pulling it into a messy bun at the side of her head.

  “I don’t know,” she said quietly. “But Steven’s been acting so weird lately, ever since I got back. He’s like, totally obsessed with me.”

  “I thought that was what you wanted?”

  Elizabeth frowned. “I thought I did,” she said slowly. “But now… I don’t know. It feels so weird. I can’t think about him. Not with all of this shit going on. It’s too much, Monica.”

  “Yeah,” I said softly. “I know.”

  “Maybe we could like, trap her,” Elizabeth suggested. “And bring her to the coven. And Henrik and Ligeia could take care of this, like we wouldn’t have to actually kill anyone.”

  “I had the same thought, but I don’t think it will work.” My stomach twisted with anxiety. “I think we have to do it ourselves.”

  Elizabeth frowned.

  “It’s not actually like, taking a life, though,” I said. “I mean, think of it like this—Andrea is basically possessed.”

  “But we’re still killing her body,” Elizabeth said quietly. “Andrea wouldn’t have wanted this.”

  I shrugged. I didn’t really care, but I wasn’t about to say that.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “You just have to th
ink of her as embodied by this evil spirit. I mean, Elizabeth, the spirit of Prudence has tortured people for centuries. And we’d be stopping that. Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

  “Why us?” Elizabeth said softly. “Why do we have to do it?”

  I sighed. “Because you said you wanted to help,” I said. “You told me you didn’t want me to do this alone, remember?”

  “I don’t,” Elizabeth said. “But I don’t get why we have to do it at all. Wouldn’t it make more sense to, oh, I don’t know—leave it to the professionals?”

  I laughed humorlessly. “There are no professionals when it comes to magick,” I said quietly. “Except maybe Ligeia.”

  “She should do it. It’s her sister.”

  “She can’t,” I explained. “The bond between them is too strong. She could only accomplish the task if she sacrificed herself.”

  “Well, maybe that would be better than having us do it,” Elizabeth grumbled.

  “Hey…” I bit my lip. “You said Steven is really into you right now, yeah?”

  “Yeah.” Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “He was so weird the other day. He practically tried to pull my pants down in the middle of the woods.”

  “Well… what if we manipulated him somehow?”

  “To kill his sister?!” Elizabeth looked horrified. “Monica, we can’t do that! We can’t make Steven do that!”

  “No, no, not like that,” I said. “Like… I don’t know, we all get together and maybe you seduce him or whatever… and then I can attack his sister if she’s upset about it.”

  Elizabeth stared at me and shook her head. “No,” she said. “It won’t work.”

  “Yes, it will,” I said. A loathsome plan formed in my mind and I hated the sound of it, but instinctively I knew—it had a much better chance of working.

  “Look, I know Andrea is creepy around her brother, but—”

  “It’s not just her,” I said quickly. “Look at how much attention Steven used to give her. But something changed, right? Now he’s really into you, right?”

  Elizabeth nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

  “And how do you think that makes Andrea feel?”

  Elizabeth shrugged and wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know,” she said. “Thinking about that creeps me out.”

  “Well, think about it,” I said sharply. “Seriously—do you think it makes her jealous?”

  “I think it makes her feel… powerless,” Elizabeth said softly.

  “Yeah,” I said quickly. “So, here’s what we’ll do. Call up Steven and tell him you want to hook up, but it has to be at his house. But also say that you feel really guilty about how you and Andrea have fought.”

  “I could apologize for you, too,” Elizabeth said slowly. “I could say that I feel really bad for what you did, and that I’m not your friend anymore.”

  I smiled. “Bingo,” I said. “Do you think you can lie?”

  Elizabeth nodded quickly. “I think so.”

  “You better try really hard,” I said sharply. “Because you’re not always good at it.”

  Elizabeth flushed.

  “Anyway, yeah, so you call Steven and tell him you want to hang out with him and Andrea… but make it sound like you really just want to sleep with him. Then, you go over and seduce him in front of her. It shouldn’t be hard. I’ll be waiting outside, like, by a window. And then I’ll break in and kill her.”

  “This all sounds terrible,” Elizabeth said. She looked pale and green. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  I shook my head. “I know, but it has to work,” I said. “She’s going to be much less powerful if her attention is all focused on you and Steven; she’ll angry and it’ll be easier to take her down.”

  Elizabeth bit her lip. There was a deep crease of concern and worry in her forehead.

  “I hate this,” she muttered. “This is so fucked up. I can’t believe we’re plotting to kill our friend.”

  “Andrea hasn’t been our friend for a long time,” I said quickly. “Don’t forget how crazy she is. Don’t forget how you felt when you were alone, in jail, all night.”

  Elizabeth shuddered and rubbed her wrists. “Yeah,” she said slowly. “I guess.”

  “Keep thinking about how angry and helpless you felt,” I said. “And channel all of that into… you know. This.”

  “I think I’m gonna be sick,” Elizabeth said softly. “I don’t think I can do this.”

  “You have to,” I begged. “You have to help me, Liz. This is the only way we can do it. This is the only way we can win. Remember, you promised you’d do anything to help!”

  I locked eyes with Elizabeth and stared hard. I know you hate this. But it’ll be worth it. I swear.

  Elizabeth looked at me with sadness in her eyes. “Okay,” she said softly. “I’m in. When do you want to do it?”

  I shuddered, remembering Henrik’s ghostly warning I’d received just an hour ago.

  “Tomorrow,” I said finally.

  “So soon?” Elizabeth’s jaw dropped and she gasped. “Monica… that’s so cruel!”

  “We have to,” I said bitterly. “If we don’t strike now, we might not win.”

  Elizabeth sighed, closing her eyes. “I wish I was dead,” she said. “I’d rather be dead than deal with all of this.”

  Reaching out, I squeezed her shoulder with my right hand. “I know,” I said softly. “Trust me. I know.”

  Chapter Four

  Elizabeth

  That night, I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned all night in a bed of sweaty, uncomfortable sheets. By morning, my throat was raw from crying and my eyes were red and swollen. I kept pinching myself, hoping to wake from this dreadful nightmare.

  But this was real.

  I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked terrible—my skin was even paler than usual, and I had big, dark circles under my eyes. So sexy. I stared at my reflection in disgust. I bet Steven can’t wait to get a piece of me. I shuddered. I had no idea how I would accomplish the task at hand—with murder on my mind, the last thing I wanted to do was have sex… especially with the brother of the girl that Monica and I had to kill.

  “Elizabeth, sweetie, are you still in there?” My mom rapped on the bathroom door. “Someone else would like to use the shower, please!”

  “Coming!” I called hoarsely. “I’ll be out in a second!”

  Flushing the toilet for effect, I washed my hands and wet my hair, pushing it back from my forehead. My skin felt hot and scratchy, like a paper towel. Taking a deep breath, I yanked the door open and walked into the hall.

  When Mom saw me, she frowned.

  “Oh, honey,” Mom said. “You look like you’re coming down with something. Are you okay?”

  I forced myself to smile and nod. “Yeah,” I said. “I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well, that was all. My room felt so hot.”

  Mom rolled her eyes. “You know your father and the thermostat,” she said. “I promise—I’ll get him to turn it down tonight.” She stared at me and I suddenly had the feeling that there was more clarity in her mind than there had been in weeks. “Are you sure you’re okay, sweetie? You really look upset.”

  “I’m fine,” I lied. “Just, um, you know. Missing school. I don’t want to repeat this year,” I added, echoing a sentiment that Monica had expressed last night. And, you know, I don’t want to kill one of my oldest friends, even if she did turn into a real bitch.

  Mom nodded. “I understand.” Then she smiled widely and her eyes turned glassy once more. “I made waffles,” she said. “Would you like some breakfast?”

  My stomach gurgled. “Sure,” I said in a hollow voice. “Sounds great.”

  Downstairs, I pushed my waffle around in a puddle of syrup. Aidan sat next to me, inhaling his food so quickly that I felt nauseous just listening to him. As soon as he was done, I stood and reached for the phone. As I dialed the D’Amicos’ number, my hands were shaky and cold. I had a sudden flashback—I felt nervous now, just like I’d
been when I’d first called Steven.

  God, if only I was just nervous because I thought he didn’t like me, I thought bitterly as I held the phone to my ear. I’d given anything for that innocent time again.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Steven?” My heart was in my throat as I waited for his reply. When he spoke, I could practically hear the smile in his voice.

  “Oh, hey Elizabeth! God, I’m glad to hear from you. I miss you, you know,” Steven said.

  I sighed. “Yeah, I know,” I said. “Look, I’ve been thinking—I feel really bad about Andrea. What if I came over today and the three of us hung out?”

  “Oh, I don’t know…” Steven trailed off. “She’s been acting kind of weird lately.”

  “Yeah,” I said, forcing a chuckle. “But I really miss you,” I added, purring into the phone. “Maybe we could… have some alone time after we hang out with your sister.”

  “Oh, wow,” Steven said. “Yeah! I’d love that.”

  “Good,” I said anxiously. “I’ll be over in a couple of hours, okay?”

  “I can’t wait.”

  As soon as I hung up, I ran to the bathroom and vomited.

  ---

  By the time I got to the D’Amicos’ house, I was a nervous wreck. Monica and I met halfway there, and she trailed behind me, ducking and hiding behind trees whenever a car passed. I’m not really doing this. This isn’t really happening—it can’t be happening!

  Steven answered the door with a huge grin on his face. He leaned down and kissed me. I tilted my head to the side just in time to see Monica slide into her hiding place, a clump of bushes beneath the D’Amicos’ living room.

  “Hey,” Steven said. He grinned. “I can’t believe you wanted to come over.” He put his hands on my shoulders and kissed me again, this time sliding his tongue into my mouth and biting my lower lip. I tried to enjoy it, but I still felt nauseous and after a few seconds, I gently pushed him away.

  “Sorry,” I said. “Um, wouldn’t want to be rude to your sister. Where is she?”

  “She’s inside,” Steven said. “You know, she’s really happy you asked to come over.” He shook his head.