"Alec," I said, unfastening the top button of my shirt. "Would you mind telling me what my blood type is? I think they told me in the hospital that I was B positive, but that was ten years ago. My memory is a bit fuzzy." I angled my head to give him an excellent view of my neck. Not that I wanted him to bite me. I only wanted to draw his attention away from the woman he was currently in the process of murdering.
He kept a firm grip on the woman as he glanced at me. "Miss Rose, if you would please be so kind as to button your shirt." He said each word slowly and deliberately.
I remained in the same position. "What's the matter? My blood isn't good enough for you? I'm a little insulted." The sound of my heartbeat thudded in my ears as I waited to see what he would do. I hoped Sheriff Nash came on four furry feet instead of two booted ones. Four would be faster.
Alec’s nostrils flared. "Miss Rose, I will not ask again. Cover your neck or, I promise, you will regret it."
I flipped my dark hair over my shoulder and pulled the shirt further down, exposing even more skin. At least if he was talking to me, then he wasn't biting her.
He pushed the woman aside and stalked toward me.
The front door opened and Sheriff Nash appeared in the doorway. He didn't hesitate to act. He drew his gun and fired at Alec’s back.
"No!" I said. What was he doing?
Alec dropped to the floor in front of me and Sheriff Nash hurried to restrain him.
“You shot him, dingbat,” I yelled. "Are the handcuffs really necessary?"
"Don't worry," he said. "I didn't use a bullet. I used a tranquilizer. We have special ones we keep in stock for this kind of incident."
What kind of incident was that exactly? A rogue vampire attack?
I studied Alec’s limp body on the floor and felt a pang of guilt.
"What about help for the woman?" I asked.
The sheriff gave me a quizzical look. "What woman?"
I peered over the men to where the woman in the red dress had been, but there was no one there. My brow furrowed.
"I don't understand," I said. "He was attacking a woman in a red dress."
The sheriff surveyed the room. "Well, there's no one here now."
"She was bleeding," I said. "He was going to kill her." I ran over to where she’d been standing to look for traces of blood. The floor was clean. My head began to swim. "I don't understand." I needed to go look for her. If she was wandering the streets alone, she was injured and needed help.
Sheriff Nash examined me. "Rose, I would have seen someone leaving as I was coming in, don't you think? I certainly would've noticed a bleeding woman in a red dress. Hard to miss, even for an incompetent sheriff like me.”
I sat in the nearest chair and tried to make sense of what had just happened.
"I'll take Alec down to the station and sequester him until he cools off." He eyed me curiously. "What did you do to set him off?"
"What did I do?" I asked indignantly. "That's victim blaming at its finest."
His expression softened. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just that Alec is so tightly wound. I thought you must've done something to really provoke him. Knowing you, that was not out of the realm."
I watched in awe as Sheriff Nash lifted the vampire right over his shoulder like he weighed nothing.
"Wow," I said. "I didn't know werewolves were that strong."
He winked at me. "Not all of them are. Why don't you come with me down to the station and we can talk about what happened?"
I nodded, my nerves still shot. "On one condition."
"What's that?"
"Do you keep any alcohol there?"
He grinned. "I might know of a secret stash. Come on."
Chapter 8
I sat wrapped in a blanket in the sheriff’s office awaiting his return. He and Deputy Bolan had placed Alec in a secure room downstairs, specially designed for vampire containment. I felt horrible for Alec. It was so undignified. He’d be mortified when he snapped out of whatever weird state he was in.
Sheriff Nash swaggered into the office and closed the door behind him. “Ready for that drink?”
I nodded. “What kind of magical ale do you keep in here?”
“It’s called bourbon,” he replied.
“Bourbon?” I echoed. “That’s what we drink in the human world.”
He set a bottle on the desk. “And it’s good enough for me.” He retrieved two shot glasses from the top drawer and filled each one to the brim. When he finished, he handed one to me.
“Bottoms up, Rose.” He tipped back his glass and drained it in the blink of an eye.
I quickly followed suit. The alcohol burned my throat, but I didn’t care. I needed to blur the memory of what I’d witnessed. It was too unsettling. That wasn’t the Alec Hale I knew. The vampire I’d seen was unhinged and dangerous, not the vampire of expensive suits and epic fantasy novels.
“Guess you’ve never seen a vamp act out before,” the sheriff said.
“Um, no. Can’t say that I have.” I swallowed hard. “Does this happen often?”
The sheriff shook his head. “Not here in Starry Hollow. Vamps here are more civilized.”
“Alec wasn’t himself.”
“Well, he was, just not the way you’re used to seeing him.”
“He was like a…a…”
“A monster?” Sheriff Nash finished for me.
I hated to use the word monster. I was very fond of Alec. “Yes,” I whispered.
“There’s a monster lurking in most men,” the sheriff said. “If you’re lucky, you’ll never meet it.”
“That’s cynical of you,” I said. “What about you?”
He tapped his chest. “I’ve got the wolf.”
“Wolves aren’t monsters.”
“Can be. Anything can be under the right circumstances.” He poured himself another drink and I realized how hard his expression had become. Not the usual lopsided grin I’d grown accustomed to.
“You normally reject alcohol when you’re on duty,” I pointed out.
“Special circumstances,” he said. “Plus, I was thirsty.”
“Alcohol dries you out,” I said. “It doesn’t hydrate you.”
“A minor detail.” He polished off the bourbon. “More for you?”
I held up a hand. “I’m good.” As much as I wanted another one, I had to be coherent to take care of Marley after school. Responsible Parenting 101.
“Did he try to bite you?” Sheriff Nash asked.
“No,” I said, trying to block the memory of the woman from my mind. “He was resisting the urge. He definitely wanted to, though.”
“No kidding. He’s probably been resisting the urge to bite you since the moment he met you.”
“He’s never acted like this before,” I said. “I mean, I feel like I can always see his fangs, so I’m constantly reminded he’s a vampire…”
Sheriff Nash sighed. “You still haven’t figured that one out, have you?”
My brow creased. “Figured what out?”
“For a smartass, you’re not always so smart.”
I crossed my arms. “Feeling brave now that you’ve tossed back a couple, Sheriff?”
“In my experience, you see a vampire’s fangs for three reasons. One is they’re hungry. Two is they’re pissed off. Three is they’re very turned on.” He waited for me to catch up.
“So his fangs are like…” I groped for appropriate words. “A vampire erection?” Okay, I landed somewhere west of appropriate words.
Sheriff Nash chuckled. “You hit the nail on the head.” We groaned simultaneously. “Stars and stones. No more lewd comments from either of us.” His eyes suddenly flashed a bright yellow and a guttural noise escaped his lips.
“Sheriff?” I leaned forward to inspect his face.
“No,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “Not now.” His body twisted and he howled in pain.
I leaped to my feet, nearly knocking over the chair in the process. “Sheriff, wha
t’s wrong?”
His features began to change before my eyes. His skin stretched and his hair grew. He forced himself to meet my horrified gaze.
“Rose, run.” His voice was nearly a growl.
I sprinted from the room and slammed the door behind me. “Deputy! Deputy, I need you.” I saw no sign of Deputy Bolan or anyone else for that matter. Where did everyone go?
The office door burst open and a large gray wolf stepped across the threshold. When the wolf saw me, he bared his teeth and I briefly wondered whether showing fangs meant the same thing for werewolves as it did for vampires. I wasn’t really down for doggie style in the sheriff’s office.
“Down, boy,” I said.
The wolf snarled.
“Sheriff, it’s me,” I said, backing away slowly. “It’s your buddy, Rose. We shared cracklewhip chowder at the Lighthouse, remember? It was a good time. You made fun of me for not sharing your spoon.”
The wolf advanced toward me, still looking angry and ready to attack.
“We’re sort of friends,” I continued. “You let me do weird things like drink bourbon in your office.”
“He let you drink the bourbon in his office?” an incredulous voice asked.
I jerked my head to see Deputy Bolan, aiming a crossbow at the sheriff-turned-werewolf. “Crap on a stick. What do you think you’re doing?”
“You know, your limited range of colorful language is wholly unimpressive for someone from New Jersey,” the leprechaun said.
“You’re choosing now to criticize my lack of curse words?”
“You’re staring down the face of an angry wolf,” he said. “If ever there was a time to curse, it’s now.”
“It’s because of Marley,” I said. “I made a conscious effort when she was little to avoid bad language as much as possible. Now it’s a habit.”
Saliva dripped from the wolf’s jaws.
“You can’t kill the sheriff,” I said hotly.
“I’m not going to kill him,” the deputy replied. “It’s a tranquilizer for this very occasion.”
“You guys are better equipped for monster emergencies than I ever imagined,” I said.
Deputy Bolan bristled. “Don’t call my boss a monster.” He fired and hit the wolf square in the chest. The lupine sheriff yelped before collapsing on the floor in a heap of thick fur.
I made a move toward him, but the deputy grabbed my arm.
“Not yet,” he said. “We need to make sure he’s really out.”
“He’d pretend?” I queried.
“Not necessarily, but if he’s awake, he can bite.”
My skin tingled with fear. “So what do we do?”
“Just stand here another minute, then we’ll call in a team to help move him to a secure cell.”
My head snapped toward the leprechaun. “A cell?”
“Like your vampire buddy. He can’t roam around town as an angry wolf,” Deputy Bolan said. “Can you imagine the backlash?”
“He’d be horrified if he hurt someone,” I said.
“That he would.” The deputy pulled out his phone and sent a text. “You can go, Ember. I have plenty of people on hand to help.”
I stared at the unconscious wolf on the floor. He looked so unlike his usual self, so vulnerable. “I don’t feel right about leaving.”
“There’s nothing you can do for him,” Deputy Bolan said. “I need to contain him until he reverts back to human form. Then we’ll figure out what triggered the change.”
“It was very unexpected,” I said. “We were sitting there talking and he shifted.”
The leprechaun rubbed his head. “And Alec Hale went full vamp. Something strange is happening.”
A moment later a team of elves swarmed the room, lifting the wolf onto a stretcher and carrying him out of the room.
“Where are they taking him?” I asked.
“Come on,” the deputy said. “I’ll show you.”
I followed him down a long corridor to a circular staircase. We spiraled down until the staircase emptied out into a large room. The elves were already in the process of leaving.
“The sheriff’s in here,” the deputy said. “Alec is in the room next door.” He pointed to the doorway where the elves had just passed through.
The sheriff’s wolf form was locked behind a silver door with a small barred window at knee level. Clearly, they’d had use for a werewolf cell before. The wolf’s chest rose and fell. I sighed with relief. Definitely not dead.
“I’m so sorry, Sheriff,” I said. “I don’t know what happened.”
Unsurprisingly, there was no response.
“Would you mind if I checked on Alec?” I asked.
“Be quick about it,” the deputy said.
I walked hesitantly into the room and peered through the narrow slit in the cell door. Alec sat on a stool, staring into the void.
“You shouldn’t be here, Miss Rose,” he said darkly.
“How did you know I was here?”
“Vampire hearing, remember?” He refused to look at me.
“I want to make sure you’re okay,” I said.
“I shall be much improved when you’re no longer here.”
Ouch.
“Did I do something…?”
“Miss Rose,” he interrupted. His voice was calm but firm.
“What?”
He hastened a look at me. “‘What’ is not really the proper response. It is more polite to say ‘yes, Mr. Hale.’”
I cleared my throat with as much sarcasm as I could inject into a single sound. “Yes, Alec?”
He forced his attention back to the stone wall. “I can feel the vibrations of your beating heart. It would be best if you left. Truly. I’m very strong. I might try to escape.” He swallowed hard. “Trust me. Neither of us wants that outcome.”
“Alec, the sheriff turned into a wolf right in front of me. Something strange is going on. Let me help you.”
His jaw tensed and I caught a glimpse of his fang. “Please, Miss Rose. You must go. The smell of your blood stirs my own.”
I pressed my palm flat against the door. I hated how powerless I felt.
“I’m sorry,” I said, and fled the room before I was faced once again with the monster from the newspaper office.
Deputy Bolan caught sight of me as I rushed from the room. “Are you all right, Ember?”
“Fine,” I said, and heard the quiver in my voice. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, the sight of Alec had frightened me. His restraint was remarkable, but the realization that he wanted to rip out my throat overshadowed everything else.
The deputy followed me back up the circular staircase.
“How’s the sheriff?” I asked, pulling myself together.
“Still lupine,” the deputy replied. “I’m hoping he shifts back overnight.”
“Me, too.” Even though he was a werewolf, it must have scared him to realize he was trapped in a single form. He spent most of his time as human, shifting at will. This had to be a nightmare for him.
A nightmare.
I closed my eyes, absorbing the reality of the situation.
“Never fear,” the deputy said. “Things are under control. Go home and have one of your aunt’s famous cocktails. I’ve got things covered here.”
“If you’re sure.” I needed to go home and think.
“Quite sure. You have other jobs to focus on, like a daughter that will need to be picked up from school later.”
“Yes, there’s always something.” And no way would I tell Marley about the day’s events. She’d have her own nightmares for weeks. She liked and trusted both men, especially Alec.
“Keep what happened under your hat. We don’t need hysteria. I promise I’ll let you know if anything changes,” he said.
“Why would you do that?” I asked. Deputy Bolan was barely tolerant of me most of the time.
“Because you seem to care.”
“Of course I care,” I said hotly. “I don’t know w
hat you think of me…”
“It doesn’t matter what I think of you,” the deputy interjected. “Right now my priority is the sheriff. Like I said, I’ll be in touch.”
I didn’t like the way the leprechaun looked at me, as though this was somehow my fault. I mustered the remaining energy I had and left the building without another word.
Chapter 9
I felt too shaken by the day’s events to go straight home. Marley was in school for another hour and a half, so I had a little time to decompress. I needed to decompress. What were the odds that both men would release their inner demons in my presence on the same day? As much as I tried to dismiss the connection, I couldn’t ignore the fact that I was also with Bentley and Trupti when their worst fears came to life. And Milo Jarvis. What if somehow I was the common denominator? I didn’t understand my magic yet. Maybe I was more powerful than I realized. What if Wren was right and I was a natural—but a natural what? Was I somehow responsible for this awful curse?
I left the hustle and bustle of town and headed through the woods until I heard the call of the ocean. Some people liked birdsong or falling rain. For me, the ocean was the most soothing sound in the world. I didn’t realize how calming its gentle rhythm was until this moment.
I reached the coastal path and kept walking until I spotted Kirby’s Kayaks on one of the docks on Balefire Beach. I’d never been in a kayak before. The idea was appealing.
“Hey, Kirby,” I said, greeting the woman on the dock. She was pretty, with auburn hair that stretched past her bottom.
“Actually, my name is Sela,” she replied.
“Oh, I thought you might be the owner,” I said.
“I am. I wanted alliteration for the company name, so I used Kirby in honor of my hamster.”
A kayak company named after a hamster. Why not?
“Nice to meet you, Sela. I’m Ember and I’d like to rent a kayak.”
She sniffed the salty air. “I don’t smell the sea on you. Have you ever been kayaking before?”
“No, but I spent plenty of summers at the beach.” What did she mean she didn’t smell the sea on me?
Sela scrutinized me. “Half an hour or an hour? Let’s say half an hour. Your arms look weak.”
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