by Diane Darcy
Addison twirled a piece of her long, blonde hair between two fingers. “I don’t know. The thing is, if he actually does change, I might feel very protective of him. I don’t think I’ll be able to help it.”
“Right. I suppose that’s what he is counting on.”
“I guess so. I have to say, he’s been pretty nice to me, all things considered. I’m not stupid. I know why he’s doing it, but at the same time, it’s hard to exactly hate him when he seems to be going out of his way to make sure I’m not too uncomfortable or anything.”
She lifted up a necklace with a pretty blue crystal. “He’s always asking me what he can bring me. Pretty, huh?”
“Yes. Very pretty.” “Lena wasn’t having any such trouble hating Ramsey. “Let’s hope he runs into William or one of his men while he’s running around out there.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Addison eventually drifted off to sleep, leaving Lena alone with her thoughts. Lena wished she really was the witch that others seem to think she was. Would a witch really be able to cast a spell and magic her way out of this? Open the lock? Bend the bars?
She looked around, hoping for the telltale green that she’d seen several times recently.
There was nothing.
So, at this point, all she could do was wait.
Chapter 22
At this point, all William could do was wait.
And it was driving him up the wall. He had all of his men out in the field that he dared. He needed the rest of them at The Hemlock to help with the responsibilities of the casino and throughout the hotel.
He considered going to Sergeant Brodie to see if he could help out, but he was sure the man would love the opportunity to try and thwart him. William glanced at the clock on his office wall again, and barely a few minutes had passed since the last time he looked.
They had all the cages down in the basement, ready for the full moon, and he had seen some of his men already reacting to it. They would head to the basement at the first sign of change, but many of them were still out looking for Lena and Addison.
The last thing he needed on the night of the full moon was for a werewolf to be running loose.
Or twenty werewolves.
He needed to call them in, and he knew this had been part of Vince’s plan the entire time. If he knew what to do, how to stop this, he’d be doing it now.
Making sure his phone was on and charged, he made his way out to talk to their replacements. The oldest of his kind could resist the call of the moon far longer than those who were younger.
Once again, he wished they could simply shut down the casino for one night of the month. Actually, three nights would be better. But with all the money they brought in, that just wasn’t feasible.
His phone rang. It was Quinn.
“Quinn? What have ye got?”
“I wish I could tell ye more. We’re in his house but, so far no luck. His car is gone, and he hasn’t been spotted.”
And here they were out of time. It looked like Vince Ramsey might get his wish after all. A burning knot of anger rolled through William, some of it reserved for himself. He’s had Vince in his office earlier. Why hadn’t he seen?
It seemed the man had never learned the old adage, be careful what you wish for. Under the trance of the moon, Addison might just tear his arm off and let him bleed to death. Or the wolf spirit might be unable to take in all of her. He might go into a frenzy of insanity before he died.
Some said the wolf only took if both mind, body, and soul were strong enough. As far as William could tell, there was no rhyme or reason to it. Strong men he thought would easily survive, died. Others he never would’ve given a chance, made it.
One thing Vince Ramsey had not counted on, however, was that William was alpha here and he would ultimately decide who lived and who died.
A young, untried, insane wolf would have no chance against him.
All this would have to be decided later.
Now, it was time to gather all the wolves up, lock them away, and wait until morning.
Chapter 23
Lena had a restless night. When she woke, she could tell from the sun’s position in the skylight above that it was late in the morning. And it was already getting hot.
Apparently, William hadn’t found them.
She sat up to see Vince had slept there as well, and when Lena met his gaze, he put a finger to his lips and then pointed at Addison.
Lena looked over at the other cage, gasped, and quickly scrambled back.
Addison was almost unrecognizable.
A low growl escaped the girl’s throat. Her nose had elongated, she’d grown at least a size, and her clothes were half-shredded around her. Her gender was difficult to tell, as she had half-morphed into the body of a wolf.
“Dear, Lord.” Vince whispered and slowly made his way over to the cage.
Addison lunged, and Vince flinched back.
The look he shot Lena was euphoric. “I’m not kidding, I mean holy cow! I mean I knew this was going to happen. I mean, I was very sure that it was going to happen. But to actually see it!”
Vince was quick to snatch up a bag from beside his air mattress. He pulled out a camera and took a few shots of the snarling wolf.
“She’s beautiful.” Vince couldn’t seem to take his gaze off of the wolf even as he took pictures. “Just look at her!”
Lena was doing her level best not to look at the deformed, snarling, slavering wolf.
This was a trick. It had to be. They were trying to con the con artist. They fact that she could still see Addison in there somewhere only meant it was a very good trick.
Lena was breathing too fast. “Are you still planning to stick your arm in the cage?”
Vince lowered the camera, worry creasing his brow. He swallowed. “I’m going to have to, aren’t I? Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?” He ended on a slightly more upbeat note.
Lena was seriously trying to wrap her head around this. Another glance at that thing, showed a necklace with a blue crystal swinging from its neck.
Lena gulped. Oh, stars. This wasn’t a trick. Werewolves were real. And if they were real … .
She couldn’t take in enough air. “Better you than me. How does it work? Are you sure you just haven’t read too many fantasy novels, or seen too many movies? Maybe you have to be born a werewolf?”
“You don’t know?”
“How would I? I’m not a wolf.” And she realized she was accepting it. Accepting the entire thing. She spared a thought for the fact that the food might well have been drugged after all, and since they had all been trying to convince her of the werewolf thing, that she was now hallucinating.
She glanced around her cage, the walls of the shed, and at Vince himself again. Addison’s body was twice as large now, her clothes shredding in spots, as she became something altogether different.
It was all real.
One hundred percent, bona fide, real werewolf stuff happening right before her eyes.
Addison sprouted claws, her face elongated, and teeth grew. The snarl coming out of her mouth would’ve done justice to an enraged grizzly bear.
Lena flattened herself against the far end of her cage, as far away from the new Addison as she could get. Her hand was pressed against her pounding heart as she stared at the … at the … the monster in the next cage.
When Addison’s eyes, still the same shade of blue, focused on her, she realized she wasn’t moving, and was holding her breath. Like she was prey to Addison’s predator.
“Oh, my gosh! Can you believe this! Seriously, this is wild! She’s wild!”
She was grateful for Vince’s intervention, as the beast had swung his direction.
Would the bars hold her?
She watched as the creature’s clawed hands reached for the bars. She supposed she was about to find out!
Chapter 24
William was in the tunnels underneath The Hemlock, locking his men in, one by one.
Quinn, his body enlarged, his face in the beginning stages of the change, ran up to him. “All of the wolf guests are accounted for.”
“Other than Addison Stansberry.”
Quinn dipped his head in acknowledgment.
Caleb ran up to them, the change even more pronounced in him, claws slightly extended, teeth elongated.
“All right, in yer cells.”
Sophia peeked into the tunnel. When she saw William, her face blanched. “I … I thought you’d be locked up by now. I was coming down to collect the keys.”
This whole business was killing him. The one night of the month he completely lost control, and his mate wasn’t safe. He hadn’t protected her. He knew he needed to lock himself up, especially since the howls around him grew louder. He needed to turn the lock before he totally lost control and hurt someone.
As he walked by each cell, the beasts within quieted as they cringed back, heads lowering to the ground, necks bared to one side.
It actually physically hurt to take a step toward his cell, but he forced himself to do it. As the oldest, he could hold up the longest, and he could also come to his senses again the quickest. Before he could change his mind he stepped into the cell, grabbed the bars, and pulled it closed. He took the key and slid it across the floor to the opposite wall, where he wouldn’t be able to reach it.
Body stiff with nerves, Sophia darted forward and snatched up the key.
He stood near the bars, his hands clenching and unclenching against the cool metal. “As soon as the moon goes down, come back and release me.”
Sophia’s face, always pale, looked at him in surprise. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. I’ll be ready.”
He watched her give a jerky nod, and then hurry quickly out of the tunnel and head back up to the hotel. He quickly took out the packet he’d purchased from Esmerelda for an arm and a leg and tossed it back.
Then, unable to help himself, he drew in a deep breath, and as his humanity fell away, he threw back his head.
The rest of the pack responded, joining in as the Alpha howled for his mate.
Chapter 25
The sun had finally set.
After an entire day of fluctuation between fear and disbelief, added to the heat in the shed, and Lena had finally fallen asleep while Vince waited for the sun to go down.
When she finally woke, Addison was long gone, and in her place was the biggest wolf Lena had ever seen, a flattened air mattress underneath its huge frame.
Vince was filming Addison with his cell phone camera, the camp light in the corner illuminating the area. “Notice the fangs!” The camera phone shook slightly in his hand. He glanced over at Lena. “Are you seeing this? Can you believe this? Oh my gosh, I’m filming this, but I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to show it to anyone.”
Vince laughed. “Isn’t that a kick in the butt? Seriously, filming what is possibly the biggest thing that’s ever happened in any reporter’s career ever, and by tomorrow night, I might be one of them, bound to keep the secret. You’re seeing this, aren’t you?”
Lena gave him a quick nod, simply to keep him from looking in her direction. The man was incredibly excited, and in her opinion, incredibly stupid. Did he really not see the way that Addison, or whatever she was now, was looking at him?
The girl — wolf — growled, deep and low, saliva dripping from her mouth onto the floor.
Lena was simply holding out hope at this point that the creature could not break the bars of her cage. Because if she could … that would mean she could also break the bars of Lena’s cage, after she finished with Vince, anyway.
They all seemed to play the waiting game for a few more hours, Lena hoping William would show, Vince waiting for the moon to show, and Addison testing her cage upon occasion to see if she could eat the other occupants in the room.
She was exhausted by the time the moon made an appearance.
Vince looked up and Lena followed his gaze to see the moon edging over the skylight window.
Visibly pale, Vince met her gaze and then reached over and turned off the light.
Lena shook her head. “Don’t do it. Just call William.”
The creature lunged, and the only thing that kept the cage from falling over was the fact that Vince had had the foresight to bolt the thing to the ground.
With the moon shining down on him, Vince looked like a dead man walking and fear for him had the hair on the back of Lena’s neck standing on end.
“No, Vincent. Don’t do it.”
“I have to.” He took another step and the wolf just watched him approach until she snarled, teeth bared, lips curling back.
“Don’t,” Lena whispered the word.
Faster than thought, the creature lashed out at Vince, claws raking the air and catching at his sleeve.
With a shout, Vince jumped back, looked down at the tears on his arm, his sleeve, and then slowly met the creature’s gaze.
“G … g … good werewolf.”
The only response was a feral growl.
He glanced over at Lena. “What do I do?”
She wanted to answer him, to tell him nothing in this world would get her to stick her arm in that cage, but she just shook her head, horrified by what was about to happen.
Vince’s jaw seemed to harden. He took a small step forward.
The creature’s response was instantaneous, as once again she lashed at him through the bars, her growl rising to a snarl. Vince was breathing hard, visibly sweating, but he didn’t back away and took one more step forward. His breathing escalating as the seconds ticked by.
The moon was directly overhead.
The creature fell silent, her gaze connected with Vince’s, as if willing him to come closer.
“Don’t do it!” The words were forced out of Lena’s mouth, almost against her will. No doubt she would’ve had the same unwilling reaction if someone had been about to jump off a bridge or building, the shout of warning, unexpected and irresistible.
The creature’s eyes turned toward her, exactly the result she did not want. The flash of blue once again reminded her that the eyes were Addison’s, and she wondered if it were even possible to reason with her in this state.
Vince sucked in a breath, straightened his shoulders, and the look of determination on his face said it all. He was going to do it.
“Vince, don’t! She’ll tear you to pieces!”
In a rush, Vince lifted his arm, and threw himself forward so his forearm was pressed tight against the bars.
The creature, Addison, didn’t hesitate, but chomped down on his bare forearm, even as her claws reached through the bars, and dug into his back, pulling him close.
Vince screamed in pain, fear, the sound one of utter terror.
Lena wanted to look away, tried, but couldn’t tear her gaze from what was happening across the room.
Vince was screaming, squirming, bucking, and throwing his head backwards.
Before she realize what she intended to do, she jumped up, gripped the bars of her cage, and screamed, “Addison! Stop it! Addison!”
The creature released Vince and whipped her head around. Crying, Vince crawled away from the cage, and the creature snarled once more and raked her claws across the cement as she tried to grab him again.
Vince was too far away, barely, and he managed to roll once and then come up on his knees.
His good arm clutched the bitten one, and he whimpered as he lifted his hand to look at the damage.
Lena flinched.
Vince moaned as he inspected his arm. A chunk was missing. He grabbed a towel from the top of the snack bin and wrapped his arm.
He stared to sob as he threw a fearful look over his shoulder. He opened the door, shut it behind him, and she heard a snick and realized that he’d locked it!
Disbelief had her mouth hanging open. “Vince, you can’t leave me here!” Lena screamed the words at her captor.
Addison threw herself agai
nst the cage, once, twice, and again, the only thing keeping it upright were the chains and bolts that secured it to the floor.
Yay, Vince, for at least thinking that through.
Addison threw her head back and howled.
Lena held her hands to her ears and sank to her knees.
Soon the sound was only an echo in the room, fading away into nothingness.
Lena looked up, to see she had Addison’s full attention.
“Uh ... good wolf?”
Chapter 26
William came to his senses all at once, the feeling of unfinished business, a task to perform, sharpening his mind. Though he was in the tunnel, he knew instantly it was the early a.m., and the moon had set.
Lena.
Panic flooded his system, and he rushed to the bars and gripped them tight. “Sophie!? Sophie, are ye there?” he called.
Even as he said the words, someone was coming down the hall. It was Seth, the vampire from Sophie’s direct line. “You’re awake?” He looked astounded, as well he might.
“I am. I need the door open.”
Seth gazed into William’s eyes, as if to see how deeply the beast was buried.
“Now!” His voice was a low growl, and Seth flinched, looking undecided.
“My mate is in danger, and if ye don’t give me the key, I’ll make sure ye pay for it later. Ye have to let me out of here sometime.”
After another brief hesitation, Seth pulled a key from his jacket pocket, and inserted it in the lock. He moved back, his expression wary, but William ignored him and ran to see if Quinn or Caleb were in any position to help him.
Feral eyes stared back from both enclosures, giving him his answer.
Without any further hesitation, he headed for the stairs, leading up to the casino.
