by Diane Darcy
He had to find his mate.
Chapter 27
It didn’t take him long to go to Vince’s apartment. He didn’t know where else to go. He ran to the townhouse, determined to tear the place apart for anything, any bit of information that could lead to Vince’s whereabouts.
When he arrived at the front door, there was blood on the walkway, on the handle, and he reached forward to find the door opened easily at his touch.
A quick sniff assured him that the blood was Vince’s. If he wasn’t dead already, William was going to kill him.
William hurried inside, and a quick search downstairs assured him Vince was nowhere to be found.
He headed up the stairs.
He found Vince trying to climb out his bathroom window, and he dragged him back inside.
One look, into his yellow ring eyes, had William swearing under his breath.
“Ye got her to bite ye, did ye?”
Vince’s head lolled on his shoulder, and he spoke a few words of gibberish, as his body tried to fight off the effects of the wolf.
Vince limply slid to the floor, and William quickly knelt down and unwrapped the bloodied towel around his arm.
“Ye’re a fool, ye know that, Vince? Ye’ve likely killed yerself, and if ye haven’t, ye’ve no idea what ye’re in for.”
He propped the man against the bathtub, and threw the towel on the floor. The wound would either heal itself, or it wouldn’t.
The question was, did William kill the man, or didn’t he?
“Where are the girls?”
“You’ll kill me if I tell you,” he whimpered.
He had him there. The only thing keeping the man alive at the moment was the fact that William didn’t know where they were.
“Have ye hurt them?”
“No! I swear I haven’t.”
William felt himself relax, his breath escaping in a rush. He watched dispassionately as Vince curled up in a ball on the floor his body wracked with pain from more than just the wound in his arm.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?”
Vince’s groan was his only response.
“I could hurt ye far worse, if ye doonae tell me where the girls are.”
“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”
“The verdict is still out on that one. Tis not a decision I’m making this moment.”
William stood, staring down at the other man, fascinated against his will.
It wasn’t often a wolf was made, and it was strictly regulated by alphas in their territory. He’d never had problems with tourists coming to the area and trying their hand at turning a human into a wolf before.
If William didn’t kill them for their daring, when they got back home, their alpha surely would.
He watched the man writhe on the floor, and got an occasional glimpse of yellow in the man’s pain filled eyes.
Was it possible Vince would actually survive this?
And if he did, would William let him live?
Only one thing mattered at the moment. “Vince!” William roared, pushing every bit of his power at the smaller man. “The girls! Now!”
Chapter 28
Lena could feel sweat trickling down her spine, and from the way the thing in the other cage sniffed the air occasionally, Lena suspected the creature could smell it.
Didn’t they say fear had an odor? Lena had no doubt that she was wreaking of the emotion.
At least it … she … had actively stopped ramming its shoulder against the bars in a misguided attempt to escape.
When she’d seen the chains anchoring the cage to the floor earlier, she’d thought Vince ridiculous.
Now? Now she thought the man was underprepared. The cage should have had eight chains, sixteen, maybe even more.
Lena literally knew what it felt like to be prey. Any time she’d so much as moved a muscle, the creatures head jerked toward her, a growl rumbling low in her throat.
Anytime she tried to talk the beast down, it had incited it to trying to break free.
Now, they simply stared at each other, Lena unmoving, the creature waiting.
If she got out of this alive, she was going to kill Vince for doing this to her.
She studied the creature through the bars, and it stared right back.
A faint tendril of green misted the air and caught her attention.
The lock on her cage was glowing green.
Yikes!
Because she was supposed to try and pick it?
No way, no how was that happening. She didn’t have anything with her anyway, or she’d have done it a long time ago.
The green seemed to glow brighter, and she glanced over at the wolf, but her gaze was simply fixed upon Lena, unwavering.
The glow seemed to ramp up a notch, as if trying to catch Lena’s attention.
She turned her head away. Not going to happen.
She couldn’t help but remember what Ava had said to her, about her powers being dormant, about the fact that she was soon to come into her own.
If werewolves were real, and apparently they were, then witches were too. It was something to consider.
Her hand tingled, the urge to lift it toward the lock overwhelming.
Instead she clenched her hands into fists.
Even that slight movement, drew the wolf’s attention.
The animal stood once more, its muscles seeming to swell, the growl rising, vibrating the air between them.
“It’s okay, I’m not doing anything, there’s nothing to see over here.”
Her voice set the creature off, and it started slamming against the walls of the cage once more, forcing it inch by inch to slide across the floor.
Lena couldn’t help but think about the witches at The Hemlock Hotel, and how convinced they were that they could cast spells, how convinced they were that she could.
Maybe she should try?
The thought immediately made her feel foolish, but looking at the slathering werewolf in the cage across from her, she thought the foolishness would be not trying.
She raised her hand toward the lock, wiggled her fingers, and said in a very shaky tone, “Abracadabra.”
Nothing happened, of course, well, nothing to the lock anyway. The werewolf went crazy, the only thing keeping the cage from sliding toward her was one of the chains at this point. The others had gotten lax as the creature pushed the cage in Lena’s direction.
The beast was already going crazy. Panicking, Lena stood up, placed her hand against the lock, and screamed, “Open!”
To her astonishment, she heard a snick, and she pushed against the door, and it swung open.
The wolf went eerily silent, as the door slowly swung all the way open.
Lena stood frozen for a moment, her gaze colliding with the wolf’s.
And then she was out the door, sprinting across the shed to the door, pulling and tugging on it, only to find it locked.
The moment her foot touched the concrete, the wolf went wild! Pushing and slamming itself against the cage door.
Lena glanced up to the skylight, the only window in the place, and realized there was no way to reach it.
In a fit of desperation, she lifted her palm up and toward the lock on the door, and screamed, “open!”
Her voice seemed to echo throughout the room, and she heard the snick of the lock, and then quickly thereafter, a second lock opened.
She grabbed the doorknob, pulled open the door, and glanced over her shoulder all in one movement.
The door to the werewolf cage slowly swung open.
Gazes clashed, and then the wolf’s nose pulled back as it exposed teeth in a snarl.
Screaming, slamming the door behind her, Lena ran.
Chapter 29
William had been searching for what felt like hours.
He had Vince’s shirt clutched in one hand, and he gave it a sniff every once in a while, trying to locate the different scent he smelled upon the material.
Beyond Vince himself, of course.
<
br /> The starting point had been where the boys had last seen Lena with Vince, before he disappeared.
To William’s way of thinking, the location couldn’t be that far off, though they’d scoured the area the night before.
He had Vince with him.
He honestly did not know whether the man was going to make it or not. There was nothing to do for him but wait. And in the event that he did, somehow, make the change, it was up to William whether he lived or died.
“Turn right here.”
Vince whispered the words, cringing back in his seat, as far away from William as he was able.
William didn’t blame the man. His muscles were bulging tight, his teeth visibly hung over his lips, and his voice was such a low rumble, he could barely understand himself.
Vince continued to whisper directions, taking them to a commercial area full of warehouses, and then finally beyond, into a drier, arid area, with live sagebrush and cacti.
In the distance, William could see a couple of buildings.
“Where to?”
“They’re both in there.” Vince pointed a shaky hand toward one of the structures in the distance.
William took the keys out of the car, told the man to wait, or else, and headed toward the shed.
As he watched, the door burst open, and Lena, her face filled with terror, ran outside, a scream erupting, loud and clear.
And right behind her was Addison, fully changed, and ready to leap upon his soulmate.
William let out a feral roar.
Both girls stopped in their tracks.
Lena’s mouth was hanging open, terror written across her face, and she looked between the wolf behind her, and himself.
“Come to me, girl.”
Lena, poised on the verge of running, gasped. “William?”
He didn’t dare move, afraid if he did she would run, triggering Addison’s wolf.
“Come to me, Lena.”
She took a hesitant step toward him, and that was all it took to distract Addison, and have her bounding toward Lena.
Lena screamed, ran for William, and without thought, William let his own wolf loose, changing, morphing, and roaring a challenge at the younger wolf, poised to leap.
Addison yelped, dug her paws into the loose dirt, and twisted her head helplessly, as she searched for William in the darkness, her eyes rolling back in her head.
Through his rage, he could taste Lena’s tears in the air, and after another look at Addison, thoroughly cowed now, he ran after her, and quickly caught up, allowing his wolf to recede once more, his claws, his snout, and even his teeth, as he grabbed her up and held her, screaming and thrashing against his chest.
In the next moment, he’d been pushed ten feet away, flying topsy-turvy through the air, to land on his back.
“Lena?”
Lena was looking down at her hand, in disbelief, and then looked through the darkness toward William. “William?”
“Aye, tis me, lass.”
She stumbled through the darkness, and then threw herself upon him.
“It’s all right, I got ye now, lass. Ye’re no’ to worry, yer safe.”
Lena, wide-eyed, terrified, looked up at him, finally seemed to see him, and threw herself against his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck, and hiding her face.
Nothing had ever felt so right to him before.
“William. This has been like a nightmare. You would not believe it if I told you what has been going on here.”
William sighed. He suspected he actually would believe it, and after that jolt Lena had just given him, he could no longer convince himself that she was just a mere psychic, so she had a lot more to accept than she even knew.
So did he, for that matter.
A werewolf, and a witch?
He sighed again.
He slowly stood, and headed back to Addison, keeping Lena within his arms.
“No, William! Don’t go back there! There’s a … a… .”
“I’m well aware of what’s back there, and ye’re no’ to fear. I’ve got ye safe in my arms, and it willnae hurt ye.”
Lena, her arms tightening around his neck, craned her neck, as they went back to view Addison, now huddled and cringing against the dirt at his approach.
He grabbed her by the scruff of her neck,. “Follow me.” He told the girl, and whimpering once more, she did so.
Lena tore her gaze away and pressed her forehead against his chest. “Oh my, stars. My, gosh. This is just unbelievable.” She continued to mutter nonsense, until they reached the car.
William forced a reluctant Addison into the backseat, and had her lie upon the floor.
Still holding Lena with one arm, he next grabbed hold of Vince, and manhandled him on to the backseat.
Addison immediately began to sniff and lick him.
Again, William sighed. If Addison’s wolf was recognizing Vince’s this soon, then the man was no doubt going to pull through. Which meant William had a decision to make.
No one would fault him for killing the man.
He gently put Lena in the front seat, buckled her in, and then rounded the car and slid behind the steering wheel.
He gripped the wheel tight, and looked over at Lena. “Are ye hurt, lass?”
Lena was staring at him wide-eyed. “William, your face. Your teeth.”
“I know, lass. Tis the full moon, else I’d have more control. As it is, I’m lucky to have this much.”
“I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up.”
“It was Vince who kidnapped me and Addison, and then she turned into a wolf. That’s Addison in the backseat.”
“I know, lass.”
“I just want to go home.”
After what he’d been through, he wasn’t sure he had it in him to let her go.
“We’ve got to head to The Hemlock, and get these two safely settled away first.”
“Home,” she said again, and huddled into her seat.
He wanted to take her hand, to reassure her once more.
He’d never been so afraid in his life, as when she’d been missing, and then seeing Addison at her back, ready to attack. His heart had about stopped in his chest, and he still felt like he hadn’t quite recovered from the horror of it all.
“Ye’re no’ to worry, lass. I’ll see ye settled soon.”
He would take Lena home first. Drop her off, even though everything inside of him wished to keep her with him. But he had to deal with Addison and Vince, and though it killed him to leave her, it was where she wanted to be.
Besides, he knew he looked pretty ragged himself at the moment, so he’d see her tomorrow, as soon as possible.
Chapter 30
He took her home.
It was what she’d said she wanted, and while she did, there was a part of her that wanted to stay with William because he made her feel safe.
Which was crazy, because the man sitting next to her in the car was half-beast himself.
And tonight? He looked it. Ragged around the edges, his hair more wild than usual, his jawline seeming to jut, even his fingernails looked longer and his body bulged with more muscle.
Anyway, she did need to go home. She needed to wrap her head around this … whatever it was.
He stopped the car, and walked her to the door of her family’s shop.
“Are ye going to be all right, lass?”
She nodded.
“I’ll see ye tomorrow, then?” He seemed anxious.
Feeling contrary, she shrugged. Yes, she wanted to see him, but for some reason she felt the trauma she’d gone through tonight was his fault. Introducing her to this new world? Not being there when she was caged?
She’d have to think it through. Maybe she just needed a little bit of time to lose the resentment.
He reached out to touch her, thought better of it and withdrew his hand. “Lass?”
She finally nodded, and went inside without saying a word. She barely locked the
door, when her mother, grandmother, and sister came clambering down the stairs.
“Oh, my stars! Where have you been?” Her mother asked as she surged forward to take Lena’s hands between her palms. “Are you all right?”
“We’ve been calling the hotel, but getting no answers.” Grandma came up to stand behind her mother.
Lena nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Well?” Her sister asked. “What happened?”
Lena, feeling very weary, moved toward one of the chairs and sank down. She noted the crystal ball on the table in front of her, and had to chuckle. So much had happened since the last time she told a fortune using the crystal ball that she didn’t even know where to begin.
“You want story one? Or story two? Story one goes that William and I went out on a date, it turned into a long day, it was fun, I’m exhausted and want to go to bed.”
Olivia arched an eyebrow. “I don’t think so. I’m going to take story number two.”
She drew in a breath. “All right, you asked for it. In story number two, it turns out I’m a witch. A real one.” She looked around at the group of them. “I would think that would make you witches as well, but in your case, Olivia, we’ve always kind of known that.”
Her grandmother cackled, sounding exactly like a wicked witch, and, to her mind anyway, sort of proving Lena’s point.
She ignored the dirty looked Olivia shot her way and continued, “I’m a witch, and the entire Hemlock Hotel is filled with paranormal creatures.”
Olivia snorted. “Oh, my gosh. I’m sorry I ever filled out that stupid dating application for you. Now you’re going to have to get therapy! He’s dead when I see him! I hope he knows that. Dead!”
But Lena was watching her grandmother and her mother exchange a glance. “What?”
“Well,” her grandmother maneuvered a chain from around her neck, one of many, and lifted the charm that dangled on the end. It was one Lena had often played with as a child, while sitting on her grandmother’s lap.
Grandma let the chain dangle from her finger for a moment, then set it on the table, and let the chain drop into a golden pile on top of it.
She turned her hand around, and it glowed green.
