by Jessica Snow
There was McKenzie’s birthday cards, each of them hand drawn from the time she was five until this past year, all of them saved because they said so much about their relationship. There were her father’s things, the things she’d kept when she thought that she was gone forever. Now, it was all just a pile of ash and rubble. The people were safe, and that was the important thing she knew, but still, it pissed her off. Never mind what had almost happened to McKenzie, she had obviously been able to take care of herself, and Kat suspected she could have taken care of business even without Zack’s help, as much as she was grateful for it. But Crystal was obviously over the edge, and she wasn’t giving up.
“Okay, bitch, now you talk,” Kat growled, throwing Sherry up against the concrete wall. “And if you even think about trying to change, I’ll snap your fucking pencil neck like a twig before you even get the first hairs out.”
Liam was taking care of his mother, who was still bleeding from what turned out to be a silver bullet wound to her leg, which Zack had tersely explained to Kat meant that the wound wouldn’t heal like normal for Victoria. It had to be cleaned and dealt with like a gunshot wound for a normal person, silver seriously did a job a werewolf’s healing ability. Only after every trace of silver was removed from her body would Victoria be able to use her own regenerative abilities to heal the wound. That left Kat to deal with Sherry alongside McKenzie, who she didn’t know if she could do any of her ‘big damn magic’ since the immediate threat to her life was gone, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be useful if only to help Kat stay a little under control. And of course, as a threat. Sherry had seen McKenzie in action and didn’t know that her abilities were spotty at best.
“I’ve got nothing to say,” Sherry grunted, her head snapping to the left as Kat backhanded her, her nose breaking and her head bouncing against the concrete. “What? That’s all you’ve got? I got worse in high school.”
“Talk, or else I let my sister do her worst on you,” Kat growled, grabbing Sherry by the throat again and lifting her with one hand into the air. “All I can do is make it hurt and maybe kill you. McKenzie’s a full-fledged witch, she’ll turn your own mind into a living hell and trap you there forever. Which do you want?”
Sherry’s eyes filled with tears, and she nodded, grabbing at Kat’s wrist and trying to breathe. “O... Okay, I’ll talk!” she said, and Kat dropped her to the ground, where she knelt on her knees, hacking and retching while her regenerative abilities healed the damage. It took her a moment, but when she looked up, she was physically fine even if her eyes were filled with fear and something else. To Kat, she almost looked... relieved. “God, I’d rather you kill me than live with that crazy bitch another day.”
Kat glanced at McKenzie, who gave her a tight smile. “I’ll see if Zack or Liam can join us.”
In fact, all three of the wolves could join them, Victoria’s leg wrapped as she leaned on her son who helped her to the floor, where she sat gratefully. When Victoria was settled in as comfortably as she could be, Kat turned her attention back to Sherry, not letting her move from the concrete wall. “Okay, you said you’d talk. Now talk.”
Sherry took a deep breath and tears came to her eyes. “She’s totally lost it. At first, when she was just being the little alpha queen in training, I was cool with it. I mean, she was letting me hang with her, which was a lot better than being just some scruffy mutt bitch from the wrong side of town like a lot of people treated me like. Like the Greysons did, at least most of the pack. And when she hooked up with you Liam, I thought I had it made. I mean, you two were going to run this area like it was nobody’s business, and Crystal told me that once your families were merged, that there’d always be a place in her pack for me. Maybe I shoulda figured she was a little off when she kept saying her pack and not yours, Liam, but I mean, girl power and all, right?”
“Right,” Liam said noncommittally. “So, why’d you stick around?”
“I didn’t. I mean, when she started pushing everyone into hunting humans I didn’t like it, but I figured like, the good was better than the bad and she would chill. But then that night when she mated with Jerle and took you, ready to burn you at the stake, that was enough for me. I was kinda glad her ass got burned up and everything. It left me in the lurch, though. I couldn’t go back to the Lillys, I mean they didn’t give two shits about me, and the Greysons were just as bad. So, I was back where I was before, just a member of Jerle’s outcasts, and I figured I’d just have to be cool with that. Then she showed up, and things went from bad to worse. I was like, five feet away when she shot Jerle, and I could see it in her eyes when she held out that chunk of his leg muscle to me, either I ate it or I was going to be on a peg as the next all-you-could- chomp buffet before I could make a move. And she kept me close too, like all the fucking time she had to have me be right by her. I couldn’t even take a piss without coming back and seeing in her eyes that she thought I was trying to stab her in the back or something. After the attack on the cave went to shit, she hasn’t even let me go home. When I suggested that I be allowed to go and get a bite to eat, maybe brush my teeth and shit like that, she pulled one of those damn pistols she has out, shot one of the pack members that had gotten torn up at the cave by Liam’s cousin, and while they were still rolling around on the floor pulled out a knife and sliced off their bicep, handing it to me like it was a chunk of prime rib and telling me to chow down. So, when you guys had me isolated, and Liam was kicking her ass, I decided fuck it, I’d take the chance. Besides, she was getting twitchy, I think she’s getting kuru.”
“What’s kuru?” Kat asked, and Liam answered.
“It’s another name for Mad Cow Disease,” he said, and Kat could see he was understanding it too. “In the brain, the spinal cord, some areas like that, there are prions, a smaller unit than proteins, that get twisted the wrong way, and they start to affect the nervous system. Crystal’s been eating more than just meat, it seems.”
“How did Crystal find the cave, anyway?” Kat asked, still furious but at least understanding a little. Whether her insanity was the result of twisted proteins or just her being batshit crazy didn’t matter to her. “We never smelled her anywhere nearby, she wasn’t even in town for months.”
Sherry shuddered, shaking her head in disbelief at what she was going to say. “She’s got a connection with the vampires, the girl named Violet.”
“I remember her, from when I was held by the vampires,” McKenzie spoke up. “I thought it was just a nickname, but it isn’t?”
“Not from what Theon told me,” Kat said before she could pull it back, then decided that right now, Liam’s jealousy wasn’t as important as the safety of her family. “He said that she was a princess who was turned by the head of the local vampires, Viktor a long time ago, like back in the Dark Ages or something.”
“Then she’s powerful too,” Liam said, and Kat was reassured that the jealousy wasn’t forefront in his voice. “Maybe not on the level of Theon or Viktor, but powerful in her own right. She could be strong enough that she could have gotten close enough to track us down without being detected. I might not like it, but it’s one of their skills.”
“So, what do we do now?” Zack asked, looking at Sherry. “Especially about her?”
“That’s up to Sherry,” Liam finally said after exchanging looks with Kat. He knew what his father would have done. But he wasn’t his father. “If she’s willing to do one of two things, I’m willing to let her walk away.”
“What are those things?” Sherry asked, and it was Liam’s turn to take her by the throat. “Hey, come on, at least tell me first!”
“Either disappear from town or join me,” Liam replied, squeezing just enough to make the threat evident. “If you don’t want to join my pack, I’m fine with that. I’m not like Crystal, I’m not going to force anyone to be with me. But if I or any of my people see you in Bone City again after that, you’re a dead woman. Which is it going to be?”
Sherry kicked and str
uggled against Liam’s grip, but finally conceded. “Fine, fine! You’ve got me, I’ll obey your orders!”
“Good,” Liam said, releasing her. “Then the first thing you’re going to do is ride herd on Winston and the Delgado twins. You four might be part of my pack, but until I trust your asses I’m not letting you anywhere near my family. Get a fucking job, find a place the four of you can live together, and get your shit straight. You hear a single whisper about Crystal or anything to do with the vampires, you call me. Got it?”
“Got it.”
Liam nodded and pointed. “Good. Now get the fuck out of here.”
Victoria looked around the small cabin nervously, and Kat couldn’t really blame her. From everything that she knew about the statuesque woman, the small group assembled in front of her was everything she wasn’t prepared for. Her son wasn’t mating into some other wolf pack, regardless of stature or position, and to compare the cabin to the former Greyson mansion stretched the definition of both being homes.
Added to that, the woman was still in shock. Her husband was dead, killed in front of her very eyes. Her home burned down practically around her. To top it all off, she had been shot with silver bullets, and nearly got her son and friends killed again by being so tired that she led their enemies to them. Oh, and to top it off, she had a knife held to her throat. In less than twenty-four hours she’d stared death in the eyes more times than most people did in their entire lives. Yeah, Kat thought, Victoria Greyson was doing pretty well just to be standing, let alone looking at her new family with anything approaching sanity.
Kat could see that Liam knew it, too. “Mom, this is Kat, my mate,” he said gently, and Kat gave Victoria her best smile, trying to keep her cool. “And next to her, the little pixie-looking one is McKenzie, Kat’s sister. She’s a witch, and with her is… Uhm… it’s Kat and McKenzie’s mother.”
“Who?” Victoria asked, and Kat realized that she was looking at Ashley, who was looking actually the most normal she’d ever looked since revealing her Guardian status, wearing a form fitting t-shirt, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, and normal looking jeans. “She’s far too young to be their mother.”
“I’m Ashley, actually,” Ashley said, “Kat’s Guardian. Liam means Reba.”
Victoria blinked twice before following everyone’s eyes down to see Reba sitting on the table next to McKenzie, sitting up as proudly as she could. When the two mothers locked eyes, she nodded her head gravely, pushing Victoria over the edge. Bears, Guardians, that was one thing. Witches, okay. Mothers who were cats was too much for even the alpha female to take. “Wait, wait… I can’t, no, no, Liam this is too...”
She started to tremble, and Liam helped her onto the sofa, where she shuddered and hugged her knees, the first sobs starting to come. She shook her head back and forth, almost refusing to accept what was before her very eyes, and Kat reacted with her own instincts, kneeling and picking up the triplets in her arms. She carried them over, kneeling and putting Selena in her lap. “Victoria, I know you’re going through a lot, but this is Selena… your granddaughter.”
Victoria’s head stopped and she opened her squeezed-shut eyes, looking down at the fuzzy little bundle with wonder. She reached out, touching Selena on the top of her head with a trembling finger that Selena licked in greeting, shocking the woman back towards making words at least. “My… granddaughter?”
“And this is Edward, and this is Hunter,” Liam said, taking his cue from Kat and setting the boys next to Selena. “Mom, I know you’ve been through a lot, but these little ones, they need you. I need you, I need your guidance and the years of experience you have. We have strength, we need wisdom. This family needs you.”
Victoria sniffed, running her right thumb over Selena’s ears, making the little hybrid girl growl happily and rub against her before reaching up with a tiny tongue to lick, sniffing deeply at her grandmother’s scent. Victoria’s tears started again, but this time Kat could tell there was happiness involved as well. “Triplets, huh?”
“Triplets. Mom, there’s a lot to tell you about, but I promise, we need you,” Liam said. “So… how about meeting the rest of the family?”
Victoria nodded, taking Hunter and Edward into her arms and inhaling their scents, imprinting them on her mind and making Kat’s fears ease some more. “Okay. And… Katerina?”
“Kat, please, Mrs. Greyson,” Kat said, and Victoria shook her head. “What?”
“Victoria… and maybe later Mom. Although we might need to discuss that with… Reba, right?” Victoria said, and Reba meowed. Victoria shook her head, still slightly disbelieving, but grounded again. “Okay. If someone can help me translate with Reba, maybe we grandmothers need to have a conversation later, too.”
Kat nodded. “McKenzie will help you. Welcome to the family.”
Chapter 47
“How’s Victoria doing?” Kat asked McKenzie when she and Reba came out of the bedroom, where Victoria was settling into sleep and protect her grandchildren. McKenzie felt decent, although she was tired after such a long day. “Did Mom and she work things out?”
“As much as you can on a first meeting,” McKenzie said, shrugging. “I really hope we can work out some other system. Maybe some other time we can figure out a way to let Mom type on a computer or something, this interpreter shit is getting on my nerves.”
McKenzie got a spike in her mind and glanced at Reba, who was looking at her disapprovingly. “What, Mom?”
Language, young lady!
“Come on Mom, I’m not in elementary school anymore. And you gotta admit, being your mouthpiece sucks sometimes.”
Try eating cat food for a couple of years. Thank God, Mike would also let me drink milk and you guys would give me scraps too. I especially liked the fish.
“Yeah well….” McKenzie started, before giving up the argument. They could go back and forth for hours as to who had the tougher life over the past few years. McKenzie knew, however, that there was no way that she could pull a bullshit job on Reba since she’d told ‘Rosie the cat’ nearly all her deepest secrets. “Still Mom, cut me some slack on the cursing please?”
I’ll see what I can do. I don’t want my grandchildren cursing like sailors though, and that’s something I’m going to bring up with the rest of the family too… when I can talk.
McKenzie watched Reba walk out of the room before realizing that Kat was still looking at her. “You okay?”
“We’re still working it out,” McKenzie said, sighing. “I really wish I’d been more careful with what I told the cat.”
“Speaking of which, I need to talk with Mom,” Kat said gently. “Not everything, I don’t want to stress you out too much, but if you could?”
McKenzie sighed, nodding. “Yeah, let me go get Mom.”
Never mind, I heard her. Remember, I can hear pretty well, and this is a small cabin. How about the three of us go for a walk? After that, you and I can do some practice for your magic.
McKenzie smiled a little, getting frustrated with magic would be a welcome change to being frustrated with everything else. At least she could understand the frustration with her magical problems. “Sounds good, Mom. Kat, Mom says she’d like to take a walk with us in the woods, and then I’ll get some magic practice in.”
The woods were lovely, McKenzie thought as they stepped outside. The cabin was built so that it got the last of the sunset light, and around her, the woods burned with golden late afternoon light. “Wow, I forgot how awesome it is up here. Guess I was too wrapped up in teenage stuff.”
Kat nodded, inhaling deeply. “You want to know the best part of living in a cave for four months was? Waking up every morning to a landscape that took your breath away. So, can you do me a favor? Just tell me Mom’s words directly without the whole ‘she said’ all the time?”
I’d appreciate that, too. Unless you have something you want to interject as well, sweetheart. And Kat, just talk to me, not your sister.
“Okay Mom,” Kat sai
d, reaching down. “Think I can give you a ride? I remember, when I was a little girl, I used to love it when you’d pick me up.”
Reba was willing, and Kat picked up her mother, scratching her behind the ears like she used to before, sighing. “So… a cat, huh?”
It could have been worse. Madeline’s magic was untamed enough, the only way she could get it to work was to push me into the body of a common witch’s familiar. I’m glad she didn’t think to turn me into a crow or a newt.
Even McKenzie had to chuckle at that one. Kat continued. “I guess that is better. So… what now? I mean, I know you said it’d be hard to turn you back into a human, so does that mean you get to spend the next thirty or forty years as a cat?”
More like the next decade. In this cat form, I’m aging just like a normal cat physically. So, I’m about eight years old, now. A witch’s familiar gets a little bit of a boost from the magical connection, but if I reach twenty, it’d be a miracle. Magic isn’t about making things happen out of thin air, but like I explained to your sister, it’s about adjusting the forces and creating new balances. Adjusting the life forces to be able to get more than that would be impossible for me in a cat form.
“That doesn’t sound like a lot of time, Mom.”
It’ll be enough for me to do what I need to do, sweetheart.
“Which is?”
I was surprised when you and Liam mated, but I can see it in the way you look at each other, it was the right choice. So, we’re going to get my husband back from the vampires, and then we’re going to help you and McKenzie grow into what you are. I know that you’re confused about it all, and I wish that Mike had been able to give you more guidance, but I understand. One day, I’ll tell you about how I became aware of my own abilities, and that was after I already knew that I was going to be a witch, your grandmother had given me ‘the talk’ a year earlier. Even if McKenzie can’t ever get me back to human form, I’ve got ten years to train and prepare you two for the world. I figure in that amount of time; my daughters will emerge as a force not to be messed with.
