Adventure Magic (Tabby Kitten Mystery Book 3)

by Constance Barker

  Gregory whipped around. Even in his human form, he was snarling at Max. Thea could see the wolf’s aggression even though he wasn’t covered in fur.

  “You couldn’t just follow the rules. You had to invite those foxes in.”

  A tense silence fell over the group. Max looked like he was struggling to process the new information. But, once he did, he got angry too.

  Max looked equally furious and stood up tall to meet Gregory. “You killed Tony. You thought you were protecting the clan, but instead you were destroying us.”

  “I did what I had to do,” Gregory roared, making everyone jump.

  “No. You were selfish. And now my brother is dead. You slaughtered one of your own.”

  “It should have been you,” Gregory said. “I wasn’t intending to kill any innocents.”

  “Well, you did. You can’t unring that bell.”

  Blaine put up his hands, trying to calm the rapidly escalating situation. “Hold on. Gregory, I’m afraid I’m going to have to take you down to the station.”

  Gregory chuckled, not taking his eyes off of Max. “I’d like to see you try. I’m handling this here and now.”

  Gregory sunk back into a fighting stance. “I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

  Chapter 28

  An eerie sense of dread encapsulated the three of them as they stared across the clearing. Gregory’s expression was bone-chilling, with an obvious lack of remorse for his actions.

  The wolf shifters who flanked him carried themselves in a similar fashion. They didn’t care about the morality of their decisions. They didn’t even care about the fact that they were harming innocent people. They simply wanted to deal with the individuals in their way and make sure they never bothered them again.

  Gregory planned on dealing with Max, Blaine, and Thea in the same manner. Considering that his true target was Max all along, he had no issue with this confrontation in the slightest.

  With a brief nod, Gregory and the other wolf shifters by his side transformed into wolves right before their eyes. Max grimaced, shaking his head as he leaned in closer to Thea.

  “He’s crazy,” the boy whispered, contempt lining each word he spoke. “He’s willing to get rid of his own kind as a way to achieve his goals. It’s insane.”

  “I know it is, Max,” Thea replied gently, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “But you’re going to get justice for what he did to your brother. I promise you that.”

  “Yeah,” he said, staring daggers at the man who was responsible for Tony’s death. “I already know that.”

  To the side, Blaine was already shifting into his bear form, towering over the rest of them with relative ease. Thea knew that his fighting abilities were exceptional, but taking the wolves alone was going to be a challenge. He would need some assistance. For that reason, she backed away as Max began to shift into his own wolf form.

  The boy held a lot of hate in his heart towards the man who ambushed his brother. To know the true intentions behind his actions only fueled Max further. He wasn’t going to rest until Gregory got what he deserved.

  In a blink of an eye, the wolf shifters directed their focus on Blaine. The three of them that accompanied Gregory pounced quickly, scratching and gnawing at Blaine’s extremities. Meanwhile, Max charged at the wolf elder without hesitation. The boy’s jaws clamped onto Gregory’s shoulders and refused to let go.

  Considering that she wasn’t a shifter, Thea stayed back and watched as the fighting ensued. She knew that she wasn’t going to be much help with man-to-man fighting. There was just no way she was going to be able to overpower any of the wolf shifters, even with Blaine and Max fighting by her side.

  “Why couldn’t Tiegen teach me some useful skills when it came to fighting?” Thea mumbled to herself, wincing as she watched Blaine defend himself against the wolves.

  With a small gasp, she quickly dodged as Blaine swatted at one of the wolves and sent them barreling her way. Startled yelps and whimpers rung loudly throughout the scene.

  Thea heaved a few shallow breaths. She could see that Max was doing well against his fight with the wolf elder. That was to be expected. Gregory was responsible for the murder of his brother. Not to mention, he tried to convince the entire wolf commune that Mira was the one responsible for Tony’s death. Max had every right to fight tooth and nail against the man who harmed the people closest to him.

  As she turned to watch Blaine, she wasn’t surprised to see him effectively keep the two wolf shifters at a safe distance away from him. The brute strength he possessed made it difficult for the wolves to attack him directly. With one swing of an arm, the wolves were sent flying in the opposite direction.

  Thea smiled, impressed by his abilities. However, the joy on her face soon disappeared as she realized the wolf that Blaine had swatted away was back on his feet. Only this time, he was hoping to get a good angle on Blaine’s neck. The wolf shook off the dirt and debris lingering on his fur before getting ready to charge.

  On instinct, Thea stepped forward. Although she couldn’t fight, she had other tricks up her sleeve. Muttering the spell as she focused on accumulating the energy within herself, Thea threw out her hands to create a shield between Blaine and the advancing wolf.

  The momentum driving the wolf forward gave him no time to react once the shield appeared. As a result, he collided hard with the barrier. On impact, Thea was surprised that the wolf shifter wasn’t knocked out completely. Instead, the wolf scurried away with his tail between his legs, unwilling to rejoin the fight.

  Blaine, though preoccupied in fighting off the other wolf shifters, glanced towards Thea, sparing her a split second’s huff and a nod.

  “Max!” Thea called out to the younger boy, watching as he bit onto Gregory’s arm and tossed him to the side like a rag doll. He turned around to face her. “Are you okay?”

  It wasn’t much, but the boy responded with a low grumble as he and Blaine were getting ready to face off against the remaining wolf shifters that still backed Gregory. Thea’s hands were clammy. She didn’t know how much longer this could go on without someone getting seriously injured.

  Just as Max and Blaine were getting ready to pounce, a loud howl sounded out close by. The fighting stilled as the wolves exchanged concerned looks with one another. Movement amongst the forest’s foliage became increasingly prominent, especially with the tense silence that overtook them all.

  “Gregory!”

  The wolf elder was startled, frantically looking around to see where that voice came from. Max continued to watch him with a mindful eye.

  From out of the trees, a few wolves clambered onto the scene. Leading them was Jonah, who let out a sigh of relief to see that Max was okay despite the fighting that ensued. Jonah sent him a small grin, but his expression soon hardened when he turned to face Gregory. The fight had rendered him weak.

  “Enough fighting, Gregory. We’ve heard what happened,” Jonah said, backed up by the other wolf shifters with him. They looked agitated towards the wolf elder. Rightfully so. “We already know that you were the one who killed Tony.”

  Chapter 29

  With the sudden appearance of Jonah and the other shifters, both Max and Blaine knew that this fight was over. It didn’t take long for them to shift back into their human forms, groaning as the fatigue of the battle took its toll on their limbs. Moving around felt heavy to them.

  Realizing that he was cornered and that there was no way to escape, Gregory whimpered out lamely as he returned to his human form. He was battered, with cuts and bruises littering his body. The bleeding bite wound on his shoulder especially stung.

  Blaine took the initiative, reaching into one of his pockets to get a pair of handcuffs. However, Jonah moved in front of him and stopped him.

  “Don’t worry about him,” Jonah said, referring to the bloodied Gregory who hadn’t moved from his spot on the ground. “The wolves will deal with this one accordingly. I’ll make sure he receives the proper puni
shment for his crimes.”

  “How did you hear about what was happening?” Max asked, rubbing at his sore neck. “We didn’t think anybody would be able to come in time.”

  At that, Jonah turned around and glanced at one of the wolf shifters that came along in his group. His nose was bloody and his face was covered in more than a few scratches. Bear scratches, in particular.

  “One of Gregory’s accomplices felt guilty about what happened and came running to tell us about it,” he explained, looking away once the wolf shifter in question ducked his head sheepishly. “When we found out what was going on, we came as quickly as we could. It’s a good thing we made it in time. Otherwise, our good friend Gregory here would be in worse shape than he already is.”

  “You got that right,” Blaine huffed out, pocketing the handcuffs and letting go of the former wolf elder’s arm.

  Gregory looked stunned by the events transpiring. He didn’t even have enough energy to fight back or defend himself, even as they spoke negatively of him. Despondency and rage lingered in his eyes, however.

  “Are you sure you’ll be able to handle him?” Thea asked, watching as Jonah’s men took Gregory by his underarms and began to haul him away towards the direction of the commune.

  Jonah chuckled. “Look at him. Do you really think that man has any fight left? And if he does, his punishment will be even worse. I won’t let him harm any more of my people, that’s for certain.”

  Thea nodded as she accepted the small embrace from Max. The boy was grateful for all her help.

  “Blaine, I would like to thank you,” Jonah said, stepping forward to offer him his hand. “You’ve done us a great service by discovering the truth about what happened that night.”

  Smiling, Blaine shook his hand gladly. “I’m just doing my job, Jonah. I wasn’t going to rest until I found out who killed Tony.”

  “I’d like to thank you as well, Thea,” Jonah added on. “You were very committed to this case and the wolf shifters can recognize that. We appreciate everything you did to help.”

  “Of course,” she responded softly, touched by the sincerity behind his words. “And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

  Soon enough, the scene around them gradually began to calm down. Max and Thea exchanged a few more words before the boy departed with his father and the rest of the shifters back to the commune. Based on the way they all but dragged Gregory along with them, she knew that he was in for a long day.

  Blaine and Thea made their way back to the main trail. Aside from a few nips on his skin and a small cut across his cheek, he was relatively unscathed by the attack. It was impressive, she could admit that. Who else would be able to fight off three wolf shifters and live to tell the tale? She knew that Blaine was special.

  “Are you feeling alright?” he asked her as he brushed out his wrinkled clothing. He was careful not to walk too brusquely. “That was a pretty rough scene back there.”

  Thea laughed inwardly, amused that he asked that. “I’m not the one who fought off a bunch of wolves, you know.”

  As she gazed forward, she could have sworn that she saw a graying fox tail disappear into some nearby bushes. Her eyebrows furrowed, wondering if she had just imagined that. It could have been the wind, but Thea wasn’t so sure. Blaine continued the conversation, unbeknownst to the fact that Thea was pensive over what she saw.

  “I’m glad you were here, Thea.”

  His words snapped her out of her daze. Gazing up at him, she softened.

  “Do you really think so?” she asked.

  “Of course,” Blaine reassured her. “Without you and your magic, that wolf could have taken me down easily. After that, I might have been done for.”

  Thea shivered. “Don’t say that. You’re strong. You would have won the fight regardless.”

  “Well, maybe,” Blaine said with a shrug. “But you were a great help. I needed some protection back there and you had my back.”

  “I’m always going to have your back, Blaine. I can promise you that.”

  “I know. And I believe you. You’ve never been one to back down on your promises,” he replied, the tips of his ears reddening. “And I like that about you.”

  It was Thea’s turn to flush at his comments. Just as they reached the edge of the forest, they shared a tight embrace. She was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Not only were they able to find closure for Tony and his family, but they were able to make sure that tensions between the fox shifters and the wolf shifters didn’t escalate further.

  In fact, she was convinced that the relations between them could only get better from there, now that Gregory was ousted.

  “We’re a pretty good team, don’t you think?” Thea asked once she pulled away. She was met with a bright grin from Blaine.

  “In my opinion, we’re the best team around,” he said. “No one can beat us.”

  Chapter 30

  “Do you see how different the energy is now that Gregory is gone?” Max asked, holding Mira’s hand as they made their way to the center of the wolf camp. “I swear, he was sucking the life out of all of us here.”

  Thea exchanged a quick look with Pippa, nodding once they realized that Max was somewhat right. There was a difference in the ambiance. The wolf shifters seemed much happier without Gregory around. That man was probably intoxicating the wolves with negativity and hatred.

  In an unanimous decision between the leaders of the wolf shifters, Gregory was banished from the commune and warned to never appear again. Jonah took his place as the wolf elder. Not only was he trustworthy, but he was determined to improve the relations between the wolves and the foxes.

  By the looks of it, Jonah was succeeding. After all, who could have expected Ada Davis herself to make an appearance in the wolf commune? Neither Thea or Pippa would have anticipated this development, but it was a pleasant surprise all the same. It was a clear sign that things were getting better between the two communities.

  “We have a few announcements to make!” Jonah announced, gathering all of the wolf shifters around the campfire so that they were close enough to hear. The boisterous clamor began to die down as Jonah prepared to speak. “For one, I would like to thank Ada Davis for coming into our commune. I know that the history between our two groups is rocky at best and violent at worst, but we would like to change that.”

  “For the future of both our clans,” Ada added, keeping Max and Mira in her peripheral vision. “We are open to hashing out more opportunities for our communities to interact with one another in the coming months.”

  At that, the wolf shifters gave their murmur of approval. Blaine wrapped his arm around Thea’s shoulders and gave her a slight squeeze of reassurance as they watched the scene unfold. It was mainly thanks to their efforts that the tensions were easing between the groups. That made her happy.

  “However, I would like to acknowledge that our communities have already been interacting with each other prior to this moment,” Ada said. A few confused whispers followed. “Of course, this wasn’t what either group expected. After careful deliberation with Jonah, we have both decided that we will still support this relationship.”

  “A relationship?” a wolf shifter asked incredulously. “Between a fox and a wolf? That’s...”

  “We know that it’s a new idea that many will need to get accustomed to,” Jonah spoke up. “But if there is genuine emotion between the pair, we see no issue in allowing them to pursue this relationship with one another.”

  “And that’s what we plan to do,” Max said, making sure that he was holding onto Mira’s hand tightly.

  While his actions received some mixed reactions from the rest of the wolf shifters, it seemed that they eventually warmed up to the idea. A few wolves raised their drink to the relationship, while others stepped forward and gave their words of praise to the young couple.

  Apparently, other wolves were also open to the idea of pursuing relationships with fox shifters. They never thought it would b
e possible. At least, not in their lifetimes.

  “That went... surprisingly well,” Blaine whispered to her, observing as the wolves happily congregated with each other to show their support for Max and Mira’s relationship. “I don’t know what I expected, but I thought there would be more backlash.”

  “I know,” she agreed gently. “When Gregory was still the wolf elder, the wolves hated the thought of a wolf shifter and a fox shifter getting together. He fueled their hatred for them.”

  “Then it’s a good thing that he’s gone,” Blaine said. “Everyone looks so much happier, especially Max and Mira. It’s a shame that Tony can’t be here to celebrate that with his loved ones. He would have liked to see this.”

  “All that matters is that we were able to get justice for his killing. Gregory won’t bother the wolves or the foxes anymore. He wanted to cause a conflict between these two groups and he almost succeeded. He won’t ever get that close to succeeding ever again.”

  To that, Blaine nodded and rubbed circles into her shoulder. Thea lit up as she watched Pippa and Jesse make their way towards them. They, too, decided to come see Jonah’s announcement. After everything that happened, they would be fools to miss it.

  “Thea,” Pippa sighed, embracing her friend tightly. Without hesitation, Thea reciprocated the gesture. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for everything.”

  “Sorry?” Thea asked, knitting her eyebrows together in confusion as she pulled away. “What is there to be sorry about? You did nothing wrong.”

  “I... I snapped on you for trying to find the truth about this case and I know that I shouldn’t have. It was rude and insensitive of me to treat you that way,” Pippa explained, her eyes almost watering up.

  “Pippa, I’m not mad at you. I understand the stress you were going through during that time. You were only trying to protect Mira and the rest of your family. I would never be mad at you for that,” Thea replied, smiling as Pippa sent her a familiar bright grin.