Chapter Nineteen
Emberlyn unclipped her seatbelt and plucked her purse from between her feet. The passenger door was pulled open, and then Ripper held out a hand. He did that now. Opened doors for her. Helped steady her whenever she stepped in or out of his truck.
When it came to werewolves, that stuff wasn’t mere courteousness. It was a sign of respect. If someone had told her weeks ago that there’d come a time when the anti-witch Jax ‘Ripper’ Stone would respect her, she would have laughed.
Emberlyn took his hand and slid out of the vehicle. The evening breeze was cool, but her white long-sleeved shirt and taupe high-waist tailored pants provided a nice buffer.
He released her hand and cupped her elbow. ‘You ready for this?’
‘Yes. I’m interested in how it’s going to play out,’ she replied.
As they crossed to the town hall, Kerr, Logan and Crew slipped out from behind the shadowed columns.
‘The hall is packed, but our wolves are keeping some space free on the front row for us,’ announced Kerr, opening the glass door. ‘The only council member who hasn’t yet arrived is Reena.’
‘She’s usually the first here,’ Ripper absently noted, urging Emberlyn into the building.
Then . . . it was like they were a bridal party ready to march down the aisle, because the other wolves gathered at his and Emberlyn’s backs as, side by side, they walked into the grand hall.
The large space was crowded. Many people sat. Others stood behind the benches or leaned against the walls.
The coven and Carver’s clan had taken up one column of benches – among those on the first row were her family, Tyra and Sera. The other two werewolf clans had taken up the second column of benches.
Catching sight of Paisley and Kage on the third row, Emberlyn gave them a quick smile as she walked by.
Ripper guided her straight to the front bench. The wolves there scooched all the way over to make room. Once Logan slipped in, Ripper gestured for Emberlyn to take a seat, after which Kerr and Crew joined them. As such, she ended up safely sandwiched between several wolves – no doubt by design.
Being made to feel ‘part’ of a group was . . . strange. A little too foreign to be comforting just yet. It would take some getting used to.
After giving her a long look, Ripper climbed the steps to the platform and took the empty seat between Shane and Carver.
Kerr bumped his shoulder into hers. ‘Your cousin Ames is trying to get your attention.’
‘I know,’ said Emberlyn, keeping her gaze forward as she placed her purse on the floor. Her peripheral vision had caught him waving his arm from the parallel bench.
‘You ignoring him for the fun of it?’ asked Kerr. ‘Because I get it.’
‘There’s just no point in giving him my attention.
All he’ll do is make some silly comment designed to get a reaction.
The thing about Ames is that he’s average in most respects.
Nothing about him stands out, so he uses other people to gain attention and seem relevant.
And since he’s probably still feeling sour about what happened at the last meeting, he won’t have anything nice to say to me. ’
Seated on her other side, Logan looked her way. ‘You mean that thing where you caught and crushed his magick?’
‘For Ames, who links his power to his physical prowess, it was the equivalent of me stomping on his dick,’ she explained.
Logan grimaced. ‘Gotcha.’
‘Out of curiosity, who’s trying to burn holes into my back with their eyes?’ She could feel someone glaring at her.
Logan cast a furtive glance behind her. A sigh rattled his lips slightly. ‘That would be CeCe. Ignore her.’
‘I intend to. She bores me.’
Kerr snorted in amusement.
‘I’m wondering what her issue is, though. From what I’ve heard, she doesn’t believe that I’m actually sleeping with Ripper.’
‘She doesn’t,’ confirmed Logan. ‘But it’ll still annoy her something fierce that you wear his scent and he walks around smelling of your magick.
The longer that goes on, the more worked up she’ll get.
Don’t be surprised if she approaches you about it.
’ He paused, his expression turning sober.
‘If that happens, you call Ripper; he’ll deal with it. ’
Emberlyn couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘You’re cute. Call Ripper; he’ll deal with it,’ she mimicked before shaking her head. ‘It’s like you’re new around here.’
A snicker popped out of Kerr. ‘Yeah, Logan, she’s no damsel. Just sit back and enjoy how much it both frustrates and turns on your brother that this woman does not need him.’
Emberlyn felt her lips bow up.
It was minutes later that Reena and Ward arrived. Ward took a seat between Tyra and Sera while the High Priestess headed for the platform. More townspeople filed in a little at a time, until the entire hall was jam-packed.
When seven p.m. hit, Shane cleared his throat and said, ‘Let’s start, shall we?
Firstly, for all those wondering how Lincoln is doing, things are progressing well.
His family is delighted to have him home.
But they’re also furious on his behalf. Why?
Someone placed a spell on him that trapped him in a state of bloodlust.’
Gasps and mutters sounded throughout the hall while several voices loudly burst out comments . . .
‘What?’
‘You must be joking!’
‘Bloodlust?’
‘That’s not possible!’
‘You can’t be serious!’
Ripper raised a hand for silence, and everyone immediately quieted.
Emberlyn half-turned in her seat, wanting to better observe the room.
‘You are sure that Lincoln was bespelled?’ Reena asked Shane, seeming genuinely disturbed.
‘Positive,’ he replied.
Her brow pinched, she shook her head in incredulity. ‘But . . . why would anyone do that?’
Ripper stretched out his legs beneath the table.
‘You can’t guess? This is now the second time in a relatively short period that a Rabid found its way to Black Willow Manor.
The first time, one was lured out there using a dead goat.
On this occasion, it would seem that Lincoln was caught, bespelled, and then placed near the manor – his instinct in that form would have been to hunt the nearest lifeform he could sense. Which he did.’
‘If Emberlyn told you that he was bespelled, how do you know she didn’t lie?’ Ames piped up, the little prick.
‘I can confirm it to be true,’ said Marvin. ‘I was the one who later untangled the spell.’
Carver shook his head, the image of horrified. ‘This is . . . there aren’t words.’
Reena straightened her shoulders. ‘I will be launching a full investigation into this matter.’ She said it as though everyone else could thereby relax; that there was no need for them to involve themselves.
Ripper raised an unimpressed brow. ‘Like you did about the curse jars? How did that work out?’
Reena’s lips flattened. ‘I have not yet identified who is responsible. It seems probable that it’s the same person – or people – who bespelled Lincoln.’
Claris shot her a narrow-eyed glare. ‘I thought you don’t teach such magick in your coven.’
Ward’s head whipped in Claris’s direction. ‘She does not. It is forbidden. But there are those who secretly practice such spells,’ he admitted.
Shane stilled, his gaze bouncing from Reena to Ward. ‘Who?’
She licked her lips. ‘I do not yet know, but I am working on finding out.’
‘You don’t know a whole lot, do you?’ Colton snarked.
‘Or,’ began Logan, ‘maybe you just don’t want us to be aware of who’s responsible because you want to punish them yourself, just like with Rosemary.’
Reena inched up her chin. ‘The culprits will be found, named, tried and punished. I assure you of that.’
‘I don’t feel assured,’ Logan told her.
‘Neither do I,’ said Ripper. ‘And I’m not leaving this in your maybe-capable hands, Reena. I will be looking into this matter myself.’
‘As will I,’ Shane announced.
‘Same here.’ Carver plucked at his collar. ‘In the meantime, consider the housing development project canceled.’
‘What?’ Reena burst out.
Carver’s expression firmed. ‘One of your witches used magick to trap a Rabid into a state of bloodlust and use him as their pet killer. Once they’ve been identified and punished, I’ll reconsider. But for now, the construction plans aren’t going ahead.’
‘It wasn’t one of us,’ Sera swore. ‘It was her. Emberlyn.’
Emberlyn rolled her eyes. Oh, here we go.
Ripper glared at the slim blonde who’d shot to her feet and stabbed a finger in Emberlyn’s direction. ‘I suggest you sit down.’ Even he heard the menace in his tone. ‘Emberlyn isn’t on trial here.’
Sera reluctantly sat, at which point a smirking Tyra whispered something into her ear.
‘Though it pains me to say it, since Emberlyn is my niece, I would have to agree with Sera,’ said Gill. ‘The only witch who’d do something so unethical is Emberlyn.’
Paisley groaned. ‘God, Gill, would it kill ya to leave Em alone just once?’
Gill glared daggers at Paisley. ‘She’s an opportunist. She could have bespelled Lincoln into a killing rage herself after putting him to sleep. It enables her to implicate the coven.’
Emberlyn sighed at her aunt. ‘That theory doesn’t make any sense.
Even if I was so cruel as to do something so horrid, I’d see no reason to do it.
I want to know who’s sending Rabid my way.
Implicating the coven would influence the direction of the investigation, which could then lead to the culprit being unidentified if they’re not a witch. Seriously, think before you speak.’
Gill’s eyes went squinty. ‘You’re not—’
‘Enough,’ said Ripper, his tone clipped.
‘It makes no sense that it be Emberlyn,’ said Reena. ‘She has nothing to gain from any of this.’
‘Untrue,’ Sera contradicted. ‘Look at how the clans no longer trust us. That could have been her goal; to isolate us from them.’
‘To attempt such a thing would risk her being alienated from her newfound allies, which would mean she then had no one,’ Reena pointed out.
Ethel dipped her chin. ‘It would be a foolish move, and Emberlyn is hardly foolish.’