Chapter 12
For hours, Myles walked the roof of his building.
Addison had been like a dog with a bone.
Once she learned the details, she wasn’t content until she began to research.
He gave up his computer and watched as she jotted page after page of notes from her findings.
For his part, he was on the phone, calling friends to see if they could give him any more information than what the witch had already given him.
All he was able to discern was that Delphine was making waves with all the factions. No wonder the vampire came after Addison. The factions were worried, scared even. If Delphine gained more power, she would be unstoppable.
Myles braced his hands on the edge of the roof and leaned over the side. The Moonstone wolves were still on guard, though they were doing a good job of remaining hidden. They wouldn’t be able to remain hidden for long, however, since night approached, and it was still in the phase of a full moon.
He couldn’t believe Addison had guessed what he was. After everything he’d divulged about his past, he assumed she would piece it together that he was part of a faction. But she had been so sure of her answer.
With a shake of his head, Myles chuckled. He knew his eyes had never flashed yellow before. Did she know it was him that killed the vampire? Was that why she wasn’t afraid?
His mobile rang. Myles withdrew it from his pocket and saw it was Solomon. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself. How are things?” Solomon asked.
“They’re quiet. Too quiet.”
“I know. I feel it too.” Solomon released a breath. “The Moonstone pack will have to leave soon. I don’t like the idea of you being there alone if Delphine shows up.”
Myles continued to walk the perimeter of the roof. “This entire block is specifically warded against her. She can’t get in here. As long as Addison stays inside, she’s safe.”
“And you?” Solomon asked. “What about you?”
“We’re werewolves, brother. We protect the city and keep the factions in line. We have few allies and many enemies. It’s a fact that no one in the LaRue or Chiasson line lives long.”
Solomon was quiet for a moment, the sounds of the kitchen at Gator Bait coming through the phone. A moment later, the squeak of the back door sounded, and then silence. If Solomon had walked outside, then Myles wasn’t going to like whatever he had to say.
“Spit it out,” Myles said.
“I think Kane, Court, and myself should come help you.”
Myles was flabbergasted. “And leave the Quarter unmonitored during a full moon? Have you lost your mind?”
“You’ve been looking at Addison for weeks, and today, that wistful look changed to one of possession. Wolves mate for life, Myles.”
“No shit,” he said icily.
“There’s a very real chance that no matter what we do, Addison could die. Today, tomorrow, next week. She’s not going to stay holed up in your place for long. Delphine will kill her. Trust me, Myles, you don’t want to go through that.”
Myles sat on the edge of the roof. “You want me to walk away from her?”
“I wan-”
Solomon’s words were suddenly cut off. Myles stood, apprehension flooding him. “Solomon?” he yelled.
The sound of boards breaking came through the phone, and then the growl of a wolf.
“Shit!” Myles turned around in a circle, unsure of what to do. He didn’t want to leave Addison, but if Solomon turned in the middle of the day, it was because he was ganged up on. And if Court and Kane were inside the bar, they would never know.
Myles slammed his hands down on the concrete of the roof edge, cracking it from his supernatural strength. He drew in a breath and opened his eyes to see the dark-headed wolf staring up at him.
He pointed to the entrance to the building, telling the wolf to watch it, and then he turned and jumped from roof to roof, making his way to the bar.
Myles landed at the back of the bar breathing heavily.
One look showed that a fight had taken place.
All but one side of the fence had been obliterated.
There were bits of white fur and blood about.
He leaned his head back and sniffed. Yet, he couldn’t pick up Solomon’s scent outside of the bar. Myles strode to the back door and threw it open. As he entered, he turned his head to the right and found Solomon leaning over the sink, bare-chested, washing blood off his arm.
Addison winced as she stretched her back. All of her research proved how dangerous a Voodoo priestess could be. Nothing she discovered gave her any hope that Delphine could be stopped with anything other than magic, however.
She rose from the table and walked around the space stretching her neck from side to side. Myles had gone to the roof to have a look around. He was trying to make her think it was all going to be all right, but there was no denying things were serious and everyone was on high alert.
Addison wished she had Minka’s number. She’d give the fortune teller a call and see if there might be something she could do.
Her stomach rumbled loudly. A glance at the clock showed it was six in the evening. The sun wouldn’t set for another two and a half hours, meaning there was plenty of light outside still. But it was dwindling quickly.
It was silly to think that evil only came out at night, but darkness seemed to hide evil so well. She hadn’t been scared in the daylight, but with each tick of the clock’s hand, she was becoming more and more frightened.
Her cell phone rang, startling her so that she let out a small scream. When she reached for it in her purse, her hand was shaking.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Addison?”
She closed her eyes with joy at recognizing Myles’s voice. “How do things look from the roof?”
“Normal. I called the bar for some food about ten minutes ago. It should arrive any moment. I want to make one more round before I come in.”
“No problem. I’ll get the food.”
She disconnected from the call and set the phone by the laptop.
She didn’t bother with Riley’s flip-flops as she opened the door and hurried down the three flights of stairs.
Addison tried to look out the glass window of the entrance door, but she couldn’t see anything.
She then opened it a crack and poked her head outside.
Movement from her side had her turning her head toward it when something froze her muscles in place. She tried to scream, but her airways were closed off.
“What are you doing here?” Solomon demanded angrily when he spotted Myles.
Myles gaped at him. “We have the threat of Delphine, then you’re attacked while on the phone with me, and you want to know what I’m doing here? You’re such a prick.”
Solomon wiped his arms off with a towel before he tossed it aside. “I’m fine. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.”
“Who was it?”
“Two demons.”
Court and Kane walked into the kitchen and hurried to them. “What the hell?” Kane asked.
Solomon turned to the row of lockers behind him and opened one to pull out a shirt. “As I told Myles, it was just two demons.”
“In the middle of the day?” Court asked incredulously.
Kane swung his head to Myles. “Did you leave Addison alone?”
“I don’t plan on being here long,” Myles said. “I’m returning now. And for the record, as I told Solomon, she’ll be fine as long as she doesn’t leave the building.”
Solomon threw him a hard look. “You told Addison that, right?”
Myles started to say yes when he paused. Had he? He wasn’t sure.
“Oh, fuck,” Court mumbled.
Myles turned and ran out the back. He didn’t bother going to the rooftops.
He could get there just as fast on the sidewalks.
His legs pumped hard as he went around throngs of people.
He heard footfalls behind him and knew at least one of his brothers was with him.
Myles didn’t slow until he reached his building.
A glance across the street showed the werewolf was gone. “Damn,” Myles muttered and quickly punched in the code to open the door.
He threw it open and raced up the stairs, Kane on his heels.
“Addison!” Myles shouted as he slid open the metal door.
Kane pushed passed him to the table. “Her phone is here.”
“As is her purse, shoes, and clothes.” Those were the only trace of Addison. “She’s gone.”
“The wolves might have seen something.”
Myles wanted to hit something. “I left one watching the door, and he was gone.”
“Griffin?”
“I don’t know who the fuck he was!”
Kane came to stand in front of him and poked Myles in the chest. “You should. They’re wolves, just like us.”
“He’s gone.”
Kane made a sound at the back of his throat and walked out. Myles followed, shutting and locking the door behind him. Then both of them walked outside.
Myles stopped at the door when he caught a strand of champagne blond hair caught in the handle. Kane marched across the street. Myles looked up as he held the strand of Addison’s hair in his fingers and saw Kane talking to two wolves. A moment later, Kane waved him over.
With a sigh, Myles walked to his brother and the Moonstone wolves. His mother had been a part of the pack, but after her death, the wolves scattered. Myles had never forgiven them for that. He hadn’t been happy when they began to return to New Orleans five years ago.
“Tell him what you told me,” Kane ordered them.
The youngest, a tow-headed teenager with eerie eyes so pale a blue they were almost white said, “We saw the woman taken by two men dressed in all white. Delphine was there, as well. Griffin followed them so he could come back and let you know where she was.”
“Did they hurt her?” Myles asked.
Another of the wolves with brown hair and deep brown eyes nodded grimly. “Delphine did something to prevent her from moving, but your woman fought them.”
His woman. Myles briefly closed his eyes as urgency pushed him. “I’m going to kill every last one of them.”
“And I’ll be there with you,” Kane said.
The tow-headed wolf said, “We all will.”
Myles frowned at the teenager. “Why? You don’t know me or Addison.”
It was the third wolf with a shaved head and tattoos peeking up from the neck of his shirt that shrugged. “Of course we do. Why do you think Griffin brought us back to New Orleans after our parents ran off? We shouldn’t have left, and we’re here to make up for the past.”
“Just help me find Addison.” Myles was in turns terrified and furious.
The emotions swirled through him with the force of a hurricane until he couldn’t decipher one from the other. Like a fool, he’d kept away from Addison, and he refused to believe he was only meant to have one day with her.
Addison was his woman. Wolves did mate for life, and though she wasn’t a wolf, his heart, his soul, his life was hers.
Myles nodded to the wolves. “Spread the word. Full moon or not, the Quarter is going to be invaded with us.”
“Delphine still needs a witch,” Kane said.
Solomon walked up with Court. “Which she already has.”
“It’s all over the Quarter,” Court said miserably. “The witch was reading palms, went to get something to drink, and never returned.”
Myles lifted his head when he heard a wolf’s cry pierce the night.
“Griffin is calling,” said the tow-headed wolf.
The wolf within Myles wanted free, to wreak havoc on those who would threaten what was his. “Then let’s find him.”