Chapter 14 #2
“You created it at my request.” The man’s baritone voice boomed in the woodland.
The owner appeared before me but not before treating me to his wolf’s eyes.
Did that serve as a greeting on the west side of I-94?
If someone told me that the new arrival shifted into a jaguar instead of a wolf, I wouldn’t question it.
Everything about him, from the sharp, poised angles of his face, crescent-shaped eyes that lifted at the corners, and the flecks of gold in his light-brown eyes, was catlike.
A thick mane of wavy chestnut hair fell just past his jawline, framing his face.
Broadly built and standing a little over six feet, he moved with the lithe grace of a feline a moment from pouncing on prey.
Slipping behind the witch, his hand made long, lazy strokes along her back. Werewolf/witch relations were definitely different here.
Their speculating eyes waited for confirmation.
“I’m at a disadvantage. You seem to know a great deal about me, but I don’t even know your names.”
“This is Keagan, I’m Lance.” A tight smile revealed just the edge of his teeth.
“When my Alpha told me you were to be granted safe passage into our land at Terran’s request, I had to meet the woman who’d managed to convince him to request a favor from us.
He always gave the impression he’d rather suffer unspeakable pain—maybe even death—before asking for help from another pack.
” His brow arched in a silent request for an explanation.
I didn’t have one to give. I returned his phony smile, hoping I managed to hide my irritation at the interruption. “Nice to meet you.”
“Now that we’re done with introductions, you can answer our question,” Keagan pressed. Lance seemed to prefer that she took the lead with the questioning. Her melodic tone softened her words, whereas there was a warning edge to his words when he spoke.
“Yes, I’m immune to wards,” I admitted, turning to finish storing the wolfsbane and delicately putting an end to the interrogation.
“Take those,” Keagan said, “and leave those behind.” She pointed to the plants with the roots, leveling a reprimanding look.
It was worth a try. And she may have been inadvertently saving me from a hostile visit from the Chicago pack if they discovered I had the means to grow more wolfsbane.
Gathering the flowers, I wrapped them in the paper and placed them and my supplies in the backpack. When I finished hoisting it onto one shoulder, I stood up to find Keagan had moved closer and was watching me with a calculating wariness. Lance sidled in next to her, leaning in to inhale my scent.
Curiosity was a live wire in his eyes and expression. “Animancer?” he inquired.
The questioning wouldn’t stop. He needed an explanation of Terran’s involvement.
I didn’t have one that would adequately satisfy his curiosity.
Lance was definitely ticking all the boxes in determining how dangerous he considered me to be.
Vampire whisperer. Check. Immune to wards. Check. Animancer? Possibly.
Uneasiness settled in my chest at the idea that confirmation that I was an animancer would lead to my life being in immediate danger.
Although his expression didn’t betray his thoughts, there was a calculating menace in Lance’s eyes that made me wonder if he was devising a plan to get rid of me and speculating on different ways he’d deal with the vampires once he had.
“Not an animancer,” I offered. He gave me an appraising look, his lips beveled into a frown.
“I’m a glorified assistant for the Houses of Knight and Hollows because I possess people skills that they don’t.
You’ve probably heard the rumors; they have no intention of acquiring the skills.
” Not an assistant but more like a well-compensated vampire-sitter.
I kept that description to myself. “If I had animancer skills, wouldn’t I use those abilities to put an end to this interrogation?
Better yet, wouldn’t I have persuaded Terran to allow wolfsbane in our city, making this trip unnecessary?
Their reaction to it is excessive. Not all spells that require wolfsbane target werewolves. ”
He nodded, but doubt seemed to linger.
“But there are enough of them that do. I understand their insistence on keeping it out of their territory,” Keagan countered.
Lance didn’t appear to share her concern. Trepidation left his expression. “I’ll admit, I still find you fascinating.”
“Everyone does until they discover I’m quite unremarkable.” I was about to discover whether lycanthropes could detect a lie. Thanks to learning that I was an ashinwa, I was the furthest thing from unremarkable.
“You’re so unremarkable that you’ve been tasked with removing a curse?
” Keagan challenged. “Since you’ve gone to this extent to collect the wolfsbane, I’m assuming it’s to remove a curse from someone you care about.
The blood drainers aren’t here demanding access to wolfsbane, so it’s safe to assume they aren’t involved. ”
I nodded, and when I didn’t elaborate, she posed, “What type of curse is it?”
“It’s a curse, do the specifics matter? It was placed on my friend and I need to remove it. You’re knowledgeable about curses, so you’re aware that I have limited time to do so.”
Keagan had little interest in the curse and was using the question to get more intel about the people in my circle. She fended off her annoyance at my evasion with a rigid, tight-lipped smile as she geared up to ask more questions.
A low growl from my right made her snap her mouth shut. Lance tugged her behind him, his eyes trained on the owner of the sound: a massive wolf emerging from the clearing, obsidian black fur shimmering with silver.
The primal intelligence in the massive creature’s burnished topaz eyes was an indicator he was a werewolf, too.
Lycanthropes in their animal form were larger than nature’s wolves by five to eight inches in both length and height.
This one’s size overshadowed any I’d encountered by another four or five inches.
Furling his lips to reveal teeth, he prowled toward us, laser-focused on Lance and Keagan. The aggressive growl grew louder.
Lance adopted a defensive crouch, his expression calculating. I speculated he was trying to determine whether he had enough time to shift and whether he’d stand a chance if he didn’t.
His face flushed and his eyes widened at his sharp intake of breath, seemingly surprised by his own reaction to the wolf.
It isn’t one of theirs.
The new wolf’s massive head swung toward me briefly. The aggression in his eyes softened for just a moment before hardening and returning to Lance and Keagan.
“Kara, stay still,” Lance urged. It was a big ask when a wolf who looked akin to a dire wolf was just a few feet away, exposing fangs that could shred me.
Creeping forward, the wolf’s predatory glare remained on the pair, forcing them to retreat a few more feet.
My heart hammered so violently I was certain the beast could sense it.
A piteous gasp slipped out of me when his massive frame grazed my leg as he passed.
My hand crept toward the knife in my side pocket.
Now it felt like an inadequate defense. Everything I’d brought was insubstantial.
The baton caught Keagan’s attention. Her magic couldn’t be used directly against the wolf, but she could use it to retrieve the baton.
Sensing her intention, the wolf released a bone-chilling growl.
Lance’s eyes dulled, and his body relaxed into the curve, preparing for his wolf.
Before he could shift, the wolf sprang forward in a blur of movement, slamming into him, pinning him to the ground.
The animal’s body vibrated with fury, exposing gleaming fangs.
“Stop!” I yelled when the wolf inched toward Lance’s throat. The werewolf stilled at the command. He slowly moved off Lance, keeping a vigilant eye on him.
He whipped around in my direction.
With the knife held at my side, I prepared to strike.
He approached me with tentative, unhurried steps.
All aggression had gone. When he was a few feet from me, he lowered his head and made a sound close to a whimper.
When his ears flattened against his skull, I had the urge to relax, even drop the knife in a show of good faith.
But he had human intelligence, which meant he was capable of human deception, too.