Sam
He’d even managed to hold onto the socks somehow. He stuffed them in his pocket while he continued to wrap one arm around Henry. “I’m here. You aren’t alone, Henry. I’m here.”
Mrs. Foote. At least he had a face to put on whoever had taken them.
“That’s right. I forgot. Do you feel the trap?”
Henry nodded.
“And can your magic get through it?”
Tears filled Henry’s eyes. “It’ll hurt. It always hurts.”
“Okay.”
Sam scrambled to think of something but before he could come up with any other ideas, the door opened, and Mrs. Foote walked into the room.
She looked gaunt and haggard, and she’d definitely lost weight since they’d seen her last. Something had definitely done a number on her.
Far less than she deserved, Sam was certain.
“Who are you?” she said.
“Sam.” He tucked Henry safely behind him and faced her. “Exactly what do you think you’re doing? You do know he’s under the protection of our pack now?”
She scoffed. “You think I’m scared of the big, bad wolf? There’s much scarier things out there, Sam.” She sneered his name and took another step toward him. The tips of her fingers began to crackle with blue energy.
Sam fought to keep the fear from his expression.
Then he remembered the track Vaughn had taken the first time they encountered this poor excuse for a human being.
“You think I’m talking about the wolves?
” Sam asked. He smirked and reached behind him.
“Show her, Henry. Show her whose protection you’re under. ”
Henry held out his arm, revealing the leather band Meshaq had given him a few days before. The red stone glistened, and she glanced at it curiously.
“Oh, right,” Sam sneered as he tucked Henry safely behind him again. “You’re not familiar with the hellhounds. Meshaq has become quite attached to Henry.”
“I need him,” she screeched. “I need his magic.”
“You can’t have it,” Sam said.
Her fingers continued to trickle with blue light and Henry began to tremble behind him.
“And you know,” Sam continued, “I’m a hundred percent human.
Wonder how fast the hellhounds would come if you used your magic on me?
You’re not hurting shifters this time, or even a young mage.
No, I’m wholly human and you know what that means. I’m off limits.”
“No!” She screamed and bolted forward, her fingers sparking and ready for him. Sam braced himself, grabbing her wrists and flinging her to the side as she hit him.
Pain shot through his arms, a burst of electricity shocking him. He trembled but fought for control, intent on keeping Henry safe. She hit the wall and spun around before starting back toward him. “Careful,” Sam said. “You may want to rethink this.”
She continued breathing heavily. “I have to have him. You don’t understand.”
“No, I don’t. He’s just a little boy, and he has protectors now. I don’t know what you’re up to, but it needs to stop.”
“He’s going to kill me,” she snarled. “I have to bring him the boy’s magic. Get out of my way.”
Sam thought quickly, trying to think of some way to distract her further. “You can’t take what isn’t there.”
He reached behind himself and felt for Henry’s arm, giving him a little squeeze that he hoped Henry would understand. He needed him to play along.
She gasped, looking at him with terror-filled eyes. “What?”
“The hellhounds took his magic. They said there was something unnatural about it?” Sam tilted his head to the side, like he was trying to remember. “Anyway, they took it because they said it wasn’t safe.”
“That’s not possible.”
Henry tucked in closer to Sam’s back.
“Look, lady, I don’t know who this person is who wants Henry’s magic, but you can’t take what isn’t there, okay?
You don’t think it’s possible? Why don’t you go ask your bossman?
He’ll tell you. I’m new to all this stuff, but I know what I saw.
And that hellhound guy is not someone I would fuck around with. He was really pissed off.”
Her breaths came in gasping huffs and her face splotched red. “I’ll be back.”
She stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
“Okay. That… worked better than I expected.” He turned and knelt in front of Henry. “How are you doing, buddy?”
Henry shrugged in that careless way of kids that meant everything was wrong. It tore Sam apart in a whole new way and he reached for Henry. Henry stiffened against him, his body trembling in fear. “I’m here, Henry. I’m here.”
Henry pushed away, though, and turned his back on Sam.
“Henry?”
“You lied, Sam.”
The bottom dropped out of Sam’s stomach. He may not be the alpha, but he’d certainly taken on the role of one. And alphas don’t lie.
“I know I did. I’m sorry that upset you. I’ll never lie to you, Henry, but we needed some time to think, didn’t we? I wanted to get her out of here so we could figure something out.”
Henry wiped his arm over his face before turning to face Sam once more. “I don’t like it here.”
“I don’t either. I don’t suppose you know how to open that hole back up, do you? So we could just hop back home?”
Henry shook his head. They were locked in a room Sam only barely recognized as one of the back rooms in the farmhouse they’d found the kids in. It was empty and the windows still had bars over them. “Think, Sam. Think.”
“Sam?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you open a window?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
Henry held up his wrist once more, showing the leather band. “Because Meshaq said if I called him, he would come.”
And his magic needed air to work. Sam pulled Henry into a quick hug. “Let me try.”
The windows wouldn’t open, but Sam eyed the old glass. He pulled off his T-shirt and wrapped it around his hand. “Step back.”
The first hit of his fist onto one of the old panes cracked it, and with the second, he was able to punch through the glass.
The shirt only provided some protection and Sam felt the shards of glass embed into his hand.
He hid the injury from Henry, though, and gestured to the open square. “That work?”
Henry nodded and moved over to the window.
He closed his eyes and the air picked up in the room, a cool breeze which quickly turned colder.
Sam took the opportunity to unwrap his hand and found several bleeding wounds.
One particularly bad cut worried him, so he bit the end of his shirt and made a hole with his teeth.
He used that to tear a strip of fabric off to use as a makeshift bandage.
“Sam, you’re hurt.”
“It’ll be okay. We’ll get Alpha here and he’ll be able to patch me up. Help me tie this around it though? I don’t want to bleed all over the place.”
Sam wrapped the strip around the worst of the wound and held the ends up for Henry, who tied the knot. “So, did you call him?”
Henry nodded. “Zaire said even if someone tries to block the air from me, they can’t block it all the way. She said I had to find it and use it.”
“Sounds like a good idea.”
“Yeah.”
“Besides, this will be the first place Alpha looks for us, I bet. I mean, come on she took us back to the same place? That wasn’t very smart, was it?”
Henry looked hopeful for the first time. “No. And Meshaq knows here, too.”
“Exactly. So now we wait. Here, let’s put your socks on. I bet your feet are still cold.”
Sam knelt down and pulled the socks back out, hoping to distract Henry, if only for a moment. He helped Henry put them on and then Henry sighed as he leaned into Sam, wrapping his arms tightly around Sam’s waist. “I don’t want her to hurt you.”
“Well, I don’t want her to hurt you either.”
The door burst open and Mrs. Foote reappeared, this time with a snarling man at her side. Something was wrong with him, but Sam didn’t know what. He pushed Henry behind him again.
“Well?” Mrs. Foote asked.
“I don’t know. It’s fading.” The guy inhaled, snorting air in like he was trying to get high. He snarled once more and turned bright blue eyes onto Sam. “I smell the hellhound for sure.”
It was his eyes. They weren’t right. Vaughn’s eyes brightened to that brilliant shade of blue Sam knew and loved. This guy’s were almost there, but there was a darkness to them, a dullness that didn’t seem natural. He definitely wasn’t the same kind of shifter his family was.
“What do you want?” Sam demanded as he kept Henry tucked up close.
“Where are the others? The cubs?”
“With the hellhounds.”
The man snarled and started toward Sam, but Mrs. Foote grabbed his arm and held him back. “He’s human. The hellhounds will come.”
Sam kept his smug look to himself, turning his face away as they left the room. He held Henry close and looked out the window at the late afternoon sun. “Come on, Vaughn. Find us.”