Charmed Wolf Page 16

“I know.” I could barely breathe. “But our friendship is important enough to risk a head-on collision. Look, I’m sorry. I screwed up. I—”

  A car horn broke Natalie’s silence and I reluctantly eased my foot down onto the gas pedal. I didn’t really intend to risk her life to rebuild our friendship. I’d just hoped....

  My friend’s fist came out of nowhere to tap my temple. Gently yet firmly. “Okay, I’m over it.”

  “Really?” That seemed unlikely. When Natalie’s high-school boyfriend had cheated on her, we’d spent the entire next year plotting and implementing her revenge. There had been molasses involved. And fire. I’m pretty sure her ex never cheated on anyone ever again.

  But now Natalie merely nodded. “As my BFF, you get one free pass. One.” She held up a single finger to assist my counting.

  And I was so grateful my words tumbled out on top of each other. “Thank you. You won’t regret it. I promise—”

  “You’re being boring,” Natalie interrupted. “Tell me something more interesting. Like the specs Lenny dropped off this morning along with scones from his wife. What’s that all about?”

  Glitter consumed the rest of our drive. Glitter and neighborhood gossip. To my surprise, Natalie gave her whole-hearted endorsement to working with the lovesick realtor. “He’s slick, but he puts the town first. And his wife’s a doll. She babysat for me a few times and refused to take payment. Instead, she showed up the next day with cookies and daffodil bulbs.”

  Cookies and daffodil bulbs aside, if Natalie had let Lenny’s wife babysit then the whole family might as well have passed an in-depth security check.

  So that was settled. While I parked, Natalie went above and beyond by fixing another problem I hadn’t had time to delve into—keeping human employees out of the factory until fae were dealt with. She tapped at her phone for a while then tilted the screen to let me read what she’d written.

  I had to laugh. “An explosion in the lab?”

  “Minor combustion episode,” Natalie corrected. She pointed to the last line. “This is the part I wanted to check with you.”

  The email, going out to all employees, promised a week of vacation with full pay. Which, yes, would scrape the bottom of our dwindling coffers...but we’d be scraping the bottom anyway if we didn’t move some glitter along soon.

  And moving glitter had to take a back seat to protecting the Whelan pack from fae invasions. So I nodded. “Perfect. Thank you.”

  I’d just have to sort out the fae issue fast to ensure we didn’t continue hemorrhaging cash.

  “WHAT’LL YOU HAVE?”

  Megan showed up at our table seconds after we sat down. Unlike with my Consort dates, she knew that Natalie and I were friends. So there was no need to watch my cutlery management this time around.

  There was, however, need to watch Natalie’s ordering. “We’ll both take pancakes and hot chocolate. Tara wants hers with strawberries and whipped cream.”

  “That’s dessert, Natalie....”

  She spoke right over my objection. “If Ash is out of your good graces, then nobody’s been cooking for you. You deserve a treat.”

  Megan scratched notes on her pad, which didn’t prevent her from nosing into my business. “Too bad Tara turned down that hunk she came in with last time. This order’s on the house, by the way. Because I kept my trap shut just like you told me to when he asked about the mess at the end. And he gave me a fifty dollar tip to thank me for cleaning up.”

  That was a stark contrast from other Consort dates. Most had stormed out after my dunking, slamming the door so hard it rattled. Once, Megan had been forced to call the police after a rejected applicant started breaking chairs.

  The thought of Rune sliding Megan a fifty dollar bill in apology for something that hadn’t even been his doing made me smile. And my friend noticed.

  “Aw!” Natalie reached out and poked my dimple. Then, turning to Megan, she stage whispered: “Good thing Tara changed her mind about ditching him then.”

  “She did?” Megan sank into a chair rather than heading back to the kitchen. “Really?”

  I gazed back and forth between their eager faces. I felt like I’d fallen into an alternative reality. Or maybe into a romantic comedy, the sort in which the heroine kibitzed with her two best friends over tea.

  But I wasn’t an overworked wage slave trying to make it in the big city and Megan wasn’t on my very short list of trusted parties. My Consort choice had nothing to do with hefty tippers and overwhelming hormones. I couldn’t forget I was Alpha, above and apart.

  So I speared my friend with a telling stare. “Natalie, I’d rather not talk about this here.”

  “Are you going to keep seeing him?” Megan interrupted.

  Despite everything, I nodded. Because I was seeing Rune at that very moment. Through the plate-glass window, I watched as he pulled Old Nellie into the parking lot with Kale in the passenger seat. The baby, I could only assume was strapped in back.

  None of them should have been there. So much for emulating a character in a chick flick.

  “Cancel our order,” I told Megan, voice harder than it should have been around humans. “Natalie and I have to go.”

  Chapter 31

  The baby wasn’t in a car seat. She was in Rune’s lap. No wonder Natalie blew her lid when my Consort unfurled himself with her daughter in his arms.

  “Do you know how many children die in car crashes every year?” she demanded, snatching her infant. Her glare took in me and Rune equally. Which was fair. I’d been the one who vouched for Rune’s child-care abilities.

  “What’s...?” I started. Only to be cut off by two different males.

  “I smelled fae in Kale’s bedroom,” Rune told me via that connection that really shouldn’t have existed. At the same moment, the boy in question communicated in an entirely nonverbal manner. He flung himself at my chest.

  The gesture must have looked like an attack for the fae-obsessed. So I wasn’t entirely surprised when Rune lunged to intercept.

  Natalie, in contrast, was surprised. Or maybe enraged. She roared like an overprotective mother elephant. And—

  “Stop it!” I demanded, knowing full well my command wouldn’t work on any of them.

  The order did, however, prompt both adults to pause long enough for Rune to see that Kale wasn’t threatening anybody. He was hugging me. The kid knew something was seriously wrong and, wolf-like, he was seeking comfort through contact with a pack mate.

  Meanwhile, Natalie narrowed her eyes, decided Kale was safe in my arms, and returned to checking over her other child for lack-of-carseat damage.

  So I hugged Kale. The kid needed hugging...and so did I, if I was honest. “Are you certain Kale was impacted?” I sent down the tether that tied me to Rune.

  Rather than answering, Rune shook his head. He’d smelled evidence of fae—which we both knew hadn’t been present in Natalie’s house yesterday—and he’d gotten the kids out of there. It was exactly what I would have done in his shoes.

  So I sent something soft and warm back down the connection that bound us. A thank you, and a little more, although I didn’t let myself analyze the extra. Then I turned to Natalie. “We need to get out of here.”

  I saw the moment mom turned into scientist behind her eyes. Her gaze spun over the rest of us, stopping on Rune whose body language clearly pointed toward Kale as the danger. Eyes narrowing, she opened her mouth, then closed it. Opened her mouth again and spat out a single word: “Okay.”

  She was going to trust me. I exhaled relief as Natalie turned toward her car, the one that did have a carseat in the back even if Rune hadn’t used it.

  Meanwhile—“Kale can ride with me,” Rune said, aloud this time. It was clear he intended to separate the potential danger from the rest of the human family for everyone’s safety. After all, that smell in Kale’s room could easily mean that my buddy had once again been charmed.

  But the boy clung tighter to my middle. He might enjoy Rune’
s company when he felt safe, but Kale had been spooked by recent occurrences. He needed someone familiar beside him.

  Someone familiar who could handle the fae if necessary. So I shook my head.

  “You go with Natalie and the baby.”

  For one split second, the wolf rose behind Rune’s eyes. He was stronger than me. I could feel the undertow of his protective dominance....

  Then it receded as quickly as it had lapped at me. Rather than commanding obedience, he merely shot over one final silent question. “Do you have a blade?”

  I had several. And I very much didn’t want to use them on this child who trusted me above everyone except his mother.

  But I was Alpha. I would do what I had to.

  I nodded and led Kale to my minivan.

  RUNE WAITED TO PULL out until I was already on the road, after which I could feel his eyes boring into us all the way back to pack central. The times I glanced in the mirror, however, his mouth was moving and Natalie’s gaze was trained on him. She wasn’t being left in the dark.

  Meanwhile, Kale fidgeted with his seat belt, pulling the shoulder strap out then letting it snap back into place time after time. The noise was maddening. The anxiety that fueled it was heart-wrenching. To fix both problems, I gave the kid something to do.

  “Hey, will you pull out my phone and call Willa?”

  Dealing with technology steadied the child. By the time my Beta answered, the scent of fear within the car had subsided by a full notch.

  The bark of Willa’s voice, though, made him jump a little. “Alpha.”

  Kale needed soothing but Willa demanded terseness. I pursed my lips then fell into our customary banter. “Assemble the pack by the gatehouse. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  “The entire pack? Babies?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll need the code if you want me to bring Ash along.”

  Ash—or the fae pretending to be Ash—would be dealt with later. I shook my head, then remembered that Willa couldn’t see me. “Leave Ash where he is, but I want everyone else waiting.”

  Because the time for secrecy was over. Our greatest strength was pack, and I intended to tap into that asset.

  And, yes, I understood that the bonds between us could be used by fae to infiltrate and suck out our power. But I had a plan to prevent such a parasitic attack.

  Pulling Kale along in my wake, I unfurled that plan the moment the van stopped in front of my assembled pack mates. Rune and Natalie were thirty seconds behind us, but I didn’t wait for them as I stalked toward the crowd of chattering werewolves. “Clan Whelan is in immediate danger,” I started.

  My voice wasn’t raised, but only the first syllable was lost amid the murmur of voices. After that, they realized their Alpha was speaking. Dozens of eyes struck me. None of the babies dared to shriek.

  “Until further notice, everyone will have a buddy assigned and switched at random intervals,” I continued as the sound of a car door promised Rune, Natalie, and the baby had joined us. “If you notice strange behavior from your buddy, you will ping me immediately. There’s a chance fae could be impersonating any member of this pack.”

  No one spoke, but a rustle of movement swayed through them. This was bad and the clan knew it. They needed reassurance. Unfortunately, I had no reassurance to give.

  Rune did however. He didn’t speak aloud—doing so would have weakened my position. But his voice in my head was clear as he provided additional information. “Mate bonds aren’t accessible by the fae.”

  Ah. That made our defense a little easier. “Mates,” I continued, “ping your partner at frequent intervals. Your connection is safe.”

  Shoulders relaxed in front of me. The mood of the pack warmed considerably. With that one tool at our disposal, we could hold our ground.

  Next, I rattled off names and duties, choosing patrollers for the borders more as a way of keeping the clan busy than because I thought a fae would be unable to slip past them. Finally: “Are there any questions?”

  For a moment, the crowd was completely silent. Then someone in the back called, “The cut on your neck, Alpha....”

  “I contacted the Guardian.” That was all they needed to know about it.

  For a moment, I thought someone had picked up more information down the pack bond. Why else had heads cocked and shoulders stiffened?

  Their reaction had nothing to do with my neck, I realized a millisecond later. Instead, they were listening to a rumbling I hadn’t noticed while focused on the shifters in front of me. The sound was low, more felt than heard. A grinding of stone against soil....

  Pack mates turned in a wave of horror to see what I was already seeing. The mansion—our ancestral home built brick by brick by my grandfather—collapsed into a buckling mass of heaving earth.

  Chapter 32

  I had no time to speak, so I sent out a wordless plea to the only one I trusted implicitly. “Can you guard Natalie’s family?”

  “Yes.”

  Rune’s silent agreement had barely materialized before I was sprinting toward the cloud of dust rising from where our clan’s home used to be. Our clan’s home...and Ash, the only pack member who’d been left behind when Willa gathered others to hear my announcement.

  It was too late to change the past, but I still stretched my legs to run faster. If Ash was in there...he’d be crushed. I knew that rationally, but emotionally I wasn’t ready to admit the obvious.

  Instead, I sprinted until the hole yawned before me. Skidded to a halt at the edge, my foot nudging a pebble to slide down into nothing. Then I waited, straining to hear above my own breathing.

  There was no sound to prove a bottom had been hit.

  Until, finally, sound came. Not the tinkle of a pebble, but stone grating against stone as the earth trembled beneath me. A huge slab of rock slid sideways, closing off the hole from the sky above it. I was in its path....

  I stumbled backwards, arms pinwheeling even as I sent out mental tendrils to nearby pack mates. Too many had followed me far too quickly for their safety. “Back!” I commanded down the tethers that bound us together. I could feel the immobility of shock in several, so I cracked the tethers like a whip to slap them into motion. Ash was gone, but I wasn’t losing any other members of my pack to this disaster....

  Wasn’t losing anybody except, potentially, myself. Because helping pack mates escape had required all of my concentration, slowing my backwards progress for one critical second. Now, the rock beneath me shook again, harder. I slipped, my right foot falling into the remaining gap.

  Fingers scrabbled at the broken cliff edge, but I needn’t have bothered. I wasn’t falling. Not when the slab lunged forward like a pincher, trapping my ankle.

  I screamed. Un-Alpha-like behavior, but the pain was excruciating as the rock pressed against me. My bones weren’t broken, but if this kept up my ankle would soon grind into dust.

  Then Rune was there, yanking me upright. “My foot!” I shrieked, unable to lower my voice’s register.

  His timbre, in contrast, was deep and soothing. “I see it.”

  As he spoke, he drew his sword, that long length that had been scabbarded about his person as long as I’d known him. Using the point like a pickaxe, he stabbed the blade into the ground. Once, twice....

  It shouldn’t have worked. Swords weren’t made for digging.

  But this disaster was the work of fae, not nature. The vise clenching my ankle yawned back into a hole and I jerked my foot upwards. Skin peeled away but my leg held me. Still, when Rune’s hands came out to steady me, for a millisecond I clung to his strength.

  Then I straightened and became Alpha. Dragging Rune beside me, I sprinted away from the closing hole, toward the pack mates who had reassembled at a safe distance. Their gazes were glued to our approach.

  No, their gazes were glued to our joined hands. It should have been harder to run with Rune than without him, but it wasn’t. I drew strength from the connection of fingers intertwined.<
br />
  Still, I forced myself to release him. As I did so, Rune murmured, “There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “So tell me,” I puffed out, knowing he wouldn’t have brought up the issue now if it hadn’t been profoundly important.

  But I lost the thread as someone ran forward, out of the pack, toward the hole which was now no wider than my minivan. There was no tether between me and this runner, no link I could use to draw this person back to safety.

  Or, I should say, these people. Because Kale turned to glance back once, letting me see the baby in his arms.

  I expected his face to twist into a grimace the way it had when the wind tried to kidnap him. But, instead, he smiled as he addressed me. “This is my quest,” he called. “I have to prove myself.”

  As if it was his choice to do something so crazy. As if it wasn’t obvious a fae was pushing him to leap down into that yawning darkness with his sister against his shoulder.

  Whoever was in charge, I had no way to stop them. The hole closed up behind Kale and the baby, belching out another plume of dust.

  NATALIE’S FACE RESEMBLED the ground where the mansion used to stand. Crumpled. Broken. Unrecognizable.

  But I couldn’t deal with that now. I tore off my shoes, sinking my feet into the soil. This had gone too far for me to be coy with the Guardian. I needed her help and I needed it now.

  Wriggling my toes in the dirt, I had to believe that the Guardian would bring Kale and the baby back to me if I asked properly. Ash too, I hoped. The mansion we could rebuild on our own time.

  So I pushed into the soil, waiting for roots and fungi to bite into me. A sharp stone scraped against my pinkie toe and I forced my foot further in that direction. Using the stone as a knife edge, I rubbed back and forth, hoping to draw blood.

  Meanwhile, I reached out with my mind. “Guardian, we need you.” She might be annoyed that I’d dragged my heels about choosing a Beta and a Consort to consolidate the generational power transfer. But surely she wouldn’t let a pack mate and two children disappear into the earth....