Joel growled, ‘Open the door. I’ll deal with them.’
“No, there is no need,” Gail told him, watching the witches approach.
‘But-’
“My aunt has protections in place,” she told him. “And hers are much better than mine. They’ll never get through them before she comes back. We’ll be okay.”
‘Okay,’ he huffed, but not an inch of him relaxed.
“Any minute now they’re going to realize their mistake.” She held her breath as she watched them get closer… and closer. Her stomach tightened. “Odd.”
‘What? What’s wrong.’
“Oh, nothing. It’s just… I must have miscalculated where my aunt placed her spells.”
Gail breathed in the pine scented air, her body relaxed at the smell. Memories of her parents taking her on hikes filled her. A warm, bittersweet sensation filled her. God, she missed them so much.Gail gave her head a little shake and focused on Joel in front of her. He had yet to explain what his idea was, only that he wanted her to go with him into the woods. That alone almost sent her aunt into a conniption, but even dear ole Aunt Rose was out of ideas, too. She had no other choice but to let Joel try his ideas, even though he wouldn’t explain what they were. Before leaving, Gail’s aunt insisted she take a silver-coated dagger for safety.Unable to push her curiosity aside, Gail asked, “So what is the plan?”‘You’ll see,’ he replied and said no more until they reached a
As Gail and Joel neared her aunt’s house, the curse returned and forced Joel back into his husky form. Gail sighed and picked up the blanket. “Sorry.”‘This time it was longer than last time. That was only maybe fifteen minutes max, this time had to be closer to thirty.’“Oh great, so perhaps in ten years you’ll get to spend a day as a human.” Gail couldn’t hide her bitterness at how ineffective her attempt had been.‘Hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day.’She blew out a breath, folding the blanket haphazardly. “You’re right, but it still sucks. Let’s find Aunt Rose.”‘You go ahead. I’d bet she’d be more willing to he
“Joel,” Gail called out as he stumbled back, pain etched on his face. “Couldn’t have waited just five minutes,” he growled, taking off his t-shirt, tossing it to the ground. “You’re shifting back?” He nodded, then cried out as the crack of bone echoed through the woods. Gail sucked in a breath and turned her back. She didn’t want to see that again. How could he stand to go through that every day? Guilt tugged at her heart. This was her fault. If she had figured out how to break the curse, he wouldn’t have to go through this. She jumped when Joel nudged her leg with his snout. ‘It’s done.’ Gail looked down at him. “I’m sorry.” He
Gail walked into the kitchen, tiredly fixing herself a cup of coffee. ‘How did it go?’ Joel asked as he trotted into the kitchen. “It’s going,” Gail said with a tight smile before taking a drink of her coffee. ‘Is that good or bad?’ “A little of both,” Gail said, eyeing the door. After her talk with her aunt, Gail thought it was best if she put some distance between her and Joel, but they were staying under the same roof, which made it more than a little difficult to avoid him. ‘Meaning?’ “I haven’t found anything that can help me free you.” ‘I see and that’s why you haven’t taken me with you in the last week?’
Gail ran her fingers over the leather bound spines of the books. None of the golden embossed titles called to her as books that might help her break Joel’s curse. Residual anger still stewed deep in her stomach as she remembered her conversation with Aunt Rose. After all this time, only now did Gail discover her aunt had a small library filled with books about magic. Perhaps if she had known about the library sooner, Gail might have been able to break Joel’s curse and avoid confessing her feelings to him. Two days had passed, and every time she was around Joel, the awkwardness was so thick it almost drowned her. Any time he started to say something, Gail would run out of the room, overwhelmed with an insane mix of fear and hope he’d tried to talk to her about it. As if she didn’t have enough to worry about, now this. It was all just too much. Gail needed to break this curse before she went insane.
Gail flipped through the old book with a sigh. “Nothing in this one.” ‘I didn’t think I’d ever say this, but I agree with your aunt. It seems these books have nothing about your magic or my curse. Your magic is rare, so rare I am surprised that both your mother and you both had it,’ Joel told her, stretching out his front paws. “Fine, okay,” Gail said, closing the book and setting it to the side. “But I’m getting pretty good with my magic and using it how I want. Why haven’t I broken your curse yet?” ‘I don’t know, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out.’ She sighed and shook her head. Gail wasn’t so sure she would. Not after all this time. Nothing new had come to her. She hadn’t made a single step towards coming closer to freeing Joel.
Joel sat on the back patio. He sniffed the air, searching for any hints of witches besides Gail or her aunt. The only witch scents he detected in the air came from them. The coven didn’t even come close to the house. If they weren’t spying on them, what did the coven do during this time? He hoped his brother and friends were still safe. Joel heard Gail from the kitchen making her way out into the backyard. He whined, hearing her aunt following her. “But why do you want to come?” Gail asked as she joined Joel out on the patio. Her aunt followed behind her. “Well, to help you, of course,” her aunt replied. “It’s been a few weeks now. I figured you wouldn’t mind the company.” Her tone took on an edge of hurt, but with one sniff, Joel could tell the hurt didn’t go farther than her voice. What did Gail’s aunt have up her sleeve?
Gail sat, crossed legged. She ran her fingertips over the blades of grass, trying to decide if she should ask Joel what was wrong or not. Ever since she’d come back that morning, he’d been distant and quiet. Even now they had taken their habitual walk to the forest clearing, Joel laid in the grass, looking up at the sky. He hadn’t said more than a handful of words to her. Something upset him, but she hesitated to ask what in case he might be mad at her. Gail didn’t think she had done anything wrong. Perhaps it was about her going off with her aunt that morning, but Joel agreed to stay behind. Or perhaps he only said that to get on his aunt’s good side and expected Gail to insist that he go with them? She clasped her hands together, twisting her fingers. She would never figure it out if she didn’t speak up. Gail sighed and looked down at a small patch of dandelions next to her.
The order of the alpha soured the party for Gail, so she left her plate and go back inside. Where was she going to go? She had about twenty-four hours to figure that out. Going back through the house to her room, Gail thought about her plan to go east. Perhaps she should keep that plan. It was better than nothing, anyway. She almost reached her room when she heard Joel call her name. He hurried up to the stairs, toward her. “Hey, you okay? Why did you leave the party?” She knew Joel wouldn’t have liked the warning the other alpha gave her. So she gave him a small smile with a nod. “Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just wasn’t feeling very festive.” “Right,” he said, walking over to her. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with the talk you had with Christopher, would it?” Gail’s ey
Gail woke up in a strange room. Her heart raced with panic until she noticed a note on the nightstand next to her.Gail, don’t freak out. You’re in Alpha Christopher’s pack house. When you’re ready, just tell the first person you come by to get me. Love Joel.She smiled as she read the note and looked around the room. It was minimal, but tastefully decorated. Perfect for guests, she assumed. Throwing back the covers, Gail got up out of the bed and looked at the window. She expected to be surrounded by woods, but she saw a neat little neighborhood. It reminded her a lot of the cul-de-sac she lived in before Ricinius blew up her house. By the sunlight, she assumed it was early afternoon.Still wearing the clothes she had been before, Gail ventured out of the room. Sounds of a party greete
“No,” Aunt Rose said, lifting her chin. “I’ve worked too hard, made too many sacrifices for this. You will not ruin this for me!”“You’re insane,” Gail said, not only to her aunt but to herself in an attempt to ease some of the pain of her aunt’s betrayal. “Whatever you are trying to do, you’re going to do it without me. I’m not your slave or your pet.” When Gail took off the leather from her wrists, her aunt screamed and threw her hands towards Gail.The wave of magic knocked Gail off her feet. She hit the floor hard, knocking the air out of her. The threads of magic that formed the charm tried to weave together again, but Gail called up her magic and with the boost from Joel, she tore through the remnants of the charm. Getting up, Gail ripped the bands of leather off her wrists. &ld
Pain thrummed through Gail. Her head pounded as if someone had hit her over the head with a hammer repeatedly. Sweat ran down her face, pebbled all over her body, but she was cold. So cold the blood flowing from her nose felt hot against her skin. Joel’s resistance surprised her. After how easy the first alpha had been, like snuffing out a candle, she expected Joel to be the same. But he fought, and at first it gave her hope. Maybe he might stop this. Perhaps he was strong enough to break the charm.As they fought, Gail realized that the only thing that would break was her. Before all this, using her magic always exhausted her. Gaining control over her magic and all that practice didn’t change that. Despite the magic and life Gail stole from Ricinius, Gail had used most of her energy already. Controlling Ricinius’ werewolves, fighting with Joel had been too much. He was really a true alpha, but the charm wouldn’t allow her to giv
“Everyone, but Joel, took a collective step back as Christopher laid where he’d fallen. Ice slid through Joel as he stared up at Gail. He had no idea how she did it, but Rose was controlling her like Ricinius had controlled the werewolves. How could Rose do something like this? To her own family? He looked over at Gail, searching for something that would tell him what kind of spell her aunt had her under. As soon as he saw the braided leather on both her wrists, he knew that was it. If he took those off Gail, would she be free of the spell? That sounded like it would be much easier said than done. “How could you do that to her?” Joel demanded, tearing his eyes from Gail to Rose. “She’s your niece. You were supposed to protect her!” “She is protected,” Rose said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Gail will nev
It took much more time than Joel would’ve liked for Christopher to organize his people and get them moving; and then their numbers weren’t even close to what Joel suggested he take with them. With what was left of Joel’s pack and what Christopher was bringing, they were only twenty-five strong. From what he’d seen from the attacks on Gail and her house, Ricinius had a lot over twenty-five.He tried to convince the alpha to bring more wolves with them, but Christopher was completely underestimating the threat of the coven. When Joel tried to push the matter, he only reinforced the alpha’s stubbornness. Afraid to make things worse, Joel dropped it and left the pack house with the others. They left in six cars. Joel, his mother, and friends got in one car together.“This isn’t good,” he told the others as they
Gail sat in the passenger side car of her car as her aunt drove. Aunt Rose wrinkled her nose as she sat down. “I don’t see why you clung to this vehicle so much. It’s a piece of junk.” Her aunt smiled over at her. “But that’s all about to change. You’ll see, Gail. You will be living life more fitting of your station.” Though she could only sit there motionless, Gail would’ve scowled. Fitting her station? It seemed like her aunt had been reading too many of those periodic romances.
“What do you think he’s going to do?” Elijah asked as they drove back to Christopher’s territory. “The witches are on the move,” Joel told him, his stomach twisting with worry and fear. Gail was under another spell. Was it her aunt or was it the coven? Was there even a distinction between the two? Had her aunt always been working for Ricinius and biding her time until Joel was no longer there to protect Gail? “How can you be so sure?” Lucas asked from the back seat. “I’m sure because Gail is missing. If she had gone back willingly, Gail would’ve never left that house. She understood the other witches would drain her. Gail would’ve stayed. They have her and they’ll drain her so the leader can steal her power and use it against us. We need to act before they do.” “Or p
“Wait,” Joel’s mother called out to him. She hurried behind him, trying to catch up.“What? Why?” he asked, stopping and waiting for her.“If something did indeed bad happen to her, then you shouldn’t go off running in blindly,” she told him. “And you most certainly shouldn’t go alone.”“I doubt the alpha would help me find her.”“Oh, there is no chance of him helping you there,” his mother agreed. “However, there is your brother and your friends.”“Elijah?” Joel repeated skeptically. “He thinks I’m being stupid worrying about her. I should focus only on the pack.”