Hunting Ground

From the dent in the bedspread, Charles could tell the brown wolf who was Tom had been settled in front of his witch, but the invasion of other wolves had sent him to his feet. One of his front legs was visibly crooked and must be hurting-but that didn’t keep him down.

Charles closed his hands on A

There were Alphas he might be worried about, but Angus had been an Alpha for a long time, and he knew what he was seeing: a wolf protecting his mate from an unknown threat. Not defiance.

In a cool voice that held more than a little command, Angus said, “Tom. No harm to yours. No harm.” Angus might not be a big man, but his voice, when he chose to use it, was powerful enough to raise the dead.

The wolf’s lips curled away from impressive fangs and growled again.

“Down,” Angus said, putting serious energy into the word.

And the wolf sank instantly to his belly, his breathing harsh as he dealt with his unwillingness to allow others around his mate when he was injured while meeting his Alpha’s demand for obedience.

“Tom?” The witch sounded lost, and Charles wondered what she thought was going on. Damnable to be helplessly blind in a world of monsters.

“He’s all right,” A

Slick, he thought with a secret smile. A

“We’ll just do that,” Angus said, settling himself on the arm of the chair nearest to the window. “Alan called while I was in the hallway. He’s about five minutes out. While we’re waiting for him and for Tom, why doesn’t someone enlighten me as to what damaged my wolf?”

“Vampires,” said A

“You mean as if they’d hunted together before,” he said. Charles knew his calm facade was in place because her nod was matter-of-fact.

“Exactly,” she said. “They didn’t get in each other’s way, not even when five of them ganged up on Tom after they’d knocked Moira over. They were in a basement apartment stairwell and hidden behind a shadows spell. It smelled like wolf magic to me-unless the vampires have access to the same thing. If Moira hadn’t brought the sun in, we’d be dead.”

Five on one was difficult to manage, especially with a cu

“There are vampiric spells that could mimic one of ours,” said Angus. “Tom’s old enough to tell the difference. When he can think again, we can ask. That’s what made you think that they were sent by a wolf?”

A

Angus smiled coldly. The wolves in Seattle had held the upper hand for decades. “If the vampire seethe here found themselves holding Charles’s mate, they’d escort her back with armed guards and polish her fingernails before they delivered her to me without a hair on her head out of place. I’ll certainly call their Master, but I suspect they are interlopers. He should know about them-and if so, maybe he’ll have some names for me.”

“One of them was a woman who wore a size six shoe,” Charles said. “But I don’t think she’ll be a problem to anyone again.”

Moira’s part in the story bothered him. She’d saved A

“I didn’t call sunlight,” she snapped, responding to his tone of voice, he thought, rather than his words. “Just made the vampire’s bodies believe in it-even the dead bodies.” She wiggled her fingers. “Sssst, and they were dust or ru

“That’s a lot of magic. Vampires have some resistance-and then you made your trail disappear for the better part of a mile.”

“She’s a white witch,” snapped Angus.

Moira gri

“Sacrifice,” said Charles slowly, “is the power that witches pull from. Mostly it is the loss of other people’s blood and flesh-but rumor has it that one of the reasons witches have familiars is that they can use them as a higher sacrifice-not just the animal’s death but the death of something the witch holds dear.”

“You think I kill kitties to power my spells?” Her voice was nasty, and despite the nagging suspicion that all wasn’t as it should be, Brother Wolf approved of her.

He couldn’t let it be, not with A

The witch pulled down her glasses and he saw his guess had been correct. One eye had been blasted by magic. He’d seen similar results before, and it wasn’t something he’d forget soon. Her eye was stained white and shriveled, as if something had sucked it dry. The damage had happened a long time ago because no scent of it clung to her-and when that had happened, she would have reeked of magic for quite a while. The other eye had been destroyed more mundanely, though just as painfully-and likely just as long ago.

Interestingly, Angus stiffened, as if he had not known, and A

After Moira felt he’d had a chance to look his fill, she put her glasses back on. Tom stared at Charles with intelligent yellow eyes that promised retribution, and A

“I don’t know Moira,” said Charles to the wolf who was Tom, since he understood his reaction the best. “I did know that I’ve never heard of a white witch who could do what she did. And if a black witch is masquerading as a white witch… first, the deception implies she is one of the enemy. And second”-he gave the wolf a small smile-“I’ve never encountered a witch who could hide her nature from me.”

“We were nearly killed by a black witch a few weeks ago,” A

Moira reached out and touched Tom’s flank and let her fingers drift down over his tail, which she tugged playfully. “It’s all right, Tom. These are the good guys-even if he’s being rude.”

She turned her head to Charles. “Fair enough. I’ve never heard of a white witch that can do what I can either. And I’m not sure how it happened exactly. I can understand being cautious.”

“I am sorry I had to push,” Charles said, honestly.

“I’m sure I’ll find a way to return the favor,” she said, showing her teeth in a white smile. “At least you didn’t say ick and run screaming.”

The warm anger at the vampire attack settled a little deeper in his gut, and he let a little of it leak into his voice. “I hope you turned whoever did into a pig.”

She stilled, surprised by his reaction, he thought.