“WHAT IN THE hell were you thinking?!” Eric looked absolutely livid. He paced the length of the RV, making the floor squeak and the whole vehicle rock. He ran his fingers through his hair repeatedly with an expression that would send most people running. But underneath the angry scent was thick, wet worry and enough fear to make her tense. “Do you have any idea how reckless that was?”
Holly had seen him like this before, back in Boulder, after she’d gotten back from the hospital and refused to file a complaint with the pack. She tried to remember what it had been that time. Oh yeah, Jasmine had tried to pull her arm from the socket for daring to borrow her comb. Hardly a unique occurrence, and telling the pack leaders at that point probably would have gotten her sister a slap on the wrist. Of course, that would have succeeded in making Holly’s life hell for a month after.
She had to struggle not to smile at the memory of Eric’s frustrated outrage on her behalf. He’d been so protective then, at a time when she had nobody.
But she didn’t need protection anymore. “I already told you. I was thinking exactly what I said before you went into the trance—one of us had to survive. I picked you. How was I supposed to know it would be as simple as putting Tony in a trance to break the hindsight connection?”
He turned and glared at her, fists clenched so tight the knuckles were white. “You picked me? So you were just going to sacrifice yourself without even bothering to check with anyone?”
Okay, that was over the line. Holly tried to sit up on the bed holding the sheet to her chest. It was a slow process, because any movement made her head pound. She’d used up so much power healing Tony and putting him and Eric in a trance that it had taken Tatya to bring her back from the brink. “Excuse me? Who exactly was I supposed to ‘check’ with? The guy bleeding to death on the floor? The council that I couldn’t see? You? It’s not like there was a lot of time to wait for people to think about it. Besides, did it ever occur to you that maybe that’s why I was supposed to be there—because I could make that decision?”
And speaking of being there, she still couldn’t figure out why he was here. Who’d elected him her nursemaid? She was wobbling, which was annoying. It didn’t really portray the image she needed to pull off the tough words. Sitting wasn’t working, so she let herself ease back down to rest on the wonderfully soft pillow. Whoever’s trailer this was, they had good taste in bedding. “Look, if you’re only going to yell at me, why don’t you just leave? I’ve got a headache and there are enough people here to yell at me that I don’t need another one.”
Eric sat down on the couch, leaned back, and closed his eyes. “Nobody’s going to yell at you.” He sounded tired when he said it, as exhausted as she felt.
She turned her head to stare at him incredulously. “Uh, news flash. You’re yelling at me. And I haven’t even met with the council yet about the other stuff.”
His eyes didn’t open as he spoke. “I already told them about it.”
Her mouth opened as she gasped in sudden outrage. “What? Damn it, Eric! You said I could tell them in my own way.”
Now he turned his head to look at her. “Yeah, that was before you were unconscious for this long. Have you checked the windows, Holly? That’s not sunrise outside. It’s sunset. You’ve been out for a day.”
She looked out the windshield. It was hard to orient herself inside the trailer. She had presumed it was sunrise, because it had been dark when they’d begun the hindsight. A day?
“You nearly died, Holly.” Eric’s voice was softer now. “That’s why I’m here in the trailer with you. I thought they needed to know in case someone knew of a way to reverse ‘the cure’ on Lucas. They had Tony do a hindsight on you while you were out, just in case you didn’t make it. You’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing with the FMU.”
They’d done a hindsight on her? “Wouldn’t I remember having a hindsight done?”
Eric shook his head. “Apparently that’s standard procedure. Tony usually wipes all memory of it. He said he was going to ease your memory of Rose, too. Did he manage that?”
While she realized it had just been a few hours since Rose died, it did feel like it had been longer. She nodded absently, still confused.
“Good,” he said, rising slowly to his feet. “Then you’re probably right that I should leave. Lots to do, and all that.” He stood up and the scent of frustration, mingled with something that she couldn’t quite place, made her brain even more befuddled. “I made you a sandwich—roast beef with horseradish. You should probably eat. You didn’t get much stew in you yesterday before you ended up wearing it. Let me know when you’re ready to talk, and we’ll . . . well, we’ll see where it goes.”
He walked the few steps to the door and opened it. He paused with one foot on the ground outside, like he wanted to say something. But he just shook his head and closed the door behind him.
She stared at the closed door for several minutes, her mind completely blank. She finally turned to stare at the photo someone had taped to the paneling above her head. It was a peaceful scene, with a long stretch of white beach and palm trees. A woman stretched out on a lounge chair, while a pair of redheaded children played in the surf—their smiles frozen in time. Was it a family portrait, or a long-dreamed-of vacation? It should have reminded her of California or Cozumel. But instead, it made her think of Australia and a little mining town. Maybe it was the way the sand sparkled.
It made her think of Rose . . . and Eric. Why had it been so easy to talk to him when she was fifteen, but now they struggled to even speak a sentence to each other?
Holly? You’d better be there, girlfriend. If you’re dead, I swear I’ll kill you . . . Holly?
Even though it made her head throb with each word, Cat’s voice made her smile. She let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding. There was still hope if Cat was alive. Not dead yet, and glad you’re not either.
Not for lack of trying—apparently for both of us this time. Cat’s voice sounded stern in her head, but Holly knew that Cat would understand her reasoning.
Eh. Throw a couple of people into a trance and temporarily defeat the big-bad, and people call a person reckless. She paused. Not that you’d know anything about getting scolded for surviving.
In fact, for most of Cat’s existence as a Sazi she’d been on the wrong side of the council for being, as Cat called it, proactive toward her own survival.
Moi? No, not me. I’m the very picture of discretion and temperate behavior.
Holly laughed out loud. This was just what she needed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She still had service and a nearly full battery. Do me a favor, huh? Call me. I’ve got a blinding headache and could use a friendly voice in my ear.
Cat didn’t reply, but a moment later the phone started chirping. “Knew you’d find a hideout with a phone,” she answered without even checking the display. “Everybody okay there?”
“Not everyone,” Cat said sadly. “We lost Betty. She was never quite the same after her last childbirth. It got ugly and she just wasn’t fast enough. Even I barely managed to get away. But the babies are fine and Raphael managed to get the rest of the pack away. Betty died a hero. She planted herself in the doorway and wouldn’t let a single snake through until . . . well, by then she was gone. We owe her a lot.”
Holly had never really thought of the former psychologist of the Boulder pack as particularly heroic. Mostly, she’d been . . . solid. A comforting presence. “Does anyone here know? And do you know what’s been happening out here?”
“Yeah,” Cat said sadly. “I know the basics . . . Lucas and Uncle Chuck and the whole snake-bitch thing. Lucky you—you get to see the maw of death coming.”
Holly fluffed her pillow and threw back the covers to get some air. It must be ninety degrees in the trailer. Except . . . crap. She was nearly naked, wearing just her panties and bra. And the drapes were open. She tossed the covers back over her and started to look around the room for her clothes. But after a few seconds of trying to spot them, her head started to pound again. She plopped back down on the pillow. Screw it. I can just bake. “Yeah, lucky me. You probably heard about Rose too.”
Cat gasped and Holly could almost see those green eyes widen in her mind. “No! What happened? Surely not the snakes? Why would they attack humans?”
Holly told her everything she knew. By the time she’d finished her story with Eric leaving the trailer the landscape outside was bathed in darkness. “So, that’s the story. I mean, I can’t even wrap my head around the whole Marduc thing. A creature that scares the Chief Justice? That’s just freaky. Hell, I can’t even figure out what’s up with a guy I used to totally crush on.”
Cat laughed, and there was a sharp quality to it that made Holly wince. “You’re joking, right? The woman who harassed me for not memorizing every word of the official Sazi manual hasn’t figured out the obvious? Too funny!”
“Okay, apparently I’m missing something right in front of my nose. Clue me in.”
“Hmm . . . let’s see.” Cat’s voice was teasing again. Holly could put up with it from Cat, because at least she’d get some answers from her. “Handsome bad boy sent to Boulder ten years ago to channel aggressions, but instead of spending time with other aggressive wolves—as is totally normal for wolves—he spends all his time with a human girl who’s jailbait. Fast-forward a decade and within a few days of seeing you, said bad boy has his tongue stuck down your throat and he’s assigned to stay at your side in a lonely trailer to keep you alive.” She paused. “Getting any flashes of inspiration yet?”
Holly bit her lower lip before replying. “Um . . . he likes me?”
“Um . . . no. He ‘likes’ you in that same subtle, unassuming way that my husband likes me.”
A laugh escaped Holly’s mouth. “Well, that’s a whole different thing. You and Raphael are mate—” The word caught in her throat as the realization finally struck home.
That’s why I’m here in the trailer with you.
Mated couples shared energy when one of them was hurt. Healers nearly always insisted upon bare skin between both parties. I’ve insisted on it more than once. He’d been dressed when she woke, but for how long? “Crap!” She couldn’t help the panicked tone in her voice.
Cat clapped her hands slowly and sarcastically at the other end of the line. “At last. Give the dog a squeaky toy! You’re my BFF, Holly, but sometimes you can be really dense.”
“I’m mated to Eric?” Heat flowed into her face. She tentatively sniffed at her shoulder. It was awash with the scent of Eric’s skin. They’d snuggled in bed for a whole day . . . naked? Her heart was beating like a trip-hammer. Wasn’t that what she’d dreamed of as a teenager? Having a powerful alpha male enthralled from the moment they met, a slave to his passion—desperate to woo and win her?
And haven’t I wanted that alpha male to be Eric?
“Maybe. Maybe not. At the very least he’s mated to you. That’s how it works, if you remember. If he’s mated to you, you can pull energy from him when you’re hurt. Since his boots haven’t quite parked under your bed yet, it’s hard to say whether it’s mutual.”
She flushed at the thought of Eric’s boots on the floor, his clothing strewn across the room. But this was Eric they were discussing and she was just . . . Holly shook her head. “No wonder he’s pissed at me, then. He’s stuck with me when he could have some alpha babe.”
Cat’s voice turned incredulous. “Uh, hello? You are an alpha babe, Holly. No, he’s probably pissed for the same reason Raphael was pissed at first. It’s scarier than hell to be attracted to someone so strongly when it’s not your actual choice. You know the drill. One-sided matings don’t always work. Even with a double mating like mine, it’s not a guarantee. Raphael and I have to work as hard as any other couple to make it through the day. Plus, you’re in crisis mode down there. When there’s chaos all around, it’s really hard to convince yourself it’s okay to give in to those animal impulses.”
Holly made a strangled sound but nodded, nearly causing the phone to slide down her neck. Her hands seemed to be completely numb on her stomach. Concentrate on Cat. “I remember. You guys really had some ups and downs.”
“My advice?” Cat’s voice softened and it was almost as though Holly could feel the touch of her soft hands. “Don’t do what we did and beat yourselves up for wanting each other. When the time is right, just give in. It only makes you nuts otherwise, and you’ve got a lot of other things to think about—a lot of innocent people to protect. If you’re constantly avoiding each other, running scared, you’ll never learn to work together when you really need to. Trust me. If Eric was in that trailer, you can bet it was at someone’s instruction. Which means they likely all know, and they’ll understand what happens next—what has to happen next. Everyone will give you space.”
Great. Now everybody was going to be watching them, knowing they were going to be wandering off together. “I’m sorry, Cat, but I think you’re wrong. You have to be wrong. I mean, he’s gorgeous and yeah, I enjoyed kissing him. But mated? I don’t know if I feel that way about him.”
“Maybe you don’t. That’s the thing. Quick test. Where is he right this second? Think about him really hard. What’s he doing? Don’t analyze it. Just let it pop out.”
Holly concentrated for a second and saw him in her mind’s eye. “Sitting on the roof of the building. He’s on guard duty.” She paused, suddenly sick at how easy that was. “But I could be guessing. It makes sense that all the alphas would be watching for Marduc, or more snakes.”
“Duh,” Cat replied. “So go check. I presume there are windows if you’re in an RV.”
“Hello? I don’t have any clothes on.”
“Hello? Turn off the lights or wear a sheet,” Cat said in the same lilting tone. “Holly.” Her voice was firm. “You need to know this. Yeah, a mating compulsion is terrifying to think about, but living with it isn’t so bad. Just go look.”
Holly sighed, turned off the light over the bed, and rolled until her feet hit the floor. With the phone tucked against her shoulder, she wrapped the sheet around her and tiptoed toward the nearest window. “Oh! Here are my clothes.” They were neatly folded on the bench seat behind the table. “Hang on a sec while I put them on.”
Cat only sighed. They both knew she was stalling. But Holly really would feel better if she was dressed.
It only took a few seconds to slide into the clothes. They were her clothes, too—from the suitcase that was tucked under the table. The clothes she’d been wearing had disappeared, the pants likely returned to their owner. On impulse, she walked the three steps to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Her stomach rumbled at the sight of the waiting sandwich—fat slices of pink meat on homemade bread. And hadn’t Eric mentioned horseradish?
“You’re stalling,” came Cat’s voice from the phone.
“I know. I know.” She took a deep breath, put the sandwich on the table and leaned down to look out the window. The building was at least a football field’s length away, but she could pick out Eric instantly from among all the others on the roof. “He’s there.” She said it more to herself than to Cat, but she didn’t doubt her friend had heard. He turned just then, rifle barrel resting loosely on his shoulder as he stared intently at the trailer.
Did he know she was watching?
“YOU’RE GOING TO drive yourself nuts if you keep staring like that.”
Eric started at the sound of Tony’s voice and turned his head. Tony hadn’t moved from his perch on the other side of the building.
“I can feel her, moving around inside the trailer.”
“Yep,” the other man said, never taking his eyes off the distant landscape. “You get used to it.”
Eric sighed and moved the automatic rifle so it hung from the sling over his shoulder. “I don’t know. Maybe I should have just told her.”
“She’s a bright kid,” Tony replied, his eyes constantly moving from side to side, sweeping the darkness for any sign of movement. “She’ll figure it out on her own.”
“She’s not a kid.” Not anymore.
The other man shrugged. “She’s younger than me. She’s a kid. If you’re younger than me, you’re a kid.”
“I’m thirty-six.”
Tony flicked his eyes toward him, showing a flash of blue-white light. “Month?”
“June.” His eyes moved back to the trailer. She was eating now, and enjoying it. It made him smile. But it quickly faded when the creepiness of it settled over him once more.
“Okay, so you’re not a kid. You’ve got a month on me.”
They were silent for a time and Eric let the cold wind fill his nose with scents. There were animals out there, but they weren’t shifters. All the predators in the area were making the rabbits and deer give the whole area a wide berth. He shook his head. “This sucks, y’know?”
“The Marduc thing, or the mating thing?”
“Both.”
Tony finally turned and walked across the roof. He pointed to his old spot. “You. Over there. Use that sniffer of yours, and I’ll watch for little slithering lights.”
“Why?”
Tony leaned in close enough that Eric could smell his scent, which was an odd combination of gun oil and wildflowers. Tony lowered his voice to such a soft whisper that Eric had to really listen to hear him. “Because if you’re spending all your time watching your mate, you’re not watching the trees. Since I don’t give a shit about your mate, I’ll take this watch.”
A growl tried to bubble up but Tony just pointed to the end of the roof. He didn’t back away or smell afraid. “You’d win a fight against me, but I’m not the one who put me in charge of this gig. Talk to the man over there if you have a problem with your job.” The tall blond man on the far corner of the building turned his head. Antoine would likely have no sense of humor if he decked the wolf.
“Fine,” he said, his voice hissing with frustration. “Just watch closely.”
Tony’s ready smile, empty of meaning or emotion, flashed in the dark. “Always do.” As he walked over the crest of the roof peak, Tony continued to talk. “See, this is how it works. It’s all about adjustments. All you gotta do to make it through a mating is make adjustments.”
“What kind of adjustments?” Eric couldn’t believe he was talking about this, much less asking for advice. But Tony was recently mated too. Maybe there was something to be learned from him. Eric sat down on the roof edge and turned his body so he could see both the vista and Tony in his peripheral.
“Like what just happened here. I told you to walk over there because you didn’t volunteer to do it. When you fully come to grips with the mating, you’ll be the one to suggest it—you’ll know that your judgment can’t be trusted when your mate is at issue. My mate’s not here, or you’d see a totally different side of me. She’s in my head twenty-four/seven, and I know she’s fine. If she wasn’t . . . well. Same with cat-boy and the snake king over there.” He thumbed his finger to the other end of the roof,
“If Ahmad is the snake king, I am not ‘cat-boy.’ ” Antoine’s quiet, dry voice drifted on the breeze. “However, as far as the mating is concerned, Tony’s correct. I find myself more . . . focused when Tahira is elsewhere.”
Ahmad let out a small noise that wasn’t quite a growl or a hiss. “Tuli has informed me that the moment I find myself less than my best, I should locate her. She will be happy to, as she so coyly phrases it, ‘kick the shit out of me’ to get my mind back on task.”
Eric couldn’t help the sudden burst of laughter. The others were making the same noises, so hopefully Ahmad wouldn’t knock him off the building with a burst of power.
“She could do it too,” Tony said as an aside. “That’s the trouble with mating with an alpha female. My wife’s turning into one all of a sudden, and it’s killing me. Male wolves get all these protective instincts after mating and the women want to kick our asses for it.”
“Indeed,” Ahmad added in an unusual display of comradery, while inspecting the edge of the broadsword in his hand. “Wolves aren’t the only species to feel the urge to protect. But there is one truth from the animal kingdom that is equally true for our kind. The female is more dangerous than the male.”
Antoine’s dry French-accented voice found Eric’s ears as the scent of frustration and embarrassment rode the wind. “My worst mistake to date was to tell Tahira to stop putting herself in danger. It is apparently a supreme insult—or so my sisters have informed me. She immediately joined Wolven, just to prove she was fully capable of defending herself.” He shook his head in frustration.
“And she got my wife to join up too, I might add.” Tony’s voice was sarcastic. “Thank you so much for that little bit of reverse psychology.”
Eric’s laugh choked off as his own words to Holly started to pulse through his brain. “Crap. I just did that.” At Tony’s raised eyebrows, he explained. “I just yelled at Holly for nearly killing herself to get us out of that hindsight.”
“Speaking as the person she saved by being reckless, you’re screwed, Thompson.”
Eric turned his head to the other two men, but they just shrugged.
Great. Just perfect.
The door to the fire stairs at the end of the roof opened and Ivan stepped out. “Antoine?” He kept his voice so low that Eric had to struggle to hear over the wind whistling. “Phone call, from Josette. I will take your place here.”
Antoine’s mood abruptly shifted, turned serious as death. He swore under his breath. Nobody had heard from the other seers since this all started. Antoine strode toward Ivan, surrendering his rifle and bolting down the stairs.
Ivan walked to the corner opposite Ahmad and began to stare out into the distance, his stance alert, and his scent worried. A call from Aspen usually spoke of bad things to come.
Eric wasn’t sure he wanted to know the details of that call.
It must have lasted only a few minutes, because it didn’t seem like any time at all before Antoine was back. The scent that preceded him didn’t speak of a warm and happy conversation. “Ivan? Ahmad? She would speak with you both now. Bobby will be there as well. Please hurry. The connection isn’t very good.”
Antoine turned to Eric and Tony. “You will be alone up here for a few moments, so be alert. I must go collect Holly.” As he passed them the weapons he’d taken from Ivan and Ahmad he raised his brows and said, “And no, I don’t know why my sister wants to talk to her, so don’t ask.”
HOLLY SLIPPED OUT the back door of the RV, into the cool night. She adjusted the makeshift backpack, made from some grocery bags and twine she’d found in the cabinet and started hiking away from the camp at a brisk clip.
She just needed to move for a few minutes, to think and to plan. There was no doing either one while stuck inside that trailer. Everything was happening so damned fast and nothing made sense.
Was sneaking out reckless? Yeah, probably. And she had to admit she’d like to have her phone with her. But the call from Cat had eaten more than minutes. The battery was drained, so it was on the charger.
Lightning flashed in the distance, the beginnings of the storm that had been brewing over California a few days before. Already she could taste rain on the cold wind.
A flash of movement caught her eye and she paused to look. What the hell? A dark-skinned woman, completely naked and sporting white hair to her knees, was striding purposefully into the darkness. She was holding the hand of a young blond girl, dragging her along. The child’s face was utterly blank, as though she was sleepwalking. Holly recognized the girl from the camp, and the woman with her was not the girl’s mother.
“Hey!” she called out forcefully, causing the woman to turn her head. “Where do you think you’re going with her?” There was a shock of surprise on the woman’s face, but it quickly disappeared and her broad features turned dark and angry. The woman picked up the child and tossed her over her shoulder like she was a sack of flour as she began to sprint away.
“Come back here!” Holly sprinted after her, putting on a burst of speed in an effort to catch up. But the woman was no slouch when it came to running. Even barefoot, with cactus ripping at her naked legs, she was putting distance between them. Holly sniffed the air to catch the woman’s scent. It was strongly musky, unpleasantly so. She realized she’d smelled it before—on the hillside while kissing Eric. Could that be Marduc’s human form? Shit!
But then another scent came from behind her—masculine, powerful, and very angry.
Holly skidded to a stop as something leapt over her, but still nearly ran into the biggest cougar she’d ever seen in her life. His eyes were level with her neck, so he barely had to look up to see her face.
“You had no authorization to leave the camp.” She recognized the voice, despite the slight growl from his animal throat. Antoine Monier wasn’t someone to trifle with, but even so—
She pointed to the rapidly disappearing form. “That woman! She has one of the children from camp. We have to get her!”
Antoine turned and stared into the distance. “I see nothing. I’ve been following you for several minutes and you’ve been running alone.”
“No, I haven’t!” She felt her temper rising, even though he could probably strike her down with a single blow. “She’s there, Councilman Monier. Use your nose and ears if your sight isn’t working. I can see her just as clearly as I could see that feather.”
That widened the golden eyes of the cat and he raised his nose in the direction Holly was pointing. “Merde! It is faint, but I can detect it. Still, my sister Josette would speak with you back at camp. Go back and take the call, and be quick about it. I will track this thing.”
Holly looked at him dubiously, but he seemed to be able to follow the scent as he raced off into the night, altering his path in the direction Holly could still see the hint of movement from. She didn’t like it, but to refuse a member of the council was a death sentence. She wouldn’t be much good to anyone if she was dead. And, he was one of the most powerful and vicious on the council.
She turned and ran, full out. Her heart was racing from more than exertion when she reached camp. “I think Councilman Monier’s in trouble,” she said to Ivan who was waiting impatiently for her. “I saw Marduc—at least I think it was her—and he took off after her. She’s got a girl from camp, and I think something bad is going to happen.”
Ivan looked toward the roof. “Tony, Eric, come with me. We might need someone who can shoot on the run.”
Tony nodded once and handed his rifle to Eric. Then he slid down the roof’s edge before grabbing the gutter with gloved hands. He dropped to the ground and then held up one hand. Eric tossed down the weapons before taking the same path down.
“Which way?” Eric asked, his scent both worried and determined as he pulled out the clip to verify the ammo in his gun.
There was something about the way he was standing that made her want to throw her arms around him and hold him tight. It made her heart flutter with an odd sort of panic when he stared into her eyes. After a long moment where her mouth was so dry she couldn’t speak, Holly pointed to where she had come from.
Finally, she could get words out. “That direction, probably about a half-mile away. But I don’t know how much farther they’ve gone since.”
Tony adjusted so that the rifle was dangling down his back, the barrel pointed at the ground. He pulled a walkie-talkie from his pocket and turned it on. Eric did the same. “We shouldn’t have any problem finding them. Let’s hit it.”
Eric turned to her as she was walking in the door. “We’ll be on—” he paused and looked at the red display on the handset. “Channel eight. We’ll go down to three if the storm kicks up. Let the others know where we’ve gone—so they know where to send the body bags.”
Nobody was laughing. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared out into the darkness. The look on her face made Eric pause and let out a slow breath. He reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly for a brief second before leaning in for a sudden kiss. It was so soft and tender that her stomach clenched. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. Go talk to the seer.”
She walked in the building as they took off at a run. Bobby Mbutu and Councilman al-Narmer walked past her, their dark faces ashen—abject fear in their scent. She wanted to ask what was happening, but they quickly got into a waiting brown sedan and drove off, tires spitting up a cloud of dust.
Iris was waiting just inside, her face nervous. “They’re waiting for you downstairs.” She grabbed Holly’s hand and whispered. “Something really bad is happening. Everybody’s really worked up. Please be careful. I don’t want to lose you.”
Holly walked down the stairs, trying to keep up her courage. Seers usually didn’t call to talk about good news. A couple was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. They were both wolves, but she didn’t recognize them. They had that certain aura that screamed pack leader. She lowered her eyes automatically, giving proper respect. “Someone called for me? I’m Holly Sanchez.”
“Adam and Cara Mueller,” the tall man said. “Alphas of the Texas pack. The phone’s in the next room. We’re here to make sure the call stays private.”
As Holly nodded her eyes happened to drop to the ban dage on the pregnant woman’s leg. It smelled . . . bad, like something was decaying. “Are you okay?”
The woman shrugged, but her face was filled with pain. “Snakebite. I’ll heal.”
Holly shook her head in disagreement. “It’s not healing. I can smell it.” She knelt down and ran her fingers over the ban dage, her face right next to the tightly stretched belly. The heat from the wound made her hand sting like needles were being poked in it. “Did you have Tatya look at this?”
The alpha shook her head. “Dr. Santiago is sleeping. She exhausted herself before she got through with the most serious cases.”
Tatya had exhausted herself? Holly had known the woman her entire life, and she’d never been tired enough to stop healing—even when Holly had nearly died. She’d passed out briefly, but had been able to continue to heal her the next day. And that was with near-death injuries. These were just standard wounds. Very strange.
Adam tapped her shoulder. “You’d better hurry. The seers are waiting.” His voice was firm, but Holly didn’t stand up.
“The seers can keep waiting,” she said firmly. “Your baby can’t afford to battle this snakebite. It could cause an early birth or miscarriage.”
The couple looked at each other in shock and the woman’s hand went to her stomach. “The baby has been kicking a lot tonight, Adam.”
Holly nodded. She could see the movements just under the skin. It worried her. Adam Mueller’s frown deepened, and he helped Holly guide Cara to a chair before she knelt down again by her leg. She closed her eyes and let power rise. It flowed into the leg. There was no need to unwrap it. She could see in her mind the pair of puckered wounds, the skin black around the entry points. It was very much like Annie’s wound, except the venom reacted to her magic by becoming even more toxic. Cara gasped and the scent of pain filled the air. Holly felt Adam’s hand brush her as he reached for his mate’s hand. She’d heard about Sazi snake bites, but had never actually encountered one.
She pushed more energy into the wound and felt a sudden jolt of power that made the hair on the back of her neck tingle. What the hell? She saw Eric in a flash. He’d stumbled mid-run and couldn’t catch himself before he tumbled to the ground. Ivan grabbed his upper arm and hauled him back to his feet. Eric shook his head like he was dazed and the image faded.
What did it mean? Obviously, Cat had been right. Their connection was at least a one-sided mating. Would she always pull on his power . . . ? Now it made sense. Lucas had been mated to Tatya, and was arguably the most powerful wolf in the world. If she’d been drawing on his power all these years . . . no wonder she’d been the most powerful healer. But maybe she wasn’t anymore.
With the added energy, Holly was able to burn the toxin away from the wound and heal it with hardly any effort. She felt farther into the woman’s body to check for anything else that could be wrong, and felt a smile come to her face. The tiny life inside the alpha moved contentedly and then settled down, no longer trying to avoid the poison. “The baby’s fine. She didn’t get infected with any venom.” And Holly didn’t even feel mildly tired. She noted that when she didn’t need the extra power anymore, it dispersed into the background.
I bet Eric’s going to want to talk about this.
“A little girl?” Cara rubbed her stomach, smiling, and then elbowed Adam with a wink. “Told you it wasn’t a boy. Better hit that baby book again.”
Adam dipped his head with closed eyes and his mate did the same. “Thank you, Healer Sanchez. Cara and I are eternally grateful.”
Healer Sanchez. It was the first time anyone had called her that. Yeah, she’d been doing it for a while now, but for a pack alpha to bestow the title on her . . . That made it official. Word would spread through the packs.
Her head buzzed. “Um . . . you’re welcome. I . . . I should probably go take that call now.” As she stood up, she noticed Cara flexing her foot with a delighted expression. That was the nice thing about healing. People were so happy afterward—even when everything else around them sucked.
She walked into the room. Other than the phone on the table, there was no furniture. “Hello?”
“We’ve been waiting for you for some time, Holly.” Holly recognized the disapproving voice immediately. It was Nana, the seer from the Boulder pack.
“Nana! You’re okay!” She raced to the phone and picked it up, staring at it as though she could see the old Indian woman if she just looked hard enough.
The excitement in her voice made the old woman chuckle. “Yes, I’m okay. As is your father. I know you’ve been worried.”
Another weight lifted from her chest. “Does Iris know? Can I tell her?”
“Of course.”
A second woman’s voice cut in. “We don’t have time for this, Nana.”
Then a third woman chimed in, her voice deeper, with a Russian accent. “We must make time for the social niceties, Josette. It keeps our family strong. Let the girl settle a bit. She’s had a difficult few days.”
Holly recognized Josette Monier’s voice. She’d heard it when the woman had visited Uncle Raphael. It had been the first time she’d met a cat. Josette had made several cat noises for her, which had made her giggle. This time, she wasn’t laughing.
“May I remind you both of the seriousness of the situation? She needs to get her hands on that knife and get it to those who can use it.”
“Knife?” Holly felt her brow furrow. “What knife?”
Nana sighed. “My associate shows the impatience of her animal today. Not surprising considering the matter at hand. But she is correct that we have a special task for you, Holly. There is a knife we’ve found mention of in old texts. The Duchess has seen you obtaining it, in a cave somewhere near your present location. We must ask that you bring this vision to fruition. It could save all of our lives.”
“The Duchess” must be the third woman she’d heard, with the Russian accent. It was no use asking “why me?” She’d watched Lucas and the other pack members swear and roll their eyes at the strange demands of the seers. But they’d kept them safe and undiscovered by humanity for millennia, so they knew what they were doing. “What does it look like?”
The Duchess spoke. “I saw a black blade, made of ancient volcanic glass, decorated with rubies and turquoise on the—”
“Bone handle.” Holly’s blood had officially run cold. She’d seen that knife. Nasil had been fascinated by it on the plane ride. He’d remove it from a heavy metal box and moved it toward his hand, and then away again with a wince—as though simply getting near the thing hurt.
“You have it already?” Josette’s voice was excited.
Holly shook her head and felt a dull weight in her stomach. “No. But I know who does. Ahmad referred to him as Nasil.”
“Shit, shit, shit!” Josette’s voice was livid and Holly had to step away from the phone when she let out a screech so loud it would probably be heard upstairs. “Ea-Nasil still lives? Ahmad swore he’d been eliminated.”
Holly shrugged. “No, he’s alive. He rode with me on the plane from Australia.” She hastened to explain, so they wouldn’t get the wrong idea. “I was his prisoner. He threatened my sister, and had me frozen about half the time.” She hadn’t mentioned that part to Eric. It was sort of embarrassing to be unable to move. “I got away at the airport, and I don’t know where he is now.”
“Apparently he’s nearby, or Leyla wouldn’t have seen you with the knife,” Nana said after Josette’s tantrum was done. “You must still obtain it. And I’m very sorry, Holly, but you must do this alone. I’ve watched you grow into a confident, intelligent woman, so I have no doubt you know how dangerous this will be. Yet we must ask it of you—to save us all.”
The room spun, just a little, and Holly’s mouth felt dry. She knew she wasn’t the first to be asked to do something that could kill her, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear. Not only did she have to go out and find Nasil, she somehow had to get the knife away from him and get it back to someone here. Words aimed toward Josette spilled from her lips without even meaning to. “Are you sure you didn’t just pick me because you think I shouldn’t have survived?”
There was a long pause, and then Josette spoke. “I said that to Charles in confidence. I’m surprised he told you. Ahh. He must have had you involved in his hindsight. I’d apologize, but I stand by it. Much would have been different if you’d died. We might not be at this place now.”
“Not true,” the Duchess said while Holly’s head buzzed with the implications. “My vision occurred years ago. The girl hadn’t even been born yet. It was only when you showed me the photographs of the packs that I recognized her. While it was only one possible future, her survival wasn’t a mistake. Nor do I believe she needs to do this completely alone. The impression I had was that there were two people in the cave where the knife is. The other was a male, and might well have been Ea-Nasil himself. But it also might have been someone else.”
“One moment, Holly.” Nana’s voice broke in. “Let us confer.”
The voices faded until she could just barely hear snatches of conversation. “I don’t see why not,” and “No, too many complications,” then “There’ll be no stopping him anyway.”
There was the sound of shuffling feet and then brief static as someone picked up the phone. “Very well. There is one who, if he is at your location, may accompany you. The alpha wolf, Eric Thompson, can travel with you. He will not alter the future. Is he available?”
She started to answer when a low, mournful sound abruptly filled the room. It pressed against her skin, pulled at the wolf inside her so strongly that she couldn’t resist it. She couldn’t even get out words. “That howl,” Nana said with an odd lilt to her voice. “It calls to me. Even over the phone. It sounds like Inteque’s father, the Great White Wolf.”
Holly started to move toward the door without a word. She couldn’t resist that call. It boiled in her blood, yanked at her stomach, and dazed her mind. The outer room was already empty, meaning Adam and Cara had already responded. She shifted as she raced up the stairs and then she was outside, following the other pack members as they all tracked the sound.
The closer she got, the more aggressive she felt. Something was making her incredibly angry. Her lips pulled back from her teeth and she put on extra speed, passing by lesser wolves. Faster and faster she raced into the darkness, the howl leading her. Lightning flashed all around her, striking the ground with enough force to make her fur stand on end. The incessant boom of thunder made her ears hurt.
When she passed through a stand of piñons she saw it looming large over the bear and two wolves. A snake with wings, it seemed to be twenty feet long from the wide, fanged mouth to the slender, feathered tail. A thick band of feathers fluffed around its neck, so that it looked like it was wearing a clown collar. But this was no clown. It held in one taloned claw an unconscious, bleeding cougar. The other was wrapped around a small child who looked to be either asleep . . . or dead.
The animals on the ground were looking around, trying to locate what their noses could smell. But she could see it. This must be Marduc. She raced forward past the others and leapt with all her might into the air. She sank her teeth into the leg, just above the talons. Bitter, toxic blood filled her mouth. She wanted to spit it out, but it ran down her throat as the creature screamed, the sound like a speeding race car hitting a barrier. But her attack had the intended effect. The talon opened and the big cat dropped to the ground. Holly let loose her jaws and tried to drop to the ground, but Marduc was fast. Holly screamed as her leg was impaled with a foot-long fang and all she could think to do was latch onto the other talon and worry on it until it too opened. The child dropped the equivalent of two stories and lay still on the ground.
Eric howled again and more wolves leapt into the air, like Holly had. She felt the howl like a blow to her head. Her mind spun and she nearly choked as blood began to flow from her nose and mouth. It wasn’t just her either. Marduc pulled loose her fangs and shook her head. She dropped hard and fast, but managed to recover and spread her wings before she struck the ground. Holly took the opportunity to drop the rest of the way to the ground. Her wounded back leg collapsed upon impact. She rolled two or three times, and wound up on top of a patch of prickly pear cactus, too exhausted to roll off them again.
Holly looked up to see Marduc assessing the number of wolves, cats, and bears who were leaping and snapping just short of her talons. Apparently she decided the odds weren’t as good as mere moments before. As the sky flashed she let out another screech that was lost in the immediate clap of thunder, and then the fierce quetzalcoatl flew off into the sky.
Holly blinked dazedly and then Eric was beside her in wolf form. She hadn’t ever hunted with the pack when he was in Boulder, so she’d never seen his wolf. He was a pale yellow, identical to his hair color, with a broad chest and powerful legs. As he looked down at her, his eyes began to glow a brilliant, deep blue. His panic at the sight of her bloody, battered body was apparent. When he changed forms and reached down to pick her up, it was with thickly muscled bare arms, and magic-filled turquoise eyes.
If she hadn’t been in so much pain she might have smiled.