TRISTAN
I smell him. The man who made my best friend extremely happy then consumed by grief in the same week.
The man who made her a mother. The same man who may or may not be a demon.
He’s here and he’s headed this way. I stiffen and move to stand before Keasia.
Then, as if summoned, Steve is standing not two feet from me. His dark eyes sparkle with malice.
“Kash,” he says, ignoring me. “I take it you haven’t found our son?”
I feel, rather than see, the hurt those words cause.
“Our?” She scoffs. “Last I checked, you bailed when you found out about him. He isn’t our anything. He is my son. And I will find him.”
Her tone is the one that sends lesser men running for the hills, and I love her for it. She may have felt the prick of sorrow at this douche bag’s words, but she will never show that they hit their mark.
“I think it’s time you leave, Steve. Go on about your business, we’re here for a reason.”
He ignores me. “I see you still have your dog doing your dirty work. Nothing ever changes, huh?”
I bite my tongue to hold back my retort. I need to let Keasia handle her own battles.
“He isn’t saying anything I don’t want to tell you anyway. I think you’ve done enough. You need to get out of my face and go on about your day.”
His grin is the embodiment of evil. “I’m here for you, darling.” His voice is so filled with malice, it raked upward against my fur. “Didn’t you notice my voice?” He holds his hands to chest. “After all we’ve been through, you didn’t recognize that it was me sending you that vision?” He makes a dramatic expression of being hurt. I roll my eyes, but he doesn’t see it. “I thought we had something special, too. Appears I was wrong.”
“Appears that way,” Kay grits out. “What did you do to my son?”
He huffs. “I did nothing to your son. But I did kidnap your parents and kill your mother’s familiar.” His leer is sinister looking, and it's making me want to throat punch him. “But your son I never harmed.”
“Steve, I swear to the Goddess, if you hurt my family, I will kill you.”
“Let’s have a seat, shall we?” He extends his arm to indicate the table we were seated at already. “There’s much to discuss.”
I block his path. “I don’t think so. You can tell us what you came here for and what your demands are standing right where you are. We’re not friends. You can’t just come in here and expect to break bread with us after admitting to taking her parents and killing one of our coven members.” I bite back the growl, but I know my eyes are shining brightly.
“Your mutt needs to learn his place.”
Hallie steps between us. “He’s not a mutt, and you’re the one that needs to learn your place. You came to us. Not the other way around. So tell us what the hell you want and be gone. You’re wasting our time.”
Steve snarls at Hallie. Not only is she a wolf, but she’s a female. Both are things that Steve believes are below him. The females are to do what the man wants, when he wants it. The fact that there are two females here, and two wolves, has got to be grating on his nerves. Good.
“Hallie has a point. Tell me what the fuck you want. I don’t have time for this.”
“Your parents will be fine. But you need to drop the hunt for your son. He’s most likely dead, and if he’s not, he’s probably brainwashed by the monsters who took him. If you fail to stop your search, your parents will meet the same fate as the dog.”
With those words spoken, he turns on his heel and strolls out, vanishing behind the tapestry.
We wait a few heartbeats to make sure he’s actually gone.
“What the actual fuck?” Hallie growls out.
I grimace as Hallie holds her form together. Barely.
“So that bastard thinks he can scare me into giving him what he wants?” Keasia asks, anger and determination fueling her words. “I will not be cowed by some demon wannabe. He’ll have to do better than that.”
I take a deep breath and turn to my charge. “Kay, maybe you should stop the hunt for tonight. Let’s get back to your parents and make sure everyone is okay, and then we can continue tomorrow.”
She nods. “Yeah, but I need a strong drink. Give me a minute. Then we’re opening a portal to the house. I’m not driving there.”
That’s my girl. I grin. “But of course, my lady. I wouldn’t dream of making you sit in that car another minute.”
Keasia chuckles and Hallie rolls her eyes at my antics. Keasia heads to the bar to order a beverage while Hallie and I pay for dinner and finish what we have left on our plates.
“That guy,” Hallie starts. “I can’t believe Keasia loved him.” The disgust and disappointment are evident in her tone.
“He wasn’t always like that. He was a charmer. Sweet talked his way into her life. Slowly changing things he didn’t like about her. Then she just became someone I didn’t recognize. She stopped seeing and speaking to all of her friends. And if we weren’t bound, she probably would have stopped speaking to me, too.” I still remember the pain and fear I felt, waiting for her to dismiss me, too. “We talked long and hard about what he did to her after he left her up a creek without a paddle. She said she didn’t realize what was happening until he tried to tell her to cut ties with me. That was something she couldn’t do, no matter how much she loved the man. He took her with me or not at all.”
“Fucking scum,” Hallie hisses.
“No truer words have ever been stated about that guy,” I add.
I look up and search for Keasia. She’s taking longer than I expected. When I find her, she’s talking with two vampires. I wonder if they’re the same ones who had information for her earlier? She seems agitated with one of them. No, flustered? When does she get flustered?
“I should go and see if she needs my help,” I tell Hallie. I try to stand up, but she stops me with a hand on my arm.
“Don’t. She’s not in trouble. And if she was, she’s a witch. Those vamps stand no chance against her full power.”
I sigh. “You’re right. It’s been so long since she’s had magic, I keep forgetting.”
“It will take some time. She just got it back, you know. I mean, knowing her this whole time I knew she was powerful, but I’ve yet to experience it. I have to keep reminding myself that she’s not fragile anymore.”
I give Hallie a half smile. “That’s true. I’ll try to calm the wolf instincts a bit.”
Keasia walks back to us with the two vampires in tow. When she gets to the table, she introduces them. “Tristan and Hallie, meet Deon and Eliphas. They’re the ones who helped me with some information. They also think they can help us. Though I explained I’m not sure what they plan on doing against demons, they still insisted that they’ll be able to assist.” She shrugs. “I told them I’ll be traveling via magic, so let’s get a move on.” She downs the drink and ushers us out the side door, the door that only supes can see and not everyone knows about.
Once all five of us are in the alley, she casts her spell and opens a portal in the wall to lead us to her parents’ house.
“Are you sure it’s wise to bring outsiders to the leaders?”
“Yes. They won’t harm me or anyone within my coven; I bound them with magic. They can assist or fry.”
A bark of laughter escapes my lips before I can stop it. “Sorry. I should have expected something like that. But I didn’t.”
Keasia winks at me. Hallie shrugs with a grin on her face. Then she goes in first, followed by the vampires and then me. Keasia’s last to go through so she can keep the portal open for all of us.
We arrive on the front lawn of her parents’ house. She stops and looks up at it in awe, as if she forgot what she used to live in. As if she has never seen it before. Or maybe just taking it in for the first time in three years. Either way, she stares a bit longer than she should with outsiders present.
With a shake of her head, she strides toward the front door. She pushes it open and halts in her tracks. I just barely miss bumping into her at her sudden stop. I can’t say the same for Deon; his face hits my shoulder and a harumph comes from his mouth.
“Hey, what’s the big idea?” He asks.
Eliphas moves past Deon and me and moves to Keasia’s side, actually going as far as to push her back. “Blood,” Eliphas says, “Lots of it, from the smell. There’s magic in the air, too.”
“Of course there’s magic in the air; they’re the leaders of the Wolf Coven, for crying out loud.” Keasia says.
Deon shakes his head, but Eliphas responds to Keasia’s statement. “Not this kind of magic. It’s demonic.”
“Shit.”
“Fuck.”
“Whose blood?”
The three responses come from Hallie, Keasia, and me at the same time.
“It’s a shifter’s blood.”
“Steve wasn’t lying, then,” Keasia says in a small voice.
“Who’s Steve?” Eliphas demands.
She narrows her eyes on him.
“My ex. But apparently, he’s a demon. Who woulda thought?” Keasia shrugs it off like it’s no big deal. But I know she’s feeling everything but nonchalance.
“Can I go in now?” Keasia asks.
“NO!” The four of us shout. She flinches.
“Why the heck not?” She demands.
“As I’ve said,” Eliphas starts, turning his head to meet her eyes. “There’s demonic magic in the air. Not a residue. A spell. It’s probably set to kill the first person to walk into the house.”
“Well, this day just turned from bad to hell in a basket,” Keasia closes her eyes for patience while I try to work out what the hell we’re going to do.