Chapter Nine

Garrett and the crew arrived just before six. I asked everyone to meet in the living room so I could speak about my afternoon adventure with Brina. When I’d finished, I glanced at Liam, who was glaring daggers at Brina. She flinched as he mentally reamed her out. Kaera looked amused.

Garrett didn’t take it as badly as I thought he might. After what had happened with my trip to the Demon Realm, I guess he was just grateful I'd taken someone along who was capable of protecting me. “A sorcerer. This is even more unexpected than the witch. Did he look like his mother?”

“Yes, and his father, too. He’s their natural son.”

“Could he have glamoured himself to look like them?”

“What would be the point?” I answered.

“Liam, what’s your take?” Garrett asked.

“The Brownlow pack alpha, Fred, was born of a witch who’d been bitten but was able to carry the child to term without changing for the entire nine months. This seems to be the same situation. Karl must have also inherited Katrina’s genes to give him his sorcerer’s power on top of his werewolf abilities. I’m looking forward to seeing him for myself tonight.” Liam sent to me, “Because of safety concerns, Brina won’t be accompanying you on any more walks. You should have been honest with me.”

This time it was my turn to wince. “Don’t be mad. She was in control of the situation. She’s an excellent guard. I’m sorry.” Liam shook his head and glanced at Garrett. There was no point in arguing with him about it now.

Meanwhile, Sinc was still in a huff. “How could I not have picked up on any of this?”

“You were fifteen. His entire pack is in the dark. According to Katrina, only the immediate family knows she's a witch, but there must be others.”

Sinc sat up suddenly. “Do you think Quentin kicked me out so fast because shifters are a little more sensitive to magic? Did he think I might have figured out that something was up?”

Garrett nodded. “I think that’s extremely likely. It also explains why Katrina and Quentin were so adamant about your parents not contacting you.”

“But don’t they have dealings with non-weres on a regular basis?” Kyle’s face was scrunched up in thought. “And why do they feel they have to hide it?”

“Quentin’s pack policy has always been that only weres are allowed to be a part of the community. He enforces it without restraint. A few of my friends dated shifters and as soon as Katrina or Quentin found out, they were told to break up immediately. Make no mistake, this is a dictatorship. Quentin is the leader and Katrina is his true second in command. My dad is the enforcer, but Katrina has her mate’s ear.”

“Maybe he’s—maybe he’s being Influenced by his mate and his sorcerer son. Influenced in a magical way. Coerced. Can an alpha be glamoured?” Will was deep in thought.

“I think we’ll know more tonight after observing what goes on at the pack meeting.”

We discussed the results of the forensic evidence, which showed there was a struggle and werewolves in wolf form had been in the area of each disappearance. No help there. Garrett stood. “Let’s take a break for a couple of hours. You’ve all been working really hard.”

Garrett wrapped an arm around my waist. “Feel up to a drive?”

He was smiling, and my curiosity got the better of me. “Sure...where to?”

“I thought maybe we could stop by Clarissa Bernard and Eric Gwynne’s homes. Liam interviewed them, so we’ll take Kaera or Brina with us. “We turned to the fae sisters. “Which one of you would like to come?”

Kaera stood, “She is easily bored. Please remove her from my path. I’ll contact father with a report.” Kaera headed in the direction of her bedroom.

“Should I stay as myself or would you like Ethan again?” Brina’s eyes were gleaming with excitement.

Garrett smiled. “How about Sasha?”

“Fun.” Her blonde hair shortened and her purple eyes became a clear light blue as her facial structure changed from heart-shaped with soft lines to oval with sharper planes. Her body elongated and grew muscle, turning into our familiar six-foot two-inch gorgeous vampire, dressed exactly as he had been while we’d had our meeting. Brina stretched her arms over her head, trying to settle into her new body as the real Sasha walked in through the kitchen.

“What the f...?” He smiled silkily as he walked around Brina. “Who’s this good looking guy? My evil twin?” He took his time checking out his clone. “This is good, but are you sure you got me exactly right? “

Brina spoke back in Sasha’s own voice. “I wondered what you were overcompensating for with your attitude. Now I know.”

Sasha grinned at her, or at himself. “Very funny. I’ll be happy to clear up any issues regarding my proportions at your earliest convenience.”

“Do you truly love yourself so much?” Brina reached out and grasped his hand to pull him closer. He played right along, grinning and sliding a hand on her—his—waist. “Would you like to kiss yourself now, or do you prefer to wait?” she asked.

“Yeah, yeah.” He stepped away. “Go and have fun, children. Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“I believe you’ve just told me to do anything I want.”

He chuckled and turned on the flat screen, settling in to watch a baseball game, still smiling. It could never be said that Sasha couldn’t laugh at himself. Both versions.

“Later, Sasha.” She ran her fingers through her hair in a soap opera star kind of way. I was still wiping tears from my face and blowing my nose when we got into the borrowed car and Garrett turned on the GPS.

“Brina, you and your sister are like night and day. Do you have anything in common?” I asked.

“She is more subdued, it is true. As the older sibling and the heir, she must take her responsibilities seriously, sometimes too seriously in my opinion. Where we are alike is on the battlefield. Very few of the male teams in Faerie can win against us when we pair up.” I’d seen Brina take down wolves at lightning speed, so I didn’t doubt her word. “We are both attracted to the best male warriors, and often share.”

A little too much information for my taste. My face heated as Garrett sent, “You asked, my love.” There was laughter in his eyes. The bum.

Unfortunately, no one was home at either location, which was probably all for the best since a black Jeep was following us. The driver wasn’t even trying to stay hidden, as if Quentin sent him to let us to know Big Brother was always watching. When they saw we were headed back to the house they took off.

Garrett suggested we stop at a diner where Brina and I could eat something while Garrett had his usual black coffee or red wine. A lot of families with small children were sitting nearby and while Brina made faces and mumbled comments regarding undisciplined rug rats, Garrett smiled and laughed when one of them would say something cute or pull his sister’s hair. We picked up pizza for the rest of the crew, figuring they’d all be hungry, and we definitely wanted everyone in good shape for the meeting in two hours.

When we got back, Garrett and I shared a shower, then dressed in comfortable but professional clothes, not wanting the wolves to think we were disrespecting them or taking this meeting lightly. The whole team was a bit keyed up as we drove to the meeting hall, everyone thinking about the witch and the sorcerer and what might happen.