We reached the end of the hall and Chris slipped out of the last room. He had a tense smile on his face that he dropped faster than a someone who’s mistaken a skunk for a cat.
I offered him a real smile and nudged him as he joined us down the stairs. “You look like you’ve been run over by a truck.”
“More like a sports car,” he corrected me as we descended the curved steps. “Mira is quite a viper when she’s annoyed. I thought she was going to strike me at any moment.”
Duncan smiled. “Wait until you see-”
A scream interrupted our parlay. It came from upstairs. We looked at each other for a second before spinning around and dashing up the stairs. The doors of the occupied rooms were all opened, and the muscles of the packs stepped out into the passage. All except one room. Maxwell Hurst himself stepped out into the passage. He scanned the hall and his fiery gaze settled on us.
He stabbed a finger at us. “You! In here!”
We hurried forward, though the men around me took the lead. It was on purpose, because as I tried to pass them, they closed the gap. Hurst slipped inside just ahead of us, and we entered the room to find his mate on the bed clutching one hand in the other. Smoke rose from her palm and silent tears slid down her cheeks. The smell of burning flesh filled the room, but there was something more than that. My sensitive nose picked up on a scent of age, like a mummy had shuffled into the room, dusty bandages and all, and touched everything.
At the sight of her injury Chris closed the door behind us, keeping out the curious looks of the other packs.
Maxwell stalked up to her side and spun around to face us. “Explain this attack on my mate!”
Duncan pursed his lips before he hurried over and knelt in front of her. He caught her bleary eyes and gave her a small smile. “May I?”
She nodded, and Duncan gently took her hand in his and studied the palm. After a moment’s perusal he frowned and looked up at the other company. “This woman has been burned by silver.”
Maxwell glared at all of us. “And I demand an explanation as to how this happened!”
Chris took a step toward him. “We will if you tell us how she was injured.”
Maxwell stabbed a finger at the bathroom door which was slightly ajar. “Someone attached a silver doorknob to that door!”
Chris and I hurried over to the door and inspected the knob. The knob had a gold appearance like any of the other handles in the house. I tapped my finger against the top and jerked my hand back. It felt like I’d been struck by a rod-hot pin. I lifted my hand and my eyes widened as I beheld my singed flesh.
Chris grasped my wrist and studied the wound. I knew what it felt like, but the tense look on his face made me even more worried. “Is it bad?”
“It’s not good, so no more touching,” he scolded me as he drew me back a little and knelt in front of the door. His eyes scoured the mechanism, and a frown creased his lips. “This was newly replaced. The screws are too bright and there’s no dust inside their heads.”
“Then one of you did it!” Maxwell roared.
Chris rolled his eyes before he glanced over his shoulder at the pack leader. “If we did do it, we’d have done a better job of hiding the work.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned at Maxwell. “Besides, why would we do something like this knowing we would be the first ones suspected of doing it?”
He glared at us. “How should I know? All I know is my mate is injured by a handle in your manor.”
Duncan looked up at the pack leader. “This burn is pretty bad. I’m going to need Bonnie to take a look at this.”
Maxwell’s lip curled up in a snarl. “Surely you have someone more proficient than that.”
Duncan stood and turned so they faced each other. The corners of his pursed lips turned down in the first show of disdain I’d ever seen him show to another human, er, werewolf. “Unless a member of one of the other packs has suddenly taken an interest in medicine, then I don’t know of anyone more proficient than her. If you like, I can ask around-”
“Then get her!” Maxwell snapped.
Duncan cast a look of ire at the pack leader before he slipped out of the room. Maxwell’s nostrils were stuck in permanent flare mode and gave me an uncomfortably clear view of his nose hairs. As he stood by smoldering in his anger his mate shrank deeper into her shell, but the sound of tiny sniffles floated over to us.
Chris stood and cupped my injured hand in his again. He drew me a little closer to himself and I was glad for the reminder that not all mates were so cold.
The door opened and Duncan stepped out of the way. Bonnie appeared in the doorway with the med kit grasped so tightly in her fingers that her whole hand was white. She cast a narrow-eyed look at the disdainful Maxwell before she strode up to the young woman and knelt in front of her. Duncan followed, closing the door behind them.
The woman’s soft, shaking voice floated out from her barely parted lips. “Will it heal?”
Bonnie’s face softened as she examined the pale face of the injured woman. “I’m sure it will but let me take a look at it.”
Bonnie set the kit by her side and studied the woman’s hand. After a moment she set the woman’s arm on a leg and gently opened the clawed fingers a little more. The woman winced.
Maxwell tensed. “What are you doing?”
Bonnie kept her full attention on the floor as she opened the med kit and pulled out some of the contents. “Treating your mate.”
He scoffed. “You’re probably the ones who caused it.”
Bonnie whipped her head up and shot him such a look of anger that Duncan stepped between them. “Maybe you should treat her in the bathroom where there’s water.”
Maxwell’s eyes flashed with hot anger. “I won’t let you take her out of my sight!”
A grin spread across Duncan’s lips as he clapped his hands on Bonnie’s shoulders. “Then it’s agreed! They’ll go into the bathroom and keep the door opened. Meanwhile-” The bedroom door opened, and Ethan stepped inside.
Our pack leader took in the strange sight before him with one quick look before he limped up to Maxwell. “I understand your mate was injured, and that it was no accident.”
Maxwell stabbed a finger at the bathroom doorknob. “Someone replaced the knob with one of silver. How could you let this happen?”
Ethan set his hands on the top of his cane and leaned forward a little. His height was a little shorter than the godlike Maxwell’s, but there was something so imposing about his cool, unblinking eyes that Maxwell couldn’t help but lean back a little. “I assure you we let nothing happen that would imperil our guests, but that someone tampering with doorknobs would have been very difficult for us to guess as a method of attack on you and yours.” Maxwell opened his mouth, but Ethan raised one hand. “However, knowing that you are targeted, and others may likewise be attacked, will keep us more vigilant. In the meantime, you have my sincerest condolences.” He turned to the woman as Bonnie helped her to her feet. Ethan held out his hand to Maxwell’s mate. “May I see it?”
The woman pursed her lips as she cast a furtive look at Maxwell. He gave her a stiff nod, and she reluctantly set her injured hand in his palm.
Greylock studied the wound for a long moment before a smile spread across his lips. He lifted his eyes to the trembling woman and the gentle expression on his face visibly softened her tension. “You are bearing this wound very bravely, my dear lady, but my companion here,” He gestured to Bonnie, “will see that you suffer no longer.”
He handed her off to Bonnie who led her into the bathroom. True to Duncan’s word, he made sure to keep the door ajar.
Maxwell frowned after Bonnie before he returned his attention to Ethan. “And what do you intend to do about this grievous attack on my mate?”
“We intend to find the one who switched the knobs. You know as well as I that the culprit is most certainly among us. Rest assured we will find them and bring them to answer for their crime.”
He scoffed. “Even if the criminal turns out to be one among your own pack?”
A small smile curled onto Ethan’s lips. “I leave nothing off the table, but I have the utmost trust in those among my pack, and doubt any would play such a cruel trick on your mate. For now, we will remove you to another room and search the area for clues.”
Maxwell shook his head. “I will do the searching myself, if you don’t mind. All I want is for you and yours to heal my mate and then get out of here.”
Greylock inclined his head. “If that is what you wish, then we will abide by it, and I will be the first to leave. If you will excuse me.”
Ethan turned and limped to the door but paused in the doorway and caught the eyes of Chris and me. He jerked his head slightly toward the door. Time to leave, at least for us.
Duncan gave us a grin and a wink. “I’m so clumsy that Bonnie’s fast with these bandage things, so we’ll be right out.”
Chris took my hand and we followed Ethan out the door.