Caged, page 17
“Par vestigium,” I whispered.
A puff of magic flowed over the cards and the fingerprints on the desk drawer handle. There was no flare of blue light, no answering magic.
“No prints from Stephen or St. John. I’ll lift the prints and we can compare them with someone else if we have another suspect. I’ll need prints from both of you for elimination purposes.” I looked at Liam and Ruth.
Liam shoved a hand through his hair, tension singing from the tight muscles of his shoulders and jaw. His hands flexed, and for a second, I thought he was going to punch the desk. A gold shine slid over his eyes.
In the admittedly short time I’d known Liam, his control had always been impressive. I didn’t usually see his wolf peeking out of his eyes, even when emotions ran high. But now I was seeing his wolf’s stare on a regular basis. And Liam had given in to physical confrontation far more than I ever would have expected from him. His interaction with Emma had been particularly shocking.
Kristine spoke before I could think of a tactful way to raise my concerns. “Liam, I need to talk to you about Emma.”
“Not now, Kristine,” Ruth said sharply. “This isn’t the time.”
Kristine hesitated, then squared her shoulders. “I’m sorry, but I think it is.” She gestured at me. “I was just telling Shade that Stephen was very upset about…” She stopped, searching for the right word.
“I’m aware of Stephen’s opinion on my leadership, get to the point,” Liam growled.
The pulse at Kristine’s neck sped up, fluttering under her skin like a bird caught in a net. She cleared her throat. “I think Stephen is getting ready to make a move. I don’t mean he’s building a plan, I mean I think he’s going to put his plan into action. Maybe as soon as today.”
“Ruth, call up the GPS tracker on Stephen and St. John,” Liam said, throwing the order at the female werewolf like a drill sergeant. “Set up an alert. I want to know the second they put a paw out of their rooms.”
Kristine cleared her throat. “I’m not sure that’s going to work.”
Liam took a quick step closer to her, and her eyes widened. “Why not?”
“Because,” she said weakly. “St. John is a thief. Former thief,” she amended quickly. “I don’t think an anklet is going to—”
“Call Blake and make sure he and Sonar stay in the hallway outside St. John’s room,” Liam ordered Ruth. “If they already left the hall, tell them to check his room and confirm he’s still there.”
I didn’t like the sound of Liam’s voice. He was breathing harder, barking out orders faster and faster, until each one rang with desperation. And that gold shine in his eyes did not bode well for his self control.
“It’s not just that,” Kristine added.
I gave her a sharp look, trying to make her stop talking without giving away my concerns. I needed a second to think, a moment to figure out how to calm the werewolf before he exploded.
“Stephen has been planning his own pack for some time,” Kristine continued, oblivious to my warning. “And if Brenna helped him, then there’s a good chance the people he’s targeting will be open to his manipulation. It’s possible—”
“You think he’s turned some of my wolves into his agents?” Liam said, his voice dangerously low.
Kristine did take a step back then. Oddly enough, she angled to put herself behind Ruth. “I’m saying there’s no easy button to shut down whatever he’s planning,” she said softly. “If you want to stop this situation from getting out of control, you need to calm down. And you need to reason with Stephen.”
“You want me to go to him and beg him not to steal my wolves?”
Every instinct in my body flared to high alert. Without conscious thought, magic burned to life in my palms, and the witch in me took over. I put myself in front of Liam, blocking his view of Ruth and Kristine.
“No,” I said firmly. “That is not what she’s saying. Stephen isn’t stealing your wolves, he couldn’t. You’ve worked too hard to build a strong pack, a loyal pack. Stephen is preying on the weaker wolves who haven’t officially joined you yet. He’s taking advantage of their ignorance and their fear.”
Liam opened his mouth, but I didn’t let him interrupt me.
“Without fear, he’ll have no control over them. If you want to stop him, all you have to do is show them what a real leader looks like. That means staying calm, being firm, and pulling yourself together.”
“You’re overstepping your bounds, witch.”
Ruth’s voice surprised me, made me turn away from Liam to look at her. The female werewolf took a long, deliberate step forward, holding my gaze as she put herself closer to Liam.
“You were permitted to be here as part of the investigation into Adrian Varca’s death,” Ruth continued, her voice ice cold. “You aren’t here to offer your opinion on our alpha’s methods.”
I bit back the angry retort that leapt to my tongue. Now was not the time to give into conflict.
Ruth turned to Liam. “Stephen’s been working behind your back for months. If he’s seduced our clients into believing he’s the better alpha for them, then you can’t undo that kind of brainwashing in a day. We don’t have time for you to prance around being a good example and hoping they’ll notice. You need to approach this logically, from a strategic position.”
I didn’t know if Liam’s silence thus far was a sign he was thinking about what we said, or if his wolf was just that close to the surface that all of his focus was going toward controlling the urge to hunt Stephen down and deal with him lupus a lupus.
“Blake left these in my office earlier,” Ruth said, tapping a stack of papers on Liam’s desk. I recognized them as the documents and notes we’d taken from Brenna’s apartment. “I’ve read Brenna’s notes, and I think I know Stephen’s weak spot.”
“Go on,” Liam said, his voice strained.
“Edwin.” Ruth tapped the papers again. “Brenna had a list of shifters she thought would be a good fit for Stephen’s new pack. Edwin’s name is on it, and it’s underlined. She made a note that he would be a strong stallari, specifically that he would help to keep order.”
“Edwin doesn’t strike me as the sort of person to use an enchanted collar,” I said doubtfully.
“Edwin is the type to follow orders,” Ruth said, ignoring me. “It’s as plain as the scars on his face. He’s strong, but he has no desire to be an alpha. Instead, he’s looking for someone that he can follow, someone who deserves his respect.”
“And it’s also plain to see that he doesn’t like or respect Stephen,” I pointed out, irritation creeping into my voice. “He’s been crystal clear that he thinks Liam should shut Stephen down, in no uncertain terms.”
“And Liam has refused to do it,” Ruth shot back, finally sparing me a heated glare. “Maybe Edwin thinks helping Stephen form his own pack is the fastest way to get rid of him.”
I didn’t think there was any validity to what Ruth was saying, but I had no proof to the contrary. What I did know for certain was that Liam was in no state to confront anyone about anything. Priority one had to be calming him down, or any action he took would only work against him.
“I need to talk to Edwin.” Liam slapped his hands on his desk, palms down, then pushed himself off and closed the distance to the doorway in three long strides.
I swore under my breath. “This is a bad idea. This is a very, very bad—”
“Stay here,” Ruth hissed, pointing at a chair in front of Liam’s desk. “This is none of your business.”
My grip on my anger slipped, and I squared off against the taller woman. “I’m a witch. Everything is my business.”
Ruth narrowed her eyes, but turned away without arguing. “I don’t have time for this.”
Between his longer stride and his temper, Liam was faster than both me and Ruth. We didn’t get to the hallway of the men’s dormitory wing until Liam was already at Edwin’s door, fist banging on the solid wood. My imagination provided me an image of the door splintering under the alpha’s temper, and I quickened my pace.
Edwin answered the door wearing only a pair of sweatpants. It was the first time I’d gotten a look at his bare chest, and I swallowed a hiss at the scarred flesh. The silver damage hadn’t been limited to his face. Blood and bone, how had he survived that? How could the wizard have left him to suffer that kind of pain?
I skidded to a halt behind Liam, standing to the side just enough that I caught a glimpse of a mark painted on Edwin’s chest on one of the few inches of skin untouched by scar tissue. It was a rune for healing. The scent of burning herbs tickled my nose and almost made me sneeze. Liam scrunched up his nose too.
“What’s that?” I asked, gesturing to indicate the smell.
“I’m in the middle of a ritual,” Edwin said. “To aid in healing.”
Liam seethed beside me, and I kept talking, buying him time to pull himself together. “A ritual?”
Edwin nodded. “Our volva taught it to me. She’s from Nigeria, and she learned this ritual from her ancestors. It helps with pain and aids the body to heal faster.”
It said something about his job in his former pack that he’d required a healing ritual often enough that his volva had taught him to do it himself. Shifters healed fast, I could only imagine what sort of damage would require help.
“What brings you here, alpha?” Edwin asked, not moving from the doorway. His eyes took in Liam’s agitated state, then bounced to Ruth and me before settling on Liam. The half-ruined eye with its milky sheen did nothing to detract from the intensity of his look.
Liam took a deep breath before answering. “I hear you were invited to join a new pack.”
Edwin didn’t flinch. “You mean the one your sister was helping Stephen organize?”
Liam’s jaw tightened. “You knew.”
“You didn’t.”
Liam braced a hand on the wall beside the door. “What did you say? When they invited you to join them, what did you say?”
“I said no. Stephen isn’t ready to lead a pack, and I’m not going to be a crutch for him to lean on when he figures that out.”
“Stephen isn’t going anywhere,” Liam said vehemently.
Edwin quirked the eyebrow that wasn’t crossed with scar tissue. “You say that with a great deal of confidence. Can I ask what you’re going to do about it?”
“He needs my permission to leave. And he most certainly needs my permission to take anyone with him.”
“And if he proceeds without your permission, what will you do?” Edwin asked.
“I’ll stop him.”
“How? You’ll collar him again?”
Liam tensed at the mention of the collar. “Did you steal it?”
Now Edwin looked confused. “Steal what?”
“The collar.”
Edwin narrowed his eyes. “The collar is missing?”
Liam braced his other hand on the opposite side of the door. “You’re telling me you didn’t know?”
Edwin watched him silently. Then he shook his head. “No, I didn’t.” He paused. “You stand at a precipice, Alpha,” he said solemnly. “Your authority is being challenged indirectly, and it is as dangerous to your position as a direct challenge left unanswered. Stephen and Emma challenge you, St. John challenges you. Even your sister challenges you.” His voice softened. “I’m sorry to say Brenna is your biggest problem. A sure sign that you’re losing control. In my former pack, she would have been the threat that would have been dealt with first. The new wolves are naive and ignorant. Brenna is a traitor.”
Liam’s shoulders pinched at the word traitor, and his chest heaved as if he were having trouble breathing. “And you were the problem solver for your alpha, weren’t you?”
Edwin didn’t look away. “Yes.”
“And how would you have dealt with Brenna?”
Edwin tilted his head, studying Liam for a long moment. Finally, he shook his head slowly.
“Do you know what the difference is between a strong alpha and a nice alpha? If my former alpha had looked at me the way you are now, I would have been afraid,” he whispered.
Something snapped in Liam. I didn’t have time to shout before he dove forward. A sound roared from his throat, a feral cry that screamed at the primal part of my brain to run. My heart pounded as Liam’s humanity peeled away and he drove Edwin backward into his apartment, teeth bared.
Chapter 16
Fur sprouted from Liam’s skin as his body swelled, muscles rippling and bones shifting into a half-man, half-wolf. Black claws sprouted from his fingertips as he raised a hand over his head.
“Blood and bone.” I took a step forward, my mind a chaotic jumble of words, none of which had a prayer of stopping the violence erupting in front of me.
“This is not good.” Peasblossom wrung her hands, looking up and down the hall to either side. “People are going to hear this.”
“I can’t interfere,” I muttered, mostly to myself. “But he’s going to regret that.” I started to raise my hand. “Maybe…”
A hand closed around my arm and pulled, spinning me around. I found myself abruptly facing a very angry Ruth.
“What are you doing?” she said, her voice a harsh whisper. “This is none of your business.”
Peasblossom was right. At least three doors opened to reveal the concerned faces of New Moon’s clientele. I tried to speak in a low enough voice that I wouldn’t be heard over the chaos.
“He’s losing control. He—”
“He is not losing control,” Ruth cut me off, her voice more of a hiss than actual words. “He’s discipling someone who challenged his authority. You need to stay out of it.” She flicked her gaze down the hallway, then back at me. “They need to see this.”
“You’re out of your mind.” I fought to keep my voice from rising. Frustration made my skin feel too tight, and the energy rolling off of Liam and Edwin barreled into me with all the tenderness of Niagara Falls. “He’s been on edge since I got here, and it’s only getting worse.”
A large crash erupted from inside Edwin’s quarters. I gritted my teeth, but didn’t try to push past Ruth.
“You’re not pack, so don’t pretend you know what’s going on,” Ruth said. “Violence doesn’t mean the same thing to us that it does to you. Liam isn’t losing control, he’s raising the intensity of his reaction to meet the rise in insubordination.”
“Look at him,” I bit out, jerking my head toward the room. “How can you not see he’s fighting to stay in control—and losing? You’re the one who told St. John to hide!”
“That was different,” Ruth snarled. “St. John was sleeping with his little sister, and Liam saw that as taking advantage and manipulating. And with everything that’s been going on, he was too close to the edge not to overreact. This is different.”
She stepped closer until I had to look up to keep meeting her eyes. “Your time here will be better spent if you don’t meddle in affairs you don’t understand. Liam is fighting not to live up to the model his father set for him. It’s a quirk of his and Brenna’s personalities that I’ve never understood. His father is a strong man, a strong alpha. And when Liam stops fighting to find a softer way, he’ll be even better than his father.”
“He has a right to choose his own path,” I argued.
“You. Don’t. Know. Him. And you don’t know shifters.” Ruth looked toward Liam and Edwin, her nostrils flaring as she scented the blood. “He was always going to end up on this path. It’s just happening faster now that Brenna isn’t here to impede it with reminders of how ‘horrible’ their father was. She’s a good woman, but she’s too soft. She holds him back when, left to his own devices, Liam would have grown so much stronger without her.”
My lips parted, and I stared at Ruth, unsure of the implications of what she’d just said. “So you wanted— Hey!”
Someone grabbed my arm, fingers digging into my flesh and hurling me out of the doorway. I flew backwards, hitting the floor hard on my tailbone. Pain shot up my spine, but I ignored it, fixing my stare on the dark shape that had just bolted inside Edwin’s quarters.
Stephen.
“Get out of there,” Ruth barked.
Stephen ignored her, his feet pounding the floor as he hurtled into Edwin’s room. A second later, Stephen flew out the door. I squeaked and rolled to the side, barely avoiding a black eye as his foot passed inches from my face. His back made contact with the wall opposite Edwin’s door with a stomach-churning crash. Then he slid to the floor.
My eyes widened as Liam surged out of the room after him. He was still in a partial shift, his face more wolf than man, and his clothes torn and splattered with blood. It was a scene straight from a B-horror movie, the wild monster terrorizing the inhabitants of a local rehab center.
Blood and bone.
Stephen looked up, his mouth setting into a grim line as he watched his alpha approach, teeth bared, growl reverberating in his chest. He started to raise an arm as if to defend himself, then lowered it. Curling his hands into fists, he forced his head to the side, baring his neck.
“I’m sorry I interfered,” Stephen said, his voice winded from having the air knocked out of him. “But I can’t stand by when you’re losing control. Not when it means someone in our care is getting hurt.”
“He’s not losing control,” Ruth snapped, taking two long strides to bring her up next to Liam. “He’s dealing with insubordination.” She looked at the people who’d come out of their rooms, and raised her voice to be heard over their murmurs. “No one has any reason to be afraid. Not if they’re following the rules.”
“And what rule did Edwin break?” Stephen demanded.
I stared at Liam as Stephen spoke. I knew it was difficult for him to speak in that form, but it wasn’t impossible. The fact that he let Ruth speak for him right now worried me. His authority was being challenged, and he’d answered it with physical violence. If he didn’t follow it up with some sort of calm, rational response, the people in the hallway would assume he was losing control and wasn’t capable of rational thought.
