Hadley Werewolves, page 9
At the end of the road, the row of houses ended, but beyond it lay a dusty, haphazard soccer field with weathered goals at each end. The benches on each side appeared worse for wear, too. But they held her weight as she sat.
A gentle breeze swept past her, and she inhaled. A myriad of scents flowed past her, and she couldn’t help but smile. If things wouldn’t have gone the way they did, her mother could’ve raised her in a place like this one. She could’ve been a soccer mom and taken Charly to a field like this. No more endless days of lessons on conjuring the wind or manipulating others.
They could’ve had an ordinary life.
But they were witches.
And now Charly was also a werewolf.
Charly opened both her palms and studied the fingertips. A long time ago, they’d been pricked with a special needle from a witch’s bloodletting kit. The index finger had been the first. Her mother held tight to the digit she pricked, but Charly hadn’t squirmed, even for a young child. The droplet quickly formed and the lesson began.
“Everything begins with blood, Charly. Life and sometimes death.” At the time, her mother’s gaze was serious, but she held her daughter in the warmth of the crook of her arm. “I love you, and I don’t want anyone—or anything to hurt you—so you need to study hard to master the craft. Someday, you might have to shed more blood than this tiny drop. You need to be ready for that day.”
Charly missed when her mom used to hold her like that. She almost leaned forward, ready to bury her face in her hands, when someone tapped her shoulder.
“Zelda, is that you?” a man asked.
She gasped in surprise. The dark-haired werewolf hadn’t made a sound when he’d approached her.
“No, I’m not from around here,” she mumbled.
He was as tall as Trenton with a similar build, yet there was something else about him that made her stomach churn uncomfortably. His stare weighed her down like a burden she couldn’t hold up. She looked away as he adjusted a bag of soccer balls on his shoulder.
“Sorry about that. I could’ve sworn you were her.”
“No problem.”
He put down the sack, and a few balls flopped around the netting. “Excuse my manners. I’m Orland.” He offered a hand and she shook it. “I’m trying to set up for the high school boys soccer practice.”
She stood, immediately remembering his name as one of the second-in-command werewolves. “I didn’t plan to stay long.”
“You’re fine.” He took bright orange cones from the field and dumped them next to the sack he’d held. “Just be careful and watch out for witches.”
Now that came out of nowhere.
“I’ll do that.” She tried to swallow with a suddenly dry throat. He’d looked directly at her when he spoke. She was probably better off finding another target.
“Good.”
Charly walked—maybe walk wasn’t the right word—took a brisk stride. When she glanced back over her shoulder, Orland peered right back at her. The gaze rocked her senses in the wrong way. She had to be careful to reveal nothing of what she really was, or else her mission would end before it even began.
4
A few days passed in quiet, a perfect amount of time for Charly to get used to life in such an unfamiliar place. A stranger shouldn’t roam around looking through windows. Rest first, and then acclimate to the pack by setting down some roots. Find a job. Hang out with the locals.
If she didn’t spot too many suspicious stares, she might make it to downtown Hadley. But as she left Kyle and Emma’s house, every step she took added to her unease. She had yet to meet anyone new—other than Orland—or learn anything that couldn’t be gleaned from a town map. Her ride with Trenton had revealed too little about the town and its inhabitants.
What she had managed to learn was more about her host, though she still had questions. As she’d walked through Emma’s house, she passed many family photos. The images portrayed a history of love and togetherness through family vacations and barbecues in the backyard. Most of the pictures—which featured four people: a mother, father, and two sisters—changed to just the pair of girls, Emma and Meg. No one talked about the sisters’ parents, so Charly didn’t broach the subject. There would be time.
After a few blocks, the houses turned to businesses. It would be so easy to fall into the flow and enjoy the walk, but she had to focus for her mother’s sake. Make note of everything of value. All werewolves had their own scent. A bunch of individual markers she had come to identify with increasing accuracy. The closest description she could give wasn’t an animal-like one. Almost like an enticing musk you’d find in the center of a man’s back. Or the lingering sweet perfume of a woman. The woman waiting outside of the grocery store smelled like the lilac lotion she wore but there was something more, a scent that linked her to Meg, Emma, and Trenton. A chain that linked them all. This fascinated Charly, that they were connected not only as pack but also by smell.
Right next to the grocery store, Charly spotted a coffee shop in a brick building with a large bay window and green awning. A stark, white HELP WANTED sign had been taped to the front door window. Was this the place Trenton had mentioned when he’d first offered to drive her into town? So far, she’d seen at least four werewolves leave the shop with food or drinks. Based on the folks she walked past out in the open, the werewolves outnumbered the humans. That was unexpected.
In Las Vegas, there wasn’t as high of a werewolf-to-human ratio, but in the outskirts where the coven had their stronghold, a band of werewolves had settled in the area. They left the witches alone and the witches did the same. During her brief outings with an escort, she’d worked a part-time job so she’d feel less confined. The werewolves never patronized the business.
Charly ventured inside the coffee shop. Might as well see what she could learn. The cool air compared to the outside was divine. And the scents—how delightful. From fresh coffee beans to a faint whiff of someone eating a panini sandwich in the back. Her nose fed her all this information in an instant. A black-haired barista from behind the front counter waved at Charly.
“What can I get you?” the woman asked. Her name badge read Julia.
“I’d like a double tall, non-fat, half-caf, extra hot latte with whipped cream. Extra foam with one sugar and caramel sauce.”
Julia chuckled. “You know what you want.”
Charly shrugged. “I used to work at a place like this. If you cut me, I might bleed caffeine.”
Julia smiled in response. “You look new around here. You must be Charly.”
Charly’s right eyebrow rose. “Small town?”
“You got it.” Julia wrote her order on a paper cup and continued the conversation. “Emma let everyone know this morning that we had a new lady in town.”
Charly’s hand tightened into a fist. What did Emma say about her? “What’d I do to become the hot gossip?”
I could really give them something to talk about.
“Anytime we get a female rogue, Emma and Kyle—our pack alphas—like to make sure the boys working the factory behave.” The sounds of the coffee machine whirled to life as Julia prepared Charly’s drink while she spoke. “We have a large population of werewolves in a small space. Also, we had trouble here not long ago, so there’s plenty of suspicion about any strangers. But new werewolves are a welcome sight.”
“By the way, I noticed a Help Wanted sign outside,” Charly said. “What are you looking for?”
“Morning help. You staying in town long enough to want a job?”
“Definitely.”
Julia fetched a piece of paper, and Charly was glad to have the application. The need to keep her fingers busy grew. She strode to a nearby table and added her name to the top. The form was a welcome distraction to keep her cool.
“Been a long time since you had a cup of coffee?” Julia asked.
Charly’s head darted up. “Excuse me?”
“You’re as jittery as a newborn pup bounding for its bowl.”
“Yeah, I’m used to drinking it every day.” I’m used to a lot of other different things, too. “I came in with Trenton, the police officer.”
Julia grinned knowingly. “Oh, you met the lone wolf on the force. He’s a good man. He’s always working extra shifts to help out the human officers we have on staff.”
“Is he important in town?”
Julia passed her the cup. “Everyone’s important around here. What do you mean?”
Even though the paper cup was scalding hot, Charly’s took a sip and scalded her tongue. All the while, her mind tried to figure out what she could say to get the information she needed, yet not sound too suspicious. Her approach so far had been far too bold. “I meant to ask if he’s the chief of police or something like that.”
Or if he’s one of the second-in-commands under Kyle, the pack alpha.
“I don’t know, to be honest. Kyle was the only cop when he returned to town.”
“Trenton mentioned something bad happened around here, but he didn’t go into detail.” The shop was empty, so Charly didn’t feel out of place asking the woman a question like that one.
The shop owner paused for a moment while she wiped down a table. “It was a bad time.” She pointed for Charly to follow her to a built-in bench by a bay window. Charly imagined the open lighting made it a great spot for customers to relax and read. Julia patted a cushion on the bench. “I was sitting right there when everything changed. My daughter was at school when the town postman came running up the road. He’d been attacked. He had bright red blood all over him, and he was shaking with fright.” Julia visibly swallowed, and Charly glanced at the cup in her hands. “He kept mumbling about sick werewolves that had broken into his house that morning. They’d killed his wife and son, and then they came for him.”
“Damn.” The word escaped Charly’s mouth.
“That was only the beginning. After he showed up, my business cleared out real fast. Everyone ran home or to their loved ones, but it was too late. With each bite from the infected pack alpha, the sickness spread and the crazed werewolves were impossible to fight against. All thanks to that lowlife black witch.”
Charly’s stomach clenched into an iron ball. Julia had referred to the blood witches as black. What else did they not know about her coven?
“She’d come to Liam, our former alpha, and she’d cast some kind of spell on him overnight at his ranch outside of town. One minute he was there, and the next he disappeared. Only to reappear with death riding his backside.”
“Do you think the witches will come back?” Charly’s voice was a bit quieter.
“I hope they don’t, but a part of me wishes they would so I can kill every one of them. We’ve done nothing to harm them, yet they tainted something so beautiful. We live in harmony with the humans here.”
Charly forced herself to nod. “Why do you think she cast a spell on him in the first place? Maybe she had reasons you don’t know about?”
“What reason is there to kill people?”
“I can’t think of any.”
“My brother made mistakes once in a while, like any man. He had a relentless ego and a personality as prickly as a cactus, but he’d never make a decision to unleash cold-blooded killers on innocent humans and werewolves.”
Her brother.
Julia continued. “Liam had always wanted Emma as the alpha female. He’d chased after her, even though she grew up loving Kyle. The poor fool wanted her so much he drove away Kyle to have her. When Liam bit Emma, he expected her to become his alpha female. She ran to Kyle instead, and Liam chased after her with the witch.” She settled into the seat next to Charly. Up close, Charly could make out every feature in the woman’s face. The freckles along her cheekbones. The faint worry lines at the corner of her eyes.
“Emma told me they killed my brother and in the process bring down the witch,” Julia said.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Charly managed. She couldn’t even bring her eyes up to Julia’s to offer her a sympathetic glance.
“He died so the madness could end. Hadley is better off now, but if I had known sooner, I would’ve gotten out of here. Brother or not.”
The madness wasn’t over yet if the witches had their way. There was no way Charly could turn back now, since the townspeople even wanted the witches to die. Memories from the blood demon’s attack, how it killed anyone that neared it, brushed against her thoughts. She’d seen spells cast and blood shed for the greater good. But in this never-ending fight, now the witches had victimized the Hadley werewolves in their endeavor to keep the demons at bay.
When would it all end?
Charly took a sip of the hot coffee as a heavy silence drifted over the coffee shop. The drink’s heat bit the tip of her tongue, but all she could do was try to resolve the endless cycle of bitterness. Even more so, how could she keep her mother safe in the process?
After Charly left the shop with a promise from Julia to let her know about a possible part-time job, she spent the rest of the day restoring her strength by observing the locals. The tiny park at the top of a hill that overlooked the eastern edge of town was perfect for people-watching. Werewolf-watching.
Over lunch time, a line of young children had gone from a building off Main Street and crossed the road to the library. Two girls, a human and a werewolf based on their scent, held hands. Even when one boy tried to dart between them, they didn’t part. Into the afternoon, light traffic picked up. She spotted a woman with light blonde hair go into a shop. Something about the woman was familiar, but Charly shrugged it off. Maybe she’d seen too many people. As the evening gathered the light on the horizon, teens congregated at the edge of the hill to skateboard. With a lazy smile, she watched them do tricks along the curb.
As relaxed as she was, she still had a mission.
She had to get control of a few werewolves here. Not all of them. She refused to do that. Everything she’d seen today was so idyllic. A blood demon would sweep through this town with far more fury than her aunt Amelia. A powerful blood witch was one thing, but a supernatural creature with no corporeal body and an endless lust to consume the living was another thing entirely.
“You gonna sit there all night?”
She swiveled her head around to see Trenton. He approached from downwind without sound. Yet again someone had snuck up on her unawares. She made a sorry werewolf, still so new and honing her senses.
It took her a moment to find the right words. “I sat down and then getting back up didn’t seem as appealing.”
Trenton cocked a grin. “The guys at the police station got worried.”
“I’ve barely moved a muscle,” she replied. “I didn’t know I was a threat.”
“Most newcomers sample the pie at the restaurant or have coffee at the shop.”
“I did one out of two,” she said with a lazy smile. “Rather good for a first-timer in my opinion.”
He eased down on the other side of the bench. A foot separated them, but that wasn’t much with her newly heightened sense of smell bringing him closer. His scent filled her nose and mouth as if she could taste him.
“What do you plan to do tonight after you become one of the petrified land gnomes in the park?” he asked.
She snorted. “I’m rather good at sitting still, especially if there’s something good to look at.” His eyes danced at her reply. Especially after she looked him full in the eye.
“Charly, I’ll be honest with you. I check everyone who comes into town, and I looked up your background.”
Charly switched her crossed legs and leaned in his direction to offer her full attention. “So what heinous crimes did you uncover? I tried to make sure I built up a nice record of armed robbery before I came.”
“On the contrary, you don’t have a record. Not much of anything. Not even a driver’s license on file with the state of Nevada.”
She sighed. “Driving is overrated.”
“At your age, I’d expect at least some kind of digital blueprint.”
“Not everyone wants to post selfies on Facebook and Instagram. I happen to find more value in my studies than revealing every second of my life on social media.”
“A student, huh? Where did you attend?”
“A private institution.” As more shadows settled in around them, Charly couldn’t ignore how close her fingertips were to his. Her hands had drifted to the smooth wood of the bench, and now she gripped the edge. The heat from his left hand touched her right and the uncomfortable silence almost made her scattered thoughts all too clear. Could he hear her heartbeat the way she heard his hammering in his chest? The way she breathed faster?
She could reach out and touch him. Maybe he was the target she was looking for: a second-in-command. The enchantment spell could be cast quickly. She’d had several days to rest. All it would take was a moment of focus and a droplet of blood. Charly closed her eyes as she took the fingertip of her left hand and pressed the digit along the wood until she came to a sharp edge. With a brisk movement, she drew blood. Drawing the glyph in her palm was all too easy.
Then her conscience got the best of her.
Charly shifted to get up and Trenton suddenly grabbed her wrist. “You don’t have to go. I’d like to talk to get to know you better.”
“I just wanted some distance.” He didn’t let her go.
“Have I said something wrong?”
Her mouth opened and closed. Should she be honest? “I just … I feel something around you. I don’t know why I can’t look you in the eye,” she murmured. “It bothers me.”
“Am I scary?”
“Maybe you should be afraid of me.” Her breath hitched as she stole a look at his face. Something changed. Her wolf senses had become acute, pricked as they registered the intensity of how Trenton gazed at her. It didn’t seem like a look he’d give to just any woman, and the heat from his desire radiated through her. She was new, different, and maybe that had interested him in her as much as she was in him.
