One week later
I didn’t expect much out of Julian’s pack ‘territory’, but I was infinitely relieved that my car did so well off-road when we reached the last portion of the directions he had given me. My Outback bumped happily over the dirt road, but my passenger wasn’t handling the ride quite as well.
“Does he live in the middle of the fucking woods? What sort of Red Riding Hood shit is this?”
I suppressed a laugh, looking over at Laura, who was holding on to the grab bar to keep her steady. She looked a little green around the gills, but sick or not, I was happy to have her with me. Hector and Danny hadn’t wanted me to come at all, but after some heated arguing, they’d agreed. Having my friend with me helped settle my nerves, and I knew that Laura was an incredible fighter, too.
“He told me his cabin was pretty remote,” I said. “It’s just a little further down this way.”
Laura sighed. “I can’t believe we’re here doing this shit. This is going to be a waste of time. He’s just on your case because of the mate match thing.”
I thinned my lips. I’d thought the same thing multiple times, but Julian had kept up his part of the deal so far when five members of his pack showed up to guard the Silverfang Creek perimeter. “Maybe, maybe not. But if he’s being even half truthful, it’s worth a shot.”
Laura sighed again. “Well, I’m just here for moral support.”
“And demon punching.”
She laughed. “And demon punching.”
We’d been fighting demons together since we were teenagers. We had different roles, but we both knew what needed to be done. Laura was a strategist, a thinker. She would see the bigger picture and how it fit into the puzzle. I was a doer. I saw the smaller details that sometimes made the difference in a fight. Together, we were unstoppable.
The dirt road ended at a small clearing where two pickup trucks and a Jeep were already parked. A little further out was a crescent of cabins dotted about—the Reckless Stalker’s homes. Julian stepped out of the largest one as we parked, and came forward.
He was dressed casually today in a white t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans, but his eyes were on me as soon as I got out of the car. “I’m glad you came.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t say the same.” I crossed my arms and looked around the clearing. “This is…remote.”
Julian bristled but kept his cool. “It’s home,” he said simply. “Come on, I’ll show you guys your cabin. Unless you want to stay with me, Whitney.”
“I think I’ll pass,” I said dryly.
Julian nodded once, his lips twitching. “As you wish. Let’s get your bags. My guys will bring them to your cabin while we discuss our plan.”
“Fine.” I grabbed my backpack and purse and followed Julian toward the cabins. There were five of them arranged in a semi-circle around a fire pit that was set up with logs for seats. They weren’t fancy, but they were obviously well-cared for with freshly painted doors and windows, neatly trimmed shrubbery, and cleanly swept front porches. A large grill sat to one side of the fire pit, and I imagined summer nights with the pack gathered around it.
Julian led us to the farthest cabin, which had a small porch that held two rocking chairs. The door swung open on silent hinges when he turned the knob and stepped inside. “This is my spare,” he said, “So it’s just a one-bedroom.”
Laura and I followed him inside. It wasn’t bad. There was a small kitchen off the left of the door, a living room on the right, and a hallway that I assumed led to the bathroom and bedroom. I nodded and dumped my bags in the middle of the floor.
It was unsettling to know he was so close. I’d be able to hear him moving around at night if he was close enough.
Julian gave Laura a tour of our cabin while I looked around, opening the fridge and the cabinets, checking the closets, and peeking into the drawers in the bedroom. There was a small stack of towels in the closet, but otherwise, everything was clean and bare. It felt like camping more than someone’s home.
“Are you satisfied?” Julian asked when I walked back into the living room. “It’s just as I said, empty.”
I nodded. “It’s fine. I was just looking around.”
“Alright. Let’s head over to my cabin and talk about the plan.”
Laura grabbed my arm as I started to follow him out of the cabin. “Are you sure about this?” she whispered.
“No, but what choice do we have?”
“None,” she sighed, “I guess. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Me neither,” I said, “But Julian isn’t going to hurt me. At least not yet.”
“If you say so.”
We followed Julian into his cabin. I was surprised to see how warm and homey it looked. He’d told me it was empty, and that had been the truth. There was nothing personal anywhere. The fridge was empty, there was no mail on the counter or coffee table, and everything looked newly cleaned.
But the living room had two camping chairs, a sofa, a coffee table, and a big-screen TV. There was a stack of DVDs next to a DVD player, and a pile of video game cartridges next to the Xbox. The kitchen had the bare essentials—a coffee maker, a microwave, and a small stove.
“This is nicer than I expected,” I said, walking over to peek into his fridge. As I suspected, it was empty. “Basically, what I’d expect from a bunch of men living together without a woman’s touch. What do you all eat?”
“We, uh…we hunt.”
I stilled, shutting the fridge as I stood up straight. Hunting and eating a rabbit in wolf form was one thing—hell, I’d done it once or twice myself—but using that tactic as their main form of sustenance was crazy. “Really giving yourself over to the wolf out here, huh?”
“It’s efficient,” Julian shrugged, crossing his arms as he leaned against the counter. “And it gives us a chance to run wild. But I’ll make sure to get groceries.“
I frowned, turning to look at him. “Don’t you ever get tired of it?”
“Of being a wolf? Never.”
“But do you ever miss the human side? The modern conveniences I mean?”
“Sometimes, but I don’t let myself think about it too much. We have what we need out here.”
“Except food.”
He sighed and nodded. “Well, yeah, but we’re working on that. Our nearest town is two hours away, so we don’t have a lot of options.”
I turned away from him and walked over to the DVD collection sitting next to the Xbox. There were a bunch of action movies, mostly superhero or alien stuff. I sighed at the lack of variety, but I wasn’t surprised. Men were so predictable. “So you’re all living out here, miles from civilization, hunting your food, and playing video games. Sounds like a bunch of frat boys.”
Julian shrugged. “We are a little. We have fun, but we also work hard. This isn’t just a vacation spot, it’s our home.”
Laura crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “Sounds like a great time,” she said dryly.
We were getting too far off-topic, and while it was fun to pick on Julian, we couldn’t let our guard down around him. Not really. With Julian, Laura and I were operating off the ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ principle. As soon as the demon threat was dealt with, Julian and the Reckless Stalkers would fall right back into the enemy category. For now, though? We were uneasy allies.
“Let’s talk about what we’re doing here,” I said, sitting down on the couch. It was surprisingly comfortable.
“What do you want to know?” he asked, moving over to lean against the back of the couch. He stood close enough to me that I could feel the heat coming off his body.
“We’ve been fighting demons for a while,” I said, shifting slightly away from him. I needed some space between us, even if it was just a few inches. “You told me you’ve been having issues with them for the past few weeks, and that you have some hot spots out here, whatever that means.”
Laura dropped herself into one of the camping chairs while Julian sighed and started pacing. “We think they’re keeping tabs on us. The few altercations we’ve had didn’t seem to be pointed, but instead, out-of-control demons or just the result of unintended run-ins. I don’t think we have anything they want—and I say we as in the Reckless Stalkers. But I think they also know wolves are the enemy, and other wolves DO have what they want. Witches. I can show you where we’ve had a few fights and where I think they camped out to watch us before we ran them off.”
I tapped my fingers on the arm of the couch in thought. “I’m not sure what I’m going to find, but it’s better than nothing. Anything else I should know?“
“They aren’t particularly strong. A few good hits will take them down. Most of them don’t fight, they just run. That’s why I think they’re lookouts and not meant to be engaging us.”
I glanced at Laura. “That sounds like what we’re dealing with at home. Except for the running part. The ones in our territory want blood.”
Laura clicked her tongue. “You mean they want Faye and Sienna, and they’re happy to spill blood to try and get to them.”
“Correct.” I turned to Julian, who seemed surprised with my direct look. “Listen, I don’t intend on talking about the Red Canines with you, but I do want to ask something that I’ve been unable to get an answer about from anyone else. Why in the world are they after Faye and Sienna so heavily but they leave the Canine’s witch Saul alone? I was led to believe he’s rather powerful.”
Julian leaned against the wall, scratching his jaw as he mulled the question over. “I was gone by the time Danny and his cronies found anything out, but I still have connections in the Canines.”
“Who?” I asked quickly, hoping to catch him off guard. I’m sure Danny would want to know if one of his wolves was feeding Julian intel.
Julian scowled. “Nice try, but I’m not telling you. Anyway, my intel says that they’ve found some clues in their research and still have to confirm it before making it public knowledge…but the thought is it’s less about Faye and Sienna being witches and more about their bloodline and the fact they both have wolf AND witch blood. Saul is a heavy hitter, but he’s human through and through. I heard that Peter even offered to bite him and initiate the change, but Saul refused.”
Laura leaned forward in her chair. “What makes you think their bloodline matters? I can buy the wolf witch thing, but the bloodline part doesn’t make much sense.”
“Because there’s always a pattern with demons,” I said. “They’re smart enough to keep us guessing, but eventually you can see what they want if you pay attention. It’s a game of hide and seek for them. They hide their plan, but we’re smart enough to figure it out.”
“I just hope you’re right,” Laura said.
“We’ll find out soon enough,” I said, getting to my feet. “I’m going to get the rest of our stuff and then I’d like to take a walk and get a feel for this area.”
Julian nodded. “Let me know what you need.”
I walked out of his cabin and across the circle to ours, Laura on my heels. We unloaded the rest of the car and put everything away. It didn’t take long since we’d only packed a few bags and had brought as little as possible. We weren’t here for a vacation.
Laura tossed her bag on the bed and fell backward onto it with a sigh. “Well, that was a lot of nothing.”
“I know,” I groaned, sitting on the edge of the bed. “But I have to be thorough. We’ve never had information about demons before. If there’s something to learn, I want to learn it.”
“Even if it means being around Julian?”
“Yes,” I said. “Even if it means being around Julian.”
***
We unpacked and ate a few sandwiches before changing into our hunting gear and went to find Julian. He was armed with a shotgun and a machete that had a well-worn handle. I didn’t want to admit it, but seeing him ready for battle stirred something deep inside me. Julian looked hot as hell holding that machete and wearing cargo pants that showed off his long, muscular legs. It wasn’t fair that the enemy was so damn good-looking.
“Ready?” he asked, looking us over.
“Yeah, let’s do it.”
The drive to the spot where the first demon had been spotted took less than ten minutes, and Julian explained a little more about how the Reckless Stalkers operated as he drove. The pack was still new and made up of mostly older wolves who’d grown tired of the direction Danny was taking the Red Canines. Julian led them, and they’d chosen to move out into the woods because it was easier to get away from everything there.
I didn’t mention it to Julian, but I thought it was a pretty big waste of their time to start a new pack with nothing to do. I knew there was some tension between the Silverfangs and Red Canines, but they had set it all aside for Naomi’s sake and faced the demon threat as a united front. It was a waste of energy to fight amongst ourselves when demons were such a huge threat.
The spot looked like a rough campsite that had no rhyme or reason, and it reeked of sulfur—a clear demon sign. I pulled my phone out and started snapping pictures while I walked around, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
“They left in a hurry,” Laura said, crouching down to look at the remains of a campfire. “These ashes are cold, but there aren’t any signs that it rained recently.”
I nodded. “Julian, you said you came out here right before we did? Did it rain?”
“No, not a drop,” he said. He was standing by the edge of the campsite, his hand resting on the handle of his machete. He looked like a warrior, ready to take on whatever might come his way. I pushed the thought from my mind and looked back down at the firepit.
“Okay,” I said, looking around. “They were here, but I’m guessing they heard you coming and got out of here before you could catch them. They must have some kind of communication system because this fire is pretty fresh. It looks like it was lit a few days ago.”
“It was,” Julian agreed. “It’s been two days since we came out here, and this fire is exactly how we left it. Whatever is going on, it’s recent.”
I walked over to him, and he was so tall compared to me, it felt like standing next to a tree. “This isn’t normal demon behavior. They’re normally smarter than this, more covert. I think—"
I didn’t get time to finish my sentence before the demon dropped down out of the canopy above us, landing on Laura with an unearthly screech. Laura rolled to avoid being pinned under the demon, which was a horrible-looking thing, its decayed flesh hanging off its bones. This demon should have found a new body a long time ago, but for some reason, it hadn’t managed.
Julian’s shotgun boomed, and the demon’s head exploded into black ichor. The rest of the body collapsed as soon as the head was gone, and Laura scrambled away from it, spitting the ichor from her mouth.
I ran over to her, crouching down beside her. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” she said, wiping her mouth. “But that’s disgusting.”
“Tell me about it.”
The demon was already decaying, its flesh sloughing off like it had never been attached to the bones at all. The pop of light it created was small and unimpressive, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it…
Because there was more.
I pulled my blades from their sheathes as the new demons fell from the trees above, and I could see Laura and Julian preparing to fight, too. It didn’t take long for me to realize something odd was going on, because not a single demon turned to face my two allies. Instead, they all seemed fixated on me.
Shit.
I dodged the first attack, lashing out with my knife to slice open a demon’s arm as it sailed past me. Its wail was loud and piercing, and I winced at the sound. Julian’s shotgun boomed as he took down another one, but I knew we had to move. If these were scouts, they had to report back to their master. We needed to take them all out.
“Laura!” I called, running over to her. “We need to move! They’re scouts!”
She nodded, pulling two throwing knives from her belt. She let them fly, sinking into the eyes of two demons that had been advancing on her. “On it!”
I counted six demons, and every single one was trying to get to me. They were so insistent they barely fought back when Laura or Julian tried to attack from behind, and my heart was starting to race. Why in the hell was I a target?
“Watch out!” Julian cried, his shotgun booming as he tried to get the attention of a demon that was advancing on me. Its head exploded like the last one, but two more took its place.
I was moving before I even realized what I was doing, slashing my blade across the chest of a demon. My blood boiled in anger because I wasn’t some kind of damsel in distress that needed saving.
I kicked out with my left foot, catching a demon in the gut and knocking it backward, then spun to cut down another one. I saw Laura out of the corner of my eye, taking down a demon with her bowie knife, and Julian had dropped his shotgun and was using his machete to finish off the last two.
We’d done it. We’d managed to kill all six demons in a matter of minutes.
But why? Why had they come after me?
“Damnit,” I said, wiping the ichor off my knives. “That was unexpected.”
Laura walked over to me, cleaning her blade on her pants leg. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why would they attack me like that? None of the others made a move to harm either of you.”
Julian walked over to me, scowling at the demons. “They’re definitely scouts, but I don’t know why they didn’t try to hurt me or Laura.”
“Maybe we’re not considered threats,” Laura suggested. “But I’ve been fighting alongside Whitney for a long time and that’s never happened before.”
A terrible thought was starting to take shape in my head—our conversation from earlier, Julian talking about Faye’s wolf-witch bloodline the reason why she was so desirable to the demons…
No. There was no way. I had so little that it barely mattered…
“You’re thinking,” Julian accused. “What are you thinking about?”
I glared, even as my heart was in my throat. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. “I know this must be news to you, but most people are thinking ALL the time.”
Laura snorted out a laugh, and Julian shot her a look before turning to me. “What were you thinking about?”
“It’s just a theory,” I said, looking down at the bodies, stepping back as each one popped into balls of light.
“A theory about what?”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking at Laura for support. She nodded, gesturing with her hand for me to hurry up. “The reason why these demons came after me and not the two of you.”
“I’m listening,” Julian said, his jaw set. I knew he’d never be happy to hear this, but the sooner we had it out, the better off we would be. I could hear my blood pounding in my ears, and I’d broken out in a cold sweat—this was more terrifying than any demon fight. It had been something I’d been told to keep hidden my entire life, but if the demons really were after Faye and Sienna for being wolf witches, then it’d be more dangerous to keep my mouth shut.
“I…” I licked my lips, and swallowed, trying to relieve my suddenly dry mouth. “I’m a little bit of a witch. Like, I have enough magic that I can use small spells and charms, which is how I keep my blades spelled. My mother’s side of the family is human, but her great-grandmother was a powerful witch, and she passed some of that power down to me.”
Julian stared at me, his eyes wide and his face pale. “You’re a witch?”
“No, not really. I can do a few things, but I’m not strong enough to be considered a true witch.”
Julian took a step back from me, looking like he was going to be sick. “How long have you known?”
I almost laughed. “Is that a real question? My entire life, Julian.”
Laura was still watching the trees, but I knew she was listening to every word we said. Julian opened his mouth and then snapped it shut again, staring at me in disbelief. It would have been funny if we weren’t standing next to the bodies of demons we’d just killed, and I hadn’t just told one of my pack enemies my deepest secret.
“Your entire life,” he finally said, his voice quiet and flat. “You’ve always known.”
“Yes,” I said, putting my hands on my hips. I hated talking about my witch blood. I was raised to keep it a secret from everyone because it wasn’t enough to make me a true witch. All it did was put me in danger, especially as a demon slayer. No wolf wanted to get tangled up with a woman who might not live long enough to have a child, and the few drops of witch’s blood made me even less desirable.
Julian had a number of emotions cross across his face, but the last one left was anger. He was mad. No…he was furious. “You…you’ve been putting yourself in danger when you’re exactly what these demons are looking for? Have you lost your mind?”
My mouth dropped open in shock. “How dare you?” I hissed. “I’m not a child, Julian, and I don’t need you to tell me what to do.”
“It’s my job as your mate—"
“No,” I said, my voice a harsh whisper. “That’s where you’re wrong. You are not my mate, you are my enemy.”
Julian glared at me, and Laura stepped between us. “We should go back to camp,” she said. “There could be more coming, and we need to figure out what this all means.”
“Of course there could be more,” Julian snapped, stalking off toward the trail leading back to the campsite. “It’s only been a few hours since we found the first demon.”
I was going to kill him. No matter what, he was going to end up dead before this was all over. My blood was boiling as I stomped after him. Laura had to jog to keep up with us, and once we made it back to the SUV the drive back to camp was tense and silent.
“Do you really think there are more?” Laura asked when we made it back, looking at Julian.
“I’m positive,” he said, tossing his machete onto the table outside his cabin. “They knew we were here, and they came after Whitney. Whatever they’re planning, it involves her.”
Laura looked at me, her face pale. “Do you think they know about your bloodline?”
“That’s the only thing that makes sense,” I said, crossing my arms and looking down at the ground. I’d always hated the fact that I was a witch, even though it had barely been enough to call myself one. Most of the time I didn’t even bother. But now…now it might be what gets me killed. “Although I don’t know why they’d even bother…or how they found out in the first place.”
Julian was pacing again, his fists clenching and unclenching at his side. Finally, he stopped, pinching the bridge of his nose. “They have some sort of intel on all of our packs. That’s the only answer. That’s why they know Faye’s bloodline is important, and why they know you have witch blood.
“But how do they get this information?” Laura asked, glancing back and forth between us. “We’re in the middle of nowhere and demons aren’t exactly known for their communication skills. Unless…” She trailed off, and Julian and I both turned to her.
“Unless what?” I asked.
“Well,” she said, “The demons have seemed to be more powerful than the ones we’ve seen before. Right?”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding slowly as I started to understand where Laura was going with this. “We’ve seen a few that were definitely more advanced than the others. But that means—"
“That means they’re getting stronger. Smarter.” Julian finished. He looked angry and sick all at the same time, his hazel eyes boring into me like he was trying to lock me into place. “You’re in serious danger. We’ve got to perform the mating ritual. Tonight.”
I barked a laugh, shocked at his audacity. “You’re JOKING. You can’t be serious. I’m not doing shit with you, Julian. You’re insane.”
“No, I’m not joking,” he said. “And you have no choice. I’m not going to sit here and watch while you get torn apart by demons.”
I felt my lip curling up in a snarl and Laura stepped between us before I could say something that I’d regret. “Okay, let’s just take a minute here. No one’s getting torn apart by anyone or anything else. The important thing is that we know what’s happening. We know they’re getting stronger, and we know that the demons are after witches and wolf-witch hybrids.”
“So?” Julian asked. “How does that help us?”
“Because we can prepare,” I said, looking past Laura’s shoulder at Julian. He looked like he was about to lose his mind. “If the demons are getting stronger, we need to know how. There has to be something they’re doing, and if we figure it out maybe we can stop them. We have to find out what they’re planning.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” he asked, crossing his arms and glowering at me. He was being an ass and I wanted to punch him in the face. “We just got back from finding their scouting party, and they came after you. It’s pretty clear what they want.” He pushed forward and grabbed my upper arm, his grip painful. “We have to perform the ritual. You’ll be safer once I’ve bit you.”
“Are you insane?” I hissed, yanking my arm away from him. “I’m not letting you bite me, you psycho! And even if I did, it wouldn’t change anything. They’d still come after me!”
“It would at least put us on equal footing,” he argued. “You’d have some of my power, and it’d be easier to keep you safe. I bite you, and then you go into hiding until this is all over.”
“No,” I growled. I’d been a demon slayer for a long time, and I’d fought some of the worst demons in the world, but I’d never met someone so pig-headed and arrogant in my entire life. “I am not mating with you, Julian Payne.”
Julian ducked Laura trying to intercept him, and grabbed me by the shoulders. For the first time, I found that I was a little afraid of him. He was huge, and so mad that his eyes looked like green fire. “Do you think I’m just going to sit back and watch you get killed? No. If you don’t agree, then I’ll force you,” he gave me a small shake, “For your own good.”
“You’ve lost it,” I whispered, pushing against his chest to try and get away from him. He had to be out of his mind to even consider forcing me into a mating. Wolves might do it all the time, but not me.
“No, I haven’t,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m finally starting to see clearly.”
“Well, I can’t say I agree,” I hissed, twisting in his grip. I pulled my knee up, aiming for his groin, but he dodged it at the last second.
“Knock it off!” Laura yelled, pushing between us. She’d pulled a knife, and Julian backed up, keeping his hands where she could see them. “Go back to our cabin, Whitney. I’ll make sure he can’t follow you. You both need to chill the fuck out.”
I wanted to push back, but if the positions were reversed, I’d be desperate for Laura to listen to me. So I stomped away, bristling as I felt Julian’s gaze on my back. Just before I was out of earshot I whipped around and yelled, “Even if you managed to force a mating, I’d run back to the Silverfangs the second it was done. Bite or not, I will NEVER be yours.”
“WHITNEY!”
I ignored his yell, reaching my cabin and slamming the door behind me. As soon as I was alone, I dropped my head into my hands, sank to my knees, and let the hot tears flow.
Damn Julian. Damn my blood. Damn it all.