Page 19 of The Healer and the Wolf, Part One

19

VANESSA

“ T his is where you’ll watch your last orientation video now that you’ve made it through your probationary first week,” the administrative assistant said as she led me to a side room barely bigger than a broom closet. “It will take approximately two hours. We will know if you end it early, so please be professional.”

“No problem,” I said, tipping my head. “I just got this gig. I have no desire to ruin it already.”

“Good. Keep that attitude and you might go places here. Our patron values hard work.”

Oh, I was sure he did, but only when other people were doing it for him, never actually doing any sort of work himself.

Honestly, I was shocked my plan had worked at all. It had only taken me three days to find out where our target was staying because several animal rights activists had been arrested for trespassing. They claimed he had an illegal zoo full of neglected animals, but the authorities claimed to have investigated and found that to be untrue.

I knew better, however. When I saw the massive compound was seven hours south of where I lived, I did everything I could to find out every single possible detail about the building and landscape layout.

I’d never done anything like that before, but I’d become a woman possessed. I looked up real estate records, permits, even YouTube videos of a few influencers who had rented out the place and shot a touring video like they actually lived there. That had been immensely helpful—probably not what the creators had intended.

Leo was still incredibly reluctant to follow our haphazard plan, but at least he didn’t argue with me. That was a huge relief, because when he first talked about massacring the entire campus, I was horrified.

I wasn’t an idiot. I realized shifter life had different rules and morals than my human one, but it was still quite jolting to hear him talk so casually about murdering swaths of people. I tried to chalk it up to him not realizing how many auxiliary personnel there would be in such a large place. After all, he’d been a wolf for so long, he didn’t think about cooks, maids, nannies, drivers, groundskeepers or the like. What had worried me most was that he hadn’t thought about any prisoners either, which went directly against his own experience.

Still, I tried to be understanding. I would never understand what it was like to go through what Leo had gone through, and I could afford him a little bit of grace.

“I’ll leave you to it,” the administrative assistant said blithely after hitting play on the remote.

I settled myself in for a banal onboarding tape and used the time to collect myself. I had been going nonstop ever since Leo and I had made the deal. Although I’d found out about Chadwicke’s ostentatious lair far sooner than I’d expected to, it had taken a lot of planning to put things in motion, including getting a fake ID.

For that, I’d had to reach into an old bag of tricks. Back in college, I used to go to bars with the upperclassmen, watch them get sloshed, then drive them home before I walked back to the dorms myself, so I’d needed a fake ID. It had been a bitch during the winter, but it had paid well enough to keep doing it and had helped me get through the year and a half of schooling I managed before it was all too much.

I was pretty sure Chadwicke’s operation preferred to hire undocumented and otherwise vulnerable people, that way his employees were far less likely to work with any sort of authorities. It was a tale as old as time, but I was still pleased when my gamble had worked out.

Granted, a huge part of my success was all thanks to the little old lady who was head of the groundskeeping team. She’d tested my expertise at the beginning of the interview process by telling me to properly rehabilitate a neglected patch of foliage outside the southeast corner of the house. I’d gotten distracted by an elephant plant I could tell was supposed to be truly beautiful but was suffering an awful case of root rot.

I’d tangled with that particular demon before, so I put my everything into fixing its environment and helping the plant. It took up way too much of my time, and I was sure I had blown my chance at getting hired. But apparently, the plant had perked right up the next day, and the woman had called me herself to ask about my technique. From that point on, I was a shoo-in.

Us plant people were funny folks that way.

And it turned out I was definitely right about Chadwicke paying more. Although I didn’t know what that said about our state’s minimum wage when a lying, fraudulent, evil shell of a person wouldn’t even go that low when paying his undocumented or sketchy employees. Not anything good, that was for sure.

So, naturally, with more money going into my pocket, I was ready to really dig in and bury myself in my undercover position for two weeks or so if needed. I hated that I was away from my cats for multiple days, as driving seven hours home and back just wasn’t feasible with my schedule, but I managed to arrange it so I was working two days on and then one day off, allowing me to drive back home for those gaps.

At least that was how it would have worked out if I had a car. Currently, the plan was to take a train to the city, then have Leo run to my place in his wolf form, grab my bike, ride it back to me, then run all the way back home.

Was it convoluted? Absolutely. But I wasn’t willing to leave my cats alone for more than two nights, and Leo wasn’t willing to let me be alone around the estate at all. Although I couldn’t see him, I knew he was lurking somewhere just beyond the premises. More often than not, I worried that he would somehow tip them off that something nefarious was going on, but as far as I could tell, everyone was getting ready for the party.

The exact same party that was going to make my two-week undercover session and all that planning moot, because it was absolutely the best opportunity for us to break into Chadwicke’s personal zoo and get Ricky out. Maybe with the extra money I was earning I would be able to take a real vacation when everything was said and done. Wouldn’t that be lovely?

If we both survived, of course. While I was enjoying my first week of orientation and spending my time tending to a truly impressive range of gardens, landscape scenes, topiaries and the like, I was in an incredibly dangerous situation. One slip up, and I could end up turning to stone. Or with my organs pulled out through my nose. Or any other number of horrific things that a sadistic, selfish, malevolent warlock would do to an enemy.

I needed to remember that, no matter how pretty the flowers were and how nice the air smelled.

Naturally, with so much on my mind, the video wrapped up sooner than I expected, and then I was opening the door to look around for the admin assistant. I didn’t see her anywhere, but after a couple of steps, I saw a different woman sitting at a reception desk the next room over.

Quickly, I peeked my head in, trying to be unintrusive. “I finished up my video,” I said softly, allowing the slightest bit of accent into my voice. While my mother had been fluent in Spanish, my aunt had not, so my vocabulary was pretty terrible. However, I figured if I was playing the role of someone with a fake ID who was in a somewhat vulnerable position, having a slight accent would play into the stereotype more.

“Ah, Valencia, right?”

“ Si. ” I wanted to cringe at myself when I said that, but I managed to keep a straight face. It was a difficult line to tread between playing to the assumptions Americans might make about an immigrant and not being a total dick.

“Perfect. I’ll mark that off in your employee log. You’re free to go about your tasks for the rest of the day if you have any. If not, report to your team leader, and she’ll discuss your to-do list for the day.”

I nodded, then headed out. While I was excited to spend another day using fancy equipment and interacting with exotic plants, I needed to keep my wits about me. There was a whole lot I needed to learn in very little time, so Leo could be reunited with his pack again.

I didn’t know what that meant for me in the long run, but it was the right thing to do. Leo deserved to be happy.

Even if it meant I had to be alone again.

“Tire fixed. I’m back on the road and will be able to get back and get this stuff dealt with before any of the festivities start. Valencia, over and out.”

“Relieved to hear that,” my boss Haelena answered. “I would hate to lose all of that hot compost due to exposure. I can’t believe one of the tires blew. Thank God you knew how to change it. You can never be sure with your generation.”

Haelena was a lovely older woman, so I let the subtle jab slide. It wasn’t worth calling more attention to myself since the tire hadn’t actually blown, but I’d needed an excuse to pull down a side road and give Leo time to crawl into the back of the covered company truck.

I didn’t envy him, that was for sure. With his enhanced senses, all that decaying organic matter had to stink to high heaven. I could smell it even from the front with the windows rolled down.

One of the things we’d been most concerned about was how to sneak Leo into the compound without turning any heads, so when the opportunity presented itself, neither of us could pass it up, even if our noses really wished we could.

But as stinky as it was, I was pleased as punch that Leo was still going along with my pacifist ideas. I was well aware he’d have to kill Chadwicke in the end—from what I’d read about him, that was the only option. Anytime someone tried to give him a chance, anytime someone tried to show him any bit of understanding or mercy, he took it, twisted it, manipulated it, and ended up hurting even more people.

So, yeah, I got that the warlock needed to be put down, and most likely it would be quite violent, but was it na?ve of me to think we could get through this with minimal loss of life?

I hoped not. Even though I’d only been working at the compound for a week, I’d gotten to know a lot of the staff, and I quite liked them. They came from all different backgrounds with different skills and personalities. A mini village of people ran the compound, all so Chadwicke could live on his high horse. The thought of any of them getting caught in the crossfire made me nauseous.

If we went in all willy nilly, like Leo had first suggested, they would get caught in the crossfire. The security team patrolled the place relentlessly, and they were armed to the gills. And sure, while bullets probably wouldn’t be a big deal for Leo, they would for Haelena. They would Mario, the cook. For Marcell, my favorite repairman. Not to mention the guests and children that would be around.

Needless to say, I was relieved Leo hadn’t really argued with me since that first day at the computer. Hopefully, everything would keep going according to plan, and we could commit the most peaceful assassination in history.

Still, it was nerve-racking to drive through the receiving gate all the way in the back of the compound. Even though it had less security because it was about as far away from Chadwicke as one could get while still being on compound land, four men still guarded the gate.

Thankfully, if any of them were shifters, there was no way they would be able to smell Leo over the sheer amount of manure in the hot compost. That would have made everything so much more complicated. I wasn’t some experienced super spy who knew how to hack a security system or find weak points. I was simply a grocery clerk who was great at finding the right keywords for certain questions on the internet. And growing plants—that part was important too.

“You’re about twenty minutes later than you should have been,” one of the guards said as he approached my truck. I didn’t recognize him, but they all looked so alike: tall, well-muscled, with sunglasses and baseball caps that obscured most of their faces. Most likely ex-military. Chadwicke indeed had a type for everything.

“Didn’t Haelena call you?” I murmured nervously. “I blew a tire on the highway. Had to pull off on a service road and change it myself. I sent her video proof and everything.”

That video was just me putting the spare tire on, but whatever, it worked. Leo had made sure to put a long shred into the tire to sell our story in case anybody came poking around.

“We ain’t heard shit,” he groused, already heading toward the back of the covered truck. I tried not to panic or look too alarmed, which was pretty fucking difficult to do when my plan was about to go wrong right out the gate. Or rather right into the gate.

But then another guard called out, “Call just came in! She’s good.”

Phew. Thank God. To think my plan had almost gone to shit just because my boss took her time finding the right contacts in her phone. I really needed to go into her settings and increase the font size for her because she was too stubborn to admit she needed new glasses.

“All right, you can head in, but get this taken care of before the party starts. We don’t need guests smelling shit when they’re trying to enjoy themselves.”

“Understood.”

Considering the whole party was to celebrate Chadwicke getting away with a bunch of crimes, yet again, perhaps the guests did deserve to smell all the excrement I could heap on them.

Maybe another time. Hopefully karma would give them what they deserved. Right now, we were more concerned with the warlock and finding Ricky.

From there, it wasn’t that long of a drive to the eastern corner of the estate where the compost piles were kept along with several brewing setups. I wrinkled my nose at the smell of fermenting hops, having never really been a fan of that particular scent. Once I parked the truck in one of the small garages, I hurried to the back, holding my breath as I peeked under to check in on Leo.

He didn’t look happy. I gave him a sheepish grin before whispering, “Do you hear anyone?”

He squeezed his eyes shut, then shook his head. When he opened them again, they were a blazing green so bright they couldn’t be human.

“All right, you do what you have to do. I’ll keep on my duties so no one gets suspicious.”

Leo nodded, then slid out of the truck. I hurried away, giving him the space to transform without being enveloped in all that hot steam.

I almost didn’t see Haelena until I nearly ran into her at the promenade closer to the manor. She was deadheading the hibiscus bush that dominated the cottage garden

“Ah, Valencia, there you are! Again, I have to say thank you for coming in clutch with that tire. I wouldn’t have known what to do in that situation. Not exactly skills they taught in my etiquette class.”

“I’m sure you would have figured it out,” I said, trying to act natural—well, Valencia-natural, since Ven-natural was something entirely different. It was easier said than done.

“You give me too much credit. I would have had to call a tow truck or some sort of repairman, or at least one of the men on staff. Definitely not a solution that would have things handled before the party.” She gave me one of those old lady pinches that wasn’t about pain and more an expression of fondness. “Oh! Speaking of the party, I need you to change out of that sanitation uniform and do some work out in the tea garden.”

“Tea garden?” I frowned. “Isn’t that awfully close to where the party will be?” Why would Chadwicke want one of gardeners present where people could see?

“Yes. Word came in just a bit ago that the head of staff wants one of our groundskeepers at every arranged area where guests might wander in case they had any questions. And, you know, to make sure they don’t ingest anything that could hurt them in case they’re trying for some sort of litigation.”

I desperately wanted to roll my eyes. “Shouldn’t they have security on that detail?” I really, really didn’t want to be so visible. While I did maintain that there would be innocent guests, there was likely to be just as many not so innocent guests as well. I’d prefer it if those people didn’t see my face.

“Security don’t know what’s edible or not, so they’d have to just carpet ban eating anything. Apparently, the master of the house really wants to show off all the new additions to his garden. You know, the rich so often like to play-act at sustainability.”

Oh, boy , was I particularly aware of that. While I supported anyone who made steps to be a better steward to the planet, it always struck me as odd when the wealthy elite did the same stuff as poor people did. They had the resources and ability to make change on a much greater scale.

“You don’t have to be nervous. Trust me, most everyone will ignore you, and those who don’t will have a genuine interest in the tea garden.”

I supposed she had a point, but still, it made me really nervous. Part of me wanted to object, but if I refused, she might send me home, and I couldn’t have that. I had to be around in case Leo needed me.

How I would help him, I didn’t know. Still, I wouldn’t abandon him.

“Okay, then. I’ll go put this sanitation suit in the laundry chute, then head out there. Anything else I should know?”

“Just be your normal, planty self, dear! Oh, and you don’t have to stand around looking presentable. You can do some work as long as it doesn’t get any dirt onto any of the walkways. Passive stuff, you know.”

“Understood. Will you be nearby?”

“I’ll actually be in the orchard with Esperanza. Not that you’ll need me, of course. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.”

“Thank you, Haelena.”

“You’re welcome, my sweet. It’s been good to have you on the team. Don’t tell the others, but I see you becoming my favorite!”

And there was the guilt, rushing in to remind me that if my plan was successful, everyone I liked here would lose their jobs. Since, ya know, their boss was about to be murdered.

Better not to think about that.

Banishing those thoughts from my head, I hurried to shuck off the bright-yellow sanitation jumpsuit and get to the tea garden. Maybe if I looked really busy, people wouldn’t want to bother me.

Well, if I wanted to look occupied, I needed some tools. I stopped off at the supply shed and grabbed a gardening apron, a trowel, some mini-pruners and a pair of scissors. It wasn’t a full kit, but it would be enough for different tasks that could pop up.

By the time I made it to the tea garden, I heard the administrative assistants going over final checklists when they passed by. I did my best to keep my head down and get to work, but from what I could hear, it was going to be one crazy shindig.

Vehicles drove past, dropping of the musicians, some performers, and other things that sounded completely over the top and unnecessary to me. But what did I know about grand events to celebrate criminals?

Thankfully, I managed to lose myself in my tasks. It was just me and the warm earth. The sun above and all the different types of leaves and flowers around me beckoned me to pay attention to them and only them.

I wished I had my garden stool. My knees were weak, flimsy things and usually ended up resenting me if I spent too much time kneeling. I’d bought a garden stool online that made everything I had to do in the yard much easier. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an approved piece of equipment for whenever I was working where I would be visible by guests. The head of personnel thought they made the staff look lazy. I had no idea how using a short stool possibly made anyone look lazy, but whatever. I wasn’t in charge, and soon, hopefully, I would be home and back to my regular schedule.

Although I would miss the extra money.

“Excuse me, miss.”

I looked up from the lavender bush. The flowers were only just beginning to bud, and if they opened fully, the plant would be a bit too mature for the teas, oils, and other things the staff used them for.

Although I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of our dear Chadwicke, the one thing I did appreciate was that he was very keen on using the many things he grew around the estate. Was that the warlock in him? I had no idea how his magic worked, but from what little I’d learned of witches from pop culture and the various friends I had in college, it didn’t seem outside the realm of possibility to assume his spells might need components that could be grown right out in his backyard. And by backyard, I meant his sprawling estate, which had a produce garden, an orchard, a cottage garden, multiple beautiful flower gardens, the tea garden, as well as at least a dozen other lovely focal spots full of statement pieces dotted throughout the compound.

But I suppose even a broken clock was right twice a day, so it wasn’t too surprising the guy was doing one thing right. It certainly didn’t make up for the plethora of other heinous crimes he’d committed. Not by a long shot.

Oh, right, someone was talking to me. Man, I really was in my own head.

“Yes?” I replied as sweetly as I could when I saw the young girl in an adorable party dress. She had to be around ten or eleven and was looking at me with such open fascination, I worried there was something on my face.

“What are you doing to that plant?”

There was no rudeness or demand to her voice, just a gentle sort of curiosity. Ooh, was I encountering a fledgling gardener? We did tend to start quite young.

“I’m cutting and harvesting these flowers so my friends can use them for things.”

“Does that hurt the plant?”

“That’s a good question. As long as I don’t get too carried away, it won’t. It’s actually good for it.”

I didn’t think it was possible, but her big blue eyes grew even wider. “How is it good for the plant?”

“Well, that’s a bit complicated. I don’t mind explaining, but do you have the time for a longer explanation?”

“Oh, I don’t want to annoy you.”

Now, that wouldn’t do at all. Although I wasn’t a kid anymore, I hadn’t forgotten about that paralyzing fear of inconveniencing an adult around me. I remembered perpetually being afraid of annoying my own aunt, and I’d desperately wanted to make myself as unobtrusive and small as possible—not exactly my strong suit.

It did make me a bit sad that the girl was struggling with the same things. The world could be such a mean place to anyone who was a little bit different.

“You’re not annoying me. I sometimes get carried away with plant stuff, so I’ve learned to check in with people to make sure they have the time and energy for that.”

“Okay.” She chewed her bottom lip as she stared at her feet. “I would like to hear please, if you d-don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all. So, you see, what all plants want to do is reproduce. Do you know what reproduce means?”

The girl nodded.

“Great! Different plants reproduce in different ways, and this one does that through its flowers. Eventually, they make seeds, and those seeds get carried away by wild animals to make other plants.

“So, when I cut away some of these flowers, it tells the plant that its chances of reproduction have been reduced, then it sends out a whole bunch of new branches that can create even more flowers to ensure it makes viable seeds to continue its genetic line. Now, you can overdo it, but as long as you pay attention to your plant, occasionally trimming it back will really allow it to flourish.”

“Wow.” A slow, shy smile spread across the girl’s face. If that wasn’t just about the cutest thing I’d seen in a long while. Maybe this whole having-to-interact-with-guests things wasn’t so bad after all. “Are all plants like that?”

“Well, like I mentioned, different plants use different means?—”

“Rosette, there you are!”

I was so genuinely into our conversation that I nearly jumped out of my skin at the shrill voice. Turning around, I saw a well-dressed woman hastily coming toward us as fast as her stiletto heels would take her. She wasn’t alone. A few feet behind her, three men strolled along casually.

“That for you?” I asked.

The girl gave a very belabored sigh. “Yeah. That’s my mom.”

Goodness, there was a whole story and a half in that simple sentence, but we didn’t have time to get into it before the woman whisked up to us and practically crushed her daughter into a hug.

“Rosette, why did you run off like that? I was so worried.”

“I didn’t run off,” the girl objected. “I told you I had to go to the bathroom, and you said I could handle it on my own. I was just walking back when I saw this and I wanted to know what this lady was doing to the pretty bush. What is this, bush, anyway?”

“It’s lavender,” I answered, and it was like the mother realized I was there for the first time. I couldn’t be certain, but I was getting real helicopter mom vibes from her.

“And who are you?” the woman demanded, derision dripping from every word out of her mouth. Yeah, that was pretty much what I expected.

I understood that it was alarming to find your daughter having a conversation with a total stranger at a sketchy party, but it never hurt to have some tact when talking to service people. I’d met plenty of people like her in my life. People who thought that because they had money, they didn’t need to respect those they considered beneath them. If I weren’t deeply undercover, I would have muttered a sarcastic retort, but the last thing I needed was for her to report me and draw a bit too much attention. Everything had been going so smoothly, so easily. I didn’t want to lose my cool and ruin it.

“That’s an employee of mine,” one of the men said.

My blood ran cold. One of his employees? Was I… no, surely not!

“I wanted to make sure that if anyone had questions, like your darling little Rosette here, there would be an expert here to answer them.”

“How thoughtful of you,” the mother said, her tone turning sugary sweet in its phoniness.

I stared at the man, who had dark brown hair and hazel eyes with the perfect five o’clock shadow that was meticulously kept in a way to make it look effortless. An athletic build, a penchant for expensive designer clothes, and an extremely large diamond in only one of his ears. A stereotype through and through. Funny how even with insane magical powers, he was still so fucking banal. I supposed everyone was when money was their entire personality. Money and greed.

“I’m glad you think so,” he said, voice so smooth and charming it made me want to puke. I couldn’t tell if the people around me were eating it up because they believed it, or they were afraid of incurring his wrath if they didn’t completely bury their noses in his ass as they kissed it. “I do have a reputation as an excellent host to maintain.”

“And you do it so well.”

Good God, get a room! With each passing second, it was becoming more difficult not to roll my eyes or sigh. I didn’t understand how people could be comfortable existing in such a duplicitous, two-faced world.

“You flatter me,” he said. Yes, she most certainly did. “But now that the little one has been found, why don’t you head back to make sure we don’t miss any of the fun events for the children?”

“Of course. Thank you for helping find her.”

“It was no trouble at all.”

For a moment, I was quite relieved that my first and hopefully only interaction with the warlock was over, but as the woman and one of the men hurried off with Rosette, my stomach sank. He wasn’t leaving. Uh-oh.

My instincts screamed at me to run, but doing so definitely would have been suspicious, so I just needed to be as boring as possible so he would leave before I messed anything up. Shouldn’t be too hard. I had to call upon those aforementioned skills from my aunt and make myself as small and unobtrusive as I could.

“Hello there. Excellent job with the little one. I can’t blame her for wanting to get away from that mother of hers. If I was saddled with someone like that in my family, I would have slit their throat long ago.”

What the absolute fuck?

“She is a very polite child,” I answered robotically, not sure what else I could really say. Suddenly, I felt very much like prey caught in the gaze of a predator. It was a decidedly unpleasant feeling.

“I’m sure she was,” Chadwicke said, strolling closer, with his hands in the pockets of his stupidly expensive pants.

My gaze flicked to the other man, but he hung back, gazing at the horizon as if he were pointedly ignoring what was happening.

That was not a good sign.

“Enough about little girls. What I’m interested in is your story.”

“My story?”

“Of course.” He aimed his smarmy smile at me, and it made my skin crawl. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. You a new hire?”

There was no way an evil man like Chadwicke knew the faces of all of his staff. I refused to believe that. “I am,” I said quickly. “Been here for about a week.”

“A week, huh? That’s not very long. Usually, my head of staff is much more on top of telling me about all the pretty girls who join our happy little family here.”

Oh, God, so many red flags. Shit, I really was in a bad situation. I needed to navigate my way out of it quickly, otherwise I would have inadvertently ruined all our plans just by existing.

Part of me didn’t want to believe that he was being creepy toward me, because I wasn’t the type of woman who usually had to worry about random men making advances on me, let alone relatively attractive ones. I was too tall, too muscled, too pudgy, and a bit too plain.

Too poor.

Someone could scrape by with one or a couple of those traits, but I had all of them. And guys like the monster in front of me didn’t see below the surface. So, maybe he was just teasing me. I’d let him humiliate me so he’d move on. Then Leo could assassinate him. It was hard to take anything he said all that personally when I knew his life was about to end.

If I didn’t fuck things up, that was.

“I think everyone has been a bit busy preparing for the celebration.”

“It is quite a shindig, isn’t it? A reward for all of my loyal supporters and allies, despite all the forces that have tried to bring me down.”

By forces, did he mean justice and karma?

I didn’t say that out loud, though. Chadwicke took a couple more steps toward me. “Is that why you tricked your way in here? You wanted to see what such a glamorous event was like?”

Oh, no, oh, no, no, no, nonono! Had he somehow figured this out already? How? We’d been so careful. And how was he so calm about it?

“I, uh?—”

“Ah, ah, ah, enough of that.” Suddenly his finger was on my lips, and he was still smiling at me with that creepy, empty smile. “I don’t mind that you tried to sneak a peek. Although I have to admit, you would have gotten a much better view if you just asked me directly, my little…” He paused, looking me up and down. “Succubus, is it?”

“ Succubus? ” I repeated like he had grown a second head. He might as well.

He took his finger away and chuckled at me. God, he was still uncomfortably close. “No need to take offense, love. Whatever glamour you have on is very effective. I can barely sense any magic on you.” Another eye shuttled up and down me, making me feel naked even though I was quite clothed in my nondescript uniform. “Is it a mind-walker, then?”

I had no idea what he was saying, but I knew that he was trying to guess what kind of magical creature I was. He definitely wouldn’t believe me if I told him I was not a magical creature.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Come now, no need to play obtuse. I don’t mind that you’re here. Actually, I’m sure one of my staff can get you something nice to wear if you’d like to join the festivities.”

What the…? Rich people were wild. Or maybe it was just warlocks. But it was hard to believe he would stumble across some sort of magical entity he believed broke into his compound and be so cool with the situation. Unless he was just so sure someone like me couldn’t be a danger to someone like him? That was really the only thing that made sense.

“N-no, I’d rather stay here in the garden.”

“What, are you shy, dear?” He looked over his shoulder at his companion and huffed a laugh like the whole thing was so amusing. It made me bristle, like I did when dealing with asshole Tiffany who seemed to take special delight in tormenting me. “Perhaps you were looking for a haven from the big, scary humans? They’ve always had a relatively contentious relationship with a psionics like yourself.”

“I’m not a psionic, and I’m fine. I just wanted a good job that paid well, so I could stop living out of a motel, that’s all.”

“Aww, running from a bad situation?” He practically crooned that last part, and it made me equal parts nauseated and enraged. But I didn’t really have time to express either instinct before he took another step closer to me, completely getting into my space. “Don’t worry, you little thing. I can protect you.”

I was being harassed, and while it terrified me to my core, it was also incredibly confusing. Mostly because it felt like there was absolutely zero attraction in any of it. Chadwicke wasn’t bothering me because he found me hot or particularly alarming. He was reveling in the power he thought he had over some sort of magical person. It was all about control and him being in charge.

How pathetic.

If this were any other situation, I would have quit right there and then. No job, no matter how sweet the paycheck, was worth this fetishizing powerplay. But this wasn’t just a job. I was undercover, the linchpin in getting Leo details about the compound and sneak him inside. Then again, maybe I should just leave. Technically, I wasn’t needed for this part of the plan, and maybe it would be a bit of a distraction to have Chadwicke steaming that his new toy had left. Yeah, he definitely seemed the type to get upset about that.

“Please, I only wanna do my job. You can ask my boss. I’ve been really good for the team.” I took a step back, trying to create space between us as I internally bemoaned that he had even found me.

What were the chances that he’d just happened to be tagging along with the mother of Rosette, who just happened to stumble across me in the garden I just happened to be assigned to?

But suddenly, his hand whipped out and gripped my wrist like iron. “ I’m your boss,” the warlock hissed, tone completely flipping on itself. “You would do well to remember that.”

Nope.

I was donezo. There were a lot of things I would tolerate, but that wasn’t one of them. I tried to rip my wrist out of his grip, but he was freaking strong .

“Let me go! I’ll get my things and leave. You will never have to see me again!”

“Leave now, and miss out on the party?” His tone flipped right back to overly sweet and grossly charming. It was all so fake. “I’m sure if you stayed, you’d have a good time. I know I always do.” His smile grew far too toothy for my liking. “Then again, I’ve always been lucky that way.”

His companion huffed a laugh, but I didn’t get the joke. It was too much, and if he wouldn’t let me go, then I’d make him.

“Get off me!” I screamed before pulling my free hand back and punching him right in the face.

“You bitch!”

Several things happened all at once. Chadwicke let go of my wrist. I stumbled back several steps. His companion rushed forward, pulling a weapon out of his jacket. Meanwhile, the warlock held a hand to his bleeding nose and began muttering words that sounded a lot like Latin. Was he about to cast a spell?

I didn’t really get to find out about the spell or the weapon because a giant wolf leaped out from a line of trees and bounded toward us.

Leo.

I would recognize his wolf form anywhere. After all, saving him in the woods had started the whole thing I had become embroiled in. Leo let out a truly terrifying howl as he charged, and both men whirled around, paying no attention to me.

That was my cue.

“Security! Where’s my security?” Chadwicke cried as I raced for cover. I had no idea where I was going, but I hoped the fight would be short enough that hunkering down behind the massive tea bush would be sufficient cover.

I still tried to position myself so I could see. Leo tackled the armed guard, barreling him over hardly even a pause. No, his eyes were set entirely on Chadwicke, who was beginning to rise off the ground and crackle with an electric sort of energy.

Whatever the warlock was planning, however, didn’t quite pan out. Because one moment Leo was racing toward him, paws galloping and his muzzle opened wide in a snarl, and the next, the wolf shifter was leaping through the air, his jaws snapping around Chadwick’s throat.

God, there was so much blood. I closed my eyes, but I couldn’t escape the sound of the visceral tearing and resulting gurgle as Leo completed his revenge. It really was awful, but balance needed to be restored.

It was hard to stomach, but I did the best I could, waiting until there was quiet before creeping out of my hiding place. Sure enough, Leo was still standing there as a wolf, his face and parts of his body completely covered with the incriminating crimson.

“You did it,” I murmured quietly, only barely straightening up. As much as I told myself that Leo would never do anything to hurt me in any of his forms, it terrified me to see him in such a grisly scene. It was a blunt reminder that he came from a different world—a world that had different rules than mine. One with a lot of savagery I wasn’t used to. “It’s done now. Let’s go find Ricky before anyone catches us.”

I should have known it was na?ve to hope, but I was new to this whole assassination thing. Before the words were really even out of my mouth, several security guards rushed toward us, their weapons fully drawn. I’d thought that once they saw that their employer was dead, they’d all run for the hills.

Apparently, I was wrong.

“Encroaching shifter, three o’clock!” one shouted before they began to fire.

I dived right back behind the tea bush as Leo went even wilder than he had when he’d attacked Chadwicke. He spun on his hind legs, racing toward the closest guard, closing the distance to them in mere seconds despite the hail of bullets. It was like he didn’t even feel them. Once more, I was struck by how fast he could move. One moment he whirled to charge at his attacker, the next he’d reached his target, his jaws closing on either side of the man’s head and ripping it clean off.

“Oh, my God.” I slapped my hands over my mouth.

It didn’t stop there. Leo made quick work of all five the security guards, his blood and theirs spilling all over the ground. His wounds healed right before my eyes while theirs were certainly more permanent.

I hoped his massacre would stop with those five, that it would somehow manage to stop word from spreading, and we could infiltrate the zoo portion of the estate and get Ricky.

I was very foolish.

Because no sooner had he defeated the last one when another wave appeared, seeming to pour out of everywhere. And this time it wasn’t only human gunmen. A few moved forward with unnatural speed, streaks of their uniform trailing behind them, and even still others who were mid-shift into different animals.

The massacre I had been so afraid of was actively happening.

I needed to get people to safety. Judging by the screams and shouts of alarm coming from all over, the security didn’t care about any sort of crossfire. Considering that Leo was in front of me, and we didn’t have any other allies, I figured the security going on full alert, securing and locking down whatever section they were in.

How did everything go so wrong so fast?

I didn’t know, but my thoughts went immediately toward Haelena and the other staff in the orchard. It was quite a distance away, but if I could make it past the tree line, I could use it as cover all the way to the front gate.

I didn’t even make a conscious decision about it. One second I was cowering behind the tea bush, horrified at how many people might get caught in the crossfire, the next I was sprinting toward the tree line.

I heard maybe one of the guards shout about me—and that was a maybe —before I was barreling my way past the thick line that delineated the area of the compound. It was a meticulously cultivated span of trees, and I raced between them, staying low in case anyone took a shot at me. All the while the background music to my escape was the screams of those who went up against Leo, and his animalistic snarls and howls as he tore them apart. It was far too easy to imagine what was happening in my mind’s eye, so I shut it out as best I could. Luckily, I didn’t have the enhanced hearing, so a lot of the finer details quickly faded out of what I could pick up.

But the gunfire, the shrieks, and other animalistic noises coming from the shifter guards followed me. Sometimes it sounded like it was right behind me.

Despite all the odds, I made it to the orchard, where I found the two I was looking for huddled besides the golf cart.

“Haelena,” I hissed.

“Valencia! Oh, my God. What’s happening? Are the feds here?”

That was as reasonable a question as any other. “Something like that,” I said. “Come on. I’m getting you out of here.”

“What? But if it’s the feds, they’ve got to have the whole place surrounded. All our exits would be cut off!”

I didn’t really have the time to explain to her that federal agents weren’t attacking, but rather my best friend and wolf companion. She didn’t need to know. The guards had likely cut all the exits off, no doubt eager to catch me and Leo—not that they knew who I was.

“I know a different way.”

I’d spent all of the free time I could in the last week trying to find any secrets that would help. It hadn’t been easy with all the watchful eyes, and I’d mostly ended up empty-handed, but I had found a washed-away service road behind the very same compost area where I’d snuck Leo in. The area reeked, so most shifters and spoiled rich people wouldn’t go near it, which left the groundskeeping staff. With Chadwicke seemingly convinced I was a magical being, I figured the staff was mostly human.

“That’s impossible,” Haelena said.

“Many things are impossible, but this isn’t one of them. Come on. We don’t have a lot of time before this gets worse.” That seemed to convince the both of them, and they followed me back into the tree line. I wished we could take the golf cart, but it was far too visible a target, and I had no doubt the trigger-happy guards would fire first and ask questions later if they saw the vehicle speeding across an open area.

Besides, some of them probably didn’t even know it was a wolf shifter attacking them. I had no idea how good their communications were, but with everything happening so fast there was bound to be some misinformation somewhere. I didn’t want to end up bleeding out because of that.

We moved stealthily to the back of the trees. When we were close enough, I stopped and told Haelena how to find the service road. It was blocked by a fallen tree and partially obscured by a weeping willow that might once have been maintained, but was now so lush and out of control it was hard to see past it.

“Aren’t you coming with us?”

“No, I need to go help others.” I didn’t even want to think how many people were trapped, confused, and terrified. But even though I didn’t want to think about it, the image of Rosette, hunkered under a table and weeping forced its way to the front of my mind.

God, I wouldn’t be able to help everyone, but I had to try.

I had to.

She grabbed the sleeve of my uniform as I turned, and even though I knew her intentions were pure, I was getting pretty tired of people thinking they could manhandle me. I hadn’t given anyone permission to touch me.

“What could you even do? You’re only one person.”

“I can do the same I did for you,” I snapped. “Go! It’ll work better for all of us if we escape piecemeal.”

Thankfully, she didn’t argue with me again. I allowed myself to watch them for only a couple of seconds before rushing to the nearest garden, where more employees might be.

For the next hour or so, I ran, hid, found people, and tried to get them to safety. Sometimes it was a frantic, slapdash run toward the compost piles and the salvation beyond them. Sometimes it was a painfully slow crawl behind all sorts of cover. No matter where I was, I could hear more sounds of battle. More bullets. More roars, howls, and shrieks.

In some way, it comforted me. As long as the sounds of battle persisted, Leo was alive. But in another, it completely chilled me right down to my bones. Because every sound I heard—every pop, every scream—meant someone was dying, and painfully so.

I took comfort in the thought that most of the people in Leo’s path were bad men, who reveled in violence and had no problem swearing their loyalty to such an evil man so corrupted. But also, how many of them were simply doing a job like I was? How many of them had gotten caught up in one of Chadwicke’s schemes or were trying to protect their families from his wrath? In life, things weren’t as simple as bad guys and good guys, at least not with so many of us being slaves to our paychecks.

Eventually, I got all the staff I could from the gardens. That left the indoor staff, who likely had no idea what was going on, and the party guests. I should probably wash my hands of it and get to safety before I got hurt, but then that image of Rosette played in my head again. I had to do more. I needed to make up for every ounce of hurt that Leo caused. So, I did the stupid thing and ran toward the mansion.

Either Leo had caused so much chaos that no one was thinking about looking for an ally of his, or they had no idea he wasn’t working alone. Either way, I used that and my uniform to my advantage, and slipped in through the back servants’ entrance. I found a huge group of cooks and serving staff in the kitchen, armed with pots pans or knives as they hid behind anything that might block the gunfire. I thought they were very brave for trying to be quiet and using anything to defend themselves.

“Is it the feds?” the closest person asked. How often did something like this happened that it was the first question people asked? Considering Chadwicke’s mile-long rap sheet, maybe it happened a lot. Maybe even to this very same staff. Ugh.

“Is it the cartel?”

“Is it that oil baron he pissed off?”

“Never mind any of that,” I said quickly. “It’ll be safer for all of you if we can get you down into the wine cellar. Whoever is attacking won’t want to go down there. It’ll be way too far out of their way.” A few looked doubtful, and I tried my best to sound authoritative. “Look, whoever is attacking clearly has a personal vendetta against Chadwicke.” I purposely did not mention that he was dead. “For now, they’re only attacking him and his security. It seems the rest of us are safe as long as we stay out of the way, because they won’t hesitate to shoot through any of us if it means hitting one of their targets. Now, I got all of the groundskeeping staff to safety. Are you gonna let me do the same for you, or do you want to keep hiding here armed like you’re trying to make a live-action Ratatouille ?”

That seemed to convince the lot of them, and they hurried down into the wine cellar. I couldn’t lock them inside—I didn’t want them to be trapped in there and starve to death—so I grabbed a chair and told them to prop it under the doorknob.

“Don’t remove this until it’s been quiet for a while, but don’t wait too long. I figure most of you don’t want to be here once the cops arrive.”

“Aren’t you staying with us?” one of the server’s asked. God, the girl couldn’t have been more than eighteen. I hoped the trauma of whatever she heard and saw didn’t stick with her for too long.

“Gotta help more people,” I said shortly. I was growing brusquer as the minutes marched endlessly on, but who could blame me? I was exhausted down to the marrow of bones. My feet ached, my thighs burned, my back twinged, yet I had to keep going. There was still so much more to do .

“Who are you?” another asked. “Some sort of undercover security detail? Ex special forces? A spy?”

While each of those suggestions was a bit laughable, I couldn’t exactly blame him for assuming that.

I shrugged as I stepped out. “I’m a gardener.”