Page 24 of War Games (Jacky Leon #11)

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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

DIRK

D irk knew he was going to get in trouble for what he was doing the moment he had come up with the idea. He drove fast, pushing his truck to the limit and weaving around anyone not moving fast enough. He was putting the magic wrapping the truck to its limit. He was certain he’d eventually be going fast enough that even magic wouldn’t stop a police officer from pulling him over.

It’s for Jacky. I’m doing this for Jacky.

It was a four-hour drive based on the route he found to go to Olivia Kesslar, the witch who specialized in potions and healing. He could do it in two if he drove fast enough. When Jacky’s injuries escalated, he knew she would bleed out if they didn’t get the right help. With her knowledge of potions, Olivia could help Subira.

It was fucking risky, though. She was a witch. She had nothing to do with what happened in Dallas, but he knew this was going to drive a firm wedge between him and every werewolf loyal to Heath.

Fuck the pack. The family will understand. They’ll know why I’m doing this. I’m Jacky’s wolf. I hate that sometimes, but I’m her fucking werewolf.

Caught at a red light and growling, he decided it was time to call the witch herself. The phone only rang once.

“Olivia Kesslar?—”

“Olivia, this is Dirk Brandt. We met when Jacky Leon and I visited your home. I need your skills as a healer, and I’m already driving to get you.”

“Um… get me? You couldn’t bring the animal here?”

“It’s Jacky. She’s been poisoned, and something else is happening. I need your magic and skills.”

“I’m not a human doctor,” she said. “Mr. Brandt, I’m sorry, but?—”

“Don’t! Don’t tell me right now that you can’t help. You can. Even if you can identify the poison used would be a great help. We have other help coming, but by then, it might be too late.” The sun was already going down. By the time he was back with Olivia, it would be night. “There is no one else we can ask. We can’t trust any witches we haven’t personally verified aren’t involved in other things. You’re the only person I can ask. Jacky Leon is a member of the werecat ruling family, and she needs help. Do you understand what’s at stake here?”

“I’ll… I’ll call my friends at the clinic to watch the animals here,” she said softly. “I’ll be ready when you get here.”

“Good. I’ll be there in one hour.” He hung up on her and hit the gas the moment the light turned green.

An hour later, he was in front of her house. There were other vehicles there, but he paid them no mind, coming to a hard stop in front of her house. She ran down from the porch, carrying multiple bags. He reached over and got the door for her, pulling bags closer to him and transferring them into the small backseat as she threw them in. Once she was in and the door closed, he hit the gas. She got her seatbelt on by the time they got down the dirt driveway.

“How serious is this?” she asked. “What are the symptoms, and how was it delivered?”

“She’s unconscious, but something is causing injuries to her. She’s been secure at home, but she’s just… manifesting these wounds like scrapes on her hands, bite marks, punctures, bruises.”

“I see. Okay…” Olivia looked panicked. “I’ve never heard of anything that can do all of that. I know of some herbs that can be concentrated and deadly if the potions aren’t properly made, but it’s similar to human medicine. Overdosing on things will hurt someone. Many good medicines can also be poison.”

“There are no symptoms that seem to be caused by the poison itself. Nothing traditional like vomiting blood yet…” Dirk nearly bent the steering wheel as he thought of the bloody bite mark on Jacky’s half. “This is different. Even if you can’t identify the poison, we need your healing skills.”

“I can help with that. I can do that.” She didn’t sound certain, but she wasn’t lying, either.

“Hold on. I can’t be distracted while driving. We’re going to be going fast.” He accelerated, and it pushed her back into the seat.

“This wasn’t what I expected from my day,” she said, holding onto the door handle with a white-knuckle grip.

“Me neither. She was poisoned at my wedding reception,” Dirk growled out, wondering how his day went this way.

“Oh…” Olivia seemed thrown by that. “Isn’t she engaged to a werewolf?”

“She’s my aunt, through three adoptions. She’s engaged to my Alpha, Heath Everson. I have a mate bond with Landon Everson, Heath’s biological son. We decided to get married, and today was the wedding,” Dirk explained, not sure why he cared to explain it all. Maybe it was the not-very-subtle way she had implied he was married to Jacky. He found the talking good, though. It helped him in a way he hadn’t thought he needed.

“Three?”

“My father adopted me. He’s adopted by his parents. Jacky is adopted by the same parents. If any one of those adoptions wasn’t there, she and I would have no relation,” he further explained. “Most people in my family are adopted. Sometimes, it’s weird to call them my family. They’re werecats. I’m a werewolf now. I was human when I was adopted. Being a werewolf wasn’t part of the life plan anyone had for me.”

“You’re… a member of the werecat ruling family?” Olivia clearly hadn’t expected that.

“If you ask the matriarch of the family, yes… and she’ll be in the country tomorrow morning. She’s coming to help Jacky.”

Olivia looked pale and faint, so Dirk stopped talking and focused on driving.

It didn’t matter how many adoptions were between him and Jacky.

She’s my aunt, and I’m her werewolf. She’s not allowed to fucking die on me, not after everything she’s done for me.

He ignored calls to his phone, knowing Landon would strangle him for that later and knowing Heath would be pissed, and he was the last person to upset in their current situation. Dirk drove, knowing he was taking a risk and knowing he was taking it for Jacky.

He didn’t think of anything except avoiding accidents after that. Once he pulled in front of her house, his tires screeching at his hard stop, he felt like he could breathe again. He grabbed her bags for her, able to carry them much easier.

“Follow me. Move fast.”

He jumped out with her bags and ran to the front door. He was glad Landon and Heath seemed to be somewhere else. He got her inside and up the stairs, knocking on Jacky’s room before opening it as well.

“Dirk, where have you been?” Niko snarled. “Landon and Heath are pissed. You’ve been avoiding their calls. And who is that ?”

“Help. Olivia, this my father, Nikolaus, son of Hasan, member of the werecat ruling family, the youngest son actually,” Dirk said quickly, getting her into the room and kicking the door closed. He put her bags down. “Niko, this is Olivia Kesslar. She’s a vet and a healer. She has training and has already been cleared of being involved in the other shit. I told Heath we needed help.”

“You’re insane. You disappeared for over four hours and brought a witch back? Heath might kill you when he finds out,” Niko hissed. Then he turned, and Dirk followed to see Teagan, his eyes wide as he took in the scene in front of him. “And he’s going to find out unless you want to kill the over two-thousand-year-old werewolf over there.”

“Killing me won’t stop him from finding out,” Teagan said quickly. “You should contact Landon, tell him you’re back and about this first, though. Olivia, I’ll be watching over you. Come here and start looking over our patient. Get as much done as you can before you’re found. Try anything funny and… well, there are three moon cursed in the room who can and will kill you.”

“Uh-huh,” she whimpered, moving toward Jacky in the bed and starting to do stuff. Dirk didn’t pay attention after that, texting Landon about where he was and how he needed to talk to him without Heath.

It took Landon a minute to get into the room, his nostrils flaring. He would have smelled the newcomer by Dirk’s truck and followed it as well as getting to Dirk. Before Landon could do anything more, Dirk was in front of him, holding his mate’s arms.

“Do you trust me?” Dirk asked quickly.

Landon leaned back, his eyes narrowing for a moment.

“Landon, I need an answer right now.”

“Yes,” Landon finally forced out. “But Pa is going to be?—”

“I’m her wolf,” Dirk said with conviction. “I’ll fight him over it. I’ll leave the pack if I have to. I’m her wolf. This is for her. We needed more help, and we needed it faster than Subira can get here. We don’t know when the next injuries will start. She’s a healer, and Heath told me to prioritize Jacky. I am.”

“Then I’m with you,” Landon said, his shoulders relaxing. “He’s interrogating Shamus right now. Ranger has been cleared, and he’s doing your work right now, looking into everyone’s accounts. Arlo and Benjamin are both in Carey’s room on the floor, watching movies on her computer with her. He’ll be here any minute. He would know why I ran out and will show up the moment he knows Shamus is on our side.”

“How bad is this?” Dirk asked, knowing the basics of everything.

“He’s certain this was orchestrated as a hit on him by Callahan and Corissa. The fact that Jacky was the one who ended up like this was probably not their intention, but it doesn’t matter whether it was intentional or not. She’s there. They might have led to the moment it happened with their meddling to remove a rival.”

Dirk released his own shaky breath, moving to sit down on the end of the bed.

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, it’s bad,” Landon said, shaking his head. Right then, they could smell magic, and everyone looked at Olivia.

“I’m using magic to probe her and see if there are any injuries I can’t see, internal problems,” she explained as Teagan leaned over her. “No ruptured spleens or anything.”

“Good idea,” Dirk said, glad he had gone to get her. None of them could do that.

“Heath is moving now,” Niko said ominously. “He’ll be entering in… Five. Four. Three. Two. One.”

They all heard the front door opening and hitting the wall, then slamming shut again. Landon turned to face the door, blocking it. Dirk moved into a spot where Heath could see him but didn’t try to move Landon. Landon was the only person who was going to keep anyone in the room safe if Heath fully lost it.

Heath showed up in the door, his eyes ice blue.

“I smell magic,” the werewolf Alpha said, snarling as he stepped farther into the room.

“You do. There’s a healer in the room who needs concentration to try to find any internal injuries Jacky may have,” Landon said, holding his position.

“And who brought her here?” Heath demanded.

“I did,” Dirk said, lifting his chin.

Heath growled. He’d never really seen Heath like this. He’d known it was there. Everyone did. He told them all the time it was there. This was the Alpha that Callahan thought of as his rival, the ruthless and dangerous one who would kill anyone who threatened those important to him. This was the man who could handle the coup in Dallas and could teach his daughter how to escape werewolves before she turned eleven.

Dirk knew Heath was debating the fight he would have if he tried to kill Dirk and the witch. He’d have to kill his own son. He’d have to kill Niko. He would be left with Jacky, who needed help, and Teagan, who couldn’t offer the help she needed. He’d make enemies of every werecat in the ruling family. Subira would show up and destroy him.

“I trust him,” Landon said, moving slightly to block some of his father’s line of sight on Dirk.

“I know you do,” Heath snapped. “And he’s Jacky’s fucking wolf. He always has been.”

“Then Jacky can decide when she wakes up if this was worth the risk,” Landon said, slowly reaching out to his father, who moved back slightly to stop his son.

“She can… and if that witch does anything stupid, I expect you to be the one to kill her, Dirk.” Heath walked out, leaving them with that directive. “Landon, with me!” he called out before he left the house. Landon reached out to squeeze Dirk’s hand and went after his father.

Olivia whimpered once both strong werewolves were gone and nearly fell down, but Teagan caught her as Dirk was turning to check on her. Teagan wrapped his arms around her, holding her gently to keep her on her own feet, but it looked like her knees didn’t want to work.

“You didn’t tell me…” Her words were weak.

“Would you have come if I told you it was this dangerous?” Dirk asked.

Olivia didn’t answer, and he didn’t fault her for that.

Niko pulled out a flask from his coat and held it out.

“Sniff that, don’t drink it,” he said. Dirk grabbed it, opened it for Olivia, and shoved it under her nose. He knew the smell himself and understood why Niko made his recommendation.

“How did you convince Subira to give you a flask of this stuff?” Dirk asked, handing it back as Olivia looked like she was regaining the color in her face.

“I didn’t. Everyone calls Jacky the bad one, but I’m the real problem child. I’m just quiet enough to get away with everything most of the time,” Niko answered, sipping from the flask before putting it away.

They worked through the night. Olivia knew how to use real healing spells, but just removing the bruise from Jacky’s cheek and begin healing her hands made the witch exhausted. They let her sleep after doing that much, taking watches over Jacky’s prone form, which seemed stable for a little while.

Niko disappeared before dawn, and Dirk made breakfast while Teagan woke up Olivia to see if she had dietary restrictions. She was doing them a big favor, and Dirk wanted to honor that.

“She’s a vegetarian,” Teagan ended up telling him. “But willing to eat eggs when she needs the energy for bigger magic.”

Of course she is.

He made her an omelet and sent Teagan up with it. He made meat for everyone else. When he got to the room, Olivia was already trying to keep healing Jacky’s hands.

“Hey, you don’t have to push yourself too much,” he said, seeing how quickly she had cleared her plate.

“It’s what I can do,” she said, looking like she was about to cry.

He gently pulled her away with Teagan’s help, and instead, they checked Jacky’s injuries together, making sure she thought they were clean enough to continue healing naturally.

Then Niko got back. Dirk could feel magic as it filled the air, penetrating every one of his senses. It was more than smell like they normally identified magic being used. It was everything and everywhere, overwhelming and intense. Olivia sank to the floor, her eyes wide. Teagan leaned on the wall over her. Niko entered the room first, and there she was, the one they really needed.

Staff in hand and a small drawstring and leather bag on her back, Subira walked into the room confidently, her young face doing nothing to trick anyone about her age. The wisdom in her eyes was too deep, and the air of power around her was ancient.

“There’s Jacky,” Niko said softly as Subira walked past him, heading straight for Jacky.

“I see,” Subira whispered, running a hand over Jacky’s cheek. “You’ve all done well taking care of her so far. Good job.” She looked at Dirk, sadness in her eyes. “I’m sorry your happy day ended like this. Thank you for bringing her.” Subira used her staff to point at Olivia. “I will have need of you.”

“Oh?” Olivia couldn’t believe it, but Dirk knew why, as everyone in the family did.

“Yes. I am too powerful to heal the way you can. You have proper training, but you need more power. We can help each other. You will keep my daughter’s body alive. I will do the rest.”

“I’m not that powerful. Big healing normally requires groups of witches, and the best of them gets to control the spell, sometimes multiple?—”

“You need more, and I have it,” Subira said, putting her staff against the wall next to Olivia. “Get up. You know how to use the magic from someone or something else. It’s basic training, as you just mentioned. Part of how you heal in these times.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

Subira pulled out a knife and bowl from the bag. She cut open her hand and bled into the bowl until it was full, not seeming bothered by the loss.

“Here. Power,” Subira said, holding it out to Olivia, who seemed terrified of the blood in the bowl.

“You…”

“I am the most powerful witch still active in the world. Take the offer and help my daughter,” Subira said, quickly losing her patience. Olivia took the bowl, her hands shaking. “Now, I will be unavailable. It’s difficult working around fae magic, but I can do it. I just need everyone to leave me be.”

“Fae?” Dirk looked at his dad, who had spoken at the same time.

“Yes, fae. This was done by something from the fae. Hasan is investigating. We’ll learn more when he has more. Now, leave me to work. Olivia, you can start healing whenever you’re ready. If you somehow need more, I shall offer it.”

Subira lay on the bed next to Jacky, her hand on Jacky’s cheek, and closed her eyes.

Dirk sat down, ready to help Olivia.

It was time to really get down to work.