Page 22 of Witch’s Wolf (Bound by the Howl #2)

22

SAM

D riving to New York City and back was a complete waste of time, energy, and fuel.

I grip the wheel tighter and tighter until my knuckles ache from the pressure. If I had any sense, I’d focus on something else, but my thoughts circle back to her over and over.

Taking Erica to bed would’ve made tolerating the city a hell of a lot easier. When someone is so damn stubborn, so hell-bent on believing whatever the hell they want, they strip you of the will to fight. I knew arguing was pointless, so I walked. Turned my back on her and left her to her convictions. I hope to God I never have to deal with her again.

That’s the part that pisses me off. I can’t disappear from her life. And she sure as hell won’t be disappearing from mine.

She’ll keep showing up in Dawson, slipping into my orbit like some force I can’t shake. Monica ensures that. And what can I do about it? Not a damn thing. Raul has plans, big ones, for him and Monica. Plans that don’t include my problems with her best friend. She’s important to him. His future. His happiness.

So, that leaves me with one option. Keep my mouth shut. Keep my distance. Pretend she doesn’t exist every time Raul invites them over for dinner. Like that’s ever going to work. A sharp, irrational urge rises, and I want to slap some damn sense into myself. She’s taken up too much space in my head.

So much, in fact, that I almost blow past the bend. The one where I should have died. My fingers tighten on the wheel as the memory returns, the gut-wrenching drop, the violent impact, the unbearable weight of crushed metal. My pulse spikes, instincts screaming that something about that fall wasn’t right. It wasn’t just bad luck.

I don’t have proof, only a gnawing suspicion that I can’t shake. I know I saw that light, but suspicions mean shit without evidence. There’s only one person who might be able to help uncover what I saw, Helena.

Growling, I change my plan. I’m close to my grandpa’s sanctuary. Too close to ignore the chance of getting the answers I need. I leave the asphalt behind, retracing the same route Erica and I took the night she was the one needing the witch’s help.

It’s only a few minutes until I pull up and cut the engine. Climbing out of the borrowed Jeep, I move to the front, lean against the hood and wait. Tension in every muscle leaves me aching but I ignore it all, staring at the partially hidden gate.

Finally, a metallic clang rings out and a few seconds later, golden light spills onto the dirt, Helena’s shadow looming in the glow. She steps out of the compound, staff in hand, and locks her eyes onto me with eerie precision.

“Second son… I was about to turn in when I sensed your presence,” she pauses to stretch and yawn, then her eyes lock onto mine and narrow. “What’s happened?”

I shove my hands into my pockets. Frustration burns under my skin, tight and unrelenting.

“How does that orb of yours work?”

One eyebrow arches as she frowns. She sighs, taking another step closer.

“It shows the near future, based on decisions made at least twenty-four hours ago. For example, if you chose to do something this morning, I won’t see the possible results until tomorrow.”

“That’s why you didn’t intervene when I crashed last week,” I say, nodding slowly. “I had decided to head to Shandaken on a whim. There was no way you could’ve seen it coming.”

“Yes, that’s true,” she says. Her voice softens and there is an edge of regret in her tone. “I would have warned you, Samuel. You know I care about you and your family.”

“Yeah. I know,” I say, shrugging and suppressing a growl.

And I do. Helena’s loyalty isn’t in question. It also doesn’t answer this gnawing in my gut. This certainty that I’m missing something. Something that might be right in front of my damn face, if I can only figure it out.

“I’d pushed that night to the back of my mind,” I say, turning and staring into the darkness surrounding forest. “I’ve been too consumed with Erica to think about it. But it just hit me like a damn freight train.” I shift my weight, an unease crawling up my spine. “I didn’t suddenly get suicidal, Helena. I didn’t fall asleep at the wheel either. I saw something. A flash. The next thing I knew, my front wheels were inches from the cliff.”

I lift my gaze to hers, searching for an answer I’m not sure I want.

“Here’s the part that doesn’t make sense. Erica and her friend Stacy were passing by, heading into town, but neither of them saw it. How is that possible?”

“Go back to that flash. You saw it. Then what?” Helena’s tone is sharp and there is an urgency to it.

I take a breath and hold it. The memory presses down on me like a weight I can’t shake.

“The world went black. Maybe I did fall asleep. I don’t know.”

“You did. Sort of,” she says.

“Sort of?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. My patience is already frayed, and cryptic answers aren’t helping. “You either fall asleep, or you don’t.”

“Not if you’re under a hypnosis spell. Those spells temporarily shut their victims down. They’re as old as the Catskills themselves.” She holds my gaze, unflinching. “Someone used witchcraft on you, Samuel. And that someone meant to kill you.”

Witchcraft. A spell meant to shut me down completely. Chills crawl over my skin and the wolf grumbles, wanting out. I told Raul when I woke up, but he dismissed it. I should have come to Helena with this sooner.

“Tell that to Raul,” I snap. “He thinks I’m imagining it.”

“It’s hard for people to believe what they don’t understand,” Helena sighs, shaking her head, but there’s no surprise on her face.

“There’s something else that doesn’t make sense, though. You can sense my presence from miles away,” I say, meeting her gaze. “If a witch did this to me, wouldn’t you have sensed her too?”

“You must be joking,” she laughs. She shakes her head, eyes glinting with something close to amusement. “If witches could sense each other, I would have warned you about your girlfriend a long time ago.” Her words feel like a punch to the gut and I have to suppress a growl. “That’s the thing about witches, Samuel. We can sense every creature around us, except our own kind.”

“Erica’s not my girlfriend,” I snap. “Not anymore.”

Helena exhales, a flicker of sympathy in her eyes, but it’s gone as fast as it appears.

“I’m sorry, Sam,” she says, then shakes her head. “But now’s not the time for heartbreak. Somebody tried to end you, Samuel. A spell like that takes power. Power at least equal to mine,” she pauses, letting the weight of her words sink in. “Who do you think it is? Do you suspect anyone?”

“I’ve only met two witches, that I know of,” I say, shifting my gaze back to the trees. They call to my wolf, inviting. Shift, run, be free. Leave all this shit behind. “You’re one. And the other? She hated hearing she was a witch.”

Helena steps closer, placing a reassuring hand on my arm.

“I have suspicions,” she says carefully. “And I’d tell you exactly who if I had any proof. I’ll work on it. In the meantime, you and your family need to be careful. Whoever tried to kill you could return. Most likely will.”

“I’m counting on it,” I say, feeling cold and violent. My muscles coil with an aching need to do something. “I’ll tear that bastard apart.”

“Samuel, I don’t recognize you,” she says, tilting her head. “You’ve always been the soft-spoken one. More polite than your brothers. What happened to that gentleman?”

“He took a plunge off a cliff,” I say with a bitter laugh that is absolutely devoid of humor. My hands clench at my sides, my wolf stirring, pacing, hungry for a fight. “I don’t care what we’re dealing with. Witch, wizard, demon. If I ever come face-to-face with them…” my lips curl back from my teeth, “I’ll make them beg for death.”

“Second son?—”

“I’ll be seeing you,” I cut her off, spinning on my heel and walking away.