Thomas watched with careful eyes.
Carter and Kelly snarled and snapped.
Osmond pointed at two of his Betas and they followed my mother.
They were big guys.
I thought nothing of it.
We were safe here. On Bennett land. In Bennett territory. With a witch’s wards and a forest filled with old magic that I would never understand. I didn’t need to, though.
Because my Alpha did.
And he would protect us.
I knew something was wrong twenty minutes later.
Mom was pack. She was.
But it wasn’t the same as it was with me.
I was tied to the Bennetts.
The bonds between us were strong. When the moon was full, I could hear them whispering in my head.
But that had passed.
It was a new moon.
And she didn’t have the bonds we had.
She was tied to them because of me.
The wolves were within me.
She flitted along the edges, bright little bursts of light.
But I knew.
It was small at first. Just this little pull somewhere in the back of my head.
Thomas was watching Carter and Kelly and Joe.
I took a drink of water. It was cold and sweet and that little pull itched.
I said, “Hey.”
I said, “How long?”
I said, “How long have they been gone?”
Osmond frowned and said, “Twenty minutes. Thereabouts.”
I pulled out my phone. Sent a text.
whats taking so long
And waited.
I started to sweat.
And then a response: Just finishing up. Can you come help me real quick?
And I said, sure.
“Be right back,” I told Osmond. “She needs some help.”
He said, “Ox.”
I looked at him.
“Never mind,” he said after hesitating.
I went through the house.
Elizabeth and Mark were in the kitchen. They smiled at me as I passed them. It was pinched on the both of them, but they were trying.
“Okay, Ox?” she asked.
“Yeah. Mom needs some help real quick at the house.”
Mark said, “Hang on, I’ll go with you.”
I shook my head. “No need. I don’t think it’ll take long.”
“Ox—”
I laughed. “It’s okay. I promise.”
“Just… be quick. Okay?”
“Yeah.”
And I was quick. I moved across the lawn toward my house. I kept my eyes and ears open because it was what I was taught. The wards were up, sure. I was surrounded by wolves. I was in a pack. I was big and strong. My father had said I was gonna get shit, but he was dead and buried and I was alive. I was important to someone. To many someones. I had friends. I had a family. Maybe I was gonna get shit, but it’d be met with fang and claw.
I moved with purpose.
I was aware.
Nothing was wrong.
Nothing felt off.
I was human, but I’d grown into my instincts.
It was fine. It was all fine.
But I still played it safe.
I went through the side door into the kitchen.
As soon as I closed the door behind me, it felt like a wet blanket fell over me.
Muted. Dark.
The air smelled sharp, almost like smoke.
The pack bonds were there, but they were grayed and dull. Muffled.
“Mom?”
And a man said, “Hello.”
He was leaning against the counter near the sink. He was a tall man. A slender man. Thinning brown hair. Little wrinkles pronounced around his eyes. A sharp, angular nose above even teeth. Tan skin without a single mark that I could see. He smiled at me and it was a kind smile. Full of laughter. Amusement.
He was pleased.
He said, “Ox, isn’t it?”
I took a cautious step because of the wrong wrong wrong. “Where’s my mom?”
He cocked his head, the smile fading slightly. “That was rude,” he said. “I asked you a question.”
I said nothing.
He sighed. “Ox.”
She kept the good silver in a cabinet on the other side of the kitchen. I could—
He said, “I’ve certainly heard stories about you. The human who runs with wolves. The man in a wolf pack. Tell me, Oxnard. Do you feel the pull of the wolf within you? Does it claw at the human tissue surrounding your human bones?”
“Where is she?” That heavy feeling wouldn’t leave and I wondered if this was what magic felt like when you were engulfed by it. If Gordo felt like this all the time.
He frowned. “I asked you a question.”
“I’m not a wolf.”
“I know that. I’m aware of that. That’s not what I asked.”
“No. I don’t feel it.”
The man said, “That was a lie. Why would you lie to me, Ox?”
“I’m sorry. Please. Where is she?”
“They can’t hear you, you know.”
“Who?”
“Your pack. They don’t know that anything is… amiss. It’s powerful. The spell.”
“Tell me.”
“Do you know who I am?” he asked. His eyes were bright and green until they were consumed by orange. But it wasn’t the Halloween orange I was used to, vibrant and alive. No, this orange was rotting.
“No.”
“That was another lie. Ox. Have they taught you nothing?”
I said, “Don’t do this.”
He laughed. “Do what?”
“Hurt her.”
“Ah. Well. Of course. You can stop that, Ox. If you wanted to.”
“How?”
“It’s simple, really. Give me Joe and Thomas Bennett and I will give you your mother. You will call them and ask for them to come over here. I don’t care what you have to say to get them here. Just those two and those two alone. If I even suspect you’re trying to tip them off, I will paint the walls with her blood.”
“You can’t—”
He said, “That’s where you’re wrong. Because I can do it. And even more, I am doing it. This is happening, Ox. As we speak. As you breathe. Standing there with your little rabbit heart.”
“You can’t—”
“Ox. Ox. You can’t argue with me. Not on this. I am a beast. I was made to be this way by the might and folly of men and I stopped denying what I am a long time ago. I will take what is rightfully mine and all will be well.”
“You don’t have to do this,” and my voice cracked.
He said, “You have a choice to make, Oxnard. Hurry. You have a minute to decide.”
I took a step toward him, my hands in fists at my sides. My head hurt and I could only think MOM and JOE and THOMAS and there was so much anger. So much rage that this man, this deceptively simple-looking man could come into my house and try to take everything from me. Everything I had. Everything I’d built.
I said, “Richard Collins.”
He grinned. Bowed his head. Extended his hands in a neat little flourish. “At your service.”
His rotted eyes flashed again.
I said, “I’ll kill you. For everything you’ve done.”
His smile widened. His teeth were more wolf than man. “I can see why Thomas likes you. Human or not, you’ve got a little somethin’ somethin’, am I right? Forty-five seconds, Ox.”