Lisa Renee Jones Read online

  Troy waited for a reaction from Cassie, some spike of discomfort that would tell him she was involved in something he didn’t want her to be involved with. Equally as worried about her reaction to him accusing her brother of the same. “Do you know this man?” he prompted.

  “Not personally,” she said, her attention shifting from the picture. “But I know who he is. His name is Andres. He’s a new leader in the Rebel movement though no one knows exactly where he came from. He’s an unknown in the society.”

  He was relieved that she acknowledged knowing Andres, that he smelled no lie. His wolf nose was an asset he’d never had with Sarah, but he didn’t understand why others didn’t smell her deceit if they weren’t in on it with her. “Why was Nico meeting with Andres? Why, Cass?”

  Her gaze riveted to his. “I get where this is going. You think Nico is conspiring with the Rebels?” She laughed, without humor. “He’s not. My brother is as dedicated to the Society as they come. If he was with Andres he was trying to negotiate peace.”

  “And he didn’t tell you?”

  “Nico is an Alpha Wolf, Troy. You should know from working with The Society that an Alpha doesn’t go around asking permission and reporting back details on everything they do. He had a reason and a good one. And for the record, of course, he kept me from testing. Of course, protected me. That’s what the males of the Society do and why females are rarely in The Guard. They protect their women. Nico did everything in his power to keep me out of The Guard.”

  And Nico was fiercely protective of Cassie which was why he’d feared she would be involved in anything he was. But instead of clinging to that fear, he felt his gut twist with guilt. Nico had protected Cassie but he had not. He wanted the doubt gone, he wanted it gone tonight.

  “Andres is not just a Rebel,” he said, watching her closely. “He’s a Red wolf.”

  “That’s impossible,” she dismissed. “Red wolves are like rabid dogs. They don’t think. They just kill.”

  “Andres isn’t just any Red wolf,” he said. “He’s smart and cunning and he can partially shift at will. I’ve seen him throw a clawed hand in battle and in a flash it’s back to a human form again.”

  “That’s impossible,” she said, her eyes going wide.

  “So is a vampire turning into whatever the hell I’ve become. It has to be a mutation of the Red Virus and it can’t be as contagious as the original strain or we’d see more like Andres and myself.”

  “Maybe they exist but we don’t know?” Cassie asked.

  “We both know that’s a stretch. Reds are nothing if not bold and in your face.”

  “A new breed that is cunning,” she quickly countered. “Isn’t that the point?”

  “It’s possible,” he said, “But I have my doubts. Andres attacked Evan’s wife while she was human and almost killed her,” he said. “When Evan converted her, she didn’t become what I am. If anything, this new mutation, if that’s what it is, is less contagious rather than more so.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “And the medical team at Vampire Nation has come up with nothing?”

  “When I was first attacked, I didn’t immediately wake up,” he said. “They ran tests and there were slight variations in my blood work they couldn’t explain. I seemed fine and they sent me on my way. The changes to my hair and eyes, as well as the characteristics of a wolf, came on the first full moon after the attack.”

  “Like a human changing to wolf.”

  He nodded. “Yes. And I never went back to the medical team once I realized the changes. At first it was denial. This couldn’t be happening to me if I didn’t accept it fully. Then came the reasons to believe Andres was targeting vampire nation. There was a woman on the council we discovered to be aiding Andres. Then, we discovered a street drug made of Andre’s blood and vampire blood. It was being used as a sex drug on human women by vampires who were panting after Andres like dogs in heat for more. The chances that Sarah was also working with Andres and perhaps someone inside Vampire Nation, wasn’t something I could dismiss. That meant staying away from the council and finding answers on my own.”

  She studied him a long moment. “Why would a vampire aid a Rebel? What did she have to gain?”

  Here was the part he wasn’t looking forward to. “Why would Nico? What does he have to gain?”

  Her expression darkened. “Nico isn’t dirty, Troy. I know him. You know him.” She inhaled and exhaled on, “But then you believe I attacked you, now didn’t you? Why should you trust him?” She started to move away.

  “Wait.” He set the computer aside and gently shackled her arm. “I’m not accusing you.”

  “Just Nico.”

  “Cass—” He was cut off when Marcus and a woman with long honey colored hair appeared in the room.

  “They’re hereeeeee,” Marcus said, in a bad imitation of the little girl from the cult classic movie Poltergeist.

  And Troy officially wanted to zap Marcus and his ‘expert’ right back into the fuzzy television set in the movie, or wherever they had come from.

  Chapter Nine

  Love sucks. That was what Cassie was thinking when she stood up to greet Marcus and the gorgeous twenty-something female with him. She loved Troy. She’d known that for a long time. She’d also known he was destined to break her heart and damn it, this was one time she really hated being right.

  “Now, this place needs a magic wand,” the woman said, with an amused twinkle in her strikingly green eyes. “Too bad I don’t have one.”

  It was an odd comment, and Cassie assessed this new visitor. As a wolf, and a female, Cassie was pretty confident, but this woman looked like a runway model in black jeans, knee high black boots, an oversized brand name purse, and a red shirt. And Cassie was, well, a mess, both inside and out.

  “Meet Aylia,” Marcus said, motioning to the woman who stood, by Cassie’s estimates, a good two inches above Cassie’s five feet six inches.

  “You’re from the Coven of Rain,” Cassie said, the magic wand joke now making sense as the name rang an instant bell.

  “I am,” she said. “And you’re Nico’s sister, and a member of The Royal Guard.”

  “Yes,” Cassie agreed, a little nervous over this new guest in light of the allegations Troy had made against Nico. “I know he isn’t on wonderful terms with your coven. Or I guess I should say, the Coven and the Society are not on the best of terms.” Troy stepped to Cassie’s side, radiating protectiveness, and it confused her. One minute he was accusing her of trying to kill him or accusing Nico of conspiring with the rebels, the next he was playing Watch Wolf instead of Watch Dog. She wanted him by her side too, when she should be facing the reality that their dysfunctional relationship could go nowhere it hadn’t already been and been badly.

  “I don’t think Nico cares much about earning brownie points with The Coven or anyone else for that matter,“ Aylia said. Her red lips curved upward. “But the idea of making him try does sound rather… interesting.”

  There was something in her tone that said she wasn’t anti-Nico as Cassie had assumed. In fact, quite the opposite, and Cassie was curious about it. “So you know Nico fairly well then?”

  “Yes,” she said without hesitation but without any elaboration offered either. “Is there someplace we can all sit down?”

  “Furniture hasn’t been on the top of my list these days,” Troy admitted, but he didn’t sound apologetic either.

  “I would imagine not,” Aylia said, her tone solemn for the first time since she arrived. “No problem. The floor it is then.” She sat down and pulled her bag from her shoulder. “I need everyone to form a circle.”

  “I’m really wishing I had on pants right now,” Cassie murmured.

  Aylia tilted her head to look at Marcus who was standing behind her. “Where’s the bag we brought her?”

  His reply was to disappear from the room.

  “I assume that means we left it behind,” Aylia said. “I put together some things for you. Clothes, makeu
p, general girl stuff. Marcus was pretty sure your visit was ah, impromptu. I included leggings since I didn’t know what size you were and a pair of boots with extra socks in case they are too big.“

  Marcus popped back into the room and handed Cassie a bag with pink flowers on it. “Better late than never.”

  “Thank you,” Cassie said to both of them. “I really do appreciate this.”

  “You have time to change,” Aylia said, pulling out a velvet sack from her purse. “I have a few things to set up.”

  “Great,” Cassie agreed. “I’ll go do that.” She rushed towards the bathroom.

  “I thought we were checking blood work?” Troy asked Marcus.

  Aylia fixed Troy in a stare. “We are,” she said. “My way.”

  ***

  Troy stood above the sitting circle that Cassie, Aylia and Marcus had formed and watched as Aylia cut her hand and let the blood pour into a pot surrounded by stones that she’d filled with all kinds of things. White smoke began to pour from the flame, and she murmured a chant.

  Marcus took her hand and licked the wound, and Troy expected some sort of connection between him and the witch, but saw none. Aylia inhaled and let it out, her lashes lifting, her attention settling on Cassie who had changed into black leggings, long boots and a pink silk blouse that hugged her backside as beautifully as did the leggings. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and her nipples puckered beneath the thin fabric. He’d noticed, but then, he always noticed everything about Cassie.

  “I need your hand,” Aylia said to Cassie.

  “Wait,” Troy said, squatting down and grabbing Cassie’s hand, not keen on magic as it was. He definitely didn’t like the idea of Cassie’s blood being used in a spell. “I thought we were going to run proper tests.”

  Cassie covered her hand with his, drawing his gaze. “Let’s give her a chance to figure out the answers we haven’t so far found on our own,” she urged, staring up at him. “We both need them.”

  The touch made him burn for more, riveting him with its impact. The look in her eyes tore through his heart, confirming the pain he’d caused her. He didn’t want to lose her again over the past, and he was close. So very close.

  He sat down next to Cassie, crossing his legs and making sure his knee touched hers. He didn’t want to stop touching her, not ever. Marcus trusted Aylia and he trusted Marcusucs. So if he had to deal with witchcraft, then he’d deal with witchcraft.

  He fixed Aylia with a direct look. “If you think whatever your doing can help solve this mystery that has become my life, then sign me up.”

  “I already know the answer to what has happened to you,” she said softly, taking Cassie’s hand in hers. “I just need to prove it.” She picked up Cassie’s finger and said, “A small stick.” Cassie nodded and Aylia stuck her finger then held it over the pot. Blood trickled into the fire, and Troy felt the rise of hunger at the sight and smell. Hunger, he realized, that he had not felt when Aylia had cut herself. The smoke puffed and turned from white to blue and Aylia released Cassie’s hand, showing no emotion on her face.

  Troy drew Cassie’s hand into his, suckling her finger into his mouth, his eyes locking with hers as he sealed the wound, the tiny taste of her blood searing him inside and out. The air crackled between them, a mix of tension and attraction, of unspoken words, that were long past due.

  Alyia grabbed his hand and stuck his finger without warning. “Sorry but this needs to be done timely.”

  Troy flinched, and not because the unexpected prick hurt. Because he wasn’t sure he was going to like whatever it was setting out to establish as fact. In fact, he was pretty darn positive he wasn’t. Truth was at the root of his pain.

  The trust issue, the Sarah betrayal, those were not the truths he was fighting either. Those were simply easier monsters to face than the one inside him. The one that might hurt Cassie, which meant he could not have her.

  Aylia held his hand over the fire, inside the smoke that had turned white again. The flames rushed up over his hand where it had not with Aylia and Cassie’s blood, though he felt no heat, before turning to a bright red. She released his hand and the wound sealed instantly, and he found himself locked in Marcus’s intense, dark stare, with no signs of his Warden-in-Charge’s normal humor to be found.

  “What do you know that I don’t?” Troy asked Marcus.

  “The reason we didn’t do a standard blood test on you both is that it tells us nothing about what caused the changes in you,” Marcus said. “And the cause is what is important.”

  “It’s magic,” Cassie assumed. “A spell that was cast on Troy.”

  “Yes,” Aylia confirmed. “And you’re positive for residual magic, which would come from sharing blood with Troy, which Marcus tells me has occurred.” Her gaze shifted to Troy. “You were the direct target of the magic, thus it’s powerfully alive within you.”

  Troy was dumbfounded. Magic was the one thing he’d never considered. “What spell and by who?”

  “And how do we undo the magic?” Cassie asked.

  Chapter Ten

  Aylia and Marcus shared a look that twisted him in knots before Aylia said softly, “There is no way to undo the magic.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Who do I owe a thank you for this ‘gift’ of magic that I can’t undo?” Troy asked quietly from beside Cassie, and she hated the question. She hated it because it sounded liked he’d accepted that there was no way to save him, that he was destined to become a Red wolf, a killer.

  “I need to start with some history to explain how this happened,” Aylia said, and Cassie could see from the expression on her face, whatever was to come from this explanation wasn’t good.

  “Go on,” Troy said, urging her onward in the same calm voice that only made Cassie want to scream for a new spell, a solution, a way to make this magic go away.

  “One of our Coven members was killed by a Red,” Aylia began. “Afterwards we went to The Society and proposed a plan to rid us all of the danger of these Red Wolves.”

  “A spell,” Cassie said.

  Aylia nodded. “Yes. We created a spell to bind the virus in the Reds, which seemed to be what made them vicious, mindless killers. The idea was to remove the monster from the wolf, so to speak.”

  “The bottom line here,” Marcus said, “is that they used grey magic that bordered on black. The spell involved the use of blood from a natural born wolf and the Red being spellcast.”

  “Blood magic is never good magic,” Cassie said, feeling anger grind inside her at such irresponsibility. “I know little of magic and even I know that.”

  “And this spell proved no different,” Marcus agreed. “The Red Virus remained the dominant trait. The result was a wolf that was smarter, faster, and more vicious.” His gaze settled on Troy. “Andres was the result.”

  “Andres,” Troy ground out, and any panic Cassie felt over that name faded into a completely different fear. Her nostrils flared with the scent of his anger, with the now familiar scent of his wolf clawing to life.

  “Troy,” Cassie murmured softly, twining her fingers with his, and trying to get him to look at her, but he stayed focused on his Warden-in-Charge.

  “How could you have known this and not tell me?” Troy demanded. “How long have you watched me hunt him without saying a damn word?”

  “Don’t even think about going wolf on me, vampire,” Marcus warned, power waving off of him with such force that Cassie lost her breath for a moment. “You are, and always will be, part vampire and I am still your maker, and I promise you that you’re no match for me, be it as a wolf or vampire, or any combination thereof. I knew none of what I now know about Andres until a few months ago, after your ass went MIA, despite a promise to stay in touch.”

  Troy inhaled, and dropped his head forward, his long blond hair covering his face. Cassie could smell the changes happening to him, and she had no doubt Marcus could sense them. “Troy,” she whispered, leaning in close, pressing her hand to his face, her
mouth to his ear. “Take my arm if you need it. I’m here.”

  He reached up and covered her hand with his, lifting his gaze to hers, letting her see that his eyes were still blue, that he was nowhere near as gone as he had been earlier. “And I’m better now because you are.” The words, the trust behind them, were as unexpected as the kiss he placed on her wrist before shifting his attention to Marcus. “Marcus I-”

  “We’re good, man,” Marcus said, cutting him off, the two men holding a long stare, and Cassie felt the friendship between them, felt Marcus’s true concern for Troy in his words as he added, “But we’ll both be better when Andres is dead, especially after you hear what I have to say. Not long after you went incognito, the ousted leader of the Rebels came to me seeking protection within Vampire Nation in exchange for information.” He glanced at Cassie. “He knew The Society would kill him for killing so many of theirs.”

  “He was right,” she said, not mincing words. ”And we wouldn’t expect you to take him in either.”

  “He’s dead,” Marcus said flatly, “but not before he told me that Andres used magic in an attempt to turn himself into something half vampire, half werewolf, that would be capable of ruling both races. Sound familiar?”

  “They turned me and Andres.”

  “No,” Marcus said. “Andres was unchanged. Because you lived, you absorbed the magic, not Andres.”

  “They didn’t know what they were doing in the first place,” Aylia added. “They used a stolen, powerful source of magic from our coven that was well beyond their ability to control.”

  She glanced at Marcus. “I’d like to explain.”

  He gave a quick nod. “Of course.”

  “Each of the members of my coven wears a necklace etched with an ancient magical triangle that is bound with the blood of seven of our members. When we cast a spell it’s locked inside the necklace of whichever one of us was the creator of the magic, bound for use at another time. That spell must only be spoken to evoke the power of the Coven but only the true holder of the necklace can control the true power of the magic. So you see, the spell that created Andres was in a necklace that was stolen right before the Reno incident. And the magic in your blood is that spell.”