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  We stood there, side by side, hand in hand, for what felt like forever until Darla came outside carrying my jacket, the envelope and a small brown bag containing a box with Annalise’s uneaten lunch. Reluctantly, or with relief – I couldn’t tell – I detached my fingers from Gage’s to take them from her, muttering, “Thanks.”

  “You okay, sugar?” Darla asked, her forehead puckering into a frown.

  I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

  “That man bothering you?” she persisted.

  I nodded, again.

  “Hmm, well, don’t be a scaredy-cat. You call me over if he bothers you again,” said Darla. “You need a coffee to go? Warm you up?”

  “I’m taking her home,” said Gage, slipping his arm around my shoulders, and giving me a reassuring squeeze. This time, it was less tender and more like being clamped by a vice.

  “I’ve got my car,” I protested. “I can’t just leave it here. Plus, I’m waiting for Annalise.” I could just see her now, walking hurriedly towards us, her pace picking up when she saw Gage. She waved happily.

  “Leave your keys with me. I’ll make sure it gets to your house,” offered Darla. “Look at you, shivering. You don’t look like you’re in any condition to drive.”

  “She’s right, Stella. Annalise can drive your car home. I was leaving anyway and it’s not like you’re out of my way. Just let me take you home.”

  “Lucky you,” I thought I heard Darla say under her breath as she turned away, heading back to her diner. Annalise took her place a moment later, searching my face then Gage’s, her happy demeanour faltering.

  “I got caught up. Sorry. What happened?” she asked, looking puzzled.

  Five minutes later, Annalise had the whole story, my keys and her lunch bag, and I was being bundled into Gage’s car. I was glad he wasn’t riding his motorcycle today because I wasn’t sure I could concentrate enough on balancing.

  “You ever done that before?” Gage asked, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to look me over. He hadn’t said anything for a few minutes after settling me into the passenger seat of his car. I was quiet, trying to remember everything so I could retell it later to Evan and our housemates. “That mind-transmitting thing?”

  I shook my head. “No. I was just as surprised as you. I didn’t think you’d even hear me.”

  “Loud and clear. Took me a minute to realise I wasn’t just hearing things, but, you know, actually hearing things.”

  “Sorry about that. I really don’t know how I did it. I panicked and I’d just seen you so I... shouted.”

  “No problem.” Gage took his hand off the wheel to pat my leg. “I’m probably receptive to it because of my blood anyway.”

  “Do werewolves mind read?” I shuffled in my seat to face him, curious. Neither Gage nor Annalise talked much about the other part of their lives, though they had no problem with me seeing them in wolf form now. All my knowledge about werewolves came from myths or Evan and Étoile, so it was all second hand.

  “Only in a limited sort of way when we’re in our wolf form. But most definitely, never with anyone out of the pack. Even then, it’s more a feeling than an actual conversation.” He thought for a moment. “We should try it again. It might turn out to be useful.”

  “I guess.”

  “There’s one thing I want to know.”

  “What’s that?”

  He braked for the stop sign and, after glancing in the mirror to see if Annalise was still behind us in my car – she was – he looked at me. His face had taken on a guarded look that I recognized when he was about to ask something that he wasn’t sure I wanted to answer. “Why did you call for me, and not Evan?”

  I chewed my lip. “Because you were closer?” I said, my voice rising into question, not quite believing myself. That had been just part of it; it hadn’t occurred to me to call Evan, or even Annalise who must have been just as close to the diner.

  “Evan would have been there in seconds, wherever he was, if he’d heard you.”

  “Right.” I swallowed. Gage had been in my mind because I’d just seen him. I knew he was in town, and he was closer to the diner, I told myself. Nothing more. Absolutely nothing more.

  Several times over the past few weeks, I had to remind myself not to think about Gage in a way that would leave me feeling compromised. I didn’t want to be the woman with one guy, one great guy I loved, knowing and enjoying him all the while another man carried a torch for me. I made a commitment to myself not to string Gage along, even if there were a definite spark there, once. I wasn’t going to be indecisive, flitting from one to the other, nor encouraging, when there was really nothing to offer. Gage was dating other people and that was a good thing. Gage was my friend. That was it. And if I could convince myself to believe that, I could make anyone.

  Thankfully he changed the subject. “You won’t be able to come this way for a couple of weeks,” he told me, pointing to a large works notice sign as he made the turn. “The county is getting those trees cut back, so this road will be closed. I’ll show you a map of another route later. It’s slightly longer, which is why Annalise and I, as well as everyone else, always use this route.”

  “That would be helpful. Thank you.”

  “No problem. I’m glad you called me, for whatever reason. You know I’ll come, any time you call.”

  Not trusting myself to speak, unsure of whether Gage was talking about now... or something else, I just nodded. He continued to look at me, silently, like he was unsure of the situation as well. Then, after a minute, he sighed, ignoring me the rest of the way home.

  We parked across the street at Gage’s house then walked over the desolate road. Despite it being early afternoon, there was something curiously quiet about my house. Annalise hit a red light so she was a couple of minutes behind us and just pulling into my driveway. She drew the car alongside Evan’s larger rental car that he preferred to having his own car shipped. I walked towards the porch steps, Gage no more than a pace behind me.

  I paused on the bottom step, waving a hand to Annalise as she parked, and turned to Gage, asking. “Wilding isn’t safe anymore, is it?”

  “I don’t know, Stella. It’s as safe as anywhere, I guess.”

  “I don’t know what to do.” My voice was barely louder than a whisper. He warned me something otherworldly would be attracted to the sudden and fleetingly strong power in the area. It was caused by the hasty and unexpected concentration of agitated witches months before, but I knew we all privately hoped that nothing would disturb our peace. I hoped we agreed that the Brotherhood had to be the worst of our threats but I didn’t ask because ignorance could be bliss for a few precious minutes.

  “You don’t have to make any decisions.”

  My shoulders slumped, dejection pulling at me. “So long as I am the one making the decisions.”

  Gage looked at me for a long moment, then nodded. “That’s the spirit, don’t get pushed around.”

  With a sigh, I ascended the last few steps, reached for the front door of my house and pushed it open. I stepped inside to an explosion of streamers and hoots that made me retreat in surprise, only to bump into Gage.

  Right in front of me stood Kitty, holding a cake and trying hard not to bounce up and down in her excitement. Étoile stood next to her, clapping her hands. Beau was there too, popping little streamer ribbons, and Evan, my lovely Evan, was lighting the candles that had blown out, using fire from his fingertips. He looked up and smiled at me.

  “Happy birthday, Stella!” Kitty yelled as Beau sent ribbons streaming towards me. “Smile, dude! It’s a birthday party!”

  Gage stepped in closer behind me, giving me a little push forward, his big frame filling the doorway. Annalise nudged past him to stand by my side. “We’ve got a problem,” Gage said ominously.

  Just like that, the mood fell flatter than an English pancake and I knew I’d remember my twenty-fifth birthday for all the wrong reasons.

  Three


  “Tell me again,” insisted Evan, his hand comfortingly wrapped around mine. We had parked ourselves in the living room, the seven of us dotted between the two sofas and the armchair, except Beau, who preferred pacing. The chocolate cake sat on the coffee table between all of us, looking a little lonely. Wisps of smoke trailed from the slim, coloured candles. I hadn’t even made a wish.

  I rattled off the Cliff Notes version. “He just sat at the table and told me his name was John Jones, though it obviously wasn’t really his name,” I explained again. I felt like I was talking in circles as they all watched me. “He said his employer wanted to talk to me. His employer is the leader of the Brotherhood. Anyway, he gave me the envelope, holding a plane ticket and money and said if I didn’t come, there would be consequences.”

  “Obviously you’re not going,” said Evan with a shake of his head.

  “Obviously.” I rolled my eyes. Sure, it wasn’t an attractive habit, but the mood called for it.

  “I’m not sure Wilding is safe anymore,” Evan said as he looked from me to Gage, who remained expressionless. Gage sat in the armchair and his long legs were stretched out in front of him. “The Brotherhood know you’re here. Georgia Thomas does, too, and other witches. We should move you.” He caught my sharp look at that, rephrasing, “We should think about moving you somewhere safer.”

  I contemplated that. I’d been hiding from the Brotherhood for over a year and now they had finally found me. Georgia Thomas was another matter. As a witch, she saw herself as the next leader of the Council. For several months, she’d been drumming up, or, rather, scaring up support across the country. When she didn’t succeed through charm, she threatened. We locked horns when I foiled her foray into necromancy. She was attempting to bring back dead witches who were loyal to her and would support her cause. Though we were also certain she was capable of murder, there wasn’t much we could do without proof. So, for now, Georgia remained free. Since our clash, she never returned to my house but I didn’t know how long that would last; or when she’d get it into her head that it was time for payback.

  “What’s the point?” I asked, dragging my attention back to the current source of my distress. “I ran away from my country to get away from them and I didn’t stop running until I got here. Wilding was the only place where I’d found peace. Besides, who’s to say if I ran somewhere else, they wouldn’t find me there, too? And the next time and the next?” I fingered my hands through my hair, knotting it back as I concentrated on the problems the Brotherhood’s sudden arrival had spawned.

  Although Wilding might be my home and my closest connection to my long-dead parents, it was irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. I slumped back on the sofa, stretching my arms up and legs out. My sweater rode up to bare a strip of taut stomach, and I suddenly realised Gage was watching me with more than a little interest. I stopped stretching, narrowed my eyes and shot him a look. He grinned and his chest heaved once, like he was trying to restrain a laugh.

  “She’s right,” agreed Étoile, with a nod. “Running is no life for a witch.”

  Speaking of witches. “I saw a witch in Wilding today.”

  “Oh? Did she approach you?” Étoile asked.

  I shook my head. “No, I just saw her from a distance.”

  “She sure picked the wrong day to be in Wilding. It’s probably nothing.” Étoile didn’t seem too interested in the news.

  “So what do we do?” I asked, looking around the room. Annalise had pulled Evan’s desk chair over; Beau stood behind her, his hands resting on the back. Kitty and Étoile were opposite me on the other sofa, looking thoughtful. Evan sat rigidly next to me. I could feel his anger with even the slightest movement of his body, though his hand was gentle around mine.

  “We could hunt the bastard down and eat him,” Gage huffed, breaking the silence as he looked around. “Unless there are any other suggestions?”

  “That would involve finding him,” I pointed out. As far as I knew, the wolves only hunted wild animals, so I hoped he was making a joke.

  “We might still catch a scent. It’s only been a few hours. We can see if this ‘Jones’ is still in the area and if there are any others with him,” Annalise looked across to Gage and he nodded thoughtfully as she continued indignantly, “And, no, since you didn’t ask, we won’t be eating him. I can’t believe any of you would even think that.”

  Kitty pulled a face at me and I suppressed a nervous giggle.

  “Sounds like a good plan,” said Étoile, which was received by nods of approval that repeated around the room. “What do we do with this ‘Jones’ guy when we find him?”

  “Kill him,” said Evan.

  “Evan! What is with you guys? Is your answer to everything ‘kill’?” I looked from Evan to Gage. I killed someone once, in self defence, and it was something that weighed heavily on my heart, even though I knew it was the only thing I could do.

  They looked at each other and nodded, in agreement, for once. Evan shrugged. “It’s not like they haven’t tried to kill you. They’re serial killers, Stella, psychopaths. They don’t negotiate and they won’t ever stop pursuing you.”

  “Aren’t you even curious about why they want Stella?” piped Kitty.

  Evan raised his eyebrows. “If they’re all dead, it won’t matter.”

  “That’s the problem though, isn’t it? Jones is just a lackey. The Brotherhood, the ones who really pull the strings, might be at this Hawkscroft place. It doesn’t matter who you kill here, there will be more and more and they’ll just keep on coming.” My voice was taking on a note of hysteria and I had to close my eyes for a moment to block everything out. When I opened them again, I felt calmer. I got up and walked around the sofa to the window overlooking the porch. I found myself pacing, trying to work out the fear and anger I was reliving at the thought of their relentless pursuit.

  What did I ever do to the Brotherhood? What was so wrong with my living peacefully? They were nothing more than racial supremacists, except they didn’t care a bit about the colour of my skin. They just wanted to rid the world of magic. That’s what painted a bull’s eye on my back, and every other person in this room. So far, the Brotherhood had only targeted witches, but I wondered now if they knew what else lived among us. If they knew, they probably wouldn’t rest until we were all eradicated.

  “She’s got a point,” said Beau, no longer pacing, his hands resting on Annalise’s shoulders.

  “Fine. We’ll find him first and see what’s going on. What date is that plane ticket for?” Evan held out his hand so I fished it out of my jacket pocket, pulling the ticket out of the envelope to peer at the print.

  “Two days from now,” I said, handing it to him. I pulled a sheaf of crisp notes out, flicking through them. “There’s at least a thousand pounds here,” I said, looking up, before passing the notes over to Evan. He quickly glanced at them before stuffing them back into the envelope, along with the ticket. Then he handed the whole lot back to me.

  “It makes sense that they would hang around until at least then, to make sure Stella got on that plane,” suggested Kitty.

  “They’ve got to know that I’m not going to get on it.” Nothing about it made sense. They had to know I wouldn’t return to England willingly using their ticket, ensuring their tracking my every move. Why would I? They’d already marked me for death; it wasn’t like I would present myself to them out of mere curiosity. There was no way I’d go alone, at risk of being ambushed at any moment.

  “I’ll call some of the pack and we’ll see if we can follow his scent. I didn’t see this Jones guy, but maybe I can get a scent off Stella and work from there.”

  “Sniff her jacket, wolf,” Evan said, glancing up, his voice a warning hum.

  “What did you think I was going to sniff, daemon?” Gage fired back, holding back a laugh as he held out his hand. Shrugging out of my jacket, I handed it to him and he sniffed it, then passed it to Annalise who pressed it to her nose, inhaling, before passing it on t
o Beau. “It’s faint,” said Gage. “But we’ll try. Annalise, Beau, you’re with me. We’ll go see what we can find.”

  “Call me when you get something?” I asked both of them.

  “Sure thing. It’s not a strong scent, but it should be enough.” Annalise knocked me on the shoulder playfully after giving me a quick hug. “Save me some cake.”

  I looked at the thick chocolate frosting on the cake Kitty had clearly been baking all morning and pulled a face. It looked delicious. “Only if you hurry.”

  “Gage, let’s go. I’ve got a slice of cake with my name on it.” Annalise banged out the door, with Gage and Beau shadowing her. I watched them go, talking to each other, until they were out of sight. A moment later, I saw Gage’s car pull out onto the road and point towards Wilding.

  “They’ll be okay,” said Kitty, coming to stand beside me. “Gotta lotta faith in those puppies.” Kitty, my newest housemate and oldest friend, had met my neighbours for the first time a few months before. She drove out to my house after a long convalescence in hospital. It wasn’t a regular hospital, but some kind of magical unit hidden in deepest Oklahoma, of all places. Her injuries had been sustained during a battle with a rogue witch, the same one who killed the last Council leader, and the woman I’d been forced to terminate. It took Kitty a long time to recover.

  I was glad to have her back, and if I weren’t mistaken, there were a couple of members of Gage’s pack who were pretty taken with her, too. She hadn’t exactly been lucky in love, so I was pleased for her. She wasn’t the only one who had gotten herself a wolf following. Étoile also had a rather enthusiastic admirer amongst the pack. So long as they didn’t territorially cock a leg on my porch, I was cool with it.

  “Are there any kinds of spells we can do?” I asked as I glanced back over my shoulder to include Étoile in the question.