Cole

Cole pulled Dax into the entryway in order to come up with a game plan. First, they had to wait to hear back from Olivia and Sam, hoping that they had something on where Maxine was hiding out. But just as they entered the foyer, he heard Juliet cry out behind him in pain.

He rushed back in the room to see her on her knees, clutching her head.

“I don’t know what happened! She was talking and then…” Irma said from her chair, looking distraught.

Cole dropped to his knees in front of her, grabbing her hands and trying to pull them away from her skull.

“It hurts!”

“What hurts, Juliet? What’s wrong with her?” he said once again, turning towards Irma, searching for answers.

She just shook her head.

He turned back to Juliet, trying to calm her down. “It’s going to be okay, you’re going to be fine. Try to take a deep breath. Tell me what hurts.”

Suddenly, her hands dropped by her sides, and she opened her eyes to reveal that her irises had somehow disappeared. In their place were rings of white. Her mouth dropped open slightly and she breathed deeply like she was in some sort of trance.

“Irma! What is this?”

Irma inhaled a sharp breath. “A connection. The ancestors are speaking with her. I’ve only heard about it, I’ve never seen it done.”

Cole remained in front of her, waiting for her to come back to him. To do anything besides being the shell of a person that was sitting in front of him. She looked so lost. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she looked puzzled. “Why are we on the floor?”

Dax leaned down towards her. “You don’t remember what just happened?”

She shook her head. “No. Why?”

Irma spoke. “Child, you just connected. What did you see?”

Juliet shook her head. “It was like a movie. I was in a warehouse, somewhere dark. But there was some light too, like maybe a fire? But none of that makes any sense, right? I mean, I was here the whole time.”

Dax pulled out his phone and Cole tilted his head so that his shifter hearing would pick up who he was speaking to. “Olivia, where are you?”

Dax walked out of the room, but Cole continued to listen. He could just make out what Olivia was saying on the other end of the line. “We tracked her down near the water. A boat ramp. But then we lost her.”

“Are there any warehouses around there? Maybe boat storage?”

“Yeah, a couple places.”

“Great. Stay where you are, we’re coming to you.”

Dax walked back in the room just as he was hanging up the phone call and Cole stood up, pulling Juliet up with him. “So we’re going to the lake?”

Dax nodded once. “Juliet, you must’ve had some sort of vision. I think you can kind of see Maxine.”

“Our ancestors can see her. If she’s trying to tap into their power they know exactly where she is. If Juliet has any more of those episodes, I think it would be in your best interest to follow whatever she says.”

Juliet wrapped her arms around Irma, giving her a quick squeeze and a kiss on the cheek. “We’ll be back, okay?”

Irma nodded. “Child, I will be fine. Do I see whiskey over there on the bar cart?”

Cole couldn’t help but smile. “You sure do, help yourself to anything in the house. There is security outside, so you’ll be safe here.”

“Oh, you can send one of those boys in too. Maybe they can help me mix a drink.”

Juliet rolled her eyes while Cole commented, “I will definitely send someone in for you.”

As they left the castle, he sent in one of his top security guards. He told him to be careful since he was a little concerned that Irma might get a little handsy. Especially after she’d had a couple drinks.

The three of them climbed into Cole’s sports car and sped off towards the lake. Dax sat silently in the back seat while Juliet couldn’t contain her nervous energy.

“What do you think she’ll do to us? I mean, can she do anything, really? There’s what, five of your kind plus me. Against what? Herself? She always had such an attitude. I knew something was wrong with her. But no one would ever listen to me, they never listen to Juliet, no, I’m too normal. I don’t understand magic.”

Cole placed his hand on her upper thigh and slowly rubbed back and forth, trying to calm her. “It’s going to be fine. We’ll stop her, it’s just that simple.”

“By any means necessary,” Dax added from the back seat.

She nodded and continued to bobble her head slightly. At least her legs weren’t moving anymore.

They pulled into the small arena right near the water’s edge a few minutes later. It wasn’t a far drive from the castle, and Cole had the tendency to take the roads a little fast. With his heightened senses, he had never been in a car accident regardless of the speed.

Olivia, Sam, and Nova were standing with their backs to them, looking out over the water. Olivia and Sam seemed to be like magnets. When one moved, the other followed, but Nova stood to the side, apart from the rest of the group. She wasn’t one of them; even though they had a common enemy, she was still a wolf. Alone.

“So what do we know?” Cole said, shutting the door behind him.

“Sam saw some fire coming from that storage warehouse over there. But I couldn’t see much to the windows. There’s a lot of boats in there.”

“Sam, you and Dax go around back,” Cole instructed. “Nova, Olivia, Juliet, and I will go in through the front doors. Juliet you stay behind us. As soon as Maxine sees you she’s going to know that you have some type of connection to your ancestors. Otherwise we never would’ve found her. I’m not sure what she’s going to try to do to you. Nova, I know you’re only in this for yourself, but if anything happens to Juliet…”

She tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. “You’re going to be pissed, I get it. I’ll take care of the little phantom. We just need to worry about getting rid of this bitch who’s trying to take out my family.”

“Juliet knows the Latin, so if Maxine is really trying to throw something out at us, she’ll be able to warn us.”

Juliet stepped between them. “But just barely. My Latin is pretty good, but Maxine’s going to be trying spells that I’ve never heard of. It’s going to take me a second to decipher them and then figure out what she’s trying to do. So just be prepared to take anything she throws at you.”

Nova took her hair tie off her wrist and threw her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head. “Well, don’t know about you all, but I’m ready to do this.”

The group mumbled in agreement and Cole watched as Sam and Dax made their way around the back of the building.

“Give me a second,” Olivia said before dropping down behind the sports car. Cole noticed a pile of clothing in front of the car before he turned around. He knew what would be coming out just a moment later. His own bear was scratching at the surface, waiting to be released.

Juliet took a tentative step back as a grizzly emerged from around the front of the vehicle. It tossed its head back and forth, sniffing the air.

“Well, now I know why you always win in a fight. You’re gigantic!” Nova said, speaking directly to the bear. A puff of steam escaped from its nostrils.

“Is that… Olivia?” Juliet asked, pointing at the large animal in front of them. It shook out its dark brown fur and pawed at the ground with its gigantic claws.

“Yeah, so much for my little sister.”

“Holy shit. Are you a grizzly too?” she questioned him.

“The whole family is. Though Liam is a bit smaller, mostly because of his age.”

She took a deep breath, nodding her head like she understood. “That’s something I’m going to have to get used to.”

“Honey, there’s a lot you’re going have to get used to,” Nova said as she sauntered past her towards the door of the warehouse.