Grace was dead on her feet. Just as the sun started to rise she felt safe enough to go to sleep. Jack must have let her sleep until the last minute because when he woke her up he shoved her under the shower head and hustled her out of the door as soon as she put clothes on.
“Where are we going again?” She asked trying to massage away the pounding headache she had.
Jack shot her a quick look. “We’re heading to the pack house to hear what the Tates figured out. We talked about this last night.”
“Oh, yeah,” she faked remembering that they had talked about it. “It was after you talked to Derek.”
After waking up in the woods the last thing Grace wanted was for Jack to know about the episode in the kitchen, “Any idea what they found?”
Jack shook his head. “They’re keeping it quiet. Derek did say that they requested permission to bring the witch to the meeting.”
Grace didn’t comment, having lost interest due to pain. She closed her eyes trying to get some rest before they got to the Pack house.
The instant her eyes closed, the pounding in her head got stronger. It beat a tattoo in her brain so overwhelming that every thought matched the rhythm.
Return it. Return it. Return it. Return it.
“Grace.”
She shot up in her seat, the belt catching her. Jack threw his hand out to steady her. She instantly forgot the words she could hear in the drumming.
They were at the Pack house. A thirty minute drive, gone in the blink of an eye.
She quirked her lip in a pseudo smile trying to reassure Jack. “I must have fallen asleep.” She clapped her hands with forced enthusiasm, “Let’s get in there and figure out what that spell is for.”
Jack narrowed his eyes, obviously not buying any of it. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“It’s been a hell of a week. I’m tired and my bones hurt and we have evidence that multiple Packs of rogues are working together.” Grace took a breath. “I’ll be okay after food and a nap.”
Jack stared at her for a long time before nodding, “I can help with both of those.”
Grace smiled feeling genuine contentment flood in her chest. “I know you can.” She leaned across the seat to kiss Jack.
“Let’s get in there before we miss the meeting entirely,” he whispered into her lips.
Grace grabbed her purse and got out of the truck.
The Pack house was the meeting place for all Black Bird wolves. They met there once a month for runs, held weddings there, celebrated graduations, did just about everything there. As such, it was more of a lodge than a house. Sure, there were a few rooms for people to stay in but it acted more as a private community center than anything else. Ben also did all of his official business out of the Pack house. It was much more private than the diner.
Practically every main enforcer was already in Ben’s office when she and Jack walked in. Paul, Mark, Dave, and Derek were standing along the side of the room. They all wore stony expressions, no one bothering to talk.
Ben sat behind his desk with his fingers interlocked, staring straight ahead. Everyone nodded when she and Jack walked in.
Ben gestured to one of the open chairs. “Welcome, please take a seat.” He eyes the other men, “If you want to.”
Grace followed Jack to an open spot along the wall.
“What are we waiting for?” Jack asked.
“It seems the Tate brothers are having trouble convincing the witch to meet with us.” Dave supplied. “Are we positive she’ll show?”
“They’ll get her here.” Ben cut in stopping all conversation.
Heat flushed Grace’s body as she listened to the guys squabble. Nausea had her closing her eyes just to keep from throwing up. Panic surged. She needed to get out of the room immediately.
“Good of you to join us.” Mark’s snide comment plunged Grace back to earth.
The Tate brother stood staggered at the entrance of the room. Their focused was zeroed in on Mark. Grace could see the violence coming off of them. It was enough to have every man in the room squaring up, preparing to fight.
“Everybody, knock it off,” Ben ordered, his voice dropping to an octave that made the hair on her neck stand up. She craned her neck, exposing her throat to the Alpha as his power filled the room in a rush.
All the enforcers along the wall relaxed. The brothers tensed for a second before relaxing too.
The Tates walked into the room. As they entered, Grace realized that there was a small woman standing between them. She was so much smaller than them, she had been hidden.
She couldn’t have been more than five foot two. Her brown hair was pulled back into a messy bun that looked like she had run her hands through it. With the hair out of her face, she looked young. Grace couldn’t tell if she was fifteen or thirty. Grace couldn’t see any blush on her cheeks or mascara on her eyelashes. Not that she needed makeup. She was lovely.
And Grace’s skin crawled the instant she entered the room. The need to leave ratcheted to a level that was impossible to ignore. Not in control of herself, Grace fidgeted. She couldn’t leave but fuck did she need to leave.
Jack shot her a concerned look but Grace just smiled. It felt more like a grimace.
Ben stood from his seat extending his hand to the woman.
Please don’t shake my hand. Please don’t shake my hand. Grace chanted over and over again.
“Welcome to Black Bird, Ms. Stevens. I wish we could meet under more pleasant circumstances but we are grateful for your help.”
She took the Alpha’s hand limply. “No problem,” he voice was quiet, timid. Her eyes darted to Ezra and then Ezekiel. Ezra nodded encouragingly, Ezekiel smiled at her. It was a small smile but it was the first smile Grace had seen from the man.
Ben cleared his throat. “Were you able to translate the spell?”
Ms. Stevens startled as if she’d forgotten there were other people in the room. “Uh, yes,” she opened her jacket pulling out a small white handkerchief. Using the handkerchief she opened the leather satchel at her side. Carefully, she extracted the vellum spell.
The universe stilled. The pounding in Grace’s head stopped. Her frenzied brain honed in on the paper. Return it. The words hissed pleasurably through her mind.
Grace felt a tug. Jack was gripping her forearm. She’d taken a step forward and not realized it.
“Is everything alright?” He whispered. There was no point trying to be quiet. Everyone could hear them.
Grace smiled nervously trying to keep attention off of her, “Just tired. Sorry for interrupting.” Everyone turned back to the desk. Grace almost sagged against the wall.
Ms. Stevens set the spell on Ben’s desk. “I was not familiar with the language when Zeke and Ra brought it to me.” Every eyebrow in the room shot up at the nicknames but wisely no one said anything. “It took me some time to identify it.” Energy began to loosen Ms. Stevens’ stiff posture. Her excitement made her gestures jerky. She pointed to the words. “The language is a very specialized Italian. It was only used by a group of witches from Northern Italy. They were around for a hundred years at the turn of the sixteenth century. They developed a magical language uniquely for their own use. I’m surprised anyone alive uses it.”
Ms. Stevens stopped talking. Ben waited, expecting her to continue. When she didn’t, he prompted. “What is a dead language from Italy doing in a small American town five hundred years later?”
“I have no idea.” Ezra nudged her from behind. “Oh, um, I can tell you that the witches were known to have spirit wolves they used for protection when they fought battles in the astral realm.” She pointed to the spell. “That is a spell they used to grant their wolves temporary immortality. It’s only meant to last through the new moon but is when wolves are at their weakest. They needed the extra protection.”
Ben shot to his feet. “Are you telling me that is an immortality spell?” He shouted claws bursting from his fingertips.
Ms. Stevens took a hasty step back only to bump into Ezra. “Theoretically, yes.”
Ben set his hands on the desk and leaned across it. “Ms. Stevens,” he began, enunciating every syllable of her name, “I understand that you are familiar with magic but I am going to have to ask you to explain everything you are saying. It is vital that we understand this.”
Ezra and Ezekiel lifted their lips at Ben’s tone but Ms. Stevens squared her shoulders. “The spell is theoretical because its origins are five centuries old and it was created for spirit guides not things with physical bodies. I don’t know if the spell could be altered to work on real wolves. Or that it is even a working spell to begin with. The witches who wrote it could have been trying to create an immortality spell but never gotten the magic right. They didn’t keep great records. This could be a dud.”
“What’s the probability that the spell won’t work?” Dave saw the apprehensive look on Ms. Stevens face. “If you have to guess what would you say?”
She tapped a finger to her lips. She thought about it for a second before focusing on Dave. “Lower than I feel comfortable with.”
Curses went up through the room.
“Great,” Paul said cheerily. “We have who knows how many rogue Packs hidden in the surrounding area, a spell that could potentially make them invincible, and a new moon that is tomorrow night.”
Ezra bared dangerously pointed teeth. “Ivy just put her life on the line to help us. What do you think the rogues are going to do when they find out she was the witch who helped us?” He took a step towards Paul. “Show her some fucking respect or I will challenge you.”
“Enough!” Ben roared. Power reverberated through the room like a wild fire. Grace hit the floor on both knees, crushed under the magnitude. Some of the enforcers kept on their feet but all of them bared their throats.
Ben was Alpha for a reason. He didn’t enjoy flaunting it but press him and he did not hesitate to remind a person why he was Alpha.
“Paul, Ezra,” he pinned them with his voice; “you can either shut the hell up or spend the next two days with broken bones. The rest of us will be risking our lives while you two are flat on your backs.” Neither man said anything. “Now,” Ben said breathing heavily, “Ms. Stevens is there anything we can do to stop this?”
Grace staggered to her feet, the power dissipating enough to stand.
White as a sheet, Ms. Stevens stepped out from behind Ezekiel. “Well, we have the spell. I doubt they would have been as determined to get it if they had a copy. And,” she cleared her throat, “and I can destroy it.”
Ben dropped his shoulders, relaxing his stance. “Let’s do it right now.”
Grace felt her stomach cramp painfully tight. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. Digging her nails into her palms she concentrated on not lunging for the spell and running for the woods.
“I can’t do it right now,” Ms. Stevens hedged. Grace felt her muscles release. She hissed out a relieved breath. “I need a few supplies first. This thing has got to have some nasty booby traps worked into it. I need to prepare for those.”
“How quick can you be ready to destroy it?” Ben was visibly anxious to be rid of the spell.
Ms. Stevens turned to Ezekiel and lifted a shoulder, “A few hours if we can find everything at one place. If we run into a problem, it’ll be closer to sunset.”
Ben pointed to the Tate brothers. “You two get her what she wants. If anyone gives you trouble, and I mean anyone, just take what you need. We can sort it out later.”
The brothers turned to leave. Ms. Stevens still faced Ben. Ezekiel grabbed her arms and physically turned her around. “Oh,’ she exclaimed, “alright. It was nice meeting you all.”
Ben pointed to Derek and Mark. “Call in everyone. The rogues’ clock is almost up. They are coming in full force to take the spell back. We need all the help we can get. Take care of it.” They both nodded and left.
Paul and Jack stepped up to the desk, Grace trailing behind quietly. “We need to gather everyone into the high school gym. It’s easier to defend. I want you to get the word out to every wolf, human, witch, or whatever in our territory. This is a mandatory evacuation. Everyone not inside the gym by sunset is going to be fighting rogues.”
Jack raised a palm. “I’ll start calling but first I’ve got to get Grace to the high school.”
“Actually,” Ben yanked open a drawer pulling out a set of keys, “I had someone drive her car here.” He handed them to Grace.
She made sure not to snatch them out of Ben’s hands. “Awesome. Thanks, Ben.”
He reached out, putting his hand on her forearm. It took everything in her not to shrink back. “Grace,” Ben’s voice was deadly serious, “will you keep an eye on Anne for me?”
Grace waved her hand, brushing off his request like it wasn’t necessary. It got Ben’s hand off of her. “You don’t need to ask.”
He nodded; worry wrinkling the corners of his eyes. “I have things to do so if you’ll excuse me.”
Paul, Jack, and Grace left his office. Outside, Paul stopped, “If you don’t mind, I need to take care of something real quick.” He pointed at Jack as he walked away. “I’ll meet you at the news station in half an hour.”
Jack lifted his hand in acknowledgement. When he turned to Grace it seemed as if he had aged ten years. “You’ll stay at the gym with everyone else, right?”
The itchy, nauseating feeling was back. Grace was so consumed by it that she could hardly focus. Something told her instinctively that if Jack found out about her plans he would ruin everything.
“Of course,” she promised.
Jack swallowed. “Grace, I know this is quick and crazy but,” he sucked in a breath, “I love you.”
Grace knew she had to react appropriately or else. Cocking her head to the side, putting her hand over her heart, she hitched her breath, “R-really?” Jack nodded. “Oh, Jack, I love you too.”
Instantly, he had her engulfed. His mouth met hers, ravishing it. The itch on her skin increased to a painful degree. Grace broke the kiss quickly. “We don’t have time now but later…” She let the suggestion hang in the air.
Jack smiled a sweet, goofy smile. “Later.” He promised, pressing one last kiss to her lips before dashing towards his truck.
Feeling eyes on her, Grace slowly walked to her car. In the rush that morning, she hadn’t noticed it parked near the Pack house entrance. Sliding into the driver’s seat she went to clip in her seatbelt when she saw her purse at her side.
Impossibly, she had forgotten she had brought it. She hadn’t noticed it hanging by her side in Ben’s office or out front when Jack had kissed her. He must have bumped it when he wrapped his arms around her but Grace hadn’t felt a thing.
Now, it was all she could focus on. Her vision tunneled to the partially zipped opening. Heart stopped, Grace opened the gaped fabric wider.
Nestled between a wallet and masses of unimportant trash, was the spell. Grace smiled at it as everything became clear.
Jack escorted one of the witches of the Black Bird Coven into the gym. Grace had not exaggerated about them hating shifters. The woman was nearly ninety and she had still put up a fight when Jack showed up at her house. He had tried to explain that her life was in danger but she’d screamed back, “And you think it won’t be in danger if you lock me in a gymnasium full of animals?”
Between the emergency announcements over the radio, on the local news, phone calls, and a few house visits he and Paul had gathered everyone. It was packed in the high school’s gym but comfort was not the priority tonight.
He saw Anne across the room. She craned her neck searching around him. Whatever she noticed had her running over. This close, Jack could smell the panic seeping through her pores.
“Hey,” she panted, out of breath, “where’s Grace? When she didn’t show up earlier, I figured you were keeping her with you.”
Fear shot through Jack, “What?” He shook his head. “I sent her here hours ago. What do you mean she didn’t show up?”
Anne’s panic skyrocketed. “She never showed up, Jack. I’ve been here all day and I haven’t seen her.”
Jack pulled out his phone, calling her. The call never went through. He stared down at the phone, his fear growing.
“I’ve been trying her all day. It’s like she’s blocked us.” Anne pulled at her hair. “Where could she be?”
Jack swore. His hands clenched into fists, claws ripping his palms. “I knew something was wrong.” He threw his head back howling. Everything in the gym stopped as the entire town to stare. Jack didn’t give a shit. His mate was fucking missing.
Anne shook him. “What do you mean something was wrong?”
“I found Grace walking around the woods last night in a trance. Then this morning she was twitchy. I brushed it off as nerves.” He snapped at the air. “I should have listened to my wolf.”
His wolf had been rabid since Grace’s cabin. When Jack had found Grace in the woods, his wolf nearly took control and bit her. His animal wanted nothing to do with Grace today, going mad anytime Jack touched her.
He should have fucking learned his lesson and listened to his wolf. His other half knew something was wrong. Now, Grace was in danger.
“Excuse me,” a tiny voice drew Jack out of his panic. Standing next to him was Tanya Johnson, Elliot Johnson’s granddaughter. “I heard you say Ms. Grace is missing?” He and Anne nodded desperate for information. “I saw her driving south this morning. I knew she moved to her cabin, my dad called her crazy for moving out of town,” Jack ignored that, “and figured she was going there.”
“Thanks, Tanya that helps out a lot.” Jack watched the girl walk away
“What is going on?” Anne whispered
“I don’t know but I am not waiting around here. I’m finding Grace.”
“I’m coming too,” Anne put her hands on her hips expecting a fight.
“Whatever,” Jack didn’t have time to argue. He started running for his truck, Anne following.
Peeling out of the high school’s parking lot, Jack rode hell for leather towards Grace’s cabin praying he made it to her before something happened.
Jack’s phone rang. He didn’t bother seeing who it was. He picked it up and said, “We’ve got a problem.”
“You’re goddamn right we have a fucking problem,” Derek screamed. “The fucking spell is missing.”
Anne groaned, “No.”
Things couldn’t possibly be this bad.
“How in the hell is the spell missing?”
“Ben assumed that witch took it when she left but she just showed up and she doesn’t have it. She never had it.”
“Is she lying?” Anne asked.
“Is that Anne?” Derek asked but didn’t bother waiting for an answer. “No, she got vetted by the Alpha. She’s clean.” Derek made a pained noise. “She thought the Alpha had stored it in a magic proof safe or something.”
“Why the hell would she think that?” Jack knew his blood pressure was off the charts. This was a disaster but he couldn’t make it his top priority. The Pack be damned. He had to find Grace first.
“Apparently, she neglected to tell us just how nasty those magical booby traps were. She performed a nullifying spell on that handkerchief so she wouldn’t have to touch the paper. The thing is a ticking time bomb. Anyone could trigger a magical reaction.”
Jack closed his eyes, the world dropping out from under him. Grace. The shock. The strange behavior. And now, the missing spell.
“Derek, get everyone to Grace’s cabin immediately. This is top priority.”
“What? Why?”
“Grace is the one who stole the spell. She’s taken it out to her cabin to meet the rogues, I think.” The words hurt to say.
He glanced at Anne from the corner of his eye. She was staring openmouthed at him.
“Grace?” Derek sounded astonished. “She would never-“
“You’re right, she would never do that. She triggered a booby trap when she found that fucking thing yesterday. I don’t think she knows what she’s doing.” God, he hoped she didn’t know what she was doing.
“How do you know any of this?”
“Stop talking and listen to me. Anne and I are almost at the cabin. If we don’t have backup, we are going to be slaughter and the rogues are going to get that spell.”
“Fuck,” Derek shouted. Jack heard voices coming from the other side of the phone.
“Yeah,” Jack pressed the gas pedal until it touched the floor, “and tell the Tates to bring their witch. We’re burning that thing.”
Jack threw the phone. His hands gripped the steering wheel until it groaned. He was terrified for Grace. Terrified that he was going to be too late.
“What’s going on, Jack?” Anne sounded as scared as he felt.
“I think Grace got cursed or hexed or something. All I know is that yesterday when we found the spell something shocked her. When I touched the same place, nothing happened.” He wiped sweat out of his eyes.
“The Tates brought in a witch and she didn’t even want to touch the paper the spell was written on because she was scared she might trigger a magical backlash. But we all handled that thing and nothing happened.” He tensed as they took a corner going too fast. “The booby trap wasn’t on the spell. It was on the hiding spot. Now, we have a possessed Grace Copeland about to hand an immortality spell to an army of rogues.”
“Fuck,” Anne breathed.
“Exactly.”
They slide into Grace’s front yard going ninety on the dirt road. Parked, with the front door open, was Grace’s car. Jack almost folded at the sight. He kept thinking that they weren’t going to find Grace there. That he had convinced himself she was at the cabin.
Jack barely threw the truck into park before he was out of it. He sprinted to Grace’s open door. The keys were still in the ignition, the car making an annoying beeping noise. He searched the front seat and floor hoping to find a clue to where Grace was.
“I can’t smell anyone.” Anne went around the car to check the trunk Jack had just popped.
“You can’t smell these guys,” Jack said worried that he couldn’t pick up Grace’s scent. He didn’t see any torn clothing or scratches so Jack could safely say that Grace left the car peacefully and was still human.
Closing his eyes, Jack willed his heart to slow down. He was too scared to be effective. He couldn’t focus on anything beyond Grace being gone. Grace needed him.
Inhaling, Jack attempted to calm down. Breathing deeply, he smelled something foul. It was faint but there was something about it that he recognized. He couldn’t remember when he had smelled it but it was something he knew.
The sound of a vehicle had Jack straightening. He put himself between the sound and Anne. An SUV tore into the clearing. It had the sheriff’s seal on the side. The Robbins boys and Grant Markman jumped out of it.
“Ben rerouted everyone here. What’s going on?” Cal rushed.
“Grace has the spell we found and I think she’s being forced to give it to the rogues.”
“Forced?” Patrick jumped in. “How?”
“Who the hell cares how?” Anne yelled. “And why the hell are we waiting around? Grace could be dead by the time we get our shit together.” Jack snarled, biting at Anne for suggesting that Grace was dead. “I’m sorry but it’s true.” She pointed to the forest. “The longer we wait, the higher the likelihood.”
“We can’t just bum rush the woods,” Grant argued. “We don’t know how man rogues there are and we don’t know where Grace is meeting them.”
Anne turned to Jack, stark desperation on her face. “You found her before, Jack. Do it again.” She begged.
Jack tore his shirt off, kicking his shoes in opposite directions as he got his pants off. Giving his wolf the reins completely, he prayed that they would find Grace.
On all fours Jack went back to the car. As a wolf, he could make out the foul smell much stronger. Whatever is was it was a complex scent. The putrid earth scent overpowered the more subtle smells. Putting his nose right into the most intense area of it, Jack opened his mouth trying to pinpoint what was niggling at his brain.
Grace. Under the unnatural sourness, was the unmistakable scent of Grace.
Jack whined. Whatever was making Grace act this way was overpowering every aspect of her being.
Turning back to the group Jack saw that everyone but Grant had already shifted. Jack could hear multiple vehicles racing towards them.
“I’ll tell them what’s going on. They’ll be right behind you,” Grant promised.
Jack shot towards the woods. Now that he had isolated Grace’s scent, he couldn’t mistake it. The pungent flavor sank into everything around it creating a wide trail to follow.
Jack ignored the odd corkscrews in the path and places where Grace circles back. He kept moving forward, towards Grace.