“I hope she is worth whatever you paid her. Why do you trust a witch with our business?” Gerald growls at Danny.
I don’t have time for this. My brother needs me. I came here to do a job, not to get insulted. “Why don’t you call Alpha Richards and his luna from the North Ridge Pack? You could also call Alpha Michaels from the Moongate Pack. But you’d rather just piss off the one witch who is willing to help you. That’s all right. Figure it out for yourselves.”
I grab my bag, pull out the envelope, and toss it onto the ground at Danny’s feet. I walk in the direction we had come from, enjoying the feel of the wind on my skin.
I don’t get far before I feel the familiar energy of Danny as he runs up from behind me, only slowing his pace when he is finally beside me.
“Sorry about that,” he says.
“Well, I can’t help people who don’t want to be helped.” I’ll just have to come up with another way to get the money I need.
“Give them a moment. I needed them to see you.” He grabs my arm gently, and I turn to face him.
I’m irritated at him for wasting my time. He didn’t even bother to talk to his people about me before coming to get me. That says something. There’s no way this job is going to work out for me.
“I get why you brought me in. I get that you didn’t trust them, or you didn’t think they’d trust you. Loyalty to your alpha sometimes means doing what is necessary even when the big man isn’t on board.” I had counted the money on the drive over. It must have been his personal money.
He gives me a smile that barely masks his embarrassment.
Then his face gets serious. “I know who you are, Coralie. I need you to help us. I couldn’t tell them and risk them telling our council. Please don’t make me tell the witches’ council where you are.”
It takes me a second to process everything he just said. I’m floored that he would threaten me. But I can see how desperate he is. Desperate men will do anything.
“How dare you go behind my back?”
I don’t even have to guess who this thundering voice belongs to.
“Alpha, let me exp—”
The alpha cuts him off. This enrages me.
“Explain? You went behind my back and you think—I—should let—you—explain?” He takes a threatening step toward Danny.
I step in between them. I’m pissed at Danny for threatening me, but he doesn’t deserve to get threatened by his alpha. And this alpha doesn’t scare me. His tall, muscular body, dark brown hair, and fierce hazel eyes likely intimidate most creatures, but not me.
“Is this how you lead your pack? Fear? Danny did what was necessary to help ensure the future of the pack, your pack. I can’t understand for the life of me why he would help an arrogant prick like you, but he did. Back off.”
I feel the surge of energy as he tries to project his alpha aura on me. My body welcomes the energy, absorbing it and charging every cell until his energy is pulsing through my veins.
He’s surprised that I don’t back down from him.
“You dare speak to me with such disrespect?” He steps closer, his chest nearly touching my face.
With a wave of my wrist, I return his energy, sending him into the tree behind him and pinning him against it.
“I give respect to those who are deserving.” I lower my hand and release the hold I have on him.
The alpha manages to land on his feet. “You should leave.”
I smile at the angry alpha. “What the hell do you think I was doing? Danny, if you ever need anything, anything at all, you let me know. I’ll forget about your little threat. We all say things we don’t mean in the heat of the moment.” I turn and continue to walk away from the chaos, taking in the relaxing beauty of the nature around me.
I really needed that money, and I don’t know if Danny will keep my identity to himself. I guess people are talking, if he knows that the witches’ council wants me. But I hold my head high, because I can’t look scared now.
I hear a loud growl from behind me. I’m about to ignore it, but I can hear panic in Danny’s voice.
“Cora! Run!”
I hear another loud growl followed by several grunts and snarls coming from in front of me.
Nine large, ugly wolves are crouched and ready to pounce on me. Rogues. I can tell they don’t belong to this pack.
I smirk at the nerve of the mangy mutts and drop my bag on the ground. There’s nothing like a good fight to blow off some steam.
“I wouldn’t try it if I were you, but why do I have a feeling that you aren’t that smart?”
The wolf in the center is slightly larger than the others. He steps forward, pounding his paw into the gravel.
“Aw, did I hurt the big bad wolf’s pride? Not used to being talked to like the filthy little mutt you are?”
He crouches down and lets loose an earth-shaking growl.
I crouch down in front of him and study his movements. His shoulders rise and fall violently, and the artery in his neck pulses with each frantic beat of his heart.
In my current state, still charged from the alpha’s energy, I want to match him. I’m trying to suppress what’s inside of me, but I don’t know if I can anymore.
As the wolf takes another step forward, something happens. I let go of my control.
I decide to show him what he is messing with. I raise my arms out to my sides and stop fighting my inner beast. Few have ever seen her, and even fewer have lived to tell of her. I never get to bring her out, but now seems like the time. One against nine is hardly a fair fight.
The energy in the air around me crackles—and my body shifts and bends. My limbs and spine break and reshape until I am standing in all my glory before the group of wolves who now look like they are staring at the Reaper. In my beast form, I stand nearly six feet tall with glowing white fur and the body of a great white wolf.
I stomp my paw into the gravel, mocking the wolf who now looks as though he might soil himself. He howls out his command for them to attack.
None of them do.
I take their moment of weakness as an opportunity to unleash the energy that is tearing through me in vicious currents. The sudden surge sends them flying. They’re on fire by the time they crash to the ground.
Seven of them take off running while two sustain injuries on landing that cause them to succumb to the flames. They’re reduced to nothing but ash and bone.
After ensuring that the threat is gone, I draw back in my energy and allow my body to transition back to my lesser form. It’s only then that I feel a stab of regret. I shouldn’t have killed any of them, even if they were attacking me. I should have had better control.
“What was that? Holy shit, Cora.”
I turn to face Danny and give him a smile. “We all have our monsters.”
I see the alpha approaching from behind him. I am certain I don’t have the energy to deal with any more from him for today.
“Cora…”
I place my fingers on my lips to silence him. “I should go. Thank you for being you. Take care.”
I am too tired and too irritated to put up with a lengthy drive now. Any witch worth her salt might notice my teleporting magic, but I can’t help it. I need to go home now.
I run behind a tree and pull a round crystal from my bag. I slam it onto the ground in front of me, watching as the portal opens until I am staring at my shop on the other side.
I spare a final angry glance in the alpha’s direction before stepping through. He didn’t deserve my help. He shouldn’t have let rogues attack me. Why did he let that happen? I’m worried he might kill Danny next, the way they were looking at each other.
But that was their business. I had my own business to attend to.
