Page 14 of Resurgence of the Pack

‘What are you suggesting?’ Voltaire asked, his voice low.

I grimaced as I came to the only conclusion I could draw from the evidence. ‘I think you’ve got someone in your ranks working against you.’ I waited for an explosion and a vociferous denial but none came; he’d already considered it himself.

‘How old are you?’ I asked abruptly.

His nostrils flared. ‘That is a veryrude question.’

‘It may well be, but I want to know if you existed in a time when werewolves had other powers.’ I suddenly remembered that he had commented once, ‘Your weakling wolves are not the threat they once were.’ Excitement thrummed in me; hehadto know something about our lost powers.

His eyebrows shot up. ‘You’re talking about the wolves’ air magic.’

‘Exactly.’

Despite himself, Voltaire looked interested in where I was going with this. ‘I was young when it was lost,’ he said finally. ‘And I was not interested in the affairs of the wolves. I do not know the cause of your loss, if that is what you want to know.’

I shook my head. ‘I know what caused the loss and I plan to remedy it.’

‘Tread carefully, Lucy Barrett,’ he warned. ‘The Other realm exists in a constant state of flux and it is delicately balanced. If the werewolves seize more power, you may bring greater enemies to your door than the ones that are currently growling there.’

‘And will that include you, Voltaire?’

His expression was sour. ‘You extorted the vow from me – in exchange for three dud USBdrives.’

‘I didn’t know they were duds,’ I argued.

‘Even so, you well know that I cannot harm you nor can any of the other vampyrs.’

‘And yet you hired Abberdon to attack me.’

‘I did nothirehim; I merely discussed a course of action he was already willing to take. And mine was not the only voice to do so. I could notpaysomeone to harm you, any more than I could harm you myself. I would be foresworn, be an oath breaker. The Other realm would take me. No, you still have the vampyrs’ apathy, as does the Home Counties pack.’

‘And the Devon Pack,’ I said calmly. ‘And the Dorset Pack, the Essex Pack and the East Riding Pack. I’m now alpha to all the packs of the challengers that I killed, so they also fall under your vow.’

Voltaire’s nose pinched and his eyes were angry but he gave a tight nod. Perhaps reminding him of his failure to kill me through Abberdon might not have been my smartest move; he wasn’t a man who took failure well. Time to change tack.

Ask him about the Domini,Esme suggested.He is long in the tooth. He must have come across them during his time hunting dark witches.

That was a good idea. ‘What do you know of the Domini?’ I asked.

He blinked and reached up to rub his index finger along his top lip. ‘Children’s tales,’ he said finally, holding my gaze. He was lying.

I smiled. ‘We both know that’s not true, Voltaire.’

He looked around again, checking that his men had truly gone, then he stepped closer and lowered his voice. ‘Do you know what the Red Guard do, Lucy Barrett?’

‘You hunt down black witches and necromancers who would seek to control and use vampyrs like puppets.’

His eyes blazed at the inadvertent reminder that I, too, had used him like a puppet. Fuck: I was fumbling this so badly. His jaw clenched but he had clearly decided that discretion was the better part of valour and he chose to let it go. For now. ‘That is correct, in part. But it is more than that. Simply put, our role is to crush the despicable. The vile. The evil.’

‘Then why are the Anti-Crea flourishing?’ I asked, exasperated.

He sighed. ‘We are an organisation like any other. We have masters who point to where we must go.’

‘And they’re pointing you away from the Anti-Crea?’ I speculated.

‘For now.’

‘And theDomini?’

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