Page 60 of Witch's Wolf

Erica grabs my hand and squeezes tightly. I return her grip in what I hope is a reassuring way. All of us silent after her admonishment, Helena continues.

“Sellers was a small-time thief. He’s spent most of his life in and out of prison. I tracked him to the Ritz and pretended to be interested. After a few hours and a substantial amount of vodka, I knew everything there was to know about him… and his puppet masters.”

“Puppet masters? Who? Who does he work for?”

“A vampire clan,” Helena says, her eyes locking onto me as things begin to click into place. The vampire in her dressing room. That’s why he was there. “He’s a wannabe. A hanger on. He’s hoping that they’ll turn him and in exchange, he became their pet.”

I growl as my wolf urges me to shift. To kill. Fucking vampires. Mortal enemies of my kind, but one of them taking in interest in my woman? I turn towards the door.

“Wait,” Raul’s command is absolute.

I’m frozen in place, my alpha having ordered me, but obeying or not, I’m not happy about it. I glare at Raul before turning my attention back to Helena. I drop into one of the chairs.

“The clan he works for is led by a man named Chris Ballard. I found that out when Sellers took me upstairs.”

“Wait— you slept with him?” Stacy’s sharp inhale breaks the silence.

Helena scoffs, lips curling into a smug smile.

“Hell no, dear. I wouldn’t let a vampire’s pet lay a finger on me. I slipped a little something into his drink, and that bastard was out cold in minutes. I left him a note, asking to see him again the next night.”

“And he fell for it?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest against the cold chills rushing over my skin.A vampire? What next?

“Hook, line, and sinker.” She smirks. “The next night I repeated the whole thing, thinking he’d spill more about the clan’s plans, but no luck, until we went back to his room again. Ballard and two of his minions were waiting outside his room.

Sellers asked me to wait inside while he met with them. I was able to eavesdrop on their conversation and that’s where I found something interesting. They talked about a blonde bird and ‘when they’ll put it in a cage’ to keep forever.”

“What does that mean?” I ask, dread creeping up my spine.

“Sellers argued to wait a little longer. He wants to do more to make his contract offer seem more genuine. Ballard reluctantly agreed. I don’t think there is any doubt as to who the blonde bird is, Erica.”

I can’t hold back my growl as I leap to my feet.

“I’ll fucking kill him.”

“Sam!” Raul barks and once more I sit against my will.

Fucking Alphas.

“More like stupid bird,” Erica mutters, her voice breaking, dropping her eyes from Helena to stare at the floor. “God…” she sighs, slamming her palms against her forehead. “How could I have believed that bullshit? I mean, one hundred-fifty grand?”

“He offered you one hundred-fifty thousand to sign a contract?” I ask in disbelief. She’s good, but damn.

“Do not dwell on that, Erica. What’s done is done. We have the advantage now. They don’t know that we know their plan. The thing that eludes me is that they don’t want to kill you. They want to imprison you. Why?”

Before Erica can respond, a distant noise cuts through the silence. It’s faint but unmistakable. Dawson’s sirens.

A chill runs through me. Miles away from town, they don’t pierce my ears, but they send slivers of fear slicing like knives slicing into my heart. My gaze snaps to Raul, but he isn’t looking at me. He’s looking at Helena. I turn, but she’s gone.

“Where the hell did she go?” I ask.

A sudden puff of red smoke erupts from the floor, swirling in thick tendrils. When it clears, Helena is there, but her calm demeanor is shattered.

“There’s a fire in the forest right outside the town limits,” she says. “Go. Find out who’s behind this.”

She doesn’t have to ask us twice. My family and I run.

33

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