Page 71 of Witch's Wolf

Raul nods, like he’s already been turning that over in his head.

“I know what you’re getting at. He seemed pretty desperate about that claim. For him to forget it and go back would be…”

“Absurd,” I finish. My fingers tighten around the screwdriver in my palm. “I never saw those tents the boys found when they tracked Dexter’s people. Did anyone bother counting them?”

“No, but we do have a rough estimate on their numbers,” Raul counters. “Six hundred, give or take.”

“Six hundred?” I ask, eyes widening. “Would you move six hundred people just to throw out a suggestion to a complete stranger?”

“No,” he says, his voice dropping lower. “I wouldn’t do that unless I was dead set on fighting. They want our territory. There’s no way around that.”

“Exactly,” I emphasize. “I don’t know where they are, but something tells me they’re not far. We need to widen the search.”

“Yeah,” he agrees, determination flaring in his eyes. “Come with me. Let’s go hunt those sons of bitches down.”

A nod is enough. Dexter’s pack is a problem, one we need to eliminate before we can shift focus to the real threat. If we takeout Dexter and his lieutenants, the rest of his pack will scatter, running back to Mercer where they belong. Leaderless, they’ll slink home with their tails between their legs. And once they’re gone, we’ll be free to turn all our attention to the bigger menace, Roberta Connors.

39

ERICA

“Erica! Erica!”

The desperate cry rings through my head, jolting me awake. My fingertips fumble with the edge of the sheet as I snap my eyes open. A purple glow bleeds across the white fabric. Confusion spirals, heart pounding, I push myself upright and scan the room.

She’s here.

At the end of my bed, she floats inches above the floor, her fingers interlocked over her stomach. Her purple cloak billows around her and that eerie light surrounds her, pulsing unnaturally. I breathe faster as sleep fades and my eyes focus on her.

“Oh, sweetheart…” her voice drips with saccharin sweetness. “Look at you, all grown up.”

“Roberta,” I breathe her name, clearing my throat. “What do you want?”

“No, no, no,” she admonishes, wagging a finger, her smile sharpening at the edges. “It’s ‘Mom’ or ‘Mother’ to you. You’re my child. That will never change.”

“That’s not an answer,” I say, voice tight. “Do you need me to repeat the question?”

“That won’t be necessary, darling. I heard you the first time,” she says, tilting her head, studying me. “I wanted to check on you. See how you’re doing.”

I laugh. It’s sharp and humorless, more a bark.

“I’ve been better,” I say, pulling my knees to my chest. “This feels rich, coming from the woman who abandoned me. Where were you for the last twenty-two years?”

“I didn’t abandon you,” she counters, her voice smoothing into something more serious. “I left you with my mother. I knew she’d keep you safe until I was ready to come back to you.”

“Ready?” I ask, the absurdity of her words sends my voice up an octave or more. “Ready for what? You’re not making sense,Roberta.”

I emphasize her name because it’s the one thing that gives me any sense of control over the shit show that my life has become. It was supposed to be easy. The hard part was supposed to be getting Sam to accept me, not this shadowy crazy nightmare that came out of nowhere.

“It’s Mom!” she screeches, her eyes widening as her hands curl into fists. The sickly glow flickers dramatically in response to her anger. She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, then lets it out slowly while unclenching her fists. “You must understand, Erica. Your father and I hadn’t discovered our full potential.We couldn’t while raising you. It would have taken too much of our time, drained too much of our energy.” She presses her lips together in something that looks almost mournful. “Your grandmother dedicated herself to raising me and she died weak and ignorant of what she was truly capable of. I couldn’t do the same.”

“Oh yeah,” I say, my tone mocking, despite the threat I know she is. “Poor Alison, she died without ever knowing she could have been capable of decapitating two shifters. Why, Roberta? What the hell did you do it for? They were innocent. Those people had families, children.”

“People?” Roberta scowls, the eerie glow around her flickering. “They’re not people, Erica. Never were and never will be. They’re like that animal you were taking up with.” Her lip curls in disgust. “What were you thinking? Seriously Erica, did my mother not teach you better than to lay with an animal?”

Rage ignites in my chest, white-hot and blinding.

“Thatmanhas been there for me more in a month than you have in all my life!” I shove the sheet aside and swing my legs off the bed. “You watch your mouth when you talk about him, you hear me?”

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