“I’m sorry, I’m confused here,” I said with no amount of tact. “You said half-wolves. What exactly do you mean by that?” Lysander hadn’t really covered that in our study session. I imagined a half-man half-wolf, something you’d see in a Hollywood movie.
Brady snickered. “Full wolves are born, half-wolves are turned.”
“Oh.” I felt stupid for asking. I should have figured that’s what they meant.
“Only full wolves can have full were-children. They turn on their own at puberty,” Aiden added. “Half wolves have human children; they won’t turn unless we do it for them.”
“Which one are you?” Fallon asked Aiden.
He flashed her a smile in the rear-view mirror. “Brady and I are the real deal, babe.”
I glanced over to Fallon. There was an unmistakable gleam in her eyes. She was head over heels for Aiden and not attempting to hide it.
“Are we staying for the festivities?” she asked.
“You thinking of signing up, babe?” Aiden asked playfully. “Got an itch for the wild side?”
Fallon giggled. “I’m wild without the added fur.”
“You show me your wild streak, and I’ll let you rub my belly,” Aiden retorted.
“Okay,” I said a little louder than I should have. “So when we get there, what’s the plan?”
In the blink of an eye, Aiden switched from flirty back to business. “Connor has agreed to meet with you in council chambers. We will escort you in. You say what you need to say. He determines what happens next.”
“Which means we may not get an answer tonight then,” Lysander said in a questioning tone.
“Correct. Anything involving the pack will be decided after the monthly revelry is done.”
The car fell silent as we drove down the highway flanked by a wall of trees.
I wondered how much, if at all, the wolves were going to help us, and what exactly Lysander planned to say to Connor.
About an hour into our drive, we pulled off the main highway for a smaller two-lane road. Thick trees surrounded us, drowning out all but a tiny sliver of moonlit sky.
“We’re nearly there,” Brady said and pointed ahead of us. “You’ll see the main building once we get over this last hill.”
The car’s headlights briefly illuminated a sign as we passed. I caught the words “Nature” and “Wildlife Preserve.”
Ingenious
. The wolves were smart to set up their own sanctuary on protected land.
Sure enough, as we crested the hill, I spotted a long, squat building in the distance with smaller buildings behind it. Cars of every make and model packed the large parking lot in front of the main building.
We pulled up to a one-story rectangular structure. It had four heavy glass doors in front. I could see through to a large lobby, filled with people — wolves ready for the change, I assumed.
“Go on inside,” Aiden said. “I’ll park and meet you in the lobby.”
Fallon hopped out of the car with no apprehension. I, however, had a nagging feeling of dread walking into the wolves’ den as an outsider. I hoped we weren’t in any danger. Being surrounded by others
en masse
made me feel about an inch tall.
We were invited
, I reminded myself, and took a deep breath.
Lysander squeezed my shoulder, and I was suddenly very thankful to have him there. I turned and smiled at him.
“It will be okay,” he said with a nod. “We are here as guests.”
We filed in through the front doors amid the stares from various people scurrying in and out of doorways along the hall. The rush to their step and the fact they made no attempt to greet us or even look at us made me feel extremely unwelcome.
“Wait here,” Brady said. The surprise of his voice, right behind me, made me jump. I thought he’d gone with Aiden to park the car. He sure had the stealthy thing down pat.
While we waited, I casually rotated, taking in the large lobby. The floor was a sandstone-type tile in a variety of colors from cream to murky gray. A reception area had been built into one corner of the room. Behind it was a wall of wooden cubes that appeared to serve as cubby holes for daily mail. I guessed the place functioned as a real wildlife refuge office besides being a cover for the wolves. Everything in the room had a nature vibe to it—earth tones, raw materials, and plenty of windows to let in the light. Even the smell was natural and pure, like patchouli and fresh cut grass.
This was definitely not a place for vampires
.
“This place is awesome,” Fallon said in a whisper.
“It certainly is different,” I replied.
A large rounded seating area, currently occupied by four large men, took up the center of the room. Just as with the front doors, the opposite wall held another set of four glass doors leading out to what looked like a garden courtyard. A few people walked out through those doors as we approached and I could see more people outside, stringing up lights. They really were getting ready for some kind of party.
A doorway to my right opened and Connor stepped out. Immediately, everyone in the room lowered his or her head.
The sight of an entire room silenced by the appearance of one man was awe-inspiring and scary. Connor certainly had power. I only hoped he would use it to help us. To be on the bad side of that kind of power could be very bad.
“You’re late,” he said, and I saw his eyes directed at Brady.
“It won’t happen again,” Brady said without even the slightest hint of arrogance.
“Where is your brother?”
“Parking the car, sir.”
“Jessica,” Connor called to a tall redhead female who had just walked inside from the back set of glass doors. “When Aiden arrives, send him in.”
She bowed her head to Connor but did not say a word.
“The rest of you, inside.” He waved a hand towards his office then turned and walked in without looking to see if we would follow.
“Doesn’t waste time, does he?” I asked.
We filed into a spacious office lined with wall-to-wall bookshelves that reached to the ceiling, loaded with books.
Lysander’s eyes were wide, gazing in awe at the sight of Connor’s library. He was like a kid in a candy store. It seemed he had a kindred spirit in the supernatural world.
Connor sat at a large oak desk. Beside the desk were two chairs. Brady took the one to Connor’s left, and I assumed Aiden, being his second, would take the one on the right when he arrived. There were however, no chairs for the four of us to sit in.
Interesting
.
“I take it by your appearance here that you’ve not solved your problem,” Connor began.
Lysander gave a noncommittal grunt.
“My sons tell me you believe the vampire Edmond to be the primary suspect.”
“Correct. He is the only one we can connect with this Pandora’s box. However, he claims innocence,” Lysander said. “We will deal with him at a later time. Our bigger concern at the moment is the thing that escaped from the box. I had assumed the answers would lie in my old writings; however, those seem to have disappeared. Without my memoirs, I have no information on the creature. I have no means to shut that thing back where it belongs.”
Connor arched an eyebrow and the corner of his lip quirked up in a bemused smile. “You think we can somehow help you with that?”
“Your people are as ancient as mine. My research has led me to believe that there is a shared connection between us and this box.” Lysander’s eyes flitted to the bookshelves again and glinted with excitement. “You have a vast library here. Perhaps in these books there is an answer.”
Connor barked out a laugh. “You are not members of my pack or my species. Yet you expect me to share knowledge of our history with an outsider?”
His comment struck a nerve with me, and I couldn’t bite my tongue. “We’re all part of the supernatural community. Just because we’re not wolves doesn’t make us any less than you.”
Connor’s amber eyes zeroed in on me. “I know very well what you are. I’ve spent lifetimes cleaning up after your kind.”
“You’ve also spent lifetimes at peace with our kind too. What about Zuri and Ian?” I asked.
“They’ve proven themselves. They are part of this pack. The Olde Town pack serves its members and no one else. We have enough problems of our own to solve without adding to them.”
Lysander squeezed my hand, grabbing my attention before I could say another word. “We expect nothing from you or your pack,” he said, his voice betraying no emotion. “But we humbly ask that you consider our request.”
Connor’s eyebrow quirked and I caught the slight relaxation of his lips. Lysander was good at diplomacy, that was for sure.
The door opened behind us. Aiden strolled in, bowed his head to Connor, and then flashed a quick smile at Fallon before taking the seat I’d expected him to.
Connor nodded to Aiden and then folded his hands in front of his face as if in prayer. His eyes closed and his mouth pulled tight.
Anxiety filled the space between us. I fidgeted in my spot, shifting weight from one foot to the other. Fallon let out a long sigh. Behind us, I heard Nicholas grumbling under his breath about wasting time.
Finally, Connor spoke. “Is knowledge really all you request of us?” He paused for effect, and it worked. I shot a questioning glance to Lysander. I knew we needed more than just information. “What if the knowledge is not enough to defeat your enemies? What then? Would you ask the pack for more help?”
Lysander seemed to ponder this carefully. His eyebrows pulled down in deep concentration. He let go of my hand and crossed his arms in front of his chest. After a silent moment, he nodded. “I cannot truthfully answer that until I have the knowledge I require. However, I will reiterate that I do not expect anything from your pack. I can only humbly ask for your assistance if it becomes necessary.”
Damn, he’s good.
I forced myself not to smile as I looked at Lysander with pride.
“Tell me of this box,” Connor said.
I motioned with my hand for Lysander’s attention. “I can do better than that. I have pictures.” I handed the backpack I’d been carrying to Fallon. “Your computer.”
She smiled at me and mouthed the words, “Nice job.”
“Show them to me,” Connor said.
Fallon pulled out the laptop and set it on Connor’s desk. As she booted it up, I caught her stealing glances at Aiden. He, however, remained silent and still, just like his brother, Brady. They both looked like living statues, sitting rigidly at Connor’s side. The only clue they were alive was the rise and fall of their chest and the rapid thumping of their heartbeats.
Once the computer was up and running, Fallon pulled up the photos she had taken of the box.
After careful study, Connor looked to each of his sons. There seemed to be a silent mental exchange going on between them. Each nodded, and Connor focused back on us.
“Knowledge alone will not help you defeat this enemy. It will take more than the four of you to do it. I’m sorry, but I cannot extend this kind of help to outsiders.”
“You’ve seen the box before. You know its contents, and still you refuse us the knowledge we need?” Lysander’s tone rose sharply.
“The knowledge you seek will not help you.”
“Let us be the judge of that.” Though Lysander’s voice sounded calm and collected, I could feel his frustration. For a moment, I picked up on the faint echo of his thoughts, as his eyes flitted from book shelf to bookshelf and back to Connor. He knew the answers were here, and it pained him not to be able to look.
“I’ve made my decision. I’m sorry, but we can be of no help to you.” Connor sounded as if he genuinely meant it. There was a heavy note of unease in his voice, but that didn’t change anything.
“Then I guess we have no choice but to be on our way,” Lysander replied.
I looked imploringly at him. Surely he wasn’t just going to walk away like this! But I received nothing more than a blank stare in return. He turned and gave Nicholas a quick nod, then began to walk toward the door.
“I never thought I’d see the day when a wolf backed down so easily to an enemy. You’re nothing but cowards,” Nicholas spoke the words calmly and slowly; then he too turned, but before he could take a step, there was a loud succession of crashes behind me.
“You dare to call us cowards?” Connor growled the words.
All three wolves up and ready for action, their chairs had fallen behind them. Connor leaped on top of his desk, and crouched low, ready to pounce.
This was bad.
“Yes, I do, actually,” Nicolas said with all the snark I knew he was capable of. “If you don’t like it, prove me wrong.”
If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn that man had a death wish. Oh wait, maybe he
did
have a death wish. Nice of him to employ it among friends.
A rumble of growls erupted in the room. I pulled Fallon behind me and fisted my hands, ready for the fight that was about to break out. Thank goodness for all the combat training Nicholas had given me. If I was lucky, I might last more than a few seconds with these guys.