“When did she say that?”
“She called while you were showering.”
I snatched the last piece of bacon. Gods, I’d finished the entire plate, and my stomach was so full now I could barely move, but at least that never-ending hunger in my gut had abated. “When are we meeting her?”
“As soon as you’re ready.”
“Is she coming here?”
He gave me a hooded look.
I rolled my eyes. “Of course not. Let me guess. She has no idea where you live.”
“No, she doesn’t. No one does.”
“Not even Ocean?”
“No, not even my sister.”
“What about your friends?”
“Nope. I usually go to them since they live in the fae lands.”
I swallowed the last bite of bacon, my throat suddenly feeling dry. I’d already gulped down all of the coffee, but was I seriously the only other person on earth who knew where the hunter lived?
As if sensing what I was feeling, Kaillen filled a huge glass of water and slid it across the counter toward me.
My hand shook slightly when I picked it up, because despite his secretive, reclusive nature, the hunter had brought me to his hidden home.
I took a huge drink, then set the glass down. “Why did you bring me here?”
“I needed a safe place to take you.”
“Why not take me to your man cave? I already know about that place.”
“The wards here are stronger. You’re safer here.”
“Even so, could Jakub find this house?”
Kaillen’s hands fisted, and a new scent rose from him. It was sharp and almost metallic smelling, like iron. Anger maybe? “He may be able to eventually, but the wards are thick and incredibly strong around the property. It will make it difficult for a seer to locate you, however, not impossible. And I can’t guarantee the wards will keep him out. He’s proven to be quite resourceful. But for the time being, you’re safe.”
But safe for how long? Klebus had specifically said before I’d gone to Ontario that wards couldn’t be trusted to keep Jakub out. The others he’d abducted had wards in place, but he’d managed to get past them.
My nostrils flared as a deep, burning resentment began low in my gut. Because of Jakub-Dipshit, I’d been kicked out of my home, was barely able to manage my store, had basically abandoned my best friend and sister, and was now also running for my life.
And that dawning realization brought up another topic I hadn’t even considered yet.
Where exactly was I going to stay now? If Oak Trembler was no longer an option and if this home would eventually be compromised, then what did that leave? An SF safe house?
Thinking about that made me consider what I’d said to the hunter last night, about how I was sick of being on the sidelines and wanted to hunt Jakub myself. It was either that or continue running and hoping I’d stay safe.
But that was before I knew that I was transitioning into a werewolf. Before I knew that the hunter had betrayed me.
Because I couldn’t hunt Jakub on my own. Not only did I not have the skill set to do it, but alone I would be vulnerable. However, with the hunter at my side . . .
My chair scraped against the floor when I abruptly stood. I winced at the sound. I hadn’t meant to move my seat that harshly, but the thought of hunting Jakub with Kaillen . . . how could I? Undertaking that would require trust and teamwork.
Before last night, I might have thought we’d be up to it, but now?
Now, I no longer knew what to believe and what was a lie. Although my newly budding gift of being able to scent emotions could help with that.
I took a deep breath, once again being reminded of how fucked up my life had become.
I glanced down, then gaped at the fresh gouges on the wood floor right where I’d pushed my chair back.
My jaw dropped. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry, but I apparently just scraped out part of your floor.” I inspected the stool’s legs, my heart quickening even more. “And I also shaved off the bottom of your stool.” I set it down, my hands growing clammy at what the damage implied.
“It’s fine,” he said calmly.
But my heart just beat faster.
“Your increasing strength will also become something you’ll have to learn to manage.”
“You don’t say,” I replied dryly, bitterly, angrily. Because not only did I have my awakening power to contend with, but now this too? Just when I least needed it.
I took my dirty dishes to the sink on stiff legs.
Kaillen stood only two feet away, his body rippling with tension and the energy off of him soaring. That ashy scent again coated my tongue.
Shaking my head, I refused to meet his gaze. “I’ll be ready in five minutes to meet with Klebus.”
Chapter 2
When I was ready to go, Kaillen conjured one of his portals in his living room. The golden void appeared as he whirled his yellow crystal.
“How come you can conjure portals in your actual home but not in your man cave in Portland?” I asked as I watched him.
“Different magic. I crafted the wards here from ancient tomes with more complicated spells.” He put his crystal back into his pocket as his portal waited in front of him. “It takes more time to craft wards like these and it also takes regular maintenance, but they’re stronger than the ones in Portland, and they allow me to move through them more easily, which is convenient when I want to get home in a hurry.”
Home. He considered this place his home, not Oak Trembler. And I could hardly blame him. His older brothers had regularly bullied him, and his pack hated him. Only his sister, Ocean, and his father had showed any kindness to him. I wouldn’t call that place home either if I were in his shoes.
Shaking those thoughts off, I stepped forward.
Kaillen offered me his hand, like he usually did when the swirling yellow portal waited before us, but I brushed past him and leaped into it.
I welcomed the distracting sensations of jolting and popping, until I scented the hunter beside me. His scent was so potent and raw. Ugh, how was I ever going to get used to these new sensations?
His hand touched mine, then his fingers entwined around my fingers until he held me tightly. Holding onto me wasn’t an absolute necessity, but I knew he felt better having close contact with me in his portals.
The portal plopped us out onto the sidewalk outside of the familiar SF office in Chicago. I removed my hand from his the second my feet touched solid ground, because I didn’t want to think about how nice it felt to have him touch me again.
Crimson and marigold leaves fluttered on the sidewalk, their dry and decaying scents filtering through the air.
Looming ahead of us, the Supernatural Forces’ office waited behind the mom-and-pop barbershop façade. I took a step forward, then came to a jolting stop.
I wasn’t wearing my cloaking spell that hid the strength of my witch magic.
For the past two weeks, I’d lived as I was. No cloaking spell to hide my witch scent. No worries of anyone detecting how strong I was. But that had been in Ontario where nobody knew me, and this was Chicago where everyone knew me.
Grumbling, I whispered the spell to activate the shroud that would conceal my witch powers and hopefully my new werewolf scent too, then strode forward, not waiting for the hunter as I stepped over the threshold.
The SF’s familiar illusion magic tugged at my skin, prickling my senses. A lemony scent tinged with a sharper, more noxious odor—almost like burnt plastic—assaulted me. The illusion spell that veiled the office vanished, and with a jolt, I realized that smell had been the spell. I’d just scented the illusion.