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She’d just stepped into the dark wood foyer, and was heading down the hallway that would lead to the makeshift forest at the back of the house, when she heard the front door open. Vivienne turned immediately, and was shocked to find Zahira smiling and approaching her. She’d met Zahira, and the rest of the Elders, when Conall had first brought her to Cedar Creek. Although she and the other female Elder had been nice, Vivienne hadn’t conversed with woman since then. She’d seen her regularly as she toured the estate, but there had been no one-on-one contact like this.
“Are you going for a run?” the older woman inquired after a quick appraisal of Vivienne’s clothing.
She nodded mutely, lifting dark brows. Zahira was dressed for the cold winter weather, in denim blue jeans, a thick turtleneck cashmere sweater, and brown cowgirl boots. As Vivienne examined her face, with all of her regal features, even down to her white hair, and then her clashing outfit, she giggled.
One of Zahira’s brows lifted, as if she knew exactly what Vivienne was thinking, before she beamed. “Good, I thought I’d join you…if you wouldn’t mind.”
She was shaking her head to tell Zahira she wouldn’t when she remembered the woman’s clothing. Even werewolves couldn’t be comfortable running in clothing—
“I’ve watched you running with the pup,” Zahira said, and Vivienne sensed the affection the woman had for Eli. “So I take it you are not against running with a wolf at your side?”
“No. I don’t mind.”
“Good.” Zahira continued to stare at her for long seconds, and Vivienne grew slightly self-conscious until the Elder said, “I know that up until recently you’ve lived a very human life, Vivienne, so I will spare you the embarrassment of undressing before you by asking you to turn around.”
The minute the meaning sank in, she whipped around, and felt like her entire face was on fire. Of course she’d seen loads of nude bodies walking around Cedar Creek, but she’d come to think of them as regular ‘nudies.’ No one, except Conall, however, had ever stripped before her. Even Eli usually came to her already in wolfen form, and if he didn’t, he usually found some dark corner to undress and change.
After a great deal of rustling and a bright flash signifying that the nude woman was gone and in her place a magnificent creature, Vivienne turned around.
A salt-and-pepper wolf sat gracefully on its haunches, staring at her. Vivienne looked for traces of Zahira in the sleekly built creature, and found one. Her eyes. They were the same color, a vivid brown that glowed amber with the change.
Zahira suddenly stood and stretched, extending her front and hind legs. Vivienne got the message loud and clear.
“Well, let’s go,” she murmured, lifting her hand to her hair and tightening the elastic band she’d put around it. She would pay for that later, when she tried to get it out of her naturally curly hair.
When she opened the back door, Zahira rushed out, turning her head and grinning over her shoulder as she continued on. They weren’t racing so it couldn’t be called cheating, but the competitor in Vivienne rose to the challenge as she tore off behind the retreating wolf.
She’d just started, and already her mind was clearing up.
***
“Is everyone here?”
“Yes, my lord. They are.”
“Good. Leave.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Maximilian looked around the room at the faces of the grand wizards he’d assembled. They’d flown in from various states, some from other countries, for this briefing. In all, approximately twenty witches occupied the conference room of his New York home.
“Good evening, gentlemen. Thank you for flying in on such short notice.”
Many nodded while some stared at him impatiently.
“As you know, our race has been cursed with mortality for the past centuries. I have found a way to restore us to our former glory.”
Murmurs went up around the room, and then the grand wizard from Connecticut, who looked to be older than Maximilian, spoke up in a brittle voice, “We have tried for years to restore our immortality. No one has succeeded. Why should we believe that you have succeeded where others have failed?”
“Because my plan involves doing what no other witch has done.” He paused and cast a smile around the table. “I want to resurrect the druids.”
There was an outraged uproar at his declaration and Maximilian pushed to his feet. His knees cracked, and he once more cursed the very druids he wished to resurrect.
“Hear me, Grand Wizards!” he called over the array of voices. “I intend to resurrect the druids only after they agree to the terms set forth by the witches! It is for that reason that I need your support on this.” That wasn’t entirely the reason. He’d thought long and hard about including them in his plans, and had decided he needed them much more than he didn’t. He needed their powers to open the portal when the resurrection spell was cast, and the more witches he had with him, the better.
