Page 51 of Nightshade

I had thought we’d had something of a breakthrough at breakfast, and I wasn’t sure what had made him annoyed, but he was definitely annoyed. With me.

Poor Cash was confused and trying to avoid us both, which was awful because Viktor was maybe his best friend in the world. Aleks just kept rolling his eyes and staying out of it, but also, he’d broached the subject of vampires to a few of the pack members who were working with us.

Like me, most everyone had thought vampires were fiction.

It kind of made me wonder how rare they really were.

No one had reacted with visceral horror the way Viktor had, though. More curiosity and confusion. It made sense, because the whole pack was less frightened than they used to be. They were starting to think that just maybe, things were going to be okay.

That was why Viktor being a big jerk was so annoying.

The pack was trying to be happy, and there he was, bringing everyone down. Like throwing garbage juice on a beautiful picnic in the meadow on a sunny day.

That was it. Viktor was being garbage juice.

Larry laughed on the other side of the wall we were working on, and for a second I worried I’d said that aloud, but then he sighed and there was a thunk against the wall that might have been his head. “Swear, I can’t focus today with you and Vik smelling like you’re gonna punch each other. Could you just do it and have done? It’s the only thing that works when me and Jojo are mad at each other.”

Jojo, of course, was his sister, and the two of them were legendary for their brawls when they had an issue.

Funny, but Aleks, Viktor, and I had never done that sort of thing.

Well, maybe when we were younger.

Before.

I sighed and leaned against the wall myself. “Maybe I will,” I agreed. “Maybe he needs a punch in his stupid smug handsome face.”

“Calling your twin handsome is a choice,” Melanie called from nearby.

I poked my head around the corner of the wall, lifting a brow at her. “You saying he’s not?”

She rolled her eyes at me and laughed. So did Larry.

Across from us, helping heft a new piece of wood toward the building, Aleks tried to smother his own laughter.

And Viktor?

Hell yeah, even Viktor was trying hard not to smile.

It was a little weird, he wasn’t helping Aleks heft the giant beam in his arms, but standing nearby, body slightly tense and holding himself ready, as though he was afraid Aleks might drop it, and he wasn’t sure he could handle it.

I’d never seen Viktor unable to handle anything, in all our lives. Before, he’d been obnoxiously arrogant, convinced of his own abilities. After, he’d become ruthlessly efficient, able to do anything anyone might call upon him for.

This was strange.

The sudden breeze that went through the clearing wasn’t exactly unheard of, but immediately, I knew there was something off about it.

Why did it smell like rain, when it was a perfectly clear day?

Aleks stiffened and dropped the beam, and instead of catching it, or even trying to help steady it, Viktor leapt out of the way, as though afraid it would have hurt him. The beam tumbled uselessly back to the dirt as Aleks spun to face the new clearing, and almost too quiet to hear over the pounding of hammers, whispered, “Magic.”

Viktor let out a hiss, and then noise filled the area. Altair let out a shout, and Evie howled, and somewhere between those two things, I’d dropped my hammer and started running. I didn’t hesitate on the way, ripping my shirt over my head and undoing my fly, ready to shift.

When I reached Mama’s house, the scene was surreal. Altair was lodged in the dirt in front of the front stairs, all the way up to his knees, looking almost annoyed at that fact. Evie had planted herself next to him, all four legs splayed so she was low to the ground, snarling at a witch, ready to throw herself at the woman to defend Altair.

The witch had her back to me, facing off at tiny little Evie and Altair, whom she’d clearly already attacked, since I couldn’t imagine how else he’d have gotten into the ground. Except he’d done that before, hadn’t he? Accidentally, trying to hide from them.

Now, though, he was frustratedly trying to yank his own legs out of the dirt.