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Chapter19
Campania
No matterhow hard I try it’s impossible not to hear the concerns of Lucas over and over again. All the treachery of the witches from centuries ago keeps running through my mind.It’s just a very big ass coincidence that all of a sudden two of our most devout single purebloods have fallen head over heels for a witch they barely knew.It is an extraordinary coincidence, and if I weren’t one of the vampires in question, I’d be saying the same thing. In fact, I would be making damn sure that vampire master didn’t have the chance to compromise us, assuming a witch had put some sort of spell on him or another.
Damn it all to hell.
My jaw locks tight as I join the group standing at the back of the club, deep in conversation. Descallia and Lucianna are whispering quietly among themselves, but Embry and Lucas are talking heatedly among themselves, not quiet at all. She glares at him. “We’re all coming with you, Lucas.”
His eyes darken. “This isn’t something I want you in the middle of, Embry. For once, can you just do as I ask, stay put and safe so that I don’t have to worry about you too?”
Her eyes heat red. “I didn’t realize I was such a big pain in the ass to you! Sometimes I think you’re just like the rest. You want to keep me at home, safe and protected. Does my skill and ability as a special op intimidate you or embarrass you with your buddies?” She glances around at the others. “No one feels that way except you, Lucas.”
There has been tension between those two before, but they’ve always been a little more discreet. There’s no missing the effort it takes to keep those tears pooling in her eyes at bay. Whatever their problems, it’s probably more than meets the eye.
I glance at my watch and clear my throat as Willow joins us. “All right everyone. The guys have had enough time to follow without alerting the shifters. Let’s get on their trail and see where it takes us. Everyone’s hands, including my own, shift to our weapons as we ready to leave.
Descallia’s arm wraps around Lucianna as I place my arm on Willow’s shoulders, sliding it around the same arms that were wrapped tightly around my neck only last night. But her body is rigid, and her pathways have been closed, keeping me distanced and out of her thoughts.
The transport is quick, and as soon as we begin walking Willow removes herself from my embrace. We weave through the back alleys of the other side of town, making our way between still open small mom and pop shops toward the end row. More than once I try connecting, but Willow is quiet and resigned, allowing no entry into her deeper thoughts.
I give a chin nod to the shop owner readying his store to close before we make our way through the long narrow aisles filled with merchandise, specialty cheeses, and bakery goods. His wife comes out of the back, wiping her hands on the long green apron she wears. Her eyes shift to each of us, one at a time. “What’s the matter?”
As the one the couple knows, I take the question. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. We’re looking for a wolf pack that came through this area not long ago. We don’t need you to be involved further than telling us what they bought and if they said anything while they were here.”
The shop owner and his wife glance to each other, as if unsure how much to say or how involved to become. “Nothing you say will come back to you. I need the information if we’re going to keep peace in the region. If not, all hell could break loose, and where does that leave small shopper owners like yourselves who now cater to all kinds?”
The balding man nods, his keen eyes acknowledging the wisdom of keeping all the factions of the underworld in a state of peace. He gestures to the back exit. “They bought a bunch of the wife’s pastries, some tobacco, and left out the back door. As they were leaving, the pack leader told them the others should tide them over until they got back to the mountain and got some answers and more juice from the witches.”
Willow’s eyes go wide, and her pathways open up as clear as day.The wolves are holding the witches captive. We have to do something to help them. The witches aren’t traitors!
Given what they said, that may be the case, but I’ll need a hell of a lot more than that before I’m fully convinced that wiccan wielding witches weren’t able to get out of a situation with the wolves and now find themselves at their mercy. I turn to Willow. “We’ll find them, and then we’ll learn the truth, the real truth. To it all…”
She sucks in a breath and starts to say something but is interrupted by a flurry of activity at the door. Silver and Terrence race in, stopping suddenly, realizing the shopkeepers are looking at them strangely. I turn to Willow and the others. “Grab some provisions and meet me outside I’ll talk with Silver and Terrence.” I pull out a few bills and pass them to the owner. “For your time and assistance. You know how to reach me. Let me know if anything else happens, anyone else comes into your store, or if you remember anything else about any of the wolves that were here or anything else that they said, understand?”
He gives me a solemn nod. I don’t miss the glance that passes between him and his wife, but we can’t let the wolves get too far ahead of us, or the young soldiers I sent may run into unexpected trouble. The minute we step outside, Descallia and I turn to Silver and Terrence. “What did you learn from the remaining warriors?” I ask.
“The warriors left are all pretty shook, feeling betrayed and pissed that they were living and breathing in the same space with bastards using them and us to get information back to the rogues. They blame themselves for not being able to pick up on any signs that would have given them away.” Descallia turns to Silver. “What about perceptions? Did you feel like any of them were lying, get a sense of untruthfulness, betrayal?”
He blows out a breath. “No, but…”
Descallia glares at him, a man with little patience when it comes to the safety of the vampires and this never-ending mess with the rogues. “They have an in somehow with the witches; they have magic. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that they could be carrying a spell that shields me from knowing what’s really on their minds. Look at the shifters; the mangy wolves are protected by the witches and their magic. No disrespect to the witches that are among us.” Silver may be saying all the right things, but his eyes tell me a completely different story, asking a question that I’ve asked myself a thousand times in the last hour or so, but should have considered long, long before I bedded the tempting little enchantress.
I clear my throat. “You don’t need to pussyfoot around the obvious. I understand exactly why everyone is leery of the witches among us.” As a leader, it’s up to me to deescalate the situation, calm our troops so they can focus on the magic loaded shifters and the fucking rogues, not a couple of witches who may or may not be placed in our midst simply for information. I glance around, making sure we’re alone. “It’s not that I trust all fucking witches. I’m not blind to what’s happening around me. What’s that saying, ‘hold our enemies close, and our enemies even closer?’”
Silver and Terrence smile, but Descallia does not. His eyes swim with the possibilities, complications, and implications that this could have for all of us.
The minute those words leave my mouth I regret putting a seed of doubt in our overmaster’s head about either one of the ladies, but we have to be certain, and right now, after everything that’s happened, coupled with all the history of the witches, I am not, and now, neither is he. There’s nothing I can do about it now. It will get sorted when I’m certain of their loyalty, and not one minute before.
The others walk out with donned gear and new supplies. Embry tucks a couple packs of gum in her pocket, while Lucas and Romano each reach into the white bakery bag and pull out a pastry, offering the bag around as the group does a quick weapon check.
I don’t need to see Willow standing there watching me, because I feel her the moment she walks out that door with the others. I look up, already feeling the change in her breathing, the feel of her aura. Willow’s eyes are full of hurt, and while her pathways are completely blocked, it’s obvious mine were not, and she heard and felt everything that I said. I look to Raven, and she’s oblivious to it all, smiling up at Romano as he feeds her part of his raspberry drizzled danish.
Willow swallows hard, her heart beating fast and erratic, but on the outside, she looks calm. Yet, her once gentle eyes are as hard as glass and her fingernails zip with electricity as she speaks. “We should probably go. I’d like to make quick work of finding the shifters who are holding my sister witches hostage, forcing them to put spells on them to get the best of you. They are innocent witches who got caught in the crossfire of a war between you and the shifters, just like my friends who you hold. When we find them, I would like a promise that you will free my friends. Then, you’ll never see or hear from us again.”
Chapter20
Willow
