Chapter 31

THIRTY-ONE

A loud crash reverberated through the thin walls of the trailer, then another. A flash of light silhouetted two moving figures against the curtains, then it was gone.

Hutton began to strip.

“ What are you doing?” I asked, scandalized.

“ What do you think I’m doing?” he snapped, throwing his shirt away and tugging off his undershirt.

“ Let the man do his job,” Dru said, an appreciative note in her tone.

Right . He couldn’t shift as fast if he was dressed, and shifters had more protection against magic in their animal form.

“ I’m only shifting if absolutely needed,” Hutton warned in a bit of a growl as another crash came from inside the trailer. Someone’s coffee mug, from the sounds of it. “ I don’t want to answer the Council’s million questions.”

I tugged at Dru’s elbow and forced her to turn around. She complied. Reluctantly .

“ What about Mark ?” I chided.

She snorted. “ Mark doesn’t own my eyeballs.”

Another shout forced our attention back to the trailer. Was the Council witch okay? I worried my lower lip. Did we need to intervene? Send Hutton’s wolf in there?

“ I’m going to cover the other side,” Dru said. She slipped from our hidey-hole and crossed the empty space between the trailers, giving my ward line a wide berth. Once she got to her new position around the last trailer across from me and Hutton , I stepped into better light and gave her an okay sign.

She returned the sign, then turned toward Lee’s trailer. I followed her lead, my palms tingling as the desire to do something about the fight returned. What if McKee hurt the Council witch? What if he was too powerful? Hutton had said McKee’s parents were well known for their wards, and the pack would only accept the best and most powerful magic to help guard their territory.

“ Maybe we should go in,” I murmured, running my hands up and down my jeans. “ Maybe the Council witch needs?—”

The door of the trailer slammed open, and a figure darted out. McKee . He made it three steps before the Council witch’s ward on the floor lit up and froze him in place.

Hutton grunted with approval by my side, now down to his boxers. Unlike Dru , I had no wish to ogle. Ian was way better in every aspect.

The Council witch flew out of the trailer and reached for McKee . Unfortunately , by now the ward’s effect had worn off, so he was able to avoid her grab and instead plant a hand on her neck. The Council witch stiffened with a cry of pain, then stumbled backward.

A shiver ran down my left forearm as the memory of Hannah’s painful grip during our confrontation returned.

The noises of fabric ripping and bones snapping filled the space between the trailers. I didn’t need to look to know Hutton was shifting.

The fighting witches didn’t notice, too busy trying to evade the other’s touch. McKee gained a sudden upper hand as he snuck in a kick and threw the Council witch backward.

Hutton’s wolf inched forward, ready to leap into the action, but rather than going at the witch, McKee spun on his heel and made a run for it.

I touched the line of my ward, pouring a shot of magic into it and lighting it up.

McKee stumbled. Something flew at his back. A potion. The vial broke with a barely audible crash and McKee yelled in pain and grabbed at the back of his neck. The Council witch was not playing around.

She reached him in the next second, grabbed his arm, but rather than causing pain again, she twisted and threw him over her hip. McKee landed on the asphalt with a grunt, but immediately rolled to the side to avoid her booted foot stomp to his face.

Ouch . Definitely not playing around. I fought the urge to recheck the status of my order because I so did not want to end up on her bad side.

McKee jumped nimbly to his feet and blocked a punch, then retaliated with an uppercut. The Council witch evaded the attack and snuck a hand into her half open jacket, going for another potion.

McKee grabbed her arm and jerked hard, forcing it away from her body. With his other arm, he tried to reach inside to grab whatever potion she might have inside her jacket, but the Council witch twisted away from him and stomped on his sneaker-clad foot with her boot’s heel.

I swallowed at McKee’s cry of pain. Definitely a signature move.

McKee staggered backward as the Council witch brought out the potion and threw it at him.

Her aim was off and he was able to lurch sideways to avoid getting hit. The vial flew by him and crashed against the trailer.

My hand moved to my can of pepper spray, proud that I’d thought outside the witch-box when arming myself for paranormal fights. I’d like to see him avoid that .

McKee evaded another grab by the Council witch and brought his own vial out of his pockets. Wasting no time, he threw it at her.

She was too close to avoid getting hit, so she raised her arms to protect her face, and the glass broke on her sleeves, splashing her hands and part of her head. She stilled, arms still raised, completely immobile.

Freezing potion.

McKee made another run for it.

I stepped forward, intent on following. Next to me Hutton moved, ready to leap.

Dru popped from her hiding spot around the last trailer and extended her leg.

McKee went flying and fell flat on his face.

The Council witch broke free from the spell and ran at him. She landed on top of his back and took a hold of one of his wrists, twisting it painfully behind his back.

“ Stop struggling,” she ordered in a panting but authoritative manner.

McKee tried to squirm out of her hold, but stopped with a shout of pain when she twisted his arm further. She reached for her back jeans pocket with her free hand and brought out a zip-tie.

“ And you are?” she demanded, sparing Dru a fast glance.

“ A concerned citizen,” Dru answered. She flashed her claws. “ I was passing by and heard the commotion.”

“ My name is Quinn . I work for Montel’s Council .” The Council witch zip-tied McKee’s wrists together and stood over him with her hands on her hips, her chest heaving from the exertion of the fight. “ Help me get this trash to my car and we’ll talk about a small reward.”

Dru grinned widely. “ Gladly .”