Chapter 11

Eve

After I answered some of Alia's recipe-related questions, we let Lachlan back into the flat.

His gaze moved between us. "All good?"

"All good." Alia nodded once. "So, you want to know what he looked like?"

"We want to know everything you know," Lachlan said.

"All right. Like I said, I couldn't see much. But I did see his eyes. Pure black."

Lachlan stiffened. "Pure black eyes?"

"No whites at all." She shivered. "He was creepy. Beyond creepy, even though I couldn't see his face. Definitely a predator. The way he looked at me…" The shiver turned into a shudder, and I felt for her. Potion makers didn't normally end up face to face with danger unless we ran right at it.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," I said.

She gave a wry laugh. "It's far from the worst thing I've faced. Anyway, the guy." She looked Lachlan up and down. "He was about your size. Similar shape, too. Fit."

That narrowed it down a little, but not a lot. Lachlan was unusually tall and fit as hell, but he was hardly the only one.

"He didn't speak much," she said. "And when he did, his voice was rough. Like he didn't use it much. There was an intensity about him that was almost…manic. Maybe insane. I don't know, I'm no psych."

"Anything else?" I asked, wishing she knew more. It really wasn't a lot, given that I'd just shared one of the most powerful potions in existence with her.

"Yeah. Hang on." She went to her workshop table and found a box that was hidden beneath piles of potion bottles and tiny little envelopes. She pulled it out and opened it, withdrawing something small. When she returned to us, she held an object out flat in her palm. "I stole this from him."

My gaze was riveted to the massive claw in her hand. It was pitch black and looked like it could tear out my throat if she held it just right. I glanced up at Lachlan.

He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"You stole that from him?" His voice was rough.

"He was shaky, like he was coming off a bender of some kind. When he reached into his pocket for something, this fell out." She shrugged. "A crazy guy like him, carrying this around…it had to be special to him. And I was pissed as hell at what he was making me do, so I kicked it under the table before he noticed it. Thought maybe I could use it to track him and get my potion back, but…" She shuddered.

"He scared the crap out of you, and you didn't want anything to do with him," I said.

"Basically." She looked sad. "I'm not proud of it. But you have to understand, I've just escaped hell. Literally. Hell. I want a normal life, that's all."

I could understand that.

She shoved the claw out toward Lachlan. "Anyway, take it. Maybe it will help you."

Lachlan did so, swallowing hard, his gaze fixed on the claw.

"Is it a wolf claw?" I asked.

He nodded, but there was something in his eyes that I didn't recognize. Lachlan definitely knew more than I did.

"Thank you," he said. "If that's all, we'll be going."

She nodded.

Before we left, Lachlan made a call to replace her guards. When he'd finished, we said our goodbyes quickly, and I told her that she should visit me in Guild City sometime, that maybe she'd prefer living there. She just nodded, and we left, using one of Lachlan's transportation charms to take us back.

It was early afternoon when we arrived in the middle of the courtyard that faced the Shifters' Guild tower.

I turned to Lachlan. His gaze was darker than it had ever been, the deep green turned almost black.

All black eyes.

Something that Alia had said had made Lachlan twitchy. Even now, he looked like his mind was a million miles away.

"You know something," I said.

Surprised, he looked down at me, his gaze clearing briefly. It was almost like he'd forgotten I was there. "I need to go see someone. You may return to your home for a short while. We can reconvene here later tonight."

"Don't keep me out of the loop now."

"I'll see you in a bit." He turned and strode off.

I stared after him, surprised. Did this mean I was off the hook?

I touched the collar at my neck.

Nope.

But what the hell was up with him and that claw? I wanted to chase after him to find out, but he'd made it clear he wouldn't answer my prying. Anyway, I needed a shower.

I was halfway to my place when I passed by a narrow alley leading to the back of a coffee shop. Someone shoved me from behind, forcing me into the darkened alley. I slammed against the wall, knocking the air from my lungs.

Panicked, I fought to spin around, but the person grabbed my arm and tried to drag me into the alley. The figure was huge, towering over me in a black hoodie.

Ice surged through my veins.

I kicked, nailing him in the stomach. He grunted but gripped me harder and pulled.

I screamed as I scrambled to free a potion vial from my cuff. I grabbed the first one I touched. Brilliant green flashed—acid powder, basically magical mace.

My assailant lashed out to knock me in the head, and I ducked. His blow cuffed me over the top of my skull, and pain flared.

I flipped off the top of the vial and blew the powder in his face, which was concealed by the deep shadows beneath his hood. I could only see the dark flash of his eyes, which gleamed with an unholy brilliance.

He roared in pain, releasing me and lunging backward.

I called upon my wings and launched myself into the air, desperate to get away from him.

He sprinted down the alley, one hand held over his face as he dug into his pocket. My heart raced. Did I follow him or get the hell out of there?

Follow him.

It didn't matter, though. He hurled something to the ground. A silvery cloud burst forth, and he lunged inside.

A transport charm. He was gone.

Panting, mind spinning, I flew home. The entire way, I made sure to head down the middle of the busiest street in town. I was pretty sure I'd driven my attacker off, but it would be temporary.

By the time I reached the Shadow Guild tower, my heart rate had calmed, and the pain in my head had faded. I could feel the scrape on my cheek where I'd slammed into the wall, but it didn't hurt terribly.

What the hell had just happened? Had that been the killer?

Yes.

But why had he come after me?

I let myself into the tower, breathing a sigh of relief. No one could enter except Shadow Guild members. I'd be safe here.

"Anyone home?" I called.

Silence.

It was fine. I'm still safe. I climbed the stairs toward my loft, but as soon as I stepped through the door, I heard the sound of rustling from the bedroom. I stiffened, ice cascading over my skin. Who the hell was there?

Not him.

The tower was guarded against intruders. He couldn't get in.

Still, fear washed over me.

I picked up a potion bomb that I'd left sitting on the end table—a stunner—and crept through the small living room toward the bedroom. As I rounded the corner, a furry head popped out of one of my dresser drawers, a Mars bar clutched in its jaws.

The raccoon's eyes widened behind his black mask, and he dropped the candy bar. Meow?

I heard his voice in my head, and my jaw dropped at his audacity. "Meow? Meow, my arse. You are not a cat."

Meow.

The little bastard had said it again!The raccoon scampered out of the drawer and leapt across the bed to dive out the open window. I raced over and spotted him shimmying down the tree, fat bum and fluffy tail waving.

"Don't even think you can come back here and steal more of my candy bars!" I shouted.

The raccoon ignored me, and I flopped onto my bed. The little bastard had seriously just pretended to be a cat.

Attacked by a killer, and now dealing with a damned raccoon who somehow managed to get past the magical barriers in our tower. How was this my life?

I rubbed my hands over my eyes and got up. My stomach growled, so I went to the drawer, grabbing the Mars bar and inspecting the wrapper for damage. It looked fine, so I tore into it and shoved half in my mouth, feeling part of my stress start to immediately evaporate.

Lately, I'd taken to hiding candy everywhere. I'd always been a sweets hoarder, but that damned raccoon had turned me into a freaking squirrel. As a result, I'd lost track of half the candy bars I'd ever hidden—including this one—but luckily, it had turned up right when I'd needed it.

Still chewing, I shut the drawer and headed to the bathroom. It was tiny and cramped, but the water was blessedly hot.

The shower didn't clear my mind, but by the time I stepped out, there was noise from the main room below. I dressed quickly, once again in more serviceable jeans and a leather jacket, then headed down toward the noise.

The main room of our tower was a smaller version of the one at the shifters' tower. We used it as a central gathering space, and there was even a huge wooden chair by the fire for our leader, Carrow. She never sat in it, however. She might have, but her familiar, a fat raccoon named Cordelia, often snagged it before she could.

When I reached the room, that was the first thing I spotted—Cordelia, fat bum in the chair, her little paw shoved into a bag of Monster Munch. My own furry little stalker was nowhere to be seen, however.

The rest of our guild was gathered in the main part of the room, sitting around a long table piled with pizza, papers, and books. Carrow, Mac, Quinn, Seraphia, and even Beatrix, our newest member, all turned to face me.

"Well?" Mac asked. "You clear your name yet?"

I shook my head. "Worse. I think the killer just tried to attack me while I was in the middle of town. Shoved me into the alley."

Carrow jumped up. "Someone tried to kill you?"

"Abduct me, I think." I shivered. "I fought him off, and he disappeared through a transport charm."

"Bloody hell." Mac dragged her hand through her short hair. "Do you have any idea why?"

"Not a clue in the world. But I'm going to find out." I looked at the stuff spread over the table. "What's all this?"

Carrow held up a book. "This is everything we could find that might help you. But it seems you need a bodyguard instead."

I joined them at the table, sitting next to Mac and grabbing a slice of still-hot pepperoni pizza. "How so?"

"The Alpha won't let us anywhere near you to help, so we collected everything we could locate about the shifters so that we could maybe find who might be after one of them."

Warmth exploded inside my chest, followed immediately by guilt. They were the best friends in the world, and I was still lying to them. I shoved the pizza in my mouth. It didn't work as well as a candy bar, unfortunately.

"Uh oh," Mac said. "What are you stressed about? More than just the murder?"

How the hell was she so insightful?

"The murder," I said around a too-big bite.

That's all. Just the murder.

I was going to have to come clean soon. But when?

"Here's what we've found." Carrow leaned forward. "Some of these folks vaguely remember this, but obviously, it was all new to me."

"Just spit it out," Mac said. "Apparently, Lachlan, the current Alpha, had to kill his father to protect the pack."

"He had to what?" I'd avoided all news of the pack ever since I'd returned to town, but that one was a real doozy.

"Yeah." Mac nodded. "No one speaks of it because it sucked so badly at the time. The old Alpha went wacko. Mad as a hatter. And it was up to Lachlan to put him down."

Holy fates. That was unexpected.

* * *

Lachlan

My heart thundered as I strode in the direction of the side of our guild tower, veering toward the cemetery. Fortunately, the courtyard was mostly empty, and no one stopped me.

I reached the cemetery and approached the huge old oak that grew at the side. Magic glittered around the tree, which acted as a portal between our place in Guild City and our ancestral lands in Scotland.

Everyone in the pack—from the smallest cat to the largest wolf—came to this tree to reach the Highlands and run. Living in Guild City was fine as long as we could get out and be free.

I strode straight into the portal at the base of the tree, letting the ether sweep me up and spin me through space. It spat me out in the fresh, brisk wind of a Highland afternoon. The sun shone brightly through the space in a thick white cloud, illuminating the rolling hills and tall mountains that were our home.

I breathed deeply.

I'd come here with my father as a boy, long before the curse had taken him. They'd been good times. I'd first shifted here. Raced with my brother here.

Damn, I missed him.

Inside, my wolf howled, desperate to be let free. It wanted to run, to chase, to hunt. I let it out far too infrequently, and it was getting anxious. I felt restless deep in my bones, almost an ache.

I longed for more than just running. I longed for the past, when my father and brother were still here. Before everything fell apart.

I shook away the thoughts and headed toward the stone circle near the river. We owned thousands of acres in this desolate part of Scotland, but no one lived here except for our most revered seer. Her cottage was hidden, though, and one had to earn entry.

As I approached the standing stones that soared toward the sky, I felt the hum of their magic deep in my soul. There were thirteen of them, all nearly identical in shape and size.

I stepped through the ring and stopped in front of the stone basin situated directly in the middle of the circle. Quickly, I drew a blade from my pocket and made a small slice across my palm. Pain pinched, and the blood flowed freely. I let it drip into the basin before clenching my fist tightly and returning the blade to my pocket.

In the stone bowl, my blood sizzled and smoked. Magic would detect if I was one of the pack, and when it did, the seer's cottage would appear.

If she were willing.

I looked up toward the river about a hundred meters away. When the air began to shimmer, I felt a grim smile stretch across my face.

I was in luck.

I strode from the stone circle, heading toward the small cottage that was appearing at edge of the river. Mountains sloped up on the far bank, dotted with fluffy white sheep that would need to get a move on before the next full moon.

As I walked toward the cottage, I reached into my pocket and retrieved the claw. It dug into my hand where I clutched it.

All black eyes.

A sign of the Darkest Moon curse.

There were a few wolves in the world who had it, but which of them would attack us? And which would keep a gruesome talisman like this? It was the entire claw, from root to tip. That could only be obtained by cutting it out of the wolf's foot, which would be hard as hell to do while a wolf was alive.

I reached my destination and pounded on the door. "It's your Alpha."

A few moments later, the door swung open, revealing an older woman with silver hair and bright green eyes. She was ageless, as far as I could tell, without a line on her face. Her hair fell in a waterfall down her back, gleaming brilliantly against her purple dress.

Agnes was the most powerful seer in our pack's history, with a particularly gifted ability for seeing into the past and future of the pack.

"Alpha." Her brows rose. "What can I do for you?"

"May I come in?"

She nodded and stepped back, letting me into her cottage. It was a small space, decorated with too many frilly cushions and pillows. The scent of incense hung heavy in the air, making my nose itch. Fortunately, I wouldn't be here long.

As soon as she shut the door, I turned and held out the claw. "I need to know who this belongs to. And which shifter killed Danny."

"You know I tried to see the answer to the second question already."

"This might give you more to go on."

"True." She frowned, looking at the claw. "But I'm not overly hopeful."

"Just try, please."

"Of course." She held out her hand and took the claw, gasping as her palm closed around it. Immediately, her gaze flew to mine. "It belonged to your father."

Head spinning, I stared at her. "My father. You're sure?"

"I am. I've never been surer of anything."

He couldn't be the murderer. I'd killed him myself, and the deed still haunted me. We'd laid him to rest in the pack crypt almost immediately after—in his wolf form.

Had someone desecrated the grave? And why?

Suddenly, the seer's eyes went dark, and her face went slack.

"Are you well?" I asked.

She blinked, her eyes clearing. All the color rushed from her face. "No. There's been another murder."