Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Derrek

"So, this is what a freak in a cage looks like. I always wondered what it was like to go to one of those traveling shows. You know what I'm talking about? The dog-faced boy, the bearded lady?" Azalea drawls from the exterior of my magically fortified prison.

I ignore her attempts to goad me. I may be locked up, but at least I have some freedom—namely to pretend she doesn't exist. It beats my previous circumstances, when I lay on the cold cement floor for hours last night, hog-tied with my mouth taped shut, while she worked the spell. I don't honestly know how long it was. I dozed off at some point.

It's maddening to know that I finally tapped into my power and could do nothing to stop her. By preventing me from using my hands or my voice, a simple roll of duct tape effectively cut off my magic. I hadn't yet learned to work spells without them, and even if I could, there were limits on that kind of power.

So, even though I now find myself stuck in a ten-by-ten cell with nothing but four walls, a drain, and an empty bucket, I'm not tied up; it's an improvement on my position from before. I have my back to the corner, arms crossed, while I wait for whatever comes next.

As soon as they pushed me through the opening in the bars and Azalea finished the spell, I tried to test my strength against hers. Turns out she's really been doing her homework. When I recovered from the breathtaking agony of the invisible shield, she treated me to a one-hour lecture on how to combine a variety of spells in order to create such an impenetrable prison.

Truly fascinating.

However, it did nothing to help my situation. Now I have no recourse but to listen to her ramble on and on like a cartoon villain explaining how she got the better of me. After she tired of throwing her advanced magical skill in my face, she switched to school-yard insults, and that's where we've been for quite a while. I continue to stare blankly ahead, watching her through my peripheral vision just in case she tries something; as she already explained, just because nothing can go out of my cell doesn't mean something can't go in . And I wouldn't put anything past her at this point.

"I mean, I've just never heard of a hybrid before. Didn't they used to kill them? I'll have to ask Granny if she remembers. I suppose it's not something that comes up often, is it?" She lounges casually on the seat she had the wolves drag in for her. It's a wheeled office chair, padded, the type that has a hydraulic handle on the base to go up and down. She eventually tired of playing with it and has draped herself across the armrests like the queen of Sheeba.

My eyes track the silver knife that hasn't left her hands since I arrived. It's not the same one I had; obviously, since that one is locked up somewhere in Smoky Falls territory. But it's similar, with a wickedly curved blade featuring runes etched into the metal on both sides.

Currently, Azalea is using it to clean her fingernails, her leather-clad legs swinging off the armrest like a bored five-year-old while she babbles on. "Or maybe you never hear of them because they're like mules. You know what I mean, right? Since mules are a cross between a donkey and a horse, they're sterile, so they can't breed. So maybe there have been some in the past, but they were considered freaks of nature, and since they couldn't reproduce anyway, people just didn't talk about them." She says it all conversationally, but I know she's trying to get under my skin.

Finding out that my actual father was none other than the Montrose alpha was definitely a shock to me. I'd heard the rumors that my dad was a wolf, of course. But my mom never confirmed it. She just told me he wasn't a good man, and she wanted nothing to do with him.

So she gave me her own last name and left the father's name on my birth certificate blank.

Nielsen has yet to even speak to me. He tied me up and dragged me from Smoky Falls, then stuck me in the back of a truck with a handful of his minions. Apparently he isn't entirely sure about how resistant I might be to the alpha command, given my half-breed status, so the gag made sure I wasn't a threat either way.

I haven't seen him since.

I'm not sure if Azalea is here keeping an eye on me or just reveling in her victory, to be honest. I can hear people in the hallway just outside the door, which separates me, Azalea, and a second cell from the rest of the world. That one also has steel bars, but I'm fairly certain mine is the only one that's spelled.

Azalea yawns, stretching leisurely, then makes a show of checking her watch. "I'm bored to tears, cousin. Why don't you regale me with your stories of life as a runaway teen on the streets of LA?"

Despite having my eyes trained stonily ahead, I can see the exaggerated smirk on her face. Even if I couldn't see it, it's audible in her tone.

"I just find it fascinating that you pretended to be a teenager for years , just to hook up with a Harridan . First, like, don't you have any shame? And, not that I'd judge family, but it's kind of gross, isn't it? A grown man trying to get with a little girl?"

I grind my teeth together and resist the bait, but it's getting more difficult. Instead, I focus harder on tuning her out.

Implying I had anything but a familial attachment to Lilliana when she was a kid is disgusting. Yes, I became more attracted to her as she grew closer to adulthood, and I may have had a few racy thoughts on certain occasions when I felt— something —between us those last few months, but I never acted on it.

It wasn't until I arrived in Smoky Falls that my hormones went into overdrive. The second I laid eyes on her, it was like I'd found a new drug and I was constantly chasing the high. Just being around her made my skin tingle like it was crawling with electricity. I've never felt even a tenth of that kind of chemistry with another woman.

Granted, I had my fun in college, right until I gave up everything to live on the streets so I could protect her. Then it was like my sexuality went dormant, waiting until a few weeks ago.

And even then I knew it was stupid; I know very well how the packs work, and that she already has her three fated mates. I am keenly, painfully aware of that.

But there has to be something drawing us together, too. Otherwise, she never would have kissed me.

Kissed me back , I amend mentally. I pressed her up against the door and practically forced myself on her.

My stomach turns at the thought, but then a quick flash of memory drops a warm stone in my gut that calms it.

I may have initiated it, but there's no doubt in my mind it's what she wanted. She attacked me right back, wrapping her legs around me and thrusting her hands into my clothes. The memory is all too easy to relive, and I allow my mind to run over each delicious second until it occurs to me this is neither the time nor place.

I have to pivot from this train of thought; the last thing I need right now is to get myself all worked up and then be pitching a tent when they come to get me from my cell.

This new, apparently evil Azalea would find that highly amusing. She's certainly not the girl I remember from before I left. That Azalea was a sullen teenager who just wanted to live as if she was human, and pretend this entire world of magic and wolves didn't exist. She was even more of a disappointment to the family than I was, and that's saying something. Of course, it turns out I had the abilities after all, but I doubt her mom blocked her magic for her own good like mine did. If I remember correctly, she treated Azalea pretty harshly for being a dud.

Since I don't actually know much about what happened after I left, I decide to change the focus of this conversation. She's still rambling on about my apparent attraction to little girls, so I clear my throat and glance in her direction. Azalea pauses gleefully, assuming she's drawn a reaction from me.

"Hey Azalea," I begin casually, pulling one knee to my chest and draping an arm over it. "Where's your mom, anyway? I haven't seen Aunt Hyacinth in ages."

Azalea laughs scornfully. "That witch? She's long dead. Finally got what was coming to her."

"And I suppose you had something to do with that."

She snorts scornfully. "Of course I did. She never did anything except berate and deride me for my entire life. Wasn't my fault I was born unable to connect to the earth's magic. If anything, I'd say it was hers."

"So what happened, exactly?" I lean in and make my tone curious, hoping she'll be pleased to brag about how clever she is.

And she takes the bait. "Well, since you asked…" Azalea sits up in her seat and does a full spin before wheeling herself closer to my cell. "After you left, everything with my mom got way worse. She kept saying it was my opportunity to seize control while you were gone, claim our birthright. She tried to force me to call on the magic, kept saying I was just ‘blocked' and needed proper motivation."

An uneasy feeling swirls in my stomach. "She was always awful to you," I comment in a low voice. It doesn't really cover the physical and psychological abuse I know Azalea received, but I'm not sure if that's the best subject to touch on, either.

A brief twitch of surprise crosses her face, but she recovers quickly and replies with a sneer. "Yeah, well, she only acted that way because your mom got all the glory and she was basically shunned. Even though she was just as talented, my mom never got a chance to shine when she was relegated to the role of pack seer."

That's not exactly true, but I have a hunch that right now is not the time to argue with my cousin.

Instead, I keep pressing. "So what happened?"

Azalea sighs dramatically and continues. "I started hiding out at Granny's even more, and I think she pitied me for my lack of natural ability, so she let me have the run of the place. I knew there had to be something she'd squirreled away that would help me—the woman is practically a hoarder—so I just kept digging until I found something."

"What was it?"

"A spell. You know, at first it was completely useless. There was no way I could pull it off, since I couldn't even work simple spells. So I put the book away and pushed the thought to the back of my mind. I was honestly considering pulling a Harridan and running away. And then you sent the knife back."

The uneasy feeling in my stomach turns into a decidedly sick one. "What does the knife have to do with anything?"

Azalea grins like the Cheshire Cat, the expression enhanced by her electrically pink and purple hair. I'm fairly certain it was still blonde last night, so she must have gotten bored at some point and changed it with magic. "Well, the first thing that happened was the pack kicked your mom out completely."

I force myself to remain neutral; the way she says it so gleefully turns my sick stomach to stone. My mom was run out of town with nothing, completely cut off from everyone and everything she knew. "And?"

"After that, my mom finally showed them what she could do, and let me tell you, they were impressed."

"I don't see what this has to do with the knife."

"I'm getting to it, patience little Leaf. Anyway, after that my mom put even more pressure on me. She promised the alpha she'd send me to complete the job you shirked on, and she was determined to make me into the witch she expected. If I'd had any doubts about my plan before that, they were long gone at that point. So I told her I wanted to do a dry run, and I needed the knife to practice." Azalea snorts derisively. "She was so desperate to see any improvement, she fell for it. She thought I was going to do a moon sacrifice, which I guess I did in a way. But she didn't realize she'd be the sacrifice."

"So why-"

"The spell required the knife . It had to be a runed blade with certain properties, one of which was being imbued with the power of thirteen witches."

This was the first I'd heard of the knife having such powers. "I thought it was an ordinary ritual knife. How did it have the power of so many witches?"

"You really need to do some reading, Leaf. When a blade is used by a witch to perform a ritual, the blade becomes an extension of that witch. Therefore, a trace amount of her magic remains in the knife. That one had been handed down in our family for so many generations there were probably far more than a dozen."

"Why do you say ‘were'?"

Azalea shrugs. "Because the spell used that power to transfer my mother's magic to me when I slit her throat. I was a complete and utter dud; not a drop of magic in my blood. Which is why the blade was necessary—I needed other witch's powers to make it work. Now, of course, I've used it up. Hence why I had no problem returning it to you. Thought you might like the keepsake." She grins evilly.

"I guess in the end, I'm glad you got revenge on your mom. She deserved it."

"Thank you." Azalea fakes a bow from her seated position with a flourish of her new knife.

Since we're on these friendly terms, I decide to push my luck. "I mean it, Azalea, that woman was evil. I'm sorry she treated you the way she did. You didn't deserve it."

Her chin wobbles, eyes softening for just a moment, before the sarcastic mask returns. "I guess what they say is true after all: If you can't beat ‘em, join ‘em. Or in my case, if you can't beat ‘em, take their place with a blood sacrifice."

"But you don't have to become her, Az," I press in my gentlest tone. "I consider your payback fair and square, but that doesn't mean you can't use those powers to be better than your mom ever was."

"I rather like being a badass witch, thank you very much. At least now no one fucks with me. They respect me."

"And I'm happy for you, truly. But I don't see what that has to do with keeping me in a prison cell. I was never mean to you."

Azalea's eyes flash and she stands abruptly, power crackling around her like an oncoming storm. "No, but you never helped me, did you? You were my big cousin, the closest thing I had to a brother, or really any family at all. You and your mother just abandoned me to the wolves… literally." Her expression shifts, and she affects a carefree demeanor. "But no matter, I have all the power I could ask for now."

She settles back in her seat and flips the knife in the air, deftly catching it by the handle. "And it turns out the alpha is very grateful for my help. He's quite generous, in fact. Compared to having some random human off the street or weak-ass wolf as a daddy, you could certainly do much worse."

"Is that what he wants me for, then? To be his son?"

The wicked grin returns to her face. "Wouldn't you like to know?"