Chapter Forty-One

June

I woke in the middle of the night, still seething over Evander and the rogues. Dom was asleep, fully satisfied with the way we'd spent our evening. There really wasn't much to do here with no internet or television, so we filled our empty time with more physical pastimes. I was hoping for bonding time and a distraction, and I suppose I got that, but now that it was just me and the quiet hours of the night, I was back to being bothered.

Sitting up and leaning against the headboard, I hugged a pillow to me and looked down at Dom. At my mate. One of the few moments of peace and happiness I'd had since things grew strained over the last couple of days after the attack on the trackers.

Still, I couldn't sleep. A chronic worrier, Gran used to call me.

Maybe so. Maybe there wasn't anything I could do about anything tonight. Maybe I should just wait it out a couple of days as Dom had suggested. After all, trapped wolves grow restless and resentful after too much captivity. He knew the wolves best, and I was sure this would only aid in his claim that Evander was unfit to rule. If anything, in a week at the full moon, Dom's challenge might be backed by the whole pack.

So why couldn't I sleep?

I sighed, sliding down in the bed as quietly as I could. Maybe I could just close my eyes and pretend to sleep until it really happened.

I rolled over once. After a while, I rolled over again. Frustrated, I pushed the covers off of me. Eventually, I pulled them back on again.

Until finally I sighed and got out of bed completely.

I walked through the house and settled at the kitchen table, resting my head in my hands with a yawn.

Sleeplessness, I suppose. Endlessly boring sleeplessness.

Or at least, until I heard the scratching outside.

My eyes popped open. What was that?

Scratch, scratch . It was very light. Even with my wolf hearing, I might not have noticed it if I wasn't already awake. I suppose Tanner had really hammered in my tracker training, because I was noticing every little thing.

I walked to the back window and peered out, only to see something truly unexpected. Jerod's little dog, the one that he said was a familiar, was on fire. Well, it was drooling fire. It had an extra tail and little horns. If I thought it was so ugly it was cute before, it was ugly enough to win some kind of award now.

"What the hell?" I whispered.

Ferdinand was walking around in the field south of my house, scratching at the dirt. He had something in his mouth, other than the lava drool of course, and it seemed he wanted to bury it.

Quickly, I slipped through the front door and around the back of the house to get a better look.

June? You okay? Dom's sleepy voice sounded in my head.

Yeah, I didn't mean to wake you , I said. Checking on something . . . strange.

I'll be right there.

While I waited for Dom to come out, I kept an eye on Ferdinand. He would have been lost in the tall grassy field if it wasn't for the glow of his lava. Actually, could that set the grass on fire? More magic, I guessed.

"What the hell?" Dom mumbled, coming up beside me.

"That's what I said." I smiled. "But what is he doing in the middle of the night?"

"I'm going to find out," Dom said.

He walked over to Ferdinand, and I followed. The familiar had found whatever spot he was looking for and dug a hole. Once he finished, he dropped a half-used candle in and buried it.

"What is going on?" I murmured.

Ferdinand patted the dirt down and turned to face us. Tongue out, drooling lava.

"Hello, there, I hope I didn't wake you."

I took a cautious step forward. "Are you . . . talking?"

Ferdinand drooled, his eyes looking in two slightly different directions.

"If you're asking if my hellhound is speaking to you, the answer is obviously no."

"Jerod?" Dom asked. "Explain."

"Yes, it's me. I'm speaking through Ferdie here. Actually, I'm doing a lot of things through Ferdinand, and now that I've happened upon the two of you, maybe you could help me out with something."

"Hmm." Dom eyed the familiar with suspicion. "What exactly do you want us to do and why?"

Ferdinand stopped to scratch his ear with his back leg.

"I'm so glad you asked," Jerod said. "Unfortunately, my demon contact is very secretive and doesn't like being known by more than twenty-six living beings at a time, so I can't share that. But what I'm doing here is fascinating, I assure you. The delicate nuances of what I'm keeping in balance here are well above the heads of anyone below the sixth circle of warlocks, not to mention shifters with no exterior magical abilities to sense the conduit—"

"Jerod." Dom growled a warning. "Get to the point. Now."

Jerod's sigh came through loud and clear as Ferdinand sat there drooling. "Fine, fine. My genius is obviously wasted here. I need help hiding three more things in very precise locations."

"And why is that?" I asked.

"Think of it as me creating a better environment for you all to challenge Evander.

"If my theory is correct, and rarely are they not, I believe there is a great chance of dark magical interference during your challenge. Some of the magical interference you've seen in the area, I think Evander is connected to. Believe me when I say I'm simply preventing what you might consider as . . . cheating."

"Cheating?" I asked, tilting my head. "Isn't it cheating to have your help in the first place?"

"No, no, my dear June," Jerod said. "You could hardly afford my price for cheating. No, I'm only leveling the playing field. Carmine insisted I do something about my hunch."

Dom cleared his throat. "And what has Evander done with you and Carmine?"

"Oh, we're removed from the territory," Jerod said simply.

My heart thudded in my chest. "Removed?"

"Did you think the alpha would let the outsiders loiter around forever? And particularly when he has locked down his village due to a threat? I'm on that miserable ferry boat right now, apparently talking to a pocket mirror while the two of you waste my time with these questions."

"Carmine left? I didn't get to say goodbye," I said.

"No, we haven't left entirely," Jerod answered. "We're going to stay within a day's travel so we can get back in time for the full moon. I have some things to look into, and you think Carmine is going to leave without making sure you're okay here? And a delightful fight to watch on top of it."

"She's very passionate," Dom said. "That's for sure."

"You don't know the half of it." Jerod feigned exhaustion. "Insatiable, this one."

It was harder to hold my tongue this time, but I let it go. Carmine was indeed insatiable when she wanted something. I turned to Dom. "Do you think Amelia and Bianca are gone too?"

"No," he answered. "Not only would Amelia have told me, she would have thrown the biggest fight the warriors here have ever seen in order to stay and see our plan through. Since she is pack, even though Bianca is not, they have all the time in the world to decide which pack to call home."

"Good. I was hoping after this was all over she would stay to help with this rogue situation."

Dom placed a hand on my back, rubbing it gently. "We'll take care of wherever these things are coming from. Right after we take care of Evander."

"And now I wonder if those two things are one and the same," I murmured.

"Back to the point, please," Jerod said. "Will you help me or not? It's going to be a bit challenging to get Ferdinand into the pack house undetected."

"Why do you need in the pack house?" Dom eyed Ferdinand with suspicion again.

"You wolves really aren't that sharp, are you?" Jerod sighed, exasperated. "I need to keep, or hide, five items in a few precise coordinates in order to plant a circle. Two of the locations are outdoors and once buried won't have a traceable scent. The other three . . . well, I can spell them to not leave a scent as well, but getting them into places might be difficult. Ferdinand will come tomorrow night with the last three items and instructions if you think you can hide them for me."

"I can't honestly believe I'm considering this," Dom muttered, pressing fingers to his temples. "Fine. Send them tomorrow. Do we have a way to contact you?"

"Until you drag your pack out of the dark ages and figure out how to get a cell tower out there, probably not," Jerod said flatly. "You'll have to wait until Ferdinand finds you, I can hear you through him."

"Fine," Dom said. "Send your things, but let it be known that I do not need help taking that bastard down."

"I didn't say you did, big guy," Jerod answered. "Alphas, so touchy. June, I hope you're ready for a life of coddling that big ego."

I started to giggle, and then slapped my hand over my mouth, peeking over at Dom, who wore quite the unimpressed look.

"Anyway, I'll send everything tomorrow. Good luck you two, I'm expecting one hell of a show to entertain me after all this work."

"Count on it," Dom said. "The moment it's within my rights to do so, I'm tearing him to pieces."

"Hmm. Let's hope so. June, if it all goes south, I'm sure Carmine would love to host you at her pack. It might be nice to have another American with me while I acclimate to rural Quebec," Jerod offered.

"No thanks," I said, looking over at Dom. "I have complete faith in my alpha."

Dom gave me a warm smile, reaching over to lace his fingers with mine.

"Suit yourself. I always have contingency plans. Keep an eye out, same time tomorrow."

Ferdinand trotted away from the village as I marveled that not only was he able to go undetected but also didn't set the fields on fire.

"That's magic for you," Dom murmured. "Confusing shit, I'd rather keep it out of here completely once this is all over."

I nodded my agreement. Jerod was an interesting character, but we would have a lot of work to do once Dom became alpha, and the added unpredictability of a warlock wouldn't help.

"I wonder what Jerod thinks is interfering?" I asked when we were back inside. "He thinks there's magical interference, whatever that means."

"We can't write off that box of stuff the trackers found the other day," Dom said. "That's pretty much what started all this. "

Sighing through my nose, I felt a headache coming on. "I guess we wait for Jerod's instructions. If he can really stop some magical interference, we need his help."

"Agreed," Dom said. "We're so close to the moon and the challenge I can almost taste it."

I nodded. "Bring it on."