Chapter 24 - Winter

“Stay in pairs and groups,” Jack ordered as the pack gathered out on the lawn. “Nobody is to confront him alone. He might be wolfless, but he could still be dangerous. We have no idea if he's alone.”

“I'll come with you two,” Will offered as Eddie took hold of Winter’s hand.

“You know, I'd really feel better if you went and locked yourself in at the shop,” he said, but Winter shook her head.

“My place is at your side.”

“You won't change her mind,” Will said, glancing between them. “I've seen that look. That's the look of one hell of a stubborn woman.”

Winter couldn't help but laugh.

I think after all this, we might actually get along, she thought as Eddie started to grumble something under his breath.

“Check the buildings, the woods, the parks,” Jack continued to throw out orders. “I want that fucker found!”

All around her, disgruntled wolves began to nod, heading off in small groups.

“Maybe we should go back to the shop first after all?” Winter suggested. “It was there we last saw him. Maybe there's something there he wants.”

“What he wanted was you,” Eddie grumbled. Shrugging, he added, “But it's worth a shot.”

“Lead the way,” Will instructed, and the three of them started down the hill.

“Be careful, Ed,” Elena called after her brother as she and Hanson headed off in the opposite direction.

“You too, or I'll have Hanson to blame if anything goes wrong!” Eddie warned, and a look passed between the two male werewolves that suggested they weren't on entirely the best of terms.

“Will you ever give him a break?” Will asked, catching up to jab Eddie with his elbow.

Winter scowled.

Brothers were often protective of their sisters, but werewolves were another level.

“While he's my sister's mate, no,” Eddie responded, glowering at Will. “You'd understand if you had a sister.”

“Especially one that looks like Elena,” Will scoffed, and Eddie gave a warning growl.

“Come on, you two, we don't have time for this,” Winter said, quickening her pace.

They charged down the hill, Winter in the lead. Will took the rear, keeping up easily.

“Damn, girl, for a witch you sure do move fast,” he commented, though it was clear he wasn't nearly as out of breath as she was.

Her chest had begun to burn, but there was no way in hell she was going to stop. She hadn't caught Christopher for nothing.

He was the reason they were in half of the situations they found themselves in. If she could be the one to help put him down, then she was sure as hell going to do it.

They reached the shop quickly, checking the side streets as they went.

There didn't seem to be any sign of him in town. In fact, the place was quiet, so quiet it seemed as if even the buildings were holding their breath as they went about their search to find him.

Winter grabbed her keys from her pocket and as she unlocked the door, the two werewolves stood like bookends on watch at the bottom of the stairs.

It still felt odd to Winter to be working with them, but hell, she had to get used to that now that she was mated to one of them.

“Winter, wait,” Eddie said as soon as the door was unlocked. Stunned by him speaking so suddenly, Winter stepped back from the door, having just pushed it open.

“Let us go in first,” Will said, as if some silent agreement had passed between the two of them.

“I think I can handle it,” she protested, but already the two wolves were barging their way into the shop, their hands tightened into fists and their noses scenting the air.

Winter followed them in, alert for the first sign of trouble. Calling upon the magic within her, she prepared herself for whatever might be coming their way.

Yet, they had been in the shop only seconds before she watched the shoulders of the two men begin to sink.

“There's no sign of him in here,” Will announced, sounding almost disappointed.

“It's a shame. I'd have liked to give him another concussion,” Eddie grumbled, turning to Winter with a look of relief. “Maybe you should stay here and make sure he doesn't come back.”

Winter crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him.

“We both know if you thought there was any chance of him coming back here, you would never suggest me staying here on my own,” she snapped at him. “Stop being so protective and let me help.”

“Fine,” Eddie growled back, “But if he lays so much as a single finger on you, I won't hesitate to kill him this time.”

“That's if I don't get to him first,” Will stated. “He's caused enough damn trouble around here.”

Eddie nodded his agreement. Winter shook her head at them both.

“We all know if we kill him another one of his followers will just creep up in his place,” she pointed out. “We have to capture him alive. Again.”

Her stomach twisted at the thought that they were having to go through all this all over again.

The last time, they had been unprepared for Christopher being in the shop, but this time it felt somehow worse. Just knowing he was loose somewhere in town, doing gods knew what, made her angry as hell.

“If he leaves us no choice, we may have to,” Will said, glancing around the shop. “Do you have anything around here that might help us?”

A lightbulb went on so suddenly in Winter's head that it was almost painful.

“Why didn't I think of it before?” she exclaimed, already breaking into action.

“Winter, what are you doing?” Eddie asked as he followed her through the beaded curtain into the storeroom.

Already rummaging through the books on one of the shelves, Winter explained, “There’s a locator spell in one of my mom’s grimoires. I can't believe I didn't think of it before now.”

Placing her hand on the right book, Winter pulled it from the shelf and started to search through the pages.

“Here it is. I just need a map of the town, a scrying crystal and something of Christopher’s for it to work.”

She placed her hand on the crystal around her neck. “I already have a crystal.”

“There should be plenty of maps of the town back at the manor,” Will put in, standing in the doorway, holding open the beaded curtain.

“What about something of Christopher's?” Eddie asked, looking a little defeated. “That won't be easy to come by.”

“Maybe he left something behind in the basement we can use? It doesn't need to be much, just as a piece of clothing, a hair, even a fingernail would do.”

She cringed at that last one. Fingernails had always creeped her out a little when it came to clippings.

“What are we waiting for?” Will demanded. “Let's get back to the manor so you can witch it up.”

***

It was odd entering the basement. The place was dark and silent, nothing but concrete.

The room itself was bare save for a single bed in one corner, a bucket next to it.

It was certainly no place to live, and yet the perfect place for a prisoner.

“How did he even get out of here?” Winter asked as they descended the stairs. There was no window to climb through, no other door to escape through, only the door at the top of the stairs.

“I have no idea,” Eddie said, sounding as if he spoke through gritted teeth.

“This place gives me the creeps,” Will commented. “Let's just find what we need and get out of here.”

“I don't see anything we can use,” Winter said, sighing deeply, but the two werewolves were already sniffing about the place, searching high and low.

“There has to be something. Werewolves shed like crazy. There has to be a hair around here somewhere,” Will said, making for the bed.

Winter watched them curiously. They were bound to have more luck than she ever would with their senses.

“Got something!” Will announced after only a couple of minutes.

Winter looked with curiosity as he produced a small strand of dark hair.

“Can we be sure it's his?” Winter asked.

Eddie approached and gave a loud sniff. Wrinkling his nose, his green eyes blazing, he said, “Certainly smells like his.”

Winter couldn't help but wonder exactly what it smelled like. What it must have been like to smell a scent on something that minuscule.

“We'd better get up to the library and find a map,” Eddie suggested as Winter took the hair from Will.

Nodding in agreement, they all headed back up the stairs.

As they did, Winter couldn't help but notice how quiet the manor was. It was almost deathly silent.

Usually, when she was here, there was a hum of activity coming from the other members of the pack. Layla in and out, tending her gardens, Jack working hard at the desk in his study, someone always doing some kind of repair work on the old building, Hanson or one of the others training the younger werewolves in the purpose-built gymnasium. Even the kitchen was usually bustling with people making meals. Werewolves ate so much thanks to their fast metabolism.

Yet, it was silent now, and it almost felt like a ghost town.

“Has anyone actually checked the manor?” Winter asked as they reached the library door.

Both Will and Eddie stopped to look at her with quizzical expressions on their faces.

Blushing a little, Winter shrugged and said, “What?”

“What do you mean?” Will asked, but a light started to dawn on Eddie's face.

“An escape would draw everyone out of the manor,” Eddie pointed out, and Winter knew he had gleaned exactly what she meant. “The safest place to be would be at the heart of the pack, right here in the manor.”

A shiver ran down Winter’s spine. It was exactly what she had been thinking, and yet hearing it said out loud seemed far worse than just hearing it in her own head.

“I'm sure someone must have checked the place,” Winter said hopefully, wishing she hadn't said anything at all.

Just imagining Christopher hiding out in one of these rooms, ready to pounce on them, made her feel nauseous.

“You guys find a map, I'll check the place to be sure,” Will offered.

“Jack said nobody should be alone right now,” Winter pointed out. It felt odd to be following the rules of a werewolf alpha, but he had a point.

“Well, either I go alone or the two of you come with me and we waste even more time when you could be doing your little trick,” Will said, pointing at the grimoire clasped to Winter’s chest.

“My little trick?” Winter bit back, scowling at him.

Will shrugged nonchalantly.

“What else would you call it?”

“What it is, a spell,” Winter responded, grumbling at his stupidity.

Will cocked his head and laughed. “Call it what you want. Just get it done so we can catch this bastard.”

And before Winter could say another word, he turned and started off down the hall in the direction of the staircase.

“Is he always so…?” Winter asked, unable to quite put her finger on the word.

“Yes, yes, he is,” Eddie responded, his voice filled with amusement. “You'll get used to him.”

With that, he placed a hand on the small of Winter’s back and guided her into the library. “Let's get this over with.”

Winter cringed. Spells couldn't be rushed, even ones as simple as locator spells.

She bit back the urge to say anything and instead asked, “Where will the maps be?”

But Eddie had already crossed the room to a large cabinet, and within seconds, he had produced several maps that were wrapped up like scrolls. They were really more blueprints than maps, but Winter was certain they'd work just as well.

“One of these should be of the town,” Eddie said, dropping them onto the rug in the center of the floor. He sat down on a couch and hurried to check through them.

Winter joined him, finding exactly what she needed quickly.

“This one looks as if it's the most up-to-date,” she said, laying the piece of thick paper out in front of her.

“Winter?” Eddie said as she began to undo the clasp on her necklace.

“What?” she asked, looking up from where she had been scanning over the map.

“This spell, it isn't dangerous, is it?” Eddie asked. His green eyes sparked with concern.

Leaning over, she pecked him on the cheek and said, “No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Would you quit worrying about me?” Winter demanded, removing her necklace and laying it on the map so she could open up her mother's grimoire.

“Never,” Eddie growled.

Winter paused to glare at him before opening the grimoire to the right page.

Wrapping Christopher's hair strand around the chain of her necklace, she held the crystal over the map in front of her and began to chant the words out of the book.

She chanted and chanted, waiting to feel a familiar tug on the crystal, waiting for it to drop on the enemy alpha’s location. She waited for something, anything, but nothing happened.

When she started to scowl, Eddie asked, “What's the matter?”

“It isn't working,” Winter said, rocking back on her heels, feeling defeated.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, it isn't working,” she snapped, offering him an apologetic look. “I'm sorry. It's just frustrating.”

Eddie leaned over and placed his hand on her lap.

“Maybe take a deep breath and try again?” Eddie suggested. “It's a lot of pressure on you.”

Winter grimaced. He was right. Save for the protection spell, she had never had so much riding on her shoulders before.

Closing her eyes, she gripped the chain with the hair strand just a little tighter and sucked in a deep breath.

When she opened her eyes again, Eddie was looking at her with a gently encouraging smile.

“You can do this,” he said, removing his hand from her lap so not to get in her way.

Winter nodded.

I can do this, she thought as she leaned over the map and started to attempt the spell again.

As her frustration started to grow a second time, the spell not working, she heard footsteps rushing down the hall towards them.

Again, she leaned back on her heels, telling Eddie, “It's not working.”

Seconds later, Will skidded to a halt in the doorway. “As expected, the house is clear.”

That was a relief, at least. Winter could breathe a little easier knowing they weren't about to be attacked in their own home.

Home, Winter thought. They had even discussed anything like that yet. There hadn't been any time. And yet, Winter could see this place as a sanctuary already, much larger than the apartment she shared with her mother above the shop for convenience. And besides, Eddie was a werewolf. He had to be close to his pack. It was only a logical choice that they'd likely live there.

Stop it! Winter thought. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of such things.

She was pulled from her thoughts as Will moved into the room, standing over them as he asked, “Did you get a location?”

Winter closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. What was wrong with her that she couldn't perform a simple locator spell?

“Nothing,” she admitted begrudgingly.

“I'm no witch, but that's a little odd, isn't it?” Will asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He almost looked suspicious, as if he thought she was hiding something.

“You're right. It is,” Winter admitted, meeting his eyes unwaveringly. “But there isn't much I can do about it.”

“Maybe it’s something to do with the protection spell?” Eddie suggested, looking sympathetic, as if he knew how hard failure was on her. “Maybe because his wolf is being suppressed it's not strong enough to locate him?”

Winter thought for a moment. “It is possible.”

“What do we do now, then?” Will asked, sighing deeply, as if utterly defeated.

Eddie rose to his full height and offered Winter his hand. “We do things the old-fashioned way.”

Will rolled his eyes. “And here I was thinking having a witch on the team might make things easier.”

At that, Eddie darted a warning glare at his packmate. “We've done this a million times before. Let's not put the failure entirely on Winter's shoulders. We never should have allowed him to escape in the first place.”

Will grimaced, grumbling something under his breath that Winter couldn't quite make out.

“We should head back out and see if we can find the others,” Eddie suggested, “Maybe another group has located him already.”

Will shrugged and shook his head. “I doubt it. We'd have heard something by now.”

Looking hopeful, Eddie plucked his phone from his pocket. When his face fell, Winter knew there was no news, yet she asked anyway. “Anything?”

Eddie shook his head.

“The longer it takes to find him, the more chance there is he'll escape town,” Will pointed out.

“If that is his plan,” Eddie countered. “If I were him, I’d want to know why the hell I couldn't shift.”

“And if he figures that out, he'll be even more dangerous,” Winter added. “He might try to find a way to break the spell.”

“Then it's a good job he and your father didn't manage to capture you when they came for you,” Eddie said, moving close to pull her into his arms. Brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear, he added, “I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you.”

“Alright, alright. Before you two go getting all lovey-dovey, let's get back out there,” Will insisted, turning on his heels to leave.

Glancing after him, Eddie turned back to Winter and gripped her chin in his hand. Turning her face up to his, he whispered, “Don't take his words to heart. You tried your best.”

Winter offered a grateful yet defeated half-smile and accepted a gentle kiss before slipping her hand into his.

“Come on. We can't let him go running off on his own.”