56. Anna

56

Anna

Heart in my throat, I moved between Jax's wolf and Emerson. If it had been any other time in my life, I wouldn't have blinked an eye as I watched Jax shed Emerson to pieces, but in a situation I never saw coming, Emerson was all that stood between me and Maeve's wrath.

I could feel Emerson's power behind me. No wolf. Only human. I glared behind me, and he was smiling happily.

At me.

My stomach turned, and I focused on Jax. "Emerson crossed my path in the woods. We had a conversation, and then we heard Cam's screams."

Maeve snarled, but I ignored her and kept my eyes on Jax. If he killed Emerson, any progress they made would be shredded. Ignoring the violence cresting off him, I placed my hand under his chin. The touch soothed him, and he sat.

"So another alpha has come to your aid," Maeve growled. "Should I expect London to be at your beck and call next?"

"No one is at my beck and call, Maeve. Emerson only speaks the truth. There has to be another explanation for why Cam thinks it's me. Magic, perhaps."

"Or maybe magic explains your alibi," she countered.

I held her gaze. "I am not a witch, Maeve."

"No," she said finally and with a hint of frustration. "You are not."

"Another mystery to solve," Emerson said thoughtfully. "And at such an interesting time. For now, I think we should resume the meeting tomorrow, when we've cooled off. Perhaps we'll know more about the dead witch tomorrow. I am grateful, Maeve, that your witch is still alive."

A cold sensation slithered down my spine as I watched Emerson calmly walk away. He'd taken control of the situation almost effortlessly.

Maeve shot me an ugly look before she stomped away. She wasn't the only one. I was getting used to the ugly looks from the pack members, but this was different.

Their suspicions were confirmed. I was a killer. Never mind that an alpha had just given me an alibi. It was one more reason for them to hate me.

When everyone was gone, I put a hand on Jax's fur. "I'm going to see if I can find Lunessa.

Maybe you can check out where Cam was attacked. We can compare notes later."

Before I could pull away, he gently caught my hand between his teeth and looked at me. He didn't want us to separate.

I was still a little mad at him, but that wasn't the reason I couldn't be with him right now. He was currently doing a shitty job of filtering his emotions through our mating bond, and I knew exactly what he felt.

Fear. For me.

Someone went to an awful lot of trouble to pin the witch murders on me, and now I had no idea what to think. If there was enough evidence, no one would be using me to take over the mountain because I would be executed immediately. And violently. Even Jax could only go so far to save me.

"I'm going to be fine," I said and tugged my hand, but he didn't release me. Finally, I sighed.

"Fine. We'll check out the scene together and then try and find Lunessa, but you're either going as a wolf, or you're going to change. I'm not traipsing around with you in the woods while you're naked."

He gave me a wolfish grin and loped ahead of me. Apparently, he was going as a wolf.

The better way to protect me, no doubt.

It wasn't hard to find the clearing where Cam had been attacked. Unlike where the witch died, there was plenty of blood. The slash of a wolf's paw.

The first thing I started hunting for was clothes. Cam had never seen my wolf, so that meant for her to identify, she would have had to see me as a wolf.

But the injuries on her were from a wolf, so if it was another shifter, clothes would have been shredded in the process. I doubt the killer had a conversation with Cam while they undressed before they attacked her.

"I've got a few torn fibers here," I told Jax as I scoured the area. "But just that. Whoever attacked her took their clothes with them. Or maybe they weren't a witch at all. Attacked Cam with something that would resemble wolf claws."

So either a witch working alone or a witch and a glamoured wolf.

"I just do not understand why they would glamour me," I murmured to myself. "Unless they want me dead."

Jax nosed my hand, as if to tell me that he would never let that happen. I wanted to believe him, but whatever was happening now had been set in motion a long time ago. Who knew who all the players were.

Magic glowed briefly in the circle around us. I was about to shout a warning to Jax before the magic died and Lunessa walked through the glow of silver. "Sorry about that. I've been using magic sparingly so I don't alert the other witches, but I heard Cam's scream. I've been waiting to see who showed up. Will others be joining you?"

"Maeve might come." I hesitated. "Cam is conscious, and she says that I'm the attacker."

"Are you?" Lunessa didn't even look up as she placed her hand on the ground. "No, too much magic to be you."

Well, that was good. Now I had two alibis. Too bad I'd have to tell the others that Lunessa was here and that I was a null.

"Can you sense what kind of magic?"

Lunessa looked up briefly and then did a double take. "Why is your mate a wolf?"

"Maeve was ready to take my head off, and Emerson, who provided my alibi, started to insinuate that it wasn't an innocent alibi. I think Jax is having a hard time shifting from I'll-rip-his-head-off mode."

Jax growled and started to shift. When he was human, he glanced mildly at me. "My sense of smell is better as a wolf."

Rolling my eyes, I went in search of clothes for him. Most packs stashed sweats and T-shirts all over the woods. It was less about modesty and more about protection against the elements. It didn't take me long to find a bag wrapped around a tree truck. When I returned. Jax and Lunessa were mid-conversation. They stopped immediately and stared at me.

"Sure. That's not suspicious at all," I complained as I threw the clothes at him.

"We were just making certain that it was you." Lunessa sighed. "I was just explaining that it's hard to know if these new attacks are related to the crone's vision. It seems that someone wants to create some ill-will when it comes to you."

"One attack. There's no proof that I did anything to that other witch. And a lot of people would like to see me gone. Even dead, but to kill to do that?"

"Who says the attack on Cam was aimed at killing? She is not a strong witch," Jax mused.

"And yet she was able to get free when some much stronger witches were not?"

I wrinkled my nose. "We can't assume that she was complicit. That's just rude, and anything could have happened to scare the attacker off."

Jax's head whipped around. "Someone is coming."

Lunessa took a deep breath and focused. After a few murmured words, the air around her started to shift. Then, in her place, Irene stood.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she turned around and walked away.