14. Monica

14

MONICA

M y fingertips contacted the firm flesh of his stomach. I rubbed my hands over the ridges that I had admired on the first night we'd met. He might have been warning me, but he was tempting me at the same time.

This man was too gorgeous to resist. A towering creature, warm and eager to share his thoughts with me, was sending waves of arousal to my core. I would have been crazy to put an end to this. I wanted him. Right then and there, and I didn't care that we were at the tail end of a public road or that anyone could come upon us at a moment's notice. It didn't matter. I needed him. Immediately.

Out of the blue, Raul grunted in annoyance and pushed me back. Spinning around, he focused his gaze on the woods. As I was about to voice my complaint, the reason behind his reaction emerged from the trees. Two, massive wolves were padding in our direction. The one on the left was white, with patches of black across his back. The one on the right was reddish, with a circular patch of gray over his chest. Both of them raised their upper lips, feral snarls ripping through the silence. The reddish wolf lowered his head and growled, saliva dripped off his lower lip.

"Brad and Kenny…" Raul spoke in a voice so deep and growly that it was more wolf than man. "What's the matter? Neither of you have the guts to face me one-on-one?"

"Raul, please!" I begged, averting my gaze from the beasts. "Don't fight them. Let's just go."

"Stay out of it, Monica," he demanded in his human voice. "This is between me and them. You wouldn't understand."

I gave a huff of despair, his intentions raising every fine hair in my body. That's the point I realized that even the four of us were not alone. Out of the corner of my eye, there was a red streak. It crashed into Raul's foes and shot around them, engulfing their figures in a red cloud. Growling, they looked around wildly trying to find whoever had done this to them.

I watched in sheer amazement as their bodies were lifted off the ground. Both of them were snarling, snapping, and barking, their bodies twisting in midair as they tried to find a way to escape. A redhead in a black cloak strutted across the dirt, holding a staff. Its thicker, top end was pointing up at them, the red beam emanating from it. They focused their impotent rage on her but to no avail.

She thrust the stick up into the air and sent them flying away past the treetops. A few moments later, I heard their painful yips echoing out of the forest, and then even that faded into nothingness. Raul had turned around to confront the newcomer.

"Helena!" He blurted, his chest heaving. "What are you doing here? I could have handled them."

"You…" I gasped and swallowed fast. "You know each other?!"

"One question at a time, my dear healer," she murmured, her gaze locked on Raul's. "You could have handled them? How? The way you did the other day? I think not. Dear…" Her gaze darted over to me, and she gave a knowing smile as she answered my question. "Yes, we do. Raul and I had a somewhat constructive chat the other day, although, I must say it didn't end so well."

"H-how?" I stuttered, glancing down at her staff. "How did you do that?"

I was just starting to wrap my head around wolf-men, now this? What was that?

"Through the power of magic," she answered as if it was the most common, run-of-the-mill topic, like discussing the weather. "I'm surprised Raul didn't tell you anything about me."

"She's a witch," he informed me, his voice was softer and slower. "Believe it or not, she used to date my grandfather."

"That is a long story," Helena beat me to speak out. "I'd rather not delve into details right now. We've got more pressing matters to discuss."

"A witch…?" I repeated Raul's words, staring over at her, disbelief written all over my face.

"Indeed," Helena confirmed. "I'm extremely disappointed in you, firstborn. First of all, you don't remember a thing from our last meeting, do you? And you should have smelled your foes. I have been tracking them since they left Dawson."

"I remember everything from our last meeting," he argued, passing me by. "You were in Dawson? How? Weren't you afraid they'd catch your scent?"

"Afraid?" She smirked, cocking an eyebrow. "Of what? A pack of shifters? Not really. Don't you worry, Raul. I made sure to cover up my scent. You on the other hand did not when you and your friend here kissed. I overheard your Alpha and his top-ranking wolves talking about it. Their exact words were ‘the prick stank of human. He must be fucking some human. He's going down for this shit.' But all this is to be expected. They're your rules and I cannot believe you've been idly sitting by for an entire week. What did you think was going to happen? That they'd listen to reason? That they'd negotiate some sort of deal with you?"

"No," Raul groaned, dragging his gaze away from her. "Shifters can't be reasoned with when it comes to upholding such important rules. They can let a minor mistake slip, but this is far from minor. It's huge."

"Precisely," Helena agreed. "I am not doing this again, firstborn. This isn't my fight. It's yours. I strongly urge you to take your healer to safety. Your enemies know her scent. They were planning to kill you both tonight, but I ruined their plans. If they find her again she won't live to see another sunrise."

"Hold on a minute," I interjected, my voice louder than usual. "You mean they would break into my house and kill me? Am I understanding you correctly?"

"Yes, dear," she nodded. "I know it may sound farfetched to you, mortal, but it's what shifters do. Do they see a threat to their secret? A threat to their way of life? They eliminate it. It's as simple as that."

"But, take me to safety?" I asked, my gaze intensifying. "What do you mean by that? I can't exactly disappear. I've got to start work soon and I can't lose my job. And don't tell me they'd attack me in a medical center full of people."

"You're right. They wouldn't," Helena said, glancing at Raul. "Shifters do prefer stealth, overall. They'll avoid anything too public that might draw unwanted attention. They prefer to operate under the cover of darkness. They are, after all, children of the night."

"They sound more like the mafia to me," I commented, running my hand through my hair. "Anyway, I need to get back to my house. I've got friends over. I have to tell them that I can't spend tomorrow with them."

"I'll take care of that," the witch promised with a reassuring nod. "Now, please, take my hand. I'd like to show you your hideout."

"We're walking?" I wondered, glancing at her first and then up at Raul.

"You'll see," she smiled as I set my fingers into her palm.

A blinding flash of light forced me to clench my eyes shut momentarily. Opening my eyes it was swirling down and over me. A deep red that was also encircling the witch's figure. I should have been terrified. I should have laughed at the mention of the word "witch." I was brought up to believe there was no such thing. That all such things were figments of wild imaginations or the modern Wiccan movement. Stories people made up to account for things they couldn't explain.

Yet I didn't feel fear. I didn't have the mood to laugh, either. Helena had shown me how powerful she was. She had neutralized two wolves, without breaking a sweat. And, oddly, I felt comfortable around her. Comfortable enough to believe that this hideout would be a safe place to be.