Witch Interrupted (25 page)

Foolishly, her knees weakened and her pleasure points tingled. His tongue stroked hers. She reciprocated gladly. He broke it off sooner than she liked but later than he should have, considering they had an audience.

Usually when he kissed her, his eyes turned silver. They were as brown as her own as he gazed intently down at her. “We stay together.”

“Okay.” If he kept kissing and touching her like a man who wanted her instead of a man who found her useful and worried she might kill him with monkshood, she’d agree to just about anything.

He studied her for a long moment, his thumb stroking her neck. “And for your information, the answer is no.”

“The answer to what?”

“I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else.”

While he might have heard her praise the sex, Katie had hoped he’d forgotten her near-confession of…whatever it was she felt for him. All he’d done was explain she wasn’t his first choice, proving what a fool she was. Her emotions gave him more power than he needed over her. And it resulted in the emotion she had right now.

A crazy urge to tell him she was in love with him.

Stupid. Instead, she said, “I bet your former colleague would have been more cooperative.”

“I bet I wouldn’t be thinking about taking her back to the car and ripping off her clothes,” he said in a growly voice.

Great, now she was thinking about it too. Flustered as hell, Katie cleared her throat. “I, um. Seriously?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I’ll wait inside the door and watch the road. You get ninety seconds to check the box, and then we’re leaving.”

Leaving so they could have sex, like his grip and his expression promised? She could get into that. “Then what?”

“We drive far, far from this territory. I’m not going to risk losing… I want us to exercise more caution in the future.”

“Us. Caution. Right.”

But she didn’t go into the post office. Her feet were rooted to the ground. That kiss hadn’t had anything to do with science.

He was still riveted too, because his hand tightened on her neck, trapping her in place.
Goddess.
She nearly melted on the spot. He bent toward her.

A man’s voice called, “Luis Rodriguez?”

Marcus whirled instantly, placing himself between her and the unknown person. He snatched a spell pod out of his pocket.

Why had he done that? He couldn’t use a spell that wasn’t…

Magic rose around them in a rush. Confusion spell. She recognized it. He flicked it toward the person who’d said his old name with a gesture that could have been someone swatting at a fly.

It pinged the tall Caucasian man in the chest. He staggered into the blonde woman behind him, shaking his head.

“Holy smokes,” the blonde exclaimed. The man was too heavy for her. He knocked her into the passenger’s side of the Caddy, her pink skirt winding around her legs. “Harry, get off me.”

The man rubbed his shaggy dark hair. “Hey, babe. What are we doing here?”

Katie jostled past Marcus to see what was going on. Harry. That sounded familiar. Harry rubbed his jaw and wandered toward the street. The woman untangled herself and headed him off. “Hold on there, cowboy.”

“Shit.” Marcus trembled and clutched her shoulder. “Something’s happening.”

“Darn tootin’ something’s happening.” The small woman whipped open the back door of the Caddy and redirected her roving companion into it. He tried to open the opposite door. She flicked the locks. “Where are your manners, Luis? I swan. Is a confusion spell how you greet friends these days?”

Marcus grabbed his head and cursed. He’d cast a spell, a witch spell, at Harry Travis. Suddenly his senses were bursting open. The wolf inside him exploded. From numb to razor’s edge in the space of two seconds.

He couldn’t hold on. He was going to shift.

“Get him in the backseat. Now.” In a no-nonsense voice, June Travis directed Katie and opened the door wide.

Katie didn’t argue. Perhaps she felt the tug of June’s alpha like Marcus did. He didn’t have time to reflect on the other witch’s power. Katie shepherded him to the vehicle at a brisk walk, eyes darting in every direction. Harry was already in the back of the car, trying to climb into the driver’s seat.

June grabbed the seat of his pants and yanked him down. “Sit with Luis.”

“Oh, hey, Luis.” Harry waved at him, his pupils dilated. “Long time, no see.”

Claws pierced Marcus’s fingertips. He dove into the backseat without further prodding. June hopped in front, as did Katie, and the Caddy pulled onto the street at a pace that was way too sedate.

“I thought he was a wolf now?” June said to Katie. “How’d he activate a confusion spell?”

“I have no fu—excuse me, freaking idea.” Katie’s voice, echoing in his ears. “You’re June Travis, aren’t you? Let me guess. Vern contacted you.”

Marcus couldn’t follow the conversation. He poured himself into fighting the wolf. To shift against his will meant he was feral. A failure in every way. Though the wolf plagued him and he resented the primitive impulses, the only time he’d truly lost it had been the first transformation. He’d even endured the berserker spell upright.

He crouched on the floor and thought man-thoughts. Science. Computers. Driving cars.

The taste of Katie’s lips. The way she’d surrendered to him. The way she would again.

His teeth sharpened, cutting his lip. His clothing grew insubstantial. His hair follicles zinged.

No. No. He was in control. He controlled this situation. He controlled himself. He had mastered this.

The shimmer of transformation swept his control away. In another minute, Marcus, as a wolf, let loose a frustrated howl.

Harry clapped a hand around Marcus’s muzzle. “What’s up with you? Is this really a good time to four-leg it?”

Marcus bit him. The fucker was a wolf. He’d heal.

“What the hell was that for?” Harry recoiled and began to shimmer too, aggression rippling all over him. “Lie down.”

Harry’s command, as powerful as a pack alpha because of his coven connection, crushed Marcus to the floor. And made him furious. He was nobody’s subordinate. And he was, quite frankly, too damned big to be in this cramped space.

A floorboard? Really?

He gnashed at Harry’s leg, and Harry scrambled out of reach. He wrapped his wounded hand in a towel.

“I said down,” Harry repeated.

Marcus hunkered on the floor. To display his indignation, he started barking as loud as he could. Harry, whose senses would be wolf-acute, winced.

“Should we spell him?” Katie, anxious. “I’ve got lavender.”

“You’re the convex witch Vern told us about. Maybe you shouldn’t do any spells.” June’s coolness was evident over Marcus’s racket. Vern must have shared more than the rendezvous location with June and Harry.

“You’re driving. I’m not. It’s a reasonable solution.” Katie’s tone was level, no trace of the hostility she’d exhibited when Marcus had made assumptions about her.

It surprised him so much to realize he no longer held negative views of her that he almost quit barking.

The bay capsules weren’t for her. They were so no keeper could stop him from protecting her if she needed him.

“Got any earplugs?” Harry glowered at him. Marcus yipped, coyote-shrill. “Jesus, lay off the noise. You’re killing us.”

Marcus thought about doing what Harry wanted so he could hear the women better—but then he’d be doing what Harry wanted. He released a full-throated howl.

“That’s enough.” Harry’s boot caught him in the shoulder. Not hard, but hard enough.

Marcus snapped at him and focused on his opponent. The alpha’s eyes lightened as they engaged in a power struggle. Marcus, his blood hot, his fury white, hated the fact he’d shifted when he didn’t intend to. Hated the fact Harry was stronger than he was. Hated the fact he was crumbling, centimeter by centimeter, beneath the other wolf’s dominion.

Hands grabbed his ears and yanked.

He smelled Katie.

He didn’t hate Katie.

With a sudden
whumph,
Marcus quit barking and growling. He nipped at Katie’s hand to keep up appearances and cast Harry an evil glare.

“He doesn’t like you either?” Harry sprawled across half of the back seat in a deceptively casual posture. Marcus wasn’t fooled. He could read the tension in the man like he could read the uneasiness in Katie.

“Not really,” she said.

“That’s understandable,” June put in, snippy.

The June whom Marcus had interviewed had never been curt. What exactly had Vernon told the Travises about Katie? It pissed him off to think of that cocky bastard badmouthing her, a woman who’d done everything she could to put her keeper years behind her, who was doing everything she could to save her loved ones. Vernon had been director of the entire council. He had no grounds to criticize anyone.

But all Katie said was, “I take it Vern explained about the keeper council and its role in the North American coven network?”

“He has. I think it’s terrible.”

“I recall something about that.” Harry frowned at Katie. “Who are you again? And where are we, anyway?”

“I’m Katie Zhang. This is Alabama. You’re under a confusion spell.”

“That explains it.” He scratched his neck. “The coven has tested nearly everything on me once or twice. I just can’t imagine why in the hell I’d want to come to Alabama. It’s not safe for out-of-state wolves here.”

“I’ll fix you up at the hotel,” June said. “The Birmingham pack’s not going to bother us. We have protection wards on the car and room, remember?”

“Nope, but I’ll take your ward for it. Get it?” Harry laughed.

June didn’t. To Marcus, she smelled like cake and conflict.

Katie didn’t laugh either. She scruffed the hair on Marcus’s head, patting him like a dog. He’d never been touched by another person as a wolf. When her hand ruffled down his spine, he hopped halfway in the seat so she could reach him better. His wolf transformation had erased the bruising, and her caress enhanced how good he felt, physically.

“If you’re calmer, would you like to rejoin the bipedal world so we can have an actual conversation?” she asked. “Such as, what the hell happened at the post office?”

Her gaze met his. With his wolf vision, he could see the minute adjustments of her pupils as they drove through sunlight and shadows on a tree-lined road. When she blinked, he heard the tiny click of her eyelashes and lids.

He could smell again, hear again, see again.

He was a wolf again. With attendant benefits. But for a moment, at the post office, he’d been a witch. He’d fucking done it.

He couldn’t wait to tell Katie. He needed normal vocal cords.

Unfortunately, when he did shift back, his clothes hadn’t remained with him.

“Don’t look, Ethel,” Harry said to June. “It’s the streak.”

Marcus hadn’t been a wolf long enough to be completely comfortable with nudity. He accepted the jacket Katie offered him. She inspected his body as he placed it in his lap, and a slight blush tinged her cheeks.

“Excuse me,” he told everyone, trying not to overappreciate her reaction. A hard-on in mixed company wasn’t particularly civil.

And just like that, his mood transformed. Yes, he’d had five minutes where he couldn’t govern his body. But had he been feral? Or was it akin to the original transformation when he’d shifted from witch to wolf after sex? The rush had been similar.

What he wouldn’t give for his computer right now. And a chi spell. And a mirror. And pants. Was he in dual state or had he exchanged lattices? Would he sport a thread for the confusion spell he’d cast at the post office?

Oh, and dittany. He needed Katie to pour more magic into him. He wanted to try dittany on Harry and June too, and instruct them through a power transfer. After that, they’d guide Harry through a spell casting. His first ever.

Marcus might be days away from spinning the entire witch network on its foundation.

“You have that look,” Katie said.

He emerged from his stream of consciousness. She was watching him in the mirrored sun visor. “Hmm?”

“Your scientist look.” Katie flipped up the visor, cutting off his view of her face. “What’s going on in that big head?”

He leaned back in the seat, his wolf warm and solid inside him. Like victory. “First, I’d like to finish our original discussion. June, can you run me through a step-by-step description of how you came to be here? It will aid in strategic planning.”

He’d need to set a strict schedule of experimentation, and if June and Harry were being pursued by the keepers like Vern, it could interfere.

June nodded, handling the large car like a granny. A pick-up truck passed them, the driver honking. She didn’t bat an eyelash. “A couple days ago, Vern told us the truth about keepers and sympathizers and his connection to them. He said he needed to intervene in a situation involving a former coworker but didn’t want to disappear without backup.”

“That was probably when Tonya first called him.” Marcus didn’t elaborate on what he’d done to Katie to necessitate Vernon’s involvement. His descent into kidnapping and blackmail was between him and Katie. “Why did he enlist you two?”

“He couldn’t trust any region elders or sympathizers because of—” June glanced at Katie hastily, as if one peek could turn her into a salt pillar, “—a need to conceal the truth.”

Katie’s jawline, the only part Marcus could see of her face, tightened. “I’m supposed to be dead. Vern’s the reason I’m not.”

“I remember him telling us that,” Harry said. Confusion spells only affected recent events. “I wish we’d known about sympathizers when I was being hounded through Mill County. Maybe things wouldn’t have blown up all to hell. Guess we should just be glad Vern didn’t sic these keeper fellows on me.”

“Two days ago, we got another call from him,” June continued.

“Did he mention if my father and my friend Tonya were all right?” Katie interrupted.

June flicked on the blinker and spoke to Marcus instead. “Vern didn’t say what you had to do with this mess, Luis, but if he didn’t call again, we were supposed to find you.”

“Please call me Marcus. Marcus Delgado,” he said. “Luis Rodriguez has been retired.”

June slowed the Caddy near a motel located in an outlying community. “Well, he didn’t call again, so here we are. And these keepers—you think they kidnapped Vern and the other two? He didn’t have time to explain.”

“Yes,” Marcus said. “As I’m sure you can guess, keepers aren’t nice people. I suggest we relocate our base of operations as soon as possible.” One of the places he’d vetted was in Ohio, an inactive factory that contained some immovable laboratory equipment.

June pulled around back and parked next to some motorcycles. “We didn’t take Vern as seriously as it appears we should have. I thought he was exaggerating. He tends to do that. Conspiracy this, world domination that.”

Harry got out of the car almost before it stopped moving and opened June’s door. She allowed her husband to pull her to her feet, and they came to Marcus and Katie’s side of the car. “Have they contacted you with ransom demands?”

“They wouldn’t know how to contact us.” Katie inhaled and blew out a breath. She opened the passenger’s door. “Ba and Tonya wouldn’t remember, and I doubt Vern will talk. I’ve gotten nothing on voicemail either. We can definitely use your help mounting a rescue.”

June had been ignoring Katie since their initial exchange. Her round blue eyes regarded Katie with skepticism. “I need answers first. Vern came because of you. I get that. You’re his former…he called you a protégée, which I wouldn’t take as a compliment. Why did you drag Marcus into this if it’s between you, Vern and the keepers? Isn’t he in enough trouble?”

“Marcus dragged himself into it.” Katie slammed the door while Marcus remained in the back seat with his window halfdown. Wrapping the jacket around his privates like the world’s stupidest kilt would be awkward. “One could say he precipitated the entire situation.”

“One could say you did, as well,” Marcus said, though he could appreciate her perspective. “The blame game is unproductive.”

June inspected Katie as if she expected the former keeper to yank out a philter of monkshood and start assassinating people. “Are you Marcus’s girlfriend? I saw you kissing. Wasn’t it your job to kill cognizant wolves?”

“She’s not my girlfriend, she’s my research assistant,” he corrected. Katie’s lips thinned, though he didn’t know why. His statement was accurate. “She’s alpha, like you. Did you know you and Katie possess abilities we previously thought were limited to wolves? You both have wolf magic.”

“The alpha influence,” June said immediately. “She has it too? Mine wasn’t there until…”

“You two are sleeping together?” Harry eyed Katie with new appreciation. Not a masculine appraisal by any means, but it raised Marcus’s hackles. A silent growl vibrated in his chest. Harry was the only one who heard it, and redirected his gaze toward Marcus.

That meant the other man wasn’t looking at Katie anymore. Good.

Harry smiled at him, but Marcus didn’t smile back.

Katie crossed her arms and stared at a point somewhere to the east of June’s head. “Yes, we confirmed that I’m alpha. I guess he didn’t test you two the same way.”

“I should think not.” June regarded Marcus with disapproval. “Stay where you are. I’ll send Harry out with clothing. Katie and I are going to have a chat, woman to woman.”

Marcus was alone in the car for five minutes. He strained to hear inside the motel but couldn’t, perhaps due to the protections June had set. His ears popped when an unknown spell was cast before Harry emerged. Marcus dressed in the proffered clothing without comment.