A Handful of Skulls (Here Witchy Witchy Book 9) Page 12

  Well, I wasn’t going to give him that option, but he was right. Time for a change of subject. “Where’s Simon.”

  “None of your business.”

  I took a deep breath. “Where’s Travis?” At this point, I would have rather dealt with Travis twenty times over than putting up with this asshole. I didn’t remember Luke being so hostile last time I spoke with him. Of course, then I was dealing with a pack murder. Now, it seemed like he was contemplating murder.

  The door to the cabin behind Luke opened, and Travis stepped out. I don’t know if he was waiting for his cue or if he just happened to step out at that moment. Werewolves had good hearing, maybe he heard me and decided to come out.

  However, if Simon was gone, that left Luke in charge and Travis as his acting second.

  I really hoped that wasn’t the case. I looked at Travis and willed him to give me some type of sign to show how to react.

  “Abigail, Simon’s been expecting you.”

  That wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but it at least it gave me hope. It also made it seem like Simon had been the one to invite me up.

  Luke snarled and turned to Travis. “No. He’s not supposed to have visitors.”

  There was something that caught me of guard in Luke’s voice, worry.

  My heart skipped a beat. “Why not?”

  Travis looked at Luke. “Back down. He’s healing. He can talk for a few minutes without worry. When he becomes weak again, I’ll send her away.”

  Healing. Weak. Holy shit, what had happened?

  Luke let out a growl. “You are not alpha here.”

  “And neither are you,” Travis snarled. “Simon is still alive, and when he is fully healed, your wolves that did this will face justice.”

  Holy shit. I couldn’t keep my heart from pounding, but I kept my mouth shut. I’d walked in on another a pack squabble of some sort. And there was a small part of me that wanted to kill Luke where he stood. It wasn’t logical, it didn’t sound like it was him that did the damage, but I felt that he was the catalyst in whatever had happened.

  “Come on, Abby.” Travis brought my attention back to him. I’m sure he saw the thought of murder in my gaze. I took a deep breath and walked by Luke. I purposely tried to show no fear by keeping my back to him. He’d see it as an insult. He wasn’t a threat to me.

  The hairs on the back of my neck pricked up, but I ignored it until I got into the house and Travis shut the door behind me. I felt myself relax. I took a moment to close my eyes and take a deep breath to recenter myself.

  When I was done, I turned to Travis. “What the fuck happened?”

  He nodded and motioned to the stairs. “Come on, I’ll let Simon tell you.” Downstairs was the infirmary. Their little makeshift hospital, and I’d been in it more times than I cared to count.

  I walked through the living room, passing the wall-mounted television, the kitchen with its breakfast bar and stools, and stopped at the door for downstairs. I opened it and walked down, hesitating when I went to walk down the hall towards the infirmary.

  I cry of pain, and then a howl echoed from the other hall, and I knew from experience that’s where they kept their criminals. Travis put a hand on my shoulder. “Focus, Abby. Simon’s waiting.”

  I nodded. Pack justice wasn’t kind. It was cruel and painful. Hell, I’d seen them eat an enemy or two alive before.

  Travis gave me a small nudge to keep me moving, and I walked into the first room on the left.

  Simon was sitting up in the bed. Slices marred his face, chest, and wound around to his back. My heart stopped. He looked like someone tried to put him through a shredder.

  My mind cycled through the worst. He’d almost been killed. I had no idea he had even been attacked. Holy shit. “Simon?”

  He looked up at me and tried to give me a smile, but he winced. “Hey, Abby.” He held his hand out to me.

  Travis cleared his throat. “I’ll let you two be. I have other matters to attend to.”

  I had a feeling it was probably the wolves down the hall, but I let it go. I was focused on trying to assess Simon’s damage. “What the hell happened?”

  He patted the bed. “Come sit with me, and I’ll tell you.”

  I did as he asked, and I took his hand. Studying the pink healing lines, I realized that his injuries had been a lot worse than they currently were. Something caught in my throat, a lump that made me want to cry. I wouldn’t do that. Simon was here and alive.

  “I’m okay, Abby.”

  “You don’t look okay,” I managed to say. “You look like someone tried to shred you.”

  He sighed and wrapped his arm around me. “That’s not far from the truth.” He took a deep shuttering breath, and I felt his body tense against mine. “Luke challenged me to take full control of the pack. I beat him, fair fight. I chose not to kill him. I don’t have to kill him. I just have to defeat him. Afterwards, seven wolves ambushed me. I was already worn out from the fight with Luke. They took advantage of that.”

  I tried to process that. “Did they act on Luke’s orders?”

  “We don’t know yet.” Simon shook his head. “Today is the first day that I felt well enough to even have company.” He looked at me. “Not that I don’t appreciate your company, but why are you here?”

  “A PIB agent that identified himself as one of Luke’s wolves told me to come at dusk. I tried to call you and text you, but I never heard back through the last few days, so I decided to come up.”

  He snorted. “With no idea what you were walking in to?”

  “What can I say? My circle was still intact, so I figured I was okay. I made sure to leave my gun in the car, I didn’t come as PIB, and I announced who I was. The only thing I didn’t do was admit to being lower on the totem pole than him.”

  “Luke…he’s ambitious.”

  I snorted. “He had people attack you, that’s more than ambitious.”

  “I told you that we don’t know if that was the case.”

  My magic hit me hard. I put a hand to my chest, I barely heard Simon’s words. The pressure in my chest built up. “I need to step out for a minute.” I tried to keep the tightness out of my voice, but I knew it didn’t work.

  “You okay?” He met my gaze.

  I nodded. “Yeah, my magic is warning me about something. I just need a second.” I tried to give him a smile.

  He started to get up. “I’ll go with you.”

  “No. No, you sit there and rest. I’ll be fine. I’ll take Travis upstairs with me.” Of course, that would leave Simon unguarded.

  He hesitated. “What if you get hurt?”

  “What are you going to do?” I smirked. “Bleed on them?”

  He crossed his arms. “I can still shift.”

  “If it comes to that, fine, but not right now, please?” I asked, and another warning wave hit me.

  “Fine.” He settled back in the bed. “If I hear you or smell your blood, I’m coming up there.”

  That was more than fair. I kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

  “Be careful, Abby.”

  “I will.” I turned and walked out of the room.

  Travis was standing outside the door, leaning against the wall. “I’m not leaving him alone.”

  “And I don’t really expect you to. I just want to know what’s going on. I’m going to go check my circle, and then I’ll be back.” I shrugged.

  Travis nodded. “I don’t like what’s been going on.”

  “I don’t either. I highly doubt that Luke’s wolves acted on their own. One of them invited me here tonight, and now I want to know why.” My magic pulsed again, and I flexed my hand. “I think I’m about to find out.”

  Travis waved to the stairwell. “Then, by all means, go see what’s up.”

  A couple years ago, I would have accused Travis of wanting me to walk blindly into a situation. But he was doing his job as a second and making sure Simon wasn’t going to be attacked again.

  When I got
back outside, I found exactly what I was worried about. Crawford, the PIB agent from before, stood there with Luke, whispering to him. Luke looked over his shoulder at me, and his eyes narrowed. He spun around after another word from Crawford.

  “Get off my land,” Luke snarled.

  I took a deep breath. “It’s not your land. It’s the pack’s, and Simon is the alpha.”

  “You know nothing about our politics.” Luke took a step toward me, and Crawford stayed at his back, Similar to how Simon and Travis did when they handled pack things.

  Fuck. Crawford was his second. And a PIB agent. Crap. How did Simon not know he had a PIB agent in the pack? Of course, maybe he wasn’t often on grounds or around. Like me when I belonged to the coven.

  “I know enough that Simon beat you, and that means that he is alpha. No more of this co-alpha bull…” I heard something behind me and spun just in time to see a wolf launching itself at me.

  I cursed as I tried to pull my dagger, but it took me to the ground before I could. My back hit the ground with a thump, and a shock went through me. Its teeth snapped at my face, leaving behind drool on my cheek. I looked at the wolf face and tried to remain calm.

  I was going to be eaten.

  Like hell.

  I squeezed my legs between the wolf and me and shoved it off. I flipped to my feet and grabbed my dagger. It was small, but it’d work in a pinch. I wanted my gun, but it was in the car.

  For a moment, I tried to think if I could make it, but I heard wolves howling in the background. “Why start another civil war, Luke? And why have the wolves attack me?”

  “If I kill you, Simon will come upstairs to save you.”

  The rest didn’t need to be said. He’d take advantage of the situation. I couldn’t take on three wolves. Not to mention any other ones out there. Not with four small knives.

  But I had magic. Killing them with it wasn’t an option, but I could at least trap them until help arrived.

  I took a deep breath and pulled on the magic I already had there. The magic of the circle hummed around me. I could force them all out of the circle if I used enough energy, but I didn’t know how many wolves there were that were loyal to Luke.

  I thought too long on it. The shove of something hitting my back brought me back to the real world. I spun with the knife, slicing at the wolf. The blade did nothing with the thick fur.

  I called my magical whip. The magic flowed from my hand to my feet. The wolf hesitated, and I smirked. “That’s right. Magic as a weapon.”

  He jumped at me again, and I snapped the whip. Blood blossomed across his chest.

  He and his buddy started circling me in opposite directions while Agent Crawford stood there and watched. Interesting that he wasn’t changing.

  “So was this your plan all along, Luke? Co-alpha, then kill him?” I asked, and the second wolf snarled at me.

  I called on my magic again, keeping them in view. Luke launched himself at me, and I moved, so he landed behind me. I spun and snapped the whip at him. The magic singed the fur, leaving the smell of burnt hair behind.

  I turned and cracked the whip in time to catch the other wolf. The magic wrapped around him and threw him to the ground.

  He hesitated in getting back up, but Luke was already crouching to attack again. I prepared for it, but the unmistakable sound of a gunshot rang out. I threw up a circle, hoping I was fast enough. I turned to see the bullet hit the circle and fall to the ground. I stared at Agent Crawford. For a moment, I hoped he’d been dumb enough to use his PIB issued gun so that I could match the bullet.

  “I do believe that’s against pack rules, Crawford.” I let my whip disappear so I could focus on maintaining the circle. Luke paced around the outside of it, while the other wolf seemed to be rethinking its alliances.

  “There’s no alpha here to say otherwise.”

  I wasn’t going to point out that Simon was still alive. But I thought it interesting that he didn’t think Luke was the alpha. Luke also apparently didn’t miss the insult because he turned around and launched himself at Crawford.

  I wasn’t sure if it was because Luke was fueled by anger, but it was a rash move to attack someone who had a gun.

  It didn’t stop him though, and by some miracle, Luke dodged each bullet that Crawford shot.

  I counted the shots. If I had counted correctly, Crawford was out of bullets. Sucked for him, because Luke didn’t give him a chance to shift. The wolf went straight for the throat.

  I could hear the crunch of the spine, and my stomach flip-flopped. Luke turned a blood coated mouth to me, and I knew it was just a matter of time until he tried to tear my throat out. I met the yellow eyes of the wolf and knew there was nothing human there. He was all animal now.

  I wasn’t sure what would cause a wolf powerful enough to try and be alpha to lose his humanity while in wolf form, but I wasn’t going to start questioning now. I needed to figure out how to get to the car for my gun. Simon was too hurt. I couldn’t depend on him to protect me. Travis wasn’t going to leave Simon.

  I had a couple choices. Try to use my magic to force him and his wolves out of pack grounds and my circle, stay in my smaller circle, or make a run for the car.

  “Abby!”

  Travis’ voice caught me off guard, and I turned to find him behind me. He held a blade about the size of my forearm. I wasn’t sure if it was one that I left here or if it was one they just had around, but I wasn’t going to question it.

  He tossed it to me, and I let down my circle to catch it. My hand wrapped around the hilt, and it was like my body knew exactly what to do.

  I spun and knelt down as Luke jumped over me. I moved the blade so I sliced his leg. Giving him a warning wound.

  He landed with a yelp, and I thought I had warned him off enough.

  “Abby!” Travis called again, and I turned to find the other wolf back on his feet and heading toward me. I cursed as his jaw latched onto my arm.

  I called fire to my hand and swiped at the wolf. He jumped away, and I let the flame die. I looked at Travis, getting ready to demand help, but he had disappeared. I wasn’t sure if I should be angry or not, but then I remember Simon saying that he’d come up if he smelt blood, and now mine was on the ground.

  Travis went to stop Simon.

  My arm ached, but adrenaline would push me through. The wolf let out a howl and a few more echoed in the woods.

  Fuck, he was calling for back up.

  Wolves broke through the clearing, but Luke let out a low sound that I didn’t understand. But they did. They all backed down, giving Luke and I space.

  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was hoping none of them would break their position so I could focus on Luke. Was there a code amongst wolves that said only one of them could attack at a time?

  No, there was something else going on here.

  I took a deep breath. “I don’t know what you’re playing at Luke, but back down.”

  The wolf snarled and came toward me. The cut in his leg throwing off his run just a little bit. This time, I wasn’t going to be so nice. I was hurt. I was bleeding. And I was starting to get angry.

  Luke faked a jump, and as I went to defend against an attack that wasn’t coming, he rushed me and took me to the ground. His head slamming into my stomach.

  I cried out as my back and injured arm hit the ground. But I moved out of instinct. The flash of white teeth coming toward my throat threw me into action.

  The drool dripped onto my skin. And I shoved the knife into Luke’s side.

  He bit down, but the pain threw him off. His jaw locked onto my shoulder instead of my neck. I’d live, but it hurt.

  I threw him off me and yanked the blade out of him. He swayed on his feet for a moment before falling to the ground. In a weird wave of energy, he shifted from a wolf back into a man.

  Blood pooled around him. I took a step toward him, but a howl reminded me that I wasn’t alone. At least a dozen wolves stood around me. One by one, they let
out a long howl, and I didn’t have to check Luke’s pulse to know that he was dead by my hand.

  Each wolf turned to me and bowed their head in a strange gesture. I looked at each one of them trying to decipher what it was as their howls died and their heads dropped.

  The door to the cabin flung open, and Simon limped to my side. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight to his chest. “Holy shit, Abby,” he whispered into my hair. “They tried to eat you.”

  I let out a short laugh at the small joke. “They only got two bites,” I promised. I pulled away from him and looked back over the wolves. “What are they doing?”

  Simon looked at them and then me. “Did you kill Luke?”

  I glanced at the body and then to Simon. “Yes?”

  “Was it one on one?”

  “In the end, yes. The wolves backed away and just watched.”

  “Did you kill him legally?”

  “I killed him with a knife, out of self-defense.”

  Simon let out a strange laugh. “Well, congratulations Abigail, you’ve won an alpha challenge. And now you have a tiny pack of your own.”

  Before I could respond, Travis pointed to Agent Crawford. “Did you kill him too?”

  “Do I look like I could tear out a throat?” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

  Travis actually smiled. “I’ve seen you before coffee, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities.”

  I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to his joke. “Simon, I can’t lead a wolf pack.”

  “I know, we’re going to have to figure out something. But law dictates that you’re their alpha, their queen. You might want to say something to them.”

  I said the only thing that came to mind. “I’m sorry.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  I got to the PIB office, my brain still on wolves. I wandered down the hall toward my office and stopped when I saw a PIB officer standing there. One I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure why I was suddenly being visited by PIB officers so much. My steps hesitated until she looked at me.

  “Special Agent Collins, I was hoping we could chat.”