Beyond the Shadows Read online

  Knox nodded. “Technically you do too.”

  At that, she scoffed. “I don’t belong to anyone. Let him try to take me. I’ll make him wish he hadn’t.”

  “Yeah?” Knox asked, taking a step toward her. “Just like Benji did? Is that what you want?”

  “He could try,” Kat replied, folding her arms across her chest.

  “And he’d succeed. You have no idea what he’s capable of…” Knox’s words trailed off as he looked over at Brunton and Foust, who’d rejoined the group. The three of them shared an understanding that the rest of us didn’t. I knew that the wolves had been created by the fey king. That he ruled them in his realm. But what we didn’t know—or hadn’t known before that moment—was whether he could control them on Earth. It seemed highly likely, given Benji’s actions.

  Something had compelled him walk out to his death that night.

  “The fey king would not come here alone,” Merc said, his deep voice cutting through the fear and tension in the crowd. “This is not his doing.”

  “I agree with the vampire,” Brunton said, shooting a look of disdain at Merc. “The king didn’t do this but he sure as fuck is behind it. Benji wouldn’t have recognized the scent because he was never in the king’s realm.”

  “But we were,” Foust said, looking at Knox. “We are his originals.”

  Silence settled around us. Even the normal sounds of the night seemed to hush at Foust’s admission. As if those words held weight with the world itself.

  “He is sending a message,” Merc said, breaking the eerie quiet.

  Knox pinned his golden stare on the vampire and growled.

  “Then I guess we’ll be sending him one in return.”

  ***

  Once we entered the mansion, Knox grilled the wolves who had remained behind as to what had happened. Only one of them had seen Benji leave the media room, heading for the grand staircase that led to the foyer. He hadn’t said where he was going, but upon further interrogation, we learned that he hadn’t looked like himself. The wolf who’d seen him had chalked it up to everything that had occurred earlier that day; that he still must have been feeling low. Benji had never said a word.

  Nobody had heard him slip out the door.

  “It can’t be a coincidence,” Brunton said, looking at Knox, who nodded in agreement.

  “He was compelled. I’d bet my life on it.”

  “Compelled by whom?” Kat asked, drawing out the ‘m’ far longer than necessary.

  “The fey king.”

  “But the vamp over here says that nutjob wouldn’t come here, so it can’t have been him.”

  “I said he wouldn’t come alone,” Merc countered.

  “I haven’t worked out the how just yet,” Knox replied, his irritation plain. “But he’s behind it. I explicitly told Benji to stay behind—a direct order. If he disobeyed it, then something overrode my authority.”

  “Like the fey king,” Brunton added.

  “Could he have a surrogate of sorts?” Jase asked. “Someone he could imbue with that ability to send in his stead?”

  The trio of wolves shrugged.

  “It’s been so long,” Foust replied. “I have no idea what he’s capable of anymore.”

  “We left there for a reason,” Brunton added. “He’s a genuine psycho. I have no doubt that, if he wanted to, he could figure out how to puppet someone on this side of the veil to impose his will.”

  “Which is what?” I asked, still trying to piece everything together. “I mean, he wouldn’t kill you if he wanted you back, right? So why kill Benji? That won’t accomplish that goal.”

  “Perhaps he means to leverage me into returning,” Knox said, his voice low and threatening. It sent a chill up my spine. “I will go if it keeps him from killing any more of my pack.” I knew he meant what he said, and it scared me. If he thought it would save his boys, he would go to the fey king willingly.

  Not a fate I was willing to accept.

  “It won’t come to that,” I said, but my voice lacked the conviction it needed to sell my sentiment.

  “You can track the surrogate,” Jase said, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. “We should try again.”

  “Sooner than later,” Dean added.

  “No time like the present,” Kat said, punching in the code to the security door. “If that fucker wants to skulk around on the property, then let’s flesh him out and show him just how much we appreciate his visit.”

  “And if he can compel you too?” Brunton asked, staring daggers at her across the foyer. “What then?”

  She scowled at him, walking back through the doorway into the house.

  “I haven’t met a man yet that can compel me to do anything.” Her words were jagged and dangerous, threatening to cut through Brunton just as the mystery attacker had cut through Benji. “I’ll take my chances.”

  Before he could reply, she turned and walked through the door that Grizz held ajar for her, leading the way outside. I followed her, knowing the others would as well. There was safety in numbers—or so I hoped. I had a feeling nobody would be going out alone on the property until I had a chance to talk to Drake about the wards and blocking the trespass of the fey king or his minion.

  We all huddled just outside the mansion, and I got right down to business.

  “Take me to the one who killed Benji.”

  Nothing. Not a stir of wind, not the call of a bird. Absolutely nothing responded to my call. I tried three more times before the reason came to me. It was so obvious I was frustrated with myself for not realizing it sooner.

  “He’s gone back to Faerie,” I said, turning to address everyone behind me. “I can’t track him from here.”

  “So what? You just randomly keep calling for him until he’s on this side of the veil to find?” Kat asked, sounding pissed.

  “I don’t see another way, short of going to Faerie after him.”

  “NO!” a chorus of voices shouted in unison. There were so many I wasn’t even sure who all had chimed in, but their sentiment was clear. Nobody was going to the other side to hunt down the killer. Like it or not, we were the mice to his cat in his little game of chase.

  “Okay. No Faerie. I got it,” I replied, putting my hands up in surrender. “But we can’t just do nothing. Let me talk to Drake, see if he can help us.”

  My eyes darted from Merc to Knox and back again, hoping that they could at least agree to that plan, and my suggestion would not bring about yet another fight. When neither said anything, I let out a breath, that damn spot in my chest loosening a notch.

  “Call him,” Knox finally said. “See if he can come over right away.”

  “You’re certain he can be trusted?” Merc asked, his voice gentle but his accusation anything but. “He was the one who warded the property after the queen paid us a visit. Perhaps he is not entirely on our side.”

  “Merc, he came to our aid when we needed him most,” I said, shocked that he hadn’t accepted my mentor, especially after all he’d done. Yes, he was a cagey bastard, but so were most of the men in my life, so what was new about that? He’d shown me that when the chips were down, he’d be there, and that was good enough for me. “You don’t need to trust him, but I do. And we need all the help we can get on this one. Drake was Reinhardt’s number two. He knows things that we don’t.”

  “I’m with Piper on this one,” Knox said, folding his arms across his chest. “He helped save Jagger. He’s good with me.”

  Merc’s expression darkened, clearly unhappy to be in the minority on the issue.

  “There is something about him I don’t like,” he said, his dark eyes narrowing. “His secrets run deeper than most.” Merc made a point to shoot a glance at Knox after he spoke. The gesture wasn’t lost on the alpha.

  “If you’ve got something to say, then say it.”

  “I have made my opinion clear on the matter.” He softened his expression when he looked down at me. “I just don’t want you getting hurt.”


  “None of us does,” Kat said. “But I don’t want anyone else getting fucked up either, so if we need the homeless magician to help us out, then I’m down with that idea too.”

  “Homeless magician?” a voice called from the darkness. The group all startled, turning to look down the darkened driveway where the voice had come from. Moments later, Drake appeared, a wicked smile on his face. He’d meant to sneak up on us, the crazy bastard.

  He was so not helping to rebut Merc’s argument.

  “Kat has a way with words,” I said, forcing a smile.

  He cast her a sharp look. “Indeed she does.”

  “We need your help,” I said, stepping apart from the group to meet my mentor. He walked down the gravel way, looking more disheveled than usual that night. Either he hadn’t slept for days or he’d been in a fight—something along those lines—because he looked weary. It made me wonder what he’d been up to and where exactly he was living. When I’d first met him, he’d been in the basement of an abandoned building, living with human addicts and the homeless. In all that had happened from that point on, I’d never thought to ask whether that was actually his home or if he was just lying low, living under the radar while the war waged around him.

  It also made me wonder where the rest of his kind were—our kind.

  “I know,” he said, surprising me. Seeing the shock written all over my expression, he explained. “I could feel your magic. You were working overtime to find something—or someone. Since I was nearby, I thought it best to check in on you and see what trouble has landed on your doorstep.”

  The group quickly filled him in on the events of the evening. By the time Drake was up to speed, a dark shadow covered his features, his expression ominous. Not a great sign.

  “The fey king is not to be trifled with,” Drake said, as though I hadn’t figured that out already. “Nor are his creatures.” For the second time that night, Knox was on the receiving end of a pointed look.

  “I already know about that,” I told Drake. “I know about the wolves.” The warlock’s eyebrows shot up in mock surprise.

  “Well isn’t that encouraging.”

  “Can you fix the wards?” Knox asked, ignoring Drake’s jab. “He got to Benji right here. We can’t have that happen again.”

  Drake looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded.

  “With the amulet intact, I should be able to.”

  “Good,” Knox replied before taking a deep breath. “I’d appreciate it.” He looked at the faces of the wolves around us, then turned back to Drake. “We all would.”

  Drake nodded once, his genuflected gaze drawn out longer than necessary.

  “Now if that matter is settled,” he said, looking again at me, “I’d like to speak to Piper. Alone.”

  Nobody moved.

  “We’ll be fine out here. The fey king’s toy is gone. I’ll be right here,” I said, pointing to where my feet were planted in the gravel.

  Still nobody moved.

  I thought I was going to have to plead my case until Kat finally turned, holding her arms out wide to corral the men around her into the house.

  “Okay boys… let’s let the warlocks have a sidebar. We can go inside and eavesdrop from there.” She looked over her shoulder at me and winked before pointing to the intercom by the front door. “This thing comes in super handy sometimes.”

  I shook my head in mock disbelief, then watched her practically shove the guys through the entrance. Some of them went without too much of a fight. Merc, however, was a different story. Even after Knox had disappeared into the breezeway, Merc remained, staring at Drake and me. The heaviness of his stare made my chest hurt, and not in a good way. Whatever suspicions he held against Drake, they were going to be a problem.

  Kat gave up on him and walked in, shrugging back at me as if to apologize. But Grizz was having none of it. He walked up to the vampire, shoved his face into Merc’s, and snarled—his way of telling him that guarding me was his job, not my mate’s. The gesture was received about as well as could be expected, but to Merc’s credit, he didn’t touch the man-bear. Instead, he let loose an inhuman roar of his own before turning on a dime and storming into the house. I stood there wide-eyed for a moment, my heart racing. I’d heard a similar sound the night he’d tried to kill me. The memory echoed through my veins as my blood pounded through them.

  The door closed behind Merc, and Grizz stood guard, giving me a nod to let me know he had the situation on lock. I choked on a laugh, realizing that where I was concerned, the bear was suicidal at best. It only made me love him more.

  “So what’s with the secrecy?” I asked, turning to face Drake. I found shrewd eyes looking right through me, like he’d found something inside of me that he didn’t approve of.

  “Something is weighing on you, Piper,” he said, his brow furrowed with concern. “Something beyond the obvious threat of the fey king’s lackey and the possibility of retribution from the queen.”

  “Thanks for that reminder,” I said, scoffing at the mention of the queen. Yet another looming problem.

  “My apologies,” he said, stepping to the side with his arm out—an invitation to follow him away from the house. “But that is your reality. You cannot afford to deny it.”

  “I know that,” I said softly, kicking at the gravel as I walked.

  “Good. Now tell me what is bothering you.”

  I shook my head, letting out a loud exhale. “I’m just tired, Drake. I’ve been exhausted ever since the night the fey queen attacked us.”

  No longer sheltered by the shadows of the mansion, the bright light of the moon shining down on us, he looked me over, his eyes narrow and scrutinizing.

  “You look unwell.”

  “Thanks,” I replied with a laugh. “You really know how to make a girl feel better.”

  “Come here,” he said, reaching his hand out to me. With hesitation, I went to him. He placed his hand on my forehead and closed his eyes. His expression tightened every now and again as though he heard something he didn’t like. After a minute, he released me and opened his eyes.

  A storm was brewing behind them.

  “You don’t feel right to me. Your magic… it’s interrupted somehow.”

  “I know!” I shouted. I felt bad the second the words left my mouth, and I took a deep breath to calm myself before apologizing. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to do that. I’m just… it’s just that…”

  “You’re on edge?” he asked rhetorically. I nodded anyway. “Is there anything else you’re not telling me?”

  I considered his question for a moment until the aching in my chest grew to a level I couldn’t ignore. I didn’t want to tell him about the mark because I didn’t want him to freak out like I knew the boys would if they found out. I didn’t want someone telling me what to do or how to feel, but Drake’s observation about my magic combined with my own concerns made me nervous.

  “I need you to not freak out about this,” I said, setting the ground rules before I showed him the fading mark on my chest. “If you can’t do that, then I’m not telling you.”

  His mouth pressed to a thin line, clearly unhappy about my stipulation, but he eventually nodded in agreement. Satisfied that he would at least try not to wig out, I pulled my crew-neck tee down low enough for Drake to see the faint blue marking on my chest. His eyes went wide the second he saw it, his hand flying up to touch it.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this?” he asked, sounding angry and terrified simultaneously.

  “Because it was fading and I knew what it was from. It wasn’t like I woke up with a blue spot on me and had no clue why it was there.”

  “But you have no clue what it’s done—what it might have done,” he replied, glaring at me for a moment before returning his gaze to the mark on my sternum.

  “I’ve had a lot on my mind,” I said softly, not wanting to get into that particular conversation.

  “I’m sure you have.” His acerbic tone was duly
noted. Drake wasn’t the biggest fan of my love life; as a general rule, he avoided the topic. I wondered if he was about to change that policy. “Piper, I must be honest with you. I fear healing the amulet may have affected your magic somehow.”

  “And I’m assuming not in a good way, right?”

  His expression soured.

  “I can’t know that yet. You did say that the mark was fading. Have you felt any better than you did right after the fey queen’s attack?”

  I considered that for a second, thinking it hadn’t been that long ago. I’d barely had two seconds to myself in that time, between Knox and Merc and the drama going down in the city. Did I feel better? Maybe. But maybe not. I just couldn’t tell.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “I need you to monitor this closely for the next couple of days. If it improves, then it’s likely you just needed to recharge from the energy you expended that night.” He looked at me thoughtfully, backing up a step to give me some space. “You did rip a hole in the veil between here and Faerie, and fix the amulet.”

  “Not a bad day, huh?” I forced a smile at him that earned me one in return.

  “Not bad at all—except that if you plan to go against whatever the fey king has sent for you, you will need to have all your abilities.”

  The wind in my sails died.

  “What can I do?”

  His lips pressed to a grim line, slashing through his even grimmer expression.

  “I don’t know yet, but I’m going to leave this with you,” he said, drawing the amulet out from under his shirt. “You can have it once I shore up the wards against the fey king’s magic. If you did in fact give a part of yourself to this, it should help balance you out until you heal.”

  “Okay,” I replied, staring at the blue glow of the stone I’d healed the night the fey queen attacked. I expected the pain in my chest to ease when I took it from him, but it didn’t change. My nerves shot through the roof. What if I really had given a piece of myself to the amulet—a piece I could never get back?

  He took it from my hands and started off toward the dark edge of the property.

  “I’ll return in a minute,” he said. “Stay with the bear until then. And don’t worry, Piper. We’ll figure this out.”