Once Upon a Shifter (64 page)

"That's a shame," Jaxon said. "I had hoped to get to know her better, but I suppose it's all for the best if she feels that her life is threatened by staying here. It would be terrible for her to turn into a missing person's case, wouldn't it, Detective?"

I guess the rushing blood was getting to me, or maybe it was my wolf's anger causing my blood pressure to soar into dangerous territory. Whatever it was, when I could focus again I discovered Jaxon was no longer looking at me; he was waiting for an answer from Alex.

Alex shrugged. "Yeah, that would suck for anybody, but it's not my department. Dealing with murderers is enough for me. I don't need to add chasing after missing innocent people to my daily schedule; I'd never get any rest."

The wolf forced a grin as her fingers came up to grip Alex's chin, and she directed his eyes back to mine. He didn't look confused—well, no more than usual—but letting this conversation go on could be disastrous for everyone involved. Even I was up for kissing Alex to keep him from answering any more of Jaxon's incriminating questions.

Alex's eyes shifted from mine to my lips then back up. An instant heat swept through me when I felt his erection jerk under my thigh. My thoughts instantly played back the memory of Phoenix's hands on me in the past, but I knew my wolf was only thinking about getting Alex alone in the future.

A soft gasp escaped my lips as his hand slipped up my back to my neck and he pulled me down until our mouths met. Even I was feeling the effects, and I tried desperately not to enjoy myself. It wasn't working.

Brad groaned from the driver's seat, and it was in that moment that I realized that every male in the vehicle who was spelled to me more than likely had a hard-on, including my boyfriend; each one of them was feeling the desire my wolf and Alex felt in that moment.
Shit! Maybe the nexus thing wasn't such a great idea after all.

I was just about to give my wolf a mental nudge that she needed to wrap things up quickly, when the vehicle came to a stop and she ended the kiss to turn and look out the windshield at a wrought iron gate. Phoenix was looking at me with a troubled expression. I knew those sad eyes were for me, silently letting me know that he was sorry that I was having to endure this, but the wolf only winked at him, a gesture that told him she didn't regret in the slightest that she'd made his balls ache.

"Do you think the bitches will keep their promise to not put us through hell this time?" Heath said.

"Only one way to find out," Brad said when the gate began to slowly swing open.

Chapter 38

Phoenix

It wouldn't have surprised Phoenix in the least if they had been attacked, like the night before, but it also didn't surprise him when they drove through the gate, up the mountain and parked in front of the witches' cabin without anything trying to kill them or drive their minds to insanity. The witches were unpredictable. Trying to guess their next move would only lead a person in the wrong direction, or worse, get them hurt.

Phoenix had learned that the hard way.

As everyone filed out of the vehicle, the urge to punish his insubordinate, ex-second-in-command grew to an overwhelming need when Jaxon closed the rear door and grinned at him. Any thoughts of reversing his decision to revoke the vampire's demotion was squashed in that moment and swiftly replaced by a desperate necessity to kill the bastard.

Jaxon didn't lose the grin when Phoenix's hands balled into fists, and he actually laughed when Phoenix rushed him and slammed his body against the rear of the Surburban.

"Hey! Watch the paint, asshat! Heather will be pissed if I have to file another claim," Brad said, but Phoenix's concern wasn't focused on the lecture the wolf would get from his wife about a body-sized dent in their family vehicle, nor was he much bothered by the fact that he could almost feel Rhodes' wide eyes on both of them; he sensed by the sound of the rapid beating of the cop's heart that nothing about this scene looked normal or seemed human to him. It was going to be a bitch to explain. No, his main vexation was caused by the actions of a vampire who had been loyal to him for over a hundred years. Being demoted shouldn't have had this much of an impact on the guy; he had dealt out far worse punishments to him before without so much as an ill word from the guy.

With torture on his mind and in his steely glare, he loosened the fingers gripped tightly around Jaxon's windpipe enough so Jaxon could answer the question that was tearing its way out of his own throat. "What the fuck was that about? Are you trying to expose us all?"

Jaxon blinked a few times, and then confusion, followed by a large amount of fear, filled his widening eyes. The grin vanished immediately as he stared at his master. Nervously, his gaze flitted over Phoenix's shoulder to the gawking crowd of onlookers. He shook his head as his eyes closed. "Please, Master," Jaxon whispered, "I have no idea what I've done, or even how I got here, for that matter."

Stunned, Phoenix released him and took a step back. There was truth in his words; there was no doubt in his mind about that. "What's the last thing you remember?" he said, the volume of his voice just as low as Jaxon's had been.

"Pulling up at Mena's residence. What happened? What have I done?"

Phoenix's thoughts were conflicted and full of frustration, but something was telling him that Jaxon spoke only the truth. Which left only one other explanation of why this had occurred: magic. But why would the sisters try to out them in front of the detective? It didn't make any sense. Regardless of the reason why, they were the only witches he knew. He would handle this, but he had to do it alone.

Without responding, Phoenix turned on his heel and marched toward the witches' house. Pointing a finger at the rest of the group, he demanded, "Stay out here until I tell you otherwise."

Skipping the step full of silver spikes, he bound up the remaining ones until he was pounding on the door with the side of his fist. It swung inward without anyone to greet him on the other side. Wasting no time, he walked in and slammed it behind him.

"Magnalayna! Morgana! Meridia! Stop toying with my people or I will make sure the Salem Witch trials make a grand comeback in Montgomery, Alabama!"

Meridia emerged from the shadows first, an expected solemn expression adorning her pretty face. "Do not come into my home and threaten me, vampire. I could end you where you stand."

He swallowed a few times, knowing she wasn't lying, and that she had waited decades for an excuse to do just that. "What did you do to Jaxon?"

"I'm not certain I understand what you mean. Try being more specific with your questioning. I am sorry to admit that telepathy isn't one of my gifts."

"He nearly exposed Mena for Dana's murder in front of the detective. He only snapped out of the spell when I confronted him about his betrayal a few moments ago in front of your home."

"And you think we three are the only witches who exist in Montgomery?" Meridia said.

"You are the only ones we know and have had dealings with, so, yes; the blame is all yours until you prove your innocence."

Meridia sighed dramatically as she unseeingly glided across the room and sat in a high-backed chair. "Come, sisters. We have guests. The vampire means us no harm."

Magnalayna and Morgana stepped from the same shadowed corner of the room Meridia had and took their seats on the couch closest to the fireplace.

Phoenix wanted to tell them that he was still undecided about that, but he knew Meridia was right; he had already calmed enough to realize his assumption was a false one. These particular witches weren't to blame for what had happened to Jaxon. But if they weren't, then who the hell was? She'd also been right about there being other witches in Montgomery, but he knew of none as powerful in their magic as these three.

"Before your friends join us, there is something you must know," Meridia said. As she gestured to the chair across from her for him to sit down, she continued, and he sat as she began talking again. "Only part of the spell was successful—"

"I know the nexus was," he interrupted. "We've had quite an eventful day."

Morgana smiled as she turned her head in the direction of Morgana, then Magnalayna giggled. Phoenix's eyes narrowed at the two women before turning his attention back to Meridia.

"I warned you of what could happen," Meridia said.

"I'm not blaming you for any of it. I was the one who asked you to do it. What part of the spell didn't work?"

"The location spell for the dagger and the rogue shifters. There is a very powerful blocking spell around them that is preventing me from seeing what needs to be seen. I have no idea who the caster is."

His eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? That's the most important part!" He leaned forward, lowering his voice as he continued. "We need to know where they are, Meridia. Mena can't sense them anymore. It's like they've disappeared."

"I imagine it's the same spell blocking her that is blocking me," Meridia said.

Phoenix growled in frustration. "Some news surfaced today, and we have a bigger problem on our hands than finding the wolves who are trying to kill Mena, but that is still a massive issue, I'm sure you know."

Meridia grinned devilishly. "There is a bigger issue than the Master Vampire and Alpha Wolf of Montgomery dying at the same time? Do tell."

He huffed as he thought of how to phrase something he was still sort of in denial about. "You're already aware that the previous Alpha bit Mena, turning her into one of them, and that she put a silver bullet through his heart immediately after, making her Alpha, right?"

She nodded once, and he continued.

"Well, that's never happened before, that we're aware of. Most shifters challenge the Alpha for position, already knowing most of what they need to know about what they are. Mena didn't know anything, and her pack forgot to mention that she needed to name her wolf within two days of being bitten or the thing inside her would start to take over her body."

A barely audible gasp issued from Morgana's mouth as she grabbed Magnalayna's arm, her cheeks flushing pink and her eyes growing wide as she stared at her sisters in horror.

"What is it, Morgana?" Meridia said, panicked.

"She gets it. Took me a lot longer to figure it out," Phoenix said.

Meridia turned her head in his direction. "What does she get?"

"Mena never named her wolf. The bitch is taking over, and if Mena doesn't find out what the wolf has named herself and call it out by the next full moon, she will be gone, completely imprisoned in her own mind, and the Alpha moonrising wolf will wreak havoc on the world, turning every mortal it comes in contact with. Hell will pretty much be unleashed on Earth."

Troubled now, Meridia wrung her hands together, twisting and entwining her fingers until they were bone white. "This is bad," she said as she turned toward her sisters. "Morgana, check the book. See if there is anything in it about moonrising shifters." Moving her attention back to Phoenix, she said, "Tell your friends to join us. Maybe I can get a feel for a solution if I meet her. Act as if everything is normal. If the moonrising wolf suspects we are trying to overcome her, we may all be in jeopardy."

He stood and walked to the door without commenting. What could he say? He already knew this was bad, but he was happy the witches were on his side for once.

Forcing a smile into place, Phoenix opened the door and cheerfully said, "Everything is fine. Come on in. Watch that first step."

"I said to act normal," Meridia moodily mumbled from her seat, "not like a bloomin' idiot."

Mena

Relief flushed through me when Phoenix opened the door, but my happiness quickly faded when his eyes avoided looking at anyone directly. Something was wrong. He was hiding something, and he was usually better at being discrete when he had a secret. Maybe the witches had located the dagger and he just didn't want Alex to find out about it. I was still a murderer, and the weapon belonged to my boyfriend. What if it was even worse news? What if they couldn't find the rogue shifters?

Ugh! I hated waiting for bad news.

Alex took my hand and led me to the steps leading up to the porch, but just before I placed my foot on the first step, he whisked me up in his arms and jogged the rest of the way up them.

He was smiling as he released me to stand on my own again, but he held me tightly to his body as he glanced down at the others. Roel grabbed a broom propped against the rail and touched the bottom step with the handle. I jumped in surprise when hundreds of tiny spikes shot up through the board.

The others skipped the step and came up to join us.

As we walked into the house, Phoenix caught my arm and leaned in by my ear, whispering so only I could hear, "They're silver."

My brow lifted as my wolf took note of that, and she nodded. Instead of thanking Phoenix for that important piece of information, she clung tighter to Alex's side and smiled at him when he wrapped an arm around me, pulling me even closer.

"Thank you for saving me," she said.

"Stop trying to piss Phoenix off!"
I said through my thoughts.
"He told everyone to watch the first step. He deserves credit, too."

Huffing loudly as she rolled her eyes back toward Phoenix, she snarled out one word, "Thanks."

Alex chuckled. "You really don't like him, do you?"

Grinning slyly at Phoenix, she answered Alex's question. "Not even a little. I was actually thinking of staying with you full-time, you know, until we find the killer and all this blows over. Would that be all right with you, Alex?"

I barely caught a glimpse of Phoenix's red face and clenched jaw before Alex spun me around and planted a big kiss on my lips. She hummed her approval as she wrapped my arms around his neck and opened my mouth, inviting him in for a brief make-out session in front of everybody.