Cold Spell Page 16

  Some werewolves believed each person had only one mate and that the two were fated to be together. Sometimes, fate threw them together. Other times, they drifted in different directions, never actually meeting. It was a romantic idea, and not one Nic had ever believed in. Then again, he hadn’t spent much time considering finding a mate. It hadn’t ever been a priority.

  Not until the end of Jackie’s visit suddenly felt inevitable.

  No matter how many stories he told her about the festivals, or how much he tried to convince her Barrow was more tolerable in the summer, she’d go. Once they put this case to bed and Nic’s pack was back at peace, she would leave forever. With his responsibilities as alpha, he couldn’t fly south to see her, either. They had today, maybe the next, and no more. How could it be that he might find his soulmate only to lose her mere hours after discovering how important she was to him?

  This is stupid. I barely know her. Osha knows even less about her and isn’t even a werewolf. How could she possibly know he and Jackie were potential mates? Maybe he was just reading into her words too much.

  The old woman has never been wrong, his wolf interjected. How many times have we gone to her for advice and guidance? Even since Justice left the pack. The old woman knows. You’re just being stupid. You like her. I like her. Why this strange courtship dance where we cannot speak of it?

  Because she’s leaving us, Nic thought, his heart plummeting. Barrow would seem empty without her, and boring without having Bo there to torture. But it wasn’t meant to be. Nic saw no alternative way of working things out, and Jackie’s lack of willingness to communicate only made the situation more hopeless.

  “What’s wrong?” Jackie’s words jerked him out of his conversation with his wolf. She’d finished her meal in the meantime while he’d barely touched his. “Not into the bison burger?”

  “Forget the burger.” He pushed the plate away. “I was hoping to get to know more about you, Jackie. I feel like you’ve been avoiding talking to me about you. I know we sorta talked about this earlier, but I really do want to know you. Maybe even after this is over.”

  Jackie frowned. He didn’t like seeing that expression on her face at all. It made the wolf inside him uneasy.

  “Nic, you know I have to leave,” she said. “And I said before I’m not interested in a long-distance relationship. I like you. I think you’re a good man. A good leader of your pack. I just… It wouldn’t work. I can barely get along with Bo and my employer. I don’t even have friends. I certainly don’t have boyfriends.”

  “Why not?” He gestured to her. “I mean, if you’re not interested in me, I get that. But you are. Even Osha could see that. And I’m interested in you. I don’t want you to leave and never hear from you again, not now that I’ve met you.”

  Jackie carefully wiped her mouth with the napkin and set it aside. “It doesn’t matter what we want. It matters what’s practical, and any chance we’d have at a serious relationship is hindered by distance and work.”

  “There’s more to life than work and practicality, Jackie. We’re not here on Earth to work and die. There’s so much more to living.” He extended a hand across the table, placing it on top of hers.

  Jackie stared at his hand over hers, her expression impossible to read. If she rejected him now, that was it. He’d be disappointed, hurt even, but he’d stand by it. But if she didn’t, then he’d move mountains to see her again after she left. Bryce would just have to take a more active role in the pack. After all, what good was having a second if he didn’t have the chance to lead a little himself?

  “Evergreen,” she said after a slight hesitation.

  “What?”

  Jackie raised her eyes to meet his and she offered a slight smile. “My favorite color. Evergreen. I miss it.”

  Well, that was something, at least.

  His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled his hand away to fetch it. The number scrolling over the screen was the one he least expected to see. What’s she doing calling me? He slid his thumb over the screen and lifted the phone to his ear. “What’s wrong, Osha?”

  “It’s Bo,” she said, her voice shaky. “You need to come straight to the store.”

  Jackie stood before Osha even finished speaking. She pulled out her wallet and left two twenties on the table before rushing past. Nic followed, pausing only to grab the first waitress he saw and telling her to add the bill to his tab. He’d straighten it out at the end of the month.

  Less than a minute passed before the two of them were in the ATV headed for the general store. Jackie said nothing, but he could feel how nervous she was. Nic cursed himself. He should’ve known something wasn’t right when Bo didn’t call them. He’d just assumed they’d gone back to the house and were waiting for them there. The old man had been able to take care of himself adequately the night before. If he was hurt, it must’ve been serious.

  Jackie jumped out of the ATV before Nic had it at a full stop and rushed into the store.

  “Dammit, Jackie!” He shut off the ATV as fast as he could and went after her.

  Inside the store, nothing seemed off. Everything was where it should’ve been, except for Justice. His normal place behind the cash register stood empty. In fact, no one seemed to be minding the store. The back door stood open, banging unsecured against the door frame. Nic went through it.

  The shed behind the store stood wide open, the doors half torn from the hinges. ATV tracks led around the store and toward the road. A tinge of rust-colored blood marred the otherwise white snow. The air was rank with the coppery scent of it, enough that it made Nic wrinkle his nose.

  But that wasn’t the worst of it.

  Laughter bounced off the walls, shrill and dark in the cold. Bo’s laughter.

  Nic rushed into the shed and found Osha kneeling next to Bryce, who seemed dazed, blood coloring the ground behind his head. Dazed, probably concussed, but alive. On the other side of the shed, Jackie pulled Bo’s head into her lap as he fought to keep the laughter down. The old man pressed both hands to his mouth, but even then couldn’t contain himself.

  They’d come too late.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  T errible, ceaseless laughter echoed through the pack’s house. Jackie worked to distract herself, doing anything and everything to keep her hands busy so she didn’t sit with them over her ears to block out the sound. Right now, the only thing she could do with her hands was fidget with them, rubbing her palms together as if she were warming them.

  She sat in the living room with Nic, Bryce, Osha, and the rest of the pack. Even Donna had found a way to get off work so she could be there. She sat next to Jackie on the arm of the sofa, arms crossed. Normally, Jackie would have insisted the lesser-ranking wolf sit lower and choose to take the higher spot for herself as tradition dictated. It was expected of her that she make a show of being a dominant werewolf, though she didn’t normally care. With Bo infected, slowly dying of the very laughing sickness they had come to cure, that hardly seemed to matter, so she barely noticed.

  Mandy sat across the room, hugging herself and glancing up the stairs every so often. The tight muscles around her eyes and mouth said she was worried. Her rocking said she was full of nervous energy and probably fighting the urge to dash up the stairs to be with Bo. The two of them had seemed to hit it off.

  Nic paced in the center of the room, his arms folded and head low. “Two days. Maybe three. No more than that and he’ll go just like David.”

  “We need to track Justice and Tara down,” Vince said, his tone casual. “Pretty sure they’re behind this. We’ve got enough proof. Let’s find them and kill them before they can do more harm.”

  “Will killing the Mahaha even release him from whatever spell he’s under?” Mandy asked.

  All eyes in the room slowly shifted to the diminutive old woman seated in the armchair much too large for her. Osha didn’t seem to notice. She relaxed further in the chair, cradling the scrimshaw they’d taken from Tara’s wall. �
��What makes you think I know any more than the rest of you?”

  “Justice is your grandson.” Jackie rose to her feet, fists clenched. “You know him better than any of us. And you’ve lived here your entire life. You know the story of the Mahaha. I refuse to believe the only way to beat this thing is to wait until it strikes again and get lucky. It’s not going to fall for a trap. We have to hunt it down, strike at it where it’s hiding. You have to help us.”

  Osha raised her chin slightly. “I’m obligated to do no such thing. You don’t command me, young wolf, any more than you can command the sun to shine.”

  Jackie clenched her fists harder until her fingernails bit into her palms. What did this old woman want? Didn’t she want to help? Why be there at all if not to assist?

  Nic’s hand touched her shoulder gently. “I’m sure Jackie didn’t mean it that way, Osha, but she has a point. Many, in fact. We’ve run all our leads to an end. Without more help, Bo will die. Nothing we can do will stop that. But you can.”

  Osha remained stone-faced and silent for a long time. A clock ticked by ten or twenty seconds before she spoke again. “You know, Justice wasn’t always like this. He was a good boy.”

  “I know, but somewhere along the way, that changed.” Nic stepped past Jackie and went to one knee in front of Osha, taking the old woman’s hand. “If you can do something, Osha, I’m willing to beg. Help us.”

  Jackie blinked, shocked. It was strange to see an alpha wolf, leader of his pack, bow like that in front of a mere human. More than strange, it was unheard of. In any other pack, the other wolves would chafe at seeing it but here, the other wolves simply bowed their heads in submission with their leader. Why would werewolves ever submit to a human?

  Unless Osha was more than she seemed.

  Osha offered a toothy smile and placed a wrinkled hand over Nic’s. “There’s no need to beg, young wolf. I’m inclined to help you. Why, after all your people have done for me and mine since the Starving Times? Our fates are bound.” She patted his hand. “Do you know where the old hut is?”

  Nic nodded.

  “You will come there when the lights dance high in the sky. I will prepare. You should prepare yourself. This will be dangerous. All who go will come back changed, if they come back at all.”

  With that, Osha hopped down from the chair and walked toward the door.

  “What should we do in the meantime?” Jackie asked her. “We can’t just sit here and wait for whatever it is you’re going to do.”

  Osha turned slowly, as if it made every bone in her body ache. “If you want to defeat the Mahaha, you must understand its mind. Read the book. Prepare yourself. This path upon which we are about to embark will not be easy. For any of you. All victories come at a price.”

  The old woman toddled stiffly out of the house. The only other movement in the room was Nic as he went to open and close the front door for her.

  Once she was gone Aspen sighed, tilted his head to the side and said, “I’m not sure about this, alpha. Why’re we going through all this trouble for him?”

  Jackie spun to glare at the wolf. “You mean the man who risked his life to come here and solve your problems?”

  “The guy’s an asshole.” Aspen shrugged. “I’m just stating facts. We’re jumping through hoops and willing to move mountains to save this one guy, but you barely lifted a finger to save Anabelle and David. Gotta wonder if you’d be this gung-ho to cut a deal with Osha if it were me up there instead of her daddy.”

  Jackie took a step forward but Nic’s hand on her shoulder once again made her stop.

  “I did everything I knew to do for David, and Anabelle too, even though we didn’t know what was going on,” Nic said. “Bo helped us put together the pieces to get this far. He’s no less deserving of protection and help than anyone else.”

  “He’s not pack.” Donna stood, but left her arms crossed. “And you heard what Osha said. It’s going to be dangerous to go after this thing. Deadly, even. If someone has to risk their life for him, it should be her.” She nodded to Jackie.

  Jackie had no objections. She was ready to risk her life for Bo if it were called for, but this wasn’t about Bo. Why didn’t these people see it? She and Bo had come to Barrow for them, risked their lives for them. Yet these people clearly still saw them as outsiders, monsters in their own right.

  “Every wolf for themselves, is that it?” Jackie stepped up to Donna and stood inches away, blocking her view of Nic. “This pack exists at Lou Ganner’s pleasure. With a word, he could wipe all of you off the face of the Earth. Or he could simply turn away and do nothing while this thing picks your precious pack apart. He didn’t have to send us. In fact, it was a great inconvenience for him to do so. You asked for help and here we came.” She spread her arms wide. “And now that it’s inconvenient for you, now that you’re asked to help someone else, you balk at the suggestion?”

  “You’re asking us to risk our alpha,” Aspen said beside her. “Why should we when we can send you to do whatever it is Osha needs doing? This pack will survive losing you. It won’t survive without Nic.”

  They were afraid. Afraid of what Osha might do. Jackie studied Donna’s rounded features, noting how well she covered up her fear. It was there just the same in the corners of her frown, the wildness of her eyes, the sourness of her scent. The whole pack feared Osha. Why? Had she missed something in her initial assessment of the old woman?

  “It’s not up to you,” Nic said firmly. “The decision is mine and it’s made. I go to meet Osha tonight.”

  “But with Bryce injured—”

  Nic cut Donna off. “Vince will be in charge when I go.”

  Vince nodded and stood. “I’ll hold down the fort. You go do what you gotta do, Nic.”

  Donna threw her hands up in defeat. “I’ve got patients to see to. You do what you want.”

  Slowly, the pack dispersed from the living room, some receiving quiet orders from Nic. He told Vince to go next door and get some sleep, as he’d need to be awake most of the night to keep an eye on things. Aspen went with Donna to drive her back to the hospital, while Mandy bolted upstairs as soon as the meeting was adjourned to sit with Bo or Bryce.

  That left Jackie alone with Nic.

  She shook her head at him. “I knew there was animosity between Bo and the pack, but I didn’t expect them to react like this. Maybe it’d be better if we took him to the hotel.”

  “They won’t hurt him.” Nic put his arm around her shoulders and led her to the door. “Not when I’ve ordered them not to. They might not like him, but they know better than to do anything stupid. Bo is perfectly safe here. Safer than at the hotel.”

  Jackie’s eyes flicked up the stairs. Osha had told her to read the book they’d taken from Tara’s bed stand, but there was no way she could concentrate with Bo laughing like that. She wouldn’t be comfortable in the other house the pack owned, which meant she’d have to go back to the hotel alone.

  She frowned at Nic as he held her coat out to her. “You know I’m going with you to see Osha, right?”

  Nic offered a smile, though his eyes said his heart wasn’t in it. “Of course you are. You going to be okay all by yourself a few hours? Want me to send an escort or come along?”

  Her shoulders suddenly felt as if a great weight had been placed on her back. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep the rest of the day away, face whatever Osha had in mind well-rested. At the same time, the last thing she wanted was to be alone with a cheesy romance novel and her own thoughts. Nic was needed there, though, and no one else in the pack was available to go with her. The pack needed to stay together now more than ever.

  She shook her head. “No thanks. Your people need you and I need… I need quiet to think.”

  “Can I pick you up around ten, then? So we can go together.”

  “I’d like that.” At first, she thought to just flash him a smile and leave, but Nic deserved more than a quick smile. He was taking care of B
o, even if it was just for a few hours, and willing to risk his life to save him. He’d been right there with them from the start, doing everything he could to help, despite his dislike of Bo.

  Most of all, he’d been right about everything he said at the restaurant. There was more to life than work. Once this was all over, she was going to ask Lou for a vacation. Maybe she’d even come north to see him.

  She leaned in and planted a kiss on his cheek.

  “What was that for?” Nic asked as she leaned back.

  “Thank you. For helping. For being a decent person. For taking the time to talk to me. Most don’t. I like being with you, Nic. If anyone can find the Mahaha and stop it, it’ll be you and me.”

  Nic smiled and opened the door for her. “See you at ten.”

  Jackie finished pulling her gloves on and pulling her hat down over her ears. She stepped out onto the porch and paused as the cold took her breath away. A secondary ATV waited in the driveway, this one a faded red and seating only two. Nic had promised she could borrow it to get around should she want it. She’d never driven one before, but figured she could manage to get it across town well enough, despite the snow coming down.

  “Jackie, wait.”

  She turned around, expecting Nic to tell her to be careful in the storm or something like that. Instead, he stepped forward, placed his hands on her cheeks and lifted her lips to meet his. Jackie formed fists and stiffened at the sudden contact, unsure of how to react at first because she hadn’t expected it. But any protests she might’ve had, any more verbal barbs they may’ve traded, disappeared from her mind as soon as he took his lips away. It was over too fast, before she’d even had the chance to really know what was happening.

  “Dammit, Nic,” she said and mimicked his movements from before, placing her gloved hands on either side of his bright pink cheeks and pulling him down for another kiss, this time longer, slower, until the cold wasn’t the only thing that took her breath away.