She blew out a breath and spoke faster. “But she hated him, didn’t want to be sold to the richest potential husband. She fell in love with a non-gypsy, a gaje, but worse, the guy was married. They ran away, had a baby, her father came looking for her to kill her, and the pair of them cursed each other, which kind of screwed up both curses, and her son was basically my first wolf ancestor.”
“I thought you said the wolf thing was a good thing to them. Valuable, I mean. So why would that be the curse?”
“Yeah, that’s the point. That’s never been the curse. The father of the baby gave the child to his wife to raise before he killed himself.” She made a face. “And the wife lied about the curse because she didn’t want the boy to know she wasn’t his real mother. He wasn’t cursed to be a werewolf, just to be basically, um, obsessed with finding his soul mate. When he did, he would fall too hard, and the soul mate was destined to die, and he was supposed to go mad, pretty much. But now I’ve ended the curse, so…”
I thought about Jakob and Byron and was gripped with the fear that it was too late for Nathan.
“Wait,” I said. “What’s this got to do with my dad?”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you the best bit. So Kali, my ancestor, she was stuck when she died. Like, unable to pass over without passing on her power. She kept trying to communicate with me, and she basically asked me to take it, and I said yeah. That’s what ended the curse.”
“Again, Dad?”
“I have her power. Somewhere. I mean, I don’t know for sure if I can use it or anything, but she wasn’t just a witch, she was a healer, and if I could find out about that kind of power, about gypsy magic, or even just some healing spells, then maybe—”
“You could help my dad.” I thought it over for about ten seconds. “I’m in.”
She grinned. “I knew I could count on you. So we need to research, and well, look where you’re working.”
“Um, it’s not that great in there. Selection-wise, I mean. Lots of old books.”
“But old books are probably the best place to find the answers. We could find something about werewolf legends that might help, or gypsy magic, or anything even remotely similar. We just need a clue, some idea of where to start.”
“What about the spirit board? You said it was Kali who tried to communicate with you before, so why not now?”
She squirmed. “I would rather not do that again, to be honest. At least, not without a bigger group. It wasn’t particularly safe what we did.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“I’m sorry, but it was Kali! She kept influencing me, making me feel things I shouldn’t. Once she left me, I was fine again, but she had gone kind of crazy, and that made me a little off.”
“Crazy like your grandfather,” I said. “Like Byron sometimes. Like… Nathan?”
“Don’t say that,” she said miserably. “Byron’s doing much better now. He’s not as cold as he was. He feels like family now. And Nathan’s just mad at me.”
“But your grandfather?”
She nodded. “He’s not getting any better. He’s still so determined to get revenge.”
“When I saw Nathan, when he came to say goodbye, he was the same. He made it sound like they were out for the kill, like they weren’t coming home without blood on their hands.”
She rubbed the back of her head, a newly formed habit. “If he comes back to us, he’ll be okay. He shouldn’t have left in anger like that. It just made him worse. We can’t rely on him or Opa right now. We have to figure this out ourselves, and hopefully, find a way to fix your dad.”
“Think it’s possible?”
She brightened. “It’s definitely possible. If only Opa would talk to me more, then I could probably piece the things he knows together to help me. I feel as though there’s something locked inside me, and once I have the key, I can really use it to help us all.” She looked away, suddenly sad. “It’s at times like this that I wish Mémère were here. Her family was different, too. She came from psychic women, and Mémère was still into that kind of thing before she met Opa.” She sighed. “So much was lost with her, Perdita.”
I patted her hand. “You’ll be okay.”
She nodded. “I will, just as soon as I figure everything out. Between what Ryan says about the alpha power and what we could do if we can access gypsy magic, maybe we can avoid the whole fight to the death thing, after all.”
“I’m so on board with that. But listen, Dad can’t find out I’ve seen you, okay? He’s taken my phone, and he won’t be Mr. Chirpy if you turn up at the house. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“No problem. I’ll just see you here. Maybe you can help me on your lunch break or something.”
“I can try. Don’t have a clue where to start, but hey, at least we’ll be doing something.”
She smiled “It’s definitely worth a try.”
I thought of Dad. Anything was worth a try.
Chapter Six
Nathan
I paid the taxi driver with shaky hands and lifted my bag stuffed full of dirty clothes out after me. I stared at our house, at how strange and unwelcoming it looked, and gave a low whistle, but no dogs came running.
Shrugging, I hauled the bag over my shoulder and strolled down the driveway. I couldn’t scent anyone around, and I was kind of glad for it.
I let myself in, dumped my bag in the utility room to deal with later, and headed straight to my room. Ignoring the urge to sleep in a familiar bed, I jumped into the shower, thankful for the hot water. I washed away weeks of travel, strange beds, and frustration under the spray.
The house felt as empty as the hollow part in my chest. I headed into the kitchen to see if I could rummage up anything edible. To my surprise, I found the fridge well-stocked, and I spent a number of minutes pulling out things to make a sandwich. It was nice to eat familiar food again, in my own kitchen, in my own house.
It was just a pity nothing else felt the same anymore.
I was halfway through the sandwich when the front door opened and voices filled the hallway. There was a pause, then someone called my name, and three figures hurried into the kitchen, closely followed by some wolfhounds. Cú was the last to enter, and he crept to my side with a low whine.
“Is he okay?” I asked, my voice rising in panic. “I thought the vet said he was healing nicely?”
“He’s healthy,” Ryan said. “But he’s mourning.”
“Mourning?” Then I understood. “Oh.” He missed Perdita. He had attached himself to her to protect her, and she was gone from him. I leaned over to pat his belly, trying to ignore the lump in my throat at how miserable he looked, at his puppy-like whimpers when he licked my arm. I should have never left him.
Lifting my head, I realised everyone was staring at me. Byron with an unrecognisable gleam in his eyes, Ryan with that same staid patient look that was now familiar to me, and Amelia… Amelia watched me with a little fear. I hadn’t left on the best terms with her, and I had to admit, I still carried some of the anger that had driven me away in the first place.
Byron shocked me by rushing over and hugging me. Byron. “Good to see you back where you belong,” he said, slapping my back.
“Um, thanks,” I said, extracting myself from his iron grip.
“News?” Ryan asked.
My stomach churned, and I pushed away the sandwich. “Nothing good. I’m only home to tell you what happened.”
“What’s going on?” Byron asked, worry obvious in the clench of his jaw.
“Willow vanished,” I said.
Ryan’s nostrils flared. “What happened?”
I shrugged. “We don’t know. Not for sure. Jeremy went to her room to ask her to come eat with us. Her door was open, and she was gone. We waited until the next day, but she still hadn’t turned up.”
“Jeremy,” Ryan spat.
“He didn’t touch her,” I said. “He helped her. I swear to you, he never hurt her, and he’s as pissed as you that they took her.”
“They took her?” Ryan asked incredulously.
I ran my hands over my cheeks, trying to settle my head. “That’s what we think might have happened. We went to see some werewolf in Lyon who knew Willow. She was a little off afterward, but she’s always off, so it’s hard to tell. There were no scents around, no sign that Willow ran or was taken from the hotel, so we decided to go back to that same werewolf in case she was there.”
“And?” he asked impatiently.
“The place was empty, but the door had been practically ripped off the hinges. There was some blood, and the flat had been turned over. Who knows what happened?”
Ryan paced the room, clenching his fists. “How could you let her vanish from under your noses?”
“We couldn’t be on her twenty-four hours a day, Ryan. We did the best we could. We followed her everywhere, and it was all for nothing.”
“No werewolves?” Byron asked in surprise.
“Oh, there were werewolves all right. But not many. Mostly one in each occupied place, surrounded by their families. Nobody was interested in doing anything but getting us away from them as quickly as possible. We’re bad news as far as they’re concerned. Whether they’re scared of Vin or just hate us, nobody’s going to help, and now we’re another wolf down.” I shook my head in disgust.
“Is it possible she went back to Vin?” Byron asked.
“That would be signing her own death warrant,” Ryan said. “But if she was distressed, it’s possible.”
“Maybe the wolf we went to see contacted someone, told them we were around. Maybe Willow went to see him. Wrong place, wrong time.” I stared out the window, dying for a run. “All I know is we wasted our time out there. We should have been here all along.”
“Where’s Opa and Jeremy?” Amelia asked.
“Still looking for Willow. Maybe they’ll find her and bring her back.” I somehow managed to sound way more confident than I felt. I didn’t know if she had gone willingly or not, but whatever happened, I couldn’t be sure that Jeremy and Opa were safe. I threw the sandwich in the bin in disgust. “I need a run.”
“You can’t,” Amelia said.
“Try stopping me,” I snapped.
Byron gripped my shoulder a little harder than necessary. “No, she means you can’t run here anymore. There’s been a regular police presence since you left. They’re watching for wolves, dangerous dogs, anything. They reckon we must run dog fights, and they don’t seem to have anything better to do, so we’ve been driving out to hunt. It’s a pain, but we don’t have much choice.”
“You could move on,” Ryan said.
I wondered whose side he was on, then wondered when there had become sides to take within my own family. “That’s what Opa wants.”
Byron hesitated. “Now’s not the time.”
“Any signs of the werewolves here?” I asked.
“No,” Byron said. “But maybe it’s because of the garda cars. Maybe they’ve given up.”
“Or maybe they’re waiting until we stop looking over our shoulders,” Ryan said. “We still need to discuss how we get my daughters back.”
“And we will,” Byron said firmly. “But we need the rest of the pack back first. We can’t go off on any fool’s errand right now.”
“You mean like Opa is,” I said under my breath.
Byron glanced at me sharply. I realised he had made it sound as though Ryan were part of our pack, but that wasn’t possible.
I bent down next to Cú, concerned by the listless way he lay on the floor, his breathing scarily shallow. “Maybe we should bring him to the vet again.”
“That won’t help him,” Byron said. “He’s lost.”
I scratched behind Cú’s ears. “That makes two of us. I need to get some rest,” I added, seeing the pity in Byron’s eyes. “I’m wiped. Wake me if there’s any news.”
I ran upstairs with a heavy heart. Nothing felt right. Being home wasn’t the way I remembered it, and the desperation to escape rose again.
I paused outside Amelia’s door, resting my fingers on the handle as I remembered the last kiss with Perdita—our desperate goodbye before she locked herself in the room, and everything changed. A shudder shook my body, and I moved to my room in a hurry. It didn’t do any good to dwell on what had been.
I didn’t think I would be able to rest, but I fell into a deep sleep almost straight away. I hadn’t even undressed or gotten under the covers.
***
I awoke in the middle of the night with a rumbling stomach and decided to search the kitchen again, but I wasn’t alone.
Amelia sat at the table, watching me with calm eyes. “I waited up for you.”
I groaned. “I’m not in the mood for talking.”
“You need to talk. You need to listen, too.”
“I’m tired, and I’m hungry. Talk all you want. I don’t care.” I pulled open the fridge, hearing her tut behind me.
“There’s leftovers on the top shelf.”
I pulled out a couple of tubs to check if they were interesting.
“You need to talk to her.”
An open tub slipped through my fingers and spilled all over the floor.
“Sorry,” she said as I swore. “But it’s true. She needs—”
“Amelia! I don’t want to hear this.” I bent to clean up the spill. Pasta sauce. Nice and messy.
“At least let me explain what happened,” she pleaded. “I was trying to help everyone. I didn’t know what would happen. I couldn’t control anything. I tried, but I didn’t know how. I wasn’t ready for the wolf. Nobody had warned me. I thought everything would be better. The same, except better. I promise you I would never—”
“I’m not interested,” I said coldly. “I don’t care what you thought or what you did. I’m not interested in any of it anymore.”
“Nathan. Stop this. It’s stupid. Look at Cú, for heaven’s sake.”
I stormed out of the room.
“She was going to die,” she called after me.
I knew she was right. I knew she had done the right thing. But I couldn’t face it yet. I couldn’t accept that the curse had taken everything except the things I didn’t want. I was still a werewolf. I was still hunted by other werewolves.
And I still had all of these crazy feelings for a girl who was probably terrified of my entire family, including me.
Chapter Seven
Perdita
It had been days since Erin walked out of my house, and Dad’s mood had gone from terrible to worse. I was more determined than ever to help Amelia uncover all of the madness related to her ancestors, but a solution might come too late to save Dad and Erin.
I hadn’t seen Amelia in a couple of days, and I worried she had changed her mind, or worse, that something werewolfy had happened, and I would never know about it.
To keep my mind off things, and in an attempt to make Dad’s life better, I decided to take some time after work to go and see Erin. Dad would probably flip about my interference, freak out that I was late home, and find some new thing to be disappointed in me over, but I had to do something. If I could just persuade Erin to wait it out, that Dad would be back to normal soon, then everything would be okay again.
As soon as Mrs. Reed let me go, I sprinted to the bus stop, hopped on the next bus, and travelled into the city to find Erin’s flat. I had never been there before, but she had pointed it out one day as we drove by, so I was pretty sure about where I was going.
I had to press a buzzer and wait to be let in, but Erin greeted me at the main door. She notably didn’t invite me inside her home.
“Perdy, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
I shrugged. Now that I was there, I wasn’t quite sure what to do. “You didn’t come back,” I said, rather stupidly.
“That’s between your dad and me. I can only do so much.”
“But if you could give him a chance, wait around a bit for him to get better, and—”
She held
up her hands. “This wasn’t my decision. I’m not staying away over one little fight. Your father has made it clear what he wants, so I have to move on. You understand that, right?”
“Not really. He needs you, and you care about him. I know you do.”
“It’s not that simple. I can’t help him right now, and if he needs to be by himself, then he can go ahead. I’m making things worse for you and your Gran by being around.”
I sniffed. “He’s miles worse without you.”
“I doubt that.” But she smiled.
“He’s… it’s not his fault. He isn’t well.” The werewolf bite was slowly destroying him.
She sighed, and I thought I saw pity in her eyes. “Lots of people aren’t well. They don’t usually treat those who love them the way he has. I can’t sit there and watch it, Perdy. I just can’t, and I don’t know how to make it better.”
“So you’re giving up?”
She seemed sad. “It’s not my choice. You should get back before he notices you aren’t home.”
I turned to leave, but she drew me in for a hug. “If you ever need to talk,” she said. “I will listen. I’m just… it’s awkward right now.”
I wished I could tell her what was going on, show her there was a reason Dad couldn’t help the way he was acting.
Walking from the bus stop, I became convinced I heard footsteps behind me. I glanced around nervously, still stuck in the past, terrified of what might be coming for me. Nobody was there, and I cursed my paranoia. It hit me at random times, leaving me looking over my shoulder, afraid of shadows and ghosts and things that didn’t exist anymore.
Dad was standing in the doorway when I finally made it back home. I rolled my eyes at the expression on his face, unable to stop myself.
“Where were you?”
“Nowhere. I’m home now. Leave it alone, Dad.”