I stared at it for a long moment. Twice, now, she’d been attacked. Each time, I’d felt fear like I hadn’t felt in years.

What was I going to do when we caught this killer? Let her go?

Aye.

I had to. This obsession was mad.

I scrubbed a hand through my hair and turned to leave, reaching for the flask in my back pocket. As I raised it to my lips, I realized that drinking was ridiculous. The potion wasn’t working, and I needed something stronger.

I checked my watch. Midnight.

It would be daytime in Magic’s Bend, Oregon, one of the largest all-supernatural cities in America. The blood sorceress who provided me with my potion didn’t live in Guild City. That had been a conscious choice on my part. I liked the fact that she was halfway around the world. I didn’t need my pack knowing that I relied on a potion to keep my emotions at bay.

Quickly, I strode to my quarters and let myself into the cold room. It was austere, which suited me, and I took the last of the two transport charms from the dresser in my bedroom. I’d need to replace them soon, but there was no other way to reach Oregon and get back before dawn.

I hurled one to the ground and envisioned the quiet street. A silver cloud burst upward, and I stepped inside, letting the ether suck me in and spin me through space. It spat me out on a street corner in Darklane, the dark magic district of Magic’s Bend. The supernaturals who lived and worked there weren’t necessarily evil, but the magic they used walked the line between good and bad.

Victorian-era houses rose tall on either side of the street, their wooden fronts and ornate trim covered in the grime of dark magic. The entire place was dark gray from it, and even the sun seemed to shine less brightly on this street.

I spotted the sign that swung over a once-purple building a few houses down: The Apothecary’s Jungle. Quickly, I strode toward it, taking the steps two at a time. I knocked hard, waiting impatiently. A few minutes later, the door creaked open. A woman in a black silk bathrobe with a sweep of black eye makeup stared out at me, her hair piled onto her head in a bouffant so big that it should have its own post code. I’d once thought she was beautiful, but now the only person I could see in my head was Eve.

“Mordaca. Just who I’m looking for.”

“Lachlan.” She scowled, her blood-red lips twisting in annoyance. “It’s godawful early, you know that?”

“It’s four p.m.”

“Like I said.” She turned and gestured for me to follow, flashing black nails that had been filed into points. “But come in. It must be important.”

She led me through a dark hallway to a workshop dominated by an enormous table in the middle and a hearth on one side. She glided around the table to lean against the shelves decorating the opposite wall, crossing her arms over her chest to stare at me.

“The potion you’ve given me is no longer working,” I said. “Does it expire?”

She laughed. “It’s not milk. It doesn’t expire.” She frowned. “But it shouldn’t stop working, either.”

“Can you make a stronger one?”

“First, I want to understand why it’s stopped working. What changed? What did you do?”

“Nothing.” I hesitated. “A woman showed up.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Oh.”

“She means nothing to me.”

“My potion begs to differ.” She tapped her fingernails against her chin, clearly thinking. “That potion is meant to suppress all emotions. But whatever you feel for her…well, it’s strong. Does it feel strong?”

“It feels strange.” I didn’t even know what strong emotion felt like anymore. “Perhaps I just want her.”

She shrugged. “It’s possible. Desire isn’t quite the same as other emotions. It’s physical as well as mental. So it could be breaking through the potion. If you’ve been celibate all this time…”

She eyed me up and down, and I just nodded.

“Well, maybe that’s it. You should just sleep with her and get it out of your system. Then maybe you’ll go back to normal.”

The idea made my blood race. I wanted that, but I couldn’t have it. “That’s not going to happen.”

“She married?”

“It’s just not going to happen. Can you give me something stronger?”

She sighed. “Yeah. I can try to give you something with more kick. No promises, though.”

No promises.

Bloody hell.

Eve

 

Before dawn, I woke in my room in the Shifters’ Guild tower. For a half second, I stared at the ceiling, letting last night play through my mind.

Something had changed at the theater.

I’d felt his gaze on me the entire walk back, but we hadn’t spoken a word.

Memories of our near kiss flashed through my mind. One more of those, and he’d be on to me. It wasn’t logical, but I could feel it in my gut. I was running out of time before he figured out that I was not as I seemed.

Lachlan was too clever. And even though it was supposed to be impossible to change species, it clearly wasn’t. He was going to figure it out.

I didn’t want to be here when he did.

I shivered and dressed quickly. Dawn was coming, and I didn’t want to miss the meeting with the sorceress. While I’d slept, someone had delivered a fresh set of underwear and socks.

I stared at them piled in the chair, horror flashing through me.

They were mine.

Lachlan hadn’t sent a shifter into my guild tower, had he? That would be totally unforgivable.

Don’t get your knickers in a twist, it wasn’t him.

I turned, searching for the voice. Ralph sat on the windowsill, grinning at me. The little raccoon held a Cadbury bar in his small hand.

“Did you bring me those?”

He nodded. Think of me as your butler. You know how to pay me.

I looked between him and the underthings, imaging him running through the street, clutching my pants. Worse, they were my oldest pair, reserved only for laundry day. “I’m going to need half your chocolate bar.”

He grumbled, but I heard him plop down off the windowsill and click-clack his way to me. He handed up half the candy bar, and I shoved it in my mouth.

I was going to need a lot more than that. “Thanks, mate.”

I hadn’t got the clean clothes in the most ideal way, but I was glad to have them.

See you. He shoved the last of the chocolate into his mouth and scampered up the windowsill, his fat bum taking a few extra heaves to get going. He disappeared into the night, and I dressed, then headed downstairs. Fortunately, I didn’t run into anyone as I walked.

Lachlan waited for me in the main hall, standing near the exit. He looked every inch the powerful Alpha that he was, but there were shadows under his eyes that made me wonder where he’d spent the night.

I squared my shoulders and approached, making eye contact. I made sure to hold it the whole way there, no matter how uncomfortable. At some point, I should have been forced to look away. He was the Alpha, and just like the Alpha’s Command, there was magic in his gaze. No subordinate wolf should be able to hold his gaze for too long.

But the longer I held it, the easier it became.

That was weird, but maybe it was the necklace’s doing. A fae shouldn’t have any trouble holding his gaze.