But that was before I knew that I was transitioning into a werewolf. Before I knew that the hunter had betrayed me.

Because I couldn’t hunt Jakub on my own. Not only did I not have the skill set to do it, but alone I would be vulnerable. However, with the hunter at my side . . .

My chair scraped against the floor when I abruptly stood. I winced at the sound. I hadn’t meant to move my seat that harshly, but the thought of hunting Jakub with Kaillen . . . how could I? Undertaking that would require trust and teamwork.

Before last night, I might have thought we’d be up to it, but now?

Now, I no longer knew what to believe and what was a lie. Although my newly budding gift of being able to scent emotions could help with that.

I took a deep breath, once again being reminded of how fucked up my life had become.

I glanced down, then gaped at the fresh gouges on the wood floor right where I’d pushed my chair back.

My jaw dropped. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry, but I apparently just scraped out part of your floor.” I inspected the stool’s legs, my heart quickening even more. “And I also shaved off the bottom of your stool.” I set it down, my hands growing clammy at what the damage implied.

“It’s fine,” he said calmly.

But my heart just beat faster.

“Your increasing strength will also become something you’ll have to learn to manage.”

“You don’t say,” I replied dryly, bitterly, angrily. Because not only did I have my awakening power to contend with, but now this too? Just when I least needed it.

I took my dirty dishes to the sink on stiff legs.

Kaillen stood only two feet away, his body rippling with tension and the energy off of him soaring. That ashy scent again coated my tongue.

Shaking my head, I refused to meet his gaze. “I’ll be ready in five minutes to meet with Klebus.”

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 2

When I was ready to go, Kaillen conjured one of his portals in his living room. The golden void appeared as he whirled his yellow crystal.

“How come you can conjure portals in your actual home but not in your man cave in Portland?” I asked as I watched him.

“Different magic. I crafted the wards here from ancient tomes with more complicated spells.” He put his crystal back into his pocket as his portal waited in front of him. “It takes more time to craft wards like these and it also takes regular maintenance, but they’re stronger than the ones in Portland, and they allow me to move through them more easily, which is convenient when I want to get home in a hurry.”

Home. He considered this place his home, not Oak Trembler. And I could hardly blame him. His older brothers had regularly bullied him, and his pack hated him. Only his sister, Ocean, and his father had showed any kindness to him. I wouldn’t call that place home either if I were in his shoes.

Shaking those thoughts off, I stepped forward.

Kaillen offered me his hand, like he usually did when the swirling yellow portal waited before us, but I brushed past him and leaped into it.

I welcomed the distracting sensations of jolting and popping, until I scented the hunter beside me. His scent was so potent and raw. Ugh, how was I ever going to get used to these new sensations?

His hand touched mine, then his fingers entwined around my fingers until he held me tightly. Holding onto me wasn’t an absolute necessity, but I knew he felt better having close contact with me in his portals.

The portal plopped us out onto the sidewalk outside of the familiar SF office in Chicago. I removed my hand from his the second my feet touched solid ground, because I didn’t want to think about how nice it felt to have him touch me again.

Crimson and marigold leaves fluttered on the sidewalk, their dry and decaying scents filtering through the air.

Looming ahead of us, the Supernatural Forces’ office waited behind the mom-and-pop barbershop façade. I took a step forward, then came to a jolting stop.

I wasn’t wearing my cloaking spell that hid the strength of my witch magic.

For the past two weeks, I’d lived as I was. No cloaking spell to hide my witch scent. No worries of anyone detecting how strong I was. But that had been in Ontario where nobody knew me, and this was Chicago where everyone knew me.

Grumbling, I whispered the spell to activate the shroud that would conceal my witch powers and hopefully my new werewolf scent too, then strode forward, not waiting for the hunter as I stepped over the threshold.

The SF’s familiar illusion magic tugged at my skin, prickling my senses. A lemony scent tinged with a sharper, more noxious odor—almost like burnt plastic—assaulted me. The illusion spell that veiled the office vanished, and with a jolt, I realized that smell had been the spell. I’d just scented the illusion.

“Hi, Tala!” Shelley called from the front desk. Even though she was on the other side of the foyer, I could clearly read the name plaque in front of her.

Now, the sharpened eyesight from my impending shift I didn’t mind, but the never-ending onslaught of smells? That I could do without.

Loosening a breath, I greeted Shelley when she came around her desk and handed over a bag with my cell phone. “Commander Klebus said you may want this since you’re no longer at a safe house.”

“Oh my gods, yes.” I lunged for the bag. My turquoise cell phone case flashed in the light, but the second I pulled it out, my excitement vanished. My phone was dead, not surprising since I hadn’t used it in weeks, but I itched to call Prisha. I hadn’t spoken to her since going into hiding, and our only communication had been through old-fashioned letters that the SF had delivered.

The energy of a sudden presence looming behind me, along with the scent of citrus and cedar lacing it, told me that Mr. Silent Hunter was at my back, finally joining me.

Shelley’s eyes widened, no doubt taking in the hunter’s glare and haggard appearance. He hated this place about as much as one hated chlamydia.

“I’ll take you back to meet with the commander.” Shelley ushered us down the hall, bumping into her desk along the way before she resumed her brisk footsteps.

When we reached the back offices, Commander Klebus stood from behind her desk as Shelley waved us through the door. As usual, the vampire commander’s blue eyes looked bright and astute, and her golden complexion—paled from her vampire transformation—shone in the overhead lights.

Klebus waved at the two chairs in front of her desk. “I was hoping you two would arrive shortly.”

Neither Kaillen nor I replied as we sat.

The commander’s expression turned grave after she’d settled back onto her seat. “I’m sorry to hear about what happened in Oak Trembler. I’ve spoken with your father.” She inclined her head toward the hunter. “Paxton’s dealing with those who betrayed Tala.”

The hunter didn’t reply, but his nostrils flared and that sharp metallic scent wafted up again. That scent had to be anger.

Despite Commander Klebus’s assurances that Cameron was being dealt with, I knew the hunter planned to deal with his oldest brother on his own. Kaillen had promised to kill him, although, I didn’t know if he would actually go so far as eliminating his brother.

That threat had been made right after Kaillen had rescued me. He’d said it in the heat of the moment. But werewolf law would justify the hunter murdering his own brother. Because of Cameron, I’d nearly become enslaved to Jakub, and an atrocity like that against a wolf’s mate was abhorrent. Pack law, and even the supernatural court’s laws, would allow the hunter his retribution—if he chose to claim it.