Page 62 of Waifs And Strays
‘He is to all intents and purposes. You know that.’
I did, though I merely grunted in response. ‘Some won’t be celebrating. They’ll be terrified that if this could happen to Nick it could happen to them.’
‘Everyone has a weak point,’ he agreed. ‘Even old Bruce MacTire had one when he collapsed and died of a heart attack.’
I felt Thane’s eyes on me and wondered if he’d picked up on an atmosphere between Alexander and me that suggested that I’d induced Bruce MacTire’s coronary. I would never confirm it, not to anyone.
Fortunately Thane moved on to a more immediate matter. ‘What the fuck are we waiting for?’ he muttered. ‘Whoever is inthat building knows we’re here and the jig is up.’ He glanced around with undisguised impatience. ‘The longer we wait, the more chance there is that the demon-worshipping bastards will kill Nick. We should get in there before that happens.’
I was inclined to agree. This scenario was exactly why I’d wanted to keep Alexander MacTire out of it: too many people were involved, and too many people meant too many variables. I hated situations that I couldn’t control.
‘There is a reason why we haven’t made a move yet,’ Samantha said from directly behind us.
I jumped; I hadn’t realised she was there although Thane obviously had, and had probably voiced his complaint so that she would hear it.
She pointed to the building. ‘I’d have thought that you’d already have noticed, Barrow. Why don’t you go closer and see for yourself?’
Thane frowned then walked stiffly across the road. Since we’d arrived, nobody had attempted to get that close to the grey concrete building. I suspected I knew why, but I wanted to see if Thane’s approach encouraged any sign of life at the eight windows that looked out from the two-storey façade.
There was nothing. ‘You’re sure this is where Umbra is holed up?’ I asked Samantha in an undertone.
‘Oh, yes.’ She was gazing at Thane with glee. ‘It absolutely reeks of that bastard assassin. His scent is all over this place.’
Thane jerked to a halt and started choking, then his knees gave way and he collapsed. ‘Plus,’ she said, with an arch grin, ‘it’s ringed with concentrated wolfsbane. I can’t think of any reason why anyone would go to that sort of expense unless they were expecting an army of werewolves to show up at their door.’
Well, shit. I darted forward to Thane, hooked him beneath his armpits and dragged him back across the road with his feettrailing behind him. There was a chorus of snide laughs from the watching werewolves. I wasn’t surprised that a lot of them were inclined to take against Thane – a lone wolf went against everything they stood for – but they didn’t need to be so obvious about it.
‘How does it feel to be rescued by a cat lady, Barrow?’ somebody shouted.
My eyes narrowed. Clearly my reputation had preceded me. Usually I’d have been quite happy about that – after all, it was the persona I cultivated – but I was annoyed on Thane’s behalf. None of those other werewolves had dared to get close to the damned wolfsbane.
Thane coughed and wheezed, his eyes red and streaming with tears. ‘Fuck!’ he spat. ‘That’s strong stuff.’
‘You must have known what it was before you got close to it,’ I told him. ‘Why did you keep going?’
‘I wanted to see how potent it was.’ In other words, he’d wanted to see if he could play hero in front of the schoolyard bullies and push past the barrier. Idiot.
‘I guess that now you know.’
‘I guess I do.’ He coughed again.
My eyes landed on Alexander MacTire, who didn’t appear even faintly amused. His arms were folded and his expression was tight. I assumed he had a plan; doubtless he was waiting for a group of expensive – albeit highly trained – witches to cast a web of spells to nullify the wolfsbane. That would take hours, and I wasn’t sure he was seeing the bigger picture.
I dropped Thane, leaving him to recover, and stalked towards the MacTire alpha. Before I got close, two of his minions stepped in my path. ‘He’s not talking to you,’ one of them growled.
I rolled my eyes but MacTire was already beckoning me forward. ‘Your boyfriend is a fool for getting so close,’ he said.
I didn’t bother to rise to the bait. ‘If Umbra are prepared to scatter that amount of wolfsbane around that house, they’ll be prepared for you to eventually break through. They’ll be armed with silver – I can almost guarantee it.’
He scratched his chin. ‘That’s a risk I’m willing to take.’
I sighed. I didn’t need to tell Alexander MacTire that silver in its purest form was lethal to every werewolf on the planet. ‘How many lives are you willing to risk?’ I countered. ‘How many other lives is one teenager worth?’
MacTire bared his teeth and two patches of fur appeared on his cheekbones. There was a shocked murmur amongst the werewolves from the other packs; I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t known just how powerful the MacTire alpha was. ‘You’re giving yourself away,’ I said.
He dipped his head and raised his hands, not to threaten me but to show everyone what he was capable of. When his fingers twisted and sharp claws emerged, there was another collective gasp. ‘Nicholas is my nephew,’ he said. ‘He is one of mine. I would do the same for anyone in my pack.’
I held my ground. ‘Nick isn’t in your pack.’
