“Or a curse,” Holly finished for her. In an instant, she knew. The moonlust, the sickness that had infected Jacob’s father and was now eating its way through Jacob…it was no accident. Hunter Robin Hoyte had come to Etna to destroy the clan and this spell had been his ticket to do just that. After all, a clan without an Alpha was weak, vulnerable.
Clearly, he hadn’t counted on someone as strong as Jacob to take the helm. Nor had he counted on an Alpha’s mate as persistent and determined to get to the bottom of it as Holly was.
“Do you have any idea where we might find it?” Holly said, her heart hammering in her chest. If they could find the talisman and destroy it…that could be the end of this terrible moonlust. A normal life with her shifter husband. Imagine that.
“That’s the thing,” Trish said, rubbing the back of her neck. “Cayden said he’s seen it before. His mom—Miranda. She has it.”
Holly felt she’d swallowed a pound of dry ice. Miranda. Of course. They had finally discovered a medallion that—potentially—held the source of Jacob’s curse and, if destroyed, could possibly break it. And Miranda, of all people, had it. Prying it out of her claws would be nearly impossible.
As if she read Holly’s mind, Trish broke in excitedly, “Look…Cayden likes me. It’s that…macho animal thing. He thinks I’m a challenge or something. I don’t think he’s put two and two together and figured out the whole curse thing. If I can get him to get the talisman for me—”
“No,” Holly cut her off quickly. “You’ve done enough, Trish. You’ve done plenty. Thank you for this, but…I don’t want you any more involved that you already are.”
Disappointment that fell like a shadow across Trish’s face—the young girl was probably used to sitting on the sidelines. Still, as much as Holly wanted to nurture Trish’s bursting independence, she wasn’t about to get this girl involved in something potentially dangerous. Trish, maybe, was used to animals, shifters who fought with their teeth bared and claws extended, but as far as Holly was concerned, Cayden and Miranda were dangerous and she needed to stay as far away from them as possible.
“Yes, ma’am,” Trish grumbled.
Holly felt a sting of guilt, but what could she do? She’d already half-broken the rules by letting Trish tag along with her to campus. Best to nip this in the bud while she still could. Holly slung her bag over her shoulder and moved to the door, but not before she swooped an arm around Trish and gave her a small side-squeeze. “Come on,” Holly said, trying to lift the young girl’s spirits. “Let’s go make sure the ranch hasn’t burned down without us, huh?”
Trish linked her arm in the older woman’s, falling in line. Before they left, Holly snagged the printout and crumpled it in her hand, discreetly shoving it in her bag.
Chapter 55
The problem with ousting your backstabbing brother, Jacob thought, was that he was—after all—your brother and, sooner or later, you were going to run into him.
Brent, thankfully, had left with a whimper instead of a bang. After an uncomfortable clan meeting during which Jacob had informed everyone that Brent was banned from the ranch, Brent had packed his things and, days later, his place was empty. Still a shit heap; Jacob half-wondered if they’d have to get men in hazmat suits to come clean the empty beer bottles and dirty dishes and yellow cigarette-stained wallpaper, but Brent was gone. The rest of the clan had to pick up the slack to cover his duties (which were extensive), Jacob’s house calls were quiet, and family gatherings were just a little less fun.
But he’d made the right choice, Jacob told himself. Brent had thrown him into a setup and left him to fend for himself against a couple of cougars. He’d nearly killed Jacob. And he had to be punished for it.
Of course, it was only a matter of time before Brent showed up again. Jacob had returned from his job with Cassidy (Holly wasn’t home yet—strange) and was washing the day off of him when his phone buzzed with a text, vibrating loudly on the fiberglass sink.
[SMS: Cassidy] Lighting the fire pit up 2nite, u in?
Towel loose around his hips, Jacob poked out the words (I’ll be there) into his phone and sent the message. He felt a little better with the dirt and grime of his work day off of him, felt a little more human.
(Human. That was the important part.)
And where was Holly—?
He’d feel it if she were in trouble, he reasoned with himself. The mark worked both ways. Her scar would burn if something was wrong with him, and he would feel it, instinctually, in the pit of his stomach, if something was wrong with her. That was the bond that connected them, invisible but, in a very real way, there. Internally, he felt quiet, no warning beacons going off with regard to Holly. She wasn’t in trouble; she was just late.