Taking on Tory(27)

He watched as her eyelashes fluttered as she fought against the obvious exhaustion dragging at her. He could smell Drayton’s scent on her. There were several marks on her neck and shoulder. Some fresh, while others were probably a few days old.

“Alexandru?” Tory whispered. She blinked several times. “What are you doing here? Did you find the pieces that you were looking for?”

“I found more than I expected,” Alexandru replied in a voice filled with strain. “How long has he kept you here?”

“Who? Simon? He… it was the full moon,” she whispered. “I’m so tired. Can we talk about this later?”

“Tory,” Alexandru said in a sharper voice. “What happened?”

“Ms. Carson?” A low voice called as the door opened. "Are you alright?”

Alexandru stood up and turned as the bedroom door swung inward. His eyes locked on the dark haired human male who stopped in surprise when he saw Alexandru standing next to the bed.

Alexandru hissed and flew across the room. Gripping Youssef by the throat, he held him up against the wall. His teeth lengthened and his fingers squeezed when the other man tried to call out for help.

“Tell Drayton I will be back for him,” Alexandru snarled. “I am going to rip him apart for what he has done to my sister. Tell him!”

Alexandru held Youssef’s throat until the human lost consciousness. Only then did he drop him. Turning on his heel, he returned to the bed where he scooped Tory’s limp body up into his arms.

“Open a door to Magic,” Alexandru commanded.

The spell wove out from him as if recognizing the urgency behind it. The moment the portal opened, he stepped through it. His first priority was to Tory. He needed to get her as far away from Drayton as possible. Once he knew that she was safe, he would return and when he did, Drayton would die.

A long, forlorn howl echoed behind him as the portal closed. A smile curved Alexandru’s lips. If he was lucky, the wolf would come to him.





Chapter 12


Simon glanced out the window of the helicopter at the house below him. Red dust swirled, casting a cloud as it began to lower. His fingers curled into his palms as he fought the fear threatening to choke him.

He hadn’t been afraid since he was a young, half-starved, beaten boy. Not even when he had been changed into a Werewolf had he felt the fear that was now threatening to consume him. What if she refused to see him? What if she denied his claim? What if she… didn’t love him in return?

“Are you sure about this?” Youssef asked through the headset. “I will do what I can to protect you, Simon, but I doubt it will be enough to slow them down.”

Simon turned his gaze to his friend’s face. A calm mask of acceptance was reflected on Youssef’s face. Youssef believed that they would both die today. He had fought against Simon coming to Magic, New Mexico. When he realized that Simon wouldn’t stop until he had Tory back at his side, Youssef had insisted on going with him.

The only thing giving Simon hope was the strange visitor he had found in his office this morning. The woman had sported the brightest pink hair he had ever seen and wore an outfit that looked suspiciously like she was going on safari… in the 1930s. She had been sitting at his desk, reading through the research he had gathered on Magic, New Mexico when he walked in.

*.*.*

“Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?”

He remembered demanding as he paused in shock in the doorway to his downstairs office. He had been finalizing his trip to get Tory when Youssef had called him away. His eyes had swung from her to the bundle of information that should have been neatly stored in the large envelope where he had placed it.

“Oh, I had forgotten all about Alicia’s joke that one Halloween,” the strange woman giggled. “She turned the entire population of rabbits into Jack-o-lopes for the evening. It became quite the legend.”

“Who are you?” Simon demanded again as he stepped into the room and shut the door.

“I’m Tory’s Great Aunt Topper, dear. Come in and have a seat,” she said with a wave of her hand.

Simon froze. The large chair that he preferred to sit in when he wasn’t at his desk rose suddenly and scurried across the floor. It didn’t slide across. It had risen up and walked across it as if the chair legs had suddenly become… legs.

“Well, sit down,” Topper said, resting her chin on her palm. “I don’t have all day. I’m supposed to be on a scouting mission in Africa with the Fates.”

“The Fates?” Simon asked faintly, growling when his favorite chair knocked the other chair out of the way. The move caught him off guard and he sat down heavily in the overstuffed seat. “Where is Tory?”