“You’ll never have a chance to get close to her again,” Zack said. “She’s mine. You got it?”
Daniel growled and leaped up blindly, but Zack easily avoided him.
William stepped in front of Zack, clamped a hand around his neck and raised his arm until Zack’s feet dangled. “You might be even stupider than Daniel. I could waste you in a second and you dare cross me by antagonizing my recruit?”
Zack clutched at the hand clamping his throat.
“One more stunt like that and I’ll kill you myself,” William hissed.
The energy in the room seemed to change somehow, like the air became thicker. A pair of cowboy boots appeared in front of me.
“That won’t be necessary,” Charles said. “Put him down.”
William glared at the latest arrival, but complied. Zack rubbed his throat.
Great. Now we had three werewolves to contend with. If Charles became hostile, Zack and I would never make it. I closed my eyes as Charles approached me.
“Turning someone out of spite. That’s petty, even for you, William,” Charles said.
“I’m picking up a rogue wolf nearby,” William growled. “You were the only scout in the area, but you weren’t available. I needed help.”
Charles gave him a low, gravelly laugh. “Or you turned him, because you thought you’d use Daniel to hijack my recruit. I already warned you to stay away from Zack.”
“You must think I have nothing better to do.” William laughed, but there was no humor in it.
“Don’t you?” As Charles bent closer to me, his earthy scent became stronger. “She’s a pretty little thing. Zack, if you decide to turn her, make sure you get approval beforehand. I’m sure you went through the proper channels to change Daniel. Right, William?”
“Of course,” William answered in a voice slightly less steady than a moment ago.
“And I’m sure if I called your supervisor, he’d assure me of that. Or would Kyle tell me that you haven’t applied for a permit since Colorado about two years ago? If he asked me why I was inquiring, I’d tell him I was checking on something, but would get back to him within twenty-four hours.” Charles sighed, sounding immensely pleased. “If I disappeared for any reason, I imagine he’d check into the matter.”
I didn’t understand why a permit held such significance. But if it got William and Daniel out of the way, it was fine by me.
“You will leave this city, this state and not return for a minimum of six months,” Charles ordered. “If you do, I’ll have that talk with Kyle. Come to think of it, there are a few other things I’ve been meaning to discuss with him.” The fabric of his clothes rustled as he moved away from me. “You and your pup will leave tonight as soon as his eyes are healed. Daniel’s proven to be quite resourceful. If he can procure chloroform, I’m sure he can handle the situation without raising suspicions from the mortals. See it through, William. And if you ever bother one of my recruits again, I will make sure that the entire werewolf community knows all your dirty little secrets, especially King Mortimer.”
I heard William growl and drag Daniel away, then silence. One second… two seconds… three seconds.
“He’s the lowest of the low, even for a scout.” Charles made a low sound in his throat. “You’ll have to make something up to tell the girl, so she doesn’t involve the officials. They’d want to find out what she was given, which would involve blood tests and the pup will be their most promising suspect. We can’t have the mortals investigating one of our own.”
“Yes, sir,” Zack answered.
“Tell her she passed out. I’ll hang around a while to make sure William and his pup don’t come back or try anything else.”
Zack lifted me up off the concrete. I heard the car door open as he gently laid me in the passenger seat.
“Put the top up, so she isn’t noticed.”
“Yes, sir.” Zack went to the driver’s side and did as he was told. I stayed in the car seat, my head leaning against the window, while he straightened the shop and cleaned up spilled blood.
“If you need anything, call me. If you see William or Daniel again, I want to know right away.”
† † †
Zack and I didn’t speak a word on the way home as I pretended to be asleep. He cruised into the driveway of my house, parked and swiveled in his seat. If I carry you in, your neighbors might see and it would draw attention to us. It’s probably okay if our werewolf buddies see you awake now. Act weak. If we see Charles, he’ll assume you woke up during the drive.