“Right up until the moment I walked into your office today.”

  She laughed again. “And what are you going to do about that?”

  “Something appropriately evil,” I said.

  Cherise’s lips twitched. “Ash, I can tell you and I are going to be friends.”

  I warmed at that, and my heart filled with a rush of emotion. I couldn’t explain it. Hell, I barely knew the woman. But something about her just invited me to trust her.

  And I did.

  Cherise spent the next twenty minutes giving me a full exam.

  By the end, there wasn’t an inch of me Cherise hadn’t seen.

  “Other than the stains on your hands, you look perfectly healthy,” she announced. “What about the parts I can’t see? Anything strange going on? Aches, pains?”

  I told her about the pain I’d felt after last night’s theatrics. And the way the magic seemed the most quiet after I’d slept. While I spoke, my skin began to tingle.

  Cherise gave a small gasp.

  I looked down at my hands to find the stains on my hands had spread to my arms. A quick peek underneath my shirt confirmed it had shown up there too. The color had deepened so that my entire torso looked like a ripened strawberry.

  “Does it hurt?” Cherise asked.

  “No,” I said.

  She reached out and touched my arm then drew away quickly as her finger began to change color to match the spot where she’d touched. “You’ve turned yourself into a berry,” she said. “Is this why you didn’t want to touch Amberly?”

  I nodded. “I can’t control what the magic does and I’d never forgive myself if I hurt someone.”

  Again.

  “How do I make it stop?” I asked miserably.

  She frowned. “I have a few ideas. First, tell me about your wolf.”

  “What about her?”

  For some reason, admitting my wolf was incommunicado made me uneasy. I trusted Cherise, so it wasn’t that. More embarrassment. What kind of alpha would I be if I admitted I didn’t have access to my wolf?

  “How’s she doing now that she’s sharing your body with a foreign entity?”

  I made a face. “I wouldn’t call the magic an entity.”

  “Why not? It’s an unfamiliar energy that is now suddenly sharing your space. I would think your wolf might feel a bit claustrophobic.”

  “She hasn’t said much. Mostly, she told me if the magic plans to stick around, it has to start paying rent.”

  She smiled, but the humor was short-lived. “I want you to listen to her, Ash. If our wolves feel threatened, which happens easily enough when someone tries moving in on our territory, it can make them harder to contain.”

  “You think my wolf considers the magic a threat?”

  “I think you should listen to your wolf. Notice her. Give her extra time at the wheel, so to speak. Unfortunately, I don’t have any answers for how to handle the magic, but I do know about handling wolves. Keeping yours calm will go a long way toward helping your body and your mind cope with what’s happened to you.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.

  “In the meantime, you can take this.” She handed me a jar of whatever she’d taken from the cupboard earlier, careful not to let her skin brush mine.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “Mugwort.”

  I made a face, and she laughed. “It’s not as disgusting as it sounds.”

  “What does it do?”

  “Several things. Most notably, it can be used for protection against evil spirits.”

  I looked at her questioningly.

  “You think the magic is evil?”

  “I think something is causing it to become aggressive when you’re in high-stress situations.” She handed me another jar, this one full of capsules.

  “What’s this one?”

  “CBD.” She chuckled. “You look surprised.”

  “No, it’s just so… normal.”

  “Not everything magical is, well, magical. CBD will help stabilize your moods and keep you calm enough that the magic can’t take you over again. Or, that’s my theory, anyway. Humans use it to relax their nervous system, and since we have double the brain receptors compared to them, it works even better on us.”

  “Thank you.” I clutched the jars like they were both worth millions. And if they helped me get control of this magic trying to kill me and everyone else in proximity, they were priceless.

  Cherise handed me a glass of water. I downed two of the CBD capsules and chewed a handful of the mugwort until I could swallow it too. It didn’t take long before my skin began returning to its normal color.

  I exhaled, relieved.

  Cherise stopped me before I could hop off the exam table.

  “This isn’t a permanent solution, you know.”

  I didn’t answer.

  “Have you thought at all about how you’re going to get rid of it?” she asked quietly.

  I bit my lip. “Actually, I’m not entirely sure that’s a good idea.”

  She didn’t seem at all surprised by my crazy-ass answer.

  “You want to keep it from them.”

  We both knew which them she meant.

  “I won’t give him the power to destroy us.”

  She sighed as if she’d known all along that’s what I would say. “Solid plan, darling. Unless, of course, the magic destroys you first.”

  Chapter Eight

  Kai and I left Cherise’s and took a longer route back through downtown, passing the police station-slash-jail where Kai had let himself be held voluntarily while we sorted out which one of us would become alpha and how to do it without killing each other—literally.

  Walking past the building, hand-in-hand, as equals, as alphas, was a full-circle moment that made me hopeful. We’d found a way then, and we’d find a way now. I was determined enough to make it happen.

  Especially after Cherise’s parting words.

  I didn’t want to admit she could be right. That the magic could very well destroy me. But hadn’t that nearly happened last night?

  I snuck a glance at Kai, my resolve strengthening as I studied his set jaw and strong shoulders.

  There had to be another way.

  “I can feel your gears turning,” Kai said, glancing over at me and catching me staring.

  My lips curved as I looked away.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “Are you sure?” he pressed. “You weren’t thinking how sorry you are for being insanely jealous of me and my boo Cherise?”

  “First of all, don’t ever say ‘boo’ in that context again. It’s weird.”

  He grinned.

  “And secondly, I was thinking it makes sense now why a town full of super-healing wolf shifters keep a doctor’s office so busy.” I looked over at him, my smile genuine this time as I added, “She’s amazing.”

  “I swear, I think she doubles as a therapist for most of us.”

  “You do have a lot of issues,” I said.

  He hip-shoved me and I laughed, dodging a girl passing us in the other direction. Tiffany, I realized belatedly. Her hands were full of rags and cleaning products. She gave me a scathing look before marching on wordlessly.

  What was her problem?

  “I’m sorry,” Kai said, pulling me back to the moment.

  “For what?” I asked.

  “For pushing you to heal Amberly. I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that.”

  “It’s fine. I know you just wanted to help her. So do I. But until I figure out what’s going on with me, I might do more harm than good.”

  “Yeah. I know the feeling.”

  I frowned and jumped aside as more pedestrians hurried around us.

  The sidewalks were crowded. Like yesterday, they seemed full of the ongoing construction and clean-up efforts. Unlike yesterday, though, today’s clean-up efforts were focused on new projects. Graffiti and damage that hadn’t been there before.

  What the hell?

  Up ahead, a crowd had gathered in front of one of the shops.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Not sure.” Kai’s brows furrowed, and he slowed to a stop in front of Silas, who stood glowering at a broken shop window. Through the glass, a large rock rested among the jewelry displayed.

  “Nice of you to show up,” Silas commented.

  “We were at the doc’s,” Kai said, and a few of the others fixed their curious gazes on me.

  Ignoring the looks, I focused on the broken store window. “What happened?”

  “Vandals,” Silas said flatly. “Joyriding, judging from the string of graffiti spray-painted on all the street signs.”

  I turned to look in the direction he pointed and saw what he meant. Every street sign from here to the end of the road was tagged in black cursive. I didn’t recognize the lettering.

  “This is the only window they broke?” Kai asked.

  Silas nodded. “Tori’s inside with Noah, giving a full report.”

  “She see anything?” Kai asked.

  Silas shook his head.

  The name rang a bell. Tori.

  The crystal shop, I realized. I’d never been inside, but Idrissa and Isaac had taken me into the little garden out back. I’d hidden out there when I’d first arrived in town.

  “Why her store?” I asked. “Why not the others?”

  “There was a note attached to the rock,” Silas said. He handed it over. “See for yourself.”

  I took it and smoothed out the crinkled paper, reading the words scrawled in black Sharpie.

  Death to hexes.

  I looked up at Silas, heart pounding. “They think she’s a witch?”

  “She sells crystals and herbs. I guess if you’re stupid, sure, you could stereotype that.” His expression was tight. He was pissed.

  Beside me, Kai was tense too.

  I couldn’t help remembering my conversation with Cherise from earlier. About how much worse it would have been in hexerei territory. But this kind of hate crime made me wonder if it wasn’t about to get just as dangerous here.

  “Tori’s a friend of yours,” I said, remembering what the twins had told me about helping her with the garden.

  “Yeah.” Kai ran a hand through his hair. “We went to school together.”

  “We should check on her,” I said.

  Kai nodded. “I want to find out what Noah has learned so far.”

  Kai started for the shop door, but I hung back, eyeing Silas.

  “What?” he snapped, angrier than usual. Or maybe it was just me. I still could never tell with him whether his distaste was personal or if he hated everyone equally.

  I waited until Kai had stepped away. The others who’d gathered had dispersed enough to give the illusion that they weren’t eavesdropping. It was as good as I’d get.

  “Does the pack… Do they blame me for this?” I asked quietly.

  Silas didn’t answer.

  I thought of the girl I’d passed earlier. And the looks I’d been ignoring before that. Part of me expected Silas to use the question to roast me. But he didn’t.

  He stepped in close, and his voice dropped to a heated whisper as he said, “They just want you to do something.”

  “What am I supposed to do? We’re already rebuilding the town.”

  “No, Kai is rebuilding. And using it as some backhanded campaign to cancel out the fact that he drags his knuckles around and yells at everyone.”

  I blinked, taken aback at the picture he’d painted. But I’d seen it myself, hadn’t I? Kai’s hot-cold mood swings. And the way he took out his temper on everyone around him. Even me.

  “He’s trying,” I said. “Besides, what are you doing to help? Besides hugging crying widows?”

  His eyes narrowed. “I’m not the alpha. You are.”

  “In case you missed the show last night, this magic is unstable. It’s taking everything I have to keep it from killing us all.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “How is that bullshit? I don’t know what else you expect me to do.”

  “Take control, dammit. You’re the alpha now, Ash. You’re in charge. Act like it.”

  He stepped back, chest heaving as he glared down at me.

  I didn’t answer.

  His words turned over in my mind, and it took all of a single glance at the damage behind him to realize he was right. I was the alpha of this pack, and what had I done about it so far? Hide? Let Kai handle things? Faint on a crowded lawn and allow myself to be carried away like some weakling?

  None of that was alpha behavior. And if I didn’t do something soon, it might not just be a rock through a window the next time.

  “Thanks, Si,” I said, which seemed to stun him just as much as it did me. Before he could answer, I turned on my heel and disappeared into the crystal shop.

  I walked slowly through the aisles of oils and stones, letting my eyes adjust to the dimmer lighting but mostly to digest what Silas had just said to me. Already, my mind was going a mile a minute with plans. Not all of which Kai was going to like. But it was time I stepped up.

  At the front counter, Kai stood beside Noah. Sheriff Copeland if I was feeling formal—and I was. On the other side of the glass counter stood a girl around my age. She had a pixie cut that spiked up on top and at least four piercings on her pretty face. My first thought was whether or not they stayed put when she was a wolf.

  She offered me a friendly wave as I walked up.

  “Hi,” I said as the conversation quieted. “I’m Ash.”

  “Tori Blackstone.”

  “I’m really sorry about what happened,” I told her.

  “Not your fault. Besides, my insurance will cover it.”

  She was being way too forgiving about it, and that only made me feel worse. “No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll cover it. Personally.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” she said at the same time Kai said, “Ash.”

  I avoided his gaze.

  “I want to,” I insisted.

  She shrugged. “Okay. Whatever you want.”

  I looked at Copeland. “Any idea who’s behind this?”

  “Actually, yes,” he said. “We installed outdoor cameras last year, but the feed was cut pretty soon after. We just restored them a few days ago as part of the clean-up efforts, so they caught it all.”

  He held up his phone, and I watched the screen as he pressed play. The shot was an aerial one, which meant the camera was probably mounted on the corner of the building, just below the roof.

  Two headlights illuminated the darkness, heading toward the camera. A car slowed and pulled over at the curb, and I watched as an arm shot out of the open driver’s window, and someone spray-painted the “no parking” sign. Then the car resumed its slow trek. After a couple of moments of creeping along, the car lurched to a full stop, and a rock was hurled from the open window, shattering the glass.

  There was no sound, but I still flinched as I watched the glass shatter and shards go flying.

  Then the car peeled off, driving quickly out of the frame.

  Noah paused the screen just before the car disappeared from the camera’s lens. From here, I could just make out a grainy license plate. He looked up at me as he said, “I ran the plate, and it came back registered to Vincent Brown.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  “You know him as Vinny,” Noah explained.

  “Are you kidding me?”

  Actually, I knew him as the guy who’d bitten me and triggered my wolf for the first time. Then, he’d led a small army against me at Drake’s bidding and basically tried to kill me and the twins. I had a lot of feelings about both incidents and opted to press charges against him.

  “I thought he was in jail,” I said.

  “His little brother, Anthony, bailed him out two days ago while he awaits trial.”

  “Why would you let that happen?” I demanded.

  “It’s pack law,” Noah said with a hard shrug. “You and Kai want it done differently, you have to declare it.”

  “We still haven’t reviewed pack policy on crimes against the alpha versus against pack members,” Kai told me.

  I sighed, shoving aside the frustration. He was right. This was on us. On me. “Yeah, fine, ugh, I get it.”

  “We need to do something,” Kai said quietly, “about what happened here.”

  He was looking at me, not the sheriff. In fact, Noah was looking at me too. They all were. I thought of Silas’ words outside. About taking action. About taking control.

  “Where are Vinny’s parents?” I asked.

  “Mother left when they were five. Dad is a regular at Bo’s,” Noah said then frowned. “Was a regular at Bo’s.”

  I did my best to ignore the reference to the fact that Bo’s was no longer standing. Because of me.

  “In other words, no role models to speak of,” I said in a tight voice.

  Noah shook his head.

  I sighed. “What’s the deal with Vinny’s brother, Anthony?”

  “Let’s just say they’re brothers in blood and in crime,” Kai said wryly.

  Noah held up the phone again, pointing at the paused footage. Even with the shitty angle, it was clear that two figures were in on the little joy ride.

  “Anthony was in the car with him.”

  I bit my lip, thinking. “How old is Anthony?”

  “Seventeen,” Noah said.

  Bingo.

  I looked at Tori. “On second thought, the brothers will pay for the damage. Anthony will work off his share here in the shop.”

  Her brow rose with skepticism. “You sure about that? The kid can’t keep a job.”

  “He’ll keep this one,” I promised.

  “How do you know?” she asked.

  I looked at Kai with a plan forming. “I’m going to make Vinny an offer he can’t refuse.”

  *.*.*

  Vinny’s house was about ten miles outside of town; a ranch style with missing shutters and enough mildew coating the siding to make me wonder if “moss green” wasn’t the color underneath too. The black sedan from the traffic cam video sat in the drive, its condition much rougher than the darkness had revealed in that recording—one rim missing, a crack in the windshield, and an extra tire lying flat in the front yard that I suspected had once been on the car, considering the sad-looking spare currently installed on the back left side.