There was no way they hadn’t noticed our clan leader’s decline. The entire clan had felt the repercussions. In the end, they’d left me to deal with it. Hadn’t that been my duty as the heir, anyway?
This time, duty fell on me for another reason. My desperation forced my hand. If only I could have stood up to my brother. Instead, I yearned for the chance to reason with him.
Outside Bad Moon Café, a scent reached my nose. I paused and peered down the alleyway between the buildings. Before Connor could run into me, I palmed his face and brought him to a halt. He grumbled under my hand, but his voice was muted by my grasp. I held my finger to my lips before letting him go.
The scent grew stronger. I could feel Connor bristle, the tension in the air growing thicker, as he realized what was ahead of us.
Anger simmered under my skin. It flooded my mind the moment I saw Harvey kneeling beside Ness’s car. I surged forward and grabbed ahold of the back of his shirt. He acted quickly, throwing up his arms. Harvey slithered out of his shirt and rolled away.
Something dropped to the ground between us. A black stone sparked with magic. It made the air heavy. I struggled to breathe in its presence. Harvey glanced at the stone then looked to Ness’s car. He hesitated.
I chose that moment to strike. I rushed Harvey. He leapt to his feet and vaulted over a nearby car. My beast snarled and poured power into my legs. I jumped clear over the car and crashed into Harvey’s back. He crumpled to the ground with me on top of him.
Pulling back my clenched fist, I paused. Ness’s voice command rang through my head again. It sent a ripple through me that stiffened every muscle in my body.
Harvey bucked and threw me off. The spell broke when I hit the ground. My skull throbbed as I picked myself up. By the time I got back onto my own two feet, Harvey was gone.
Connor used the hem of his shirt to pick up the black stone before approaching me. He lifted a brow quizzically, but I could see the gears working behind his eyes.
“Ness did something to you,” he said.
I said nothing. The beast pushed me in Harvey’s direction. The rat’s scent still hung in the air. It would be easy to track him down. However, the glimmer of the stone cupped in Connor’s hand left me uneasy. Harvey almost put that on Ness’s car.
I had no idea what it would do, but the potion-maker inside would know exactly what it was for. I yanked a handkerchief from my pocket and took the stone from Connor. The waffle bags were akimbo, but I picked them up and scanned them for any leakage. It seemed like some maple syrup had escaped its container, but stickiness was the least of my worries while this stone pulsed in my hand.
Inside, the conversation halted. Three women looked up at me with a range of irritation and confusion. I tossed the stone down onto the counter for all to see since the café was empty.
Ness cocked her head. The girl with the short blond hair leaned forward for a closer peek before throwing a hand over her mouth like she’d just vomited. The potion-maker, however, stared with wide eyes.
She knew exactly what it was.
“Where did you find that?” she asked, her voice tight as if it were constricted in her throat.
“The Alpha’s cum stain was trying to attach that to Ness’s car.” My lip curled. A wave of tension rippled over me, a hunger for blood gripping my core tight.
If I ever saw that man again, I was going to make sure he didn’t have enough fingers left to ever lay a hand on anyone ever again.
Ness blinked. “C-cum stain?”
Connor spoke up. “Harvey. He means Harvey.”
The girl with the pixie cut cackled in the background. She laughed so hard that she had to sit down on the floor behind the counter. Her glee lightened the mood in the room, but only barely. The potion-maker stared at the black stone as if there were no one else in the room.
“What is it, Cerri?” Ness asked.
I added, “What does it do?”
Cerri’s lips twisted to the side. “I can’t say for sure, but I can tell you that it won’t do anything good. There’s only one person in Lakesedge who can make curses like that.”
The room fell silent. No one dared draw a breath in the stone’s vicinity. Then, Ness broke the silence.
“Curse?”
Cerri nodded. The bell over the door chimed and everyone stiffened. The brunette that paused in the doorway glanced between those present. When Ness, Cerri, and the vixen on the floor relaxed, I did as well.
“What did I just walk into?” the brunette asked.
“Just the person I need,” Cerri said.