She attempted a smile. Outside, a group of tourists walked past, bags swinging on their arms.
“No, it’s okay. He went missing for a few days. They all did. We’d reported them missing, and one of the search parties found the bodies. Joel was nowhere to be seen. I think I knew then, but I couldn’t face it. I’d half convinced myself that he’d gotten away.”
I couldn’t imagine the dread. The mix of hope and terror.
Kyla stretched, pointing her toes. “A few days later, I got home from work and he was waiting for me. He tried to pretend he was still human. That’s what I still can’t wrap my head around. He moved differently. His face was sharper, his eyes hungry. And he was trying to pretend he was human.”
“You must have been terrified.”
“Yeah. I played along for a while. I figured I needed him to relax, and I’d sneak away. But wolves… we can smell fear. I’d forgotten that. He was the one playing with me.”
“The son of a bitch.”
She let out a choked laugh and some of the tension left her face. “Yeah. Anyway, female wolves don’t survive the change. Most people know that. Especially in Michigan. There are a lot of werewolves in that part of the country. The odds of a guy surviving the change are incredibly small. The odds of a woman?” Kyla smiled and it was bitter. “He bit me, knowing that. Knowing that I would likely die, but willing to take the chance anyway. So he wouldn’t be alone, and I wouldn’t move on with my life without him.”
“Scum.”
“Yeah. I turned. And when I turned, I went half-feral. There was no one dominant enough to help me regain control. Just the man who’d almost killed me, who’d stolen my life from me. And it turned out he miscalculated, ’cause I was more dominant than him. I killed him.”
“Good.”
Kyla laughed. “Most people would think twice about working with a werewolf. Especially one who killed her ex.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re talking to a half-witch, half-demon ex-bounty hunter. What happened after you killed him?”
“I was… lost. I’d shifted for the first time, and I was running wild in Michigan. One of the local werewolves saw me and attempted to catch me.” She grinned. “I’m fast.”
My mind jumped back to the way she’d moved when she’d chased Greg down the street. “You sure are.”
“He reported me to his Alpha and then the chase was on. It got around to all the packs that there was a female werewolf. Nathaniel joined the hunt.”
I winced and she shook her head. “A lot of packs, they see a female wolf as a kind of status symbol. But Nathaniel wasn’t like that. He found me in Kentucky. Honestly, I’m lucky I hadn’t killed someone by then. I was half-starved. He didn’t seem to give a shit about status, he just wanted to make sure I was okay. He knew I was lost and afraid and as the word spread, I’d be hunted by every pack on this side of the country.”
“I can’t imagine.”
“Yeah. Anyway, Nathaniel had important shit to do, but he tracked me down and dragged me back here. Spoiler alert, I wasn’t exactly pleased by that turn of events,” she said, and I laughed. “But within a few months I could control my shift most of the time.”
She sighed and stared out the window for a long moment. “I guess that’s why I can sit outside a room and listen to him ask you to hire me. That’s why I’ve stayed so long, even though it chafes to live under his control. At the end of the day, he saved me.”
She glanced at me. “I guess I had to talk it through to get to that place. So thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” I tensed as one of the witches walked out of the hotel’s lobby. “Willow’s on the move.”
“Probably for a walk around the block. Get a bit of fresh air, clear her head.”
I started my car. “We follow her anyway. The same with any other witch who leaves. I want to know what they’re up to.”
I waited until she’d gotten to the corner and slowly pulled out of my spot as she turned left. She was walking slowly, her face turned up to the sun, as if savoring the feel of it.
I hit the gas to turn on the green, and was forced to slam my foot on the brake as a white van ran the red. I laid on my horn, and the van jumped the curb, smashing into Willow.
I was out of the car and running before I realized I’d moved.
Willow flew into the side of a building. I pulled my gun, aiming for the tires but the driver was already pulling out.
I threw my keys at Kyla. “Follow the van! Go!”
She caught them, her body a blur as she launched herself toward my car. I made it to Willow and dropped to my knees.
