Asher
To the unobservant eye, the house is exactly as Victoria says. Her ho.
But it doesn't take much effort to scratch at the lie.
Devoid of personal effects, lacking the clutter everyone's living space acquired. Every piece of silverware is accounted for. There are no scratches on any of the cookware. Even the closets are eerily empty.
The cleaning supplies located under the kitchen sink are all brand new. There's no bag in the trash can, and the box of replacents is unopened.
No vacuum. No broom.
Everything you'd consider a daily necessity of life is missing. There are extra sheets in the linen closet and a small stack of towels, as if this is a guest house, not a ho.
The fading light casts long shadows across the room. Fenris's hackles raise from his position by the door. He's been tense since we arrived.
, too.
My phone vibrates against my thigh. Another ssage.
The screen illuminates with a photo—Violet, pale and vulnerable against hospital sheets. Her blonde hair fans across the pillow, eyes closed, chest rising in shallow breaths. The rainbow-haired nuisance sits nearby, book in hand, watching over what's mine.
I zoom in on Violet's face with my thumb, tracing the curve of her cheek through the screen. A poor substitute for the real thing. The longing to touch her, to breathe in her unique blueberry scent claws at my chest.
Being apart is agony, growing worse with every hour.
"She'd be safer with ."
Fenris growls his agreent. If it wasn't for the strangeness of this place, he would have run to the hospital, doing his damnedest to sneak in regardless of their position on animals.
I scroll through previous ssages; it's been hours since Echo contacted directly, leaving reliant on the Fiddleback contact, a nurse at the hospital who sends photos like clockwork but offers no real information.
Of course, Violet is sleeping. There isn't much to report. But it still rankles.
My jaw tightens. This arrangent is intolerable. Once I get Violet to Lycan territory, under my protection, surrounded by people I trust...
A hiccup breaks my concentration.
The wizard kneels before , a pathetic sight with his trembling hands clenched atop bony knees. Jasper keeps his gaze fixed on the floor, shoulders hunched as if expecting a blow.
"Look at when I speak to you." His groveling only makes my distaste for him grow.
Jasper's head jerks up, his glasses sliding down his nose. Behind the tinted lenses, his eyes hold a strange, foggy quality. The familiar, harsh scent of fear radiates off him like waves.
"Explain it again." I set my phone face-down beside . "And this ti, make sense."
"Y-yes, Your Majesty. Er, High Alpha." A full-body shudder runs through him. "There's sothing interfering with the magical currents in this region."
"What kind of sothing?"
"I… cannot say, High Alpha. It's old. And s-strange. Not natural." His voice cracks.
"Define strange."
"As I've explained before, magic has signatures. Textures. Like scent, for you." His hands shake, the knuckles turning pale, despite my reasonable attitude as I listen to his explanation for a second ti. "Normal magic is clean. This is ssy. Like a blurry photo. Or static."
I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "You said it was interfering with Violet's location earlier."
Jasper nods.
"But it's stronger here?"
He nods again, his head jerking like a puppet. "It's concentrated here. I thought it was s-strong near the c-campground, but…"
"Stop stuttering."
"Y-yes, High Alpha."
Rubbing at my eyebrow, I sigh. "And you don't know what it could be? How do you know it's old?"
"It just feels… old." The copper wires of his glasses catch the light as he swallows.
"Could it be so sort of trap?"
"No." For the first ti, his voice carries conviction. "Not a spell. It's older. A presence. Sothing which affects everything inside of its boundaries."
My nostrils flare, testing the air. All I sll is the stale emptiness of this staged house, the wizard's fear-sweat, and a faint chemical tang clinging to the new furnishings, almost plastic.
"And this affects your tracking abilities how?"
"It's like... trying to see through m-murky water." His fingers twitch, his confidence already gone. "Signals get lost. Distorted. When I tried to focus on your... on the girl, there was... interference."
"Her na is Violet."
"Uh. Yes. G-Violet." He pushes his glasses higher. "When I try to track her, sothing pushes back. It's why I couldn't get a clear location until we were practically on top of her."
My phone buzzes again. Another update. Sa format. Different angle of the sa scene—Violet sleeping, Echo reading.
Even with these updates, I feel uneasy. Why is the rainbow-haired brat no longer ssaging ?
She's been silent since I left the area.
Does she really think she can get by with ignoring ?
My jaw tightens as I pick up my phone again. Enough of this silence. I swipe to Echo's contact and type out a ssage with more force than necessary.
[Asher: Any dical updates on Violet? Real ones, not just photos.]
The ssage sits there, undelivered.
I rub at my eyebrow again, waiting. But she doesn't read it, or respond.
The audacity of Violet's little nuisance.
[Asher: If anything changes with her condition, I expect to be inford imdiately.]
Still nothing.
I slam the phone down beside , causing Jasper to flinch violently, nearly toppling backward.
"You'll be joining us for the banquet tonight," I say absently, my mind still on Violet.
"M-?" Jasper's voice cracks. "I don't usually... I an, I'm not typically invited to—"
"It wasn't a request."
He swallows. "Y-yes, High Alpha."
Which brings to another annoying issue: the Blue Mountain pup who dared to spirit my Violet away. He's been tucked away upstairs since our arrival.
He can't be left unsupervised.
I reach for the link I share with Wolf-Eye. Our connection snaps into place imdiately.
Bring Evan to the banquet tonight. Keep him in your sight at all tis.
A beat of silence, then Wolf-Eye's consciousness floods with irritation.
Seriously? Now? His ntal voice sounds strained.
I frown.
Is there a problem with my order?
An exasperated groan fills my head. Can you stop interrupting at the most awkward fucking tis?
I narrow my eyes, even though he can't see . What could possibly be so—
I'm fucking Victoria, what else would I be doing? The impatience in his voice is tangible. You've been inspecting every nook and cranny of this place for hours, and I needed to keep her out of the way.
The ntal image accompanying his words is unwelco and explicit.
Of course, had I not been distracted and thought about Wolf-Eye's disappearance even for a second, it would be obvious what his intentions were the mont he said he was looking for Victoria.
The man's a beast, even for a Lycan.
My lip curls, and I can feel Fenris rumbling his disapproval as well. Rember who you're speaking to.
Of course, High Alpha. My beta's words drip with sarcasm, but there's a note of contrition beneath it. I'll collect the pup. Just give a few minutes to... finish up.
Fine.
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