The werewolf was incensed. Maddened. With little care for gentleness, he grabbed a hold of her forearm and dragged her towards the door, past the bodies of his dead subjects. Evie knew better than to put up a fight. Lorcan would have her head for less.
Lorcan, as in the King of the werewolves. She supposed she could take on a werewolf on the best of days- even thirty years out of practice. Only she didn't stand a chance against him.
She'd heard tales of the werewolf royals before. Back on Veneficus, they were said to be vicious fighters who never gave up on a hunt.
She was the hunt.
Just my freaking luck.
The bell chimed over their heads as he continued to drag her. Acting rashly, she put her foot down.
"At least let me lock the place up before you drag me off to the chopping block." What was she doing? Reasoning with a werewolf was madness. He wouldn't understand. He'd kill her for her impertinence if not for her species. "Please, it will only take two minutes. I don't want to get robbed."
He spared a glance up. The sign read Witchy Woo. He glanced between the witch and the building. Then- after taking a deep breath- he let her go.
Evie wasn't taking her chances with a thank you.
She hastened forwards with the key before he could change his mind.
Past worries returned to her. Modern witches were defined by the power they were born with. Evie was born with foresight. It was at times like this she wished for something helpful. Something she could fight with. Like the ability to teleport away. Or- like her Queen- blood control.
Fat lot of good seeing the future did when she couldn't see her bloody own.
She took her time sliding the key into the lock, contemplating her options. She could run—but the werewolf would catch her, and then he would punish her. Witches had never been valued much for their speed, unlike the werewolves who were pretty much born to run. Maybe she could sit down on the pavement. Adam said that was what they recommended during kidnappings.
But that was against mortal men. Immortal men were different. Royal werewolves belonged in a category of their own.
Lorcan would just lift her, sling her over his shoulder and make her regret it.
When she finished locking up, she turned back to him with dread. He was watching her, his palm held out expectantly.
"What?"
She stumbled backwards.
"The key, Evette."
Her old friend irritation came a-calling.
"That's not my name."
"I don't care what your name is witch. Give me the key."
She held it tighter. "Why would you want the key to a tacky mortal shop? There's nothing of worth in there."
At least not for him. For Evie, that shop was her life.
He wasn't breaking. Sighing, she dropped the key into his palm, likely to never see it again.
After pocketing it, he resumed that hold on her arm.
Her heart ached a little, knowing that was it. That key would sit uselessly in his pocket until he got rid of it. To him, her shop was nothing.
"Which one of them is yours?" His eyes raked across the cars. When his gaze lingered on the black range rover down the street, she figured which he was going for. Prepare to be disappointed, asshole.
"I don't have one," She lied. "I catch the bus. Cardio's good for the heart." To herself, she added, "Gotta get those steps up."
"I can hear your heartbeat witch." He heard the lie in its rapid pounding. "The truth this time."
"Or what?"
"I don't like to repeat myself."
Right, he'd kill her friends. How could she forget?
She pointed towards a yellow Volkswagen beetle. Looking between the man and the car, she wasn't entirely sure that the man would fit. He wasn't bulky, but he was huge. His biceps alone were enormous. He clearly thought the same thing. She could've sworn she'd seen a muscle in his jaw tic.
Pity. If she'd known she'd be kidnapped by a werewolf in advance, she could've prepared.
He prodded her forwards. On her way to the driver's side, she made her mind up. She was going to run. It was her only option. But he knew it was coming.
Towering over the car, he gave her a look of warning. "Don't even try it witch. You could never outrun me."
"You can't know that."
"I can run for miles without tiring." He looked her up and down. "I doubt you'd last five minutes." Okay, rude. The fact that it was true didn't even matter. He was a bastard all the same. "And should you by chance evade me, I'd track you by scent." She was hit by the odd need to smell herself.
"I could mystically cover my tracks."
He sneered over the car roof. "Do you think your magics would hide you from a King?"
Yep, she hated him. It was decided.
But that did spark the suspicion. How had he found her? Evie wasn't stupid. If her magic had covered her for the last thirty years, then it should still be ticking by just fine. She refused to believe the werewolves had succeeded in what no other species could. Definitely not with their lack of magical knowledge. There was something more here.
The wolves knew nothing about magic.
Stiffly, she slipped into the car. At least she got some enjoyment from watching him struggle.
"Where to, your highness? There's a taxidermists down the road. I could drop you off there for free."
She'd pay out of her own pocket to see this wolf be culled and stuffed.
"Watch it witch," He said, still struggling with the whole height issue at hand. "You don't need your tongue to be bait."
It would regrow- with time- but still.
Her hands clenched around the wheel.
It was worse this way. He was having her drive to her own doom.
Talk about torture techniques...
"Where to?"
"How do you communicate with your Queen?"
She had no choice but to tell him. Those overhanging threats and all. "The old fashioned way."
"By book?"
"Yes."
Witches, and most other species, communicated by enchanted books. All she had to do was write in her copy and Annaliese would see it in another. Likewise, anything her Queen wrote would appear in Evie's copy. Veneficus avoided reliance on phones. They were too easy to intercept.
"Where is it?"
"At my home."
"Then you'll take me there."
"You want to go to my home?"
"Is there a problem with that?"
Yes, yes and uh—yes. But she ground her teeth together and counted her losses. "No. Not at all." She fastened her seatbelt, dampening the urge to tell him to do the same. For some reason, she doubted the ancient werewolf King would need a seatbelt to ensure his safety. Come to think of it- fuck the seatbelt. The sooner she threw this delinquent out of the windshield, the better.
Slowly, she pulled off of the pavement. "Not that I don't appreciate the thought—but why me? I know I'm hard to find. There are witches all over the place. Why not use one of them as bait?"
And leave her to her perfect life.
He reached down for the glovebox, slashing at it. "The rumours say the Queen cares about you." He side-eyed her with contempt. "For some reason. Annaliese won't conform for any old witch."
"So you're uprooting an innocent from her life just because you can?"
He scoffed. "You and I both know you're no innocent."
Evie wanted to cry. She'd removed herself from all of this. "I've been peaceful for thirty years. I haven't crossed paths with anyone from our world in that time. I've been building something here and now you're ruining it."
"Right," He scoffed. "The witch that doesn't want to be a witch went to the mortal realm to open a witch business. It sounds like you're building something really stable."
She didn't know how, but somehow, she was going to kill him.
He pulled out her CDs, searching for intel. In his lap, he held one Beyoncé, one Rihanna and another Shakira.
Just wait until the wolf learns about aux.
"You act like a human," He stated in disgust. Her response was to lift her chin.
"What to it?"
He turned away in disdain. But he kept rummaging, almost like he was curious. If she was just the bait to bring out the Queen, then why bother? She knew everything he'd find in there. A couple of magazines, a box of tic tacs and—
A pink box. He turned it this way and that beneath the light, anger building by the second. She hadn't even gotten down the road when he started to growl.
"What's the meaning of this, witch?"
She glanced at it, nibbling her bottom lip. "They're-"
"I know what they fucking are. Why do you have them?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Why do I have condoms in my car?" Was that a trick question?
He crushed the box in his hand. "Don't make me repeat myself."
"Hmm, maybe because I have a uterus, and maybe because I'm sexually active, or maybe because-"
He slammed a fist down on the dashboard, silencing her. Yep. The werewolf King was mental.
In the silence, she hastily thought over ways to get rid of him. But damnit. She hadn't been prepared for a werewolf attack. She hadn't been prepared for an attack in general. They'd left her alone for thirty years. Why come back now? It wasn't fair.
"Don't bother," He said, abruptly.
"Don't bother with what?"
"Trying to escape. You won't get rid of me. You can't outrun me either. You see the future. Accept that your fate is sealed."
"You don't know that."
"You'll never escape me."
His words rang alarm bells in her mind. It sounded too much like a promise. Over the last thirty years, Evie had heard plenty of promises from men who never kept them. Naturally, the first promise that would probably be kept was from her mortal enemy who- by the looks of things- was all set to hold her hostage and probably- eventually- kill her.
She stuttered a little, struggling to make sense of things.
It was all happening so very quickly. One minute she was in her shop, living like a human. The next-
Well, it was as though the last thirty years had never happened.
"What do you mean never? You don't need me forever. I— oh."
Her fate was sealed in that sense. She'd fill her purpose and then she'd die. When she had no use to them anymore, there'd be no point in letting her live. Soon, her blood would be dripping from those black claws of his.
He'd kill her without so much as a second thought. It wouldn't matter if she struggled. There'd be nothing she could do to stop a brutal force like him.
Here, she was way out of her league.
For the first time in thirty years, Evie felt her first real trickle of fear.
I'm going to be sick.
"Oh?" He repeated.
Gulping, she flexed her fingers around the wheel. "You're going to kill me. Aren't you?"
His eyes- hazel- flashed golden before he could turn.
Intense emotion.
Excitement?
Even better. Her killer was going to enjoy himself.
When she saw a tree coming up ahead, she readied herself. Seconds now. Ten, nine— She could totally do this. Hitting a tree wouldn't kill her- but it'd trash the car and give her an excuse to prolong her fate. Eight, seven, six—
Just a few short seconds left. This is going to hurt. She spun the wheel and closed her eyes, waiting for impact. Waiting, waiting—
He grabbed the wheel. The tree passed by. The car swerved. He growled heatedly.
"Nice try, witch. Try anything again and you'll regret it."
Missed. But she wouldn't let that get her down. Strong of mind, Evie would try something again.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
He bared his teeth at her.
It'd been a cheap shot, trying to crash the car. But it was the best chance she had. She couldn't outrun the wolf. Maybe the only option left was to kill him.
Oh who was she kidding? She couldn't kill a royal. No matter what happened, she was going to die.
In her peripheral vision, she saw him try to relax into the seat. Those claws of his were protruding and digging holes into her chairs.
Was nothing sacred?
The bills- if by some miracle she lived through this- were really stacking up.
"How much further?" He demanded. He was getting antsy.
She shuffled in her chair. "It's just around the corner."
Maybe she was lucky Adam was out. Of course, he was still a crap boyfriend—but she didn't need him hanging about when this happened. Whatever this was. Ditching the werewolf. Killing the werewolf. Whichever.
A strong part of her knew it was impossible—but still. She had hope.
Anyway, it was a good job Adam- the bastard- was gone. The last thing she needed was him to stumble in on her being kidnapped by an immortal King. She doubted that would come with an easy explanation. Of course, that didn't make her any less mad at him.
She slowed the car down, hoping he wouldn't notice.
"What makes you so sure Annaliese is going to take the bait? She hasn't seen me in thirty years."
Evie knew the time would make no difference- but Lorcan didn't know that.
"We've heard recounts of your friendship," He said, spitting out the final word. "We have reason to believe that it's timeless."
"And what reason is that?"
"She killed her own Father for you, did she not?"
Two hundred or so years ago, something like that may or may not have transpired. But the rumours had it all wrong. It didn't matter. Not really. Evie wouldn't sink to Lorcan's level. She certainly wouldn't explain herself.
Instead, she focused back on the road.