Page 45 of Wolf Promise
“I’m fine,” he said. “Even better now that this brute has awakened the powers inside you.”
Bolt growled. Regie couldn’t tell if it was to mock her grandfather’s derogatory term or if he was truly angry. But that was not the most confusing thing now. She stood and swayed when the room spun around her.
Bolt shot her a concerned look over his shoulder, but didn’t move.
She grabbed the edge of the bed to steady herself. “I don’t understand. Why do you have a gun? Is the emergency here and not at Lofn?”
Grandfather gave her a pitying look. “All those degrees, and you still haven’t worked it out.” He shook his head. “I’ve spent months sending you messages and texts, trying to scare you to the point where your ability would manifest itself. Silly me, I thought self-preservation would enable your magic. If I’d known I just had to get you laid, we could have had this settled a long time ago.”
Regie’s mind spun. She sank down on the bed. “What?” She meant to say so much more, but basically, that encompassed everything. That and what the fuck?
“Look,” her grandfather said. “I’m actually very fond of you, but I’m dying. There’s an inoperable tumor growing in my brain. It’s been there for years, but your mother’s powers kept it under control. Well, up to a point. It turns out that if witches heal others too often, they eventually deplete their own life energy.” He flung out the arm not holding the gun. “Who knew?”
“You killed Regie’s mother,” Bolt said. It wasn’t a question. He took a step toward Grandfather.
The older man immediately raised the gun higher and held it steady. “You stay right there and don’t move. Maybe you’re the key to keep Regie’s powers flowing, but I’m pretty sure you’ll work just as well with a gunshot in your body. A gut wound takes a long time to bleed out. I can probably harvest most of her powers before you die, especially if I promise she can use some of them to save you.”
Regie stood again and took a step toward her grandfather. “I don’t have healing powers.” The darkness inside her knew only how to destroy and kill. She took another step forward. “I don’t know how sick you are, but please put that gun down. We can figure this out. We’ll find a doctor who can help you.”
“I’ve been to all the doctors. There is no cure.” He smiled and looked at her, his eyes cold and calculating. It was as if a stranger watched her. “No cure, but magic, that is. That’s where you come in, dear granddaughter. I’ve fed and clothed you for years, waiting for you to become useful, and now your moment is finally here.”
Regie tried to make sense of his words, but the aftereffects of the drug made the room spin, and she thought she’d throw up. She sat down on the bed again.
Bolt unbuckled his pants, dropped them, and pulled the shirt over his head.
“What are you doing?” Grandfather asked. “I may need you to fuck Regie if her powers don’t cooperate, but this is not the time.”
Bolt chuckled. The air shimmered around him, and the pressure in the room dropped.
Regie’s ears popped, distracting her from Bolt getting naked for a beat, and when she looked up again, he had disappeared.
In his place, the silver wolf stood, shaking a pair of boxer briefs off its back paws.
Grandfather dropped the gun and stumbled backwards.
The wolf growled and then turned to grin at Regie before leaping at Grandfather.
The older man turned and ran out the door, the wolf chasing him.
Regie would have followed if the queasiness hadn’t overwhelmed her. She didn’t feel ill so much from the drugs as knowing her grandfather had killed her mother.
She doubled over and vomited on the floor.
CHAPTER 22
The wolf chased the old man through the house. He wouldn’t hurt him because that would hurt their mate. But he could still tease and scare the prey, especially since it had hurt his mate.
The rest of the pack would arrive soon and help with the capture. The wolf knew this, because when he walked on two legs, he carried a small black thing in his pocket that would tell the others their location. But he also felt his brothers and sister getting nearer through the pack bond. The connection they had with their brothers and sisters flowed stronger when he ran on four legs.
A lot of things worked better when they could be a wolf. He saw right and wrong clearer and knew evil from good better. The man had wronged their mate by hurting her with words.
Called her evil.
He huffed his displeasure at the two-legged part of him. Sometimes, the human behaved as stupidly as a pup. He projected this to their alpha, as well as in the direction he chased the old man.
Their prey ran down the stairs and through rooms filled with useless things. The wolf growled when they passed dead animal heads, looking at him with unnatural eyes. They smelled old and musty. He didn’t like them.
Why kill if you didn’t eat the meat? All the meat. Heads tasted good, especially the brains.