Page 9 of The Wolf's Captive

“Ready?” The werewolf looked bored, his gaze questioning as I tucked my phone away.

“Some of us have to work, you know.”

Following the man when he strode off, I checked over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. Everyone was going about their day, too engrossed in their own lives to notice me. Good, I had to sort the warlock out before deciding what to do.

My insides quivered as the wolf exited the park, not even bothering to see if I was behind him. Duh, he would’ve been able to smell me as I trotted along the street, dodging the people.

Jeez, was I really going to meet a warlock without so much as a question? What had become of me? Had I lost my senses? Or was I just too desperate to get back to normal? Yes, that was the answer. If this Victor Roberts could somehow help me, it was worth checking out.

Grabbing my phone again, I shot Zoe a quick message, letting her know that if I went missing, it was the warlock who had taken me. She would freak out, but hopefully by the time she woke, I would’ve been able to send her a second message to tell her I was fine. Hopefully.

“So,” I said, jogging to draw level with the man, “why are you hanging around with a warlock? I thought werewolves stuck to their own kind.”

Fingers crossed Victor hadn’t gone into detail about who I was. I had been fraternising with the werewolf enemy for a while, but it was unusual for a witch to hang out with them. Although, I was a hybrid, part of both, so it was a little easier to see why. Victor, though. What was his excuse for being around wolves?

“He’s a friend.”

And that was all I was going to get from the man as he marched across the street and skipped down the steps that led to the edge of the river. In the near distance, Victor stood in a coach car park, looking down into the water.

“Victor,” the wolf greeted, gesturing for me to go to the warlock as we drew nearer.

Wiping my damp palms on my jeans, I licked my lips and took a deep breath. I didn’t quite know what I was doing putting myself in danger, but if I hadn’t have met with Victor, he might have kept searching for me.

“What do you want?” I snapped when he turned to look at me.

Raising his eyebrows, he blinked slowly, shaking his perfectly straight hair off his shoulder. He wore a long tiger print jacket. I was tempted to report him to the fashion police… or should it be animal cruelty? Either way, the thing would’ve been better burnt.

“I know who you are, Della Mason.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I sniffed the air discretely. There were no other werewolves, which was a good sign. If there had been more, I would’ve got my magic ready.

“And?”

He smirked, his amusement dancing in his eyes. I held back the snarl that wanted to erupt, too busy trying to keep my cool. It was better that I acted nonchalant, it would give him less power over me. And yet, deep inside, I wanted to scream and beg for his help to disconnect the bastard Kieran as my familiar. As a warlock, he would understand how it felt being connected to something.

“I know that the werewolf Kieran Montgomery is your familiar.”

Gulping, I shook my head and shrugged. “Like I said… And?”

“You can play tough with me, but I can’t even begin to imagine what it must feel like being connected to the bastard who slaughtered my own kind before violating you in the way he did.”

My walls began to waver, the tears putting pressure on the inside of my eyes. Something about the way he’d called the wolves my own kind spoke to my heart and it was pretty hard not to break down.

But. There was no fucking way would I cry in front of the eccentric warlock.

“Look,” he said, wringing his hands together in front of him, “I know you need a powerful witch to help you break the familiar bond. I want to offer my services.”

My stomach fluttered as I checked around, trying to calm my nerves. I’d needed a strong witch or warlock and now one had just happened to find me in Paris? Was the universe conspiring to actually help me? Or was it a trick?

“First, tell me how you know about me.”

His mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he looked me straight in the eye. “I’m a misfit, people talk to me all the time. An old friend of mine was gossiping about everything that has happened in Brighton recently. I sensed you were the hybrid as soon as I saw you.”

Biting my lip, I swallowed. He was a powerful warlock, I could feel that too. It was no wonder he had detected me.

“And what would you get out of helping me? There must be a catch.”

Tilting his head to the side, Victor smiled as his hair brushed his ugly jacket. If I was to have any dealings with the man, I would have to let him know that the jungle wanted his coat back.