Shadow of the Wolf

Terminator, but his father looked oddly pleased. “We also need to let the court know that Cole is no longer a wizard, and therefore no longer eligible for the role of king.”

“I’ll take care of that.” Daniel picked up the phone and began dialing.

“I’ll get mom, Annabelle and Zach.” Gareth pulled himself wearily to his feet.

“These fucking pain pills are really dragging my ass down.”

“Rest after this.” When Gareth opened his mouth to object, Chris held up his hand, silencing him. “You can help me more when you’re at the top of your game. Take a nap, then come back down and help me prepare for my duel.”

Gareth nodded and dragged himself out of the room.

“Chris?”

He looked down into the worried eyes of his mate. “It will be all right, Lana.” He pressed a kiss to those soft, beautiful lips. “I promise.”

She glared up at him, but he saw the worry dragging at her eyes. “It better be.”

He smiled. Now that he knew what he’d be dealing with during the duel he was positive it would be.

Chapter Twelve

“So what’s the plan? Has he contacted you yet with a location? A date, a time?”

Lana watched the Beckett boys get serious in Chris’s workroom. Gareth was busy thumbing through Chris’s spell books, awkwardly leaving little sticky tabs to mark pages with his good hand. Daniel was polishing Chris’s Athame, a magical knife used by all three types of magic users. Spells could be channeled through that knife much like a wand. Edward, their father, was quietly consulting with someone on the phone about binding spells. Zachary was muttering to himself, closing his eyes and running words around in his head. She could hear the beginnings of rhymes, chants that might possibly help Chris protect himself. Every now and then he would stop and scribble something down, his full lip caught between his teeth. Sometimes his hand would reach out absently and snag something, running it around and around his fingers before either adding it to his pile or setting it aside. Whenever he reached for something, his brothers would watch him with various degrees of amusement and wonder. She didn’t have the heart to tell Zach that a witch’s spells wouldn’t work very well for a wizard.

Then again, considering everything else he’d accomplished, perhaps his would. It was something to think about, anyway.

She, on the other hand, had been relegated to kitchen help. She was bringing the men coffee and sandwiches while they worked, and while it rankled she sort of understood.

Just watching the precise way they worked, the way Christopher would lay out different things, study them, put most of them away and set one aside, showed her she wouldn’t have much to contribute. It was like he was building a beautiful mosaic, once piece at a time, and she wouldn’t be able to see his vision until after he’d finished.

It was so god-damn sexy. It was the same focus he had when they made love, the fierce concentration making her think wicked thoughts.

Made love. Lana smiled. She didn’t know what it was about the arrogant wolf and his family, but she felt like she’d come home.

She handed him his sandwich and coffee, returning the absent smile he gave her. He pushed his glasses back up his nose and bent to study the talisman currently sitting on his desk, runes etched on its surface that had absolutely no meaning for her. “What is that?”

“Protection amulet,” he responded absently. “Need it for a shielding spell.”

She stroked it, feeling the dormant magic within it. “Groovy.”

His lips twitched. He looked up at her over the top of his glasses. “Groovy?”

She shrugged. “Isn’t that what Shaggy always says?”

He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose under his glasses, but she could see the way his mouth trembled from trying to hold back the laugh.

Next thing she knew Chris tumbled her into his lap. She squeaked, grabbing hold of his shoulders. He nipped her chin. “Who gets to be Thelma?”

“Not me!” Zach held up his hand, grinning, still writing scribbles on pieces of paper.

Lana tapped her lips with her fingernail, getting into the game. She could sense some of the tension leaving their shoulders. “You’re more Danger-Prone Daphne, I think.”

Zach sputtered indignantly while his brothers laughed.

Chris leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “That would make Daniel Thelma, wouldn’t it?”

“And Gareth Fred?”

Chris grinned. “He has pulled Zachary’s ass out of the fire more than once.”

Lana nodded, her own lips turning up. “And Zach does have a real fondness for the color purple.”

Gareth was leaning against a bookcase, face buried in his arm, his shoulders shaking.

Daniel was openly grinning at his brother Zach.

“Oh fuck you all.” Zach stood up and stretched. “I’m going to get some chips.” He strode out, but not before flipping his brothers off.

“I knew you were trouble.” Chris gave her a soft kiss. “Thank you for the sandwiches.”

“You’re welcome.” She climbed off his lap. “I’ll let you boring types get back to work.” She sauntered out of the office, grinning. She found Zach in the kitchen. “Hey, Daphne.”

“Hey, Shaggy.”

“Are those barbeque?” She reached for the bag.

He held it over his head. “Get your own.”

Lana stuck her tongue out at him. “You know there isn’t much we can do to help them, right?”

He lowered the bag to the counter with a sigh. “Yeah, I know.”

“There’s still stuff we can do.”

He crinkled the top of the bag. “Like bring them chips?” He looked so lost, like a kicked puppy. She just wanted to cuddle him, but she didn’t think Chris would appreciate finding her stroking his brother’s head.

“Do you really think Cole is going to fight fair?”

He paused. “He has to. There are certain rules to wizard duels that must be adhered to. If they aren’t, the duel is automatically won by the wizard who did follow the rules.”

She settled onto one of the counter stools and propped her chin in her hand. “But Cole isn’t a wizard.”

“True.” He popped a chip in his mouth, but she could practically hear him thinking things through.

She kicked her foot back and forth, fighting the urge to pace. “What are the odds he’ll cheat somehow?”

“Not sure. I don’t know him the way Christopher does.”

She had to know. The thought of it was driving her insane. “Is this a duel to the death?”

Zach stopped popping chips in his mouth. “Death?” He swallowed. “I’ve heard of very few wizard duels that ended in death.”

“Yeah, but Cole wants Christopher to hurt, remember? So would he make it a duel to the death?”

Zach frowned, and she caught a glimpse in his determined expression of the kind of witch he would be when his training was over. Man, the court is going to have an interesting time with him. “No. Damn it, he wouldn’t.” He grabbed her hand and dragged her back into the workroom. “Chris, we need an extra protection amulet.”

“Why?”

“Do you really think he’ll leave Lana out of this?”

Chris froze. “The duel is between him and me. Lana will have no part in it. Besides, she’s already wearing a protection amulet.”

“Your strongest amulet? Besides, who said it would have anything to do with the duel?”

Chris’s head rose. Zach just stood there, clenching Lana’s hand in one of his own, the other held out for the amulet he’d demanded. “Zach?”