“Why do you say that? I’m not magical. I’m human,” Romeo replied.
“No, you’re not,” the witch said. “I need you to trust this to be true. You can kill every living thing in this town with your magic but apparently no one ever taught you to use it.”
“You’re a fucking liar,” Romeo said, stiffening beside me. “If I was a magical creature, don’t you think I would know it?”
“Not if it’s a recessive gene,” I said. Romeo looked over at me, frowning. I liked it much better when he smiled. “You probably have an ancestor somewhere back in your line and you aren’t even aware of it. I sensed the magic in you. Remember when I told you that I knew you were special?” I reminded him.
“Yeah,” he said, hesitantly. “That’s what you meant? That I was one of the supernatural creatures in this town?”
“Yes, Romeo, I scented it on you the moment we met. Then, when we touched, I knew your magic was very strong.”
He just stared at me.
“He’s right,” the witch said, drawing our attention again. “When we shook hands in my store, you felt the jolt of electricity going up your arm though you dismissed it as your imagination.”
Romeo frowned. “How do you know that?” he asked.
“I’m a witch. I know things,” Sid said.
A howl interrupted our conversation and I felt Romeo’s hand tighten on mine for the second time. Other howls joined the first until a cacophony of sound seemed to surround my house.
I glanced at Sid. “I have to go out there. Will you protect Romeo?”
“You’re not going out there!” Romeo shouted, standing and pulling me up with him. He grabbed both of my biceps and stared into my face. “You told me those werewolves are here to kill you. Do you think for one second that I would let you sacrifice yourself for me?”
“The werewolves can be reasoned with,” the witch said.
We both turned to look at him.
“How?” Romeo asked.
“The ones who killed poor Buck Walters in the forest and then left him as a warning to you are not that difficult to defeat,” the witch said to me. “If you don’t already know this, the alpha in Prosper Woods is Floyd Reardon. If you convince Reardon you mean no harm to him, the rest of the pack will listen and obey their alpha.”
“Hang on a minute,” Romeo said, vibrating with rage. “You’re saying Floyd Reardon, the owner of the saloon, is the leader of a pack of werewolves who are in turn responsible for the murder and dismemberment of a human who happened to wander into their proximity last night?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying,” the witch said. The howls started up again, and I felt a chill race down my spine. “He must have gotten his drink on, wandered too close to the border of Frederick pack lands, and ended up as their answer to your presence. They sliced him and diced him, leaving him as a warning just the way the vampires did to the Frederick pack a hundred years ago.”
“So, what you’re saying is that Prosper Woods is in the midst of a fucking hillbilly hick-town feud?” Romeo was practically shouting.
The witch smirked and pointed a gnarled finger at his nose. “Right on the nose, Sheriff.”
“Goddamn it!”
The witch grabbed his staff and used it to help him rise from the chair. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have guessed that he was someone’s doddering crazy old uncle. His magic told me otherwise.
“Listen, I realize this is all new to you,” the witch said, “but for the sake of peace and harmony in this town, I am telling you right now that you need to go out there and deal with Floyd to get him to back the hell off… that is, if you want the attacks on innocent humans to stop.” He paused, exchanging a glance with me before looking back at my lover. “Then, there’s also the sheriff to think of. He might get in the way, get hurt because he doesn’t know how to control his magic, or then again, he might just kill them all. That would bring the outside authorities and Prosper Woods would be no more.” He looked at Romeo. “You’re the only one who can stop this. You have to let Vincent kill the alpha.”
“I’m not going to let Vincent just go out there and kill Floyd Reardon regardless of the fact that he’s a werewolf,” Romeo said. “Not only that, killing Reardon won’t matter when the rest of the pack will only replace him with another alpha. Once that happens, you can bet they’ll be back to kill Vincent and most likely me as well. There has to be another way.”
Sid smirked, hooking a thumb at Romeo. “He learns quickly.”
I frowned. “Suggest another way to get the werewolves to back off,” I said. “Now that they know I’m here, they’re not going to let me live.” I turned and cupped my lover’s face in both hands. “You don’t understand how it is between vampires and werewolves. We’ve been sworn enemies for centuries and there’s no choice in the matter. It’s the only way to settle things.”
He stared at me for a long time, something working in his deep brown eyes. I loved how intelligent he was. He finally nodded, having come to some decision. I dropped my hands. He immediately turned to face the witch.
“You said I was more powerful than both you and Vincent combined, right?”
The witch smirked. “Ah, very good, Sheriff. I was hoping you’d come to the right conclusion on your own.”
“What are you talking
