Chapter 6

It was almost 3:30pm by the time I turned off the highway onto the unmarked dirt road. The road wound around hills and through thick copses of Western Larch and Lodge Pole pines, both of which increased the farther we traveled.

The jostling woke Billy up finally so that, by the time we rounded the final curve in the road, he was wide awake.

The town's main street boasted a town hall, post office, a general store, a motel and a small diner/gas station; the school was farther in and tucked out of sight.

Having been warned of our arrival, there were only three people about, sitting in lawn chairs before the motel.

"Any last minute advice?" Billy asked, his voice and body tense as he tried to smooth his hair down which had become creased by his awkward sleeping position.

"Stay in the car until I say so," I told the group in general, worried about that third person. "I want your word, Talon, Marcus, that you'll leave if I tell you to." They looked skeptical but finally nodded. "Good. And listen to Billy."

I parked and quickly climbed out before I had to explain anything and walked with an even, measured stride. I'd parked at the farthest end of the motel parking lot, giving my companions the greatest amount of time to get away as well as allowing the Weres to evaluate me as I approached; I was also hoping it would prevent the Demons from hearing the conversation. They stood as I grew closer and I had to remind myself sharply that, no matter what, I wasn't leaving until I discovered what happened.

I stopped with about six feet left between me and them and, looking each of them in the eye briefly, I greeted them.

"Father, Asher, Seth," I nodded to each of them, saying their names according to their rank: my father, being an Omega, was about equal rank with Asher, who was the Alpha's Second, while Seth was one of the few submissive wolves and Asher's son. The only reason I could think of for Seth to be here would be to follow Asher's orders explicitly.

This did not bode well.

"May I ask where Mathias is?" I asked hesitantly, like I didn't know my rights or my place; I could fake submissive well when I needed to.

"The Alpha is resting in preparation for tonight, when we return our brethren to the earth," Asher answered, his gruff voice sad. Asher was large, 6'5" and 300 pounds of solid muscle with a tan born of centuries in the sun, sun-bleached brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing worn jeans, a red flannel shirt open over a plain white t-shirt and hiking boots. He looked to be about forty, though I wasn't sure how old he really was; it was really hard to tell with Werewolves.

So much for avoiding the authorities, I thought to myself. I'd been hoping to avoid a confrontation, though I should have known better.

"I would like to offer my condolences, if I may."

"Of course, though Mathias will be the judge." Asher cleared his throat, a sound more like my gravely purr, then said, "Did we really part on such harsh terms that you must keep your distance, child?"

"My leaving was such that I dare not presume my welcome," I answered coolly, not moving. "Especially considering the circumstances of my visit." I gave myself a pat on the back for not tripping over the overly-formal words.

"Since when do you use caution?" Seth was almost the opposite of Asher. Where his father looked like a lumberjack, Seth was dressed in rugged fashion. He had his father's height but a lean build, lighter hair and complexion with a smoother voice. He could have been mistaken for a college senior with his faded jeans, snug shirt and gelled-back hair, until you looked into his bright blue eyes, his predator eyes. Unlike his father, Seth wasn't very old, only about five years older than me; we'd even dated while I still lived here.

"Since I'd been fostered with a couple of Witches," I told him with a smirk. "I learned that lesson very quickly."

My father stepped forward and embraced me, now that the formalities were over with. He smelled of sorrow, earth and old blood, as well as his own scent of pine needles, spicy aftershave and wolf. Having seen my father only a double handful of times since I'd been sent away, I hugged him back fiercely. I could have lost him in the attack and I couldn't bare that.

"I'm so happy you're okay, Dad," I whispered, my eyes stinging.

"Me, too, Ramirez, me, too." He pushed back after a moment with a sigh. "This will have to wait though; we have more pressing concerns. Who else have you brought with you besides your Witch?"

I should have realized he would smell them on me, but, short of riding with all the windows down and dousing myself in perfume, it would have been impossible to avoid and probably not even then. Werewolves have extraordinarily sharp noses.

"There are two Demons with me," I told them as my father resumed his place beside Asher, hoping I'd be allowed to explain myself.

"I'm not sure I understand," Seth spoke up after a long moment of silence. "The Witch makes sense, but why bring Demons?"

"Technically, she didn't," Talon said, suddenly beside me.

All three Weres dropped into defensive crouches, teeth bared and eyes flashing, deep growls reverberating through air that was quickly thickening with power.

"Damn it, Talon!" I whirled around, putting myself between him and the battle-ready Weres. "I told you to stay your ass in the car!" I punctuated my words with sharp pokes in the chest. "Both you and Marcus gave your word! Plus, you were supposed to listen to Billy!" I was shouting by the end and so angry and afraid that it was all I could do not to haul off and hit him in the jaw as he so richly deserved.

"Calm down, Remi," Talon said, his hands raised in surrender.

"No, I will not calm down," I continued. "I had everything under control and then you had to pop up and send them into aggressive mode! Do you realize how much more complicated you just make this?!" "Ramirez."

"What?!" I turned back around, ready to yell some more when I got a good look at the three Werewolves.

They were trying not to laugh.

"Well, now I feel like an ass," I muttered to myself and they lost control, breaking into great whooping laughs that turned their faces red and knees weak, the storm of power dissipating.

By the time they'd begun to regain control of themselves, Billy and Marcus stood behind Talon.

"I thought I told you to do whatever it took to keep them in the car?!" I snarled at Billy quietly.

"That's rather difficult when I never even saw him leave," he replied through gritted teeth.

"Don't punish him for what's already done," Javen said as their laughing fit died down.

"I'd forgotten about her temper," Seth, sounding winded, flashed me a grin. "Always fun to watch, never enjoyable being the target."

"You should know, Seth Abram Jones," I replied, "considering how often you were the recipient." He'd been the prankster in our group, always egging the others to do stupid things while escaping the blame. The submissive wolves tended to be more mischievous and downright deceitful when they could and he'd taken those traits to new heights.

"Enough," Asher commanded quietly. "Introduce your companions so that they may explain themselves."

"Talon Ciar, Marcus, be known to Asher Jones, Second in the Chinook Winds pack of Montana." They nodded to each other briefly. "Asher, this is Talon and Marcus, my neighbors, friends and helpful tagalongs." I heard Billy and Seth smother their laughter and smiled. "And this is Billy Camden, a newly certified Witch in the field of Healing."

Billy did step forward and shake hands with the three of them, though he'd already met my father some years ago.

"Talon has information which he believes is relevant to recent circumstances," I informed them after Billy rejoined our group.

"Is that so?" Javen asked.

"Yes, sir. Considering the nature of my information, I'd like to suggest we go someplace a little less public and a little more comfortable, as it will take a while to explain." Talon's manner was very respectful while not groveling and he seemed to know how to converse properly with Weres. It was an interesting thought I'd have to pursue later.

"Of course," Javen replied smoothly. "Ramirez, why don't you get settled in here and bring them by the house in about an hour?"

"Sure, Dad, see you then." We hugged again and he stepped back.

"It is good to see you again, child," Asher said as he, too, embraced me briefly. Asher had been one of the few Weres whose respect I'd earned, mainly by running herd on and protecting his son.

"I'd say the same thing," Seth said, coming forward after his father, "but you'd probably call me a liar."

"There's no need for name calling when it's true," I told him, then grinned and hugged him, too. Werewolves were fond of embraces and we'd been friends once upon a time. However...

"Hey?!" he called as I removed his hand from my ass and put him in a standard wrist lock, pulling his arm high up his back.

"Keep your hands to yourself," I said lightly in his ear, and then shoved him forward and away from me, a smile on my face.

"Don't look so tasty and I'll think about it," he shot back. He wasn't a womanizer or anything; he just really loved women, in all kinds of ways.

I shook my head and turned away, not bothering to reply. As I did, I caught Talon's briefly unguarded expression and was glad Seth hadn't seen it. The phrase "If looks cold kill" sprang to mind and I quirked an eyebrow at him as he schooled his features back to nothingness.

"What was that look for?" I asked him, following behind Billy and Marcus.

"What look?" he asked blandly.

"The look that would have struck him dead if it could." I took a deep breath but couldn't detect anything because of the brisk breeze.

"Is that the standard behavior for Werewolves in this pack?" he asked instead of answering, no hint of emotion in his words.

"No," I replied airily, "but it was pretty normal for Seth, at least when I left." I glanced up at him from the corner of my eye. "There are a couple of others who might do the same; do I need to warn them off?"

"Does it bother you?" he asked, not sounding the least bit interested, which was a warning in and of itself.

"Not really," I shrugged. "If I wasn't despised growing up, then my figure was sought after. Unfortunately, my personality wasn't, so no relationship lasted long, Seth included." I shrugged again. "Most of the boys I dated became my friends later and, even though they didn't want to go out again, they'd still try stunts like that."

"Then there's no problem."

"Look," I said, pulling him to a stop. "Not once in the four years we've known each other have you ever shown any interest in me and now you decide to get all territorial?" I was getting miffed at his high-handed behavior.

"Right back at you," he told me.

"I have never objected to you dating anybody, nor have I gone violent over your past relationships. I don't even know if you are dating anybody at all!" He wasn't in the habit of sharing anything personal. Ever. "I'm not, but that's not what I meant." I could see his eyes twinkle and knew he was enjoying himself, which just irritated me more. He enjoyed goading me whenever possible and was quite good at it.

"What, then?" I snapped back, not caring that everyone in a two block radius was probably listening.

"I meant that you've never shown any interest in dating me."

I was stunned for a moment. "Yeah and now you know why." I hugged myself, trying to convince my body that it didn't matter, that it was okay that Talon knew. It was a wound I'd kept hidden for so long that having it exposed felt like I was baring my throat and the predator in me did not approve, even if it was Talon, whom we trusted to some degree.

"I'm sorry," he told me quietly, his amber eyes serious as he reached out to touch my arm.

"It's fine," I replied, stepping out of reach. I couldn't afford the illusion of comfort right now, knowing it was given in pity. Not from him. "Let's get us some rooms," I said, joining Billy at the car.

"You're not staying with your father?" Billy asked curiously.

"He converted my old room into an office some time ago," I told him, grabbing my bag from the back. "He does have a sofa bed, but I'd rather not sleep on it if I can help it."

The woman behind the motel counter was sixty-something, short and plump and all smiles when we walked in.

"Aggie girl!" she exclaimed, bustling from behind the counter to capture me in a bear hug that shouldn't have been possible from a woman her size and age.

"Granny Hannah, it's good to see you." Granny Hannah had helped raise me here, acting like a grandmother to me, which was why she was allowed to call me Aggie. She would always complain about my masculine first name, saying she couldn't understand why my father had chosen to name a girl Ramirez. "What are you still running this place? Shouldn't you be retired?"

"I only come out when I feel like it," she told me, finally releasing me. "You know I like to keep active. Let's have a look at you." I sat my bag down and held still while she circled me, sharing amused glances with Marcus.

"Well, it looks like you've grown into a fine young lady," she said finally, beaming. "But I seem to have lost my manners. Please introduce me to your friends."

"This is my Witch friend Billy," I shoved him forward as he tried to retreat from her outstretched arms. Granny Hannah only refrained from embraces when you looked violent, dirty or over forty, no exceptions. I smiled at Billy's glaring eyes over her poofy grey hair before continuing.

"And these are Talon and Marcus, my neighbors as well as my friends." Marcus bowed over her hand in an old-fashioned gesture before kissing it, making her blush; Talon just nodded.

To my surprise, she didn't push the issue with Talon, saying instead, "It's a pleasure to meet you all. We don't really get many strangers out this way and it's been so long since I've seen dear Agatha." She reached out an age spotted hand and patted my cheek.