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“I’m not sure yet, but I won’t let him get away with this.”

Willow’s green eyes burned into me.

“What?”

She crossed her arms. “You need to approach this carefully. You don’t know that it was Isaac. You have no idea what your task is, if this is part of it, or how dangerous it could get. You need to think through every step.”

“I know, I do.” I had a reputation for being a little brash when it came to my family and people trying to fuck with them. My older sister knew this and was trying to rein me in before I ruined everything. It sucked, but her worries were justified. Look what happened with Brody. “I’ll be careful, Wills. I know what’s at stake here.”

She nodded, but the concern was still there in her eyes.

I turned to Relic, still standing beyond the cemetery boundaries, and started toward him. “You got a minute?”

“What are you doing?” Magnolia asked, following me. “Are you going to see him? I’m coming with you.”

That wasn’t happening. Mags had become more and more unpredictable lately, losing her temper, lashing out. The situation was volatile enough. “This could have something to do with my task.” I didn’t know if that was true, but it seemed like a good excuse. “No family help, remember? We can’t risk it.”

Mags cursed a blue streak.

“What do you need?” Relic asked.

Willow was right, I had to be smart about this. And right then, Relic was my only option. I wasn’t stupid enough to meet with Isaac alone. I didn’t have a death wish. And this was me asking for help, not my sister, so that should cover my ass if all of this did end up being part of my task. “I need to pay someone a visit and could do with some backup.”

CHAPTER 9

Draven

Something had called me here to the city, and if I’d learned anything over the centuries, it was to listen to my gut. Ignoring it usually ended with something going wrong, like being trapped in one spot for over three hundred fucking years.

We’d ended up in the main business center of Roxburgh. All skyscrapers and concrete and traffic. I fucking hated it. My wolf was already getting antsy.

“What are we doing here?” Dirk asked.

“No fucking clue.”

Dirk went on high alert, scanning the area. He’d known me long enough to trust my gut as well.

I froze as I caught a familiar scent and growled under my breath. “Fuck.”

“What is it?”

I dragged my fingers through my hair. “It’s her.”

“Your witch?”

“Not mine,” I bit out, even as my wolf strongly disagreed with my denial.

“There,” Dirk said.

I followed his gaze, and a snarl was torn from me before I could bite it back. She was striding toward an office building, her chestnut hair shiny and wavy down her back, her face flushed, her deep brown eyes bright.

She was angry.

She unclenched her fist and reached for the door—someone stopped her. That’s when I managed to tear my eyes off her long enough to notice that Relic was with her. My wolf bared his teeth, not liking that the hound was touching her.

“Is she with him?” Dirk asked. “Has he claimed her?”

I scented the air. If another male had claimed her, I’d be able to smell it. Iris’s scent seemed to come straight to me, and I ignored the swell of relief when I got nothing but orchids, dark and intoxicating. Yes, the hound’s scent was there but not blended with hers. The other male hadn’t been inside her, not yet, anyway. “No.”