Samhain (Matilda Kavanagh Book 2) (9 page)

“Do I?” he asked, his brows arching, wrinkling the red gash on his forehead as he looked around.

“Come on, guy.” I set my half-empty bowl on the seat beside me. “You know you do. Humans and Weres don’t mix, so what’s up? Are you taking these people for some reason?”

I hadn’t meant to be so blunt, but something about Tollis made me feel welcome to speak in front of him. He was no threatening, overwhelming Alpha. With Jameson, I had to earn my ease around him, had to learn to breathe while surrounded by his power. With Jameson, I had to earn my place. But with Tollis, it was a different kind of magic. Tollis was open and all smiles, just like the people milling around us.

“Why is everyone grinning like a doped-up idiot?” I turned to look at Tollis just as he laughed at my question.

“No one is doped up, I assure you.” He lifted his bowl to his mouth and tilted it, gulping down the rest of the soup before setting the bowl on the bench beside mine. He scrubbed his mouth with the back of his hand and leaned back against the bench. He laid his arms across the back of the bench, his legs were loose, and he observed his people with a look of peace.

“So what are you doing with all of these humans? They’re all awfully young, you know.”

“Only to other humans,” he said with a shrug. “To people like you and me, they’re fully grown.”

He had me there. In the distance, I heard a tambourine, the tinkling sound keeping time with a new drum circle. I turned my attention toward it and saw a large group of humans, all dressed in whites and tans and barefoot, dancing within the drum circle. The musicians all had their eyes closed and were swaying to the sounds of their instruments. The girls in the center of the circle twirled around, but their movements didn’t match the beat of the music. Their arms were spread, their heads lolled back, and they were moving to a song only they could hear.

“Man, what is going on around here? Is it something in the water?” I asked.

Tollis chuckled lightly. When I turned to look at him, I saw a twinkle in his eye as he shook his head.

“You’re doing something, and we both know it,” I said. “Humans and wolves don’t live together like this. I mean, look at them.” I waved at the dancers who seemed in a trance. “That’s just creepy.”

“We must have different opinions of what creepy is.”

“Doubtful.”

“You’re very sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

“Tollis, you know
turning
underage humans is a felony, right?”

“I do not hold with human laws.”

“Yeah, okay,” I said. “That’s great, but the humans are going to hold you to their laws whether or not you want to cooperate.”

Tollis lifted one shoulder and let it fall.

“Have you ever
turned
a human? Do you know how dangerous it is? Do you know the mortality rate of
turning
humans? You’ll be charged with murder. You get that right?”

“It is not up to me what any other person in this world does with their lives. Live and let live,” he said.

“Live and let live? You and I both know that’s crap. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have challenged Jameson.”

Tollis’s eyes flashed momentarily, and for one second, I saw his wolf inside him, pawing at the ground and eager for release.

“Tollis, what are you doing with them?”

“Can’t people just live where they want to live?”

“Stop avoiding my question.” I fought not to cross my arms, knowing a wolf like him would read too much into the action.

“Who sent you into my den, Matilda?” he asked, turning his green eyes to my face.

“I asked you first.”

“And I asked you second.”

“You already know who sent me,” I said with a shake of my head. “Why you’re talking to me anyway, I don’t know.”

“Because I do know who sent you, and I want him to know that I am not intimidated by his choices.”

I felt something snap inside me. I wanted nothing more than to give that slick smile of his a good slap with a bolt of power. His slow southern drawl had lost all its charm with that little barb. Not afraid of me? Did he think I was some two-bit kitchen witch? My body vibrated with pent-up anger, and I felt the bite of electricity at my fingertips, just itching to be released.

Tollis’s nostrils flared, taking in the scent of my anger. “I’ve offended you.”

“Just answer my question so I can get the hell out of here.”

“I am not doing anything with the humans,” he said, lifting one shoulder and letting it fall. “They are lost souls looking for a home. If I can provide them that home, then they are welcome to it.”

“You challenged Jameson.”

“I did.”

“And you lost.”

“I did.” A muscle jumped in his jaw that time.

“So are you planning on
turning
all of these humans to add numbers to your pack to make a push at Jameson’s territory?”

“That’s two questions,” Tollis said, shifting in his seat as if trying to scratch his back against the bench.

“I’d like you to answer both,” I said.

“You ask a lot, Matilda Kavanagh,” he said, still not looking at me as he rubbed his back. “And offer nothing in return.”

I sighed audibly. I was so tired of everyone demanding something for a few simple answers. Couldn’t people have conversations anymore? I slumped forward, feeling some of the fight go out of me. “What do you want then?”

“I never said I wanted anything,” Tollis said, going still. “Just pointing it out to you. Seems a bit rude is all.”

“Not any more rude than telling me that you’re not intimidated by me,” I said, and then I did cross my arms.

“Should I be?”

“Maybe.”

“So you are here to threaten me then?”

I closed my mouth, feeling as stupid as a troll for walking into that trap. “No.”

Tollis eyed me for a moment, dropping his arms to rest on his knees, and leaned in closer. A small smile played about his mouth. He enjoyed teasing me and getting a rise out of me. I watched his nostrils flare again as he took in the scent of my frustration. This was all a game to him. No wonder he pissed off Jameson.

“No one is ever
turned
against their will,” he said.

“So you are planning on
turning
them then?”

He nodded. “If they prove themselves worthy of joining my pack, then yes, if they wish it. If they only want to join my family, then they are welcome to that as well. You see, Matilda, I do not discriminate, unlike your friend Jameson.”

“How do you know Jameson discriminates?”

“He turned my pack away.”

“No, he didn’t.” I shook my head, my hair coming loose from behind my ears. “You challenged him, lost, and he banished you. He told me the rest of your pack was welcome to stay.”

“My pack, but not my family.”

“Humans can’t live with Weres, not safely,” I said.

“We seem to be accomplishing it,” he said with a wave of his hand. “It doesn’t have to come down to a bloody end, not if we are willing to adapt. Jameson is old and stuck in his ways. A true leader learns to change with the times.”

“And you’re that leader?”

“I believe so,” he said with a nod. “And so do my people.”

“But you lost to Jameson.” For one moment, I saw a crack in Tollis’s easy façade.

“I did.”

“So that’s all there is to is, isn’t it? I mean, if you come back into his territory, then any of his pack can challenge you. Kill you if they can.”

Tollis stared at me, his long black pupils thickening, but his face remaining passive. “They can.”

“So why are you hanging around then? Why don’t you move on to an unclaimed territory with your family and your pack? Live in safety somewhere else.”

“Because this is where we want to live.”

“I don’t understand. Why invite trouble to your doorstep?”

“Jameson rules his people with an iron fist,” Tollis said. “They deserve better.”

“If they felt that way, then they would leave or challenge him. I have met members of his pack. They love him like a father.”

“No,” Tollis said, “my people love me like a father. Jameson’s people fear him like a king.”

“Dude, how old are you? Like twenty-five? You’re not old enough to be a father to these people.”

“Physical age means nothing,” Tollis said in a voice that made me feel as though he pitied my naiveté.

“Whatever, man. Be that as it may, you lost your challenge,” I said, leaning away from him. “You staying here just puts your people in danger. Are you really trying to tell me that’s a mature decision a
father
would make?”

“Perhaps you are right,” he said with a nod. “But I couldn’t live with myself if I left those poor wolves under his reign.”

“Guy, you are crazy. Fine, whatever, I got my answers. But listen,” I said, standing and pointing at him, “people are noticing the missing humans, all right? You keep letting them come here and drink your Kool-Aid, and the cops are gonna come sniffing. I don’t know where you’re from, but around here, when the cops think supernaturals are up to something, we get collared – whether we really are up to something or not. Do you want that for yourself? For your pack?”

Tollis looked at me with that beatific face. His people milled around us without a care in the world, dressed in their white cotton and worn denim. On the surface, it all looked so damn normal, but the most deadly poisons could look like crystal-clear water. I knew that better than most.

“Thank you for your concern,” Tollis said, standing and taking my hand. He laid his other hand over mine. His palms were rough from countless nights of running under the full moon. “You may go back to Jameson and tell him you’ve done your job, delivered his message, and have his answers. We are not going anywhere, and I will save his people. I would save him from himself as well, if he would let me.”

I opened my mouth to respond but found I had no idea what to say to that. So I closed it and slowly pulled my hand out of his. He stepped back out of my personal space and slipped his hands into his pockets. He smiled at me and nodded, letting me turn and walk away.

Chapter 7

I honestly didn’t know what to make of Tollis. He was all smiles and welcomes on the surface, but I had a feeling his still waters hid a torrent of churning waste. He hadn’t liked being reminded that he’d lost to Jameson. I also didn’t understand where he had gotten the idea that Jameson’s people were unhappy with him; everyone I had met so far seemed content.

But how many of them did I really know? Only Kyle and Frankie, if I was being honest. I sat in my car, gripping the steering wheel and twisting my hands back and forth.

I had walked through the encampment with my chin up and eyes forward, refusing to show any fear, telling myself I would make it out of there safely. The only falter in my step had come when I spied Harry, the Seer woman, leaning against her wagon, pipe in hand, squinting at me.

I hadn’t enjoyed the reading she’d forced upon me, and I was a little bitter about the coins I’d lost to her. But she’d known my name without me giving it to her. She could have guessed everything else she’d claimed to see in the cards, but my full name was too specific to be a coincidence. So then was the rest true?

Sure, I knew all about Theo being wrapped around Owen, toying with his heart and keeping him away from me. But what about what Harry had said about Fletcher? Fletcher’s voice echoed in my head. I thought he’d been talking about me giving anyone else a chance at taking Owen’s place in my heart; I didn’t really think he had meant him specifically. But then he’d kissed my cheek.

“Gah,” I said, shaking my head to send the image of Fletcher’s smiling face from my mind. I had other things to think about right now instead of my totally messed up love life.

I grabbed my bag as I opened my door, and I climbed out of the car. I’d driven right over to Jameson’s bar, The Wolf’s Howl. Not the most original name, I thought as I walked up to the door, but at least there wasn’t any confusion about what kind of bar it was. Wouldn’t want some unsuspecting human to wander into a werewolf bar, have one too many drinks, and start a fight he couldn’t hope to finish.

I was stopped at the door by a rotund guy dressed all in black. On one ear, he had a plastic ear piece with a wire that disappeared behind his thick neck into his shirt. He had one of those thin beards that guys with no chins liked to use to delineate between face and neck, giving the illusion of a chin, but it never really worked out the way they hoped. His eyes were almost lost in his face, and his lips were too thin. He kept his dark hair clipped close to his head, making it look as round as his belly. For a fleeting moment, I thought he looked a little like a snowman. I fought to keep the grin off of my face as I looked up at him. He sniffed me once and then looked away, effectively dismissing me.

I arched a brow at him. I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with a stuck-up bouncer. I tried to step past him, reaching for the door handle, but he moved his foot to stop me from opening it. He glared at me with those beady little eyes, his fleshy cheeks reddening as I glared right back.

“What?” I asked, letting go of the door. “Do I need to know the secret handshake or something?”

Tiny ignored me.

I held up my hand, calling power to it until my fingers were alive with electric pulses of blue and white, promising hot pain. “Open the door or get the fuck out of my way, bridge dweller.” I let a bolt of power shoot from my hands to scorch the cement at his feet.

He jumped in surprise, his round belly shifting from side to side. I heard him growl low in his throat. He tried to level me with his stare, but those beady eyes didn’t scare me, not after sitting side-by-side with creepy Tollis and walking away with my throat intact. I leaned forward, doing my best not to blink. Finally Tiny blinked and turned his head. Without looking at me, he reached for the door handle and pulled the door open.

The electric pulses faded from my hand, and I patted his massive shoulder as I stepped into the bar. “Don’t beat yourself up about it, sweetheart.”

I heard him mumble something, but since I’d won the contest of wills, I didn’t feel the need to make him repeat it. Whatever he’d said hadn’t been flattering, and to save face I would’ve had to unleash my telekinetic power on him. And really, I didn’t want to do that. I’d had my fill of angry young Weres for one night.