Page 29 of Wolves Always Bite

“Whoa, freaky.What’sgoing on with his eyes?”Jeremymurmured.

Icrossed my arms and didn’t move.

Vandidn’t back down.

“It’sokay, wolf boy,”Jeremysaid as he set his hands on my shoulders and peered out of the motorhome at the group.Hestood on the steps, so he could see over me.Theheat of his body pressed against my back. “I’mJeremy.Thetoken human.”

“Areyou being held against your will?”Vanasked.

Ijolted in surprise. “Whatkind of question is that?”

“Calmdown.”Jeremypatted my shoulder. “I’mhere becauseIwant to be,Officer.Askme anything.I’vegot nothing to hide.”

Vanlistened carefully to whatJeremysaid.Heraised his head and inhaled deeply, likeIdid whenIwas scenting the air.Thenhe nodded and stepped back.Theflames in his eyes faded. “Okay.Iwill want to talk to you later, but first let’s see what we’ve got in the back of that wreck.”

Iwinced atVan’sdescription of my truck.Thismorning it’d been in pristine condition.Nowit looked ready for a junk yard.Jeremysqueezed my shoulder in silent support.

WhenVangot to the back of the truck, he tilted his head and studied the bastards who’d run us off the road.Theystarted shouting about how they were being held against their will, how they were innocent, how they were the victims, and all sorts of other bullshit.Vannarrowed his eyes at them until they quieted, then he walked back toGage.

“Andthe boxes and theJahaller?”

Gagehad told this guy about the boxes.Interesting.Maybethis was our client.Itwouldn’t be the first time local law enforcement called us in.Gageled the hellhound to the large, enclosed utility trailer we always hauled behind the motorhome and opened the door.Thetwo boxes from this morning were sitting amongst the motorbikes the others used when we were parked up somewhere and a bunch of other magical items we’d salvaged over the years.

Vaninhaled deeply, scenting the objects.Flamesdanced in his eyes. “Yeah.Theseare the ones that were stolen from the inn a few weeks back.”

“LikeIsaid before, theJahalleris in the motorhome.TeagueandIhave been working with him all day, but it’s going to take more than that to improve his health.It’llbe a long haul.”Gagenarrowed his eyes. “Heis showing signs of intense abuse, as if he was neglected for months instead of weeks.Althoughhe isn’t able to communicate easily yet, he indicated magic was used to drain him.”

Hesounded frustrated.

I’dalways suspected he’d love to just snap his fingers and heal everyone in the world, particularly those suffering injuries connected to magic.Hecould do a lot of amazing things, but apparently not that, not without risking the precarious balance of magic in his body.

Isuspected it’d be different ifGageand theJahallercame to an agreement, but that would only work if theJahallerwanted it to happen… and there would be a price to pay eventually.EvenifGagedidn’t collect his payment now, he could in the future and not everyone was comfortable making that kind of deal.Magicwas a finicky bitch.Understandinghow to balance your magical energy was something every supe had to learn.Everythingcame at a cost; some were just easier to accept than others.ForGage, his magic demanded he receive something in exchange for the magic he did.

Vanfrowned and scratched his head.Hisfingernails scraped through his short black hair. "Yeah.Ihad no idea there was aJahallerin there until recently.Theold guy who owned the inn died about a year ago and left everything to his grandkid.Thekid doesn't have a clue about supes—"

“What?”TeagueinterruptedVanwith his outburst.Thedeath mage staggered back like he’d been struck.Hiseyes bulged. "Whyhaven’t you done anything about that?That’sso incredibly irresponsible.Wespend all our time trying to prevent exactly that from happening."

“Isthat true?Arethere a bunch of magical artifacts in the possession of a mundane?”Gage’swords echoedTeague’s, and his anger vibrated through the air.Mostsupes dropped to their knees when he did that, not the hellhound though.Fireblazed in his eyes, hinting at his beast rising to the surface.Thatwas his only reaction.

Van'sgaze snapped toGage’sand thenTeague's. "Inever said he was a mundane."

"But…"

"It'scomplicated, okay?And, if you’d have let me finish,Iwould have told youI’vebeen assured theJahallerwas safe and healthy before he was stolen."

Teagueharrumphed and put his fists on his hips. "Thatis still not acceptable.Atall."

Jeremyleaned down to whisper in my ear. "Mundane?That'swhat you call me too, isn't it?"

Hesounded offended.AndIhad to agree with him.Jeremywasn't mundane in anything except his lack of magic.

"We'reworking on it,"Vanmuttered.Hisgaze slid back to my truck. "YouknowIcan't let you drive that around, right?Notin that condition."

Igrowled.

"Werewolves, they're all the same."Vanshook his head. "Takeit into town.There’sa mechanic who can get it road safe again."

Ihuffed out an irritated breath but let the comment go.