Werewolves Be Damned - By Stacey Kennedy Page 0,47

arms. “Bad scene.”

“Hush now, Haven.” Zia grabbed her hands as Haven sobbed. Not a second passed before Haven’s eyes fluttered and she drifted off to sleep. Zia sighed and turned to Nexi. “She’s fine now. I’ve erased her memory.”

Nexi shuddered at the release of Haven’s horror. If she never experienced that again, that would be a good day. Then she realized what had happened, and she narrowed her eyes on Zia. “You did what?”

“Haven has difficulty dealing with disturbing murders,” Zia replied, as if discussing a pair of shoes. “It’s in her best interests that I remove her memories.”

“Oh, you better not have,” Nexi retorted, enraged to her bones that they’d do something so intrusive to her soul sister. “You can’t go into someone’s mind and take things out, no matter that your magic says you can.”

Zia reached out for Nexi with a gentle expression, but Nexi jumped away. “Don’t even think about touching me again. How do I know you aren’t going to erase this from my mind?”

The Mistress of Witches studied her with a frown. “Haven’t you wondered how Haven keeps that darling innocence in our cruel world?” Her eyebrows rose. “What would you rather: she loses that or I intervene?”

Nexi didn’t like either of those choices.

She stayed silent as Zia continued, “It might not be right, but the truth is, difficult scenes don’t happen often.”

Nexi stared Zia down, and for the first time the power inside the Mistress of Witches showed through, as Zia went on, “I’m sorry you have an issue with my helping her, but if it means Haven can be without the trauma of what she sees then it’s my only choice.”

“So, you say,” Nexi countered.

Zia pursed her lips.

“What happened to her?” Finn rushed into the Council’s Foyer and once he reached Haven, he lifted her into his arm. Concern shadowed his normally light eyes.

Kyden jumped to his feet. “Gruesome death.”

Finn placed a kiss on Haven’s forehead, then to Zia, he said, “Thank you for taking care of her.”

Zia inclined her head.

Finn turned to Nexi. “Zia always gives Haven a memory of a night alone with me. Remember that if you’re talking with her.”

Nexi tried to stay angry—hard, in fact—but seeing that Finn was okay with it, what could she say? They weren’t hurting Haven. They were keeping Haven…sweet Haven. She sent a glare Zia’s way. “Don’t you ever do that to me, got it?”

Zia flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I won’t ever need to. You’re not having a breakdown, are you?”

Yes, good point. Why wasn’t she?

Kyden rubbed his jaw, his eyes dark and cautious. “The number of werewolf deaths is rising and they’re only intensifying in nature.” He looked at Zia and sighed. “Undoubtedly, more is going on here. The killing tonight was nothing I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t a random act of violence. Those wolves killed for pure pleasure.” He hesitated, his brows drawn together, then he asked Zia, “Have you heard from Briggs at all?”

She shook her head. “Nothing except that he’s in Texas and they’re digging deeper to find out what’s going on there.”

Silence settled in around them.

Nexi couldn’t take it anymore. “So, we have nothing to go on. No reasons for why it’s happening since werewolves are supposed to be friendly—which by the way seems a bit hard to believe, even if I have seen a few nice ones—but what do we do now?”

Kyden’s eyes glinted dangerously. “We go with what we have, and that includes hunting the wolves that killed without mercy.”

Chapter Fourteen

In the slums of New York City, Kyden examined the rundown house in front of him, and wondered why the werewolves picked this place. The paint peeled off the wooden planks on the exterior, and the home needed a person who cared about its appearance. He scanned the area and down a ways he spotted a group of teenagers, but they paid them no attention. Exactly how he wanted it.

He turned to Foley. “How many wolves are in there?”

Foley lifted his nose and took a deep sniff. “I believe there are four.” He sniffed again. “Yes, four.” At Nexi’s parting mouth, Foley raised a hand. “I have no idea if they are all from the Texas pack or if they’re members of the New York pack—I’m not that good.”

She nibbled her lip, and then added, “Let’s hope they’re the New York pack and aren’t looking for any trouble.”

For their sake, Kyden hoped the same.

While he always loved a good fight, especially if he was outnumbered,