attention-diverting-scam hadn’t been uncovered. Dillon was suspiciously missing as well. I was, however, more than a little happy to see Martin’s dog cowering off to the side, too afraid to approach any closer. My fur-shaving vision had castrated the now pathetic pooch.
“What are you doing back here?” Jazmine demanded. “Escaping isn’t possible, or practical in your case.” She appeared uncertain how to handle my strange behavior. What was I guilty of? Playing Hide and Seek.
Ignoring her question, I pierced her mind’s barrier, and rather than scanning her current thoughts, I reached for her memories. Seeking the actual school’s location, I flipped through thoughts like a file clerk scanning files in a filing cabinet.
For some reason, I now understood my multiple, mind-manipulating capabilities, and they were beyond anything I could have dreamed up. Evidently, the official mating ceremony and blood sharing with an ancient bloodsucker had enhanced my supernatural skills.
Supernatural — I’d never dared attach that particular word to what I did.
Confident in my abilities, for the first time, I blasted my exact location to Zane, Logan, Misty, the two M’s, and even Stryder, who should now be working with the others. This was instant messaging at its best. I could have avoided all the discomfort my cell phone was causing inside my too-snug bra had I known the extent of my own preternatural messaging system.
The confirmations poured into my mind, affirming they’d received my mental memo loud and clear. They were coming. All of them. Except Logan. His RSVP wasn’t amongst the others. Then I remembered; Alcuin was meeting with him about the coins. What if Logan had been injured, or worse, by the vampire?
“Is there some reason you aren’t answering me?” Jazmine grabbed my wrist, twisting.
“Ouch!” I yelped, hesitating for a moment, before firing a mental-missile into her mind. No one was going to grab or grope me again without my permission. I’d had enough to last a lifetime.
She dropped to her knees, clutching her head. Her pain-fueled shrieks slicing through the night.
Bull’s-eye! At last Jazmine was where she belonged, bowing to me.
Martin, to my amazement, took charge. “Somebody, do something! Call our onsite medic! Now! Jazmine, honey, talk to me. What’s happening?”
She continued to writhe; her screams turning to whimpers as her eyes rolled back, revealing the whites.
I could sense she was struggling to shift into her werewolf form, but whatever I’d conjured kept her trapped.
The mutants, somehow realizing that I was the cause of the assault on their mistress, were howling with a singular, mournful purpose. Answering calls echoed from every direction. Whatever army existed was being deployed to deal with me.
Yes, I had plenty of cool and painful weapons in my mental cache, but I didn’t think I could overcome several hundred creatures at once. I needed my back up.
“Whatever you’re doing to her, make it stop!” Martin commanded. “She could have killed you and she didn’t.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel what … sympathetic?” The nerve of some people was mind boggling. “First, she threatens me; then almost runs me down: kidnaps me; and holds me captive …”
“That sounds about right,” a male voice affirmed.
A wave of awareness crashed through me. I’d heard that voice before in Vegas, and again at the board meeting.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and released Jazmine. She remained panting on the ground. One of my liberators had arrived ahead of schedule.
“My, my, did we underestimate you,” Logan drawled. Even in human form, he was beyond intimidating. “You’re everything I’d hoped for, and so much more.”
“What?” I stuttered, still trying to process his presence and strange behavior.
“Before I explain, I need to warn you. Alcuin!”
In a flash of shimmering light, Alcuin appeared, gripping Misty’s arm. Her face was etched with anger and fright. Her eyes met mine, pleading.
“Misty!” I cried, and started toward my friend.
Logan blocked me. “I don’t think so. My little sis, here, has become far too independent for her own good. And I know just how much you two bonded. Very sweet. So, if you want to continue your friendship, you’d both do well to remember two things: I’m in charge. You’re not.”
A few mutants chuckled in agreement. I was utterly dumbfounded. Logan? The bad guy? He was the pack’s alpha, well, not by blood, but nevertheless, the current leader. What the hell?
I chanced a glance at Alcuin. By his dejected state, I could only presume he was feeling self-conscious, even defeated. He wasn’t displaying even a portion of his normal confidence. It appeared