Veiled Spirits

It works. “Who the fuck is that?” Luca rumbles. He straightens from his perch against the car and advances on me. I stand my ground and refuse to back up. Tilting my chin up, I meet his burning blue eyes. I’m proud of myself that I don’t even flinch at the rage I find in his gaze.

“Calm down, wolf boy. He’s fictional. He’s the main character from the show I like and the reason I think Chargers are super cool.”

When Luca realizes that Michael Westen isn’t my boyfriend or fuck buddy, he backs up a step. He closes his eyes for a moment. He runs his hands through his short hair before his bright ocean eyes snap open. “Your mouth is going to get you in trouble one of these days, wildcat.”

I can’t help the laugh that bubbles up at his comment. “It gets me in trouble on the regular.”

The corners of Luca’s mouth twitch up briefly before he shuts down his grin. Turning away from me, he opens the passenger side car door for me. “Get in.”

“I thought I was driving?”

Luca huffs a laugh. “You’ll drive when we’re somewhere you can’t drive the Charger into anything.”

“Oh. Good thinking.” With how not coordinated I am, there’s a huge chance I would drive the muscle car into something else in this parking lot. I climb into the passenger seat and admire the buttery soft leather. Even with it being white, the leather is in pristine condition. It’s clear Luca takes great care of this beauty.

Once Luca and I are all buckled up, he pulls out of the parking lot. We drive while listening to his music without speaking for a few minutes before I can’t take the awkwardness anymore. “How’d you become alpha so young?” I blurt out.

Luca flicks his gaze to me before darting it back to the road. “My parents were killed five years ago. One of my dads was the previous alpha. When they were killed in a vampire attack, Archer, Cain, and I had to step up to lead the pack.”

“Shit, man. I’m sorry.” I wince at how sarcastic I sound. While I meant it sincerely, it comes across flippantly. I’m the worst at emotions and dealing with other people having feelings.

He barks out a startled laugh. “Bishop was right, wildcat. You sure do have a way with words.”

We’re at a stoplight, so I twist in my seat to look at him. “I really am sorry, Luca. On top of losing your parents, which is a pain I can’t even begin to imagine, you had to take on so much responsibility. I know how easy it is to be crushed and broken by everything that’s expected of you. Taking on leading a whole pack isn’t easy, and, from everything I’ve heard, you do a great job.”

“I knew what you meant, Izzy,” Luca tells me as he watches me. His eyes soften at what he sees on my face before he has to turn back to driving. “What responsibilities weigh on you?”

“Nice try, wolf boy.” I know when someone’s fishing for information. Everything that feels like it’s trying to bury me under six feet of concrete is exactly what I can’t talk to him about. To distract him, I ask him something else. “Is the vampire attack why your pack got into assassination and arms dealing?”

Luca’s head whips around to face me before he quickly jerks his gaze back to the road. “Yes, it is. How do you even know that, wildcat? Our side activities aren’t well known.”

“Oh. Huh. I thought everyone knew of your shady, back-room, blood-money dealings. I probably heard it from Rhys or Aiden.” Luca scowls at me for how I label his pack’s illegal activities. I smile at getting a rise out of the serious wolf.

“How do they know?”

“Probably from their work at the security company.” Rhys and Bishop are part owners of their mage security and intelligence business. They started it with two other friends straight out of college. Logan and Declan, the other owners, are pretty chill. It’s doing decently well, if how many employees they have is any indication.

“Which one?”

“Elemental Security.” I think it’s a cheeky as hell name because most mages have an affinity for one of the elements. It sounds normal enough not to draw human attention but mage enough to attract the right kind of business.

Luca’s eyes widen comically when I tell him the security company name. I manage to hold back my laugh at his shock. “Fucking hell. I didn’t realize your brothers worked for them. No wonder they knew.”

“They don’t work for them. Well, Aiden does, but Bishop and Rhys own it. Are they a big deal or something?”

Luca chokes on his spit. He turns to me with his eyebrows practically at his hairline. “They’re the best supernatural security and intelligence operation on the East Coast, wildcat. No wonder Bishop is so good at what he does.” He mutters the last part to himself.

“Really? I thought they weren’t very good because they have me help out sometimes.” My brothers and Bishop hate when I come on their super-secret spy missions, but my skills are sometimes needed. Anya whips me up disguise potions, so no one other than my brothers and Bishop know it’s me.

“They let you go on operations?” Luca growls, hands white knuckling the steering wheel. His eyes flash the amber of his wolf as they bounce between the road and my face. “That’s dangerous.”

I snort. Going on missions with Rhys and Bishop is probably the least dangerous thing I do. Since I’m in disguise, I can use my magic to defend myself. Hell, being at school is more hazardous for my health than the security work I do. “Yes, wolf boy, I go on missions when my particular skills are necessary.”

“What skills are those?” Luca pulls into an empty parking lot in front of an abandoned building. He turns to look at me fully as soon as he puts the car in park.

“Ones I can’t tell you about.” I studiously avoid his eyes that remind me of the sea glass I used to collect as a kid.

“Is your work with Elemental Security why you’ve killed someone before?” Luca asks gently.