Compelled by Shawntelle Madison Page A

Tamara?”
    “You mean what will I say other than please help me learn how to remove Thorn’s curse?”
    He rolled his eyes. “I’m being serious. You traveled all this way. Do you have a plan for when you meet her? The last time you met wasn’t a pleasant memory, I’m sure.”
    The last time we’d met had been when I was fulfilling my father’s moon debt to a werewolf named Roscoe. The guy was an asshole, a dead one mostly likely after the fairy child he trapped got a hold of him, thanks to me. I was forced to haul that fairy in a truck up to Maine. Once there, I met the pack leader and Tamara. There was a fight at the time between the fairies and werewolves. Tamara had cast some pretty dark magic that day, showing that she had my grandmother’s powers of transformation.  
    “I guess I could say, ‘Hi! I’d like to help you figure things out,” I managed.
    “You didn’t think this through did you?” He sighed.
    “I got it covered. Really.”
    I didn’t have shit covered. This whole trip should’ve been better planned. I was the queen, the overlord, you name it, of planning to reduce my anxiety. But when it came to saving Thorn, I was willing to toss most of that planning aside. Damn! Love made folks do stupid stuff.
    But it was worth it, I guess.
    “Look, if you’re not sure what to say, I got an idea or two,” Tyler said.
    “Like what?”
    “Just let the professional do his thing.”
    “Tyler, you’re a model. Do what thing?”
    We reached a fork in the road and the farmer came to a stop. He pointed down the road with a smile. “Go that way about two miles, and you’ll find what you’re looking for at the top of a small hill.”
    I thanked him. Now it was time to get things over with. The walk didn’t take that long. The road was still pretty wide, even though many of the dirt paths had gaping potholes. Tyler jumped over a few.
    “This place is so quiet,” he remarked.
    “Do you want to raise a family in the city or in the country like this?”
    He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to me. I just want to find someone who will make me want to live anywhere.”
    “That’s what I like to hear.”
    Just like the man said, the house at the end of the road sat at the top of a small hill and couldn’t be missed. Forests hugged an open meadow on all sides. The chilly wind whistled through the trees and whipped a clothesline of underwear through the air. Women’s underwear. The two-story house had been kept up with dark grey shingles and a bright red door. A haphazard fence was the only thing in disrepair about the place. The dark wood was rotted in many places. A single power line extended from the road and raced up to the house. The only line for communication and power.
    “Are you ready?” he asked.
    “Stop asking and let’s do it.”
    We walked up to the house. I was glad the wind was to my back. That way, I wasn’t sneaking up, and whoever was inside could smell and see me coming. Werewolves didn’t like folks sneaking up on them.
    The door opened a crack as Tyler and I approached. From downwind, I couldn’t smell who opened the door, but I hoped it was a werewolf and not some witch popping out who liked to eat little boys and girls. As much as I wanted to learn a spell or two from a werewolf, learning something from a spellcaster who was actually a witch wasn’t welcomed.
    The door opened and two sets of eyes peeked out. I grabbed Tyler’s arm by the time we reached the circular courtyard in front of the house.
    “Wait. Let them check us out,” I whispered.
    The wind shifted behind us and the hairs on the back of my neck rose. “Who are you?” A voice hissed to our backs.
    The muscles in Tyler’s arm stiffened. My grip on him tightened. Now wasn’t the time to whip out his Axe in a Box . Not yet, anyway.
    The scent behind us was wolf though.
    “I’m Natalya Stravinsky,” I said in Russian. “I’m here to see Tamara.”
    “Only people in America know me by that name.”