Compelled by Shawntelle Madison Page B

The voice circled us until a familiar face stepped in front of us. Tamara hadn’t changed since the last time I saw her. She was a short, full-figured woman with thick brown hair, but it was the birthmark on her face that assured me I had the right person. The rose-colored birthmark filled most of her left cheek. “I’ve seen you before.”
    “You have,” I said in English. I might as well keep the rest of the conversation out in the open.
    She shifted and glanced at Tyler. “And the dwarf?” she asked in English.
    “My friend,” I replied. “He wanted to make sure I got here safely.”
    “You always seem to have friends...around you.” She glanced toward the woods nearby. “Is the wizard here, too?”
    She meant Nick.
    “No, he didn’t come with me. Only Tyler.”
    She kissed her fingertips, mumbled a few words I couldn’t hear, and raised the fingers to the wind and waited. “You speak the truth. Now the next question. Why would you do something so foolish as to come here and see me?”
    I took a deep breath. I refused to take my hand off Tyler’s arm. The guy was itching to speak, but for now, I needed to settle things. “I’ve heard some rumors from my grandmother, Svetlana Lasovskaya. You remember her, right?”
    Tamara’s eyebrow rose. “You are her granddaughter. Most interesting.”
    Hopefully interesting in a good way and not a bad way.
    “You told my grandmother about a spell to remove curses. I am here about that.”
    At the mention of curses, Tamara’s steady heartbeat rose.
    “I wanted to—” I began.
    “No more talking outside. We’ll discuss your visit over tea.” She glanced at Tyler. “He does drink tea, doesn’t he?”
    I released his arm.
    “I most certainly do,” Tyler said, giving me a stern eye.
    We followed Tamara up the single step into the house. I expected to run into the double pairs of eyes, but the tiny living room was empty. Other than the bit of Russian culture here and there, it appeared like any other farmhouse with mismatched wooden furniture and little things here and there to make it a home. A wooden radio in the corner played classical music. The volume was turned down so low I barely heard it. Werewolves definitely lived here.
    “Zoya, bring some tea,” she said as she took a seat. “We have guests. Luda, bring some cookies. I know you baked some behind my back.”
    The two pairs of eyes appeared at the head of the stairs as we sat down. They belonged to a pair of fraternal black-haired twins. A shorter, full-figured one was dressed in a floral print dress, while a thinner, taller one wore a white T-shirt and jeans. They peered at us with curiosity.
    “Are they staying for dinner?” the one in the jeans asked. She pushed her chin-length hair behind her ears before she fetched a plate of cookies. That must be Luda, then.
    “I don’t know yet.” Tamara leaned back in the seat. She gestured to the other places for us. “It depends on what they have to say. Whether I like it or not.”
    As much as I came here bearing goodwill and all, I wasn’t a fool either. Tamara was a werewolf with spellcasting abilities. The only thing I could do was pretty useless in a battle against someone like her.
    “I’m not here to threaten anyone. The reason I came was because—”
    “You want to save the South Toms River Pack alpha.”
    I swallowed and tried to keep a straight face. “You know who I am.”
    She offered a slow smile. “Let’s drop the pretenses then, Dearie. We met under fascinating circumstances, didn’t we? I need fairy magic, you needed to save your father from his moon debt. I didn’t approve Roscoe’s method to bring me the fairy, but I needed the magic for my work. Everything was going so smoothly. Until you came and tricked all of us with the decoy in the truck.” She laughed as Zoya poured a tea service and handed each of us a drink.
    Tyler didn’t touch his until Zoya sat and took a sip. He didn’t trust them any more than I did at