The Garden Witch

Chapter Seven

My boss was surprised to see me.

"I thought you were sick."

"It was some weird stomach bug," I said, waving a hand. "I'm better now. I thought I would stop in and see how things were going."

"Oh, we're fine. Stacy is handling everything. It's a slow day."

"Ah, good, good." I hesitated. "I'm just going to go check on my little guys in the back and then I might head home again. You never know when the vomit is gonna hit."

I gave her a thumbs up and hurried through the Conservatory. I could feel my boss staring at the back of my head as I went and I didn't blame her. I would stare at me, too.

I made it to the back of the Conservatory and then circled around to where we kept the Wolfsbane. Thankfully, the room was empty. I tugged a knife from my purse and started to cut off the flowers.

"Tabitha."

"Damnit." I lifted my nicked finger to my mouth and tasted blood. I straighted up and stared at the blond woman in front of me. "Myrna."

She slowly walked down the steps that winded through the room.

"Mike told me you were heading here."

I frowned. "How did he know?"

"He heard you, through the door."

"He was eavesdropping?" I froze, studying Myrna. She looked different, taller somehow. More elegant. Her stride as she climbed down the steps was even and lithe. "What's going on, Myrna?"

"He tried to get you to talk to me. If he had, we could have avoided this."

"Avoided what?" I demanded. I stashed the Wolfsbane I had already gathered into my purse, along with the knife.

"Why do you need the Wolfsbane? Are you making a weapon for Alex?"

I froze. "How do you know about Alex?"

"I know a lot." She came to a stop a few feet in front of me. I stared into her eyes and discovered they were a bright, crystal blue. They had been hazel the last time I looked. "I know that you're working with him to try to overthrow the Alpha. And I know that we can't let that happen."

"Who's we?" I asked, but I already knew.

"The Pack."

"They turned you," I whispered. It made sense now. Her going missing then reappearing. Her new lithe grace. The change in eye color. "You sent Mike to my house to stop me."

"I wanted to talk to you, to warn you away from Alex."

"Why?" I demanded. "So the Pack can keep turning and attacking people?"

"He's trying to overthrow my Alpha, Tabitha. I can't let him do that."

"Do you have any idea what your Alpha is doing to people?" I demanded. "The Lycans?"

She frowned. "I just know what I'm told, that Alex is dangerous. You shouldn't be helping him."

"I can make my own decisions." This wasn't her. This wasn't my friend Myrna. They had changed her somehow. I didn't know what happened to a person when they were made a wolf, what it did to them. I didn't know how it changed them. But there was something wrong with her.

She sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that." She let out a small growl and something about her changed. She looked less human somehow. "I don't want to hurt you, Tabby. But we can't let you take the wolfsbane." She wrinkled her nose. "I can smell it from here."