“Well I guess you thought wrong,” Chulo cut him off. “There was only one vamp in the park last night and we never saw him again after you sent us off in the wrong direction. What happened to the hijo de puta, anyway, Skulls?”
“I told you, I killed him.” Paul rubbed the side of his neck again, frowning. The place where Mercedes had scratched him was starting to throb and itch. It reminded him of a really bad case of poison ivy he’d had when he was very young, before the were genes kicked in and made him immune to most poisons.
“Why didn’t you meet up with the rest of the pack afterward then?” Chulo was relentless.
“What are you, some kind of fucking lawyer cross-examining me?” he growled.
“You can shove the Law and Order routine up your ass—I don’t answer to you. Where the fuck is Angel?”
“Family business.” Chulo looked smug. “And this time he left me in charge.”
Paul felt the pit of his stomach drop but he wasn’t going to let this fucker know how much Angel bypassing him in favor of his cousin worried him. “Whoop-ti-fucking-do, asshole. You finally made it to the grown-ups’ table. Want me to pull out your chair for you?”
In the past this kind of trash talk would have pissed Chulo off but now he just stared at Paul and grinned. “How about that challenge we were talking about last night, Skulls? You up for it? You wanna go?”
In fact, Paul was starting to feel dizzy and the burning, itching pain in his neck was getting worse. But he’d be damned if he let Chulo know it. “No problem, let’s go.” He took a step in Chulo’s direction and had the satisfaction of seeing the other wolf’s smile turn into a look of uncertainty. “Well? Come on, cabron. Or are you a fucking coward?”
This was something Chulo couldn’t let pass—not in front of the whole pack. “Hey, I’ll throw down with you any time, anywhere, hijo de puta. But not until Angel’s here to make sure it’s a fair fight.”
“Fine.” To be honest, Paul was glad to put the fight off. The longer he stood here the worse he felt. “How about tomorrow night then?”
“He should be back then.” Chulo nodded and Paul couldn’t help noticing the gleam was back in his eyes. What the fuck was going on? He wanted to stay and find out but he suddenly knew that he had to get out of the house, away from the rest of the pack.
He was either going to be sick or pass out and he couldn’t show that kind of weakness in front of Chulo and the wolves who were now apparently backing him.
“I’ll see you then.” It was all he could do not to stagger as he walked out of the house and down the front steps. God, what was wrong with him? He had a vague idea it had to do with the way that pinche puta Mercedes had scratched him but his thoughts seemed to be fuzzy around the edges now—hard to hold on to. Home, have to get home. His stepmother would know what to do. Aside from being his dad’s bookkeeper, she was one of the few people he knew who was trained in were treatment and medicine. She’d done a nursing degree in human school and then taken another course somewhere in Arizona, where there was a big concentration of wolf packs. Lucia could help him…he hoped.
Chapter Five
“Wolf’s Bane.”
“What?” Paul looked at his stepmother groggily, trying to make his eyes focus. He had no idea how he’d gotten back to the Chop Shop garage but he was pretty sure it had involved reckless driving.
“Wolf’s Bane. Aconitum vulparia. It’s in the scratches on your neck.”
“Mercedes must have had it on her fingernails. I thought that was just an old wives tale.” Paul reached up to touch his neck and winced. “Dios, it really hurts!”
“It doesn’t grow around here but it’s real enough. Witches used to plant it in their gardens to keep our kind out.”
Paul coughed. “She said…said she was a bruja but I thought she was just blowing smoke.”
“Apparently she was telling the truth.” Lucia frowned. “I’ve never heard of putting it on your fingernails but I know they used to dip sharp flints in the plant’s sap and use them kind of like throwing stars. They called them elf darts.”
“You sure as hell seem to know a lot about it.” Paul coughed again and scowled.
Damn it, even coughing hurt!
“Everything but how to cure it. Try to shift.” Lucia took a step back, giving him room. “Go ahead—the moon is full right now. Maybe that will help.”
“Uh…” Paul wavered. Shifting to wolf form would ruin his clothes and when he changed back he’d be naked. He and Lucia were close but…