A Witch in Time

A cold sensation washed over her, and after a split second, she opened her eyes.
“Fucking hell.” Julianna let out a gagging sound. “What is that smell?”
As they stood in the shadowed, narrow alley, the stench hit Elise’s nostrils. “I guess romance novels tend to gloss over what history smelled like.” She pinched her nose.
“How do people stand it?” Julianna moaned.
“They probably get used to it,” Cross said with a grin. “Come on, it’s better out there, I promise.”
They each took an arm he offered and walked beside him as he guided them out of the alley. A fresh breeze greeted them as they turned the corner, and Elise took big gulps into her lungs.
“We’re close,” Cross whispered as they continued their stroll into the busy pedestrian street. They passed a few shops as well as people milling about. A few of them glanced their way as they walked by.
“Why are they looking at us?” Julianna’s eyes darted around. “God, I’m so tempted to tell these people to fuck off.”
While no one was outright staring at them, Elise could definitely feel eyes on them as they passed by. “Do you think they know?” Her wolf didn’t seem alarmed by anything. In fact, it had been oddly calm this entire time. Still, the looks they were getting from the people around them were disconcerting and she did her best to ignore them.
“The house is around the corner.”
Cross directed them to turn right, and as soon as Elise saw the building, she held her breath. So this was Hunter House. “House” was a misnomer—it was more of a grand mansion, taking up the entire block. It was imposing, but not garish, and done in a neoclassical style. It kind of reminded her of the house she grew up in, though this building was at least twice as big.
Julianna let out a low whistle. “Wow. It’s gonna take us a while to search the entire place.”
“I’m told it has at least ten bedrooms.” Cross slowed down as Julianna tugged on his arm, and they stopped right across the street from the house.
“That might be a problem.” Julianna pursed her lips. “Ideally, we could wait until everyone’s asleep and search one section each night.”
“But if we don’t find it in here, we’d have to search all his other estates,” Cross said. “That could take weeks.”
“How about if we get jobs inside the house? I could be a maid or something,” Julianna said. “Like undercover work. As a maid, I could probably access all the rooms easily.”
“Good idea,” Cross said. “Now.…”
A small movement from the corner of her sight made Elise snap her head back toward the house. Cross and Julianna were so deep in conversation that they didn’t seem to notice that the large gate was ajar.
“Guys,” she said. “There’s someone …”
It happened so fast Elise barely blinked when she spied the small figure slipping out between the gates. Her wolf instantly went on alert, and she suddenly became aware of her surroundings. The small footsteps across the cobblestones. The pounding of hooves, and the rattle of wheels. When she turned her head, she saw where the thunderous sound was coming from. A coach was speeding down the road heading straight for the child.
Her wolf’s instincts kicked in, and she wrenched free of Cross’s arm. Her Lycan speed allowed her to reach the center of the street and grab the young boy frozen like a deer in headlights before he was run over by hooves and wheels. The momentum was too much, however, and she and the boy were sent sprawling across the sidewalk. He screamed and she held his tiny body to her, shielding it as best she could as they rolled several feet until her back hit the metal gates.
“Oomph!” she groaned as she lay sprawled out on the sidewalk. Good thing for Lycan healing; her bruises would heal by tomorrow, but she was still going to be black and blue for a couple of hours. But at least the boy was safe. She peered down. “Are you all right?” she whispered.
“Y-y-yes,” said the small voice. “I just wanted to …” He let out a sob.
“There, there,” she soothed. “You’re fine. Just—” She stiffened as she took a whiff of the boy’s scent. It was undeveloped, but distinct enough that she knew he wasn’t human. A pup.
“Ahem.”
She startled at the low baritone. A shiver ran through her, but instead of being afraid or defensive, her wolf’s ears perked up, and it stood very still as if waiting for something. When she looked up from where she was sitting on the ground, she found herself staring into the darkest ebony eyes she’d ever seen.

Chapter Three
For the last decade, order, routine, and schedules ran Reed’s life. He woke up at precisely seven fifteen in the morning, dressed by eight, and sat down to breakfast by eight fifteen. His solicitor, Percy Whittleby, walked into his office by nine o’clock, where they could discuss the day’s business dealings.
If there weren’t too many things on their agenda, they would finish by lunch, and Reed would have a peaceful meal by himself in the dining room. If they ran later, then he and Whittleby had cold sandwiches and refreshments from twelve o’clock to twelve thirty before proceeding with business. In the afternoon, if he had the time, he would go to White’s for a drink or two or a round of fencing at Angelo’s before getting ready for the evening’s activities. While he preferred to go to the theater or ballet with his latest female companion, he sometimes had to attend some boring dinner party or ball at the insistence of his mother—
“Your Grace?”
Whittleby’s nasal voice was a welcome intrusion, and Reed allowed the cold numb feeling to smother the other emotions threatening to surface, along with the distinct yowl from his inner wolf. His head snapped back to the other man. “What’s next on the agenda?”
“Well, uh, there is the matter of the rental of the house