City of Magic: The Complete Series by Helen Harper (book club recommendations TXT) 📕

‘If there are other werewolves in town,’ Julie asked, ‘why don’t we get them to help? A band of vicious animals will more than scare this wanker into surrendering.’

I sneaked a look at Monroe’s face. If anything, he appeared even more taut and unhappy than he had a moment ago. That was hardly surprising, given what had happened the last time he’d involved other wolves in Manchester’s problems.

‘There are other vampires in town too. Why don’t you find them and get them to help?’ he bit back.

‘Because I don’t know where they are, darling,’ Julie answered smoothly, although I noted the flicker in her eyes. She had enjoyed being the only vampire in the city. I couldn’t help but wonder how far down the vamp pecking order she really was.

‘Ditto,’ Monroe growled. ‘The pack has gone to find somewhere to live. I’m meeting them later but until then I have no way of communicating with them.’

Jodie sighed. ‘I miss my phone.’

We all grimaced in a moment of mutual understanding at the loss of the technology we relied on so much. Then I checked my watch; at least that was still working. ‘If I’m going to make the meeting with Max, I need to leave now. The plan still stands. The only thing that’s changed is that Jodie will go with Cath, and Monroe will take her place.’

Jodie nodded. She looked more relieved than aggrieved. Monroe straightened, as if he were about to argue with me; I turned towards him and gave a minute shake of my head. Fortunately, he understood – and complied.

‘I’ll drive you,’ he said. ‘And before you complain, don’t worry. I’ll drop you off well before the park. I won’t let any of them see me. I’ll swing back round and meet Anna at the Mayor’s house straight after.’

I breathed out. We were all set. I had managed to come up with a plan after all. Go me. Now, for Lizzy’s sake, I had to pray that it worked.

The trusty postal van was almost out of petrol so we hopped into a small, zippy, blue thing that Monroe had procured. ‘You know,’ I commented, ‘it won’t be long before we can’t use any of these vehicles. Petrol is suddenly a very finite source. We should try to clear as many of the blocked roads as possible before it starts running out.’

Monroe was silent for a few seconds before he said gruffly, ‘Assuming, of course, that you don’t end up dying during this little charade you’re taking part in.’

‘Lizzy is my best friend.’

‘I’m not arguing with you,’ he said. ‘I’m merely pointing out the inherent danger in what you’re doing.’ He scratched his jaw. ‘I should have dealt with this Max fellow at the hotel. I won’t make that mistake again.’

‘Maybe,’ I said softly, ‘it wasn’t your mistake to make.’ I paused. ‘Are you alright?’

‘I’m fine.’

I inhaled sharply. Monroe wasn’t the easiest person in the world to talk to. ‘With those other werewolves appearing…’

‘It’s not a problem. It’s good that they’re here. And you don’t have to worry about them causing any problems – I’ll make sure they behave. I doubt they’re the only werewolves who’ve attempted to get into the city. This particular pack already has Julian as their own strong alpha. They’re heading for the north of the city to find an appropriate place to settle. It’s their choice. I don’t want to interfere too much and I might join them later. The trouble is, they’re a tight knit group and I’m not prepared to take a beta role.’ His eyes shifted across to mine. ‘Not with anyone who’s less powerful than I am.’

‘You’re stronger than Julian.’

Monroe snorted mildly. ‘Of course.’ There was a second’s silence. ‘But I might not be stronger than you.’

I blinked. ‘Uh…’

‘Magically of course. In every other sense of the word, I’m far superior.’

I grinned. ‘Almost, Monroe. You were almost nice there.’

He frowned. ‘Being nice has nothing to do with it. I’m merely stating facts.’ He stopped suddenly at a single, massive tree root that appeared to be blocking most of the road then he swerved round. The little car juddered as we drove over a section of it. ‘There will be others like Max.’

I grabbed the door handle as he swerved again. ‘Pardon?’

‘Once we’ve dealt with Max, others will show up to take his place. It’s the nature of lawlessness – suddenly there’s an absence of rules and infrastructure and people seek to fill the void. What happens to Manchester from now on will be fascinating from an anthropological point of view. Mark my words, there will be more tussles for power as time goes on.’

‘Or,’ I said, ‘we’ll all live happily ever after.’

Monroe snorted. ‘Even you’re not that naïve. Anyway, my point is that you should learn proper defensive skills – and attack skills. I can teach you. You won that bet and in return I promised to give you lessons. We should start as soon as this Max business is over.’

I had a sudden vision of an oiled, bare-chested Monroe performing martial arts in slow motion. Mmm. I pulled my mind out of the gutter. ‘To be honest, I have taken self-defence classes before. I’m a gambler, after all. There’s been more than one occasion when I’ve had to deal with disgruntled losers who were trying to take my winnings. I’m not as weak as I look.’

‘And you’re not as strong as you think. A bet is a bet. And I can teach you plenty more. I guarantee your previous lessons weren’t delivered by a werewolf who’d been trained for combat since he was a toddler.’

‘No,’ I said cheerfully. ‘They were run by a swarthy guy called Robert who had a penchant for groin strikes. He liked it when we practised on him.’

Monroe looked faintly sick. He drew the car to a halt and turned to look at me. ‘You have a lot of magical power, Charlotte, but don’t rely on it too much or