"I can't just summon him," Amber said, trying to deflect.
"The witch knows how. She used to dabble in black magic." Thallan sneered at her. "Find a way. Before you fulfill the bargain."
She ground her teeth together. There was no way she was going along with this plan, except as a last resort if Angel tried to kill her. She still had a hard time imagining he would despite how much of an asshole he'd been lately.
"I have to talk to my pack."
Thallan snorted. "Talk to the witch. She'll know how to get the demon at his most vulnerable. If nothing else, he wants to protect this girl you have stashed away in my guest house."
"You're not hurting her," Amber said, immediately angry.
"That's up to you," he said with a mock bow.
Amber turned and left, her mind racing. She wouldn't let him hurt Evangeline, but he could be unpredictable. If he thought she wasn’t going to help him, he might try to do something on his own.
There was so much to do. And so many ways it could all go wrong. She stopped in the middle of the grounds and kicked off her shoes, then stripped her shirt off over her head. She couldn’t think right now.
The shift rolled over her like a wave and she dropped to four feet. Normally, she tried to maintain control while she was shifted. This time, she just let go.
The wolf shook out its fur and trotted toward the woods.
Chapter 43
CERI
Ceri had waited over an hour for Amber to return, and had started getting a little nervous that something was wrong. But the pack bond stayed calm, so she forced herself to sit and wait instead of marching over to Thallan’s house to demand to see her alpha.
She sighed and started the porch swing rocking again. It was getting too cold to sit outside but she didn’t much feel like sleeping either.
A pair of bright red eyes appeared in the darkness right in front of the porch and she tensed up. “Amber?”
The wolf stepped into the light, holding her clothes in her mouth. She nodded her head.
“Where have you been? You were supposed to come talk to me.”
Amber sighed and looked away guiltily then trotted up onto the porch where she shifted. Ceri looked away while she pulled on her clothes, waiting to glare at Amber until she sat down on the porch swing next to her.
“Well?”
“Sorry,” she said, crossing her arms. “I needed a minute to clear my head.”
“That bad?”
Amber nervously picked at the hem of her shirt. “Thallan wants me to kill the demon,” she whispered, glancing around like the demon might pop out at any moment.
Ceri was quiet. She just stared down at her hands. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind in an instant. None of them good.
“You can’t seriously think I should go along with his plan.”
Ceri knew she expected her to be her sounding board. The voice of reason.
“I mean…it would free you,” Ceri said hesitantly, barely able to meet her eyes.
“And what would it mean for Evangeline? He’s protecting her.” Amber crossed her arms.
“That’s what he’s told you he’s doing, but it could be a lie. He’s a demon for heaven’s sake. They lie,” Ceri said, exasperated.
"There's something else going on. I just don’t know what yet.”
“Honestly, my biggest issue with it is just that it’s risky. If we can get through this and free you from the mark, that’s better than trying to kill…you know who.” She drained the last of her tea, grimacing as she swallowed down the dregs at the bottom.
“Do you think Evangeline is evil?” Amber asked, turning to look at her.
Ceri gnawed on the inside of her cheek as she rolled the question around in her mind. She’d been avoiding this question, so of course Amber had to bring it up. “She’s not really a demon.”
Amber gave her an unimpressed look, raising one of her eyebrows.
“She’s not,” Ceri insisted. “The angel side of her changes things.”
“Before the whole incident with Angel, he really seemed just like any other person. Maybe a little bit of an asshole, but so are most humans.”
“And when you crossed him he threatened your life and put everyone in danger.” Ceri sighed, rubbing her temples. The headache was back. “I’m not saying you should do it, but I wouldn’t exactly cry. Do you think Thallan will try without you?”
“Probably. I want to keep an eye on him. He’s not exactly…stable.”
“That’s an understatement.”
Amber glanced at her. “What was that favor you did for him before? The one you thought you could trade for the whole sponsor thing.”
“Ah…” she grimaced at the memory. “I tracked his daughter down for him. She disappeared after he went all crazy after his wife died. He didn’t know where she was or if she was okay, and she refused to speak with him.”
“I really can’t picture him as a father.”
Ceri snorted. “She said he was a good one, before his wife died. Grief makes people do awful things sometimes.”
Amber’s face fell. “Yeah, it does.”
Ceri reached across the bench and grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry.”
She wished she could fix all of this. Maybe killing the demon was the only way. It scared her how deep he had his claws in Amber already. Amber always wanted to see the best in people, and sometimes, it just wasn’t there.
Chapter 44
EVANGELINE
Evangeline grabbed the shower handle, turning on the water just in time to drown out the sound of her throwing up her dinner. The room spun as her stomach heaved. Her skin was clammy all over. It had been all day and she had thrown up every time she'd eaten.
She yanked some toilet paper off the roll and wiped her mouth, then sat back, leaning her head against the wall. Her skin ached, especially where the boils had started popping up. She thought she'd have more time, but using her demon side's magic the other night seemed to have accelerated the illness.
She lifted her hoodie a little and saw that the boils had grown even larger. The skin around them was red and inflamed.
There was a soft knock at the bathroom door and she froze. "I'm busy."
"I heard you throwing up. Again," Tommy said quietly, just audible over the noise of the shower. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said, glaring at the door and cursing werewolf hearing. She'd hoped the shower would drown it out. It had always hidden it from Eloise.
"Even if I couldn't hear your heartbeat stuttering all over the place, it'd be obvious you were lying."
"I'm fine is code for go away," she snapped, pushing up to her feet. Her vision blurred from the sudden movement and she had to pause to catch her breath. She tried to take a step forward, but her legs buckled.
Instead of hitting the tile floor, she landed in Tommy's arms. She hadn't even heard the door open, but somehow, he was in the bathroom. He lifted her like she weighed nothing then set her down gently, with her back propped up against the wall.
"Are you sick? You smell like...I don't know what. It's really weird though," he said as he smoothed the hair back from her face.
Her eyes popped open and she pushed his hand away but it was too late. Her hood slipped back and she felt him freeze, his eyes locked on her head. She knew what he was seeing. Black hair, and her least favorite part…
"Are those horns?"
"You cannot tell anyone," she said angrily, pulling her hood back over them. They’d gotten bigger over the years and she hated it.
"Did they just grow or something? Your hair was definitely blonde before too." He sat back, watching her curiously. She felt like a zoo animal.
She stared at the floor so she didn't have to see his expression. "They grow when the sun sets. My demon side comes out. I don't like to talk about it."
He shrugged and stood up, grabbing one of the disposable cups they kept by the sink. "You should drink some water."
"I'm not thi
rsty."
"You've thrown up three times today. You're bound to be dehydrated. I know you want to be left alone, but don't be dumb." Tommy thrust the little cup of water toward her. She wanted to knock it out of his hand and run away, but he was right. She needed whatever she could manage to keep down.
“Fine,” she said, taking the cup and draining it quickly. It still made her stomach churn but she didn’t vomit right away.
“This isn’t the flu, is it?” Tommy asked, crossing his arms.
She looked down at her hands. “No.”
“Does Eloise know what’s going on?”
Her head snapped up and she glared at him. “Do not tell her.”
“Why are you hiding it from her?”
“Because she already has enough to worry about and I don’t want to make it worse. There’s nothing she can do anyhow.”
“We could take you to a doctor.”
Evangeline snorted at that. “Hey doc, this half demon recently accused of eating all our magic is sick. Can you help? Yeah, that’s going to go over real well.”
“What about Ceri? She knows how to help with most things.”
She wrapped her arms a little tighter around her herself. “I don’t want her help. There’s nothing anyone can do about it anyhow. It’s…genetic.” That wasn’t exactly a lie. Maybe not the whole truth, but the curse was woven into her genes in a manner of speaking. Her biological mother had passed it on to her just like every other demon.
“Are you dying or something?” he asked, his brows knitting together in concern.
“No,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m just sick. I’ll be fine.”
Unless she never did what she had to in order to make the sickness go away. Some days she thought it might be better if she didn’t. Kadrithan acted like everything depended on her staying alive, but she didn’t want that responsibility. Certainly not for the demons. Anything they wanted from her couldn’t be good, and he wouldn’t explain it.
Tommy shifted on his feet as the silence became awkward. She wanted to just leave, but she didn’t have the energy to get off the floor right now.
“I’m going to ask Ceri if she has anything for nausea,” he said finally.
“I don’t want––”
He cut her off with a glare. “I’m going to, and then you can stop throwing up all the delicious food I make.”
“Why are you such a mother hen?” she muttered, twirling the cup in her hands.
“Why are you so determined to keep feeling like crap?”
“I’m not, I just don’t want everyone fussing over me.” She tossed the cup into the trash and pushed herself off the floor. Slowly.
“If you just told Ceri you needed something, she’d give it to you, and then no one would worry. You’re seriously overthinking all of this,” he said, catching her arm as her legs wobbled again and pulling her upright.
The front door opened and Genevieve walked in. "Please tell me you saved me some dinner this time, Tommy," she shouted as she dumped her stuff on the couch.
Evangeline jerked away and slipped out of the bathroom. She knew he meant well, but she just wanted to be left alone. She’d disappear if she could. Sometimes she thought she should. She was evil after all. Or at least half evil.
She shut the bedroom door behind her and shuffled over to the bed. Her mother was already asleep as she slid under the covers and curled up behind her. At least while she was sleeping she didn’t have to think.
Chapter 45
AMBER
Amber parked in front of Jameson’s house and frowned. She wasn’t late, but the others were already here. The wolf perked up in her mind as a feeling of dread settled in her gut. She’d been slightly worried about this meeting, but maybe she should have been really worried about it.
She hurried to the front door and let herself in. Jameson said he knew everyone by the sound of their vehicle, so driving up was as good as knocking. The house was quiet except for the sound of voices coming from the gathered werewolves.
Shane was waiting outside. He looked up, and she stopped in her tracks. He was furious. Wordlessly, he opened the door to the room and motioned for her to enter ahead of him.
Part of her was tempted to run, but the stubborn, alpha side of her refused to do that. She was going to deal with this.
Everyone was silent as she stepped into the room. Salazar was watching her curiously, but Bennett’s expression was one of disgust, and hate. She didn’t bother going to the one empty seat at the table. Instead, she just looked to Jameson.
“Do you have Evangeline Deschamps?” he asked without preamble. She could at least appreciate that he didn’t beat around the bush and draw this out.
“She’s not responsible for the magic disappearing,” Amber replied, crossing her arms and holding his gaze.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Jameson replied, rising from his seat. “We have a rule. We don’t report other alphas to the police, no matter what the infraction is. If it’s serious, we simply take care of it ourselves. If you believe this girl is innocent, then I will give you the benefit of the doubt.”
“You can’t be serious––”
Jameson cut off Bennett with a glare. “I lead the council. It is my decision, and without definite proof, I’m willing to acknowledge the girl may be innocent.” He turned back to Amber. “You have a week to prove this demon-child isn’t responsible.”
“Or what?” Amber ground out.
“Or the council will come get her ourselves, and you will be punished as I see fit.”
One week. Amber curled her hand into a fist and nodded. She was lucky she got that much based on the way Bennett was looking at her. “Can I trust that no one will come looking for trouble during that week?”
Jameson nodded. “You have my word.”
Amber nodded. “Then I guess we’ll talk again in a week.”
“You’re relieved of your council duties until this is resolved, and you won’t be needed for this meeting,” Jameson said, turning away in a clear dismissal.
“Just a word of warning. When I rescued Evangeline, there was a sorcerer there. He was trying to kill her. He’s probably the same one that killed Lockhart,” Amber said.
Jameson looked back at her. “I’ll look into it.”
She nodded, then turned around and walked out of the room. Shane shut the door behind her and followed her. They were silent as they left the house and walked back out to her truck.
Pausing by the driver side door, she crossed her arms. “Spit it out.”
“What the hell are you thinking?” he demanded, just as angry as she expected. “You’re a brand-new alpha whose reputation is already shit, and now you’re harboring a demon? That’s not just irresponsible, that’s insane.”
“You have no clue what you’re talking about,” she snapped, her eyes flashing red. “All of you idiots saw a man on the news making crazy claims, and you what? Just believed him? That asshole burned down an old woman’s house, then sent men with guns into the woods to hunt down a seventeen-year-old girl. If she is part demon, no one knows what that means. You can’t execute her without giving her a chance.”
“You don’t have the right to risk the safety of an entire city just because you feel bad for her,” Shane snapped back. She could see the struggle not to flinch back under her gaze, and any other time, she’d feel bad for using the dominance that came with being an alpha like this.
“I’m not going to sacrifice my conscience because some people are afraid of anyone that is different,” she ground out. “I’m going to find out what the hell is actually going on, and kill the sorcerer that’s behind all this. I don’t miss Donovan one tiny bit, but a sorcerer killed him and cut out his heart. Something everyone conveniently forgot today. Jameson might be next, but sure, let’s worry about the girl that hides in her room all day because she’s terrified someone is going to find her and hurt her mother again.”
Shane finally looked away. “If, in a week, yo
u discover this girl is responsible, what will you do?”
Amber knew he could hear a lie just like she could. If she said she’d just hand the girl over that wouldn’t be the truth. She couldn’t. Not without dying. But if the council was going to come after her pack she might not have a choice.
Thallan thought he could kill the demon, but something about that plan made her skin crawl. If it came down to it though…she couldn’t let Angel take her soul for failing to fulfill her end of the bargain.
“I don’t know,” she said finally.
He shook his head in frustration. “Sometimes I wish you’d just lie and tell me what I want to hear.”
She shrugged and climbed into her truck. She didn’t have time to sit here and baby Shane.
“Wait, I’m coming with you,” he said, heading around toward the passenger door.
“What? Why?”
He hopped up in the truck. “You’re going to go try to figure out what’s going on, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m going to help.” He pressed his lips into a thin line. “So you don’t get yourself killed.”
She sighed and cranked up the truck. “Do you know anyone that might know where to find a sorcerer?”
“Actually, I do.”
She backed out of her spot and headed out of the subdivision. “If you try to screw me over, or hurt Evangeline, I will rip you apart. Just so we’re clear.”
He looked at her from the corner of his eye. “I never doubted that for a second.”
Chapter 46
AMBER
“His name is Bram? Seriously?” Amber asked, raising her brow.
“He’s older than the other guy. And he’s very sensitive about those sorts of jokes, so just…don’t bring it up.” Shane pointed at the light ahead. “Turn here.”
She did as instructed, nervously checking the rearview mirror to make sure they weren’t being followed. It was completely paranoid, but she was starting to feel justified in her paranoia. The council had connected the dots after seeing the news report, there was no reason someone else couldn’t have as well.
Misfit Angel Page 18