by Cheree Alsop
I held out a hand. I could feel it trembling without needing to look.
Dara’s hand slipped into mine.
“Just breathe,” she whispered.
Her lips brushed my ear in a way that sent a shudder over my skin. I held onto that touch, the warmth of her hand in mine, and the heat that pressed against me from where she sat at my side.
“You’ve been through so much,” she said. “It’s a wonder you don’t fall apart.”
“I-I think I am falling apart,” I admitted with a half-sob, half laugh. I looked at her with my head still bowed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. And I can’t get this stupid shirt off!”
“You’ve been strong for everyone else. You just took down one of the biggest threats to mythic kind we know of, and that’s after dealing with the Mythic Labs. Finn, you take care of everyone and protect them. Now it’s time to let someone else take care of you.”
Dara turned on the faucet behind us. I heard her adjust the water until she was satisfied with the temperature, then she pulled the lever to turn it to the shower.
“Let’s take off your shoes,” she said.
She leaned down and began to untie the boots I had gotten from Uncle Conrad.
“You don’t have to—” I began, but she cut me off with a soft kiss.
“Finn, let me do it.”
I nodded wordlessly and watched her pull off one shoe and then the other, followed by my socks. After she was done, she held out her hand to help me stand.
“Come on,” she said quietly.
In a haze, I allowed her to pull me to my feet. Without bothering to do more than kick off her own shoes, she stepped into the shower. When she held out her hand again, I took silently.
“We’ll let the water do the hard part,” she said quietly as she positioned me so that I stood directly underneath the stream.
With my head bowed, the water ran off my shoulders and back. For some reason the warmth made my body start to shake. Tears filled my eyes and flowed down my cheeks to get lost in the water. Images of my dad and Julianne kept flashing through my head. I heard Amelia cry and felt the bullets hit me. The Darkest Warlock would kill everyone behind me if I didn’t stop him. I was one werewolf against a force so powerful I didn’t know what to do. Yet somehow, against all odds, we had beaten him and saved our loved ones.
I couldn’t get the shaking to stop. Dara wrapped her arms around me and simply held me. She didn’t pull with her skill as an empath. She knew I didn’t want her to carry what I felt. Instead, she stood there with her arms around my waist and her head resting against my chest without a care for the water that soaked her long ashen hair. I was shaking so hard I felt her shaking with me, but I still couldn’t get it to stop. I felt crazy, shaking like I was cold even though the water hitting my back was so warm. But my body wouldn’t listen, not with the images that paraded through my mind like some macabre movie.
“Breathe with me,” Dara whispered.
She tightened her hold and leaned further into me so that I could feel and hear her breaths. Each one was level and calm, the sound steady like the waves of the ocean beating gently on the shore. I closed my eyes, lowered my head so that my chin rested on her soft hair, and listened.
Concentrating on her breaths helped to chase the memories from my mind. I listened until the sweeping in and out became my only reality. The water, the pain, the memories, and even the fact that I was wearing my clothes in the shower of my youth and that I held the love of my life in my arms faded to the background. Only the sound of Dara’s breaths remained.
In and out. Simple, sweet-scented, life-fueling, mind-calming breaths. It stilled my soul in a way that no other sound had ever done. Even the ocean paled in comparison to Dara’s gentle, centered breathing.
“I love you,” I whispered into her hair before I even meant to speak.
Dara’s breaths stopped for a moment. Her hands grew still on my back instead of tracing the circles she had been creating on my wet shirt. When she looked up at me, the emotions in the depths of her violet gaze threatened to stop my heart forever.
“I told myself I would never love anyone,” she said.
Afraid I had ruined everything, I wanted to take it all back, to pretend like life was fine the way it was before, to act as though I hadn’t just said the words that made her look at me with such anguish in her eyes.
She blinked and a tear trailed slowly down the side of her nose. I had to resist the urge to wipe it away.
“I never…I never wanted to give anyone that kind of power over me,” she continued, her voice quiet. She shook her head and lowered her gaze. “When my own parents used me like some sort of battery to recharge themselves physically and emotionally after a night of fighting, it hurt me in a way I can never get over. They didn’t care how it affected me.”
She sniffed without looking up and said, “Children are supposed to be able to trust their parents, aren’t they? A parent’s love isn’t conditional based on what the child gives back, right?” She met my eyes and my chest tightened at the agony on her face. “They only cared when they found out I was leaving to Haunted High.”
Her shoulders began to shake. I put my hands on them in the hopes that I could give her some comfort. She closed her eyes, then opened them again and cried out, “Finn, they handcuffed me so that I couldn’t leave. They forbade me from stepping outside our front door. They actually bolted my bedroom door shut, and then would sit outside of it so they could still draw on my skills as an empath.”
Anger that anyone could treat a little girl that way made me want to track them down and teach them what happens to those who abuse children. Only the fact that Dara needed me calm kept me still. Her bottom lip trembled and a sob escape her. I opened my arms and she buried her face against my chest.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered. “You can let it all out. I’ve got you. I’ll keep you safe.”
Her sobs tore right through me. With every shuddering breath, I made a vow that she wouldn’t have to hurt that way again. No one would ever use her if I had anything to do with it. The wolf side of me flared defensively, determined to do everything possible to protect her.
I heard Dad’s words in the back of my mind. “You’ll learn someday that werewolves love with all of their heart. It’s a rare thing in this world, and a gift. I was honored to hold such a precious gift in my hands.”
I felt that love for Dara. It was all-encompassing, full, and so complete I felt as though I would shatter and fly at the same time. Even if she didn’t say the words, even if she could never love me back in that way, my heart was hers forever. I knew we were young, I knew it was cliché to fall so hard so fast, but my werewolf blood didn’t understand reason. I was head-over-heels in love with Dara Jade, and I wouldn’t be coming back from it.
Instead of telling her, I merely held her. She wasn’t in a place for such confessions, especially after what she had just revealed to me. I held her until her breathing slowed to match my own, until her shoulders stopped shaking, and until she put her hands lightly against my chest.
“I’m sorry,” Dara said.
I gave her a warm smile with a hint of my own embarrassment coloring my cheeks. “I’m the reason you’re soaking wet with all your clothes on in a shower.”
She smiled up at me. “I pulled you in, remember?”
“I remember,” I said with a catch in my voice.
Dara looked down. “Let’s see if the water helped.”
She slipped her fingers under the hem of my shirt and lifted. This time, my shirt slid up with only a slight catch of the wounds. She eased it over my head, then let it fall to the shower floor.
“Finn,” she said with her gaze on the dark bruises and stab wounds that covered my ribs.
“I know,” I replied. They ached, but for some reason I could barely feel it.
Dara picked up a bar of soap. Without saying anything, she lathered it underneath the water and began washing the dried patches of
blood from my sides. It was the strangest sensation to stand there and let her wash me as though I was some invalid. I felt foolish not doing anything, but I wasn’t about to stop her.
“Turn around,” she instructed.
A small smile crossed my lips at her command, but I did as I was told.
“These are deep,” Dara said with concern.
“They’ll heal,” I reassured her. “The moon should be up by now.”
I could feel the calling warmth of the moonlight in my bones. I knew I should be beneath it letting it heal my wounds, but I didn’t want to be anywhere other than where I was at that moment.
“You’ve got to stop running towards trouble,” she said. “It’s bad for your health.”
“It’s a habit,” I replied.
That brought a laugh from her.
I turned back around and smiled down at her. “Dara Jade, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life.”
She gave me a teasing smile and said, “You’re not half bad yourself, Finnley Briscoe.”
I felt a pang of regret when she then turned and stepped from the shower. She smiled at me as though she knew what I was thinking.
“Finish your shower,” she said. “Maybe we can talk some more under the stars.”
“Deal,” I replied. “But if that vampire joins us, I’m done.”
She gave a light, musical laugh as she dried her hair with a towel from the stack Julianne always kept beneath the sink and said, “Me, too.”
I heard her hand on the doorknob and told her, “You can grab some dry clothes from my room. I don’t know how they’ll fit, but you’re welcome to anything in there.”
Her eyebrows rose. “A chance to go through Finnley Briscoe’s stuff? Deal.”
She shut the door and I couldn’t stop grinning as I lathered shampoo in my hair.
I was glad to see the claw marks had stopped bleeding by the time I finished showering. I dried off and pulled on my pants with the intention of grabbing a shirt from my room on my way back to the kitchen. The smell of spaghetti cooking made my mouth water. Nothing topped Dad’s special seasonings when he made the sauce. Topped with a bit of cheese, his spaghetti rivaled anything I had ever ordered at a restaurant.
The sound of a baby crying in the next room reminded me that my family had become bigger. I used the towel on my hair one last time, then hung it on the peg over the door. I grabbed my wet shirt and pants from the shower floor, wrung them out, then made my way down the hall. I paused by my parents’ open door.
“What’s going on,” I asked. “Is Amelia—”
I froze at the sight of Grayson standing in my parents’ room with a gun pointed at my family.
Chapter Fifteen
Vicken stood in front of Dara with an angry snarl on his face that showed his vampire teeth. Julianne held Amelia and was desperately trying to calm her while Dad reasoned with Grayson.
“Hello, Finn,” Grayson said. He kept the gun on my family but turned to me. His eyes flickered down to my chest. “Looks like you’ve had a rough day.”
“You could say that,” I replied levelly. “What are you doing here, Grayson?”
Grayson gave a little, maniacal laugh. “You ruined everything for me, Finn. I thought I’d return the favor.”
I took a step forward. “But what about honoring our friendship? In the treehouse, you said you knew I never meant for Sebastian to die. You were going to forgive me, remember?”
“Stay right there,” he snapped. “And yes, I forgave you, and then what did you do? You burned my treehouse to the ground! Everything I worked on is gone. All of my plans, all of the tracking charts, the headlines, the proof that monsters exist. It’s all gone! And now I have to start over.”
I shook my head. “The Maes aren’t hunting monsters around here anymore.”
He spat when he said, “You don’t think I know that? You don’t think I know that you ruined everything for me? I was going to be somebody, to do something. I was going to kill monsters like you to protect this world.”
“From what?” I shouted. The anger at seeing my family at gunpoint after all they had been through simmered just below the surface. Amelia let out a cry at the sound. I took a calming breath with the reminder that Grayson was the one holding the gun and continued with, “From what, Grayson? Monsters are people just like you and me. They’re not trying to hurt anyone. They just want to survive in peace.”
Grayson’s eyes narrowed. “There won’t be peace with monsters around. You’re too…unpredictable.” His eyes lit up as though he was proud of the big word. He continued with, “But you know the ironic part? I need a monster to get into the Maes.” He glared at me. “And I know you ruined the Maes here, but there are plenty out there. Trust me. I know the locations. I wrote them down.”
“Did I burn them up?” I asked, unable to stop myself from goading him.
His mouth fell open, then he shut it again and glared at me. “That’s besides the point. I found it once. I can find it again. And this time, your baby sister’s going to be the one I take. She’s the one they want, anyway.” He flicked his gun at Julianne. “Hand her over.”
My dad moved in the way, shielding them both with his body.
“There’s no way,” Dad said.
“Over my dead body,” I growled.
Drake entered the room saying, “Hey, Dad, the sauce is about—”
His appearance caught Grayson off guard and his gun wavered. I took advantage of his momentary lapse. Throwing myself at him, I hit the gun up just before he pulled the trigger. The bullet buried into the ceiling with a loud bang.
Amelia started to cry again. I grabbed Grayson’s hand and twisted his wrist. He released the gun with a shout of pain. I slammed a fist into his chest, followed by one to his head. He fell unconscious to the floor.
Everyone stared at each other. With my heart racing, I released the clip from the gun, then ejected the bullet in the chamber and caught it before it could hit the ground. I set everything on the dresser.
“I’m really tired of guns,” I said.
Dad gave a weak little laugh. “I don’t suppose you learned that when you were twelve?”
When I shook my head, more relieved laughter followed. I reached down to grab Grayson’s arms so I could haul him to the living room until we could figure out what to do with him, but Vicken stopped me.
“I’ve got him,” Vicken said. The vampire picked up Grayson’s unconscious form and slung him over his shoulder as if he carried bodies all the time. I realized with a bit of chagrin that it was becoming a usual thing.
Dara glanced at my parents, then said, “I’ll help.” She followed Vicken out of the room.
Drake stared from the gun to me.
“That was awesome!” he exclaimed as though we hadn’t just been close to someone dying. “Did you learn that at the Academy?”
“Sort of,” I replied.
“Cool,” Drake said. “I’m going to see what Vicken does with him.”
When he hurried down the hall, I called after him, “Tell Vicken not to bite Grayson! He’ll probably catch something.”
My fake grin fell at the expression on Dad and Julianne’s faces when I turned back around.
“I’m beginning to think we should move,” I said in an effort to break the wall of emotions they tried to hold back.
“My goodness, Finn,” Julianne said. “That was so scary.” She hugged me tight with her free arm.
“That was brave,” Dad said. He hugged me as well.
I was beginning to feel as if hugs only happened after we had just survived something potentially fatal. It wasn’t a good feeling. I cleared my throat and took a step back. “Okay, well, let’s at least get a security system until we know whether Drake’s going to be a good guard dog.”
Dad shook his head and rolled his eyes, but to my surprise, Julianne started to laugh. The sound startled Amelia, who began to cry again. Julianne was laughing so hard she could barely s
tand. Her laughter had an edge of hysteria to it as if she had just been pushed beyond her limit.
I took Amelia from her arms and Dad helped her to the edge of the bed. Amelia stopped crying when I swayed from side to side in the motion she seemed to like. I couldn’t help smiling at her inquisitive expression that made her forehead wrinkle slightly as though she was far older than a newborn. I held her close and enjoyed her nice, clean baby scent now that she was cared for as a baby should be.
I pretended to be occupied with Amelia while Dad comforted Julianne. The fact that Dara and I had just experienced our own small breakdowns gave me that much more sympathy for what my stepmother had been through.
“It’s alright, Juli,” Dad said as he rubbed her back. “It’s over. It’s all over.”
Julianne’s tears fell onto her hands. “I can’t take much more, Stephen. I just can’t.”
“I know,” he replied gently. “It’s all finished. No one is going to hurt our family anymore.” Tears showed in his eyes when he said, “I promise. Everyone is safe.” He wrapped her in his arms and looked as though he wasn’t going to let her go for a very long time.
When Julianne calmed down and sat back, she kissed my dad sweetly on the cheek. “Thank you, Stephen. I needed that. I really did.”
“Me, too,” he replied. “It’s been a rough few days.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Julianne replied with a small laugh as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Amelia gave a little coo, bringing their attention back to us.
Julianne smiled. “Finn, did you just say you wanted your potentially werewolf brother to be a guard dog?” she asked with only a slight tremor in her voice.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I figured he should be good for something.”
She shook her head. “Just when I thought you couldn’t surprise me anymore.”
I grinned. “That’s what stepsons are for.”
She rose and hugged me gently with Amelia between us. “You’re the best stepson a mother could ever ask for.” Her expression became one of concern when she looked down at my chest. “Do we need to take you to a doctor?”