by Cecy Robson
The breeze from my shattered picture window beckoned me toward it. I peered over the damaged wood of the sill to find Aric on the front lawn seizing violently, his body illuminated by the light streaming from the living room window.
I leapt from the bedroom window onto the thick grass just as Koda’s and Gemini’s screeching cars pulled up to the sidewalk. Koda and Gem raced out growling with all the ferociousness of hell itself. Their eyes wandered to me as they scrambled to Aric’s side. “What happened?” Koda asked. His tone was low, vicious, deadly—making it clear he was seconds from slaughtering.
I couldn’t answer. Shayna had sprinted to my side as I watched Aric convulse. Nothing made sense, nothing was right. Jesus Christ, what was happening?
My quickening breaths burned my chest. “Ceel?” Shayna shook my shoulders, her voice shrill. “Celia, what happened to Aric?”
I took in her familiar aroma, trying to gather comfort from it to speak. Koda and Gemini spoke in a rush, either to me or to Aric, I wasn’t sure who. It took all I had to concentrate on Shayna’s quaking voice. “Oh God, Ceel. What happened to you?” She tried to close my robe, but I wouldn’t allow it and wrenched away from her.
There was another screech of tires and the quick footsteps of others running toward me. Emme and Taran were suddenly there, muffling their screams. Strong arms fell upon my shoulders; I yelped and jumped away, crying into my hands.
“Celia,” Gemini’s normally calm voice rang out ferociously. “You need to tell us what’s happening so we can help Aric.” He took a step toward me at the same time I took another step back. “Celia,” he said more insistently. “Who attacked you?”
I buried my face further into my hands and released several choked sobs. Shayna wrapped an arm around me. “She’s going into shock!” she yelled.
It was true; I was losing it. Just like I had the time we thought he was dead. I couldn’t allow myself to fall back into that darkness. Aric, or whatever was left of him, was in danger.
“Celia, tell us who attacked you,” Gemini growled.
While I couldn’t speak through my sobs, I did manage to point…at Aric.
All eyes that had been watching me turned to Aric in time to see him arch his spine with enough force to crack it. Every vein in his body rushed violently to the surface of his skin as if trying to rip through it. Black fluid pulsed along each branch. Whatever had infected Aric was forcing its way through his system.
I completely fell apart. Aric’s body was being ravaged and there was nothing any of us could do. Koda was yelling something to Gem when what sounded like every bone in Aric’s back crunched. He collapsed, his head falling limply to the side. He wasn’t moving, he wasn’t breathing, he was…
I scrambled to his side, where Koda had remained. My knees sunk into the mud, the grass beneath and around him torn up by his violent thrashing. I wanted so badly to touch him, but being so close to him brought all my fright back in one nauseating rush. I couldn’t stop shaking; I was going to be sick.
“Aric. Aric. Wake up! Breathe, damnit. Breathe!” Koda said, shaking him.
Behind me, I could hear Emme crying softly. Gemini was on the phone with Martin, speaking fast. “Don’t let either one of them out of your sight,” Martin’s deep baritone ordered. “I’m coming.”
Aric’s face turned from blue to gray as the sickly black fluid shoved its way through even the smallest capillaries of his face. My cries strengthened, and I began to scream. “Wake up, baby. Please, wake up!”
Aric’s eyes remained closed and his chest failed to rise. He was dying while I watched, and it ripped my soul apart. I forced my hand to touch his chest. I barely brushed his skin when a cloud of smoke in a silhouette of his body rose above his still form. The image was Aric’s perfect double in shades of black and dark gray—every hair, every muscle, every feature, outlined to reflect his unmoving twin below. I watched it with wide eyes until it disintegrated into the night.
Like a strong gust of wind, Aric’s clean aroma filled the night air. He let out a pained roar and his eyes flew open, latching onto me. The intensity of his stare cemented me in place. No one moved, but then Aric lurched forward, reaching for me.
I stumbled away before he could touch me. The wolves hauled him back, sensing my fear.
Deep remorse and sorrow etched lines into his face. “Sweetness,” he pleaded. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just need to hold you.”
Anguished tears dripped from my eyes. He was back. My Aric was back. I tried to step forward only to fall and land in Taran’s arms. “You son of bitch!” she screamed at him. “What did you do to her?”
Emme tried to close the front of my robe, like Shayna had before. I looked down, confused as to why until I saw what they saw—what everyone saw. Oh God.
My breath caught in my throat. I should have realized I was completely exposed, but I was blind to anything but Aric’s suffering. Bruises shaped like long fingers painted my breasts, revealing the marks from the assault. What was worse was the angry red handprint over my thick scars.
Horror fell upon me like a landslide of boulders until numbness forced its way forward, claiming me. My panties were torn, the thin lace barely enough to keep the sides together.
I folded the sides of my silk robe closed and crossed my arms, hugging my body. Everyone knew I had almost been raped. And everyone believed it was at the hands of the man who told me he loved me.
Thick tears fell down my face, mixing with the blood that continued to seep out of my neck. Emme said something about needing to heal me, but my gaze had returned to Aric.
He tried forcing his way to me, yet the wolves held strong. “Celia,” he begged. “It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me, sweetness.”
“Aric,” Gemini warned, his tone tight. “Leave her alone. You’re scaring her.”
Aric stared back at me with eyes that implored me to tell them all that I wasn’t afraid of him. But at that moment, I still was, despite knowing he wasn’t technically the being who attacked me.
Taran didn’t seem to care. Every whisper of hair along my arms stood on end as she gathered her magic. A crowd of concerned neighbors, including Mrs. Mancuso, had arrived to investigate the cause of the commotion. Taran was trying to alter their memories. Yet I suspected she wasn’t far from turning her power on Aric.
I vaguely remember Emme and Shayna taking me into the house. They led me back to my room, but I didn’t want to return to where I’d been attacked.
“I-I don’t want to go in there,” I stammered. “I’m scared,” I admitted.
Shayna and Emme paused. “It’s okay, Ceel. You’re not alone,” Shayna said quietly. “Emme, take her to your room and heal her. I’ll run in and get you something to wear.”
I showered in the bathroom that connected Emme and Shayna’s rooms as soon as Emme healed my wounds. I had a good cry as the water sprayed down my skin, needing to unleash one last time as all the impurities of the assault were washed away.
Aric and the wolves shuffled downstairs where they were waiting to speak to me. Their voices, while muffled, carried all the strain and anger from the incident. I knew I had to face them and explain what had happened. But sweet heavens, I so didn’t want to.
I stepped out of the shower and dressed in the yoga pants and long-sleeved T-shirt Shayna had brought me. For a brief instant, I simply stood there, until a familiar nudge had me looking toward the vanity.
Once again, there was Shah. I went to him, staring down, but careful not to touch him. An odd pull had me edging closer. He wanted me to take him. I shook my head. “I’m not your holder, no matter what you say.”
The pull increased. “You don’t owe me anything, Shah,” I said. “And I think you’ve been abused enough.” Suspicion made me glance over my shoulder toward the closed door. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I do know you’re not safe.”
You’re not alone, multiple voices said.
I whirled around. Nothing was there except for me
and Shah.
You’re not alone, the voices repeated, seeming to come from every direction.
“Shah…you need to go, bud,” I whispered.
I waited for him to vanish then stepped into Emme’s room. She and Shayna sat on her bed. Taran waited by the door. I knew they’d heard me crying in the shower. They looked as good as I felt. Shayna wiped her nose as she struggled to hold back her tears. Emme was crying into her hands while Taran leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed, appearing ready to kill. All of us had been abused in foster care; my experience with Aric had opened up old wounds.
My cellphone buzzed on the bureau. “It’s probably Misha again,” Taran said. “He keeps calling, wanting to talk to you. We told him you were safe, but he insists on speaking with you directly.”
I picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Taran told me you were attacked by that mongrel,” Misha hissed on the other end.
I tugged on the edge of my T-shirt, trying to cover myself more. “It wasn’t like that, Misha.”
“I am in flight from Paris. My family will escort you to my residence, where you will be safe until my arrival.”
“It’s not necessary, Misha, I—”
“Yes, it is,” Misha ground out. “I felt your terror. I felt your pain. And I felt it all at the hands of that mongrel.”
“It wasn’t Aric, Misha. And I’m not going anywhere—”
“Celia.”
“Misha, something is happening. I’m not sure what it is, but Aric wasn’t who hurt me.” I put an extra push into my tone. “I assure you, Aric wasn’t the cause.”
“I’m not so certain.”
I let out a shaky breath. “I am. Look, as soon as I know more, I’ll call you. In the meantime, be safe. I’m not sure what we’re dealing with here.”
“Very well. But know this, if that mongrel harms you, the treaty between my kind and weres will end, and we’ll deem his actions a declaration of war.”
He disconnected, and for a moment all I could do was stare at the screen. Shayna inched her way forward. “The Elders are downstairs. Bren’s there, too. They want to see you. Are you up for it?”
I nodded. “We need answers and we need to get to the bottom of this.”
My sisters nodded in unison and started to move toward the door when I stopped them. “Just…”
“What, dude?” Shayna asked quietly.
“I need some space from Aric. I don’t think I’ll be able to focus if he’s too close based on what’s happened.”
“I’ll make it clear he needs to keep away,” Taran answered in a dark voice that gave me absolutely no comfort.
I met her square in the face. “I don’t want more trouble, Taran. Like I said, it wasn’t Aric who attacked me. I’m only asking for some distance between us.”
She didn’t respond other than to glare. I rubbed my arms as if cold and left the room with my sisters following closely behind me. We walked down the back stairs and into the kitchen. Shayna slung her arm around my shoulders as we reached the edge of the granite-topped island. Emme and Taran walked forward to stand slightly in front of us. With the exception of Aric, who paced restlessly, all the wolves were seated at the table.
They stood when it became clear that this was as close as we’d approach. Aric stopped pacing and prowled toward me.
Taran blocked his path. “Back off, Aric. Celia needs her space,” she told him flatly.
Aric’s anger seemed to intensify, yet he nodded and joined the wolves at the far end of the table. Bren swore and scratched at his beard as he took me in. “Damn, Celia,” he said. After scrutinizing me closer he left the table and stomped toward me. He pulled me away from Shayna, thereby declaring he was taking over bodyguard duty.
Aric released a threatening growl. I knew his beast was troubled and was determined that he, and not Bren, should be the one protecting me. Except Bren was no submissive wolf and answered his Alpha’s growl with one of his own.
I squeezed Bren’s arm, keeping my voice firm. “Stop it. Both of you.”
Martin’s tone demonstrated the strength of his position as Elder. “Aric, rein in your temper. You’re upsetting your mate.”
Aric backed away from the head of the table, closer to the sliding glass doors leading out to our deck. It was as far away as he could get from me in the room. And I hated it.
For a long time no one said anything. Finally, Aric spoke. “I should be the one at your side, Celia. It should be me keeping you safe.”
His voice was laced with anger and exhaustion. Taran’s was all ire. “That’s a laugh, considering you tried to rape her!”
Aric went ballistic. He smashed his fist through the table and split it down the center. It took all the wolves to stop him from speeding toward Taran. “I would never hurt her and you fucking know it!”
His face darkened to purple and all the muscles strained beneath his tight blue shirt. He remained seconds from releasing his beast. I lurched forward, but Bren hauled me back. Aric saw me trying to reach him and attempted to barrel his way to me.
“No,” Martin warned. “For the time being, you must keep your distance.”
Although I didn’t want to, I stopped fighting to reach him. Aric refused to succumb and continued to ram his way to me. Makawee stepped between us and placed her hand on Aric’s head. There was a faint howl of wolves and Aric collapsed to his knees, breathing hard. It was only then that the wolves released him. They continued to watch him, their guard vigilant.
Gemini closed the distance between him and Taran, although he remained watchful of Aric’s movements. “Aric called us,” he told her. “He called us and told us Celia was in danger and that we needed to protect her.”
Taran pointed an accusing finger toward Aric. “How do you know it wasn’t all a setup—so he could kill you, too?”
“Taran,” Koda said, his tone just above a snarl. “You didn’t hear his call. We did. He was howling at us, desperate to save Celia.”
Aric rose slowly, his stance rigid. “I wasn’t in my own body. My wolf and I were being forced out as we slept. I woke up disoriented and stumbled into the bathroom. It was then I knew something was inside me.” He spoke through ragged breaths and met me with savage eyes. “I saw…I saw everything that was happening to you. Somehow, I shoved my way back in, but I barely had any control.” His jaw clenched tight. “I tried to break my own neck. When that didn’t work, and I was close to losing what hold I had, I threw myself out the window.”
My hands fell to my sides. I remembered how his head had snapped so forcefully from side to side and how he had so suddenly vanished.
He let out a breath, trying to soothe his anger as his hands balled into fists and his eyes shimmered with regret. “I fought that spirit inside of me with everything I had, Celia. You have to believe that I could never hurt you….”
He couldn’t finish, but I knew what he meant. I could sense his disgrace and shame as if it were my own. This time, no one could keep me from him.
Aric snatched me into his arms when I shot forward, the scent of his clean aroma and the heat from his body easing my remaining fear. He whispered soft wolfish words, comforting my tigress. I didn’t understand the words, but understood the vow within the soft tones. He would protect me, even if it cost him his life.
No one moved for a long while, giving us the moment we needed. Melancholy replaced the tension in the room. I understood why. Just because Aric and I were holding each other, it didn’t mean we were safe.
“Gemini, phone Genevieve,” Martin finally said. “We need the help of a witch.”
Taran stiffened as she watched Gem tap the screen of his cellphone. The moment Gem was done explaining what had happened, Genevieve’s normally serene voice grew urgent. “Get out of the house—get out of the house now.”
Chapter 22
Despite the careful inspection Genevieve had performed several weeks back, she was convinced that something possessed our home. When we ste
pped out onto the front porch, the Catholic schoolgirls were waiting to escort me to Misha’s house.
Oh goody.
I refused. They insisted. The wolves growled. The vampires hissed. Eventually the good Catholics let me leave, but only because both Elders were present and at least for the time being, they knew better than to break the treaty signed between their kinds.
We ended up at the Hyatt in Incline Village. Emme, Taran, and I shared a room. And while we were all on the same floor, Aric was in his own suite, as were Koda and Shayna.
Gemini stayed behind at our house to wait for Genevieve and a few members of her coven. He said she’d refused Delilah and Betty Sue’s help. I knew they weren’t getting along, but to flat-out refuse them struck me as odd.
Bren had insisted on staying in our room, but Martin reasoned that it wasn’t a good idea and sent him home. “Based on the evening’s events, Aric’s inner beast is feeling especially protective,” Martin explained outside of our room. “Young Brendan, being an unmated wolf, is seen as competition.”
Emme turned away from us, strangely upset, except I couldn’t offer her comfort just then. Instead, I addressed Martin. “But Bren and I are only friends. Aric knows this.”
Martin glanced up at Aric, who waited down the hall. He’d been ordered by Martin to keep his distance until we knew for sure what was happening, and that the entity that had possessed him could no longer seize control over him. Aric obeyed, but had refused to leave me. Martin scrutinized me with compassion. “I realize what you’re saying, Celia. But this is one of those moments when you can’t reason with a wolf.” He tilted his head. “Be safe. If you need me, we’ll be at your home waiting to see what Genevieve’s coven uncovers.”
We watched him disappear into the elevator. With a huff, Taran stepped into our room with Emme directly behind her. I tried to follow, but Aric called out to me. “Celia, wait.”