“Anything, Sean. You name it.”
“If Sierra doesn’t figure it out in time for me,” he brushed the moisture from his face, “you’ll take care of her for as long as you can.”
“Of course I will. You don’t have to worry about that.” I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. The day had officially gotten worse. “I brought a bag to stay at your place tonight. I know Sierra’s not going to want to leave you.”
“Thanks, man.” He squeezed me tighter and let go. “Give me a minute and I’ll be ready to go inside.”
Nodding, I stepped out of the truck to give Sean a little space. Not that time was on my side, but I had a little more of it than he did. The funeral home loomed in front of me, taunting me. How many times had I been there in the last ten years? Too many to count. There were only two ways it would end, either with my own funeral, or the end of the curse.
I heard the door of the truck slam. Sean walked up to me looking more composed than before. Without a word, we walked side by side through the door. The stares started the minute we stepped into the main room. And I could say that most of the gazes were not friendly.
“Wow, this could be worse than I thought,” Sean whispered low enough so only I could hear.
“Ignore it. I’m not gonna piss Sierra off again by getting into another fight today, at a funeral no less.”
Theresa stood at the front, next to a closed casket. The line to pay our condolences only had three people in it. Many of the other pack members were seated in the chairs, waiting. Theresa looked at me for a moment and sniffed.
“You mated Sierra.”
“I did.”
She wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so happy for you. Enjoy every minute. Even though I knew this would happen I wouldn’t change my decision for anything.”
“I will.” I held her tighter. “I wish we could have saved Christian.” I didn’t try and stop the tears. All of my happiest memories included Christian and Sean. I’d lost one and I was about to lose the other.
“I see the traitor decided to show,” Bradley snapped from behind. “And now he’s mated to the bitch.”
I growled, taking a step forward, but Theresa stepped in front of me. The anger radiating from her sent most people to cower in a corner.
“This bullshit stops now,” she yelled. “This is my mate’s funeral. And while you might not like witches and blame them for all of this, you need to know that Dylan and his mate did everything they could to save Christian. You don’t have to like it, but if you can’t behave you can leave.” She turned to her brother. “That includes you, Bradley.”
His eyes flashed gold, as he looked between the two of us. “You would choose a traitor over your own brother.”
“If my brother feels the need to continue to act like an asshole, then yes, I will choose my friends.”
It became obvious Theresa was done when she turned her back on everyone and took her seat at the front of the room. Understanding she was serious, we all followed suit and took our seats.
The director of the funeral home, not a werewolf or witch, but a necromancer, another type of caster, came to the podium to begin the service. Sitting there listening to stories full of memories broke me a little bit more. The weight in my chest threatened to pull me under. Then Theresa stood at the podium, talking about the day she realized Christian was her mate. Memories of that day came flooding back. We were in high school and since we can’t sense our mates until we’re sexually mature, which is between seventeen and eighteen for the girls, it turned out to be a really strange day.
Theresa and I were heading to lunch from our Algebra class, talking when she stopped dead in the middle of the hallway.
“Theresa, what’s wrong?”
“Oh God, it can’t be.”
“Can’t be what? Did you not want to go to the cafeteria?”
“It’s not that. It’s him.”
Following the direction her finger pointed, I saw Christian standing, frozen at the other end of the hallway. It hit me over the head like a ton of bricks. “Holy shit, Christian’s your mate.”
Her eyes were focused on him as she nodded. We’d all been friends since elementary school. To think of all of the secrets she shared with him over the years about guys she thought might be her mate. How embarrassing to find out your mate was the one you shared all of your secrets with.
“Go talk to him,” I encouraged. “You both have a lot to say to each other. Besides, I’d rather not end up in a fight if he thinks I’m staking a claim on you.”
Christian knew we were only friends, but who knew what protective instincts would take over.
That day, Christian and Theresa became a couple only to be separated by death. It made me think of Sierra sitting alone at Sean’s house and all I wanted to do was to go there and hold her all night long. Theresa had almost twenty years with Christian. Two weeks didn’t seem like enough. When the service ended we followed the procession out to the cemetery.
Watching Theresa say her final goodbyes to her mate was humbling. Would Sierra have to do that for me? Bradley helped her to the car. While he kept his mouth shut throughout the service, I knew it was only for the benefit of his sister and we’d still have to deal with his shit later.
Shoulders hunched, I walked back to the car, side by side with Sean, neither of us having anything to say. I found myself more on edge during the drive back to Sean’s. Of all the things I needed, Sierra in my arms was at the top of the list.
I turned off the truck and hopped out. Immediately my nose caught one of the most delicious smells ever.
“What is that?” I asked.
Sean laughed and it was good to hear the sound. “Sierra’s chicken tortilla casserole. You’ve never had anything like it.”
“Smells amazing.”
“Well, let’s go in and have some.”
Grabbing my bag from the back, I followed Sean into the house. Sierra had cleaned up all of the books that had been all over when we left. I could see a giant pile of notes on top of the box. Unsure of what she accomplished, I wasn’t going to ask. Sean wanted a night where we didn’t talk about a cure and I planned on giving it to him.
“Hey, you two.” Sierra came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She came over, looked at the bag in my hand, and kissed me. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you.”
“Why don’t you guys get changed while I bring dinner out here?”
“Sounds good,” Sean said.
I followed him down the hall, stopping in the guest room. Pulling off the suit, I threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Dropping my suit over a chair to keep it from wrinkling, I went back out to the living room to find Sierra had not only put out dinner, but bottles of beer as well.
“This is exactly what I needed,” I said, taking the seat on the couch next to her.
“I’m glad I could help.” She leaned in only to be interrupted by the clearing of a throat.
“I want to eat dinner,” Sean said. “Not watch you two make out on my couch all night.”
I laughed and picked up my beer. “Just for you, my friend.”
The first bite of the casserole was like heaven on a fork. “Holy shit, that’s good.”
“Told ya,” Sean winked with a knowing grin.
Throughout dinner we laughed and joked. It was nice getting to hear more about Sean and Sierra’s childhood with their mother. They’d been close all of their lives. Something I never had being an only child. I think my mother was too afraid of having another boy, then my dad got sick.
“Well, you didn’t need to try and flush my makeup down the toilet,” Sierra said, laughing.
“You were the one who decided I needed pink lipstick and nail polish while I was sleeping.”
“It made you prettier,” she said, batting her eyelashes at him.
“Wait,” I interrupted. “Are you telling me you let her put makeup on you like a girl?”
“No,”
he groaned. “Don’t let her innocent act fool you. Mom let me stay up late the night before to watch a movie. Sierra decided to get revenge with her makeup.”
I couldn’t stop the deep, rumbling laugh. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
“Oh, I’m sure you will. Just remember revenge is sweet.” She clasped her hands together in front of her.
Laughter filled the room until we couldn’t breathe. Eventually we calmed down enough to talk again.
“Shit, I didn’t realize how late it was,” Sean said.
Glancing at the clock, I saw it was almost two in the morning. The fun of the evening almost made me forget what it was for. “Wow, and I’ll need to stop at the office sometime tomorrow.” I looked down as I said it.
“The office?” Sierra asked, a confused expression on her face.
“Yeah, we haven’t been there in a while.”
“We?” Sierra gazed between Sean and me.
“Yes, we,” Sean said. “Dylan’s my partner in the company. Some of the guys who work for us are human. Dylan needs to go in and check up on things to keep appearances.”
“So this is the partner I always wondered about?”
“Yep.” I smirked. “That’s me.”
“Well, why don’t you two head to bed? Since I don’t have to work in the morning, I’ll get this all cleaned up first.”
Sean stood and stretched. “Are you sure? You cooked, I don’t mind cleaning up.”
“I’m sure. Go on. I’ve got this.”
Sean nodded. “Thanks for dinner, Sis. See ya in the morning.” He turned and walked down the hall.
I went to pick up a plate when Sierra smacked my hand away. “Go, I said. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
I felt bad leaving her to clean up the mess. “Okay, but only ‘cause I don’t want pink toenails for work tomorrow.”
“At least you’re a fast learner.”
“Don’t be long.”
“I won’t.”
Heading down the hall, I got everything in the room ready for bed. Exhausted from the shit storm of the day, I crawled into bed and was rewarded a few minutes later when a warm body curled into mine. Bending down, I kissed her lips.
“Go to sleep, Dylan. You can’t run on empty.”
“I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“Me, too.”
Content with her in my arms, it wasn’t long before I was pulled under into a deep sleep.
* * *
A strange noise woke me. Being a wolf meant you learned from an early age how to block out sounds so you could sleep. Except there were some sounds you couldn’t forget.
Jumping from the bed, I ran down the hall to Sean’s room and flung the door open.
“Fuck,” I yelled.
Sean lay in the middle of the bed in a pool of vomit. His skin had taken on the deathly pallor of the curse. Not quite the green of an upset stomach, but a yellowish green, which looked more like death.
Running into the room, I scooped Sean from the bed and ran for the bathroom, hoping Sierra wasn’t far behind me.
Chapter 15
Sierra
Distress flowed through me, snapping me awake. Then Dylan shouted. I shot out of bed and looked around. The bedroom door hung open and he wasn’t there.
The retching started. Sean, shit, he was sick.
I was on my feet, rushing for Sean’s room. Dylan carried my brother to the bathroom. The bed was covered in vomit, the smell was rotten. Not merely disgusting, but decomposing, the smell of death lingered.
I caught myself on the dresser as my heart raced. I’d spent the whole time while they were at the funeral taking notes, making calculations, and trying to find a tie to my grandmother.
Reality slapped me in the face. I was out of time.
I heard Dylan say, “Sean, breathe. Just breathe. Sierra’s right here.”
My stomach lurched as I pushed myself into motion. My brother’s arms lay over the toilet seat, his head resting there. The start of the black shadow swirled over his heart and I had to hold back the scream that wanted out.
Dylan didn’t look back as he reached for my hand. I couldn’t resist as I moved to him, tears in my eyes. My brain didn’t want to kick in and solve the problem.
Sean heaved again, and I knelt behind him, placing my head on his shoulder. “I’ll fix this,” I whispered, unsure if I could deliver on my promise.
Earlier that night I had all the confidence in the world, and now, seeing my brother with the black sludgy substance swirling around his heart shattered it all.
Sean reached back with one hand. “Love you, Sierra. Don’t forget that.”
There wasn’t a shred of hope in his voice, and that was all I needed to flip the switch. I shot up and dashed out of the room. I slid to a stop at the stack of boxes in the living room and pulled my hair back in a haphazard ponytail to keep it out of my eyes as I flipped through the notebook.
Hands closed over my shoulders, warmth and strength infusing me. “You okay?” Dylan murmured.
“Will be. Go back to him. Need to think. Just give me a few.”
“If you need me, say the word.”
“I will. Go.”
He kissed the back of my neck and my eyes slid shut. If I didn’t save Sean, chances were I couldn’t save Dylan. The thought spread terror through my system. Such a short time and I knew I couldn’t live without him. My whole world was out of balance, and I didn’t have a clue what I was supposed to do.
He walked away and I knew he wanted to come back to help, but there was nothing he could do. I went back through my plan, reading my notes, hoping I wasn’t about to make a really big mistake.
Earlier in the evening I had found a pretty big clue. Grandma’s coven was preparing an item for some kind of ritual. They funneled dark energy into it, but I couldn’t quite see what it was because the same black nimbus swirled around the object. My mother had written about something she’d seen by accident when she was younger. She was afraid to go near whatever it was because it radiated and pulsed with evil.
I knew the pieces belonged together, but I couldn’t make them fit, yet. What was the item? How did it cause the curse? And why did they do the ritual monthly?
In the meantime, while Dylan and Sean were at the funeral, I came up with a theory I prayed would work. Sean told me he tried to counter the spell countless times. Mom’s journal showed she’d tried doing the same. But the curse was its own entity. I could see it swirling around, like a foreign object in a wound.
Instead of countering the magic, I needed to remove it. Question was, what to do with the curse once I pulled it free.
I had a solution for individual wolves. Later, I could solve the bigger problem. Finding the page I needed, I walked back to the bathroom.
Something was different. After nearly an hour, the curse hadn’t spread farther than when I first saw him. It wasn’t getting worse. Wasn’t going away either, but it wasn’t destroying him from the inside out like it had with Christian.
“Sean, have there been other werewolf/witch hybrids in the pack?”
“Uh-uh,” he groaned.
Dylan’s shook his head. “Wolves aren’t very fond of witches, remember?”
“Right.” I sighed and set the book down.
“And the curse always acts the same in every wolf.”
Dylan frowned at me but nodded. “Yeah. Why?”
“It’s not spreading in Sean. I think it’s something to do with witch blood. The curse only affects wolves, right? Not the human men in town?”
“Only wolves.” Dylan shook his head. “So you think Sean’s other side is keeping the curse from spreading?”
I nodded. “He’s the only one who stopped getting worse, right?” Then it hit me. Maybe I could turn it around and give it back to Grandma’s coven. Spinning on my heel, not waiting for a response, I grabbed the crystal I had put back in the bag when I got done trying to figure it out.
From everything Sean h
ad said, and Mom’s journals, it didn’t seem like anyone had tried to remove the curse like I might remove bone fragments from a bad break. And yeah, they weren’t doctors, but maybe what we needed was a whole new approach.
When I got back to the room, I set the crystal on the dresser and stripped the ruined bedding off the mattress. I carried it out back so I wouldn’t have to deal with the stench. Later, I could figure out what to do with it, though burning seemed the best solution.
Back in the room, I managed to heave the mattress on its side and push it over with a thud. It took a minute to get it shifted back on the frame right.
“What are you doing?” Dylan asked with wide eyes.
I looked up with a half-hearted shrug. “The bedding was ruined, but I couldn’t exactly haul the mattress out back. What would we put him on then?”
“Um…” He stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Help me get Sean on the bed. I know what I need to do.” Or I hoped I did, but I wasn’t going to let doubt win.
I started for the bathroom, but Dylan scooped Sean into his arms and carried him back to the bare mattress. I gave Dylan a tight smile. “Lay him down and get a pan or something in case he’s sick again.”
He didn’t question me as he followed the direction. I climbed onto the bed and knelt beside Sean.
His eyes were closed, his breathing labored. He was pale, greenish even. The wheezing in his lungs pulled at my heart, but I shut that off. I grabbed the bag and laid the crystal on the bed, ready to grab it once I got a hang of the spell I found in a book from my attic.
I placed my hands on Sean’s chest and started the chant, drawing the dark magic out of his body. Dylan gasped, but I ignored it as I lifted my hands. The dark swirling mass followed as I grabbed the crystal and reversed the spell, pushing the energy into my grandmother’s gift. Black sludge seemed to swirl in the clear depths, radiating through the smooth surface with a hum. I dropped it into the bag and tied it off.
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