“Thanks,” I said. “For everything. I’m glad you were there to help those people Regina had compelled tonight too. And David and Alec. My only question is: Why? This wasn’t your battle.”
“Anything to do with vampires is our battle. Especially when it involves Mirror Lake. This is our home, too.” She gave me another wink. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to discuss something with your alpha before I leave. You know as well as I do everything comes with a cost, even if we do share a home or a battle.” She exited the trailer without another word.
“What do you think the cost will be?” I asked Gran as she placed a bandage over my ribs, securing the stinky paste to my skin.
“Probably a future favor. That seems to be the going rate nowadays,” Gran said as she made her way back to the kitchen.
“It seems fair, though, doesn’t it?” Violet asked. She still stood at the stove, stirring the pot. I’d forgotten she was here. “A favor for a favor.”
“It does,” Gran said.
I dropped my shirt to cover the bandage and watched as Violet stepped out of the way so Gran could look at the concoction she’d been stirring. Gran reached for a mug and ladled some into it. Once it was full, she started back to where I sat.
“Here, drink this. It should have your head feeling better in no time.”
“Thank you.” I took it from her at the same time someone knocked on the front door.
“Come in,” Gran shouted as she headed back to the kitchen to help Violet clean up.
The front door opened and our alpha poked his head in. “Hey, there. I wanted to let you know we’re doing a traditional potluck meal tonight in celebration of Mina’s courage and all of our missing pack members being returned.”
“But it wasn’t just me who did all of this. Everyone was brave—Eli, Dorian, Tate. Even my mom, Glenn, Frank, Sabin, and Max. It took all of us to get out of there alive,” I insisted, not wanting to take the credit on my own because it wasn’t fair.
Eli’s dad smiled. It was a sweet smile, one that said I wasn’t giving myself enough credit. “Either way, tonight we celebrate. I thank you for your part in bringing everyone back safely. Also, we will be saying goodbye to Old Man Winters now that we know his passing was certain.”
He disappeared and closed the door. I leaned back in the recliner and took a sip from the warm concoction Gran had given me, hoping it would get rid of my headache.
“That’s it, relax,” Gran insisted. “You deserve to.”
I didn’t argue with her.
Another soft knock sounded at the door. Eli stepped in before anyone said he could. His eyes sought me out. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” I flashed him a crooked grin.
“I had a feeling you would be. Gran’s stuff is pretty magical.”
“You got that right,” she muttered from the kitchen.
Eli sat on the couch, and I stood to sit beside him. My head swam as I walked, making the room spin. Once I was curled into his side, comfort washed over me though.
“You ready for the celebration potluck tonight? You’re a hero,” Eli said as his fingers stroked my hair.
“I’m not a hero. Not anymore than you or anyone else involved is.”
“But you are,” Eli insisted. He placed his lips to the crown of my head. “You were the one who knew something was wrong. You were the one who didn’t give up on trying to figure out what it was. It’s because of you, and your persistence, we have our missing members back.”
“No, it’s because you believed in me,” I whispered.
“I’ll always believe in you, Mina. Always.”
“I know. It’s one of the reasons I love you so much,” I said before taking another sip of Gran’s tea. My eyes grew heavy. Was it because of the tea or was my exhaustion catching up with me again?
“I love you too, Mina Ryan. I always have.”
18
It was raining.
Which seemed fitting since today was Shane and Peter’s funeral. At first I’d told myself I wouldn’t go, that it would be disrespectful and cruel of me if I did. Then, I thought about how it would look to Alec, Becca, Benji, and Ridley if I didn’t go.
I didn’t want to look bad in their eyes, so I agreed to go with them.
Ridley knew more about what had happened than anyone else. The truth behind all the Hopkins deaths had traveled fast among the supernaturals of Mirror Lake. Everyone knew what happened in the city.
Word traveling so fast might have also had something to do with our alpha bringing in outsiders to clean things up simply because he didn’t want to acquire any more debt with the Caraway witches or the Montevallo family.
I admired his decision.
He would be giving the role of alpha over to Eli soon, and he didn’t want him paying for the deals he had made. Figured he’d already be handing him enough when the time came.
I understood, and so did Eli. Honestly, he was thankful.
As for the people our alpha had brought in…well, they were unique individuals. While I wasn’t on site to witness their magic as it happened, I wished I had been. Apparently, they were cloaking witches. They had the ability to clean up a supernatural mess or accident by using a cloaking spell to make it appear as though the person’s death were caused by a natural happening. Something to divert suspicion from anything related to the supernatural world. They were geniuses, this brother and sister duo. They’d turned their gift into a profitable business.
A company called Sight Unseen.
Any time someone had a death on his hands from a supernatural-related event, Jasper and Piper Ward used one of their many cloaks to cover it up for the humans.
While I hoped we never had to use their services again, it was nice to know they were out there should we need to.
I thought of the cloaks the alpha had paid to have placed on Shane and Peter. What would I see when I looked at Shane? Would I actually see a gunshot wound? The Wards had placed a cloak on him that made it seem as though he’d been cleaning his gun while in the woods and the thing had gone off, killing him. They’d also placed one on Peter that would make his autopsy show he’d died of an aneurysm.
I felt horrible for their mother.
In the span of a few days, she’d lost all three of her sons. The town was rallying to do as much to help ease her pain as possible but still. I couldn’t deny how awful I felt for the part I’d played in the death of her three sons, regardless of what they’d all done to my pack and me.
“Here,” Gracie called from the threshold of our bedroom, startling me. “Let me help you,” she insisted as she crossed into the room to clasp the silver necklace I was struggling to secure in place for me.
It was a gift from my mother. A duplicate of the one I remembered her wearing when I was little. Dad had bought us all one, even Gracie, yesterday.
I would cherish it forever.
“Thanks,” I said.
“I don’t know why you’re torturing yourself by going to this. Do you really think Alec and the others would be that upset with you for skipping?”
“No, but I feel like I have to go. I need to.” She wouldn’t understand.
“There’s no reason,” Gracie insisted. “The Ward witches made sure everything looked legit. No one suspects our pack had anything to do with their deaths. You shouldn’t have to go pay your respects to those two; they did horrible things to us.”
“No one else knows that though,” I insisted.
Alec would think I was being petty, Becca and Benji too. I couldn’t let them think those things about me.
I wouldn’t. Gracie wouldn’t understand even if I did try to explain it to her.
“Whatever. I know no matter what I say you’ll still go,” Gracie muttered as she stared at me through the mirror on top of our dresser. “I can see it in your eyes.”
“Yeah, I will,” I said, flashing her a small smile.
“What does Eli have to say about it?”
“He u
nderstands this is something I need to do. These are my friends. They need me there. For support. To them the Hopkins brothers weren’t horrible people. They were friends they lost too soon.”
“Sometimes you’re braver than you give yourself credit for,” Gracie said as she pulled me in for a hug. “I love you.”
Her words shocked me.
“I love you too,” I said as I squeezed her tight. “I’ll be back soon. Want to watch another episode of The Originals with me when I get back?”
“Oh, it’s getting so good! Wait until you see what happened in the last couple of episodes. I’ll fill you in when you get back so that you’re caught up,” she said as she bent down to pick up Winston. He was at her feet, whining.
I reached out to pet him between his ears once she’d picked him up. His tongue slipped out to lick my thumb, and I felt my insides warm.
“Aw, he loves you,” Gracie cooed.
Something brown hung from the corner of his mouth. I reached for it and realized it was a piece of my leather sandal.
“Yeah, which is why he enjoys chewing up my shoes, right?” I snapped as I glared at him.
“Could be.” Gracie smirked.
“I doubt that,” I said as I started toward the door. I needed to leave now, if not I would be late.
“You look nice, honey,” Mom said from the couch where she sat reading a book. Dad was beside her, and for the first time in forever, he looked sober at one o’clock in the afternoon.
Having Mom home again was doing wonders for him.
“Thanks.” I smiled still unable to get over the sight of her back in our house again.
It was as though we’d woken from a nightmare, one where she had been stripped from our lives, only to realize it had been a bad dream and she’d been here all along.
“I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” I said as I made my way to the front door.
I noticed Eli leaning on the hood of my car the second I stepped outside. His eyes appraised me, soaking in every inch of the outfit I wore.
“You look beautiful,” he said in a low voice.
“Thanks. You don’t think it’s too much, though?” I smoothed my hands over the simple black dress I wore that hit at my knees. It wasn’t tight, but moderately loose. It was a sleeveless number I had paired with black heels I’d borrowed from Felicia.
“No. I think you look classic,” Eli said as he crammed his hands into the front pockets of his shorts.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as I neared him.
We both had decided it wouldn’t be right if he came with me to the funeral. It was something I needed to go to with my friends. Something I needed to do without him.
He reached for me, pulling me close once I stepped to where he stood. “I wanted to see how you’re holding up.”
“I’m okay.”
“Good.” His hands cupped my face. “You are one brave woman, Mina Ryan.”
“I’m not brave. Why does everyone keep saying that? I’m only doing what I think is necessary.”
“You’re going to the funeral of two guys who did more damage to our pack than anyone ever has before, all because you want to be respectful of their deaths. Because you don’t want to upset your friends. That’s brave.”
“When you put it that way.” I grinned.
“Yeah, when I put that way,” he whispered before his lips pressed against mine. “Let me know when you get back.”
“I will, but I’ve already told Gracie I’d watch a TV show with her when I got back.”
“Okay. Call me after, or come by my place.”
“I will. Promise.”
He brushed his lips against mine one more time before pulling away. “I’ll let you go. I don’t want to keep you any longer and risk you being late. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I said as I stepped away from him to climb in my car.
I watched him walk away as I cranked the engine to life, glad he understood my need to go, my need to be there for my friends even at a time like this.
Eli Vargas was the best, and I was so thankful he was mine.
Epilogue
Two weeks passed. Things in the trailer park had died down now that the excitement of everyone coming back after being gone so long had tapered out. We’d all been making up for lost time.
Mom and Dad were still glued to the hip. I’d forgotten how in love they were. It was sad how one negative thought could taint so many good ones. It was proof of how good of an imagination I had. I’d somehow created an unrealistic image of my mother over the years. One that portrayed her as a monster and nothing at all like the loving, kind woman she was.
Now that she was home, it was easy to see how far-fetched my memories of her were.
“Don’t forget this,” Mom said. She held out a ratty blanket that had been crumbled up in the back my bedroom closet. “It was your favorite when you were little. I actually had to take it from you and hide it in here because you wouldn’t go anywhere without it.”
“I remember that!” I took the tattered blanket from her. The familiarity of the soft fabric against my fingertips brought a smile to my face. “I looked for this thing for weeks. Not once did I look back there, though.”
“Well, to be honest there’s probably a lot back there you don’t know about,” Mom said. She reached into what I was now viewing as the black hole. “Oh. Like this dress.”
She held out the most awful looking Christmas dress. My eyes grew wide as I remembered exactly where it had come from and why I’d shoved in the back.
“Shhh, you didn’t see that thing. Put it back before Gracie is forced to wear it this Christmas,” I whispered.
Mom laughed. It was a light tinkling sound, and I was happy to hear again. “What’s it from?”
“Gran made it one year. She forced me to wear it. I think I burned all the pictures of me in it, but I’m not one hundred percent sure.”
Mom held it out in front of her. Her eyes took in the pom-poms and bells glued here and there. “I’ve missed a lot, haven’t I? I’m so sorry. I wish I’d never gone to the lake that night. It was so close to the full moon. If I’d waited three more days, I would’ve been able to run with the pack and been safe. I wouldn’t have missed anything.” Tears glistened in her eyes. I forced myself to look away, knowing if I didn’t, I’d cry too. “I can’t take it back. I can’t change what happened. All I can do is be grateful I’m here now. I get to witness you moving out of the trailer, and in with the man you’ve imprinted with. Eli is a lucky guy.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I reached out and pulled her into a hug. “I’m glad you’re here for this too.”
She wiped her eyes, and when we released each other she shoved the Christmas dress back into the closet again. “Okay, I’ve taken up enough of your time. Eli’s probably wondering where you are.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind, and I’m sure he doesn’t either.”
“I know,” she said as she patted my arm. “I want you to promise me you’ll at least come by for dinner once a week or invite us over sometime. Now that I’m back, I don’t want to be cut out of your life, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to involve me in every waking moment either.”
“Mom, I’m moving to the other side of the trailer park, not the other side of the world.”
She laughed. “I know, I know. I’m being dramatic.”
I placed my tattered baby blanket on one of the boxes on my bed. Winston sniffed it and sneezed.
“Bless you,” I said to the little guy. Even though I wouldn’t admit it to anyone, I was going to miss him. He’d grown on me.
“Isn’t Eli supposed to come by to help you carry this stuff over?” Mom asked.
“Already here,” Eli said from the doorway. “Aw, would you look at that. I think Mina is going to miss you, Winston.”
I rolled my eyes. “Nope. Not nearly enough to make up for him chewing my favorite flip-flops to tiny shreds.”
Eli cupped the back o
f my neck and gently squeezed. “I don’t know. I can see it in your eyes. You’re already missing him, aren’t you?”
I shoved him playfully. “Oh, shut it and grab that box.”
“You know, you could always get a dog of your own,” Mom insisted.
“Yeah, I don’t think so.” I quickly shot her idea down.
“We could,” Eli agreed as he stacked two boxes on top of each other and hoisted them into the air as though they weighed nothing. “We can name it something cool like Moonshine.” Eli wiggled his eyebrows at me.
I picked my duffel bag up off the floor and then scooped the smaller box Eli had left behind on the bed up. “Moonshine? Seriously?”
“It’s unique,” Mom said, trying to be nice.
“It’s stupid,” I said as we started down the hall.
“It’s not stupid. It’s cool,” Eli insisted.
Gracie opened the front door for us before we reached it. Her eyes trailed over the boxes we carried as though inspecting their contents.
“I didn’t take any of your stuff,” I said.
“You better not.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I know where you live. I’ll come get it.”
I reached out and pulled her into a one-armed hug. “You better. Seriously, though. Come visit anytime, okay?”
“Okay.” She squeezed me back.
“Bring Winston with you, too. I think your sister’s going to miss him an awful lot.” Eli winked at her as he started out the door.
“Oh my God, will you just shut up!” I rolled my eyes as I followed behind him.
“I will when you admit how much you care for the little guy,” Eli said.
I let out of breath of air, refusing to answer him as we started toward our trailer.
“You know you want a puppy,” Eli teased.
“I think it’s more like you want a puppy,” I countered.
A shit-eating grin plastered itself on Eli’s face. “I don’t want a puppy. I already have one.”
Moon Burned (Mirror Lake Wolves Book 4) Page 15