by Aileen Erin
Dastien made sure to stay near me. He swatted the demon any time it got close to me, funneling power to me through our bond.
I met the gaze of the brujos. We’d talked about this in the lab. All of us would say the spell together.
“On zero,” I said. “Three. Two. One.”
We flung the vials and then said the words as we held out our hands. Magic flared between us, creating a circle of light, and the vial exploded inside. The demon’s shriek held a hint of my voice as it started to turn black. I winced until the sound choked off. Finally it was quiet as the demon turned to ash.
A fathomless hole crackled open, sucking the remains down into the fiery pits below.
I collapsed to the ground, breathing heavy. Blood soaked my shirt, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stay conscious.
Hang on. Dastien yelled through the bond. I felt him running back toward the cars, as I stared up at the night sky.
I smelled lavender just before Mom’s arms wrapped around me. I stifled a gasp at the movement as pain rippled through me. Sweat rolled down my back, and it wasn’t just from exertion.
“You did wonderfully. Your abuela would be so proud.”
I closed my eyes and rubbed my cheek against her arm. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. So much.” She let go. “My God. You’re bleeding.”
“I know.” Everything looked blurry as she pulled away. “I’m going to need that holy water.”
Dastien ran back from the car with a gym bag. He ripped the rest of my already shredded shirt off. “Shit. It took me twelve hours to heal the little spot on my back.” I didn’t bother looking. I could feel the cuts and whatever poison was in them working into my system. Seeing them would only make it worse.
My mom raced back. Her hands shook as she offered the bottle of holy water to Dastien.
He took it, and looked at Raphael. “You’re going to need to hold her down.”
Strong hands on my arms legs and shoulders pressed me to the ground, but all I could see was Dastien. His eyes glowed bright amber. “Just breathe.” And then he poured the bottle.
My back arched off the ground as I screamed. The holy water felt like liquid fire, burning me from the inside out.
I screamed and tried to get away, but the hands held firm.
“It’s still foaming. We need more.”
“No,” I moaned. “No more.” I wasn’t sure I could take it.
“I brought some. One second,” Claudia said.
I closed my eyes, and then the hands pressed me down again. I wasn’t sure how long the burning went on. It felt like eons, but was probably only minutes. The sound of the zipper opening startled me. “What now?”
“I’m done.” Dastien brushed the softest kiss on my forehead. “I’m going to wrap it. It should heal okay now.”
I nodded. He was gentle but it still hurt.
When he finished, I was exhausted, dirty, hungry, and thankful to be alive.
Mom’s voice sounded at my side. “Come into the house. We’ll get you something to eat.” She started to get up but stopped. Her head bent over as she shuddered.
“Are you okay?”
Tears glistened in her eyes. “I’ve got both my kids here. Healthy and alive. I’ll be okay.”
“Okay.” I tried to move, but any movement and it felt like I was splitting in two. Dastien leaned down, picking me up. Even that had me moaning with pain.
We passed Raphael, Shane, and Axel, who were already trying to fix the front door. The others had gone to off to shift and put on clothes.
This was a victory. No one was hurt. Except me, and I’d live.
As Dastien carried me toward the door, I peeked over his shoulder at my parents’ driveway. A dark spot marred the dirt. We’d only faced one major demon and it’d taken all of us to do it.
How in the hell were we supposed to fight more than one at a time and live?
Cosette stood off to the side, not glowing anymore, but playing with her blackened fingertips. I hoped it wasn’t anything serious, but if she wasn’t making a big deal of it, then I wouldn’t either. She caught me looking and tilted her head at the charred spot. For once I was positive we were on the same page.
If being in that church was inevitable—destiny, like Raphael said—then we were going to need some bigger guns. Because this wasn’t going to cut it.
Dastien set me on the kitchen counter, and then went in search of Oreos. Only eating my own bodyweight in cookies was going to help ease this kind of realization.
That and maybe two gallons of ice cream.
Chapter Twenty
We got back to campus as the sun rose. Exhaustion and a touch of pain made it hard to keep my eyes open, but hope coursed through me.
There was plenty to worry about, but as we walked back to the dorms—still coming down from our adrenaline high—we were united in friendship. Were. Witches. Fey. We’d fought a battle as one, and lived.
Sure. My side was still burning, but it’d heal. And if I thought about everything we still had to do, it seemed like an impossible feat. But looking back at how far I’d come—how far we’d come—it was impressive. Our potions needed some beefing up, sure, but before I left to stay at the compound, the werewolves weren’t the least bit friendly with each other. And the fey… But now we were fighting together. That felt like a victory. Maybe a small one, but it was enough for now.
Dastien and I followed Meredith and Donovan to the dorms. There was no way I was walking all the way back to Dastien’s cabin—no matter how much I wanted the privacy. The term “dead on your feet” had been taken to a whole new level tonight. This morning. Whatever day it was.
Donovan showered first. When he was done, I took a quick one. Meredith was sitting on my bed when I was done. “You went through with it, didn’t you?”
Dastien raised an eyebrow and motioned to the bathroom. I’ll give you a moment.
I almost laughed. He didn’t want to get in trouble for not telling Meredith. She always had a knack for seeing right through Dastien and me. “Yeah. We did.”
She swatted my shoulder, and I winced. “Sorry! But I knew it. Something was up with you all day. You have to tell me everything.”
“Sure. When I’m not so tired, and the guys aren’t listening in.”
“Girl time is needed. ASAP.”
“Agreed.” It seemed a little too good to be true that she wasn’t upset with me over this. “You’re not mad at me?”
“That you didn’t tell me it was happening?” She shrugged. “A little, but I get it.”
“Are you going to do the same?” I asked. “Before the battle?”
She glanced at the bathroom door.
What are you two talking about? Dastien asked.
Girl stuff.
He grunted. How much longer you need?
I dunno. A couple minutes? Maybe more. And no listening in!
He chuckled. I’ll do my best.
“I don’t know,” Meredith said. “Donovan wants to me to meet his pack. They have this whole elaborate ceremony in Ireland, but now… I don’t know why we’re waiting.”
“This fight… I mean that thing nearly ripped me in two. If just one was hard, how are we going to fight more than that?” I blew out a breath. “I’m scared.”
“Me too.” Meredith slouched down on the bed. “But we’ll get her.” The shower shut off, and she stood up. “I’m happy for you. You deserve a big slice of happy in all this crazy.”
“Thanks. So do you.”
She sighed. “I know. I’m just afraid what his pack will do if he comes back with some random chick. He was kind of a player back in the day and there are a bunch of she-wolves over there that are going to be pissed.”
“When the time comes, if you want me to go with you to Ireland, I will. You’ve had my back and I will totally have yours.”
“You’ve had mine, too.” Meredith squeezed my hand. “I haven’t forgotten what you did for me.”
/> I shook my head. “That was no big deal.” A little curse seemed like nothing compared to what we were dealing with these days.
“It was a big deal.” She gave my hand a quick squeeze as the bathroom door clicked open. “Night.” She whistled at Dastien, who was still glistening from the shower and wrapped in a towel that was a little too small for him.
“Goodnight, Meredith.” He gripped the knot of the towel as she slid past. Probably wise. His face was flushed when his gaze met mine. “We need to get you out of this dorm.”
I laughed. “Or get you slightly bigger towels. Wouldn’t want anyone sneaking a peek at my goods.”
He grinned. “Your goods? I thought they were mine?”
“It might be your body, but it’s mine, too.” He jumped onto the bed, and suddenly, I wasn’t all that tired. “Just be careful. I’m wounded.”
“I’ll be really gentle.” He lowered to brush a kiss on my lips, and grinned. “Very, very gentle.”
***
I woke with a start, unsure what was going on.
“Who is it?” Dastien’s voice rang out.
“It’s Teresa’s father. You have five seconds to get your ass dressed and out of my teenage daughter’s bed.”
Oh shit, I said to Dastien as I pushed him out of bed. The movement ached along my side, but nothing like the pain from a few hours ago.
We’d put on clothes to sleep in—you never knew what was going to happen living in the dorm—but still, this was more than a little disconcerting. With my side still aching, it took me a second to pull a sweatshirt over my head. By then, Dad was pounding on the door again.
“Don’t make me break it down, Teresa Elizabeth McCaide.”
Shit. He three-named me. I checked that Dastien was fully dressed before opening the door. Dad was bracing to knock again.
He pushed past me. “What in the hell is going on here?”
I swallowed. “Dad…” I had no idea what to say. Not even the foggiest.
He knew this was coming, remember? We’re not doing anything wrong. He faced Dad. “I know this must be difficult, but we talked about the bonding before, Mr. McCaide.”
Dad crossed his arms. “Right.” I was a little relieved to hear that from him, but the word was clipped. He was still angry.
But we’d been over this. I knew Dad wasn’t happy—he’d made that known at my birthday party—but I’d hoped that he was over it by now.
“Tessa and I completed our bond two nights ago.”
Dad’s jaw ticked. “I thought that wasn’t until the full moon.”
Oh shit. Dad smelled like the sharp tang of anger. You think we should’ve waited until he wasn’t so pissed to tell him?
Keeping it from him won’t solve anything. “When Claudia returned fully bonded to Lucas, we learned it was possible without waiting until next month.” I had to give it to Dastien, he was staying really calm, even while Dad was giving him the ninth-degree stare down. “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner, but with everything that’s been going on, there’s not been a lot of time. I hope you know that I love and respect your daughter more than anything or anyone in the world.”
Dad ran his fingers through his hair, and it stood on end. “So basically my only daughter is married and I had no idea about it.”
“Sorry.” I winced. “We were thinking of having a wedding later.”
His face told me exactly where I could stick that idea.
“Okay. I should’ve warned you. This isn’t the best way to find out about us, but Dad—you knew this was going to happen after my birthday. It got delayed. That’s all.”
He rubbed a hand down his face. “I know. I just—when it didn’t happen—I thought maybe it wouldn’t. That you’d have more time being a kid. Go to college. All those kinds of things.”
“I can still go to college. Once all this craziness is dealt with.” Not that going to college was even on my radar at this moment. Anything beyond the fight with Luciana felt like a million years away.
“We’ll talk about this later. I’m sure your mother and brother are going to want to know, too.” He blew out a breath. “The FBI wants to talk to you.”
Cops were one thing. I didn’t like them—they made me totally nervous even when I hadn’t done anything wrong… Except show up in a place will a few dozen dead bodies. But FBI? That was big time.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No. I think this is more curiosity than anything else.”
“Why don’t they talk to Mr. Dawson? Or Donovan? Or anyone else who’s not a total newbie?”
“That’s why they want to talk to you. Because you’re new. They’ve already talked to Michael and a few others, but you’re the one from the news, so they want you.”
I tried to take a little bit of comfort in that, but nerves were still creeping in. “Okay.”
“Get changed and dressed. I’ll wait for you in the common room.” He waited for a second, glancing from Dastien to me and back again.
Dastien laughed through the bond, but his face was a mask of seriousness.
You’re not helping. I stepped past Dad, and opened the door. “I’ll be right down.” He nodded, and left without another word.
I closed the door, and leaned against it. “Was it just me or was that super awkward?”
“It wasn’t just you.”
Laughing came from Meredith’s room. “Yeah. Laugh it up, you two. Just you wait. I know your brothers’ phone numbers. And your mother’s. I can get them down here in no time for an awkward encounter of your own.”
“My parents are happy about this. They’re Weres. They were expecting me to pick a mate years ago.”
She was right. They’d been super happy when Donovan claimed Meredith as his. “Damn it. Why am I always the newbie?”
“Because you are the newbie.”
I strode to my closet. The hangers scratched the rail as I searched for something to wear.
What exactly should one wear when being questioned by the FBI?
Something that made me look as innocent as possible. I’d worn all my dresses, so I picked a pair of dark jeans and a floral printed blouse. Anything I didn’t have to pull over my head was a win. My side needed time to rest, and not have me pulling on it.
I dressed as quickly as possible, sparing time for Dastien to redress my cuts with a fresh bandage.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Dastien asked me as I buckled my sandals.
I glanced at Dastien. “Is that an option?”
He gave me one of his trademark Gallic shrugs. “Might as well try. Worst they can do is not let me in the room.”
I went back to the closet, dug out one of his button-downs, and tossed it his way. “Well, then you’re coming with me.”
Once he was ready, Dad escorted us to the conference room.
The two FBI agents sat at the opposite side of the table.
They rose together, and I knew they’d probably done this a lot. Except maybe not with werewolves.
“Tessa, these are Special Agents Ramirez and Morgan.”
Ramirez had to be the short Hispanic agent. His navy blue suit hung a little baggy on him, but I could tell he had a reasonably fit body underneath. Not Were-fit, but fit enough. Morgan was a petite blonde. She seemed overly friendly with her megawatt smile, but something told me she wasn’t all warm and bubbly.
At least I already knew who was the good cop and who was the bad one?
“I’m sorry, but we only want to question Teresa,” Special Agent Morgan said.
Yup. Not warm or bubbly.
I thought about arguing, but that seemed like a bad idea. Definitely not the first impression I wanted to make.
I’ll be right outside, listening in, Dastien said as he brushed a kiss on my cheek. You need me, I’ll be back. No matter what they want.
Thanks.
Dad nodded. “We’ll be right outside. If you need me for any reason, I can come in as counsel.”
“As we told
you earlier, your daughter isn’t in any trouble.” Agent Morgan placed her folded hands on the table. “There’s no reason to worry.”
I tried to take that to heart as I settled down into one of the tall-backed leather chairs. I wheeled myself closer to the table, and sat up straight. My side throbbed at the movement, but Dastien had been right. The wounds were already scabbed over. By tonight, they’d be red marks at most.
“We’ve talked to some of your fellow pack members.” Ramirez said “pack members” like it was a question. “But we wanted to speak with someone who wasn’t born into this world.”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure how much they knew, and unless they asked, I figured silence was my best option.
“So what do you think of the werewolves?” Agent Morgan asked.
That was an incredible vague and open-ended question. “They’re fine. Some I really like. Some I don’t. Just like anywhere else.”
“And the witches?”
Where were they going with this? “The same. There are some here that I really like. Others, not so much.”
“That’s pretty honest,” Ramirez said.
That wasn’t a question, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Do you like being a wolf?” He asked.
I let out a sigh. “Right now that’s like asking if I like being short. It doesn’t really matter because that’s what I am, but I guess I know what you mean. It was hard at first, but I’m pretty okay with it. Running as a wolf is really freeing. And having enhanced abilities isn’t a chore either.”
“So you can change?” Morgan said.
“Of course.” I didn’t know that was in question.
“But you didn’t the night you fought the demon?” Ramirez asked.
“I’m not the best fighter when I’m all furry. I’m more of a help when I fight with magic.”
“That’s right. Mr. Dawson mentioned that you were special in that you come from a long line of witches.”
I guessed I didn’t mind that he’d told them, but it was a little odd that they’d been discussing me. “Yes. On my mother’s side.”
“So the wolves can’t use magic?” Ramirez asked.