I watched as Halloway placed her hands over her stomach, a mixture of concern and love on her face. It must have been hard for her, not telling anyone. And it must have been equally hard to tell us now. But in times of crisis, a woman does what she has to do, right?
“Your baby?” I asked. “He’s . . .”
“Half Lycan,” she said. “Yes.”
“You’re engaged to a werewolf?” Kianna lost all the color in her face.
“I wanted to tell you,” Halloway responded. “I swear I did. There was just never a good time. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” Kianna tilted her head. “Sweetie. I don’t care. If he loves you and treats you right, then baby . . . that’s all I need to know.”
“You’d love him.” Halloway’s lip began to tremble. “I know you would.”
“Then I’ll meet him,” Kianna said. “Sweetie. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you.” A sense of relief fell over her. “My blood is running through my baby. Which means his blood is running through me.” Halloway knelt down next to Finn and placed her thumb against the jagged edge of his tooth and gave it a hard press. Blood dripped from her hand and onto his tongue.
A soft light came over his body, working its way from the outside in. I could see it happening, I could see Halloway’s blood healing him. His breath steadied and his veins bulged with life. The contours of his muscles rippled along his chest and arms. It was all happening faster than I expected, but sooner than I had time to process it, Finn was back up on his feet, his body once again flush with color. His heart beat hard enough that it could be seen through his chest. He was alive and healthy again.
“Come on,” I said. “We need to get you back home before your grandmother takes it out on Abben.”
“Wait.” He held out his hand. “I just wanted to say . . . thank you.”
“Thank you? Really? We forced you to shift and then got you kidnapped by a crazy witch. But if it makes you feel better, you’re welcome,” I replied. “Now come on!”
“Wait!” He stopped me again then looked at Babbs. “I also wanted to say . . . will you go to dinner with me?”
“Of course, she will!” I grabbed his arm and headed for the street. “You’re hot and she’s crazy. What else do you need? Also . . . if you’re mean to my friend, I’ll kill you.”
“Here.” Fin knelt down and dug his hands into the soil. He then began wiping the wet earth all over the blood stains in the small pod. “This wolf blood—my wolf blood—I hope it’s enough.”
“It’ll work just fine.” Halloway grabbed the lump of soil from his hand.
22
“Just in time,” The blind woman said as we stepped into the small house. “I don’t think your sister can hold on much longer.”
“She won’t need to,” I said, nodding to Halloway.
She made her way over to Abben, opening her hand and spreading the blood-soaked soil on her face and neck. I watched with bated breath, waiting for anything to happen, something to let me know the magic was working and that Abben was going to be okay. It was a different kind of nervousness than I felt whenever the same thing happened to Nicco, who, at this very moment, was likely barely clinging to life in my apartment. He was strong, though, and not just because of his wolf side. He was strong in every sense of the word and I knew that as long as we got back quick enough, he’d be okay.
“Is it going to work?” I looked at Halloway.
“It already is,” she whispered, pointing to Abben’s hand.
Her fingers were moving slightly, sort of in that way a person does when they’re in the hospital and they try to let their family see they’re going to be okay. I was so happy I almost screamed. I reached for my best friend’s hand, locking my finger with Babbs’s like a spider’s web. I wasn’t looking for her magic or her empathic abilities. I only wanted the comforting touch of my best friend as I watched a magical miracle take place.
Slowly but surely, her body began returning to its former self. The color in her skin came back. Her sunken lips seemed to spring back to life and her hair shimmered like she was in a Paul Mitchell advertisement.
“Look!” I said. “Her eyes are opening!”
“Abben?” Halloway sat beside her on the couch. “Abben . . . can you hear me?”
“You’re like twelve inches from my face . . .” she replied in a near-whisper. “I can smell you too.”
“She’s back!” Kianna said.
“Abben did her best to sit up straight and take stock of the situation. She looked exactly like you’d imagine someone would if you’d woken them from a deep two-day sleep. Rested, but still tired and weak. “What happened?”
“I got a date with a hot werewolf!” Babbs beamed. “And you almost died. We had very different days! But we’re both here now! So, wipe that sleep from your eyes and take a look at this hottie I’m gonna be kissing. Sweet, right?”
“Finn?” Abben asked, more than a little confused and groggy. “The Cheesecake guy?”
“He doesn’t actually have anything to do with the cheesecake,” Babbs replied. “He was just there.”
“Right . . .”
A few moments and one cup of coffee later, Abben was pretty much back to herself. She stood to her feet, dusted off her pants, and then began taking stock of the situation.
“The last thing I remember is tracing out the symbol,” she said, stopping in the middle of the living room.
“That’s when it all went bad,” Kianna replied. “But fashion district over here has a theory.”
“I do!” I clapped back. “So look at these pictures. This one I took on my phone. Hannah Alden carved this in the fountain. But now, look at the picture Babbs took of the cave walls. Not to mention the picture in the books. Notice anything?”
Abben took the phone in her hand and began swiping through the roll of photos. I’ll have to admit, it took me a minute to find it too. And if not for Babbs and her Yin and Yang skirt theory, I probably would have never noticed it at all. Something told me I was right though. That I’d finally came to the truth of what happened.
“It’s flipped.” Abben looked up.
“Yes,” I replied. “Hannah Alden drew it backward, as though she were looking at it in a mirror.”
“So instead of repelling lycanthropes, it would attract them?”
“Right!” I said. “And look at the inscription surrounding it. That’s a hybrid witch spell. One meant to stop witches from tapping into the magic. It’s a lock.”
“Why would she reverse it?” Babbs asked.
“She was either very lonely or she was trying to recruit werewolves. Either way, when Nicco walked into that store alone, it was an opportunity for her. She just must not have known about the lock.”
“It also finally answers the question about her being a werewolf. The same thing that happened to Abben happened to her. She was definitely a witch,” Kianna said.
“So then why take Hannah Alden’s body?”
“Well . . . if she wanted Finn too, then maybe she’s trying to save Hannah the same way we’re trying to save Nicco,” I replied. “She’d have no other reason to want Finn’s blood.”
“Either that, or she was trying to spill it all so we couldn’t use it,” Kianna replied.
“Did it seem like she wanted to kill you?” I turned to Finn, hoping he could shed some light on the situation.
“I . . . don’t know,” he replied. “I can’t always remember everything that happens when I shift. I do know I wanted to kill her though. And very badly. But I think it was because she’d locked me in that stupid thing.”
“What about after she got the blood?” I asked. “Did she just leave?”
“I think so.” He scratched his head.
“There’s only one way to find out for sure,” Abben said. “Let’s go find that witch!”
“Well . . . we can’t track her using the skirt,” Babbs replied. “So what do we do?”
Of course, there were l
ocating spells and a few other options I was going to suggest. Usually, though, when doing something like that, you have a base idea of where to find the person you’re looking for. The only thing I knew for sure was that she’d likely be in the city, but Atlanta and all of its surrounding boroughs covered a pretty large space and something told me we needed to get this done faster.
“Which way is going to be the fastest?” I turned to Abben.
“We need a living tracker, either that or—”
“I can find her,” Finn replied. “I scratched her up a few times. I remember that too. Her skin is under my nails. I can smell her from miles and miles away. I can smell her now.” There was a pain in him as he spoke, a level of fear and uneasiness that was written all over his face. Shifting into his wolf form again would be an exhausting feat, I was sure, but there seemed to be more than that.
“Finn,” I replied. “You don’t have to shift if you don’t want to. We’ll find another way.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m the best chance you guys have.”
“You just said you can’t always control it,” Halloway said.
“I’ll help him.” Babbs placed her hand on his cheek. Empathic magic sparked from her fingertips, rolling across his face like waves on the sand.
Finn stepped back and once again began the process of shifting. It was just as unnerving, just as violent and difficult to watch the second time. I turned away, but Babbs didn’t. I watched from the corner of my eye as she held out her hands, watching him intently, ready to unleash her magic.
The next couple of minutes were a blur of noises, magic, and emotion. But finally, everything fell silent, with only the sound of deep, animal-like breaths filling the room. I slowly turned my head to see my best friend standing in the middle of the room with a massive wolf at her side.
She smiled. “Let’s go.”
“Just one second,” I said. “I need to send a signal.”
“Now?” Abben asked. “Really?”
“Trust me,” I said, scribbling a quick spell on the concrete steps.
23
In my life as a fashion designing witch, I’d done some pretty odd things, but I have to say that speeding down the road in a car full of witches while following a huge werewolf down the highway ranked right up there with the most unique. Finn weaved in and out of traffic, going almost too fast for us to follow. Thankfully, it was already so late and the roadways weren’t too crowded.
Leaving Dunwoody, Finn ran down the on-ramp and onto the massive eight-lane bypass. Once there, he let loose completely, running as fast as both his legs and our car would allow. I watched with a racing heart as large skyscrapers and city lights flew past us in one massive blur.
Soon enough, we found ourselves stopped outside a large abandoned church on a side of town I really didn’t recognize. Finn hurried up the long steps, pausing in front of the door then turning back to Babbs.
“Wait!” she said as Abben opened the door.
“What?” Abben replied.
“You’re kind of ruining the vibe here.” She pointed to Abben’s grey sweater and black pants. “Would you mind if I just . . .” Then she snapped her fingers.
I’ll have to admit, we did look great walking up those steps. Not to mention we were about to come strutting in with a werewolf by our side. I wasn’t sure what we’d find in that church, but I knew it would have to be something pretty powerful to be able to take on all of us. Suffice to say, I wasn’t so much worried as I was just ready to get the damn thing over with. I had a store to open and a boyfriend to save.
“Do you want to stay here?” I asked Halloway in a low voice. “To just wait in the car?”
“Why would she do that?” Abben asked.
It was only then that I realized Abben still didn’t know about the engagement or the baby. I was sure she’d be happy for her sister. At least, I hoped she would, but it wasn’t my place to tell her. I fumbled my words, searching for the right thing to say.
“I . . . she twisted her ankle. While you were passed out.” It was a pretty crappy lie for sure. But in the moment, I was too unprepared to produce anything better.
Abben saw right through it. “What’s going on?”
No surprise there . . .
“I have something to tell you,” Halloway said. “But this might not be the right time.”
“If it’s something that’s going to keep you from going in there, then I want to know. Are you okay?”
“Yes,” Halloway replied. “I’m fine. I promise.”
“Then tell me what’s happening.”
The two women locked hands and took a few steps back. We watched from the church steps as Halloway once again broke down as she told another one of her sisters the long and complicated story of how she ended up not only engaged to a werewolf but also carrying his baby.
“Well, that’s another one down.” Abben returned to the steps, leaving Halloway to wait behind in the car.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re with a wolf.” She sighed. “And now, so are Babbs and Halloway. I guess that just leaves Kianna and me.”
“Aww . . .” Babbs said, her hand stroking Finn’s furry back. “Don’t worry, darling. We’ll find you one too.”
“That won’t be ne—”
“Don’t worry. We got you!” Babbs replied. “Now what do y’all say we go find this witch and see what she’s up to?”
Abben snapped her fingers, causing the doors to fly open with a massive gust of wind. We stepped in to find the church completely empty, save for a small table in the middle of the altar. It wasn’t until taking a few steps closer that I noticed Hannah Alden lying there. Much like Abben had only a short time before, her body looked lifeless and gaunt. Only this time, even more so.
“Hannah!” I said, running toward her.
“Ginni! Be careful!” Kianna followed behind me. “It might be a trap!”
“You’re right. It is a trap,” a voice called out from the shadows. I couldn’t see her, but I knew it was the witch, the one we’d been chasing. “And you’ve fallen right into it.”
Seconds later, she stepped out from the darkness, illuminated by only the light of a few candles and the small rays of moonlight streaming through the shattered stained-glass windows. It was her, all right, the same woman who’d caused us so much pain, the same woman who—
“And there he is . . .” I said, watching as her glamour faded and the truth of who she was spilled out before us. Hello, Detective Shannon.”
“You don’t seem surprised.” He cocked his eyebrow.
“Oh.” I grinned. “I’m not.”
“How are you here? How are you not melting into a pile of magical residue?”
“You mean your little hex?” I jabbed my elbow into Babbs.
“Oh! Right!” She sprang up. “That fashion mistake you call a necklace. The one that is supposed to repel us. Turns out your magic is no match for ours.” Babbs untied her coat, opening it wide to show a wealth of magical inscriptions.
“Care to explain?” Abben asked.
“The other day when I went to sign that lease, I found it a little curious that they were so willing to just give me the store on such short notice. So I got to thinking . . . why do that? But it wasn’t until we drove up to this church that I figured it out. I was never offered the store. It was you all along. I see those same three letters everywhere you go. It’s a spell . . . one I knew just how to break.”
“Blasphemy!” he yelled out. “You can’t do this!”
“We can, and we did!” Babbs gave an exuberant finger snap.
“And also . . .” I said. “You’re under arrest.”
“Arrest?” He chuckled. “On what authority?”
“On mine.” My father’s voice rang out through the empty church. Just then, in his signature style, a massive swirl of smoke and light tore through the building, shattering what was left of the large wooden doors until finally slamming to a stop right in fr
ont of us.
“Hello, Dad,” I said as the dust settled around us.
24
“Nicco,” I said as the morning sunlight bled into the room.
He was still a little weak, but he was finally going to be okay. I felt the weight of the world as it lifted from my shoulders and drifted off into the breeze. I’d been through so much to get to this point. It had taken me longer than it should have, but it was finally time to let Nicco know how I felt about him.
“Hello . . .” He gave a sleepy smile. “Where—”
I pressed my lips against his. The intoxicating aroma of his wolf side engulfed me just as it had before. I let myself get lost in it. I was finally able to let go, to allow myself to be with him in the way he deserved.
I felt his body tense up as he realized what was happening. It didn’t take long for him to react though. He placed his hands on the back of my head, digging his fingers into my thick hair. A tingling shock ran down my neck before settling over the rest of my body.
His handsome face and the days of unshaven stubble rubbed against my fingertips as I cupped his face and felt the sweet warmth of his lips on mine.
“Feeling better?” I pulled back, watching the soft glow of the Atlanta sun bathe his face.
“Amazing.” He smiled, pulling me back in. “I dreamed about you.”
“You did?”
“We were on a beach. You were lying on my chest. We watched the sunset. It was perfect.” I could see the happiness on his face. Once again and for the millionth time since meeting him, my heart melted.
“We’ll make it a reality,” I replied, running my hands through his dark hair as I brushed a stray piece from his face.
And then it was time to make some money . . .
“How long now?” Babbs asked.
“About half an hour,” I replied.
“Aren’t you excited?” Babbs asked, practically jumping up and down with excitement.
“I really am,” I replied.
As it turned out, saving Hannah Alden from certain death had not only afforded me a pretty awesome reputation over the last few days, but it had also endeared the woman to me in such a way that she’d given me control of the entire store. I was both excited and nervous. It was a big step for me, but with Nicco and my new sisters by my side, it was one I was more than ready to take.
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