The eagle’s sharp eyes locked with mine right before it dive-bombed. I screamed and instinctively tried to avoid it, only to realize half a heartbeat later who it was, and that the massive bird was on my side. It veered past me and landed on the ground.
“Agent Bramble!”
She stood before me, fully shifted back into her human form. Apparently—and thankfully—she had mastered the ability to shift with her clothing intact, as not a single wrinkle or loose thread was evident on her hounds-tooth suit. It suddenly dawned on me who she reminded me of: Posy. She was a living, breathing incarnation of Posy.
Granted, a fiercer, kicking-butt-and-taking-names version, but the resemblance was definitely there.
Agent Bramble raced forward, her eyes sweeping over the scene, not missing a detail. She rounded on me after ensuring that Sasha and Ben were down. “Your friend called me. She said there was a werewolf in Beechwood Harbor. I flew here as fast as I could and when I was nearing Beechwood Harbor I saw a flash of green. What happened here?”
I sagged against the tree, drained of every ounce of energy. I barely managed to meet her eyes.
Bramble gave me some space while she made a series of phone calls. When backup was on the way, she inspected the bodies. “They’re both still breathing,” she said.
I breathed deeply, somehow relieved. It hadn’t been my intention to kill either of them, but the blast had been furious, and from the way they landed, I hadn’t been sure. My mind reeled back to the way Adam’s form had looked in the alley way.
“Agent Bramble?” I called as loudly as I could, still only managing a puff of a whisper. “Adam?”
“Your roommate, Evangeline, said he was attacked but he’s unharmed.”
Relief washed over me and I sank into blessed darkness.
When I awoke, the scene before me was crawling with SPA agents. Agent Bramble hovered nearby and was the first to notice I was awake. I moved stiffy, but at least I’d regained a little energy.
“Stay there, Holly. You need to rest.” She squatted beside me. “Can you tell me, step by step, exactly what happened?”
I nodded and then licked my lips, ready to purge the events of the horrible night.
When I finished recounting the details of the evening, she looked at me, a combination of sympathy and admiration etched on her face. “You’ve had quite a night.”
She asked few questions, but took diligent notes throughout my recounting. She closed her notebook and frowned at me. “I’m sorry for what you’ve gone through tonight, Holly. Truly. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I just want to go home.”
She smiled wanly. “That I can do.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Bone-tired and freezing cold, I practically fell through the front door of the manor. Lacey shot up from her place on the couch beside Nick. He lay curled into a tight ball and though his lips moved, he didn’t open his eyes. Lacey’s grave expression answered the question on my lips before I could ask it. “Any changes?”
She shook her head. “He’s still out.”
“Thanks for staying with him,” I told her.
“Sure.” She looked back down at Nick. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”
I shrugged helplessly. I didn’t have an answer for her.
“Where is everyone else?” I asked. “Adam and Evangeline?”
“They went back out to look for you. Adam’s out searching. Evangeline and Teddy took her car. I think they said something about Seattle.”
My eyes slid shut. “How long ago?”
“Twenty minutes, maybe. They stayed to take care of Nick first. Evangeline cleaned the wound and bandaged him up before she gave him one of your teas. I assumed it was to help him sleep.”
“Let’s hope she got the dose right this time,” I said with a faint smile. “I’ll call Adam.”
I slipped into the kitchen and dialed Evangeline’s phone. She answered with a frantic hello on the first ring. I told her I was back at the manor and after assuring her half a dozen times that I was all right, she promised that her and Teddy would take the next exit and turn around. They’d been heading toward Seattle.
After hanging up, I went to the back porch and yelled for Adam, hoping he would hear me and come back to the manor. When he didn’t appear, I went back to the living room to check on Nick.
Posy hovered nervously over Nick. “I’m so sorry, dear. I’m glad you’re all right though.”
“Thank you.” I stared at Nick as Lacey pulled a blanket over him.
“Will he have the curse?” I finally dared to ask.
Lacey was the one who answered. “He’s no longer human.”
My heart sank at the finality of both her words and tone. She was right. There was no point in arguing or holding out hope that somehow the inevitable might be prevented. I’d seen the gashes across Nick’s chest. They were made from claws. No doubt about it. And while my werewolf knowledge was limited, any witch or wizard who had been even partially awake during academy would know that all it took to pass the curse from a were to a human were scratches or a bite during the change.
Nick would live, but his life would never be the same.
Adam arrived home at the same time Evangeline and Teddy pulled back in the driveway along the side of the manor. He raced inside, threw a blanket around his waist, and clutched me tightly against his chest. His expression was a tangled mess of rage and relief. Tears streamed down my face when I realized how scared he’d been. “I’m sorry, Adam,” I finally whispered.
“You can’t do that ever again, Holly,” he said, his voice tense. “Chasing after a werewolf in the middle of the night?”
“It was stupid. I didn’t know what else to do though.”
He held me tighter.
“I can’t lose you, Gorgeous,” he said into my hair.
I met his eyes. “Adam—” my throat swelled, choking out the rest.
He kissed me and then took my hand and led me into the kitchen where Evangeline was waiting, a fresh pot of coffee nearly finished brewing. It was going to be a long night.
After I’d explained everything that had happened following my jump with Sasha, we rejoined Lacey and Posy in the living room. It took a few hours for Nick to wake up but when he finally started to come around, we moved him to the sitting room off the foyer. If needed, it would be easier to keep him contained, as the sitting room had heavy wooden doors that could be locked. Of course, a werewolf in full change could eventually bust through or dive out one of the picture windows that lined the room. However, short of chaining him up in the attic, it was the best option we had.
When Nick opened his eyes, I was sitting at his side. His eyes fluttered a few times and then went wide, his pupils turning to tiny specks. When his pinpoint pupils found me a flicker of relief washed over his face. “Holly,” he said, slightly dazed.
“You’re okay, Nick,” I started. His forehead was damp with sweat. I motioned to Evangeline and quietly asked if she could bring a cloth and she slipped from the room.
“What happened?” Nick asked me. His eyes never wavered, even to where Adam stood, hovering behind me. The bright blue orbs stayed locked on my face, unblinking. Desperation rolled from him in near palpable waves. He knew something was horribly, horribly wrong and he was waiting for me to tell him he was right. He was silently pleading with me to tell him the truth. Something I should have done a long time ago. No matter how awful. I wondered if it was similar to how military nurses and doctors felt, working on the freshly wounded, straight off the battlefield. How did they do it? How did they look into those wide-eyed faces and tell them the worst?
I drew in a silent breath. “Do you remember anything from last night?”
“I came to see you. It was late. Maybe close to midnight. I couldn’t sleep so I got dressed and went for a walk. Sometimes a long walk gets me tired enough that I don’t have the strange dreams. I didn’t really intend to come see you, but I wound up at the manor. I thought maybe someon
e would be awake but the lights were all turned off. I turned around to go home.”
I cringed, wishing I’d been awake. If he’d been safely inside the manor, then he wouldn’t have the marred wounds on his chest.
“I don’t know what happened after that. Or, at least,” he paused and looked up at me. “The things I remember don’t make sense.”
“Nick, there’s so much I have to say, I don’t really know where to start … .”
I trailed off and slowly shook my head.
Nick reached out and took my hand. I met his pleading eyes. “Holly, just tell me the truth. Am I losing my mind or is something weird going on? I trust you, Holly, with my friendship, my life. Please, just tell me the truth.”
Tears pooled in the corners of my eyes. I had no idea what or how to explain it all to Nick, but I had promised myself that I wouldn’t cry. I sniffed and blinked quickly to clear them away before they could fall.
Adam squeezed my shoulder and then left the room, closing the door behind him.
I shifted my focus back to Nick and with a quick nod, I started the tale. “You’re not going crazy.”
Something unreadable passed through Nick’s eyes, and in that moment I had no idea what he’d hoped the answer would be. Had he wanted me to tell him he was losing his mind? Would that have been an easier pill to swallow? Perhaps, but it wasn’t the one he could have. Not anymore.
“Nick, I’m a witch. A real witch.”
His mouth moved but no sounds came out. Finally he squeezed his eyes shut, gave his head a shake, and then tried again. “Like Harry Potter or something?”
I laughed softly. “Something like that.”
It took close to two hours to explain everything: the haven system, different types of supernaturals, and what had actually happened the night of the SPA raid on Raven. He asked a lot of questions along the way, and when the crash course in all things supernatural came to an end, he shifted his eyes to the coffered ceiling of the living room and tried to absorb it all. I sat with him, not saying a word, until he finally turned to look at me. “Does everyone else know?”
“Here in the manor?”
He nodded.
Right. I’d given a crash course on supernatural creatures 101 but had left out the multitude of them in Beechwood Harbor.
Nick tried to sit up, but grimaced and sank back down. “Is everyone in Beechwood magic? Am I in some weird Twilight Zone? Of all the cities … .”
I cringed. “Not everyone in Beechwood, no. But in this house … yes.”
“Evangaline?”
“She’s a witch. Yes.”
“Lacey?”
“Vamp.”
His eyes went wide. “Adam?”
“Shifter.”
He blinked twice. “Who else? Cassie? Chief?”
“No, and no.” I shook my head. “Let’s see, there’s Lucy at the spa, she’s a telepath.”
“She can read minds?”
“Not anymore,” I answered. “She’s medicated.”
Nick’s eyebrows rose another half an inch. I worried he was creating permanent wrinkles in his forehead.
“Oh, right, I forgot that part. I’m a potions witch. That’s my specialty. I used to sell my potions all over town, in fact.”
Nick gave his head a shake. I wondered if he hoped his mind was like an Etch-a-Sketch, so that he could shake it and clear away all of the disturbing information I’d dumped on him.
I inclined my head. “There’s one more thing,” I said, bracing myself.
He gave a crooked smile. “I’m not sure how much more I can process.”
“I understand.” I chewed on my lower lip for a moment, wondering if I should insist or let him have some time to sort out what he already knew. I had no idea what would happen to him. I’d never known a werewolf right after being cursed. Would there be immediate physical changes? Or would Nick remain normal until the full moon? Should I lock him in a room just to be safe?
Finally I broke my silence. “I know this is a lot, but I really don’t think this can wait.”
“Okay?”
I sighed. “Nick, last night you were attacked.”
He looked down at his bare chest at the large bandage that Evangeline had applied after I’d treated the wound with a healing salve that I’d mixed up fresh—haven rules be damned. “Well I didn’t figure this was a new fashion trend,” he said with a grimace.
“When you were walking home last night, you drew some unwanted attention from a werewolf.” I lowered my eyes to the bandage. A flicker of pain flared in my chest. I would have given everything I owned to take the scratches away, to make the nightmare end. “He’s the one who gave you that wound.”
I couldn’t make myself say the words but Nick’s face morphed from confusion to pure terror. He threw the blanket off from his waist and jumped up from the couch. He yelped at the pain but didn’t stop moving. He tore across the room in three wide bounds.
“Nick!” I hurried to his side but he threw an arm up, blocking me from touching him.
The tears I’d tried to keep away came hot and fast at the twisted pain and fear on his face. “It’s going to be okay,” I forced myself to say through the sobs. “We’re going to fix it—”
“How?” he demanded, his voice booming through the entire manor.
I blinked, surprised by the power.
“I’m a monster now!” he spat. “You just said as much!”
Adam pushed back into the room, his posture that of a riled dog. “What’s going on?” His dark, almost black, eyes shot from me to Nick and then back to me.
Nick rounded on Adam and for a heart-stopping moment I thought they were going to tear into one another right then and there. I moved to stand between them. I placed a hand on Adam’s chest, surprised to feel the panicked thudding of his heart beating against my palm. “It’s okay. I’m fine. We’re fine.”
“Like hell!” Nick bit out. “She just told me that I’m some kind of ... beast!”
Recognition flickered in Adam’s eyes. He rolled his shoulders back and drew in a slow breath. “I’m sorry, Nick.”
Nick looked up, surprised. “Save your pity, dog.”
My mouth dropped open. Adam reached for my arm and dragged me back a step. “Holls, let’s leave him alone for a minute. Give him some breathing room.”
I started to argue but then followed Adam’s unblinking gaze back to Nick. His posture hadn’t relaxed. He looked ready to battle with anyone who got close enough. Was this the curse? Was he going to change right there in the sitting room?
For one insane moment, my eyes snapped to the heirloom pieces Posy had arranged through the space. She was going to lose her mind if one thing got damaged, and if Nick went full were, there wouldn’t be a stick of furniture left in one piece when he was done.
“Adam, we can’t—”
He pulled me with more force. “Now, Holly.”
I twisted out of his grip and went to Nick. Adam lunged for me but I stepped out of the way at the last moment and he stumbled forward. With a snarl, he snapped out and grabbed my arm. “Holly, it isn’t safe!”
Nick’s eyes had gone ice blue. They shot from Adam to mine and then something changed. They flickered and changed back into the darker blue that I was used to. “Holly?” he said, his voice shaky. He stumbled back toward the couch and collapsed on it. “What—what’s happening to me?” He looked at Adam, who released my arm. “Adam, I don’t know why I said that to you. I’m—gosh—I’m so sorry!”
My heart twisted in my chest when a sob tore from Nick. He buried his face in his hands, taking an extra beat to look at them, as though worried they’d turn to paws right before his eyes.
I craned around and looked up at Adam. His face was an unreadable mix of emotions. Shock, fear, anger, sadness, pity. They all flickered across his face as he watched Nick come undone.
I sat beside Nick on the couch and wrapped an arm tenderly around his bare shoulders. He turned into me and cried int
o my neck. “Holly, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I would never hurt you.”
I nodded and made a soothing sound of agreement. “I know, Nick. I know.”
But when I lifted my eyes to Adam I saw the same thought reflected back at me: Yes you would.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
It took some time, but eventually Nick succumbed to sleep. In all of the action, he’d managed to reopen his wounds and the bandage on his chest was soaked with fresh blood. Evangeline came in once things died down and applied more of the healing salve and redressed the deep gashes. He’d thanked her and then accepted a second dose of my sleeping potion. Minutes later, his eyes slid closed and his breathing leveled out.
Adam refused to leave my side the rest of the night, and the last thing I remembered was watching him as he sat on the floor beside my chair, his eyes trained on Nick. Even when I reached out and brushed his shoulder, he refused to look away. Aggressive energy poured from him. I didn’t want to fall asleep and risk waking up to the two of them going at each other’s throats. I hated the thought. The idea that someday there might come a point where I had to make the choice between saving myself or someone else, and sacrificing the life of one of my dearest friends—it was too ugly to even dwell on for more than a few seconds. In the end, my eyes were too heavy and I couldn’t force them to stay open another minute.
The next day, I woke up in the chair beside the couch and found Nick still sleeping soundly. Adam looked over at me. “You’re still awake?” I whispered.
“I had to make sure,” was all he said.
“It has to be safe now,” I replied softly. “The sun’s up. Come on.”
Adam looked at Nick once more and then pushed off the floor. He moved gingerly and I imagined his muscles were strained and sore from the fight with Ben the night before. In a way, it all seemed far away, like a horrible dream, but when I started to move, my own body reminded me that it wasn’t. My legs cried out as I untucked them and stood. I stretched, cringing with each kink in my back and neck.
“Gorgeous, I’m getting too old for this badass routine,” Adam said once we were in the hallway.
Witch Way Home: A Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery (Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries Book 4) Page 18
