by Aileen Erin
For about the millionth time, I wished Dastien were here.
Oh no. I had to get word to him. He had to know that the pack was in danger.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a cell that works?” I asked. Even if I couldn’t really talk to him, he needed to know that Mr. Hoel was here and working with Luciana.
“No service out here. And Luciana is the only one who knows how to turn our phone on. But…”
I knew it. He’d been holding out on me. “Please. Just this once. I need to talk to Dastien. He has to know what I just saw.”
“The only landline that’s always turned on is in Luciana’s house. She’s busy at the meeting and Daniel’s at our house—”
“You mean Daniel has a working phone?” And he hadn’t told me? He was so going to hear about this.
“And Internet. All of us have to ask permission before we make a call and she goes over the log on every phone bill.”
What was this? A fascist regime? No wonder they hadn’t told me about the phone. The more I learned about Luciana, the more I confirmed that she was a complete psychopath.
“I’ll be gone before she gets the next phone bill. You can put all the blame on me.”
He thought for a second, and I crossed my fingers. Short of leaving this compound, I wasn’t sure what to do. But getting word to Dastien was imperative.
“This way,” he said finally, and I let out a sigh of relief.
He paused in front of a white house four houses down and across the street from his own house. “I’m going to get you the portable from inside. Probably better if we stay out here in case she comes back.”
“Sure.” Even given the circumstances, I was nearly giddy with the thought of hearing Dastien’s voice.
Raphael reappeared a second later with the phone in his hand. “Be fast. I don’t know how much time we have before the meeting ends.”
I nodded. “I appreciate it.” I quickly dialed Dastien’s cell.
Meredith answered. “Dastien’s phone.”
Why did she have his phone? “Hey, it’s me.”
“Tessa?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh my God. Hang on. I’ll get him. Just give me one second.” I heard doors slam as she moved through the building.
“What’s going on? How is he? Why do you have his phone?”
I heard her and Chris arguing but it was muffled, so I couldn’t hear what they were saying. A second later, Chris’ voice came on the phone. “Hey. So Dastien’s been a mess. He’s locked in the feral cages. We’re heading to them now. I’ll put you on speaker and hopefully he’ll change forms.”
My heart dropped. “What do you mean he’s in the cages?”
“The lack of the bond has been really hard on him. Just hang on a sec. Let me get him for you.”
The sound of doors clanging closed echoed through the phone.
“All right,” Chris said. “I’m putting you on speaker.”
“Dastien?” I said.
“Oh thank God,” Meredith murmured, her voice sounded tinny.
“Cherie.”
I gasped at the gravelly tone in his voice. “What’s going on? Why are you in the cages?”
He muttered something in French.
I really was going to have to learn his language. “English,” I said as I rubbed my forehead. There were too many things going wrong tonight.
He paused his ramblings and switched to something I could actually understand. “It’s hard for me, this distance thing,” Dastien said. “I was okay at first, but I just… I was going to break the deal—go get you—so Dr. Gonzales drugged me. I woke up here. It’s easier as the wolf…if I order something as a human, it’s hard for everyone. They have to obey… How are you?”
I winced. I was better than him, that was for sure. “I’m okay. Worried about you now.”
“How are they treating you? Are you eating enough?”
“I’m fine. I’m having some weird vision stuff though. I just wanted to talk to you. I don’t have long. The coven’s having a meeting and I’m using Luciana’s phone—the only one on the compound.”
“Merde. That doesn’t sound like a good idea.”
“I’m glad I took the risk. You need to not be in the cages.” I closed my eyes and pictured him. I wished I could actually see him. I’d been able to reach him over distances a few times before, if I concentrated, but with the bond silent…
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay as soon as we’re back together.” He was lying. I didn’t need our bond to know that. If he’d been knocked out and locked up, he was so far beyond fine it wasn’t even funny. “What’s wrong with your visions?” He asked.
Explaining that would take way too much time. “It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that Mr. Hoel is here, spouting his usual bull and plotting with the coven. This is bigger than we thought.”
Dastien let out a string of curses.
“And if you’re in that cage, then you’re not keeping an eye on the pack.”
Raphael tapped his wrist. I turned my back on him.
“I’ve used up all my time. You’ve got to figure out what’s going on in the pack. If Mr. Hoel is back, then that means there could be another revolt on the way.”
“Merde. You’re right. I’m going to do better. It’s hard, but… I have a few ideas about what he might be planning, but joining forces with the coven? There’s a piece that we’re missing, and you can’t come home until you figure it out. I think—”
“You need to get off the phone. You’re pushing it,” Raphael said.
I shot him a look. “I know,” I said to Raphael. “I’ve got to go, Dastien. It’s not safe for me to be on the phone.”
“Go. Be careful. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Bye, cherie.”
“Bye.” I hung up and gave Raphael the phone and he disappeared back inside Luciana’s house.
Raphael came back outside from Luciana’s house and started speed-walking back to his place. “The farther away we get from here the better.”
I tended to agree with him. I had to jog to keep up, but I didn’t mind the exercise.
Tonight had been a real awakening, and not just because of the visions. I’d been hanging around my cousins’ house, content to learn witchy things with Daniel, but there were bigger things going on. Before I thought that might be the case, but now I knew and my priorities were changing.
First on my list was figuring out what Luciana and Mr. Hoel were up to. I also needed to make more friends around here. I needed to see if I could figure out a way to get some of the coven members out from under Luciana’s thumb.
I wasn’t sure if I’d find a new leader. Rosa and Grams had both said I wouldn’t, but I wasn’t giving that up entirely. Even if I had to be some kind of touchstone, I couldn’t be in two places at once. And I really would rather be with the pack.
By the time I got back to the house, I was emotionally exhausted. How could so much be going wrong? I certainly hadn’t caused all the issues within the pack, but man, my timing sucked.
I blew out a breath and went into the dining room. The table was cleared of dishes, but everyone had returned to their seats.
“She did it,” Raphael said.
“Did what?” Daniel asked.
“She saw the future.”
I rolled my eyes. The earnest tone was grating. “I didn’t exactly see the future. I lived a few minutes of it, and then I was suddenly back in time.”
“You think time travel is more plausible?” Shane asked with a smirk.
I opened my mouth and shut it. “No,” I said with a laugh. I guessed that’s what I’d made it sound like, but the idea was funny. “Sorry. It was definitely a vision, but it was really jarring. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around what happened.”
“How did you know it was a vision?”
I went to the spare fridge, pulled out the tray of lasagna, and cut off a big piece. As it was nukin
g, I got myself a soda. “I didn’t. Not until it was over. But I guess I was dizzy when the vision started.”
“Dizzy?” Cosette asked.
“Yeah. It was the only indication. I touched Raphael’s arm and this dizziness came over me—like the ground became a tilt-a-whirl. When the vision ended, that feeling came back, only stronger. I swear it was like the earth moved. And then I was back to the first time I grabbed Raphael’s arm.” I shook my head as I bit into a piece of garlic bread.
Daniel leaned across the table toward me. “That’s a hell of a lot better than my mother’s visions of the future.”
“How so?”
“She only gets vague images. Sometimes just an impression of one object. It can be a little useless and most of the time, we can’t figure out the meaning until whatever the event was has passed. But from what you’re saying, you actually live through it. So you actually know what’s going to happen if you go down that future path.” He leaned back in his chair. “Think about how that could benefit the coven. We’d know exactly how to deal with every bump in the road.”
“It might not be that easy.” The microwave beeped and I grabbed my food. It had dried out a little, but still smelled good. “The thing is, I don’t know how to control it. I don’t know if it was actually tied to Raphael or if it was just something that happened. Before, I could touch an object and see what it had been through. Or for people, sometimes I’d see what they were thinking or feeling. Now if I just get visions willy-nilly with no warning…how am I supposed to control that? How can I make myself have one or not?” I took big fork full of pasta and meat sauce, but no one said anything. They just stared at me. I waved the fork around. “That wasn’t a rhetorical question. I actually want someone to answer.”
Cosette shrugged. “I have no idea. I assume it’s possible, but I don’t have visions, nor am I close to anyone who does. We’re going to have to do some trial and error.”
“Since your lessons weren’t going well anyway,” Daniel said, and Claudia started cracking up, “we’ll put a stop to those and start doing vision stuff.”
“Okay.” I shoved another bite in my mouth. This was going to be a nightmare. “What about Tia Rosa?”
“Our crazy aunt who left the compound?” Raphael said. “What about her?”
“She removed the spell that Luciana put on me last time. That puts her pretty high in my book, and I think she might know more than she’s letting on. She came by and said she’d be able to help.”
“She doesn’t have visions,” Daniel said. “We would know if she did.”
“But she has some sort of ability. And her sister did.” Rosa was Grams’ sister, so technically she was my great aunt. “She said she’d help me, but that I needed to go see her.”
“Yeah,” Claudia drew out the word. “She and Luciana don’t really get along.”
That made me trust her even more. “Again, I’m not seeing this as something wrong with her. I definitely don’t get along with Luciana, and if we’d stayed out there tonight, we would’ve had a massive confrontation.”
“Thank God you had the vision then,” Raphael said. “None of us can afford to get on Luciana’s bad side.”
“We are on her bad side,” Claudia said.
Raphael rolled his eyes. “Fine. I don’t want to be even more on her bad side.”
I nearly laughed at the exchange.
“So, what’s the plan? Do I start touching things?”
“I don’t think that’ll work,” Elsa said. She didn’t speak up often, but I liked her style—only talking when she had something of real value to add to the conversation. “You have to start doing things. Making choices. When you take the wrong path, fate will put you back where you belong.”
“Fate? That seems risky.”
“Fate got you your mate,” Elsa said.
Girl had a point, but that didn’t make it any easier to swallow. There had to be a way. The others chatted a bit while I sat and ate. One by one, they left as the night wore on, until it was just me and my cousins.
Even if I hadn’t learned more spells, I was learning more about magic and life at the compound. The magic part seemed like a total crapshoot. Not anything that we could rely on, but maybe Rosa had some tips.
“Fine. Then tomorrow I’m going to go ask Luciana for permission to visit Rosa.”
“Am I the only one who thinks this is a terrible idea?” Raphael said.
“It is a terrible idea,” Claudia said.
“Thank you—”
“That’s why it’s so brilliant.” Claudia cut him off before he could finish. “Let’s take some risks. It just might work out for us.”
“This is more like it. A little adventure never hurt anyone.” Or it could go horribly wrong. But if making decisions was what would set off visions of the future, then I needed to take control. None of this waiting around business.
Dastien was suffering and I wasn’t having a good time either. It was time for me to kick a little Luciana ass.
The first real step started tomorrow. I just hoped I was making the right choice.
Chapter Fifteen
Since Luciana always dressed conservative in her long skirts, it made me want to wear my funkiest outfit. Instead, I decided to pretend to be the good little bruja. I wanted off coven land more than I wanted to antagonize her.
Claudia lent me a floral dress that tied at the waist. It brushed the tops of my knees, so it wasn’t long, but it wasn’t short either. I even braided my hair into two pigtails. I slipped on some flip-flops and checked myself out in the mirror. The outfit gave me a girly, innocent vibe.
I met Claudia, Raphael, and Daniel in the kitchen. “Ready?” I said to them.
“Sure. But if things start to go south, let me handle my mom.”
I narrowed my gaze. “It’s not going to go wrong. This plan is genius.” Okay. So maybe I sounded a little more sure of myself than I actually was, but confidence was more than half the game. At least, that was going to be my assumption. Hopefully that was partially correct.
We walked to Luciana and Daniel’s house and knocked.
“Yes.” Luciana opened the door. “Is there something you need?”
I wanted to grind my teeth, but instead, forced myself to relax and give her a sweet smile. Or what I hoped was a sweet smile. “Tia Rosa came to visit yesterday and invited me over to her house. Lessons with Daniel haven’t been going that well—I seem to not be getting a handle on things—and she offered to help. But I’d have to go to her house.”
“Rosa hasn’t stepped foot on the compound in over twenty years. You want me to believe that she was here? Yesterday?”
I tried not to show my shock. She hadn’t been here since before my abuela died? “I don’t know why she’s stayed away, but she came to talk to me. You said I was to come here to learn the ways of the coven, but I seem to be having a bit of a disconnect.” She started to speak up, but I talked over her. “It’s not Daniel’s fault. He’s been really patient with me, but it’s not working. I think Rosa can help. May I go?”
Her eyes narrowed and I swore I could feel my cousins tensing on the steps behind me. “I’m going to need to call her. Wait here.”
Claudia started whispering. “Shhh,” I said. I wanted to listen in on the conversation.
I closed my eyes and focused on the sounds in the house. Luciana’s steps as she walked along the old hardwood floors. The push tones rang out as she dialed Rosa’s number.
“Hola,” Rosa said as she answered.
“Rosa.” The venom was thick in Luciana’s voice.
If I didn’t already trust Rosa, I would then. However Rosa had gotten away, I wanted that for the rest of the coven.
“Ah. Luciana. I’m surprised it took you so long to call.”
Take that, Luciana.
“You were here?” There was a touch of shock. She thought I’d been lying. I guessed that made sense. If I were less than honorable, I would’ve tried to break away fro
m the coven ground on day one, but a deal was a deal. No matter how hard it was to keep.
But I guessed that just made me stubborn. Or stupid.
“Of course. You have my great niece. Holding her hostage. Such poor form, even for you.”
“You know you’re not supposed to come here.”
Oooh. There was dirt there. I couldn’t wait to find out why Rosa was supposed to stay out of the compound.
“And yet, I did. How did you find out I was there?”
“That’s beside the point.”
Ha! Rosa for the win.
“Teresa asked you for permission to come see me.” Rosa paused, and when Luciana didn’t say anything, she continued. “I suggest you grant her request. Unless you want me to come back—”
“No. I’ll grant her request.” A beep sounded.
She’d hung up on Rosa.
Holy shit. How had she gotten Luciana to bend so quickly? There was definitely a story I needed to hear.
The front door swung open before I could think much about it.
“You’re allowed to go to Rosa’s and back. Nowhere else. You’re allowed no phone calls. And you’re absolutely not to go anywhere near any of the dogs. You’re here to give the coven a chance and if you fail to honor our deal, there will be consequences. If you’re not back on our land before sunset I’ll consider you in breach, and the coven will be forced to take measures.”
I nodded. “Understood.” Too bad she didn’t know that as soon as I was off the coven’s ground, I didn’t need to call Dastien to talk him. The idea that my bond would be back in a few minutes had me giddy. I could barely keep myself from doing my own version of the happy dance.
I forced myself to walk, not run, to my car. Luciana’s gaze was practically boring a hole in my back.
“She’s not casting anything, right?” I said under my breath to Claudia.
She glanced back quickly. “No. But she looks mad as hell.”
I couldn’t afford to glance back. As soon as I was in the car, I let out a sigh of relief. Claudia got into the passenger seat, and Daniel and Raphael got into the back.
I started the car and slowly drove through the gates. The bond snapped back with such a force, my vision went black for a second. I couldn’t see. I slowed the car, and then I heard Dastien yelling in my mind.
