by Aileen Erin
Dr. Gonzales stepped forward. “You look sick. Can I help?”
I shook my head. I didn’t want anything from her bag o’ tricks. “I don’t think anything’s going to fix this except opening those jars, but I need to hold off until tonight. If I open them now, they’ll change their plans. We might not be ready for them next time.” Meredith moved aside as I went into my closet, digging through to find a backpack. The backpack that Claudia and Raphael had given me. I didn’t have any potion vials left, but it still had some other weapons.
I unzipped it, and held it in front of Dastien. He carefully put the jars inside. “Wait. I should wrap them again.” I grabbed a couple of T-shirts, making sure that they were properly cushioned, and then zipped the pack.
My dream of the war on the quad was coming. My gut was telling me that particular nightmare was true, and I had to trust it.
“At midnight, the vampires will come. Then, the witches. And then the traitors from our own pack. We need to figure out who’s good and who’s bad. And we need to get ready. Luciana and Mr. Hoel don’t know that I saw what’s going to happen.” I wasn’t sure if Mr. Hoel was going to kill me tonight, but it was a strong possibility. Maybe if we were ready, I could avoid it. Maybe not. “Can we clear the cafeteria? I want to eat and I want to talk to you, but we can’t trust anyone. Not anyone outside this room. Not yet.”
Donovan nodded. “Don’t you worry, lass. We’ll keep you safe.”
I shrugged the backpack over my shoulders and started for the door. “That’s why I came home.”
***
The cafeteria was pretty much empty, but one growl from Donovan, and the place became completely empty.
“I’ll get you some food,” Dr. Gonzales said. “You sit.”
I nodded and made my way to our normal table. Dastien took the backpack from my shoulders. “I’ll take care of the jars,” he said as I looked back at him.
“Okay.” I trusted him more than I trusted myself at this point.
As I sat down, I sighed. It felt like I was getting a little piece of normal back.
Maybe everything wouldn’t be okay today or the next day, but we’d get there.
A tray appeared in front of me, and I stared eating and telling the story. Everyone stayed quiet at the table, except for a few laughs when I told them about my attempted witchery. Even I could admit that blowing a hole in the roof was pretty funny.
“So, that’s how I ended up here.” I’d gone through three trays of food while I was talking. Mr. Dawson sat straight and started to speak, but I held up a hand. “A few questions for you guys before anyone says or asks me anything.”
“Please,” Donovan said.
“I’m still feeling drained, even with the food I’ve eaten. I’m not around the gris-gris, but it’s still weakening me. I need that gone before tonight. Any ideas?” If I was going to beat Mr. Hoel, I was going to need all the strength I could get.
“Did you bring it with you?” Donovan asked.
“Yes. It’s in my messenger bag in the backseat of my car. Wrapped in a sock.”
“We’ll burn it. Best way to release whatever’s got a hold of you,” Donovan said. “As for the jars, I do believe setting the power free will bring it back to you. It takes a lot to pull it from you—as you saw. It’s contained for now in the jars, but once we break the seals, the power should be yours again. You’ll be right as rain.”
I stared at the table and swallowed. Dastien reached for my hand under the table. “I can barely hear Dastien and I can’t talk to him in my head anymore.”
“It’ll all come back. You’ll be whole again,” Mr. Dawson said.
“Will I?”
“We’ll make sure of it.”
“As one of the Seven, you need to figure out which wolves we can trust,” I said to Donovan.
“Sebastian has been working on it. It seems Rupert has a good number of wolves supporting him. About half.”
“That’s more than I’d thought,” I said. This didn’t bode well for tonight.
“I thought we fixed the problem wolves months ago,” Mr. Dawson said with a frown. “The ones who acted out with Rupert were punished, but now…it has to go deeper than we thought. Someone more powerful than him…”
“What about the humans?” Chris asked. “If there is a war, we’re going to need to alert them.”
“I think telling them now is a bad idea,” I said. “We’re going to have a battle. There are two outcomes, we win or we lose. If we win, then any that get away will lick their wounds before coming back. Luciana said some covens were with her, but I met a witch from Colorado who said her group was with us. Luciana could be full of it, but there will be some who will back her, even if we defeat her tonight. So, we win tonight. Then, we slowly out ourselves in a good light to the humans and prepare them for the dangers of the supernatural. Then, when the big war comes, we try to handle it as under the radar as possible. If we lose tonight, then it’s all moot. We won’t be around to worry about anything.”
I flashed back to my vision. The sounds of battle surrounded me. I heard Mr. Hoel yelling at me. I could almost taste the iron of my blood filling my mouth.
“Tessa?” Dastien asked.
I blinked. “I’m fine,” I said.
“Liar. Tell me what’s wrong.”
He was right. I wasn’t fine, but I couldn’t tell him all about my vision. Some things were left better unknown. If he was distracted during the fight, it could cost him his life.
If that nightmare came to pass, then I’d be glad that we hadn’t tied ourselves together, and the ceremony was interrupted. Dastien would have to find a way to survive. “I’ll be fine.” It was a less of a lie. One way or another, I’d figure it out. “So what’s next?”
“You need to rest,” Dr. Gonzales said. “Let your body heal.”
“We’ll cook up some potions to fight the vamps and we have a few anti-witchy spells I researched while you were gone. One blinds them for a few minutes, so they can’t cast anything at someone. Another one is a blocking spell. I can mix those up,” Adrian said.
“I’ll grab your stuff from the car,” Chris said. “We’ll burn the gris-gris in the lab and get started with Adrian’s spells.”
I checked the time. It was two in the afternoon. “But class is still going on?”
“I’ll kick them out,” Adrian said. “Some things are more important than teaching the freshman metaphyiscs.”
He had a point. “You’ll come to my room?” I asked Dastien, but I was sure of the answer.
“Of course.”
“Do you want me to come?” Meredith said.
“No. I’ll be okay. But thanks.” I just wanted to be alone. Dastien didn’t count though. He was a part of me, even if I couldn’t really feel the bond right then.
Dastien wore the backpack as we headed back to my room. I wasn’t feeling as sickly as I had been before. But that empty feeling haunted me. I couldn’t shake it—wouldn’t be able to until those jars were a distant memory.
I climbed into bed without taking off any clothes, and Dastien followed, tucking me to his side.
“Sleep.” His chest vibrated under my ear.
“I’m scared to fall asleep. The dreams—nightmares—were so bad.”
“None of it will ever come to pass. I won’t let it.”
He might not have a choice.
I breathed in the scent of him. The forest. The earth. The bit that was just him.
“Relax,” he said as he untied the band around the bottom of my braid. He ran his fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp lightly. “You’re home now. Sleep.”
There was a command in his words, and without my abilities I couldn’t even pretend to fight it. My eyelids grew heavy and the world faded from view.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I woke with a start. My heart was beating so fast. It thundered in my ears.
A beep sounded, and I rolled over.
“Are you okay?” Dastie
n said.
I lay back down. “Sure.” Only I wasn’t so sure. Something was up. I was so revved that even my teeth tingled. “Who texted?”
Dastien checked his phone. “Adrian. They found the gris-gris and burned it.” He clicked on my bedside lamp. “How’re you feeling now?”
“I don’t know,” I snapped and instantly felt like a jerk. That question was getting old. “Something woke me up,” I said, changing the subject.
“Probably the gris-gris being destroyed.” He grabbed my chin, and forced me to meet his gaze. “How’re you feeling? Be honest.”
I sighed. He was only trying to help, but I didn’t have a great answer for him. “I feel weird. Unsettled.” I paused. “Should we be doing anything? I feel like we’re just lying here and there’s so much to be doing. We’re wasting time.”
“I think you’ve done enough to help the pack. You’ve sacrificed. I’ve sacrificed. They’re doing the busy work. The prep. Sometimes it’s good to delegate. Trust our friends. They’ll get it done.” He got up.
“Aren’t we delegating?” If so, there was no reason for him to be leaving.
“Yes, but there is something that only you and I can do. Come on.” He held his hand out to me, and I stared at it for a second. “Trust me.”
I met his golden eyes. “I do.” I put my hand in his and let him pull me from the comfort of my bed.
He slung the backpack on, and kept his hand firmly in mine as we made our way to the common room. He let go of me then, but only long enough to stuff a bunch of food and drinks in a bag, before he reclaimed it. “This way.”
I thought about asking where we were going, but I had a pretty good idea.
We walked across campus to the parking lot, and he opened the front door to his car. “In.”
“Are you sure it’s okay to leave campus right now? I just got back and…”
“Yes. We need this. It’ll be okay.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “If you say so.”
“I say so.” He threw the bag in the back and got in the seat, handing me the backpack. I couldn’t help but peek. I unzipped and looked at the two glowing jars. My energy was still there. I had to keep reminding myself. It hadn’t gone anywhere. Not really.
A year ago, if I could’ve put my visions in a jar and buried them in the backyard, I would’ve done it. I would’ve done anything to get rid of them and be normal. Now I wanted them back so bad I itched to snatch the jars and smash them.
“Ready?” Dastien asked.
“Yeah.”
As he drove, playing soft piano music that soothed my soul, I stared out the window. “Are you mad?” I asked.
“No. Why?”
“Even though you were in the feral cages? Even though I was wrong, and you were right?”
He sighed. “We were both wrong. I was wrong because it was worth trying. We had to give up a lot, but if the witches had been honorable, it would’ve been for the greater good. And you were wrong, too.”
I bit my trembling lip.
“You’re wrong because you’re a good person. You saw the evil there, but you wanted to fix it. You wanted to protect the pack. And that’s the most honorable kind of wrong you could ever be.” He paused. “Wrong is the wrong word.”
I laughed but it sounded a bit desperate, even to me. “Wrong, huh?” He’d used the word a million times.
“It is. It’s not you. This wasn’t your fault. You didn’t ask to get stripped. This is Luciana’s fault. This is Rupert’s fault. All we did was try our best.”
“We failed.”
“Not yet.”
He was right. We still had a chance, but it felt like I’d already failed. I’d gone to the compound and I hadn’t accomplished anything.
As we pulled onto the worst road in the history of roads, I gripped Dastien’s hand tightly. It was good to feel him, to be with him. He calmed me.
Dastien stopped the car as we reached the clearing, and went into the back of the car—pulling out the bag of food and a blanket. While he was busy, I hopped down out and started walking.
He caught up in a second. “Let’s go by the pond.”
“Okay,” I said.
This was the first time I’d been around him since I accepted that he was my mate—since that first vampire attack—that I couldn’t feel what he was feeling. It was both disarming and unsettling. It was like there was a great cavern between us and I couldn’t reach across to him.
I’d thought I missed him before, but being next to him, I missed him even more.
He glanced up at me from where he was putting the blanket. His eyes hadn’t dulled from glowing yellow. I didn’t have to be able to read him to know that this was bothering him, too. He was way more obsessed with our bond than I was.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I wish we could break the jars now. I don’t like this distance. You’re here but you’re not, and it’s driving me crazy.”
I sat down heavily. “Me, too.”
He sat next to me and pulled me into his lap, pressing his forehead to mine. “We’ll be okay. It’ll take more than this to take us down.”
“I know.”
“You were hurt, and that hurts me, but I’ll be here for you. No matter what.”
His words made me feel a little better. “Do you think we’ll ever get to live here?”
“I know it. I will make it happen no matter what.”
He was so determined that I almost believed him. Almost. “Some things won’t be in your control.”
“I don’t care. If that’s what you want, I’ll make it happen. Trust me. This will be okay. It might be a while, but we’ll make it okay.”
I nodded and rested my head on his shoulder. “Do you think that our bond will come back?”
“Is that what you’re afraid of?”
A part of me was. A lot of our relationship was based on our bond and being mates. If that was suddenly gone, if I never got back to who I was before, would he still be with me? “Yes. If I can’t be your mate anymore—”
He shook my shoulders until I looked at him. If I’d thought his eyes were glowing before, I was wrong. “You are mine. There’s no backing out of it for any reason. I liked you when you were human. Seeking you out in the bookstore. Following you to that stupid party. I couldn’t stay away even then. And you’re still a wolf. I can feel her there, under your skin. You’re going to be fine and even if you weren’t, I’d want you just the way you are.” He stared into my eyes and for the first time, I broke away first. “Got it?”
I chewed on the inside of my mouth as I let his words sink in. “Yeah. I got it.”
“Good. Now let’s have a snack and talk about happy things. Like where we should put the house. How many bedrooms? That seems like a good negotiation. I was thinking seven was a good number.”
I shoved him. “Seven? How do you figure that?”
“One for us, two for guests, four for kids. Although, maybe we need ten. Ten would be better, right?”
“Ten? Who the hell is going to be visiting us? How many guests can we have at one time?”
He grinned and his eyes dimmed. Not all the way back to amber, but closer. “Not for more guests, cherie.”
I laughed. “You’re out of your mind.”
He pressed his lips softly against mine. “Only when it comes to you.”
***
When we got back to campus, I was feeling much better. A little R&R with Dastien was exactly what I’d needed. Everything would be better when the jars were history, but at least I was feeling more like myself. More confident.
We parked the car, and hopped down, but I didn’t get far before stopping. The rest of the gang stood by the edge of the parking lot. Again. With a few extras.
“Jeez. It’s like everyone is watching for when I get back. Why is there always a reception here?”
“There’re cameras along the fence. Someone was probably looking out for us, but I think we’ve got some visitors. Isn�
��t that your cousin?”
I nodded. “I guess I forgot to mention that I told them if they needed a safe place to stay, they could come here. With the coven that bad, they couldn’t stay at the compound. Do you think the pack will be pissed?”
He shrugged. “They’ll get used to it. Things are changing. Better they get used to it now.” He pulled me toward the waiting group. “Come on. They’re getting impatient.”
“I say they blame you instead of me. You started the whole change in the pack by biting me.”
Dastien tweaked my nose. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t have been so irresistible.”
“Oh barf,” Adrian said. “We can hear you from here. How about getting a move on? Some of the pack are flipping out about this.”
Dastien and I picked up our pace.
Claudia, Raphael, Shane, Cosette, and Elsa stood beside my friends. I nodded to them, and then turned to Mr. Dawson. “They’ll need a place to stay. In the dorms?”
Mr. Dawson shook his head. “There’s room for visitors on the top floor of the admin building. Above the infirmary. The freshman are mostly stable, but I wouldn’t want to risk any accidents in the dorms.”
Huh. I’d always wondered what was up there, but I’d figured it was offices or something. “Okay. In the meantime, how’s the prep work coming?”
“Slowly,” Chris said.
“It’s getting there.” Adrian was being a little defensive.
“No you haven’t figured out how to make them—” Chris started, but Meredith cut him off.
“Do you trust them?” Meredith asked.
I glanced at the group from the coven huddled in a circle. They looked both scared and defiant.
Wait. Someone was missing. “Where’s Daniel?”
Claudia shrugged. “I couldn’t find him. We waited for as long as we dared, but Cosette saw Luciana pull up and we left. I can’t stand up to her. Not after the blood oath. And if she’s doing evil stuff, I just…I couldn’t wait.” She blinked rapidly as she pressed her lips firmly together.
