by Aileen Erin
“Yes. The itching is driving you crazy.”
“I haven’t said a word about it.” I’d been super proud of that lack of bitching about it, when all I wanted to do was grab my fork and go to town on my leg.
“It’s almost all you’re thinking about right now. I want to make sure it’s not infected.”
I guess it could’ve been worse—I could’ve gotten possessed from it. But still, I didn’t understand how I could get an infection. “I thought that couldn’t happen to Weres. We don’t get sick.”
“It’s not likely, but with a supernatural hurt…” He slapped my butt. “Come on.”
I grumbled as I rolled over, and slid up the bed. Dastien was in a robe, too, but it fit his larger frame much better than mine did. As it opened, revealing just a bit of his chest, I tilted my head to stare.
“I’m being objectified again.” He gave me a little wink before carefully unraveling the bandages.
“You like it.”
“From you, sure.” He hissed as he looked at my leg. “We might need more holy water. It’s healing slower than your side. And the edges are all red. It doesn’t smell right.”
“Does it smell like sulfur?”
“No,” he drew out the word. “But it smells off.”
Pouring more holy water on it sounded like a whole bunch of no fun. “Have you heard from Claudia?”
He squeezed my foot. “You’d know if I had. I think if something was going wrong, we would’ve heard by now.”
I hoped so.
“Quit worrying. You’ve done enough of that the past few weeks to last us at least the next decade.”
“Clearly you don’t know me very well. I can always come up with something to worry about.”
Dastien chuckled. “I know you better than you know yourself, which is why I’m not going to let you invent new worries.” He stood up. “Your leg—”
Three soft knocks sounded on the door.
“Please tell me you read my mind and went ahead and ordered another round of room service.”
Chris’ rasping laugh came from behind the closed door. “Come on. Let us in.”
Dastien strode to the door. “Any of you have more holy water?”
Claudia pushed past everyone. “Why? Is something wrong with her wounds?” She was freshly showered. Her wet hair was pulled back in a loose braid. “What’s going on?”
I tightened my robe as Lucas, Chris, and Adrian came in the room. “It itches. Like a lot,” I said to Claudia. “But I think it’s going to be fine.”
She leaned in to it, touching it gently. “It’s red around the edges.”
“How’s Shane?” I said, hoping to change the subject.
“Recovering. He needed a little spell intervention, but now he’s healing just fine. Raphael’s with him. We’ll stay here a few days while he recovers.”
I nodded. “Makes sense.”
“I think I’m going to stay, too,” Adrian said from the doorway.
I smiled at him. “Sure.” I hoped Shane appreciated how awesome Adrian was. “So, when are the rest of us heading home? Where are Meredith and Donovan?”
“They’re arranging the travel,” Chris said. “We should be ready in the next couple hours.”
I let out a relieved breath. “Good.”
“Did you happen to see the paper?” Adrian asked.
I glanced at Dastien. Did we get one?
No. They asked, but I didn’t think we needed one. “Why?”
“This was in front of my hotel room door this morning.” He pulled a folded newspaper from his back pocket and threw it on the bed. I grabbed it, opening the page as Dastien sat beside me.
An image of Dastien and me plastered the cover. We were exiting the church with Agent Morgan, him at my side in wolf form. We looked like we’d been through hell. Blood ran down my leg, but I was smiling.
Seeing myself on the front page of an actual printed newspaper was totally surreal. I swallowed. “Uh. Is this for real? We’re really on the front page?”
“Of every newspaper in the country—hell, probably in every country, too. It’s all over the news.”
This is crazy.
Well, at least it seems like they trust us now, Dastien said.
That was something.
“Okay.” I rubbed my hands together. “Well, we better get dressed if we’re leaving soon.”
“Oh, no you don’t.” Claudia wagged a finger at me. “That leg looks infected. You don’t need more holy water—I don’t feel any evil in it—but you definitely need antibiotics.”
I plopped back on the pillows. “I’m a werewolf. I don’t get infections anymore.”
“Apparently you do if it’s a cut from a psychotic, demon-possessed witch,” Chris said. “We can call Dr. Gonzales. I’m sure one shot and you’ll be fine.”
“Shot? You have to be kidding me.” I groaned.
“You can take on Luciana and a church full of demons, but one shot has you shaking in your robe?” Claudia said.
Dastien started laughing.
You’re not helping. “I just don’t like them. Okay? And for the record, I was scared last night. More than scared. I was terrified.”
“I think we all were,” Lucas said. “I’ve seen a lot of battles in my life, but that was truly terrifying. You did well.”
“Thanks,” I said. “That means a lot coming from you.”
He nodded. “I’m only stating the truth.”
I stared at the ceiling for a second, before giving in. “Fine. Call Dr. Needle-Happy, and let’s get this done with. As nice as this bed is, I’d like to be home tonight.”
“Agreed,” Dastien said. “The sooner we’re back home, the sooner we can put all of this behind us.”
A quick call to Dr. Gonzales, and we were off to see the doctor that had helped Adrian. The shot wasn’t that bad, plus I got to check in on Shane, who was recovering well. Better than I’d hoped.
Two hours later, we were heading to the airport with Meredith, Donovan, and Chris. The others would come in a few days. Although, I wondered how long Claudia would really stay or if they’d head to Peru. Selfishly I wanted her to stay, but I knew she’d have to do what she felt was right. And Lucas had a pack to look after.
Everyone was exhausted on the quick flight home. Donovan offered to drive when we landed, and I was more than happy to let him.
As we got closer to St. Ailbe’s, cars lined the two-lane farm road. I leaned around the passenger seat, trying to get a better view of the crown ahead.
“If they’re telling us to burn in hell again, I’m going to lose it,” I said.
“Non. Cherie. Listen.”
I lowered the window a little. “Is it just me, or do they seem happy?”
“They’re definitely happy to see us,” Meredith said.
Instead of blocking our way, the people actually moved, allowing us through the gates. A lady patted the window as we rolled by. “I love you,” she said. “Turn me into one of you.”
“Girl doesn’t know what she’s asking,” I said.
Dastien poked my side, making me laugh. “Hey. It didn’t turn out so bad.”
Two girls, a few years younger than me, waved a sign that read, “We <3 Werewolves!” in glitter puff paint. They shook it in front of the car, screaming their heads off like we were the hottest boy band.
“I guess when you stop a murdering witch, people like you. Who knew?” I laughed. “But these people are crazy.”
It took us nearly twenty minutes to make it through the gates. I would’ve abandoned the car, but even if the mob was for us this time, I was a little afraid of them.
As we exited the car, I saw my parents and Axel. You called them?
He nodded. I knew you’d sleep better if you saw them.
Even with our bond, he always managed to surprise me with his thoughtfulness. It was one of the many reasons I loved him. Thanks.
Of course.
“Mom! Dad!”
Mom let out a little sq
ueal, and closed the distance between us. “I’m so proud of you. I don’t know how you did it, but you’re amazing.”
Axel pulled me from Mom. “Kind of badass.”
I shoved him.
“You did good, kiddo.” Dad brushed a kiss on my forehead. “Let’s go get some food. I hear the cafeteria is pretty good.”
“Yeah. It’s pretty decent.” I turned to my friends. “You guys coming?”
Meredith scoffed. “Me and food? Yes.”
Dastien came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I leaned back into him.
So, when are we leaving? He asked.
We’re going somewhere? For a second, I got worried. I didn’t want to have to deal with another catastrophe. Not yet.
I thought you wanted to go on a honeymoon.
I spun in his arms. Hell yes. When can we leave?
I’ll talk to Michael, but we could sneak away in a few days. I just want to make sure your leg is fine before we go.
It’s fine now.
You’re limping.
Eh. It’s not a big limp. I wrinkled my nose at him. It honestly didn’t hurt anymore. And ever since I’d gotten the antibiotic shot, I was feeling much better. Not that I’d ever admit that to Dr. Gonzales.
I want two weeks. At least. Maybe three. He wasn’t countering me. Hell, I could go for longer. I was just waiting for him to say no. Or a month. A month sounds good, right?
Dastien gave me a big grin, dimples and all. You won’t hear any complaints from me.
I nearly rolled my eyes. The boy was letting himself get steamrolled, and he was definitely enjoying it. And we go wherever I want?
He raised an eyebrow. Within reason.
We’ll see. I had plans. Places I wanted to go. Things I wanted to see. Hell, maybe we could finally see Paul van Dyk play. Or Above and Beyond. That would be amazing.
Luciana was gone, and we’d survived. From here on out, I was going to try not to worry about my visions. Obsessing over what might happen had led Luciana down her path to evil and I wanted nothing to do with that slippery slope.
Instead, I was going to live every day to the fullest.
I’d looked death in the face, and it had changed me. It made me want to embrace everything that life had to offer.
I was going to spend time with my friends, and maybe help Chris find a girl. Because seriously, the boy deserved someone amazing. I wanted to continue to keep getting to know my cousins and learn more about my magic. And if Meredith wanted me to go with her to Ireland, I’d be on a plane with her in a heartbeat.
Because family and friends were what mattered, and I wanted to appreciate them.
Starting with Dastien. After all the crap we’d been through, we deserved a vacation.
Maybe somewhere tropical. Or maybe to his castle in France.
Count me in, Dastien said. For all of that.
I pulled him down for a kiss. You better be.
Je t’aime, cherie, he said through the bond as he brushed a soft kiss against my lips.
Getting to this moment had been long and hard, but now that I was here—it made me appreciate what I had even more.
Staring up at my mate—surrounded by my friends and family—for the first time in my life, I felt really and truly lucky to be me.
I wouldn’t trade a thing.
To My Readers
Thank you so much for reading the Alpha Girl Series! I hope you liked it! And don’t worry. This isn’t the end for Tessa, Dastien, and their friends. They’ll be back. But I’m taking a wee break to write a new series that I hope you’ll love just as much as this one.
I’ll be posting updates on my books on my blog, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Goodreads.
xoxo
Aileen
Coming from Author Aileen Erin: Invocation, Book One in the Holy Ghost High Series.
Releasing May 31st, 2016!
Click here to order now!
Samantha Lopez has learned a few things about attending Holy Ghost High School, one of the most haunted schools in America. One, take a sweater everywhere. Cold spots are a bitch. Two, the bathroom faucets in Hall C are always coated with a thin film of ice. Touching them causes insta-frost bite. Three, never ever take a class in Room 106. The ghost in there will make life miserable.
It’s Sam’s senior year, and she’s ready to be done with the whole high school thing. Her ability to see the haunts that plague the school hasn’t won her any friends, and she’s focusing on to the next phase of life—college. But when her guidance counselor tells her she needs more group activities on her applications, she’ll do whatever it takes to get into a good university, even if it means playing nice with others. But she didn’t realize that joining the newspaper staff would mean staying on campus after dark…
For more information and updates about the series, go to:
http://inkmonster.net/authors/aerin
Also by Aileen Erin, Cipher, Book One in The Shadow Ravens Series.
Click here to order now.
For more information and updates about the series, go to:
http://inkmonster.net/books/shadow-ravens
Also from Ink Monster, The Angelbound Series, by Christina Bauer.
Click here to order Angelbound, the first book in the series.
Also available in The Angelbound Series: Scala, Armageddon, and Maxon.
For more information and updates about the series, go to:
http://inkmonster.net/books/angelbound-series
Acknowledgments
Thank you, again, to all my readers! To all of you who have reached out to me, thank you! I love hearing from each and every one of them.
To my amazing editor, Lola Dodge: Thanks for always kicking my ass and pushing me to make it better. You’re the best!
My Partner in Publishing Crime, Christina Bauer: Thank you for all the support and everything you do. I can’t believe how far we’ve come! It’s amazing. This is the only the beginning of our career in kickassery! Huzzah!
To the lovely ladies at INscribe: Thank you for everything you do! You’re an amazing team, and we’re so lucky to have you on our side.
To Kristi Latcham and Cathleen Stern: Thank you for powering through proofing! I suck at finding typos. Y’all are awesome!
To my family and friends: Thanks for understanding when I go full-hermit! I’m now out and about, and ready for some fun. ;)
And last, but never, ever least, to Jeremy: Your constant and unwavering support—even when I’m second-guessing everything—is such a blessing. I’m so thankful that you’re in my life. I couldn’t imagine up a better husband, best friend, and partner. You’re the bee’s knees. <3
Aileen Erin is half-Irish, half-Mexican, and 100% nerd—from Star Wars (prequels don’t count) to Star Trek (TNG FTW), she reads Quenya and some Sindarin, and has a severe fascination with the supernatural. Aileen has a BS in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles, and spends her days doing her favorite things: reading books, creating worlds, and kicking ass.
For more information and updates about Aileen and her books, go to: http://inkmonster.net/aerin
Or check her out on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Goodreads.
