by Lisa Edmonds
“I don’t deserve you.” He took my face in his hands and kissed my forehead. “I must have done something really damn good in a previous life to have been rewarded like this in this one. How do you feel? Strong enough for a shower?”
I moved my arms and legs tentatively. “I think so, as long as I don’t have to take one by myself.”
He scooped me up and headed for the bathroom. “If I had things my way, Alice, you’d never take another shower alone ever again.”
While we were showering, Sean told me Charles had healed me in a medical facility under 1792. Once my injuries were healed, they’d moved me upstairs to one of the furnished apartments, where they’d continued with blood transfusions until I was stabilized. Sean had wanted to take me back to his house immediately, but Bryan had advised him to wait twelve hours before moving me, just to be safe.
In the meantime, Sean had asked Nan to go to my house to knock on the door and tell Malcolm what had happened. He sent Ben and Jack to the scene to collect Caleb’s remains and tasked them with figuring out how he’d been able to lure me out to be ambushed. Ben found my broken charm bracelet in the blood-soaked, torn up earth and brought it to Sean, meticulously cleaned and repaired.
My last memory before I’d lost consciousness was of being covered with blood—mine and Caleb’s—but I was clean and wearing my favorite sheep pajamas when I woke. Sean told me he’d washed me with Nan’s help at the apartment after they’d finished with blood transfusions. Picturing him carefully bathing me to wash away all that blood, while still unsure when or if I would wake, brought tears to my eyes.
As soon as it was safe to do so, Sean had brought me back to his house, carrying me to Ben’s SUV and holding me in the back seat during the drive. Then he’d stayed in bed with me while my body slowly recovered and the pack grappled with what Caleb had done and the young werewolf’s death.
The pack had held a meeting at Sean’s house while I slept. He’d gone down for a few minutes, leaving me in Nan’s care, to tell them what was known and update them on my condition. Everyone was deeply shaken by Caleb’s attack.
One question on everyone’s mind was how I’d escaped being infected with the werewolf virus. Since telling the pack I’d burned it away would reveal I had blood magic—information that could be used against me—Sean had implied Caleb must have been incapable of transmitting the virus.
Eventually we stopped talking and just held each other under the spray with my forehead against his chest and his chin on top of my head. I was surprised to discover our wolf amulets now hummed ever so slightly when close to each other.
I didn’t know what Sean was thinking about, but my own thoughts were all over the place, from Caleb and Jack to Malcolm and even Darius Bell, Aden, Jana, and Allan Garrett. There had been no word of anything brewing in the cabal in the past day, so whatever Bell’s plans were, he hadn’t made his move yet.
“I have to figure out a way to get Aden and Jana away from Bell,” I said finally, my voice muffled by his chest. “Garrett too, if I can, though that’s probably asking too much.”
“Is it worth asking Monroe again?”
“Not to get them out. He was pretty clear that the Court is reluctant to upset the applecart over one kid. But it might be worth it to try and find out what Bell is planning to do with the nulls. The last time I asked, Monroe said he didn’t have that information, but maybe Valas knows.” I hesitated. “Maybe Charles knows.”
A low growl rumbled in Sean’s chest. I raised my head. “I know you hate him and I don’t blame you.” I pushed his wolf amulet aside and kissed the hot flesh under it, eliciting a more pleasant sound from my werewolf. “Part of me does too and always will for the things he’s done. If I had a quarter for every time I’ve wanted to stake him, I’d have at least enough to buy a large cup of good coffee and a scone.” I put my hand on his chest. “I’ve known monsters, Sean. Charles isn’t a monster, though sometimes he does monstrous things.”
A long silence. “I understand the difference, though I’m not convinced it applies to Vaughan,” he said finally.
“We may have to agree to disagree on that point, at least for the time being. In any case, he might be able to tell me what Bell’s planning to do with the nulls.”
“He’ll charge you for the information.” Sean kissed the top of my head. “What do you have to give him in trade?”
“I’ll have to think about that. In the meantime, we should go downstairs and get some food before Nan comes up here looking for us.”
He shut the water off. “Let’s eat with the others and then we’ll talk some more about how we’re going to find out about the nulls and get Aden and Jana away from Bell.”
I paused with my hand on the shower door. “I don’t know that we need to do that. I think I can do that.”
“We’re officially a we,” he said, pushing the door open. He stepped out, grabbed a towel, and handed it to me. “It’s you and me, baby.”
I growled. “I’ve told you before—don’t call me baby.”
He grinned. “I’ll call you baby all day long if you’ll growl at me, baby.”
Aggravated, I lunged at him. He swung me around with a laugh, then dipped me over backward to kiss me very thoroughly.
I might just be willing to let him call me baby every once in a while, I thought, as long as he paid for the privilege with a kiss like that.
17
According to Sean, Malcolm had checked in periodically while I was asleep, but he’d spent most of his time protected behind my house wards. I knew he had to be worried, so I hurried to get dressed. I sent Sean downstairs to get a head-start on dinner and summoned my ghost.
About ten seconds later, I felt the familiar tingle of magic coming from my bracelet. I touched his crystal. “Release.”
Malcolm appeared. Unexpectedly, my eyes filled with tears. “Hey,” I said.
“Hey yourself.” He put his hands on his hips. “Are you crying?”
I sniffled. “No.”
“You are such a liar.” He studied me, frowning. “Your magic looks different.”
“Different how?”
“There’s more of the weird purple-y magic and more of the golden shifter magic too. Uh, did you and Sean just…?”
I shook my head. “No, but I’m sure Sean told you that Caleb infected me with the werewolf virus and I had to burn it out of my blood.”
“I like how you say that as if it’s no big deal,” he said, rolling his eyes. “You realize there have only been a handful of cases ever where someone was able to do that. By all rights, you should be a full-fledged member of Sean’s pack right now.”
I frowned. At my expression, Malcolm floated closer. “What?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. I just had a weird thought. In any case, the changes are probably a result of the infection and the way I got rid of it.”
He touched my arm lightly. “I’m sorry I was so angry about what you did to Nora. You were right—I treated you like you were the bad guy and you aren’t, not even close. I was worried I’d never get a chance to tell you that.”
I squared my shoulders. “You were right about a lot of things too, including what you told me last night, about trusting in Sean.”
He grinned. “I told you that you should just admit I was right.”
“Hush, you. Remember what I said about people who say I told you so. It’s dickish.”
“So’s not listening to your friends,” he shot back.
“Touché. One thing I know is you and I need to figure out a spell that brings you to me in a different way. I couldn’t summon you to my bracelet because the wolf tore it off when he attacked and yanking you to me would have probably have left me too dazed to defend myself after I was injured. Let’s add that to your spellwork to-do list.”
“I’m putting it at the top of that list. The other stuff I’m working on can wait.”
When I started to argue, he shook his head. “Alice, if you had any idea how I
felt when Nan told me what happened and I found out why you hadn’t been able to call on me for help, you wouldn’t even fuss. I’m not asking you; I’m telling you that I am going to prioritize coming up with a way for you to call for help that doesn’t depend on the bracelet, or risk knocking you out. I never want to feel that helpless ever again.” Malcolm’s anger sizzled on my skin.
I understood how terrible it was to feel helpless and how much that emotion could eat you up from the inside. “Okay. We still need those other spells, but you’re right; this is more important for both of us. Bump it to top priority.”
“I’m on it.” He tilted his head. “I’m thinking we may need to anchor the spell in a tattoo, like the protection spell in your dragon. Would you be up for that?”
“Absolutely. I have an appointment Friday morning with the mage tattoo artist who did my dragon tattoo so she can redo the spellwork. Think we could have something by then?”
“Maybe. I’ll sure as hell try. In the meantime, you’ll have to think of what you want the tattoo to look like.”
I smiled. “I have something in mind already. You figure out the spellwork; Jane and I will come up with a design.”
“Team effort. I like it.” He smiled, but it was fleeting. “Damn it, that was too close, Alice.”
“I know. Much too close, even by my standards. Stay safe and let me know when you’ve got something on the spellwork.”
“Will do.” He vanished.
Before I went downstairs, I sent a quick text message to Adri letting her know I was awake and I would like to speak to Charles at the vampire’s earliest convenience. I also thanked both her and Bryan for their help in treating me after the attack.
She texted back that Charles was in a meeting but would call in about an hour. She added that both she and Bryan were very relieved to hear I was back on my feet.
Sean met me at the bottom of the stairs. “Everything good?”
“Yep. Have you guys not eaten yet?”
“We waited for you.”
I spotted a huge bouquet of flowers in a crystal vase on the little table in the foyer. “Wow. Who are those from?”
Sean’s mouth turned down. He picked up the vase and handed me the little card hidden under it. I recognized the handwriting immediately.
Dear Miss Worth—Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Darius Bell.
Magic sparked on my fingers. Mindful of the werewolves in the kitchen, I motioned for Sean to lean down so I could murmur into his ear. “Son of a bitch. Who does he have feeding him information?”
He kissed my jaw and pressed his lips to my ear. “Someone who works for Vaughan, no doubt. The vamps have people in Bell’s organization, so you can bet he has informants too.”
I crumpled the card and tried to pick up the vase, but it was insanely heavy and I wasn’t strong enough yet. I scowled.
Sean picked it up and took the card from me. “Trash bin?”
“Yes, please.”
While he carried the vase to the garage, I went into the dining room. I found five places set at the table. In the kitchen, Jack took the second of two enormous casserole dishes out of the oven and carried it to the table.
I blinked in surprise. “You’re werewolves and you’re having casserole?”
“Werewolves enjoy casseroles,” Ben informed me as Sean returned from the garage. If any of the wolves wondered why Sean threw away the flowers, they didn’t comment.
Nan finished pouring us all glasses of iced tea. “Protein and lots of carbs. It’s the perfect werewolf food.”
“Good to know.” There were only two dishes, though. I wondered how that would be enough to feed five people when four of us were shifters.
The answer, as it turned out, was the others except for Sean had already eaten dinner, so this was a second evening meal for them. Even so, as I watched them fill their plates, I doubted there would be a crumb of leftovers.
After a full day asleep, I was as hungry as any werewolf and attacked my food with the same single-minded efficiency as the others. As a result, it was several minutes before I realized Jack had done nothing more than take a few bites. He looked like he’d barely slept, and while the others talked, he said nothing.
When there was a lull in the table conversation, I spoke. “How’s Delia?”
Jack glanced at me, then studied his glass of iced tea like he wished it held something a lot stronger. “She’s taking it hard. We’d both hoped Caleb would find a place with our pack and learn how to control his wolf and his temper. The kid never caught a break ever in his life except the day Sean brought him into the pack. I’m not making excuses for anything he did because a man makes his own choices about how he handles what comes his way, but we just couldn’t get through to him after all that. Delia and I tried to give him a home. We all did. It wasn’t enough.”
“Sometimes it isn’t.” Sean set his fork down and looked around the table. “Sometimes we do everything we can and we fall short. It’s a bitter pill to have to swallow, for all of us.”
“And she’s angry,” Jack added, meeting my eyes with his own tired-looking blue ones. “She’s angry because Caleb’s dead and her plans for Sean and the pack failed.”
“Is she angry because Caleb is dead, or is she angry at me for killing him?” I asked.
A pause. “The latter.”
Sean growled. I held up my hand. “That’s a natural reaction,” I said. “She loved Caleb and I ended his life. The fact I did so only when I had no choice doesn’t ease that pain. If there had been any other way for me to survive, I would have taken that option because I didn’t want to kill him.”
“We know you didn’t,” Ben assured me. “Delia will have to come to terms with what Caleb did and how he died. I don’t imagine it will be easy for her, but it won’t be easy for any of us.”
My appetite was gone, so I folded my napkin and set it on the table beside my plate. “I can’t apologize for doing what I had to do, but I am sorry things turned out this way. Sean’s right: it’s a bitter pill when your best isn’t good enough.” I had plenty of experience swallowing that unpleasant medicine, most recently because of my failure to save Aden and protect Jana.
Nan put her hand on mine. “Time and our bonds will heal us. I hope this doesn’t shake our faith in each other, or make us question our desire to help and protect those who need our strength.”
She had to be thinking about how she and her children had come to join the pack, after the alpha of her former pack killed her mate. Sean and the others had taken them in without hesitation and protected them when the alpha tried to force them to return. Karen and her brother Patrick had joined the pack under similar circumstances, after their former alpha killed their mother. Most werewolf packs wouldn’t have done what the Tomb Mountain Pack had done in either case. Packs tended to be insular and preferred to stay out of each other’s business. Sean’s pack, however, had never been one to turn its back on someone in need. Sean’s predecessor, Henry, had set that precedent. He’d welcomed Sean into the pack after he was bitten and turned.
I wondered if Nan had sensed Sean’s shaken confidence and spoken up to show her support in front of Ben and Jack. I didn’t have a clear understanding of how much the werewolves could sense from each other through the pack bonds, but if anyone would be able to tell Sean felt unsettled by recent events and betrayals, it would be her.
Sean smiled and touched Nan’s other hand. “We are strong and getting stronger every day. The pack’s heart is growing, along with the pack.”
He met my eyes. I read a question in them and gave him a smile.
With my permission granted to reveal our secret, Sean addressed the others at the table. “Yesterday afternoon, Alice and I decided to take an important step for each other and the pack. We’ve decided to buy a house, and we put in an offer on a home a couple of miles from Cole and Karen’s place.”
Nan jumped up to give me her most bone-crushing hug yet while Ben gave Sean a manly thump on the
back. “Congrats, man.”
Jack rose as well and shook Sean’s hand. I thought I saw something like relief and pleasant surprise in the beta’s weary eyes.
“I’m so happy for you both,” Nan told me, kissing my cheek. “This is wonderful, wonderful news!”
Ben hugged me. “And congratulations to you too, Alice. After Casey saying yes and Karen and Cole’s big news, this is the best damn thing I’ve heard in a long time.”
I didn’t mind coming in third behind an engagement and a baby announcement. “Nothing’s final yet, obviously. It’s a fantastic house in a great location, so there will be other buyers in the mix, I’m sure.”
“It’s past time for our pack to have a true heart and home,” Sean said quietly. The others grew serious at his tone. “Karen and Cole have been kind in allowing us to gather at theirs over the years, as have Jack and Delia, but it’s my responsibility and privilege to provide that place. With Alice at my side, I believe we’ll find new strength and continue to grow.”
Nan squeezed my hand. “Tell us about the house,” she urged.
We described the house while we cleared the table. With five of us helping, it didn’t take long. Nan scolded me for insisting on transferring the leftover casserole into plastic containers to store in the fridge. She wanted me to rest, but I felt awkward sitting idly while the others worked.
With the dining table cleaned off and the dishes in the dishwasher, our group moved to the living room to finish the conversation.
Ten minutes later, as I was gushing about the kitchen in the new house, my phone rang. I glanced at the screen and excused myself to go upstairs. I closed myself in the bedroom.
When the door was shut, I answered just before the call went to voice mail. “Hello, Charles.”
“Good evening, Alice.”
At the sound of his voice, a shudder ran through my entire body and my knees gave out. I went down in a heap. Blasted vampire blood aftereffects.
Charles’s sharp ears heard the telltale sound of my body hitting the carpet. “Alice, are you well?”
