“I like my boots.” Grimacing, I slowly try to flex my foot in an attempt to see if it’s bruised or broken. “Also, my daggers with their sheaths. Not really attached to the rest. Why?”
“Stop that,” she reprimands, shoving my leg back down in the water. “I’m going to fix it. Just sit there.”
She places the necklace she was holding on one of the wide corners of the tub. The blue stone that hangs from a simple chain looks very similar to the one around Callie’s neck, only not cracked.
“What’s that?” I ask, while Nolan and Callie work together to take off my remaining boot.
“My mother,” Callie replies, delicately unbuckling the sheath that sits right above my injured foot. “Well, my mother is trapped inside.”
Lying back, I lean my head against the wall on one side of the tub. “This is such a fucking weird night.”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Nolan comments, dropping my boots outside the tub with a thud. “I’m more partial to the night of living hell. Seems more appropriate with all the demonsrunning around and evil incarnate playing hide the knife.” His head immediately whips upward, and he flashes an apologetic expression at Callie. “Sorry, love. I shouldn’t have said that. I…”
“It’s okay,” she replies softly, removing the sheath from my other leg. “Evil incarnate is a good assessment of the bastard.” She releases a slow, controlled breath. “Felix is alive. We’re all alive, and he isn’t. That’s all that matters.”
Once my daggers and their sheaths join my boots outside the tub, Callie closes her eyes while running her fingers along the collar of what’s left of my dress shirt. “Stay still. I’ve only done this once, and it was by accident.”
Nolan’s eyes light up, apparently familiar with whatever the hell she’s about to do. “Those jeans still have a smell that I can’t quite place. It’s not bad, just different.”
“Maybe that pocket dimension has a special smell,” she mutters, her brows furrowing. “Now shush. I want to make sure it’s just the clothes.”
“Whoa, I’m not that hurt. I can take—” Before I can finish my sentence, everything I’m wearing is gone to who the fuck knows where. It makes me wish I remembered to take my belt off too.
Callie cracks one eye open to look at me, and then she sighs with relief. “Oh good, you’re still here.”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” I comment with a grimace as Callie starts gently prodding my ribs.
She tilts her head, and her eyes seem to stare into nowhere as her hands glide over my chest. “Good news. Some severe bruising and pretty deep cuts, but nothing is broken.”
Preparing myself for her to go limp like she did the last time she healed me, I’m surprised when her hands start to glowwith a warm yellow light. My body grows heavy as all my aches and pain drain out of me. I watch my wounds heal with an odd fascination, feeling a little like I’m not quite tethered to reality.
When she’s done, she gives me a sweet smile and brushes my hair away from my face. “You’re going to feel a little loopy. I’m still working on how to adjust the spell so the healing doesn’t hurt, but you also aren’t magically drugged out.”
“You’re so fucking pretty,” I mumble, the words falling out of my mouth without thought. “It sucks that you’re all naked, and I’m too tired to do anything about it. Also, tonight is probably a bad night because of the whole you killed your dad thing.”
Nolan stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Yeah, thatisa good reason to keep it in your pants… you know, if you were wearing any.”
Callie sighs and kisses my forehead, which feels really nice. “The spell also seems to cause the patient to say whatever they are thinking without a filter. And no, you can’t ask him any questions. It’s unfair when he can’t control how he answers.”
“Ruin all my fun.” Nolan sighs then grabs a loofah and covers it with bodywash. “Let’s get him cleaned up. We can rinse off in the shower, and then I’m ready for this night to be over.”
Gently, Callie leads me deeper into the water and sits behind me. After wetting my hair, she pumps some of Nolan’s expensive shampoo into her hand. My eyes drift closed as her fingers massage my scalp, and for once in my damn life, I don’t resist being cared for.
Chapter 23
Kaleb
The cold night air bites through the rips and tears of what remains of my suit as I fly toward the alpha house. Long, soulful wolf howls echo through the otherwise quiet forest, and my unease from earlier comes back tenfold. Those aren’t the sounds of a pack welcoming a new member. Bracing for whatever new tragedy this evening has to offer, I land where the trees give way to the shifter’s settlement so as not to spook anyone.
As I walk down the central road, a cacophony of distressed voices intertwines with the howling wolves. In the distance, I notice a large bonfire and what looks like every adult who lives on these grounds in various stages of shifting not far from it. There are some who weep in broken human howls, some who are shouting at each other, and others who appear as if all life has been torn from them and they are nothing but breathing husks.
Cautiously, I approach the crowd with my heart in my throat, terrified of what I might find. I argue with myself that it can’t be Connor, reasoning that Callie would be here raising hell if anything happened to him. Except, she’s at Nolan’s, and I haveno idea what state she’s in. When I don’t easily spot Connor in the crowd, a sickening weight settles in my stomach, and I pray to the goddess that he’s okay. This night has already taken so much.
Two unfamiliar shifters spot my approach with anger in their amber eyes, and they swiftly move to block my way.
One with buzzed hair shoves my shoulder, and I stumble back from the ricocheting pain. “I don’t care if it’s your job. Tonight, you aren’t welcome here.”
The other crosses his muscular arms and gives me a disgusted glare. “Give the pack one night to fucking grieve. You birds are like vultures, coming in to pick over our dead before we’ve even had a chance to process what happened.”
