But Angelica just stood there as DeeDee crashed into the dresser and crumbled into a heap on the floor. Up on her feet, Vanessa took three steps backward, lifted her hands, and got ready for Big Lady I’s retaliation.
But there was none. Opening her mouth to ask Angelica if she was with her or against her, three small explosions, one right after the other, shook the house, throwing the room into total darkness. Thanking the Heavens for night vision, Vanessa jumped when the She-Wolf grabbed her arm at the same time that a gruff, male Wolf shouted, “Everything okay in there, Miss Angelica?”
There was no time to lose. Angelica had to answer, or that bastard was going to barge into the room, and then Nessy would once again be at the mercy of the Blackwood Pack.
Jerking her arm from Big Lady I, she whispered harshly, “What are you…”
“Hit me,” Angelica ordered, a strength and determination in her voice that hadn’t been there before.”
“Hit you? What the…?”
“You have to knock me out.”
“But they’ll…”
Shaking her head, Angelica was adamant. “They won’t do anything to me, and you need to get out of here. Just pick up that marble-topped table over there.” She pointed in the darkness. “And hit me over the head.”
“But…”
Ignoring Nessy’s protests, she kept going. “It won’t knock me out, but I’ll pretend, and be ready when Josiah charges in.”
Feeling the truth and conviction of Angelica’s words, Nessy did as instructed. Sprinting across the room, she grabbed the table. Racing back, she didn't even stop before lifting the table over her head.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered at the same time that Celeste mentally said,“Thank you, Big Lady,” and in a fell swoop, she clocked Angelica right over the head.
Falling to the floor, Big Lady’s brown eyes were clouded with pain, but her belief in their plan shone brighter.
Whipping the comforter off the bed, Vanessa stopped before covering the She-Wolf and whispered, “Are you sure you won’t come with us?”
“I can’t,” she whispered. “I need to clean up this mess.”
“Okay,” was all Nessy could say as Angelica closed her eyes and let her head fall to the side.
Covering Angelica with the quilt, she just barely got turned around before a hulk of a Wolf, presumably Josiah, burst into the room. Squinting against the darkness, he roared when he spotted the blanket-covered She-Wolf. “Oh my God! What have you done? Angelica!!”
“Oh, shit!”Vanessa mentally gasped.“He’s gotta crush on Big Lady!”
Before Celeste could respond, Josiah turned toward Vanessa with murder in his eyes. Launching himself into the air, the tall, brawny Wolf screamed at the top of his lungs, “I will rip out your heart!”
Before she had time to think, let alone move, a Power– a Magic, Nessy had never before felt sprang to life. It filled every fiber of her being. It energized, revitalized, and warmed her from the inside out.
“What the…?”But that was as far as she got before her hands flew forward of their own volition, and fire flew from her fingertips.
Jumping up and down and beating himself with his bare hands as he howled at the top of his lungs, Josiah was engulfed in flames from the top of his head to the tip of the pointed toes of his dress shoes. The fire took hold of his expensive black suit and burned with a renewed fury while Vanessa stood there in shock.
And Celeste was just as flummoxed. “What the holy hell? We have ice, snow, and wind. Where the hell did the…?”
But the fire wasn’t done. Another blast of flames shot from Nessy’s fingertips. This time, Josiah dove to the side to escape. Unfortunately for him, he crashed into the huge, cherry wood dressing table.
Wood splintered and glass shattered as the enormous Wolf rolled over and over, trying to extinguish the fire eating at his clothes and skin. However, it was of no use. The more he rolled, the hotter the fire burned.
“It’s Magical,” Nessy gasped in unison with Celeste, then went on, “How is this…?”
Stopping mid-thought, she stared into the eyes of yet another gigantic Wolf. The shock of seeing one of his Pack in flames stopped him dead in his tracks. The tall, bulky man looked at Vanessa again, then back to a flaming Josiah, then turned tail and ran for the hills.
Shouting voices and pounding footsteps headed in her direction. She had to think. She had to move. She had to get the hell out of Dodge.
Standing in the middle of the room, an image of Cyrus flashed in the forefront of her mind at the same time she felt his presence. Then came the undeniable recognition of more Dragons, a very strong She-Wolf, and a Bear. Not a Polar Bear, but a Bear, nonetheless.
