But the periodbeforethat happened…
Tamrand had said only someone in a liminal state could pass into the Otherworld.
My train of thought was interrupted when Poppy said, “About that. The portal spell took a lot out of us. Two of our witches are still unconscious. They’ll wake up, but it might take days. The rest of us are depleted, both magically and physically.” She hesitated, trading a look with Simone. “We won’t be attempting something like that again anytime soon.”
Poppy finished by sweeping her gaze across the table, effectively addressing the pack as a whole. She was saying the witches were out of commission. While we had saved Sally, we hadn’t solved the monster problem. It was still out there, and if it struck again, we were on our own.
Except…
Lindsey pursed her lips. “How soon is ‘soon’?”
“Days, for sure. Weeks, maybe, for the bigger stuff. Opening a portal to the Otherworld isn’t a parlor trick. It requires anchoring the spell to something powerful and stable. Usually celestial events.” She paused. “None of us regret anything, butwe forced it to stay open without anchoring it and we paid the price.”
I noticed the way several pack members glanced over at me, as if checking to see if I wanted to say anything. Maybe because they knew I was Reed’s mate and instinctively deferred to me, even though I wasn’t even a werewolf.
“But everyone’s going to be okay?” I asked when no one else spoke.
“Yes,” Simone said firmly, exchanging another meaningful look with Poppy. “Everyone lived. That is what matters.”
I exhaled slowly. “Yeah. It is.”
The conversation drifted after that, and I finished my breakfast surrounded by the pack, the vampires, and the witches. Despite the unease I felt at Reed’s vanishing act and Poppy’s revelation that the witches were depleted, being here felt good and natural. Like I belonged.
And hell, maybe I did.
* * *
I left the mess hall an hour later, stomach full and my mind clearer than it had been when I woke up.
Lacey intercepted me outside the door.
“Hey,” she said. “You heading into town?”
I blinked, surprised. “Yeah, actually. I was going to swing by the bar and check on Reed.”
“I’ll give you a ride.”
I gave her a blank stare. Lacey had been cold to me since the moment we met—suspicious and outright hostile at times. And now she was offering me a ride?
I had my rental car, still parked in the lot. I could’ve driven myself. But the way she seemed almost nervous, as though afraid I’d say no, gave me pause. She definitely wasn’t hostilenow, at least. And this might be a chance to smooth things over between us.
“Uh,” I said eloquently. “Err, sure. Yeah. Thanks.”
Relief flashed in her eyes and she nodded. “Follow me.”
She turned and started toward the parking area. I followed her.
Her truck was old and battered, the paint faded and the interior smelling faintly of mildew and motor oil. I climbed into the passenger seat and buckled in as she started the engine.
We drove in silence for the first few minutes, the gravel road crunching under the tires. The forest pressed close on either side, dense and green, more innocent-seeming in daylight than it had any right to be.
Then Lacey said, “I think I owe you an apology.”
I turned to look at her, startled. “What?”
“I misjudged you,” she said, her eyes on the road. “When you first showed up. I thought you were some rando who was going to mess with our alpha’s head. Or someone who’d get himself killed and make everything harder on the rest of us.” She paused. “I was a jerk to you about it. I shouldn’t have been.”
I didn’t know what to say. “It’s… okay?”
