Page 29

CHAPTER

TWENTY-NINE

SAMANTHA

Close up it was easier to tell that the boo hag was a demon. Much easier. Its skin looked like gauze stretched over muscle.

Sophia scanned the room, settling on Hunter. “Hey, Hunt. You having a party without me? There’s a bunch of people outside.” It smiled at us, until it saw me standing there, watching it.

The facade faded, and it was almost as if, for a split second, the skin it wore faded to nothing. “ You .”

“Me.” It might not know who I was, but it knew what I was. I hadn’t shoved my power back inside me. It was on display for anyone who could see the spiritual realm.

It scanned the room, then turned and sprinted through the house. I assumed it was heading for a back door.

“Dang it.”

“On it,” Phoenix said. “She’s running out the back,” Phoenix yelled as he ran through the house, knowing the werewolves would hear him. “Don’t let her get away.”

I turned to follow Phoenix, but Hunter grabbed my elbow. I stared at his hand, and was so thankful I was wearing a sweater and a jacket. I shoved down my power just in case he went for my skin. He knew how this worked, and there was no way I wanted him to touch my skin while I was open to the spiritual realm.

Never again.

“Show me.”

Everything in me froze.

Did he really just demand that from me?

No. I’d misheard him. There was no way he actually wanted what he was asking for.

I narrowed my gaze. “What is it that you want me to show you exactly?”

“ Please . I need to know my sister is gone.” His grip tightened on my jacket. “I have to know. I can’t let you kill her if that’s really her.”

I closed my eyes. Man. I went years— years— never showing anyone what I could see, and now, I was apparently letting anyone see? What was wrong with me? This wasn’t how I worked.

Bad things happened when I showed people what I could do.

“I know I didn’t do well last time?—”

My eyes opened, and a surprised, humorless laugh slipped free before I could stop it. “ Didn’t do well ?” I took a breath because anger and bitterness would do no good to me here.

Wait. I had to say something. “You lost your ever-loving mind. Ranted at me about how I was evil . You said some of the worst things anyone has ever said to me, and then you stormed out. I haven’t heard from you in years .” I looked up as I tried to rein in my temper. “God, you really have an unfunny sense of humor sometimes.”

I took a second to shove the anger back down, but man, Hunter fired me up with that one ask.

There was no way he’d do okay with it. We’d just told him some really bad news. Epically bad. That wasn’t going to help him accept what he would see.

“I’m sorry, Samantha. Truly.” For the first time tonight, Hunter didn’t sound aggressive with me. His voice softened to the Hunter I’d known when we first met. “I know what I said. I know what I did, and I know that I probably hurt you. But you just told me that my sister is dead. That some monster is wearing her skin. If I can’t…” His voice trailed off. “If I can’t see it for myself, I’ll always wonder if…” He paused. “Please, Sam. It’s about closure for me and my sister.”

I got that. I did. I understood the need for closure. Which he might not get. Not unless he could see.

Instead, he’d blame me for his sister’s death. He would think I was the evil one who sent her to Hell. Especially since he’d seen before. He would need to see the truth for himself more than anyone else I worked with. He couldn’t take it on faith or trust. Not anymore.

“If I do this, it might make it worse for you,” I said.

“ Please .”

Now he was begging?

I couldn’t believe I was doing this. “I will show you again, but would you like to call a friend over? Someone to sit with you until it wears off? It will last a little while, and if you don’t…”

“One of us can sit with him until a friend comes or it wears off,” Max said as he walked through the door. “We have the boo hag. Where would you like to do this?”

“Is it in the backyard?”

“Yes.” Max shrugged. “We probably should’ve stopped it from coming in, but we thought it might exacerbate what was happening in here. Sorry if that was the wrong call. We were standing just outside the door, waiting to see what it would do.”

Ah. Now, it made more sense why no one gave me a warning. “Got it. Don’t worry about it.”

Max studied me, then his gaze went to Hunter and flashed wolf-bright.

Oh boy. Now, Hunter had the wolves mad at him. Because of course they’d heard every word. “Alright, Hunter. I’m going to show you what you’ve been living with for the last little while, and then I’m going to send it where it needs to go.”

I looked at Max. “Where are the others?”

“We’ve got a good-sized group here now, but one group went on patrol. They’ll stay mobile in case we catch a lead here. They’re hanging closer to the water, in the neighborhood where the yellow house is. I have a feeling that if this is all connected, we’ll end up back there. But I might be wrong.”

That was actually smart. “No. I have a feeling that’ll turn out to be a really good call. Can you tell them to wait for me before they engage in any kind of fight?”

“Sure. I can do that.” He turned to Hunter. “There’s a lock on the gate? We can all jump it, but it would be helpful to just open it. It draws less attention.”

“0-8-2-7.” His voice was soft and unsure as he answered.

Hunter couldn’t have surprised me more with that code.

“Got it.” Max went outside, and I just stood there with my jaw gaping open like a moron.

“You’re kidding with that. It’s some kind of sick joke.” August twenty-seventh was the day we started dating.

“It was easy to remember, and no one else would know it.” His shoulders crumpled. “This is turning out to be the absolute worst day.”

He was right. He was a victim here. His sister was dead, and I didn’t need to pile on more. But why would he choose that date of all the codes for his gate?

Let it go, Samantha. This was the final sign that I needed to just let everything that happened with Hunter go. I wasn’t going to be bound to past mistakes or hurts. Not anymore. “I’m sorry for your loss. Truly. Are you ready?”

“No. I’m not. But I need to see.”

“Okay.” I let my power well up inside me as I walked to him and held out my hand. “Whenever you’re ready.”

He stared at my hand for what felt like a long time, and then his breath rushed out of him, and he gripped my hand, hard. It was almost as if he didn’t think he’d do it if he didn’t go all in.

Fine. It was done. I closed my eyes, relaxing everything fully to make sure passed on what I saw.

I heard footsteps behind me.

“Whoa,” Hunter said. “Why do you glow so much?”

I didn’t have to look to know who he meant, but I did because he made me happy. I smiled over my shoulder at Phoenix. “He glows like that because he’s a really, really good guy.” And I needed to realize that I was worthy of him.

I wasn’t sure how it was possible, but I needed to work on just being grateful he was mine.

Phoenix smiled at me. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Better now.”

His smile deepened, giving me the dimple, and I rolled my eyes. He was too much.

“Okay. I’m ready,” Hunter said, and he dropped my hand.

I wiggled my fingers to get feeling back in them. “Let’s go.” I waved him forward. “After you.”

Phoenix and I followed Hunter through his house to the back door that opened onto a deck. The railing around the deck was strung with Christmas lights. There was a grill and a small table and chairs—enough to seat four people. Beyond the deck was grass, and I could see a garden off to the right.

I knew it couldn’t have been Hunters. One of the things we had in common was our complete black thumb.

“That was Sophia’s,” he said, answering my unspoken question. “She didn’t have room for a garden at her place, so she asked to use my backyard. Before she moved in.”

“I’m sorry. I wish I had better news.”

The wolves held her as she writhed on the ground. No one was hurting her, just keeping her pinned until I got there.

Hunter started forward, but I held up a hand. “Just look from the porch. See the truth of what is here on the ground.”

I watched him. His face was already pale, but when he saw her as I could, his legs crumpled.

Phoenix came behind him, easing him down into a sitting position on the deck.

“Do you know how long she’s been like that?” Hunter asked.

“I don’t know. I just saw her. She was eating at the same restaurant we were, and I followed the tie here.” I still wasn’t sure how this connected to the bigger bad that was killing wolves, but I knew it would come. “How long ago did your sister move in?”

“A few weeks, maybe? Her roommate disappeared, and then she lost her job. She needed a place to land, so of course, I helped her.”

Lost her job. He’d said that before. “Where did she work again?”

“She was a nanny for a family.”

There it was. The connection I’d been looking for. I wasn’t sure it meant I could trust those Black-Eyed Children, and I didn’t know if Gabe had really sent them, but I couldn’t deny there was something here. “Do you know if the family she nannied for lived in a yellow house?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I closed a portal there earlier today. Do you know where that family moved to?”

“I don’t know for sure, but the wife’s parents live a few blocks away. Really close to the water.” He rattled off an address. “I’d check there first if you’re looking for them. They’re good people, and I wasn’t sure why they fired Sophia, but I guess I know now.”

I looked at Dastien, but he moved away as he pulled out his phone. He’d heard. “Don’t engage without me,” I said.

Dastien held up a hand to signal that he heard me.

I sat next to Hunter. “I’m so incredibly sorry for your loss. I wish there was something more I could do.”

“Are you sure there’s no way to bring her back? Not like an exorcism you can perform or something? Anything?”

I wished I could give him a hopeful answer, but there wasn’t one. “That thing over there isn’t your sister. I need you to understand what you’re seeing. That is a demon who has already murdered your sister and is now wearing her skin. Your sister’s soul isn’t there any longer. Only the shell.” I didn’t want to leave any room for him to misunderstand what I was saying. Otherwise, in time, he might twist what he saw. He might think she could’ve been saved. That I murdered his sister, not sent a demon to Hell.

Seeing it up close could be more hurtful, and he was already grieving. “I didn’t want to make this harder, but if you want to get a closer look, we can.”

“I think I have to. I don’t want to leave any question in my mind.”

“Okay.” I got up and motioned for him to stand up. “Come on. Let’s go see it.”

He rose slowly, and I turned, walking toward the demon pinned to the ground.

As I approached it, the demon started saying things. Awful things. Things I didn’t think his sister would ever say. Or I hoped she wouldn’t have ever said.

Hunter took her in. Took me in. The wolves. Phoenix. And then looked back to his sister, staring at her for a good long while.

“That’s not her,” he said as silent tears ran down his face.

Two wrongs never made a right. No matter what he’d done to me, I never wanted to see him in pain like this. “No. I’m so sorry, Hunter. It’s not her. She’s gone.”

“Can you show her to me?”

I pressed my lips together. He knew the answer, but he was asking anyway. It would be easy for me to be frustrated, but instead, I tried to show patience and kindness. I’d already snapped at him a couple of times, but I wasn’t going to do it again. I needed to finish strong. The way that I knew would make my mother proud.

“You know I can’t do that, but I want you to remember you’re a man of faith. You know where she is, okay? You’ll see her again. It’s not forever. It’s just goodbye in this realm.” He didn’t look at me. His gaze stayed focused on the monster that had taken his sister’s skin as silent tears kept rolling down his face.

“Okay.” He took a few steps back. “Do it. I can’t…” He paused. “I can’t look at this anymore. This is—” His voice broke. “This is awful. My sister didn’t deserve this. What good can come from this?”

I grabbed him before he could go. “I know you’re upset, but I want you to remember this world is broken. And evil can flourish. Bad things happen to good people all the time, but the demon did this. I don’t know what good will come from it, but I know she will be redeemed. She will not be forgotten. I’m going to end this because it’s what I can do to help, but please, think about talking to someone. Don’t lose faith because of what a monster did to your sister.”

“I know you’re right, but my heart is too broken right now to hear your words. I’m sorry, Sammie. I’m sorry I was awful to you.”

That was what I was worried about. “This wasn’t because of that. You’re not being punished. That’s not how God works.”

“I know. But you being here makes it feel like it was my fault.” He spun and walked back to the porch. My gaze caught Phoenix’s, and he gave me a nod, following Hunter to sit with him.

I was making it worse for him. I hated that. Which meant I needed to finish this and get out of here. Fast.

“Alright, everyone,” I said. “I’m going to open a portal right under her. I don’t want to fight her, and I don’t want anyone falling in. On the count of three, you let her go and jump as far away from her as you can. You won’t be able to see it, so you gotta go with me on this. I say three, you move. Werewolf fast. Got it?”

There was a chorus of yeses, and I started to count. “One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

The wolves jumped away, and I said, “Aperta ,” quickly, sending my power along the spiritual realm.

Sophia tried to get up, but the portal opened up below her, and she screamed as she fell, disappearing into Hell.

“ Claudere .” The portal shut. “Well, that was easier than it could’ve been.” It was somewhat anti-climactic after all the battles I’d fought lately, and then I winced.

I just jinxed it.

Something really bad was going to happen. I could feel it.

Oh well. Too late now.

I looked back at Hunter. Phoenix sat with him as Hunter silently cried.

This sucked. I didn’t feel like I’d done any good here. It wasn’t my fault he was weeping on his back porch, but in a way, I felt like I caused it.

Which I knew was as wrong as Hunter feeling like he caused it. But I understood the feeling. Truly.

I walked up to the porch, stopping just a few steps away.

“What do I tell my parents?” Hunter asked.

Man. I had no idea. “Whatever makes you feel comfortable. The pack has a team that can help with that.”

I motioned Max over. “Can you set him up with your care team?”

“I can absolutely do that. They’re on standby, but I’ll get them here now that he’s approved it.” Max pulled out his phone to get it rolling.

“Thank you.” I looked back at Hunter.

Was I supposed to stay? I didn’t want to. I wanted to leave. Right away.

Phoenix looked up at me and raised a brow. The silent question on his face. He didn’t know what to do either. It felt like we were intruding on something private.

“Can I call someone for you? Do anything?”

“No. I texted my friend. He’s coming.”

I nodded. “Max will have someone stay with you, but would you like me to stay until your friend gets here?”

“No.” He looked up at me. “I…I had things I wanted to say to you if I ever saw you again, but I…I can’t do that now. I need you to go. Now. Please.”

“Sure. You have my deepest condolences.” Was there something I was forgetting? “My personal email hasn’t changed. Let me know if there’s ever anything I can do to help you.”

A howl ripped through the night, and I spun to see Max had shifted.

“What?”

Another wolf shifted and a chorus of howls broke through the night.

“What’s happening?”

“One of the Wayfarer wolves is injured. Close to dying.” Dastien’s eyes flashed a bright golden color, and he reached out, grabbing Tessa’s hand—I wasn’t sure if he was gaining strength from her or vice versa.

I knew all pack members were connected through their bonds, and packs were also loosely connected. I didn’t know how much of the attack these wolves felt, but even the werewolves who hadn’t shifted to wolves were struggling to hold their human forms.

“We sent the team that was out patrolling to the house Hunter mentioned. It’s not going well,” Tessa said.

Dang it. “They should’ve waited for me.”

We had to go. Now.

I looked at the werewolves who hadn’t shifted. “Someone stay with Hunter. Finish what Max started. Stay until the care team arrives, and then come find us. The rest are with me. Get in the cars.”

God, help us . I hoped I wouldn’t be too late, but I had a feeling I already was.

I ran through the yard, following Dastien and Tessa through the gate, around the house, and sprinting for the SUV. I’d never been so glad to have a reason to leave a place. Even if it was for a fight.

I didn’t want to linger in the past, and I certainly didn’t want to sit around comforting Hunter. I knew the care team would help. They were trained for this exact situation—they’d secure a death certificate for Sophia and handle the procedures and paperwork that would get Hunter in a place where he could grieve, and eventually, heal.

I was trained to help the grieving process, but Hunter didn’t want to hear it from me. There was too much history between us. Someone else would be much more effective for him.

So, I let everything happened at Hunter’s house go as reached the SUV.

“I’m driving,” Dastien said. “I have it in my phone already. Garrett—you get in the way back with Max. We can’t have him losing it if your wolf dies.”

“Got it,” Garrett’s words were more growl than anything else.

Dastien slipped into the driver’s seat, and Tessa rode shotgun.

The SUV behind us the seats all folded down, and the wolves who had shifted were leaping into it from the trunk.

When Garrett and Max were settled in the way back, Phoenix flipped the seat back in place and motioned me to get in. I slid down the bench, and he got in, closing the door. “We’re set,” Phoenix said to Dastien.

Howls ripped through the night, and Max answered it. I covered my ears with my hands, and Tessa glanced back at me.

Sometimes it was easy to forget that she was a werewolf. Because she’d been bitten, she was short and not as muscular as the typical female werewolf. But with her eyes glowing like the moon, there was no mistaking what she was.

“He’s dead.” She turned to Dastien. “ Drive .” Her alpha power rippled around her, and I knew she was itching for battle.

This was it.

This was what I’d come to Charleston for.

We’d lost another wolf, but I wasn’t going to let another one die.

This had to end.

I would end it.