Page 36

36

I WOKE UP ON A COUCH.

It was a far cry from the wine cellar doorway I had passed out in, and I was grateful. But I couldn’t help but wonder how I’d gotten there.

Because this wasn’t the couch in my home. Or former home. Huh. How was that going to work? Because I for sure was not going back. Not after what my parents had tried to do, and what they’d said, and what they believed. I shivered just thinking about it and clutched the quilt draped over my shoulders tightly in my hands.

This couch wasn’t unfamiliar, though. It was the one in the coven house lounge. I’d recognize the crinkly sound of the leather, the weirdly patterned ceiling, and that fireplace on my right with the wooden mantelpiece filled with knickknacks anywhere.

I stretched my legs, then very much decided that was a bad idea when my muscles spasmed and my ankle twinged. A low groaning noise escaped my throat, and suddenly there was someone hovering over me, taking up the entirety of my vision.

“Cam!”

I squinted. “Aiden?”

“Holy shit. You’re awake. How do you feel? Are you okay?”

“I’m tired,” I said as I pushed myself up on my elbows. Aiden assisted me to a sitting position and propped pillows around me. I sank into the curve of the couch, the blanket tucked around my chest, and closed my eyes. I furrowed my brow. “How are you here?”

“I got your message and got here as quick as I could. Holy shit, Cam. I can’t believe you confronted them.”

“Well, it didn’t really work in my favor.”

“It was brave. I’m so proud of you.”

“Did you see?”

He nodded. “I watched Gemma’s stream. All of it. From the second Lenore arrived at the window and you were writhing in the chair. I saw what they did to you, and I’m so sorry.” With my eyes closed, I couldn’t read Aiden’s expression, but I could hear the distress in his voice. “The grove has been keeping tabs on you, but I should’ve been here.”

I cracked one eye open. “It’s okay,” I said. “I had my friends.”

Aiden grasped my shoulder. “Yes. You did. And they’ll be mad that I haven’t told them you’re awake, but let’s get you cleaned up first.”

“Wait.” I licked my dry lips. “What happened to Mom and Dad?”

Aiden paused. His head dropped, and he released a gusty sigh. “They won’t be coming home for a while. They’re not only in trouble with law enforcement but also with the association of covens, the werewolf families, the entire Sprite Alliance, and the Psychic Guild.”

I swallowed. Tears burned behind my eyes. “What’s going to happen to me?”

“I don’t know yet. But we’ll figure it out. I promise.”

I guess that was the best answer I was going to get at the moment, so I didn’t press. With Aiden’s help, I shambled to the nearby bathroom. A change of clothes was already laid out for me, as was a towel. The amount of blood I washed out of my hair and face and body in the shower was gruesome.

I shuddered at the sight.

Clutching the sink, I changed into a soft long-sleeved shirt and sweats, then brushed my teeth. Feeling slightly refreshed and smelling of flowery soap, I shuffled back to the lounge.

“You’re awake!” Gemma yelled, jumping to her feet.

I flinched at the noise, to which Gemma looked immediately contrite.

They all waited for me. Gemma vibrated in place, bouncing on her heels. Reese sat on the arm of the couch, his bandage looking freshly changed and his complexion better than it had been when he was in the wine cellar. Kaci sat next to him on the cushions, her hands twisted in her lap. Mateo stood off to the side, back in human form, looking as if he too had showered and was wearing borrowed clothes.

Al was on the other side of the couch, gripping the back of it like their life depended on it.

“Hey,” I said, my voice a croak.

That was all the permission Al needed. They ran around the furniture and wrapped their arms around me in a bruising hug. They buried their face in my shoulder and clutched me tight. Their shoulders were wracked with sobs, and I grabbed them back, pressing close.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m okay.”

Al didn’t have a chance to pull away before Gemma launched herself at my side and joined in crushing me. Kaci and Reese were next, both unabashedly swarming me and joining the group hug. I peered over Al’s pile of curls to where Mateo held himself stiffly off to the side. I cocked my head and raised an eyebrow.

He read it as the invitation it was. He shyly joined until the group of us were a tangle of limbs.

“Okay,” I said, after basking in their hugs for an indeterminable amount of time. “As awesome as this is, I need to sit down.”

They all immediately broke apart, and Aiden pushed through the crowd. He grabbed my hand and guided me to my jumble of pillows, his touch warm and comforting. I collapsed and looked up at the others around me, all staring with wide, startled eyes.

“What?”

Gemma gulped. “He touched you.”

“You didn’t glimpse,” Al said, frowning, clearly troubled.

“Are your barriers in place?” Kaci asked.

No, they were not. And when Aiden touched me, I didn’t feel the tug I’d always felt when falling into a glimpse. I felt nothing psychic at all. The sorrow that suddenly engulfed me was crushing. I’d just embraced my true self, and it was… gone.

I gulped. “No.”

“Did… did the spell work?” Mateo asked. “Did they—”

“I don’t know.” I cut him off, frowning down at my hands. “But I… I don’t want to talk about it right now.” I didn’t think I could. Especially if it meant losing them. All of them. I met each of their gazes. “Okay?”

“Of course,” Al murmured.

“Thanks. Um… tell me about you guys.”

They erupted in commentary, Gemma giving most of the play-by-play, but the others chiming in to offer insight, their voices clamoring over one another. I leaned back and allowed the conversation to wash over me.

“Kaci talked to a ghost, and the ghost told us she overheard you on your phone. And that you’d left the parking lot to confront your parents.”

“Mateo shifted into a full wolf. It was awesome. And then when all was said and done, he shifted back. Like it was no problem at all.”

“Well, I wanted to make sure Cam was okay, so it was easy with that motivation. But anyway, Al’s locating spell for Lenore is spectacular. And did you see how those protection charms burst into dust?”

“Me? Reese made swamp mud out of floor tile. Like, how?”

“Yeah, but Gemma came up with the idea of having Lenore wear a camera. It was genius.”

“Al was so good in leading them to admit about the werewolf blood.”

“Juana is recovering well, by the way, thanks to Gemma’s quick thinking.”

“Well, Reese fought them off. His presence definitely ensured that Juana’s wounds weren’t worse!”

“Cam admitting on camera that he didn’t want the spell performed really helped too. And Cam, the fact that you were still coherent after what that spell did to you was amazing. I have no idea how you held on.”

“Just stubborn, I guess,” I said.

At some point, my eyes slid closed as they recounted the night.

“Cam?” Al asked after a few minutes.

“I’m listening,” I said. “Keep talking.”

So they did, and I drifted to sleep to the comforting noise of their combined voices.