Page 12 of Prince with a Chance of Darkness (Grimm Cove #7)

Chapter Twelve

Mina

Willa stood next to me in the cave, taking everything better than I thought she might. She’d only had one freak out about bugs so far. That was a win. As predicted, she’d wanted to know how I’d found out about the cave. I’d lied my ass off. No point in upsetting her more than need be.

When I’d first led her up the narrow ledge that curved behind the waterfall, careful to keep my footing on the slick stone to the opening of the cave, I’d thought she’d bolt. It wasn’t like we had a great history with caves or anything. The last time we’d been in together, I’d gotten stabbed in the chest by our aunt and Willa had gotten attacked by a rat-faced demon and his minions.

I stepped deeper into the damp cave, my boots crunching against loose gravel. The only way to access the cave was by walking under a waterfall. That meant we’d already come in wet.

The air was damp, thick with the scent of mildew, and somewhere in the darkness, water dripped in a steady, echoing rhythm. It wasn’t cozy, but it was remote. And remote was exactly what we needed.

The sound of rushing from the waterfall echoed through the cave, filling the silence that stretched between my sister and myself. The cave’s acoustics left any small noise within it echoing and bouncing off the walls so the silence was more than noticeable. The echo had been something I’d gotten a bit of a kick out of when I’d been here with the professor. Having a sex echo chamber had been kind of neat. I wondered how many other women he’d brought here.

He’d told me more than once that I was the first student he’d ever crossed the line with, but I had to wonder if he was only saying what he thought I wanted to hear. I wasn’t looking forever. I was just looking to curve my hunger for sex. I didn’t need pretty lies and promises of tomorrow.

Nothing could come of what was happening between us. What we were doing was against the rules, at least while I was still a student at the college he taught at. And even if there was a workaround, there was the fact I wasn’t human. I was something else—something wrong and against nature. Something that had to deal with bloodlust, sex lust, and someone who felt compelled to go searching in the night for supernaturals to slay.

Hardly girlfriend material.

I never really pictured my future, not even before Romania. I guess I always assumed I’d die young. That the slayer lifestyle would send me to an early grave. Dreaming about settling down and starting a family had never once come into play for me, and since Romania, that would never be a reality.

And there was no way I could ever start a family and leave Willa behind. Who would help her with her monthly issue? Who would bring her to isolated caves in the middle of nowhere to lock her away all because they’d been the reason she was cursed to start with?

Guilt ate my very core only making the darkness in me grow. I’m who pushed her to traipse around a haunted forest in Romania and suggested we hide from the storm in a cave inhabited by a demonic douchebag. Willa had tried to get me to see reason. I’d pushed and pushed until I’d gotten my way. She shared her body with a wolf now and it was all my fault.

Sorry, never seemed like enough to cover it and Hallmark didn’t make cards for when you nearly got your twin sister murdered by a ghoul-leading dickwad with bad dental work and a god complex.

I ran my fingers over the rocky cavern wall only to jerk it back a moment later. The texture wasn’t what I expected. It was slick and gooey. I nearly gagged at the sticky coating left on my fingers from the cavern walls. “Slimy.”

“Way to sell it. I was doing a good job ignoring the slimy walls, along with the rest of the spiders and other creepy-crawlies that are in here,” said Willa with a long sigh. She’d already been on edge. My response to where she’d be spending the next few nights wasn’t helping any. “We should really drug me or something to knock me out during it all.”

“So that you sleep through the spiders, bugs, and possibly snakes crawling on you?” I cringed as the words fell from my lips. For a second, I’d lost my mind, forgetting just how much my sister hated bugs.

Willa began to do full body wiggles and turn in a circle, swatting at herself as if wiping away invisible bugs. “Never mind on the knocking-me-out thing. It’s just…I’m afraid I’ll get loose again.”

“The chains will hold,” I said with a nod, trying to look more confident than I was. I wasn’t sure they would hold her but we were out of options.

“That’s what you said about the last chains in the old building outside of town,” she stated, her voice cracking just enough for me to hear the panic she was trying so hard to contain.

I would have taken offense, but she was right. My gaze slid to the iron hooks that were embedded deep into the rocky wall. “That was different. They weren’t secured to stone walls. These are bolted in tight.”

Willa reached for one of the iron hooks that was secured to the cave wall. She tugged on it before outright yanking hard.

It didn’t budge.

Good.

I pushed one of the rusted chains on the cave floor with my foot. There were other broken bits near it, all looking as if they’d been there different lengths of time from the aging on them.

“Mina, why do you think those are here?”

“I don’t know. Something was chained here. Something powerful enough to break those.” I pointed to the broken chain bits on the cavern floor. I wish that I could give her the answers she was after but I knew as much as her about the cave and the chains.

“Do you think there was another shifter here at some point?” she asked, flinching slightly at the words.

“Maybe.” I wanted to calm her but lying would get me nowhere. She knew me better than I knew myself most days. Plus, she could literally smell a lie now that she shared her body with a wolf. “Whatever it was, it was pretty damn strong. Those chains are old, and they would have held a lot. Something made child’s play of them.”

She gulped. “When you told me about finding this, you swore you looked around for evidence of it being used recently.”

I turned, surveying the cave visually as I nodded. “I combed over it. There isn’t anything in here that looks to have been used recently. No tracks or anything, either. Just the ones I left the other day.” I bit my lower lip lightly. “I don’t think whatever had been chained here has been back recently.”

“If it comes back while I’m chained in here?” she asked. “What then?”

I wasn’t sure what to tell her. On one hand, she was a wolf-shifter. She could eat anyone who threatened her. On the other hand, I wasn’t so sure whatever had been chained in the cave had been human. That meant it very well could eat her first and she’d be here, chained and at its mercy.

I opted for false optimism. “Hey, maybe I could organize a playdate between you and them? Maybe we can meet at a dog park or something.”

A slight laugh came from her, but it was strained. “Okay, but I’m not sure I’m up for sniffing anyone’s butt.”

“You say that now,” I teased.

Willa laughed loudly, the sound echoing off the cave walls. “I really hope the times I’ve gotten free in wolf form, I didn’t end up sniffing the backside of any stray dog.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that more than once when she’d escaped in wolf form and I’d given chase, she totally had smelled a stray’s butt. That felt like something she’d be less than thrilled to know so I kept it to myself. “Do you think you’ve ever run into another wolf? Or even a wolf-shifter that way?”

She hedged a bit. “Honestly, I have nearly no memory of what happens when I’m the wolf. Maybe.”

It was impossible to avoid grinning at my next thought. “Do you think you’ve ever gotten it on with a male dog or wolf?”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask me that,” she said, her expression deadpan.

“Pretend all you want. The question will now linger.” I waggled my brows playfully.

Willa came at me, her hands suddenly on my neck as she pretended to choke me. We laughed and stumbled, grabbing one another, just barely stopping ourselves from falling. For a brief moment in time, we were normal. Just two sisters laughing and joking together, not a wolf-shifter and whatever the hell I was.

Several deep breaths later and a good squeeze of the vag muscles to keep from peeing while laughing, and I’d managed to compose myself.

Willa’s laughter faded as her attention went to the manacles and the chains. She worried her brow and I didn’t need to be able to read her mind to know what she was thinking. She was scared of getting loose and hurting someone.

I touched one of the hanging chains. The metal was cold under my fingertips. “Willa, this is going to have to work this month.”

It had to. We were out of time and options. We both knew it.

Her anxiety was thick enough for me to practically taste. There was a ripple of supernatural energy that rushed through the cave. Being able to sense the energy was something I’d found I could do after the attack in Romania. I had to wonder if the attack had heightened my natural-born slayer abilities in addition to leaving me with the ability to get dental erections.

The power increased and white fur began to sprout on Willa’s arms, a sign she was losing control and starting to shift shapes. Never good, but I didn’t panic. Doing so would only set her off more. The full moon was close. Too close to risk getting her worked up.

I took hold of her hand gently and slowly, trying to infuse my calming energy into her chaotic one. I threaded my fingers through hers. “It will work.”

Her eyes glassed with unshed tears.

The sight hit me harder than I wanted to admit. I liked to appear indifferent, unaffected by silly things like emotions but in truth—I felt everything. “I promise.”

Willa dipped her head, fixated on her furry arms.

Bending my head, I locked gazes with her, refusing to allow her to get lost in her head. “Willa, think happy thoughts or something.”

She laughed at my Peter Pan reference and the fur was gone in a matter of seconds.

I pretended to be shocked. “Oh, happy thoughts worked!”

“Dumbass,” she said with a laugh.

I winked.

“Sorry about the partial shift thing.” Pink stained her cheeks.

“Don’t be. We’re really close to the full moon. You’re doing great and have come really far if you think about it,” I said, meaning every word of it. “When you were first turned, you’d do partial shifts a lot and had to wear a lot of long-sleeved shirts and gloves. Remember?”

Willa groaned. “Yes.”

“See, this is better now.”

“I never used to have issues with my emotions being all over the place,” Willa said.

“Pre-shifter you and post-shifter you are two very different be—” I cringed, wanting the words back.

She raised a brow. “You were going to say beasts, weren’t you?”

It was my turn to blush. “Yes. Sorry. Poor choice of words.”

Willa winked. “It’s okay.”

I let out a long breath, hating that I hadn’t minded my words better.

My sister laughed. “Seriously, it's fine. And you’re right. I’m not the same person I was. A lot has changed for me. For you too. We’re stronger than we used to be, and I don’t just mean because of what we are now.”

“I know.” I grabbed her and hugged her tight.

“I’m sure you’re right. These chains will hold me.”

Releasing her, I nodded. “We should totally set up a camcorder and record the shift and how you’re escaping. I’ve seen you shift before. I’m going to be honest. My brain stops functioning properly when you’re shifting, so I pretty much miss most of it. We could watch the tape back later and analyze it all. It might help us secure you better in the future.”

Willa jerked back from, horror filling her gaze. “No! We’re not recording me shifting forms.”

“Okay, take it easy,” I said, waving my hands lightly, trying to signal to her to chill. “We’ll table that idea… for now .”

“For good.”

“For now,” I stressed before taking a second to collect my thoughts. “We need to consider bringing in a third person, Willa. I know you don’t want to, but I think it’s past time. My vote is Astria. My gut says she can handle this.”

“Handle finding out she’s been rooming with a monster for years now?” she questioned and I had a strong suspicion she’d played the scenario in her head to the point she was sure what others would say or do. “That I’m a freak?”

“You’re not a freak,” I shot back, hating hearing her refer to herself as a monster. “You’re my sister, who just happens to turn into a wolf once a month. I think Astria will be able to deal with that knowledge. She could help be another set of eyes.”

“And do what? Watch as I manage to break free, and then watch as I attack her?” she asked, her voice going up several octaves.

I grabbed her by the shoulders, ready to shake some sense into her if need be. “Willa, stop. You’re spiraling again. Astria could watch the cave from a safe distance and find me if you get free or if someone else comes here.”

“It would put her at risk,” Willa said, looking for reason it wouldn’t work. “We like her—a lot. I don’t want her in danger.”

“I don’t either. But we have to start trusting someone,” I said. “We need help. I can’t be here the entire time because I have to hunt baddies.”

Defeated, she nodded. “I’ll reconsider letting you record me shifting. You’re right. It could help us figure out how I’m getting free.”

I hugged her quickly and let her go. “We still need to consider bringing in help. I still vote for Astria. I think Stevie would be a good backup.”

“They’re both good picks,” she said.

They were great picks and she knew it. They’d be around next year, working on their graduate degrees with us and we’d known them three years now. We trusted them. “And both will be here next fall.”

“Maybe, just for tonight, it might be better if you use the tranquilizers I lifted from the lab.” Willa bit her inner cheek.

I fought the urge to slap her. “And I’d feel better if you didn’t ask me to shoot you.”

“With a tranq dart,” she added fast like I didn’t know her better than she knew herself.

The idea of slapping her sounded better and better. “I think we both know the request is deeper than that.”

She conceded with a nod. “I’m what we hunt. You should put me down and protect humans from me.”

“It’s taking all of me not to bitch slap you,” I warned, touching the white lock of hair she had. Hearing how much she hated herself and what she was broke me inside. It was all my fault. I did this to her. She was suffering because of me and I hated every second of it. Emotion lodged in my throat. “I wish you could see yourself when you’re shifted, Willa. You really are beautiful. Your coat is pure white.”

She pulled my hand from her hair. “Keep talking about my wolf form like that, and I might start to think you’re going soft on supernaturals.”

I couldn’t stop a tear from escaping. I wiped it away quickly as Willa drew back from me.

“Chin up, babes,” I said, drawing on all of my resolve to keep from breaking down in front of her. I’d cry when I was alone and when she couldn’t hear me. “If anyone ever asks how you spent your weekend, you can tell them with all honesty that you spent it chained up—kinky. That has got to win cool points in something. I’m not sure what, but go with it.”

She shoved me lightly. “I’m not telling anyone that. We’ll stick with the same story. That I’m volunteering at the animal shelter all weekend.”

“Boring,” I mouthed. “Besides, I already told them you were going on a date tonight. They’ll think it went really well, and you spent the weekend knocking boots with a hottie.”

“What? I’m not going on a date.” Her eyes were wide.

“I know, but it sounded cooler than volunteering for the night,” I said, knowing it would keep her mind off wanting to be hunted and killed.

“Yes, but what am I supposed to tell them when they ask how my date went?” she questioned.

With a grin, I pulled on my wet T-shirt. “Tell them it involved you getting chained up, and that made you wet.”

“No way,” she stressed with a shake of her head. “Emily will demand the dirty details, and I’ll be left trying to invent some guy who never existed. Plus, I’m guessing Stevie will see right through the lie. I swear that girl doesn’t miss much.”

“I know, right?” I snorted. “It’s like her last name being Holmes was taken to heart.”

Willa canted her head. “What do you mean?”

“Holmes,” I replied, waiting for it to click. “Sherlock.”

She chuckled. “Never thought of that, but you’re right.”

Her laughter was infectious. I joined in but stopped the second internal warning bells started going off, letting me know something supernatural was happening in the area. Something not good. I focused on the mouth of the cave, trying to get a sense of what that something might be.

My sister touched my arm. “What is it?”

“I don’t know,” I said, concentrating more, trying to sort through the inner alarm bells to figure out what tripped them. “Do you hear anything weird?”

Willa was quiet a second. “I hear the waterfall and something scurrying over the floor in here. Do not tell me what it is. I don’t want to know.”

“Nothing else?” I questioned, unable to shake the feeling something was wrong. Something that needed my attention.

“Nothing,” said Willa. “Want to tell me what vibe you’re getting?”

Try as I might, I couldn’t pinpoint what was tripping my slayer alarms, but the compulsion to leave the cave and head back to campus was strong. “I have a really strong urge to get back to campus.”

“Is this a slayer thing?” Willa questioned. “I don’t hear anything amiss and I’m not sensing anything.”

The feeling intensified to the point it was impossible to ignore.

“Go,” Willa said with a nod of her head.

“No. I need to help you get chained first.” I couldn’t just leave her. She needed me to help chain her for the night.

“Go. I’ll handle it. I’ll secure myself as much as I can. You go check on things, and I’ll be here when you get back.” Willa wasted no time, rushing to the chains that were hooked to the wall. She pulled off her shirt and then her shoes and pants. When she was done, she was in her bra and panties. She nodded at one of the manacles. “Hurry up. Shackle me so you don’t worry about me.”

I didn’t love the idea of leaving her like this, but my slayer instincts were screaming at me. I ran to her and grabbed the chains. I secured her wrists. My alarm bells began going off so forcefully that it was almost painful. “Willa, something is happening out there.”

“Go!”

“I’m not done securing you,” I said fast.

“Go! I’m fine.”

I ran for the mouth of the cave, pausing momentarily to look back at her. “You sure you’re okay here?”

“I am. Don’t get dead,” she said. It was something we’d been saying to each other since Romania.

“Ditto.”