Page 54 of Taming the Beasts (Crooked Point #3)

Saturday

Zoey

I couldn’t stop pacing the floor in the hospital waiting room. We’d been here for over an hour and I hadn’t heard a single thing. About Titan. About anything going on back in town.

Titan still being in surgery was a good thing. It meant he was fighting.

But I wasn’t sure the radio silence from town was a positive.

“Would you please sit down?” Emma asked. “You’re making me nervous.”

I sighed and plopped down on the hard chair next to her. “You checking your phone every two seconds is making me nervous.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” She shoved her phone into Callum’s jacket that was draped around her shoulders. “Do you maybe want to go clean up a bit?” She’d been to the bathroom to get the blood off of her. But I couldn’t make myself leave the waiting room. What if I missed important news?

I shook my head.

“Then maybe we should focus on fixing him?” She pointed to Grudge who was currently staring at one of the empty walls .

What the heck? “Grudge? Stop staring at the wall and come sit down.”

He turned to face me. “Oh, Zoey. Hey. What are you doing here?” And then he looked confused as he looked around. “Wait, where are we again?”

Eek. He was having some serious memory problems. I patted the seat beside mine.

He came over and sat down.

“Grudge, what do you remember about today?” I asked.

He thought about it for a moment. “I was driving to come to Emma’s wedding. Am I in Crooked Point yet?”

Yikes. He didn’t remember anything about being here? I turned to Emma.

She shrugged.

If he remembered everything up until getting here...maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. I was hoping that the change back from vampire to human had done the same to the rest of the townspeople. Because I wasn’t sure what the repercussions would be if everyone did remember.

This memory glitch was probably why we weren’t being arrested right now. We were all covered in blood. But we’d invited pretty much the whole police force to the wedding. So...

“I feel sticky,” Grudge said.

Yeah. Well that’s what happens when your feast on a bunch of wedding guests and get blood all over you! Naughty Grudge.

Grudge looked down at his bare chest. “Is that blood? Wait, where are we again?”

It would be a good thing if the townspeople just forgot everything. But maybe it was better that Grudge knew. After all, he was kind of a part of this whole thing too.

“Don’t freak out,” I said. “But you’re having some memory problems. Kebe lied about the Anubis coin being a cure.

It was the complete opposite. And she used the coin during the wedding and turned you and everyone around the coin into vampires.

And then you all lost control and attacked the wedding guests that hadn’t been changed, changing them too. ”

Grudge laughed.

“She’s being serious,” Emma said. “You and everyone else went crazy. It was a bloodbath.”

“Wait, I killed people?” Grudge asked.

“Um...” Emma looked at me.

“I don’t think so?”

“What do you meant you don’t think so?” Grudge asked.

I shrugged. “I didn’t see any dead bodies. I think you were just making more vampires.” The only people that had gotten truly hurt seemed to be my boyfriends.

Grudge breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, good.” And then he shook his head. “No, not good. Why don’t I remember any of this? And am I a vampire right now? How does being a vampire feel? Should I try biting one of you?”

“No,” Emma said. “To all of that. We cured you. And it appears as though the cure made you forget what happened.”

“Oh. Great. So where’s Kebe at?”

Emma just stared at him. “Did you not hear the part about Kebe being evil?”

“When did anyone say that? ”

“She lied about the Anubis coin and turned all of Crooked Point into vampires,” Emma said.

Grudge laughed. “Oh. That. But everyone is fine now?”

“No, not everyone is fine,” I said. “Your memory is clearly wonky. And all my boyfriends were seriously injured.” It was driving me crazy that we hadn’t heard from Callum. “We’re in this hospital waiting for news about Titan.”

Grudge stared at me. “Then where is Kebe? Locked up somewhere?”

“No. She’s helping Callum get the rest of my boyfriends into their vaults so they won’t hurt anyone. And hopefully she’s helping clean up her mess in the town square.” Because even if everyone forgot what happened, seeing the carnage tomorrow morning might jog their memories.

“So...she’s not evil?”

I threw my hands up. “I don’t know. She had a change of heart and helped with the actual cure. Or else you wouldn’t be you again right now.”

“So she’s the opposite of evil. She’s quite good.”

Maybe? I had no idea. “We’re choosing to trust her right now.” I didn’t forgive Kebe for using that horrible coin. But she was trying to make it right. And that seemed like a start. I stared at the doors, waiting for a doctor to come out and tell me how Titan was doing.

“Wait, is Kebe still a vampire?” Grudge asked. “Or did she get cured too?”

“She never was a vampire,” I said. “She’s Kebechet. The Egyptian goddess of embalming and serpents. And I don’t think that can be undone.”

“Serpents? Hot. ”

Is it? “And her dad is King,” I said.

“Well that’s a very weird coincidence,” Grudge said.

It was like he could see no evil in his new goddess crush.

“No, it wasn’t a coincidence. King is literally the Egyptian god of the dead.

Anubis. They were working together the whole time trying to get the Anubis coin back that my boyfriends stole.

And they were trying to kill my boyfriends because they’re werecats.

And apparently they love vampires and hate werecats or something.

But Kebe finally woke up from Anubis’ commands and saw that my boyfriends are actually amazing. ”

Grudge laughed.

“Why are you laughing? My boyfriends are amazing.”

“I’m not laughing about that. I just think it’s hilarious that King wore an Anubis mask whenever you spoke to him. He wasn’t even trying to hide his identity. And it went over all our heads.”

Yeah, I didn’t find the whole thing as humorous.

I felt ridiculous for not doing more research.

Especially after I found out that supernatural creatures actually existed.

And I’d known that all that stuff Kebe had said about her father was odd.

He’d been a professor, a curator, and an anthropologist depending on when you asked Kebe about him.

The whole thing had been sus as hell. I just hadn’t combined it all.

But of course Anubis knew about all those professions. He was thousands of years old.

“Well I’m glad Kebe turned out to be good,” Grudge said. “I told you she was too hot to be evil.”

I just shook my head.

Emma’s phone started buzzing. “It’s Callum! ”

The door burst open. But not the one I’d been staring at while I waited for a doctor to come out. Bennett ran through the entrance.

“Bennett!” I jumped to my feet and ran over to him, leaping into his arms.

He caught me, holding me tight against him.

“You’re okay?”

“I’m okay.”

“You’re sure?” I grabbed both sides of his face. He looked good. He looked like him.

“I’m as good as new,” he confirmed as he set me down on my feet.

God, I was so relieved.

Bennett unzipped his hoodie and wrapped it around my shoulders.

“How are Otto, Ace, and Huxley?”

“They’re all fine too. Once my body healed I listened to the music first to make sure it cured me okay. They’re all listening to it now. But I didn’t want to wait to come to you.”

“Wait, you took the cure? You’re...you...”

“I’m just me,” he said. And then a smile slowly spread across his face. “I’m me.”

I threw my arms around him again. He was okay. Otto, Ace, and Huxley were all going to be okay too. And freaking cured!

“And are you alright?” Bennett asked.

I pulled back. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” He was inspecting me, and I remembered that I had a lot of blood on me.

“None of this blood is mine. I’m shaken up, but I promise I’m not injured.”

He exhaled slowly like he’d been terrified I was hurt. I had no idea why he’d been worried about me. He was the one that had almost died.

I turned to look at the other door again. “Titan was cured before his werecat healing could fix him up.”

“Callum told me. What have the doctors said?”

“All I know is that he’s in surgery. He was in really bad shape, Bennett.”

Bennett kept me tucked into his side. “He’s a fighter. He’s got this.”

But Bennett hadn’t seen his friend. I had. I tried to push away the thought and hold on to hope. “So...you’re really cured?”

Bennett nodded.

“Do you feel any different?”

“Less on edge. Calmer.”

That made sense. For years he’d always been concerned about controlling his temper and mood. That must have been so stressful. “But otherwise you feel the same?”

“I’m still me, baby,” he said.

“I know. I can’t believe you’re really cured. Bennett, I’m so happy for you.” I knew how long they had all been looking for the cure.

“I’m so happy for us.” He pulled me in closer. “Now I never have to worry about hurting you.” He rested his chin on the top of my head.

Today had been so insane. But I felt the stress melt away while he held me. I’d been so concerned about my boyfriends taking the cure and what that would mean for all of us. But I didn’t feel worried right now. All I felt was safe. And hopeful. Please let Titan be okay too .

“I’m so happy that you’re okay,” Emma said to Bennett as she ended her call with Callum.

Bennett smiled at her. “Thanks to Callum, no one else got hurt.”

“I know you would have done the same for him.”

A few weeks ago, no way. But they did seem to all be friends now.

“Is Callum on his way here?” I asked.

“No, he’s with Kebe making sure the rest of the guys handle the cure okay. And then he’s going to help Kebe clean up the town square.”

That was way too much Kebe time for his wedding night. But I kept my mouth shut.

Otto came to the hospital next. I peppered his face in kisses which made us both laugh.