Page 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Aline

I stared at the dead man on the ground in shock. When I hugged Avó, she handed me a shard of glass and began to tell me something, but I had one of those moments like in the movies. My ‘spider senses’ were tingling, so to speak, and I allowed Ogum to push forward as I turned around. We were the only ones who saw Benicio pull the gun from under the table, and Ogum sent the shard flying just as the man was raising his gun toward the woman I loved.

Now, I could feel everyone staring at me, while I couldn’t rip my eyes away from the dead man on the floor.

What did we just do? I asked Ogum.

We defended our mate.

But how?

It’s our gift. We have the gift of weapon accuracy.

A shard is a weapon?

Anything can be a weapon in our hands.

“Aline? Baby, are you okay?” Xochil’s voice finally snapped me out of my shock, and I was surprised to see her so close to me.

“I-I think so?” I answered as honestly as I could.

“No. You’re not. Your hand is bleeding. Mom, can you help her, please?” she replied, picking up the hand we used to throw the shard.

Xochil looked concerned, but the wound was already healing by itself.

“Looks like she’s got healing of her own, but I’ll hurry it along,” Nat noted, placing her hand over mine.

I gasped as I felt the skin quickly knitting itself together.

“That’s amazing,” I whispered in awe.

She gave me an indulgent smile, no doubt having been told the same thing all her life.

“How did you see that?” Xochil asked.

“I-I didn’t. It was Ogum.”

“That’s the orixa attached to you?” Helios asked, looking impressed when I nodded.

“What does that mean?” Xochil asked, looking frustrated at being out of the loop.

“Ogum is a great warrior. He guards the paths of fate and has the ability to open new pathways. He is an incredible ally,” Helios informed us.

“I can hear him now,” I added and turned to Avó, who was smiling at me. “I released him, Avó.”

“I know, darling,” she said, smiling proudly at me.

“You knew what would happen, didn’t you? That’s why you gave me the shard?”

“Yes. I saw it on the drive here,” she confirmed.

“Where do we go from here?” Chris asked, back in his human form. “The son got away.”

“We leave and continue with our lives. The son will resurface on his own, and we will defeat him. I have foreseen it,” Avó answered.

Everyone in the room looked at each other, and it was Helios who shrugged and broke the silence. “Well, let’s go back to the Airbnb. I’ll get our plane ready to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Just like that?” Xochil asked.

“I have learned to listen to seers, mija. You would be wise to do the same. It saves you a lot of extra trouble. If you don’t believe me, ask your Uncle Gonzalo how it went for him when he tried to fight your aunt’s predictions.”

“What about the house and the people? How are we going to clean this up?” she asked.

“Markus contacted the American Council to let them know what was going on while we were in the air. He sent me an email letting me know the South American Council should contact us tomorrow… or rather, later today. We can let them know a clean-up is required. We’ll tie this one up and let them deal with him however they see fit,” he answered, motioning to the last man left alive in the corner.

“So that’s it?” I asked.

“That’s it for now,” Helios confirmed.

I stared down at the man on the floor. I couldn’t believe it was over. For almost twenty years, I’d been afraid of this man. He killed my parents, hunted us across the southern United States, and was a constant shadow in my life. Now, in less than three days, it was over. It felt unreal.

“What about the goddess?“ Miguel asked, motioning over to the woman sitting down calmly in another corner of the long room. Her eyes were on Benicio, a soft smile on her face.

“Shit, I totally forgot,” Helios replied, running a hand down his face.

Nat walked over to him and, together, they approached the woman in the corner.

“So, she is a goddess?” I asked Xochil.

“She’s one of my father’s siblings,” she answered me.

“So, your dad really is a god?”

“Yep. It’s a very long story,” she informed me.

“I bet,” I agreed, looking at where he and Nat were kneeling down in front of the goddess.

As I watched him, something in my head clicked, and I started giggling.

“What are you giggling about, mate?” Xochil asked, coming closer and wrapping an arm around my waist.

“I finally get why you and Miguel laughed when he told me I was a godsend.”

“It’s his favorite dad joke,” Miguel snorted, coming closer to where we were. “How are you dealing with all of this?” he asked me a little quieter.

“Better than I thought I would,” I answered. “Somehow, I’m no longer questioning the world I live in or anyone’s sanity.”

“And your orixa?”

“He’s quiet right now. Just watching and listening. I think he was always watching and listening. I can just hear him now, too. He said the wall that was separating us came down.”

“You guys can talk to each other inside your head now?” Miguel asked.

“Yeah.”

“So, it’s like having a wolf, but you can’t shift?” He cocked his head adorably.

“Exactly like that, according to him.”

“You are a demigoddess now. Just like your mate.” I jumped at how close to us the voice was, and I turned to see the goddess beside me.

“Are you sure?” Xochil asked.

“I am. I would imagine she knows, too. If not her, him.”

Xochil looked at me, and I nodded. Xochil’s hand around my waist tightened a little, and I could feel a strange warmth inside of me.

That’s the bond. You’re feeling her love for us, Ogum explained, and as I inspected it closer, I recognized it as the same feeling I’d felt right after she marked me.

“Do you know what that means for our life expectancy?” Xochil asked.

“I do not. Every demigod is different. Half god, a shifter and an offspring to the white wolf who’s been cursed with immortality. Mated to another demigod by the Moon Goddess. All I can guess is the same you’ve probably already thought: you’re likely to live for a few generations at minimum.”

Xochil appeared to deflate for a moment, but smiled at me when I tugged her closer to soothe her worries. Right now, nothing mattered to me other than the fact this was all over, and everyone I cared about was safe.

“Are you coming with us, Chipahua?” Helios asked the goddess.

“No,” she answered, shaking her head. “I appreciate the offer, and the threat, but I’ve been held by Benicio for the last eight years. I would like to go see what’s left of my home, and have some peace before the war begins. I will find my way back to you when it’s time.”

“Do you need assistance?” Helios asked.

“I could use a car, but I think I’ll just take one of his. He doesn’t need them anymore,” she chuckled. “And don’t worry, I’ll ditch it before his son can find me.”

Helios grabbed a napkin and a pen, and wrote down his number and email. “If you ever need help, just contact me.”

“I appreciate it. And I’m glad you’ve seen the truth, brother.”

“It took me too long,” he chuckled dryly.

“Better now than never. Everything happens for a reason,” she patted his arm and walked away, but before she could be completely gone, he called out to her again.

“I may be in need of your services in the near future, to finish tying this up.”

“I’ll text you my contact information as soon as I get a new phone,” she replied, waving the napkin with Dad’s contact info behind her.

“Why do you need her services?” I asked him.

“Humans aren’t supposed to know about us,” he explained. “If the men we captured in Phoenix were telling the truth, we need to find and help their families. Once we’re sure they’re safe, we’ll need to erase all knowledge of our existence.”

“So, we’re not leaving yet?” I asked, partially disappointed. Brazil may have been home at one point, but now it was in Arizona, with my mate, and all I wanted was to spend some time alone with her.

“We’re spending the day here, but tomorrow we’re heading home. I’ll come back with a few warriors and the prisoners once we have more information.”

I sighed with relief and nodded. I had the chance to spend a day with Avó before we had to leave, but we weren’t staying long. I wished she would come with us, but I knew she was too stubborn to accept.

“Don’t worry, Aline. We’ll get you home before the fridge delivery,” Xochil assured me.

“Right,” I replied, having completely forgotten all about my restaurant. “I should probably call in the morning and make sure everything is going okay.”

“First, some sleep,” Avó grumbled, muffling a yawn.

“That sounds like the best idea,” I agreed, and saw a few nods of assent from other warriors stifling their own yawns.

“Let’s get back. This old man also needs to sleep,” Helios mumbled.

“Do gods need rest?” I asked.

Xochil, Miguel and Nat chuckled, while Helios looked offended, but by the exaggerated way he put a hand to his chest, I could tell he was just pretending.

“Everyone needs rest!” he replied indignantly.

“And here I thought, as a god and a werewolf, you would be able to go all night,” Avó chuckled beside me.

“Avó!” I gasped, horrified and a little curious.

Xochil was a demigod. Would that extend to her?

“I could if I wanted to,” Helios said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at my grandmother.

“Gross,” Xochil groaned.

“Yeah. There are some things even I don’t want to know about my family members,” Miguel agreed, covering his ears as if to protect them.

“Alright, let’s go back to the Airbnb before he starts telling stories to prove his point,” Nat said, making the rest of us chuckle, because Helios was still looking at my grandmother as if he wanted to do just that.

Xochil and I climbed into the SUV with her parents and my grandmother. I was seated in the middle as Xochil didn’t seem to want to let go of my hand.

We got to the Airbnb, and everyone helped move the bodies to the back of the property. Nat assured us the mess left by the attack could be cleaned up in the morning. Thankfully, only the living room was trashed, as no one got past the entrance. Everyone dispersed to their rooms, and I gave Avó a quick hug and did the same, leading an exhausted Xochil to our room by the hand. There was so much I needed to tell her, but I knew that while I was sleeping during the drive to the mansion, she’d likely been trying to find me most of the night. So, I put my needs aside, removed most of our clothing until we were only in our underwear, and tucked both of us into bed. I wanted to spoon her, but she turned around to face me before I could put my leg over her body.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” she asked.

“The kidnapping?” I asked.

“Yeah. Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Do you need to speak with someone?” she asked, her hand cupping my cheek.

I turned my head a bit and kissed the pulse on her wrist.

“I’m alright, Wolfie. I’ve been hunted for most of my life. The kidnapping would probably have been more traumatizing if I hadn’t had Ogum with me when it happened.”

“I’m glad you freed him,” she whispered.

“You freed him,” I corrected her.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her voice getting sleepier as we talked.

“He said you marking us gave him the strength to break through the veil separating us.”

Her hand dropped to my shoulder, where I felt a full body shiver go through me as she touched where she’d bitten down. I hadn’t had time to look in a mirror. Did the bite heal already? Did it look like Cory’s?

It does. It won’t look exactly like Cory’s. Each mark is slightly unique to the wolf, Ogum responded.

I’m not a wolf.

It’s unique to the wolf giving it, he clarified.

“Are you talking to him now?” Xochil asked.

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“Your eyes did the same thing ours do when we’re speaking with our wolves. They kind of go out of focus. Are you going to let me talk to him soon?”

“Can you?”

“He’s come forward a few times now, hasn’t he?”

I can, but right now our mate needs to sleep. Tell her we can talk another day.

“He said another day. Right now, our Wolfie needs to rest.”

Xochil chuckled and cuddled close, closing her eyes when I wrapped myself around her and brought her closer. I listened to her breathing even out as I thought about everything that happened over the last year.

There were decisions coming up that were going to decide the course of our lives, and I wanted to be sure I made the right ones.

That’s a conversation for another time. We should rest as well, Ogum encouraged.

You’re right. That’s a conversation we need to have another time. But you’re following my thoughts?

I am. I have some ideas as well.

How come you can follow my thoughts, but I can’t follow yours?

Because I’m a deity and you’re not in tune with me yet. There’s a lot of training you have to do before you’ll be able to tap into my thoughts as easily as I do yours.

That doesn’t sound fun.

I’ll be sure to assign you homework. No statistics though, promise, he teased, and I groaned.

If there was one thing I’d learned to hate, it was statistics.