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His color began to fade, and his Adam’s apple bobbed slowly while he swallowed. “And it’s not?”
Maintaining my grip on him, I forced myself back to my feet. Santiago grabbed hold of one arm when I teetered, and Wilder’s hand was on my waist again. I was already trying to get as much distance from the house as I could.
When I glanced back one last time, I saw the shape of a woman standing in one of the windows, and it made my entire body spasm with fear.
“No. It’s not trapped anymore. It used Tansy’s blood to break her own circle. And now it can take her form. Meaning it’s not stuck in there. It can move freely now.”
“So, basically…” Wilder drifted off mid-sentence, following my line of sight to the upstairs window.
Santiago finished the thought for us.
“We run.”
Chapter Thirty
Wilder and I took his bike, following Santiago as he easily navigated the streets in his aging BMW. It was probably a bit risky for me to get on the motorcycle given my wobbly condition, but the scare of seeing Gamigan-Tansy standing there watching us had been enough to kick-start my survival drive all over again.
We parked in front of Santiago’s Garden District mansion moments after he had pulled up with the girls.
He left his car unlocked and herded Laura and Heidi towards his front door. The big house looked different than when I’d first seen it. With all the lights off it didn’t have the same magnetic pull, begging me to enter. There was no easy comfort to be had, no mystery through the windows.
Now that I knew what was inside, it wasn’t quite the same.
Once we were through the door, he tossed his keys on a small table at the entrance, flicked on a few lights, and waved his hand towards the living room facing the front street. “Make yourselves comfortable, ladies, but try not to touch anything that looks like it might be magical.”
They paused inside the arch leading into the living room and glanced around nervously. I couldn’t blame their hesitation. The room was basically decorated head to toe in things that might be otherworldly.
“Just watch TV for a bit,” I suggested.
My
wobblies had started to wear off, and I could walk on my own now. High-five for lycanthropy and its glorious healing factor. I suspected if I’d been human, all the magic I’d done tonight would have left me in a coma. Or, more likely, dead.
I had a seven-day nap coming to me after this.
“Genie, a little help?” Santiago was already in the kitchen.
The familiar way he said my name made Wilder frown. I was just happy he hadn’t used the stupid nickname. It was bad enough having one guy give you a slightly condescending pet name thinking it was cute. Having two guys do it might give me some sort of complex.
Though, admittedly, I kind of liked it when Wilder called me Princess. Not that I’d ever tell him that to his face.
Considering I never corrected him when he used the title, he probably already knew.
“Can you keep an eye on them?” I asked.
He nodded slowly, watching without a word as I turned to leave the room. Then, just when I thought he had nothing to add to the interaction, he snagged me by the wrist and pulled me back towards him, spinning me so I was facing him when my body bumped against his.
The expression on his face and the light in his eyes didn’t show the slightest indication of jealousy, just concern, and a deep, instinctual protectiveness that was rooted right down to the very core of his being.
He released my wrist and cupped my face in both hands, rubbing rough thumbs over my cheekbones.
“This is going to get worse before it gets better, Princess.”
I smirked. This man and his timing.
“I’m starting to think that’s sort of how our life is going to go from now on. You still sure you want to stick around?” I said it like I was teasing, but as soon as the words were out I was terrified he might take the out seriously and cut his losses.
Being a werewolf mechanic in St. Francisville was a lot less risky than being the boyfriend of a were-witch who managed to piss off demons when she wasn’t even trying. There was such a thing as being too interesting.
