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“J-Jaxon?” she sobbed, covering her face with her hands. Her words were barely discernible through her sobs. Seeing Jaxon had triggered some deep-seated fear within her.
“Take her inside,”Ridge said, his eyes never leaving Lucille’s trembling form.
I quickly shifted, ignoring my nakedness, and swung Lucille’s arm over my shoulder.
“Jaxon, stay out here for a moment. We don’t want to set her off any further,” I said softly, glancing over at my father, who nodded in understanding.
I escorted Lucille back to the care center, her body shaking with sobs as we led her to her room. Once she was settled, I grabbed a robe, stepped outside, and pulled out my phone, dialing Lola’s number. It felt like I waited for an eternity for her to pick up.
“Hey, Tori,” Lola said. I was sure I heard Zander’s voice in the background. Despite the reason for my call, I couldn’t help but feel happy my friend had found her own sliver of romance in the darkness. “What’s up?”
“I’m sorry for interrupting, Lola. We need your help. Lucille is in a terrible state, and we don’t know how to calm her down.”
“Don’t be silly, you’re not interrupting anything. I’ll be right there.”
“Thank you,” I said.
I hurried out to Ridge’s truck and grabbed the go bag I had in the backseat. Ridge had a stash of clothes in here; Jaxon could borrow a pair of Ridge’s sweats. I needed to get dressed myself.
As I pulled on my clothes, my mind raced. What was the connection between Lucille and Jaxon? Whatever secrets lay buried needed to be unearthed if we were to save her from herself.
The doors whooshed open as Lola arrived and strode toward us in her typical brisk manner, her long sleeves billowing around her as if she were conjuring a breeze from thin air.
“Ridge, Tori,” she greeted us, not wasting any time. “Eleanor, Julia, and I have been working on a spell that crosses with my psychiatry training. I’m hoping it might help Lucille. It should essentially put her inner wolf to sleep for a while. That will break the chain that feeds into the feral part of her consciousness. She’ll be more lucid.”
“Really?” I asked, hope welling up inside me. “That sounds perfect. Can you do it now?”
“Of course,” Lola said.
As we entered Lucille’s room, I winced at the sight of her, curled up in a ball on her bed, shaking with sobs, her eyes wide with fear.
“Lucille, this is my friend Lola. Do you remember her? She’s here to help,” I spoke softly. “She’s a witch. She’s been working on a spell to help and has come up with something that might calm your wolf so you can think clearly again.”
“Please...anything,” Lucille rasped. “I can’t...I can’t take much more of this.”
Working swiftly, Lola started to set things up. She took out four candles from the large bag she was carrying and placed them around Lucille’s bed. She put a silver bowl on the small nightstand, then removed several small glass vials from her bag. With utter focus, she opened each vial, carefully plucking a leaf from one, a petal from another, then retrieved a small stone and placed them carefully in the bowl. Although I was tempted to ask about the purpose of each item, I didn’t want to disturb her.
Once again, Lola dug around in her bag, this time pulling out a lighter. I felt Ridge watching me, and when our eyes met, I raised an eyebrow and silently asked,“What is it?”
“You looked so disappointed, little wolf. Were you expecting her to snap her fingers to light the candles?”
“No.”Then I remembered that he’d feel the lie through our bond.“Well, maybe. Kinda.”
I noticed the twinkle in his eyes as he tried to stifle his impending grin. His expression quickly turned to concern when Lucille moaned.
I turned my attention back to Lola and realized she’d already lit two of the four candles. The aroma of lavender and sage wafted from each flame. The refreshing scents of peppermint and orange joined as she lit the other two. Although it seemed like an unlikely combination, the four scents blended together harmoniously, creating a soothing backdrop.
She stood over the bowl and began to mutter to herself, then stopped. Taking her phone out of her pocket, she skimmed over whatever was typed there. Nodding to herself, she placed her phone back.
Using the lighter, she lit the contents in the bowl, then carefully spoke the words of her spell as she held her hands over the smoldering dish. Suddenly, the smoldering stopped, and her hands began to glow.
Lola stood by Lucille’s bed, whispering the incantation under her breath. “Soothe thee, soothe thee, with my light. Ease thy worries, clear thy sight. Sleep thy wolf, and set you free. Hear me now, so mote it be.”
In a precise and rhythmic manner, she swept her hands over Lucille’s body, pausing over her chest as if to sense the steady thump of her heartbeat. Returning once again to Lucille’s head, Lola murmured the incantation once more.
The soft amber light emanating from Lola’s hands bathed the room in a warm light. The air seemed to hold its breath, as if in reverence to the healing ritual taking place, and the faint scent of the candles soothed my senses. With each pass of her handsand every recitation, a gentle breeze swept through the room, carrying away fragments of the tension that plagued Lucille. Her eyelids shut, though her eyes continued to wander frantically.
There was a noticeable change in the atmosphere as the spell began to take effect. Lucille’s breathing grew steadier, matching the rhythm of the spell, as her body surrendered to the healing energy. A hushed silence came over us all, broken only by Lola’s whispered words.
