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Dastien yipped, and I poured out the vial, quickly muttering the words to invoke it.
He snarled as the potion hit his skin. The vial slipped to the ground and I grabbed him, holding him still. “Give it a second. The burning should stop.” I muttered my prayer activating the potion, hoping I wasn’t lying.
There was a flash of white light, and then Dastien quit struggling.
Donovan squatted down next to us, back to human and sporting a pair of generic, black sweatpants. “Shift back.”
Dastien shifted, and suddenly I was staring at his naked back. A small burn—a little bigger than the size of a quarter—marred his otherwise smooth skin. It was raw and read, weeping a little bit of blood. “It isn’t healing?”
“No.” Donovan shook his head. “That’s a supernatural hurt. Those heal slowly.” He leaned in and sniffed Dastien’s burn. “But it smells fine now. No infection.”
I let out a breath of relief, but wondered—if I’d acted faster—if I’d known what was going on with Raphael, could I have stopped it before the demon took hold?
Donovan patted Dastien’s shoulder. “You should be okay. You’ve got quite the mate.”
Dastien laughed. “I agree.”
He looked back at me, and I couldn’t help running my fingers through his hair. “You’re okay.”
He nodded.
I took him in, and my eyes widened. “You need some clothes. Like now.”
“I guess I do. Be right back.” Dastien headed for the SUV, and I tried not to steal a peek. Much. The rest of the wolves followed. I saw Mr. Dawson’s brown wolf dart past, and knew the coast was clear of naked bits I didn’t want to see.
I stared at Luciana’s house. We had a small victory—one not without cost—but Luciana was out there. Somewhere. “I’m going to have to go in there, aren’t I?”
“Probably. I’d help but I have to deal with our cop friend.” Cosette tilted her head toward the car. “He looks like he’s about to pee himself. If he hasn’t already.”
I grunted my agreement, but stayed there, staring up at Luciana’s place. It was white, with forest green shutters, and a matching door. The white porch seemed almost homey. It might be, if not for the blood dripping down the steps. Not to mention Luciana’s craft room…
Shuddering, I turned away.
How Daniel had lived there, I had no idea.
Thinking of him brought up a host of emotions I couldn’t deal with yet. I shoved them down, but I couldn’t ignore the question that keep coming back to me. “How could Luciana do this to her people? To her son?” I asked Dad.
He sat by me. “I don’t know.” He put his arm around me, and I leaned into him. “I’d do anything to make sure you were okay.”
I motioned to the red plastic containers. “Clearly.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “You’re mine. No matter what’s happened. I’ll do everything I can to protect you.”
I closed my eyes and breathed in his scent. He smelled like home. I could even smell Mom’s lavender lotion. “I know. Love you, Dad.”
“Love you, too, kiddo.”
I patted Dad’s leg and then stood, brushing myself off. There was no time to waste. Not when Luciana was out there, doing God only knew what. If I wanted to live through the next fight, I needed to be ready and the potions I had weren’t going to cut it. If there were any books on demons hiding in the compound, they’d be inside.
As I started toward the house, my hands shook.
You can do this, Tessa. I told myself. You can do this. You’re strong. You got out of there once. She’s not even here. Keep your head on straight, and it’ll be fine.
I snorted. No way was everything going to be fine, but I made myself move forward anyway.
At this point, I was the only one who could sort through whatever was left of Luciana’s magic. It wasn’t going to be fun and it wasn’t going to be pretty, but I didn’t have a choice in the matter. At every turn, Luciana did something more and more horrific. Someone had to stop her.
Maybe I wasn’t the best person for the job, but I had to try.
