Chapter 29
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
“I’m sorry,” Devon says, blinking his eyes open. “I’ve got nothing.”
“It’s okay,” I tell him, picking up a clear quartz crystal. “Maybe if we try two crystals instead of one, something will come back to you.”
Devon looks at me dubiously. “We’ve been doing this for three days and I can’t remember anything else other than what I told you.”
“There are other forms of hypnosis.” I trade the crystal for my phone, prepared to search for any other methods we haven’t tried.
Xavier puts his hand on my arm. “I think you’ve exhausted all efforts, my darling. And exhausted Devon.”
“Fine,” I groan and put my phone back on the coffee table.
We’re in the living room, and I had Devon lie down on the couch with his eyes closed and I tried to do a guided meditation to remember what was said about breaking a seal.
“Breaking a seal doesn’t sound good. Seals are put in place to keep something shut. Like literally sealed shut.”
“Sorry I can’t remember,” Devon says, but there’s a question in his voice because he didn’t really think he needs to be sorry. And he doesn’t. It’s not his fault the last few hours of human memory were lost.
“It’s okay. It would have been way too easy if you just suddenly remembered everything.” I gather up my crystals, putting them back in a little velvet bag. My phone dings with a text.
“Delphi,” Xavier notes, handing me my phone.
I open the phone and read the text. “She wants to know if I’m free to get lunch.”
“You should go,” Xavier says right away and I cock an eyebrow.
“Eager to get rid of me?”
“Of course not.” He put his hand on my thigh, fingers inching dangerously close to the hem of the blue and white sundress I’m wearing.
Devon makes a point to turn his head, suddenly interested in the images on the TV screen simulating an open window.
“You should hang out with her and use your powers to get a feel for her and ask if the wolves’ loyalty remains with the coalition. ”
“I’ve never sensed anything bad about her before.” I shrug. “I kinda like her, actually.”
“Then you wouldn’t mind poking, just a bit.” Xavier playfully nudges me.
“Oh, not at all. I haven’t seen her since we tried to buy drugs together, so I’m sure she’ll have a lot to say on this.”
“You love saying that, don’t you?” Xavier chuckles.
“Come on, you would too. Despite being arrested a handful of times, I’m a law-abiding citizen. Well, when I’m not breaking and entering, digging up corpses, and setting things on fire.”
“You’re so innocent,” Xavier jokes and I catch Devon scoffing out of the corner of my eye.
It really sucks to see someone you have feelings for have feelings for someone else.
It’s probably ten times worse when that person is your hundred-times-removed brother who is almost now your maker and can command you and force you to listen.
“I’ll text her back,” I say and quickly fire off a text. She replies back right away, and we plan to meet downtown at one PM. I need to leave in about forty minutes, which is more than enough time to go upstairs and have mind-blowing sex with Xavier.
So we do.
Our relationship is starting to feel so deep and so natural. And that scared the absolute crap out of me.
“Hey!” Delphi waves when I step into the restaurant. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too. Love that dress. We kinda match.”
“We do! Blue looks good on you.”
The waitress brings two wine glasses and a bottle of rosé.
“You can order something else if you’re not a wine drinker,” Delphi says once the glasses are filled. “I’ll have yours. It’s been a day.”
“Everything okay?”
She rolls her eyes. “Just stupid drama with my ex.”
“You mentioned an ex-husband. Why is he still bothering you? You guys don’t have kids or anything, right?”
“Nope. We had a couple cats, but he was so mean to them. Like would throw them down if they jumped on the counter.”
“What a psycho.”
“I know. So glad I got out before we had kids and I got tethered to him even longer.”
I take a sip of the rosé and make a face. It is not my thing. I’ll order just an iced tea when the waitress comes back to take our order. “What is he bothering you about?”
“He threatened to take me back to court, saying he deserves half the profit from my practice. I was just getting it up and running when we got married, and things took off the year I filed. He said without him, it would be nothing.”
“Is he a doctor too?”
“No. He teaches gym at a high school a town over.”
“Ugh, the guy sounds like a leech. Is he a wolf too?”
“Half-wolf. Being able to shift was a fifty-fifty gamble. I think that’s what angered him and he took it out on me. I allowed him to for years. As long as I was in my place, things were…not good, but not as bad as they got after I filed for divorce.”
“I’m really sorry. I’ve dated my share of asshole men, but at least when we’re done, we’re done. Please tell me a judge isn’t going to take him seriously.”
“I don’t think so. It did take nearly two years to get our divorce finalized because he kept bringing in witnesses to say how much the practice was worth and he wanted to either keep his hand in the pot or have me buy him out.”
“What happened?”
She takes another drink and lets out a snort of laughter. “Idiot got nothing. He’s not a doctor.”
“Why is he trying to take more money from you again then?”
“Because he knows he’ll never make more on his own. And instead of actually doing anything to get the life I provided, he just wants to take it.” She waves her hand in the air. “I didn’t mean to trauma dump.”
“Hey, it’s fine,” I say, realizing that I have no one in the “real world” to talk to about anything that’s going on in my life. “My ex basically tried to get back together the last time I saw him. Which was like a few days ago.”
“But you’re married,” she says, almost spitting out her drink. “To Xavier fucking Malus.”
“I know. So does he.”
“What did he say?”
“He, uh, apologized for all the shit he did. It was everything I ever wanted to hear…just way too late.”
“They always wait until you’re with someone else before they decide to change. Though I’m still single, my ex had a girlfriend before I even filed for divorce and she’s just as obsessed with me as he is.”
“Wait, what?”
“She’s a nail tech—and is really good at it too—but is now posting about going to med school.
She changed her profile picture to herself in a white coat wearing a stethoscope standing in front of a hospital.
” Delphi pulls up her own Instagram. Her profile photo is a picture of her in her white coat with a stethoscope around her neck—standing in front of her office.
“No! That is borderline creepy.”
“Oh, it doesn’t stop there. She’s constantly posting stuff very obviously geared toward me.
I’ll never understand why she thinks I’m jealous to see them together.
I do not get jealous if I see someone wearing a sweater I donated to Goodwill.
I’m happy it’s getting a second life and staying out of a landfill. ”
“She sounds insecure. Why would anyone want to be with a man who makes them feel like they have to prove themselves against his ex? Your soulmate would literally soothe your soul to the point you forget they even dated others in the past.”
“Thank you!” She holds up her hands. The energy coming off her is genuine, and I think she’s just as happy to have a friend as I am. Not because she doesn’t have other friends, but because they are human and cannot know her real identity. “That’s what I’ve been saying!”
“The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference.”
“Right? Seriously, she’s interesting from a medical or psychological standpoint. Because the mental gymnastics that woman has to go through to convince herself to stay with a man who is so clearly not over his ex would get her a gold medal.”
“I want to see these posts,” I say and Delphi pulls the Instagram profile. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction because she wasn’t joking when she said this woman is intimidated by her.
“She just seems so angry,” I say, watching a video of her flipping off the camera. “I kinda feel sorry for her.”
“I do too. They’re using the timeshare I bought, but ultimately didn’t want in the divorce settlement, to go on their honeymoon.
And he couldn’t even buy her a ring until he got settlement money from me.
The guy is a huge loser and she thinks she got the prize.
” She raises her eyebrows. “She’s not a werewolf either. ”
“Oh shit. I hope they don’t have kids.”
“Nah, she’s too old.”
The waitress comes back to take our orders, and now it’s my turn to talk about my loser ex. I give a cliff notes version of what happened with Ryder. It’s bonding, sitting here talking about the people we trusted most in our lives who ended up hurting us more than anyone ever could.
“We should do this more often,” she says when we’re wrapping up.
“We should,” I agree. “Things are a little crazy right now after what happened the other night.”
Her face grows somber. “People are the worst.”
“They are.” I stir my iced tea with my straw, not talking as I get a good feel for her. She’s scared about what happened, and curious if we know who leaked the location. “The VC is really good about making bad things work for them, at least.”
“Hah, for real. Xavier was made out to be a hero.”
“He was, like seriously. He risked himself to diffuse that Sunburst. He could have gotten really hurt or…or…worse.”
“Awww, I see that look in your eyes. You guys are really cute together. And please tell me it was the Eras Tour.”
I laugh, almost forgetting that I told her we met at a Taylor Swift concert. “If that’s what you want to believe, sure. We even wore matching sparkly outfits.”
“That makes it so much more believable,” she tells me, raising her eyebrows.
“Totally.”
We pay for our food and then leave, pausing once we’re outside. The sun feels glorious today, though standing here under it makes me realize how powerful and dangerous it really is.
And how we cannot survive without it.
“I’m going to do a bit of shopping,” Delphi says. “You’re welcome to join.”
“I should probably head home. A homeless man was found dead last night and I’m waiting for the coroner’s report. Hopefully it’ll be in my inbox when I get home.”
“You’re a little odd. I like that.”
“Uh, thanks?”
She laughs. “You’re welcome. We’re glad you’re here, Wren. And by that, I mean the pack. Xavier and Theo…they’re scary.”
“They are,” I agree. “Oh, this is kinda random, but my, uh, sister-in-law gets invited to all sorts of cool places.”
“Mabel,” Delphi says. “I follow her on TikTok.”
“Perfect, then you know. She’s been wanting me to go to some restaurant with her so I can eat the food and give a review. I would prefer not to eat alone, so you should tag along. I think the place opens soon and we’ll get VIP treatment.”
“Really? That would be fun!”
“I’ll text you,” I say and then she hugs me goodbye. I get into the car feeling good. Never did I ever think it would take getting kidnapped and forced into a marriage of convenience for me to finally make friends, but hey, that’s some silver lining, right?
I fill Xavier in as soon as I’m home, and there’s not much to tell. Delphi and I talked about our exes more than we talked about anything political. I did not pick up on anything that would make me think we shouldn’t trust her or the pack.
I go upstairs to change into workout clothes, and Xavier very graciously offers to help me get out of my dress. Before it can even hit the floor. My phone dings with a text and I glance down, seeing an unknown number.
“Hang on,” I tell him and sit down on the bed, opening my phone. “This is one of my brothers.”
Unknown: I got your number from Sam. Is the TV still for sale? I can pick it up today.
It’s Antonio again, using the same code to let me know he needs to talk. Now.
Me: Yeah, I’ll hold it for you.
Antonio: I’ll come by after work.
That’s code for: I have something to tell but I can’t talk without being overheard, but texting is okay.
Me: Perfect!
Antonio: I got something…Camp Dogwood.
Me: And?
Antonio: There aren’t any kids there yet, only counselors for training.
No one had heard from them in a while and when family went to check on them, the camp was empty.
Local law enforcement must have known someone who knew someone…
you know how it goes. They reached out to the Order for help and the Order brushed it off, saying it wasn’t “our kind” of issue.
Antonio: It is
Me: You’re sure?
Antonio: I sent a picture…still trying to send.
I put the phone down, looking at Xavier, who’s been reading the texts this whole time. A few seconds later a photo comes through.
“Wow,” I say out loud. The photo was taken inside the camp’s mess hall and shows a circle made from dead birds. Inside the circle is a demon sigil that appears to be drawn in blood. “This is one-hundred percent our thing.”