I took off for the gatehouse the second Reece had lugged Clayton through the front doors, ignoring his call to come back, my heart pounding in my ears. I knew it was probably to do with Reece's anger last night. Knew Nick was reacting because of his grief, not because he actually had a good plan.
The room looked like a small whirlwind had hit it. Clayton had not been drugged quietly. It looked like he and Nick had gone for it for a while, or something, the couch knocked over, a lamp shattered, a picture frame knocked down, books all over the place from the shelf nearby, the rug crinkled and half pushed up against the wall where it must have slid under someone. In the tiny kitchen there was juice and ...sleeping pills. A box of them, the box scrunched up and maimed by someone's fist, probably Clayton figuring out why he was starting to feel strange. I could almost see it, Clayton starting to feel strange, checking the kitchen, finding this hidden carelessly somewhere obvious, and going straight at Nick. No mercy.
At some point Nick must have gotten out and Clayton came for us instead. Or maybe he expected me to pick up where he'd left off. I had no issues with this and followed Nick through the bedroom, hopping out a window he must have used, looking around.
It wasn't hard to see where he'd gone. The rain and the soft ground had made for an easy trail of deep footprints. The trail led past the gates, along some distance, till it went into a small patch of forest between the big properties. There'd been a car here and he'd pulled away in a hurry, skidding a bit on the wet road, and had vanished.
He must have planned this, I realised with a shock, planned this to the extent of concealing a car out here. Nick? Planning to run away and hunt down something? I knew he liked to get involved when we did stuff like this but he was usually the one who happily followed orders. He wasn't usually the one who tried to take the lead. In fact, I had the feeling Nick actually hated taking the lead outside the bedroom, he wasn't a natural fighter. It was just showing how messed up he was feeling right now- he wasn't thinking clearly.
"He is gone then?" Vi asked, beside me, making me jump.
"Looks that way." I blinked. Why hadn't I heard her? I breathed in, slowly, deep, and shut my eyes as I realised something huge was missing again. When? I had no clue. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't noticed their scents earlier either. The treatment thing had already worn off. Hearing, smell, strength. All of it was gone.
"Elena says you must come back now." She pulled at me and I followed. I didn't argue or resist- if I did, Vi would notice the weakness. I had to hide it. I had to be apart of this.
We went back in through the front gates and up the long driveway, quiet, my eyes fixing on the cars and wondering if one of them was automatic. I didn't really know how to drive yet, even now, but I knew enough to work an automatic.
Antonio was standing there, following my eyes to a car, but he didn't say a word. Just took my hand and led me inside, leading, Vi jogging in.
Once we were in the dining room, I flopped down, trying to think. So he was in a car now? Now where would he go?
"What the hell is he thinking?" Antonio swore.
Vi got onto the phone to Daniella letting her know, Elena trying to get in touch with Nick. Clayton was slumped against the table.
"It was a sleeping pill." I told Jeremy as he inspected Clayton. "Found a box of them."
"His metabolism should work through it in a few hours then." He stood back, eyes going back as Jamie came in.
Jamie? I saw it, Vi, Pav and myself fix eyes on her like predators. I guess that was what we were, technically, but to see Pav- the gentle one of us all- fix that gaze on anyone right now almost made me snort. Jeremy's eyes followed Vi to Jamie.
"How about you get the triplets down here for dinner?" He suggested, voice soft, but I knew he'd caught onto their expressions. "While we figure out what to do."
Jamie nodded, backing off again.
"This might be my fault." Reece muttered, sheepish, his eyes meeting mine as he glanced around. "I told him it was his fault. The twins."
No one spoke for a while. Vi said something to Pav, about getting their bags unpacked while she tried to get through to Daniella, and the two of them vanished upstairs when Antonio nodded a fraction.
"He'd probably have decided that on his own." I said finally, quietly. I wasn't sure if that was true or not but Reece relaxed somewhat as he shot me a grateful look. "But we know where he's going, sort of. He's going for the twins. We've just got to stop him. Are the airports closed?"
"Almost closed." Antonio was opening his laptop as he spoke. "There's an allowance for travel still, with a doctor's permission, but not many people are bothering except to get home. Some states are cut off completely. Some aren't."
Where the hell would he start though? Rose? I hadn't told him Karl and Hope had been investigating her, not exactly, but he would have just had to ask anyone to find that out.
"Antonio, go with Reece to the airport. Try and sniff him out there." Elena's eyes met mine as she saw me inching backwards. "Not you."
"Why the hell not?" I snapped.
"Because you're more likely to join him than stop him." She replied, crossing her arms. "Stay put."
So what if I was? I wanted to ask this but I didn't, aware how childish that'd sound, so I nodded. Wondered about whether I could drive one of those cars once everyone wasn't looking. Reece hugged me, muttering something about getting Nick back, and I hugged him back. But my mind was in other places. Already chasing Nick, already two steps ahead of him, wishing I'd thought of what he was doing right now. I was worried about him, more than I usually was, but at the same time... he was doing exactly what I should have done. What I would have probably done if Lillian hadn't died.
"We will take the babies upstairs and play." Vi's voice came back now, as she came back down, her eyes going straight for mine. She had some plan, I saw, some purpose in this. It wasn't just because they were melting her heart. When I hesitated, she grasped my hand, adding, "And make sure Anne remains with us. Okay?"
Elena nodded, still on the phone, Jeremy's eyes fixed on us. I let Vi drag me out of the room and guided her though the big house to where the triplets got their playroom, pretending as if I could hear them, hoping that I was right and they'd be there. If not then I'd have to explain why I was pretending to hear with a wolf's ears when I couldn't do that anymore... and right now, right at this moment, I couldn't admit I was back to being weak.
After a minute I didn't need to pretend. Vi heard them and no longer needed guidance, heading straight for the playroom, Pav already in there. Jamie glanced up as Vi pulled me through the door, Pav shutting it behind us, raising an eyebrow as she stood up. She wasn't an idiot. She might not have known exactly what we wanted but anyone who was paying attention would have seen the look Vi gave her.
"What is this creature that Anne and Reece have seen?" She met Pav's eyes, Pav went to lock the door, Jamie staring at both.
"I wasn't allowed to know." Jamie replied, soft, glancing back at the triplets who were crowded around a little table covered in crayons. I wondered if she was saying this because they were there and nudged Vi gently.
"We should get the triplets out of here."
"Ask your ghosts." Vi ignored me. She had a purpose now. "Find out."
"It doesn't work like that." Jamie crossed her arms, fixing Vi with the kind of look you'd expect from a aunt, or a teacher, or someone who was very convinced they were older and wiser. It kind of looked like that too- Vi might have been in her mid twenties by now but she looked seventeen. A haughty stubborn seventeen year old. The crazy mass of red curls around her face and the freckles didn't help. The look didn't work on her though- Vi glared right back.
"Then make it work." No explanation, no pleading, just an order. "Get this Lillian. Talk to someone dead. Someone who can explain."
A threat too, I realised, and stepped forward to grasp Vi's arm gently. She ignored me as I tried, "Calm down."
"Fine. I'll try but I haven't been able to do much Can I go to do it?" She was looking past Vi to the door. "I don't do this in front of people."
"Take the toddlers, Anne." Vi turned to me and I blinked. She moved closer, voice soft. "We are not pack. Jeremy will be more angry with you if you stay."
"You're not going to threaten her, are you?" I blinked at her, Jamie's head twisting up, a little startled. "She's not..."
"Vi..." Pav stepped forward now, a little taken back herself, reaching out to grasp her wife's arm gently on the other side. "Calm down. Anne is right. Everyone here cares or they wouldn't be here."
"She is not talking, Anne has not been helped, and I do not know her. I do not trust anyone that I do not know yet. I will handle it. Take them, both of you." She opened the door, shooing Lily, Susie and Dominic out. Straight into Jeremy.
Jeremy raised an eyebrow as Vi fixed him with a challenging stare, going past her to Jamie. "Friendly chat?" I wondered how much he'd actually heard. When he fixed me with that same calm look, my cheeks flushed, feeling guilty. Maybe he'd followed us up. It wouldn't have surprised me. His eyes went to Pav who got the same expression I did. "Pav, take the three down for dinner. Then we'll all talk. Together." He glanced back to Vi, the only one who didn't look guilty, daring her to argue. "And we'll wait till you return."
When she didn't, Pav did as she was told, heading away with the toddlers. Jamie hadn't broken a sweat, which was saying something for a woman being threatened by a werewolf, she just shrugged as his eyes went up and down her. Looked pretty relaxed, actually, as if she'd felt not at all concerned that an angry Russian werewolf was about to 'talk' with her.
Pav returned in a hurry and Jeremy shut the door quietly.
"Elena sends her apologies- she's on the phone to Cortez. Working. I'll tell you what we've found out in a moment." He sat down on one of the beds in the room and waited for the rest of us to sit. Only Vi and Jamie remained standing, both of them finding a wall to lean against, Vi's arms crossed, her hostile energy not giving way. Jeremy's gaze went from her to Jamie and then back to Vi. "Is there a reason you're threatening my girlfriend?"
Jamie's lips twitched but she didn't say a word, just crossed her own arms, her eyes moving to an empty part of the room. I had to guess this meant that we weren't alone now.
"She is not explaining this creature Anne saw."
"This doesn't explain why you're taking it personally." Jeremy said, soft, but his eyes were fixed on Vi with a strange intensity. "You two are always welcome, always, but why are you really here?" His eyes met Pav's eyes as he added, "Elena doesn't believe this is about the job."
"It's about Anne." Pav said from where she sat. She smiled a small smile when Antonio's dark eyes met hers, his face softening, the trust between them apparently still there. "Vi, can I explain?"
Vi nodded, jaw clenched, moving to stand beside me.
"We're the only survivors-"
"-Out of one hundred and sixty eight women-" Vi added, voice hardening at the number, ignoring Jeremy's expression. "I counted."
"-and when we heard she'd had her babies taken again, after everything you told me what had been going on, Vi spoke with Roman. He agreed that we should come and help her."
Jeremy tensed, sitting up straighter. "This is an insult to Elena, you know, the Russian Alpha sending you."
"This has nothing to do with Elena." Vi snapped. "He did not send us. We sent ourselves. We survive and we take care of each other. Now it seems Lillian died in the same way this De... De..."
"Demetruis." I said, quietly, flinching at Lillian's name. She'd only been buried today.
"Demetruis died. No one speaks of this creature. No one has spoken of the heart attack until now, have they? No one is out looking for the twins." Vi continued, ignoring Antonio's expression of grief, her mind fixated on the problem instead of on him.
"Yes, they are. Karl and Hope are-"
"Breaking into a house. I hear this and I know what hunting is. This is not hunting." Vi snapped at Jeremy. She may have liked him another time but right now? "Anne is forbidden from looking for the babies or for Nick. I am sorry that there was a funeral today. It is tragic but it will be more so if those babies are never seen, yes? The man is dead. Why are you not spread out, looking?"
"We don't know where to look." I muttered. The idea that I'd never see my babies...
"We are looking." Jeremy replied. "Cortez has contacted Rose, their grandmother, and she has dedicated her family in the search as well. He has the original people who tried to take the twins and is already looking, on behalf of Anne, into who they were going to sell them to."
I shut my eyes, feeling that hopelessness return, that 'I didn't know what to do' sense that drove me nuts. You couldn't track a car. The smells in Stonehaven hadn't been of mutts. I didn't know where to look anymore. I loathed magic, I really did, but … "Isn't there a spell someone can use?"
"Paige and Savannah are trying. The twins are apart of our pack and we're not giving up. We've just got to think." I felt Jeremy's hand on my knee, squeezing, and for the first time it didn't comfort me. It didn't bring back hope. The longer I sat here, the longer I did as I was told – 'stay put, don't look, don't leave'- the more I felt like I was letting them down.
Vi growled, her heart racing, her eyes ignoring Jamie now. I felt the floor tremble somewhat as she started to pace. "These are under our protection also. You search how you must and we search how we must."
Vistopped pacing and I opened my eyes to see her stop somewhere near Jamie's back, her arms uncrossing, her eyes meeting Pav's eyes for a moment. "Jeremy, I am sorry. Anne has no idea."
"For what? Abou..." Jeremy flinched suddenly, Pav's hand dropping as he glanced back. "What -" He didn't even get the words out. Whatever she'd injected him with worked so fast that he was already slumping down, sliding off the bed legs first, flopping onto the ground, his eyes rolling back. Pav shifted back, dropping a syringe, and her eyes went to Jamie.
Jamie stood up straight, sudden, more than ready to fight. She glared at Pav, her face white with rage as her gaze went over Jeremy's still body, eyes narrowing. "Don't you dare. Just because I'm-" I saw it a second before Jamie felt it. Vi had one in her hand, her arm holding Jamie still against her, Pav jumping forward to hold Jamie still as Vi forced it into her.
Jamie slumped down within seconds, Pav carefully lowering her onto the floor beside Jeremy.
"What the hell are you two doing?"
"Curing them." Vi replied. "Sedating. Both."
"What? We don't have it yet!" They'd gone mad, I realised, or they weren't who they said they were. Sometimes I wasn't sure anymore.
"No, you didn't. We have been here for six months." Vi scowled as she heard feet coming up the stairs, jumping across to the door, locking it fast. "We have stolen it. Clayton will wake soon, cured, no longer needing injections. Nick is cured. Daniella has taken him somewhere safe. Your triplets will be fine."
I stared at her. Completely stunned. Pav was tying up Jeremy and Jamie, not so much to restrain them as to keep them on the beds, Jeremy's body already starting to convulse. She didn't look the least bit startled- it was like she knew exactly what was going to happen.
"Nick? Clayton? Cure...?" I heard something running up the stairs. Matt rushing past, Kate and Logan not far behind.
Vi narrowed her eyes at me, holding a finger to her mouth, warning me to stay quiet. "You are all too distracted. So we come to repay Jeremy for rescuing us. We have no connection to this Lillian, we do not need to worry about the triplets. Pav, do it, I hear Elena coming."
I felt Pav grasp me hard, harder than she ever had, forcing something into my arm, something that stung as it went in. It felt like heat was rushing through my body, burning the veins, as if I'd been bitten... and then the world went black.
Not for long though. Dreams came. Dreams I hadn't had since I had been bitten the first time. Blood lust, and rage, and the hunt. Maybe they were more intense than before, maybe, because now I couldn't hide from the fear for my twins, couldn't hide from the pain of their loss, or the fear that this was it. That this time I'd never see them again. Rage flooded me, deep primal rage, rage at the world and at myself for not reacting the way a wolf should. Rage for Lillian's death. That I'd failed them. I wanted blood. I tasted blood, sometimes mine, sometimes not, felt my body rage and shake, though after a while it felt like it wasn't my body anymore. Like I'd separated from it- I was just observing it, feeling it from a distance, like it was a puppet and I was just connected to the jerking. Like the dreams were happening to it- I was just on the outside of the bubble.
Then suddenly something pulled me back, back into the pain, into the agony, into the grief for Lillian, for the twins, the desire for blood, to take revenge the way a wolf should when someone threatened her pups. A soft voice, gentle, hands stroking aching limbs and muscles I'd forgotten I had, voices starting to bleed into the dreams.
"Not long. She's waking." Pav's voice echoed around my head, as the dreams faded, echoed over and over as if it was bouncing around the skull, breaking apart the nightmares of blood and hunt and rage, those hands belonging to her. I smelt it. Smelt her, right there, this smell that had only and could only belong to her. When she spoke again, it felt like it'd been hours since the last sounds, and these seemed clearer. Closer. "How long have we got?"
"A hour."
It was a huge effort to open my eyes and when I did, I breathed in slowly, deeply, breathing in the mingled scents of Pav and Vi nearby. There was no mistaking them now. Pav was anxious, stressed, Vi was focused on her with that intense affection she had for her.
"Ah, there you are." She smiled her tense smile as Vi's eyes found mine. "You are cured. Congratulations."
"...ho..." I coughed, the words scratching my throat, feeling the rough plastic of a waterbottle pressed against my lips. Pav gently tipped it, careful, my head against her lap in the back seat of a car. "How?"
"We have been here six months. When we found out you went missing and your children were at thrreat and how they came to ...be... we came. Searched for you. Found warehouses. Did not find you." She scowled as she slid into the back seat, pulling my legs over her waist. "Stay lying down. You will need a few minutes more for your fever to go."
"You came?"
"You ran away. Of course we did." Pav smiled softly down at me, tipping the water onto a cloth and ran it across my skin, the cool water feeling incredible. I realised my skin was still hot when the cold water met it, flinching, but she ignored that. "Daniella got in contact with us and let us know what was happening. The four of us have to protect each other."
"But... cure?" I tried to sit up, Pav shoving me back down, shaking her head. "It has addictive... stuff. I can't..."
"The treatment does. We finally found where it was made and when we got everything we needed, we set it on fire, the warehouse, destroying all their files, stole all their computers and shipped them to Russia. A werewolf in our pack hacked the computers and started to trace what we'd taken." Pav explained. When she offered me more water I didn't refuse, just gulped it down, my skin starting to cool. "It took a while."
"When we got it Pav's father did it in secret. We do not trust the Cabal. We set the warehouses on fire. We have left this with Elena. She will wake soon and will find a letter and all she needs. From there she decides who to share this with. Not this Sorcerer group. We owe your pack, not them." Vi's hands rubbed my legs as she waited. "I will start for the airport now. Daniella and Nick waits."
I sat up then, too sudden for Pav to stop me, my head spinning at the unwanted motion. "Nick?"
"Cured Clayton and met Daniella in a car outside. He is cured now." Vi grinned. It was the first grin I'd seen on her face for a long time. "I was very angry with him when you vanished. He found us though. Very clever, your mate, heard we'd been seen and hunted us down without telling you. Now I forgive him."
"How do you feel?" Pav asked, reaching across with the wet cloth.
"Hot. Numb." Shocked, was a better term, I wasn't sure how to take this. "Nick didn't tell me."
"I told him what I would do if he did. We had to be sure it worked. He has been cured for a week now. He made us test on him first."
A week? He'd been normal all this time? I shut my eyes, trying to think, realising ...he wouldn't have noticed me through the glass, if he hadn't the 'normal' werewolf hearing, and catching me like that? Falling on the glass? It would have been nearly impossible for a human to do that. I hadn't even thought about it.
"So where is he?"
"Waiting at the airport. We have an address. All profit from the treatments are going to this account, at this address, and we're going to find the person. It wasn't Demetruis. He might have gotten a cut but he didn't get paid directly." Pav added, "This account also paid the bounty for the twins. The exact amount for the twins left the account a day after they were taken from you. So we're going straight there."
"Just us? What about magic?" I saw Vi scowl at that.
"We have thought of this. I do not like it." She muttered as she made her way into the busy airport. "Savannah and Adam have agreed to remain quiet and let Elena decide what to do after. They wait for us in Miami."
People who weren't sorcerers, in other words, and probably only trusted because Savannah came with us to hunt down Aaron a few years back. Werewolves were usually mistrusting of anything that wasn't pack. Our pack was a little different and getting more different all the time. But Adam? "Why Adam too?"
"She only would keep it quiet if we agreed to let Adam in on it." Pav explained. "Drink that water. There's aspirin in it- it'll help you cool down faster. With the panic around you'll need to look healthy. Vi, slow down a moment, I'll get her makeup on."
Makeup? It was my turn to scowl now. Pav nodded at the reflection as she added, "You look sick. Your country is afraid. Trust me. Once it's on, we'll be going in and finding Nick."
That got me. I sighed, relaxed, and she smiled as she got to work with the stuff. I just did what she asked. As she worked, Vi pulled into one of the spots for hired cars, and waited till we were done. When we were we put on the masks over our faces and headed out with Pav holding onto a third bag I had to assume was for me.
I felt a bit weak, limbs aching, but managed to follow behind the other two. I'd never seen JFK airport so quiet in my few years here. There were barely any cars, most of the hire cars still there, with only a handful of people walking around. People in masks. Security looked nervous. I saw people literally pulled aside who looked sick, pulled into rooms as they tried to leave, saw it happen three times just as we were approaching the doors.
A factor we hadn't taken into account came charging right at me. Reece grabbed me, turning me around, his eyes going up and down my face. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" Vi snapped, trying to pry his hands off me. "Let go of her. You draw attention."
We did, I realised, and Reece turned his 'grab' into a full on embrace, complete with kissing, which seemed to get the security guards to look another way.
Antonio jogged up behind us, Vi muttering something under her breath, his eyes going from me to them, raising an eyebrow. "You two know anything about why I can't get Jeremy on the phone?"
"He is busy." Vi replied. She grabbed my hand and pulled me, frustration written all over her face, her eyes going for the flight to Miami. We were running out of time and this was a problem she did not want to handle. "Come. Quickly."
"Not without us." Reece snapped. He grabbed my hand, tugging me, only to slide closer when we again drew attention. "Where are you taking he-"
He cut off, sudden, releasing me as his eyes went past me. There was that look in his face, that mixture of anger, hurt and intense ...something... that he only got for one person. Reece narrowed his eyes. "She apart of this?"
"We do not have time for this." Vi snapped. She yanked me hard, out of Reece's hand, ignoring Antonio as he tried to say something. We were already hurrying into the tiny line to where Pav waited, already going in, Antonio twisting around the turns as he followed. Reece just hopped over the barriers, looking furious.
"Anne, please." Reece grabbed me, grabbed my arms, forcing me to turn and face him. He shot Daniella and Vi a look when they tried to pull me away. Then his eyes returned to me, his face softening, and I saw it. Saw the hurt there, the genuine hurt, and fear. Maybe he thought I was running away again. "Talk to me. Where are you going?"
Antonio moved between me and them. He shook his head when Vi tried to move past. "You're drawing attention to us again and she's not going."
"Yeah, Dad, she is." Nick's voice made us all spin around. He smiled apologetically, sliding under the barriers, coming from some spot near the exit I'd ignored. "We are. You can come with us but you can't stop her. We need to go get them."
Vi may not have been able to get past Antonio. Nick was, so easily, just a touch of Antonio's arm and Antonio backed down for his son. Antonio glanced up to the security, who were still keeping their eyes on us, and then spoke softer, "You're not going anywhere either, Nicky."
"Funny you bring that up. Nicky. Rose's first name is now Nicky." Nick grinned, then his grin faded as Antonio didn't smile, his hand moving over to grasp mine, squeezing it hard, pulling me back into his arm. I shut my eyes, relief as his lips met my head, nuzzling gently. "Go get your ticket. I'll talk to them."
I leaned up to kiss him gently, stroking his face, the trace of grief and anger somehow suppressed by this sense of purpose in his face. Like he knew exactly what he wanted to do and whatever else he felt, it could wait. I envied it. I wished I was like this when shit hit the fan. "Hurry up."
The three of us got our tickets, while Nick spoke to Reece and Antonio in the empty lines, their voices low. Very low. I saw it though- the shock- and then their glances up to us. Nick was explaining everything.
Following Vi and Pav through the metal detectors, I saw Nick hurry to follow us, Antonio and Reece heading for the counter dealing with sales. He winked.
"They're coming. Don't give me that look-" Nick met Vi's glare. "-It was either tell them and let them come, or not tell them and have them follow us anyway. Maybe stop us by force. We've got to rush for that plane. Come on."
The plane was just as empty as the airport. I suspected we were more or less the only ones on it, if the flight attendants weren't counted, the entire world apparently shutting down. The only way we'd gotten on it was for Vi and Pav, as nurses, to reassure security that we were healthy. Then we were warned that if we wanted to stay this way, we'd go straight indoors once we reached Miami, no stopping anywhere, not even for food. Apparently most places were now closed. Restaurants, fast food places, things had just shut down. And we were warned that there may not be flights back.
Something about a fuel shortage. Less trucks meant less fuel being trucked in. The state of Florida was already rationing everything, fuel, water, food... there may have been two more days worth of flights. If we were lucky.
It was only once we'd accepted this possibility were we allowed to sit. Anywhere we liked. There was literally no one else coming, except for Antonio and Reece, and the plane was just waiting for them.
"Does that cure work for humans?" I asked, softly, as we went to sit in the first class section.
"No." Vi shook her head. "It will only work for supernatural. They did not have a cure for the human strain."
"Forget that. Come here." Nick tugged me into his lap, nuzzling against my neck. "Hi."
"You're in deep shit with Clayton." I prodded him, only to be cut off by his mouth, the kiss so hard that it left me breathing hard.
Nick shrugged, wrapping his arms around me, not answering. Antonio and Reece weren't far behind us and got seats nearby once they'd had their 'no flights back' lecture.
"How are you doing?" I asked, softly, as we were warned to put seatbelts on. "They told me you're cured."
"I'm focusing on the twins." Nick muttered, lifting me up so easily, not bothering to hide his strength now that I knew. "Seat belts, love."
The word sent warmth flooding through me, his hand lingering on my stomach as he did it himself, the warmth in his eyes mixed with that horrible grief. I grasped for his hand and squeezed it gently.
No one spoke as the plane took off, all of us quiet now, Vi and Pav reading through some files she'd pulled out of the bag. It had to be the information they'd gotten- they were already checking. If cars were hard to get then it'd make it hard to travel around. I sighed out, shutting my eyes, keeping Nick's hand in my hands, stroking it.
"Nicky." He said, quietly, when the seatbelt lights blinked off. I opened my eyes to see him reaching for my seatbelt, pulling me back into his lap, Nick's arms tightening around me. "Rose can have the name Nicky. Or Ellie. After Elena. You like one of them?"
It amused me, sort of, that he'd name her after him so directly. Maybe it was because Reece was named after big Reece. I nodded, sliding my arm around his back, kissing the underside of Nick's jaw. "She can have both names, if you want them. And Reece?"
"Still thinking about him." He glanced up as Reece came over to flop beside us, his eyes pointedly avoiding Daniella as he walked past her, offering us a drink. Nick took it and drank it, breathing out slowly, the wine vanishing before I could grab the glass. He was acting strong, acting like he had a purpose, but I suddenly realised that he was just keeping himself like that. Some part of him was already cracking now that we were around him like this, the grief and rage showing, the need to drink probably returning.
"Getting drunk isn't helpful." I muttered. Nick grinned a sheepish grin.
"Sorry. Yeah." He leaned back, shut his eyes, hands stroking my thighs slowly. "Okay. No more alcohol till it's over."
Vi and Pav made sure we all got fed well, while we were on the plane, the flight attendants glad for it. Apparently there was too much food, it'd all go to waste, and they didn't care how much we ate as long as it was used. Seven werewolves did good work of it all.
I got up to head to the toilet, half expecting Nick to follow, but he just sat there staring numbly out the window, quiet now, any flirtation gone. The only sign that he noticed where I went was to shove Reece and Reece stood outside, waiting, keeping guard. It was stupid- we were on a plane- but I had to guess that Nick wasn't in a logical place. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea for him to come after all.
Or me. I shut my eyes, standing there in the tiny bathroom, aware that the last time I'd seen her had been leaving in that hospital room. All fire and attitude, even while she lay there with her chest open, even telling her grown kids off through a haze of drugs and shock. They'd wanted to renew their vows in front of all of us. Antonio had deserved to have a few years with her, at least, deserved to have time with the woman he'd spent his entire life without. It was like I'd told Nick- you could separate from your mate but once they filled that role, once they were there, it was impossible to replace them.
What had been at Forestwatch anyway? I wasn't sure. The owls confused me as well. All of it did, to be honest, and it made me just want to focus on the disease and twins all the more- at least that was pretty clear and logical. Disease? There was a cure now. Twins? Go get them. Scary monster thing and owls? There was not a single logical answer for it. Nothing. I'd never seen one owl, not one, around Forestwatch before this. Never seen or felt the merest hint that there was a thing there.
Just picturing it made my skin crawl and the hair on the back of my neck rise. It felt like it could have been right there, right beside me, my heart rate increasing. I opened my eyes and slammed back into the wall, the face staring back at me, the face that was between my reflection and myself. It was here. In the plane. Or in the reflection. I couldn't see it, I couldn't see it at all, but in the reflection it was right there. Right there, standing in front of me, invisible to all but the mirror.
Fear clouded me as it turned, slowly, to gaze at its own reflection, eyes meeting my horrified ones.
Then something struck me in the chest, struck me so hard I was winded, and I saw it's reflection. Long hand, long thin hand, going right through me. The other over my mouth, covering it, and I couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Fear clogged my brain, my head spinning and...
The mouth opened then. Mouth opened wide, so wide it could have swallowed half my body, an unnatural darkness coming up out of it, as dark as the 'shadow' it had for a lower half... coming to surround me, cut out the light of the bathroom, cut out everything except us. Like a fog. A black fog, hot, consuming... It appeared now, not just in the mirror but in front of me too, grasping for me, grasping me against it, and I saw a woman. Standing right there beside us, a sword in her hands her dark hair framing her face, reminding me so much of Savannah it wasn't funny. And another woman. Young. Pretty. Lillian, angry looking, so damn angry... The sword came at it and it vanished in the reflection, moving backwards, moving fast. The black fog consuming me vanished with it. She blinked at me, as our eyes met, before she went after it. Lillian didn't move. She stood there, reaching for me, looking like she was a teenager again. The age she'd been in the video, so happy, believing that the world had been hers.
"Anne..."
My heart wasn't beating. I heard nothing. Heard only blood slowing down. Stomach squirm around food. There was such silence in my chest, such loud silence, that the banging on the bathroom door was just a whisper compared to it.
Darkness started to crowd, a different darkness, like a tunnel. And Lillian was right there. Waiting. Hands touching me. Holding me. Not her hands. My mother's hands. My mother there, Susie there, the two of them holding me up as my body fell. It fell away from me, all of it, the plane, the body, everything, I saw the dark haired woman outside the plane, the creature there with it, saw the plane vanish...
"Hold on." Mum whispered in my ear, her arms around me, around me as they used to be when I was little and I was afraid in the dark. Lips kissed my forehead, dry lips. Like she usually had during summer. Dry hands too. She liked to garden in the sun. It always made her smell like the moisturiser she used. She smelt faintly of grass and that moisturiser now, like I'd always remembered she had during summer, wearing that orange dress that made her skin glow. "Just a moment longer."
"Tell Matt he's incredible." Susie leaned against my other side. They were so warm, so caring, their arms embracing me. I smelt them. I felt them. "So's your man. I wish I'd met him. Wouldn't have minded one of those werewolves for a husband. The stamina."
"Not now, Susie." Mum muttered, her arms tightening, but there was a trace of amusement there. "Just a little longer."
"Are..." I wasn't sure if I could speak. It was strange. I wasn't breathing. I wasn't breathing, my heart wasn't going, but ...I was fine. "You both real?"
"Yes, sweetheart. Eve's nearly … there." Mum's lips kissed my forehead.
I was in New York. In the living room of Antonio's big house. Jamie sat there, Jeremy nearby, both of them looking pissed off as they tried to wake Elena. And here I was, standing there plain as day, the dark haired woman beside me. Clayton was pacing up and down, groggy, shaking his head, face dark with fury.
"Jamie, leave her to sleep. Call Antonio, get Jeremy to try one of those nurses on the phone, and tell them to check a bathroom." The woman seemed amused, her hand coming to rest on my shoulder.
Jeremy didn't seem to see or hear her. Jamie did though. Her eyes went to the woman, then to me, glared at me, before she shook Elena again. "Why?"
"Why what?" Jeremy's head lifted to her. He didn't see me or Eve, he looked right through us, and my heart twisted painfully. I wanted him to be angry with me. Angry with me, disappointed, whatever it was he'd be- it was easier than this. Than being invisible.
"Eve wants me to call Anton-" She froze. Stared at us again, at Eve and then myself, and then at the hand. On my shoulder. Shock flooded Jamie's face. "She's … is she? Eve?"
"How long does CPR work? Hurry up." Eve glanced at me. "You've got about two minutes before I have to take her. We're not ready for her and Lillian will kill us if we take her now."
I blinked, eyes going from Eve to Jamie, confused. Really fucking confused. Clayton wasn't looking at me either. I was supposed to be in a plane. It took me a few seconds to really get this, why I wasn't getting that 'disappointed' look from Jeremy, or getting hit … then I got it, got why I was seeing dead people, why I was in a house instead of the plane, and the confusion gave way to panic. Holy crap. This was not okay. "What the hell?"
"You died. Calm down, we're working on it. Don't focus on that thing. It likes attention." She narrowed her eyes as we caught sight of it. Outside, at the window, Eve letting go of me, grasping for the sword. "One thought and we're back at it. Hurry up, Jamie."
"They aren't answering. They're on a plane, Eve, planes don't have ..." She swore. "Shit."
I felt it. Separation. It was strange. I was separating from the world. Lillian was back, standing there, face tense as she waited. Then... it stopped. This separation was reversing. Lillian smiled, a warm relieved smile, as I felt a heaviness in my chest return. Pain. The world faded and I dropped.
I was being kissed. No, not kissed. Breathed at. Pav's air filled my lungs, her scent with it, crashing into me, hands pressing hard against my heart as it suddenly kicked up again, beating hard against my ribcage and the hands.
Hearing came back, crashing back into my head, and along with it came the sudden sense of blood being forced everywhere. The world seemed to come back into focus, with every strained heartbeat, encouraged by Vi's hands. She only stopped when I moved.
Antonio helped me sit up, his arms capturing me in that bear hug he was so damn good at, shaking his head. "This is not good for my health, sweetie.'
"I got to stop this damsel thing." I muttered, trying to joke, and it did not make him laugh.
"Fucking oath you do." Reece snapped. His hands were in his hair, white faced, and Daniella was nearby, a hand on his shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me something was wrong?"
"I was-" I didn't want to say it. Dead. Seemed over dramatic somehow. I was having a quick hello. I saw my mother's face, my sister's faces, so close. Their smells, their hands, their embraces... and squeezed my eyes shut, whimpering, giving up the tough thing. Two years, three years, sixty years, it'd make no difference. "I saw them. My mum. My sister. Lillian. Clayton's seriously pissed off. You might want to wear a groin guard thing."
No one laughed, especially Nick, he was white. Stared at me with a face I couldn't quite make out. It wasn't grief. It might have been closer to anger, maybe, but it wasn't all directed at me. I felt angry just looking at him. There might have been anger at Jamie, just a fraction, not telling me how to handle this...every instinct in me told me how wrong this was. How fucking wrong. They had no clue how to handle this. Maybe that was it- maybe whoever she spoke to, that dark haired woman, had no idea either.
Whatever Jeremy's answer was, it was muffled by the sound of Nick's heavy breathing against my ear, his heart racing, and then he gave up being angry and flopped beside me, threading arms around me, Antonio sliding back. People were getting up. Leaving the two of us alone, I realised, letting us have privacy back here.
"You saw my mother?" Nick's words were shaky, struggling to speak, his arms releasing me a fraction.
"She said she loves you and she's watching the twins." I reached up to stroke his face. Tears had started to leak out again, no matter how hard he was trying to force them, brushing the dampness with my thumbs. He scowled, shaking his head, trying to wipe his face clean. Nick shut his eyes and leaned back against me, breathing in and out slowly, hands pressed against my back as close to my heart as he could get.
We had to get up though. Get into our seats. I didn't rush him, just gently nudged him, and he took his time untangling himself from me, his legs shaking as he lifted us both up.
"I'm guessing mile high club isn't interesting right now?" I tried to joke, Nick not even cracking a smile, his hand hard around mine as we made our way back up the plane.
"No." He muttered. "No more bathrooms. One funeral this year is enough for you."
I flinched, guilty now, but... it wasn't something I could have prevented. Not this time anyway. Nick didn't speak when we sat down, shutting down again, leaning against his legs as he stared at the floor.
"Sorry."
The word, soft, hung between us. Nick sighed, breathing out, grasping my hand and stroking it, his attention fixed on it, on the lines, as if he was trying to read the lines etched in. Hoping he could find some sort clue to suggest that I wasn't going to fall off this world just yet, maybe, from the look on his face.
"So what happened?" Reece asked, soft, leaning over the seat near us, gazing down.
Attention was on me. I hadn't realised this, so focused on Nick's stress, but everyone was gathered around me now. I'd been attacked in a plane and I had to work- had to warn them. I swallowed, shutting the little sliding window thing, suddenly afraid of my reflection. After last time? Suddenly I wasn't going to like mirrors much. "That thing. I saw it again. It was invisible in the bathroom. Shit... sorry, Reece, I need … I need to not think about it." I had this urge to reach for my wallet, grasp it, grasp for the photos in it.
"Sorry, love, but you have to." Antonio said softly from beside us. "Nick was the one who realised something was wrong."
Nick didn't speak. He just glanced sideways at me, at my heart, his face still far too pale.
"I saw it. Then it looked at me. I... sorry. I can't explain it right now." I dropped my eyes, guilt mixing with the rising fear, the fear that came with speaking about it. Thinking about it. I couldn't do it. Not now. Not in this plane. My heart was already racing, skin feeling clammy, and I heard my voice plea, "Call Jamie."
"Our phones are off up here." Nick swore softly, sitting back, hands still around mine.
"I don't know. Jamie will have to explain it. I've never seen … I don't know what it was." Just that it was apparently able to make itself seen or unseen at will, sort of, and that it could reach inside me without breaking skin. Looked like it had been trying to eat me. Shit. I had to stop thinking about this. I really had to.
"It stopped your heart." Vi's voice cut over the hum of the plane. Her eyes met mine, frowning, and then they caught in Nick's eyes.
"I just want to get the hell off this plane." I didn't want to answer. I shut my eyes, the fear returning, sliding closer to Nick's side. As angry and upset as he was, he was still more comforting than anything on this plane, and I had to admit that this was starting to shake me. I'd died. Holy crap. When I changed the subject with, "So what are we doing when we get off the plane?" no one pushed me to say more.
"I hire a car. We go to hotel first, to cure Antonio and Reece, and then we find this address. Is this acceptable?" Vi's eyes went around the small plane.
Any answers were delayed. A flight attendant came down to ask us if we wanted any last minute drinks or snacks for after, happily loading us up with extra food they didn't want to waste.
"My co-worker is sick." She said, softly, sitting near us. "So is one of the pilots. There's no panic. But I've been told to stay down here. We're landing in fifteen minutes. If no one needs a drink-"
"-We're going to be fine. Is it..." Antonio shook his head.
The woman nodded. She looked stunned, afraid, the smell of fear rising off her. It had to only be one thing. "We're going home. This was our last job till it's over. They looked fine before we got on the plane. Now..." She breathed out, ragged, her hands tapping on her leg nervously. "I'd hoped we'd get home without... Without one of them joining the masses of sick population. Tracy, as her name badge said, slid a mask over her face. Shut her eyes .
As the flight came to land, an ambulance met us. We didn't pull up to the airport. Instead, we were told to go to the back of the plane and wait when the medics made sure no one else was sick, the plane's curtains drawn. Outside in the darkness I saw the stretchers, someone going out with them, people being taken away. Tracy stood beside us watching her co-workers. A medic told her she had to come for check up, just in case, and she went behind him, her heart racing.
Only when the ambulance and the staff had gone did an employee come. A taxi, one of the large ones designed for a lot of people, came straight onto the tarmac to pick us up. Apparently they didn't want to risk it- we were being taken straight to the hotel. So there wasn't much to discuss... we were being taken to a hotel tonight, whether we liked it or not.
The rooms we were given were discounted heavily, charged by the week, apparently changes made by Florida's government to help stranded people. Several floors were now off limits due to quarantine. Not just that, the man said at the desk, the hotel was so full that we were forced to fit into two rooms. He looked apologetic as he said this, his eyes going over our small crowd, adding that one of the rooms was a suite and usually very expensive. The other was a regular room but there was an adjoining door. We had free entry into the morning buffet between six and seven thirty, access to the gym between six and eight at night, and we were free to go anywhere that wasn't a restricted floor on the condition that we wore the mask at all times. An in-house doctor was there at any time of day or night if we felt sick.
In other words, this hotel was full of sick humans too. This explained why we were paying two hundred per room for seven days, when this kind of place probably expected at least that for one night.
Seven werewolves? Two rooms? Somehow Reece got into the smaller room with us, Antonio probably attempting to avoid clashes between him and Daniella, and the seven of us finally found ourselves in the suite's living room. Bags thrown around, the door to our smaller room wide open, food from the air plane dropped onto the coffee table beside Vi's notes on where we were supposed to be going from here.
"I hope everyone wanted this." Pav tried to smile as she sat on one of the sofa edges, beside Vi, gazing out the window. "It is a beautiful room."
It was, huge windows, sofas, warm orange glow, hiding the gloomier hotel outside from us. The entire city had seemed asleep the entire drive over. But the huge windows, the huge reflections, they really bothered me. No one spoke as I went to cover them with the blinds, shutting them, cutting off the nice view of the lit bay.
"Let's order something hot." Antonio suggested. "Before we start anything."
No one argued, or pointed out that we'd gorged on sandwiches on the plane, and Antonio started to order. Food helped us stay in control, helped kept the wolf from feeling the urge to hunt for prey, and tonight we may need it more than usual. To our human minds, at least for me, a human was a human, sick or not, I'd never see them as prey.
But to my wolf mind, this was another matter. A human was prey as much as a rabbit or anything else we might find and a sick human? A weakened human? Or one that was afraid? In a city that was terrified by a sickness that was taking over the population we'd need as much control as we could get if any of us were changing.
I paced around the room, ignoring reflections, Daniella avoiding Reece's stare, Nick just sitting there numbly. He was probably trying to focus again, trying to snap himself back, but I had not helped.
"We will cure you two once the food comes." Vi said softly, breaking through the tense heavy air, her eyes going from Reece to Antonio. "It will take an hour. Maybe less. Maybe a little longer for Antonio."
"I'll go find out about a car for us." Daniella stood up and headed out without waiting for anyone to answer.
Reece went to follow, hesitated as Vi shook her head, and sat back down. He scowled. As much as he was angry with her, as frustrated as he was, the habit was still there. Instead he headed into our room and went to 'make a bed'. I knew he'd end up in ours. When I heard him close the curtains in there I stood up.
"I'm going to call Jamie now." Antonio seemed to remember, standing, and Vi nodded. "And Jeremy. If Elena orders us to go back-"
"-Tell her it might be difficult." Vi replied. "If the airport is closing down."
Antonio's lips twitched and he headed for his bedroom. I glanced towards the other room, where Reece was pacing, Nick standing up too.
"Come with me." He reached out for my hand and I let him lead us into that room.
"You." Nick hissed, following me, shutting the door behind us. He grasped me hard, twisting around to kiss me, Reece's snort coming from behind us.
"You two can't stop it, can you?"
"Tell me what happened." Nick's hands grasped my arms, gently, guiding me to the bed. His eyes went from me to Reece. "Us. Tell us. We'll explain it to them."
"I..." I hesitated. "I did tell you." I shifted onto the bed, tucking my legs up, holding onto them as warm brown eyes fixed onto me with that determined intensity Nick got when he wanted something that I was refusing to give. Usually it was related to sex. This time apparently not.
"Sorry, wasn't good enough." Nick replied, no trace of humour or good nature there, sliding closer. "We're here."
"Speak up." Reece agreed with Nick. He moved to sit beside us, kicking shoes off and crossing his legs.
I suddenly got why Jamie was so reluctant to speak. It was like, speaking about this thing, it made it happen. Made it come. Maybe this was an illusion- I wasn't sure- but it really did scare me in a way that nothing had. It'd just killed me, for crying out loud, I'd been dead. I opened my mouth, tried, and closed it again. It wasn't coming out. The words were there, the explanation, but …
Nick kissed me again, lips grazing against my lips, his hand stroking my face. The bed dipped as Reece shifted closer too, arm sliding around my waist. "You're safe here."
I told them, voice so low that they had to lean close, their scents crowding around me like a comforting blanket. Mate and best-mate. Either side. Maybe Nick's distance hadn't been anger at all. Maybe he'd sensed how scared I was and had gone into protective mode. When the door opened, he growled, a low deep growl, and whoever it was backed off quick.
"Reece, go tell them." Nick ordered, his eyes meeting Reece's eyes, and Reece nodded. Nick got up and went for chocolate, throwing it at me, grasping his own as he crawled back onto the bed and shrugged off his shirt.
"What are you doing?" I watched him throw it aside.
"Breasts cheer us up so... here." Nick's first smile, a shaky one, as he pressed my hand up against his abs. "Cheering you up? Look. I can do this too." He made them dance, right up against my face, the muscles twitching.
A smile cracked my lips. He grinned a little wider at that, pulling my top out, so he could stare down my top. It was so childish, so silly, so Nick, that I couldn't help but relax.
"That's what I like to see." Nick pushed me down, kissing me, body pinning me there. "Here I am. Your Nick. So, my mom... and yours?" His smile faded, just a fraction, as he stared down at me. "You really saw them?"
I nodded. I stroked his face as he lay there on top of me, the grief returning, but it wasn't as ...strong.
"How'd she look?"
"Like a pissed off teenager. Healthy. Full of energy." I muttered, remembering her, this girl that I knew was Lillian but ...she'd reverted all the way back to that age. Nicks head dropped against my breasts, nuzzling into them, breathing in slowly. "How are you coping?"
"With today?" When I nodded, he sighed, not speaking for a long time. "You saw her. Alive. Pissed off teenager, but alive. She's not really dead. None of them are. I just have to... wait." Nick lifted his head, a sad smile there now, but he leaned onto one elbow so he could stroke my face. "Wait with me. Don't go ahead."
"I'm not going anywhere. That Eve woman said that they weren't ready for me yet, something about your mum being pissed off about it, so..."
"She's keeping you here for me." He relaxed, shutting his eyes. "So she's okay."
"She's okay. She said she loves you and she's guarding the twins." I stroked Nick's back as he lay there over me, his head again against my breasts, his breathing slowing. Dampness started to go through my top, dampness that probably came from his eyes, and I didn't lift my head to check. I let him have privacy if he needed it. I broke the chocolate up, eating a piece, feeding him one, his warm mouth closing around my fingers, nibbling against them as he took the chocolate.
"Dad will want to know." He said quietly, after a long time, sitting up. Nick headed for the bathroom ,washing his face, as I sat there and waited. When he came back out his face was pale, eyes a bit redder, but he had his warm smile back. It was small but it was back. "I'm starving. How long till that food gets here?"
"If we hurry, we might get a snack." I stood up and followed Nick back into the bigger suite. Half of me expected to walk into chaos- this was not a good sign of how my life was going these days- but all we saw was a bunch of sleepy werewolves, half napping on floor and couches, Reece guiding a man with a food laden trolley into the room. Not just that, apparently, because not far behind hum was housekeeping, pulling in a bundle of blankets, pillows and a bag of soap, shampoo, and other things for us.
When they were gone, food covering the coffee table and a table nearby, blankets, pillows and things piled up on the floor for us to use. Antonio looked up, yawning, sliding up and heading for the coffee.
"Jamie won't speak about it." Vi muttered, scowling. "Reece told us everything. Antonio called her again. She still won't speak. She only confirms that you died for a few minutes. She is forbidden from speaking to us till her ghosts are given permission." This news did not impress Vi, clearly, because she just scowled deeper. "We are told to keep reflective things covered."
That was not helpful. Windows, mirrors, all of it. Covered? Reece moved past me into our room, a sheet in hand, probably going for the mirror in our bathroom.
"She's trying." Antonio offered me a coffee. "She deals with a different authority. Elena's angry too now, she wants answers, she isn't impressed that someone nearly got killed. Let Jamie deal with them."
"We need answers now." Vi snapped, jumping as Pav's hand stroked her arm, her anger fading as she caught Pav's eyes. "I know we are all trying."
"You're tired. We're all tired." Pav's soothing voice worked. Vi's shoulders slumped a little, she slid closer to Pav. "We don't need Jamie to think. Why don't we eat, have something to drink, and then think about it? There's no rush."
"The babies-"
"The car is booked for the morning. There's a curfew in effect after dark now." Daniella spoke up. "It's an hour's walk from here. We could walk there, I suppose one of us waiting here, and then be picked up. But we'd still have to organise timing right- we can't walk back with twins. Not if we're being pursued. We've got a few hours to plan. It's only elven so Pav's right. The rushing part is over."
Vi nodded, sighed, and pulled Pav against her shoulder, stroking her long dark hair. "I am sorry. Let's eat. Think. Jamie is not the only one who can think of answers."
"It may not be a wise idea to bring the twins here just yet anyway." Antonio said softly. "Not till we're knowing what we're dealing with. This disease may cause problems for us as well... Nick, why are you half dressed?" His eyes went to his son, raising an eyebrow, as Nick shrugged.
I crawled onto the couch and tugged a pillow under my head, accepting a plate of food from all the things. Nick sat down on the ground beside me with his own plate.
"We shouldn't barge in there like a bunch of angry wolves." I said quietly. I wanted to. Fucking hell, did I want to. But ...with twins? When the entire city was on the verge of panic and mayhem? "One big fight and we'd stand out like a sore thumb. Any other time and we'd be dismissed as a bunch of drunk idiots. And if we ran around at night, like we usually would in pairs, normally they'd ignore us. Their heads would tell them we're big dogs. Right now with the canine fever..."
"They might assume we're sick dogs. Shoot at us. Spreading it. Yeah." Daniella nodded slowly. "Running around a panicked city, either as we are, or as wolves, it might be a bad idea."
"Hide in daylight then." Vi nodded. "Okay. We must be in small groups for this. Two. Do you agree, Antonio?" Her eyes went to the older man. Now that she wasn't angry, or stressed... or at least she was suppressing it enough to hide it... there was some kind of trust there. He had saved Pav, after all, and I knew that wasn't a small thing for her.
"Sometimes it's easier to hide in plain sight." Antonio nodded slowly. "And we're all exhausted. We'll draw more attention to ourselves if we leave at night."
"Does anyone not agree to wait till morning?" Pav asked, gazing around. No one argued. "Then we agree? We have a sleep, when Reece and Antonio are cured, wake early, and discuss plans then?"
I nodded, more or less agreeing, and no one else argued. So we finished eating and waited, as Antonio and Reece were carefully lain down on the pillows. The injection was quick and then they thrashed, convulsed, growled, trying to bite … and fell asleep. The only sign that they were still dreaming was their legs twitching, their eyes moving backwards and forward under their lashes, a small snarl occasionally from Reece or a growl from Antonio. But it wasn't anywhere as near as dramatic as the bite itself, or the fever, and neither was like it for long. Reece woke up after half an hour, Nick helping him to our bed, and Antonio was awake just a few minutes later. Both weak, both hot and sweaty, but both fine.
Nick pulled me to my feet when he was sure his dad was past it. I followed him into our bedroom, exhausted, letting him tug clothing off so I could crawl into the bed between him and Reece.
Sleep came, and it was easy, relaxed, dreamless, the two bodies on either side of me comforting like nothing else could be.