Chapter 66

"Renée!" Chloe screamed at me, and I'd only gotten to the Reapers. By the time I finished this story, I was going to need an aspirin.

"Chloe, she just told you they came out of nowhere. Quit screaming at her!" Pete responded in my defense. "Née, I'm just glad you were okay!" he said as he gripped his knee with his free hand.

"Apparently my recklessness has a purpose. I took one Reaper down while Monroe took down the other. I honestly don't know what happened after that. I blacked out. Monroe said he took care of it, and I swear that scared the crap out of me, because I have no clue what he did. Maybe he killed them, I don't know. He wouldn't tell me, but it was obvious it was something bad. He wouldn't even talk about it when we told Nick what had happened, and he tells Nick everything."

I let out a breath at the release of my inner thoughts. While I'd mentioned the Reapers to Nick, I didn't get to express how I'd felt about it. It was awkward talking about this with Pete in the room, but we were all practically family.

"Monroe…" Chloe shook her head. "I'm glad he was there to keep you safe, but he's like a big ball of crazy in a can. Of course he killed them. Probably stuffed their bodies in a garbage can somewhere along with Red Riding Hood," she said while working on her second screwdriver.

"Chloe, that was uncalled for!" I replied sharply.

"Hey, you suggested it, I just elaborated the possible details," she snorted and took a long swig from her glass. "Crazy Wesen do crazy things."

"Monroe isn't crazy," I declared, ignoring her smirk. "He's just going through a lot of changes to his routine, but he's not crazy at all. He's the sanest Wesen I've met, actually." Chloe seemed a tad bit insulted at my remark. "You know what I mean."

"Chloe, she's right. Monroe's an okay guy… Well, when he's not spazzing in bars, that is." Pete laughed. "But dealing with Jack would do that to anybody," he added.

"Have there been more of these Reaper things here?" Chloe questioned, taking another large gulp of her drink. "What about the Lowen?"

"There's a Lowen?" Pete asked. Oh, goodness. I wasn't going to go back and tell Pete everything, too.

"Chloe, you fill him in later if you want to, okay? No Reapers or Lowen since we arrived back," I shook my head.

I went into my story about being kidnapped by the Daemonfeuer.

"Fuck, Renée." She downed the rest of her second screwdriver. Unlike Blutbaden, Karnickelhöhles didn't hold their liquor well. Chloe was a lightweight when it came to drinking. Okay, well, maybe it was just a Chloe thing. "No wonder you didn't tell me any of this. I would've had a heart attack!" Chloe held her chest for effect. Sadly I was nowhere near done.

"Wow, a Daemonfeuer?" Pete commented with a smile. "That's kinda awesome."

"Yeah, she wasn't too awesome," I scoffed in reply. "If it wasn't for Monroe rescuing both me and Nick's girlfriend, who knows what might have happened."

"Nick is the Grimm, right?" Pete asked, trying to follow along. I nodded.

"So, heroic Monroe saved you from a dragon." Chloe smirked. "You can't get any more chivalrous than that. I'm sure that sent your little romance meter flying, didn't it?" She giggled loudly. She was getting tipsy already.

"I've read one too many Alexandre Dumas novels for it not to," I replied, allowing myself to blush.

"Well, thank goodness for Monroe then," Chloe said with an absence of sarcasm I was expecting to hear. Maybe the alcohol was helping after all. I refilled her glass.

"Too bad Nick's girlfriend got to punch the Daemonfeuer instead of me though. I would've loved to have used my Grimm skills then. I turned quickly to Pete. "Do you know about what I found out? Chloe did you tell him?" Pete's clueless face let me know that she hadn't. "Pete… Well, I'll just say it… I'm half Grimm and half Waldgeist. So I'm, like, Wesen mixed with a Grimm, which is some rare combination. It's been a bit crazy to learn. I'm still trying to figure it all out."

"I know all about Waldgeists," Pete said, which kind of surprised me. Even Monroe didn't know much about them except for some of the legends.

"What do you mean you know about Waldgeists?" Chloe shot him a look. "I'd never even heard of such a thing. What kind of books are you reading?"

"Grandma Haas told us about them, don't you remember?"

"I never believed anything she told us. She's the same one who said that she got her shoes repaired by a Heinzelmännchen."

"Okay, so maybe Grandma Haas wasn't always rowing both oars in the water, but her tales about Waldgeists were true."

"So, then you know what that means?" I asked as Pete looked back at me.

"It explains a whole lot, that's for sure, Née," he said with a smile. We were going to need a private chat soon.

"Pete, do you know anything about Wesen with violet eyes?" I asked.

Pete scratched his head. "Violet?" He paused like he was perusing his own mental filing cabinets. "Maybe? It sounds familiar. Where did you see a Wesen with violet eyes?"

I told him about the Gypsy and her warnings. "And after the reading, her eyes flashed violet."

"When you say, 'flashed,' what do you mean?"

"Like this." I forced my eyes to Chloe and Pete. They simultaneously darted back. "It looked like that, but violet," I continued, ignoring their shock.

"Do that again," said Chloe as she leaned in. I forced my woge once more. "That's so… Wow. You look like a traffic light." She giggled once more as she took another sip of her drink. "So it's all true."

I nodded. "My grandmother said it only comes out in forests, but I've been practicing," I said with a half-smile. I turned back to Pete. "So do you know any Wesen like that?"

"What else besides the eyes did you see?"

"That was all. She remained human. Although, that doesn't mean much, I know."

Monroe's eyes flashed red often without any wolf features. Just because a Wesen's eyes changed didn't mean there wasn't more to the woge they weren't revealing.

"Yeah, sounds familiar, but I'm not placing it," said Pete as he scrunched his twitching nose. "You don't think this psychic had any real sixth sense, do ya?"

I shrugged. "The things she said were just too… I don't know."

"Renée, she was vague enough that it could've meant anything," Chloe slurred. "Those exact things happened to me just this week. I found out our bonuses were cut at the school. There, my truth crashed down. I'm here instead of on a beach in Florida. That was my big choice. And balancing two worlds? Well, I balance my human and Wesen life every day. So you see, anyone could use those words."

I let out a sigh. Drunk or not, Chloe made a point. But it still didn't answer why she knew my name and that I was a protector, or what type of Wesen she was, but I was in no mood to debate it tonight.

"Is there anything else I need to know about?" Chloe asked with drunken concern.

"Yeah, just a little bit more," I said sheepishly.

For the next twenty minutes I retold the tales of the attack of the other Blutbad, almost being killed twice by the thieving Waschbar, and finally the Freddy the Fuchsbau.

"Fucking hell, Renée!" Chloe was almost dizzy from shaking her head at me. "Is that all?"

"Isn't that enough?" asked Pete, who was shaking his head, too. He took a long drink from his beer.

I forced a smile. "I think that covers it." Oh, my normal life.

Chloe held out her glass. "I think I need another drink." I refilled it. She leaned back against the couch and took another sip. "So, now to the matter at hand… Jack."

"Okay, so he comes here. What's he want me to tell him?" I asked as I held out my hands. "'Monroe is the Big Bad Wolf and you're not crazy.'?"

"He's just losing the few marbles he has left, Née," Pete reasoned. "He wants to know he isn't seeing things."

"Well, I can't explain Wesen and Grimms to him to validate his sanity, now can I?" I stood and shook my head. "And I definitely don't want him and Monroe in a room together. Monroe is beyond pissed right now, so I can't have them going at each other again."

"That's why Pete is here. We were thinking maybe we could use a little chemistry to make Jack… forget."

Chemistry to forget? What were these bunnies plotting?

"Oh, we aren't going down that road," I said adamantly.

"But it's the perfect solution," Chloe explained, drinking down her glass. "Jack forgets about that night... Hell, maybe he'll just forget about you entirely, and you can be free of him."

"Absolutely not, Chloe," I replied with a shake of my head. "We saw what happens when you dabble with that kinda thing. It's not something you just abracadabra around with."

There was a Hexenbiest in high school that Chloe knew who'd tried to use a Zaubertrank to make one of the popular guys in school fall in love with her. Well, she wasn't gifted when it came to magic, because the poor guy fell in love with one of the teachers instead. It was one of those things that became headline news, since the teacher was kind of thrilled that a good-looking, teenage boy would be interested in her. She enjoyed every moment while it lasted. Fortunately, it wore off pretty quickly, but by then the damage had been done. I didn't want to play Harry Potter with Jack's memory.

"No, Née, this could work," Pete chimed in. "I have the ingredients. We just need him to take it."

"You guys aren't really serious, are you?"

"We're serious. It'll work. Pete's a fucking genius. It'll be hunky dory." Chloe had a drunken grin on her face. She'd already finished her fourth glass. I poured her another half glass for good measure. She was a happy drunk.

"No, there has to be something else we can do," I replied with a shake of my head. "I'll be back."

I went to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of merlot. I needed a drink now. My phone rang as I was taking a sip from my glass.

"Hey, Hun," said Monroe as I answered the phone. "How are things going?"

"Just fine." I suppressed a sigh. "How was drug hunting?"

"Well, we went to the shop, and I think I found a few bottles of 'J' in the basement. Freddy's relative is in town, so they're going to see if there's anything else down there that, you know, Wesen might use to kill off a few brain cells."

"If those guys left any of that stuff, then they might return," I warned. "Addicts don't like to leave anything behind, especially something like 'J.'"

"I'm sure Nick can take care of the rest. Can I come by?" Monroe asked cautiously. "Is it, uh, safe?"

I glanced at my drunken friend. "Yeah, it ought to be fine." Pete was still grinning at me and I shook my head at him.

"Good, I'm almost to your place. See you in a few." That was as good of a call-ahead as I was going to get.

Monroe arrived five minutes later and hovered in the hallway. "You sure it's okay?" he asked.

"It's fine." I smiled at him. "Come in."

"Monroe!" Chloe called out, hopping over as he walked in. She gave him a hug, which was by far the most awkward thing I'd seen in a long time. "It's the knight in his shining VW!" She giggled as she crossed the room and fell back on the couch.

Monroe gave me a very confused look, and I gave him one right back. "Hi, Chloe." Monroe's voice went high pitch as he cleared his throat. "Nice to see you?"

"Monroe… Slayer of the Daemonfeuer!" She grinned at him from ear to ear. "Hero in plaid!"

"Well, I, umm, didn't actually slay any dragons…" He was still looking in my direction, confused as ever.

I bit my top lip, trying not to blush at his secret nicknames. "She's drunk," I whispered to him.

"I heard that!" Chloe said. "I'm just tipsy!" she added and giggled some more.

"Really drunk," I mouthed to him.

"Hey, Monroe." Pete walked up and gave Monroe a handshake. "How's it going, buddy?"

"Hey, man. Good to see you again." Monroe tugged at the zipper on his red and blue jacket as he took it off. "Sorry about what happened in the bar that night. I was a little…"

"No need to apologize," Pete stopped him. "Jack had it coming to him. He's lucky you didn't do worse." He smirked. "But we just gotta figure out how to make him forget what he saw."

"Yeah, that's gonna be hard to do," Monroe replied.

"Well, we were telling Née here that there may be some alterations we could do to his memory."

"Alterations? Are you talking… Oh no, dude. I don't think that's a good idea."

"I have a bachelor's in chemistry; I think I've got something that might work."

"I dunno…" Monroe said, and I nodded in agreement, enforcing Monroe's concerns.

"Well, the asshole's gonna be here sometime tomorrow," Chloe slurred from the couch. "Renée won't let me kill him, so what do you suggest?"

Monroe sat down in one of the chairs, and I took a patch of carpet beside him. "Dude, maybe Nick could do something," Monroe suggested.

I looked up at Monroe. "He's a cop. Unless Jack is breaking the law, there's not much he can legally do." I sighed and looked around the room. "So, have any of you guys ever shown a human your true form and had to explain it?" I knew the answer already. They both shrugged and shook their heads. "What about you?" I looked up to ask Monroe.

"Showing, yes," Monroe replied. "Explaining? Yeah, not so much."

"Maybe he'll just change his mind and stay home," I decided, leaning back against Monroe's leg.

"Yeah, right. You think Jack is just going to stay home?" Chloe remarked. "I'm surprised it took this long for him to decide to make the trip."

"Pete, do you know when he's supposed to arrive?" I asked.

"He said he was leaving tomorrow, so could be anytime."

"Well, I can at least figure out the earliest time." I grabbed my laptop and pulled up flight listings from Standiford Field. After a few clicks I had the answer I needed. "The earliest flight Jack could take tomorrow is ten-thirty, and it's a two hour layover in Dallas, so the earliest he could arrive is two-thirty Pacific time." There, my organizational skills came to the rescue once more.

"You're a whiz on that computer," said Monroe, and I smiled back at him.

The four of us discussed more ideas, but nothing we came up with was really going to get rid of Jack Monahan.

"Well, we're not coming to any conclusions tonight." I stood back up. "I'm sure you guys are exhausted from your trip," I said to Pete, but Chloe was already asleep on the couch. "Are you staying?" I turned and asked Monroe.

"I could, but I also need to get up early in the morning, get my Pilates in, and then I've got a few clocks to work on." I understood. He needed to stay on his routine, and it hadn't helped that we went for a run tonight against his better judgment.

"No, you're right. Like I said, Jack won't arrive till two-thirty or later, so we'll be fine."

Monroe gave me a long kiss goodbye at the door. I felt Pete's eyes on me, but I tried not to worry about it. Once Monroe left I turned to Pete, who was giving me a smirk.

"You know when you and I used to do that…"

"Whoa, let's stop right there, Petey." My eyes widened as I pointed a finger at him. "We can't talk about that! Chloe is right on the couch."

Pete grinned. "She's knocked out, dead to the world."

"Even so, we can't discuss these kinds of things." I walked through the living room and back to the kitchen as Pete followed. "I'm in a relationship. You and I were a long time ago."

"Née, I let you go because you said you couldn't date Wesen." Pete moved toward me while I straightened the counter top. "That really hurt, but I got over it. When I found out you were dating a Blutbad, it was like the pain happened all over again. Now I tolerated Jack because I thought you were happy with a mediocre human. But really, Née, you should've let me know that I might've had a chance."

I glanced up from the counter. "Pete, you were going to tell Chloe. She would've had a fit over us. I couldn't lose my best friend over something that may not have even lasted past a summer. We were just kids."

"We were old enough to know what we had was more than just a summer fling. Née, we were good together. Really good together." He took my hands in his. "I've missed you."

"We saw each other in March," I reminded him.

"You know what I mean." His eyes were locked on mine. "I miss you."

"Pete, I can't have this conversation." I let his hands go. "You're here to help me, and I am grateful for that. But I'm very happy in my relationship."

"Née, I'm here for you, I always will be. Rabbits are attracted to Waldgeists. So if it makes you feel any better, just know it's the nature of us that has me attracted to you." His crystal blue eyes were wet and dull, and I felt awful.

"That doesn't make me feel better," I replied while glancing down. Being an aphrodisiac Wesen wasn't helping this conversation. "I never wanted to hurt you, Petey. Please know that." It was like I was breaking up with him all over again.

"Well, if your Blutbad doesn't pan out. I'm here and I'm letting you know how I feel so…" his voice trailed off.

I dusted my hands off on my jeans. "I'm going to get some sleep. Do you need help with your luggage from the car?" I was becoming good at changing subjects.

Pete shook his head. "Nah, I can get it. You get some rest."

"I do wanna talk to you about Waldgeists though. I learned some info when I went to California, but if there's something more I need to know...?"

"Waldgeists are quite magical. I don't know if the hybrids are as such, but let's try an experiment and see what happens."

"Umm, okay," I reluctantly agreed. What kind of experiment was I agreeing to?

Pete went outside and returned with a brown leaf. "Hold it in your hand and just think of it being lush and green."

I squinted at him. "Are you serious?"

"Just try it, Née," Pete encouraged, holding out the leaf.

I reluctantly took it from him. "Okay." Letting out a short sigh, I closed my eyes and held the leaf in my hands. I thought really hard about it being green.

"Oh, wow, Née!" Pete sputtered out. "Open your eyes!"

The leaf was as green and vibrant as if I had plucked it from the tree. I dropped it on the kitchen floor and gasped.

"Now that was a pretty cool experiment!" he exclaimed.

"Holy crap!" I almost shrieked.

"Wow, I wasn't sure it was going to work." Pete gave me a smile.

I picked up the leaf and rotated it in my hands, scrutinizing it from every angle. "I have no clue what I can do with it, but that I can do… that... Holy crap!" I shook my head. This couldn't be possible.

"See? Magic! What did I tell ya?"

I looked at the leaf again and then glanced back up. "Pete, you are a genius. Monroe didn't know anything about this."

"Hey, you always liked me for my brains," he said with a smirk. I was attracted to sexy brains, for sure.

"I can… save whole forests… or something," I stammered. I wanted to go outside and touch things.

"Now be careful, Née, because I have no idea what this actually does to you. It may drain you or something. For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. You've heard of that right?"

"Yeah." I nodded slowly as I took in a breath. "I'm sure bringing something to life might hurt something else."

I hadn't really thought of that until Pete mentioned it, but it made sense. There had to be a balance to it. Maybe I just killed a leaf on the other side of the world somewhere. Or maybe I just lost a year of my life. Oh, this was worse than a Zaubertrank. Perhaps I didn't need to mess with things I didn't understand. My grandmother may have known about this, but didn't tell me for this exact reason. The balance of two worlds. Justice. The tarot cards surfaced back in my mind. I shook the thoughts out. Maybe Chloe was right. I was trying to apply that to everything.

"Right. It could hurt something else, or more importantly, it could hurt you," Pete warned, but he was still grinning. "So, you shouldn't go on a nature rescue just yet, Née."

"I understand." I gave another slow nod, twirling the leaf between my fingers and then set it down. Monroe needed to know about this. I could risk one more leaf. Now I really felt like Supergirl. "Pete, thank you! I really mean it." I hugged him tightly.

"I'm sure you would've figured it out on your own," he replied, holding me longer than he should have. "You're good at puzzles." His lips brushed against my cheek then moved to my lips.

My eyes widened as he kissed me deeply, leaning me against the counter. He held my arms as I jerked back from his mouth. I looked down briefly then back up into his eyes. "We should probably get some sleep," was all I could say.

Pete let out a breath and shook his head, letting me go as he stepped back. "Yeah, you're probably right." His mouth formed a thin line, like he was biting back another comment.

"Do you think Chloe will be okay on the couch?" I asked, pointing to the living room.

"Eh, she's slept in weirder places."

I nodded. "Very true." In college, Chloe had slept in a bathtub after a weekend kegger. This was definitely an upgrade by comparison.

Pete awkwardly hovered in the kitchen. "I'm just going to go get our bags out of the car."

"Lock up when you're done," I replied with a short nod. "Goodnight, Pete."

"Goodnight, Née."

Once Pete went back outside, I shook my head, crossing my arms tightly. What the hell had just happened? Thank goodness he was here and willing to help me, but it was obvious he and I didn't need to be under the same roof.

Shaking the kiss out of my mind, I went to my bedroom and threw on my flannel PJs. As I rested my head against the pillow, I smiled. I had a magic power. I was so cool.

A/N: Okay! So Chloe and Pete are caught up on all the crazy things that have happened so far in this story. And Renée is finding out more about her Waldgeist side. Whoa, huh?

Pete isn't over Renée, but we kinda knew that from last book. But maybe he's right… maybe it's just her Waldgeist side attracting him. Or that's just a good excuse to kiss her. You be the judge. LOL!

Continuing on... Enjoy!