Alpha Divided (Alpha Girl Book 3)

He nodded, and took the jars.

I moved to my closet, and grabbed out some clothes. I’d feel better once I had clothes. Probably.

I quickly dressed in the bathroom. It was only then—as I brushed my hair—that I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were a dull brown. My skin looked pale and tinged with green. My cheekbones stuck out, and my eyes were sunken in their sockets.

I looked sick. Half-starved. Weak.

I put my hair in a loose braid and went back into the room.

“—Even if it were possible, it would be black. No one would do that. Not when the cost is so high. It’s impossible for—”

“Believe me, the scent of sulfur and the heat and the fire under my skin—when she dies, Luciana will pay a high price for what she’s done.” My voice sounded flat even to me. “La Aquelarre is lost. Rupert Hoel is working with them. He’s the one who wanted my alpha power. She wanted my witchy stuff. They absorbed some of it into themselves, and drained the rest into these jars. And now I’m left with nothing. My only hope is that when I open the jars, I’ll have everything back. That it won’t just escape into the world at large, and I’ll get back whatever they’re still carrying. But we don’t have time to research or do anything about it now. Luciana will attack soon, and we need to be ready.”

“Can we stop it?” Meredith said.

“It’s coming whether we want it or not. The coven never cared about me.” I pointed to the jars. “That’s what Luciana wanted, and she got it.” I swallowed. “All we can do now is prepare for a fight.” I glanced at Dastien. “I’m hungry, I think?”

Dr. Gonzales stepped forward. “You look sick. Can I help?”

I shook my head. I didn’t want anything from her bag o’ tricks. “I don’t think anything’s going to fix this except opening those jars, but I need to hold off until tonight. If I open them now, they’ll change their plans. We might not be ready for them next time.” Meredith moved aside as I went into my closet, digging through to find a backpack. The backpack that Claudia and Raphael had given me. I didn’t have any potion vials left, but it still had some other weapons.

I unzipped it, and held it in front of Dastien. He carefully put the jars inside. “Wait. I should wrap them again.” I grabbed a couple of T-shirts, making sure that they were properly cushioned, and then zipped the pack.

My dream of the war on the quad was coming. My gut was telling me that particular nightmare was true, and I had to trust it.

“At midnight, the vampires will come. Then, the witches. And then the traitors from our own pack. We need to figure out who’s good and who’s bad. And we need to get ready. Luciana and Mr. Hoel don’t know that I saw what’s going to happen.” I wasn’t sure if Mr. Hoel was going to kill me tonight, but it was a strong possibility. Maybe if we were ready, I could avoid it. Maybe not. “Can we clear the cafeteria? I want to eat and I want to talk to you, but we can’t trust anyone. Not anyone outside this room. Not yet.”

Donovan nodded. “Don’t you worry, lass. We’ll keep you safe.”

I shrugged the backpack over my shoulders and started for the door. “That’s why I came home.”

***

The cafeteria was pretty much empty, but one growl from Donovan, and the place became completely empty.

“I’ll get you some food,” Dr. Gonzales said. “You sit.”

I nodded and made my way to our normal table. Dastien took the backpack from my shoulders. “I’ll take care of the jars,” he said as I looked back at him.

“Okay.” I trusted him more than I trusted myself at this point.

As I sat down, I sighed. It felt like I was getting a little piece of normal back.

Maybe everything wouldn’t be okay today or the next day, but we’d get there.

A tray appeared in front of me, and I stared eating and telling the story. Everyone stayed quiet at the table, except for a few laughs when I told them about my attempted witchery. Even I could admit that blowing a hole in the roof was pretty funny.

“So, that’s how I ended up here.” I’d gone through three trays of food while I was talking. Mr. Dawson sat straight and started to speak, but I held up a hand. “A few questions for you guys before anyone says or asks me anything.”

“Please,” Donovan said.

“I’m still feeling drained, even with the food I’ve eaten. I’m not around the gris-gris, but it’s still weakening me. I need that gone before tonight. Any ideas?” If I was going to beat Mr. Hoel, I was going to need all the strength I could get.

“Did you bring it with you?” Donovan asked.