“Eamon,” I said patiently. “It’s very apparent you know a lot about this Goddess, but you just witnessed firsthand what happened. It doesn’t matter if it was her ‘essence’ or not. It’s clearly not impossible to ‘cure’ the spell, because I just did it.” I knew without a doubt the spell was gone. My blood hummed with clarity.
“What my brother is trying to say,” Naomi cut in, “is that if one of us was hit with the same spell, we would surely die. It does not make sense to us why you still live. It should not be so.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I have no idea why I’m alive,” I ground out, my vocal cords straining to be precise. “But I’m not going to argue with the results.” It was time to let this conversation go and regroup. I turned away, taking in deep breaths, trying to ease myself out of my half form and calm down my stressed wolf. Okay. The crisis has been averted. Let’s get back to normal. My wolf growled, hesitating. We can’t stay in Lycan form and hike up a cliff; plus our clothes are falling off. It’s time to shift back and change. My Lycan form did not support skinny jeans. They were still on, but completely split up both legs. From here it looked like I’d survived the zombie apocalypse, but just barely. My shirt had fared a little better, because it was stretchy, but it had still split up the seams. It was time to switch to spandex.
As we both calmed, I realized my wolf and I were still sharing a common space in my mind. The barrier had been completely obliterated. I checked my mind further, but there was nothing opaque for her to stay behind. If she didn’t listen to me, it would be a fight to erect a new blockade and I was tired. We should stay merged, because it feels stronger when we’re united. But you have to agree on the parameters or it won’t work. I make the human decisions and you take the dicey fights. It’s an easy choice if you think about it. I felt a moment of hesitation, but then she eased back willingly. Our features shifted back. Perfect.
Once I was fully in my human form, I had to hold on to my jeans so they wouldn’t drop to my ankles. I looked up to see everyone staring at me. “What?” I asked. “What’s the problem?”
My brother tried to contain himself, but worry leaked around the edges. “It’s just… it’s a little strange to see you like that. I’ve never witnessed anything like it before. Being part wolf is sort of… incredible. Does it hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt at all. In fact, it’s exhilarating. But it’s nothing I can help,” I reminded him. “Thank goodness I can do it, since I’m pretty sure it just saved my life.”
Danny swung a full pack onto his back as he came forward. “The power strumming from your body as you fought the spell was off the charts. When you ripped out that howl, every hair in my body jumped to attention. I had to hug myself not to change. Whatever you are, the Goddess will have her hands full trying to best you. It’s the first time I’ve felt like we might have a bloody shot of winning this.” He grinned. “Let’s get on with it then, shall we?” He directed his gaze to Naomi, who was still openly assessing me, her shrewd eyes missing nothing. No detail of my form or my fight with the spell had escaped her.
It was clear the vamps hadn’t known I was a Lycan. Or even what a Lycan was.
Their Queen likely didn’t even know for sure.
But they did now.
I had no idea how educated the vamps were about werewolves, but as sharp and as old as Naomi was, it was likely she knew enough to piece together what I was from what she just witnessed.
A buzzing noise echoed loudly in the air.
It sounded like an annoying car honk and was coming from the pack Tyler had just picked up.
He glanced at me with his head cocked. “You know who it is. He’s going to want a detailed report of what just happened, so feel free to explain it in full this time.”
I walked toward him, reaching down to grab my own pack, which was still by the bumper of the truck, slinging it over my shoulder. Tyler held his backpack out to me and I unzipped the main compartment with one hand to grab the sat phone, which was sitting on top.
As I plucked it out, it honked in my grasp.
I depressed the large red on button and maneuvered the long antenna away from my ear as I paced into the forest. I needed to talk and change in relative privacy. “Hi, Dad, I’m here.”
“Jessica? What’s going on?” My father’s voice was full of concern. “Your wolf called to mine briefly, and then, once again, the line snapped. I need to be able to communicate with you when you’re in danger. I’m getting tired of this,” he growled.