I turned to walk away and give Naomi and Danny some space, but she rose and moved forward, grabbing my hand. Her eyes were filled with emotion. I swallowed as she said, “I had no doubt that you could help him if it was within your power. I thank you from the bottom of my soul. I am grateful I am going to get a chance to get to know my… mate, and it happened because of you.”
“There’s absolutely no need to thank me, Naomi,” I replied. “If any one of us could’ve saved him, we would have. We love Danny and we’re all happy to see the two of you together.” Naomi had a yearning in her eyes I’d never seen. Danny was almost done shifting, most likely needing more time since he’d just been on the brink of death. “Go be with him, Naomi.” I nudged her forward. “You two deserve it. But you’ll only have moments before we have to leave.”
I turned to join Rourke and Tyler and we started to walk to where the boats were waiting. “What’s up?” I asked Tyler, whose face was lined with worry, as I linked one arm through his elbow and one through Rourke’s. It felt so good to have my family back, and for the next five seconds not feel like the world was going to crumble.
“I’ve been close to Danny since the day I turned into a wolf,” Tyler answered. “He’s been my friend and mentor all this time. But it never crossed my mind he could die—or that any of us could die, for that matter. We’re supernatural. This is not supposed to happen.” He turned to meet my gaze. “Honestly, Jess, I miss the lake. I miss my home. I miss running through the woods not thinking about anything other than the freedom to run as long as I want.” He ran his free hand around the back of his neck. “This battle is going to be tough and sometimes it feels like no matter how long we keep fighting, we’re never going to get back to normal.”
“I hear you, Tyler,” I said, understanding his position completely. What he didn’t realize was that while he might be able to go back to normal—and I was desperately hoping that was going to happen for him—my old normal was no longer an option for me. “I think all the wolves will get back to normal eventually, but for me, I’d settle for a new normal that didn’t include being under constant attack or running from the next threat.”
Rourke slid his hand around my waist. “I’d settle for getting the hell out of the Everglades. My beast is restless. We circled this island no less than twenty times and couldn’t find a way in. I want us as far away from here as possible.”
“We’re almost to the boats,” Tyler said. “I hear the motors.”
We picked our way through the trees. Marcy was in front of us, my father and a few of his wolves in front of her. My father stopped short and turned. “We’ll head back to our camp first before we depart this place,” he called. “I want to go over what happened in detail. It looks as though you killed the remaining rabid wolves. I’m leaving a few of my wolves behind to make sure their bodies are destroyed. Once my wolves arrive back at camp, we leave.”
I said, “Did you see the wolf the bokor sacrificed for the ceremony? We stopped her before she could steal Naomi’s magic and place it in a fetish, but we were too late to save him.”
“We have him,” my father said gruffly. “Two of my wolves have already taken him away. I’ll send another airboat once we get back. That particular wolf was from the Southern Territories. I didn’t know him that well, but he was loyal to me in the short time he was part of my Pack. When I killed Redman Martin, a few of his wolves joined us—very few, since most of them were traitorous, just like their Alpha. But this wolf was decent. I’ll make sure he’s given a proper burial.”
If I never saw another cypress, I’d be a happy girl. “I’m glad Redman is gone. I’m assuming the wolves of his who chose not to assimilate with your Pack went to the fracture pack and were dealt with.”
My father stopped ahead of us, reaching the channel. “Yes. The fracture pack is no more. There wasn’t a strong wolf among them.”
The airboats were a welcome sight.
“We’re getting out of here as soon as possible,” Rourke said in my ear. “I think the safest plan we have is to head home and search for Juanita. If she’s there, she’ll have answers.”
“I have a lot to tell you, but Marinette, the powerful spirit I battled, called Juanita a Hag. We’d only guessed before, but now we have confirmation.”
My father turned to me. “Are you positive?”
I nodded once. “Yes.”
Tyler was the first one to hop into an airboat and gestured us down. “I never would’ve guessed it, Jess,” he mused. “Juanita was so… normal. And she had no signature whatsoever, at least that I ever detected, and that’s saying something because I can pick up on almost anything with this.” Tyler touched his nose. He did have a killer sense of smell.
“Hags are among the most powerful of any supernatural,” Rourke said as he helped me into one of the boats. “She would be able to cloak herself well. I’ve never met her, so I don’t know if I would’ve picked up on it or not, but I’d like to think I would have.” He grinned. “But it’s unlikely.”
“You’re going to love her,” I said. “She’s a piece of work in the best way possible.”