Chapter Twenty-Four—Sweeny

Sweeny woke lying on Lucas’ bed. Her legs drawn toward her stomach and she clutched a pillow to her side. Silence hesitated her from moving.

It’d been too long that she woke to no noise or nonsense. She didn’t want to ruin it. Though she knew it was too good to be true as the day before came to her.

She shifted to her back, her legs and no man’s land, which she couldn’t call it that anymore, ached. She wasn’t a virgin anymore—or human for that matter.

Apparently, she wasn’t human ever—but now she’d have fur and turn into a beast at the blink of an eye. Speaking of, she searched the room for Lucas. His side of the bed was empty, only the imprint of his body lingered against the sheets.

He’d been gentle with her, guiding her to a rhythm she’d never heard. It’d hurt at first, like most girls described it, but by the third time, she’d enjoyed it. A heated blush crept up her cheeks and rested there. The memories of him above her, golden eyes glistening in the setting sun, his muscles contracted under his tanned skin, set her on fire.

As if she didn't feel crazy already, just add a dash of flaming lust to her blood. What would it hurt?

Sweeny sat up. She stretched her sore body before walking toward Lucas’ closet, and grabbing a large T-shirt to slide over her nakedness. She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror.

Besides her bruised neck, she didn’t look any different. No fur sticking out of her panties or an urge to kill someone. She tiptoed down the stairs and toward the sound of food cooking. Now that smelled good.

Lucas stood at the stove, shirt off, with low-slung basketball shorts and a messy head of hair. “Smells good,” she said.

He turned and smiled, which caused her hormones to twist inside of her. Never in a million years did she think a guy like Lucas LeBlanc would be hers. Did he say they were technically married?

She knew she should have been pissed or worried, but she wasn't. “I’ve got you a plate ready. I figured you’d be hungry.”

“Starved.”

He slid her a plate of sausage, bacon and steak. “That looks amazing,” she said.

Sweeny’s body urged her forward. She wanted to grab utensils and eat but something inside of her—howled? She grabbed the steak and took a huge bite.

What a lady.

With both brows lifted high, Lucas watched her with an amused smile.

“Why am I doing this?” she asked, while greedily chewing her food.

“It’s your wolf—she’s hungry,” he said. “She’s like a baby you’ll have to teach her discipline, but for now, just eat; you’ll need your strength.”

“Are we gonna do it again?” she asked over a mouthful of food.

He gave her a lazy grin. “I meant for your first transition, yeah? But we can do that later.”

She felt giddy when he winked. It caused swirls of sensations that urged her to do things she never would have before. It felt like someone resided inside of her, a different person, an animalistic … wolf. She felt her wolf in there. It should feel like an invasion of privacy, but it didn't. It felt natural, almost like that inner voice everyone had. Only this one howled and pushed her to jump Lucas every second.

Sweeny shoved away her thoughts and devoured her plate within minutes, feeding a bone-deep hunger.

Someone knocked on the door and Lucas went to answer it. Jaxson walked inside, his body bruised and scratched like he’d been through Hell.

Jaxson stopped and made a face. “Put some clothes on, why don’t ya?”

Lucas made his plate and slid onto the barstool next to her. “She lives here,” Lucas said. “She can wear what she wants.”

Lives here? She hadn’t really thought about it, but without Momma, where would she go?

“It smells like a whore house in here,” he mumbled, leaning against the counter opposite of them.

Sweeny smiled, not caring, because it’d been worth it. “What are you doing here?” she asked, reaching over and grabbing a slice of bacon from Lucas' plate.

“We need to talk as a pack. What’s going to happen, Lucas? Patrick wants her to leave, and you can’t. Doesn’t that raise a problem?”

Lucas kept quiet and it made Sweeny nervous.

Jaxson’s gaze shifted to the window. Sweeny followed it toward the bayou. “Do you see something?” she asked.

“Hmm?” he asked. “No, why would you say that?”

“You keep looking outside,” Sweeny said taking another bite.

Lucas stiffened beside her. “Why are you so nervous, yeah?”

Jaxson ran his palm over his head and shrugged. “Something feels off today, but I think it's just nerves about what’s going to happen, that’s all.”

Sweeny watched him closely as she finished off the last piece of bacon. Something didn’t feel right. She got off the stool and walked around to place her plate in the sink.

The dark gloomy skies disappeared from yesterday, only a bright sunny morning stared back at her, but it didn’t feel sunny or bright.

Something lurked outside in the woods. She didn’t know if it was her witchy powers or the wolf that sensed it.

She turned with her palms against the sink. Lucas stared at her with intense eyes, eating his food but telling her something.

“I’m gonna go get dressed, and take a shower. We had a long night.”

Sweeny walked toward the stairs and once she was out of sight, she took them two at a time, all the way to Lucas’ floor to ceiling windows.

Nothing looked different in the back yard. The dock sat unmoving and the water stirred in a small dance.

What is Jaxson sensing? He is hiding something?

He didn’t look cursed or possessed. Sweeny stopped at the top of the stairs and listened. They either stepped outside or weren’t talking anymore.

Sweeny tiptoed down the stairs and looked into the empty kitchen. A flash of fur passed the front window. Sweeny walked onto the porch and glanced at the scene unfolding in front of her.

“Hey, loser.”

Hattie stood in the middle of Lucas’ yard, her palm opened with a huge ball of energy floating above it. “About time you gave it up. Good for you.”

Sweeny glanced around the yard at The Trios Loup restrained to the ground.

“What is this?” Sweeny asked. “What’s going on? Is this about Kurt? We told you—”

Hattie tossed the ball of energy from one palm to the other.

“This isn’t about Kurt Lame-O Farmington. I never cared about him; I just needed to know where you were yesterday. This baby girl, this is destiny. You think I befriended you because you’re new. Nah, boo. I friended you because I knew you were coming. You’re Mena’s descendant and I need her dead.”

Sweeny glanced over at Lucas on the ground.

“Don’t worry; I won’t hurt your little boy toy. I brought you two together on purpose—the mud-ride was for you to meet your mate. How awesome, am I? This is between Mena and me. She took the only thing I wanted most in this world—Thomas, and she’s gonna burn for it.”

“Who is Thomas?” she shouted.

Hattie smiled. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that Patrick and Kurt are standing in the woods in an attempt to save you. So,” she said, giving a small curtesy, she tossed the ball of energy toward her right and a portal opened.

“Things are about to get lit, Sweeny.”

She released the boys from the ground and Lucas raced toward Sweeny.

“Now, y’all come on inside and I’ll let you all live. Honestly, I don’t need anybody but Sweeny, but we’ll compromise for her cooperation.”

Sweeny sensed Patrick and Kurt in the tree line.

Hattie lifted a brow. She raised her right hand and Lucas’ back arched, his feet swinging madly, as she lifted him from the ground. His scream pierced her heart.

“Okay, okay,” Sweeny said. His pain radiated inside of her, and she realized what it meant for him to take her pain.

“Funny, huh?” Hattie said. “When you’re mated, you feel each other’s pain.”

“Hilarious,” Sweeny mumbled.

She walked down the front stairs barefoot and in her T-shirt toward Hattie. Lucas walked behind her, his palm wrapped around her elbow.

Patrick’s voice came from the distance, but Sweeny knew she had to go into this portal or they’d both die. The Trios Loup would seize to exist, and Sweeny knew she couldn’t live without Lucas. Not after the night before, not after submitting to him.

Sweeny stared into the dark abyss in front of her, wondering how so many supernaturals hid in plain sight.

Hattie tapped her shoulder. Sweeny looked into her best friend’s eyes and saw—death.

“What are you?”

She smiled. “Mena has nothing on me.”

Lucas gripped her palm as Hattie shoved her inside the portal and darkness sucked them into nothing.