Chapter Twenty-Five—Lucas

Lucas had been through the ringer over the years, but being pushed into a portal was a new one, even for him. Swirls of black, white and stars tapped dance on his vision, a heart stopping wind twirled him around like a ragdoll, and the only thing keeping him grounded was Sweeny's hand clasped around his.

It was impossible to think with the piercing wind vibrating against his eardrums, and he didn't know if it would make a difference, anyway. They were up Crap River and he had no plan to get them out.

He was starting to think he knew nothing about his hometown. How could he not know about Hattie, or Kurt? It hurt his pride to think his nose wasn't as good as he thought. Alpha his backside.

The mini tornado ended just as quickly as it started, sending them flying into a blanket of weeds, Sweeny landed on top of him with a huge oomph.

Lucas groaned, looking up into her worried eyes, and around at the vacant field filled with tumbleweeds and a vast span of forest. It looked familiar but not somewhere he ran often.

"You okay, cher?" he asked.

Sweeny bounced up, her head whipping back and forth in search of Hattie. She looked chilled to the bone, and he hated what he knew went on inside of her. He could smell her wolf surfacing, and by the anger rolling off her skin, he knew she'd shift soon.

"Where is she?" she asked.

"Cher," he said cautiously, trying to grab her hand but she snatched away, making eye contact with him. Her eyes blazed a bright purple. That is new. He'd never seen that color before. "Calm down, yeah? You're going to transition soon and you'll need to calm down. It'll make it worse if you're angry."

Sweeny ignored him, marching through the weeds in nothing but a T-shirt. He'd normally love to see that, but he knew it wasn't the time or place. He followed behind her, noticing her shiver every time the wind picked up, which struck him as odd.

Rougarous didn't get cold.

"About time!"

Hattie stood on top of a hill a few yards away, hip swayed to the side as if she'd waited for hours.

"You stupid deranged hippie!" Sweeny yelled.

Hattie titled her head to the side in amusement, her long dreads shifting from her shoulder to back as Sweeny stormed her. Lucas raced forward, catching her mere seconds from attacking Hattie, who looked unbothered. "You are so dramatic," Hattie said.

Sweeny was strong in his arms, her skin cooler than he expected, but her wolf purring at his touch. "I'm two seconds away from ripping your head from your shoulders. What. Do. You. Want. From. Me?"

Hattie curled her finger and turned to walk down the hill. Lucas grabbed Sweeny's shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Sweeny, cher, calm down, yeah?"

Sweeny seemed to register him for the first time since they landed in the field. "I feel—weird."

"You're going to shift soon. How do you feel?"

Sweeny shrugged and looked off into the distance. "I don't know—strange, like someone that's not me talking inside of me." She looked up at Lucas. "My wolf?"

He nodded. "What is she saying?"

The corner of her mouth moved up. "Naughty things, she seems to want to know your wolf, among other stuff," she chuckled, "and to follow the immortal."

Immortal? Lucas' wolf hadn't mentioned anything about Hattie being an immortal. How did she know that? "Okay," he said. "Then let's follow her."

Sweeny took his hand and they walked down the hill toward Hattie. She stood underneath a huge lone tree with low swaying branches, and what looked like some campground underneath it.

It wasn't until they grew closer that Lucas realized it wasn't a campground but some sort of ritualistic spot. The atmosphere shifted and the smell of the unknown rested there.

Hattie clapped her hands together excitedly. "Y'all are too cute together."

Sweeny snarled. "Seriously?"

Hattie shrugged, and tied her dreads with a holder around her wrist. "What? Can't a girl get giddy about her bff's new boy toy?"

"You're not my best-friend," she snapped.

"Ouch," Hattie said. "And to think I really liked you. Too bad you're related to that demoness, Mena." She faked a shiver. "Now, the fun part," she said, her ice blue eyes moving to Lucas. "Sweeny is special, and I don't mean special-ed," she laughed at her own joke.

Lucas shifted on his feet, feeling irate at her nonchalance. His wolf howled to come out, but he knew better. Not knowing Hattie's powers made him weak and blind-sided.

"Come on with it," Lucas said, urging her with his hand. "What are we doing here and what do you want?"

Hattie sat down on her knees and sprinkled something over the unlit fire. "Pushy, pushy, Alpha. Calm your tits. Sweeny is going to kill Mena for me. For revenge, you know, the usual."

Sweeny shook her head. "Why can't you just do it? You just shoved us into a portal, and you want the virgin witch—wolf—to do it for you? I don't know what I'm doing."

"Obviously," Hattie mumbled beneath her breath. "I'm going to help you."

This sounds too easy. And Sweeny is right, why can't she do it?

"What is the catch?" he asked. "You make it sound too easy. How will Sweeny kill Mena?"

Hattie ignored him and pulled out a lighter.

"Hattie!" Lucas shouted, his skin vibrating.

She rolled her eyes and put out her palm dramatically. "She'll stake her, duh. Didn't your grandfather put that in his little book?"

Lucas swallowed harshly. "How do you know that?"

Hattie chuckled. "I know everything about these parts," she said sarcastically. "Okay," she said, standing. "Come on over here."

Sweeny didn't budge. "You're going to tell me what you want me to do right now, before I agree to anything, got it?"

She sighed. "You're going to go back into time and kill Mena before she takes Thomas."

What the—

"She's not doing that," Lucas snapped. "You bring Mena here and she'll kill her."

Sweeny looked at him. "Don't speak for me, Lucas. I'm my own person and I'm not sure I want to kill my aunt."

"She tried to kill you, cher. She wants your power, and you gonna let her take it?"

Sweeny's gaze fell to her bare feet.

"What is it?" he whispered.

A stray tear escaped her eye. "Nothing—"

"She doesn't want any of the power," Hattie interrupted with a smile. "She wants me to take her wolf."

My wolf howled on the inside. Being mated, Sweeny having her wolf, it all meant forever. Did she not want that, no?

He squeezed her hand but she pulled away and wrapped her arm around her stomach. "Don't."

"Do you want to know if I can do that?" Hattie asked, stepping forward.

Lucas stepped in front of her. "Don't come near her."

Hattie's smile reached her eyes. "I'll do it, Sweeny. I'll take your powers if you kill Mena."

No!

Sweeny sighed, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. Then it happened. Her head fell backward, her back arched and she doubled over onto the ground.

Hattie clapped her hands with a little hop. "Oh, I've never seen one transition before. Awesome. This is totally my day."

Lucas bent down and placed his hand on her back. "Help me," Sweeny whispered.

It hurt him to see the pain on her face, and knowing how bad it hurt, hurt him even more. Lucas tried to take her pain, but it wasn't working. Sweeny screamed, her fingertips digging into the dirt beneath them. She started saying something he didn't recognize, and he figured the shock took over.

Her body heated underneath his touch. Lucas sat down and cradled her into his lap as she convulsed. It happened so quickly, quicker than it had for him, at least.

One minute she sat in his lap and the next she stood, her purple eyes bight and vibrant. But no wolf. Not physically at least. The tips of two elongated teeth hung over her full bottom lip, and her body screamed wolf, but there was no fur. Nothing. No physical animal.

Hattie gasped. "Interesting."

Lucas walked over to her, smelling the goodness of her scent, knowing she held the powers of a rougarou, because his wolf recognized it, but knowing she wasn't like him exactly.

"What happened?" he asked.

Her brows furrowed in confusion, shaking her head because she didn't know the answer. "I'm—I just started asking to shift and I did. Why don't I look like you?"

Lucas ran his finger into his hair. "I don't know."

"It's the two powers together, duh!" Hattie said. "How awesome, Girl. You get to have the strength and speed of a werewolf but no ugly fur or anything. Kudos to you!"

Lucas didn't know if it was a good or bad thing, but it didn't change the fact that she didn't want it either way. She wanted out of it. Lucas felt his heart break into two pieces right in front of him. "Sweeny, how do you feel?"

Sweeny swallowed. "Strong."

She looked it. Lucas could smell it on her. It smelled delicious.

Hattie clapped her hands. "Whew, I'm glad that's over it. Now, let's get to it. You'll need your powers to kill Mean, and when you get back, I'll strip you from all of this—stuff you've got going on."

Lucas ground his molars together, wanting to talk to Sweeny, wanting to be back at his house as he'd planned for the day. Sweeny slid her tongue across her teeth. "Where are you sending me—"

"Us," Lucas corrected. "You're not going without me, no."

"You're going back to … drum roll please, 1910 Louisiana!" she shouted.

"You're from 1910?"

Hattie started drawing a circle in the dirt, a smug smile playing on her lips. "You never ask a lady what year she was born, Sweeny, you should know that. That is the year Thomas is from, let's leave it at that."

Lucas watched Sweeny take in all of the information like a sponge. It was news to him, as well. "What are we looking for when we get there, huh? How do we know where to find her?"

Hattie looked up from her knees. "I'm sending you right to her. She'll be there with Thomas, seducing him like the little homewrecker she is, and then you'll plunge the dagger in and down goes the slut."

Lucas gave Sweeny a gentle pull to the side, he caught sight of her purple gaze, and it gave him goosebumps. "Something doesn't feel right about this," Lucas whispered. "She's up to something, no?"

Sweeny nodded. "What should we do, Lucas? I'm scared to do this."

He didn't know. The duties of an alpha never ended, but this was a different playing field. Lucas looked over at Hattie who continued getting ready for her spell.

"We could kill her?" he whispered.

Sweeny squeezed his hand. "How Lucas? Do we even know how to kill an immortal? I mean, don't they live forever or something?"

"How do you know what she is?" he asked. "Who told you that?"

She pushed her hair from her face and shrugged. "My wolf, I guess."

Lucas stared at her face, wondering how her wolf knew all of these things. A Luna needed to be strong and well informed, but Sweeny was brand new. He couldn’t understand how she knew all of this so quickly. Maybe it's her witchy side? Did her witch have a voice?

Hattie jumped up. "Okay, Lovebirds. Let's get ready."

Sweeny gave him the side eye. "I'm going to kick her on my way inside."

Despite his nerves, he laughed. Even though it felt insane to think that they were going back in time. Hattie hurried them over with her hand, looking around as if she thought someone watched them.

Lucas looked over his shoulder for anyone, but nothing stood out.

"Is this going to be like last time?" she asked.

Hattie nodded. "Yup, just like it."

Sweeny stepped closer to him, her sweet scent made his wolf howl in excitement, but Lucas was sure he didn't understand what was about to happen.

Hattie bent down, whispered something incoherently to herself, let her head roll backward against her shoulders and formed a familiar ball of energy.

Lucas brought Sweeny even closer, wrapping his arm around her waist, and preparing for the worst.

Hattie smiled when she looked at the energy. "Welcome back, little guy." Her icy stare met his and then slid to Sweeny's. "You'll stake her with wood, like a vampire, which is appropriate since she's pretty thirsty."

Sweeny rolled her eyes, annoyed, which wasn't far off from how Lucas felt. "Ready Freddy?" she asked them.

Hattie tossed the ball to her left, opening a black portal of death and stepped back with her arms outstretched. Sweeny went to step inside but stopped. "How will we get out?"

"It'll appear once you kill Mena, but not before. You can't come back until you kill her."

Lucas narrowed his eyes at her. "Hattie, if you leave us in 1910, I will find you there, and pull your heart out of your chest."

Hattie gave him a sweet smile, stepped forward and shoved them in once again. "Too bad I don't have one!" she shouted loudly as the wind deafened his ears.