Chapter Thirty—Sweeny

Sweeny stared at the two women over Lucas' shoulder, her patience wearing thin at the sight of them. Once she found out they'd been gone a year, she briefly thought that was plenty of time for Mena to heal, but she didn't realize they'd find them so soon.

Mena's sadistic chuckle sent Sweeny's anger into overdrive. "I'm shocked, really," she said walking closer. "First, Susie—or is it Hattie now?—has my own niece travel back in time to kill me, but not as shocked as knowing you kept your identity from Melody. I mean—come on—you deserve an award for the knowledge you've gained all this time. Way. To. Go."

Hattie's lip pulled into a snarl. "Yeah, too bad it didn't work."

"Well didn't it? You had a long life with Thomas." Her gaze traveled over to Jaxson. "And you could have a lifetime with this one if you wanted. I don't see the problem."

"Thomas was my mate, and he died, like I was supposed to. I want to die. Just please," she whispered. "Kill me, or stop the curse."

Mena began walking around the group of them. "I could kill this one, and you'll be alone until he reincarnates again. Would that work?"

The sadness on Hattie's face turned to fury. Sweeny could tell she wanted her dead, Sweeny did too, but she knew it wouldn't be too easy. "Stop it," Sweeny hissed. "Just let her go. She's been punished enough."

Mena tilted her head. "I have my own bones to pick with you, Sweeny. Trying to kill your family. It's a shame really."

Sweeny rolled her eyes. "I've known you like two minutes, plus, I liked Momma better when you were trapped in that box."

Mena grinned. "Funny, I bet your mother liked you better before you became a dog." Sweeny felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She didn't like being called a dog any more than she liked Mena. "I noticed your little race over here, and you don't really turn into a rougarou, do you, Sweeny? That magic you hold shaped your transition differently. I can't say the eyes don't suit you, but you still smell like you need a bath."

Lucas growled beside her, but Sweeny eased over and laced her fingers with his. She needed him to stay calm in case this went where she figured it would—to Hell.

Sweeny's eyes moved to Momma's who looked at her with a look she didn't recognize, but it didn't surprise her, because she didn't know a lot about her apparently.

Mena clapped her hands dramatically. "Well, it looks like we're out numbered, Melody. Whatever shall we do?"

Sweeny felt the tension rise between the group, she half expected Mena to burst into flames and burn down the entire forest. It's what she expected of Satan, and she was beginning to think Mena was his first cousin.

Hattie stood up. "I'll do anything, Mena. Please," Hattie whispered. Sweeny hated to see her beg. Mena walked closer to Hattie, twirling her long dark hair around one finger. "I'll tell you what, Susie, if Sweeny gives me her power, I'll reverse everything. You'll live your life the way it was originally intended with Thomas and die by his side like a sick love story."

Sweeny's stomach dropped. Everyone turned to stare at her. Lucas squeezed her hand tightly in his. "No, she's not giving you anything."

Mena sighed. "It's the only way Susie will have the love of her life back. Dang it, Susie. Looks like you're out of luck."

Sweeny hadn't known about her powers but for a few days, and already someone wanted to snatch them away. She swallowed the lump growing in her throat. Giving them up would save a mated love. Who was Sweeny to take that away from someone?

Lucas shook his head. "Don't do it, cher. Baby, you don't know what it entails. You don't know anything about your powers. What will she do with them? She'll destroy the town—all the people."

"Don't do it, Sweeny," Theo said from beside her.

Jaxson shook his head.

Slowly, Sweeny licked her dry lips and let out a breath of frustration. She didn't want Mena to destroy the town, and she really wished she knew how to save them without giving it to her.

"I'll leave if you give them to me," Mena countered. "I'll just take over another parish, no biggie?" she said with a shrug.

No biggie?

Sweeny closed her eyes tight, blocking out the voices telling her not to do it, but if it meant getting rid of her, why not? She'd still have her wolf and Lucas as a mate.

What was losing something she never realized she had? If Mena was even telling the truth. If she wasn't, Sweeny planned to cross that bridge when she came to it.

"I'll do it," she said bravely.

"Merde, cher, don't," Lucas hissed. He placed his palms on her hips and turned her to face him. "Sweeny, you don't know what it'll do to you—"

"She'll be just a wolf, like you, Cajun Casanova. I thought that would make you happy?"

"Sweeny makes me happy the way she is," he said.

Sweeny's heartbeat hammered in her ears. Hattie's pleading look broke Sweeny's heart into two pieces. "I'll do it, but you leave us when you do. You leave and don't come back to this place. No one wants you here."

Mena pretended to cry. "That makes me so sad, especially since you're my niece and whatever," she said, waving her hand. "Alright, get over here and let's do this."

Lucas' fingers tightened around her wrist, but she pried them away. "Let me do this so it'll be done," she said.

He didn't approve, but just because he was alpha, didn't mean he wouldn't let her make her own choices, and Sweeny had never been more in love with him than she did at that moment.

With her head lifted high, she walked over toward Mena, realizing her beauty the closer she came to her. "For such a pretty face, you suck," Sweeny said.

Mena put her palm on Sweeny's shoulder and guided her to bended knees. The forest seemed deafening with silence; the only noise was Sweeny's steady heartbeat against her ribcage.

The pack stayed quiet, even though Sweeny heard Lucas' heartbeat pounding the loudest. "Don' hurt her," he said.

"I wouldn't dare," she said with a smile.

Sweeny listened as Mena started chanting.

The numbing thought of Sweeny giving up this power she held taunted her. What if Mena is lying? What if she kills you or the entire town with it?

Mena seemed to speak in a different tongue, and it sent shivers down Sweeny's spine not knowing her words.

She could feel the shift in the air, the animals grow restless and the leaves rustle in a growing wind. Sweeny glanced over at her mother, noticing the strange look on her face.

She seemed distant—searching for something that Sweeny didn't see. Tingles danced along her skin, and like a pricked balloon, Sweeny felt something leaving her body. Mena closed her eyes, and continued her spell.

Exhaustion seeped from Sweeny's body and she slumped to the ground with a thud. Lucas' warm hands were there to lift her seconds later. He cradled her in his lap, stroking her hair like a child.

"Wake up, cher," he said. "Don't close your eyes. What's wrong with her?" he yelled.

No one answered him. Sweeny pried her eyes opened, seeing Mena levitating from the ground like some Marvel character. Could Sweeny do that? She didn't know. Her laugh made Sweeny think of Ursula and it made her stomach sick.

What had she done?

Suddenly Sweeny felt her strength returning, and she realized Lucas was sharing his with her. Climbing to her feet, she looked over at Hattie. "Send her back, Mena. That was our deal."

Mena laughed, her singsong laugh, and lowered herself to the ground, looking at her limbs as if they were new. "You're a very naïve girl, Sweeny. You really should have made me send Hattie back, first. Now—I don't have to do anything."

Sweeny felt stupid—more than stupid—and her anger grew inside like a pack of swarming hornets. She felt her wolf pawing to get out, to rip Mena limb from limb.

The air around her began to grow tense, and she felt the shift when everyone knew there would be a fight. Theo shifted first, launching at her without hesitation, but with one look, she sent him flying.

Then an eruption of shifting and roars filled the clearing, and launched a war that Sweeny needed to win for everyone. Mena seemed calmer than Sweeny ever remembered, and it pushed her harder to knock her off that flimsy high horse.

When Sweeny shifted, she felt herself grow into the wolf that the others shifted into. Her magic had been the reason she didn't before, and now she felt new and strange.

Lucas stopped beside her, his golden eyes blazed with fury and admiration. Unlike Lucas' dark gray fur and Theo's auburn, Sweeny's was a deep chocolate that matched her hair. It felt natural and foreign at the same time.

Not being a typical werewolf, and being able to stand on two legs like those old tall tells, Sweeny launched herself at Mena from a blind spot the others left opened.

She nipped her neck, drawing a path of blood down her collarbone. Mena yelled, "Melody, a little help here."

But when Sweeny looked, she didn't see her mother. In fact, something didn't feel right. Where had she gone?

Theo and Jaxon circled Mena, and to be honest, she looked nervous in those hate-filled eyes. Maybe Sweeny's powers weren't as good as she thought. Then Mena let out a scream that brought everyone to their knees.

Sweeny dropped her head, trying her best to block out the noise but the pitch only soared and deafened her hearing. When Sweeny pushed through the noise, she saw everyone on the ground except for Mena who looked like she wanted to bolt.

Sweeny climbed to her feet, and tried to walk against the harboring wind that grew from her scream. Then she saw it—across the clearing—Patrick stood on a broken tree, bow and arrow aimed right at Mena.

Mena's back was to him, and Sweeny didn't think she'd have noticed anyway. Momma stood beside him, with Kurt on the other side, holding his own bow and arrow.

Patrick let go, the arrow sliced through the air like a knife to butter, and pierced Mena right through the heart. Mena's eyes widened, her hands reaching for the wooden end of the arrow sticking out of her chest and toward the culprit.

Betrayal crossed her face as she stared down her sister, but what did she expect when she'd become a raging lunatic?

Mena fell to her knees, and onto her back. Sweeny felt the urge to kick her while she was down, but she didn't. She transitioned back into her body, finding her nakedness didn't bother her as much as she thought.

Lucas didn't share that thought. He walked around and hid her from the pack. "Lucas," she said. "They'll eventually—"

"Nah, cher, nope, they won't."

Sweeny chuckled. "Are you hurt?"

"No," he said, turning to look down at her. "I'm fine. What about you?"

She looked down at her bareness and shrugged. "The same."

Lucas made eye contact with her. "Your wolf is beautiful," he whispered, causing a blush to rise to her cheeks.

"You like her?" she asked.

"I love her—I love you, Sweeny."

Sweeny blinked a few times, knowing she'd felt the same way only minutes before, and she leaned up to kiss him.

The scene around them melted away, and she became overwhelmed with safety and calmness. "How do you feel?" he whispered when he pulled back. "Your powers—she took them."

She shrugged. "I didn't know I had them until a couple weeks ago, so I don't really miss them, I guess."

Lucas ran the pad of his thumb against her bottom lip. "That was a nice thing you did, yeah? Giving them up for Hattie."

Sweeny's gaze moved to Hattie, who stood a few yards away, staring into the distance. Hattie looked at Sweeny and a smile swept across her face. "Thank you," she mouthed.

Sweeny went to ask her what she meant, but Hattie disappeared, as if she never existed, right in front of her. Sweeny's mouth opened in shock. "I guess that meant killing Mena worked?" Lucas asked.

"It worked," Momma said.

Momma stood behind Sweeny, offering her a robe that hung over her forearm. "Hurry and take this, your dad won't come over here until you're dressed, he says it's weird."

Sweeny reluctantly took the robe and covered herself up. An awkward silence stood between them like an elephant in the room. Momma reached forward and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"I'm so sorry about all of this, Sweeny," she said. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, and I'm sorry I brought you down here."

Sweeny began to grow pissed, and Lucas' hand on her back calmed her, but only a smidge. "Why did you, Momma? Her being put in that coffin could have been the end of it. Why did you bring me down here to let her out? And why couldn’t you do it?"

Momma sighed. "The witch that put her in that box made it to where I couldn’t do anything, Sweeny. You've had powers your entire life, I debated for seventeen years on whether to keep her in the box or not. She's my sister, and I hated the thought of her staying there for eternity. I regret it, but now she's gone and I'm glad. I'm sorry you were pulled into this, and I hate myself for everything."

Sweeny wasn't sure whether to believe her or not. "You seemed very excited that day at the bayou, very not you, what changed?"

Momma's eyes dropped to the ground. "I had to play the part; she would have known if I planned to kill her."

Lucas ran his finger up her back to her shoulder, as if he sensed her anger. She didn't think she could trust her mother anymore, and it hurt her heart. "Cher, maybe you should calm down and then think this through, yeah?"

Sweeny agreed. She did need to calm down. "I want to go home," she said to Lucas. "And I mean my home with Lucas," she said to her mom.

Momma nodded, not arguing with her about it.

Frustration brewed in Sweeny's stomach and she didn't know where it came from. Lucas seemed calm, so she glanced over her shoulder. "Why do I feel so …"

"Frustrated?" Lucas asked. "It's Jaxson. We can feel when another wolf in the pack is upset."

Jaxson stood by the tree where Hattie vanished, blood dripping from his fisted hand. Guilt hit her like a brick. "Don't stress about it," Lucas whispered. "He'll find another mate since Hattie is gone. It'll all be fine."

Theo cleared his throat. "So, is the vampire hunter over there going to join us or stare at us the rest of the day? And not only that, I'm starving. Can we get rid of this witch and leave?"

Patrick and Kurt still kept their distance. They hadn't ended on a good note, and Sweeny wanted to patch things up, but Theo was right. She was hungry and they needed to get rid of Mena. Why didn't she shrivel up and turn to dust like the ones on TV?

Sweeny had a lot to learn about supernaturals.

Momma waved her hand. "I'll have Patrick help me bury her. Y'all can leave."

Lucas tugged her toward the woods when the sound of a four-wheeler stopped them. The boys were still nude, but no one had time to move before Cathy Ann pulled up along the dirt trail around the field.

Her mouth popped opened and she gasped loudly.

"What do we do?" Sweeny whispered.

Cathy Ann stared at the scene for minutes, not moving, just staring before Sweeny smelled it.

"What's that smell?" Sweeny asked.

Lucas stared at Jaxson who hadn't moved a muscle, but stared at Cathy Ann as if she held the world on her shoulders.

"Mate," Jaxson whispered.

Theo tossed his hands up dramatically, breaking the awkward bubble of silence they all stood in, and slapped them against his bare thighs. "You've got to be kidding me! Everyone but me?"