Chapter Forty-Four

Kerry

The professor lying across Kerry and Demetria's lap stirred when he turned into the pack house's driveway. Demetria looked unbothered that a random stranger was riding with them, and in all honesty, she looked giddy.

Maybe it was the night out, or the new tattoo on Kerry's neck, but either way, he would take it. The night seemed to lessen the stress she'd been under, and Kerry knew it was worth every minute away from the pack.

Several wolves trained outside of the pack house when he parked and pulled the professor out and onto the ground.

"Go get Alpha Allaire," he told one of the younger wolves.

Demetria slammed her door and walked around, looking observant of everyone around them. She spotted Cynthia amongst a circle of shewolves. Her gaze didn't last long, but Kerry caught the look of irritation on her face.

She had that gut feeling that Kerry also had inside. He wasn't one hundred percent sure, and neither was she, or Cynthia would be toast by now.

"Dude is still out of it," she said. "What did you do? Hit him with a hammer?"

Kerry flexed his bicep and kissed it. "You could say that."

Demetria tried to stop her smile as Alpha Allaire walked out of the front door. He stalled. "Is that the professor?"

"Yup," Kerry said, slinging him over his shoulder.

He noticed an impressed look on Demetria's face as he swung him over his shoulder. Kerry smiled, which made Demetria laugh. "You caught me checking you out," she said. "Get over it, or get used to it."

The alpha walked over and gave the professor a good look. "Where did you find him? Cynthia said you two were going out for some time alone. I didn't expect for you to bring him back here."

"He was following us," Kerry said, hoisting him higher on his shoulder. "Where do you want him? He obviously doesn't want to be here, but told us that a blonde woman came to him, and said she needed him soon."

Demetria leaned against Kerry's truck. "Ivory is blonde."

He nodded. "So we can expect a visit from Ivory through this guy?" he asked, picking up his limp arm. "Is there anything that a witch won't do? That's super creepy, Demetria."

Demetria put her palm on her chest and scoffed. "I'm offended, Alpha. I'm a good witch. I don't dabble in the dark stuff. The dark stuff gets you stuck in purgatory with your evil twin and no way out."

Alpha Allaire smirked. "Noted. Take him into the infirmary. The nurse should be in there. He will most likely need something for his head when he wakes up. You left a mark, Kerry."

Kerry readjusted the professor. "He deserves more than a mark for stalking us on our date. We were having a good time and he ruined it."

"I'll be sure not to interrupt any of your future dates," he said.

Kerry lugged the professor toward the infirmary, and left him with the nurse and a couple of male wolves. Whenever he woke up, Kerry planned to get some details out of him—maybe it'd be something they could use against Ivory.

Demetria was sitting on a barstool in the pack house, talking with Grace, when Kerry walked inside. The look on her face told him Cynthia was near, a look Grace couldn't see.

Alpha Allaire called attention to everyone in the room. "We've been training for a few days now, and I want to speak to everyone about it. You've all put so much into training and preparing, but I don't think any of you truly understand what we're going up against. I spoke with Cynthia, and she told me about the twin's age, and how they perform dark magic. It's not like Demetria or Cynthia. It's dark, demonic, and strong. We have to prepare to be hurt, and to protect our pack."

Kerry frowned, knowing exactly what he was telling everyone. To prepare for the worst. Demetria wrapped her arm around Kerry's waist and turned to face the pack house. "I don't want to interrupt, Alpha, but I do want to say thank you to everyone. You're all behind me, and you don't know me, not really. You know Claire, and you know Kerry, but you don't know me. But I am thankful for all of you. For having my back. For having Kerry's back. I'm glad to be here, and a part of this pack. I know we can kill the twins, and I plan to do the best I can to make sure you're all safe."

Kerry smiled, feeling proud of his mate and her strength.

Alpha Allaire walked over and put his hand on Demetria's shoulders. "We're glad to have you, darling. And we're going to do whatever we can to keep you here with us."

Kerry's gaze shifted around the room; he watched all his pack mates and their confident faces. He wasn't sure the extent of the twin's powers, but he knew it was grand enough to pull Demetria into another realm and send hellhounds after them.

None of it sounded promising, though Demetria had God-given powers, not the ones you conjured up from Hell. He'd never seen her use them much, but he knew she was more powerful than he imagined.

Alpha Allaire cleared his throat and Kerry glanced over. He'd been zoned out, and hadn't realized he said anything. "Sir?"

"Do you have anything to add?"

Kerry knew they had another day or two until the full moon and, frankly, he didn't want to spend it training. He wanted to spend it with Demetria. "We need to practice with Cynthia and Demetria tomorrow morning. They can use some magic on the wolves to show them a little of what to prepare for."

"Good idea. Both at the same time," Alpha said. "Cynthia has been helping tremendously with that this week."

Cynthia smiled, and Kerry felt it was genuine. At this point, he didn't know what to believe anymore or who to trust.

The front door opened and the pack nurse poked her head inside. "The professor is up," she said. "And he's not happy to be here."

Claire and Axel walked over from the midst of shewolves, and followed the nurse toward the infirmary. Alpha Allaire started back in with his speech, while Demetria interlaced her fingers with his. "I need to get away from Cynthia again," she whispered. "I'm going to try and reach Kitty."

Kerry lifted a brow. "As in …"

"Talk to him," she said.

He made a face. "I can make that happen. But when you talk to him, tell him I said piss off."

Demetria reached over and twisted his nipple, making him smile.