54
Savannah
By the time we arrived at my aunt and uncle’s house, I was laughing so hard I was crying.
“Am I right, though?” Casey glanced over at me as he turned off the car. “Werewolf sex is off the charts.”
I shook my head and rubbed my sore abdomen. “So what, it’s so good that after years of hating werewolves, you’re just going to be one now?”
“I’m deciding. Pros: amazing sex and superhuman strength. Also, bigger dating pool. Cons: I shed on the furniture. So far, the pros have it. I’ve never felt so alive in my life! Mira, Sam, and Regina have been taking me for runs every night. I never knew growing fur and running on four legs would be so great.”
“Regina? Are you sure? Like the woman from the warehouse, Regina?”
The world had definitely fallen off its axis. There was no way Sam, let aloneRegina, would be taking time out of their busy lives to teach my cousin how to be a wolf. They despised him, didn’t they? Hell, his face was on a wanted poster in Eclipse.
But Casey didn’t sound like he was shitting me. “Yeah. Reggie and I are buds now. I mean, she was a cold bitch at first, but I think I’m growing on her.”
I choked. “Reggie?”
Regina the ice queen? Regina, who’d missed no opportunity to give me shit about my family?
A whole lot had happened in the past week.
A whole lot had happened in the past month.
I spilled out of the car, clutching my still aching stomach. Casey was acclimating to being a wolf way faster than I think anyone thought possible. Not only was he thrilled with his heightened senses, but he wanted to learn everything there was about werewolf history and the origins of the Magic Side pack.
Frankly, it was astounding. But that was my cousin, batshit crazy and completely unpredictable. I loved him all the same and wouldn’t change anything about him.
A big part of me was desperate to have him stay a wolf, though I barely wanted to admit it.
I bet he smells real bad, Wolfie said.
Probably.
I bounded up the steps and fell into Laurel’s embrace. “It’s good to see you.”
She released me and wiped a few stray tears from her eyes. Her hands were bound with gauze, but she didn’t appear to be in pain. “Savannah, you look absolutely refreshed and—”
“Just fucked?” Casey stepped up beside me with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.
Laurel’s eyebrows shot up, but then she smiled and nodded. “Yes.”
“Oh, my God.” I walked past them into the house. The warm, buttery vanilla aroma of freshly baked cookies bombarded me. I followed it into the kitchen, noticing several cardboard boxes stacked on the kitchen island beside a tray of cooling cookies.
“Help yourself,” Laurel said, following me in. “I packed up a container for the road, along with a few other snacks.”
“Thanks,” I said as Casey strolled into the kitchen and helped himself to two cookies.
“I mean it—for everything. Without you, we’d be screwed, and Magic Side would be in ruins.”
Laurel shook her head, clearly not comfortable with the praise. “You and Jaxson are the real heroes. I’m proud of you, Savy, and I know your parents would be, too.”
My chest constricted as I thought of them. I missed them so damn much, it hurt. But I knew they’d be proud, and that felt good, even if they weren’t here to see it.
A truck rumbled up outside, and Laurel glanced at the window. Jaxson.
“You two had better hit the road so you can make some headway before it gets dark.” Laurel walked over to the three boxes on the counter. “Casey, will you help me carry these outside?”
“Sure, what are they?”
Laurel’s eyes flicked to mine, and I sensed her guilt and shame. “Oh, just something that I’ve been meaning to get rid of for quite some time.”
Casey heaved two of the boxes into his arms and disappeared down the hall. I lifted the corner of the last box and peered inside.
The dossiers on the North American packs.
I looked up at Laurel and blinked. “Why?”
She took my hands and squeezed them gently. “Because you opened my eyes and showed me that not everything is black and white. Because it’s time to carve a new path forward. We need to be focused on the future, not on the grudges of our past.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, afraid that if I spoke, I was going unleash a flurry of tears. “Thank you,” I whispered.
Casey reappeared and frowned at the two of us before taking the last box outside. We followed him to the porch, where I found Jaxson waiting at the bottom of the stairs with his hands in his pockets. Butterflies filled my stomach. God, when was that going to stop?
Hopefully, never.
Jaxson dipped his head in greeting to Laurel, and she did the same.