“Callie!” Nicole, dressed in a long black gown, sees me and rushes over. She throws her arms around me. “I’m so glad you’re here! I was a little worried you wouldn’t show.”
“Why wouldn’t I show?”
“You were busy with Lucas or something,” she laughs. “It wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“I do make the party,” I joke. “Though you’re going to have to drink for me this year, and keep it quiet.”
“Right.” Nicole nods and her long red hair falls in her face. “I might have already started.”
“I can tell.” I give her a wink. “If anyone asks why I’m not drinking, tell them I’ve joined AA. It’s probably believable.”
Nicole laughs. “Yeah…probably.”
I cock an eyebrow and she winces, then laughs. “Fine. It is believable, and I’d give anything for some wine right now.” I let out a breath and try to let my worries go. I’m in the Covenstead. Nothing can touch me now. I should enjoy this moment and stop worrying about what could happen.
“Where’s Naomi?”
“In the great hall. I made her save us seats. Are you hungry?”
“Starving!”
Nicole loops her arm through mine and I wave for Ruby to follow. The Covenstead as well as the connecting Academy always has a gothic look and feel to it, but it’s been done up for the Feast and will stay this way until the Samhain celebration. There are crystals and jars of water out along the courtyard path, charging in the light of the full moon. Energy buzzes all around us, and I know we can all feel it. It fills me with excitement, making it easier to pretend all is right in the world.
We enter the large, stone building and weave through witches and warlocks, partying and celebrating the feast. A few kids run about, still in their costumes from trick-or-treating downtown. A young mother passes us by, holding a sleeping baby in her arms. I feel a little tug on my heart, knowing that could be me next year.
Or it could very well not be, because I still have no idea what’s in store for me, let alone this baby. The logical part of my brain tells me not to get attached, but I can’t not feel some sort of bond already, especially now that Lucas said he heard the heart beating.
“Finally!” Kristy beams when she sees me. “What took so long?”
I glance at Ruby. “We kind of ran into some unscheduled demon killing.”
“What?” Evander and Kristy ask at the same time.
“Scrapper demons,” I reply quietly and take a seat next to Kristy. Ruby sits across from me, face paling a bit from thinking about the demons. She acted fast and kept her shit together, but she’s not used to fighting demons like I am.
“Have you—”
“Yes,” I interrupt Evander. “We already alerted the council members at the door.”
“Scrappers follow others,” Naomi says what we’re all thinking.
“I know.” I unwrap my silverware from the blood-red cloth napkin and reach for the bowl of mashed potatoes. The entire great hall is set with the colors of black and red, traditional for the Feast of the Blood Moon, of course. Most everyone here are wearing similar colors as well. “We found three drunk kids in the woods, and one had a nasty bite wound on his leg. He said a werewolf bit him.” I plop a big spoonful of mashed potatoes on my plate, doing my best not to eye the decanter of red wine on the center of the table.
“Werewolves? In Thorne Hill?” Evander shakes his head. “Impossible.”
“We thought vampires moving to Thorne Hill was impossible too,” Ruby counters. “And two live here now.”
I put the spoon back in the bowl of potatoes and grab the gravy. “Something attacked that kid. I had Binx do a sweep of the woods and he didn’t find anything nearby. And it wasn’t Scarlet,” I add in case anyone else was thinking what Ruby was thinking. “It’s not possible for her to transform unless someone with angel blood takes her collar off, and Julian is busy on a mission and my dad is, well, MIA—again.”
Though Lucifer is very much here. The bad feeling rises inside me again, and I load my plate with way too much food to make myself feel better. I can’t drink away my problems, but I can at least eat. I hate keeping anything from my friends, but now isn’t the time or place to drop that kind of bomb on them.
“What now?” Nicole asks and I realize all my friends are looking at me.
“We eat,” I say and stick my fork into my food. “And celebrate the feast. If something was out there, it’s not anymore. I’ll have my familiars do another check before I go to bed tonight to be sure. But if werewolves are out there, they’ll make their presence known sooner rather than later.”