Chapter 39

Thirty-Nine

I leave them to clean up Aphrodite's mess. It's technically their mess after all.

"I'm taking you home." Elaria wraps her arm around my waist and steers me back toward the guys. "It's going to be cramped, but we don't have far to go."

"The girls… Mrs. Miller's Granddaughters?"

"Already taken care of. Someone else is taking them home. They've gotten the first explanation with a promise of more. It's strange though… three of them, not knowing they're witches and getting past their teens without being outed?"

"Very strange."

The guys are upright when we get to them, but they are relying heavily on their wolfy counterparts to stay that way.

"Come on, kids," Elaria jerks her head toward the dark shape of the cabin. "Time to get in the school bus and go home."

None of them complain when the "school bus" is an old Nova and we have to sit on top of each other in the back.

And at least Elaria was right. We don't have far to go.

Helping us inside like we're all drunks, Elaria doesn't pass the threshold. "Take care of them, okay?"

I nod. "Did they tell you you couldn't stay?"

"In more words, but yes. I'll crash at your place tonight, if that's okay."

"Of course. You have a key for that very reason… Just know, the place is a mess, so don't accidentally fall asleep on the wrong spell."

"I'll try not to."

Closing the door, I follow the trail of discarded shoes and clothes and find them in the living room… slumped together in the same space I've begun to think of as our nest. They look exhausted and I'd love to lay down in the pile with them, but they need to eat.

I have to search for the nearest pizza place's number, and it feels like a miracle that they'll let me make a delivery order this late.

The guy stutters the order back to me. "Four large meat lover's pizzas and a small veggie, five liters of soda, and wings?"

"Yep."

He seems embarrassed to ask me for my card, but it's a hefty order, it came with a hefty price tag.

Slipping back into the living room, I watch their wolves snuggle closer to them, more corporeal than I've ever seen them, outside of the full moon.

"Come here." Joshua holds out his hand.

"Not yet."

"You were sapped too. You need rest, even if it isn't as much as we do."

"True, but I wasn't in it as long, and I got the blowback. It put back what she tried to steal."

It should have killed me.

Joshua drops his hand, but watches me with heavy lids. "Why us?"

I know they weren't bait. Not at first. "Because moon magic works better when there are werewolves involved. Moon magic on werewolves who don't turn on the full moon probably seemed like a pretty safe option to her."

"But it wasn't a real moon."

"No. I know she hadn't meant to perform the spell tonight. She probably meant to keep you long enough that she'd drain enough of your blood and keep you weak enough that it wouldn't matter if the Miller girls were there or not."

When they look at me with concern, I say, "Most people who use blood magic don't care who they hurt along the way."

Joshua scowls, but Chase—who I'd though was asleep—says, "If I'm just a bag of blood, who cares what happens to me after I've served my purpose?"

"Something like that."

"Pretty safe to say she's the one who sent that terratoma after us, right? Or is there another witch out to get us?"

"I don't think so."

"Not even the one down on the boardwalk that wants to take our place." Joshua asks, the chuckle in his voice tells me he's not serious.

"It would be impossible for anyone to take your place, but no, Anthony is just another victim."

Johnny sits up and slumps against my side, wrapping his arm around my leg. A moment later, he pulls back, looking at my jeans. "You're wearing pants."

"I do that sometimes."

"It's weird."

"She's gone. Right?" Chase asks. He's propped up against the couch and it looks like he'd fall over without it.

"Yes. Her spell consumed her and she'll never get anywhere near you again."

The doorbell makes everyone perk up. "I ordered some food."

Thomas groans and starts to get up. "Nope. Stay put. The food comes to you."

Opening the door, I watch the guy pull the stack of boxes from the insulated bag. I don't have cash, so I'll have to call the place back to—

"You having a party?" He asks a moment before he looks up. "Whoa… can I join?"

He looks me up and down as I take the boxes from him and set them aside. When I take the two bags, I say. "Don't be gross, kid."

I start to kick the door closed and he protests. "Hey! What about a tip?"

"That was the tip. Don't be a creep!"

Thomas is halfway across the floor in an army crawl when I go back into the living room. "What are you doing?"

He slumps forward, head to the back of his hands. "He needs somebody to teach him manners."

"And you were going to do what? Bite his ankles?"

The others laugh. He doesn't.

"Here." I pull the coffee table closer and set the boxes down on it. "I know you guys are tired, but I need you to eat first, or you might not wake up."

They work their way through the pizza like they're drunk. Listing and blinking to keep their eyes open, but they devour it all.

The wings disappear when I'm not looking, and I have no idea who ate them. There's none of the usual mess.

And in the end, the boxes are pushed to the side and I'm pulled into the middle of their pile.

It's so much like the first night we spent together, I can't help but sink into that memory, to want this as often as I can get it—albeit under better circumstances.

We're all half asleep when Johnny stirs.

"We lost our amber," he says, holding up his naked wrist.

"That's okay, I'll make you new ones." Better ones.

No one was ever going to take them away from me again.