Chapter 7

"Look what the wolf dragged in." Amber spoke from right above us while we were a tangled mess of limbs on the floor. Her red corkscrews circled he face like a halo as she leaned over us to check for injuries.

I couldn't just up to get my hug because I had to help Ace who was shaking his head adamantly but thankfully he was no longer shifting. He was however pale like he's seen a ghost, and I was worried that he might get sick.

"Why are all of you not angry?" asked Amber while holding Ace up by his shoulders. "There is Anger demon outside causing a riot on the street."

"Is that what that all was?" Ace rasped and leaned forward on one arm to cough out whatever was clogging his throat.

"We have wards around the shop. This has been going on the last two or three hours. The moment I caught what's happening I called Alex and told him to keep everyone away from here. Especially himself. We closed the shop too." Amber kneeled next to Ace rubbing his back soothingly. "If you're still fighting the shift I can call him to command you, but he cannot come here. Not now, or we will have much bigger problems than a measly anger demon."

"I'm okay.' The shifter wheezed still gulping air like he'd run a marathon.

Since I knew she will take better care of the shifter than me, I slid my butt closer to Sissily who was sitting mutely on the café floor just inside the door, staring at space. My best friend looked so dejected my heart twisted painfully in my chest. The moment I slung my arm around her shoulders she tipped over and tucked her head on my chest. It took a lot to make Sissily show emotions like this in public, so it spoke volumes about our mental state. We were all drained.

"I'm a horrible person." Sissily muttered in my shirt.

"We already knew that. Why are you announcing it like it's a revelation?" my attempt at humor made her lift her head to give me a flat look. "What? Too soon?"

"You're not helping." She wiggled her arm. "Rub my arm to make me feel better." With a roll of my eyes I pressed my palm to her bicep. "Not too hard." She immediately complained.

"Yes ma'am." Obediently I did what she asked while she willowed in guilt for saying mean things to me. We both knew it wasn't her fault but I more than anyone could understand where she was coming from.

Things sometimes stay imprinted on your conscience.

"As much as I hate to say it, I think we need to call Danika." The silence following my statement confirmed that everyone felt the same way I did when it came to my grandmother. However, she was a necessary evil in the situation. "Or," Since everyone was looking at me I shrugged like it was not a big deal. "I could go and deal with it."

"Absolutely not." Ace snarled where he was still kneeling on the floor. "I promised I won't let you out my sight, and if I go back out there again there is no stopping the shift. My wolf will see only blood if that rage I felt consumes him."

"Use your inside voice Ace." I spoke sweetly giving the glaring shifter a sugary smile full of teeth. "I don't need permission, I was just stating the options we have."

"We could wait it out." Amber suggested. "I already called this in after I warned Alex. The coven is notified."

"And no one is here yet." I said and Sissily and I looked at each other.

"Alex mentioned delegations visiting your grandmother." As much as Amber wanted to seem like she was not concerned, twisting one strand of hair around her finger over and over told a different story. "Oh dear. You're bleeding."

As she rushed toward me I lifted my hand to look what she was talking about. At first, I thought I got hurt when we shouldered our way in, but what she was worrying about was my bleeding hand.

"Ah, that's nothing, Amber. I scratched myself there."

"How did you catch it that it's an Anger demon, Hazel?" Sissily suddenly perked up. At my confusion she pointed at the hand I had up between me and Amber. "Did you snap out of it because you made yourself bleed? Was that it?"

"Ummm," frowning at the mark I thought about it for a long moment. Was that why I was myself and not as rage filled as the rest of them? "I don't think so? I mean, I was never really angry. Annoyed, yes. That the two of you kept bickering. But never really at a pint where I wanted to hurt or insult you."

Sissily grimaced at the reminder but I simply shrugged. I was not reminding her to be an ass, I was simply stating facts. Maybe she had something there because I couldn't remember when I started scratching the mark. As a matter of fact, I couldn't remember it being itchy on the way to the café or after that either.

"She may not be affected at all." Ace who finally took control of himself was now sitting with his legs bent at the knees, leaning back on his arms. "I saw when she was nearly hit by that car, which swerved her way on purpose. She was freaked out and she busted the tire but it was a typical Hazel move and attitude."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I glowered at him and he raised both eyebrows as if to say touché. "Whatever." I hated when he was right. "That assumption," I glanced at him pointedly. "only confirms that I should go and find the demon. If this has been reported to the coven and yet here we are wondering what to do I think the message is clear. They are not coming."

"I'd like to say that it's a bad idea but I'm afraid I'd have to agree with Hazel." Amber reluctantly backed me up when the other two immediately started arguing. "I trust she will do the right thing and not act recklessly." Taking hold of both my hands she made sure I had my gaze locked on hers. "It would destroy me to have her hurt, too. Watching over River is hard enough, I don't think I could handle something happening to both of you."

"Is…" I couldn't finish the question from the fist size lump that formed in my throat. From the corner of my eye I watched Ace look away from us and Sissily duck her head.

"Nothing yet." Amber shook her head sadly, squeezing my fingers in a silent support.

"I smudged you with blood." Clearing my throat, and changing the subject, I whipped her dirties hand off my pants and laughed when she looked at me with a horrified expression on her face. "It's okay."

"How is it okay to do that with pants that cost more than what this shop makes in a week?" recoiling from me she rushed to grab a towel and returned to clean up the fabric. "Amber it's okay…"

"I know it's okay I just need to do something so I don't start fretting about you leaving the shop and going out there." She muttered under her breath while scrubbing rigorously on my pants and throwing anxious glances at the floor to ceiling window and the fights breaking out everywhere.

"If I tie something around my leg, a fork maybe that would stab me every step I take, I might be able to withstand the influence." Sissily suggested hopefully. "I'm not sitting here while Hazel is out there in that mob."

"She's not going anywhere without me, so…" Ace shrugged unapologetically daring me to say something.

Wisely I kept my mouth shut but only because I could see his wolf peeking through his irises. He was still struggling with the shift and we had enough trouble as it was without adding that to the mix.

One day. Was that too much to ask? Just one day where I stepped out of that damn room and the world didn't go to shit.

"I can control my magic now, for the most part." I muttered that last part under my breath. "All I need to do is find the demon, knock his lights out, bag him and come back."

"Right." Sissily deadpanned in a flat tone.

"It's an Anger demon, Sissily. I mean, how hard could it be?" taking hold of Amber's hands I stepped away before she ripped my pants. There was barely any fabric left from her scrubbing. "It would've been helpful to know which general direction the bastard was hiding at but I'll figure it out."

It dawned on me then about Alex's warning to Ace. "Do you think this is what Alex was warried about when he told you not to leave me out of your sight" I asked him.

"Don't know, don't care." Pushing himself up he straightened and stretched both arms over his head. Even disheveled the way he was, the shifter was a perfect eye candy. "If you've made up your mind to go, lead the way."

"You're right," moving around Amber I walked up to him and took his hand. "There is no way you'll let me out of your sight."

"Damn right." He nodded, a line forming between his eyebrows while he watched me hold his hand. "What…"

"Sorry." My magic trickled through my fingers into his, and he stiffened from the electrical current I was pushing at him.

"Hazel, no." Sissily shrieked as she scrambled up and rushed to where we were standing.

Afraid I might accidently hurt him I slipped a hand behind his head and stopped the magic flow the second his eyes rolled back and with Sissily's help -who made it to us just in time- we lowered him on the floor. I'd be lying if I said that I was not internally freaking out until I saw his chest rise and fall. I've never done that before but I had no doubt it'll work.

After our crazy trip to Hell and back I learned that lesson.

Lesson number twenty-one: Everything you resist will turn your life upside down. To win in life you need to embrace the unthinkable. Like being a dud with ancient power ready to make itself known to the worlds.

"He's okay." Guiltily I glanced at Amber over my shoulder. "He's going to have a killer headache but he's okay."

"You could've hurt him." My best friend slapped me with the back of her hand.

"You sure developed a gift for stating the obvious, girl." Annoyed I stood up from where I was crouched next to Ace. "You think it would've been better if he followed me outside? He would've hurt a human or worse, he would've killed someone. You think Ace will be able to live with himself if he hurt an innocent?"

"That was smart, Hazel." Amber spoke but she was not looking at us. She was staring at the rioting crowed outside. "Thank you for taking care of our pack. Pack males act all though in front of the outsiders but we know better. They are kind and honorable deep inside."

A loud growl broke the silence after her words and my face heated up as I pressed a hand over my belly. With everything going on I totally forgot how hungry I was, but using a bit of magic at the street and in the café on Ace just added to the mounting gurgling in my gut.

"I'd hate to ask…"

But Amber was already in motion like this was that one task she was born to do. Her entire domineer changed for melancholy to full of energy. "I have just the thing, ladies. We baked a lot of stuff before the problems started and we had to lock up the shop. I had a horrible feeling since we opened so I sent the two girls home before the shouting exploded into…well, this. I was going to pack up all the food and take it home for everyone but you two should have first picks."

Sissily and I were inching closer while she fussed around behind the counter and the moment she slid the glass door of the display and waved us in we fell on the pastry like rabies infected racoons on steroids.

"Tfank fu." I mumbled with a mouth full of a blueberry muffin. "Itf delifious."

My best friend swallowed half a Danish without chewing and laughed out loud at the breadcrumbs spraying from my lips. "If she wasn't an animal she would've said thank you it's delicious."

Amber was grinning from ear to ear like a proud mama bear while we stuffed our faces for good five minutes. Slowly the weakness tugging on my shoulders and spine dissipated and I felt better than I had in weeks. Sissily was munching on a cherry Danish happily humming a tune only she could understand when I caught Ambers attention and tried my best to relay what I was planning to do. Much to my surprise she leaned forward and tucked my best friend in a one arm hug.

Reaching for Sissily's hand I squeezed her fingers in apology before zapping her with a current of my magic. She stiffened, dropping he half eaten Danish with a splat at our feet and sagged in Amber's arms.

"Sorry." I told my unconscious friend.

"I'll take care of her, go." Amber pulled Sissily firmly to her body and walked her around the counter toward the plush armchairs on the end of the café.

"I'll be back as fast as I can." Sticking a croissant in my mouth I grabbed one more in my hand as I started for the door. My free hand was on the doorknob when Amber called out to me.

"And Hazel. Don't make me regret thinking this was a great idea. You come back alive, you hear me?"

"You mean unharmed right?"

"No." Snorting a laugh her eyes danced with mischief when they locked on mine. "The demon can take a limb for all I care, we can work with that. Be banged up all you want, just come back alive. I can fix alive."

Gulping down all he emotions that were trying to choke me I did something I would've never done before. Darting back inside I threw my arms around her and hugged her so tight like my life depended on it. On a sigh she wrapped me in her embrace and rocked us from side to side for a long moment.

"Thank you." I whispered in her hair that smelled like vanilla and coconut.

"Sweet girl." Petting my hair, she finally pushed me at arm's length. "You have no idea how much you are loved." A tear trickled down my cheek and she whipped it away with a secretive smile. "Alex and I wouldn't know what to do without you anymore."

Blowing air multiple times through pursed lips so I don't break down crying in the middle of the cafe I nodded at her. "Alive. Right. I can do that."

"You better, Hazel Byrne. Don't make me come out there looking for you. You won't like what happens." The stern words were softened by her smiling face.

"Jack has told me all about it. I wouldn't dream of it."

I walked out of the café with Amber's laugh still feeling my ears. I only hoped I didn't lie to the one person that has treated me like she's my mother since I've known her. My soul would not have peace if I ever hurt Amber.