Avoiding Alpha

Claudia paled, giving away that she knew exactly what that meant.



“She doesn’t have long. Maybe a day or two.” I leaned toward her. “If there’s anything you can do, I’d be grateful.”



Raphael came through the back door. His khaki shorts were fraying along the bottom hems.



Claudia nodded at him before answering me. “The only way to help would be to get Luciana to break her spell, but there’s no way she’d do that.”



“Why not? I can be pretty convincing.”



Claudia made a face. “She’s happy to have one less wolf to worry about.”



What the hell? She would let an innocent teenager die because she didn’t like werewolves? What was her problem with our kind?



“And messing with someone else’s spell is trouble,” Raphael continued where Claudia left off. “The chances of you actually breaking it…let’s just say they’re not great.”



Chris sat straighter. “What do you mean? I thought it was only a matter of finding the right spell to counter it.”



Raphael chuckled.



“Not with this spell,” Claudia said. “Imagine it’s like a twisted web of sticky bubble gum. If you put your hands in to untangle the mess, you’ll get it more tangled at best. Most likely, some of the spell will stick to you.”



Fantastic. “So, how do you break one?”



Raphael crossed his arms, and stared down at me. It wasn’t an unfriendly stare—there wasn’t any anger in it—but an assessing one. “The best way is to get the person who cast it to break it. It’s their will that binds it. They let that go, and the spell is gone.”



This wasn’t what I wanted to hear. At all. “There has to be another way. From what I’ve heard, Luciana isn’t going to break this spell. I can’t go back without a plan.”



Claudia and her twin brother shared a long look.



He shook his head. “Don’t do it,” he said, finally.



“They were supposed to be hers anyhow. Does it really matter now that the situation’s changed a bit?” she said.



“Luciana’ll be pissed if she finds out.”



I wasn’t sure what they were arguing about, but I wasn’t about to question them. I needed all the help I could get.



She shrugged. “She’s always pissed. At least now she’ll have a reason.” Claudia left the room.



Chris was silent beside me. I wondered what he thought of all of this, but knowing him, I’d probably get an earful when we got back in the car.



Claudia came back with a small stack of books. “Take them. They might help you think outside the box.”



Two of the three books were old, their pages yellowed and the corners of their covers bent and worn. They smelled of leather and dust and vanilla. The third booked looked brand new.



These weren’t an answer to my problem exactly, but maybe they could lead to one. I put them in my messenger bag. “Thank you.”



Claudia gave me a small shrug. “You should’ve gotten them years ago.” She paused. “But it’d be best if you didn’t show them to anyone. They’re meant to be seen by coven members only.”



That part was going to be difficult. I might be a bruja, but besides my visions, I didn’t know the first thing about magic. I’d definitely need some help deciphering everything. “I can promise that only people I absolutely trust will know about these.”



Claudia was taking another risk for me, and I appreciated it. She’d helped bring me the info and tools to find the vampire caves and fight them, saved my ass from getting creamed by Imogene, and now, she and Raphael were helping me again. “If you ever need anything from me, if there is anything I can ever help you with, let me know.”



“Thanks. I’ll take you up on it.”



I nudged Chris. “Let’s go.”



When Chris and I stepped outside, a crowd of at least twenty was waiting. “You don’t think they’re here to tar and feather us, do you?” I asked Chris softly.



“I’d love for them to try. I haven’t gotten my workout in today.” He slipped the sunglasses back on, covering his glowing eyes.



Perfect. This was a disaster waiting to happen.



The people parted and the lady from my vision stepped up to the house. She was wearing the same outfit as I’d seen her in earlier. Long flowing skirt. Frizzy hair braided and pinned in a halo on the crown of her head.



She smiled softly at us, but her eyes were too harsh to ever be mistaken as kind. “Hello, Teresa.”