Heir of Night (The Thorne Hill)

“We jumped right into the action,” Tabatha starts when we get into the kitchen, “and forgot introductions. I am Tabatha, the High Priestess of the Grim Gate Coven.”

“I’m Alyssa,” Mama Wolf says. “These are my sons, Brock and Alex.”

“I’m Kristy,” my best friend says with her usually cheerful smile.

“You know I’m Callie,” I say and wait a beat for Lucas to introduce himself. He doesn’t. “And this is my husband, Lucas.”

Alyssa sits at the island counter. “You’re a witch and you’re married to a vampire?” Her words come out slowly, and her gaze goes to my stomach. I don’t look as obviously pregnant in Lucas’s baggy shirt, but I’m definitely to that point where there’s no passing my stomach off as a food-baby.

“Breaking rules kind of runs in my family,” I say with a shrug.

“You allow it?” Alyssa asks Tabatha. “We’ve always heard the tension still runs high between the vampires and the witches.”

“I’ve made an exception.” Tabatha smiles.

“So, where in Tennessee are you from?” Kristy fills the kettle with water and puts it on the stove.

“Manchester,” Brock replies, looking at Kristy as though he’s seeing her for the first time. The guy’s eyes are bloodshot, and he has fresh scratches on his face from his possessed brother. He sits up a little straighter when Kristy turns around.

“Where is that?” she goes on.

“Halfway between Nashville and Chattanooga,” Lucas answers.

“Yeah,” Brock says. “He’s…he’s right.”

“It’s been a century since I’ve been there,” Lucas says. “It was a quaint town then.”

“It still is,” Alyssa replies. She’s nervous around Lucas, which is smart on her end.

“I gotta ask.” I pull out a disposable container full of perfectly cooked chicken from the fridge. “How did you know I could help?”

Brock and Alex exchange looks. “It might sound crazy,” Alex says.

“Trust me, nothing can out-crazy what my daily life has become.” I arch my eyebrows, knowing I’m a few seconds away from cracking again. Because when a possessed werewolf is a welcome distraction, you know your life is fucked up.

Brock gives his brother an encouraging nod. “Fine,” he mutters. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Alyssa rests her hands on the counter. “I was given your name when I sought help for Noah.”

“Given by whom?” Lucas demands.

“An angel.”

Chapter 7

I almost drop the food from my hands. Lucas speeds over, catching it before it hits the floor and setting it on the counter. I look at him out of the corner of my eye, holding my breath. This could be bad. Very bad.

“Told you it sounded crazy,” Alex mumbled.

“No, not at all. But what makes you think it was an angel?” Tabatha asks, and seeing her calm face helps me chill the fuck out.

“That’s what he told us,” Alyssa continues. “He, meaning a priest at St. Mary’s Church. A healer came to our pack to help with Noah. Once she realized he was possessed, she sent us up there.” She looks a little rattled as she recalls last night’s events. “Father Isaac thought he could do an exorcism, but when we arrived, he said he’d been praying and an angel told him to bring Noah here. He told me the angel said you’d be able to help in ways he couldn’t.”

“Because Noah is a werewolf,” I muse. “Did he happen to say who he was praying to? It wasn’t some random angel named…I don’t know…Julian, perhaps?”

Now Alyssa looks at me like I’m crazy. “He didn’t say.”

“I need to speak to you for a moment,” Lucas tells me. “In private.”

I nod and push the container of food farther onto the counter. Tabatha starts warming it up while Lucas and I slip away to the butler’s pantry off the kitchen.

“Are you buying this?” Lucas asks in a low whisper. “An angel told a priest your name?”

“I don’t know what I’m buying yet.”

Lucas takes both my hands in his. “I have a bad feeling, Callie.”

“I do too,” I admit. “But I do trust that those wolves are innocent in all of this. That energy surge they felt had to be a demon trying to tap into the Ley line. If the protection spell hadn’t been cast at the same time, it could have ended much worse for the entire quaint town.”

“Only three angels should know about you, and Lucifer isn’t answering prayers. Your father wouldn’t risk it, and Julian knows better. Either another angel knows about you or—”

“It’s the demon,” I interrupt. Lucas and I stare at each other for a second, both shocked, and then we run back to the library. Noah is still on the ground, body slightly twitching as he fights the demon. Nicole is bent over him, adjusting his blanket.

“Get away from him!” I shout, and Noah sits up, hazel eyes inking over. He grabs Nicole and goes to bite her. Lucas is faster and grabs Nicole, pulling her back just in time. Noah springs to his feet and charges after them. He hits the wall of the containment spell with a thud and crashes back.