“The pack found the first demon on top of her.”
I shuddered. “Killing her?”
Aric shook his head, his jaw setting tight. “No.”
My eyes widened, and I shriveled inward. “Oh my God.”
“He vanished when the other revealed itself. They fought the evil for about five long, agonizing minutes. By the time he disappeared, only three wolves remained.”
Across from us a group of teens laughed. The one in a UCLA sweatshirt pushed his buddy in play. Obviously they hadn’t heard Aric’s tale. I only wished I hadn’t, either. “And the witch?”
“She killed herself. The wolves then destroyed the spawn thriving in her dead uterus.”
“Oh.” I said it as if he’d just explained how to change a tire. What I really meant to say was “Oh, shit!”
I glanced at my uneaten food. Something told me my appetite wouldn’t return any time soon. I worked up my courage. “You think demons are being called forth?”
Aric shrugged. “There are rumors. The good news is very few beings of magic are able to summon such a strong evil. And like I mentioned, their time is limited. But something appears to have shifted in the demon realm. We just don’t know what it is yet.”
“Could they have killed those men? I mean, if they’d summoned them with some kind of magical, demon, evildoers artifact?”
Aric smiled at my attempt to lighten our conversation. “No. That shit only happens in movies. Like I said, it takes magical power to call magical power. The one doing the summoning has to possess a certain amount of mojo to get through.”
Aric’s large hands covered mine easily, stimulating the growing heat. It comforted me, and I wanted to just relax and enjoy it, but I needed to voice my fears. “Aric, Taran’s been having dreams. Bad ones. They involve what we think are demons, attacking us.”
“How many?”
“Excuse me?”
Aric watched me carefully. “How many demons appear in her dreams?”
“I don’t know. Lots of them. She describes them like a swarm of locusts.”
The tension in Aric’s powerful shoulders built. “I’d never heard of so many at a time. And no one has ever been able to bring forth two simultaneously. That’s why the one assaulting the witch disappeared when the second arrived.” Aric lowered our hands. “The rumors flying around and the mysticism of Tahoe energizing the air could be affecting her dreams. Try not to worry, okay? I’m here now to help keep you safe.” He said it. And I think he meant it. Yet he couldn’t hide the underlying concern in his voice.
“Okay, but if these demons didn’t kill the men, what did?” Aric didn’t answer, but the way he regarded me made me suspicious. “You don’t think I had anything to do with this, do you?”
“Of course not, it’s just that . . .” Aric’s hold tightened. “Tracking is one of my stronger traits. My wolf picks up the scent of death easily. I was the one who found the bodies while hunting the infected vampires and dismissed them as more of their victims. I should have suspected something else at play.” He let out a long breath. “My Elders feel I’ve been distracted lately. They believe if it wasn’t for my lack of focus, I would’ve recognized that a different being had killed the humans and possibly saved lives.”
My tigress pawed inside me and chuffed with annoyance. “Aric, you’re the chancelor of students at the Den. When you’re not teaching your young wolves arithmetic and dismemberment, you’re the driving force in helping to protect the area from evil. Of course you’re distracted! You carry a great deal of responsibility on your shoulders. They need to back the hell off and—”
Aric’s grin cut me off and made my heart pound hard enough to muffle the toddler throwing a set of utensils across from us. He leaned over the table and brushed his soft lips against my cheek, reminding me why the fearless tigress had fallen so hard for the big, bad wolf. “My duties keep me busy, yes, but I’ve always managed . . . until now.” His eyes bored into mine, turning my blood into liquid fire. “You’re my distraction, Celia. You came into my life and knocked me on my ass. It’s hard to concentrate on anything else.”
The portly waitress hustled by to fill our water glasses as our emotions locked us together with invisible straps. “Would you folks care for anything else?”
A cup of your best ice cream, down my pants, please.
Aric slowly released me and pulled out a wad of clipped bills. He shoved a few into the small pleather folder. “Are you ready?”