without looking back. I was just so panicked, I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“It’s okay, Luce.” Dani rubbed our little sister’s back. “It’s okay. You did good.”
Lucia had strong telekinetic abilities. She had once made a tornado of toys in her room when she got mad at me for drawing a poop emoji on her coloring book. She could be scary.
She shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes. “No, I didn’t. She could have died because I wasn’t brave enough. I should have turned around and faced that bastard. But Mom tripped on the porch steps and fell, and he jumped on her and bit her.”
She wrapped her arms protectively around her stomach, horror rippling from her like a wave, hitting me with its powerful quality and making me feel as if I’d been there.
“Who was it? Do you know him?” Jake asked, his voice like the calm before the storm.
“No, but,” her tone turned bitter and angry, “I hope werewolves can’t grow back their eyeballs.”
My eyebrows went up. What had Lucia managed to do?
“She used her skill and sent a garden weeder straight into the wolf’s eye,” Dani said. “It gave her enough time to pull Mom into the house and shut the door. The protective spells kept the beast from coming in.”
Lucia was crying, big fat tears sliding down her cheeks.
“Luce,” I said, squeezing her hand. “Dani’s right, you did great. You saved Mom.”
But she pulled her hand from mine, unwilling to believe she’d done enough to help her. She sat back down and crossed her arms, closing herself off.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Dani said. “Who could have attacked her?” She searched my face, and I noticed a hint of accusation in her eyes—not that I could blame her. We’d just discovered I was a werewolf, and the next thing we knew, one was trying to kill our mother.
Worst of all... she was right. This was my fault.
I turned to Jake. “It was Blake.”
He nodded, fully in agreement.
“Who?” Dani asked.
“It’s a long story,” I said.
“I have time.”
“I’ll tell you everything, but I should call Tom. He needs to know, and he may be able to provide some protection for you and Mom.”
“What’s going on, Toni? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
That was when I realized that, without thinking things through, I had dug myself deeper into this mess than I’d imagined. Up to now, I’d believed myself to be on the fringes of this clusterfuck, but in truth, I was in the thick of it. I’d messed with the wrong werewolf. Blake was savage and vindictive, and he had it in for me.
FIVE HOURS LATER, THEY had moved Mom from the recovery area to a regular room. Dani and Lucia led the way in as they allowed us to see her for the first time.
I hung back by the door while they walked ahead of me.
“Mom!” Lucia exclaimed and hugged her awkwardly, making sure not to hurt her.
“Oh, sweetheart, I was so worried about you,” Mom said, smoothing her younger daughter’s hair.
Dani laughed. “Leave it to you to be worried about us while you’re the one in the hospital.” She kissed Mom on the forehead. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”
“The doctor said I’ll be right as rain in a couple of days. She said there won’t even be a scar. I’ll still be able to wear my bikini.”
Dani laughed.
And Lucia made a face. “Ew, now I won’t be able to get that image out of my head.”
Mom looked sallow and exhausted, her eyelids drooping heavily as if she were on the verge of falling asleep. Her hair lay limp against her head. She looked nothing like the polished lady who didn’t go anywhere without makeup and a nice hair-do.
I took a step forward, and Mom finally noticed me.
She pressed a hand to her mouth, her eyes immediately filling with tears. “You’re here,” she sobbed.
I took a few tentative steps toward her, then rushed into her arms, pressing my face to hers, letting the relief wash over me and pushing away all the anger I’d harbored in my heart since the day I found out she’d lied to me.
“Oh, honey, I have missed you so much,” she said.
I spoke through the lump in my throat. “If something had happened to you—”
“Shh, I’m all right. I’m right here.”
“I’m sorry I’ve been so angry at you.”
“I deserved it. I should have never lied to you.”
We cried in each other’s arms, both relieved in our own way.