“It is a bit faster than walking.” Julian takes my hand and I close my eyes, preparing for the world to spin. Seconds later, we’re in the living room, surprising Lucas.
“Is everything okay?” he asks, rushing over to me.
“Yeah,” I assure him and set Binx down on the couch. “Lucifer’s story checks out. He actually did lead the other angels away from me.”
Lucas’s eyes meet mine, knowing my struggle of whether or not I should trust Lucifer. “That’s good news.”
“Yeah…and the book is at the Academy. They’ll figure out what kind of demon eats deer hearts and I won’t get involved.” I have to say it out loud to make me feel better, and Lucas knows it. “Tabatha is going to talk to a packmaster in a neighboring town, and maybe they’ll get the wolves to just leave peacefully. Everyone will be fine here while I’m off in Florida.” I force myself to smile. “I’ll enjoy our vacation and it’ll all be fine.”
Lucas slides his hands around my waist. “It will be.” He puts his lips to my forehead. “I promise.”
Chapter 25
Three weeks later…
* * *
“What the fuck?” My carry-on bag slips off my shoulder, landing on the floor of Lucas’s Lincoln Park home. It’s two in the morning, and we just got to the house from the airport. The plan was to stay the night here and head home to Thorne Hill whenever we felt like it tomorrow after I meet up with Abby for breakfast. I might have gone a little overboard buying princess stuff for Penny.
“She woke up like this.” Eliza appears behind the large dog, crossing her arms firmly over her chest. “Two days ago.”
My lips part, and I slowly shake my head back and forth. “Scarlet?” I ask, needing to be sure. My once-cute little golden retriever puppy is now a full-grown Irish Wolf Hound. Scarlet wags her tail and bounds over, nearly knocking me to the ground in her excitement. “Funny, Lucifer,” I huff and pet my hellhound. I did ask him to adjust her glamour, making her appear to age like a regular puppy—not turn her into another breed of dog entirely.
“She resembles a hellhound more now,” Lucas notes, standing rooted to the spot in shock.
“And she eats like one.” Eliza brushes her long blonde hair back and purses her lips. “You both owe me for this. A puppy, I’m fine with. But this…this horse…no. None of the clothes I bought her fit now.”
“You bought Scarlet clothes?” I ask, though I shouldn’t be surprised. Eliza dressed up her guinea pigs in tutus. “I’ll get her glamour adjusted again. This has to be my uncle’s idea of a joke. If he could make her appear as a fully-grown golden retriever, I’ll keep her home for a few months before going anywhere and it’ll look like she just grew up fast.”
“I’ll get the rest of our luggage,” Lucas tells me and speeds out the door.
“How was your trip?” Eliza asks.
I sit on the ground and Scarlet plops on the ground, rolling over for a belly rub. “It was really fucking nice,” I tell her. “And much needed.”
“Good. I’m glad you had a normal vacation. It was normal, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, besides a few ghosts that needed a little redirecting, it was the calmest Halloween I’ve had in years.”
“Do you have a bump yet? I couldn’t tell in any of your photos if you’d just eaten too much or were actually starting to show.”
“Thanks,” I say sarcastically. “And no. I’m just now nine weeks. The baby is only an inch long.”
“Hmm. You must have eaten too much.”
Frowning, I look down at my stomach. “My clothes still fit, and do you know how much walking you do at a theme park? A lot.”
“I’m teasing you, Callie.”
“It’s hard to differentiate between that and your blunt honesty sometimes.”
Eliza’s perfectly lined lips pull into a smile. “I get that a lot.”
“Other than the unexpected growth spurt, was Scarlet well-behaved?” I run my hand over her fur. Instead of being soft and fluffy, her fur is gray and wiry. This is so fucking weird.
“I kept her busy. We went on lots of walks and she ate lots of treats.”
“You want a dog now, don’t you?” I get up off the floor, yawning. The private jet ride from Orlando to Chicago went by fast, thanks to the on-flight entertainment Lucas graciously provided me with. Needless to say, it’s late and I’m tired.