"Well, it's about time you two came out here," Xander teased, popping our plates into the microwave one at a time. "Everything's getting cold."I smirked, taking over. "I think you lived.""Madame!" He threw a hand dramatically to his chest. "I am mortally wounded!"Elias and I laughed."Don't quit your day job," I teased, handing Elias his plate. Then I glanced up at Xander. "Would you like me to reheat yours, too?""No, but thanks." He laughed. "Mine didn't stand a chance! I was starving."I smirked. "Yeah. I can really see that." Although there was no fat on him at all, he had muscles for days and there was no chance of him starving to death.Xander looked between us. "So, are you too good?"I looked over at Elias and smiled. "We're good."Elias smirked, his eyes meeting mine. "Yeah, we're aces."I rolled my eyes, taking my plate to the table."So, why don't you two finish eating, and I'll pop some popcorn?" Xander asked, setting his dinner plate in the sink."Sounds good," Elias re
Faint rays of morning sunshine streamed in through the window, alerting me to the start of a new day. "Xander?" I asked, looking around. But it appeared that he was gone.Then he walked in, buttoning his dress shirt, looked up and smiled. "Ah! Good. You're awake." He sat on the edge of the bed, finishing getting dressed. "I'm glad you're awake because I wanted to speak with you about something."I nodded, sitting up in bed, bringing the blankets up to cover me, and began buttoning his shirt. "What's up?""Don't get mad, but I texted Daphne this morning about your training."A smile lit my lips. "And why would I be mad about that?"He gave me an impish smile. "She said you could start training you this morning. Which means that you won't get to go to wolf training today."I shrugged. "It's all training." Then I thought of something. "Why the rush?""Well, after what you did last night with Elias, I wanted to get you into training right away," Xander replied. "You need to learn how to c
After I finished my witch training, I hurried to the Clinic, not wanting to leave Bailey alone for too long. Even though she could handle anything, it wasn't fair for me to lean on her too much either.But for once, I got there first. Since I had a few minutes to myself, I cleaned and sanitized everything when a man walked in pushing a cart loaded with boxes. "May I help you?" I asked, approaching the man. He didn't look up from his clipboard. "I have a delivery here for Dr. Kalyssa Carran.""I'm Dr. Carran," I said, smiling. It was the first delivery we had received since we opened the Clinic, and there was a lot we needed. After making a list, I had given it to Elias. He must have ordered everything on the list right away... and more."Please sign here, doctor." He held out the clipboard, and I signed where he had indicated. He tore off the top sheet and handed it to me. "Here you go! Have a nice day! See you next week!"He headed toward the door, but I stopped him. "Next week?"He
"Keep going!" Bailey yelled behind me. "I've got you!""I know," I said, climbing higher. "I was just worried about you." It was stupid to say because Bailey had to have been the mother of all bad*ss. "Don't worry about me," she replied. Metal clanked as she climbed the rungs behind me. "Just keep going.""Right." I looked up and kept climbing, one slat at a time, until we were close to a door."See if you can pry it open!" Bailey said behind me. "I'll hold your legs."I nodded, feeling her hands on my calves, and then her body climbing higher and supporting my waist. "Don't let go.""I won't." Trying to move my lower body as little as possible, I shoved my fingers between the doors and pried it open just enough for us to get through. When suddenly, someone's hand appeared, reaching for me.I had no idea who it was. I hoped and prayed it wasn't Nightshade, but at the moment, I had no choice. All of a sudden, the lights came on, and Xander's face appeared through the doorway. "Reach
"Have you seen the Alphas?" I asked Marcus, the only remaining shifter in the Clinic. I had set his broken arm when he came in, and it was already healing. At this rate, it would be completely healed within twenty-four hours.Bailey and I had worked all through the night patching up one shifter after another, but I hadn't seen or heard from Xander or Elias. "The last time I saw them, they were assessing the damage and seeing to the other shifters." Marcus adjusted the sling around his shoulders and hopped off the examination table. "I'll tell them you're looking for them when I see them. I shook my head, walking with him toward the front. "Thanks, but that won't be necessary, as long as they're okay."Marcus lifted his arm. "Hey! Thanks, Doc! This feels good!"I smirked, amazed that shifters healed so quickly. "Be careful not to move your arm around too much. I don't want to have to reset it in the middle of the night."He laughed. "Thanks, Doc. But I think I'm good." He raised his e
"Good morning, beautiful," Xander said, sitting on the bed beside me in our shared bedroom. I looked over, and Elias was on the other side of me, still sleeping. "Morning," I said, stretching. Faint rays of sunshine streamed through the window. My eyes flew open, and I sat straight up. "What time is it?""Time for me to go to work," Xander said, standing and buttoning his shirt. His hair was wet, he had already showered, and he was dressing for the day. "We have to find the escaped prisoner."Xander shrugged. "We'll track him. It's the only way.""There might be another way," I said, remembering. "Xander, you didn't believe me when I told you that he was the leader of Nightshade, but he is. I'm sure of it. His name is Rush Balista."Xander nodded, staring at me as he finished buttoning his shirt. "What makes you so sure that he's the leader?""He said he was the one who killed my family and wiped out The Skyefrost Pack," I replied, sliding off the bed and pulling the sheet around me.
Just then, Xander and Elias stepped off the elevator."What's going on?" Elias asked, looking between Daphne and me."I found a locator spell, and I think we may be able to find the prisoner," I replied. "Or at least the hideout for Nightshade.""Good," Xander said. "Then what are we waiting for?""Come in and let me look at the spell," Daphne said, opening the door wide. When we walked in, Daphne led us to the massive, ornately carved wooden table. "Please, sit." She motioned toward the other chairs and then reached for the book. "Kalyssa, let's take a look at the spell."When I set the book before her, Daphne read through the spell and then turned the pages. Then she pointed to another spell. "This is the one. The other spell was good, but this one is better." She looked up at the Alphas. "But first, we'll need something that belonged to him. What was his name?"Xander motioned toward me. "We tortured him for days and he wouldn't tell us anything. But just before the attack yesterda
"But we can't go off halfcocked," Xander said after Daphne finished. "We have to make a plan.""Agreed," Daphne replied. "Let's go back to the Compound, and you can plan. If you need me, I'll be in my quarters, resting." She smirked. "Magic takes a lot out of an old body."Xander chuckled, rubbing her back. "You're not old."She raised an eyebrow. "I'm older than you think." Actually, she didn't look a day over twenty-five.Elias took my hand. "Everyone, are you ready to go back?"I nodded, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Let's go." I reached for the grimoire, and Daphne handed it to me. I held it in my arm, and then Daphne wrapped her arm around my shoulder, and Xander held Daphne's other hand. Daphne leaned toward me and smiled. "Together?"I nodded. "Together.""Three, two, one....""Lacus!" we both yelled together. We rushed through the Space Time Continuum, through the transparent tunnel, as dark matter and the stars shone on the other side. Suddenly, we came to a stop in Daph