I didn’t mess around with plates. We’d inhale the food too fast to need them. I grabbed the mitts and pulled the pizzas from the oven. They smelled so good that my stomach growled.
“How am I still hungry? I just ate an entire jar of Nutella with a spoon.”
“Do you want me to answer that?”
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“Shut up.” I thought about cutting the pieces but decided against it. We were going to eat the entire thing anyway. It would be easier just to fold them like a taco and dig in. I headed back to the couch, where we continued our eat-a-thon.
I didn’t usually care for meat lover’s, but I couldn’t stifle a moan of happiness as I ate the first hot bite. “This is much better than I thought it’d be.”
No, it’s not. You’re just starving. He swallowed. “I’m feeling a lot better already. Thanks.”
“Least I could do.” I looked around at the mess we’d made—wrappers and crumbs littered the floor. “But you know, it’s a good thing we’re leaving in three-ish hours because we’re pretty much out of food and it’s not like we can walk to a store from here. We’d need a boat and a car.”
Dastien laughed and the sound warmed my soul. For the first time since I’d woken up, I took a full breath. “Why did you let me take so much of your power?”
“It’s what you needed,” he said without hesitation.
He was right. If he hadn’t given so much, I probably wouldn’t have survived, but I still didn’t like it. I’d drained him so much and that made me wonder how the rest of the pack was fairing.
“I’m fine. The pack is fine. We know the drill. We’ll eat everything in sight and by morning, we’ll all be okay. But trust me, it’s better for them to get drained one time than for them to try fighting this demon by themselves. They won’t even think twice about it. By helping you now, the pack ensures that you’re around to protect them. That’s why we have packs. That’s why there are leaders. Like it or not, you’re an alpha. The Alpha.”
“I’m not The Alpha. I’m an alpha at best. I don’t have a pack to rule over.” And I was pretty sure I never wanted one.
“I know, but you’re too strong and—”
That was bull. “You’re stronger than me.”
“No. I’m really not.” For a second I thought he was being nice, but his tone wasn’t nice. It was dead serious. “I’m not being polite, chérie. I’m a better fighter than you, but I’ve had my whole life to train and you’ve only just turned. In a few years, you’ll be able to best me.” He squeezed my hand. “And one day you’ll have a pack. You won’t be able to help it. Alphas draw betas to them. It’s just in their nature.”
I could believe that was the case for other Alphas, but I wasn’t sure that applied to me. I knew I was a strong werewolf, but that didn’t mean that I had to be a pack Alpha. That was a lot of responsibility. Would I ever want to tie myself down like that?
For now, all I really wanted was to get away from the demon.
“You got away.”
“No, I didn’t. Not for long.” I shook my head slowly. “I think I just mostly pissed it off.” What are we going to do?
We’re going to take it one step at a time, like we always do.
That was a good plan, but the first step was figuring out who the demon was, what exactly its powers were, and how to break a demonic tie. I wasn’t sure what seal the demon had been talking about, but if the portal was to Hell and I was somehow the key, then there was much more on the line than just my soul.
Five
The line rang and rang. If there was a more annoying sound, I hadn’t heard it. My knee bounced. It was fully dark, we were minutes away from St. Ailbe’s, and I still hadn’t been able to get ahold of Claudia.
“She’s fine, chérie.”
I wanted to snap at him. Dastien didn’t know that Claudia was fine, but he was trying to stay positive, while I was imagining that the demon was torturing her.
I sighed as voicemail picked up for the millionth time today. “Hi! You’ve reached Claudia. I’m sorr—” I cut off the recording and threw my phone in the cup holder of Dastien’s black SUV. We’d only been planning on being gone for a couple of weeks, so we’d left it at the airport. I wasn’t sure how much that had cost, but I was glad to be alone for the first time today.
“Maybe she doesn’t have it on her. She only recently got the cell, right?”
He had a point. “I guess that could be true.” But it didn’t make me any less anxious.
We’d had a long day of travel. I’d nodded off a few times during the car ride to the airport, but the sleep had been in little spurts and didn’t add up to anything nearly sufficient.