A Curse in Darkness by Sherilee Gray

Chapter 33

Willow

Warrick’s room was silent,the whole den was. I snuggled closer to him, and his arm tightened around me.

Everything was back, as if it hadn’t vanished at all. Warrick had explained what happened, how long he’d been gone and how he got back.

It had been a lot to take in.

But right now, we were here, and we were safe. All of us. Warrick had made room for us here in the clubhouse while we waited for the repairs to be finished on our house. Thankfully, it was mainly just the kitchen and living room that needed the most work, though all the carpets needed to be torn out and replaced due to smoke damage. Warrick was taking care of that as well—his brothers were working on the repairs now—and I was more than happy to let him.

It’d been three days since the attack. Rose was stable for the time being, but there’d been no improvement. Iris wasn’t talking much, and there was now a black star-shaped mark on her face from Brody’s attack that seemed to be permanent. Mags was still blaming herself for all of it, and Bram barely left her side. She’d broken a blood vow when she went to Clayton for help. It didn’t matter that it was to try to save Rose, there would be consequences for her, but none of us wanted to think about that now. And Mom and Else were sticking close to all of them, Art as well. He and Mom were together now, and they weren’t trying to hide it. Apparently, he made his move the night the hellhounds came to our house. Honestly, it was about time.

And my Renny, he was still staying away. Though, a couple of the hounds had seen him running in Wolf Hill Woods since he’d shown up at the cemetery. I’d been out every day looking for him. I’d left him food, clothes, some of his favorite books, and a few little things that I hoped reminded him that I loved him, and that I was here whenever he was ready to come back. He had a phone as well. I’d left one out for him two days ago with my number programmed into it, and it’d been gone when I went back. I’d been calling and leaving him messages. Just updates on how everyone was and sharing memories, some of the fun we’d had over the years. I hoped it helped him to not feel as alone. It was helping me. Now all I could do was wait and hope he came back to me.

Warrick’s arms tightened around me. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

We hadn’t had a lot of time to talk about everything the last few days. With so much going on, we’d collapsed into bed every night and just clung to each other. And honestly, I hadn’t been ready to talk. I was now.

Resting my arms on his chest, I lifted my head and looked into his eyes. “It was bad, wasn’t it? When you came back at the wrong time?” I’d had this…I don’t know, a darkness following me, and I couldn’t shake it.

“Yeah, dove, it fucking was.”

“We were dead, weren’t we? All of us.” I don’t know how I knew, but it was like this shadow I couldn’t shake. As if the emotional pain I’d felt in that first reality had been so acute, so incredibly bad, it had left a permanent scar on my soul. It was the strangest feeling, as if I knew I’d felt terrible pain and grief, but I couldn’t actually remember it.

His throat worked. “You can’t ask me about that, dove. I can’t talk about it, okay?”

Not a no, because I was right.

The moment Brody held the blade to Magnolia’s throat filled my mind, then the sound of Warrick’s howl in the distance. It had distracted him, if only for a moment, but it was enough for Bram to kill the little piece of shit. That was the moment that changed the outcome of that day. I was sure of it. Warrick had saved us all.

“I love you,” I said, looking into his eyes. I didn’t need him to say it back. He was the best man I’d ever known. I didn’t give a fuck if he had a soul, or if he wasn’t capable of feeling the way I did. The way he was looking at me right now was so much bigger than those three words could ever be.

Those roughened hands of his lifted and he cupped my face, like he often did, one of them sliding back into my hair. “I love you, too, dove.”

I froze.

“I fucking love you, Willow.”

Tears swelled in my eyes, and I dropped my head to his chest, breathing heavily. He dragged me higher, and I pressed my face against his throat.

“Was too fucking dumb to understand what I was feeling, that I was capable of it. Lucifer explained some things to me, but yeah, it only took one day away from you, with no guarantee that I’d ever get back to you, to realize I’d been wrong.” He turned his head, pressing his lips to my hair, his hot, rough-skinned palm rubbing up and down my back. “You’re my entire world, dove. So yeah, I fucking love you.” He gently cupped my face again, making me lift my head so he could look at my face. “I love my mate.”

I blinked, and he was nice enough, not to mention the tear that escaped and slid down my cheek. “You need to stop being sappy now, alpha, I can’t handle it.”

He grinned. “It’s your fucking fault, female, so get used to it.”

“Will you love me when I’m old and withered and you’re still all young and hot?” I tried to make light of it, but it hurt, knowing that one day I would have to leave him. That we’d only get my lifetime together.

His thumb brushed over the apple of my cheek. “You won’t get old, dove.” His throat worked again, and his eyes grew shiny. “And you won’t ever die. You are my eternity, Willow, and I am yours.”

I stared down at him in shock. “What?”

“Lucifer granted me a boon. Well, a couple actually.”

He proceeded to tell me about my sisters, that if they found mates, I’d never have to lose them either. “And Rose?”

His expression grew serious. “He made no promises for her. It’s up to fate, her path is already mapped out. I’m sorry.”

Then I’d just have to find a way to change her fate. Because I wasn’t losing her. I wasn’t losing any of my sisters. Their trials were coming, I just had to make sure they found their mates first. “I think that perhaps we should keep this to ourselves for now, at least until they need to know.”

His hand slid down my back and he squeezed my butt. “Agreed.” Then he gripped my thighs and spread them.

And instantly, I wanted him, I always wanted him. “I need you,” I said. “I need my mate.”

“Then take me,” he growled and kissed me.

I did.