Alpha Divided (Alpha Girl Book 3) Page 24

  “Because he believed in what we were doing. Because he knew his mother had to be stopped and you were the only one who could do that,” Raphael said.

  Dastien squeezed my shoulder. You okay?

  I grabbed his hand. I will be. I cleared my throat. “I also wanted to thank you. You opened the jars?”

  Claudia gave me a small smile. “Had to be done. Otherwise, the night would’ve gone very differently.”

  I snorted. That was an understatement. “Does anyone here have any idea what Luciana was calling up?”

  “A high-level demon,” the older woman, Yvonne, said. “Luciana went dark some time ago, but I swear, we here had no idea it was this bad. Daniel made his sacrifice just in time. Otherwise, we’d all be dead.”

  I noticed the tables filling up around us, and fought back a smile. They’d come to like the witches. They just needed some time.

  “We couldn’t have fought it?” I wanted to be extra clear.

  She shook her head. “Not and lived.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “That’s what we’ve been talking about,” Cosette said. “The fey have magic, but anything that could counter demons was lost a long time ago.”

  “We need to find ancient white magic again,” Elsa said.

  “Where would we even start?” I asked.

  “Peru,” said a voice behind me. I turned to see Muraco. His wrinkles were a little more defined today. Was it a result of the fight or was he aging that rapidly?

  “Peru?” I asked.

  “The Incas were supposedly deep into both the dark and the light. Some say their white witches fought the lords of the underworld, but there’s no way to know whether that’s true,” Claudia said.

  “It’s true,” Muraco said. “But finding mages who know the old ways and getting them to show you their magic—that will be no easy task.”

  I chewed on my lip. Going to South America sounded like a terrible idea. I’d been through an ordeal, and I needed to rest before Luciana came back with reinforcements. I wanted that time with Dastien. And when the full moon came, we needed to be here to finish our bonding ceremony.

  Plus, I couldn’t leave with Luciana gathering more support. The vampires would be back. And who knew what was going on with the wolves who’d taken off.

  There was no way I could go. “I can’t. It’s impossible—”

  “Who says it has to be you?” Muraco pulled out an empty chair. His knees creaked as he settled down.

  I opened and closed my mouth a few times. I’d been the one on the spot so many times these past few weeks, I’d just assumed it would be me. Which was totally egotistical. “No one.” I tilted my head. “Who then?”

  “Claudia De Santos. You were born of magic. I think the mages will like you.”

  She scooted away from the table, her chair screeching against the floor. “Me? No. I’m nothing special. I help others with their magic. That’s what I do. I enhance others.”

  That was true. Back when I first met her, my bond with Dastien hadn’t been that strong. She’d helped me strengthen my own abilities so I could find him when he was in the vampires’ den. Plus she’d seriously come through for me with the jars. If I hadn’t gotten my powers back when I did, I might not be sitting here.

  Yvonne laughed. “And you think that means you don’t have power?”

  “I…I…yes?” Claudia said. Her face was pale as she looked from Muraco to Yvonne to me and back again. “But saving us is Tessa’s path.”

  “No. Tessa’s path is to serve as the leader of all. An ambassador that each community can look to for guidance,” Muraco said. “But she can’t guide the packs and covens at the same time.”

  I clapped my hands. “Thank you. Thank you. Finally someone with some sanity.”

  “That’s not getting you out of your position,” Muraco said.

  I stopped clapping. Now that was a major downer. “Right.”

  “I will take you back with me to Peru, and then we will go our separate ways. You will find the answers in the mountains.”

  “I’ll go with her,” Raphael said.

  “The mages in my country appreciate spiritual quests, but those are solitary things,” Muraco said. “This is something Claudia must do on her own.”

  Raphael narrowed his gaze at Muraco, but Claudia placed her hand on his arm, stopping the argument before it started.

  “Yes. She’s been hiding her light,” Yvonne said to Raphael, patting his hand. “It’s time for her to find it. And in doing so, she’ll find the answers to save us.”

  Claudia looked at me with wide eyes, slowly shaking her head. “I feel for you,” I said. “I really do. But I have to say, I’m glad it’s you instead of me this time.”

  “This is going to be a disaster,” Claudia said, rubbing her forehead.

  Two arms wrapped around my neck, nearly pulling me out of my chair. “You took too long,” Meredith said.

  I laughed, and slapped at her arms. “You’re choking me.”

  “Serves you right. Ignoring me.”

  The rest of the gang pulled chairs up to the table as I made introductions. Dastien disappeared for a second, but came back with a plate of food.

  “I’ve been watching how much the Weres are eating,” Claudia said. “You really weren’t getting enough food.”

  “Tessa,” Dastien growled.

  “Tattletale,” I said to Claudia. “I was doing fine.”

  “Maybe that’s why you were feeling so dizzy,” Claudia said.

  “Maybe. Or it could’ve been because of the gris-gris Luciana planted in my bed. Or the whole stripping my powers thing. Or the stress. I mean I’ve been told stress is hell on the body.”

  Dastien pushed back from the table. “I’m getting you some more food.”

  I rolled my eyes. “See what you’ve done. He’s going to be a pain in my ass.” I leaned back in my chair and watched as the two groups mingled.

  They’d fought together, but when I got to the cafeteria, the witches had been sitting isolated. Now, I was back and everyone was hanging out like old friends.

  Maybe Muraco was right. Maybe I did have a bigger role to play. Bringing people together didn’t sound bad at all.

  Dastien came back with two trays. “Eat.” He was still growling.

  “I’m already full. We ate before we got here aaaaand I already ate another tray full of food.”

  He stared at me, eyes glowing yellow.

  I’m okay. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.

  He pulled me out of my chair and placed me on his lap. I don’t think you get it. I can’t do this without you. I tried, but I was a mess. I don’t know when my world started to revolve around you—around us—so much, but it does. And you almost died. So you’ll have to excuse me if I try to feed you a little more because I heard that while you were away, you’d been starving yourself.

  That’s not true, I said through the bond. I wasn’t starving myself.

  Well, you weren’t eating enough.

  I sighed. His panic and distress beat against me, and I pressed my forehead to his. All right. I’ll eat.

  He brushed his lips against mine. “Thank you.”

  I tried to move back into my own chair, but he held me tight. “Okay. Guess I’m eating from here then.” I went to grab the fork, but he did it for me, making a huge bite of roast beef and some mashed potatoes. “Okay, mister. This is where I draw the line. You’re being ridiculous. Give me the fork.”

  His chest rumbled with laughter, but he didn’t hand it over.

  “Seriously. You’re not feeding me in front of everyone. It’s embarrassing. Give me the fork.” I tried to reach for it and he moved his hand.

  His chuckled, and I dug my fingers into his sides. “Give me the damned fork.” He dropped it as I hit his ticklish spot. His chuckles turned into full-on belly laughs.

  I snatched up the fork, and took a bite. Everyone at the table was watching us.

  “You’ve made u
s a spectacle. I hope you’re happy.”

  He nuzzled my neck. “Very happy.”

  Claudia quickly looked away, but I caught the hint of sadness in her gaze. I couldn’t help remembering her douchebag fiancé. She obviously wanted what I had. Honestly, I wanted everyone to have what I had.

  Okay, so maybe not the whole insane, dark witch after me or the vampire attacks or the werewolves on a power trip, but the mate thing…that was the best.

  And the friends weren’t so bad.

  All in all, I was lucky. Lucky to be alive. To have the family and friends that I did.

  To have Dastien.

  War was coming, and until it was here, I planned to enjoy every minute I had with the people I loved the most.

  The Alpha Girls series continues with Bruja—the story of Claudia’s quest to Peru.

  Out May 12, 2015.

  Click here to order now.

  Tessa and Dastien will be back with Alpha Unleashed.

  Out October 13, 2015.

  Click here to order now.

  For more information on the series, go to:

  http://inkmonster.net/books/alpha-girl-series

  Also by Aileen Erin, Cipher, Book One in the Shadow Ravens series.

  Click here to order now.

  Acknowledgments

  To all my readers, thank you so much! This series has taken off and I owe it all to you! I hope you’re happy with this latest installment, and I really hope you like where it’s going. I’m excited to dig a little into Claudia’s story for next time. She’s going to have one wild adventure in Peru, and maybe have a little romance of her own. ;)

  Christina: My partner in crime! Another release date done! We’re killing it, sistah!

  Lola: Thank you so much. This was a tight deadline and I appreciate all of the late night’s you’ve put in for this one. You’re the best! You’re an editing genius! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it another million times, I can’t write anything without your fabulous feedback and comments. Bet you didn’t realize when you got me at SHU that you were going to be stuck with me forever.

  To all of the lovely ladies at INscribe: Thank you for everything that you do. Working with you is like magic! Christina and I and Ink Monster wouldn’t be where we are today without you.

  To my Halcyon Bastards: Thanks for helping me maintain my sanity. You’re all amazing writers and I’m lucky to call you friends. Counting down till our next chat. Big hugs.

  To the lovely Kristi Latcham: Thank you for all of your support and proofing! And being sweet about doing it on an extreeeeeemly tight deadline. Thank you for all of the late nights! You’re the best.

  To my family and friends: Thank you for all of your support. I know I turn into a bit of a hermit when I’m writing and on a deadline, and more so the past few months! Sorry I checked out, but I’m baaaa-aaaack. I love you all tons!

  To everyone at Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction program, big hugs! I’m lucky to be part of such an amazing writing community.

  Last, but most importantly, to my husband: Thank you for being so supportive and understanding while I tried to write two books at once. It was an insane task, but you helped me keep my sanity through it. I really can’t do it without you! I love you more everyday. You’re the one for me. ;)

  Aileen Erin is half-Irish, half-Mexican, and 100% nerd—from Star Wars (prequels don’t count) to Star Trek (TNG FTW), she reads Quenya and some Sindarin, and has a severe fascination with the supernatural. Aileen has a BS in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles, and spends her days doing her favorite things: reading books, creating worlds, and kicking ass.