Page 20 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part Two

“Why don’t you head to the kitchen then?” Chris said. Like me, he was out of breath. It made me feel better about my own lack of athleticism. I could ride my bike for hours with no problem, but running took a lot out of me. “You can always pretend to be staff if anyone questions you, but that way you canhelp get the escapees and the injured to safety. You know, cover their tracks with a bomb if you need.”

Now, that was a good idea.

“Okay, I’ll do that. You’re sure the smoke won’t affect you?”

“It shouldn’t. I may not be able to shift, but I’ve still got a lot of the perks regular shifters have. My body will metabolize it way too fast for it to have any effect on me.”

“All right, then. Stay safe.”

“You, too. Do us proud.”

I intended to. When we reached the next junction, I peeled off down a servants’ corridor that opened into the pantry connected to the kitchen. Honestly, helping innocent bystanders get out felt like the right thing to do rather than running and getting myself to safety. Leo would probably disagree with me, and I would have to deal with the consequences of breaking my own word, but that could wait until everyone was safe and sound and another brother was dead.

Priorities and all that.

As I entered the pantry, I immediately had to duck a skillet that was aiming straight for my head. I rolled forward, crossing my arms over my head for protection.

“It’s just me!”

Thankfully, no second hit came, and I recognized a girl from the catering team. I couldn’t quite recall her name, but I knew she was a college kid who had absolutely no idea what was going on.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry. I thought you were...” Her voice broke, and she let out a sob. I scrambled to my feet and pulled her into a hug. Perhaps it was an overly familiar thing to do with a complete stranger, but she clung to me and began to weep into my shoulder. “I was serving champagne to the guests when a bunch of animals started jumping through the windows! Andthen some of the guests turned into animals, too, and our clients started flying!”

Flying? Oh, right. Chadwicke had used that trick. I still had a lot to learn about warlocks, but it seemed they could do anything if they could come up with a spell for it.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. You’re away from the fight now. Let me help you get out of here. We’ll go through the back entrance.” Although I kept my tone steady, that small voice inside me screamed at me to run. To hide. That I was just a silly girl playing a game with monsters, and there was no way I could win.

Except I’d already learned what came from giving in to cowardice. As long as I was able to help, I would.

For my mother’s sake.

For my sake.

Forallour sakes.

“W-w-what if one of them finds us?”

“They won’t,” I said with a confidence I didn’t feel. “And if they do”—I pulled out one of the smoke bombs from my apron and brandished it in the air—“I’ll cover us. You’ll have to hold your breath for as long as you can while you run away, okay?”

“What is that? Why do you even have it?”

“Don’t worry about it. Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

I didn’t give her much of a choice. I grabbed her hand and pulled her along with me. I paused at the door to the kitchen, cracking it open an inch and peeking inside.

It looked like a bomb had gone off. Food littered the countertops and floor. The fancy setup I’d helped with that morning was in shambles. The back of house employees must have knocked it all over when they’d fled. They’d gotten away right when everything had gone down, but those who had been in the main room, like the girl I was helping, had only had a chance to run for safety rather than fully escape.

“You see that door?” I said, opening the door wider so she could see past me. “You get through that, then run diagonally left until you reach a line of trees. The path there will take you to a bridge that leads to main road. Use your cell phone to light your way if you need, but get there fast.”

“What about you?”

It was sweet that she would ask in her panicked state.

“I’ll watch your back. I need to see if there’s anyone else who needs help, too.”

“Why?”

Okay, that was a little less sweet, but everyone handled crises differently, and the girl had just hadmonstersscare the shit out of her.

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