Page 86 of Wind with a Chance of Wolfsbane

ChapterTwenty-Six

Willa

I stoodbefore the front door of the Gallows Lane home, trying to gather the courage required to knock. Every ounce of me wanted to turn and leave, not just the house but Grimm Cove. Strangely enough, not much about the home had changed. In fact, I was hard-pressed to list anything that was actually different from when Mina and I had called it home.

“Lift your hand and knock,” I whispered to myself, unconcerned about how I might look to anyone passing by.

The idea of knocking was simple enough.

The execution was proving to be a bit more complicated.

If my visions had been right and Astria had returned to Grimm Cove, she could be in danger. Worse yet, she might have already been attacked by whatever the creatures were that I’d seen coming for her. But if she didn’t answer and wasn’t even in Grimm Cove, that meant my vision was wrong. It meant the black wolf, Helen, Lester, and the robed men might not be here either. That I’d rushed here for no reason.

I knocked, the sound causing a slight jolt of unease to rush through me with each rap.

There was a long pause, during which my body ran an emotional gauntlet, every possible scenario playing in my head. I kept seeing Astria’s look of horror and then of determination as monsters swarmed. It was burned into my thoughts as if it hadn’t been merely a vision.

The door was thrown open by a tall man with dark hair and striking royal blue eyes. The man looked to be in his mid-fifties and was very handsome. He was also a total stranger to me.

He stared me up and down, saying nothing.

I froze like a frog in a spotlight at midnight.

He’dnotbeen in my visions of Astria, the house, or Grimm Cove. He continued to stare at me, his gaze unwavering.

I understood that I’d been the one to knock on his door. Therefore, I should be the one to initiate conversation, but social expectations and polite decorum flew right out the window for me. I was left standing there, staring blankly at him.

On my way to Grimm Cove, I hadn’t really considered how I’d handle it if someone other than Astria was at the old house. How did one say, “Hello, I’m here because a random vision I had while showering told me that a dear friend, whom I’ve not seen in eighteen years, is in danger and might be ripped apart by monsters—ones with mismatched body parts who look to have been sewn together by some kind of deranged quilting group? Oh, and my criminally insane aunt, a wolf-shifter that I’m not sure is good or evil, and a bunch of zealot monk guys in robes may or may not attack at any minute.”

Yeah, the truth was out of the question, but a lie wouldn’t come to me. Mina would have been perfect for this. She was good on her feet.

There was a squeal from inside the home. Every fear I had about what I’d find when I got to Grimm Cove hit me hard. The wolf within me awoke, ready and certainly willing to come to my aid should the need arise. I held tight to the beast for now. But I’d most certainly let her out to play if need be.

“Willa!” shouted a familiar voice.

Relief flooded through me at the sound of Astria’s voice. The wolf calmed instantaneously, letting me have the moment. I shot around the large, handsome male at the door and barged into the house. Invitation be damned. I was desperate to get to my friend. When I saw her with my own eyes, not merely my mind’s eye, tears of joy nearly burst free from me.

Her hair was now long and black, where it had once been short and shockingly purple. I wasn’t surprised since it had been that way in my visions, but it was noteworthy, nonetheless. The change also made my visions that much more real. If her hair was as I’d seen it in the visions, was the rest of it true as well?

I ran at Astria, and she, in turn, ran at me. We slammed into one another, embracing and hugging each other tightly. For a second, we simply squeezed one another. I looked her up and down for any signs of injuries before glancing around the room, shocked it wasn’t in disarray as it had been in my vision. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, are you?” she asked, squeezing me tighter.

“I am. But I was worried about you,” I answered, fighting the urge to cry. “I started having the worst visions of you being swarmed by…monsters, basically, on campus. I got here as soon as I could.”

“Visions?” she asked with a gulp.

I wrapped my arms around her once more, giving her another hug. “Long story. You’re okay though?”

“I am,” she replied.

I couldn’t stop grinning. I was so happy to see her again. And to see she wasn’t being swarmed by monsters. “I’m glad.”

“Mina?” she asked, worry in her voice.

“She’s on her way here too,” I replied, unsure why I’d said as much since Mina was at Yale with the girls and not headed here.

Astria hugged me again.

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