Page 81 of Wind with a Chance of Wolfsbane

“Hey, bucko, they’re seventeen. Go on with your day unless you want to catch some charges and these hands,” warned Mina.

“Mom!” yelled Temperance, sounding mortified.

I tried not to laugh but failed horribly.

Mina either didn’t hear me or was ignoring me as she spoke with the girls, working out the details of where they’d be and when they’d all meet up again.

I hated not being there for it all. It was a big deal to the girls, and I’d wanted to be part of it, but Fate had a way of laughing in the face of what I planned.

“I’m back,” said Mina. “How far are you from Grimm Cove? Why don’t you check into a hotel, and the girls and I can be there as soon as this wraps up today? Since you took the car, we’ll fly. I can figure out how to buy tickets online even without you here to hold my hand. The girls can stay at the hotel, and you and I can drive the rest of the way to Grimm Cove and check in on things.”

I cringed. “Do not try buying your own tickets. You’re like the worst with online shopping in any form. And let’s be totally honest here, you’re not the greatest at travel planning either.”

She started to argue but stopped. “Okay, so you’re not wrong. Sue me. I’m not a travel agent.”

“Are those a thing anymore?” I asked.

“Willa.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry that I bolted and took the car. This is important. It can’t wait. And I’m parked right outside of town, staring at the new sign.”

Silence greeted me.

“Mina?”

“You’re there already?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I am.”

“Willa, just wait for me,” she pleaded. “We can go to the house together.”

“The sign for Grimm Cove is beautiful,” I said, knowing that nothing I said would sway her, so I opted for a change of subject.

“Yeah, to lull everyone into a false sense of security before a portal to hell opens and swallows them whole in a blinding white light,” she quipped, and I knew she was only partially kidding.

A small snort came from me as I read the motto on the bottom of the sign. “A Last-Stop Destination.”

“What’s that?” asked Mina.

“The town’s motto, apparently,” I returned.

“You’re joking,” she breathed.

I laughed nervously. “No. I never knew that was it. How apropos is that?”

“When I figure out what ‘apropos’ means, I’ll answer.” She was quiet for a moment. “Wait for me, Willa. Please. The girls are nearly situated. I’ve been checking flights to South Carolina all day. I can get us booked on one this evening. We can do this together.”

“If my vision was right,” I returned, taking a moment to collect my thoughts and emotions, “thiscan’twait. And we agreed that we’re the only ones who will set foot here. Not the girls. Not until we know it’s safe to be here, and they won’t teleport to God knows where. It’s better that you’re there with them. One of us should be with them at all times right now.”

“Willa, what aren’t you telling me?” she demanded. “You’re always telling me to loosen my grip. To let them live without me breathing down their necks, worrying nonstop that something or someone will try to kill them.”

“I love you,” I stressed. “Stay in New Haven with the girls. Stay far from here, Mina. Please.”

“You saw something to do with the girls in your visions, didn’t you?” she asked, her voice tight.

I exhaled slowly. “I saw the black wolf from Romania in the visions.”

Her breath caught. “Was he biting you again? Was it a flashback of that night in the cave?”

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