Page 19 of Dead Wolf Rising (Bad Moon Academy 3)

“I’ll help you,” I say again, more to myself than her.

Drawing in a deep breath, I close my eyes and search for her spirit. After a moment, my senses propel me through my consciousness and into the murky depths of the Otherworld. Unlike Jinx’s soul, I don’t have to search for Alice. She’s waiting for me in her cleaned up human form.

“Hi,” she whispers.

“Oh. You can talk.”

She laughs, the sound light and tinny. “Yes.”

“Sorry, that was dumb. Hi, I’m Raven.” I stick my hand out, but she wrinkles her nose and tips her head to the side.

“Friends don’t shake hands.” Her soft brunette hair tumbles over her shoulder, and she steps closer.

My eyes widen as she sweeps me into a firm hug. “Oh,” I say again, because apparently, I do great under pressure.

“Thank you.” Her voice is faint, but the words pack a punch.

How is it the simplest of things can hold so much emotion? A soft touch. A friendly hug. A thank you that I don’t feel I deserve. I won’t tell her that though, she’s moving on, so I nod and hug her back.

“You’re welcome,” I say as tears fill my eyes. “I’m sorry for what happened.”

She lets me go and steps back, glancing at the muted gray sky. “It’s not your fault.”

“No one should have to go through what Jinx did to you.”

A grin tips her lips. “You’re right, and now they won’t because you got rid of her.” Her crisp, blue eyes find mine. “You’re going to be okay.”

“I thought I was here to help you,” I say with a laugh, pressing my lips together to keep the nervous giggles from bubbling out of me.

“You are, but I thought you should know. Whatever happens, you’ll be okay.”

Drawing my eyebrows down, I search her face. “How do you know that?”

“My instincts are never wrong.” She lifts a shoulder. “I knew Bad Moon Academy was bad news, even before I got the job. Something about the listing made my gut twist with unease, but I needed the money.” She scoffs. “Worst mistake of my life.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I am,” she says with a sure grin.

“Can I ask you a question before you go?”

“Of course.” She places her hand on her hip and waits. The confident way she carries herself is so at odds with the Alice I first met.

“Why cockroaches?”

“Oh.” She chuckles. “Jinx ripped my soul from my body, but I couldn’t let her use me any more than she already had. When she first tried to bind my soul to her, I peed myself. I used some of my essence to make it wet and smell gross, and apparently urine turned her off, so she left me alone. She caught on to that pretty quick though, so I kept coming up with new ways to repulse her until I came up with the version of me you met a few months after I died. By then she had enough new shifters to torture and steal from, so she stopped trying to take me and went for the easy prey.”

“Huh. I don’t think I ever would have thought about trying to manifest pee.” I check her out. “You’re really pretty though, you know that, right?”

She sighs. “Thanks. It’s odd to be this way.” Running a hand over her soft, clean hair, she shakes her head. “To tell you the truth, I almost got used to the other form.”

We exchange funny smiles and a beat of silence passes between us. She leans her head back and gazes at the sky again, like she’s basking in sunshine. “Maybe I can stay here,” she says wistfully.

“There’s no peace here, you know that.”

Running her hands through her hair again and dropping her gaze to meet mine, she nods. “I do.”

“Are you ready?” I ask softly, not wanting to pressure her but sensing her need for a push.

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