Page 30 of Sweet Dreams

My wand was never far and would come to me should I call to her. But, even I knew that something was different now. I wanted to have it ready.

The gravel crunched under my feet as I made it around the corner to where Lennon had started yet another landscaping project this past week, at my behest of course. The pulsing grew stronger as I ducked under the low-hanging branches of our favorite willow and found myself staring straight at an incubus.

And he wasn’t alone.

In his arms, he cradled my Lulu, her eyes closed tight.

My wand was in my hand before I could think twice.

It didn’t matter that I knew this incubus. That his secret had been conjoined with mine since the first moment I’d laid eyes on him. It didn’t matter that I could feel his distress screaming at me.

I curled my lips back, my magic blooming as my wand pulled it down my arm, making my hand shake as I raised it to point at his chest.

“Tell me incubus,” I said, my voice trembling as my power hummed against my palm, “What exactly are you doing with my granddaughter?”

Chapter Nine

Zaldi

Was I hallucinating? That had to be it, because there was no way this grandmotherly figure, who looked like she would sooner bring me soup in bed than spell me, was the source of that power I’d felt building. And, even if it had been, it was Lulu’s grandmother? But, there was no denying it. I could even see the sheen of something Other in her eyes as she looked up at me.

My mate groaned a little, her head moving against my chest. Impatience darkened my voice. “I am taking her somewhere safe. She needs a healer.”

Still the woman’s wand did not waver. “What happened to her?”

“I’m not completely sure. She pulled me into her dream, I didn't realize it was an injury until she started to get confused.” I looked down at her face, my heart squeezing. “Please, she’s hurt.”

The woman sniffed, a frown furrowing her brow, “She isn't going anywhere.”

My stomach dropped. “I have to. She needs her head looked at!”

“I know,” she rolled her eyes, her wand finally dropping as she stalked past me. She was surprisingly spry for her age. I wondered, briefly, if I was noticing now because I knew more about the woman, or if she was acting this way because I knew what she was.

Either way, she disappeared into the house. “Get in here, boy. You want her healed, I want it done now.” In a softer tone, more grumbling than the earlier shout, she continued, “I may not have centurion blood, but I can take care of my own.”

I followed her in, careful to not bump Lulu’s prone form as we passed through the narrow doorway. “Where?”

“Couch, living room,” the woman…no, the witch shouted over her shoulder as she again disappeared down the hallway.

Lulu made a soft noise as I set her down on the sofa, holding her head slightly aloof so she didn’t bleed over the floral fabric there. “Here,” a towel was shoved into my hand, “for her head.”

I carefully switched my hold, moving so that Lulu now rested softly against the pillow. Her dark hair brushed across her cheekbone, and I quickly took a minute to brush it back from her eyes again. When her eyes opened up, I wanted her to be able to see me. Plus, it gave me the excuse to keep touching her. It was the only thing that was stemming off the demonic impulses to rage against the entire world for allowing my mate to get hurt.

“Calm down, boy,” the witch said, shoving at my shoulder as she moved to slowly kneel at Lulu’s head. “It’s just a bump.”

The hackles on the back of my neck rose in frustration. No matter who this witch was, I wanted my mate taken care of. And now. “You know that already?”

She tutted at me, those unusual eyes narrowing as she leaned over her granddaughter. “I know your instincts are telling you that only you know best. But, do you really think I’d let my Lulu bleed on my sofa while her mate has a full on panic attack.”

My jaw threatened to drop. “You…” my voice cracked. “What did you say?”

The old woman cackled with clear delight as she pulled out her wand, letting it settle over Lulu’s temple. “For such a smart creature, you are astonishingly easy to surprise. But, to be clear, yes, I know about you. Yes, I know what you are. And, yes, I know what you are to her. It was nearly blinding the first time I glimpsed you two together.”

“Blinding?”

The witch hummed, her wand dipping over Lulu’s head, even as a wrinkled, gentle hand moved along her hair line. I bit back the growl that built in my chest as I watched her hand find the bump on Lulu’s scalp. The smell of her blood mixing with the power that her grandmother was releasing into the air around us made my body twitch with protectiveness. But, I swallowed it back, pressing it down, low into my chest where my heart strained at the carefully constructed wall I’d build around it.

I needed to focus on her.