Secrets in the Moon (Crescent City Werewolves #1)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Cora didn't realize how weak she felt until she tried to get out of the car. Her knees wobbled as soon as she stood. The stars spun slightly.

Just before she collapsed on the pavement, Hayes caught her. "Easy. It took a big enchantment to get rid of the sigil."

"I feel amazing, though. Honestly. My head is so light and... and free. I didn't realize how my every thought was so heavy before."

"You still need to recover." Then he easily lifted her up in his arms and began carrying her.

There was a scoff from Jane, who had gotten out of the car but remained standing by it. Drunken shouting drifted from one of the surrounding dim buildings, but the she-wolf didn't seem concerned. In fact, even with blurring vision, Cora could pick out Jane's smug expression as she said, "Face it, Miss Marshall, you're about to be fussed over. I'm sure you'll survive."

The sky continued to slide like spilled ink while they went up the narrow stairs to the front door. Before Hayes had a chance to knock on it, it opened. Cora caught a glimpse of a tiny old woman, her faded shawl and white hair glowing from the lamplight within. "Up to the third floor. The first bedroom is ready for her. Quickly, now. The world is probably spinning for her."

The old woman wasn't wrong, but Cora still felt amazing. The absence of pain or control left her sinking into anything she managed to sense, no matter how innocuous. How the muscles in Hayes' shoulders flexed against her arm, which she'd managed to hook around his neck. The very steadiness of his breath. The faded flowered wallpaper, worn wooden bannisters, and carpeted stairways that briefly made up the world before it widened into a room. All of it proved what she was still afraid to fully believe—that she was free of her life with her father.

"Here we are." Hayes carefully eased her onto a small bed.

For a moment, she only sat and rubbed at the back of her head while her dizziness subsided. Lamplight warmed the cream ceiling and rose-colored wallpaper. There was a small window near the bed, its curtains drawn for the night, and the fire in the hearth had already burned down to a bed of coals that would keep the room warm.

The last thing she noticed was an old-fashioned flannel nightgown draped over the foot of the bed. Hayes also eyed it before his gaze jumped to her bloodied, disheveled gown. For the first time that night, he seemed uncertain.

Cora flashed a smile despite the lingering shivers throughout her body. "I can do that much myself. Though I certainly wouldn't mind if you wanted to help me change."

His expression turned wry, and he was still smiling while turning away to stir up the coals in the hearth. The set of his shoulders made it clear he wouldn't face her again until she had the nightgown on.

She really was weak, fingers slow and trembling while they slid off the gown. Jane's enchantment must have done something to clean itself up, because even though the clothes were stiff with dried blood and slime, her skin was absolutely clean. Cora was glad, because even the simple movement of pulling the nightgown over her head left her body throbbing down to the very bones.

Well, if she was about to pass out, then there was one final thing she needed to do first. "What time is it?"

Hayes glanced at his watch and returned to her while she sat on the bed. "Ten minutes after eleven."

"And does that telephone work?"

"Sure. Why?"

"I want to phone Captain Dempsey and reassure him that I left my father of my own free will. I see no reason to cause a panic over my disappearance when I'm perfectly fine."