Smoke and Wishes (Best Wishes #1)(56)

The distinct sound of the Bitch Crew’s cackling drew me out of my warm and fuzzy state. Sinking into the stool next to Cam with Nik standing slightly behind me, Grigori settled onto my right shoulder. He nuzzled into me, his wing flicking through my hair. Please, don’t come in here. I was enjoying my time with my friends without them, but I must have upset the universe yet again because they, along with Dante and Hudson, came waltzing into the game room. When I saw who was with Madison, my heart stopped.

No.

No no no.

“Lucie? Holy shit! What are you doing here?” Declan, an old friend from high school, had his arm slung over Madison’s shoulders. Breathe.

“Declan, hey. I, uh, actually go to RSU,” I coughed trying to clear the knot in my throat and calm the pounding in my chest.

“Really? You’re a supe? That’s awesome,” he looked around the room, a confused look on his face. “Where’s Noah? You two are never more than a foot from each other,” I felt my hands begin to shake as my vision dimmed.

“We aren’t together anymore,” my voice cracked, the words leaving a bad taste in my mouth. No one seemed to notice anything was going on with me except my guys. Sadie had gone to the bathroom right after we finished our game, so I had no easy escape route. I need to get out of here.

“Seriously? You two were the it couple back in high school. I always thought he’d toss a ring on your finger as soon as you both turned 18.” My stomach lurched at the thought of being tied to Noah for the rest of my life. The pleasant buzz I had been enjoying just moments ago had taken an ugly turn leaving me feeling like crap.

Shaking my head, I swallowed hard to keep my sudden nausea at bay. I think I excused myself, but I couldn’t be sure, the roar of my pulse in my ears drowned out all sound as I moved from the room. Grigori squawked at the sudden movement, his wings carrying him to Nik. The Bitch Crew was eyeing me with speculative looks while my guys were all looking between themselves. As soon as I was clear from the game room, I ran as fast as I could in my growing panic. Pushing out into the back yard, I found a small path to the tree line and took off into the cold night.

Dante





Not even five minutes after Lucie left, the tension in the room had easily tripled. Khloe was talking with the other girls, thankfully, leaving me to sit with the guys. She and her friends were wearing on me, and I couldn't stand to hear their nonsensical gossip anymore tonight. We had all been sitting silently as we waited for Lucie to return, but that was beginning to seem hopeless. Logan and Landon simultaneously tilted their heads towards the hallway.

Dipping my own in response, I leaned over to tell Khloe I’d be back. Hudson moved to do the same, balancing what had to have been his eighth beer between his fingers, but Brittney clung to his arm before he could pull away. Waving his bottle in my direction, I figured he would be placating her for a while and head out after. Before turning down the hallway, I caught a glimpse of Brittney handing Hudson a small black object. She seriously couldn't wait five damn minutes to give him something?

I couldn’t help but worry about Lucie as I made my way to the backyard. She was so pale as she fled from the room. Something had terrified her. When Hudson finally caught up, his face held a harsh frown which caught my attention. I made a mental note to ask him about it when I got the chance. We were all standing slightly to the side of the house, where our conversation wouldn’t be heard, and formed a small huddle.

I was too concerned about Lucie to pay much attention to the girls. I noted they had followed us, but were heading towards the woods instead of crashing our impromptu meeting. Good, we need to figure this out, and I don’t need Khloe bitching at me.

“So,” Cam started, “I think it’s safe to assume that Noah is the abusive ex.” Silence met his statement. I could only assume the others were thinking the same as I was, about the scars marring Lucie's beautiful porcelain skin. The bruising painted across her torso at the beginning of the semester. My blood boiled in my veins at the thought of that guy ever being near her again, which meant this Declan kid was a threat.

“It would be frowned upon to kill him, right? That’s illegal, yes? Someone remind me it’s illegal or I will go do it right now,” Landon was angry. So angry that he was pacing slightly and his voice was shaking. Red pulsed in his eyes, the color glowing within the black depths before subduing only to repeat the cycle. Lucie seemed to have affected all of us on the same level. She’s our Lucie.

“Unfortunately, it is,” I replied. Looking over at Hudson, I realized he had been extremely quiet and closed off since we left the house. “You okay, dude?” Rage reverberated through him as fury burned in his luminescent eyes. Apparently, everyone's emotions are running too high right now. He looked up from where he’d been glaring at the ground to pin the look on the twins.

“You slept with Lucie,” his voice was low and slightly slurred, which wasn’t too surprising considering the amount of alcohol he’d managed to ingest since we arrived. When I finally processed what he had said, my skin felt tight. The urge to shift and fight was strong, but I held it back. I had only shifted once before, and it was not a pleasant experience, certainly not something I wanted to do again anytime soon. I looked to the twins, but the blank expressions they held clearly showed they were unphased by Hudsons statement.

“Is that really the issue right now?” Nik interjected before either Logan or Landon could respond. “Our focus should be on making sure Lucie is safe, she is probably having a panic attack right now. Who cares who slept with who,” his arms crossed over his chest while Grigori shot off into the woods, probably to go look for Lucie. My eyebrows had crept up my forehead at the amount of words that came out of his mouth. Pretty sure he hasn't strung along more than five in a single sentence in years.