September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)(54)

“We’re done then?” Kale asked, pulling car keys from his pocket. “I’m going to take off. I’ll drop Jez off at home.”

“Going out to get your freak on before sunrise?” Jez snickered and elbowed him teasingly.

“Something like that.” Kale rose with the sound of creaking leather. He seemed to be in a hurry to leave. Considering how strained things had been with us recently, I couldn’t blame him. He paused to wait for Jez to gather her napkin mess. “Alexa, don’t try anything crazy. Please.”

A laugh burst out, and I almost spat coffee across the table. “Are you telling me not to do something crazy? Really, Kale. I don’t think you’re qualified to make that call.”

I probably shouldn’t have said it. Immediately I regretted it. Without another word Kale stormed from the coffee shop.

“Yikes,” Jez giggled as she stuffed the napkin bits into her empty coffee cup. “Way to go, Lex. Now I get to sit in that car while he broods. Good job.”

I felt like an ass. It was too late to take it back. “Be ready tomorrow afternoon at three. I’ll pick you up. If you need help staying sober, call me. I mean it. Any time.”

Jez’s smile faded, and she gave a tight nod. “Thanks. I’ll be ready.” She leaned in for a quick hug before following Kale out. The click of her heels was loud in the quiet coffee shop.

I said to Willow, “I’m going to head home. If I’m not up and ready on time, Kylarai will have kittens.” I gathered up the garbage left on the table and carried it to the trash container on our way out.

Willow and I stepped into the parking lot in time to see Kale’s black Camaro vanish around the corner with a squeal of tires. I listened to the roar of the engine as it faded in the distance. He was pissed and rightfully so.

“I’m coming with you,” Willow said, heading for my car. “I’ll stay until sunrise. Don’t tell me not to because I’m the guardian and you’re the one that has to mind me. So get in the car.”

His feisty attitude coaxed a smile from me. Though I didn’t believe I was in any danger sitting at home, his concern was appreciated. Sunrise would steal him away.

“Arys isn’t here yet.” I breathed a sigh of relief when I pulled into the driveway. “He’ll come.” What I didn’t say was that I planned on kicking Arys’s ass off my property when he dared to show his face.

“Is that going to get nasty? From the look on your face, I presume that it is.” Willow followed me inside, pausing to survey the large, dark yard. “It’s really beautiful out here. You can actually see the stars.”

With a brief glance skyward, I nodded. The stars called to my wolf, and I longed for the forest. I pushed the door open and began to flick on lights as I went through the house. It provided a false warmth that made the big house feel a little less empty.

“Yeah, I’m sure nasty is a pretty good word for what’s going to go down.” I dropped my keys on the island before shrugging out of my jacket and removing the dagger from my waist. “Our relationship is built around conflict. I know that’s what they say happens to twin flames. But it doesn’t make it any easier to accept.”

Willow slid onto a stool at the island. His gentle gaze followed me as I fetched a snack from the fridge. He held up a hand in polite refusal when I offered him some apple pie. I devoured some leftover takeout, hoping it was still good. I was too tired to cook.

“Then don’t accept it,” he said. “You don’t have to be a victim of circumstance, Alexa. Conflict may haunt twin flames, but that is only one side of your union. The other side is love. Don’t forget that.”

Something Lilah said rose up in my memory to haunt me with the truth. “Lilah once said the twin flame bond is a curse, not a gift. I wanted so badly to believe she was wrong. But some of the things she said, they’re true.”

“Don’t say that,” Willow warned. “Lilah is a demon. Nothing she speaks is the truth. She’s a vile creature that sees and spreads only evil.”

“No really, Willow. She talked about how the twins hate each other as much as they love each other. How there is no escape from one another. We are chosen, and we’re meant to suffer.” Suddenly I wasn’t so hungry anymore. I shoved my plate away and poured a glass of water. “It’s starting to feel like the truth. Like it is a curse. I mean, Arys and me, we can’t even walk away from this. Too much time apart will drive us insane, just like it did Lilah.”

“And Salem,” Willow added. “You only know half of that story. It drove him mad too. The last time he caged Lilah, he rarely left her side. He couldn’t bear to.”

“But he still imprisoned her against her will. That’s not love. Why would an angel and a demon even be twinned?” I scowled, disgusted with the harsh reality of the dark side of a twin flame bond. It wasn’t all power trips and deeply personal lovemaking.

“For the same reason you and Arys are. A rare partnership with a shared purpose that can be achieved by no other. In anything so trying and difficult, there is always room for growth and revelation. Don’t focus so intently on the hard parts that you miss the beauty of what you share.”

I tried to take Willow’s wise words to heart. Letting Lilah get inside my head was exactly what she’d want. I couldn’t give her that victory. That was easier said than done, especially when I felt Arys’s arrival. I groaned and shoved a hand through my hair. “He’s here.”