I wasn't sure how long they held me, but eventually, everyone began to feel more substantial, and some of my strength returned as the guys shared their energy with me.
The others left, but Doc stayed, and I clung to him, shuddering.
"Sofia, you have to hang on."
"I'm trying." The frustration at not being able to actually cry overwhelmed my fear for a moment.
He gathered me close and pressed his lips to mine.
Neither he nor Nikolai had done more than hold me since I'd been imprisoned, and I hadn't asked, not wanting the reminder of what I was missing.
This time, I needed the reminder so badly, that I would have bruised his lips had this been our real bodies. I nearly attacked him with my need.
Doc held me tightly, kissing me until I finally returned to as close to normal as I thought I could manage.
He brushed my short hair back from my face and rested his forehead against mine. He looked a little faded, but I was a lot better.
If you give her too much of your energy, vampire, you're going to hurt the Russian when you feed on him later.
We both straightened. The demon stood on the edge of my grove. It also looked a little improved, or less rotted, anyway.
"We'll do what we need to. Sofia needs the energy."
Have you informed her of our other issue?
"Not yet."
"What's wrong?" My stomach sank. "I mean, besides the obvious."
"We are trying to keep your parents from knowing what's going on. At least for a while longer," Doc explained.
I nodded. I knew about that and agreed.
"It's almost Thanksgiving break, and they're expecting you to go home."
If I were fully in my body, I knew my heart would be racing and adrenaline would be making my limbs tremble. As it was, a brief imitation of that reaction pulsed through me, as if my mind remembered what my body would respond with.
Then another thought hit me.
"Wait, what happened to Halloween?"
"Other than that, we all barely refrained from killing Alex in front of a lot of witnesses, not much," Doc grumbled.
"But, wasn't Halloween like, tomorrow or something?"
"Sofia," he replied sadly, "Halloween was a few weeks ago."
"But we just talked about it!" I glanced at the demon. Though she was in her pure energy form, she still somehow conveyed sadness.
Doc held me, and I sagged against him. He nuzzled my hair in a very Ed-like move. "Nikolai thinks he's close," Doc whispered. "Hang in there."
"So, what do we do about Thanksgiving?"
"We've got a couple of options. One, just tell your parents. None of us are real happy about that idea for so many reasons, especially since Nikolai is increasingly convinced that he can fix this. He's looking for one more piece of information."
"How?"
"He's putting his invisibility spell to good use in the Andersons' library."
Despite how awful I felt, I grinned, leaning my cheek against Doc's chest. He kept his grip on me tight.
"I can fool a werewolf, I can fool idiot modern mages." Doc mimicked Nikolai's accent. It twisted me up inside.
"Okay, so what are our other options?"
"Fake that you're desperately ill and can't come back. That risks your parents coming to see you, and doctor's visits, and other awkward questions, like why can't your mage boyfriend just heal you. We don't think it's a great option, either."
"I'm assuming you have a more viable option?"
"Yes, just trying to give you everything we came up with so you can choose."
"Okay."
"Our demon friend here has offered another alternative. Right now, everyone is trying to keep the two of you separate from each other."
For good reasons.
"She thinks that if you join more closely with her, allowing you to actually interact with the world to some degree, the two of you will be able to fool your parents long enough to get through Thanksgiving."
"Why haven't we done this before now?" Being able to interact again sounded amazing. As it was, I was rapidly slipping away.
Because, once we do this, there's no going back, and soon, our powers will fully merge. We've been trying to avoid this very thing we're proposing. Once the Andersons sense I have fully merged with your body, then they will command me to use our powers and there will be no point in not telling your parents, as all will be lost.
"Oh."
"The Andersons have already…" He hesitated a moment, finding the right word. "Approached me, about going back to Nebraska with you. They're not interested in losing their prize, and until the demon settles in fully, you're useless to them."
I smiled, and the demon's enjoyment of being useless warmed me as the sensation coursed through my connection with her.
"That must have been an interesting conversation."
Doc sighed. "Ash is the only reason Alex and the other mage they sent with him are still alive. He restrained me. Barely. Probably only because I knew it really was a bad idea to kill them."
I raised my eyebrows and pressed myself closer to him.
"So, what does the pack get out of it?"
"Their silence on what we are."
"Oh. Damn. So, they want you and me to fool my parents for a little while longer, so they don't have to worry about my parents going to the authorities?"
Doc nodded. "But more importantly, we get a little more time to figure this out. Unfortunately, if Nikolai hasn't solved the issue before we return, the game will be over."
"Fuck."
"He's freaking out about it in his very understated way. I've had to force him to sleep for the last week, otherwise, he'd be a complete wreck." Doc sighed.
You should ask him what forcing the mage to sleep is like. The demon sounded sly.
I glanced up at Doc. His face turned redder than I had ever seen, and he cleared his throat.
"I can guess." I laughed. "I really am missing out on all the fun."
Doc shook his head. "We're all losing our minds."
"Well, we'll just have to
