Victoria finished saying goodbye to her boyfriend and climbed into the front of the truck. We all waved and headed home. Now it was time for exams and busting our demon out of his shackles.
Chapter 10
Sofia
"I feel like that was too easy," Victoria said at the end of a long week of exams.
"Oh?" I for one was grateful for a quiet week.
"Yeah. I think I passed everything. I wasn't stressed about any of my tests, and we weren't attacked all week long."
I laughed. "Well, yeah. I guess I think I did okay, too." I hadn't told her we were going after Ash this weekend. The semester was effectively over now that exams were done, even though we had a final week of class to attend. "You're going home this weekend, right?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Just, um, probably a good idea."
She cocked an eyebrow then shrugged. "Be careful, whatever it is."
"As careful as I can be."
We headed into the dorm and she grabbed her overnight bag and keys. I got my bag as well and looked around the room wondering if I would actually see it again. Our plan was dangerous. Leaving Ash in the Andersons' hands was even more dangerous.
Hopefully this would work.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Victoria asked as we headed back down to the parking lot.
"Nothing. Sorry, Victoria, lots on my mind."
"Yeah. I get it. Hey, like I said, be careful. You need anything, call, and don't hesitate to just show up. My parents like you and your guys."
I blushed.
"They really do. They think your guys are adorable."
"Uh, thanks." I was glad that they, at least, had accepted us. My parents were starting to make noise about a Christmas visit. They wanted me to come and visit for the holiday. I hadn't yet asked if I could bring anyone along, nor had I asked any of the guys if they wanted to come. I really hoped I could talk my parents into coming here to visit instead, if we had managed to handle the Andersons by then. It seemed so far away compared to what we needed to deal with now. Not to mention, I hadn't even begun to go Christmas shopping for the guys. That was one disadvantage to dating so many guys. I wanted to get them all gifts.
One thing at a time, Sofia, I thought to myself. Rescue Ash. Get the Andersons arrested. Deal with mundane things like the holiday. Easy. Right? Right...
I fought back a sigh, and forced a smile when I hugged Victoria before she got into her sedan. My smile turned into a real one when I heard the growl of Doc's diesel truck. My enhanced senses hadn't faded much from the demon's presence, though I was getting used to it. I still thought Doc and the wolves had way better hearing, smell, and sight, but mine was far better than it had ever been before.
Victoria waved, and winked, as she pulled away.
I headed for the street where I would meet the guys.
To my surprise, Nikolai was driving Doc's truck. His distressed expression reminded me of when we had first brought him into Sunnyglade. Doc, in the passenger seat, looked relatively serene in comparison.
"Is it safe to get in?" I tried to keep my expression serious, but I had to laugh when Nikolai's slightly panicked expression soured.
"Of course," he grumbled.
I climbed into the backseat and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek by way of apology.
"Love you," I said.
Nikolai's expression lightened. "And I you."
Doc already had his hair down. I ran my hand through it, hoping that was subtle enough that no one would notice should anyone happen to look our way.
"You, too."
Doc smiled. "I love you, Sofia."
I grinned. "Where are the guys?"
"Running," Doc answered. "They got done earlier and I took them home and picked up Nikolai."
"So, learning to drive?"
Nikolai sighed. "Ed and Allan can drive."
"You don't actually want to learn?"
Nikolai shrugged. "It is good idea. It was not my idea."
I laughed. "It is a good idea, just in case you have to drive the truck. Wouldn't want to wreck it like you did Alex's Mustang."
Nikolai paled. "Do not want to fuck up Doc's truck."
Perhaps that was his real problem. It wasn't that he didn't want to learn to drive, more that he didn't want to make a mistake and damage Doc's precious truck. It was a reasonable concern, though I thought Doc would forgive Nikolai just about anything.
Hesitantly, Nikolai put the truck in gear and pulled away from the curb. His eyes darted between the mirrors and the view in front of him. He drove smoothly enough, though I was surprised at how relaxed Doc was. Of course, with his reflexes, he could probably prevent an accident pretty easily.
Once we hit the roundabout and headed up the mountain I managed to relax enough to think about something other than Nikolai behind the wheel. "What's the plan?"
"We're going after Ash tonight. We want to be well rested, so we're going to relax, spend some time together, and plan a little more. Then we're rescuing our demon."
I thought Doc's choice of words very interesting, but at this point I agreed. Ash was ours, though I didn't know where I had come up with that possessive feeling, and I wanted him free. Something told me the demon wasn't going to go anywhere if we rescued him, though I didn't know what that would mean for our little pack.
Still, I wasn't going to worry about that now. Like Christmas presents, there were a lot of things I needed to accomplish before we got to that point. If we got to that point. I wasn't nearly as worried about the Andersons as maybe I should have been. I was extremely worried about Ash. Nikolai and I would have to overcome him fast, and I was certain his instructions wouldn't leave any loopholes this time.
Nikolai thought we could do it. We had worked out the combination of spells we
