“They don’t blame you,” I said. “For the curse, I mean.”
“Thank you for saying that,” Sean said. “But the only way I’ll absolve myself of the guilt is to find the way to break the curse so my boys can have a future.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. Not only did I have the power to break the curse, I had the ability to take away Trent’s greatest fear and to rid Sean of the guilt he’d carried for far too long.
Was my mortality really worth causing the people I cared about so much pain? Why were my hopes and dreams and wants greater than Trent’s and Sean’s? If I could give them the happiness they craved—that they deserved—after decades of grief and guilt, shouldn’t I do it?
“Sean, I—”
“Sean!” Whitney burst through the front door. “Something’s happened. The boys need you.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:
Impromptu Girls’ Night
SEAN WAS ON HIS FEET BEFORE I even processed Whitney’s words. I scrambled to my feet, and by the time I stood, Sean was out the front door, leaving me alone with Whitney.
“What happened?” I asked. “Where’s Trent? Is he okay? Are Jax and Wyatt okay?”
“They’re fine,” she said, closing the door. “Don’t worry about it, okay? Sean will take care of it.”
“Take care of what?” I asked, my tone sharp. “Tell me what’s going on?” I crossed my arms and glared at her.
She sighed as if annoyed with me. “We found a body while we were hunting.”
My jaw dropped. “A body?”
“Yes.” She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. “A woman.”
“Was she… I mean, is she… dead?” I cringed just saying those words.
Whitney nodded. “Yes, and she was killed by a vampire.”
My head spun, and I blinked to get my bearings. “A vampire? But…”
“It wasn’t any of us,” she said.
Yeah, that didn’t make me feel any better, because if it wasn’t anyone staying in this cabin that meant there was another vampire roaming around. And clearly, he or she wasn’t very friendly.
“Like I said, Sean will take care of this, so please try not to worry. We’re not going to let anything happen to you,” she said, her tone a little softer. “So.” She uncrossed her arms and pushed away from the wall. “Know what this means?”
I stared at her, waiting for her to explain.
“Girls’ night!” She threw her hands in the air and let out a loud whoop.
“You can’t be serious,” I said. “There’s a dead woman in the woods, and you want to have a girls’ night?”
“I volunteered to come back here and stay with you while the guys figure out what’s going on. They’ll take care of the body, and with any luck, they’ll find the vampire who killed her.” Whitney stood in front of me, hands on my shoulders. “Trust me. A girls’ night will help take your mind off things, and as soon as everyone gets back, they’ll tell us everything.”
I sighed, my shoulders dropping. “Okay, I guess.”
Really, what else could I do? I couldn’t exactly go wandering around in the woods, or else I’d end up just like the woman they’d found. I shuddered at the thought. As if an entire coven of witches wasn’t bad enough, now we had to deal with a vampire, too.
“We’ll have fun. Promise,” she said.
Whitney clapped her hands like an excited child, and I couldn’t help but laugh at her over the top enthusiasm, no matter how misplaced it was right now.
“So, what’s going on with you and Jax?” she said.
“Uh, what?” I said, trying to wrap my mind around her question.
“Look, I know you love Trent. I can see it in your eyes, hear it in your thoughts, and—”
“Okay, stop right there.” I held up my hand to silence her. “Stay out of my head. Got it?”
“Don’t worry. I haven’t been poking around since Trent told me to stop. I’d heard everything before I was given a gag order.” She smirked. “My point is, if you love Trent, and I know you do, you need to quit whatever’s going on with Jax.”
“There’s nothing going on with Jax,” I said, curling my hands into fist.
My fingernails bit into my palms, the pain keeping me focused on my rising anger as opposed to whatever warm fuzzy feelings I was having toward Jax.
Whitney raised a brow. “No? Then why is he so jealous that you and Trent have been spending so much time alone?” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
I gave her a dirty look. “Stop it. Nothing like that is happening between me and Trent, okay? As far as Jax is concerned… He’s Jax. Who knows why he acts the way he does?”
I flopped down on the couch. My head ached, and exhaustion hung heavy on my limbs. Whitney had heard Jax’s thoughts, but if she now knew how Jax felt, what would stop Trent from figuring it out, too? He’d already noticed that Jax and I were getting closer and sharing inside jokes.
Not that there was anything going with Jax, but he had been acting differently toward me. Surely, others were going to notice. How would I explain it? I didn’t even understand it myself. No matter how Jax felt, though, it didn’t change my feelings. I loved Trent.
Whitney moved so she was in my line of sight, and she continued to stare at me.
“I don’t know.” I threw my hands in the air with frustration. “Maybe Jax is just lonely.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” She turned and sauntered into the kitchen. “Look, I’m just giving you a head’s up about what’s going on with them.”
All the fight left my body in a rush. Arguing with her was pointless. I’d noticed the change in Jax’s demeanor when I was around. He was being nicer—flirty, even—and… Oh, my God. I’d been encouraging him!
I joined Whitney in the combined kitchen dining room area. Yanking out a chair, I sank down into it.
“I’m sorry.” Whitney sat in the chair across from me and patted my hand. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” She frowned. “I really
