When they reached the backyard, Cass and Dannie slowed down. Cass didn’t even look winded while Dannie was gulping air like it was going out of style. Maybe running full steam like that wasn’t such a good idea.
“Dannie,” Cass said, looking worried. “We’re good right? I disag
Dannie took a long drag from the joint, counting to three before she released it. Her confrontation with Cass had her afraid of being a hair’s width from triggering another shift. Dannie tried taking a hot shower, reading and even dancing, but she couldn’t get her mind off of the nightmare and the black magic book. So she went for Plan B — Mary Jane. Drugs like pot usually didn’t work on the wolves due to their super-high metabolism, but as hers was maybe only a little above human normal ranges, so things like pot worked on her just fine.
Dannie picked up another joint from her room and went to the library. Among the ancient books was one of the largest collections of werewolf history in the world. If there was anything on Balric or the black book it was there. She gathered a variety of titles that looked promising and lit the joint. Taking a hit, Dannie opened the first book. Inside was mostly what she already knew.
Balric walked out of the library. What was he doing? He was not here to flirt with Danielle. Balric told Desi this was a bad idea. He shouldn’t be around her daughter. All his training and discipline had apparently gone out of the window when he was alone with her. God, if he had stayed there any longer who knows what would’ve happened.
Dannie ran her hand through her hair, frustrated. She tried asking people around the house about Balric, but most wouldn’t even look her in the eye. Some of the enforcers looked ready to throat punch Dannie if she got to close. The books in the library didn’t have much on him. As far as Dannie could tell Balric’s only connection with the book was it was used to kill his son.
Dannie cried out as pain sliced through her head again. Her vision turned dark and she saw Sara in her mind, only the healer looked much younger, maybe late teens or early twenties.“It’s not okay,” she demanded. Her blue eyes blazed with hate and disgust as she looked at Dannie then turned to her parents, who also looked a lot younger. “Caius, Desirée you can’t trust this demon!” “Balric says we can trust her,” Dannie’s mom said, lifting her chin. Dad’s lips pressed thin as he looked at Dannie then down to her side.“But can we trust, Balric?” Sara demanded. “Look at him! This is not how rebirth works. You know this. She’s done something to him!”“I am still me, Sara,” A child’s voice insisted and Dannie looked down at her side. He was maybe seven or eight, light brown hair in a mass of curls.What was this? Dannie thought, confused. This never happened. She would’ve been a baby when Barlic was a child in his current life. Another pain shot through Dannie’s head and the images chang
Dannie took a moment to catch her breath before answering her father’s question. Also, she wasn’t exactly sure how to answer when she wasn’t sure what happened. Dannie decided to go with what she did know. “Laina,” she said, seeing the shock registering in her parent’s faces. “What exactly happened when I was a baby and why didn’t you tell me?”
It took Dannie almost five hours and a long hot shower before she calmed down enough to be willing to be around anyone. When Sara looked up when she entered the infirmary, Dannie expected her to make some kind of comment or snide remark. Instead, Sara immediately set the broom against the wall. “Come over here and sit on the bed.”
Dannie left the infirmary and shook her head. Sara, the others, they didn’t know any more than she did. Dannie wasn’t going to find answers here. There was no reason for her to stay. At home, she could dig more and not have to deal with werewolves. This clearly wasn’t a werewolf problem anyway. Dannie thought about telling everyone before actually leaving, but she was still too angry at her parents. She’d send Cass a text since she was irritated at her too. Dannie went to her for help and Cass didn’t believe her.