Page 34 of Cursed Sight
Serena pushed her shoulders back. She raised a fist and rapped it against the wooden door. When the “come in” sounded, she turned the knob and stepped into the doorway, unsure of his response to her undesirable arrival.
“What can I—Serena?” Peter asked, leaning back in his chair. “What are you doing here?”
“May I come in?” she asked, offering him the respect he deserved.
Peter Rawley was the Alumbra Pack alpha. He was a large, attractive man whose power flowed around him. He was also the best friend to her ex, Ryan, and protector and friend of Brandy’s. If not for Peter and his pack, their attack on Volark would not have been a success.
He pushed back from his desk and stood. Peter ran a hand across his neck and rounded the desk. “Yeah, have a seat.”
“Thanks,” she said and moved toward the couch against the wall. “I should probably warn you that—”
“Where the fuck is that witch bitch?” Xander growled as he tore through the door.
“Well, that Xander was rude and he’d be pissed,” Serena said, ignoring the interruption from the deadly beta.
Peter chuckled and shook his head. “Always making friends wherever you go,” he told her.
She raised a shoulder in indifference. “I am the heartless man-eater, am I not?”
Peter’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment when she used his words. “Xander, I’ve got this handled. I’ll call if she gets hungry.”
Xander opened his mouth to argue but changed his mind. If looks could kill, she would be bleeding to death on Peter’s office couch. Once the door closed behind Xander, any fight or pretense she had disappeared. Her shoulders sagged, and her attention moved to the ceiling.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, as the couch slumped to the side with his weight.
“Did I ever thank you for your part in helping us kill Volark?” she whispered, her eyes peering to the side before returning to the stark-white ceiling.
Peter paused for a moment. “No one had to thank me for keeping Brandy and Ryan safe. They’re my family.”
Serena gave him a sad smile. “They’re really good people.”
“What’s this all about, Serena? Gotta say, I’ve never seen you like this.”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to burst your man-eater image of me,” she snapped. “Sorry—”
Peter turned and faced her. “No, I’m the one who should be sorry. Calling you names behind your back wasn’t fair.”
“No, it wasn’t. For the record, I never meant to hurt or toy with Ryan ever. I know you’re just protective of him.”
He nodded, accepting her apology. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Serena sighed. “Brandy, Andrea, and I went cake testing. When we left the building, we found Ethan shouting and pointing behind us. I turned and found nothing there, but it was clear on his face he saw something. He claims Volark was a few feet behind us.”
Peter sat forward, his eyes flashing gold. “Volark?”
Serena nodded and let the scene play out in his mind.
“How can that be? Y’all killed him! We saw it with our own eyes!” Peter stood and paced in front of her.
“I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a lot of experience killing high-level demons. I’m pretty sure we killed him though, at least I was. Now I’m all over the place about it.”
Peter ran a hand through his reddish-brown hair. “Nah, honestly, he’s the first one I’ve even seen. Ever since Brandy’s powers were unbound, all sorts of additional shit has been going bump in the night. We know the players involved but not until Volark have I or my pack gone up against anything like him.”
“So from both of our experiences, there is still a possibility that what we did wasn’t enough?”
“Why would he wait? I mean, months have passed. If I were him, I wouldn’t have sat back. I would’ve gathered intel and attacked again.”
“What if we just severely wounded him?” she asked.
