The Unleashing
Page 43
Maeve.
Maeve eased past her sisters and over to Tessa.
See if you can find out anything from our friends, would you?
Maeve nodded and moved away from the group, whistling. Crows and ravens immediately followed her.
What are you going to do now? another Crow asked.
Let the EMS guys in and tell Chloe.
Thats when all her sisters moved away from Tessa, none of them envying her one bit.
God, Erin, just apologize and get it over with, Betty practically begged. Erin knew the tone.
And then what?
Be her mentor. Like I was to you.
Im not sure Im right for that.
Sweetie, of course youre right for it. What makes you think you arent?
I punched her in the cunt and tried to hit her with my angry-flame.
Betty snorted and Erin rolled her eyes. Its not funny.
Its kind of funny.
But even if you take that out of it, I still dont know if Im right for the mentor thing.
Sweetie, youve gotta have more faith in yourself.
I have lots of faith in myself.
You have faith when it comes to your fighting and your ability to permanently mar someones flesh with pictures of their dead labradoodle.
People love their labradoodles.
But when it comes to you dealing with people outside of fucking with their heads, youre kind of a mess.
Thank you.
Im just being honest. In order to be a good mentor, you need to learn to be kind to people even when theyre pissing you the fuck off. Maybe this uptight Marine with her clipboards can help you with that.
You already heard about the clipboards?
Sweetie, everyone has heard about the clipboards. Even other Clans. And FYI, theyre highly entertained. Just go, find her, and apologize.
Shes going to make me grovel.
Probably.
I dont grovel.
Try just apologizing first.
Erin sighed and briefly glanced out the ceiling-to-floor and wall-to-wall window behind Bettys head that looked out over the city of Los Angeles. The woman had the best view from her office.
And if it doesnt work?
Bring her to me. It might be time to show her some things.
As the Crows resident Seer, Betty was the one person who could show Watson what she needed to see in order for her to understand the world shed just joined. But most of the girls didnt need that and for some, what they saw could be . . . traumatic.So it was always a last resort.
Betty rested her arms on her desk and said in the Im being serious tone that she used with her clients, And trust me, sweetie. The way she handles your apology . . . will tell you everything you need to know about her. As a Crow and as a woman.
Which was exactly what Erin was afraid of . . .
To Tessas surprise, Chloe wasnt up yet. As the Crow leader and a natural morning person, she was usually up and working long before the rest of the Crows. But this morning, she was still in bed.
Tessa, needing to head over to the Beverly Hills site to check on the staff and their clients, decided not to wait until Chloe got up on her own. Instead, she headed to her second-floor bedroom. The biggest bedroom in the house.
Chloe didnt have to live at the Bird House, but she had ever since her divorce.
Tessa lived about fifteen miles away at her husbands horse farm. Her Mike raised beautiful show horses and their two children. He never asked what Tessa did at night when she returned to the Bird House after a long shift at the other rehab sites, but he always seemed to understand she wasnt out partying or cheating on him. And, even stranger, when she came home bruised and bloody, he just handed her an ice pack, a couple of aspirin, and kept her company on the couch until she was ready to go to bed.
It was like the man knew what she was and what she did on some deep, internal level. He knew, he accepted it, but they never discussed it. Ever.
Of course, he did have some Norwegian in his blood, so maybe the knowledge was inborn. He just didnt know that he knew . . . or whatever.
Tessa opened Chloes door but froze as soon as she took one step into the room.
Her Clan leader was on her bed, sweaty, and bound up in the sheets. Her face appeared strained, and her eyes closed. At first, Tessa assumed that Chloe was having a wet dream and she was about to ease out of the room and knock instead. But then Chloe flipped over and grabbed the pillow with one hand while punching it with the other, Tessa understood her leader was fighting with somebody in her dreams. Somebody she really hated.
Chloe stopped punching the pillow and now grabbed it with both hands so that she could choke the life out of it.
Chloe! Tessa said loudly. Chloe!
Chloe snapped awake, immediately scrambling across the bed, eyes wide in panic, her breath coming out in short, hard pants.
Clo, are you okay?
Chloe looked around the room. Where is he? Where is he?
Theres no one here. Youre alone. Youre fine.
Chloe wiped her forehead and dropped back against her mattress. Holy fuck, what a dream.
That seemed more like a nightmare.
Maeve eased past her sisters and over to Tessa.
See if you can find out anything from our friends, would you?
Maeve nodded and moved away from the group, whistling. Crows and ravens immediately followed her.
What are you going to do now? another Crow asked.
Let the EMS guys in and tell Chloe.
Thats when all her sisters moved away from Tessa, none of them envying her one bit.
God, Erin, just apologize and get it over with, Betty practically begged. Erin knew the tone.
And then what?
Be her mentor. Like I was to you.
Im not sure Im right for that.
Sweetie, of course youre right for it. What makes you think you arent?
I punched her in the cunt and tried to hit her with my angry-flame.
Betty snorted and Erin rolled her eyes. Its not funny.
Its kind of funny.
But even if you take that out of it, I still dont know if Im right for the mentor thing.
Sweetie, youve gotta have more faith in yourself.
I have lots of faith in myself.
You have faith when it comes to your fighting and your ability to permanently mar someones flesh with pictures of their dead labradoodle.
People love their labradoodles.
But when it comes to you dealing with people outside of fucking with their heads, youre kind of a mess.
Thank you.
Im just being honest. In order to be a good mentor, you need to learn to be kind to people even when theyre pissing you the fuck off. Maybe this uptight Marine with her clipboards can help you with that.
You already heard about the clipboards?
Sweetie, everyone has heard about the clipboards. Even other Clans. And FYI, theyre highly entertained. Just go, find her, and apologize.
Shes going to make me grovel.
Probably.
I dont grovel.
Try just apologizing first.
Erin sighed and briefly glanced out the ceiling-to-floor and wall-to-wall window behind Bettys head that looked out over the city of Los Angeles. The woman had the best view from her office.
And if it doesnt work?
Bring her to me. It might be time to show her some things.
As the Crows resident Seer, Betty was the one person who could show Watson what she needed to see in order for her to understand the world shed just joined. But most of the girls didnt need that and for some, what they saw could be . . . traumatic.So it was always a last resort.
Betty rested her arms on her desk and said in the Im being serious tone that she used with her clients, And trust me, sweetie. The way she handles your apology . . . will tell you everything you need to know about her. As a Crow and as a woman.
Which was exactly what Erin was afraid of . . .
To Tessas surprise, Chloe wasnt up yet. As the Crow leader and a natural morning person, she was usually up and working long before the rest of the Crows. But this morning, she was still in bed.
Tessa, needing to head over to the Beverly Hills site to check on the staff and their clients, decided not to wait until Chloe got up on her own. Instead, she headed to her second-floor bedroom. The biggest bedroom in the house.
Chloe didnt have to live at the Bird House, but she had ever since her divorce.
Tessa lived about fifteen miles away at her husbands horse farm. Her Mike raised beautiful show horses and their two children. He never asked what Tessa did at night when she returned to the Bird House after a long shift at the other rehab sites, but he always seemed to understand she wasnt out partying or cheating on him. And, even stranger, when she came home bruised and bloody, he just handed her an ice pack, a couple of aspirin, and kept her company on the couch until she was ready to go to bed.
It was like the man knew what she was and what she did on some deep, internal level. He knew, he accepted it, but they never discussed it. Ever.
Of course, he did have some Norwegian in his blood, so maybe the knowledge was inborn. He just didnt know that he knew . . . or whatever.
Tessa opened Chloes door but froze as soon as she took one step into the room.
Her Clan leader was on her bed, sweaty, and bound up in the sheets. Her face appeared strained, and her eyes closed. At first, Tessa assumed that Chloe was having a wet dream and she was about to ease out of the room and knock instead. But then Chloe flipped over and grabbed the pillow with one hand while punching it with the other, Tessa understood her leader was fighting with somebody in her dreams. Somebody she really hated.
Chloe stopped punching the pillow and now grabbed it with both hands so that she could choke the life out of it.
Chloe! Tessa said loudly. Chloe!
Chloe snapped awake, immediately scrambling across the bed, eyes wide in panic, her breath coming out in short, hard pants.
Clo, are you okay?
Chloe looked around the room. Where is he? Where is he?
Theres no one here. Youre alone. Youre fine.
Chloe wiped her forehead and dropped back against her mattress. Holy fuck, what a dream.
That seemed more like a nightmare.
