strange about her. Something Lana almost wanted to trust. But until they could figure out how Cole and his father had tampered with the Registry, she was unwilling to trust her instincts on where this particular Godwin was concerned. She had no idea if Genevieve had attempted to contact any of the other Becketts.
“Ready, sweetheart?”
She blinked up at Chris, pulled out of her thoughts. “More than.”
He looked back at Grammy, who nodded. “Any sign of serious pain and you’re back on the bed, young lady.”
Lana stuck out her tongue and put her hands in Chris’s. “Pull, He-Man.”
With a muffled laugh, Chris pulled.
Lana stood. Her legs were wobbly, but there was very little pain. “I’m good.” It felt great to be on her own two feet. Chris had been forced to carry her everywhere; just trying to place weight on her legs had caused excruciating pain. The first time they’d tried she’d actually screamed. “Can we take the bandage off my hand now?”
Chris held her steady while she made her way to the gold wing chair he’d moved from the great room into the bedroom. “Let’s get you settled in first, okay?”
That chair was looking better and better. “Sure.”
Chris helped her to sit. The fact that her legs were shaking like leaves let her know her recovery was going to be a lot longer than she’d thought. It was disappointing, to say the least. “You did good, sweetheart.”
He was grinning, but she could see the strain the last couple of weeks had put him under. Dark circles ringed his eyes, and it looked like he might have lost some weight.
She’d had to beg him to go running more than once, just so his wolf could get out for a while. “Thanks.” She began picking at the bandage again. The scar underneath was itching like a son of a bitch. “Can we get this off now?”
Grammy frowned and moved forward. “Does it hurt?”
“No, but the itching is driving me nuts.”
Grammy’s face blanked. “Itching?”
Uh-oh. That look on Grammy’s face never boded well. “Um, yes.”
Grammy took a deep breath. “Let’s take a look, shall we?”
Grammy reached for Lana’s hand, and the itch turned to a searing burn. “Ow!”
“What?”
“It burns!” Lana snatched her hand back, and the burn immediately diminished.
“What the fuck?”
“Alannah!”
Lana grimaced. “Sorry, Grammy.”
“Let me.” Chris reached for her hand, and Lana let him take it, waiting for the burn.
It didn’t come. It still itched, but it didn’t burn. “It doesn’t hurt, but the itch is still there.” In fact, with Chris’s touch the itch had increased.
Grammy was looking worried. “Unwrap it, please.”
Chris pulled the bandage off carefully. “Holy shit.”
Grammy didn’t bother yelling at him for the curse. Everyone was too busy staring at Lana’s palm.
There, in the center of her palm, was the shadow of a wolf. “What the hell?” She’d known the outline of a wolf had been burned into her palm from the protection amulet, but that’s all it had been, an outline. Now the outline had been filled in, the black fur almost visible, the eyes a searing gold. And it itched worse than ever.
“I need to call Zach, find out if he has any idea what’s happening.” Chris reached for the phone and dialed a number. “Zach? Get back to me as soon as you get this, okay?
Something odd is going on with Lana’s scar.”
“Grammy?”
“Hmm?” Grammy was studying the wolf, careful not to touch Lana’s hand. Lana stared at it as well.
Suddenly she knew who that wolf was. “I think Gareth is in trouble.”
“Why do you say that, sweetheart?” Chris returned to her side, his expression concerned.
She shrugged. “Instinct.”
Chris picked up the phone. “I’ll call him now.” He put it on speaker when Gareth answered. “Listen, Lana thinks you’re in trouble.”
“Um. I wouldn’t call it trouble, precisely.”
“What would you call it?”
“Having an ‘oh shit’ moment?”
Chris rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Gareth.”
“Maybe FUBAR would be a better description.”
Lana hobbled back to the bed. “Gareth?”
“Hey, Lana!” He sounded pleased to hear her voice. “How’d you know something was wrong?”
“You know the scar on my palm?”
“Yes,” Gareth drawled.
“It looks like you.”
Chris growled. Her wolf was getting all possessive again. “Really?”
She kicked him in the shin. Seriously, if she didn’t get him to calm down, he’d wind up peeing a circle around her or something. “Down, boy.”
Gareth coughed. “So your scar looks like me?”
She made a face. “Okay, maybe it doesn’t look exactly like you, but it feels like you.”
“Huh.”
“So, anything going on with you recently?”
Gareth sighed. “You could say that.”
“Gareth.”
“I just got a call from the court.”
Chris was frowning, but suddenly Lana knew. “Congratulations.”
“You’re fucking kidding me, right?” Gareth sounded outraged. “Me? King?”
Chris looked like someone had poked him in the ass with a stick. “What?”
“The council just called and told me the king had named me his heir. What the fuck is up with that?”
Chris started laughing.
“This is not funny. If it was Daniel, maybe. Zach, definitely. Me? Not. Funny. ”
Chris just laughed harder.
“What kind of king would I make, anyway? The kind that sucks big fat hairy moose balls, that’s what kind.”
By now Chris was laughing so hard he wasn’t making a sound.
Lana tried to be supportive, but it was hard when she was holding back her own laugh. “I think you’ll make a great king.”
“No offense, babe, but you’ve never sat in on a wizard’s court before. Trust me. I’ll be craptastic at it.”
Lana waved her hand, forgetting that Gareth couldn’t see it. “It can’t be that bad.
And don’t call me babe.”
There was silence for a moment. “Trust me. It will be bad. ”
“Can you turn it down then?”
“Sure I can. And right after that I can declare myself the Emperor of Never-Never.”
“Once the king declares his heir, unless something happens to said heir, he’s kind of stuck with it.” Chris wiped his eyes and sighed. “Gareth is the future king whether he likes it or not.”
Lana nudged Chris with her elbow and smirked. “Your future king, wolfman.”
Chris groaned. “Aw, crap.”
“Y’know, you’re right. I will be Chris and Daniel’s boss, won’t I?” She could practically hear Gareth rubbing his hands together with glee.
“Oh now, wait a minute—”
Gareth rolled over Chris’s sudden objection. “This could have some unexpected perks.” She could practically hear Gareth rubbing his hands together. “Oh yeah, I can see some side benefits.”
Lana’s palm itched. “Gareth, be careful, okay? Now that you’ve been named I’m worried something might happen.”
“Your palm still itching?” All of the playfulness had left Gareth’s voice. Suddenly she was listening to the overprotective Gareth she’d first met. “Could there be any danger to you or the rest of the family?”
She felt her mouth open, but nothing came out. For some reason, the words you or the rest of the family brought home that she really was a part of the Becketts now in a way that hadn’t hit her before. “I think most of the danger is directed at you this time.”