"Tyler?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper while concern filled her voice. She knelt down beside me and placed her hand on my shoulder, and I flinched away from her touch and curled myself into a tighter ball while I gritted my teeth together. "Mom, what do you have to help him?" she asked, her voice becoming darker while she became protective of me.

"I have something in my bag that Natalie has in her hands," Yaya said and shook her head, gesturing to her granddaughter. "There is a better cream in that bag than the one he has in his pocket.

Natalie's mother nodded and pressed her lips into a thin line. "Nat, give her the cream. We'll talk after we are done helping him out and make sure that he is safe."

"Abso-"

"Do not finish that sentence, Adonis," Yaya said and shook her head, interrupting Adonis from saying another word. "This is not up for discussion. We are going to talk to him after we get his back taken care of whether you like it or not."

Natalie didn't say a word and walked over to us. She handed the cream over to Yaya before she moved away from us and placed her hands behind her back while she clasped her hands close together.

"Thank you, Natalie Dear," Yaya said. She cleared her throat and turned her attention back to me, biting back a grim smile. "Now, I am going to need you to carry this one on you, too, Tyler Dear," she said and moved a hand through my hair. "Use both of them at different times when it starts to act up. Make sure you know which one you have used and if you plan on going into water or not after you put it on your back."

I nodded and gritted my teeth together without saying a word. I heard the sound of a cap being removed before I heard her scooping some of the cream out of the jar.

"This is going to feel cold, Dear," Yaya said with a small hum in her voice. "Don't move."

"I'll try not to move, Yaya," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I licked my lips and took a deep, shuddering breath before I released it with a small shaky whoosh. "But please, hurry. It hurts."

"Of course, Dear," she said and nodded. She placed the cream on my back, and I gritted my teeth together to keep myself from moving, even though all I wanted to do was move away from her hand and the thing that she was putting on my back.

Cold...

"Can you stop it from hurting him like that?" Brady asked. "This is the millionth time that it has happened, and I hate seeing him in pain, Yaya."

Blakye scoffed a laugh and rolled her eyes, pursing her lips in annoyance. "That is a lie and you know it, Brady," she said coldly. She scowled and narrowed her eyes before she folded her arms across her chest. "This hasn't happened a million times."

"But it has happened enough for us to worry," Brady said with a shake of his head. "It has happened more than one time, and I do not like it at all."

My adopted grandmother sighed and shook her head, and her heart seemed to ache. "Unfortunately, I am not able to do anything to help stop the pain fully or for this to stop," she said and continued to rub the stuff on my back, and I slowly but surely started to relax. "I might be a strong witch, but I am not a strong witch. I can't stop a Dark Warlock's curse from working against its intended host."

"Curse?" Aquarmine asked and furrowed her brows while she bit back a small frown, and I could hear this worry in her voice that I hadn't expected. "What do you mean by curse?"

"That is what I mean, Dear," Yaya said and pulled away from me as soon as she was done covering my scar with the cream. "This is a curse that causes his back to ache."

"Is it a signal as to where he is located?" Brady asked. "Because if it is, then we are in some deep shit, and then he knows where he is."

"Brady," Natalie's mom, Minerva, said with a soft scowl in her voice when he asked that. She narrowed her eyes and looked at him with a hard look in her eyes, biting back a small scowl.

Brady cringed and bowed his head while he submitted ever so slightly. "Sorry, Mama M," he said. "I didn't mean to cuss like that."

"Un huh," she said, and I could tell that she didn't believe him. She reached out to touch my shoulder, and I didn't move. "How are you feeling, Dear?" she asked with a small hum in her voice.

"Better," I said, biting back a small sigh of relief while my back stopped acting up. I closed my eyes tighter together and waited for another spasm or a wave of pain, not sure if it would happen again or not after she had used the cream on my back. "Thank you, Mama M and Yaya."

"Eh hum." Natalie cleared her throat, and I rolled my eyes but smiled. She stared at me with wide eyes and didn't say a word, waiting for me to thank her for getting Yaya's bag and handing it to her grandmother.

I held back an eye roll and bit back a small smile. "And Nat," I said and kept my eyes closed while I waited for my beating heart to calm down, especially since I was not in any danger any longer. "Thank you for your help, too. I do appreciate it."

"Of course," she said and nodded while she grinned. "That is what friends are for, and you are one of my closest friends, even though you are a different species than me." She shrugged and looked nonchalant.

"Hmph." Natalie's mom pressed her lips into a thin line before she moved a hand through my hair, and I slowly but surely started to relax fully. "How are you feeling, Dear?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "Are you still in pain?"

I shook my head no, biting back a tired sigh. "No, Ma'am," I said and kept my eyes closed while I shifted on my side. "I am not in pain."

She hummed and nodded, biting back a small sigh of relief. "Do you want to go ahead and open your eyes for me, please?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question while she studied me. "I want to make sure that there hasn't been... any lasting effects on you because of this."

"Lasting effects?" Brady asked, sounding protective of me. He scowled and narrowed his eyes while he looked at her, and his whole body grew tense. "What do you mean by lasting effects, Mama M? Are you saying that his personality can change because of this stupid curse and him being shot in the back by some deranged psycho that is out to get him and got his mom?"

"We-"

"Yes," Adonis said, interrupting Mama M from saying anything. He scowled and narrowed his eyes at me, and both Yaya and Mama M moved closer to me as if to protect me from his gaze. "That is exactly what she means and why he should get as far away from here as possible or be killed because I'll be damned if my family gets hurt because of the likes of him."

You have my word...