A scream echoes in the distance, loud enoughfor me to hear over the thundering of my pulse in my ears, and my attention darts toward the sound to find every single person present gaping at me in fear.
I take a backward step, fear coating me as I inch away from the danger I know I’m in, but I don’t make it two steps before I walk into something. My gaze snaps over my shoulder to reveal that every part of me is a wolf, but it’s the person looming over me that scares me more.
Drayker.
The sneer on her face is filled with vengeance as she holds a syringe in her hands. I’m in too much shock to move, feeling the prick of the needle a moment later, and I whimper as the darkness instantly creeps in.
I slump to the ground in a form I’m not familiar with, sure I’m going to die like this, but before the darkness takes me, I feel the gentle sweep of black smoke against my skin. It dances in my blurry vision for the briefest moment before the bleakness envelops me in its grasp.
TWENTY-SIX
ELODIE
My mind comes alive before my body, the dregs of sleep clinging to me accompanied by anything but comfort. No, whatever it is I’m feeling is more sickly than that, coiling in my veins and trying to hold me hostage. I become more alert as my mind fights against the sensation, but I stiffen the moment I recall the moments before I passed out.
Willow.
Wolf.
Syringe.
Holy crap. I’m too scared to open my eyes. She must have sedated me or something. Regardless, I’m sure I’ve managed to wind up contained again.
The secret is out. They know my magic is alive. Well, when it wants to be, but that doesn’t matteranymore. When Willow tore through my gloves, she sealed my fate.
No.
I did. Kael warned me she would try and get under my skin, and I thought I could handle it. Apparently, I’m a little more sensitive than I care to admit. Especially when it comes to the exposure of my insecurities. I don’t care about the superficial shit. Call me a whore, a bitch, a cunt; slurs don’t cut deep, but chip away at who I am, what I’ve experienced, and it seems I’ll go to war for myself.
Really, I should be proud that I stood up for myself like that, but now I have to face the consequences of my actions. Which means I need to harness the strength to open my eyes and face it head-on.
I consider whether I should feel around first, try to figure out where I am by touch alone, but the thought of someone watching me do that makes me quickly dismiss the idea. Instead, I count down from five, and on one, my eyelids ping open.
It takes a moment for my eyes to focus, but when they do, confusion washes over me as my eyebrows gather. I’m not caged, I’m not restrained, and I’m not at The Sanctum.
I’m in Thorne’s room.
The trinkets are precisely where they were thefirst time I was here—the only time, probably for good reason. My heart aches for his loss as I spy the smiles on his family’s faces.
Glancing down the length of myself, I find a band tee covering me. It falls mid-thigh, and as I scoot up in bed, despite my groggy head, to lean back against the headboard, I notice that’s all I’m wearing. Did I lose my clothes when I shifted? That answers the thought I had a while ago. I’d rather this wasn’t how I found out, but I’m here nonetheless.
I push my tangled purple hair out of my face as the door opens, startling me.
“You’re awake,” he breathes, eyes raking over me as he tucks his hands into his pockets.
I clear my throat, nodding as I try to find the right words. “How am I even here?” I blurt when I can’t think of anything better to say, and he grimaces.
“I carried you.”
“As myself or…”
“As a wolf?” he clarifies, cocking a brow at me, and I nod. “You shifted back the moment the sedation kicked in,” he answers, making me frown.
“It doesn’t make sense. I was expecting to open my eyes and see The Sanctum again,” I admit, unsure whether that’s still going to happen or not.
He closes his bedroom door, moving farther into the room before he sits on the edge of the bed beside me. “I’m sorry I didn’t react quickly enough,” he murmurs, and I frown.
“Why are you apologizing?”
