The plane began to move in reverse, and she looked out the small window. There were people scurrying all about, some with illuminated batons in their hands, waving them to direct the plane. Others were in small vehicles driving them as if they were being chased by hell hounds. How on earth did they not crash into a person, plane, or one another? Her thoughts drifted away from her current time and place and was replaced with visions of herparents.
She hadn’t seen them since they’d gone home while trying to hide from Rayaz. That turned out to be an epic failure of a plan. She wondered what her parents would have thought had they known the real reason they’d come back to Coldspring. She smiled to herself as she considered her dad’s reaction. Chris Morgan was the serious type and very analytical. He would have been trying to determine the statistical probability of Rayaz figuring out where they were. Her mom probably would have been trying to hatch her own plan to keep them hidden while at the same time acting like they were running from an angry cat and not a deranged warlock. Her mom often dealt with conflict by simply downplaying it, as if that would somehow change thesituation.
She missed them both. But she was still scared to see them. What if they could tell she was tainted? What if they could see just how far she’d fallen into the dark pit of despair? They would still love her because they were her parents, for crying out loud. But would they be disappointed in her? She should have been able to fight whatever magic had been done to her. She should have been able to say no to Jericho. But she hadn’t. She’d folded like a house ofcards.
Her attention was momentarily averted when she felt the plane begin to pick up speed. It always made her stomach drop when a plane raced down the runway, trying to get enough velocity to ensure lift off. Every flight she’d taken, she’d felt the huge piece of metal wouldn’t get enough speed to raise up off the runway and they’d just keep going, careening through a field and into a tree or pole or something. Of course, that had never happened, and it didn’t happen this time either. Within a matter of seconds, they were climbing higher and higher into the sky. She looked out the window and watched as the ground below became smaller andsmaller.
“Everything looks so tiny,” she said as Costin leaned over her to look out thewindow.
“If we knew where our pack was, we could squash them with ourfingers.”
“And why would we want to do that?” Sallyasked.
He smiled and shrugged. “Because squashing people isfun.”
She shook her head at him and then settled back into her seat. It was going to be a long triphome.
“Don’t think I’m about to let you go back inside of that head of yours,” Costin whispered, and his lips brushed her ear. He leaned back and smiled, his gorgeous dimple making an appearance. “We’re going to play charades,” he said, waggling his eyebrows at her. He unbuckled his seatbelt and practically bounced out of hisseat.
Sally reached for him. “Costin, wait!” He moved too quickly. He was already out of his seat and three rows up the aisle, talking to the flight attendant who looked like she was going to start panting at any moment. Sally wanted to roll her eyes, but she daren’t take her eyes off the woman standing so close to her mateeither.
Finally, he turned and faced all the first-class seats. His shoulders were pulled back, and he held himself with an air of confidence that had other men ducking theirheads.
“Hello, ladies and gentlemen,” he said in his smooth, inviting voice. “I was wondering, since it is going to be quite a long flight, and also because my beautiful wife has been feeling kind of down, if you all would be interested in playing a game ofcharades?”
Sally smacked her hand to her face and groaned. Only.Costin.
“Now, before you grumble”—he said, holding up a finger,—“hear me out. For every correct guess, I will personally make you a mixed drink and cover thetab.”
“Can you even make drinks?” A man in a suit on the second row, with a comb-over that rivaled Donald Trump’s, askedloudly.
“I own my own bar, and I make Tom Cruise inCocktaillook like a two-year-old playing with Coke bottles.” Just then the flight attendant wheeled out a cart laden with various bottles of alcohol, a bowl of ice, and some lemons andlimes.
Sally couldn’t keep the stupid grin off her face as she watched her mate demonstrate for the skeptical crowd just how mad his bartending skills were. He tossed bottles, caught them, spun them, and poured them with such speed and skill that he practically made bartending anart.
When he was done, the first-class passengers broke into applause. And that was how Sally got sucked into playing charades with a bunch of strangers on a plane, forty thousand feet in the air. Jen was going to eat itup.
* * *
Costin pushedthe middle arm rest up and pulled Sally over until her head was in his lap. He covered her with the blanket the attendant had given them and brushed the hair from herface.
“You are so crazy,” she saidsoftly.
He loved how her lips turned up into a tiny smile when she was pleased with something he’d done. Tease him she may, but she had fun playing charades. Everyone had. Costin had pulled the stunt in an effort to keep her from sitting and thinking. The game had gotten heated several times, but the alcohol kept most of the other passengers in a state of happy buzz. He’d purposely been skimping on how much alcohol he was putting in their drinks. He wanted everyone to enjoy themselves, not get smashed. It was lucky he had. Some of the passengers were good guessers and had a stack of empty plastic cups resting on their tray backs. A couple could be heard throughout the cabin snoringloudly.
“You had fun,” he replied. “It’s okay if you want to admitit.”
He felt her head move up and down in a nod. “I did have fun. Thankyou.”
“I would do anything for you,”he said, switching to the more intimate way of communicating through theirbond.
“Even spend hundreds of dollars on alcohol to play charades with first-class passengers just to keep me from being swallowed up by my ownmind?”
“Yes, Sally mine, eventhat.”
She snuggled in closer to him, and the contented sigh that left her body made him want to cheer. She was relaxed, not completely, but more than she had been in days. She’d had fun, smiled, laughed, and teased. His wolf had been mesmerized by her and gotten ticked off any time Costin took his eyes off of her.She’s beautiful,his wolf said.Yes, sheis.
“I love you, beloved mate,”he whispered in her mind as he felt her drifting off tosleep.
