“What about it?”
“It’s a temporary fix. It stores up all the wanting, all the desire you feel while you wear it, and channels it into something else. But the moment you take it off, everything you were avoiding comes back exponentially stronger than before. Make sure you are in a safe place to vent your pent-up desires.” Ryker handed him the wooden box the ring came in. “Also, keep it in this when you’re not wearing it. Could be dangerous in the wrong hands. It’s your responsibility now.”
Jason accepted the box, a stiff sweat breaking out on his upper lip. “I think I need some air.”
“Hmm.” Ryker dissolved into a dark fog and blew through the store, re-forming at the entrance to hold the door open for Jason.
Feeling feverish and more than a little woozy, Jason made his way through the stacks to meet Ryker at the exit. He stumbled toward his Bugatti.
“Oh, and Jason…”
“Yeah?”
“Are you fucking crazy driving that thing in this neighborhood? Count yourself lucky you still have four wheels.”
With a two-fingered salute, Jason slid behind the wheel and headed for home.
ChapterEight
The ring was working. Jason had successfully avoided giving in to his vice and was still semifunctional, thanks to the silver serpent. Unlike the ring’s previous owner, Jason’s sex drive hadn’t channeled itself into hunger either. On the contrary, he couldn’t bring himself to eat a single thing, which wasn’t much different from before the ring considering he hadn’t had an appetite since the attack. Instead, the enchanted object had caused a perpetual state of lethargy and periods of fever as if he were fighting off a human illness. But after sleeping an unbelievable twelve hours and taking the maximum allowable dose of pain medication, he felt almost normal as he proceeded down the aisle at his sister’s wedding as planned, the offering to the goddess balanced on his palms.
Alight with fireflies, the forest brimmed with dancing woodland fae who sang from the branches of their trees. Flower petals spiraled through the night sky over their heads, to the delight of the guests who sat in white folding chairs on either side of the aisle. Jason set the offering on the altar and took his position to the side, next to the other groomsmen.
Laina made a beautiful bride. Her off-the-shoulder gossamer gown seemed to float around her as she strode down the aisle. A canopy of bright green branches blossomed with glittering fairy magic above her head. And when she reached Kyle, it was clear the groom only had eyes for her. His hands wrapped around hers, entangled fingers a physical symbol of the sacred vows they were about to recite. How lucky she was. It was a goddamned miracle to be loved, really loved, and to give love back to someone in return.
Once the vows were exchanged, Laina detached the specially designed sleeve of Kyle’s tux for the tattooing ritual. The biceps-triceps combo on the guy was as big as Jason’s head. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear Kyle had grown up a shifter and not adormantas he had been until recently. Despite having only shifted a handful of times, Kyle’s size and general appearance easily placed him in the more-than-human category.
Which made Jason even more aware of how less-than-werewolf he was at the moment. His normally muscular upper body had grown thin and wiry over the past few months. Not because of his vice per se, or even the enchanted ring he now wore, but because since Nickelova eating was just a reminder of how alone he was in the world. He couldn’t remember the last time he sat down to three squares in a day unless you counted copious amounts of alcohol as a meal. Nothing in his life had flavor anymore. Since the attack and realizing his lifestyle had played a part in it, he’d been caught in a spiral of sleepless nights and days filled with self-loathing, neither of which lent themselves to proper eating habits. And considering his increased metabolism—most wolves ate the equivalent of four humans—Jason’s occasional cheeseburger was barely keeping him from starving to death.
He returned his focus to the altar as Artemis pressed the fang of Fireborn pack’s Primary ancestor to Kyle’s right shoulder, carving the tribal phoenix tattoo that denoted their pack. It was said the magic of the artifact caused the actual staining of the skin, but Jason always assumed it was a trick: ink stored inside the hollow of the massive tooth. With that symbol on his shoulder, he’d officially be one of them now, bound to protect and be protected by the pack. ThePreotkashifted for a better angle, and Jason’s gaze fell on Selene.
His mouth bent into a grimace. Everything about her vexed him. She was kind enough and beautiful… astonishingly beautiful. In any other scenario, if he hadn’t been cursed, he’d have tried to get her into his bed. Only Selene was fine china. Aside from her celibate role as a religious acolyte for the pack, everything about her was pure and delicate. Untainted. He was afraid to speak to her for fear his words might pollute her ears. When she looked at him, he was sure she could see every grain of filth he hid behind his expensive clothes and brash attitude. And the thought of touching her… If there were anything good left inside him, he’d never sully her with direct contact.
Once again she was staring at him. Probably judging him.Yep, all the pearl-clutching rumors are true.With a sigh, he looked away, straight at the rows of guests. The witch, Grateful Knight, was in the second row with her husband, Rick, a young boy bouncing on his hip. That must be their son, Lucas. Cameron James was there too. Nice of him to come, given he’d been the one in the tux at the altar with Laina only a few months ago until Kyle had swooped in and interrupted what would have been a disaster of an arranged marriage.
Why was this taking so long? The familiar crawling feeling had begun again, like an army of ants rushing beneath his epidermis. He scratched his wrist. A breeze rustled the trees overhead, but he was melting inside his tux. Rocking onto his heels, he tugged at his collar.
Anxiously, he twisted the serpent ring on his finger and a wave of nausea came over him. Everyone was applauding. Why was everyone clapping? Oh, his sister. Artemis had announced the happy couple as officially married. Jason put his hands together in a delayed response.
A buzz started in his ears, growing loud enough to drown everything else out. At first it was white noise. Then the buzz took on a familiar rhythm, words he’d hoped had gone away came flooding back into his head.Come to me. Come to me.Nickelova’s voice haunted him with every throb of his cranium. Louder and louder. It stabbed into his gray matter, constricting his vision.
Laina and Kyle walked down the aisle to whoops and howls of celebration. He was supposed to do something. Silas nudged his elbow, and he realized he was supposed to follow. He fell into step, working his way up the aisle between the chairs.
The voice grew louder and faster.Come to me.Come to me. Jason pitched forward, grabbing his head as a lightning strike cut through his brain. He moaned.
“What’s wrong? Jason? Jason!” Silas was by his side, but there was nothing his brother could do. The horizon tilted and his cheek slapped the white cotton runner. A woman screamed. Silas bent over him, shook his shoulder.
But Jason couldn’t respond. All he could see was Nickelova’s face. All he could hear was her voice.Come to me.And all he could see was a road, a river, and a space between two mountains. This time he recognized the road. Route 9. And that was the Stone Eagle River winding under it. He could go to her. It would be easier if he’d go.
His eyes rolled back in his head and his back arched off the soft cloth runner, and then, mercifully, there was nothing.
* * *
Selene reachedJason’s fallen body about the same time everyone else did. At the back of the impenetrable crowd, she craned her ear in his direction for any information on his condition.
“His vitals are normal,” Grateful said. That’s right, she’d been a nurse before becoming a witch. “There’s nothing physically wrong with him. This is something magical, Silas.”
There was a swoosh and the crowd parted slightly, giving Selene a view of the woman and her glowing purple sword. Grateful was no ordinary witch. She was a Hecate, a demigoddess charged with policing the supernatural. She lowered the tip of her weapon toward Jason’s body and his skinglowed. Selene gasped.
